Chapter 688: Chapter 483: The Out-of-Focus Person Chapter 688: Chapter 483: The Out-of-Focus Person After the timeout ended, LeBron James did what Phil Jackson had hoped he would do.

From the beginning, the Zen Master had envisioned James as a high-end version of Pippen to partner with Kobe.

If Kobe was 90% of Jordan, then a high-end Pippen should spark unparalleled chemistry with him.

So far this season, the Zen Master had not seen such signs.

Although the Lakers were currently the top-ranked team in the league, this was mainly due to their strong lineup and high floor, and the chemistry of the KJ combination had always remained at the level of “Kobe plays then James plays”.

Tonight, a whimsical in-game decision by the Zen Master to put James at the power forward position led to the team being suppressed.

The Zen Master quickly realized his mistake and made a decisive adjustment, moving James back to the small forward position and bringing on Artest, but not before giving Artest a dose of psychological encouragement before he hit the floor.

Next, the Zen Master emphasized, “Let LeBron control the game, don’t rush, the game has just begun!”

It proved effective.

James first settled the Lakers’ morale with a three-pointer, then on defense he provided help to block Durant, leading to a fast break by Kobe. The Supersonics’ offense was thwarted, Yu Fei’s shooting percentage fell, he missed the first ball of the game, James caught the counterattack, and Artest scored a 2+1 in the frontcourt.

With Artest scoring the extra free throw, the score tied at 12-12.

The focus suddenly shifted from Yu Fei to James.

Jeff Van Gundy said, “If LeBron plays like this every night, then his combination with Kobe will be unstoppable!”

On the sidelines, Lynn Mermitt, the Nike representative, came back from the brink of death.

“This is our LeBron!” Mermitt said excitedly to a colleague, “He is the King, and transferring to the Lakers was the right decision!”

It was the Supersonics’ turn to call a timeout.

The Lakers first dug a hole using unlimited timeouts and then quickly caught up with effective timeouts. Karl’s choice was to bring in Morrow, Finley, and DeAndre Jordan, replacing Roy, Little O, and Brown.

At the same time, he had Durant play the power forward position.

This was an ongoing impact of Chris Bosh’s absence.

In order to sign Bosh, the Supersonics sacrificed some depth during the offseason, letting go of Marion and Channing Frye, and now with Bosh unable to play, the Supersonics’ frontcourt was short-handed.

However, if the Lakers were willing to let Artest play power forward, Karl was naturally willing to have Durant play there as well and clash with the opponent.

But for Durant, facing Artest on the offensive end might be the worst thing in a game against the Lakers.

Getting back to the game, after Roy was substituted out, Yu Fei took over as the main handler, immediately seeking out Durant for pick and roll, leading to a miscommunication on the Lakers’ side.

James wanted to switch on defense, but Artest thought it unnecessary.

As a result, both of them ended up guarding the uninvolved Durant, leaving Yu Fei wide open.

Unopposed, Yu Fei easily scored 2 points.

12-14
“We must switch on pick and rolls!” James was unhappy with Artest’s defense, “And we have to be quick, what were you hesitating about just now?”

Artest blinked, “Really? Phil didn’t say that.”

James was somewhat puzzled as to why the coaching staff didn’t clamp down on Artest in his current state.

He had worked with this man for two seasons in Cleveland and knew his character all too well.

Under normal circumstances, he was a very capable player, but when he was off, he could commit all sorts of mistakes on the court that made you question his IQ.

With Bosh out, the Supersonics’ frontcourt was vulnerable–this should have been the time to make the most of Bynum.

Being in a different place, James somewhat missed the days in Cleveland when he could change things with a simple gesture.

If it were in Cleveland, a look from him and Mike Brown would have obediently come forth to wait for orders; but at the Lakers, this wouldn’t fly.

From the first day of training camp, Phil Jackson had told him how Earl Monroe had relinquished some ball-handling responsibilities to help the Knicks win their second championship in the ’70s.

The subtext was clear: You need to relinquish control if you want a championship.

James had given up everything in Cleveland to come here, but he hadn’t known that he would also need to cede the privileges of a star at the Lakers. Therefore, he naturally refused to accept this until the season started, and only then did Jackson compromise, allowing him to dominate the Triangle Offense rather than forcing him to blend into it on his own.

In James’ view, that was the difference between Jordan and Pippen.

Pippen had no choice, while Jordan had it all.

After the third timeout, both teams had overcome the impact of the start of the game and began to find their respective rhythms.

The Supersonics made their substitutions early.

Yu Fei took charge, leading with his lone warrior effort, continually running pick and rolls that consistently exposed gaps in the Lakers’ perimeter defense.

It was just that Durant failed to stand out.

Though Yu Fei created numerous opportunities for him, the physical toll of going head-to-head with Artest made it difficult for him to find his shooting groove.

Even though Artest was not in the right state, brawling is the least state-dependent task on the basketball court.

As long as you have the body and strength, and the referees allow strong confrontation, anyone can use all their power in a clash.

