Champions Creed

Chapter 396 Chapter 395: I will be tired, but I will not die (please give me a monthly ticket!)
This may be the most arrogant "admission of mistake" in NBA history.

Roger said the proudest words with the most humble attitude.

Eric Spoelstra, who attended the press conference with Roger, felt that this was an interview that would go down in history and that this scene would appear in countless basketball documentaries in the future.

Roger's series of remarks can actually be summed up in one sentence: "As an idol of the Knicks players, I have the responsibility to tell them what they need to go through to achieve true success and correct their mistakes."

The most amazing thing about this interview is that Roger didn't even mention his 53 points in a single game.

You know, when people talk about superstars like Magic, Michael Jordan, and Roger, they will think of Magic leading his team to win the championship in his rookie season, Michael Jordan's first dynasty in modern basketball, and Roger's dynasty rule spanning two eras, rather than some inexplicable Excel data.

Players like Roger don't need to mention their statistics to highlight their strength.

The Knicks stars have been trying hard to get rid of the label of "Little Roger" and want to get rid of this deep-rooted impression.

Because when people say "so-and-so is so-and-so's younger brother", the subtext is actually that their status is not equal.

But Roger's victory and interview made their efforts worthless and made their position as younger brother more secure.

Bill Simmons updated an article in his column overnight: "If Roger's performance on the court is 100 points, then his performance in the press conference is 200 points! This is the coolest interview moment I have ever seen. This is the first time that a player has evaluated his opponent in the finals in the tone of an adult treating a child. And none of us thinks there is anything wrong with Roger saying this. He is indeed qualified."

With a 53-point victory and a brilliant post-game interview, Roger reminded New York fans and players of the old days. They were always full of hope, and then Roger killed their hope.

The Knicks players are now like a pile of ignominious minced meat, trampled by the iron army led by Roger, just as the Knicks trampled on other teams before.

They were so proud, so contemptuous of their opponents, and so trampled on the self-esteem of other teams in the rounds before the playoffs.

They are not good people either. When Kevin Garnett arrogantly said "If I had come to the East earlier, I could play in the finals often" after defeating the Pistons in the last round, the New York media called his arrogance "the confidence that a strong man should have." With just one sentence, KG's insult to the Pistons seemed justified, just like American soldiers taking the banner of "civilization" and "democracy" and turning the Middle East into ruins as a matter of course.

Now, the right to define "strong confidence" belongs to Roger. He can show his pride and despise his opponents without any scruples, without worrying about his morality being condemned.

This bullet finally hit the New Yorkers themselves right between the eyebrows.

This is how competitive sports are, winners have all the privileges. People praise the virtue of humility, but when Roger was extremely arrogant at the press conference, countless media people like Bill Simmons even wrote hymns for him just because he won.

Winning can even put you above morality.

The Knicks players were in low spirits during training the day after the loss.

Before the game, everyone on the Knicks had too many expectations. They were unbeatable in the regular season, and even in the playoffs, they didn't meet any decent opponents. The blue-collar heroes who once dominated the East only lasted six games against the Knicks. If it weren't for Chauncey Billups' buzzer-beater in Game 5, the Knicks might have swept the Pistons.

They are used to winning, used to crushing others, and used to walking out of the stadium with pride.

As a result, in the most important game, their proud heads were suddenly hit by a blow, which made everyone extremely disappointed.

Disappointment is the most lethal weapon in the world, which is enough to kill a person's will.

At the tactical meeting after training, when Lenny Wilkens decided to adjust the defensive strategy and announced the decision to double-team and pressure Roger in the next game, the Knicks players just nodded woodenly.

They all have one question in their mind: Will this really work?
If Roger can be so abnormal as to score 53 points by relying on jump shots from mid-range and long-range, then is there anything that this greatest offensive player in history cannot do?

If the Knicks players were standing in front of a "human", they would definitely fight bravely until the last moment. But the one standing in front of them was a god, and no matter how hard they tried, that god seemed to be unharmed, which made everyone's efforts to defeat Roger seem meaningless.

The Knicks are a young team, and a common problem among young people is that they can't control themselves easily, so their enthusiasm comes quickly and goes away quickly.

When passion burns, it seems to melt everything, but just a basin of cold water can extinguish the flame.

At this time, a veteran needs to step up and stabilize the situation, which is why players like Udonis Haslem are particularly important.

Gary Payton is the oldest player on the team, but even he was silent at this moment because he also began to doubt his own persistence.

Last season, after Karl Malone moved to the Lakers but still experienced failure, he chose to retire empty-handed.

