The Lakers lost this fast break opportunity and had to reset for a half-court offense.
As He Ximeng had anticipated, the Suns' defensive strategy was to double-team O'Neal once he received the ball in the low post, with Robinson abandoning Horry and collapsing to the paint.
Simultaneously, on the weak side, McCloud left Fox to provide help defense on Horry at the high post.
However, McCloud stood at 1.98 meters while Horry was 2.06 meters, a difference of nearly eight centimeters. He Ximeng didn't hesitate. He called for the ball, received it, and drove hard up the middle, compressing the Suns' defense before dishing it to Horry.
Horry hadn't forgotten He Ximeng's instructions and was ready to catch and shoot as soon as He Ximeng started his drive.
The moment He Ximeng's pass arrived, Horry confirmed that Robinson wouldn't recover in time and McCloud's help defense posed no threat. He caught the ball, rose up, and drained a wing three-pointer with a clean release.
After the shot, Horry gave He Ximeng a big thumbs-up without hesitation.
While retreating on defense, He Ximeng deliberately high-fived Horry and praised, "Perfect three!"
The Suns' offense continued to pound the paint. Through constant screens and passing, Kidd finally found an opening and delivered a precise pass to McDyess.
McDyess didn't hesitate. Instead of driving to the basket, he caught the ball and immediately pulled up for a shot. Before O'Neal could contest, he smoothly released the ball. The mid-range, face-up jumper finally found the bottom of the net.
A small lineup has its disadvantages, but it also has its advantages, namely flexibility and mobility.
Especially with the playmaking of point guards Kidd and Kevin Johnson, the Suns' offensive sets and execution were much more complex than the Lakers'. Utilizing their superior tactical execution, the Suns used offense to compensate for defense, preventing the Lakers from pulling away in the first quarter.
He Ximeng wasn't in a hurry. The game had four quarters, and the first quarter didn't represent the whole. As long as O'Neal maintained his dominance in the paint, the Lakers' foundation would be solid. With the gradual activation of the perimeter players, Eddie Jones and Fox, if they could find their shooting rhythm and connect with the inside game, it would be difficult for the Lakers to lose. Of course, if his own shooting touch was better, he could also inflict significant damage on the opponent.
However, in the early stages of the game, He Ximeng deferred most of the scoring opportunities to O'Neal and Horry, as they were the weak points in the Suns' defense and the easiest scoring opportunities for the Lakers.
When Fox was subbed out midway through the first quarter and Kobe came in, He Ximeng shifted the offensive focus to Eddie Jones and Kobe.
As the first quarter drew to a close, He Ximeng, before heading to the bench, had already dished out 5 assists, effectively showcasing his playmaking skills against Kidd. On offense, however, He Ximeng only took two shots, making one for 3 points. His first-quarter stats were 3 points, 5 assists, 1 rebound, and 1 steal.
O'Neal and Kobe also sat down with him.
Horry and Eddie Jones played the entire first quarter, paired with the incoming Campbell, Van Exel, and Fox.
During the playoffs, Coach Harris deliberately shortened his rotation to eight players.
Cory Blount and John Barry were largely excluded from the core rotation.
The advantage of a shorter rotation was maintaining the strength and intensity of the rotation players.
However, a shortened rotation also had a drawback: it tended to increase the playing time of core players, raising the risk of injury.
But with the season reaching the playoffs, many teams were playing one game at a time, unsure of when their season might end. Therefore, even with an increased injury risk, it was a preferable choice to outright losing.
Thus, many head coaches would shorten their rotations in the playoffs, with typical examples being D'Antoni's seven-player rotation or Thibodeau's reliance on starters.
Harris, while not as extreme in this regard, was no exception.
As a reciprocal move, Anjie retained two players and replaced three.
The three players replaced were the interior players McDyess, Robinson, and McCloud. The players brought in were the reserves Mark Bryant, Rod Williams, and Dennis Scott.
The backcourt duo of Kidd and Kevin Johnson remained, while Nash was still benched.
Entering the rotation period, Kidd used his excellent defensive ability to steal a pass from Van Exel to Eddie Jones once and steal an isolation play from Eddie Jones once. With consecutive defensive stops, Kidd's offensive urge also increased. He used these two steals to drive for a layup and hit a pull-up jumper in the midrange.
By the end of the first quarter, the Suns had taken a 26-25 lead over the Lakers by one point.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Horry and Eddie Jones went to the bench, and O'Neal and Kobe returned.
The Lakers' on-court lineup became O'Neal, Campbell, Fox, Kobe, and Van Exel.
In this lineup, O'Neal was the absolute offensive core! However, the Lakers also had a problem: their perimeter shooting ability was unstable.
Kobe's three-point shooting was inferior to his two-point shooting, and Van Exel was a streaky shooter, hot one moment and cold the next. Fox, surprisingly, became the most consistent three-point shooter for the Lakers in this lineup.
When O'Neal was double-teamed by the Suns' interior defense and both Kobe and Van Exel missed their three-point attempts, it was Fox who hit two consecutive shots, forcing the Suns to refrain from collapsing their defense too recklessly.
"The purple and gold Lakers still have players on the perimeter!"
Since transferring from the Celtics to the Lakers this season, Fox, with his handsome features, had captured the affection of many female fans. However, within the Lakers, Fox's starting position was never secure. His playing time was far less than that of the sixth man, Kobe. In a sense, Fox was a pseudo-starter, and Kobe was the true starter.
But the issue was that Fox had already reached his potential and was a mature player, while Kobe was still developing. It was predictable that in the near future, Kobe would inevitably replace him as the starter and become the true starting point guard.
To say Fox wasn't anxious at all would be a blatant lie. Fortunately, basketball wasn't Fox's sole passion. The moment he decided to leave Boston for Los Angeles, Fox decided to focus on moving towards Hollywood.
Therefore, many times, while others were diligently practicing basketball, Fox was immersed in studying "An Actor's Preparation."
His positive mindset, however, contributed to Fox gradually developing into a championship-contributing piece.