Kobe's Mind Shattered (4K)

On the flight to San Antonio, Texas, the Spurs' atmosphere was tense.

The players kept their heads down and didn't talk. Some listened to music with headphones on; others closed their eyes and pretended to sleep.

Not a sound.

Such silence was rare on a team full of energetic athletes.

Most of the time, people played cards, sang, and chatted about the game on the team plane.

But...

They'd lost again.

The Spurs had lost again on the Lakers' home court.

Returning home down 0–2 wasn't the scary part. What was scary was how completely the Lakers controlled the games.

The Lakers had held the reins throughout both games.

The Spurs had taken the lead at one point in each game, only to have the Lakers come back and take it away.

The Spurs were like a fish thrashing around but unable to escape the Lakers' wide net!

The Lakers didn't seem to care whether the Spurs took the lead. They just played their own game: ran plays in the first half, let O'Neal take over in the third quarter, and let Kobe take over in the fourth.

Simple!

Straightforward!

Popovich figured even some high school basketball coaches could put together a game plan like that!

And yet this simple strategy had left the Spurs completely helpless! It was hard for Popovich, who had always prided himself on being a tactical mastermind, to accept.

Let Duncan take over and try to overpower them? No good!

Play team basketball? Still no good!

Even Popovich looked dejected now. He had only been in charge for two years and wasn't yet the old hand who had weathered every storm. He was still green.

How could they win?

Did he really have to put all his hopes in home-court advantage?

If the gap between