Champions Creed

Chapter 326 325: Let them hate us! (Please give me a monthly ticket!)
On this day last year, all the living legends who had their jerseys retired by the Warriors came to hold a grand inheritance ceremony for Roger.

This ceremony gave Roger enough respect and face, and also made all Bay Area fans full of high expectations for the Warriors.

And the expectations of Bay Area fans were not disappointed.

In just one season, Roger helped the Golden State Warriors, who had been in the lottery for years, to win 56 games in a single season - 56 wins may not be a big deal in Roger's brilliant career, but it is the best record of the Golden State Warriors since 1976!
At that time, the Warriors were still in the Rick Barry era, which was also one of the most glorious eras in the history of the Warriors. They won the third championship in team history in 1975, but the Warriors fans at that time could never have imagined that this was also the beginning of a long wait.

For 28 years, the Golden State Warriors have not won the highest honor. This long wait has made a whole generation of Warriors fans grow from youth to middle-aged, from children to office workers.

However, last season's results seem to mean that the long wait is about to end.

And that’s not all Roger brings.

Not only did he create history in terms of combat performance, but the Golden State Warriors also achieved brilliant results in business.

The Warriors were the team with the highest attendance in the league last season, and the average ticket price rose from fifth from the bottom to third in the league, second only to the Lakers and Knicks.

Mikhail Prokhorov ran the Warriors with a selfless attitude, but he actually made a lot of money from the Warriors last season.

For the first time, he discovered that making money was so easy. He didn't have to do anything. He just had to give Roger the greatest power, and then start to evolve and eat fruits. He could earn a lot of US dollars from the Warriors every year.

He didn't understand how his predecessor, Chris Cohen, managed to run the team to the point of near bankruptcy.

In the NBA, isn't making money the same as picking up money? You just need to serve Roger well and then follow him to pick up money.

After experiencing commercial success last season, the Russian said in front of the media: "If this were the 90s, I would be willing to sign a 10-year contract with Roger with an annual salary of million. No, million a year!"

This is the change that Roger has brought to the Warriors in the past year, which can be described as earth-shaking.

But everyone knows that these are not Roger's ultimate goals.

56 wins? Ticket sales? They are just byproducts of Roger's ultimate goal.

Roger's ultimate goal would begin in Detroit in the fall of 2003. By his second season with the Golden State Warriors, Roger wanted to end this long wait once and for all.

The opening game of the 03-04 season, Golden State Warriors vs. Detroit Pistons.

For two consecutive seasons, Roger's journey began with a grand ceremony.

At this time, he was sitting on the bench at the Palace of Auburn Hills, in front of him were the Pistons players who were receiving their championship rings.

When Ben Wallace put on the ring, the fans stood up and shouted MVP. He has never been on the MVP list, but this greatest defensive player in history with five championship rings is a well-deserved MVP in the hearts of Detroit fans.

When Ben Wallace won his fifth championship ring, Rasheed Wallace gave him a gold belt. This belt was specially made for Ben Wallace by the Pistons players. This belt was a recognition of his leadership ability by the entire locker room.

Big Ben raised his arms high, one hand was full of rings, and there were honors around his waist.

All of Detroit was cheering for him, and the rest of the Pistons were applauding him from the sidelines.

This is the best time for the Detroit Pistons, and it is also the strongest moment for this team.

Look at them, look at the cohesion of the Pistons.

Roger knew very well how strong a team would be when it won a championship without any conflicts within the team or changes in key players.

"Greediness" will not appear immediately in this kind of team. Everyone is united and eager to win again. And they have gained confidence, tacit understanding and mature system in the championship season, which will make them stronger in the defending season.

Looking at Roger's two three-peat championships, the second championship was the easiest each time, and the third championship was the most difficult. This is the reason.

Therefore, the Detroit Pistons are extremely strong this season, and Roger knows this very well.

