A Poster Dunk Beyond the One on Howard!

"Halftime! Lakers 57, Spurs 54! The Spurs trailed by only three!"

"The second half has begun, and both teams have returned to the court! Both sides are back to their starting lineups."

"Whether the Lakers' perimeter players besides Kobe can rediscover their touch will determine the course of the second half."

"Kobe's passes out of heavy double-teams in the first half were repeatedly wasted. How will he choose to attack in the second half?"

Ginobili was running low on stamina, and Harris knew it well. He was unwilling to place the outcome of such a crucial game on a single player's competitive fire.

After all, not every rookie was named Kobe Bryant!

Harris's choice was simple: return to the conventional approach.

Kobe would handle the ball and decide the flow of the game!

Whether to pass or take it himself would be Kobe's decision.

Honestly, Kobe liked coaches like that.

Just give the ball to the strongest player on the court and let him decide everything!

The most terrifying kind of coach or leader was one who understood nothing himself yet loved to meddle, constantly offering a pile of self-righteous opinions.

Little Buss, Brown, and Walton were all that type, as were bureaucrats in every country. Kobe truly hated those "leaders" who pretended to understand what they did not.

Second half!

Spurs ball.

Under Kobe's defense, Avery Johnson carefully got the ball to David Robinson at the high post to facilitate the offense.

Then he let out a long breath.

No turnover!

There were probably fewer than ten players in the league who could reliably dribble across half court under Kobe's defense.

Thanks to his small stature, Avery Johnson could barely manage it.

But organize the offense?

That was impossible.

Fortunately, the Spurs did not need their point guard to