Champions Creed

Chapter 374: Exploding Balloons (Thanks to Brother Guang for the 373-yuan reward)

73 points in a single game, the highest score in a single game since Wilt Chamberlain. Another record was broken by Roger, which is why Roger and Liu Xiang can be regarded as gods in China.

They all left their mark in a sport dominated by foreign names.

But after Roger scored 73 points in the opening game, he immediately gave back to his teammates in the second game, reducing his personal shots, attracting defense and delivering more assists.

This has always been Roger's usual practice. Even if he is the team leader, he cannot just focus on eating meat in every game.

In the second game, Roger delivered 23 points and 14 assists, leading the team to easily defeat the Toronto Raptors.

Jason Richardson was the team's highest scorer today. He scored 25 points in his second game as a starter, showing fans around the world why he can be a starter for the Warriors.

He has accurate three-pointers and explosive dunks. His scoring power is no worse than Alan Houston last season, and his game is definitely more entertaining than Alan Houston's weak performance under the basket, which even makes him receive cheers from the fans every time he gets the ball.

Alan Houston's condition is the opposite of Jason Richardson's. He is still a little overwhelmed by the role of substitute and is not used to playing in the transition period. Tonight, he took 4 shots from beyond the three-point line but missed a single one. On the defensive end, he had the beauty of a historical scoring champion posing with his hands on his hips.

After the game, Jason Richardson was surrounded by many reporters, but the reporters were not there to praise him, but to stir up trouble.

"Jason, does this game prove that you are more qualified to start than Alan?"

"Do you think Alan has a chance of regaining his starting spot?"

"Do you feel guilty for taking away your teammate's starting position?"

Jason Richardson was very frustrated. He played a great game, but the media only cared about the locker room gossip.

So he didn't answer any questions, just left a sentence "I'm not interested in talking about anything related to the locker room."

Jason Richardson knew that no matter how he competed with Alan Houston, this kind of thing could not be made public.

The media are a bunch of maggots who are eager to create chaos and make the team a mess.

Just when Alan Houston's situation hit rock bottom, he got a chance in the third game of the new season against the Seattle SuperSonics and bounced back.

Because Jason Richardson didn't have a good touch in this game, Alan Houston got more playing time in the second half of the game.

Jason Richardson's poor form seemed to give Alan Houston some motivation, allowing him to play on the court with everything he had last season: active running to stretch the defense, smart positioning, accurate catch-and-shoot, and focused defense.

He was like a low-profile version of Ray Allen on the court, shining brightly.

In the end, Alan Houston scored 16 points in the first half, helping the team achieve three consecutive wins at the start of the new season.

After the game, Alan Houston also became the darling of the media. But just like Jason Richardson, the media did not really care about his performance, but kept asking some questions with ulterior motives.

"Alan, who made the decision to deprive you of your starting position, Roger or Eric?"

"Next one, I don't want to talk about it."

"I understand that Roger and Eric have reached a consensus on this, right? Did you say that you slapped their faces in this game?"

"I already said it, I don't want to talk about it."

"How will you get along with Jason Richardson? Will you play against each other in practice?"

"I won't tell anyone anything about the team's training."

Alan Houston maintained the most basic rationality and did not say anything that would hurt the team.

But the next question completely broke his defense.

"Do you feel ashamed and uneasy that you are the second highest paid player on the team but sitting on the bench? You used to be an All-Star player, but now you can only play as a substitute. How do you digest this gap?"

Alan Houston's face twitched. This question really touched his sore spot.

Yes, he was once an All-Star, but he never longed for anything. When Roger came to the team, he automatically took a backseat to Roger. When Amar'e Stoudemire grew up, he automatically watched that kid's tactical position surpass his own.

But now, the team wants him to watch Jason Richardson take away the starting spot?

This question made Alan Houston lose his mind. He said in front of the media: "Sitting on the bench is only temporary. I always feel that the starting position belongs to me. Jason is great, but he is just a little wild cat who helps me warm the bed."

This sentence was regarded as a provocation by Jason Richardson, so after returning to the locker room, Jason Richardson directly confronted Alan Houston.

