During Los Angeles Lakers games, Phil Jackson mostly sat on the sidelines, neither loudly directing nor yelling at the referees. He just watched quietly, occasionally executing a tactical time out.
Looking at Coach Brooks, he was so anxious he almost went onto the court himself. The coaches' reactions on the sidelines also reflected the situation on the court.
After more than 4 minutes in the first quarter, the Thunder's interior was completely dominated by Gasol and Bynum. The twin towers were a natural counter to the Thunder.
Especially Gasol, who not only consistently scored against Jeff Green in the low post but also frequently dished out assists to his teammates.
If Bynum hadn't fumbled two easy passes, the Los Angeles Lakers would have made every shot so far.
Unable to bear it any longer, Coach Brooks called a timeout. Kostić was already invisible on the court; he couldn't get anything going offensively and failed to limit Bynum defensively, being completely overwhelmed.
Most importantly, the Thunder actually had many open looks from the perimeter, but Jeff Green was cold today, starting 1-for-4, which allowed Gasol to defend more aggressively.
"Guys, wake up, shoot with confidence! Green, don't hesitate. You must take open shots decisively. We need to open up the offensive space on the court."
Coach Brooks could only give them a pep talk at this point. Their broken version of the triangle offense simply couldn't compete against the authentic one, because the Los Angeles Lakers had excellent defensive resources.
Artest and Kobe only needed to apply pressure on defense; if you drove, the twin towers were waiting to protect the rim, and with the referees calling a loose game today, drawing fouls wasn't getting any whistles.
Kayce was also a bit frustrated. He played very reasonably, and the whole team played very reasonably, but when opportunities arose, they missed. He didn't blame Jeff Green; with a lot of defensive contact, it was normal for his offense to be cold.
The Los Angeles Lakers currently led 14 to 9, playing exceptionally efficiently. The Thunder's 9 points, apart from one drive by Russell, were all from outside shots.
"Russell, Kevin, Kayce, increase your aggressiveness. We cannot fall too far behind in the first quarter. Play freely!"
Coach Brooks finally reminded the trio again. This was about relying entirely on talent to play, as tactics weren't holding up.
Kayce's trio also nodded. Since the coach allowed it, they could play a bit more freely.
"Russell, you need to attack Fisher more. Pay attention to their help defense, pass the ball quickly, and be more decisive on offense. Long-range shots are also an option, we have a chance to get long rebounds."
Before going on court, Kayce discussed the game strategy with Russell again. The rookie Russell was still very obedient to the coach, so he played a bit cautiously at the start.
"No problem, Bro, this style of play feels like being back at UCLA. Don't worry!" Russell said with a confident look.
Kayce's mouth twitched when he heard that. College Russell's offense was all about drives followed by grenade passes, coupled with an inconsistent mid-range shot. He was energetic on defense, but unfortunately, he often let his man get open.
After the timeout, Russell brought the ball across half-court. Facing Old Fish Fisher's defense, he accelerated two steps beyond the three-point line, crossed over in front of his body with his right hand, absorbed Fisher's defense, and pulled up for a jump shot at the free-throw line.
"Swish!" The two-point shot went in.
"Oh! Russell successfully dismantled Fisher's defense. The young man has real strength! Fisher's legs seemed frozen in place."
Kevin Harlan chuckled as he teased Old Fish Fisher's performance.
The Los Angeles Lakers' offense remained unhurried. After Kobe came out to receive the ball, Gasol set a high screen. Kayce skillfully squeezed through, but the rolling Gasol received the ball again, took one dribble with his right hand, turned, and scored with a left-handed hook shot.
Jeff Green tried his best, but it was truly undefendable.
The Thunder quickly inbounded the ball. After Kayce brought it across half-court, Russell and Durant began to run an inverted figure-eight. The three of them continuously passed the ball around the perimeter, and Kostić and Jeff Green also moved up to set screens.
After Russell received the ball, he suddenly accelerated. Jeff Green set a very solid screen this time, slowing Fisher's chase by a step. Facing Gasol's long arms, he powered through.
"Slam!" A furious block.
"No problem, Russell, keep going!"
Kayce quickly shouted twice. They had to drive decisively; drawing a foul was a bonus.
Seeing that the shot clock was running low, Kayce inbounded the ball from the baseline, ready for Durant to take the last shot. He gave his teammates a look, and Durant came off a perimeter screen for a pull-up jump shot.
"Swish!" The long two-pointer went in, and Kayce added another assist.
But over the next few minutes, the deficit still couldn't be reduced. The Los Angeles Lakers' twin towers were too stable, scoring consistently, and Kostić already had two fouls.
