Champions Creed

Chapter 366 Chapter 365: The most embarrassing moment in the history of the Dream Team, but also the glorious moment of the number one player in basketball (asking for monthly tickets!)

Yao Ming's trash talk made Tim Duncan a little upset and a little surprised.

Even more surprised than Dwyane Wade when he saw the statue that looked completely different from himself.

Duncan remembers that Yao Ming was not the kind of player who talked a lot of trash on the court.

He and Roger are two completely different people.

Roger has always enjoyed humiliating his opponents. If the NBA requires players to wear earplugs when playing in the future, Roger will probably retire on the spot.

But Yao Ming is different. He is a good person with a sense of humor and a broad mind.

But why has Yao Ming turned into Roger's shape now?

Why does the environment become extremely bad wherever Roger goes?
What Duncan didn't know was that Yao Ming's mentality when playing in the NBA and when playing for the national team was completely different.

Yao Ming is indeed very kind in the NBA, but once he puts on the Chinese team's jersey, he will become an angry bull. He tends to be more excited when playing in FIBA ​​games.

This may be related to the length of the schedule. If Yao Ming was so excited for 82 games in the NBA, he would probably have suffered from mental breakdown long ago.

In addition, players of Yao Ming's age are extremely enthusiastic about serving the country.

For them, at least for Yao Ming personally, national honor is higher than the NBA.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered to go back and participate in all those crappy competitions, let alone risk his career for the 2008 Olympics.

Of course, emotions were just the fuse, and Roger did play a role in fueling the situation.

During the training games over the past month, he would always chase Yao Ming and talk trash, and kept chattering in Yao Ming's ear.

It's not that Roger was targeting Yao Ming, but Roger was used to talking trash in English. Yao Ming was the only one in the audience who could understand what Roger was saying, so Roger had no choice.

Roger found that he was not as smooth in trash talking in Chinese as in English, because in Chinese Roger could not help but end the fight with a sentence "Wang Changling's mother".

Under the dual influence of Roger's words and deeds and the motivation of international competitions, Yao Ming's trolling spirit was fully awakened, and Tim Duncan was the first victim.

Duncan also knew that he could no longer sit there and wait for death, as the opening score had already made this dream team lose face.

In the commentary booth, Doug Collins also mentioned this incredible score in his opinion: "The score of 10-0 is very common for the Dream Team, but ladies and gentlemen, now the Dream Team is on the 0-point side, which is simply unbelievable!"

On the bench, assistant coach Roy Williams reminded Larry Brown: "Do you want to suspend the game? Interrupt the Chinese team's momentum?"

The Chinese team started the game too smoothly, and Roy Williams was worried that the score gap would continue to widen if this continued.

And it was obvious that the players had begun to lose their composure on the court.

However, Larry Brown confidently waved his hand: "No, it's not time yet."

Larry Brown certainly knows that the game is off to a bad start, but he doesn't want to be like Doc Rivers, who always says "Come on, work hard, and don't give up" when he calls a timeout.

Larry Brown is a defensive coach, and everyone knows that his offensive philosophy is rigid and outdated. Therefore, he has not yet figured out how to deal with the Chinese team's iron bucket formation.

He won't pause easily until he can think of an effective strategy or make substitutions.

In the next round, AI made a mid-range jump shot despite Roger's defense, breaking the scoring drought for the Dream Team.

The American fans at the scene finally had a chance to cheer, and Allen Iverson himself broke free from the feeling of suffocation: "It's not that easy, Roger, this is the Dream Team!"

"No," Roger replied to the AI ​​in an unquestionable tone, "It's that easy."

The Dream Team scored a goal, but Americans who truly understood the game of basketball were still frowning.

That was a strong shot by AI just now, which means that at the strategic level, the Dream Team still has not found any strategy to break the iron bucket formation.

You can't expect AI to just swing the ball around like it did in the 76ers. That has been proven in the NBA not to be the way to win championship basketball, and that style of play won't win a gold medal in the Olympics either.

The Chinese team pressed forward again, and the players of the Dream Team felt a familiar sense of oppression as they watched the group of guys in red jerseys approaching.