"Alan, I'm not your wildcat. I got this position based on my performance in the training camp! Also, I never said anything about the starting position in front of the media, but you vented your dissatisfaction to the media. What on earth do you want to do, you bastard?"

Alan Houston was not willing to be outdone. He didn't want to be a good guy anymore: "Yes, you didn't say anything to the media, but don't you fucking forget that you celebrated your starting position in front of me. Have you ever considered the feelings of your teammates? "

"I didn't celebrate, I just didn't hide my joy."

"Oh, God, listen to that shit you said, and I just didn't hide my joy that I'm doing well."

"Enough! Shut the fuck up!" Roger's roar after entering the locker room ended all the quarrels, and the locker room temporarily returned to peace.

Roger once hated Michael Jordan's power in the Chicago locker room, but now the power is Roger himself.

When he tells everyone to shut up, even Erik Spoelstra has to be quiet.

Of course, there are some differences between Roger and Michael Jordan. At least he did not use force to hack his teammates' airplane meals.

The conflict was temporarily calmed down, and Jason Richardson and Alan Houston walked away without further arguing.

But Roger knew that things were far from over.

As the season progresses, the conflict between Jason Richardson and Alan Houston will become more and more serious, which will affect the overall atmosphere of the team.

In fact, if the two of them can get along well, Roger will play very comfortably this season. Because with both of them on the team, no matter how the No. 2 position is rotated, there will always be a high-level off-ball teammate next to Roger to help him pull the defense and help him digest the shooting rights.

This makes it easier for him to lead the transition lineup.

On paper, the Warriors' No. 2 position is incredibly strong this season. If we look at it from the perspective of the NBA80K game, the Warriors are equivalent to having two shooting guards with a rating of , which will undoubtedly greatly improve the team's overall rating.

But the biggest difference between basketball games and real basketball is not the players' AI, but the fact that the game cannot simulate a complex locker room.

The game cannot simulate Roger and Shark breaking up under the shining achievement of three consecutive championships.

The game can't simulate the Timberwolves inexplicably disbanding a strong championship-contending team.

The game can't simulate the damage that the conflict between Peja Stojakovic and Chris Webber caused to the team.

The game cannot simulate the core of a team that has won two consecutive championships suddenly running away.

These are things that actually happened.

Two defenders with a rating of 80 may be very useful in the game, but in reality, there is a high probability that these two defenders cannot coexist.

The good team atmosphere of the Warriors was carefully built by Roger and everyone in the past two years. This atmosphere is like a pile of building blocks that are stacked very high. Once one of the links goes wrong, the whole building block will collapse.

The destruction of chemical reaction and atmosphere is all-round and cannot be ruined by anyone.

The championship team may not be the most talented team that year, because talent is not a necessary condition for winning the championship.

The prerequisite for becoming a championship team is that the players know their roles, see winning as more important than anything else, and stay in step.

These are far more important than talent.

It's not like Roger hasn't encountered similar problems before, and it's not like he hasn't had tensions with his teammates before.

During his time with the Magic, he had a public argument with Dominique Wilkins and broke up with Shaq.

During his time with the Hawks, he and Scott Pippen were initially hostile to each other, and he and Steve Smith were not on the same page. Even Paul Pierce, who is now a loyal "Roger follower", did not get along very well with Roger in his first year with the team.

But Roger resolved these difficulties one by one. He eventually improved his relationship with all of them in various ways and ultimately led the team to success.

But this time the situation was very special, because there was a problem between two teammates, and Roger was not a direct participant in the conflict.

Whether it is Jason Richardson or Alan Houston, they have no opinion on Roger. This time, Roger is facing the internal conflicts of the team as a third party.

How to resolve this contradiction? This puzzled Roger. He was good at solving his own problems with others, but he had never solved the problems of others with others.

After everyone in the locker room left, Dikembe Mutombo, the only player on the team with a longer career than Roger, just finished physical therapy and walked out of the therapy room.

Seeing Roger looking sad, African Mountain sat down next to him and asked, "Does God also have worries?"

"Of course, for example, when my uncle urged me to get married, I would get a headache."

