Champions Creed

Chapter 350 349: Something of Sam, Ratrill and KG combined (asking for monthly ticket!)

The day after the game, people saw Spoelstra again with two big dark circles under his eyes.

In order to avoid making mistakes in on-the-spot command during the game, he carefully studied Phil Jackson's game habits, hoping that he could cope with all the changes made by Phil Jackson.

Before the start of the second game, Phil Jackson had a confident smile on his face when he shook hands with Spoelstra.

Phil Jackson admitted that players are the key to winning or losing a game, but you cannot completely ignore the role of the head coach.

Sometimes, the head coach may only play 10% of the role, but in some very close games, that 10% is enough to decide the game.

In the second game of the series, both teams strengthened their defense against each other's star players.

Roger and Kobe's performances of 50 points at any time made it impossible for both teams to sit back and watch.

So today, Karl Malone relaxed his defense on Stoudemire and focused all his energy on assisting Roger.

The result is that Roger greatly reduced the number of singles he played with the ball today, and he and Stoudemire started to play pick-and-roll crazily from the first quarter.

Karl Malone was distracted and if he focused all his efforts on defending Roger in the pick-and-roll, then Stoudemire would be left completely open.

And today, it just so happens that Stoudemire's shooting touch is very hot.

He is like a precision mid-range shooting machine. As long as Roger passes the ball to him, he can hit the ball steadily from mid-range.

The Lakers changed their strategy in the second half. When Karl Malone went to help defend Roger, the Lakers players on the weak side had to immediately help defend Stoudemire.

This strategy of robbing Peter to pay Paul worked, because Stoudemire's passing awareness was weak, so he often couldn't pass the ball to his teammate who was left open on the weak side right after receiving the ball. Roger also couldn't pass the ball directly to the person who was left open on the weak side with two defensive players and Stoudemire in between.

The Lakers gradually caught up with the score, but after just a few rounds, Spoelstra made changes to respond.

He only arranged Roger and Stoudemire on the strong side, and pulled everyone else to the other side, which was equivalent to creating a local 2V2 space for Roger and Stoudemire to play with Kobe Malone.

This is not a difficult strategic change; the key lies in the reaction time.

If it was Doug Rivers, he would probably only think of how to respond when the game was about to be reversed, which is why he was always reversed. Whether Doug Rivers reacts quickly depends on whether Rondo and Paul react.

But Spoelstra's reaction speed far exceeded Phil Jackson's expectations. He didn't look like a rookie at all. He was very sensitive to changes in the situation on the court.

In fact, Spoelstra's coaching level has always been very good.

After losing to the Mavericks in the 11 finals, it would have been a dead end no matter who replaced him as coach.

Because there was a guy on the field who wasn't fighting, and that's something the head coach can't control.

Although Spoelstra is young, the tactical skills he has acquired from years of working as a grassroots editor have laid a good foundation for him.

If Spoelstra was incompetent, the cold-blooded Pat Riley would never support him so much - LeBron James once subtly expressed his desire to replace Spoelstra in his first season with the Heat and asked Riley to come out in person, but was rejected by Riley.

Can a bad coach make Pat Riley reject LeBron James for him?

If Spoelstra was incompetent, Hubie Brown would not have given him the coaching baton.

Phil Jackson made several similar strategic changes after that, but they were all resolved by Spoelstra in a timely manner.

Spoelstra's reaction speed is by no means top-notch, but it's not criminally slow either. For a rookie coach who is not even 35 years old and coaching a full game for the first time, Spoelstra's performance is quite outstanding.

In the ward, Hubie Brown watched Spoelstra's excellent scheduling and turned off the TV.

His wife was puzzled: "The game is still very tense."

"No, not just this game, the whole series will be tense."

"Don't you want to see the end?"

"Would you watch a suspense movie where you already knew the ending? The winner is already determined. This is the era of the young people."

At the end of the game, numerous female fans in Oakland took off their tops in the stadium.

They all turned on their car lights, with different slogans written on their fair and tender flesh.

"Roger is my king."

"I want to feel the king's warmth."

"I am the king's concubine."

It is worth mentioning that it was because of Roger's strong request that the Oakland Arena relaxed its regulations and allowed fans to be topless in the stadium. But as expected, this caused more trouble.

Several female fans were taken away by security personnel. Roger shook his head after watching, "Why doesn't the stadium directly stipulate that only men are allowed to be topless in the stadium? We can't let these rabble dampen the enthusiasm of loyal fans like John again and again."

Jeff Hornacek at the side smiled and said, "You are almost 30 years old, Roger. Don't be so naive. If they dare to do that, they will be targeted by feminist organizations and will be accused of discriminating against women."

Roger sighed and instantly understood why the rules of the stadium were so strict.

No matter how powerful a heavyweight boxer is, he cannot deliver a blow harder than a woman's fist.

The small episode of the topless female fan occupied the front page of the next day, but it still could not hide the fact that the Lakers were already trailing 0-2.

Spoelstra's outstanding performance ensured that the Warriors would not lose the series because of that 10% factor.