这种压迫感在1991年到1993年之间属于芝加哥公牛，1995年到1997年之间属于奥兰多魔术，00年02年之间属于亚特兰大老鹰。

The American players never expected that such a sense of oppression would one day appear on the Chinese team!

"Damn it, get ready, don't be distracted!" The AI ​​was like a soldier in a trench watching tanks approaching, shouting to remind everyone.

This not only inspires teammates, but also inspires oneself.

But in the face of the steel torrent's offensive, what role can the rifles in the soldiers' hands play other than giving them courage?

They were defenseless.

This time, AI and Marbury were already prepared to double-team Roger. Once Roger broke through, they would immediately abandon their own opponents and rush to block him.

Shawn Marion also moved forward a little. His original task was to help Duncan protect the restricted area, but Roger's offensive threat was too great at the moment.

Just when everyone was ready for battle, Roger passed the ball to Yao Ming this time.

Yao Ming received the ball in the low post and pushed back. Because the post was already very deep, Yao Ming pushed it directly to the foot of the basket.

Marion immediately changed his target and actively went to the restricted area to provide defense, but it was too late, because Yao Ming turned around and completed a slam dunk from a standing position across Duncan!
Tim Duncan also left behind the legend of being the strongest background board in the history of the Olympics.

12 to 2, this brutal dunk instantly wiped out the joy that AI had just scored.

This was the first time in history that the Dream Team's defense was crushed so undignifiedly.

How do NBA teams defend Yao Ming? At least two people surround him.

But just now, because Roger attracted too many defensive resources, Yao Ming got an easy one-on-one opportunity in the penalty area.

Yao Ming is a player who needs to meet many stringent conditions in order to perform well. He needs to be in the low post, needs one-on-one opportunities, needs a guard who can feed the ball, and needs to have sufficient physical strength.

But when these harsh conditions are really met, Yao Ming can give you an absolutely refreshing offensive experience.

The Chinese fans at the scene felt like they were watching a science fiction movie. Yes, they were used to Roger dominating the NBA and Yao Ming dominating the league.

But when they beat the Dream Team on the court wearing the Chinese team's uniforms, the scene was even more mythical than seeing Zeus in Athens.

In front of the TV, Michael Jordan couldn't bear to watch anymore.

This embarrassing scene reminded him of the past glory of the Dream Team.

Twelve years ago in 12 seems like yesterday, and he still remembers the spectacular scene when the Dream Team went to the game.

All the fans in the stadium stood up, and the opponents stared at the Dream Team players in disbelief as if they had seen gods.

Chuck Daly doesn't need to call a timeout when he is on the bench. That timeout is something that is left for the weak to survive.

Jordan and his old friends also don't know what pressure is in the international arena. He feels like he is playing with a few friends on a baseball field, and then everyone plays with a few European girls. Winning the Olympic championship? It's a piece of cake.

In fact, Michael Jordan also felt no pressure when he participated in the Los Angeles Olympics as a college player in 1984.

It's all so simple.

What's the result now? Look at those bastards on the field, look at those so-called professional players, what have those useless guys been beaten into? They don't deserve to wear the national team's jersey!
In 2002, when Michael Jordan learned that the Dream Team lost to Argentina, he even thought it was April Fools' Day.

He admitted that the 2002 defeat was due to the arrogance of the Americans, who sent a very rubbish lineup to participate in the World Championships. However, Jordan also believed that similar things would never happen again because the US team had learned their lesson.

As a result, Jordan now realizes that losing to Argentina is not the most outrageous thing.

Tonight, the most outrageous thing is happening. The Dream Team was suppressed right from the start of the game and was unable to close the score difference to single digits.

When did American basketball become such a disgrace?

At this time, the live camera was just given to Roger.

Michael Jordan sighed. Yes, it's him again.

Everything started with this guy.

The on-site commentator Bob Costa also expressed his feelings: "I don't know if you have paid attention to the PS2 action game "God of War" which will be released next year. We don't have more information now, but the general content of this game is a story about a man who kills Greek gods for revenge. Look, Roger is simply playing the hero of that game!"

After Yao Ming's dunk, Larry Brown finally called a timeout.

He had a strategy for dealing with it.