Kayce looked at Kobe in front of him and couldn't help but inwardly complain:
"Could it be a body double? He's playing so reasonably. What happened to 'get the ball and go'?"
Kobe played very unselfishly in the first quarter, mostly making transition passes and feeding the ball to the interior. He only took two shots himself, both of which went in. The big boss remained silent on the court, just applying defensive pressure.
During the long timeout in the first quarter, the Thunder players had snapped out of their inflated mental state. They had been beaten so badly that Kostić was starting to doubt himself.
"Ibaka, try to control your fouls when you go in, and protect the rebounds!"
Coach Brooks truly had no other interior options and could only send in the rookie Ibaka.
"I understand, Coach!"
Ibaka had actually been improving steadily, especially with Kayce's [Defense Core] badge bonus, and with increasing game experience, he was no longer as reckless as he had been in the first few games.
"Serge, just bother their shots, don't try to strip the ball. Collison can't play, so the paint depends on you!"
Kayce spoke to Ibaka in Spanish beside him, explaining the coach's words in detail.
Ibaka gave Kayce a thumbs up, indicating that he completely understood.
Coming out of the timeout, the Los Angeles Lakers attacked. Gasol stood at the free-throw line to facilitate, and Artest came off a screen to receive the pass, immediately pulling up for a three-pointer.
"Clank!" It was a miss.
The long rebound bounced out, and Kayce successfully grabbed it, immediately initiating a fast break. Russell and Durant both accelerated wildly. Noticing Kobe trying to interfere, Kayce immediately passed the ball to Russell.
The latter received the pass and casually tossed it up. Although the pass was a bit high, it didn't affect Durant much. He jumped to catch the ball and slammed it down with a two-handed alley-oop dunk!
"Slam!" "Oh!!!"
The Staples Center crowd also let out a gasp of surprise. That counterattack was too fast.
"Excellent transition offense. This is the offensive rhythm the Thunder needs most. They have to run!"
Reggie Miller kept giving the Thunder advice, hoping the game would be more exciting.
Perhaps seeing Ibaka on the court, Bynum suddenly became obsessed with low-post isolations, but Ibaka's interference led to several misses.
Kayce knew his chance had come. On the offensive possession, he first hit a three-pointer over Gasol after a pick-and-roll.
On the next possession, facing Artest's defense, he dribbled between his legs repeatedly, faked a right-hand drive, suddenly dribbled behind his back, followed by another between-the-legs crossover, and then stepped back for a three-point jump shot.
"Swish!" "Oh!!!"
Another three-pointer went in, and Artest was faked to his knees by Kayce again.
With consecutive three-pointers, the Thunder took a 21-20 lead. Russell excitedly chest-bumped Kayce in celebration.
Phil Jackson stood up at this moment, gave the Los Angeles Lakers a gesture, and then calmly resumed his tactical lean back.
On the next possession, Kayce was completely speechless. Kobe came to post him up again. Uncle was going to back him down!
Two hard bumps, which really bothered Kayce, and then he watched Kobe score with a turnaround fadeaway.
"This is how real men play, Boy!" After scoring, Kobe didn't forget to show off to Kayce, then turned and walked away.
"Haha, it looks like Kobe wants to teach the rookie a lesson. Maybe he's getting serious now. Kobe rarely initiated offense in the first quarter."
This offensive play made Kevin Harlan laugh.
In the final minutes of the first quarter, Kobe got fired up. He chased Kayce on defense and attacked relentlessly on offense. The score quickly widened again because Durant got colder and colder in the first quarter.
34 to 25. The Los Angeles Lakers' first-quarter shooting percentage was too high; almost every shot went in. Kobe exploded in the final minutes, going 5-for-5 and easily scoring 10 points.
During the break between quarters, Durant covered his head with a towel, looking dejected, quietly rehydrating.
With the Los Angeles Lakers' cohesive defensive rotations, Durant couldn't drive and his shots were constantly clanking. He was 1-for-6 from long range, essentially invisible.
Kayce was also frustrated. With Gasol, they couldn't double-team Kobe at all. If he defended him one-on-one, Kobe would just use his body and strength to back him down.
Especially since every one of Kobe's moves contained a pump fake; if you weren't careful, he'd be in a fadeaway.
After much thought, he realized they simply couldn't win. The twin towers in the paint were terrifying!
Kayce had originally wanted to drive in and draw fouls, but instead, he angrily committed 2 turnovers. This version of the game simply didn't allow for flopping, or perhaps his technique wasn't good enough, his 'flopping power' insufficient.
Coach Brooks was also worried. They couldn't match up in the paint at all. The Los Angeles Lakers' second-quarter rotation would definitely still feature a tall player on the court, which remained an unresolved problem.
