Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 820 820 522 No Matter the Cost_2

?Chapter 820: Chapter 522 No Matter the Cost_2 Chapter 820: Chapter 522 No Matter the Cost_2 Now, people are only looking forward to the fifth game in Los Angeles in two days.

As he left the media room, Kobe noticed the playful look in James’s eyes.

“Speak your mind.”

Kobe didn’t want to be stared at like that.

“The stakes are pretty high,” James said with a smile, “How can you be so sure he can’t do it?”

“I can’t guarantee it,” Kobe replied, “but it does add some challenge, LeBron, don’t you like challenges?”

The question was somewhat ironic.

If they liked challenges, why would they come together to reduce the difficulty of such challenges?

The true thoughts of James were never fully revealed.

He said indifferently, “I like to win.”

“That’s good, but you seem to lack the desire in these past few games,” said Kobe, “What’s the matter, pal, do you remember your first press conference when you arrived in Los Angeles?”

James thought for a moment.

Kobe reminded him more directly: “Not one, not two, not three…”

“If we’re going to win more than three championships together, I really need you to do more on the court,” Kobe encouraged, “In two days, bring all your energy and shut that guy up for good!”

For the first time in nearly a year, James thought that his heart knot might be untied in Los Angeles.

“Dude,” James asked, “do you really not mind? I mean, if I take control of the game…”

“Just do your job,” Kobe said, “Winning is what matters most.”

When strong players join forces, it’s often for a common goal, but along the way, distribution of interests, clashes for status, and power over minor affairs can sour many relationships.

James had been struggling for a while, but tonight he realized for the first time that Kobe wasn’t as narrow-minded as he thought. Their alliance was solid. Now, with a common enemy before them, it was time to defeat him, claim the trophy in the finals, and let the haters scream.

That was his thought, the purest thought.

The internal consolidation of the Lakers Team neared completion only after the end of the fourth game of the Western finals.

They had infinite possibilities, able to become infinitely strong or to fail infinitely. That’s the limitless charm. Infinite means anything can happen.

The next day, the post-game comments from the spokespeople of both teams indeed dominated the media headlines.

No one really discussed the fourth game anymore.

The post-game fault-finding session was replaced by the preview of the King of the Hill battle.

Yu Fei’s teammates were able to focus on preparing for the game, finally free of the pressure from public opinion.

But Kobe’s seemingly brainless assist also helped the Lakers Team unify their mindset.

If it weren’t for these developments, with Seattle pinpointing culprits on their side, the Lakers would have to keep magnifying Kobe’s leadership performance on their side, and then prick James, whose 14 assists in a single game seems impressive, but is 14 points for the whole game insufficient?

Did he really have that little desire?

Now, no one is discussing that.

When Fei heard about Kobe’s retirement remarks, he was somewhat bemused.

It reminded him of a story he read on an online forum in a previous life, where Jordan fought against the prime Celtics early in his career, scoring 49 points in the first game and 63 points in the second. A reporter then asked Bird if Jordan would score 77 points in the third game, to which Bird replied that if Jordan scored 77 points, he would retire and become a truck driver.

Fei didn’t know the authenticity of this story, only that Jordan scored only 19 points in the third game. However, the shock shown by the media to Kobe’s retirement remarks added some unexpected entertainment value to the matter itself.

It was a good thing that Kobe cooperated with the hype off the court.

Let those bored media and fans focus on these gossips and sideshows, so they have no time to make up stories about his teammates.

That afternoon, Fei discovered in the Furtado Center that his teammates had a gleam in their eyes, all looking like they hadn’t been net-bullied after a terrible defeat, which was great.

Fei did everything he could to minimize the impact of the loss, and now the problem was on the coaching staff.

Tyronn Lue had to summarize last night’s failure and find countermeasures for the King of the Hill battle.

The devastating defeat in G4 made Lue realize one thing.

It was unrealistic to expect to defeat a team like the Lakers Team with a single clever move.

Aggressive defensive strategies could work in G3 under the cover of the referees, but when the refereeing standard changed, his team couldn’t adapt.

Therefore, they had to prepare for both possibilities.

But the problem was, ever since Lue took over, the team’s work arrangements had been clear, with offense being entirely up to Fei to create, while his coaching staff focused on defense.

And the Lakers were a team that couldn’t be defeated by defensive strategies alone.

This forced Lue and the coaching staff to develop offensive strategies together.

However, when it came to formulating offensive tactics, they hit a dead-end right from the start.

When Lue took office, he bluntly set Fei as the main handler, letting him shoulder everything alone, and now that he couldn’t handle it alone, how could they change?

Just when Lue and his coaching staff were at a loss, they got news from outside.

Brandon Roy had received the doctor’s permission and would start participating in 5V5 training from today.

“Really?” Coach Lu asked with a sense of elation as if there was always a way out of no way.

But the veteran assistant coach Tim Grgurich poured cold water on it: “Brandon has been out of systematic training for half a year, and it will take some time just to recover his fitness.”

What he meant was Roy wouldn’t catch up with the Western finals.