Van Exel came to his senses somewhat, reducing his risky shots and instead feeding his teammates the ball.
Ceballos still passed the most, but his shooting touch was truly awful today, and he ended up feeling guilty from all the missed shots. Throughout the game, Ceballos only made 5 of 18 shots, including 1 of 5 three-pointers, scoring 15 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 blocks, but committing a whopping 8 turnovers.
The Lakers as a whole committed a staggering 23 turnovers today, with Ceballos accounting for one-third of them.
The high number of turnovers for the entire team indicated a severe lack of flow within the Lakers. Ceballos's high turnover count pointed to his very poor performance today.
Eddie Jones found some touch in the fourth quarter, ultimately making 4 of 8 shots, including 3 of 6 three-pointers, to score 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists.
O'Neal only took 10 shots today but made 8, boasting an impressive 80% field goal percentage. This was mainly because O'Neal's shots were all direct dunks at the rim. At the free-throw line, he made 7 of 11, shooting over 50%, and scored 23 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks, though he also had 5 turnovers.
In the final quarter, as the Lakers maintained a lead of around 10 points, Heximon did not get another chance to play.
Among the second unit, other players like Rumil Robinson, Sean Lusk, and even Knight got opportunities to play and gain experience, but Kobe sat out the entire game, which greatly frustrated the "Little Flying Man."
Especially since Heximon, who was also part of the second unit, played early due to Van Exel's early foul trouble today. Despite not playing in the final quarter, Heximon still logged 20 minutes of playing time, taking 6 shots and making 5, including 3 of 4 three-pointers, for a total of 13 points, 8 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal. Even more impressively, he had no turnovers!
While the Lakers collectively committed a massive 23 turnovers, Heximon had zero, and at the same time, dished out 8 assists. His plus-minus rating for the game was a team-high +27.
This meant that when Heximon was on the court, the Lakers held an overwhelming advantage over the Suns!
This was partly due to Heximon's steady court control and, in part, thanks to O'Neal!
When Heximon and O'Neal were on the court together, it was essentially a scoring spree for the Lakers!
After the game, a nosy Los Angeles media outlet compiled a table of the first-game stats for the four rookies who were all lottery picks in this year's draft.
Ranked first, naturally, was Heximon, who played 20 minutes and scored 13 points, 8 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal!
Ranked second was Nash of the Suns. He played 5 minutes, attempted one three-pointer but missed, and had no points, rebounds, assists, steals, turnovers, or fouls – all his stats were blank.
Ranked third was Knight of the Lakers, who played 2 minutes. He attempted one shot at the rim but missed; his stats were 2 rebounds and 1 foul.
Ranked last was Kobe of the Lakers, who did not play at all.
Finally, the article's title was: "Who is the Best Rookie of this Game?"
The implication of that question... was it trying to deliberately create conflict between Kobe and Heximon?
At the post-game press conference, Harris attended with O'Neal, who was the best performer of the game.
Harris first stated: "The team still has many issues, and we need time to gel. But Shaq played great and was very dominant in the paint..."
Harris was also generous with his praise for the rookie Heximon.
"Simon played very smartly! He perfectly executed my game plan and worked hard to get the ball to Shaq..."
The implication here was that starting point guard Van Exel did not execute his game plan and did not get the ball to O'Neal.
In his subsequent remarks, O'Neal spoke glowingly about Los Angeles, saying that playing for the Lakers was the best decision he ever made. Then, he pivoted without hesitation, stating, "But we do have a few small issues within the team, and I believe our management and coaching staff will handle everything..."
Ceballos didn't get a chance to speak today, so whatever O'Neal said was taken as gospel.
Regarding Heximon, O'Neal specifically added: "Simon is the most talented point guard I've ever seen! His passes make my scoring as easy as picking apples from the tree in my grandma's backyard... I love a point guard like that..."
Meanwhile, the scores from other opening-day games also started pouring in.
The first pick, Iverson, in his career debut, started and played 37 minutes, scoring a phenomenal 30 points, 2 rebounds, and 6 assists. Although he had 3 turnovers and 5 fouls, his performance was stellar and shocked the entire city of Philadelphia!
Camby's debut stats were 5 points and 4 rebounds in 15 minutes.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim's debut stats were 16 points and 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 30 minutes!
Ray Allen's debut stats were 13 points, 2 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 turnover in 28 minutes as a starter.
Stephon Marbury's debut was short-lived; he left the game due to injury after only 8 minutes, going 0 for 3 from the field, with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 turnover, and no points.
...
Compared to these top players from the 1996 draft class, Heximon's career debut stats were second only to Iverson and Abdur-Rahim, ranking third!
"Who is the real lottery pick?"
"Chinese Genius Player Shines in Los Angeles!"
"The Purple and Gold Lakers Found a Gem!"
...
The Los Angeles media, skilled at generating hype, unhesitatingly showered Heximon with the most effusive praise.
But while some rejoiced, others were dismayed.
As the noise subsided and everyone, happy or not, headed home to rest, an overflowing Kobe, unable to vent his energy, chose to stay and practice alone!
To the staff, Kobe's actions seemed like an emotional outburst, but to Heximon, this was the true Kobe!
When his desire to compete couldn't be satisfied, he could only hone his skills through intense training to calm his restless heart.
Kobe maintained this habit from his rookie year until the end of his career.
Every time he lost a game or performed poorly, Kobe would habitually use extra practice to regain his composure.
When Heximon finished showering and packing his things, and returned to the gym, Kobe was already drenched in sweat from his workout!
"Why haven't you left yet? Aren't you going to celebrate with Kayla about your great career start?"
"Why do I smell a hint of sourness in the air?"
"Enough talk, aren't you heading home? Come play with me for a bit!"
Heximon checked his watch. "Kayla has rehearsal tonight. I can play with you for another 30 minutes..."
"Then what are you waiting for!" Kobe said, tossing him the ball.
Heximon was forced to put down his bag and played a few more rounds with Kobe.
As a result, Kobe, with his post-up moves and powerful drives, scored two 5:0 runs against Heximon!
"That's enough! If you keep playing like this, I'm going to fight back?"
"Come on! Let's battle till dawn..."
"You're crazy! After this game, I'm going home to be with Kayla. I'm not playing crazy games with you here..."