Look at him now, only one year after retiring, his name has been forgotten by 90% of the fans.

When people mention Karl Malone, it's like they're talking about Tyrannosaurus Rex, as if he were a distant figure from ancient times, but he was clearly playing in the Western Conference Finals last season.

Gary Payton didn't want to leave in obscurity, but he was no longer sure if he could get a ring in Roger's era.

Last season he told Roger with certainty that he could do it, but now, even he himself has no idea and even feels desperate about the next game.

"boom!"

Everyone's thoughts were interrupted by a flying chair.

Kevin Garnett stood up, and the chair under his butt had been smashed to the front of the video analysis room.

He yelled angrily, uttered a bunch of swear words, then slammed the door and stormed out.

Lenny Wilkens can now confirm that Garnett's words to motivate his teammates during the regular season, "You can't understand great teams or great players when they are winning, you can only understand them when they are struggling to stay in the top ranks," were indeed the only highlight of his life.

He probably won't be able to say such words again. At that moment, KG used up all his talents in his life.

However, sometimes crude and swear words can have some effect.

The Knicks just need a veteran to step up and remind the young players one thing - we haven't lost yet.

That's it.

Kevin Garnett's anger did this, and this locker room glue once again became the pillar that supported everything when the building was about to collapse.

Of course, Lenny Wilkens knew that this was the last time KG could save the team in this way.

If someone encourages you when you fail for the first time, you will get up quickly.

If someone encourages you when you fail for the second time, you will digest the failure faster and then get up again.

But what if there is a third time? Any incentive will become powerless.

The Knicks can't just rely on KG's motivation and passion. They need some real victories to clear away the negative emotions.

The next game is the last chance to clear away negative emotions with victory.

On the other side, watching Roger appear on the training ground with thick protective gear tied around his ribs, the entire Warriors team couldn't believe what they had experienced last night.

How on earth did he score 53 points?

Amar'e Stoudemire doesn't know how fans 10 or 20 years from now will view this round of the finals, because even he, who witnessed it, finds it incredible.

20 years later, in the eyes of Ben Simmons, who missed eight consecutive open jump shots during warm-up, the video of this round of the finals was probably as sci-fi as "Star Wars".

The outside world still doesn't know about Roger's injury, but it's only a matter of time before the news leaks out.

After many years in the NBA, Roger knows one thing very well: there are no secrets in this league.

As long as reporters want, they can dig out whatever they need.

However, the speed at which information was leaked was far faster than Roger had expected.

When the locker room was open for interviews that afternoon, the first question from reporters was about the injury: "Roger, it is said that you played with a fractured rib in the last game. Is this true?"

Roger subconsciously looked at himself. He had clearly taken off all the protective gear, so normally it was impossible for reporters to guess that he was injured.

It seems that the leak is inevitable.

"Yes," Roger said without further ado, "but it turned out that this was not a factor affecting the game."

"How do you last a whole series and win a championship like that?"

"Go out there, play, win, and just keep going."

"Do you think the New York Knicks will do anything to address your injury?"

"Even if they do, that is their inherent right."

Roger had been prepared for this, which was why he didn't want the Knicks to know about his injury. After learning about his injury, the Knicks' morale would be boosted and they would defend against the injury.

As Roger expected, in Game 2 of the series, detail-obsessed Sean Battier did not miss this opportunity.

In Game 2, in addition to the Knicks' pressure, Battier also defended Roger's breakthrough on the right side.

In the last game, Battier did not block one side of Roger because Roger's left and right hands were very balanced and there was no obvious difference in the efficiency of his breakthroughs on both sides. It was useless to block only one side.

It was known that Roger had an injury to his left ribs, so Battier forced Roger to move to the left as much as possible.

This move worked. When Roger broke through to the left, due to his injury, his efficiency was far less than that on the right side, whether it was connecting with a quick stop and mid-range shot or directly attacking the basket.

Coupled with the Knicks' pressure and double-teaming, Roger only scored 2 points in G28 with a shooting percentage of 42%.

Amar'e Stoudemire took up the offensive responsibility and scored 33 points in the game, but his weakness of only being able to face the basket at the critical moment was exposed just like those of his predecessors.

The Little Overlord has created countless classic shots for the Warriors, and his explosive athletic ability makes him like a highlight-making machine.

But if you look closely enough, you will find that there is not a single scene of a buzzer-beater in his dazzling highlights.

Essentially, as a power forward, if you don't have strong post-up skills or elite three-point shooting skills, your impact on the game in critical moments won't be too strong.

The ability to score crucial goals is a rare treasure that not everyone possesses.

