The Lakers won, but Jackson wasn’t particularly thrilled. He knew exactly how they had won today, and this kind of victory was unsustainable. This wasn’t a single-elimination game; it was a playoff series.
Jackson knew very well that the Phoenix Suns were no pushovers. The league couldn’t blatantly favor the Lakers forever. The bias in this game was just a helping hand to prevent the Lakers from losing too humiliatingly. In a way, it only proved how terribly the Lakers were playing and how massive their problems were—so massive that the league couldn’t bear to watch and had to step in.
Therefore, in the upcoming games, even if they managed to force a Game 7, Jackson felt there was a high probability the Lakers would still be eliminated. If they didn’t solve the Nowitzki problem, the Lakers were guaranteed to lose. But when it came to that, Jackson truly had no solutions.
The team took the bus back to the hotel. Jackson couldn’t help but constantly turn his head to look at Kobe, who was sitting diagonally behind him. Kobe was playing on his phone, likely video-chatting with Vanessa and teasing his youngest child. He seemed to be in a pretty good mood. His answers during the post-game press conference had already shown that he was in decent spirits.
When the bus arrived at the hotel and the players were heading back to their respective rooms, Jackson stopped Kobe.
"Got a minute to chat?" Jackson asked with a smile.
Kobe hesitated for a moment, then nodded. The two sat down in the lounge area of the hotel floor they had booked out.
"Kobe, you are a smart man. You should know that the Phoenix Suns are not a weak opponent. They are very strong, and Dirk is very strong. Just like the reporters said, this series could even be treated as the Finals.
"So we did pull one back, but the upcoming games won’t be easy. We still need to make changes. What do you think?"
Jackson weighed his words carefully, not daring to be too blunt. He had to test the waters and figure out Kobe’s thoughts first. If Kobe had said, "It’s fine, Phil, we’ll just play like we did today. Leave it to me, I’ll lead the team to victory," then Jackson wouldn’t need to say another word. It would be completely hopeless.
Kobe’s expression grew a bit more serious. He suddenly curled his lip and said, "Phil, today’s game was incredibly ugly."
Joy leaped in Jackson’s heart. He didn’t say anything, only letting out a long sigh.
That sigh resonated with Kobe. Knitting his brows, he said, "Phil, this isn’t the kind of victory I want. Just like you said, we need to change. Don’t worry, I know what to do. I will lead the team to win these games."
After saying that, he asked if Jackson had anything else to add. Jackson smiled and shook his head, gesturing for Kobe to go back and get some rest.
Watching Kobe walk away, Jackson couldn’t help but mutter in his heart. He felt that Kobe had listened to his words, but he had no idea what Kobe meant by "knowing what to do" or how he actually planned to do it. Jackson knew better than to press further. He had spent his entire life dealing with star players and knew exactly how to coax them. Sometimes, saying too much would only trigger their rebelliousness.
"I’m a superstar. Do I really need you to teach me how to play?"
Thinking of this, Jackson couldn’t help but rub his temples in frustration. He looked at the Phoenix Suns. They were so harmonious, united from top to bottom, with incredibly strong tactical execution. And Hardaway had such a fantastic personality.
Even though any insider could see that the Lakers had only won this game with the referees’ help, the media stayed silent. Throughout the entire game, the Lakers were awarded an unbelievable 23 foul calls, while the Phoenix Suns only had 9. Even a fool could see there was a problem. Yet, opening the newspapers, it was all flattery praising Kobe for his desperate counterattack and Yao Ming for being as steady as a mountain. Ordinary fans wouldn’t complain either; they only cared about winning or losing.
This kind of narrative left Chen Yu with no energy to even complain. He didn’t go to the arena for Game 4, choosing instead to stay home and watch the broadcast while holding Xiaoyanfei.
In this game, the Phoenix Suns won. 104 to 92. A 12-point blowout victory for Phoenix. Nowitzki put on an otherworldly performance once again, exploding for 36 points!
"Darling, your team won. Why do I feel like you’re not very happy?"
Lexi had already coaxed Xiaoyanfei to sleep. Wearing a piece of sexy lingerie, she nestled snugly into Chen Yu’s lap. Chen Yu’s expression was quite serious.
