Chapter 301: Kobe, the Leader of the Lakers

With 39:29 left on the clock, the Lakers trailed by 10 points. Kobe threw his towel and stood up, heading towards the technical table.

Gasol was also on the court now.

The Lakers had brought back their starting lineup.

Similarly, the Suns made substitutions, replacing McGrady with Durant, Curry with Tucker, Thompson with Carter, and Green with Gortat.

The Suns also brought back their starting lineup.

Coach Gentry held the full-level lineup in his hands, feeling both happy and worried. Thankfully, Wade Dong had his back.

With this lineup, if the Suns lost due to his tactical mistake, he would surely be criticized by the fans.

Fortunately, besides Wade Dong, Coach Gentry had another excellent assistant coach: Coach Kerr.

He was especially grateful to Wade Dong for his keen eye in selecting Coach Kerr from the vast sea of people. Coach Kerr had an even deeper understanding of the 'Death Lineup' than he did.

After Kobe checked in, he received a pass at the 45-degree angle and faked a drive to the paint, facing Green's defense.

He stopped abruptly and took a fadeaway jumper.

Swish!

The ball went straight through the net.

The score was now 39:31.

Green's expression turned sour, and Thompson didn't look too pleased either.

Kobe had just broken through Thompson's defense and scored a fadeaway jumper over Green's block attempt. It seemed he was on fire!

"Little handsome, you'll be guarding Kobe next!"

As Wade Dong organized the offense, he also instructed the defensive tactics.

In this Suns lineup, Green was the inside presence, while Wade Dong was the offensive organizer. However, they also needed to focus on shooting efficiency, as missing shots would put them at a disadvantage in the rebound battle.

Right after crossing the half-court line, Wade Dong passed the ball to Durant and then moved to create space.

After receiving the pass, Durant didn't rush to attack. Green set a screen for Wade Dong, who then passed the ball back to Durant after getting open.

At that moment, Curry cut to the basket.

The paint was wide open, and Wade Dong dribbled the ball around Gasol's waist, delivering the ball to Curry.

Swish!

Curry easily laid the ball in.

On the other end, Gasol hit a turnaround jumper off Kobe's assist.

Durant and Thompson immediately sprinted to the frontcourt. Wade Dong received the ball and, even before crossing the half-court line, delivered a precise pass to the corner for Thompson, who comfortably drained the three-pointer.

Swish!

The ball swished through the net.

"That's Big Brother Dong!"

Coach Gentry, witnessing this play, turned to Coach Kerr and said, "The ultimate form of a point guard!"

Up to this point, Wade Dong hadn't scored much, but he already had 7 assists. The term 'ultimate form of a point guard' referred to Wade Dong's role as an organizing point guard, whose scoring ability was also among the league's best.

Therefore, the passes from Wade Dong were almost always the team's best offensive options, resulting in high shooting percentages.

The Suns' offensive efficiency in the second quarter put the Lakers on the back foot.

Beep!

The first half ended with the Suns leading the Lakers, 57:43.

The highly anticipated 'Mars vs. Earth' matchup saw the Suns leading the Lakers by 14 points at halftime, which surprised many fans.

Before the regular season started, renowned media outlets had released the top ten players in the league, with the Lakers claiming three spots: Kobe, Harden, and Howard. The Suns had two players on the list: Wade Dong and Durant.

On paper, the Lakers didn't seem weaker than the Suns.

In the first half, the Lakers were dominated by the Suns, largely due to Harden's lackluster performance, which seemed like he was sleepwalking.

The Suns had a balanced scoring attack in the first half, with Durant scoring 13 points, Curry 11, Thompson 11, Carter 9, and McGrady 5.

Wade Dong had only 6 points, but he also contributed 9 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, and 4 blocks. It was rare for the previous season's scoring champion to have fewer points than rebounds and assists combined in the first half of the new season's opening game.

Suns' Locker Room

Wade Dong spoke up, "In the second half, the Lakers will increase their offensive aggression, so we must protect the rebounds, especially defensive rebounds. We can't afford to lose any."

"Big Brother Dong is right," Coach Gentry agreed, then continued, "So in the second half, our main focus is to protect every defensive rebound, which means..."

Coach Gentry went on to explain the defensive tactics for the second half.

With a 14-point lead, the Suns were relatively relaxed.

Lakers' Locker Room

In the first half, Kobe, Gasol, and Howard had put in the effort, but Harden's performance was disappointing.

If judged by the standards of a role player, Harden's performance was passable. However, Harden wasn't a role player; his salary was far beyond what a role player could earn.

"Buddy, you need to adjust your state of mind," Kobe said encouragingly, a rare occurrence. "We need you to step up in the second half."

The Lakers had traded for Harden with the intention of making him a cornerstone of the team, as Kobe had been in the league for a long time and had mentioned that he might retire if they couldn't win a championship in the next two or three seasons.

However, with the league's current monster, Wade Dong, it was extremely difficult for the Lakers to win a championship.

"I'll definitely adjust my state of mind. You guys have to believe in me," Harden promised.

This was much better than Howard, who, when he first joined the Lakers, had not respected Kobe and even wanted to challenge him for the leadership position. But after a season's worth of lessons, especially the regular season last year when the Suns dominated the Lakers with Wade Dong playing the 4, Howard realized who the true leader of the Lakers was.

Despite this, Howard chose to stay with the Lakers and honor his contract. This year, they also acquired Harden.

This was arguably the Lakers' strongest lineup since O'Neal's departure, and one could even argue that it was stronger than any lineup during O'Neal's tenure.

Second Half

The second half began with the Lakers frequently attacking the paint, not just with Kobe but also with Harden, who was trying to wreak havoc on the Suns' basket.

This targeted offense was effective, and even when they missed layups, the Lakers could secure the rebounds, narrowing the score gap.