On the bench, Kobe was so envious of Eddie Jones being able to guard Jordan on the court.
On the court, Eddie Jones was in so much pain, being guarded by Jordan.
On the previous possession, Eddie Jones drove in for a layup.
On the next possession, the great Jordan went for a post-up, turned and shot over Eddie Jones for a mid-range jumper.
On the previous possession, Van Exel hit a three-pointer from beyond the arc.
On the next possession, the great Jordan went for a post-up, turned and shot over Eddie Jones again for a mid-range jumper.
On the previous possession, Van Exel drove and made a bad pass, Harper stole it and gave it to the great Jordan.
On the next possession, the great Jordan went for a post-up, turned and shot over Eddie Jones yet again for a mid-range jumper.
Eddie Jones only got one basket against the great Jordan, who then scored three baskets back on him.
Eddie Jones' face turned grim, but it was no use; he couldn't stop him with man-to-man defense. Coach Harris hadn't arranged for help defense yet, as he didn't want the Bulls to spread their offense. Harris's plan was to sacrifice Eddie Jones, drawing the Bulls' firepower, and wait for the great Jordan's shooting percentage to naturally drop…
If the great Jordan's shooting percentage didn't drop all game… then this game would be over for the Lakers.
Therefore, Eddie Jones, without help, could only hope that the great Jordan wouldn't target him for another one-on-one play… It would have been better to call for a pick-and-roll, allowing Eddie Jones to switch defenders… Being targeted like this was too humiliating…
"Now, do you still want to guard Michael?" He Ximeng asked Kobe, looking at the embarrassed Eddie Jones.
Unexpectedly, Kobe showed no fear, instead becoming more eager.
"Of course, my defense is stronger than Eddie's! If I were guarding Michael, he wouldn't be scoring so easily…"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk… truly the fearless are the ignorant! I admire your courage…"
Saying this, they bumped fists and chuckled.
On the court, Eddie Jones struggled on defense, and on offense, he couldn't get good looks against Jordan's defense.
The Lakers' offensive core, O'Neal, was being double-teamed by Wennington and Rodman in the paint!
Campbell's mid-range was left open, but the problem was that Campbell's mid-range wasn't very consistent; sometimes he made it, sometimes he missed.
Fortunately, Van Exel was having an exceptional game. Under the single coverage of defensive stalwart Harper, Van Exel frequently shot after a high pick from Campbell! In the past, Van Exel making one out of two such shots was already very good. But today, in the first half of the first quarter, he made 4 of 7 shots, scoring 9 points, becoming the Lakers' leading scorer for the quarter.
Thanks to Van Exel's extraordinary performance, the Lakers weren't far behind the Bulls when rotation time arrived.
The Lakers substituted O'Neal, Van Exel, and Jarell Corpus for Corey Blount, Scott, and He Ximeng. Kobe was temporarily benched.
The Bulls substituted Jordan, Wennington, and Harper for Kukoc, Kerr, and Randy Brown.
The Lakers' offensive focal point shifted to Eddie Jones. Eddie Jones was finally able to avoid guarding Jordan, and his face lit up with happiness.
The Bulls' offensive focus shifted from Jordan + Pippen to Pippen + Kukoc.
He Ximeng's teammates were now Campbell, Corey Blount, Eddie Jones, and Scott. With O'Neal and Kobe off the court, He Ximeng's desire to pass was not as strong.
Moreover, the Bulls' current guard lineup consisted of Randy Brown and Kerr, who posed less of a threat to He Ximeng.
Therefore, on their first offensive possession, He Ximeng called for a high pick from Corey Blount, switched to get rid of Randy Brown, faked a drive or a pass, then executed a pull-up three-pointer after a quick stop and a behind-the-back dribble, stepping back to the three-point line. It was a fluid, one-motion shot, and the three-pointer was good!
Jordan, watching from the sideline, looked at He Ximeng's unfamiliar face and asked Harper beside him, "Where did this kid with yellow skin come from?"
"He's a rookie for the Lakers this year, a championship point guard from Wake Forest University, Chinese player He Ximeng… He's been quite popular recently, haven't you heard of this young fellow?"
"No! I haven't followed league news in a long time! Even if I look, I only read the headlines…"
"Uh… you're a busy man, it's understandable you haven't heard of these rookie players…"
"This kid shoots threes pretty well… good rhythm!"
"In fact, this rookie's strongest skill isn't scoring, it's his passing and ball-handling!"
"Oh? Then why does he seem so eager to score as soon as he comes on?"
"I'm not sure about that! I've watched his previous games, his ball-handling rhythm is steady, his passing timing is precise, and his playing style is unselfish…"
"Hmm…" Jordan knew Harper wasn't one to talk nonsense, and he also knew Harper had no reason to praise a Chinese player he had no connection with. The fact that he received such high praise from Harper could only mean that this rookie's performance was truly something special.
On the court, Pippen orchestrated the offense, but he still had to answer the Lakers with a three-pointer, and the ball bounced out of the rim.
After Campbell grabbed the rebound, he passed it to Scott next to him. Scott originally intended to push the ball himself, but He Ximeng had already accelerated and was streaking up the sideline towards the frontcourt.
If it were at the beginning of the season, Scott could have easily pretended not to see He Ximeng's break.
But after more than ten games into the regular season, He Ximeng had solidified his position as the Lakers' backup point guard with his steady performance. He even put considerable pressure on Van Exel.
Although Scott disliked this yellow-skinned kid who seemed to be at odds with him, he had to consider Coach Harris's feelings.
This was an obvious opportunity, and Scott wasn't indispensable on the bench.
If he chose not to pass the ball, Harris might replace Scott with Kobe in the next possession…
It was understandable for teammates to have friction, but you couldn't affect the team's operations and scoring.
Just like He Ximeng, he rarely passed to Scott. But the problem was, He Ximeng's passes to others had no lower scoring probability than passes to Scott. In other words, He Ximeng had the ability to not pass to Scott when he had possession, yet still maintain the team's scoring rate at a high level. This was what troubled Scott the most; even Harris couldn't find a good reason to defend him.
After a moment of consideration, Scott chose to make a long pass to He Ximeng on the right wing…