บท 63: I Just Turned 21.
After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups for both teams were announced.
Cavaliers: Mo Williams, Han Sen, LeBron James, Cunningham, O'Neal
Lakers: Fisher, Kobe, Artest, Pau Gasol, Bynum
Bynum tipped the ball back to the Lakers' half, officially starting the Christmas game.
The Lakers advanced to the frontcourt, with Kobe immediately backing down Han Sen in the high post.
Kobe's intent to school Han was clear to the whole world.
Han Sen, mentally prepared, assumed a defensive stance in advance.
Once Fisher cleared the strong side by cutting to the basket, Kobe initiated his offense.
He started with a post-up move.
Han Sen had already matched up against top scorers like Durant and Pierce, so he had some experience with this move.
But he quickly felt that Kobe was different.
The biggest difference came from Kobe's footwork— before receiving the ball, Kobe made a slight hop.
According to the rules, he now had no pivot foot.
In translation, this meant Kobe could choose any foot as his pivot to initiate the attack.
This summer, Kobe had trained with Olajuwon on his "Dream Shake" footwork, and this was the result of that training.
Kobe followed with a fake spin toward the three-point line, connected it with another fake spin towards the baseline, then turned for a fadeaway jumper.
None of these moves were entirely fake— Han Sen could feel that if he didn't follow, Kobe could shoot at any time.
However, if he followed every move, Kobe could manipulate his defensive center of gravity.
Han finally lunged to contest the shot, but Kobe's athleticism far surpassed Pierce's, allowing him to hang in the air and neutralize the contest.
Swish!
Kobe made the opening shot.
"Welcome to the NBA, rookie," he said mockingly as he landed, glancing at Han with a smirk.
Pierce may have been the trash talk king, but Kobe wasn't far behind.
"Number 77 is in for a tough night."
Tonight's broadcast came from ESPN, and frequent guest Mark Jackson couldn't help but comment.
Jackson had played for the Pacers during his career, facing off against the Lakers in the 2000 NBA Finals. He knew Kobe's personality well.
O'Neal's low-post hook was contested and missed, and Gasol grabbed the rebound.
The Lakers quickly advanced, with Gasol setting up in the low post to initiate the offense. After spinning towards the basket and drawing a double team, he dished to a cutting Fisher for a layup.
"Your welcome party was a bit short, wasn't it?" Han Sen said to Kobe.
Kobe gave him a surprised look.
Han might have been just a rookie, but due to his notorious "77" statement, Kobe had heard a bit about him.
However, he hadn't taken it seriously— there were brash rookies every year.
But after Han Sen's series of moves since arriving in Los Angeles, this kid indeed seemed special.
The Cavaliers' offense continued— O'Neal didn't have an opportunity in the low post. LeBron and Cunningham ran a pick-and-roll, but after being double-teamed, LeBron couldn't pass the ball out, and it was knocked out of bounds.
With only two seconds left on the shot clock, LeBron automatically walked to the sideline to inbound the ball.
Han Sen initially didn't move, glancing towards Cunningham. When the players began cutting, he suddenly sprinted to the sideline.
Cunningham had already anticipated this and set a screen.
Han got to the spot, and LeBron's pass arrived right on time.
One slick handoff followed by a clean catch.
Swish!
Han's shooting was sharp today, hitting a three-pointer right out of the gate.
"Is this the kind of defense the MVP plays?"
He sneered at Kobe, who had just fought through the screen.
Unfortunately, jerseys didn't have built-in microphones back then, so Mark Jackson couldn't hear the exchange on the court. Otherwise, he would have taken back his earlier comment.
Han Sen wasn't someone who would back down so easily.
Kobe's face darkened— Han wasn't just special; he was downright cocky.
The Lakers' offense continued, with Kobe once again backing down in the high post.
This played right into Han's hands.
One of the reasons he taunted Kobe before the game was due to the Lakers' advantage in the interior.
You could say the Lakers were strong because of Kobe, but you could also argue they were strong because of their "big three" inside.
As seen in the previous possession, Cunningham's small frame was no match for Gasol.
So rather than letting the Lakers exploit their interior advantage, he figured it was better to provoke Kobe into isolating against him, like he had done with Durant before.
Kobe initiated another post-up move, but this time Han Sen adjusted his defense, keeping some distance and refusing to let Kobe sense his defensive center of gravity.
Kobe pushed in, but by doing so, he committed to a pivot foot.
Han responded by pushing back, engaging in a brief physical contest, then quickly retreating.
This defense was all about subtlety, not allowing Kobe to read his movements.
Kobe couldn't shake Han as easily as before.
However, Kobe was too experienced— after realizing Han retreated after each physical contact, he exploited this by continuing to push inside.
Soon, the two ended up in the low post.
Han then turned slightly, guarding the basket side and forcing Kobe towards the baseline.
Though Kobe could hit from tough angles, Han knew it was far deadlier to let him turn toward the free-throw line.
He made the right choice— his defense was halfway successful.
But Kobe's next move caught him off guard. Kobe crouched down low, almost crawling along the ground to slip past Han Sen's body and then…passed the ball.
Gasol had somehow cut in from the middle, and after receiving the pass, he threw down a tomahawk dunk.
"I'm not 21," Kobe said after the play, smirking at him.
Damn, I've been duped!
Kobe had been acting all along.
This was what it meant to face the 31-year-old Kobe.
Although Han Sen had said in interviews that Kobe wasn't the best, at this moment, even he had to admit that with this mentality, Kobe was the best in the league.
Coach Brown called Big Z (Ilgauskas) off the bench.
When the play stopped, Big Z subbed in for Cunningham, and the Cavaliers went with a twin-tower lineup.
Cunningham was too small for Gasol, and Varejão wasn't a good match with O'Neal, so Brown had no choice but to make this change.
"Now there are four players on the court who are over 7 feet tall— this is a rare sight in NBA history."
Mark Jackson couldn't help but marvel at the sight once again.
With the Cavaliers playing a twin-tower lineup, the game slowed down noticeably.
In this slower-paced game, the Lakers' experience was evident.
When the game reached the six-minute mark of the first quarter, the Lakers led the Cavaliers 12-7.
The Cavaliers had the ball, and after LeBron and O'Neal ran a pick-and-roll and got double-teamed, LeBron passed the ball to the weak side, where Han Sen stood at a 45-degree angle.
With just 5 seconds left on the shot clock, it was time to bail the team out again.
But this time was different from before— Kobe used his "puppy step" footwork¹ to weave around Big Z's screen.
By the time Han caught the ball, Kobe was already standing in front of him.
There was no time to hesitate— Han immediately made his move with a crossover to close the distance, followed by a hesitation move towards the free-throw line to confuse Kobe.
Kobe, who had faced Wade countless times in the NBA, wasn't fooled by this move and quickly shifted to his left, anticipating Han's drive in that direction.
But Han switched his hesitation move into a direct acceleration, blowing past Kobe.
The change was so abrupt that not only Kobe but even Bynum in the paint didn't react in time.
By the time Bynum tried to recover and block the shot, O'Neal had already used his massive frame to hold him off.
Han Sen soared into the paint, leapt high, and executed a small in-air adjustment…
Boom!
The ball slammed into the basket.
The crowd erupted.
Five seconds to catch the ball, shake off Kobe, and just in time, throw down a reverse dunk— this all felt strangely familiar.
As Han Sen landed, he turned to look at Kobe, exuding youthful energy:
"I just turned 21."
—End of Chapter—
¹ Puppy step: A defensive technique Kobe learned from Gary Payton, involving quick, small strides to slip around screens by compressing the body almost paper-thin.
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