The longest river

Chapter 213 Kobe didn't believe the long night was coming (Happy National Day)

After the timeout, the Suns substituted Jim Jackson for Robinson, and the Trail Blazers substituted Volvo Williams for Pippen.

Jackson immediately used a screen to shake off Williams and then hit a mid-range shot after receiving a pass from Kidd to break the Suns' scoring drought.

After making the shot, Jackson looked at Skiles on the sidelines, his eyes full of dissatisfaction.

He thought the Suns traded him to replace the injured Gugliotta in the starting lineup.

Since Robinson has always played power forward with the physique of a power forward, Gugliotta's injury is a good opportunity for Robinson to return to the power forward position.

Moreover, although he has been on a nomadic journey since leaving the Mavericks, he has always been a starter.

When he joined the Suns, Skiles surprisingly promoted the rookie Marion to the starting lineup, which made Jackson very unhappy.

Skiles pretended not to see Jackson, so Jackson could only vent his emotions on the court.

No matter how many points you get, it won't change the fact that you're a liar!

After seeing Yang Shuai receive the ball, Jackson angrily spoke up.

Yang Shuai heard the voice and after careful observation, he realized that it was Jackson.

When did this guy join the Suns? And why does he have an afro?
"Jim? You're doing better too, you've even made it to the bench."

Yang Shuai smiled and reminisced with Jackson.

Jackson instantly turned red.

Yang Shuai's words not only hit the nail on the head, but also exposed the deepest scar in his heart.

Yang Shuai was once just a high school student he looked down on, but now he has become someone Yang Shuai looks up to. The huge gap between them drives him crazy.

He grabbed Yang Shuai with both hands and pressed him hard.

Faced with Jackson's almost irrational defensive style, Yang Shuai dribbled behind his back to create distance, then changed direction and quickly dribbled with a low center of gravity.

Jackson tried desperately to steal the ball from Yang Shuai, but he couldn't hold on to it. Instead, Yang Shuai swayed him from side to side, causing Jackson to lose his balance.

Back then, Yang Shuai needed to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of both players; now, he can manipulate them at will.

Finally, Yang Shuai's sudden sharp change of direction caused Jackson to completely lose his balance, and the latter knelt down in front of him with his hands on the ground.

By the time Jackson stood up, Yang Shuai had already broken into the paint and executed a showy back-to-the-basket one-handed reverse dunk.

Earlier, the Suns' defense targeted Pippen's perimeter shooting, and Carlisle immediately brought in a stretch player. Marion's help defense was incomplete, which was equivalent to no help defense at all.

After scoring, Yang Shuai turned around and gave Skiles a thumbs up on the sidelines.

That was a brilliant substitution.

The Rose Garden Arena erupted in cheers once again.

No matter how the Suns double-teamed or rotated their defense, it didn't work. Tonight, Yang Shuai single-handedly handled the team's positional offense!
This success boosted the team's morale, allowing the Trail Blazers to launch successful counter-attacks in half-court defense.

The Suns suddenly found themselves unable to score on offense or defend, watching helplessly as the score gap widened little by little.

"Rick Carlisle is a true tactical mastermind."

After watching most of the game, commentator Hubie Brown gave Carlisle extremely high praise.

The Trail Blazers figured out a "championship model" of play last season, which led them to the championship and the best record in the league this season.

But that tactic was clearly not invincible, or rather, some problems can be seen from the season's statistics.

With Pippen and Sabonis' offensive influence declining, and Wallace and Billups not yet fully developed, the Trail Blazers are clearly more reliant on Young this season than last season.

This wasn't very noticeable in the regular season, but in the playoffs, Yang Shuai would need to exert himself earlier, which naturally led to him not having enough stamina to finish the game in the final quarter.

Moreover, this kind of problem is actually unsolvable, and Carlisle can't do anything about it either, since he can't change the state of the other players.

So Carlisle changed his approach, using a combination of positional play and counter-attacking, while also getting other players involved more in fast breaks.

This indirectly reduces the frequency of positional warfare while also allowing for the mobilization of other personnel.

Therefore, Hubie Brown's assessment is by no means an exaggeration.

Carlisle is a true tactical mastermind, and his consecutive Coach of the Year awards are well-deserved.

Skiles, unwilling to give up, sent Marion to mismatch guard Yang Shuai, but the result was that Yang Shuai hit consecutive three-pointers.

