Champions Creed

Chapter 377 Chapter 376: Only suffering, no gospel (asking for monthly tickets!)
In Jeff Hornacek's view, Matt Barnes made a fatal mistake by disobeying Roger.

From the beginning, he was trying to challenge the owner of this locker room and showed a lack of respect for the owner.

Jeff Hornacek didn't think Roger's performance in the training game was inhumane at all, because Matt Barnes' trash talk, high-intensity confrontation beyond training, and those dirty little tricks were enough to anger Roger.

So, when he heard Eric Spoelstra's conclusion, he thought that the Filipino coach might have lost his mind due to staying up late.

In the office, Jeff Hornacek asked the head coach: "Give me a reason why Roger would like Matt Barnes. He allowed Roger to score 20 points in 21 minutes. All his jump shots from beyond the three-point line missed, and he only scored 2 points by cutting into the basket. Is there any shining point in him?"

"Yes, he never gave up defending Roger, even until the last round. He didn't relax at all on the defensive end because of physical or mental factors. This quality is very rare even in superstars. Many superstars may be defending, but their minds are thinking about how to dunk later."

At this time, there was a knock on the office door. It was Roger who had just finished taking a shower.

Tomorrow is the game against the Los Angeles Lakers. In this heavyweight matchup broadcast live across the United States, the Warriors cannot fail to come up with a complete rotation roster. Roger is here to discuss this with the two coaches.

Jeff Hornacek got straight to the point as soon as he saw Roger: "Tell me Eric is crazy that he thinks you'll like Matt. We both know Derek Anderson is a safer choice. I mean, he's not great, but he's not flawed either."

Jeff Hornacek wanted Roger to end all discussion about Matt Barnes, but Roger answered without hesitation.

"Yeah, Eric is right, I like Matt, he's awesome."

Jeff Hornacek was stunned for a few seconds, then covered his head with his hands.

"Damn it, damn it! If my daughter brings home a crazy boyfriend like you guys in six or seven years, I will go to the bedside table and look for a revolver! Why!? Did Matt drug you guys? When I signed him, I thought you guys must be crazy! He is a thorn in the side, and an incompetent thorn in the side. Can you imagine him yelling at you on the court? Just like today!"

"Apart from that, Matt is one of the few players I've beaten for 20 minutes who still refuses to give up. Jeff, how long have you lasted before? Maybe five minutes?"

"Get lost! That's because Coach Jerry Sloan only let me play against you for five minutes!"

"Jerry Sloan was right. He didn't want to see a good father being beaten in front of his daughter for 20 minutes. He was so nice. I always thought that Coach Sloan was a good person."

"Okay Roger, maybe Matt is a strong-willed player. But do you think he can be in our main rotation because of this? His shooting is too bad. In the era of zone defense, if one of them is not so good at jumping, it means Roger will face double the defensive pressure."

"You said his shooting could improve quickly," Eric Spoelstra interjected.

"I'm talking about the possibility of rapid improvement. Who can tell for sure about shooting? Who could have thought that Amare could grow into an elite mid-range shooter in the second year of his career? Who could have thought that Tim Duncan, known as Mr. Fundamentals, still hasn't improved his free throw weakness until now?"

"Then let him try, Jeff. If possible, I hope you can personally coach his jump shot. There is no better shooting coach than you in the team. Thank you for your hard work. I like Matt. Anyone who dares to do this to me is qualified to be my teammate. The Golden State Gang needs hungry wild dogs like him."

Jeff Hornacek did not refuse Roger because working overtime was better than going home and facing his wife's questions like "How many of the eight Swiss rolls can I eat?"

But he still had one last doubt: "How do you control this vicious dog? Make sure he doesn't bite his own people? You said that the atmosphere in the locker room is more important than anything else. How do you make sure he doesn't mess around?"

"No need to control him," Roger answered confidently, "He will recognize who gave him the bone to eat. He is a wild dog, not a mad dog."

Twenty minutes later, Jeff Hornacek walked into the training hall.

At this time, there were still several players practicing, Matt Barnes was one of them, he was still practicing his shooting.

As his physical strength declined, the basketball he shot became more and more biased to the left.

The terrible and useless offense is the most critical reason why he cannot gain a foothold in the NBA.

Finally, Jeff Hornacek couldn't stand it anymore and said something almost exactly like what Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said last season: "Stop practicing. It's useless. You're just wasting your energy."

Matt Barnes stopped moving. He hated the feeling of being excluded wherever he went.

He is a mixed-race of black and white, and his skin color is neither black enough nor white enough, so he has been unable to integrate into any group since he was a child. Even when he played well on the court in high school, no one cheered for him.