"It's a headache, but other people's headaches are because they have no one to marry, and you don't know who to marry among all your girlfriends. Shameless bastard, is this what you call trouble?"

"I am very loyal Dikembe, don't talk nonsense."

"Do you have any misunderstanding about loyalty? Haven't you heard that joke? Is there anyone in the world who has more scoring titles than Roger? The answer is Roger's girlfriend. Okay, no more jokes. Are you worried about Jason and Alan?"

Roger didn't answer, just nodded.

"What are you going to do?"

"I have to find a way to make them coexist peacefully. They were all contributors to the team's championship last season. I don't want to lose any of them. There must be a way to get everything back on track."

Roger was telling the truth. Alan Houston's form and desire to win have indeed declined this season, but he is still better than 90% of the backup power forwards in the league. Roger is enjoying the current powerful power forward configuration.

Dikembe Mutombo patted Roger on the shoulder and said, "But you know that's difficult. Talent is like the air in a balloon. More air is better, but if there is too much air, the balloon will explode."

"That's a very vivid metaphor. I'll take care of it. Thank you, Dekembe."

Dikembe Mutombo believes Roger can get the team back on track, but the NBA schedule won't pause until you solve all the problems before continuing.

While the whole world was reporting on the Warriors' locker room crisis, the Warriors also faced the hottest Eastern Conference team this season, the New York Knicks, which featured Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett and Yao Ming.

The New York Knicks are currently on a winning streak, just like the Warriors.

Initially, ESPN predicted that the Knicks would struggle for a while early in the season.

After all, how the three stars of the Knicks can coexist is a very serious problem.

Dwyane Wade is the one with better talent, Yao Ming has been with the Knicks the longest and is the most popular among fans, and Kevin Garnett has the biggest status.

When the team only had Yao Ming and Wade, tactical position and shooting rights were not a problem.

How about adding another KG?
Will Yao Ming give up his status as the king of New York? Will Dwyane Wade be willing to be the third choice? Will the hot-tempered Kevin Garnett be willing to help the two youngsters?

These are very difficult problems.

Lenny Wilkens, the current Knicks coach and one of the founders of the Atlanta dynasty, told reporters at media day: "We have the best opportunity, and we also face the greatest challenge."

Gary Payton, who joined the Knicks, also volunteered: "I will be the bridge of communication between them." Lenny Wilkens and Glove both knew that this multi-star lineup was not so easy to manage.

However, things developed beyond Lenny Wilkens and the Glove's expectations.

Kevin Garnett took the initiative to tell everyone on the first day of joining the team: "We should not care about the data, but care about winning."

Kevin Garnett leads by example in this regard.

In the three games played this season, Kevin Garnett did not take more shots than Yao Ming and Wade, even though he has been famous for a long time and even though he was the second player in the MVP rankings last season.

He worked tirelessly to set screens for Wade and helped Yao Ming fill in the defensive gaps.

At the same time, he did not lose his passion for the game. He would shout to encourage his teammates when the score was close, he would immediately step forward to support his teammates when they were threatened (but it was hard to say whether he would really do it), he would immediately go up to pull his teammates up when they were knocked down. If the opponent shot after the whistle, he would jump up and block the ball without hesitation.

Over time, all the Knicks will do this, not allowing any opponent to shoot the ball after the whistle. This is a rule of the New York Knicks, which tells the opponent: "Don't think about scoring easily over our heads."

With such an atmosphere, the Knicks defeated the Detroit Pistons in the last game, and this victory made the Knicks players closer and more united.

Dwyane Wade commented in the press conference after the last victory over the Pistons: "I have never seen a guy who is more infectious, more selfless, and more focused on winning than him (KG)."

Yao Ming also gave Garnett a high evaluation: "He always devotes everything he has on the court without reservation. His passion excites us, and his selflessness makes everyone selfless. The things he brings are becoming the backbone of this team. He is like helping a baby learn to walk, and I believe we will get on the right track step by step."

Gary Payton was grinning from ear to ear: "I told you I would have a ring!"

This is Kevin Garnett, a guy of great contrasts.

Just looking at his personality and temper, you might think he is a ball bully, a troublemaker, and a troublesome bastard.

