Champions Creed

Chapter 320 319: You must be sweating, Shaq (please give me a monthly ticket!)
Eric Spoelstra is used to staying up late.

What’s more, the head coach himself is unable to stay up late.

You can't expect a nearly 70-year-old to stay up late watching game tapes.

After Hubie Brown became the head coach of the Warriors, his health deteriorated.

It turns out that not all elderly people are suitable for working as head coaches in the NBA.

Hubie Brown undergoes weekly physicals, and his average blood pressure has been rising since he started coaching the Warriors.

NBA head coaches will experience countless emotional ups and downs in a 48-minute game.

A missed call by the referee, a missed shot by a player, or a flagrant foul by the opponent can cause a previously calm coach to instantly become furious.

Such drastic emotional fluctuations are definitely a severe test for the heart and blood vessels of a 70-year-old man.

Hubie Brown's family was very worried about his health and repeatedly advised him to resign. But Hubie Brown wanted to make up for his regrets in the Knicks and insisted on leading the team to win the championship.

So Spoelstra volunteered to take over a lot of the work that originally belonged to Hubie Brown.

So tonight, Eric Spoelstra gave up his date with a cheerleader and studied Mavericks game tape.

The Mavericks and Warriors are old rivals and have played against each other four times in the regular season, with the Warriors winning 2 and losing 2.

One of the wins was because of the absence of Shaq. When the black and white twin towers were complete, the Warriors' record against the Mavericks was 1 win and 2 losses. The win was because Roger scored 57 points and killed the Mavericks with his offense.

For the Warriors, the most difficult opponent for the Mavericks is the Sharks.

With the Warriors' inside lineup this season, they have no way to deal with the Sharks in the penalty area.

Last season, the Hawks still had Kurt Thomas and Hakeem Olajuwon, but it was already difficult to limit him. This season, Stoudemire and Troy Murphy's defense at the five position is just a piece of paper for the Sharks.

Double team? Are you sure you want to let Dirk Nowitzki go?
Spoelstra had been praying that he would not meet the Mavericks in the first round because the Sharks were too much of a counterbalance to the Warriors' lineup.

God responded to him by putting the Dallas Mavericks in front of the Warriors.

The only way to deal with the Mavericks is to attack.

At this moment, Spoelstra's cell phone suddenly rang.

He looked at his newly bought Nokia camera phone with bloodshot eyes, and the caller ID showed Roger's name.

Spoelstra subconsciously looked at the clock again. It was almost two o'clock. Why was Roger calling?

"Roger?"

"Eric, I knew you weren't asleep yet."

"Is there a problem?"

"Remind you that it's time to go to bed. I'm afraid you'll die suddenly. Forget it. We can't stop Shaq, at least not this season. The only way is to kill him on the offensive end."

"You know, as a center, Shaq is always going to be the more consistent offensive player. Can we win the next series against him?"

"Others can't do it, but I can. Or rather, Amare and I can." Roger answered without hesitation, which reflected his confidence.

Spoelstra had nothing to say. If it was Roger, it would be possible for him to defeat a super center in a head-on confrontation.

"By the way, Roger, why aren't you asleep yet?"

Before Roger could answer, Spoelstra heard Scarlett Johansson's slightly hoarse voice coming from the receiver of the phone: "Tell me the truth, Roger, did Eva and Annie wear these for you too?"

Then there was the wet sound of a kiss.

Spoelstra: .
Well, he knew why Roger was staying up late.

While saving the Bay Area, we are also busy saving souls.

It is true that with great ability comes great responsibility.

"Ahem. Wait a minute, Scarlett, don't be so anxious. I'm on the phone. Eric, go to bed early. In the game the day after tomorrow, we will use offense to solve everything."

After hanging up the phone, Spoelstra sighed.

Even Roger has no expectations for the team's defense this season.

But there is really no other way. It can be seen that Amare is working very hard. His defensive habits have improved a lot compared to the beginning of the season. At least he will not appear under the basket and watch others stupidly without raising his hands and wait for his shot to be blocked by his quick rebound.

But it takes time for defense to transform.

Roger was already a player whose improvement speed was incredible, but it took him three seasons to go from poor defense to excellent defense. It was not until his fourth season that he made the All-Defensive Second Team, and his sixth season that he made the All-Defensive First Team.

In NBA history, there are many scorers who have made their mark in their first year of their careers, but few defensive stalwarts can shine early in their careers.

Even Ben Wallace, who is now recognized as the player with the greatest defensive influence, had to serve as a substitute for Kurt Thomas in Atlanta.

The team also thought about strengthening the team in the middle of the season, but it was not smooth. Now every team is very cautious about trading with the Warriors, and every team is eager to maximize its benefits when trading with the Warriors, because no one wants to be the "fool who uses a stupid deal to help Roger dominate the league again."

For example, the 76ers are willing to trade Mutombo, whose contract is about to expire, but they asked the Warriors for several main players, which obviously exceeded Mutombo's value.

In this way, the Warriors can only enter the playoffs with this lineup with obvious defensive loopholes.

Spoelstra shook his head, turned off the computer and prepared to go to bed.

As a result, his cell phone rang again at this time.

Fortunately, Spoelstra is single, otherwise his girlfriend would think he is cheating on her. There is no call during the day, but one after another in the middle of the night.

Picking up the phone, Spoelstra looked at the caller ID and saw that this time it was Stoudemire who was calling.

"Amare?"

"I knew you were still awake."

"Tell me, who else in the team doesn't know about this?"

"Hahahaha, your diligence is known to the whole team. Roger told us that you were either watching videos or flirting with cheerleaders in the middle of the night. Damn it, why doesn't the league allow coaches to have contact with cheerleaders?"

