Champions Creed

Chapter 293 292: Don't worry, I will be fine, David, for sure! (ask for monthly ticket)

Jason Kidd stood in the darkness of the Philips Arena, silently watching the Hawks raise the third championship banner of the Roger era.

Roger completely changed the city of Atlanta. Although the Hawks have a long history, they have never had a strong presence in the NBA.

But since Roger arrived, the Hawks have almost become the team with the strongest presence.

Jason Kidd hopes he can do all of that with the Nets.

His confidence is not groundless. This Nets team actually has talent, but the leader Stephen Marbury is just too bad.

In Kidd's opinion, Marbury is not as good as the Joker King Jerry Stackhouse.

After all, neither of them could lead the team to victory, but Jerry Stackhouse was still able to score nearly 30 points, which is far beyond the upper limit of Stephen Marbury.

Marbury's organizational ability? A point guard who can't lead his team to victory is not worthy of talking about organizational ability, because he didn't make the team better.

What this team needs is not someone who can score points, but discipline and defense.

And Kidd injected that into the Nets.

Moreover, Kidd believes that there is another reason why he can beat the Hawks - starting from this season, the league canceled the annoying illegal defense rule and reconciled with FIBA ​​to allow zone defense.

Of course, because of the existence of the three-second defensive rule, this is just a castrated version of zone defense.

In order to ensure the viewing experience, David Stern had to make such a compromise.

The reason for allowing zone defense is simple: Roger is too strong.

Last season, Roger averaged 3 points per game against the big three, which made David Stern feel bad.

He fully supports Roger as the boss, hoping to make Roger the next Michael Jordan. In fact, he already is.

But David Stern can't let this league lose suspense like it did in the 1960s and 1970s.

In your opinion, Roger has only won two consecutive championships and is about to win his second three consecutive championships?
Believe it or not, Roger is about to lead the Eagles to four championships in five years!
Apart from the Lakers in the 50s and the Celtics in the 60s, no other team has ever played with such dominance.

If we only count Roger himself, he will win seven championships in nine years, which is a Bill Russell-level dominance. This is a height that even Michael Jordan has never reached!
Of course, David Stern would not admit that this was intended to restrict Roger.

According to media reports, the NBA's move was intended to make American players more adaptable to FIBA's defense.

Considering the Dream Team's serious decline in dominance at the 2000 Olympics, this is a pretty great reason.

What did the NBA do wrong? It just wanted to make American basketball great again.

This is really a symbol of Roger's dominance, because if the league wants to promote a player and that player continues to struggle, they will change the rules in the opposite direction to benefit that person.

For example, the rules of movement become more and more unpredictable as we get closer to the 21s.

What are the consequences of the zone defense? Let's put it this way: in the future, the powerful Serbian basketball will not allow players under 15 to use the zone defense in youth competitions.

Because they believe that this will make defense easier and make players develop the habit of relying on teammates from an early age, thus losing their defensive enthusiasm and one-on-one defense skills.

This is the role of the zone defense.

It can make life easier for those who are not good at defense, and make life worse for those who make a living by attacking. It can infinitely reduce the defensive weaknesses of one's own side and greatly increase the difficulty of the opponent's attack.

In the past, just playing a zone defense was enough to defeat most teams. Now that they can play a zone defense openly, it will undoubtedly make the game more terrifying.

In fact, the period from 2001 to 2005 was the most terrifying period for NBA defense, even more terrifying than the fierce defense in the s and s that people remember.

This is why the Detroit Pistons have become so strong, because the highly mobile Ben is simply a center born for zone defense.

If he was already at the DPOY level last season, then after the league allows zone defense, he will be the DPOY among DPOYs.

It is precisely because the defense is too scary that the league came up with a No Handcheck rule, which once again liberated superstars, especially outside superstars.

But that’s a story for later. Nowadays, everyone has to face the challenges brought by the zone defense.

The sharks are already complaining about this.

Just yesterday, the Shark, who was no longer playing so well in the preseason, complained like a nagging woman.

