Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

ESPN's Marc Stein identified four culprits in the Lakers' hellish journey to a 4-9 record: Shaquille O'Neal (who underwent toe surgery before the season, causing him to miss the first dozen games), Samaki Walker (an ineffective emergency player), Kobe (who saw O'Neal's absence as a golden opportunity for "my time to shine"), and Phil Jackson (who appeared indifferent to the unfolding events).

Jackson's inaction was indeed unsettling. Ever since he became an NBA coach, he had never been afraid of confronting players head-on. If Jordan ignored open teammates, he would remind him; on nights when Pippen's shooting was off, he dared to set up the game-winning shot for Kukoč, infuriating the former; when Shaq's free-throw percentage was at its lowest, he urged him to practice more; when Kobe disobeyed orders, he would demand strict adherence to team rules.

But on those nights without O'Neal, Jackson seemed to treat Kobe as his sole hope, completely ignoring proven scorers like Horry and Fox. Samaki Walker could score in the post. Starting point guard Derek Fisher was the smartest player on the team, knowing how to get his teammates involved.

Yet, it was as if Jackson was deliberately indulging Kobe.

In the seventh season of his career, Kobe wanted more control of the ball, and O'Neal's absence naturally led to him increasing his shots. But what did that bring?

When the Lakers were struggling, Kobe became restless, so in the sixth game of the season against the Boston Celtics, he shot 17 for 47, leading to a 3-point loss for the Lakers.

USA Today wrote, "Without Shaq, the Lakers are nothing."

This further provoked Kobe, who subsequently finished with 18 for 40 and 18 for 37 (in back-to-back games). Passing is the core of the Triangle Offense, and during this time, Kobe's playstyle completely dismantled the system.

Astonishingly, Jackson rarely criticized Kobe during this time.

It was as if he were surrendering to Kobe, but those familiar with Jackson knew he would never surrender to anyone.

The Bucks' offense flourished under Yu Fei's leadership, both inside and out.

But the Lakers had only two modes.

One was the O'Neal mode, where the whole team slowed down, setting up a play to pass to the big man.

The other was the Kobe mode, where passing him the ball was like throwing a meat bun to a dog, with no hope for the others to get it.

These two modes were the reasons the Lakers were able to keep the games close, but the question was, when would their championship-winning Triangle Offense make an appearance?

Someone longed for it.

After the Bucks smoothly finished an attack under the basket using the open space, the Lakers' response was laughable.

Once again, Kobe and Shaquille O'Neal were on the strong side.

But this time, Kobe asked O'Neal to set a screen and roll.

Of course, Shaq refused.

So, Rick Fox ended up setting the screen for Kobe, and Yu Fei switched defense accordingly. Kobe dribbled to the baseline, closely guarded by Yu Fei, reaching the low post with O'Neal right beside him.

Kobe forced the shot without shaking off Yu Fei, even though Shaquille O'Neal was open for a pass, but Kobe didn't even glance at the big man.

Without breaking the defense or having the necessary height, Kobe's forced shot was blocked by Yu Fei straight out of bounds.

"This is my life!" shouted Shaquille O'Neal furiously. "This is my fucking life! I'm playing with a selfish asshole!"

At this moment, as a die-hard Kobe fan, Yu Fei felt it was his duty to step in and defend justice.

"The son of a bitch who still dares to complain first after blocking the way under the basket when his teammate is driving?" Yu Fei looked at Kobe sympathetically. "Dude, what kind of life do you actually live?"

Yu Fei swore by O'Neal's self-discipline that he didn't say this out of revenge, definitely not...

"You ringless rookie have no right to comment on my game!" Shaquille O'Neal countered Yu Fei with the might of his rings.

Well said, but without that selfish asshole by your side, how would you have won those three rings?

Yu Fei kept that to himself because the game had to go on.

Kobe didn't get involved in their argument, but Yu Fei's well-meaning defense left a good impression on him regarding the sophomore player with a bad reputation.

He remembered how Yu Fei dared to criticize Shaquille O'Neal at the ABCD Camp before even entering the League.

He had thought that Yu Fei would tone it down after joining the League, but instead, he became more unrestrained, an example to follow, wasn't he?

Every high school basketball player should learn from Yu Fei!

The Lakers inbounded the ball.

Then, Fisher chose to keep the ball in his own hands and shot a three-pointer before the shot clock expired.

He made it.

This big-hearted player always hit the crucial shots when the team needed him most.

Then, Latrell Sprewell suddenly took charge on the perimeter, using a screen to shake off Kobe, and shot a three-pointer from the open spot, also hitting it.

But the more interesting event happened afterward.

For once, O'Neal set a screen for Kobe and rolled, and Kobe actually passed the ball. However, the pass was intercepted by Sprewell.

What should have been a smooth pick-and-roll play turned into a defensive counterattack and score for the Bucks.

Feeling he and O'Neal had absolutely no chemistry, Kobe did not try passing to O'Neal again, choosing instead to take a pull-up three-pointer from the backcourt, which missed.

Yu Fei grabbed the long rebound, rushed to the frontcourt, and dunked for the score.

