In Game 5, the referees stole the show once again, giving the Lakers a helpful push.
The routine was almost identical to Game 3. As long as Kobe drew a foul, he essentially got exactly what he wanted. Just one minute into the fourth quarter, Poseidon fouled out. After that, the Phoenix Suns’ defense completely collapsed. Artest, finding a rare streak of accuracy, drained two three-pointers in the final period to help the Lakers secure a six-point victory. The Lakers survived by the skin of their teeth, and the cheering fans nearly blew the roof off the Staples Center.
After the game, Skiles uncharacteristically lost his temper. He sat in dead silence during the post-game press conference until the reporters ran out of questions. He then dropped a single sentence—"I do not accept this kind of defeat"—before standing up and storming off. Nobody knew exactly what part of it he refused to accept, but that didn’t stop the reporters from letting their imaginations run wild. In an instant, all sorts of rumors flooded the media, claiming the head coach had lost faith in his team or was slamming the league for unfairness.
Consequently, by the time the Phoenix Suns returned to Phoenix, the league’s punishment arrived alongside them. Skiles was fined 10,000 US dollars. The official justification was perfectly sound: he had ignored the reporters’ interview. In reality, though, the fine was a blatant warning for Skiles to keep his mouth shut. There was nothing he could do. No matter how suffocating the frustration felt, he had to swallow it.
He even vented to Chen Yu, complaining that there was no point in playing the next game because a Game 7 was already guaranteed. Chen Yu couldn’t help but chuckle at that. A head coach lacking that much confidence was certainly a problem. Still, it made cynical sense. Out of all the West and East playoffs, the series between the Phoenix Suns and the Lakers boasted the highest television ratings. It was a guaranteed cash cow for the league, so of course they wouldn’t let it end before a full seven games.
"Scott, calm down. We must win the next game!" Chen Yu said in a deep voice.
Beside him, Brian nodded with a solemn expression. The two men had already exchanged their views. Regardless of whether the league was helping the Lakers or not, they had to find a way to take Game 6.
They might think the league was only stepping in so the Lakers wouldn’t lose too humiliatingly, but what if that wasn’t the script the Lakers were given? What if they were playing the protagonist’s script? The Lakers had nothing left to lose. It was a single, perilous path forward—succeed and soar to the heavens, or fail and go straight into the off-season. But the Phoenix Suns couldn’t afford that mentality. Going to an opponent’s home court for a Game 7 carried far too much risk. Therefore, both men agreed that even if the referees intervened in Game 6, they had to figure out a way to win. They couldn’t easily let it drag on to a Game 7.
Chen Yu then shared his findings with Skiles and the others. His company staff had already analyzed the footage. Kobe had indeed found a way to break their double-teams, a fact that was particularly prominent in this last game. He blasted out thirty-one points while taking only fourteen shots. Going seven for fourteen, he scored sixteen points with an ultra-efficient fifty percent shooting rate. The remaining fifteen points all came from free throws. One only had to consider how many trips to the charity stripe Kobe had earned to realize just how much the referees favored him.
Chen Yu continued, "But these are just surface-level observations. Even without the referees’ special treatment, his scoring efficiency was no longer low during those successful possessions. Instead, just as I mentioned before, he used extra pump fakes to create shooting space, thereby increasing his ability to break the double-team.
"Therefore, even without external factors, continuing to double-team him will yield limited results."
If Nowitzki had trained bitterly for an entire season to finally master his skills and start dominating the court, then Kobe was simply a super genius. Over the past few years, his technique had refined to perfection. Whether playing with his back to the basket or facing it, shooting fadeaways or pulling up for jumpers, he had mastered every possible move. Free from injury and squarely in his physical prime, he was arguably the most unsolvable offensive weapon in the game. How else could he win the scoring title while averaging thirty-five points per game? How else could he break the fifty-point mark four times in a single season, once even dropping a terrifying sixty points? His offensive skill tree was practically maxed out. Under these circumstances, pulling out a new weapon was merely a matter of a split-second realization. He could suddenly grasp a new playing style and execute it immediately. He had definitely spent time reflecting during that specific game, experiencing an epiphany on how to break the double-team. Adding a pump fake was nothing to him. His technique and experience were more than enough to support an instant change in his approach.
