The longest river

Chapter 238 The Modern Drexler?
Prince's arrival disrupted Phil Jackson's game plan, forcing the latter to prematurely deploy a two-man show featuring Kobe and Jermaine O'Neal.

For most rookies, high pick-and-rolls are always a headache.

However, Prince responded surprisingly well, and Kobe quickly realized that Prince's approach was the same as his own.

It's obvious they were taught by the same mentor, who is currently observing the defense with one hand on the three-point line.

Prince's dynamic talent is average, and with a clear understanding of himself, he doesn't have the same ambition as Billups. This has allowed him to maintain an apprentice's mindset after entering the NBA, absorbing everything he can learn from his surroundings.

His label when he entered the NBA was "defense," so he would naturally learn from defensive master Yang Shuai. Yang Shuai was willing to share his "puppy footwork" with Kobe back then, and of course he didn't hold back with his teammates who were eager to improve.

And now, that sharing has paid off.

Although it was unrealistic for Prince, as a rookie, to completely shut down Kobe, he did achieve the same effect as he did at the start of the third quarter, causing Kobe's efficiency to drop.

However, for the Lakers, Artest can't do what Prince can.

It's not that Artest's defense is worse than Prince's, but rather that Yang Shuai is in a class of his own this season, and you can't limit him with one-on-one defense.

You may have heard of the "Kobe stopper," but have you ever heard of the "Jordan stopper"?
No, you don't. The only ones you've heard of are "bragging defenders" like Scott.

With one side gaining and the other losing, the outcome of the match is already decided.

Yang Shuai scored 55 points, while Kobe only managed 41.

The Trail Blazers ultimately defeated the Lakers 108-96 to win the final victory.

"Hansen did everything he could and led us to final victory."

At the post-match press conference, Carlisle gave Yang Shuai the highest praise for his performance.

The reporters thought he was referring to Yang Shuai's performance on the field, but Carlisle wanted to express much more than that.

Two days later, Game 2 between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers continued at the Rose Garden Arena.

During the pre-game warm-up, the cameras captured Kobe's eyes being red.

This sparked a heated discussion between commentators Barkley and Kenny Smith.

After Game 1, the media launched a barrage of criticism against Kobe.

Losing to Yang Shuai is nothing to be ashamed of, but losing because of being limited by a rookie is anything but shameful.

It's no exaggeration to say that Prince was previously an unknown player in the NBA, but with this game, or more accurately, his performance in the first half, he made a name for himself.

One can imagine the immense psychological pressure Kobe has been under these past two days.

After the pre-match warm-up, the starting lineups for both sides were announced.

Carlisle seized the opportunity and immediately put Prince into the starting lineup.

Prince received a huge cheer from the Portland fans when he came on stage; they adored this young player who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

However, once the game started, Kobe gave everyone in the arena a surprise.

He drew two fouls on Prince just three minutes into the game!
Because of his outstanding skills and talent, many people did not notice that Kobe was also very good at drawing fouls, and he attempted more than 8500 free throws throughout his career.

Of course, his method of drawing fouls is different from Harden and Alexander's flopping style. He uses the defender's defensive habits to create physical contact.

Although Prince has considerable experience, he is still just a rookie.

What he didn't know was that although Kobe praised his defense in the post-Game 1 press conference, Kobe had spent the past two days studying the game footage frame by frame countless times, even staying up all night, and had gained a thorough understanding of his defensive habits.

Prince had to be substituted to rest, while Kobe returned to scoring mode—no, an even more frenzied, bloodthirsty mode than in the first game.

The overwhelming doubts from the outside world would be a devastating blow to most players, but for Kobe, it was an unprecedented source of motivation.

Before the game, Phil Jackson also unlocked Kobe's potential, giving him only one piece of advice: Be yourself.

(Westbrook: I am the successor of the Mamba)

Moreover, on the defensive end, he also applied the Jordan Rule to Yang Shuai.

Although that approach could not completely limit Yang Shuai's performance, he did not aim to stop Yang Shuai, but only to reduce Yang Shuai's shots.

