Kobe believed that based on Hexi Meng’s individual abilities, a powerful dunk had at least a 50% success rate. Even if he didn't dunk forcefully, a floating layup with a spin, wouldn't have a success rate lower than 50%...
“But if I choose to pass, the success rate will increase to over 90%...” Hexi Meng retorted.
“That’s Shaq’s 90%, not your 90%! Once you pass, whether it succeeds or not, the opportunity will have nothing to do with you!”
“How can you say it has nothing to do with me? After all, we are teammates on the same team, and I’m the one who passed the ball!”
Kobe smiled faintly, “We are indeed on the same team! But years later, fans will only remember Shaquille O'Neal’s game-winning dunk against the Bulls in Game 5 of the 1997-1998 NBA Finals. Who will remember who passed the ball to Shaq, or who created the opportunity for that game-winning shot?”
Uh… Although Kobe’s idea was extreme and somewhat selfish, it had to be admitted that his thought process represented the mindset of the majority of Americans. Between the individual and the collective, most Americans chose the individual first!
Even if the probability of individual success was only 50% and the probability of collective success was 90%, most Americans would choose the former instead of the latter.
Because success in the latter case was the success of the collective, the success of others, and only had a little to do with oneself. But success in the former case was true personal success.
If Hexi Meng approached the situation from a head coach’s perspective, it would be difficult to approve of Kobe’s purely player-centric logic.
But if one disregarded the coach’s mindset and solely considered it from a player’s perspective, one could indeed understand why, at critical moments in games, many players would make incomprehensible and irrational “stupid” moves!
To put it bluntly, these unreasonable choices were driven by the ideology of individual heroism. Everyone wanted to be the hero of the team, to be a savior!
But where were there so many saviors in this world? More often than not, after failure, they became pitiful figures who lost their core positions on the team…
American heroism was a sharp double-edged sword; it was either success or utter defeat. Throughout the history of the league, truly lone heroes were few and far between, but players who became loners or wanderers were countless…
In Game 6, with the Lakers holding a commanding lead in the series, this burgeoning ideology was evident within the team!
Aside from Hexi Meng, who consistently and resolutely focused the offense on O'Neal, Eddie Jones and Kobe, who hadn’t performed well in the previous game, were both determined to help the team win the final game and ascend the championship podium in their own way!
Looking at it positively, everyone was striving to contribute.
Looking at it negatively, there were too many selfish thoughts, a lack of unity in their play, a degree of underestimation, and a touch of immaturity.
This was Eddie Jones’s first NBA Finals, and it was also Kobe’s first. Both had underestimated the brutality of the Finals. The Bulls, showing signs of age, had seemingly lost their ability to resist. Little did they know, they were merely waiting for the young Lakers to make mistakes, and then teach them a lesson…
In Game 6, the Lakers arrived full of confidence and left dejected.
The Bulls withstood O'Neal’s interior offense, contained Hexi Meng’s outside shooting, and funneled a large number of Lakers’ offensive opportunities to Eddie Jones and Kobe on mid-range jumpers. Then, utilizing Jordan’s individual brilliance, they taught the two young players what true mid-range shooting was!
In this game, Jordan shot 14 of 30 from the field and 9 of 10 from the free-throw line, scoring a game-high 37 points. He battled the two young Lakers single-handedly, led the Bulls to a lead throughout the game, and pushed them past the Lakers, successfully forcing the series into a decisive Game 7!
“This is my first time playing in a Game 7 of the Finals! It’s a brand new experience, and I’ll savor this rare opportunity…” After the game, Jordan said at the press conference, chewing gum with an expectant look, his eyes devoid of fear, only excitement and determination.
In stark contrast, O’Neal was very unhappy with his performance today. It wasn’t that the Lakers lacked opportunities to resist; it was just that at critical moments, someone would step up to vie for the shot, disrupting the Lakers’ offensive rhythm…
They hadn’t even won the championship yet, and people were already vying for credit?
Harris clearly hadn't anticipated this situation, leading to indecisive handling.
Hexi Meng helped Harris compensate for some tactical deficiencies, but when it came to issues of internal power struggles and credit disputes, Hexi Meng could only offer sympathy!
From a rational standpoint, Hexi Meng would inevitably support O’Neal! A strategy centered around O’Neal was the undisputed choice for the Lakers at this stage.
But were Kobe and Eddie Jones wrong in their desire to make an impact in the Finals and contribute more to the team? It didn’t seem so!
The mistake lay with head coach Harris, who failed to unify everyone’s thoughts before the game and did not promptly suppress this unhealthy trend during the game, causing the Lakers to regrettably miss this golden opportunity to win the championship!
Hexi Meng analyzed that perhaps Harris himself was also a bit too excited…
As a result, the Lakers were dragged into a Game 7 by the Bulls, and who would win was anyone’s guess!
Although the Lakers had the advantage of playing at home, the Bulls had the edge in experience, being five-time Finals participants…
“Well done! You’ve really pushed us into a Game 7! As a rookie team, you deserve pride and arrogance! This is a feat that neither the Sonics nor the Jazz achieved…”
Before the official jump ball, Jordan, still chewing gum, struck up a conversation with Hexi Meng.
“You know, I respect you very much, Michael! But the experience of Game 7 is clearly not enough to satisfy us! Since we’ve come this far, why shouldn’t we take another step forward?”
“Take another step? The championship podium? No, no, no! We won’t give you that opportunity…”
“Opportunities are never given; they are earned! We defeated the Suns, we defeated the Spurs, we defeated the Jazz… why can’t we defeat the Bulls?”
“Uh… You speak quite sharply! Since that’s the case, then we’ll have to settle this on the court!”
“Prepare for the onslaught of the young guns, Michael! Your era is about to end… or, it ends today!”
“Such big talk! Then let me see the strength of you youngsters!”
…
The referee’s whistle blew, and the NBA Finals Game 7 officially began!