Champions Creed

Chapter 395 Chapter 394: The Meaning of the Oracle (asking for a monthly ticket!)
The New York Knicks hope to gain an advantage in the early stages of the game, and they have the confidence to do so.

But Roger's performance in the first two rounds brought back familiar and painful memories for New York fans.

He is still as free as ever, controlling the basketball court like God controls the world.

Even the words "I was wrong" that he kept muttering seemed like some kind of oracle, making the Knicks players unable to help but think about its meaning.

Among them, Shane Battier may be the player least emotionally affected.

In this round, he still defended Roger diligently, and there was no sign of frustration in him.

Shane Battier is a perfect college player. He is not a star, but he is the championship puzzle that every coach desires to have.

He is willing to do all the dirty work. He can lubricate the team's offense, can defend alone or assist, and can respond to opponents with efficient spot-up three-pointers.

Next to Yao Ming, Wade and KG, Sean Battier seems insignificant.

But getting him was precisely the key to the Knicks' eventual 68 wins.

He doesn't have any top-notch ability, but he is good at everything.

Well, there is one thing about Battier that Lenny Wilkens believes is top notch: his basketball IQ.

Lenny Wilkens has experienced almost the entire history of professional basketball as a coach. During his career, there are actually not many players who can be called smart.

But Shane Battier is definitely the best among them.

His personal statistics are not good, but he knows how to play games that benefit the team.

And his ability to analyze game videos is no less than any member of the coaching staff.

He would study his opponent's game videos before each game and find his opponent's weaknesses to target. This is why Sean Battier, despite his ordinary body, can always have a great defensive impact.

Before the finals began, Sean Battier watched a lot of Roger's game videos as usual, and finally he came to a desperate conclusion - Roger had no weaknesses on the offensive end.

You know, even Michael Jordan, you can choose to test his long-range shooting touch. Not everyone is as unlucky as the glider, who happens to meet a Jordan whose shooting desire and touch are far better than usual.

But as for Roger, do you really have any good way to deal with him?

Roger also had shortcomings in the past, such as his average passing ability and his thin body which resulted in poor confrontation ability.

But over the years, Roger has eliminated all his flaws. You know, not all players play for 20 years and still look the same as they did when they were young.

Nowadays, except for using double-teaming to outnumber the defense, you have no way to limit Roger's personal scoring.

Therefore, Sean Battier had no choice but to let Roger shoot in his least efficient position. This was the only solution.

Of course he knew that the trick of covering his eyes would not be very effective against Roger, but he believed that as long as Roger could make a strong shot from mid-range or long-range, his defense would be considered successful.

As for whether the shot goes in or not, that's not important, after all, it's Roger. You just have to do your best on the defensive end, and don't expect Roger to miss the shot at all.

This is why Sean Battier's emotions were not affected. His defensive mentality meant that he would not be broken down on the defensive end.

As long as he thinks his defense is correct, he will continue to execute it.

But in the second round, Roger made a long-distance two-pointer under his blindfold. After the ball went in, there was that relaxed voice again.

"Really, Sean? You really want me to take a jump shot from this spot? I like the way you play, but you don't seem very smart today."

Sean Battier did not respond, which made Roger feel a little bored. He could not experience the pleasure of torturing his opponent.

Fortunately, Yao Ming immediately added some color to the game.

In this round, Yao Ming received the ball in the low post and turned left to prepare for a breakthrough, and Stoudemire immediately came up to defend.

But the next second, he turned flexibly to the right, raised the basketball and prepared to make a layup.

Marcus Camby jumped up with all his strength, but Yao Ming just faked it. When Camby flew past him, Yao Ming jumped up and used his weight to hold down the bully who was about to jump up to block the shot, and scored a dunk!

2 to 4, the New York Knicks responded.

In the 04-05 season, Yao Ming and Duncan were basically the only two low-post killers in the league. However, considering that the Stone Buddha has always regarded himself as a power forward, Yao Ming is the last player to carry the glory of a center.

Shark? In the original timeline, Shark was lucky. After leaving the Lakers, he joined the Heat and the Suns.

The Heat's rigorous training forced him to be self-disciplined, control his weight, and regain his excellent form.