The same thing happened after he entered the NBA. His teammates didn't like him because he was full of thorns, and the coach always belittled his efforts, as if people like him should rot in the trash and even trying was wrong.

He has been excluded and the situation has not improved until now.

Growing up, his father only taught him one thing: "If someone bullies you, you must not go home crying, let alone kneel down and beg for mercy!"

This is the bottom line buried deep in his heart.

So Matt Barnes glared at Jeff Hornacek: "Am I disturbing you while I'm practicing shooting? You weak white pig! Get out of here and don't bother me!"

"Hey!" Amare Stoudemire, who was practicing on the side, stood up and said, "Say that again, you f*cking idiot?"

Jeff Hornacek signaled to Amar'e Stoudemire not to come over, then looked directly at the angry Matt Barnes.

"Young man, why are you always so angry? I just want to tell you that if you practice the wrong action thousands of times, the result you get will also be wrong. Generally speaking, we will not change a player's shooting action unless the action affects his hit rate. Your elbow is too turned outward when you jump shot, which makes the ball always go to one side."

As he spoke, Jeff Hornacek threw a ball to Matt Barnes and then corrected his posture step by step.

After that, Jeff Hornacek practiced with Matt Barnes for an hour, giving him some pointers on shooting details.

It takes a long time to adapt to changing your shooting posture, so Matt Barnes' shooting percentage did not change overnight.

But the balls he threw no longer kept going to the left, which shows that Jeff Hornacek's guidance worked.

Matt Barnes looked at the white defender who had won two championships with Roger in Atlanta and scratched his head embarrassedly: "Sorry Jeff, I just..."

"Don't apologize. Roger appreciates that about you."

"what?"

"Roger appreciates this about you. He likes your ruthlessness in going all out with anyone. So keep it up. You should know that this may be the best opportunity in your career. Tomorrow night against the Los Angeles Lakers, maybe you can enter the main rotation."

After saying that, Jeff Hornacek left the training hall. I hope this guy won't let Roger misjudge him.

On the way home, Jeff Hornacek bought 16 Swiss rolls.

Just like in a competition, if you want everything to go smoothly, you have to be fully prepared.

The next day, the Warriors faced the Los Angeles Lakers in a focus battle that had been hyped by the league long ago at the end of November.

The Lakers have become a brisk offensive team this season after improving their lineup, and their current record is 9 wins and 2 losses.

Rudy Tomjanovich, who succeeded Phil Jackson, made full use of Steve Nash's organizational ability and led the team to play a fast-paced offense.

In tonight's game, both sides launched very fierce attacks at the beginning.

Steve Nash pushed for a fast-paced style similar to that of the Hawks, which was also a rhythm that Shawn Marion was familiar with.

Young Kobe Bryant also enjoys this offensive rhythm very much. Under such a system, Kobe's average score per game is currently a terrifying 36.3 points.

But the Warriors' offense also gave the Lakers a headache. Jason Richardson played very well in the first game after Alan Houston was traded away. As long as Kobe showed any sign of slacking off or trying to double-team, Richardson would bounce out and cut in in time to create trouble for the Lakers' defense. If Kobe didn't help defend, the Lakers' new starting small forward Jumaine Jones would not be able to handle Roger in single defense, and he could only rely on Marion to clean up his mess.

But Marion's help in defending Roger will cause the Lakers to face another problem: Stoudemire will be left open.

The offense of both sides was very unstoppable, and Kobe and Roger once pushed the score very high.

In the seventh minute of the first quarter, the Lakers led by 6 points.

Steve Nash had a great touch today and played very well in the pick-and-roll with Marion and Ratliff.

Jason Richardson has been squeezing his shooting space as much as possible, but as long as he is blocked with a slight chance, he can make the shot by just raising his hand.

This is why the Lakers are able to take the lead.

The game was suspended, and No. 15 Kobe shook his head at Roger, then said something related to his new number: "The suffering has come to an end, and only the gospel remains."

"I never knew you were such a devout Christian. You could compete with LeBron for the GOAT of creating a persona award."

"That's not important. What's important is that you're finished tonight. We all saw you lose to the Knicks. If you lose to the Lakers today, the dynasty narrative of you and your mouthpieces will end completely."

Kobe is very confident and he believes the Lakers' offense this season is unstoppable.

This will be the case even if the Lakers change their transition lineup next.

After the timeout, both sides made personnel adjustments. The Lakers replaced Ratliff and Jumaine Jones, while the Warriors replaced Jason Richardson and Marcus Camby who performed well today.

The Lakers' second-year forward Brian Cook replaced Jumaine Jones. This year, the Lakers' reserve at the three position can ensure that the tactics can still be implemented in the transition period, because Jumaine Jones and Brian Cook both have nearly 40% three-point shooting percentage. No matter who comes on the court, they can ensure that the space is opened up enough to create space for the V-shaped pick-and-roll.