21-12

The gap widened to 9 points, and Phil Jackson finally ran out of patience, calling that damned timeout fans had been longing for whenever Kobe went off the rails.

After the timeout, Jackson did what was expected of his stature.

Kobe had always seen him as O'Neal's guy.

And indeed, Jackson substituted other players for Kobe, ensuring O'Neal could receive the ball at any time.

On the Bucks side, Karl was in high spirits because the Lakers looked as fragile as expected.

Shaq was back, but so what? He now completely lacked defense and did not show the dominance he had during the three-peat, plus the discord with Kobe only added to the Lakers' perceived chances of a major four-peat at the start of the season.

Karl substituted Devean George and Anthony Mason for Yu Fei and Ratner.

Being subbed out was the same for both, but while Jackson subbed out Kobe to make the team better, Karl subbed out Fei to rest his best player.

Fei had no objections.

Because even without him, the Lakers found it hard to close the gap.

Shaquille O'Neal's condition looked pretty average.

Now, Fei finally understood why OK couldn't keep winning until they decided they no longer wanted to—it turned out they didn't want to win anymore, although many people thought this mindset shouldn't kick in until at least 2005.

However, given how out of sync the two were, wasn't it remarkable that they managed to win three championships together? Nine years later, when the Big Three of the '03 draft class joined forces in Miami, they also thought they could win countless championships, but their first attempt ended in Waterloo because someone didn't want to win, and they only stumbled to two championships thereafter.

They clearly could have done it, so why didn't they in the end?

There were many things here worthy of Fei's reflection.

But before Fei could delve into such profound thoughts, the Bucks began to make mistake after mistake due to some people's excessive self-awareness.

When Fei was on the court, Ray Allen had a good time; he just needed to run, defend, and shoot three-pointers, and the team started to lead. He felt his leadership was easy because all the dirty, tiring, and brainy meticulous tasks were taken care of by Fei.

Once the burden-bearing student Fei left the court, Rey-ray's peaceful days came to an end.

Anthony Mason entered the game with strong dissatisfaction.

Before the start of the match, Karl replaced him in the starting lineup with Ratner without any notice.

This made Mason feel a strong sense of crisis; in his eyes, Ratner was Fei's lackey. Moreover, Ratner could do something for Fei that he couldn't—shoot threes.

Maybe having Ratner start was Fei's idea?

Mason couldn't help but think this way because it was clear that Fei didn't like him.

If Fei wanted his man to start, Mason would have strongly objected, but he wouldn't have held it against Fei—after all, everyone looks out for themselves.

But Karl's move to replace him without any warning made him extremely angry.

It made Mason feel offended and disrespected.

To fill the void in his heart and make himself feel valued, Mason would do things that only privileged players would do.

For instance, he would hog the ball like a black hole.

Dribbling from the backcourt to the frontcourt himself without passing to the guards after getting a defensive rebound.

Ignoring Karl's tactics, his teammates' existence was solely to create opportunities for his one-on-one plays.

Because Mason wouldn't pass the ball, Sprewell directly started cursing him out.

Devean George was a man of no temper; he dared not accuse Mason.

Ray Allen didn't want to lose his temper, but after Mason missed him in the open several times, he remembered he was the older brother.

"Anthony, if I get an open shot, you must pass the ball to me!" Ray Allen said righteously and loudly.

As if Mason was someone who could be reasoned with.

In the end, Mason's earsplitting "Shut your mouth, pansy!" silenced Ray Allen.

The Lakers weren't playing well during this period, but sometimes the ability to close the gap doesn't depend on one's own performance; if the opposition plays worse than you, you can still close the gap even if you're also playing poorly.

When the Lakers narrowed the lead to 3 points in four minutes, Phil Jackson took the opportunity to say in front of Kobe, "When you play the right way, you can achieve twice the result with half the effort."

The first quarter ended.

Karl's reflection on the last few minutes of the first quarter was "some people didn't play well"—even though he didn't directly name Mason, everyone knew who he was referring to.

Mason snorted and turned his head away.

Then, Karl decided to start Fei in the second quarter.

Fei stood up, straightened his clothes, listened to Karl's instructions, and looked over at Mason.

He made Mason feel uncomfortable.

"Frye, what are you looking at?" Mason asked, "Is there something on my face?"

Fei replied indifferently, "No, there's nothing on your face."

Just like your performance in the first quarter.

Not a single commendable play.

"Looking at your face just reminds me of your performance just now," Fei lightly tapped his foot on the floor, "If you continue to perform this way, one thing is certain."

"Milwaukee won't have a place for you."

This wasn't a threat; it was a fact.

Fei's tone held no emotion, like a decision-maker announcing the future direction of the company.

Then, he went onto the court, leaving behind a Mason whose color changed and a Karl who wanted to speak but hesitated.

Ray Allen, resting off the court, was filled with turmoil. Fei had just done something he would never dare to do.

Is this what someone who fancies themselves as second in command should do?

Would Scottie Pippen do such a thing?

The answer was quite clear.

Ray Allen knew everything; he just didn't want to face it.

PS: Since there was a new champion rewarding me last night, I still owe two chapters. I'll add them after a few days. As I said before, I can't add a few hundred chapters at once, but can't I add two...