But he still told everyone after the championship ring awarding ceremony: "Are you ready? Let's ruin the feast for the people of Detroit and take away their wealth!"

Roger's confidence was still the same as before, maybe even more so.

This confidence comes from the team's outstanding performance in the preseason.

Tayshaun Prince's defense has matured a lot, and the small details such as positioning, judgment, and footwork are much better than last season.

Stoudemire's progress is a qualitative leap, and now with Dikembe Mutombo's guidance, Stoudemire has learned a lot.

Mutombo's own condition is not as bad as imagined, even though he looks like he is the same age as Hubie Brown.

If there was one player on the Warriors who was disappointing in the preseason, it was probably Marcus Camby.

To quote ESPN commentator Jeff Van Gundy: "I suspect Marcus was abducted by aliens. The current Marcus is definitely an alien impersonator. Send some men in black to verify his authenticity!"

Jeff Van Gundy is absolutely qualified to say this because he was the head coach of the Knicks before and he knows very well what level Marcus Camby was during his time with the Knicks.

Yes, he has never been selected to the All-Defensive Team, but only two centers can be selected in a season. You can't say that centers who are not selected to the All-Defensive Team are all sieves.

In the mind of Jeff Van Gundy, the defensive maniac, Marcus Camby is definitely one of the top five defensive centers in the league.

But the performance of Camby in the Warriors jersey is simply shocking. His defensive positioning is even worse than that of Stoudemire, and his one-on-one defense is just a show, with no enthusiasm at all.

Although his block statistics were impressive, Hubie Brown and Jeff Van Gundy could see that those blocks were obtained at the cost of being out of position.

He will completely abandon his matchup to get a possible block, which actually has no effect on the defense. If there are 10 defensive plays, Camby may be able to block one or two of them, but the other eight times you will score comfortably.

In addition, Camby's obsession with rebounding is also puzzling. He would even push his teammates away to grab rebounds.

Marcus Camby seems to only care about blocks and rebounds on the defensive end these days.

This is completely different from the positive, serious, smart and tough Marcus Camby of the past.

Hubie Brown doesn't know what happened to this kid, but at least for now he is definitely not qualified to start for the Warriors.

So in today's opening game, the Warriors' five tigers are Roger, Alan Houston, Tayshaun Prince, Amar'e Stoudemire and Dikembe Mutombo.

Roger knew what problems Marcus Camby was facing, so his confidence was not affected.

Camby's problems will be solved, but not yet.

Mutombo walked onto the court, somewhat excited: "To be honest, Roger, if I hadn't joined the Warriors, I might never have seen such a grand ceremony in my life. This is the first time I've witnessed a championship ring awarding ceremony in person."

"It's not a big deal. Only our own championship ring presentation ceremony can be called grand. I will make it happen. By the way, if Transformers is going to make a live-action movie, you must voice Megatron, even without special effects."

"Hahahaha, I'll apply for the job. But tonight, let's finish the competition first!"

When Roger and Mutombo were talking, Ronnie Artest came up and said arrogantly, "Roger, don't say that I didn't win the championship against you this time. You are the first step for us to defend the title."

"The first step to wrestling right away?"

"Oh, we'll see."

The two teams took their positions, the defending champions became serious, and the Warriors players were also very focused.

Roger took a deep breath. His desire to win was very strong at this moment. He really wanted to defeat the defending champion.

Well, he admitted, he also wanted too badly to take down Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

Sports Illustrated previously said, "We'll know within a week of the start of the regular season who is the arrogant one between Roger and Michael."

But in fact, Roger thought it wouldn't take that long, just two days would be enough.

If they win the defending champions tonight and the Cleveland Cavaliers lose to the Knicks tomorrow night, it will be clear who the arrogant idiot is.

Roger is confident about the Knicks because Yao Ming and Wade are surprisingly in sync, but the Cleveland people think they can easily beat the Knicks.

Tomorrow night's game is likely to turn into a comedy, and before enjoying that comedy, Roger must first defeat the defending champion.