This impression was deepened by the fact that he had beaten up rookies and separated from Stephen Marbury during his time with the Timberwolves.

But in fact, he is an outstanding and infectious team player. He is a tube of "super glue" that can stick everything together.

KG has never been a perfect leader, but he is a perfect teammate.

He smokes, he fights, he goes to bars, he swears, he has low quality, but he is really a good player.

This is the New York Knicks that the Warriors will face next. The three stars get along very well, and the team's fighting power has become stronger than people expected.

Before the season started, Las Vegas gave the Knicks odds of winning the championship at 1 to 20, but now it is 1 to 5.

This is enough to show how subversive this Knicks team is.

On the day of the game, Kevin Garnett, Yao Ming and Dwyane Wade all crossed the midfield line and greeted Roger in a friendly manner.

It is a very strange phenomenon that the three main members of a team have a good relationship with Roger.

However, this friendliness only lasts before the game.

After the game started, the Knicks Big Three showed no mercy to Roger's men, and Roger also felt the strength of this team.

Because Roger needed to attack, the task of defending Wade was given to Jason Richardson.

However, the sophomore Wade was no longer someone Jason Richardson could handle.

Wade's finishing rate at the rim was already astonishingly high in his rookie season, and his improvement in his sophomore year mainly came from mid-range.

Dwyane Wade knows very well that the mid-range is the biggest killer of an outside player. After hard training this summer, the Flash's mid-range jump shot has become extremely threatening, which makes his pick-and-roll with KG flourish.

Wade's speed after hanging the screen is so fast that even if Stoudemire switches defense directly, he may not be able to keep up. As long as there is a gap, he can score in the mid-range. If Yao Ming helps him block Marcus Camby, then Wade can easily attack the basket.

In addition, Yao Ming can also attack unscrupulously in the low post.

Although everyone makes fun of Kevin Garnett's iron-blooded jump shot, it is undeniable that he is an elite mid-range shooter.

When Yao Ming was about to go deep, Wade just had to feed the ball in, which basically meant the Warriors' defense had failed.

No matter how hard Marcus Camby tried, it was difficult to stop this giant tower whose legs seemed to be rooted 500 meters underground.

The Knicks' offense was smooth sailing, and their defense was even more formidable.

Yao Ming can focus on protecting the rim because Kevin Garnett will take care of the rest.

When Chuck Daly led the Dream Team, he was inspired by Scott Pippen and believed that the most perfect defensive player should be a "filler."

This type of player needs to be a forward who is tall and long-armed but as flexible as a guard, who can move quickly over a large area and compress space everywhere. The basketball court is so small, the larger the area you cover defensively, the less space your opponent has to go.

But under the illegal defense rules of the NBA at the time, the role of this "filler" was actually quite limited.

Now, with the opening of the zone defense, the "fillers" have begun to dominate the defensive end.

Ben Wallace is the most successful one among them, and Kevin Garnett is also one of the top "fillers".

He will appear in front of or behind each teammate at any time to help defend. He is like the blood vessels of the Knicks' defensive system, connecting everyone.

And because Yao Ming is protecting the rim behind him, KG's defensive range is larger than when he was with the Timberwolves.

He is not afraid of being broken through. He and the Flash running across half the court are every team's nightmare on offense.

Today, Roger had trouble on the offensive end.

The young Wade pressured Roger throughout the court. Because of the relaxation of the No HandCheck rule, Wade could use more aggressive defense to limit Roger's jump shot.

After Roger breaks through, Kevin Garnett will definitely appear first.

Of course, Roger's passing ability allows him to immediately find the open Amar'e Stoudemire.

But Gary Payton kept a close eye on the passing route and caused Roger to make four turnovers in one night - you know, Roger's control over the number of turnovers has always been comparable to that of John Stockton.

Sometimes Roger would choose not to pass the ball to Stoudemire because he was afraid of Payton's steal. Even if the ball was successfully passed to Stoudemire, KG would rush back to interfere as soon as possible.

Stoudemire also tried to force his way to the rim, but the effect was average because Yao Ming's rim protection was too solid.