Lexi didn’t watch much basketball and wasn’t entirely interested, but watching alongside Chen Yu, he would explain things to her, so she understood a little. She asked, "Didn’t you say the referees didn’t interfere? If they play normally, the Lakers can’t beat us. Plus, we’re already up 3 to 1 and have match point. We can eliminate the Lakers in the next game."
Chen Yu shook his head, his expression remaining grim. "You go to sleep first."
He told Lexi to head to bed. He stood up, went to the study, and pulled up the replay of the game to watch. Lexi brewed a cup of tea for Chen Yu before going to rest.
Chen Yu constantly scrubbed the timeline backward and forward, watching intently. Winning was definitely a good thing. And in this game, the referees hadn’t stolen the spotlight. In fact, their whistling standards had even been a bit loose. Neither team’s tactics had changed much, either. Jackson couldn’t come up with any good adjustments and could only rely on his players to step up. Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns had already proven their tactics were effective, so they naturally wouldn’t change them easily. And just as Chen Yu had said, in a normal game, the Lakers were no match for the Phoenix Suns.
So the Phoenix Suns won, and won big. However, Chen Yu noticed a problem.
Kobe!
In this game, Kobe scored 21 points. His performance wasn’t great, but he hadn’t completely dropped the ball either. He also grabbed 4 rebounds and dished out 6 assists. On the surface, what Skiles had worried about had happened: Kobe was playing more rationally. Even when double-teamed, he had chosen to pass the ball to assist his teammates. This was Skiles’s biggest fear—that Kobe would proactively lower his ego and compromise for the sake of winning.
If it was only that, Chen Yu might have simply concluded that Kobe had matured. But he felt that wasn’t the whole story. Kobe had become somewhat more rational, but his changes weren’t entirely focused on passing out of double-teams. There was one specific adjustment that put Chen Yu on high alert.
His shooting percentage.
In this game, Kobe shot 7 for 15, which was a decent efficiency. And it wasn’t an issue of simply having a hot hand. Chen Yu faintly sensed that Kobe’s ability to break double-teams had somehow grown stronger.
There were only a few ways to break a double-team. Either you had O’Neal’s invincible physique and could score regardless of having two men hanging off you. Or, you had to shoot quickly before the double-team could fully form. Alternatively, you could make a short pass to a teammate and reposition yourself. Those who could genuinely rely on technique to run rings around two defenders and force a successful offensive play were exceedingly rare. Even Jordan couldn’t do it often. Not to mention, the players double-teaming Kobe weren’t average; they were two of the league’s top-tier, tall defenders.
Previously, Kobe hadn’t shown much ability to break double-teams. But in this game, he utilized some double-team breaking tactics that Chen Yu had never seen before.
Due to rule limitations, when positioned above the free-throw line, Marion and Poseidon didn’t dare press too tightly. They usually formed an encirclement, primarily focusing on blocking his drives. Both men had incredible experience and jumping speed. Working together, whether Kobe chose to dribble laterally to create space or shoot off the dribble, they could respond and contest the shot.
In this situation, Kobe made an adjustment. He seemed to be trying to draw fouls. He would hold the ball and pump-fake. Once he got both of them in the air, he would actively lean into their bodies. If he succeeded, it was an indisputable foul.
However, given the precedent set in the previous game, Marion and Poseidon were consciously avoiding giving Kobe the chance to draw fouls. Consequently, a different scenario unfolded. After Kobe pump-faked, if Marion and Poseidon didn’t take the bait and instead actively backed off to loosen their defense, Kobe would immediately chain his technical moves together and execute his shot.
Essentially, before shooting, he added an initiating move—a quick fake. By exploiting their uncertainty regarding the referees’ whistling standards, he carved out the space he needed to shoot. This allowed him to pull up directly for a fadeaway jumper or gain the upper hand for a turnaround jumper. He could even drive directly, pull back, and change directions. Once he had that space, whether he chose to pass or shoot, there was no problem at all.
Therefore, his ability to break double-teams improved, and his efficiency shot right up.
Chen Yu didn’t know if this was a method Jackson had devised for him or something he had figured out on his own. If Kobe had figured it out himself, and he continued to play like this in the upcoming games, the Phoenix Suns were going to be in a bit of trouble.

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