The referee threw the ball into the air, Mutombo snatched the ball from Rasheed Wallace's head, and the battle was about to begin!
Roger controlled the ball and faced the Pistons' defense, which made the first possession of the game highly anticipated.

Can the best player in the world solve the best defense in the world? This is the answer that everyone is eager to know.

Although Roger's Hawks beat the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2002, the Pistons were not fully formed at that time.

Moreover, the Hawks had better offensive resources than the Warriors at the time. In the Warriors, Roger did not have a secondary attacker of Paul Pierce's level.

Roger approached the Pistons' defense without hesitation and immediately called for a pick-and-roll.

"Ha, I knew you only knew this!" Ron Artest sneered at Roger's offensive choice because defending pick-and-roll was his weakness.

However, the moment Roger bypassed the screen, Rasheed Wallace immediately and tacitly completed the defense, preventing Roger from breaking through.

At the same time, Artest also closed the gap as quickly as possible, while Ben defended the basket. If Stoudemire wanted to attack the basket, he would only get a bloody accident.

The Detroit Pistons' defense has long been a complete whole, like a precision instrument with flawless fit.

They perfectly combine excellent individual defensive qualities with perfect team defensive tacit understanding, which is why their defense is so strong.

For a moment, Roger was trapped in a double team. But he was not in a hurry, he slammed the ball to his side, hit the ground and passed the ball through the gap between Artest and Roaring Heavenly Lord, to Stoudemire who ran to the right mid-range after the pick-and-roll.

Stoudemire's outside shot after the pick-and-roll was a tactic the Warriors used last season.

But because Stoudemire's mid-range shooting has not been very stable, this tactic is not used very often.

However, in the preseason, people found that Stoudemire's mid-range jump shot was already quite stable, and Ben also reminded the team before the game: "Pay attention to the rookie's mid-range shot."

This summer, Ben trained with Stoudemire at Roger's camp, so he knows exactly how much Stoudemire has improved.

Everyone is looking forward to Stoudemire's improvement on the defensive end, but ignores that he is also making rapid progress on the offensive end.

Rasheed Wallace rushed to Stoudemire the moment Roger passed the ball. This kind of inside player who can shoot mid-range is not a threat to the Pistons. In the finals last season, the Admiral also shot accurately, but he still couldn't help the Spurs kill the game because the Pistons are very mobile, even Rasheed Wallace is more mobile than most five positions.

Stoudemire raised the basketball, and Roaring Heavenly Master raised his arms to interfere. But when Roaring Heavenly Master approached Stoudemire, Stoudemire suddenly took back the basketball and dribbled through!

Rasheed Wallace wanted to chase, but Stoudemire was too fast and passed by him in an instant!
The mid-range shot brings to Stoudemire more than just an additional offensive tool. In basketball games, each technique complements each other.

Last season, Stoudemire's mid-range shooting was unstable, so everyone defending him knew to take a step back and would not rush forward like Rasheed Wallace.

In this way, it is not easy for Stoudemire to break into the penalty area.

But now that his mid-range shooting threat has increased, once someone dares to defend closely, Stoudemire can easily break through him!

This is the importance of jump shot. Just imagine if LeBron James' mid-range shot was good enough, would he still need to spend so much effort studying those complicated footwork?
In the blink of an eye, Ben, who was guarding the basket, saw Stoudemire rushing in front of him. Stoudemire's explosive power and speed were quite amazing, and even Ben had no time to react and could only respond hastily.

Stoudemire jumped into the air with the ball, and Ben also jumped to block it. The speed of both of them was very abnormal, but Stoudemire still relied on his earlier jump time and better height to complete a hammer dunk over Ben!
"what!"

"boom!"

The terrifying loud noise and roar made Detroit fans cover their heads with their hands and open their mouths wide.

Their DPOY, their team leader, was dunked on in his first defensive game of the new season!
After scoring the goal, Stoudemire roared and then high-fived Roger.