This also indicates that this round of the series will be an ultimate showdown between stars.

When most teams fall behind 0-2 against Roger, they will basically start to doubt themselves and sentence themselves to death in their hearts.

But Kobe didn't.

In Game 3 of the series, the game returned to the Staples Center.

Even in Los Angeles, many fans held up signs that read "Send this rapist to jail."

Although similar signs were quickly confiscated, it is enough to show how unpopular Kobe is now.

In fact, Kobe just arrived at the Staples Center from a court in Colorado this afternoon.

Mike Brown, the commentator on the scene, claimed to joke: "Kobe only slept for three hours last night to rush to Colorado to appear in court, and then he rushed back to Los Angeles without stopping, sleeping for an hour on the plane. As long as Kobe is still a human being, he must be very tired. However, I don't know which side of the Lakers or the Warriors is bad news."

It turns out that Kobe's rushing rules are some kind of causal thing that ordinary people cannot reverse or change.

With Kobe exhausted and the Lakers facing hell if they lost another game, Kobe seemed to be helped by God and scored 42 points, helping the Lakers to tie the series score to 1-2.

Roger really couldn't explain it. This season, Roger had suffered from the rule of rushing twice.

All I can say is that this bastard's heart is too strong, so strong that it's abnormal.

He hopes to vent all the frustration he encounters in court on the basketball court, so once he returns from court, his performance will be excellent.

Most players probably wouldn't even have the heart to play basketball if they encountered such a thing, but Kobe truly demonstrated what it means that even if he can't be sentenced, he can become stronger.

Roger then thought of a hellish joke that was unique to this timeline: Want Kobe Bryant to surpass Roger? Then find a girl to sue him every year.

1 to 2, the Lakers pulled one back at the Staples Center.

But to be honest, losing a game is an acceptable result for Warriors fans and players.

What is really hard to accept is that the Lakers won two games in a row at the Staples Center!
In Game 4 of the series, Kobe's touch was blocked, but Steve Nash made 20 of 15 shots and scored 38 points!
Steve Nash's brilliance is somewhat overshadowed by Kobe, but when Kobe is unable to carry the team, Steve Nash often shines brightly.

Roger scored 34 points, but the Warriors still lost the game by 4 points.

2 to 2, the Lakers tied the total score!
In the next two games, the Warriors and the Lakers each won their home courts.

In Game 5, Roger scored 47 points to take the game away and prevent a three-game losing streak in the playoffs.

But in Game 6, Nash and Kobe both performed well and the Lakers won another game.

After Game 6, all Lakers fans were cheering.

They dragged the game into a tiebreak after falling behind 0-2 at most, which is enough to show the team's strength this year.

After all, there are only a few teams in history that have forced Roger to play a game seven.

Kobe did what he said. He dragged Roger into hell and did not let Roger get away easily.

The venomous snake bit Roger's arm tightly and showed no intention of letting go. Now, the only way was to chop off the venomous snake's head.

Of course, it is also possible that the snake hunter was poisoned to death.

In the live interview after the game, Kobe mentioned 1999.

"That was Roger's second season in Atlanta, and he made the Hawks the champion. Everyone thought that the Miami Heat were not worth mentioning before defending the title. But in the end, the Heat forced the Hawks into a game seven and had the last laugh. I am confident in the game seven, believe it or not, just like when the Lakers were trailing 0-2, no one believed we could get to this point."

Karl Malone was more direct in his mockery: "We are capturing a megalomaniac who calls himself God."

This was the first time O'Neal didn't know who to root for in a game.

Roger is undoubtedly a jerk, but Kobe is the biggest jerk of all!
Game 7 is like the equalizer in the basketball world, and it is a decisive game no matter who plays.

Even if you are a superstar, if you lose this game, you will never have another chance.

At this time, the Warriors are undoubtedly under more pressure than the Lakers.

Because the Warriors were dragged into the seventh game after leading 2-0, this means that the Warriors' record in the last four games is 1 win and 3 losses.

The Lakers' momentum is rising, while the Warriors' momentum is fading.

However, Spoelstra calmly told reporters at a press conference: "No one knows what Roger will do in a life-and-death battle."

He acted like he had no concerns about a Game 7.

On the other hand, the series between the Timberwolves and the Spurs has ended.

Kevin Garnett, who was determined to meet Roger at the top, scored 22 points and 17 rebounds in Game 6, but ultimately lost to the Spurs by points.

The reason why the Timberwolves lost was not KG, but Sam Cassell's injury.

When he announced that he would miss the rest of the season, the Timberwolves were effectively sentenced to death.

Kevin Garnett is indeed at the MVP level this season. If you have watched the Timberwolves' games, you will know that the Timberwolves are completely two different teams when KG is on the court and when he is not.

No matter which commentator participates in the Timberwolves game, he will never tire of introducing KG's contribution to the defensive end by constantly interfering and filling in the gaps, and his ability to prevent points from being lost.

