The Lakers' third possession saw He Xi Meng again find O'Neal. As O'Neal was executing a post-up, he spotted Kobe cutting into the lane and decisively passed him the ball. Kobe caught it, pulled up for a mid-range jump shot, and the Lakers added two more points.
Kobe delivered a brilliant pass to O'Neal, and O'Neal reciprocated with a great pass to Kobe... The chemistry between the Lakers' OK combination had clearly ascended to a new level.
The maturation of the OK combination signified that the Lakers were on the verge of entering their harvest season. As the old Bulls dynasty crumbled, a new Lakers dynasty was being forged...
The Rockets, however, were clearly not going to surrender meekly. This summer, they had spent a significant sum to acquire Pippen, harboring specific ambitions for the season. They aimed to make another championship run before Hakeem Olajuwon aged out completely, but such aspirations seemed unlikely to succeed against the youthful and vigorous Lakers...
In the early stages, Olajuwon made a few shots but quickly found himself struggling. Pippen attempted to pick up the scoring, but his shots repeatedly bounced off the rim. Ultimately, Barkley stepped up, shouldering the load for the Rockets' offense.
With their primary scoring options faltering, O'Neal had to dedicate most of his energy to defending Olajuwon. Barkley repeatedly used his powerful frame to post up and score against Blount, leaving the Lakers without an easy solution.
Despite the difficulty in defending Barkley, the Lakers did not fall behind in the score.
The super duo of O'Neal and Kobe displayed excellent chemistry from the outset, successfully weathering the Rockets' offensive onslaught.
Eddie Jones was having an off shooting night. After repeatedly missing shots, he abandoned his attempts from beyond the arc and voluntarily ceded opportunities to He Xi Meng.
With the OK combination shooting well, He Xi Meng did not possess an overwhelming urge to score. He merely took advantage of openings to sink a few three-pointers, ensuring the Lakers maintained their lead over the Rockets. That was sufficient...
In the end, the season opener concluded with a score of 99-91, with the home team Lakers comfortably defeating the visiting "Big Three" Rockets.
Barkley scored a game-high 31 points and 15 rebounds, but it was to no avail.
Pippen recorded 10 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 steals. While his all-around game was impressive, his scoring was too low. He made only 4 of his 18 attempts, missing all 4 of his three-point shots, severely hampering his efficiency.
However, Pippen was not the sole factor dragging them down; Olajuwon also struggled. The Dream's shooting was decent at the start but declined significantly afterward, finishing with only 11 points and 7 rebounds on 5-of-13 shooting.
Conversely, on the Lakers' side, O'Neal posted a team-high 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists! O'Neal's 6 assists indicated the Lakers' exceptionally fluid offensive execution in this game.
Kobe contributed the second-highest score on the team with 25 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks! In the first game of the new season, Kobe, without disrupting the team's offensive flow, demonstrated a strong scoring desire, capability, and defensive prowess.
Eddie Jones, naturally, was not about to concede. He sought to prove his worth, but unfortunately, it wasn't a matter of He Xi Meng not passing him the ball; rather, Eddie Jones's shooting touch was genuinely poor that day. He made only 2 of his 12 attempts, with a dismal 1-of-5 from three-point range, scoring a mere 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 42 minutes. His statistics were overshadowed by Kobe's.
The Lakers fans finally realized that the Lakers were not even competing for the third-best player on the team; it was a battle for the second-best player!
As for He Xi Meng, he seemed like an outsider for most of this game. For the majority of the time, He Xi Meng coasted on offense, launching opportunistic shots and remotely directing O'Neal and Kobe in their offensive charges... 138 Reading Net
In the first game of the new season, He Xi Meng's final stat line was 16 points, 10 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. If O'Neal had not been in such a generous passing mood that day, He Xi Meng's assist total could have been 2-4 higher...
However, He Xi Meng was content with a double-double in the season opener. He did not wish to be entangled in the competition between Kobe and Eddie Jones for the second-best player title. Player hierarchy battles are brutal. Currently, Kobe's focus was on Eddie Jones's second-best player position, but in the near future, Kobe's sights would be set on O'Neal's top player status...
If He Xi Meng were to join that fray, it was highly possible he would become estranged from Kobe, potentially never being brothers again.
Ultimately, the Lakers belonged to Kobe; He Xi Meng firmly believed this. Therefore, from the very beginning, He Xi Meng had withdrawn from the so-called hierarchy competition, not seeking to increase his shot attempts. For instance, in this game, He Xi Meng deliberately limited his shots to 12. This was the prerogative of a third or fourth option player.
Harris had set the shot limits for He Xi Meng and Kobe at 16 attempts!
However, Kobe exceeded this by 4 shots today, reaching 20 attempts! This was essentially on par with O'Neal's 21 attempts. He Xi Meng, on the other hand, actively controlled his shot attempts, falling short of the limit by 4.
He Xi Meng's shooting percentage today was 50%, making 6 of 12 shots, including 4 of 7 three-pointers.
Kobe's shooting percentage today was 40%, making 8 of 20 shots, including 2 of 3 three-pointers and 7 of 9 free throws.
Strictly speaking, He Xi Meng's shooting percentage was higher than Kobe's, and he could have taken more shots, but He Xi Meng did not.
As for Eddie Jones, Harris had set his shot limit at 18 attempts! However, Eddie Jones's shooting touch was truly abysmal that day. He missed his first 6 attempts... He only made 2 of his first 12 attempts, with a shooting percentage below 17%! However, considering that Eddie Jones was matched up against the league's premier on-ball defender, small forward Scottie Pippen, Eddie Jones could only consider himself unlucky.
While some rejoiced, others grieved. No team's internal dynamics were ever perfectly harmonious.
However, for the Lakers' management, the feeling of winning the first game was quite auspicious! An opening victory, a universally positive sentiment.
Nevertheless, following this opening win, the Lakers were scheduled to face an exceptionally brutal back-to-back: hosting the Jazz at home, followed by an away game against the Spurs!
Under normal scheduling, back-to-back games were mostly played at home. If an away game was unavoidable, it would typically be against teams geographically close to each other. However, this season, due to labor disputes, the schedule had been heavily compressed, resulting in such a strenuous arrangement. The Lakers would play the Jazz in Los Angeles one night and then, the very next morning, would have to fly to San Antonio. They wouldn't even have time to familiarize themselves with the court before the game commenced that evening!
After playing the Spurs, they would have only one day of rest before embarking on another back-to-back set of road games. The first away game would be in Denver against the Nuggets, followed by a trip to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves...
It was a schedule that could break a player's spirit.
This was precisely why He Xi Meng had begun to conserve his energy and play a more reserved role from the very first game of the new season; his primary concern was to avoid injuries...