Larry Brown has figured out that the Chinese team's offense is actually no different from the offense he deployed when he was with the 76ers. The 76ers' offense, except for a classic "Iverson cut", mostly relies on AI to catch the ball and shoot or hold the ball and play one-on-one.

The same is true for the Chinese team.

The difference is that the Chinese team has two singles players, Yao Ming and Roger. When Roger gets tired, Yao Ming can take over.

This ensures the efficiency of their singles.

He may not have many good ways to attack, but he has many ways to defend against Larry Brown.

He decided to limit the Chinese team's offense.

Seeing Larry Brown preparing to make a substitution, LeBron James was full of anticipation. Richard Jefferson's offensive power was obviously insufficient. If the coach needed to attack the inside and needed a powerful wing, he would be the first choice.

However, Larry Brown called the big white guy Brad Miller and said, "Replace Sean and team up with Tim to lock down Yao."

Larry Brown wants to completely crush Yao Ming and force Roger to become Allen Iverson, leaving him as the only finishing point for the entire Chinese team.

As for how to attack? Larry Brown didn't say a word.

He intended to turn this global spectacle into an ugly, embarrassing defensive battle, which is what he has always been best at.

If Larry Brown is a director of adult films, then his films will always have only foreplay and no output.

But for him, the viewing experience has no value, he just wants to win.

The game resumed, and the American fans at the scene adjusted their mentality and continued to cheer for the team.

In this attack, AI fed the ball to Duncan in the low post. He saw that Duncan was actively asking for the ball.

Duncan kept repeating Yao Ming's words "If you wait any longer, you will die" in his head. He couldn't just be a spectator and let his teammates on the outside do whatever they wanted. He had to participate in the offense himself.

But Duncan was surrounded as soon as he received the ball.

"What a fucking bullshit!" Duncan didn't know why Larry Brown replaced Brad Miller when the team's offense was already so constipated.

Tim Duncan had no ill will towards Brad Miller, but originally Shawn Marion could help Duncan create some space, but now with Brad Miller on the field, the Chinese team shrank even more.

Duncan wanted to draw a double team and then pass the ball, just like he did against the Spurs.

However, due to the lack of running-in, the others did not know how to respond to Duncan. At this time, Marbury ran out of an open space outside the three-point line, and Duncan was about to pass the ball, but Du Feng cut the ball off.

The Chinese team's double-teaming was too tight, and even their well-known solid basic skills made it difficult to avoid mistakes.

Bob Costa was a little angry: "I don't know what Coach Larry arranged during the timeout just now, or is it because the players didn't execute it? This offense has not improved at all, it's not like the Dream Team at all, they are completely at a loss on the court!"

As it stands, the loss to Italy in the warm-up match and the narrow win over Germany do not seem to be explained by a simple statement of "because we are just in the process of running-in".

Because there is no difference between this dream team and the one in the warm-up match.

It's rotten to the core.

Even more tragically for Larry Brown, the defense he deployed was ineffective.

Roger knew with his eyes closed why Larry Brown replaced Brad Miller, so after this breakthrough, Roger passed the ball to Wang Zhizhi.

The Chinese team's tactic is for Roger and Yao Ming to play a lot of one-on-ones, but no matter how many one-on-ones they play, it is impossible for them to shoot every ball.

When others have good opportunities, Roger will distribute the ball.

Brad Miller was not fast enough to rush out to defend, so Wang Zhizhi got a completely open opportunity.

This opportunity is not a problem for him.

"brush."

"14 to 2, damn, how can such a score appear in a game like this? If this was in the NBA, Coach Larry would have been fired!" Bob Costa cursed directly.

After delivering the assist, Roger spread his hands towards Wang Zhizhi and said, "It's that simple, AI. It's that simple."

In the subsequent games, Roger played very bravely.

He controlled the ball a lot and took control of the offense, playing for 9 minutes in the first quarter before being substituted.

Even so, the Chinese team still entered the second quarter with an 8-point lead.

In the second quarter, Larry Brown finally reduced Richard Jefferson's playing time and used Marion at the third position to limit Roger.

No one knew why he trusted Richard Jefferson so much in the first quarter, as he was almost useless on the court.

