Shaking a Finger at Uncle Mu

The two teams' benches were evenly matched as well. The Hawks' reserves were highly disciplined tactically, and Jon Barry came off the bench and knocked down three after three. This Hawks team attempted 22.4 threes per game, a figure that was unquestionably tops in the league.

Wilkens' coaching philosophy was very advanced. He knew that, without an offensive superstar, the Hawks needed to take and make more threes if they wanted an edge on offense. Star-studded teams played defense, while blue-collar teams played run-and-gun ball; that often produced results better than their roster on paper suggested.

Without Kobe leading them, the Lakers' bench had nothing but defense left. Their offensive performance depended entirely on Nick Van Exel's touch. If he was hot, they played well; if he missed, they could only grind it out with the other side defensively.

Late in the second quarter, when the benches checked out and the Lakers starters returned, the score was 31-28, with the Hawks leading by three.

Before the starters took the court, Wilkens quietly instructed them, "The Lakers got careless. They haven't found their rhythm yet. Keep running, hit the threes, and we can take this game."

The situation changed in an instant. The somewhat relaxed Lakers watched as Laettner and Steve Smith hit consecutive threes, widening the gap.

In the Lakers' starting lineup, Bruce Bowen had performed quite well defensively after replacing Ceballos. But in the first quarter of this game, Bowen had been assigned to Tyrone Corbin, a role-player small forward. That was clearly a waste of his talents.

"Bruce, switch assignments with Eddie. You guard Smith! He's hit three threes this quarter already!" Kobe was a little angry. He did not want to lose this game at home.

"Got it. Don't worry, boss." Bruce's eyes flashed fiercely. This was his first NBA start, and he would not allow anyone to ruin it. Under Bowen's tight first-quarter defense, Tyrone Corbin had not even gotten off a single shot attempt.

An angry Kobe decided to do it himself. Mookie Blaylock was fifteen centimeters shorter than Kobe, but he defended with tremendous effort, forcing his way around O'Neal's screen and stopping Kobe.

Kobe's drive was cut off, so he simply rose up and shot without hesitation. Kobe's basketball philosophy was that when there was no better offensive option, a jumper might as well solve every problem.

"CLANG!" The ball slammed heavily off the rim. Kobe shook his hand. He believed that shot should have gone in; after all, there had only been one defender on him.

Damn it. Looks like I need to take a few more shots to find my touch. Kobe bit down on his jersey. He was dissatisfied with both his own performance and the team's.

Kobe had been shooting very well over the previous few games. During these past few rest days, Jeff had put him through intense strength training, leaving his hands a little sore.

Kobe did not think that would affect him. Compared with dislocations and torn finger tendons, this soreness was far more comfortable. But if he could not play efficiently on offense, he would focus his attention on defense.

The second quarter ended with the Atlanta Hawks going 5-for-9 from three in the period. The score had become 52-45. O'Neal had 12 points and 4 rebounds at halftime, while Kobe went 0-for-3 in the second quarter and remained stuck on the 7 points he had scored in the first.

"Coach, we need someone to contain Laettner. Put Ben in." During halftime, Kobe made the suggestion to Harris. Of Atlanta's three offensive weapons, Bowen would handle Steve Smith, while Kobe himself would handle Mookie Blaylock.

Laettner's hot shooting had opened up the Hawks' offense in the second quarter. Campbell simply could not keep up with the nimble Laettner. Laettner repeatedly hit from mid-range and beyond the arc, and that was why the Lakers were behind.

Harris did not like players interfering with his tactical decisions, but Kobe was beloved throughout the Lakers organization, and his suggestion was perfectly reasonable. Harris decided to try it Kobe's way.

The Lakers' lineup in the second half became PG Kobe Bryant, SG Eddie Jones, SF Bruce Bowen, PF Ben Wallace, and C Shaquille O'Neal. It was an excellent defensive lineup, but O'Neal's interior offense would be disrupted. Only if Kobe excelled at both ends of the floor could O'Neal be freed up.

O'Neal did not enjoy sharing the court with Ben Wallace. He knew Big Ben had seemingly endless strength. In practice, Ben often bodyed him up defensively, and to O'Neal's surprise, Ben Wallace was actually strong enough to bother him.

But Ben's offense was truly awful. Even on putbacks and cuts to the basket, his stiff touch often let him down. This season, Ben Wallace was shooting only 34.8%, and all of those attempts had come from inside the paint!

That percentage was frighteningly bad. Having a player like that on the court when points were needed would cause the team's offensive efficiency to plummet. On a Lakers team built around O'Neal as the primary scorer, opponents could even double-team O'Neal without hesitation from the moment the ball was inbounded.

"Lock them down!" Kobe growled under his breath. He knew that to beat the Hawks, they had to destroy their three-point attack.

Kobe led by example. He reacted quickly to steal Mookie Blaylock's pass to Laettner, pushed the ball up the floor in transition, and threw down a tomahawk slam.

Led by Kobe, the Lakers surged with momentum and played extremely aggressive defense. The Hawks' offense stalled, and the Lakers repeatedly converted turnovers into fast-break scores.

Wilkens hurriedly called a timeout. "Settle down, guys. We have the lead. Move the ball!"

Wilkens knew that once the defensive intensity rose, moving the ball was a helpless necessity. When every defender was on high alert, it was difficult to create open looks through individual play.

But the Hawks lacked a player capable of breaking the deadlock one-on-one. If Wilkens had a player like that, he was confident he could lead the Hawks to a higher level.

But ifs were only ifs. This Lakers lineup's defense locked down every Hawks scoring threat. There were no good opportunities on the perimeter, and after the ball swung around, it reached Mutombo inside.

Mutombo held the ball and looked around. Seeing no good opportunity, he prepared to take it himself.

Kobe slipped in quietly, arriving behind Mutombo without a sound. Mutombo did not notice. He backed O'Neal down twice, then spun and floated the ball up.

The number 8 jersey fluttered in the air. Kobe had picked his moment and was about to take off. He had been waiting for Mutombo to shoot.

Here it comes! Now! Kobe soared high into the air and swatted Mutombo's floater out of bounds with the force of a volleyball spike! It was just like what Mutombo usually did to other players.

"Fuck." O'Neal blurted out in amazement. The timing and anticipation on that defense had been far too precise. How had he known Mutombo would shoot at that moment?

Mutombo turned back to stare at Kobe in disbelief. Usually, he was the one blocking others. When had he ever been blocked like this?

Kobe's expression remained cold. He raised his left hand and wagged his index finger at Mutombo. Nothing could be more demoralizing.

Thanks to readers Aoyue Changkong and Crow X Years for the rewards~ Thanks to all readers for the recommendation votes~ Xiao Dao bowed here in thanks to everyone.