Because of Stoudemire's consecutive misses in key rounds, the Knicks finally pulled one back and kept their home court.

Lenny Wilkens breathed a sigh of relief at the end of the game. The Knicks successfully climbed back from the brink of destruction. They also achieved the condition that "to defeat Roger, they must win at least one of the first two games in the series."

This condition does not mean that you will definitely win, but at least it means that you still have a chance.

This means that the Knicks still have a chance to get out of the Bay Area alive after three consecutive away games.

Roger's hit rate and output today were far worse than in the previous game. Although he made 10 assists, it was still not enough to quench his thirst.

The fundamental reason why traditional point guards cannot lead their teams to win championships is that the role of passing the ball in a stage like the finals is extremely limited.

Isaiah Thomas? He has nothing to do with tradition. In the Pistons that won two consecutive championships, the Smiling Assassin and Joe Dumars were two combo guards. That team did not have a full-time point guard. In the 89 Finals, the Smiling Assassin averaged 21 points per game, and in the 90 Finals, he averaged 27 points per game, which made him out of the category of traditional point guards.

It turns out that if Roger played as an organizer, the Warriors would not be able to beat the Knicks.

He must control the court like he did in the first game to ensure victory.

So, when Amar'e Stoudemire was preparing for extra practice after regular training as usual, he saw Roger on the court.

Just as Shawn Marion commented on Roger before, Roger is a person who never slacks off in training, but he cannot be said to be the hardest-working person in the team.

Since his time in Atlanta, Roger has rarely practiced extra, so Stoudemire was surprised to see Roger still on the court.

"I'm surprised you didn't go on a date."

"Amare, my ribs are injured. How do you expect me to do strenuous exercise? There's no point in having a date without strenuous exercise."

"You could have the Olsen sisters sit on top of the Eiffel Tower by themselves."

"Very good Amare, your metaphorical rhetoric has improved a lot."

With that said, the trainer had arranged everything.

There were two trainers training with Roger, they held soft pads, one of them led the defense, and the other helped in the back. All Roger had to do was to break through the injured left side again and again, and make a quick stop jump shot or layup.

He just did this one thing, 13 times in a set, resting for one minute between each set, and repeated it over and over again.

When Roger practiced three sets and took a rest for the third round, Stoudemire was stunned: "Don't you think you can't do strenuous exercise?"

"If it's for victory, that's another matter."

“Why do you need to stimulate the injured area?”

"Of course it's to get used to the feeling of attacking on the left side when I'm injured. I can't just sit there knowing they're targeting me like this. I've asked Ms. Chelsea, and besides it being painful, it generally won't make the injury worse. The only way my rib injury will get worse is if someone elbows me in the same spot."

Roger described everything in a light tone, but immediately afterwards, his frown betrayed him.

"You're not Superman, Roger, stop it."

"I'm certainly not, but I'm not O.J. Simpson either. When that guy was found not guilty, he said he would spend the rest of his life using all his resources and connections to find the murderer of his ex-wife. The result? He didn't do a single word of it."

"Maybe he is the murderer. That's what I always think." Xiao Si shrugged.

"That's not the point. The point is, I just won a championship in the Bay Area, and my goal is a dynasty. I can't let down the fans, the boss, myself, and you who follow me. In any case, I'm not that kind of person. Maybe there are people in the NBA who are that kind of person, the kind who can pretend to forget their goals and what they said, but that's not me. We're going to win the championship until I want to end it all."

After he finished speaking, the alarm clock beside him rang, and the one-minute break was over.

Roger stood up again and started to repeat the training.

The trainer was afraid of Roger's injury, so he didn't use his full strength in this confrontation and was easily pushed away by Roger.

Unexpectedly, Roger got furious: "I haven't even said I'm tired yet, why are you weak first!?"

Shawn Marion is also right about one thing.

Roger and Kobe overlap to some extent, it's just that one of them is stronger.

Roger worked very hard, but the cruel real world tells people again and again that hard work leading to results is just a fairy tale.

In G3, Roger's attack on the left side was still limited.

You can't expect Roger to get used to shooting while injured in just two days, he still needs more practice.

Although Roger's performance was better than in G2, scoring 34 points with a shooting percentage of 43%, the New York Knicks still won the game thanks to Gary Payton's two key three-pointers.

Last season with the Lakers, Gary Payton still considered himself a star. He refused to implement the triangle offense, not realizing that his time had long passed.

This season in the Knicks, the selfless atmosphere of the entire team also made the arrogant Gary Payton willingly retreat behind KG, Yao Ming and Wade.