And Chinese fans know that Huashan will suffer again in tonight's CCTV Top Five Goals.

Stoudemire's dunk just now was so powerful that the basketball hoop shook for a long time before it stabilized again.

Because Stoudemire has been holding it in for too long. He has been waiting for this season since last season when he said he wanted to be the best defensive player and everyone laughed at him.

He wants to shut up those clowns who are laughing at him, starting from the first game!

As the game continued, Ben was not depressed by being blocked. Instead, he clapped his hands to encourage his teammates: "It doesn't matter, the battle has just begun!"

The Pistons attacked, Chauncey Billups controlled the ball and kept the rhythm. The two Wallaces began to screen Hamilton, and Artest waited for an opportunity to cut into the paint.

Billups spotted this opportunity keenly, and the basketball cut through the Warriors' defense like a scalpel, going straight to the vital point.

After Artest received the basketball, he prepared to attack the basket, but the experienced Mutombo immediately rushed back to the basket with his arms raised high.

This mountain is insurmountable, but Artest did not attack the basket directly. Instead, he jumped up to attract the defense and passed the ball to Big Ben behind Mutombo!

Mutombo turned around quickly, but it was too late to do anything, as Ben was about to complete a dunk.

This was almost a sure goal until Amar'e Stoudemire broke into the penalty area and blocked Big Ben's dunk from the side onto the backboard!
Mike Breen couldn't believe his eyes: "Amar'e Stoudemire, he made the most perfect assist at the perfect time!"

This is definitely not something that can be achieved with physical fitness alone. Stoudemire did not completely abandon Rasheed Wallace to scare away the opponent. As Mike Breen said, Stoudemire made the most appropriate defensive decision at the most appropriate time, bringing his athletic ability to the extreme. This excellent defensive judgment is something that Stoudemire did not have last season.

If he encountered a similar situation last season, he would either let go of Rasheed Wallace directly or just watch Big Ben destroy the basket.

And now, he has quieted the home court of the defending champions!

After the opening, Stoudemire has defeated DPOY for two consecutive rounds. All fans watching this game have one question: How much has this guy improved?

Soon after, Stoudemire made his presence felt with an accurate mid-range shot.

In this round, Roger still played pick-and-roll, and after the pick-and-roll, he passed the ball to Stoudemire facing double-team.

But Rasheed Wallace was afraid of Stoudemire's drive to the basket, so he was not as determined as before when he dived forward.

With a little space, Stoudemire made a steady mid-range shot, helping the Warriors to make the score 4-0.

"Amare scored again. He is undoubtedly the most eye-catching player since the start of the game. Can his touch last throughout the game? Let's wait and see." Mike Breen swallowed after he said this. What if Stoudemire didn't have a good touch?
What if Amar'e Stoudemire can maintain his mid-range shooting level for an entire game?
Judging from these two rounds, Stoudemire is simply a top pick-and-roll terminator.

If he can continue to perform like this, even the Pistons will find it difficult to contain the Warriors' offense.

Because Roger's offensive threat is so great, if there is someone who can help him distract the defense a little bit, he can tear apart any defense.

As the game continued, Chauncey Billups made a three-pointer to instantly change the score to 3-4 for the Pistons.

As a very advanced moneyball guard, Billups' style is very different from that of a traditional point guard. However, it is precisely this style that is not in line with the mainstream that makes the Pistons' dull offense more entertaining.

But before the Pistons fans had time to cheer, the defending champions' defense suffered another heavy blow.

After Roger called for a pick-and-roll again this time, Rasheed Wallace no longer dared to let Stoudemire go completely, and was not as decisive in double-teaming Roger.

Seeing that Roaring God did not come up firmly, Roger made a quick stop and jump shot at the moment of bypassing the pick-and-roll.

Artest squeezed through the pick-and-roll as quickly as possible and reached out to interfere, but to no avail.

