"I feel like I've discovered a new continent."
"Five up, five down, this is really cool."
"We're invincible."
The day after the game, Gentry was still muttering to himself. After an entire season, he didn't know that having Durant, Curry, Thompson, and Green come off the bench would have such a good effect.
A 48-minute game.
If every player plays for 24 minutes... How envious would Popovich be?
But...
Would the players agree? ❆❉
So now the players are in the meeting room, listening to Gentry tell stories.
"Heh..."
Wade Dong was already bored, having yawned several times, before waving his hand to stop Gentry, "Old Jin, just say what you're thinking. I don't care about the stats. I just want to get the championship as soon as possible so I can go back to China."
Gentry said, "This is what I'm thinking. We'll put out two lineups. Dong Ge, Yi Nan, Whiteside, Carter, and McCollum in one group, and Curry, Durant, Thompson, Green, and McGrady in the other. Tucker, Barton, and Varejao, you three elite players will be the mobile personnel."
"Everyone will play for 24 minutes."
Yi Nan hesitated, "Isn't this a bit disrespectful to the Spurs?"
"Respect the opponent?!"
Gentry laughed, "Victory is the most important thing. If you respect the opponent, will they give you the championship?"
In the end, it was still the Suns' strength that was too great.
Wade Dong's group seemed to be the weaker of the two, but with Wade Dong, they could guarantee the basic level. As long as the rhythm wasn't too fast, Durant, Curry, Thompson, Green, and McGrady would teach the Spurs a lesson during this time as substitutes.
Durant said, "I think this is pretty fun."
"I want to play too..."
Curry was eager to try, "I'm willing to come off the bench."
"I have no objections."
"I have no objections."
Thompson and Green also agreed with Gentry's decision.
The team was divided into two lineups, and Wade Dong's group was definitely the starting lineup. Durant, one of the top three players in the league, was actually going to come off the bench in the playoffs?
Curry said, "Let's try it now. I don't think we'll necessarily lose to Dong Ge's group."
...
After Kobe got off the plane, Qingyan arranged for a vehicle to pick up Kobe and his family and take them directly to the Western Ball Arena.
Kobe had arranged to come and watch the game with Wade Dong in the morning...
After all, tickets for the Suns' games were hard to come by, so he had to arrange for Wade Dong to keep a few tickets for him in advance.
When Kobe arrived at the arena, the Suns' internal competition was almost over.
93:79!!!
Wade Dong's group was behind by 14 points.
"Uncle Wade Dong!"
"Uncle Wade Dong!"
Kobe's two daughters were so excited when they saw Wade Dong that they waved their hands.
"Shh~~~"
Kobe gestured for his two daughters to watch Wade Dong play quietly.
"This style of play..."
Kobe discovered that although Wade Dong could score, his group couldn't stop Durant's group from scoring.
If...
If a team had Durant, Curry, Thompson, and Green, and added some excellent role players, they might be able to take down the Suns, even with Wade Dong.
And these four...
Next summer, all their contracts would be up!
"Beep!!!"
Varejao blew the whistle to end the game.
103:91!!!
Wade Dong's group lost to Durant's group.
"We won???"
After the win, Curry and Thompson still couldn't quite believe it, "We actually beat Dong Ge?"
But Green shook his head, "Hey... Dong Ge didn't take it seriously at all!"
Wade Dong walked over to Kobe, pinched Kobe's second daughter's little face, "Uncle will take you to eat something good later."
"Okay, okay!"
The second daughter clapped her hands.
Kobe laughed, "Gianna is more like me, she's very strong-willed, and she's been learning Chinese."
"Senior..."
"Idol..."
"Bro..."
With Kobe's unexpected arrival, McGrady, McCollum, and Curry all came over to greet him.
Kobe said, "Didn't I disturb your training?"
"No..."
Gentry walked over with a thermos, "Our training is over. We're going to go eat something, then get a good night's sleep, and continue to slaughter the Spurs tomorrow."
Kobe laughed, "Haha... Tomorrow I'll be on the sidelines cheering you on!"
Wade Dong patted Kobe's shoulder, "I'm going to go take a shower, then we'll eat together later."
"Okay, you go ahead."
Kobe walked onto the court, "I get itchy when I see basketball, I'm going to shoot a few."
"Here~"
Before leaving, Wade Dong winked at McCollum and Barton.
The two of them understood immediately and walked over to Kobe, "Idol, can you give us some guidance?"
"Huh?"
Kobe was taken aback, then nodded, "Okay!"
This was the Suns' style, plucking feathers from a passing goose!
Kobe was here, and McCollum, as a rookie, couldn't miss the chance to learn from his idol.
...
That night, Kobe also experienced the Suns' lifestyle.
Everyone liked to eat Chinese food...
The next day they were going to play the Spurs, and Gentry still wanted to have a few drinks?
Not only that, but Green and Wade Dong also had a small drink, which was absolutely unacceptable to Kobe. If he knew that his teammates were still having a drink in the evening during the playoffs, he might have blown up.
During the conversation, Gentry brought up a question, "If the OK combination from back then met the Suns now, who would win?"
This was just a hypothesis, with no result.
The reason Gentry asked this was because the OK combination led the Lakers to a three-peat, and the Suns were going for a three-peat this year.
There was a saying in the league...
Only teams that had won three championships in a row could be called a 'dynasty'.
...
The next day, Kobe sat on the sidelines with his wife and daughter to watch the game.
"Kobe!"
"Kobe!"
"Kobe!"
Before the game started, Kobe also stood up to greet the home fans, and the Western Ball Arena also echoed with the fans' calls for Kobe.
"I'm here, let's see Dong Ge explode again!"
"Dong Ge is going to score 81 points tonight, in honour of Kobe!"
"The grudge against the Spurs is deep, I'm here to watch the Suns get their revenge!"
There were Kobe fans and Kobe haters.
When the fans saw Kobe appear at the Western Ball Arena, there were blessings and jokes, but whether it was a blessing or a joke, the focus of attention was still on this game.
But when the starting lineup appeared on the big screen, the fans' expressions were truly amazing.
Suns: Wade Dong, Yi Nan, Whiteside, Carter, and McCollum
Spurs: Duncan, Parker, Leonard, Splitter, and Danny
Yi Nan was starting? Whiteside was starting? McCollum was starting?
"Nonsense!!!"
The fans' reactions were almost unanimous.
Even the home fans started booing... At least three people in this starting lineup didn't deserve to be there.