That's right.
From the very first possession, Blake Su was going to guard Kobe.
The Lakers had a deep championship foundation, and Kobe's individual offense was incredibly strong. Even if Blake Su could gain the upper hand by trading offense with Kobe.
It still wasn't enough.
When expanded to the team as a whole, the Suns would keep losing.
The first two games had made that very clear to the entire Suns team. Setting aside Game 1, when Kobe had a poor night and the Lakers lost.
Game 2.
Having Blake Su lock down Kobe and bring home the win seemed to be the ultimate strategy for beating the Lakers.
Coach Alvin Gentry understood that perfectly, and he did not hesitate at all. He had Blake Su guard Kobe from the very first possession.
The playoffs were a stage for superstars.
During the regular season, Alvin Gentry had pulled Blake Su out early countless times, or done everything possible to buy him more rest.
It was all for the playoffs. It was all for this moment.
Right now.
It was time for "Monster Rookie" Blake Su to use his ability as the team leader and his overwhelming strength to carry the team forward.
However.
Likewise.
Kobe understood this very well too.
Buzz!
Almost the instant Blake Su appeared in front of him.
A dark gleam flashed in Kobe's eyes, and his desire to fight multiplied. Even though he had been stopped in the previous game, at this moment... as the "Black Mamba."
He would take everything back.
"Whoosh!"
His gaze sharpened, and his foot paused.
Kobe accelerated past Blake Su. Their bodies immediately collided with force as he drove into the right low post and then into the paint.
"Bang!"
Another fierce collision.
The instant Blake Su took a slight step back, Kobe seized the opening, spun, gathered the ball, and released a fadeaway jumper.
With the two players' centers of gravity staggered one in front of the other, plus the fadeaway, this shot was extremely difficult to block. An ordinary player would have a very hard time interfering with it.
Even a big man would struggle.
But.
The one defending him now was Blake Su, a super talent with a height of 215 centimeters, Iverson's Talent, and Gary Payton's defense.
"Step!"
Blake Su's gaze sharpened. He pushed his vertical leap to the limit and closed out. His terrifying wingspan and explosiveness still gave Kobe plenty of interference.
"Clang!"
Kobe missed.
On the next possession, Kobe faced Blake Su again. He used the same versatile post-up moves, creating distance from Blake Su and gaining space to shoot.
"Whoosh!"
Another fadeaway jumper.
"Step!"
Blake Su, who had been reading him on defense the whole time, followed and contested again, giving him another dose of interference.
"Clang!"
Once again, Kobe's usually steady fadeaway jumper missed.
"Hmph!"
Kobe snorted coldly, his refusal to lose burning even stronger. On another possession, he once again went at Blake Su and pushed his individual post-up game to the extreme.
"Whoosh!"
He created a full body's length of separation from Blake Su, then rose for another fadeaway jumper.
"That one's good."
Pau Gasol confirmed inwardly from the wing.
But in the next instant.
"Smack!"
Blake Su, who had closed out again, actually blocked Kobe's shot cleanly.
"A block?!"
Pau Gasol could hardly believe it.
"How is that possible?!"
Kobe was stunned too.
"If you want to score over me with the same move, it's only going to get harder."
Yet... the corners of Blake Su's mouth rose slightly, his expression confident. As he grew more and more used to Kobe's offense, it was no surprise that he blocked this one.
Kobe's repeated attacks were all stopped by Blake Su.
Meanwhile, in transition offense, Blake Su could still score against high-intensity defense, with help from teammates like Curry and George.
Even though the Lakers' role players were fierce on both offense and defense.
The Suns still held the upper hand.
Soon.
The Suns built a 6-point lead.
"Beep, beep!"
Phil Jackson called a timeout to slow down a situation that was turning against his team.
"Tsk, tsk..."
Inside the studio.
Hubie Brown could not help clicking his tongue and said, "Blake Su's defense is really fierce. That's Kobe Bryant he's guarding, and tonight he's managed to stop him again."
"Heh."
Dave Pasch smiled and said, "Blake Su's defense has always been excellent. It's just that... compared with his even more explosive offense.
"His defense tends to get overlooked.
"The same goes for his steals, rebounds, and passing. Blake Su is actually solid in all of those areas, but his offensive brilliance is so strong that it overshadows everything else."
"That's right."
Hubie Brown nodded without denying it, then smiled and said, "That's the kind of defense the Suns need. They need to limit Kobe, even shut down his offense.
"Only then can the Suns lock in the advantage.
"If they win tonight, a 3-0 lead would put them firmly on track for the Western Conference Finals."
On the court.
The Lakers fans at home were stunned to see Kobe once again limited by Blake Su, a rookie center.
However.
That shock quickly turned back into cheers and shouts.
The Lakers could not afford to lose tonight. As fans, they had no reason to get discouraged either. All they could do was give the Lakers their loudest, fiercest support.
Making the most of home-court advantage was what they were supposed to do.
"Boom!"
After the timeout.
The home atmosphere surged even higher.
Kobe felt the cheers from the home crowd and the support from the fans. He focused himself, and his desire to win rose once again.
However.
On offense, facing Blake Su, who had also pushed his defense to the limit, Kobe was truly stopped. His attack was defended once again.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
One missed shot after another, even on second-chance attempts.
Throughout the entire first quarter.
Under Blake Su's defense, Kobe... despite taking a full 11 shots in the quarter, scored only 4 points. His efficiency was extremely low.
It would not even be an exaggeration to say it.
In the first quarter.
Blake Su defended Kobe straight into invisibility!
Lakers 22, Suns 33.
At the end of the first quarter, the Suns led by 11 points in a single quarter, and they were doing it on the road. That gap struck hard at the Lakers' momentum.
Of course.
The point difference was only one part of it.
The most important thing was that the Lakers' leader, Kobe Bryant, the "best shooting guard in the league today" and the "best player in the league today."
Had been defended into invisibility by a rookie.
That was what truly shocked the Lakers fans and players. It hammered their confidence and their desire to win.
If this kept going, wouldn't the ending be decided early?
However.
They were a championship team, after all.
They quickly realized that this was not the time to lose heart. With their leader struggling, they needed to step up.
And the fans understood that too.
So.
"Boom!"
Even though the Lakers were down by 11 points, the deafening cheers from the home crowd did not weaken. Instead, they grew even louder, and the momentum of the home court continued to rise.