"Fuck, I don't know why this rule was added. All the players in the NBA are men. A mature man doesn't need a double team. If you can't play man-to-man, you shouldn't be here! Let me ask you, would you like someone to assist you when you and your girlfriend are fighting? This is ridiculous!"

The times have unknowingly turned a new page. The re-implementation of the joint defense rules will allow a group of people to rise, but will also cause another group to fall.

Jason Kidd believed that he was the one who could rise by relying on double team defense, while Roger, who was famous for his terrifying offensive power, was bound to fall.

In this era when defense is more important, the Hawks just lost their DPOY.

All of this tells Kidd that the wheel of the times has arrived. As long as you can catch this bus of the times, you can surpass your predecessors.

Every generation of superstars will hand over their crowns in a season without any warning, and then someone else will wear it.

Jason Kidd doesn't know if he will be the one wearing the crown, but at least he has to try!
When presenting the championship ring, David Stern patted Roger on the shoulder and said, "I wish you all the best in your dynasty journey. Regarding the team's shareholder group, I just followed the procedures and did everything I should do. Steve did violate the regulations."

Roger looked at the little Jewish guy's smile and found it particularly ironic.

Everything is going well? I will be better if you allow me to take five steps while dribbling.

On the one hand, he introduced new rules to limit my offensive power, and on the other hand, he wished me all the best. He really deserves to be called the NBA Commissioner.

Roger shook hands with Stern a little harder: "Don't worry, I will be fine, David, for sure!"

David Stern still kept smiling, but for some reason, he felt threatened.

The game is about to begin. The Nets' starting five are Kidd, Kerry Kittles, Kenyon Martin, Keith Van Horn and Todd McCulloch.

The Hawks announced their real starting lineup in the opening game: Roger, Michael Reed, Paul Pierce, Shawn Marion and Kurt Thomas.

This starting lineup was a bit surprising, because Dream and Pippen were actually kept on the bench.

Michael Redd did have a fantastic performance in the finals last season, but he only played two good games and no one expected him to start.

As for the center position, everyone predicts that the Hawks will let Dream start to enhance their rim protection ability.

But it now appears that the media and fans' predictions were wrong.

At the start of the game, Todd McCulloch, who had the height advantage, won the first attack for the Nets.

Kidd pushed across half court and just after passing the midfield line he saw Kenyon Martin running back inside.

He hit the ball to the ground without hesitation, and the basketball bounced back accurately after hitting the floor and fell into the hands of Martin who was cutting in.

The latter jumped up without hesitation, showing his beast-like talent and scored a dunk easily!
In the first offense of the new season, Kidd showed his talent to the fullest. In terms of comprehensive passing level, Kidd is second only to Magic Johnson.

Compared to Nash, Stockton and others, Kidd's 193 cm height gives him a better vision for the ball.

This offense best reflects Kidd's passing level, because he turned an original positional battle into a semi-fast break.

Of course, if the Eagles had Ben Wallace, this offense wouldn't have had such a happy ending.

But Kurt Thomas does not have the athletic ability of Ben Wallace, and when Kenyon Martin cut in and exploded, all he could do was look up.

"Roger, you."

Kidd was about to say some trash talk when he saw Roger had already quickly pushed to the midfield line. Marion and Michael Reed, who were not holding the ball, flew from both wings and quickly inserted from both sides.

Kidd was confused for a moment. Didn't we just score a goal? How come these bastards are coming to attack us?
Roger quickly advanced to Kidd, leaning against him and heading straight to the restricted area. At the same time, Marion also cut inside to the basket.

The Nets began to retreat in panic, but Roger passed the ball to the left corner.

Michael Redd, who had been lying in wait, made steady three-point shots. Why did Redd, who only played two games in the finals last season, start this season? Because after an offseason, his shooting improvement was incredible.

Now he has a new nickname in the Hawks - Left Corner Bird.

Because his three-pointer from the left corner is so accurate that it's criminally wrong.

"brush!"

The basketball went into the net, and when the Hawks ended their attack, the Nets still had two people at the midfield line.

Roger began to retreat, and then asked Kidd: "Jason, what did you want to say just now?"

