He Ximeng and Kobe didn't have much room to perform in this game.
On one hand, Van Exel and Ceballos were in good form, occupying most of the playing time and shot attempts.
On the other hand, Coach Harris had O'Neal join the rotating lineup, partnering with He Ximeng and Kobe, squeezing out offensive opportunities that rightfully belonged to the two of them...
In the end, He Ximeng only managed 5 points, 5 assists, and 1 steal, while Kobe had 5 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 block.
After the game, He Ximeng was the first to request to stay and practice with Kobe... Not having enjoyed the game, he could only vent some excess energy through extra practice...
The next day, the Lakers continued to host another strong team from Texas, the San Antonio Spurs.
The Lakers' current record was 5 wins and 1 loss, while the Spurs' record was 1 win and 5 losses.
David Robinson was out due to injury, with a slim chance of returning this season. Head coach Bob Hill was still clinging to his pride and unwilling to tank for the top pick. Popovich had endured to the extreme, his patience about to run out, and another thousand-win coach in the league was about to debut...
The Spurs' current players were veteran Wilkins and point guard Avery Johnson.
This summer, there were rumors circulating in the league that the Spurs were going to trade Avery Johnson for a first-round pick from the Knicks, with the target being the point guard from Wake Forest University, Chinese player He Ximeng...
The rumors were so detailed and convincing that "The General" didn't even go on vacation this summer, staying in San Antonio to hone his skills and, incidentally, to stay updated on any developments...
As a result, the Lakers intercepted the Knicks in the draft. The rumors about "The General" being traded were thus dispelled...
However, the end of the rumors didn't mean they were baseless.
Avery Johnson had been in the league since the 88-89 season, having played for nearly 10 seasons. He already had his own understanding of the league's trade rules. Therefore, when he came to Los Angeles to face the Lakers, there was a palpable hostility in "The General's" eyes towards He Ximeng!
At the end of the first quarter and during the rotation time at the beginning of the second quarter, Avery Johnson volunteered to play, wanting to show the Lakers' rookie point guard a thing or two...
He Ximeng knew exactly where "The General's" hostility came from!
The current Spurs team didn't have many players available for trade. The Knicks wouldn't be interested in the soon-to-retire Wilkins, so "The General," with his good passing ability, naturally became the Knicks' first choice!
"The General" paired with "The Gorilla" would indeed be a good combination.
But unfortunately, the logo man intercepted early, causing the trade between the Spurs and the Knicks to fall through.
"The General" remained in San Antonio, about to tank with Popovich, while He Ximeng came to Los Angeles to build camaraderie with Kobe and O'Neal...
He Ximeng had no intention of crossing anyone, including "The General." But the competition in the NBA was this brutal; for every newcomer, there was an old-timer to be phased out. This was because each team's roster was limited to 15 players, no more, no less.
Facing "The General's" ill-intentioned confrontations, He Ximeng pretended not to see and couldn't be bothered to engage.
The Lakers' goal was to win, and He Ximeng's goal was to improve his stats as much as possible, making up for the points lost against the Rockets in the previous game.
Van Exel, due to his reckless shots in the latter stages of the previous game, had not followed Coach Harris's tactical instructions. After the game, he was severely criticized by the coach! In this game, as a punishment, Van Exel's shot attempts were limited to 8, and his playing time was restricted to 25 minutes...
Most of Van Exel's freed-up shot attempts were allocated to Eddie Jones, but his playing time was given to He Ximeng...
Ceballos's performance declined again in this game. The reason was likely related to a news report released by the renowned sports magazine "Basketball Family" after yesterday's game, which detailed how the Lakers' management was considering trading Ceballos for a star player who better matched O'Neal...
With Ceballos's slump, the direct beneficiary was Eddie Jones, who was in the starting lineup.
Eddie Jones's position in the Lakers' starting lineup was previously ranked near the bottom, about the same as Campbell.
However, in recent times, Van Exel had made frequent mistakes, causing Coach Harris to shake his head repeatedly.
Ceballos, on the other hand, hadn't recognized his position on the team and had a dispute with O'Neal over seniority, leading to him being on the verge of being kicked out of the team...
With He Ximeng and Kobe on the bench not yet developed, and without offending anyone, Eddie Jones had rapidly risen to become the Lakers' second-leading scorer after O'Neal!
In this game against the Spurs, Eddie Jones scored 22 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals, shooting 5-of-10 from three-point range, becoming O'Neal's most effective partner...
He Ximeng and Kobe also had some gains in this game.
He Ximeng's biggest gain was an increase in playing time from 12 minutes to 17 minutes.
Don't underestimate this short 5-minute increase in playing time! 5 minutes was equivalent to almost half a quarter. And playing time exceeding 15 minutes also signified an upgrade in He Ximeng's status from a regular rotation player to a quasi-sixth man!
His average field goal attempts also increased accordingly, from 6 to 8-10.
In this game, He Ximeng took 8 shots, making 6 of them, including 4 three-pointers, 2 layups, and two free throws, ultimately scoring 18 points, 10 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 turnover! Both his single-game scoring and assist totals set new career highs!
Moreover, He Ximeng also achieved his first career double-double!
While the Los Angeles media hadn't reacted yet, the Chinese media had already gone wild praising He Ximeng!
"The First Point Guard of China is Born!"
"The Future Hope of the Chinese National Basketball Team!"
"Chinese Youngster Shines in Los Angeles!"
...
Kobe also had a very good performance in this game, scoring 12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block, also setting a new career-high in single-game scoring.
In the end, the Lakers defeated the visiting Spurs 95:83, improving their overall record to 6 wins and 1 loss.
Popovich had not accompanied the team to Los Angeles, but in his office in San Antonio, he watched the live broadcast of the game with his assistants.
After the game ended, Popovich said nothing about He Ximeng's performance and instead turned to his assistants to discuss a topic they had already debated countless times: "Gentlemen, let's talk about next year's draft pick..."
He Ximeng had no idea how Popovich planned to push for tanking. He Ximeng only knew that Popovich would eventually adopt his suggestion, fire Coach Hill, take over the team himself, tank for the top pick, and finally bring Duncan back to San Antonio...