The loss to the Jazz was a heavy blow to the Lakers' morale.
Before this, the Lakers were riding high, having boasted, "We'll punch out the Western Conference elder care facilities and kick the Eastern Conference kindergartens." However, before even reaching the East, they ran into the tough Jazz in the West and ended up nursing a few bruised toes.
In the following games, O'Neal's form dipped, and the Lakers consecutively lost to the SuperSonics, Rockets, Pistons, and Celtics, racking up a five-game losing streak!
It wasn't until they faced O'Neal's former team, the Magic, that O'Neal finally rediscovered his dominance, ending the Lakers' embarrassing losing streak and getting them back on track.
Although Van Exel often performed erratically and was criticized by Coach Harris in almost every game, he still received his usual playing time and shot opportunities in the next match.
With O'Neal as the pillar and Van Exel as the scapegoat, He Ximeng, coming off the bench, only needed to diligently do his job during his rotation minutes, ensuring his average stats didn't drop below 10 points and 5 assists, treating it as accumulating experience in a jungle role.
Time quickly passed into late December. The Lakers had a significant Christmas Day game this year! They would fly to Chicago to challenge the defending champions, the Bulls!
For He Ximeng, the biggest regret was not being able to spend Christmas with Kayla at her mother's home.
However, the prospect of a performance-oriented showdown with "Air Jordan" in the Christmas Day classic filled He Ximeng with anticipation!
Equally anticipated was He Ximeng's close partner, Kobe!
As the most devoted admirer of "Air Jordan's" fadeaway jumper, Kobe was eager to face him head-on in a true competition.
Ceballos was still sidelined with an injury for this game, so Coach Harris adjusted the starting lineup.
Scottie Pippen was removed from the starting lineup, with veteran Jerome Kersey stepping in as the starting small forward. Eddie Jones returned to his role as the starting shooting guard, ready to face the divine presence!
Coach Harris made this adjustment primarily to counter the Bulls' starting lineup.
The "Zen Master's" starting lineup this season was quite unconventional.
Ron Harper, a 6'6" swingman, was playing point guard. However, Harper rarely handled the ball, focusing instead on defending opposing team's strong guards and scoring.
Michael Jordan, also 6'6", was, of course, the undisputed starting shooting guard.
Scottie Pippen, a 6'8" swingman, played small forward and was the Bulls' de facto playmaker, sharing ball-handling duties with Jordan.
Dennis Rodman, a 6'7" forward, was not a scorer but a rebounding fanatic, relishing physical battles with inside monsters like O'Neal to showcase his toughness.
Bill Wennington, a 7'0" center, was a more traditional, pure blue-collar, defensive-minded center.
In reality, Wennington was the Bulls' backup center; Luc Longley was the starter. However, Longley had been injured in the previous few games, leading to Wennington starting this one.
Overall, the current Bulls lineup was essentially a "quasi-small-ball" five.
With a slight modification, replacing Wennington or Longley at center with Sixth Man Toni Kukoč, and subtly adjusting the triangle offense to speed it up, they could easily become a "divine" lineup.
However, the "Zen Master" was already dominating the league with this quasi-small-ball lineup, so he had no interest in developing it into a pure small-ball unit. There was no motivation or need for change.
By bringing veteran reserve small forward Jerome Kersey into the starting lineup, Harris aimed to maximize the height and physicality of his starters, preventing them from being overpowered by the Bulls' wing players.
Otherwise, the combination of the 5'11" Van Exel, 6'3" Scott, and 6'6" Eddie Jones would have been no match for Jordan, Pippen, and Harper.
Before the game, facing a sea of red in the United Center, Jordan's number 23 jersey fluttered like a banner in every corner of the arena. Kobe couldn't help but sigh, "When will I have such glory?"
"You will have that day! Believe me! In the not-too-distant future, the Purple and Gold Lakers fans will be proud to have you... You will be the pride of Los Angeles, and your jersey will hang high above the Lakers' home arena."
"I can't wait for that day... What about you? Shouldn't your jersey be beside mine?"
"Me... Haha... It's hard to say. My future isn't necessarily in Los Angeles..."
"Huh? What do you mean, you don't want to retire in Los Angeles? The Lakers offer everything you could want in this league: a high salary, high visibility, a big market, a historical legacy... I can't think of any reason you'd leave if the Lakers were willing to give you the money and status you desire."
"One team can't accommodate too many stars! Even as strong as the Bulls are, they only have two superstars: Michael and Scottie..."
"So what? It's simple! We'll push others out, and we'll become the Lakers' Michael and Scottie."
"Uh... You really dare to think big... Let's just become the Michael and Scottie of the Lakers' bench first."
As Kobe and He Ximeng whispered on the bench, the starting lineup had already taken the court, ready to compete against the defending champions.
The game began with O'Neal scoring on a jump shot. Van Exel received the ball and passed it to Eddie Jones.
Eddie Jones, matched up directly against "Air Jordan" today, launched an offensive attack. After a display of skill, he drove into the paint and made a layup!
"Mr. Jones has a lot of fight in him today!" He Ximeng rarely saw such an aggressive Eddie Jones.
"Of course! Who wouldn't want to beat Michael head-to-head?" Kobe said with envy. "I'm a starter too! I'll play like this! No one will take the ball from me..."
Saying that, Kobe glanced at He Ximeng, "Not even you!"
He Ximeng couldn't help but laugh, "But you can't go one-on-one with Michael all game, can you?"
"I don't care! At least I'll play to my heart's content before I consider passing the ball..."
"I suspect you won't get that far... because Michael is retiring soon..."
"Hmm... That makes sense! So, I need to improve my skills faster and become the starting shooting guard... I really wish I could get on the court right now and battle Michael."