The basketball went into the net and the Warriors maintained their lead at 6-3!

"Ron, your defense is worthless if no one cleans your ass for you."

"If you have the guts, don't use pick-and-roll!" Artest responded angrily.

"That's really interesting. Why don't you tell me not to use my hands? Would you feel more accomplished defending me like that?"

The Pistons attacked, and Rasheed Wallace's straight-arm jump shot missed the basket, and the rebound was firmly secured by Uncle Mu.

The Pistons' offense is not weak, but it is certainly not top-notch either. Their foundation is still defense.

However, the Pistons' defense was breached for the fourth consecutive round.

This time Roger chose to play one-on-one against Artest. Under Artest's tight defense, Roger broke through to the right side of the free throw line, turned around and made a jump shot to score again.

Big Ben was trapped by Mutombo, Rasheed Wallace didn't dare to let go of Stoudemire, Alan Houston was holding Hamilton back, and only Billups dared to bet on Prince's three-pointer and come to help defend.

But due to his height limitation, his assisting defense effect is very average.

Roger still made the shot despite the interference from Billups and Artest, making it 8 to 3.

Last season, the Pistons' defense was enough to make all the teams in the league feel desperate, and the Palace of Auburn Hills was definitely a desperate place. Tonight, the Palace of Auburn Hills was still filled with a desperate thin air, as if it would suffocate at any time.

But the ones who felt suffocated were the Detroit fans themselves.

They couldn't defend Roger, and when Amar'e Stoudemire helped disrupt the paint, the Pistons' defense was like dancing in shackles. And Roger got what he wanted, just like he did in Atlanta.

One possession later, Chauncey Billups was ready to rescue his team's stagnant offense once again.

He used a fake pick-and-roll to get past Alan Houston and made a layup in the paint.

But the unshakable African mountain pressed down on Billups and blocked his layup with a slap!
In addition to offense, the Warriors' interior defense is no longer a weakness this season.

Mutombo's mobility is very poor now, but when it comes to rim protection, he can still defeat all challengers.

When he guards the restricted area, he will only give you one word: disagree.

After completing the block, Mutombo raised his finger and began to shake it.

Many people know that this is a privilege given by the league to this African giant.

But few people know that he donates $500 to charity for every finger shake.

His fingers were still shaking, and the basketball had already fallen into Roger's hands. He crossed the crowd, dribbled past Ron Artest, knocked away Richard Hamilton who was trying to catch up with him, and avoided Ben's pursuit in the air and made a layup.

10 to 3, the defending champion suspended the game!
The Warriors fans in front of the TV were boiling with excitement, because the defending champions did not look great in front of the Warriors.

Roger high-fived all the starters and every substitute as he walked off the court.

The entire Golden State Warriors team seemed extremely close under Roger's leadership.

Well, except for Marcus Camby.

After the game was paused, he just stood up and clapped ritually, completely lacking the passion of others.

But he couldn't affect the atmosphere of the entire team. When Hubie Brown finished arranging the tactics, Roger stood in the middle and pointed to the stands of the Palace of Auburn Hills: "Let them hate us!"

In the first quarter, the Pistons were completely suppressed by the Warriors, and the defending champions were beaten so badly that they couldn't even take the lead once.

But the Pistons are the defending champions after all.

In the second quarter, they adjusted the matchups, letting Big Ben play the four position and Roaring Tianzun play the five position.

Carlisle wants to use the DPOY's mobility to curb Roger Stoudemire's pick-and-roll.

This worked. Big Ben could stick to Stoudemire while defending his penetration, and he could delay Roger after the pick-and-roll while quickly getting back to Stoudemire.

He was absolutely impeccable defensively.

But after Big Ben's attention was all attracted by Roger and Stoudemire, others got the chance.

Roger used his increasingly skilled passing skills to influence the offense despite Big Ben's tight defense.

