If the players don’t unite, no matter how tactical the coach is, it won’t work.
This exposed another issue with Kobe: as the team’s leader, he’s not that convincing.
After Ah Gan left, Kobe was promoted as the leader of the Trail Blazers. In terms of strength and performance, there’s no problem.
But when it comes to age and leadership skills in the locker room, he’s far from there.
Especially since he tries to imitate Ah Gan in every way, yet fails at it.
Because fundamentally, he’s different from Ah Gan, both in character and philosophical approach.
Trying to force Ah Gan’s style onto himself just makes him seem awkward.
In the first season after Ah Gan left the Trail Blazers, Kobe tried to lead the entire team.
The result was that not many people were keen on him, and only Little O would help put on a show.
Even Big Ben sometimes didn’t give Kobe face, since they were both in the same class of ’96, with three championships. Why should he respect Kobe?
And as for veterans like Anderson and Patterson, they’re even less concerned.
What’s more crucial is that Kobe wears Adidas, while the Trail Blazers are a Nike team.
So, naturally, Nike doesn’t give Kobe much face and occasionally suppresses him.
For example, Trail Blazers players wearing Nike shoes would mock Kobe’s shoes for being ugly, which is one of the reasons why Kobe intended to leave Adidas and switch to Nike.
How can you expect the full support of the team when you’re the leader of a brand-backed team, yet don’t wear their shoes? You’re dreaming, aren’t you?
The status of being the leader is merely symbolic, based on your popularity and undeniable skills.
But to be a true leader, you still need to continue honing your skills and making decisions.
By the finals, Kobe finally realized this, so he refused to meet with Adidas PR during that time, stating he wanted to focus on the games.
By then, he was determined to leave the German brand and sign with the American brand for genuine support.
The Trail Blazers’ insufficient communication on defense gave Gan Guoyang and Jordan too many offensive options.
They could shoot from mid-range, pass, distribute the ball to the wings, cut inside, or transition to the low post.
The Trail Blazers’ aggressive defense is most likely to falter against such a diverse offense.
Because aggression often implies direction, you need a focus, a direction to block, to press, and to steal.
But the Gan+Jordan combo brings too many options, which has proven unbeatable in their regular-season matches.
Every time the Trail Blazers exerted force in one direction, the duo would move in another, leaving the Trail Blazers defenseless.
Only defensive setups like the Celtics, with strong static talents, height, and wingspan filling the space, can handle any choice you make, which is the best strategy.
The score difference stabilized around 10 points, with Gan Guoyang receiving a pass from Jordan in the low post. Jordan slipped along the baseline, with Kobe closely trailing.
But Kobe didn’t expect Jordan to double back after reaching halfway down the baseline.
As a result, Gan Guoyang conveniently set a screen for Jordan, blocking Kobe and passing to Jordan.
Jordan caught the ball and made a corner mid-range jump shot, scoring!
This play enraged Kobe, who pounded the basketball hard.
After scoring, Jordan and Ah Gan high-fived, even shrugging their shoulders to show resignation.
Indeed, it was a very precise play, with Jordan’s double back catching them completely off guard.
To defend this play, the only solution is for a teammate at the arc to step in and help, rushing towards Jordan.
If Jordan passes again, Kobe will rotate to the outside, forming a rotation.
Bowen can do this, but Reuben Patterson is unwilling; he doesn’t get along well with Kobe either.
Moreover, with the distance being so far, what’s the use of rushing over? Isn’t that just wasting energy?
Consecutive defensive failures with uninterested teammates not rotating effectively frustrated Kobe greatly.
However, instead of losing his head at this moment, he calmed down and patiently directed the team on offense.
Especially in tandem with Michael Redd, who was a brilliant but overlooked player tonight.
Seeing Patterson’s mediocre defense, Carl replaced Reuben with Redd, who made two consecutive jump shots off Kobe’s passes.
Then, on defense, Kobe, with his tenacious willpower and unwillingness to lose, managed to steal the ball from Jordan.
On the counterattack, Kobe scored a layup, even drawing a foul on Ross and converting the free throw.
Kobe led a 7:0 counter-attack by the Trail Blazers, proving he’s indeed a incredibly resilient and determined player.
