In the third game of the Spurs and Lakers series, the protagonist in the first quarter was neither O'Neal nor Tim Duncan, but the Lakers' second-in-command Kobe Bryant, who averaged 16 points per game in the previous two games, and only scored 20 points in the first quarter of this game with 8 of 15 shots and 2 free throws.

But Phil Jackson was not satisfied with Kobe's performance, because in the first quarter of the game, Kobe was too obsessed with singles, but Kobe's strong singles ability in this game also made Phil Jackson have some other ideas.

O'Neal's dominance under the basket is unmatched, even stronger than Jordan, but O'Neal's weakness is also very obvious, the threat range is too small, and the offensive means are too few, this is a player who can't play without the paint area, and Jordan's kind of almost all areas within the three-point line, with a variety of offensive means, O'Neal is still a lot worse, which is why the Lakers are always inferior to the Bulls in Phil Jackson's heart.

Whether it is the triangle composed of Jordan Pippen and Grant in the first three consecutive weeks, or the triangle composed of Jordan Pippen Harbour in the last three consecutive weeks, it is not comparable to the current Lakers' O'Neal Kobe than Glen Rice, first of all, the terminator in the triangle offense, O'Neal's offensive deterrence and Jordan's gap is obvious, which is why this Lakers will play very passive as long as they touch the Spurs, the Spurs' two interior lines are too strong, under the attack of the two of them, O'Neal's deterrence is greatly reduced, And that's never going to happen with Jordan. Originally, with O'Neal's ability, he could crush the opponent and end the offense very simply and roughly, and passing was always his second choice, but under the attack of Duncan and David Robinson, O'Neal could only pass the ball whether he wanted it or not.

Another important reason is that the Lakers lack a Pippen, originally Phil Jackson wanted to train Kobe to become the next Pippen, after a season, although Kobe has made rapid progress, but there has always been a big gap from Pippen, especially the ability to connect the team is far from it, not that Kobe does not have this talent, but Kobe has been resisting Phil Jackson's change in his heart, how can a player with the goal of surpassing Jordan be willing to be Pippen, it can also be seen from this game, Phil Jackson's revamp of Kobe Bryant this season has been a complete failure. Although the triangle offense encourages singles, a player who is not invincible in singles and is obsessed with singles will never be able to support such tactics as triangle offense. At the same time, in the other corner of the Lakers' triangle offense, Glen Rice has never been able to integrate into the triangle offense, not because of his ability, but because his ball quotient is really inferior to Kobe and O'Neal.

In order to implement the triangle offense as soon as possible in the Lakers this season, Phil Jackson brought his beloved apprentice Ron Haber from the Bulls, as an important player in the Bulls' last three consecutive rows, Harber is very familiar with the triangle offense, but now Harbour cannot take on the Lakers' organizational tasks, and the former defensive titan has now become a defensive hole. It's fair to say that this season's Lakers are far from meeting Phil Jackson's psychological expectations, and the gap between the Lakers and the Bulls is more than just a Pippen.

After the start of the second quarter of the game, Kobe's situation changed, with Ron Haber taking over the ball, Kobe's chances of holding the ball and singles also plummeted, and the Lakers' first offensive option returned to O'Neal, but under the Spurs' crazy attack on O'Neal, Kobe still got a lot of opportunities.

In this case, Phil Jackson also had some other ideas, in the Lakers' current triangle offense, O'Neal is the finisher, Kobe Bryant is the planner, in fact, in the Lakers' triangle O'Neal is the most suitable planner, O'Neal has strong offensive ability, and the strategy ability is also first-class, you must know that the original triangle tactics were formulated for O'Neal's interior line. And Kobe Bryant's ability to show in this game also has the conditions to become a finisher, looking at the situation on the court, an improved version of the triangle offense suitable for the Lakers gradually emerged, after handing over the on-court command to his assistant coach, Phil Jackson casually picked up a tactical board and began to write and draw on it.

"We had to change our tactics in the second half... At halftime, in the visiting locker room at Alamo Coliseum, Phil Jackson held the tactics board in his hand and explained the new tactics to the Lakers players. In the new tactics, O'Neal's role will change from a simple finisher to a planner, first of all, O'Neal singles the inside, attracting the bag, and then sharing the ball, and in the new tactics, O'Neal also has to block and dismantle with teammates to create opportunities and space for teammates, especially Kobe's singles.

In the new tactics, Kobe's task has also changed, first of all, Kobe will lose the ball, no need to tear up space on the inside, Kobe's new task is to keep running, while O'Neal attracts the opponent's defense, look for single opportunities on the weak side.

After a brief period of confusion at the start of the third quarter, the Lakers gradually adapted to the team's tactical changes, and the team's rotation became more and more fluid.

"Grieg, the Lakers' tactics seem to be different from the first half." Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer looked at O'Neal on the court and said.

"Yes." Popovich nodded worriedly, after the Lakers changed their tactics, the Spurs also had a temporary discomfort, the previous Lakers, first by Kobe Bryant singles, then to attract the bag, and finally to Glen Les or O'Neal, by O'Neal to end the game, but now the Lakers are using O'Neal singles to attract David Robinson and Duncan's bags, and then distribute the ball to Kobe or Hawley.

In the past, the Lakers, Kobe's finishing ability was not as good as O'Neal, so the Spurs never went to wrap Kobe, but directly wrapped O'Neal, plus Meng Xu was always able to lock Glen Rice, so the Lakers' triangle offense couldn't work as long as it met the Spurs. The tactics used by the Lakers in the second half, although it only changed the roles of Kobe and O'Neal, but the result was completely different, as long as O'Neal held the ball, it was impossible for the Spurs not to wrap O'Neal, so that Robert Holly next to O'Neal would be in an empty position, and with the explosion of Kobe in this game, Meng Xu can't get him now.

The Spurs, who were originally able to play evenly with the Lakers in the first half, and even slightly suppressed the Lakers, were completely suppressed by the Lakers shortly after the start of the third quarter.

"That's it, that's it." Seeing the great success brought by this change, Phil Jackson is also excited to himself, he finally found the key to the success of the Lakers, if O'Neal and Kobe can maintain their current state, it is also possible to surpass the Bulls of the year.