He assisted Alan Houston to make consecutive mid-range shots, and assisted Tayshaun Prince to cut into the basket and caused Rasheed Wallace to foul twice.

There are so many ways Roger impacted the game, and this team was able to respond to Roger’s impact.

However, this adjustment can still be considered a success, because Ben at least curbed the Warriors' two most threatening points.

The score became tense, the Warriors were unable to widen the gap, but the Pistons also had trouble catching up.

Big Ben and Roger each led their own teams to fight each other.

Big Ben's blocks and steals on the defensive end always boost the Pistons' morale, while Roger's difficult goals make the Warriors' bench excited again and again.

People have to be thankful that the Eagles' shareholder team is stupid enough, otherwise no one would dare to imagine what would be created if the sharpest spear and the solidest shield kept working together.

In the last 55 seconds of the game, Roger and Stoudemire started the attack with pick-and-roll as usual. Ben first blocked Roger's breakthrough and shooting space, and then returned to Stoudemire the moment Roger passed the ball.

Stoudemire faked a shot and then made a real breakthrough, but Ben followed Stoudemire's pace, followed him into the paint, and blocked Stoudemire's attack.

Even the evolved Stoudemire can't score easily under Ben's defense.

The basketball was fanned out of bounds, and Big Ben raised his arms high, grimacing and roaring.

"Once again, Ben Wallace defended the glory of Detroit! The Warriors were only leading by 4 points, and Ben did not let the score continue to expand! The game is not over yet, and it is still uncertain who will win!" Mike Breen shouted while clapping. This was definitely a thrilling duel.

But regardless of winning or losing, the Warriors have proved one thing - they definitely have the ability to compete with the defending champions!

But Roger doesn't just want to wrestle the defending champions, he wants to defeat them completely.

Stoudemire was sweating profusely. He had already scored 21 points today, but he was defended by Ben in the crucial rounds.

"Sorry Roger, I just tried to draw a foul on him."

"We haven't lost yet, who are you apologizing to? Keep picking and rolling for me in the next round, and then pick it up from far away."

"I'll make it, I promise."

"No, I will take action. Do you think I will shirk my responsibility at the critical moment? But I need you to attract that damn Afro away."

After Roger finished speaking, Big Ben's ears moved, then he looked at Roger and said contemptuously: "Heh, man."

The game continued, and Tayshaun Prince took a sideline kick and successfully passed it to Alan Houston.

Alan Houston transferred the ball to Roger again. Roger controlled the time, then waved his hand and continued to call for a pick-and-roll!

Big Ben has defended several pick-and-rolls by Roger and Stoudemire, and he is equally confident in this defense.

Roger broke through with the help of the screen, and Stoudemire immediately broke through. After taking a step, Roger turned his head and looked at Stoudemire, as if he wanted to pass the ball again.

Big Ben moved half a step towards Stoudemire. Roger was waiting for this half-step gap. He accelerated to break through the obstacle of Big Ben.

But last season's DPOY immediately saw through Roger's intention. He quickly returned to his position and continued to block Roger's breakthrough route.

This most solid shield still hasn't collapsed!
At the same time, Hamilton and Billups also kept a close eye on Alan Houston and Prince, not giving Roger any chance to pass the ball.

Roger resolutely rushed towards Big Ben. He could only face this most terrifying defensive player and jumped up to shoot.

Big Ben also jumped at the right time. He knew that Roger was very good at pull-up jump shots, but he was confident that he could defend his good brother again.

Because he was not just interfering, he was going to directly block Roger!
However, Roger did not stop and jump shot. He raised the ball with one hand and gently picked it up with five fingers.

This is a soft lob shot, Roger's hidden weapon!
Because it was a layup, the arc was higher than a shot, so the basketball passed over Ben's fingertips and fell behind him.

As Big Ben landed, he also heard the sound of the Nets rolling.

Roger still scored a goal even though Big Ben's defense did not make any mistakes, and the score difference was widened to 43 points in the last 6 seconds!
Roger made a gap between his thumb and index finger: "Almost there, DPOY."