And Phoenix's miracle medical team also gave Shaq some time to stay healthy, allowing his influence to continue.

But in this timeline, his weight was completely out of control in Dallas, and he had no self-discipline at all, which made his condition completely incomparable to the 04-05 season in the original timeline.

Today, Yao Ming is the only center in the entire league who can produce a formidable performance in the low post.

"You are indeed wrong," Yao Ming shouted at Roger, "We will not be slaughtered by you like in the 90s!"

This is the second player on the Knicks, after KG, who wants to get rid of the identity of "Little Roger".

Roger was not angry and responded calmly: "Great, you are finally not a gate monkey. I have always been curious why you dare to yell at your teammates in the national team, but dare not even fart in the NBA. Now, I don't have to worry about this problem. You finally know what it means to fight back."

To be honest, if Yao Ming dared to retaliate against Draymond Green who maliciously grabbed his ankle like Zach Eady, his deterrent power in the NBA would definitely be stronger.

"I will fight back Roger, I also want to win the championship!" This is not the first time that Yao Ming has challenged the powerful. He was once the one who had the courage to challenge Wang Zhizhi in the CBA.

This game has no nationality distinction, it's just Warriors players vs. Knicks players.

The game continued, and Roger still did not call for a pick-and-roll. Because of KG's presence, the pick-and-roll that he and Stoudemire were best at could not be effective.

Roger continued to play against Battier. Battier took a step back as usual. Roger tried to break through but suddenly retreated to the three-point line. Battier had already taken a step back, and with Roger's retreat, the shooting space became larger.

Battier, as usual, interfered with Roger's shot a little, but Roger's touch was too hot tonight.

The basketball went in again, this time it was a three-pointer.

7 to 2, Roger pointed to his feet and said, "Sean, if you keep defending like this, I can do this all night long!"

Roger would not lie about such things, as Anne Hathaway on the sidelines can testify.

Battier still turned a deaf ear to Roger's trash talk, he firmly believed that his defense was correct.

Forcing Roger to shoot against defense in the least efficient place, the data will not lie, this kind of play will definitely effectively reduce Roger's offensive efficiency.

As long as Roger's efficiency is reduced, coupled with the Knicks' own excellent offense, victory in the game will definitely be achieved.

But soon, the Knicks also ran into trouble on the offensive end.

When Wade broke through again, Roger appeared beside the little prince at the first moment and joined forces with him to encircle and attack Wade.

Wade immediately passed the ball to Battier, but Jason Richardson quickly rotated to him. Under his interference, Battier missed the three-pointer and the Knicks' offense fell into a quagmire.

Shane Battier has some ability to respond, but he has never been a prolific scorer. This season he averaged 39% of his three-pointers per game, but he only made less than one per game.

In the playoffs, his production increased slightly, averaging 2.7 three-pointers per game.

But he is still not the kind of player who can kill the game, just don't let him shoot too often in pure open space.

After receiving the pass from Marcus Camby, Roger quickly carried the ball across half court, and then accelerated and broke through three steps away from the three-point line.

Battier stayed close to Roger and stayed in front of him. At the same time, Yao Ming and KG were also ready to encircle him.

But at a medium or long distance, Roger suddenly stopped and then shot calmly.

He once again chose to shoot where Battier wanted him to shoot, seemingly doing so on purpose to tell the Heat's new player: Do you really want to defend me like this?
"brush."

The basketball went in and Battier frowned. His stable emotions were affected by three consecutive failed defenses.

Why? Why is it completely different from what is shown in the data?
Sean Battier's mentality at this time was also seen by the Trail Blazers players in 1992.

The Trail Blazers at the time didn't understand why Michael Jordan could shoot three-pointers like that.

Battier glanced at Lenny Wilkens, Roger's former coach, and waved his hand, meaning not to change strategy.

He wanted to use Sean Battier to force Roger to take mid-range and long-range shots. If they rashly double-teamed him, the Warriors' firepower would only be more intense.

As a result, the subsequent games became entirely Roger's personal heroic performance.

Time and again, Roger pierced the New York defense with jump shots from an area that was statistically considered the least efficient.

