Champions Creed

Chapter 394 393: Maybe I'm wrong (asking for a monthly ticket!)

Kevin Garnett looked at everything around him greedily.

The basketball hoop spewing out pillars of fire, the fans almost tearing their throats, Wade wearing the hood of his training suit and Yao Ming with a serious expression, and the defending champion warming up on the opposite side.

It all seemed so surreal.

KG looked down at his hands, still unable to believe that he actually made it to the finals.

Just a year ago, his career had suffered a major setback.

He and the Minnesota Timberwolves finally became competitive and reached a deeper stage in the playoffs, with everyone considering that Timberwolves team the favorite to win the championship.

As a result, Sam Cassell's injury turned all the aspirations into meaningless fantasies. What's worse, this highly competitive lineup only lasted for one season, and the Timberwolves management wanted to disband it on the grounds that they did not want to pay too much money for Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell.

This means that the Timberwolves have absolutely no determination to compete for the championship.

Kevin Garnett was extremely disappointed. He had just tasted the taste of victory, but the team wanted him to go back to wasting time in defeat.

Kevin Garnett finally decided to leave because he didn't want to be a ticket-selling tool for the management. But his decision to leave was criticized by Minneapolis fans.

Fans gathered in the square and burned his jerseys and posters, and his billboards were covered with graffiti overnight.

His family even received death threats. A fan sent an envelope full of razor blades to the Timberwolves and wrote: "KG, you'd better not let me see you or your family on the street."

Kevin Garnett is very helpless. He has given everything for the Timberwolves and for the fans here.

But in the end, the team betrayed him and the fans abandoned him.

Everything was his fault.

Overnight, he went from being the wolf king to a despised coward.

During this low point, Kevin Garnett came to the graveyard of superstars, the New York Knicks.

For many years, no superstar could have a good ending in the big melting pot of New York, not even Michael Jordan.

Even today, there are still New York fans who call Michael Jordan a "financial criminal who defrauded the team of $2000 million and also scammed dozens of New York girls."

Although Michael Jordan claimed more than once after his retirement that he did not come to New York for the money and that he sincerely wanted to win the championship in New York, New York fans did not believe it at all.

Kevin Garnett? No one was optimistic about his career in New York at first. Before the season started, the media was already expecting him to perform professional wrestling in the locker room with Wade, Yao Ming, and Payton.

Choosing New York seemed like choosing self-destruction. There seemed to be nothing to gain except money.

But just when Kevin Garnett was completely underestimated, the graveyard of New York satisfied all of KG's fantasies about the perfect team.

He had great teammates, a great atmosphere, he became a star, won the MVP, and walked around everywhere like Muhammad Ali in his prime.

Most importantly, he finally had victory.

68 wins in a single season is a regular season experience that many players have never had in their lives. And now, the whole world believes that he and his team can pursue the final victory.

From extreme decline to extreme peak, Kevin Garnett's year has been like a dream, full of unreal magical feeling.

So KG was a little dazed, he knelt down and kissed the Knicks logo in the center of the court.

This place gave him a new life, and he must leave the championship trophy here.

After standing up again, Wade's fist lightly hit Kevin Garnett's chest.

The young Flash shouted excitedly, "Are you ready, KG? The entrance ceremony is about to begin!"

Kevin Garnett's thoughts were brought back to the scene by the roar, and he found that the lights around him dimmed. Because it was the first game of the finals, the New York Knicks decided to hold an introduction ceremony for the starting players.

Four huge curtains were lowered from the big screen above the center of the stadium, and the cheers at the scene reached a climax.

"Welcome to Madison Square Garden, and let us welcome the New York Knicks starting lineup!
Starting guard, 6-foot-4, from Corvallis, Oregon State University, No. 20, Gary Payton!

Another guard, 6-foot-4, from Marquette, Milwaukee, number 3, Dwyane Wade!

On the huge screen, the images of Payton and Wade roaring appeared. The atmosphere on the scene had been ignited, and the players became excited because of this ceremony.

There is no boy who has not fantasized about being in the middle of a passionate debut ceremony, and this feeling is as addictive as sex. No matter how old a man is or how many times he has experienced it, he cannot resist this feeling.

Look at Gary Payton, he's as excited as if he's starting in the NBA for the first time.

When Shane Battier was introduced, the cheers subsided a little, but when Yao Ming was called, Roger felt like his eardrums were about to burst.