The attitude was that they could be defeated by the rest of the Trail Blazers, but they didn't want to let Yang Shuai score easily anymore.

It turns out that Phil Jackson's ability to win so many championships was not solely due to his psychological tactics; he also had a solid tactical foundation.

Yang Shuai's consistently high-energy performance this season has inevitably led his teammates to rely on him. This wasn't obvious in previous matches, but in high-intensity games like this, their performance has clearly become less consistent than before.

In the end, Kobe scored a career-high 50 points in the playoffs, while Yang Shuai, despite dishing out 8 assists, was limited to only 38 points. The Lakers ultimately defeated the Trail Blazers 98-94, tying the series 1-1.

After the game, Kobe Bryant yanked his jersey at the fans from midfield and roared at them, a scene that deeply moved the Portland fans in attendance.

Kobe's strength is obviously inferior to Yang Shuai's, but he proved his strength as "second only to one" in this game. His obsession and his almost abnormal competitiveness make him the only person in the league who has the potential to challenge Yang Shuai.

During the post-game handshake, Yang Shuai reached out and hugged Kobe while shaking hands with him. He said words of encouragement to Kobe, but his eyes burned with a stronger desire than before.

The Trail Blazers had hoped to get into form by playing the Jazz, but the Jazz were no match for them. Now, Kobe and his Lakers have succeeded.

After Game 2, the media's tone shifted dramatically, with the doubts about Kobe instantly turning into praise, and the title of defending champion being brought up again.

If Kobe can lead the Lakers to defeat Young this season and defend their title, his achievement will be no less than that of the Pacers defeating Jordan's second championship.

Game 3 will be played in Los Angeles. After winning Game 2, the Lakers have taken home-court advantage from the Trail Blazers, putting them in a very favorable position.

However, in the pre-game interview, Kobe appeared very calm: "Our opponent is Hansen, and we all know what he can do."

No one knows Yang Shuai's true strength better than Kobe, who often went one-on-one with him.

Kobe's words were quickly proven true.

Logically, Yang Shuai, who "lost" the scoring duel in the previous game, would unleash even more ferocious offensive firepower in the next game to prove that he is a stronger scorer. However, the reality was quite the opposite. In Game 3, Yang Shuai's main task was to defend Kobe and facilitate the ball-handling and playmaking.

他用压制性的防守把上一场轰下50分的科比防的只得到19分，而他自己则是利用进攻端强大的牵制力，打出了29分11板12助攻的三双。

Under his leadership, the Trail Blazers defeated the Lakers 111-94, taking a 2-1 lead and regaining home-court advantage. This result also immediately brought to mind Game 2 of last year's Finals, where Yang Shuai famously said, "If I don't beat him, people will think he's on the same level as me."

This game also prompted the media to once again reflect on the fact that every generation has its own "Jordan." For Kobe, Yang Shuai was his era's "Jordan." Although Kobe was more skilled, he could only ultimately become his era's "Crexler."

The interesting thing is that when Yang Shuai went to play for the AAU, he called himself "Cleveland Glide" in front of Garnett and others. As a result, he not only went to the Trail Blazers, where Drexler played, and accomplished what Drexler never did, but now he has also met his "Drexler".

After losing Game 3, the Lakers cannot afford to lose Game 4.

However, the final result of Game 4 left Los Angeles fans feeling quite helpless.

Because the Trail Blazers defeated them again in the same way.

Yang Shuai continued to defend Kobe with all his might, and also continued to trust his teammates.

Bill Walton once told Yang Shuai something about teamwork, and he has been doing it ever since, and his teammates have gotten used to it.

That's something etched into their minds far more deeply than their reliance on Yang Shuai this season.

After losing two consecutive home games with a score of 3-1, the Lakers' previously favorable situation took an instant turn for the worse, and they were now on the verge of elimination.

Moreover, the next Game 5 is at the Trail Blazers' home court, which is a do-or-die situation for them.

In this do-or-die battle, the Lakers showed their courage.

Jermaine O'Neal, who hadn't performed particularly well before, exploded when Kobe continued to be contained by Yang Shuai. He scored 43 points on 16-of-28 shooting, helping the Lakers bring the game back to Los Angeles.

