Starter or Substitute?

After completing their warm-ups and ball-handling drills, Harris gathered the players.

"Guys, we're splitting into two teams for a two-quarter scrimmage. Watch your intensity and don't get hurt." Starter-versus-bench matchups were a common NBA training method.

Coaches usually decided players' court time by comparing how they fared against their direct matchups.

The Silver Fox, Harris, already had a starting lineup in mind. First, the backcourt would be last year's two starters, Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones. Both players were twenty-five. Nick Van Exel was a ball-handling, shooting point guard who averaged 15+7 and hit 1.9 three-pointers per game at a 35.7% rate. Eddie Jones, meanwhile, was a 1.98-meter swingman who had put up 13+3+3 last year.

At small forward was Cedric Ceballos. Harris planned to make him the second offensive focal point behind O'Neal.

At power forward and center, with O'Neal not yet back with the team, Corie Blount and Elden Campbell would start. Once O'Neal returned, Corie Blount would move down the rotation, and Campbell and O'Neal would form a twin-tower lineup.

This was the starting five Harris had his eye on. Four of them had started last season and had experience winning fifty-three games, and with an MVP-level player like Shaquille O'Neal added to the mix, the lineup looked perfect on paper.

The bench backcourt would be manned by two rookies, Fisher and Kobe. Byron Scott was too old. Having played through the Showtime era, he was nearing retirement and served more as a glue guy for the team. He was also interested in becoming an assistant coach.

Bruce Bowen, fresh from honing his game in the European leagues, would be the backup small forward. Harris was looking forward to seeing this player, whom Rambis had strongly recommended as someone who could contribute immediately.

The backup big-man spots would be contested by Ben Wallace, Travis Knight, and Sean Rooks. Competition among big men was fierce in this era, and with all the heavy contact, injuries were highly likely, so Jerry West had stockpiled plenty of reserve bigs.

"Tweet! Game start." Assistant coach Kurt Rambis took on the role of referee.

Elden Campbell easily beat Travis Knight for the tip and won possession. This physically gifted big man earned the second-highest salary on the team after O'Neal: seven million dollars.

Van Exel handled the ball, calmly bringing it across half court. He passed it to Eddie Jones at the top of the arc.

Kobe pressed up on him, unwilling to give this well-rounded shooting guard too much room to operate.

Seeing that, Eddie Jones did not force the issue and casually fed the ball to Ceballos, who had established position in the low post.

"Haha, time to show you what I can do." Ceballos was a little excited. After catching the ball, he quickly leaned in hard, but felt no resistance. These rookies were soft! He spun for a layup.

Wait, where did the ball go?

Ceballos had already leaped high when he realized the ball had vanished from his hands.

At the instant he turned his back, Bowen had shifted aside and poked the ball away with one hand.

Excellent defense and incredible anticipation. From that one play, the Silver Fox Harris saw Bowen's defensive fundamentals.

Kobe had kept his eyes on Ceballos, ready to rotate over for a double-team. He happened to collect the ball Bowen had poked loose, then immediately took off toward the basket at the other end.

Eddie Jones stopped Kobe at midcourt, but Kobe did not hold onto the ball. He raised his hand and passed to Fisher, who had followed the play. Fisher was wide open and calmly finished a three-step layup.

Nick Van Exel shot Ceballos a look. It was all that guy's fault for getting stripped, making him lose his man on defense too. Taking the ball, he stood at the top of the arc and called Campbell up for a pick-and-roll.

Van Exel seized the opening after Fisher went around the screen and launched a three. The ball swished through the hoop.

So this was an NBA starting-caliber point guard? Fisher felt a little irritated. The gap his defense had given up was already tiny, yet Van Exel had still exploited it.

And in that brief instant, Van Exel had buried the shot.

"Old Fish, get up on him and force him to drive!" After only two possessions, Kobe had already found a weakness in the starting unit and began directing the defense.

"Their offensive blind spot is Corie Blount! That 2.06-meter power forward!"

"Bruce, Ceballos is yours. Travis, protect the rim. Ben, your assignment is tough. I need you moving—leave Corie Blount and start doubling their ball handler from the midrange!"

"Double them. They don't have anyone who can handle the ball and organize the offense. Divac is gone!" Kobe planned to leave Corie Blount open, lock down the opposing shooters, force them to drive, and funnel them into Ben Wallace's double-teams.

In one-on-one matchups, Kobe's side had plenty of weak points. But once the team defense started rotating, the other side's lack of a playmaker would be exposed.

The teams switched ends, and the bench unit went on offense.

Fisher dribbled at the top of the arc while Kobe began moving without the ball. They had practiced plenty of off-ball actions over the summer. Kobe easily ran himself open, received the pass, rose up, flicked the ball out, and hit a long mid-range jumper.

"Hey, hey, hey, wake up! Are you guys getting blown out by these kids?" Ceballos was dissatisfied with his teammates' lazy defense.

Eddie Jones spread his hands, signaling that he would defend properly.

After bringing the ball over half court, Van Exel ignored Ceballos shouting for the ball beside him and fed it to Eddie Jones.

"Eddie, give that high school kid one back."

Kobe lowered his center of gravity and immediately crowded him with tight pressure. Eddie Jones was forced to pick up his dribble and passed back to Van Exel to reset the offense.

Knowing there was little time left on the shot clock, Van Exel did not call for a screen. With one crossover, he tried to force his way past Fisher.

Fisher stayed glued to his steps, and Ben Wallace rotated over. Van Exel had no choice but to pass to Eddie Jones, whose forced jumper under Kobe's defense missed.

Kobe seized the chance to break, went coast to coast, and threw down a one-handed slam.

"Damn, these rookies' defense is really disgusting." Limited by his height, Van Exel simply could not find open teammates or make high-quality passes once he was trapped.

After several consecutive misses, the players grew a little impatient, and Van Exel passed the ball to the loudly calling Ceballos.

Ceballos's turnaround jumper was disrupted by Bowen again, and it missed!

The bench unit kept converting defense into offense. Even in the half court, they maintained a solid shooting percentage through Kobe's off-ball movement.

The starters' lineup looked stacked, yet they were being smothered defensively. Van Exel was tightly attached to by Fisher and could not get comfortable shooting space at all. After driving, he faced Ben Wallace's double-teams, making both passing and forcing up shots extremely inefficient.

Under Kobe's defense, Eddie Jones could not maintain his shooting percentage at all. He went 1-for-4 and also committed a turnover.

Ceballos had it the worst. His eyes had always been fixed only on the basket, but under the watch of Bowen and Ben Wallace, he committed turnovers again and again. Having just returned from vacation, he was in terrible physical condition, and his bulky body seemed to writhe through every offensive move.

The starting big men held the advantage inside, but the ball was completely controlled by their perimeter teammates. Elden Campbell and Corie Blount received only a handful of scoring opportunities.

At the end of the first quarter, it was 24:19. Kobe's bench unit held a five-point lead.