Skiles furrowed his brows tightly. They had also noticed that Kobe’s efficiency had climbed steadily over the past two games, and his ball-handling had become far more rational. Then, exactly as Chen Yu had pointed out, Kobe started employing many more plays where he actively drew fouls to dismantle the double-teams.
"What do we do then? Do we just stop double-teaming him?" Skiles asked rhetorically. If they didn’t double-team him, wouldn’t the game become even harder to play?
Chen Yu nodded. "The return on double-teaming him is no longer worth what we’re sacrificing. Why should we keep doing it?"
Any form of double-teaming was a double-edged sword. Smothering Kobe to death inevitably left someone else wide open. Furthermore, it drained Marion and Poseidon’s stamina. Compared to offense, defense consumed a tremendous amount of energy. It was incredibly difficult for any player to excel at both simultaneously; focusing heavily on defense naturally ate away at the energy reserved for scoring. Over the last few games, Marion had averaged a mere 10.4 points, which was the best proof of this. He was genuinely considered the Phoenix Suns’ third-in-command, and the team relied on him to output firepower.
"So we might as well drop the trap entirely," Chen Yu continued. "We just play normally and win the game according to our own rhythm." He still firmly believed that in terms of roster configuration, the Phoenix Suns possessed certain advantages that countered the Lakers. "We need to put up high scores—a hundred points, maybe even a hundred and ten. We’ll win purely on offense, which might even help us bypass the referees’ influence."
Desperately playing defense easily gave the referees chances to blow the whistle, but offense wouldn’t suffer the same fate. They couldn’t possibly call offensive fouls non-stop. Besides, the Phoenix Suns relied heavily on shooting for their offense. If they got called for fouls just for shooting jumpers, there truly would be no justice in the world.
Chen Yu added, "Finally, relaxing the trap on Kobe will inevitably lead him to take a massive volume of shots. And sometimes, I really feel that Kobe shooting too much isn’t actually a good thing for the Lakers."
How had the Phoenix Suns won the championship in their first season? It was through psychological warfare—aggravating the conflict between Kobe and O’Neal, letting Kobe take shots like a madman. Kobe had racked up massive points, yet the Lakers lost. Now, Kobe had been in a slump for several games. His teammates had already accumulated experience dealing with the Phoenix Suns, built up their confidence, and adapted to Kobe passing the ball. If Kobe suddenly reverted to playing selfishly, his teammates might not be able to adjust. The moment they failed to adjust, the Phoenix Suns would find their opening.
Looking at Skiles, Chen Yu said, "Scott, you guys need to seriously consider our suggestion. Like you said, if a Game 7 is inevitable anyway, then we have room for trial and error.
"Furthermore, if we keep playing like this, we’ll need to make a change regardless."
Even with the referees’ help, the Lakers had managed to pull back two games. This proved that they had already adapted to the current tactics. If they didn’t change things up, their advantage would truly vanish. Of course, Chen Yu was merely offering a suggestion on behalf of his team; the specific execution still depended on Skiles and the coaching staff. Skiles was the head coach. But Chen Yu was the boss, representing the management. He demanded performance and results. Because of that, Skiles genuinely couldn’t afford to ignore Chen Yu’s input.
He knew that Chen Yu had an entire team backing him, having poached numerous coaches from the NCAA and the Development Alliance to research tactics. To the Phoenix Suns’ coaching staff, Chen Yu’s team acted as an unofficial think tank, constantly providing strategic advice.
"Chen, I will seriously consider it," Skiles replied in a solemn tone.

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