Tonight, Roger will lose the Korean market.

The defending champions were shaky and were about to lose their opening game.

Rick Carlisle paused the game. After arranging the tactics, Ben Wallace gave the whole team a bowl of chicken soup: "Another superstar thinks he can win here. We can't let these guys succeed! Show our fighting spirit and bury those bastards!"

However, that's all he can do. On the offensive end, there is very little that Ben can do.

As the Pistons prepared to attack, Mike Breen took the opportunity to introduce this year's new rules.

Because the Spurs and the Pistons hacked at Ben Wallace and Tim Duncan in last season's finals, which made the game too ugly at critical moments, David Stern decided to add a new rule to counter the tactic of hacking Shaq, which should be thrown into the trash.

The new rule is that if a player without the ball is intentionally fouled in the last two minutes of the game, the opponent will be given two free throws.

The offended party must take a free throw but still have possession of the ball.

Therefore, as long as your player with the weakest free throw rate does not hold the ball in the last two minutes, the Hack-a-Shaq tactic cannot be executed.

This undoubtedly gave the Pistons a greater chance of winning at a critical moment.

The game continued. According to the previous rules, the Warriors only needed to directly kill Big Ben to drag the game to death.

But now, they have to face the Pistons' offense head-on.

The referee blew the whistle and Richard Hamilton started. He bypassed the triple screen and finally ran in front of Rasheed Wallace who was responsible for the sideline ball.

It turned out that Hamilton was just a cover. Rasheed Wallace passed Hamilton and passed the ball directly to Chauncey Billups, the Pistons' best player at playing key balls!

However, Billups did not get any space to shoot, because the moment he received the ball, Roger had already entangled him!
In the last round, Roger decided to face off against Mr. Billups, a man with a big heart.

Billups did not pass the ball. Since coming to the Pistons last season, he has been confident in his key shots.

He switched hands under his crotch in front of Roger, then lowered his center of gravity, ready to start.

But the next moment, Billups made a three-pointer!

But Roger seemed to have predicted that Billups would pull up for the shot. He made a powerful move the moment Billups received the ball and jumped, and successfully cut the ball out of Billups' hands!

Mr. Big Heart also lost his former magic in front of Roger!
Roger counterattacked and no one on the Pistons could catch up with him.

This is the cruelest moment.

Because the defending champions and their followers could only watch Roger turn into a sharp knife and pierce into the heart of the Pistons, and they were powerless to do anything about it.

"A beautiful one-handed slam dunk, Roger widened the gap to 34 points in the last 8 seconds of the game! The Golden State Warriors almost won the game. They killed the defending champions in the first game of the new season! Roger scored 36 points, 12 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks. He was everywhere and he could do everything! Maybe the Palace of Auburn Hills is a graveyard for superstars, but Roger is a superstar among superstars!"

Mike Breen's words perfectly explain why the Warriors were able to win the game.

Ben Wallace had a strong influence on the defensive end, but just now on the offensive end, he could only hope that Chauncey Billups would make that damn pull-up three-pointer.

And what about Roger?

When Stoudemire is guarded, he can assist his teammates in scoring.

When everyone else is entangled, he can break through the defense by himself.

When the team needs key defense, Roger has the ability to stand up and face the opponent's most threatening one!

His influence is multifaceted and he can lead his team to victory in any situation.

The defense broke down the defending champions, and the Pistons then called a quick three-point play, but Richard Hamilton's jump shot went wide of the target.

Roger grabbed the rebound, but did not dare to fight in the last 24 seconds. Instead, he dribbled slowly across half court and pressed the ball directly to the floor. Then, he jumped onto the technical table in advance with his arms open.

The defending champion's home court has been conquered!

The referee walked over to Roger and urged him to come down: "The game isn't over yet, Roger, come down quickly, I don't want to give you a technical foul!"