When Rudy Tomjanovich saw the Warriors replace Jason Richardson with Matt Barnes, he waved his hand and said, "Double-team!"

Seeing Matt Barnes on the court, the commentator Al Michaels was surprised: "Matt? According to the data, he only played 38 official games for the Los Angeles Clippers last season and was cut because of a scuffle with head coach Mike Dunleavy. When the Warriors traded Alan Houston, I thought I would see one of Derek Anderson or Nick Van Exel appear on the court."

Matt Barnes looked up at the stands and found that most Warriors fans were staring at him in confusion.

It was hard for them to understand why the team sent such a guy up. Matt Barnes was very familiar with this look. He used to study in a white high school. Whenever he played on the court, people around him would stare at him with this look.

So he has gotten used to it. Screw it, you can look at me however you want, I just want to grab the bones!
After Matt Barnes came on the court, Roger slowly approached him and said, "Matt, I don't want to put pressure on you. Choose one to defend between Kobe and Brian Cook."

"Do I even need to choose? I'm defending Kobe!"

"Have you forgotten how I beat you yesterday? This was broadcast live across the United States."

"It doesn't matter. I'm determined to get him."

"Very good," Roger nodded with satisfaction. "Go ahead, Wild Dog. No matter how he struggles, don't fucking let me go until the game is over!"

"Of course, of course!"

The blood of a stray dog ​​wandering the streets may be flowing in the veins of a lion.

The game started and the Warriors took the lead in attacking.

Because Matt Barnes has no shooting ability, Kobe simply left him behind in this round and came to double-team Roger.

Roger found Stoudemire who was in the mid-range during the double-team. Because Brian Cook, who was defending Roger, was not very aggressive, Roger was still able to pass the ball to him in time, and the latter made a jump shot.

Although the Warriors were still scoring, Roger was indeed restricted in this round. Previously, Jason Richardson and Alan Houston were able to create space for Roger, but now, Roger was destined to have a hard time in the transition phase.

Rudy Tomjanovich firmly believes that as Roger's offensive difficulty increases, the team can easily widen the score in the transition period.

As a result, it was the Lakers who first encountered trouble on the offensive end.

Kobe had just crossed the half court when Matt Barnes spoke up: "How dare a rubbish player who has never beaten Roger in the playoffs wear No. 15? Yes, you are embarrassed, so you are f*cking explaining this as suffering and blessing."

"Shut up, I don't know you."

"I know you, the biggest loser in the NBA since Michael. Well, there's still debate about who's the biggest loser between you and Shaq, but you're definitely one of the biggest losers."

Kobe gritted his teeth, not knowing where this guy with a shit-filled mouth came from.

He raised his hand to hold the ball and then continued to call for a V-screen.

But Matt Barnes gave Kobe enough resistance, Kobe broke through with the help of the screen, but couldn't speed up under Matt Barnes's close defense. At the same time, Roger double-teamed Kobe and he had to pass the ball to Brian Cook immediately.

Brian Cook received the ball and was about to shoot, but Roger had already returned to his position.

The helpless substitute small forward passed the ball back to Nash. Nash looked up and found that Kobe was trying hard to break free from the defense.

But Matt Barnes' pulling and collision made it difficult for Kobe to get a chance to catch the ball.

And during this process, Matt Barnes never stopped talking: "Italian woman, is this all you can do? You can only show off your prowess in Colorado."

The word "Colorado" seemed to have triggered a kill switch in Kobe. Although the incident had passed and he was completely innocent, he still didn't want to recall his experiences of the past year.

The angry Kobe hit Matt Barnes with his elbow, and Barnes fell down and the referee blew the whistle.

"Offensive foul by the Los Angeles Lakers!"

"What!? Are you blind? He was the one who kept pulling my jersey! Damn you, you shameless bastard, get up now!" Kobe walked angrily to Matt Barnes, but was pushed away by Stephen Jackson who replaced Marcus Camby.

"Stay away from my teammates, brat."

Roger immediately came over to applaud, while Stoudemire and Tayshaun Prince walked to Roger's left and right, with an attitude of "dare to get closer and try".

Facing the group of vicious scum in front of them, the Los Angeles Lakers seemed much more civilized. Nash and Brian Cook both advised Kobe to leave.

Kobe turned around helplessly and ran back to his own half. Just now he finally understood what the Golden State Gang was.

Alan Houston's departure made the team lose its last bit of laziness and rationality.

All that was left was a group of eager and hungry bandits.

Roger stared at Kobe as he walked away and pointed at his number.

"It seems that today's 15th is only suffering, no good news."

(End of this chapter)