But Yao Ming was not the last person to play. As the leader and MVP of the team, Kevin Garnett has transformed from an outsider into the pride and top star of New York.

KG's status in New York has become quite special. After all, the last time the historic Knicks produced an MVP player was in the distant 1970.

Everyone in the stadium stood up, and Lenny Wilkens shouted to KG: "Go, Wolf!"

"Starting forward! 6-foot-11, Farragut Career Academy on the West Side of Chicago, No. 21, New York Wargs, 2005 regular season MVP, Kevin! Garnett!!!"

On the screen, Kevin Garnett's passionate roar was imitated by all New York fans. KG ran onto the court and collided with Wade in the air.

This is indeed a passionate team, and this shocking entrance ceremony is enough to give most fans goose bumps.

But Roger's heart was calm in the darkness.

The truly perfect introduction ceremony does not lie in the music, the curtain, or the entrance action, but in your strength.

In the first half of the 90s, whenever the prelude of "Sirius" sounded in the United Center, all visiting teams would have their hair stand on end.

In the second half of the 90s, when Roger and Shaq took the field, they would just stand together with their hands on their hips to the roar of the Orlando fans, and their opponents would feel nervous.

In the 21st century, this situation has changed again. As soon as Roger's name appears at the end of the starting lineup introduction ceremony, the opponent's heartbeat will start to accelerate. Although Roger in the 21st century is a better locker room controller, Roger's personal heroism narrative has reached its peak in the 21st century under the propaganda of Reebok.

In short, whether a team's home appearance ceremony is perfect, classic, and can achieve a deterrent effect depends mainly on the strength of the group of people who appear.

No matter how luxurious the lights, how perfectly customized the data, or how gorgeous the words are, you won't feel any ripples in your heart when you use them to match a rubbish player.

The Knicks' entrance ceremony might shock 90% of the teams in the league, except for the Warriors.

After the entrance ceremony, when the lights came back on, Roger looked back at his teammates, pointed at the field with a contemptuous smile and said, "I've never seen anyone do so many fancy things for themselves before losing a game."

The other members of the Warriors team also smiled with ease. Roger's confidence always infected everyone, making everyone feel that they could win tonight.

All they need to do is follow the king's footsteps.

Gathered in the center circle, Kevin Garnett, Yao Ming and Wade all looked serious.

In the stands, Patrick Ewing was so nervous that he clenched his fists. Roger didn't need any music, no introduction, or even cheers from the fans. He was intimidating as soon as he stepped onto the court.

Roger glanced at Yao Ming and shouted in Chinese: "Dayao, don't you want to say hello to the only person in the world who can help you win the championship?"

"Damn, Yao, what did he say to you?" KG was afraid that Yao Ming would suffer from trash talk, but he couldn't understand Chinese, so he asked immediately.

Roger immediately switched back to English and answered the question: "Don't be so anxious KG, I just told him that it was all my fault."

"what?"

"Okay gentlemen, get ready!" The referee didn't have time to listen to the players' nonsense. This was not a tea party.

He threw the ball into the air, and the 2005 NBA Finals officially began!
Yao Ming got the ball first without any suspense, but you are in control of the first attack.

Dwyane Wade confidently held the ball and prepared to launch an attack. After the big battle with the Pistons, the Flash's confidence has been fully established.

Maybe he doesn't believe that he is "5 cm shorter Roger", but he absolutely believes that he is the strongest offensive player of this Knicks team.

The Warriors used Tayshaun Prince to guard Wade. KG wanted to come out to screen, but Wade waved his hands and said, "I can handle it!"

He was not bragging. Wade didn't even make a fake move. He just suddenly started to accelerate and passed by the little prince who took two steps.

Wade was not particularly favored before the draft, and scout Brad Friedman's evaluation explained the reason very well: "As a shooting guard, Dwyane is not tall enough and his shooting is not good enough. In the NBA, athletic wings can easily curb his breakthrough."

Obviously, the scouts at the time didn't know how strong Wade's drive was. Now the fact is that no one in the league can defend Wade's drive. Even if you know he's going to drive and leave enough space, you can't stop him.

What is truly terrifying about Wade is not just his speed. After all, there are many guards with amazing speed in NBA history.