Roger smiled contemptuously: "Go ahead and blow it if you want, Rudy, but the game is over!"

In the end, the referee did not give Roger a technical foul. The Pistons players did not take the opportunity to pick up the basketball and counterattack quickly, because it was meaningless.

The most important thing is that everyone has to save face.

Stealing points when the game is already decided makes a player look like a beggar picking up trash.

In the next few dozen seconds, Mike Breen's ears were almost pierced by the boos from Detroit fans.

You can imagine how angry the people of Detroit were, as they had just received their championship rings and raised their championship banner tonight.

As a result, a man came here, beat up their team, and arrogantly jumped onto the technical table before the game was over.

Any Detroit fan would be outraged.

But Roger enjoys such boos, as boos from away games are the greatest compliment to a player.

So, as he told his teammates: "Let them hate us!"

After the Detroit fans had booed enough, Roger jumped down and hugged and shook hands with the Pistons players one by one.

When it came to Big Ben, Roger praised him: "You performed very well. It's an honor to have such a great brother like you."

"Just shut up and enjoy your fucking victory. You won't be so lucky next time."

"Well I wish you better luck next time, because that's the only way you can beat me."

Big Ben shook his head and walked away. When he entered the player tunnel, Richard Hamilton was very unhappy: "That arrogant bastard! Look what he did? We must make him pay the price next time!"

"Yes, he must pay the price," Big Ben nodded, "but he is not an arrogant bastard, because he won after all, he has the capital to be arrogant."

"If Roger isn't an arrogant jerk, then who is?"

For some reason, a thought flashed through Ben's mind: "We'll soon find out who the arrogant bastard is."

At the same time, in front of the TV, Michael Jordan shook his head in disappointment.

This was certainly not the outcome Jordan wanted to see. He was expecting the arrogant Roger to lose the first game and the defending champion to slaughter him.

But this result was the opposite of what Jordan expected.

But it doesn't matter. Michael Jordan, who believes he is in excellent shape, is full of confidence in his game tomorrow.

This confidence comes not only from his excellent form, but also from James' form.

During the preseason training camp, Jordan was very satisfied with James' performance and recognized his talent.

Jordan wouldn't be stupid enough to think that the Cavaliers can compete for the championship next season, but New York is no problem.

"LeBron, don't be envious, we will also be among the winners tomorrow."

On TV, Roger also mentioned Jordan: "I'm glad to win this game, so I will be in the mood to watch the debut of Michael Jordan and LeBron James tomorrow."

"Roger, which side do you think will win?"

"Even though Yao is my compatriot, I am still more optimistic about the Cleveland Cavaliers. With LeBron and Michael teaming up, it is hard to imagine how they can lose."

"But before that, it was hard for people to imagine that the defending champion would be defeated in the first game."

"You can compare my team to the Detroit Pistons, that's fine. But the New York Knicks to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have two chosen ones? How dare you! Hey, no one really thinks that LeBron and Michael can't beat two rookies, right? I respect the New York Knicks, I respect Yao and Dwyane Wade, but the truth is just that cruel."

After saying that, Roger turned around and left with a smile.

Tomorrow's comedy will definitely be quite exciting.

That would be the difference between a legendary story and a legendary accident.
-
Amar'e Stoudemire's improvement is amazing. He is not at the same level as last season. Believe it or not, Roger has opened the championship window again! - San Francisco Chronicle

The long wait will end in the summer of 2004! -- The Oakland Star

Hey, why aren't you guys smiling today? -- Amar'e Stoudemire asked reporters at a press conference.
Detroit fans don't have to be too sad. It's no big deal for the defending champion to lose on the night of the championship ring awarding. If the Cleveland Cavaliers lose to the New York Knicks tomorrow, it will be the biggest accident of the new season. Well, although the Knicks have little hope. - Keith Olbermann, host of "Sports Center".

(Although it’s late, I’ll update it with 10,000 words today!)

(End of this chapter)