After a series of successful attacks, Yang Shuai's overall form has improved.

Yang Shuai's scoring continued to boost the team's morale, and the Trail Blazers' fast breaks became more and more frequent.

Of course, the fans at the scene were getting more and more excited as they watched.

Didn't the Suns use this tactic to beat us in the last game? The Trail Blazers immediately returned the favor in the same way!
Just when both sides started their rotations and Skiles thought he could finally breathe a sigh of relief, Barkley came on.

After the loss in the previous game, Barkley showed no mercy to his former team.

At the end of the third quarter, the Trail Blazers had a lead of 25+ points over the Suns, and the outcome was no longer in doubt.

However, the Suns are not the Lakers, and the Trail Blazers don't have that much animosity towards them, so in the end they only won by 38 points, 115-77.

"The Trail Blazers took a nap, and the Suns woke them up."

The media described the match as such afterward.

The final result of the series also proved this statement.

The Trail Blazers used the same method to win four straight games, completing a gentleman's sweep of the Suns 4-1.

In Game 4, a low-probability event occurred, with Kidd hitting four three-pointers, bringing his total to 32 points, a new career high in the playoffs.

However, the Trail Blazers still won the final victory.

Because when Yang Shuai has plenty of energy in the final quarter, unless someone can score against him, it will be difficult to defeat the Trail Blazers.

The day after the Trail Blazers defeated the Suns, the league announced the winner of the season's most important award, the MVP.

Yang Shuai won the MVP award for the second consecutive year, defeating O'Neal (28%) with 35% of the vote.

With the league's best record and the scoring champion's performance, this result was largely expected.

The day after the results were announced, the Trail Blazers players once again celebrated with a champagne bath in the locker room.

This time, Yang Shuai got soaked again, using the leftover champagne he had bought last time.

After the celebration ended, Yang Shuai took a shower and came out to find his teammates already talking about the Western Conference Finals.

Just last night, the Lakers and Jazz game ended, with the Lakers sweeping the Jazz 4-1.

The two Western Conference teams with 65+ wins have finally met in the Western Conference Finals.

"Los Angeles media have objections to the MVP selection results. They say that if the Lakers had won two more games, the MVP should have been Shaq."

As soon as Yang Shuai sat down, Lu, who was well-informed, told him some firsthand news.

"After T-Mac retires, he can work for the media in Los Angeles."

Yang Shuai's answer made Lu burst out laughing.

These two are black.

However, if Barkley hadn't been injured this season, the Trail Blazers would still have had a chance to reach 70+ wins.

"Actually, it should be three games. We still have a winning advantage in the remaining two games."

Lu knew what humor was, and his next words successfully made Yang Shuai laugh.

But jokes aside, the Lakers are their strongest opponent on their road to defending their title, and also the toughest hurdle they will have to overcome.

On the same night the Western Conference Finals began, the Eastern Conference Semifinals had already concluded.

The challenges posed by two new-era players, Iverson and Carter, both ended in failure, with the Pacers and Wizards eliminating their opponents 4-2 each, setting up a second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals meeting.

On the night of the match, the Rose Garden Arena was packed, and the fans' enthusiasm was significantly higher than in the previous two rounds.

In terms of commentary, Walton has also joined the commentary team.

This game also had the highest viewership since the start of the playoffs.

In terms of the competition format, only the finals can determine the ultimate champion.

However, as the only two teams with 65+ wins and the only two teams with 60+ wins in the season, their matchup is the clash between the strongest teams of the season and the most watched matchup.

Just like the Eastern Conference Finals between the Bulls and the Pacers back then.

Amid cheers from the fans, the match quickly began.

The Lakers' playing style was no different from the regular season, starting by attacking O'Neal's low-post offense.

The only difference might be that in the triangle formation, it was Kobe who fed the ball to Shaq.

Compared to Harper, Kobe could directly receive the ball and initiate the attack, which would reduce the probability of O'Neal being double-teamed.

With Glen Rice positioned in the corner, the Lakers' triangle offense creates a lot of space.

O'Neal also went into full-on attack mode right from the start of the game.

Less than half a quarter into the game, Sabonis had to leave the court after committing his second personal foul while defending him.

Then Cato, who immediately replaced him, committed two fouls in just one minute.

"Shaq's dominance in the low post this season is extremely rare in history."