In some ways, the Knicks' defense was correct. Roger was forced to shoot single jumpers from mid-range and long range.

Attacking the rim? The Knicks, with Yao Ming and KG, are the best rim-protecting team this season.

Posting up in the low post? KG's double team will come as expected.

Signature pick-and-roll? Sorry, KG's presence makes the Knicks not afraid of defending the pick-and-roll.

Ultimately, the Knicks' defense was too perfect. Lenny Wilkens used the best defensive resources in the league to force the Knicks to use only one way to win, which was to keep playing one-on-one in the high post.

Lenny Wilkens saw through it all, Sean Battier saw through it all, KG saw through it all, and Roger saw through it all.

And none of them wanted to adjust.

Lenny Wilkens did not adjust his defensive strategy, he did not want to give other Warriors players a chance. He admitted that Roger would score a lot of points, but he also firmly believed that Roger could not kill the game in that position.

In the last round, the Lakers tried their best to put pressure on Roger, but the G5 and G6 games were dominated by role players.

Spoelstra did not adjust his offensive strategy and let Roger play alone. The more complicated the tactics, the easier it is to get an easy shot, but the more complicated the tactics, the more people involved, and the more people involved, the more opportunities for the opponent to help defend. Letting Roger play one-on-one is exactly what Spoelstra wants to see. No one wants KG and Yao Ming to get involved in defending Roger.

Neither side has any secrets, so let's fight.

Let's see whether the Knicks will eventually defeat Roger, or Roger will kill the game with one high-post pull-up shot after another.

The two sides took turns leading and the score difference was not big. It was difficult for both coaches to judge whether their strategies were correct.

The three star players of the Knicks worked together and played very well.

Roger can always respond with hard solutions that do not require tactical support.

In the third quarter, Roger's touch fluctuated for a period of time and he missed three times in a row.

Just when Lenny Wilkens thought the game was going to be over, Roger quickly adjusted himself.

Patrick Ewing watched Roger's score continue to soar, kept wiping his sweat, and then muttered something similar to Roger's "oracle".

"They're wrong!"

Roger's score was still showing, 30 points, 40 points. When the game reached the last minute, Roger had already scored 1 points!
His hot hand continued today.
At critical moments, the Knicks' offense needs someone to step up.

Lenny Wilkens set up a pick-and-roll, but Wade had very low requirements for the pick-and-roll. He only needed someone to hang on him and he could speed up and complete the breakthrough.

But this time, Amar'e Stoudemire chose to directly double-team Wade with the Little Prince, not even giving the Knicks No. 3 a chance to start.

Seeing this, Wade immediately jumped up and passed the ball to KG who was running down the court, but when Garnett received the ball, Roger had already rotated into position.

The last time the Knicks lost was because Garnett failed to single out Roger in the low post at a crucial moment.

So KG didn’t try to attack on his own this time, but continued to look for open teammates.

But the Warriors' rotation had already been fully deployed, and when Garnett passed the ball to Battier, Stoudemire had already opened his arms and rushed over.

So, another steal.

At critical moments, when stars cannot solve the problem by themselves, more complex cooperation is needed.

Complex coordination will lead to more people defending, and more people defending may lead to mistakes.

This was vividly demonstrated in this round.

Roger would not encounter such a problem. In this round, when he was preparing to jump shot in the high post, when Sean Battier jumped up to interfere again, Roger passed by him.

Even Sean Battier, who was the least concerned about data, was fooled by Roger because Roger's shooting threat was too great today and Battier had to jump.

Seeing Sean Battier being passed, the Knicks' perfect defensive machine began to work.

Kevin Garnett rushed out immediately, and Dwyane Wade also double-teamed.

But even the fastest help defense takes time. Roger didn't make any extra moves. After passing Battier, he immediately held the ball and made a quick jump shot. When KG and Wade sealed the basket with both hands, the bullet had already flown out of the gun.

"brush."

The familiar voice sounded again, and the familiar feeling enveloped the entire Madison Square.

Mike Breen felt the surroundings become completely silent, forcing him to say something: "53 points! God, Roger's touch in the mid-range and long-range shots today was incredible. Madison Square Garden seemed to have some kind of magical power that always allowed Roger to shoot with an exaggerated hit rate here!"

