After the game ended, Duncan, catching He Xi Meng off guard, ambushed him from behind and severely ruffled his hair, then put on a "I told you so" expression and said, "I told you to go all out, but you insisted on playing around us. See? You lost…"
He Xi Meng was torn between laughter and tears. "So, you mean the loss of this game is my fault?"
Duncan remained silent, tilting his head and staring at He Xi Meng. Though he didn't speak, his eyes clearly conveyed the message: "If not you, then who?"
Duncan's line of thinking was too peculiar. He Xi Meng decided not to stoop to his level.
Leaving Phoenix, the Spurs wasted no time and flew to Salt Lake City for their second road game, challenging the Jazz.
The Jazz fielded the same lineup: Malone, Stockton, Russell, Ostertag, Polliness, John Stockton…
Frankly, ever since He Xi Meng entered the league in 1996, the Jazz had been using this same lineup. Now, more than four years later, He Xi Meng had already won two championship rings, and the Jazz were still using this lineup… In terms of lineup stability, if the Jazz weren't ranked first in the entire league, no one would dare claim it.
Even more unfortunate was that this Jazz lineup had consistently failed to reach the pinnacle, always falling just short of a championship… To be honest, He Xi Meng couldn't quite understand Coach Sloan's persistence. Of course, he understood keeping the Malone and Stockton duo, as it was rare to find such a tacit high-low combination in the league. But surely they could change the role players?
If this group of role players wasn't working, why not bring in a new set of role players? In clashes between strong teams, many inconspicuous role players often played a decisive role at critical moments! Like Kerr for the Bulls, Fisher for the Lakers, and Bowen for the Spurs…
The Jazz had consistently been a strong team overall, but they always lacked a role player who could deliver a killer blow in crucial moments. Perhaps, this was the Jazz's fate – a fate of never winning a championship…
When playing against the Jazz, He Xi Meng actually had a lot of experience!
During his three seasons with the Lakers, they had practically faced the Jazz in the playoffs every year. He Xi Meng was extremely familiar with the Jazz's lineup strengths and weaknesses.
Similarly, when facing the 38-year-old Stockton, He Xi Meng was full of confidence. Not arrogance, but genuine confidence. Over the past few years, He Xi Meng had basically grown up studying Stockton!
In He Xi Meng's rookie report, Stockton was his future development template!
Stockton might not be the strongest point guard in league history, but he was undoubtedly the most adept at assists! Whether anyone could surpass Stockton in the future was hard to say now. But before Stockton, no one had monopolized the league's assist king title for nine consecutive years! From 1988 to 1996, Stockton won the league's assist king title for nine consecutive seasons, to the point where, during his peak, no other point guard in the league could threaten him, not even Payton.
Stockton's career average of 10.5 assists per game ranked second in league history, behind Magic Johnson of the Magic.
However, Johnson entered the league as the first overall pick in 1979, started immediately as the team's core player, and thus played 37 minutes per game in his rookie season, contributing 7.3 assists.
Stockton, on the other hand, was the 16th pick in the first round of the 1984 draft, with a similar draft position to He Xi Meng.
After joining the Jazz, Stockton spent three seasons coming off the bench, with his playing time increasing from 18 minutes to 23 minutes per game, and his assists per game rising from 5.1 to 8.2!
It wasn't until the 1987-1988 season that Stockton, after three years as a backup, finally became a starter, officially becoming the Jazz's core player. His assists per game immediately surged to 13.8, thus beginning his unbeatable legend as a point guard! In the 1989-1990 season, Stockton's peak season, his assists per game reached 14.5! The tall giants of the league, in front of Stockton, were as docile as sheepdogs.
Thus, Stockton had a resounding nickname among Jazz fans: "The General"!
When Malone first entered the league, his nickname wasn't "The Mailman," but "The Frontline Soldier"!
One responsible for command, the other for charging, they complemented each other well.
However, after the 1996 season, Stockton declined year by year. His assists per game also regressed back to the 8+ level. While an average of 8+ assists per game was still considered a top-tier point guard stat for most players in the league, insiders could clearly see that Stockton was no longer at his peak.
Stockton's speed and agility were noticeably declining, which made it difficult for him to shake off defenders after pick-and-rolls. The biggest drawback of not being able to shake off defenders for Stockton wasn't affecting his scoring, as he had never been a scorer, but it significantly impacted his assists! Because Stockton couldn't draw enough defensive attention, he couldn't create more scoring opportunities for his teammates, which led to his declining assist numbers…
Seeing Stockton's current plight, He Xi Meng suddenly realized a problem: a long career didn't seem to be such a great thing after all!
For most players, a sufficiently long career had advantages such as earning more salary, accumulating more honors, and winning more championship rings. But for He Xi Meng, these seemed to hold little appeal.
Salary-wise, He Xi Meng was close to earning a maximum contract.
In terms of honors, He Xi Meng had already won FMVP, become an All-Star, and made the All-NBA First Team.
Championship rings – He Xi Meng had already won two, and it shouldn't be too difficult to fill one hand in the future. Whether he could fill two hands wasn't entirely impossible…
So, what was He Xi Meng's purpose in wanting a long career?
Thinking about the future of the league, it was undoubtedly an era of an explosion of top guards. From the slightly older generation like Wade, Paul, and Deron, to the slightly younger generation like Rose, Westbrook, Curry, Lillard, Harden, Irving, Thompson, and Wall… Truly a galaxy of stars, with a multitude of famous players.
The generation of Wade, Paul, and Deron was manageable, as He Xi Meng would likely still be in his prime and able to suppress them.
But by the time players like Rose, Westbrook, and Curry entered the league, He Xi Meng would probably be like Stockton in recent years, finding himself increasingly outmatched.