Ernie Johnson, who was in the commentary booth, remarked after seeing this scene.

"Especially tonight."

Kenny Smith added from the side.

This made Walton, who was standing nearby, laugh.

This may be the closest O'Neal has ever come to winning MVP in his career.

Although most people knew in their hearts that Yang Shuai would be the MVP after the regular season ended.

But O'Neal, like Malone back then, harbored a sliver of hope.

After all, Yang Shuai has already won the MVP award, and there is a certain chance that the league will eventually give this honor to him.

But things didn't go as planned, which angered him but also fueled his deep-seated desire for victory.

After all, what's done is done. The only thing he can do now is to put all his effort into eliminating the Trail Blazers and proving that the result was wrong, and that he, O'Neal, is a more deserving MVP candidate than Yang Shuai.

With O'Neal's strong performance, the Lakers led 32-24 at the end of the first quarter.

O'Neal scored 16 points in a single quarter, making 5 of 8 free throws, displaying incredible prowess.

During the timeout between the first and second quarters, Carlisle frowned.

He wasn't too surprised by O'Neal's performance, after all, in terms of this season's performance alone, O'Neal is the second best after Young, even better than Jordan.

What he didn't expect was the team's current foul crisis in the paint.

Despite Sabonis's decline in performance this season due to his age, he remains one of the few players in the league who can directly challenge Shaquille O'Neal this season.

Just look at Cato; when he went up there, he could basically only stop O'Neal by fouling him.

This foul crisis also has another side effect: the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy becomes less effective.

As for double-teaming, he had already tried it in the second half of the first quarter. The Lakers' other offensive players also performed well tonight, otherwise the Lakers would not have been able to score 30+ points in a single quarter.

So the situation facing the Trail Blazers now is similar to that of Game 1 against the Suns, and perhaps giving up tonight's game is the wise choice.

However, both Carlisle and Yang Shuai are the kind of people who won't give up until the very last moment.

Carlisle's subsequent strategy was to let O'Neal go one-on-one and then shut down the rest of the Lakers.

"Rick, why does this tactic look so familiar?"

Yang Shuai walked over to Carlisle and touched his nose.

How could this not be familiar? Back when the Jazz played the Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs, Sloan defended Yang Shuai in the same way, allowing Yang Shuai to score 61 points.

“Shaq doesn’t have your kind of determination.”

Carlisle, however, was not worried. "Letting O'Neal play one-on-one" and "letting O'Neal score" are two different things.

The core idea here is the same as Yang Shuai's defense against Jordan and Sloan's strategy against Yang Shuai; both are about attrition tactics.

While O'Neal is unstoppable in the low post this season, he also expends a lot of energy.

Of course, the most important thing was his determination.

Yang Shuai scored 61 points and was so focused on drinking glucose water that he almost had to go to the hospital for an IV drip. Shaquille O'Neal obviously couldn't do that.

As it turns out, Carlyle... had a very accurate eye for people.

The Trail Blazers used Sabonis, Cato, Barkley, and even Wallace in rotation to wear down O'Neal.

By the fourth quarter, although Sabonis had fouled out, O'Neal's stamina was clearly waning.

Then, unable to create space in the low post, he became a liability on the court, and his defense remained a target for the Trail Blazers.

At this moment, O'Neal kept looking at Kobe, because he needed Kobe to step up and take over the game.

Kobe clearly thought the same thing, and he was relentlessly dribbling the ball and attacking one-on-one.

He just couldn't break through Yang Shuai's defense and could only score bits and pieces through pick-and-rolls.

However, on the other hand, it would be difficult for Kobe to defend Yang Shuai.

Yang Shuai's current ability is similar to that of a young Jordan; simply limiting his breakthroughs is very difficult.

Eating, sleeping, and beating up Ah Dou—Yang Shuai is the mountain that Kobe couldn't overcome, and at this moment, that mountain has become a reality.

Ultimately, despite O'Neal's 46 points, Yang Shuai also scored 41 points, and the Trail Blazers still defeated the Lakers 114-106 to win their first game of the series.

If you miss a shot, will you keep shooting?

At the post-game press conference, some fans questioned Kobe's performance tonight. Kobe shot 6-for-19, missing 13 of his attempts.

"I'd rather go 0 for 20 than 0 for 9."

Kobe's answer was very straightforward.

For most players, if they realize they're not shooting well, they'll switch to playing defense or making cuts to the basket.