"Guys, wake up! This is national television. Play with aggression! Green, you rest for the second quarter. Thabo Sefolosha, if you get a chance on the court, shoot decisively."
Coach Brooks directly deployed his 'Death Lineup': Russell, Kayce, Thabo Sefolosha, Durant, and Ibaka.
Since Jeff Green couldn't defend and was cold, he replaced him with another perimeter player to test his shooting touch, completely abandoning defense.
Gasol remained on the court for the Los Angeles Lakers in the second quarter, while their rotation included Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown, Josh Powell, and Lamar Odom.
This Los Angeles Lakers lineup still had both inside and outside threats. Odom and Gasol could both distribute the ball, and they didn't suffer defensively.
Sure enough, after coming on, the Los Angeles Lakers continued to attack Gasol. The raw Ibaka was basically helpless and couldn't defend him at all. Coupled with Odom's playmaking, the Los Angeles Lakers combined inside and outside scoring, going on a 12-4 run.
Coach Brooks reluctantly called another timeout. Kayce was already scratching his head. Aside from two baskets by him and Russell, his teammates were all ice cold.
They had open looks from the perimeter, but just couldn't make them. In a losing situation, everyone got cold. This was truly a 'Death Lineup,' going out there to directly end the game.
"Sorry, guys, I'm having a terrible day!"
During the timeout, Durant quietly apologized to everyone. After all, if he hadn't been so cold, the game would still be competitive.
"Don't blame yourself, Bro. We are family. Everyone has off days. It's no big deal, just a regular season game."
Kayce spoke up to comfort him. Basketball is a team sport; you can't blame teammates just because things aren't going well.
"Don't be discouraged, guys. The game isn't over. Stick to our game plan. Kevin, keep shooting; don't worry about the stats!"
Coach Brooks continued to encourage everyone.
Kayce looked towards the Los Angeles Lakers' bench. Their faces were still calm, showing no signs of joy from winning:
Perhaps the Los Angeles Lakers players didn't even consider the Thunder an opponent. In their minds, the Thunder was still that bottom-feeder team from last season.
League leader? Just a joke.
At Staples Center, the live DJ was leading the audience in small games to liven the atmosphere. Everyone was happily laughing, knowing that their home team was about to secure another victory.
Kayce looked around, secretly vowing in his heart: "Next time, I definitely can't lose like this!"
The game continued, but the suspense was gone. Both teams' starters played into the third quarter, and the final quarter completely entered garbage time.
Commentator Kevin Harlan and guest Reggie Miller were also reviewing the game.
"As an experienced player, Reggie, what would you like to say to the young men of the Thunder? They look a bit discouraged."
There was nothing much left to comment on the court, so Kevin Harlan started talking about other topics.
"I just want to say that there's no need to care too much about the outcome of one game. This is just a regular season game. The Los Angeles Lakers are the defending champions, and the Thunder should have been prepared to lose before the game."
"At the same time, I also want to give some advice from an elder to the young men: appropriately increase strength training, make good use of your body, don't rely too much on talent, and superstars should also start with defense."
Reggie Miller hoped that these talented Thunder players could maintain a calm mindset and develop good basketball habits. Most veterans appreciate talented young players.
"That's very well said. I believe the young men will take your advice, and I believe the Thunder will get better and better!"
For the rest of the time, commentator Kevin Harlan even chatted about gossip. There was nothing more to say about the game.
Finally, the final buzzer sounded, 108 to 88. The Los Angeles Lakers decisively defeated the Thunder at home, continuing their winning streak.
After the game, both teams' players exchanged simple greetings. Kobe found Kayce and said with a smile:
"Want to join my training camp during the offseason?"
Kayce was first stunned, then replied with a smile:
"I want to thoroughly defeat you before joining your training camp. Believe me, I'll learn all your moves very quickly!"
"Haha, I'm looking forward to that day. Just don't make me wait too long."
Kobe smiled and patted Kayce's shoulder. The two chatted a bit more before saying goodbye and leaving.
In the locker room after the game, the Thunder players had all calmed down from the disappointment of the loss. Durant asked curiously:
"Kayce, what were Kobe and you talking about? You two were smiling quite happily."
"Nothing, Kobe invited me to his training camp during the offseason, but I declined."
Kayce said casually while changing his clothes.
"Why? Training with Kobe must be great. Your technical styles are very similar."
Russell asked again, curious about Kayce's words.
"I want to defeat him first. Otherwise, Kobe will definitely keep lecturing me in the training camp!"
Kayce shrugged, giving a simple explanation, while secretly complaining in his heart:
"mamba disciple? A true boss doesn't need such a title."