Durant longed to be a player like Yu Fei, so all his training was geared towards the standards of a perimeter player.

He never thought that if he faced a Lakers team which deliberately lowered their height at the power forward position, George Karl would also push him to play power forward.

Because he was tall enough.

Durant was 0 for 3.

Yu Fei started to reduce the frequency of his plays for Durant, instead using him as a tool for pick and roll screens, and moving the tactical focal point towards the shooters in both corners.

Anthony Morrow and Michael Finley shined brightly at the end of the first quarter.

The same tactic, Fei set up a screen on both the left and right side to split and hit the corner.

Morrow and Finley both hit all of their three-pointers.

With 30 seconds left before the end of the first quarter, the Supersonics led the Lakers by 5 points, 25 to 20.

At that time, the Lakers had already subbed Kobe out for a rest.

James was on the court, and the Lakers’ frontcourt consisted of Ron Artest and Andrew Bynum.

“LeBron, give me the ball!” Artest was confident in overpowering Durant, “I can break that kid’s arms!”

James nodded, then after Artest drew the defense, he passed the ball into Bynum’s hands.

With a loud shout, Bynum shoved away DeAndre Jordan and forcefully dunked the ball for a score.

Bynum excitedly stretched out his arms and gave James a forceful high-five.

In his view, James was the player on the Lakers Team who understood him the best.

“That’s how we play!” James said gently, “Remember, you are the young King.”

The Lakers were Kobe’s team, and the coaching staff, led by the Zen Master, sided with Kobe. Although when he decided to join the Lakers, James felt that he and Kobe would become kings of equal standing.

But the longer he was away from Cleveland, the more he understood that once a team has been marked by someone, it’s hard to change its underlying color.

This was Kobe’s team, still is to this point, and James had no intention of becoming the ‘K’ in another ‘OK’ conflict. He and Kobe treated each other with mutual respect, but James truly felt that he didn’t yet have the same level of respect and authority within the team that Kobe did.

Some say this was what Kobe had earned with 14 years with the Lakers and three championships.

But James had his own response.

He was the only top-three player in the League since 2004 who was willing to team up with Kobe.

He was much younger than Kobe.

If the Lakers understood these two things, they should have treated him with more caution.

But the Lakers’ attitude was you’ve yet to prove yourself, win us a championship first.

James accepted this challenge; he was here to win championships.

But he couldn’t win just for the sake of winning; he had to have his own core team, just like during his time with the Knights. Therefore, actively offering candy to a dispirited person like Bynum was a subconscious act.

He might not be aiming to gain something from Bynum, but he was following a lesson he had learned from the beginning of playing basketball: if you know how to pass the ball to others, they will like you.

As far as James knew, there was basically no one on the Lakers Team who liked Kobe. They respected him, but they didn’t like him. They bowed to his talent, but they didn’t like him. He was tremendous, but they didn’t like him.

Being liked by people is a difficult thing.

But it is very easy to make people dislike you.

This was something that LeBron James, who angered the basketball community with a broadcast five months ago, knew very well.

Now, in the last play of the first quarter, the world’s most beloved basketball player wearing the accursed ninth-generation “The Chosen One” sneakers rushed over.

Facing James, Fei made a quick left-hand crossover under his hip, followed by a lightning-fast right-hand crossover, and then took off, tearing through the opponent’s defense head-on.

James had great confidence in his defense, but he knew that once Fei broke through, he couldn’t catch up with him.

Because Fei, once a devout Kobe fan, had learned Kobe’s signature move.

A close-up elbow to the face, with no broadcast angle catching the action, sent James stumbling backward.

Fei charged to the basket, and Bynum resolved to defend the rim.

But just as Bynum jumped, Fei slammed the ball hard to the ground with his right hand, causing it to bounce high into the air.

Durant, cutting in from the side at the perfect time, was not about to miss this pass. His seemingly slender body leaped into the air, caught the ball, and smashed it through the hoop, leaving the Lakers with just 0.4 seconds left.

Too little time to inbound the ball.

The first quarter was over.

22 to 27
The Supersonics led the Lakers by 5 points.

“Was that your only basket in the first quarter?” Fei asked casually.

Durant thought for a bit, “Yes.”

“Is it that stressful facing Ron Artest?” Fei had already forgotten how he too was once troubled by Artest early in his career.

Durant stubbornly said, “I’m not used to playing inside.”

“Then play on the perimeter,” Fei smiled. “Can you manage to give me a few minutes of rest?”

Fei and Durant had both played the entire first quarter, but Karl believed that young people usually had better endurance, so he often let Durant play a few more minutes.

Durant was already feeling fatigued, but the thought of carrying the team while Fei was out spiked his adrenaline.

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“No problem!”

The big screen repeatedly played the alley-oop Fei had served up to Durant, perhaps because of the angle.

But the PR people at the scene found that they were very easily attracted to the Reebok products on Fei’s body.

Even though Durant deliberately wore a pair of mismatched shoes that night and completed a highlight dunk, the spotlight still wasn’t on him.

This son of America, heavily promoted by Nike, was out of focus next to Fei.