The first All-Star trip of He Ximeng and Kobe's careers thus came to an end.
The All-Star Game on the third day was unrelated to the two. They could only watch from the sidelines as the old guys showed off their muscles on the court.
The starting lineup for the Eastern Conference in the 1997 All-Star Game was Mutombo, Hill, Pippen, Jordan, and Anfernee Hardaway!
The reserve lineup included Glen Rice, Vlade Divac, Tim Hardaway, Christian Laettner, Joe Dumars, and Chris Webber.
The starting lineup for the Western Conference was Hakeem Olajuwon, Karl Malone, Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, and John Stockton.
The reserve lineup included Detlef Schrempf, Latrell Sprewell, Tom Gugliotta, Keith Van Horn, Eddie Jones, and Kevin Garnett.
Garnett was originally not selected for this year's All-Star Game, but Shaquille O'Neal's unexpected injury gave Garnett a chance to be a reserve selection.
A "beast" battle was taking place on the court. Jordan, wanting to be humble and give the young players some opportunities, tried to let them have their moment.
However, the starters were all too humble and did not grasp the "God's will." On the contrary, Glen Rice from the bench, with the boldness of a newborn calf, took 24 shots for the Eastern Conference All-Stars, more than Jordan and Pippen combined!
In the end, Glen Rice, with 26 points on 24 shots, outshone Jordan's 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, becoming the MVP of the 1997 All-Star Game.
After the All-Star Weekend concluded, the regular season officially entered the final sprint phase before the playoffs.
However, O'Neal, who had just returned, re-aggravated his old injury, causing the Lakers' record to decline again. They dropped out of the top four in the Western Conference, even falling to seventh place at one point.
Fortunately, He Ximeng and Kobe's development on the bench helped the Lakers win most of the games they should have won during O'Neal's absence, ensuring their record gradually climbed back into the top four of the Western Conference.
After O'Neal's return, the Lakers went on a strong winning streak before the end of the season and ultimately finished with a record of 57 wins and 25 losses, ranking third in the Western Conference!
The final rankings for the Western Conference were: Jazz first, SuperSonics second, Lakers third, Rockets fourth, Timberwolves fifth, Trail Blazers sixth, Suns seventh, and Clippers eighth.
The final rankings for the Eastern Conference were: Bulls first, Heat second, Knicks third, Hawks fourth, Pistons fifth, Hornets sixth, Magic seventh, and Bullets eighth.
The first playoff game for He Ximeng and Kobe was at home, facing the Trail Blazers!
The Trail Blazers' current starting lineup consisted of Arvydas Sabonis at center, Rasheed Wallace at power forward, Cliff Robinson at small forward, Isaiah Rider at shooting guard, and Kenny Anderson at point guard.
The core of this lineup was the two inside players, Sabonis and Rasheed Wallace.
Coincidentally, the Lakers also had two strong inside players, O'Neal and Elden Campbell.
Thus, from the start of the game, both teams engaged in fierce battles in the paint.
On the opening play, O'Neal drove strongly in the paint against Sabonis, turned, and attempted a hook shot, only to be blocked by Sabonis.
In terms of pure strength, Sabonis was indeed not afraid of O'Neal. However, Sabonis was born in '64 and was now 33 years old, while O'Neal was born in '72 and was only 25, not yet at his career peak, nor had his weight reached its maximum.
O'Neal couldn't truly bully Sabonis at this point.
O'Neal, after being blocked twice, finally realized that he should avoid direct confrontation and instead use his footwork advantage, faking multiple times to disorient Sabonis before attempting a shot.
This was the lesson O'Neal learned after being blocked twice and gradually coming to his senses.
Fortunately, the Trail Blazers had solid interior defense, and the Lakers' interior defense was equally strong.
While O'Neal was being blocked, the Lakers did not allow Sabonis and Rasheed Wallace to penetrate the paint, forcing them to take jumpers from the edge of the key.
Sabonis's step-back jumper rimmed out, while Rasheed Wallace's mid-range jumper was good.
The Trail Blazers took a slim 2-0 lead.
However, O'Neal, having found the weakness in Sabonis's footwork, quickly broke through with a powerful dunk after a series of fakes, helping the Lakers open up the game.
Under the strong defensive systems, the scoring for both teams was slow, and the score differential remained small.
With 3 minutes left in the first quarter, the Lakers made the first adjustments.
Nick Van Exel and O'Neal subbed out, and He Ximeng and Kobe came in.
The lineup on the court became: Campbell at center, Horry at power forward, Eddie Jones at small forward, Kobe at shooting guard, and He Ximeng at point guard.
It had to be admitted that after a season of observation and experimentation, Coach Harris had put together this rotation lineup, which, besides the starting five, was the most balanced in terms of offense and defense.
Especially on the wing, from Horry to Eddie Jones to Kobe, they were all versatile scorers capable of driving to the basket and hitting three-pointers. As long as the team play was coordinated and their offensive capabilities were unleashed, this lineup possessed formidable offensive power!
Upon entering the game, He Ximeng immediately called for Horry's high-post screen, drawing Rasheed Wallace out.
Kenny Anderson tried to step up and set a screen, but Horry unceremoniously bumped him away. In the playoffs, these somewhat rough defensive plays were usually not called as fouls. Therefore, they were quite unfavorable for smaller guards.
He Ximeng, with his "rich" playoff experience, naturally understood these changes. Although contact was inevitable, He Ximeng could minimize direct collisions with opposing players by relying on his teammates' help.
On this play, He Ximeng used Horry to shake off the sticky Kenny Anderson. Rasheed Wallace was forced to chase He Ximeng, who unhesitatingly passed back to Horry after the split. Horry, near the free-throw line, caught the ball and shot!
Kenny Anderson's height was insufficient to contest the shot, and he could only watch as Horry made the mid-range jumper!
The Lakers' offensive strategy was not complicated, but simplicity did not mean ineffectiveness.
Often, many efficient offensive strategies were straightforward, easy to execute, and led to easy scores.
With a score of 16-14, Horry helped the Lakers take a two-point lead.
Turning around, Kenny Anderson drove to the basket. Sabonis suddenly moved to the left three-point line, caught the pass, and essentially stood and shot a three-pointer!
Sabonis was indeed one of the first big centers in the league to possess a three-point shooting skill.
Yao Ming's former idol was this versatile Sabonis!