Champions Creed

Chapter 389: 388: You are probably the only person in the entire league who is qualified to say this (please give me a monthly ticket!)

LeBron James stood in an empty court. The strange thing was that the court was very dark and he could not see anything. It was like an abyss with no bottom.

In the other half, a figure can be vaguely seen.

James walked up cautiously and found that the man was wearing the No. 23 jersey of the Atlanta Hawks.

The owner of the jersey seemed to sense someone approaching. He turned around and smiled grimly: "If you can't defeat me, then you can't get rid of the curse!"

Then, the figure disappeared, and the entire stadium dropped rapidly like a damaged elevator.

The strong feeling of weightlessness made LeBron James open his eyes suddenly.

It turned out to be just a nightmare.

There was no court, no one in sight.

There was only that lingering sound.

"If you can't defeat me, then you can't escape that curse!"

This is what Michael Jordan said to him after the Atlanta Hawks led by Michael Jordan defeated the Cavaliers led by LeBron James in April 2004.

A year has passed and James no longer remembers the details of that game.

But he always remembered that moment, Michael Jordan's smile and those words.

Everyone knows what "the curse" means. Michael Jordan couldn't get rid of it, and Shaq couldn't get rid of it. Now, it's Vince Carter and Kobe's turn.

Will it be my turn?

All LeBron James does is try to prevent those tragedies from happening to him again.

The 1+1 contract is the best solution no matter how you look at it.

In the words of Rich Paul: You can either let Daniel Gilbert go crazy and build a lineup for LeBron, or you can kick him away after the Cavaliers fail.

James didn't know if the word "kicked away" was too harsh, after all, it was his hometown team.

But if it really comes to that, he won't hesitate.

LeBron James' contract renewal controversy has brought some exposure to this man who was eliminated early.

But the focus of fans is still the playoffs.

And the most important regular season award.

Roger's name is no longer on the two most important awards this year, DPOY and MVP.

DPOY belongs to Ben Wallace again, who is truly the most perfect defensive player in the early 21st century.

The MVP goes to Kevin Garnett. Since Roger first won the MVP in the 96-97 season, three people have won the MVP from Roger. Coincidentally, these three people are all power forwards. (99 Malone, 03 Duncan, 05 KG)

Roger has won six MVPs in the past nine seasons, including three consecutive MVPs, so the factor of aesthetic fatigue does exist.

It's the same reason why no one likes to watch movies with the same heroine over and over again.

But that’s not the whole reason.

The main reason is that the Knicks are too dazzling this season.

The Knicks' 68-win record is far ahead of other teams, and Garnett's arrival has made the Knicks improve greatly, which is a crucial plus.

In the MVP selection, a player's impact on the team is a major criterion.

This is why Steve Nash in the original timeline was able to snatch the MVP from Shaq, because Nash led a 29-win team to 62 wins, and the Heat were already a playoff team before getting Shaq.

The Knicks were also a playoff team last season, but the improvement from 42 wins to 68 wins cannot be ignored.

Roger was not disappointed, or rather he was disappointed in advance.

Reebok informed Roger of the news as soon as the league issued the tickets.

But Roger quickly calmed down. The fact is, when you become a superstar and win all the awards you deserve, the only criterion for measuring you is the number of championships you have.

More MVPs and DPOYs became the icing on the cake, but not the decisive factor.

That's why Roger and Jordan stand out from names like Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, and Karl Malone.

They all have brilliant statistics and many personal honors.

But the championship was a watershed moment.

Kevin Garnett, who won the MVP for the first time in his career, was very excited.

"You know, Shirley Garnett was just like any other black auntie in the neighborhood, who loved to go to discount stores and buy fake diamonds to make herself sparkle. But in my mind, she was a great lady. She raised us with a few dollars that were better than nothing.

Of course, I have to thank Roger. The Minneapolis wolf cubs will never forget the days when they were protected by their wolf king in the dark night with heavy snow. "

When giving his acceptance speech at the MVP award ceremony, this Knicks locker room leader, who usually presents himself as a tough guy, had tears in his eyes.