Then Gan Guoyang began to exert his strength, continuously receiving the ball in the low post, executing spin hooks, spin jump shots, and spin drives to the basket to draw fouls.
Gan Guoyang’s momentary destructiveness is still top-notch in the League.
The teams were entangled in the crucial third quarter, with Glory building a lead through an offensive surge at the start.
By the end of the third quarter, Glory had overtaken the lead, 78:70, an 8-point lead over the Trail Blazers.
"Sonny and Michael’s collaboration is still so wonderful. Though they might look like 50-year-old supermodels in bikinis—still perfect in body but with wrinkles on the skin—I still raise the flag and cast a supportive vote for them, for their well-maintained looks!"
Bill Walton expressed his admiration and affection for Jordan and Gan Guoyang’s cooperation in somewhat risqué terms.
Powerful individual abilities, precise passing, various options, decisive ball handling—their style might not be explosive, but the efficiency is enough to crush the League’s best defenses.
Kobe sat out for a rest at the end of the third quarter. He already tallied 25 points with a decent shooting percentage and wasn’t too inefficient.
But the team was still trailing, leaving Kobe looking displeased. He knew what the issue was: basketball is a sport for five; if it were just him or five of him, they wouldn’t be 8 points behind!
At 24, Kobe was primarily focused on himself; teammates, in his view, were both comrades and burdens.
Carl knew this characteristic of Kobe, having once advised him, "In ’Team,’ there is an ’M’ and an ’E,’ but not ’ME,’ and definitely not ’I’ (me)."
Kobe retorted disdainfully, "But there’s one in ’Win.’
This comment left Carl speechless, not knowing what to say.
When Kobe led the team into the finals, Carl had even less to say.
After the fourth quarter began, Kobe sat on the bench resting, while Little O’Neal took on Jordan and Yao Ming.
Yao Ming hadn’t played much on offense in the first three quarters, but by the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers’ attention on him slackened.
Yao Ming capitalized in the paint with hooks and jump shots, scoring consecutively. Once near the three-second zone with the ball, Yao Ming’s scoring efficiency soared.
Moreover, he wasn’t purely reliant on setups or low post single plays, but was semi-reliant on setups.
In a not-so-good, but not-so-bad opportunity, passing the ball to Yao Ming, getting him closer to the basket, and then figuring out how to finish the shot himself.
This approach didn’t demand too much as a tactical hub from Yao Ming and didn’t rely solely on great positioning and open opportunities.
Such semi-reliant setups were very effective scoring tools for both Yao Ming and Glory.
The tolerance was moderate, but the efficiency was high. After Yao Ming’s consecutive points expanded the lead, Kobe couldn’t hold back during a timeout and criticized Little O’Neal.
"What are you defending? What are you defending against? It’s all bullshit!"
"Kobe, just focus on your own task, and take fewer unnecessary shots."
Little O’Neal couldn’t hold back and retorted to Kobe, leaving Kobe in disbelief that this was directed at him.
"What did you say?"
"I think I made myself clear."
"Alright, shut up, shut up! What do you want to do?!"
Carl erupted—this is the finals; why is there such an argument?
Neither spoke again, and for the rest of the fourth quarter, they didn’t communicate either.
A grudge between the two cores naturally adversely affected the team’s performance.
At one point, Glory extended the lead to 15 points, and the Trail Blazers played increasingly chaotically, completely losing their momentum to close the gap.
The young Trail Blazers, full of energy before the game and eager to prove themselves, instead lost confidence and motivation as the game progressed due to tactics and internal conflicts.
Kobe, although full of passion, couldn’t fully integrate with his teammates. During the West Finals, everyone sang in unison in fair weather; in the Finals, facing the divine duo with headwinds, there’s hesitation.
102:90, Glory defeated the Trail Blazers by a 12-point margin on the road, capturing the first game of the finals, leading the series 1:0.
Gan Guoyang scored 29 points with 13 rebounds, and Jordan scored 30, an average-looking stat line.
Kobe scored a game-high 36 points with a 47% shooting rate, which was impressive but still lost the game.
Back in the locker room after the game, Kobe and Little O’Neal had a heated argument, casting a heavy shadow over the Trail Blazers’ championship journey.