June 6th, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Boston, the meeting room where the Los Angeles Lakers are staying.
The curtains in the room were drawn tightly shut, and the projector beam shone on the screen, replaying the recording of last night's first game over and over again. The atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.
" Boston's bench defense was much tougher than we expected." Phil Jackson paused the game, the screen freezing on the moment backup center Patrick Ewing was boxed out by Rasheed Wallace. "This wasn't a simple fast break. When our second unit was on the court, they were still playing a high-pressure half-court defense. Rasheed was inside, Ron ( Artest ) and Stephen ( Jackson ) on the wings; they cut off all our passing lanes."
Phil's tone remained calm, attempting to reassure the team in his usual manner. "But this isn't insurmountable. The problem is that under high-pressure defense, we abandoned our tactics and resorted to simple one-on-one play. We need to get the ball deeper and let Shaq solve the problems. We need to use the first unit's success rate in positional play to overwhelm their substitutes."
Jason Kidd sat in the corner with his arms crossed over his chest and his brow furrowed.
Listening to the head coach's tired tactical summary, this top-tier playmaker in the league finally couldn't hold back any longer.
" Phil, the problem isn't about offensive space, nor is it about tactical execution." Kidd stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and picked up Mark.
All eyes in the conference room were on him. Jordan chewed gum, his eyes sharp. Barkley was changing the ice pack on his knee; Charles Oakley and Patrick Ewing, the two veterans, watched the young point guard silently.
Kidd turned around and quickly wrote down two lineup combinations on the whiteboard.
"Look at our roster," Kidd said, tapping the whiteboard heavily with his pen. "Our locker room actually houses two completely different teams."
He pointed to the first group of names: Jordan, Barkley, O'Neal, Charles Oakley, Patrick Ewing, and Hardaway and Richmond.
" Michael, Charles, and Shaq. When you're on the court, we definitely need to slow the pace and play half-court offense. Because you have unstoppable one-on-one abilities, but also because..." Kidd paused, then finished the somewhat harsh statement, "Your stamina simply doesn't allow you to go toe-to-toe with those lunatics from Boston for the entire game."
Next, Kidd pointed to the second group of names: Marion, Odom, Quentin Richardson, and Fisher.
"Why were Boston's reserves able to shut us down? Because we were using veterans like Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley to physically challenge Rasheed and Artest!" Kidd looked at Phil Jackson. "The only way to solve this problem is to change the way our second unit plays!"
Kidd took a deep breath and offered his carefully considered solution. " Phil, when Michael and Shaq are resting, let me stay on the court with Sean ( Marion ), Lamar ( Odom ), Quentin ( Richardson ), and Derrick ( Fisher )."
"We don't need to play the Triangle Offense at this stage," Kidd, his eyes bright and determined. "These young guys have enough athleticism and stamina. If Boston wants to go for physical play, we'll use this young lineup to attack them! Sean and Lamar's athleticism can definitely break through their defense and set the pace, instead of just grinding them out in half-court. Once we get through the rotation time, and Michael and Shaq have had enough rest, we can switch back to half-court offense!"
The meeting room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
From a basketball logic standpoint, Kidd's plan is the most clear-headed and practical. It's about using magic to defeat magic, using the Los Angeles Lakers' suppressed young talent to offset the defensive advantage of Boston's second unit.
But this plan touched a nerve with the team.
" Jason, do you mean we're going to abandon our Triangle Offense system, the foundation of our success, and let our reserves play those chaotic track and field games?" Jordan spoke, his voice deep and authoritative.
As a superstar accustomed to controlling the game at his own pace, Jordan instinctively rejected this approach that disrupted the team's tactics. Moreover, it was tantamount to admitting that he and Barkley, along with other veterans, were "old" and needed young players to create chaos and buy them rest time.
"This is the NBA Finals." Phil Jackson shook his head, directly rejecting Kidd's suggestion. "A team using two completely contradictory tactics in one game will completely destroy our chemistry and rhythm. Sean and Lamar certainly have talent, but under the pressure of the NBA Finals, experience and consistency are the keys to victory."
Phil walked to the whiteboard and erased the two lineups Kidd had written.
"For Game 2 tomorrow, we won't change our starting lineup or our playing style," Phil made the final decision. "The only change is to give the ball to Shaq more decisively. As long as Shaq can penetrate them inside, whether it's the starters or the bench, Boston's defensive system will be destroyed. We'll get a lot of easy shots on the perimeter."
Kidd looked at the spotless whiteboard and felt a deep sense of powerlessness welling up inside him.
He was an exceptionally intelligent man, but he understood that although he was the starting point guard for the team, he didn't have a real say in front of Jordan and Phil Jackson.
In the evening after the tactical review, several keen-nosed sports reporters sneaked into the basement of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Boston, trying to capture some post-game footage of the Los Angeles Lakers.
They didn't capture the Lakers players sweating profusely in the training room, but through the half-open door of the medical room, they witnessed a heartbreaking scene.
In the medical room, 38-year-old Charles Barkley lay on a physiotherapy bed, while the team doctor used a long, thick needle to drain yellowish fluid from his swollen knee. Barkley gritted his teeth and remained silent.
On another chair not far away, Michael Jordan, with thick ice packs wrapped around his knees and the back of his neck, was receiving a long ultrasound therapy session with his eyes closed to relieve the deep muscle fatigue after intense physical activity.
In the innermost corner, the team doctor was carefully treating Shaquille O'Neal O'Neal's toes. O'Neal had changed his power generation method to lose weight this season, causing his toes to endure unusual stress during intense low-post battles, resulting in some minor bruises.
On the other side of the city, inside the Celtics ' basketball arena, a completely different scene unfolded.
Rasheed Wallace and Stephen Jackson were yelling and shouting as they played Virtua Fighter 4. Ron Artest had just finished an extra set of shuttle runs and was looking for Pierce to fight one-on-one.