The SuperSonics' defensive focus was on James.
This was the perverted yet unified consensus that came with the formation of the Kobe-James alliance.
Within the Triangle Offense system, Kobe and James were undoubtedly a perfect match. Prime James was an enhanced version of Pippen, while Kobe was just slightly behind the peak Jordan. To put it in 2K values, it's the difference between a superstar with a rating of 97 and one with a rating of 99.
Such a combination, once united, was bound to bulldoze through the opposition like Durant and Curry did during 2017-2018.
But the aberration in the Kobe-James alliance lay in the fact that James never promised to actively integrate into the Triangle Offense.
He never had the awareness to play the role of Pippen either.