But Kobe was one of the few exceptions; his obsession fostered a kind of confidence that would keep him shooting when the team needed him.

Kobe's comments sparked huge controversy after the game.

Most fans felt that Kobe was just making excuses for his selfishness, because Shaq had done everything he could in Game 1, but Kobe clearly dragged Shaq down.

Of course, some fans felt that Kobe's words were not wrong. In fact, Shaq was one of the few who did not show any dissatisfaction because of Kobe's comments.

After all, what hurts the team more than missing a shot is not daring to take a shot at all.

Imagine that scene: O'Neal is already out of energy, but Kobe is still gesturing for O'Neal to get into position and then shoving the ball into his arms. O'Neal would probably really want to curse.

In essence, it wasn't a question of whether Kobe dared to take the shot, but rather because the opponent was Yang Shuai.

If you don't believe me, ask the Portland fans back then how they felt when Drexler was matched up against Jordan in the Finals. It's the same feeling Kobe had when he was matched up against Young.

But fortunes change, and this time it's Portland's turn to experience what it's like to have Jordan.

The Trail Blazers won their opening game, but in Game 2, Carlisle made adjustments to the tactics.

In the previous game, he used the "anti-Jordan rule" against O'Neal, just like Sloan, but in this game he directly used the "Jordan rule".

He ignored the Lakers' triangle offense and forced O'Neal to pass the ball by double-teaming him relentlessly.

The rest of the Lakers got more shot attempts and made a lot of baskets, but they couldn't take an early lead like they did in Game 1.

Of course, Phil Jackson didn't sit idly by. After seeing Carlisle play like that, he also applied the Jordan Rules to Yang Shuai.

As the game progressed, it turned into a matchup between the rest of the Lakers (except O'Neal) and the rest of the Trail Blazers (except Yang Shuai).

Originally, the Lakers had an advantage with Kobe, but Yang Shuai was still an obstacle Kobe couldn't overcome.

Moreover, Kobe's shooting touch was off tonight; he missed all eight of his shots in the first half.

Although it didn't reach the nine times Kobe himself said, it wasn't much different.

At halftime, the Trail Blazers led the Lakers 43-35.

Without a dominant offensive force, the first half was a chaotic affair, with Portland's basket nearly tilted by the impact.

In the second half, Carlisle adjusted the game strategy. Instead of having Yang Shuai continue to defend Kobe, he used more pick-and-roll plays on the offensive end to create off-ball shooting opportunities for Yang Shuai.

That revived the Trail Blazers' offense.

However, it was at this moment that Kobe, no longer constrained by Yang Shuai, finally had room to perform.

He made 6 of 9 field goals in the quarter, plus 4 free throws, scoring 16 points in the quarter.

"Without Hansen, I don't think anyone in the West could stop Kobe from playing."

This performance also prompted Ernie Johnson to express his admiration.

From the perspective of Lakers fans, for Kobe, meeting Yang Shuai was truly a case of "why did fate create both Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang?"

He was like Yang Shuai's shadow, always following closely behind, but never able to catch up.

Kobe's outstanding performance kept the Lakers close at the end of the third quarter.

However, in the fourth quarter, Yang Shuai scored 21 points in the quarter, ending the suspense of the game.

In the third quarter, despite implementing numerous tactics, Yang Shuai only managed to score 8 points, half of Kobe's total.

Because when your opponents double-team you at all costs, you need to have a chance to score first.

However, Carlisle's real goal was not to see Yang Shuai score a certain number of points in the third quarter, but to help Yang Shuai find his rhythm in the game.

Even with Yang Shuai, you can't expect him to suddenly step up and win the game in the final quarter after not performing well in the first three quarters.

As it turns out, Carlisle's series of strategic responses made his title as Coach of the Year, surpassing Phil Jackson, well-deserved.

The Trail Blazers successfully defended their home court for two games, taking a 2-0 lead in the series.

The Lakers are clearly stronger and are performing better than last season, having gone to the decisive moments in both of their games against the Trail Blazers.

But the problem they face now is the same as last season: if they can't defend their home court, they will be swept by the Trail Blazers again.

If they manage to win 65 games and still get swept, that would be comparable to a 73-win runner-up.

Just then, the Orlando Sentinel, always eager for drama, launched a poll in its newspaper investigating whether Shaquille O'Neal's team could win a championship.