However, no one will blame him for releasing his emotions however he wants, and this is indeed a moment worth celebrating.

But what Roger couldn't understand was that Los Angeles fans were also releasing their emotions.

Overnight, all Los Angeles fans became excited.

Because since Roger won the MVP for the first time in the 96-97 season, every season he missed the MVP, he eventually missed the championship.

Americans have always liked to create this kind of "fatalism". Roger, who lost the MVP, must lose the championship. This seems to be his fate.

And Los Angeles fans believe that Roger will stop with the Lakers.

In Game 1 of the series, the Lakers' victory seemed to turn this "fatalism" into reality.

Kobe scored 1 points in Game 36, and his performance deserves the third place in the MVP rankings.

Steve Nash had 21 points and 12 assists. Don't forget that he was the MVP in the original timeline.

Shawn Marion had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and it wasn't just the Canadian who thrived in D'Antoni's offensive system.

The Lakers, like the Mavericks in the previous round, are a team with extremely strong offensive firepower.

Western teams are always like this, focusing more on glamour, scoring, and performance, while Eastern teams tend to prefer physical combat, defense, and bloody battles.

But the Lakers are different from the Mavericks in two ways.

First, the Mavericks relied on positional singles, while the Lakers almost replicated the glory of Showtime.

The second, and most important, point is that the Lakers have defense.

In addition to Steve Nash, the other four positions of the Lakers have strong single defense and help defense value. Under the protection of the system, Nash's shortcomings on the defensive end will not be too fatal.

Before the trade, the Lakers were always one step away from victory because the rotation defense at the third position consisting of Jumaine Jones and Brian Cook was so poor that they could not put any pressure on Roger.

But timely reinforcements made the Lakers become winners.

After the game, Mike Dunleavy Sr., who was fired by the Clippers midway through the season and then joined the Lakers management as a player development consultant, hugged the team's head coach Rudy Tomjanovich: "Lakers champions!"

Old Mike Dunleavy almost won a championship with the Lakers in 1991, when he replaced Pat Riley and led the Lakers back to the playoffs.

But unfortunately, he met the rising Michael Jordan.

Now, he has the opportunity to make up for it as a member of the management team.

After hugging Tomjanovich, Mike Dunleavy saw Matt Barnes walking past him.

While serving as the head coach of the Clippers last season, Matt Barnes lost his contract to continue playing for the Clippers because he almost beat up Mike Dunleavy on the training ground.

Matt Barnes still doesn't like Mike Dunleavy, and Mike Dunleavy doesn't like Matt Barnes either.

So, this fierce old man who has been in the professional basketball world since the 70s yelled at Matt Barnes: "Don't you want to practice shooting? It's useless to say it. Look at your shooting percentage today. Damn it, 3 out of 0 shots from beyond the three-point line?"

This is the victor's ruthless mockery of the loser.

But Matt Barnes is not the kind of good guy who just accepts what comes his way.

Matt Barnes, who was angry, clenched his fists and stopped.

He turned around, jumped into the crowd, and rushed directly towards old Mike Dunleavy, who was dressed in a suit.

The whole audience exclaimed, and ESPN's live camera moved from the commentator to the sidelines.

Fortunately, there were Warriors players all around who were returning to the player tunnel. They pulled Matt Barnes back in time, and old Mike Dunleavy escaped.

This little episode after the game became a hot topic among fans, and the grudges between Matt Barnes and old Mike Dunleavy also came to light.

The league did not suspend Matt Barnes because no one was hurt because of him.

But a warning is inevitable.

From now on, any out-of-line behavior on his part will be treated as a typical case by the league.

Matt Barnes was upset and was still angry the next day.

"That idiot, he only knows how to chatter all the time! Who is he? He didn't contribute anything to the Lakers' victory, but he got the rights that only the winner has!"

"You can't just jump in and beat him up," Mutombo said with a smile. "You should be smarter and do what Roger did to Pat Riley and 'accidentally' slap him in the face when you save the ball."

"Don't waste your energy, Matt. You can't hurt a hair on old Mike's head no matter what." Stoudemire teased old Mike Dunleavy's Mediterranean hairstyle, and the whole locker room burst into laughter.

