"How did they win?" Chen Yu asked immediately.
Lexi blinked, thought for three seconds, then said with a serious face, "They just... won. We took the lead in the first quarter and held it until the end."
Chen Yu silently walked over to his desk and opened his laptop.
’Asking a fake fan like you is useless. I’d be better off reading the media reports.’
The game had just ended, so the media’s analysis probably wasn’t out yet, but a play-by-play recap should be available.
He logged onto Yahoo Sports. He didn’t even have to search; a report on Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals was right on the homepage.
Although the World Cup was approaching, the media in the United States was clearly more focused on the NBA.
And even more so on the Western Conference Finals.
The Eastern Conference Finals game between the Magic and the Celtics was getting significantly less attention.
"Kobe’s explosive performance can’t save the team, an empty 42 points! Lakers suffer a narrow 7-point loss."
Chen Yu saw the most prominent headline on the homepage and froze.
’Something’s not right. If Kobe can score 42, O’Neal should get at least 30. With their two stars combining for over 70 points, how could the Phoenix Suns possibly win?’
’Did their whole squad of veterans just go off?’
Chen Yu clicked on the report to take a closer look.
It was just a simple recap of the game’s flow.
As he read, Chen Yu’s expression grew strange. He noticed a problem: in this game, O’Neal had a lackluster performance, only putting up 17 points and 12 rebounds.
’That shouldn’t be possible. The Phoenix Suns continued their strategy from the last game, starting Olajuwon and Gugliotta.’
This frontcourt pairing was basically a clear signal that they were giving up on defending O’Neal.
In the last game, if it weren’t for Kobe refusing to pass him the ball, O’Neal could have scored 40 points against that level of defense.
The key was O’Neal’s number of field goal attempts. Excluding free throws, he only took 9 shots, making 6 of them.
That’s incredibly high efficiency, but the number of attempts was definitely not normal—it was half his per-game average.
Chen Yu couldn’t figure it out.
With O’Neal’s shooting percentage, it was obvious the Phoenix Suns’ frontcourt hadn’t been able to stop him.
But if that was the case, why did he only have a paltry 9 attempts? Even counting possessions that ended in free throws, it was far from a normal number.
’Could it be the same as last game, with Kobe not passing him the ball?’
’But the thing is, if Kobe wouldn’t pass to him, others could. Kobe wasn’t the point guard; Fisher was.’
Chen Yu refused to believe that Jackson, that old fox, wouldn’t have solved the conflict and made adjustments after the last loss to prevent the same problem from happening again.
Of course, the Phoenix Suns’ victory also had to do with their own performance.
Kobe had an empty 42 points, but Hardaway’s points were anything but empty. He scored 34 points with a 62% true shooting percentage.
J Kidd was steady as a rock, dishing out 12 points and 14 assists.
Marion had 19 points.
Olajuwon had 8 points.
Even Gugliotta surprisingly chipped in 13 points.
The Phoenix Suns’ starting five scored 86 points, 11 more than the Lakers’ starters.
From the bench, Ewing had 10 points and Rodney Rogers had 6, combining for a solid 16 points.
You could say that if not for Lynch Hunter hitting three 3-pointers off the bench and scoring 13 points, the Lakers, with a final score of 101 to 108, would have lost by much more than just 7 points.
The Phoenix Suns winning was a good thing, of course, but Chen Yu was more interested in *how* they won.
Finding a video replay of the game, Chen Yu clicked play and started watching.
He had only watched half of the first quarter when he sucked in a sharp breath.
’Who came up with this move? Skiles?’
’When did that guy get so vicious?’
From the perspective of a team member, not just a pure fan, Chen Yu could definitely see more.
In this game, on the offensive end, the Phoenix Suns continued their strategy from the previous one.
Or rather, with this lineup, the Phoenix Suns only had one style of play.
They ran high-post screens with Olajuwon as the core, then looked for mid-range jumpers and cuts to the basket.
It was the exact same playbook as the Kings.
There was nothing wrong with this playstyle. Chen Yu knew from the season’s stats that Hardaway’s shooting percentage was higher on shots after a screen than on shots he created off the dribble.
And in this game, they executed it even better. At one point, there was even a sequence where Olajuwon and Gugliotta set consecutive screens.
Their intention was clear: create better shooting space for Hardaway and get him more shots.
The coaching staff had also long noticed that the Lakers’ help defense and rotations weren’t good enough. O’Neal, due to his stamina and lazy disposition, was completely unwilling to move.
That’s why Hardaway efficiently dropped 34 points.
On top of that, Hardaway had the court awareness to distribute the ball after creating a threat, so others also got plenty of opportunities. That’s how the starters scored so much.
There wasn’t much to say about the offense. The Phoenix Suns simply executed what they were good at, made few mistakes, and strived to do even better.
The key was on the defensive end.
Chen Yu quickly figured it out: Skiles had employed a very vicious defensive strategy.
They double-teamed O’Neal in the paint as much as possible, leaving Kobe open.
And the genius of it was leaving Kobe open.
Just like last game, Hardaway was defending Kobe one-on-one. But this game, Chen Yu could see clearly that Hardaway was playing loose, giving Kobe a lot of room to shoot.
Of course, there was probably no shortage of verbal taunts either.
