The onset of the "rookie wall" varies in speed and duration for each player.
Of course, exceptionally talented top players may not experience a rookie wall at all.
Examples include the retired Larry Bird, the still-active Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, and Tim Duncan, who is about to enter the league—all typical representatives of genius players who were at their peak from the start!
He Ximeng thought he could avoid the rookie wall, but unexpectedly, this invisible barrier appeared at the crucial juncture of the playoffs!
The defensive intensity in the playoffs is inherently higher than in the regular season, and the defensive intensity of the starting lineup is greater than that of the bench lineup.
The combination of these two factors made it difficult for He Ximeng to adapt, leading to his dismal performance in the previous game.
If He Ximeng did not have a stellar performance in this game, Coach Harris would have to consider changing the lineup in the decisive Game 7 and reinstate Nick Van Exel to the starting lineup.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, He Ximeng found his shooting touch again.
At the do-or-die moment when the SuperSonics were on the verge of forcing a Game 7, He Ximeng's steady performance helped the Lakers close the gap step by step and, before the game ended, he personally hit a wing three-pointer to tie the score!
The SuperSonics, after leading for most of three quarters on the Lakers' home court, were tied by their opponents in the final moments—a tremendous blow to morale.
Coach George Karl immediately called a timeout, attempting to use a pep talk to steady his players and convince them they could still win the game.
However, facts speak louder than words.
After the timeout, although the SuperSonics executed the tactical plan their head coach desired, in the final moments, Gary Payton's forceful drive to the basket for a foul did not draw the whistle he wanted, and he was blocked by O'Neal, ball and all, to the floor.
At such a moment, He Ximeng certainly showed no mercy! He took advantage of Payton's fall, snatched the ball from the melee, then pushed away Jose Hawkins, who was trying to pull his arm, and sprinted to the basket, finishing with a powerful, one-handed slam dunk that released the frustration of the past few games!
A game-tying three-pointer, an go-ahead dunk!
He Ximeng scored 5 points in the final minute of the game, single-handedly securing the victory!
As Shawn Kemp's post-up attempt missed, O'Neal secured the rebound.
Payton eagerly sent O'Neal to the free-throw line. O'Neal wiped sweat from his brow, held the miniature basketball with his palm as large as a fan, and made one out of two shots, giving the Lakers a 3-point lead, a seemingly insurmountable advantage.
On the SuperSonics' final possession, Payton's contested three-pointer from the perimeter with He Ximeng guarding him missed, thus ending their playoff journey for the season and their teammate careers together with Kemp.
99:96, the Lakers narrowly defeated the SuperSonics by 3 points at home, advancing to the Western Conference Finals with a 4:2 series lead!
For the Lakers, He Ximeng and Kobe Bryant, one in the starting lineup and the other off the bench, are playing increasingly crucial roles.
If Shaq's performance determines the Lakers' floor, their ability to avoid losing, then He Ximeng and Kobe Bryant's performance determines the Lakers' ceiling. While not entirely decisive, it greatly influences their ability to win and the ease with which they achieve victory.
Shaquille O'Neal is the cornerstone of the current Lakers. If Shaq plays poorly, then all is lost, and it's virtually impossible for the Lakers to win.
However, if only Shaq performs well, without the cooperation of other teammates, especially without the support of He Ximeng and Kobe Bryant, the Lakers' chances of winning are also slim.
No team that reaches the playoffs is an easy opponent.
In the two games the SuperSonics won, Shaq's performance was as steady as ever, and even Eddie Jones played well. However, He Ximeng was contained by Payton, and Kobe had a poor performance off the bench.
Without He Ximeng's playmaking, the Lakers' starting lineup's offense became quite passive.
Without Kobe's scoring firepower, the Lakers' bench, relying solely on old Van, struggled to hold their ground.
The Lakers ultimately lost both of those games.
Therefore, never underestimate the importance of role players, especially when the core players are evenly matched. Seemingly insignificant role players can unexpectedly become the deciding factor in the outcome of a game.
Perhaps when analyzing the final game statistics, the core players will receive the most credit. But if you watch the entire game carefully, you'll realize that the player who breaks through might be someone whose statistics aren't outstanding but whose contribution is absolutely critical.
He Ximeng, currently in the Lakers' starting lineup, is such a role player whose stats are not eye-catching but whose importance is growing.
Having defeated the SuperSonics, the Lakers successfully advanced!
In another Western Conference Semifinal, the Jazz defeated the Rockets by the same margin, 4:2, and will face the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals!
In the East, Michael Jordan's Bulls easily defeated Dikembe Mutombo's Hawks 4:1.
Alonzo Mourning's Heat and Patrick Ewing's Knicks battled all the way to a Game 7!
If judged solely on individual performance, Ewing was stronger than Mourning at this point!
But considering the team as a whole, the Knicks were left with only Ewing and Allan Houston by the end.
Meanwhile, the Heat, besides Mourning and Tim Hardaway, also had Voshon Lenard on the three-point line and Jamal Mashburn, a swingman!
Lenard and Mashburn became the deciding factors in Game 7, rendering Ewing's 37 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks a futile effort.
4:3, the Heat defeated the Knicks and will face the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals!
Although the Heat stumbled their way into the Eastern Conference Finals, with Mourning being new to the team, their cohesion was far from perfect.
In the Eastern Conference Finals, Jordan-led Bulls defeated the Heat 4:1 without much difficulty, reaching the NBA Finals first.
In contrast, the Western Conference Finals were much more hard-fought!
The Lakers, trailing by two games, tenaciously fought back to tie the series.
In the crucial Game 5, the pivotal "King Mountain" game, the Jazz relied on their tenacious defense to protect the paint! When they couldn't hold, they resorted to fouling O'Neal, employing the "hack-a-Shaq" strategy.
This tactic targeted the Lakers' weakness. Although O'Neal scored a game-high 33 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks, he shot only 10 for 23 from the free-throw line, resulting in extremely low scoring efficiency. In a 91:95 loss, the Lakers ultimately lost Game 5, allowing the Jazz to take the lead and go up 3-2.
In Game 6, the Lakers, pushed to the brink, were forced to change their tactics.