The Bucks made an adjustment to their interior lineup four minutes into the first quarter.
Christian Laettner and Robert Horry came in for Mutombo and Mason. To others, this might seem like a routine substitution for the Bucks, but those who had seen how Yu Fei had dominated Shaquille O'Neal and the Lakers team knew exactly what bringing in these two players meant.
Phil Jackson's gaze was deep, as if he was pondering the Bucks' intentions.
After much thought, there seemed to be no other reasonable explanation than fulfilling Yu Fei's desire to hammer away at O'Neal on the court.
But even if they intended to deal with O'Neal, wasn't this too early?
This didn't follow the usual script.
In the past, the Bucks would usually engage with the Lakers in a few exchanges to establish dominance or when the situation was at a deadlock before resorting to this tactic, and it had been effective.
