Zen Master's Adjustment!

"They had grown into players capable of standing on their own." Kobe nodded in satisfaction.

Any player on the Lakers' bench would be fought over if put on the market!

Stephen Jackson and Manu Ginobili were both franchise-cornerstone caliber players. Other teams would gladly make them their leaders if they got their hands on them!

Little Fish and Campbell were both playoff-starting caliber players.

Ben Wallace had already revealed DPOY-level defensive dominance!

That block had displayed Ben Wallace's talent to the fullest! There was no second player in the league who could block Hill like that.

One play! It completely wiped out the morale boost the Hornets had gained from Hill checking in.

Over the next few possessions, the Lakers also discovered just how thoroughly Ben Wallace countered driving players like Hill!

Pick-and-roll! He couldn't shake him off!

Ben Wallace's height made him exceptional at fighting through screens!

Isolation! The Hornets' reserve big men had no shooting ability. Old Miller and Coleman were both mediocre mid-range shooters and couldn't space the floor like Divac.

Stephen Jackson clung to Hill for dear life, Campbell stayed planted beneath the basket, and Ben Wallace roamed everywhere on help defense!

Hill was at a loss for a while. His impact after coming in was not much better than Rider's!

The Lakers' bench was somehow far more effective at defending Hill than their starters!

"The Lakers' bench is too fierce!"

"But then again, if Grant can't even break through the Lakers' bench, how is he supposed to help Michael win his sixth championship?"

Magic Johnson's question made perfect sense.

No matter how strong the Lakers' bench was, they were still just a group of reserves!

If the league's best small forward, someone like Hill, couldn't even beat the reserves, that would be utterly indefensible.

They