A team's locker room is a very private place.
The home team's was one thing. With Chen Yu's connections, no one would say anything if he brought a group of young fans over for a tour and a chance to meet the NBA stars.
Take Hardaway, for example. He was also quite popular back in China.
Zhang Peng, who had been so unruly before, idolized Hardaway. Now, face-to-face with the man himself, he was as shy as a new bride, his dark face flushed red, too timid to even go up and say a word.
But the visiting team's locker room wasn't a place you could just walk into.
However, during the warm-up session on the court, Mo Ke timed it perfectly, bringing everyone to the court to meet Yao Ming as he was warming up.
And Kobe.
On the Lakers team now, Yao Ming and Kobe were incredibly close, practically inseparable.
With O'Neal, no matter how ridiculously good Kobe played, he was always kept down a peg, treated like a junior.
O'Neal was always talking about how he never got Kobe's respect.
But now, with Yao Ming, Kobe finally got to enjoy the thrill of being the top dog.
Most importantly, Yao Ming had high emotional intelligence, skill, and humility. He could always provide the exact emotional validation Kobe craved.
Now that Yao Ming's people from back home had arrived—a group of kids, no less, including some of his own young fans—Kobe seemed even more enthusiastic than Yao Ming. Not only did he sign autographs and take photos, but he also generously called over the equipment manager and gave each kid some gear like wristbands.
Finally, he even said he would get an authentic jersey for each kid, treating it as a gift from Yao Ming to everyone, on his dime.
'My little brother's little brothers are my little brothers too.'
'If my little brother looks good, I look good.'
"Listen to Dr. Chen's arrangements. Trust me, as long as you work hard enough, you'll definitely have a bright future. Keep it up!" In the end, Yao Ming gathered all the kids and gave them some encouragement.
This was especially true for the basketball kids.
Yao Ming knew about Chen Yu's plan. His future teammates on the international stage might just come from this very group of kids.
'The stronger they are, the easier it'll be for me.'
「At 7:30 PM, the game officially began.」
All the kids were seated together.
"Watching the game from the sidelines like this... it's a completely different feeling," Wang Shen exclaimed from the crowd. The next moment, he couldn't help but shout, "Holy shit!"
It was Yao Ming. He caught the ball at the elbow, drove to the basket, and threw down a powerful dunk over the helping defender, Chandler.
"Destroy him!"
Even Zhang Peng couldn't stop himself from jumping to his feet, howling with excitement.
Even Song Jun, who had looked indifferent at first, was now listening to the scattered cheers from the crowd.
But even scattered, the cheers roared like a tidal wave!
Song Jun couldn't help but feel his heart race.
Chen Yu had once told him that he played basketball to win recognition.
Song Jun had scoffed at the idea, but a voice deep inside told him that Chen Yu wasn't wrong. He truly enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention, where his every move could draw the focus and cheers of others.
He couldn't even imagine what it would feel like to elicit the cheers of twenty thousand people in an arena like this.
From the front row, Chen Yu glanced back at the group of kids, secretly shook his head, and then turned back to the game.
From the start of the game, the Lakers' strategy was clear: attack the inside first.
Yao Ming was tall, and his stamina had always been a significant issue.
Although he was training to improve it, the results were minimal.
It wasn't just that he couldn't run; the main problem was that after his stamina declined, Yao Ming's offensive field goal percentage dropped far more sharply than other players'.
When his energy was high, he could make any shot he wanted, but as soon as his stamina was running low, his dominance would drop by several levels.
After much thought, Jackson had decided the only solution was to attack the paint first, letting Yao Ming go on the offensive while his stamina was high, with Kobe playing a supporting role.
Once Yao Ming's stamina began to fail, he would have Kobe take over and close out the game.
At that point, Yao Ming would focus his energy on interior defense and setting screens to get the ball out.
Kobe was a monster when it came to stamina and was incredibly clutch, getting more fired up the more critical the moment.
He himself also enjoyed the thrill of dominating the game with a game-winning shot. Perhaps in his mind, that's what a leader should do: explode in the crucial moments and win the game.
So, right from the tip-off, Yao Ming went at Chandler in the paint several times in a row.
"Chen, Tyson still isn't top-tier," Brian said beside him, pursing his lips.
Simply put, Chandler just couldn't hang in high-stakes games.
"That's pretty normal."
Chen Yu smiled. Rumor had it that Yao Ming had dominated Chandler even before the draft.
Since they had traded away O'Neal, they had to accept the reality of a downgrade in their interior defense and their inability to compete in high-stakes games.
Besides, even if they couldn't stop him, the Phoenix Suns had their own way of winning.