Shawn Marion achieved a certain limiting effect after defending Roger, but the Dream Team was restricted even more severely.

AI tried to break through many times, but due to Roger's speed limit and the height restriction of China's inside line, even he was completely scratching the Chinese team's iron bucket formation.

Tim Duncan was completely lost. He was useless in the paint and could only score through some mid-range rebounds.

However, Duncan cannot rely solely on mid-range shots to support his production.

The Dream Team's offense was severely hampered, but the Chinese team, on the contrary, showed multiple points of success.

Their weak perimeter defense forced the No. 1 and No. 2 positions to completely abandon their own defenders to double-team Roger.

However, Zhu Fangyu and Du Feng's open three-pointers dealt severe punishment to the double-team. They were hardly oppressed on the offensive end, so their hit rate was guaranteed to a certain extent.

The score gap continued to widen, and the Dream Team suffered even greater bad news in the third quarter.

In the fifth minute of the third quarter, Roger made a fake pass, brushing past Shawn Marion's defense and entering the penalty area.

Tim Duncan immediately stepped forward to stop him, but he collided heavily with Roger and fell to the ground.

The referee blew the whistle, but it turned out to be a blocking foul for Duncan!
And this is Duncan's fourth foul in this game!
The American fans at the scene all covered their heads with their hands. They knew very well what this meant. It meant that Duncan might not play again until the last few minutes of the fourth quarter.

Duncan was so angry that he slammed the floor, AI looked impatient, the ambitious Stephen Marbury had a dull look in his eyes, Shawn Marion put his hands on his hips and shook his head, and Brad Miller was helpless.

This is a world-famous painting that belongs exclusively to Roger, and it is a picture that only the world's No. 1 basketball player can appreciate.

The Dream Team also lost some games in 2002, but not so badly.

Roger turned his head, glanced at Larry Brown, and shouted to the Dream Team bench with a smile: "I told you not to worry, isn't it your turn now?"

On the bench, Dwyane Wade volunteered: "Coach, I think I can limit Roger a little bit!"

Anthony, who was also sitting on the bench, shook his head in dissatisfaction: "Don't think about Dwyane."

On the surface, he seems to be saying "Don't try to guard Roger", but in fact he is sarcastic to Larry Brown, meaning "Don't try to play Dwyane".

Anthony didn't know why Larry Brown brought him here. There were 12 players on the roster, and neither the three youngsters from the 03 generation nor Emeka Okafor got even a minute of playing time. This meant that the Dream Team was a complete rotation of eight players.

Short rotation can ensure the integrity of tactics, but it also reduces the diversity of tactical changes.

Now this lineup can neither limit Roger nor make any improvement on the offensive end.

In that case, why not use someone else?
"What's impossible? I know you admire Roger Cameron, and so do I, but that doesn't mean we have to be afraid of him." Wade replied.

"It's not a question of being afraid or not. Can we get even one minute of playing time?"

Anthony's answer was heard by Larry Brown, who glanced at the 03 trio and then called a timeout after Roger made two free throws.

At this time, the Dream Team was already 16 points behind and Duncan was on the verge of being sent off. Everything pointed to one ending: the myth of the Dream Team was about to end!
There were already many American fans booing at the scene.

Bob Costa even called tonight: "A Night of Shame for the United States!"

The degree to which this matter is unbelievable is probably as great as Choi Young-hee's total NBA points having surpassed Bronny James.

During the timeout, Larry Brown walked in front of the 03 generation trio, and LeBron James was eager to try.

There is still a chance. It is not impossible to catch up with 16 points in one and a half quarters.

Whenever he's on the court, he's going to do his best on defense and he's going to get every rebound.

In any case, his career cannot suffer any more disgrace!
He had been beaten to a pulp by Roger and had his head stomped on by Michael Jordan. Now he had to experience the first defeat in team history in the Olympics?

No, he couldn't let this happen!
Larry Brown and LeBron James looked at each other for several seconds, then patted Wade on the shoulder: "Kid, let me see what you can do on defense."

James:? ? ?

