In May, sunlight streamed through the wooden lattice windows of the teahouse in West Lake Hangzhou, illuminating the screen of Lin Qi's IBM laptop.
Lin Qi had just finished watching the video of the Eastern Conference game between the Nets and the Magic, and now he opened the video of Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Seattle SuperSonics.
The Staples Center was ablaze with stars. When Gary Payton returned to the arena in his familiar Seattle green jersey, a huge, hostile roar erupted from the stands. Last summer, the point guard who had helped Boston build its tough culture chose to return home, and now he is leading the Seattle SuperSonics, a team with terrifying outside firepower, in their assault on the Western Conference's biggest ultimate boss.
The video's progress bar rapidly replayed the game's progress. The first three quarters were exceptionally close, almost like a clash of titans.
The Seattle SuperSonics ' tactics were extremely clear: speed up the pace and drag the game into a barrage of outside shots.
Gary Payton orchestrated the offense with the ball, while Ray Allen tirelessly ran off the ball, his three-pointers piercing the Lakers ' defense whenever he created even a sliver of space. Stephen Jackson constantly cut to the basket on both the strong and weak sides. Even more impressive was the Seattle SuperSonics ' power forward, Amar'e Stoudamire, a rookie who went straight from high school to the league this year.
This rookie possesses terrifying explosiveness and vertical jumping height, making him like an unstoppable beast in offensive and defensive transitions. He even completed a powerful alley-oop dunk in the second quarter.
But Lakers head coach Phil Jackson sat courtside and didn't even move an inch.
In the first three quarters, Phil Jackson didn't keep Shaquille O'Neal O'Neal, Charles Barkley, and Michael Jordan on the court for long periods. He handed the game over to Jason Kidd. Kidd, along with a group of forwards in their prime including Sean Marion, Lamar Odom, and Quentin Richardson, used their lightning-fast transitions, even faster than the Seattle SuperSonics, to hold off Seattle's barrage of three-pointers.
At the end of the first three quarters, the score was tied at 78.
However, the Seattle truly began when the fourth quarter whistle blew.
In the video footage, Phil Jackson waved his hand, and the three figures on the Lakers' bench, whose combined age exceeds one hundred, slowly took off their practice uniforms. Shaquille O'Neal O'Neal, Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan, carrying plenty of energy from a whole game of rest, stepped onto the floor at the same time.
This is the most unreasonable mismatch and stomp in the entire history of the NBA.
In the first half-court possession of the fourth quarter, Kidd lobbed the ball steadily into the paint. O'Neal received the ball in the low post, and the Seattle SuperSonics ' starting center, Carl Booth, tried to front him, but O'Neal simply took a step back, Booth lost his balance like a bowling pin. O'Neal turned around, ignoring rookie Stoudamire's help defense, and slammed the ball into the basket with both hands.
Little Stoudemire's jumping ability is indeed historic, but faced with absolute weight advantage and lower body strength, his proud jumping ability has no room to be used.
In the next possession, Charles Barkley received the ball on the right low post. Facing Stoudamire, who was nearly ten centimeters taller and had a great jump and speed, the 39-year-old Barkley stuck out his massive rear end. Once, twice. Little Stoudemire, despite his explosive power, was forcefully pushed out of the paint by Barkley's size and skill. Then, Barkley a nimble half-turn and easily banked the ball in.
105 to 92. In the quagmire of the fourth quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers showcased their combination of talent and experience to the fullest, completely dominating the Seattle SuperSonics' weak paint.
Lin Qi pressed the pause button and closed the laptop screen.
His fingers unconsciously traced the rim of the teacup, while his mind replayed the details of Stoudamire's offense and defense in this game.
As someone with memories of the future, Lin Qi had seen Amar'e Stoudamire at his most glamorous in another timeline. In Lin Qi's memory, Little Stoudemire's perfect partner should have been Steve Nash.
If you replaced Gary Payton with Nash, the viewing experience of this Seattle SuperSonics team would be completely different. Nash, a master at pushing the offensive pace to the limit, could unleash Little Stoudemire's incredible athleticism with fluid passes while on the move. Little Stoudemire alongside Nash would be like a wild beast running rampant across the plains, needing only to mindlessly cut to the basket, receive the ball, and finish with a breathtaking dunk.
But the current Gary Payton is a completely different style. Gary Payton is a commander of traditional half-court offense, with the rigor and defensive discipline of the 1990s ingrained in his bones. Under Gary Payton's stern reprimands, which were almost spittle flying everywhere, the rookie Stoudamire was forced to abandon his free and easy style of play. He not only had to diligently practice the quality of his high pick-and-roll screens, but also had to memorize those tedious rotation positions on the defensive end.
"The offense doesn't look as fluid as it used to be, and it doesn't have that visual explosiveness of Nash's passes..." Lin Qi muttered to himself, a hint of appreciation on his lips, "But this old guy's coaching has actually given this rookie a more solid defensive foundation and a better understanding of half-court tactics."
In the long run, Little Stoudemire playing with Gary Payton might have a higher ceiling than Little Stoudemire playing with Nash, at least on the defensive end he won't easily become a liability.
But for the Seattle SuperSonics, who are aiming for the championship, Little Stoudemire's growth alone is far from enough.
Lin Qi quickly analyzed the Seattle SuperSonics ' roster structure in his mind. On the perimeter, they had Gary Payton's playmaking and defense, Ray Allen's historic off-ball movement and three-point shooting, and Stephen Jackson, a tough player who could handle tough games, on the wing. Their perimeter lineup was already at championship level.
The fatal flaw lies in position 5.
Carl Booth can hold his own in the starting lineup during the regular season, but in the playoffs he's at best a decent backup. Putting him in the starting lineup to guard O'Neal or Tim Duncan would be suicidal. As for Little Stoudemire, he's too young, not fully developed yet, and lacks lower body strength. Putting him to fight against heavy interior players would be like forcing growth.
If he were the general manager of the Seattle SuperSonics, his offseason moves this summer would be very clear.
They don't need to look for a star center anymore; what they need is a blue-collar, hard-working defensive anchor. Someone who doesn't need the ball, who just needs to defend, box out, and rebound in the paint, helping Stoudamire withstand the onslaught of opposing centers. He doesn't need to score a lot; as long as he provides the defensive toughness of six fouls, completely freeing up Little Stoudemire's help defense and mobility, this team's persistent interior weakness will be greatly alleviated.
In addition, Gary Payton is already 34 years old, and his stamina is an unavoidable concern. The Seattle SuperSonics must find a reliable backup point guard in the free agent market who can consistently maintain a certain level of performance, even if he only plays for ten minutes or so per game, so that Gary Payton can conserve enough energy in the fourth quarter to take over the game.
"Would the Seattle management do that?" Lin Qi finished his last sip of tea and turned his gaze back to the lake outside the window.
While the Seattle SuperSonics ' starting lineup was impressive, it ultimately lacked the championship-contending foundation to compete against Lakers team capable of fielding two different starting lineups.