The Pacers' Jamal Tinsley may be the fastest player in NBA history, and the Dallas Mavericks' Devin Harris crosses half court at a speed that's like a Formula 1 car roaring through the El Rogge corner at Spa at 300 mph.

But their breakthroughs are not as good as Wade's, not even half as good as Wade's.

The reason is that Dwyane Wade not only has top-notch speed, but also has upper limbs that are as powerful as Gilbert Arenas.

His upper body strength is quite terrifying, and his strong muscles form an indestructible armor. You can imagine Wade as a guard version of Charles Barkley or Zion Williamson, which makes it easier to understand why his breakthrough is so abnormal.

Prince moved sideways at his fastest speed to block, but was still easily passed by, and Stoudemire immediately helped to clean up the mess.

Wade is not the kind of player who only has eyes for the basket. Seeing that his breakthrough forced the Warriors to change their defensive formation, he immediately passed the ball to the team leader KG who was temporarily left open.

At the scene, New York fans had already stood up, ready to celebrate the goal.

Wade has a very good sense of passing the ball, so he is very skilled at breaking through and passing the ball to KG for a mid-range shot, which is a common strategy of the Knicks.

Often at this time, KG can always hit his iron-blooded jump shot steadily.

Garnett was cautious. He had not forgotten how Roger dealt with him during the regular season.

So before catching the ball, Garnett looked at Roger's position to see if he was at risk of being blocked.

Fortunately, Roger's current position makes it impossible to block the shot.

Unfortunately, Roger is in a position where he can just steal the pass.

Roger appeared on the passing line at the right time and took the ball into his arms with one open hand.

His predictive ability allowed him to easily read Wade's intentions.

After completing the steal, Mike Breen shrugged: "After all, he is a player who has won the DPOY award!"

Not all star players ignore defense like LeBron or Luka Doncic. Roger strongly agrees with Eric Spoelstra's strategy, which is to make the opponent feel the intensity of defense from the first quarter.

After stealing the ball, the Knicks quickly retreated. Shane Battier was very smart and got close to Roger, preventing him from running fast.

After retreating across half court, Battier did not continue to press, but instead took a step back.

Sean Battier's athletic ability is not outstanding, so he knows that if he continues to defend closely, Roger can easily pass him.

Battier just stayed one step away from Roger and kept adjusting his pace to control the distance.

This distance makes it difficult for Roger to break through, but can also interfere with the shot in the first place.

Sean Battier studied the data and found that Roger's shooting efficiency in mid-range and long-range shots was the lowest - of course, this was relative to three-pointers and finishing at the basket.

In short, Battier's task is to force Roger to make a long-range shot. If Roger breaks through, KG, Yao Ming or Wade will help defend.

Roger seemed to be tempted by the little space Battier deliberately left, so he broke into the three-point line and made a jump shot.

"He's taken the bait!" Duke's forward was ecstatic and immediately closed his eyes.

His defense is solid because he never chases for blocks or steals, and not chasing steals and blocks can avoid most of the out-of-position situations.

This looked like a perfect defense. Sean Battier blocked Roger's eyes, and Roger played exactly the way Battier wanted to see him attack.

However, Roger made a steady mid-range jump shot when his eyes were covered.

Sean Battier thought he had done everything, but Roger shattered his fantasy with a goal.

For Roger, if you don't pressure and double-team him, if you let him attack easily, if you expect to defeat him with techniques like blindfolding, then you will probably only get disappointment.

His mid-range jump shot has long been perfected. Even though the efficiency of mid-range and long-range shooting is not as good as three-pointers and breakthroughs as reflected in the data, it is still enough to kill.

Roger pointed to the spot where he had just made a jump shot: "Sean, are you sure you want me to take an easy shot there?"

2-0, in a grand entrance ceremony, amid the confident expectations of Knicks fans, Roger poured cold water on everyone with his offensive and defensive performances.

In the stands, Patrick Ewing felt even colder.

That's how it feels, that bastard is controlling the game at will!
Only when the game starts will you realize how weak you are.

After the goal, Roger retreated while muttering.

"Maybe I was wrong. I was really wrong."

Kevin Garnett frowned.

What the hell is that asshole talking about?
He will understand.

This group of people were playing against Roger in the finals for the first time and were the freshest opponents, so they knew nothing about Roger in the finals.

They will understand, when they fail, they will understand what the king means.

(End of this chapter)