The Lakers have a chance to force a Game 7 at home.

At this point, the outside world's evaluation of this series has reached a new height, considering it to be the most exciting series in recent years, and the outside world's attention has also reached its peak.

"There is only one thing we need to think about now: defend our last home ground."

Before Game 6, Phil Jackson continued his psychological warfare tactics with public statements to reduce the pressure on his players.

G6 was the focus of much attention, and many celebrities were present at the Staples Center.

The Lakers made a proactive change in this game, with Phil Jackson replacing Ratliff with Kukoc and moving Jermaine O'Neal to the center position.

This is clearly a strategy of trading defense for offense.

Carlisle was not going to miss such a great opportunity, and the Trail Blazers frequently launched Wallace's low-post isolation plays after the game started.

Conversely, the Lakers fully demonstrated the spacing capabilities of this lineup, relentlessly employing pick-and-roll tactics involving Kobe and Jermaine O'Neal.

Both sides quickly entered into an offensive battle.

However, after halftime, with the Trail Blazers trailing the Lakers, Carlisle sensed something was wrong.

It wasn't until halftime, when he received the statistics for the first half, that he suddenly realized that Phil Jackson's substitution of Kukoc was a trap set for him.

Kukoc's defense is indeed very poor, but using Wallace to attack that point means that Yang Shuai has taken away both the ball possession and the right to shoot.

Even to achieve this goal, Jackson didn't assign Jermaine O'Neal to provide much help defense against Kukoc.

Moreover, Yang Shuai didn't attack much in the first half, so his performance in the second half is questionable.

Experience truly matters; Jackson used his game experience to outmaneuver Carlisle.

Before the start of the second half, Carlisle approached Yang Shuai.

That was my mistake.

Carlisle is prepared to return to Portland for a Game 7, because expecting Yang Shuai, who hasn't played much, to take over the game in the second half is too much to ask, especially considering that Phil Jackson's current strategy against Yang Shuai is the Jordan Rule.

However, Yang Shuai seemed quite relaxed after learning of Carlisle's plan. He patted his longtime head coach on the shoulder and spoke in an unusually calm tone:
"Richard, I won't let the game go to a Game 7."

Carlisle stood there, stunned.

Although he didn't know what Yang Shuai could do, Yang Shuai's words made him feel more at ease than ever before.

In Game 3, Carlisle put Reed back into the starting lineup in order to improve Yang Shuai's defensive performance.

However, after the second half, he put Prince back into the starting lineup.

This move sparked another heated debate between commentators Barkley and Kenny Smith, but fans are now unimpressed.

Kobe isn't just good at drawing fouls from Prince; after getting used to Prince's defensive style, Kobe isn't so afraid of his defense anymore.

However, after a few possessions in the second half, they quickly realized that what the Trail Blazers were trying to do was not what they had imagined.

Bringing in Prince wasn't to limit Kobe like in Game 1, but simply to free up Young on the defensive end so he could focus all his energy on offense.

As Carlisle predicted, the Lakers continued to apply the Jordan rule to Yang Shuai, but Yang Shuai chose to abandon off-ball offense and directly switch to one-on-one offense with the ball!

He didn't call a single pick-and-roll throughout the second half, a tactic that greatly reduced the Lakers' speed in double-teaming.

Moreover, he rarely dribbles; even when driving to the basket, he rarely dribbles more than twice.

The Lakers found it difficult to adapt to this pace and intensity of their offense.

However, the Los Angeles fans at the scene were extremely excited because after this adjustment, the game entered their favorite part: Kobe vs. Yang Shuai's scoring duel.

With each point scored by either player, cheers erupted from the fans in the arena.

The score went back and forth between the two sides.

This scene drew sighs of admiration from Barkley and Kenny Smith in the commentary booth.

They talked about the news that the media had previously compared Kobe to Drexler.

"Kobe is not Clyde. Clyde never played like this against Michael."

Barkley, who witnessed Drexler's peak and was once his teammate, gave his assessment.

(End of this chapter)