Kidd was speechless. During the preseason, he thought the Hawks were just getting faster in defensive counterattacks, but he didn't expect their regular rhythm to be so fast!

However, as a fast break expert, Kidd does not think there is any point in simply speeding up the pace.

Roger is not a traditional point guard. The Hawks play so fast that they will lose their composure sooner or later!
"Nice counterattack. The Hawks' offense this season is very different from before. Roger and Paul Pierce will no longer grind out positions round by round. They pursue a faster pace and easier shots."

As soon as NBC's new national live commentator Matt Lauer finished speaking, the camera turned to the mustache man on the Eagles bench.

These people who are not in the spotlight are silently pushing the times forward.

Kidd was still full of ambition, but the Nets' second attack was immediately constipated.

Kidd passed the ball several times this time, but Roger was able to assist in defense in time.

Because when Kidd passes the ball, Roger doesn't need to worry about him at all, he can go to any position where he is needed to provide assistance defense.

If this happened in the era of illegal defense, even if Kidd didn't have the ability to shoot three-pointers, as long as he stood outside the three-point line, Roger would have to stick to him.

But now it’s different, Roger can leave him behind and defend others without any hesitation.

Zone defense is like opening the door to polygamy, where those who are more capable get more work.

Seeing that Roger was not guarding him at all, Kidd immediately cut into the basket.

Kittles passed the ball to Kidd, who immediately made a layup.

But Roger quickly returned to the basket and confronted Kidd in the air, and Kidd's cut-in layup was easily disrupted.

Many people laugh at Kidd's incompetence on the offensive end because of his poor shooting, which is the deepest mystery.

In fact, Kidd's incompetence on the offensive end is all-round, and his finishing rate at the basket is also unsatisfactory for a team core.

So after the aerial confrontation with Roger, Kidd's layup suddenly became unreliable.

In fact, Kidd's real strength lies in his defense.

He is a groundbreaking defender at the point guard position. The Nets were a poor defensive team last season, but have become a strong defensive team this season, which is closely related to Kidd's joining.

He is proficient in one-on-one defense and help defense, can defend three positions on the outside, and his awareness of rebounding protection is at the ceiling level among point guards.

Roger actually always believed that Kidd's influence on the defensive end was stronger than point guard DPOY Gary Payton.

Payton just puts a lot of pressure on the ball, and his pressure is based on the Sonics' terrifying front line, so he doesn't have to worry about being broken through.

Kidd's defense is what really affects every aspect of the game.

In high-end games, it is often difficult for the No. 1 player to influence the game, even Paul.

But why does Kidd frequently win in high-end games? Because his defense is still useful in high-end games.

Kidd didn't have many representative offensive works in the playoffs, but he did have many representative defensive works. Stars such as Pierce and Billups were all defended by Kidd in the most embarrassing series of their careers.

Even in the 2011 Finals, Kidd was still able to perform his best on defense.

He is good at pulling the opponent's offense to the same level as his own and then defeating the opponent.

Defense is Jason Kidd's most overlooked but most useful weapon.

It's a pity that Kidd's defensive ability was completely unplayable against the Hawks' seven seconds or less.

Kidd had just missed his layup when three Hawks players rushed to the midfield line.

Marion grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to Roger. Roger turned around and passed Kittles, facing the block of Kenyon Martin, and passed the ball to Pierce.

Kenyon Martin turned the gun around and used his strong athletic ability to force his way to Pierce's side.

But Pierce threw the ball directly into the air, and Roger, who followed up from the side, caught the ball in the air with his back to the basket, then turned 180 degrees and slammed it in!

After scoring the goal, Roger looked down at Kidd, who looked like a lost dog, and said, "You can't win a single game. You'd better get used to it from the first game of the season."

Zone defense, losing DPOY, none of these could affect Roger's continued march towards victory.

His team can still adapt to zone defense after losing DPOY, and his team can successfully score before the opponent sets up a zone defense.

The wheel of time will crush one star after another, forcing them to hand over their crowns.

But Roger wouldn't.

Because he can dominate the game in any era!
David Stern sat in the stands and had lost interest in the game.

He couldn't restrain Roger, and he knew it.

(End of this chapter)