Chapter 1 The Pinnacle

Los Angeles, the Great Western Forum, already a hotbed for basketball, tonight welcomed another peak in its career.

And this was one of its last shining moments.

Because next season, when the more famous Staples Center opens, this old arena that witnessed the Lakers fight against the Celtics dynasty and the era of the Black and White Double Heroes, will officially retire from its historical mission.

As a "Human Lakers History Encyclopedia," before the game, gazing at the dome of this old Lakers arena...

For Su Feng, who in his previous life was a die-hard Lakers fan, if he wasn't wearing the Raptors' No. 23 jersey tonight, he would have really wanted to shout:

"My Lakers are the champions!"

What is a powerhouse?

Just look at the big shots sitting courtside tonight, and then look at the aura emanating from the Lakers team, inside and out. Seriously, in Su Feng's view, players shouldn't even wear jerseys to play on such a stage.

Clearly, tuxedos and champagne glasses are more fitting for this Lakers team.

Well...

Compared to the "high society" Lakers players, tonight, under the leadership of the two "hooligans" Su Feng and Jordan, the Raptors were as rogue as could be.

And live, after the players from both teams finished warming up, the Raptors' starting lineup once again sent the commentators into a frenzy.

On the court, Big Ben, Jordan, Su Feng, Carter, and McGrady lined up in a row...

Honestly, if it weren't for Big Ben's impressive afro, you wouldn't even be able to tell who was playing which position on this Raptors team.

Back in 1993, Pat Riley, who predicted that the future NBA would be dominated by five swingmen, never imagined that only five years after his prediction, a genius named John Davis would realize his great ideal in the NBA.

"This is the second time the Raptors have fielded this starting lineup this season. If I remember correctly, the last time they fielded this lineup was against the 76ers.

So, is this your big move, John?"

Kenny Smith joked during the TNT broadcast.

"But, Kenny, how do you think they can solve a monster like Shaq with this lineup?" Smith's new partner, Devon, asked curiously.

"Hey, man, we should never try to deduce John's ideas using common sense. Honestly, I wouldn't even be surprised if he let Su play center," Smith laughed.

"Oh ho ho, look at Shaq's massive chest muscles!

Kenny, I don't mean to argue with you, but I really think this Lakers team is better.

Especially after switching to Phil Jackson as coach, the current Lakers are definitely the strongest contenders for the championship," Devon said.

"So, let's just watch the game!

After all, only the game can give us the answer," Smith said, looking at Devon.

On the court, unlike the Raptors' change in formation, the Lakers continued with their usual starting lineup of O'Neal, Campbell, Rice, Kobe, and Derek Harper tonight.

Just like Su Feng remembered, the Lakers still traded Jones for the strong Rice in this timeline.

And their current starting "dribbling tool man," Harper, is not the Harper from the Bulls.

This Harper is a legendary veteran from the Dallas Mavericks.

Of course, no matter which Harper, "Zen Master" likes them all.

Harper, who is 37 years old this year, is old but as the saying goes, having an old man at home is like having a treasure.

He's good on defense, and his three-point shooting became more accurate later in his career. Undoubtedly, his style is a perfect fit for this Lakers team.

As everyone knows, Lakers guards never need to know any fancy passing skills.

Because even Steve Nash, after arriving in Los Angeles, could only honestly be a dribbling tool man.

And the reason why the Raptors used the five-swingman lineup again tonight...

To put it bluntly, it was just to make it easier to double-team O'Neal.

It's definitely unrealistic to rely on Big Ben alone to guard O'Neal.

After all, even though Big Ben is already considered a little bully in the NBA, he's still quite well-behaved in front of O'Neal.

Therefore, Davis believes that blindly double-teaming O'Neal is the key.

As for how the Raptors can break the Lakers' triangle offense?

Tch...

Seriously, with the Raptors' rotation ability, are they afraid of some measly triangle offense?