Larry Brown's choice was not difficult. Carmelo Anthony led his team into the playoffs, and Dwyane Wade reached the division semifinals in his rookie season and even contributed a buzzer-beater in the playoffs.

LeBron? Just a young guy who was outclassed by the 41-year-old Michael.

Larry Brown replaced Wade to guard Roger. After he sat down, Roy Williams asked, "Why not try LeBron? He is very energetic and has confrontation. Guarding Roger might be effective. Without Tim protecting the basket, we need to put enough pressure on Roger from the outside."

"Come on," Larry Brown waved his hands. "He can't even guard 41-year-old Michael."

If he has to use new players, Larry Brown would rather use those who have played college basketball and played in the playoffs.

Wade took to the court with confidence and nodded to his teammate Yao Ming.

Roger also saw Wade and laughed with gloating: "Coach Larry actually sent a rookie to be cannon fodder."

"No, I'm here to kill you!" Wade was very excited, fully demonstrating what it means to be a newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger.

"Yes, that's what old men say when they trick young men into going to die on the battlefield."

After the timeout, the Dream Team's lineup became AI, Marbury, Wade, Boozer and Brad Miller.

The outside line is criminally short.

In the first attack after the timeout, AI tried to take a three-pointer, but his touch had already been exhausted in the confrontation and the basketball missed again. It was another round that disappointed American fans.

But something happened immediately afterwards that excited the Americans. Wade successfully stole the ball when he faced Roger for the first time, and used his incredible speed to quickly advance and counterattack, scoring a dunk!

It has to be said that the speed of young Wade caught even Roger off guard.

When he suddenly rushed up to steal the ball just now, Roger had no time to react.

Can Dwyane Wade be the savior of the Dream Team?

Obviously it is impossible because the real savior will not allow it.

Stealing the ball from Roger and completing a dunk was the last highlight moment of Wade defending Roger. After that, Roger relied on his rich experience to repeatedly pass Wade who sacrificed himself to steal the ball and scored easily in the mid-range.

Marbury has a poor sense of helping defense, while AI is very active in helping defense, but he is too short to interfere with Roger's mid-range shot.

So instead of restricting Roger, Wade made it easier for Roger to score.

In addition, without Duncan in the interior, Yao Ming also played more easily.

The score difference was getting bigger and bigger. The impatient Dream Team started to shoot three-pointers randomly, but AI and Marbury were already confused and could not find their touch. Wade's three-pointers during this period were not threatening at all.

Larry Brown felt like a big hand was strangling his neck and he was about to suffocate.

In the sixth minute of the fourth quarter, when Yao Ming used a signature pass behind his head to assist Du Feng who cut in along the baseline to complete a two-handed dunk, widening the score difference to 23 points, the camera turned to the Dream Team bench.

Tim Duncan knelt on the ground, while the other players stared at the court blankly with towels wrapped around them. Their expressions were like those of the crowd in a disaster movie who had seen a monster.

This was the most embarrassing moment in the history of the Dream Team. Of course, this was also another glorious moment in the career of the No. 1 player in basketball!
The so-called invincible Dream Team, the beautiful myth of being undefeated in the Olympics, ultimately could not escape Roger's destruction.

"This is the fate of American basketball," Bob Costa shook his head. "Roger dominated the basketball world. The No. 1 player in the basketball world showed the arrogant Dream Team his true strength."

A minute later, Del Harris replaced all the main players.

The most incredible scene in basketball history took place in Athens, the Dream Team was actually sent into garbage time!

They have always forced their opponents into garbage time, but tonight they finally experienced the pain of having their dignity trampled upon.

走下场时，罗杰带着41分11次助攻3个篮板3个抢断1个盖帽的数据——奥运会历史上首个40+10。

Roger, who had just left the court, happened to meet James, who had finally returned to the court. James was avoiding Roger's gaze, but Roger still called out to him.

"Hey LeBron, I envy you for not having to shower and being able to just get ready and go to the party.

Unlike me, my hair is all messed up.”

LeBron James looked at No. 14 and for the first time doubted a question: Can I really take over the torch from him?

It's not as if he intends to pass the torch to anyone.

He would keep others in the dark.

In the endless darkness.

(End of this chapter)