Eight minutes into the game, the Phoenix Suns were up 21-18, leading the Lakers by 3 points.
Nowitzki was stealing the show, scoring through a combination of jump shots and drives to the basket. He had already racked up a game-high 9 points.
Chen Yu couldn't tell if Jackson was holding back his strategy or if he simply had no answer, but his response to Nowitzki was clearly lacking.
Odom simply couldn't guard Nowitzki.
The so-called "Big Four" hyped by the Los Angeles media was complete bullshit.
Artest might have a weak claim to being one of the "bigs" thanks to his All-Defensive Team selection, but Odom? Did he even deserve to be in the conversation?
He was a jack-of-all-trades. Playing alongside Yao Ming, he was great at covering for mistakes, rotating, providing help defense, and connecting the offense. But in a high-stakes series, he just didn't measure up.
He could follow Nowitzki everywhere, but what good did that do?