The Warriors' offense was very poor and their defense was also targeted.

The only shortcoming of the Knicks on the offensive end is that Yao Ming may not be able to pass the ball to KG immediately after being double-teamed. Although there are many imaginative passes in Yao Ming's highlights, he is not actually a center with strong passing ability.

But this shortcoming is not enough to bring the Knicks' offense to a standstill.

The Knicks took the initiative throughout the game, and the high degree of adaptability among Wade, KG and Yao Ming was fully demonstrated in this game.

But the defending champions are the defending champions after all, and the Warriors narrowed the gap to 1 points in the last 33 minute and 6 seconds of the game.

This is due to the Warriors' strong No. 2 position. Today was the first time this season that Jason Richardson and Alan Houston were both in good form. So whenever Roger was in the starting lineup or in the transition period, he would always get strong support and response from the No. 2 position when he was double-teamed.

The Warriors had the ball at this time. Because Jason Richardson had consumed a lot of energy defending Wade, Spoelstra put Alan Houston into the lineup to end the game at the critical moment.

This is actually a kind of trust in him.

As usual, Roger broke through the over-oppressed Wade, and as usual, he met the lingering KG.

Then, Roger saw Payton Sr. move toward Amar'e Stoudemire, cutting off the passing lane.

So he passed the ball directly to Alan Houston.

After passing the ball, Roger ran away immediately. At the same time, Stoudemire came up and provided off-ball screen for Roger, blocking Wade and making Kevin Garnett look panicked.

He certainly knew what it would mean if Roger made that three-pointer.

According to the tactics, Alan Houston should pass the ball back to Roger. He knew all this very well. This is one of the Warriors' usual tactics.

However, the mid-range shooting king did not do so. He chose to be a hero and shot a three-pointer against Gary Payton's defense.

Roger didn't completely forbid his teammates from breaking the tactics, but Alan Houston's choice to break the tactics made no sense.

Alan Houston missed a three-pointer due to the interference of Payton.
Yao Ming secured the rebound and made a long pass.

The black lightning from Chicago had already streaked across the court, easily catching the ball at the other end and scoring a dunk.

With one minute left in the game, the score difference widened to 1 points, and the New York Knicks were in a safe position to win.

Roger looked at Alan Houston. He didn't understand why this usually calm guy would make such a decision.

Afterwards, Roger looked up at the data sheet on the big screen again.

Jason Richardson scored 15 points and Alan Houston also scored 15 points.

Well, it seems that I have found the reason why Alan Houston is so eager to take action.

After that, Roger's quick stop jump shot under Wade's pressure was interfered by KG, but he still scored and the score difference returned to 6 points.

Unfortunately, in the next defensive play, Marcus Camby committed an early foul and sent Yao Ming to the free throw line, and Yao Ming made two free throws steadily, eventually maintaining an 8-point difference until the end of the game, and the Warriors suffered their first defeat of the season.

At that moment, Kevin Garnett, Wade, Yao Ming and Payton hugged each other tightly.

In three days, they defeated the Detroit Pistons and the Golden State Warriors.

KG was surrounded by his teammates and shouted excitedly: "Everything is possible, everything is possible!"

The Knicks really believed they could get a piece of the pie in Roger's era, and it was a romantic night for New Yorkers.

Roger walked into the player tunnel, where the team's press officer was already waiting. "Roger, there may be a lot of tough questions after today's press conference. We have prepared some preset answers for you. Please take a look at them when you have time."

Roger took the small notebook from the press officer skillfully, but instructed another thing: "Tell Bob to see me after the press conference."

"The general manager did not come to the site today."

"Then call him over!" Roger roared, and the entire player tunnel became quiet in an instant.

"Okay, is there anything else?"

"Gone."

The African mountains are right.

If there is too much air in the balloon, it may explode.

Although it would be great to have both Jason Richardson and Alan Houston in the lineup, Roger decided to let down the team's roster.

(I have received a huge amount of rewards from you in recent days. I am very moved. My family and I are very grateful for your kindness. We kneel down and kowtow! However, you should do what you can. Being able to subscribe is the greatest support for me. Thank you very much!)
(End of this chapter)