The difference was, in the last game, Hardaway defended with all his might, causing Kobe to brick too many shots and not score much.
But this game, after intentionally loosening the defense, Kobe’s efficiency soared. At one point in the second quarter, he went 6 for 8, exploding for 13 points in that period alone.
They also intentionally defended against Kobe’s drives to the rim, letting him shoot from the outside. It was no exaggeration to say they were practically letting Kobe pad his stats.
But that was precisely what made it so vicious.
Chen Yu couldn’t help but put himself in Kobe’s and O’Neal’s shoes to think about it.
Last game, Kobe didn’t pass to O’Neal, wasted a ton of shot opportunities, and they lost. O’Neal wasn’t happy.
Kobe also knew he’d bricked too many shots, but even if he wanted to argue, he had no leg to stand on.
But this game, Chen Yu didn’t know if Jackson had resolved their conflict beforehand, but Kobe efficiently scored 42 points, and they lost again. Now, Kobe had the confidence to say, ’The loss isn’t my fault; it should be blamed on O’Neal.’
’Don’t say I didn’t pass to him. I don’t even need to pass; I can get high scores all by myself.’
As for O’Neal, he had an empty performance last game because Kobe wouldn’t pass to him, and they lost. He was frustrated.
Now this game, it was the same old story. Kobe wasn’t passing to him again, so he just took the shots himself.
The key was that last game, O’Neal could still say Kobe was bricking too many shots and wasting opportunities.
But in this game, Kobe was extremely efficient and scored a ton. What could O’Neal say now?
If he said, "Give me the ball and let me run the offense, maybe we could win," that would just be adding fuel to the fire.
So in Chen Yu’s view, this game’s defensive strategy was simply a continuation of the last one, but they’d even brought psychology into it, intentionally provoking and deepening the conflict between Kobe and O’Neal.
Chen Yu closed the webpage.
’What the hell? A perfectly good coaching staff has stopped studying tactics and started studying psychology.’
Jackson was probably getting a massive headache.
Kobe now had the grounds to argue back. Trying to resolve their conflict would be ten times harder now.
But there were still three games left. After the Phoenix Suns tied the series by winning two straight, the Lakers were already feeling the pressure. If their two stars were also at odds with each other, it would be extremely difficult for the Lakers to win again.
Chen Yu even felt like calling Skiles to tell him that since he was already doing this, for the next Celestial King Mountain game, he might as well do what they did in Game 3: let O’Neal score more, defend Kobe to death, and continue to stir up trouble between the two.
The Lakers’ entire game was built on the inside-outside combination of Kobe and O’Neal. If the two of them couldn’t connect and just played for themselves, the Lakers’ arsenal would be cut in half.
’No, wait.’
Chen Yu rested his chin on his hand and thought about it again, seriously.
’Since I’m analyzing this psychologically, I should also consider their personalities.’
O’Neal clearly had higher emotional intelligence. He might look carefree, but he was actually very smart and clear-headed. In crucial moments, he knew how to make the right decision.
So, faced with the immense temptation of a glorious three-peat dynasty, he would probably be willing to suppress his dissatisfaction and make concessions.
Kobe, on the other hand... that kid’s emotional intelligence wasn’t high, and his competitive drive was intense. It wasn’t that he wasn’t smart, but he was more easily controlled by his emotions.
Therefore, for the next game, the better choice would be to do the same as in Game 4: keep letting Kobe score, let him get a high point total, and let him feel like he’s the team’s leader who can carry them to victory with his scoring.
And that was what he had always wanted to believe.
Chen Yu had even thought of the strategy for Game 6, after they won the Celestial King Mountain game.
In Game 6, they should defend Kobe relentlessly and let O’Neal handle the offense.
After two consecutive games of scoring high and still losing, Kobe would definitely just point the finger at O’Neal for the team’s losses.
But then, if O’Neal exploded for a high score, Kobe would have no reason to blame him, even if he wanted to.
Besides, in Game 6, if they won, everyone would be happy. But even if they lost because of O’Neal’s explosion, it would still be advantageous for the final Game 7.
Because if O’Neal got a high score and the team won, his mindset would definitely become, ’See? That kid Kobe can’t do it. No matter how many points he scores, he can’t win the game. It still has to be me.’
At that point, no matter what happened in Game 7, it would be absolutely impossible for the two of them to cooperate seamlessly again.
The Lakers depended on O’Neal’s and Kobe’s performances to win. As long as the two of them couldn’t work together, their strength would be severely diminished.
Against an ordinary team, the Lakers might still be able to win relying on one person’s performance.
But the Phoenix Suns’ on-paper strength wasn’t much worse than the Lakers’. In a game of inches like this, falling even slightly short meant losing.
Chen Yu suddenly shivered.
’Isn’t this a little too vicious?’
But on second thought, a game was more than just a contest of strength. The players’ mentalities and conditions were also part of the competition.
It was just like the Kings using off-court tactics. This wasn’t even an off-court tactic; it was a psychological application. So why not use it?
Besides, psychological manipulation was one thing, but whether they could ultimately win still depended on the Phoenix Suns’ own strength.
Thinking of this, Chen Yu no longer hesitated. He immediately opened his email, carefully drafted a message, and sent it to Skiles.
He also gave Skiles a call to tell him to check his email.

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