Of course, even though the Raptors know the swimming route of this fathead fish very well, you still have to let him score the points he deserves.

Therefore, another purpose of Davis using five swingmen, besides blindly attacking O'Neal, is to lock down the Lakers' other players.

Especially that "Magic successor" named Kobe.

After Jordan and Su Feng's "inheritance basketball" became increasingly popular this season, Stern, who originally wanted to promote Kobe as the third-generation "Jordan successor" last season, immediately changed his mind.

In order to create an "8 vs 23" atmosphere in advance, Kobe is definitely the young player with the most support from Stern this season, besides Su Feng.

And although Nash thinks that Kobe's organizational and passing abilities are at most a B, under the deliberate creation of the Los Angeles media and Stern, Kobe has long been labeled as an "organization master."

On the court, before the game was about to start, watching Kobe walk towards that "road of no return," what else could Su Feng do at this moment besides covering his face with one hand?

But...

If Kobe really grows up like this, then according to the parallel universe theory and the development laws of quantum mechanics, Su Feng always feels that this Kobe will become the strongest one in countless parallel universes.

Because if the current Su Feng already has the ability to attack strongly from various angles.

Then this Kobe, although he still needs to improve a lot in internal and external skills, is currently...

A true "triple threat."

Alright...

What Kobe will become still depends on future developments.

In the center circle, after O'Neal and Big Ben jumped for the ball to start the game, this key battle that would decide who would be in charge of the 98/99 NBA season officially kicked off.

The future is too far away.

Grasping the present is the key.

(Duncan: I think that makes a lot of sense.)

On the court, O'Neal won the tip-off for the Lakers' first attack, and the experienced Harper dribbled past half-court under McGrady's close marking.

Last season, don't think that O'Neal and Su Feng successfully "turned enemies into friends," but for this fathead fish who doesn't want to pick up the broom again, what friendship does he care about at this time?

With steps that disowned everyone, after the Lakers spread out in a 1-2-2 formation, O'Neal successfully posted up in the low post.

This attack was quite easy for the Lakers because Kobe's pass from the wing was very precise.

It's just a pity...

After O'Neal bumped a few times, this ball doesn't count as an assist for Kobe.

In Su Feng's previous life, Kobe and O'Neal were definitely the NBA's strongest bricklayers, because the former always liked to shake the defensive players in front of him before shooting after receiving the ball.

And the latter, you can't expect to see his performance until he "eliminates" the assist.

In this play, Jordan's double-team was slightly slow, and in the paint, after squeezing past Big Ben, O'Neal easily scored with a small hook shot.

When it comes to meticulousness, this fathead fish is meticulous.

In fact, dunking is not the only way O'Neal finishes on the court, but because his dunks are so deeply rooted in people's hearts, many fans think that O'Neal only knows how to dunk.

As the No. 1 of the new Four Great Centers, you can criticize O'Neal for not being able to make free throws, and you can criticize his sometimes too lax training attitude, but you absolutely can't say he's crude.

Because if O'Neal is crude, then there really aren't many meticulous centers in the NBA.

0 to 2.

The Lakers took the lead at the start, but turning around, the Raptors were as calm as ever.

On the Lakers' bench, "Zen Master" never expected that he and Davis would face off again in this way.

Looking at Jordan, wearing the Raptors' No. 24 jersey on the court, Jackson felt a sense of looking at his "ex-girlfriend."

Before "Zen Master" could sigh, his "ex-girlfriend" equalized the score for the Raptors through a mismatch.

Jordan playing power forward...

Is really no different from playing dirty.

Campbell, who was elbowed by Jordan, has an absolute advantage in height, but as Jordan's condition gradually returned to 90 points, Jordan's outrageous experience points, perhaps, only Su Feng has the right to speak.

What the heck!

Who knows how many times Su Feng has been beaten back in one-on-one matches by Jordan recently.

Although under Su Feng's instructions, these games that Su Feng lost did not leave any evidence, but you know, in this way, Su Feng's [Inheritance of God] task was slowed down by Jordan invisibly.