What kind of tradition is this from the revolutionary old area? It's like being so happy to see you not doing well – it's like being from the perspective of an ex-boyfriend/girlfriend.

However, this survey has indeed sparked a lot of discussion.

Shaquille O'Neal is very strong, especially this season he's been excessively strong, but it's a fact that O'Neal has been swept 5 times, and it's also a fact that the Lakers are currently down 0-2.

Faced with so many facts, simply explaining it as "bad luck" is clearly insufficient.

Moreover, the Lakers' 65 wins this season already demonstrate that their roster is excellent.

Even if you remove Yang Shuai and O'Neal, the Lakers are still stronger than the Trail Blazers.

Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that the cost of winning a championship for O'Neal was too high.

Right now, O'Neal gives the impression of being only slightly better than teams that "can win championships without you."

Of course, it's also true that the Lakers could have won the championship this season without Yang Shuai.

But who can blame O'Neal for being so foul-mouthed? If he hadn't made those remarks and Yang Shuai hadn't objected to being his teammate, the Lakers might now be a duo of Yang Shuai and O'Neal.

In fact, it wasn't just Orlando who was eager to stir up trouble; Los Angeles media also reported that if the Lakers fail to win the championship this season, O'Neal will most likely be fired.

Why not Kobe?
Because Kobe was only 22 years old, he didn't have the obvious weaknesses of Shaq, and he was heavily supported by Jerry West.

And most importantly, with Yang Shuai as a successful example, the Lakers will not give up on him.

Moreover, from a trade strategy perspective, players acquired in exchange for Kobe Bryant would certainly be inferior to Kobe, inevitably leading to a decline in the team's strength. However, if the trade for Shaquille O'Neal is executed well, it could potentially improve the team's strength.

With the team in a bad situation and various rumors circulating, the Lakers are clearly having a tough time these past few days.

During the team's open day practice, the Lakers players seemed somewhat distracted.

After practice, O'Neal refused to be interviewed by reporters and went straight back to the locker room.

Kobe, on the other hand, not only gave an interview to reporters, but also seemed to be in very good spirits.

Kobe spent most of this season separated from the rest of the team. For example, when riding the team bus, he would sit at the back, put on his headphones, and rest by himself, as if he were living in his own world.

But living in your own world isn't necessarily all bad, like right now.

"We need to forget about the last two games, and what we need to do next is defend our home court."

Kobe spoke casually, but the reporters didn't take it seriously.

Even if there are some home-court advantage when they return to Los Angeles, it won't be enough to help the Lakers beat the Trail Blazers.

“I haven’t paid attention to those things, but we will eventually succeed, I promise.”

When reporters mentioned the rumors circulating outside, Kobe seemed completely unconcerned.

While his attitude is puzzling, it has to be said that it has given Lakers fans some hope.

The following day, Game 3 between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers kicked off at the team's new arena, Staples Center.

The Trail Blazers continued their defensive strategy from the previous game, double-teaming O'Neal relentlessly.

O'Neal was clearly out of sorts tonight, only taking 5 shots in the entire first half.

Even when double-teamed, a superstar shouldn't be taking this many shots.

He gave the impression that he had given up. After trying his best but still failing to beat the Trail Blazers, he just wanted to finish the series as soon as possible and be traded.

Or perhaps he was afraid; after facing another possible sweep, he had lost his courage.

However, Kobe did not give up.

After realizing he had home-court advantage back in Los Angeles, he cleverly and frequently attacked the basket.

He made 10 free throws in the first half and scored 20 points.

Under his leadership, the Lakers trailed the Trail Blazers by only 39-42 at halftime.

Kobe's performance reminded Ernie Johnson in the commentary booth of Yang Shuai's fearless performance against the Jazz years ago.

In the third quarter, Yang Shuai once again stepped up his game, scoring repeatedly despite Kobe's defense.

And just like when they played the Suns, those were some not-so-smart but still-effective "dumb points" that boosted the team's morale.

Led by Yang Shuai, the Trail Blazers led the Lakers by as many as 13 points, 71-58, at the end of the third quarter.

Such a score difference left the fans in the stadium filled with despair, as they seemed unable to avoid being swept.

"This is the final chapter of the 'OK combination'."

When Barkley scored a basket at the start of the fourth quarter, extending the lead to 15 points, Kenny Smith exclaimed in amazement.