"Damn Roger, even the best food can't stop him from talking. Tell me, what's the matter?"

"Remind you to go to bed early."

"anything else?"

"Send me a video analysis. I want to guard Shaq!"

Spoelstra laughed. Does this kid know what he is talking about?

To be fair, although Shaq looks like a waste in front of Roger, he is one of the most difficult players to limit in the league in the past decade.

This is not something you can prevent with determination. But determination is always a good thing.

"Okay, I'll send you one."

"Thanks Eric, introduce me to the cheerleader's best friend next time."

"You should spend some time practicing your defense, Amar'e."

"Need I say more? One day I will become Roger's strongest supporter!"

Spoelstra hung up the phone. This is Amar'e Stoudemire.

No one knows what supports this high school rookie to get up again after failing, and get up again after failing.

All season long, Amar'e Stoudemire's defense has been criticized.

Roger is the most watched player and the Warriors are the most watched team, so every move of other Warriors players will be magnified and paid attention to.

So this season, almost all American media have criticized Stoudemire's defense.

TNT's Charles Barkley even made a show called "Amare's Weekly Stupid Defense Highlights."

They overlooked Stoudemire's excellence on the offensive end and his explosive entertainment value as he appeared in the top ten plays every week.

He kept talking about his defense.

There were times when Spoelstra wondered if his 19-year-old self would be able to handle it.

But Stoudemire held on. Did you hear what he just said? He wanted to be Roger's strongest backer.

Even through all that, he still has a passion for defense.

Spoelstra doesn't know where his strength comes from, but he firmly believes that he can succeed.

He will definitely become an excellent defensive player.

Definitely.

Sooner or later, Roger will be able to rely on his defense to get everything he wants in the Bay Area.

The next day, the Dallas Mavericks players arrived in the Bay Area.

Shaquille O'Neal was in high spirits, and like Roger, he had long lost interest in the regular season. So even though the Mavericks' fifth place in the Western Conference was not as good as expected and was controversial, Shaquille didn't care at all.

And he firmly believes that the Mavericks' true strength is by no means the fifth level in the Western Conference.

"We should actually be No. 67 in the West. You see, I swept Tim, and he is now No. in the West, which proves that No. in the West is nothing in front of me. I only played games in the regular season, which is why we fell to No. in the West. Roger should feel lucky. It is his honor for him and his garbage team to play against the No. in the West. Of course I will not lose again, because I got rid of the biggest obstacle on the road to victory, Kobe Bryant."

O'Neill had sex with two people in one breath. He was very excited now, very, very excited, even more excited than the first time he camped alone with Shanni.

He has not beaten Roger once in the playoffs in the past three seasons.

From 1997 to now, Shaquille O'Neal has lived in Roger's shadow.

As a super center who established a dynasty in the 90s, Shark's career height plummeted as a result.

No matter how great his Magic career was, there will always be people who say, "Shaq's success was all thanks to Roger."

His career was brutally torn in two starting in the summer of 1997.

How glorious it was before, how miserable it became afterwards, a bloody misery.

This year, he can finally put an end to these years of setbacks.

On game day, in the visiting team's locker room of the Oakland Arena, O'Neal walked in with a relaxed expression while eating fried chicken.

Old Nelson doesn't care much about the sharks' diet because he can't control it at all.

But unlike the Shark, his teammates all had serious faces.

In fact, the shark discovered it yesterday, and it seemed that everyone except him was facing a serious enemy.

The Sharks clapped their hands: "Hey guys, what's up? We're about to kick the ass of the fourth team in the West, aren't we?"

"It's better to be careful, Shaq," replied Nick Van Exel, who was a teammate of Shaq in Los Angeles.

"Watch out, I can score 50 points in the paint, they can't stop me."

No one paid any attention to the shark and the atmosphere in the locker room remained serious.

O'Neal shook his head speechlessly and walked to Nowitzki's side. Their lockers were next to each other.

To ease the atmosphere, Shark started chatting with Nowitzki again: "Dirk, I haven't asked you yet, why do you wear No. 41? It's not a common number."

"Because of Roger."

"What?" This was the first time Shark had heard of this.

"Before I entered the league, Roger was the most successful international player in the NBA. I admired him very much. Not only me, but many international players who are currently playing in the league also regard Roger as their idol. But when I joined the Mavericks, Robert Pike wore No. 14, so I could only turn No. 14 upside down to No. 41. Although Robert left later, I was too lazy to change it."

"You admire Roger?" O'Neal's eyes widened. Are there really idiots in this world who like that guy?
“是啊，他的我的偶像，我永远不会忘记他创造的那些经典。95年总决赛魔术VS火箭，罗杰连续三场40+。97年季后赛半场8记三分、单场50分、单节27分，98年东决40+10，00年季后赛面对AI单场62分，01年总决赛连续四场40分.”

Dirk Nowitzki became more and more excited as he spoke, but his teammates' faces became more and more ugly.

Yes, this is Roger in the playoffs, and this is why everyone feels Alexander, because they are about to face such Roger!

Roger in the playoffs is the most terrifying weapon, the most terrifying disaster, and the most unattainable miracle in NBA history.

As he listened, even the laughing shark's expression turned serious.

"That's enough Dirk!"

"what?"

"That's enough, no one wants to hear this!"

"Uh, you asked me first."

"Shut up!"

Shark wiped the sweat from his forehead and found that he was actually sweating profusely!

O'Neal took off his casual clothes and changed into a jersey, then kept talking to himself.

"There's nothing to be afraid of Shaq, that's all in the past. Well, it's all in the past. I just need to destroy Amar'e Stoudemire to beat him, it's that simple."

That's true, but the shark is still sweating.

(End of this chapter)