395: 157: Always at the forefront of beating up rookies in the league (requesting monthly passes!) 395: 157: Always at the forefront of beating up rookies in the league (requesting monthly passes!) Between fantasy and reality, there often lies an insurmountable gap.
Every little girl once dreamed of becoming a princess, but if she grew up to actually become one, she would find the occupation completely different from what she had imagined.
Kobe fantasized about playing one-on-one against Roger, but after actually facing Roger in a one-on-one, he found that it was entirely different from what he had imagined.
In Roger’s defense, there were no beautiful shots, no spectacular one-on-ones, no exhilarating defeats of the strongest player in the game.
All Kobe was left with were three consecutive embarrassing “air balls.”
No matter how successful he became later, these moments would remain an inevitable stain on his career, just like “Nick Young celebrating a shot that didn’t go in” or “Stephen Curry missing an open layup.”
Years later, when people look back on Kobe’s career, the first thing they would remember would definitely be the first time he faced Roger and missed three shots in a row.
After the consecutive misses, Del Harris decided to make Kobe disappear completely from the game.
He had no intention of giving Kobe even a minute of playing time.
He simply couldn’t tolerate a rookie taking wild shots throughout a game.
Kobe was indeed very talented, but this kid needed discipline!
Del Harris could not indulge such undisciplined behavior!
In the face of the coach’s “house arrest,” the typically defiant Kobe didn’t argue.
At this moment, he was surprisingly obedient.
He was only 18 years old, and even if he had the heart of a hawk, he needed some time to digest everything that had just happened.
He had never been so embarrassed, nor had he ever failed .
Since high school, he had dominated everything on the basketball court.
His reputation reached a climax after crushing Stackhouse, and everyone—media, veterans, and fans alike—considered him the next Roger or MJ.
Even after joining the NBA, he played fairly smoothly.
Just two days earlier, he had scored his first 20-point game against the Kings.
Kobe didn’t think it was difficult; scoring 20 points in the NBA seemed as easy as in high school.
He had always been praised, always victorious, always held in everyone’s hearts.
But tonight, in the spotlight, he faced the biggest Waterloo of his basketball career.
For an 18-year-old to be humiliated in front of so many people was virtually a death sentence.
He felt as if Roger had his hands around his throat, choking him, leaving him struggling to breathe, let alone play basketball.
Kobe was human too, and he needed time to process this enormous discrepancy.
So when the coach wouldn’t let him play, he chose to accept it quietly; he indeed needed to recover on the bench.
The war between Kobe and Roger came to an abrupt halt.
The young number 8 could only sit on the sidelines and watch Roger’s performance.
it was only Kobe who felt that the war had abruptly stopped.
In fact, nothing was over.
As long as Roger was still on the court, it would never be over.
Kobe would soon come to understand this.
In the subsequent game, it was still quite evident that Roger was not in good shape today.
The fever indeed had some impact on Roger.
But even this feverish and off-form Roger performed better than most ordinary players.
He was still able to score through the Lakers’ weak perimeter defense.
Shortly after Kobe was benched, Roger made a basket.
In this offensive sequence, Roger, facing Eddie Jones’s defense, pulled off a classic spin jump shot.
The ball was a bit short but bounced off the rim and into the net.
After the shot, Roger looked at the pitiful Kobe: “See that?
Watch closely and learn, rookie!”
A possession later, Roger swiftly blocked Van Exel’s mid-range shot.
The ball flew straight to the Lakers bench, and once again, Roger approached the sideline: “That’s called defense, not that soft touch you had earlier.”
Del Harris knew Roger’s personality well; he was sure Roger would keep taunting Kobe, even though Kobe was no longer on the court.
That’s just the kind of person he was!
“Enough, Roger,” Harris thought to stop it all, not wanting to see a young talent fall due to psychological issues, “Enough.
The competition between you two is over.”
“Over?” Roger laughed, “He decided to start it, so I get to decide when it ends!”
The game continued, Magic’s possession, Roger called for Derrick McKey to set a screen for him.
But Roger didn’t head towards the screen; instead, he suddenly pulled up for a jump shot—a completely fake screen—and Eddie Jones, who was guarding him, was deceived.
Once again, Roger used the same offensive move as Kobe did.
But the outcome was completely different as Roger’s three-pointer went straight into the net, making a pleasing sound: “Teach me Kobe, teach me how you manage to miss such an easy shot?”
Roger didn’t stop his onslaught, even Dominique Wilkins by his side started to feel sorry for Kobe.
He suddenly thought that Kobe didn’t deserve this.
He was just a kid after all!
The spin jump shot and the fake pick and roll three-pointer that Kobe just missed, Roger had demonstrated them both.
What move would be next?
As expected, a few possessions later, Roger drove to the mid-range, stopped abruptly, faked, then jumped up to take the shot.