After the All-Star Weekend, the league entered the second half of the season's contention.
The Lakers, leading the Western Conference in record this season, had a reasonable roster and sufficient depth. Thus, they did not participate in mid-season trades, essentially maintaining the same lineup from the beginning of the season! Head coach Harris, on one hand, continued to optimize the team's lineup, and on the other hand, tried his best to control the team's injury situation, especially focusing on O'Neal's health.
In the playoffs, the Lakers could afford to miss anyone but O'Neal!
He Ximeng and Kobe, these two youngsters, had maintained good luck.
Kobe, apart from missing 3 games due to an unexpected injury at the beginning of the season, successfully played in the remaining 79 games, maintaining a very good attendance rate.
As for He Ximeng... well, He Ximeng continued to maintain an 82-game full attendance rate!
Although in the regular season, Harris would sometimes dislike He Ximeng for not being "tough" enough, having a somewhat soft playing style, preferring to shoot from the perimeter, passing when he could shoot, and occasionally altering his own tactics... overall, He Ximeng was still a rookie who gave the head coach peace of mind. He played unselfishly, could make his teammates better, didn't hoard shot opportunities, and would even give them up sometimes... but when it mattered, he dared to shoot and could make it. He was an excellent playmaker and also a subtle, unassuming killer...
His strengths and weaknesses were equally apparent, but overall, the strengths outweighed the weaknesses. And it wasn't until the end of the season that Harris realized He Ximeng had played a full season again!
If playing a full season could still be explained by luck, then playing two consecutive full seasons clearly transcended the realm of luck!
On one hand, it indicated He Ximeng's body was resilient, and on the other hand, it suggested He Ximeng's playing style greatly contributed to maintaining his health...
"Miraculous Kung Fu Kid!" Coach Harris did not reveal this little secret he had discovered, but he developed considerable interest in He Ximeng's homeland, the mysterious great nation of the East...
Ultimately, the Lakers, with a record of 63 wins and 19 losses, successfully secured the regular season Western Conference championship, and also the championship for the entire league!
The Bulls and the Jazz, both with 62 wins and 20 losses, finished one win behind the Lakers.
Western Conference regular season rankings: Lakers first, Jazz second, SuperSonics third, Spurs fourth, Trail Blazers fifth, Timberwolves sixth, Rockets seventh, Suns eighth.
Eastern Conference regular season rankings: Bulls first, Pacers second, Heat third, Hornets fourth, Hawks fifth, Cavaliers sixth, Knicks seventh, Nets eighth.
The Lakers' first-round playoff opponent was the Phoenix Suns!
The Suns' core lineup this season featured a double power forward formation in the paint!
First was veteran Clifford Robinson, formerly of the Trail Blazers!
Clifford Robinson was also a model of inspiration for a low-round draft pick!
As a second-round pick in 1989, Clifford Robinson steadily improved from his rookie season's 9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks to reach 19.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in the 92-93 season, earning the league's Sixth Man of the Year award. In the 93-94 season, he further improved to 20.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks, and was selected to the All-Star team, achieving a perfect comeback!
Starting in the 94-95 season, Clifford Robinson began to transform, diligently practicing his three-point shooting. His average three-point attempts per game surged from 0.6 to 5.1, making 1.9 shots with a 37% accuracy!
Starting in the 96-97 season, Clifford Robinson's average three-point attempts increased to 6 per game, making 2.3 shots, successfully becoming one of the few power forwards in the league with accurate three-point shooting! He made 1253 three-pointers in his career, once ranking 21st in league history.
In the summer of '97, Clifford Robinson left the Trail Blazers, where he had played for 8 seasons, and joined the Suns!
However, what Clifford Robinson was most famous for was not his comeback story as a second-round pick, but his ironman-like durability and being the initiator of the "headband gang" in the league!
Clifford Robinson maintained full attendance in his first 5 seasons, playing all 82 games without missing a single one!
In the early 1990s, Clifford Robinson was one of the first players in the league to wear a headband, leading this trend!
By the time Clifford Robinson left the Trail Blazers, Rip City was filled with players wearing headbands! Even Pippen, after leaving the Bulls and joining the Trail Blazers later, followed suit and wore a headband!
Playing games with a headband once became one of the Trail Blazers' trademarks, and Clifford Robinson was the leader of this fashion!
Accurate three-point shooting and strong shot-blocking ability were Clifford Robinson's strengths, while weak low-post post-up ability and poor rebounding were his weaknesses.
In contrast, the Suns' other power forward, Antonio McDyess, a lottery pick at number 2 in the first round of 1995, had solid low-post offensive and defensive skills and was the player who primarily played center in this Suns lineup!
As a power forward, Antonio McDyess's offensive and defensive skills and footwork were not bad, but playing center, Antonio McDyess was a bit short and lacked some strength in post battles.
The Suns' small forward position was George McCloud!
The shooting guard position was Kidd!
Yes, Kidd initially played shooting guard for the Suns. Or rather, the Suns played with a dual-point guard backcourt!
Kidd was traded from the Mavericks to the Suns midway through the 1996-1997 season, with the Suns giving up Mike Finley in return!
The deal was facilitated by the Suns' new head coach, Danny Ainge!
Yes, you read that right, the future league's best general manager, known for his ruthlessness and unforgiving trading, was once a head coach!
However, Ainge had only recently retired and chose to pursue his dream of being a head coach first!
Huh? Retired? Yes, you didn't expect that, did you? Ainge, who was ruthless towards players, was once a player himself!
Ainge was an 8th pick in the second round in 1981... yes, a low-round pick, he started with the Celtics, played for Boston for 8 seasons, established himself, and then in the 88-89 season, he moved to the Kings, reaching his peak there: averaging 20.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.5 steals per game!
Despite only being 1.93 meters tall, Ainge played as a swingman, and an all-around swingman at that.
Ainge spent the last 3 seasons of his career in Phoenix, so after retiring, he chose to start his coaching career with the Suns immediately...