During the NBC era, Mike Breen did not have the opportunity to commentate on the playoffs, so he was not used to this kind of silence.

But New York fans are no strangers to this feeling of despair, which has been spreading since 1994 and has not been effectively curbed.

That's why Patrick Ewing is so nervous.

That's how No. 14 plays. It doesn't matter who is on the Knicks or who Roger's teammates are.

The mayor of New York can run wild here on just one condition - if he wants to.

At this moment, after scoring the goal, Roger glanced at the sidelines and happened to catch a glimpse of Ewing.

That condescending look, that trash-like look, awakened all the nightmarish memories in Ewing's mind.

Patrick Ewing's eyes drooped lifelessly. His expression had never been so lonely, not since he was divorced or involved in the Gold Club case.

On the side, Patrick Ewing, Ewing's son, who was frustrated at Indiana University, sighed, "If only I could be like him."

The gorilla shook his head: "There will never be another Roger in this world."

The Knicks were trailing by 4 points. After one round, Wade continued to call for screens in order to avoid being double-teamed by the media. Instead, he followed Roger's example, accelerated, made a quick stop, gained space, and took a mid-range jump shot.

But due to the interference of Tayshaun Prince, Wade's quick stop jump shot bounced off the rim.

It seemed easy to watch Roger hit jump shots from mid-range and long distances again and again, but when it came to Wade, the difficulty of the task suddenly increased.

The Knicks players still failed to kill the game on their own at the critical moment, and both the complex and simple methods failed to take shape.

In fact, the Knicks' offensive efficiency today was pretty good. But at this point in the game, it all comes down to who can take advantage of the ball one or two more times than the other team.

The Knicks' efforts throughout the game came to naught due to the loss of these two key rounds.

After one round, KG couldn't help but help defend Roger. Roger made an easy pass to assist Stoudemire who cut in and dunked over Yao Ming, killing the game.

Stoudemire scored, and Roger looked at KG, Wade and Yao Ming, then shook his head: "Maybe it's my fault."

In the end, the score was 108 to 102, and the Golden State Warriors won the first game smoothly in the powerful New York.

Roger scored 53 points and had 7 assists. Mike Breen commented: "His jump shot will wake up countless New Yorkers when they fall asleep late at night!"

Unreasonable mid-range and long-range shots, unreasonable performances in key moments, Roger has always been like this in New York.

And, it will always be like this.
-
Shane Battier is the first president to be publicly executed since John F. Kennedy. -- Mike Breen made fun of Battier's nickname after the game.

Sorry Sean, but you know, I'm the only one on the Mount Rushmore of basketball. - Roger made fun of Battier's nickname in the post-game interview.

At least I can still take the lead and speak up. I am not the worst president. - Sean Battier made fun of his own nickname.

"Roger, a perfect debut in the finals. 53 points is not the highest score you have ever scored in the finals, but your score distribution today was very strange, most of which were concentrated in the middle and long distances. Do you think you can win four games in this way?"

"The New York Knicks decide how to play. They can play any way they want. I can deal with any defense. And no matter what way I play, I have to win four games."

"In the press conference just now, Yao Ming, KG and other Knicks players all mentioned that you would mutter things like 'I was wrong', 'I might really be wrong', 'It's all my fault' from time to time during the game. What does this mean? What mistakes did you make?"

"You know, KG, Yao Ming and Dwyane, they are all players who have been greatly influenced by me. So I said that, yes, maybe it's my fault.

Maybe I made them think winning was easy, when it was hard. Maybe I made them think they would win if they just took the shot. Maybe I made them think everything would go smoothly without failure. Maybe I made them ignore the power of failure and pain. Maybe I made them believe that one-on-one defense would solve most of the world's problems.

Maybe it was all my fault that they wanted to beat me and win the championship in such a simple and unbelievable way.

They all played under my influence, and it was my experience that gave them too many misunderstandings about the finals and inexplicable self-confidence, making them think they could become me.

I'm really sorry, maybe I ruined this game."

——Roger accepted an exclusive interview with an ESPN reporter to explain the so-called "oracle".

(End of this chapter)