On training day, the Lakers began to work on their defense.

Del Harris is still a little level, or his defensive coach is good, and he has come up with a set of joint defense system, which is already quite good from the perspective of Qiao Hai, a future person.

But it is not easy, at least until the second game of the season, this set of joint defensive tactics will not be able to form a fighting force.

Considering that the opponent in the second game was the Lakers' long-suffering opponent under Del Harris, Qiao Hai failed to find even a smile on Del Harris's face during the two days of training before the game.

Indeed, if the Jazz are losing, then the Lakers are losing two in a row in the opening season, although Del Harris does not think that a two-game losing streak will put his position in danger, but the opening two consecutive losses will eventually put him in a dangerous situation, which Del Harris does not want to see.

So, Del Harris decided to make a change.

In the pre-match discussion, Qiao Hai was still a spectator, but he learned about the changes in Del Harris through this meeting.

"We didn't change the starting line-up for this game, but there were some changes to the rotation line-up and the same ...... tactical play."

To Qiao Hai's surprise, in order to win this game with the Jazz, Del Harris actually decided to completely abandon the blocking and pick-and-roll tactics that the Lakers had been practicing for the previous month, and wanted to return to the tactics played by the Lakers last season.

Del Harris's idea is very simple, in the starting lineup last season, except for the point guard position, the other four positions remain the same, Eddie Jones No. 2, Rick Fox No. 3, Robert Horry No. 4, Shaquille O'Neal No. 5, and the No. 1 position left by Van Exel was filled by Kobe Bryant.

On February 7, game day, the Lakers played the Jazz at home, and Kobe Bryant was still the starter, but the tactics returned to last season's tactics.

This is something Qiao Hai didn't expect, and the Lakers played back their familiar tactics.

At the Great Western Forum, the Lakers and Jazz played back and forth, and at halftime, the two teams were tied.

This result has been unexpected by Qiao Hai, I have to say that the Lakers' old tactics, the lower limit is still very high, at least relying on Shaquille O'Neal's deterrence on the inside, and most teams have the power to fight.

In the third quarter, the Lakers even led the Jazz at one point.

Seeing the hope of victory, Del Harris became more and more agitated, rushed to the sidelines, and frantically directed the game.

Indeed, it was not easy to win against the bitter hosts of the previous two seasons, and Del Harris wanted to take advantage of this rare opportunity.

But in the fourth quarter, the tide turned around with astonishment.

The Jazz directly began to flank the defense of Shaquille O'Neal, and in the final moments of the game, they sacrificed a shark-cutting tactic to directly overtake the score in waves.

In the end, 91:100, a nine-point difference, the Jazz took the victory from the Lakers' home court.

The Lakers started the season with two straight losses, and for Del Harris, the situation is not optimistic.

After playing the Jazz, the Lakers immediately ushered in a back-to-back game, against the Spurs with Tim Duncan and David Robinson, this game was also not easy to play, Del Harris adjusted the starting lineup again, replaced Rick Fox, Eddie Jones pushed to the third position, Derrick Fisher started and strengthened the defense.

For Del Harris, this match is his life-and-death battle, if he loses three times in a row, even if he is a champion division, it will collapse in an instant, and it will be difficult to pull it back next.

So, this game has to be won.

In front of this must-win game, Del Harris also broke out, directly putting out a starting lineup that broke the boat, each of the outside trio is a player with strong individual defense, plus Shaquille O'Neal on the inside, the ability of this lineup to defend one-on-one has exploded.

In the end, relying on this set of broken lineups, the Lakers won the victory in a thrilling way.

At 80:75, the score was not high, and it was clear that the two teams were fighting a defensive battle.

Del Harris finally breathed a sigh of relief, and after two consecutive losses, the Lakers won the Spurs, and the sword of Damocles hanging over Del Harris's head was temporarily removed.

On February 10, the Lakers played the Nuggets away, and Del Harris continued the starting lineup of the previous game, defeating the underdog Nuggets and winning two in a row.

Del Harris is back to the confidence he had in the regular season last season.

But the next day, back-to-back, facing the Timberwolves, the Lakers lost again.

This loss is still because of Del Harris's old problem, without understanding the opponent's strength distribution, hastily continued to use a one-on-one defensive strategy, as a result, the substitute veteran Sam Mitchell broke out, and Del Harris could not adjust.

Seeing Sam Mitchell score 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, the Timberwolves won 86-75.

With a 2-3 record in the opening five games, the pressure on Del Harris is on again.

The Lakers' next opponent is the Pacers, who are also one of the championship contenders this season, and their star is Reggie Miller, the all-time shooter, as well as other big centers such as 2.24m Rick Schmitz, last season's assist king Mark Jackson, blue-collar interior Davis Davis, and God's left-hand Chris Mullin, who has reached the end of his career......

Also on the bench are Jalen Rose, veteran center Sam Perkins and others.

Judging by the lineup alone, the Pacers are strong.

In every crucial game, Del Harris always encounters strong teams, which puts Del Harris under a lot of pressure.

Del Harris didn't dare to take risks in this game, and he continued to line up the starting lineup with two wins and one loss in the first three games, hoping to win with certainty.

When Qiao Hai saw this scene, he shook his head directly.

It is impossible for the Pacers to have no plan for this lineup in a row, especially since the head coach of the Pacers is still Larry Bird, a scheming guy, and the Pacers have no restraint in this game, Qiao Hai doesn't believe it.

Sure enough, after the start of the game, the Pacers directly used Rick Schmitz and Davis to defend Shaquille O'Neal before and after, Mark Jackson Gareji Miller and Chris Mullin took turns to change defenses, and Rick Schmitz pulled to the outside on the offensive end, forcing the Lakers to involve the defensive formation.

Reggie Miller Chris Mullin fired back-to-back shots, and in the opening game, the Pacers couldn't find the North with their outside shots.

Del Harris continued to adjust, and it simply couldn't stop the Pacers' hot hand.

As a result, the Pacers pressed from beginning to end, and the Lakers lost the game without a fight......

Another wave of two consecutive defeats, with an overall record of 2 wins and 4 losses, at this moment, Del Harris's position is really in jeopardy.

……

Returning to Los Angeles from Indiana, Del Harris was sad all the time, as a championship team, 2 wins and 4 losses in the opening season is definitely not a qualified record, and he has already felt the crisis.

Back in Los Angeles, Joe Hay is also summoned by Mitch Kupchak, saying that Jerry West wants to see him......