But right after he said that, the situation on the field changed dramatically.

After a quiet quarter, Kobe Bryant erupted again, driving to the basket and scoring from both inside and outside to lead his team to narrow the gap to single digits.

When the starters returned, the Lakers surprisingly didn't run the triangle offense. Instead, at Kobe's instruction, he and O'Neal started running pick-and-rolls.

Shaquille O'Neal despised pick-and-rolls because, in his eyes, pick-and-roll tactics were essentially just playing second fiddle to the guards. Not only did they consume energy, but you also had to rely entirely on the guards' reactions. It was nothing like receiving the ball in the low post and scoring one-on-one.

With the ball in his hands, he has complete control over whether to shoot or pass.

But it's clear that after the defeat in Game 1, and realizing that Carlisle wouldn't give him those easy low-post isolation opportunities in the rest of the series, his thinking changed.

O'Neal's thick skin ultimately didn't reach the point where, when the team was down by a large margin, he would go on a stat-padding spree in the final quarter to create the impression that "the team lost, but I didn't."

Even if he had previously disliked Kobe, at this moment he could only choose to believe in Kobe's outstanding performance tonight.

This "OK pick and roll" left Carlisle without a clear countermeasure.

Although O'Neal lacked shooting range, he was agile enough. He wasn't the type who had to go to the basket to dunk; he was a nimble big man who could put the ball in the basket as long as he received it in the three-second zone.

And unlike the selfish guy at the beginning of the season who only thought about scoring, Kobe can now really pass the ball.

Of course, the most important factor is O'Neal's size. His massive size in pick-and-roll situations makes it difficult for even Yang Shuai to get around him using his puppy-dog footwork.

When Kobe is in excellent form, he can take the shot directly by taking advantage of the time difference after a pick-and-roll.

The score is closing in little by little.

Seeing this, Carlisle didn't let Yang Shuai continue guarding Kobe, but instead let him take over the team's offense.

The competition then moved on to the segment where Yang Shuai would face off against the "OK combination".

With one minute remaining in the game, Yang Shuai's difficult layup helped the Trail Blazers maintain a two-point lead.

But then, Horry received a pass from O'Neal and hit a crucial three-pointer from the corner to take the lead.

The Lakers began to triple-team Yang Shuai, and Pippen's weak-side cut to receive the ball was blocked by Kobe's desperate chase-down block, causing the ball to miss the basket.

In the very next possession, Kobe and Shaq executed a pick-and-roll once again.

Kobe dribbled past Pippen, who was guarding him, forcing Sabonis to help defend.

Just then, Kobe saw O'Neal cutting down the court and then tossed the ball into the air.

O'Neal was lifted into the air by the ball, then caught Kobe's pass in mid-air and completed an alley-oop dunk.

At that moment, Staples Center erupted in cheers.

It felt like a drowning person finally grasping at a straw.

O'Neal excitedly ran up to Kobe to celebrate.

Without a doubt, Kobe was the savior of himself and the Lakers tonight.

However, the match is not over yet.

The Trail Blazers still have a chance to tie the game with one last possession.

This is difficult, especially given the Lakers' game strategy tonight.

But for the Trail Blazers, who have Yang Shuai, nothing is impossible.

After the timeout, the entire stadium held its breath.

Yang Shuai received the ball one meter from the three-point line, and three Lakers players rushed towards him at the same time.

During last year's Finals, Yang Shuai assisted Billups to hit the game-winning three-pointer, which fans called the "legend of the century".

But this time he didn't choose to pass the ball; instead, he rushed to shoot a long-range three-pointer before the defense arrived.

The basketball spun through a high arc before flying straight toward the basket.

Even when double-teamed by multiple players, and facing a long-range three-pointer, the shot was still perfectly straight.

The basketball went into the pocket, but then bounced out again.

Luck was on the Lakers' side this time.

When O'Neal grabbed the basketball and the final buzzer sounded, Staples Center was filled with the emotions of Los Angeles fans.

They successfully defended their first home game with a score of 89 to 86!
"For the Lakers, whether it's trading Kobe or Shaq, it could very well plunge them into a dark period, a long night, but Kobe doesn't believe the long night is coming."

Perhaps due to his previous experience as a commentator alongside Walton, Kenny Smith delivered a commentary that was very characteristic of Walton's style.

(End of this chapter)