The Wolf Pack Attacks

The Lakers had a packed schedule in November, with thirteen games in total. Two of them were back-to-backs, making it a rather unfriendly stretch for the Lakers.

After defeating the Suns on November 1, the Lakers rested and regrouped for a day. On the 3rd, they returned home to face the youthful Minnesota Timberwolves. The two teams had also met in the preseason, but Kobe had not been a starter then.

In Kobe's view, the Minnesota Timberwolves possessed solid competitiveness, with three star-caliber players—Little Wolf King Kevin Garnett, Old Beijing Stephon Marbury, and the tall sharpshooter Tom Gugliotta—along with several capable role players.

They also had Portland Pacers' veteran All-Star point guard Terry Porter stockpiled on the perimeter, while inside they had Stojko Vrankovic, a 2.18-meter, 118-kilogram Croatian beast.

There was no doubt that Kobe held Kevin Garnett in high regard. They had met twice in the Finals. The first time, Kevin Garnett had demolished the Lakers' interior; the second time, Kobe had been the one smiling at the end. Those two classic purple-and-gold versus green battles had once been fiercely contested.

Kobe admired Kevin Garnett's competitive spirit. In his eyes, any player with fighting spirit who never gave up deserved respect.

On the court, the more you respected your opponent, the better you had to perform. Kobe believed in that principle, and he lived by it.

Kobe drove to the arena, where the area outside was already packed with people. Los Angeles fans had tremendous enthusiasm for the Lakers, eagerly coming to watch this new team perform.

The Lakers' locker room was lively. With a fun-loving big man like O'Neal as the team leader, and with the team already on a seven-game winning streak counting the preseason, it was hard for such a team to have a bad atmosphere.

The team had gradually split into several small groups, something nearly impossible for any team to avoid. The core of the team was a rookie, and he had arrived without any trusted allies, so some players naturally began to have their own thoughts.

Kobe was still the first to emerge from the players' tunnel. In the first regular-season game, he had still been an unknown nobody, but by the time he entered the court for this game, many spectators were already shouting the name of this rising star of tomorrow.

"KOBE! KOBE! KOBE!" The familiar chants rang in Kobe's ears, as though they had brought him back to all those days and nights at Staples. Wasn't this why he played basketball—for these lovable fans?

"Our thirteenth pick seems to really enjoy the cheers from the crowd. The usually stone-faced Kobe smiled as he took the court," the commentator joked.

"In the last game, Kobe's 31 points narrowly topped number-one pick Iverson's 30. Team staff said he heard about Iverson's numbers at halftime, then immediately erupted for 17 points in the third quarter alone."

"That's right. If Harris hadn't taken Kobe out at the very start of the fourth quarter, who knew what kind of surprise he might have given us?"

"The rookie scoring record is Wilt Chamberlain's 58 points. In his first season in Philadelphia, he scored 58 points in two separate games. You don't think Kobe can surpass that, do you?"

"Oh, that would be a little too difficult for our rookie kid."

"The Lakers' starting lineup remains unchanged: PG Kobe Bryant, SG Eddie Jones, SF Cedric Ceballos, PF Elden Campbell, and C Shaquille O'Neal."

"It seems Harris is still firmly backing Ceballos despite his poor play. Most people can see that last year's Lakers offensive centerpiece has been in terrible form this season, and he's also highly incompatible with O'Neal and Kobe."

"The Lakers' future should belong to Shaq and Kobe. Harris' support is hurting the team."

"The Timberwolves' starters are PG Stephon Marbury, SG Doug West, SF Tom Gugliotta, PF Kevin Garnett, and C Dean Garrett."

"Kevin Garnett was not particularly impressive in his first season. What kind of improvement will he show in his second?"

The game began, and O'Neal overpowered Dean Garrett on the tip, batting the ball into Kobe's hands. Kobe's defender was Stephon Marbury.

"Hey, you're that high school kid, right? Heard you dropped 31 in your first game. Against Uncle Marbury, you won't even score ten." Streetball-raised Marbury wanted to provoke the young Kobe. He believed a player so young would be easy to rile up, and once angry, he would be prone to mistakes.

Kobe glanced at Marbury without revealing anything. There had probably been hundreds, if not thousands, of players in the league who had tried to provoke him, and most of them had paid a painful price.

But Kobe did not take matters into his own hands. Calmly following the coach's instructions, he steadily brought the ball across half court and lobbed it to O'Neal, who had established position under the basket.

"Very good. Kobe plays much smarter than Van Exel." Harris was delighted. When your roster had a big man like O'Neal, the ball handler's duty was to get him the ball.

Shaquille O'Neal was secretly pleased as well. Kobe's ball-handling style was completely different from Van Exel's. Kobe always got the ball to him quickly and simply, while Van Exel loved flashy moves. Even when he passed to O'Neal, he had already burned a lot of clock.

Battling for position inside was exhausting. The quicker and more timely the pass, the more energy an interior player could save. And Kobe seemed extremely familiar with his post-up movements, always delivering the ball exactly where he wanted it. It gave O'Neal the feeling of still playing with Penny.

O'Neal backed Dean Garrett down, spun, and hit a short hook. Even Shaquille O'Neal could not bulldoze through his opponent for a dunk on every possession; that required too much stamina. And O'Neal, who disliked training, had always had issues with his conditioning.

"Kid, you don't dare face Uncle Marbury's defense, huh? Then Uncle Marbury will swallow you whole on offense." Marbury kept muttering. Coming from bustling New York to freezing Minnesota had filled him with resentment.

Kobe did not answer. The moment Marbury took control of the ball, Kobe pressed up on him. Marbury was startled. Tall guards pressuring shorter guards was rare in the NBA, and Kobe's defense nearly made him lose the ball.

"You think you can steal Uncle Marbury's ball? Keep dreaming." Marbury kept talking as he secured the ball and began dribbling extravagantly in place.

"Tweet! Eight-second violation, Lakers ball." The referee blew the whistle. Marbury had been so focused on evading Kobe's pressure and showing off his flashy dribbling that he failed to bring the ball across half court within the allotted time. Marbury stood dumbfounded. Having played too much New York streetball, he had actually forgotten about that rule.

"Welcome to the NBA, Uncle Marbury." Kobe smiled. It was the first thing he had said to Marbury that day. The young, arrogant Marbury was truly irritating, and Kobe intended to teach him a proper lesson.