The atmosphere in the team is currently normal, which is what Roger wants to see.

But what if we are behind 0-2?
Last season, the Warriors did reverse the Pistons after falling behind 0-2, but you can't be forced into a desperate situation every time.

The biggest reason why the Lakers won the last game was that they did not put enough pressure on Kobe.

In order to balance offense, Eric Spoelstra will not use Roger to defend Kobe and Nash.

Tayshaun Prince has to deal with Nash because the other forwards are too slow in front of Nash.

Only Jason Richardson can match up against Kobe, and he happens to be the most mediocre defensive player in the Warriors' starting lineup.

If you want to put more pressure on Kobe, there is only one way, which is to increase Matt Barnes' playing time like in the regular season.

Roger also told Spoelstra about this idea.

The man, who had known Roger for many years, shook his head.

"Fairy tale, huh? Matt gets humiliated by Mike Sr., then we increase his minutes, so he makes a couple of threes in the next game, guards Kobe, and then grabs Mike Sr. by the collar and yells, 'Shut up, idiot.'"

Please, this is too old-fashioned, even third-rate authors would not bother to use this cliché.

I know something similar happened to you. Michael Redd suddenly broke out in the playoffs and became a championship shooter.

I admit that it is a very inspiring story and another classic chapter in your legendary career.

But this won't happen to Matt. He's working hard. Maybe next season, maybe the season after, he can become a very threatening three-point shooting point. But now, at this moment, he can't do it. He has no three-point response ability, and he has no response ability at any position. If we increase his playing time, the Lakers will double-team you in the half court! "

"It doesn't matter. We will double-team Kobe and use rotation to kill open shots. Our rotation ability is definitely stronger than the Lakers, after all, they have Steve Nash. No matter what, we can't let Kobe attack recklessly."

After saying that, Roger stood up and put his hands on Eric Spoelstra's desk: "Not only is the rotation better, but I can also do better than Kobe in offense when facing double teams."

"You are probably the only person in the league who is qualified to say this," Spoelstra replied. "By the way, how is your mild cold? You coughed a lot on the court today."

"Forget it. I will never have a pool party with the Olsen sisters again. This is not an excuse for losing. This cold has no impact on the game."

"You look like you're still unsatisfied."

"Shut up Eric and focus on the game!"

"What!? Damn it, I'm not the one having the pool party!"
-
The work is not done yet. Should I mock Roger by imitating his coughing during the game? No, the work is not done yet. - Kobe's serious answer to the question "Now the total score is 1-0, why do you look unhappy? You should be happy that you guessed it right."

I have always been the best scorer, it's not surprising, and I don't feel anything about it. - Kobe responded to the feeling of surpassing Roger in single-game scoring today.

I have never seen a player as bad and as unsuccessful as him. If he plays for more than 10 minutes on a team, that team will never win the playoffs! - Mike Dunleavy angrily talks about Matt Barnes.

Impact? Of course not. We will still give Matt the same amount of playing time as we should. Who would not use a player just because he punched the air a few times? -- Eric Spoelstra on the impact of the post-match incident on Matt Barnes' playing time.

"You kept coughing during the game, and some media said you had a mild cold. Is that true?"

"It's true, but it doesn't affect the game. It has nothing to do with winning or losing."

"Kobe was very serious today. During the game, your fan, comedian Chris Rock, was sitting next to the Lakers bench and kept telling jokes to Kobe, but he seemed to hear nothing and had no expression at all. After the game, Kobe didn't smile because he won the game. What do you think of this?"

"I like that about him, he's a guy who has this obsessive desire to win, he just never wins."

"Kobe thinks he's the best scorer, what do you think?"

"Yeah, he's always been the best scorer, the best of the second place."

"How big is the gap between first and second? Kobe's average points per game this season is only 0.3 points less than yours."

"I don't like to use statistics to measure the gap. The gap is reflected in wins and losses, and you will see it."

——Exclusive interview with Roger from Sports Illustrated.

(End of this chapter)