Drives and shots after pick-and-roll screens.
This had been the Phoenix Suns' core tactic for the past few years.
Hardaway handled the ball, distributing it.
Marion drove to the basket.
Nowitzki and Gordon shot the ball.
If you analyzed it closely, the Phoenix Suns' strategy was very simple, but its strength lay in its effectiveness, because the quality of their stars was high enough.
Few in the entire league could stop Marion's drives from the wing.
And Nowitzki's mid-range shot was his specialty.
Hardaway himself could drive, shoot, and facilitate. He could also play the role of an assassin in clutch moments—he was a complete and unsolvable problem.
After getting scored on by Yao Ming several times in a row and falling behind, the Phoenix Suns didn't panic at all. Without Skiles needing to call a timeout, they had already adjusted on their own, tightening their defense a bit, and Nowitzki also expanded his help-defense range.
Even Marion diverted some of his attention to the paint, occasionally flashing in front of Yao Ming to prevent him from receiving the ball so comfortably.
Their roster was downgraded, but the championship pedigree remained.
And the effect was obvious.
Nowitzki was called a "softie," but "soft" referred to his playstyle not being tough enough, not that he was useless.
His defense was much worse than his offense, but that also depended on who you compared him to. If a player was good on offense, as long as they were willing, their defense usually wouldn't be completely useless.
He was also fast with nimble footwork, so his help defense wasn't bad. He wasn't someone who could be easily blown by.
It's just that with a top-tier star like him, you couldn't expect him to be perfect at everything.
Their energy was also limited. If they focused on offense, their defense was bound to be a bit weaker.
It was best to pair him with a helper who could clean up his messes.
Just like before, when O'Neal had to be paired with McDyess.
Miller, still going strong in his old age, hit a three-pointer. Coupled with Nowitzki hitting consecutive mid-range shots over Odom, the Phoenix Suns instantly stabilized the situation.
The first half ended with the two teams locked in this struggle.
57 to 61, the Phoenix Suns were trailing by 4 points.
On the sidelines, Phil Jackson's expression was one of relative satisfaction.
Although the lead wasn't large, Yao Ming had 17 points at the half, establishing the kind of dominance he had wanted.
Meanwhile, Kobe was 2-for-6 with only 5 points; he hadn't even started to exert himself yet.
From that perspective, they were playing well.
For the new season, the Lakers had continued to strengthen their roster based on last season's lineup.
First, they cut old-timers like Fox.
Then they re-signed all the players they wanted to keep, like Fisher.
Without O'Neal, and benefiting from Yao Ming's rookie contract, Gugliotta's large contract had also expired, leaving the Lakers with a lot of cap space.
So during the summer, the Lakers were very active in the free-agent market.
With the pairing of Kobe and Yao Ming, and being in a big market, the Lakers were still a very attractive destination.
To find a suitable backup for Yao Ming, Jackson not only signed Divac but also signed Chris Mims from the Celtics.
On the wings, they also acquired the trouble-plagued Ruben Patterson in a trade with the Hawks.
The guy had a lot of issues, but Jackson didn't care. With his methods, there wasn't a problem player he couldn't handle.
Add in Devon George and the rookie Luke Walton, and their forward positions were also considered reinforced.
In short, compared to last season, the Lakers' strength had improved considerably.
Looking at the Phoenix Suns, on the other hand, the result said it all.
Compared to last year, their strength had clearly declined.
Two years earlier, whenever they faced the Lakers, they would wipe the floor with them.
Or rather, in those two years, the Phoenix Suns crushed whomever they faced.
At the end of the first half, many spectators began to leave their seats.
Chen Yu had arranged for Hunter to give each kid a hundred US dollars in advance before the game. Since it was a rare trip to the United States, they could buy a little something for themselves or for their families.
So, as the game went into halftime, a few of the kids were already antsy, following the crowd out.
"Zheng Zhun, stay behind for a moment."
Chen Yu turned and called out to the tall Zheng Zhun.
In a little while, there would be a halftime interactive event, a fan shooting contest. One chance to make a shot for a prize of ten thousand US dollars.
Normally, they would invite a lucky fan, but Chen Yu had just added Zheng Zhun to the event to represent all the kids.
If Zheng Zhun made the shot, the ten-thousand-US-dollar prize would be a small bonus for them.
Of course, Chen Yu would have to get reimbursed by the Sports Bureau for it.
'Since we're on this trip, we can't just be spectators. We should participate in the activities when we can.'
This kid was named Zheng Zhun, and fittingly enough, his shooting was incredibly accurate.
Among the 12 kids on the basketball team, he was supposed to be the most accurate shooter.

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