However, no matter how good a team is at defense, or how much emphasis it places on defense, if they want to go further, they need a striker.

In the Pistons, this person could be Rasheed Wallace or Chauncey Billups.

In the Spurs, that person is Tim Duncan.

In the Timberwolves, these people are Cassell and Sprewell. This is also KG's biggest problem. He is the team's star player, earning the highest salary and occupying the most priority tactical position, but he himself cannot be a striker.

And because Cassell and Sprewell can only be considered All-Star level attackers, the Timberwolves need to have two of them ready at the same time so that when one is not feeling well, the other can take over in time.

When Cassell was gone, Sprewell was the only one left on the team who could handle the ball.

You can't expect a player of Sprewell's caliber to carry a championship-caliber offense all by himself.

As a result, the madman's performance of 22 of 8 in the seventh game made the Timberwolves lose hope of advancing.

If Cassell was still there, the Madman would not face such great offensive pressure and perhaps his efficiency would be higher.

Even if he still has a bad touch, Cassell can help him share the burden. After all, the probability of two people having a bad touch at the same time is not high.

But Cassell was not there and Garnett could not be the attacking point, so Sprewell could only bite the bullet and shoot wildly.

In the end, the stone Buddha of the holy city had the last laugh.

Last season's Western Conference champions still overcame the difficulties and are heading towards the Western Conference championship for the second consecutive year.

After the game, Garnett went crazy in the locker room and almost smashed it to pieces.

He wasn't mad at Sprewell. You can't blame a deputy for a loss.

Garnett was angry with himself. This season's Timberwolves were the strongest in history. This season he had been eager to have a head-on confrontation with Roger and take over the banner from Roger.

But he messed up everything, and when the attack failed, he could only watch helplessly as the madman dealt with the problem while he himself was powerless to do anything.

After experiencing all this frustration, the first person Garnett thought of was Roger.

He called Roger.

"What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do to get better? How am I supposed to beat Thiem? Damn, I can't believe I have to wait another year for this to happen again!"

Roger understood Garnett's unwilling and helpless mood very well, because he had experienced it in 94, 99 and last season.

When you lose a series, you want to get another one right away for revenge.

But this is not a 2K game where you can start another game with just a few clicks.

It's not a two-player game, you can't take revenge after a ten-minute break.

To do it again means you have to go through a long offseason, watch others win the trophy, then go through another preseason training camp, a long 82-game regular season, and the playoffs before you are qualified to do it again.

This is why some players lose their motivation while playing, because the cost of trying again is too high, and you may not win next time.

Roger and Garnett said a lot, but one sentence was the most useful: "Come on, at least you have a lot of room for improvement."

When you want to say someone is weak but don't want to be that blunt, "huge room for improvement" is a perfect synonym.

What can Garnett do? He is indeed very strong, but with his playing style, he cannot win the championship with the Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves cannot recruit a championship-level attacker, and without a championship-level attacker Garnett cannot break through. The reality is so cruel.

But Roger's feelings for Garnett are real after all, and he and KG do have a good personal relationship.

So in the end, Roger gave a heartfelt reminder: "Have you done all you can for Minneapolis?"

"Of course!" Garnett answered firmly.

But he quickly changed his words: "No, I don't think I have done my best yet, so I haven't tried my best yet."

"Very good, then keep working hard and give everything. Then tell the team that you need the team to keep the lineup for you. No matter what, let the Timberwolves keep Sam and Latrell for you, no matter what idiotic words that idiot Latrell said, no matter how ugly Sam Cassell is, you have to make a statement to the management and let the team know that you need them! With the level of the Timberwolves management, I think you can't let them manipulate you."

After hanging up the phone, Roger laughed.

Yes, he laughed.

Kevin Garnett is his loyal little brother, so Roger smiled not because he was gloating, but because he was happy that he was about to meet Tim Duncan!

The Tim Duncan who won the championship in his era in 99 and eliminated him in the playoffs last season!

Roger never beat Duncan in the playoffs, which was a fact Roger didn't want to accept.

And this fact will soon come to an end!

As for the Lakers?

Roger was very confident because Spoelstra came up with a strategy that Roger admired very much.

The next day, at the press conference after training, reporters asked Spoelstra how he would ensure the team won the seventh game.

Spoelstra did not shy away from telling everyone with confidence.

"We all know that the Timberwolves' best attackers are Sam and Latrell, and their best defender is KG. Tomorrow, I'm going to turn Roger into something that's a combination of Sam, Latrell and KG.

Just like a winning machine, Sam, Latrell and KG are all key parts. Without one of them, the machine cannot function, which is why they lost to the Spurs.

And Roger, tomorrow he will be a winning machine!"

Reporters were confused. Roger is indeed a winning machine, but how can he play KG's defensive influence while attacking? What is Spoelstra going to do?
On the other side, Phil Jackson, who used the UC Berkeley gymnasium as the team's temporary training base in San Francisco, laughed disapprovingly after hearing Spoelstra's words from a reporter.

"It's just a rookie coach's dying trick."

(End of this chapter)