No way...

With a person like Jordan who is so calculating, it is completely unrealistic to expect him to slack off in one-on-one matches.

Moreover, in terms of the rationality of the system, Su Feng can be 100% sure that once he wants to complete the task by Jordan slacking off, the system may give a patch warning tomorrow.

On the court, on the Lakers' second attack, with the premise that the triangle offense can be played, this ball is still given to O'Neal to solve.

However, unlike O'Neal's first attack, Su Feng doubled quickly on this ball.

However, O'Neal passed the ball faster.

On the wing, Rice, who has gradually become a spot-up shooter this season, resolutely fired after receiving the ball.

Swish!

2 to 5.

"It seems that the Raptors can't solve Shaq's unsolvable problem," Devon said on TNT.

"Hey, man, that's Shaq! A monster whose weight is more than you and I combined!

If Shaq was so easy to solve, then the Lakers' opponents wouldn't have been so uncomfortable lately," Smith said.

Obviously, it is very unrealistic to try to counter this shark that is about to leap over the dragon gate through tricks and tactics.

Because in Su Feng's previous life...

No team or player has ever achieved absolute restrictions on O'Neal.

Whether it is the Jazz or the Spurs, they can only make O'Neal's efficiency drop.

Compared to defending Jordan in the later stages of his career, you can still expect Jordan to miss shots...

With O'Neal's low-post offensive skills, which can't be more meticulous, he will never be as laughable as a certain iron pancake player in the future.

Therefore, the third purpose of Davis putting out swingmen tonight is:

Use Su, Jordan, Carter, and McGrady to compete with O'Neal to see who can score more points.

In the eyes of little genius Davis, with four divine weapons in hand, as long as one or two of them explode, what does he have to fear from O'Neal?

On the court, the Raptors' second attack was scored by Su Feng.

A subway-style bounce pass from Jordan, and after receiving the ball, Su Feng faced Rice's defense with a "Feng's Pull-Up."

4 to 5.

And on the other hand, the Raptors obviously rushed out more this time when the Lakers attacked.

"It seems that the Raptors are trying to put some pressure on the Lakers' outside players to force them not to pass the ball to Shaq, but..."

Devon of TNT had not finished speaking when Kobe stepped forward.

On the Lakers' bench, "Zen Master" smiled triumphantly when he saw this scene.

John, I know you are no longer the rookie coach you used to be, but haven't I also improved?

Um...

Um!

To be honest, it was because Su Feng didn't know Jackson's true thoughts. Otherwise, what is the difference between throwing the pressure cooker to Kobe in the face of high-pressure defense and the way he only looked at Jordan affectionately when he was with the Bulls?

However, this is exactly where Jackson's brilliance lies.

Because there are many stars in the NBA, but not every coach can give them the freedom to play according to their own characteristics.

At the Great Western Forum, the eyes of the Lakers fans were all attracted to Kobe, who was dribbling between his legs continuously on the court.

As one of Su Feng's favorite dribbling packages in 2k in his previous life, Kobe's between-the-legs dribbling also highlights a fast word.

But, I don't know why...

Aside, when he saw Kobe shaking Carter so much that he was dizzy, what Su Feng's mind was filled with was Frazier using Kobe as a positive teaching material for himself...

And thinking of this, Su Feng, who was out of breath, felt full of endless motivation.

Heh, Kobe, do you think you have broken through our defense by passing Carter?

After adapting to the rhythm of tonight's game for a while at the start, the Raptors' swingman lineup began to run wildly.

Just as Su Feng was making up for Kobe, McGrady also returned to Rice's front, and Carter, who was passed by Kobe, rushed straight to Harper.

"This is really a wonderful defense. In my opinion, the really powerful thing about the Raptors is not their offense, but that they can also play a super-high-quality defense when defending," Smith boasted without hesitation on TNT.

