See You Next Game!

"It's different! Michael's touch is scorching hot tonight!"

"Smart! Extremely smart basketball from Michael. This game, he completely avoided Kobe. Whether it was pick-and-rolls with Pippen or moving without the ball, using screens from Joe Smith and Rodman to find opportunities, Michael hasn't tried to force a single shot in front of Kobe!"

"He avoided Kobe's defense! That omnipotent god is back!"

Michael Jordan chewed his Idol gum, his eyes blazing.

Avoiding Kobe might have seemed cowardly!

But for the sake of victory, he no longer cared about any of that!

G1 and G2 had already proven that even when Kobe's stamina had collapsed to the point of hospitalization, he could still rely on sheer willpower to play high-intensity defense.

That meant any strategy aimed at draining Kobe's stamina was completely useless.

At the same time, under Kobe's defense, both Jordan and Pippen's offensive efficiency had dropped to the lowest level of their Finals careers!

Joe and Pippen's average of 4.5 turnovers per game had come from stubbornly trying to score against Kobe's defense.

Michael Jordan had his pride, but he had indeed realized that attacking Kobe was a suicidal option. For victory, for the O'Brien Trophy, he had decided to give up one-on-one battles with Kobe as well!

Use Pippen's screen to isolate Bowen!

Use Joe Smith's screen to drive inside and attack O'Neal, or pull up directly for a three!

If Kobe forcibly recovered his defensive position, then do it again, or hand it to Pippen or Joe Smith to power through!

Simple! Clear!

Incredibly efficient!

Just those two moves!

And the Lakers simply couldn't stop them!

"Chicago's god is invincible on this land!" Jordan's former teammate, Ice Man George Gervin, shouted from the commentary booth!

Chicago's god had not let his people down!

The cheers had never