Chapter 37

In the first quarter, the best performer was undoubtedly Paul Gasol. He played nearly 10 minutes in the first quarter, scoring 10 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. Kobe’s desire to score seemed not very strong; instead, he was happy to let the inside players Andrew Bynum and Paul Gasol take charge of scoring. He himself took only 3 shots, hitting 2 for 4 points. However, aside from that, Kobe also provided 4 assists, truly acting as the Lakers’ playmaker. On the other hand, Andrew Bynum didn’t have Gasol’s shooting touch, scoring only 3 points in the first quarter despite taking 6 shots, which even left Kobe frustrated with his performance.

Looking at the Pistons, the best performer wasn’t the speed-oriented Zhou Yi (compared to Derek Fisher), but Tychon Prince. Prince hit 2 out of 3 shots and made both of his free throws in the first quarter, scoring 7 points, along with 5 rebounds and a block. Zhou Yi, meanwhile, hit 1 out of 3 shots and 1 out of 2 free throws, scoring 3 points. However, he provided 4 assists, which was quite good considering the strong defensive pressure. Moreover, Zhou Yi was taken off the court after only 7 minutes in the first quarter, so head coach Kurt Rambis was quite satisfied with his performance. When Zhou Yi was on the court, his defense was what pleased Rambis the most. He did a great job containing Derek Fisher, making it difficult for the Lakers to rotate in their offense. It was because of Zhou Yi’s defense that the Lakers’ triangle offense couldn’t fully unfold, thus preventing the score gap from widening.