"It's really wonderful, but can Su block his high school classmate this time?" Devon asked curiously.

Block Kobe?

Tch...

Okay, Su Feng really didn't block this ball.

Because Kobe suddenly accelerated, walked to Su Feng's left hand, and managed to break through Su Feng's close pressing.

The NBA really didn't give the wrong nickname.

This black mamba is now a smooth catfish.

However, no matter how smooth Kobe is, he was still elbowed by Su Feng.

Beep!

Su Feng, who destroyed Kobe's offense through a foul at the last moment, was extremely "wronged" at this moment.

And aside, Kobe glared at Su Feng fiercely.

"Are they really good friends who can talk about anything?" Jordan asked McGrady curiously as Kobe prepared to step onto the free throw line.

McGrady nodded, "Really...and neither of them has a girlfriend now."

Hiss!

To be fair, Jordan always felt that he had inadvertently learned a big piece of gossip.

After McGrady reminded him, looking at Su Feng and Kobe who were arguing, Jordan felt that he had automatically filled in this scene as "flirting."

On the court, Kobe made one of two free throws.

4 to 6.

And while retreating, Kobe was also ridiculed by Su Feng.

"With this level of free throws, did you learn your free throws from Shaq?" Su Feng joked.

Kobe's face darkened, and he retorted, "Haven't you ever missed a free throw?"

Su Feng spread his hands and said, "Sorry, my free throw percentage this season is a full 5 percentage points higher than yours."

"Is 5 percentage points a lot?" Kobe asked.

"Of course it's a lot! Look, you high school student who didn't go to college, didn't learn math well, did you? Let me popularize it for you..."

"Stop, stop, stop! I didn't go to college, but did you go to college?"

"Of course I...okay, I didn't go to college, but I was better at math in high school than you, you have to admit that."

"..."

Kobe felt that he couldn't talk to Su Feng anymore.

Because Kobe, who knows Su Feng's character well, knows that Su Feng's trash-talking ability is far above his own.

On the court...

After Kobe and Rice exchanged glances, the Great Western Forum immediately became lively.

Let's temporarily switch the commentary back to the Great Tianchao TV station.

"Ho, here it comes, Su Feng's classic eating, sleeping, and hitting Kobe," Zhang Weiping laughed.

"Director Zhang, don't say that Kobe is indeed very persistent.

Although he has been at a disadvantage in one-on-one matches with Su Feng since high school, he has never been a coward to Su Feng in the game," Sun Zhengping echoed.

"That's right, that's why character determines a player's fate in many cases?

The reason why Kobe is Kobe is because he has always had this spirit of never giving up," Director Zhang said.

"It's just that competitive sports still depend on strength after all.

Facing Su Feng, the leader who once taught him basketball skills, let's see if Kobe can defend this ball," Director Sun asked curiously.

At the Los Angeles scene, I don't know if Kobe heard Director Sun's commentary, but anyway, this ball...

Su Feng was really tormented by Kobe.

There was no way, Su Feng's feints can't shake Kobe now.

Because Kobe may even know him better than he knows himself.

Moreover, some routines, after Su Feng uses them too much, people will also improve, okay?

Helplessly, in order to avoid mistakes and too much ball time delaying the team's offensive rhythm, Su Feng could only use "Feng's fadeaway" to force a shot on the wing.

And after noticing that Su Feng's shooting arc was a little off, Kobe even had a hard time controlling the smile on his face.

However...

Shooting from the wing...

Still that sentence.

Sometimes, it doesn't matter if the shooting arc is a little off.

Bang, swish.

On the court, Kobe was not calm when he saw the miracle shot that Su Feng had scored.

Especially when he noticed the 'depressed' expression on Su Feng's face, at this moment, Kobe's eyes widened and he wanted to ask Su Feng loudly:

Are you not satisfied that you scored?

Uh...

Sorry.

Actually...

I really just wanted to miss the shot.

……

ps: I wish all the candidates for the college entrance examination a smooth journey!