This season, fans have become accustomed to such rounds: after dribbling across half court with the glove, he obediently hands the ball to Wade, then runs laboriously to the bottom corner, temporarily disappears, and witnesses the performance of his teammates.

But tonight, old Gary suddenly shook off the cobwebs and dust on his body and contributed two of the most crucial goals at the critical moment.

With 1 minute and 33 seconds left in the game, Wade missed a mid-range shot, Yao Ming passed the ball directly to the outside, and Payton received the ball and made a quick shot to help the Knicks gain a crucial 6-point lead.

Then, with 47 seconds left in the game, Wade attracted a double team and passed the ball to Payton, who hit a three-pointer against the long arms of Tayshaun Prince.

Payton didn't want to be the next quickly forgotten Karl Malone, and this strong desire drove him to play with all his might even when he lost the ball and his status.

In fact, Payton only scored 8 points in the whole game. In other words, apart from these two three-pointers, Payton had only scored one field goal.

But these two three-pointers were enough to give him the highest presence in the game.

After the game, Gary Payton strolled down the court with his arms raised high.

He curled his lips in pride, as if to remind the world: "Look, I'm a superstar after all!"

The world was quite lively after the 2-1 victory. The New York Times commented on its front page the next day: "If the American Dream had a name, it would be Garnett, Wade, or Yao Ming. In any case, we have decided to bring the game back to New York!"

Kevin Garnett has once again experienced a transformation from being underestimated to being at the peak. At the end of G1, the whole team thought the series was over, but now, the Knicks are leading 2-1 in the series.

However, KG's joy did not last long. In Game 4 of the series, Roger's left-side attack showed no signs of injury.

Sean Battier continued to use the strategy of letting the left side play and not defending the right side against Roger, but it didn't work at all today.

Roger's quick stop jump shot after breaking through to the left was very smooth, and his left-handed finishing ability also recovered a lot. His offensive overwhelmed the Knicks' defense like a flood.

In the end, Roger scored 44 points, which made Sean Battier, who has always been good at adjusting his mentality, shake his head after the game: "I think there is probably no one in the world who can defend Roger."

Amar'e Stoudemire told the media the story of Roger deliberately practicing the feeling of finishing on the injured side, which became another legendary narrative about the superstar.

2 to 2, the series is back to a tie.

In the crucial game of G5, Wade and KG all missed their shots. Yao Ming struggled to score 25 points and 12 rebounds under the double-team, but it was of no avail.

3 to 2, the Warriors will return to New York with match point again.

In this game, Roger scored 37 points with a shooting percentage of 48%.

As it turned out, Roger's outstanding performance in the last game was not a coincidence. He was indeed accustomed to the pull-up jump shot and finishing at the basket on the left side with a fractured bone.

And as Roger struggled out of the quagmire of injury, the Knicks' chances of winning were being reduced to the minimum.

The game was over, and there was a scene that Roger had never seen after a victory.

He sat tiredly on the bench, looked at his deformed fingers, and then exhaled carefully - because of his rib injury, Roger felt pain even when he took a deep breath.

This is probably the most tired Roger has ever shown to the world.

In the past, Roger was always full of energy and youthful vigor at all times.

Looking at the tired Roger, Mike Breen ended this exciting night for all Bay Area fans with one sentence.

"Roger is 30 years old, ladies and gentlemen, and he has been in this league for 12 years. Maybe even a superstar needs a break."

Can Roger hold on to the end? This is the last fantasy space for New Yorkers.

After catching his breath for a few minutes, Roger stood up again.

At the scene, all the fans stood up and applauded and cheered for Roger.

The other members of the Warriors team did not leave either, and walked up to Roger to high-five or fist-bump.

The last person to come up was ESPN sideline reporter Doris Burke, who asked Roger how he was feeling.

But Roger didn't answer the question. He just looked at the championship banner above the Oracle Arena and raised a finger.

"One more game left, and then I'll be back in the Bay Area with the Larry O'Brien Trophy."

There is no pain in his eyes, no difficulty in his eyes, no time in his eyes, and nothing other than victory in his eyes.

He wanted nothing more than to conquer, until his gym was hung with honors.

Until the opponent's blood stains the floor red.
-
I can't imagine how Roger played five games with a broken rib and won three of them. Amare said he was still practicing to get used to the feeling of attacking from the left side in pain. This is crazy. The one fighting the Knicks is not a human being! - "Slam Dunk".

In fact, we lost more to ourselves today. KG and Dwyane Wade's touch wasted Yao's great performance, but how likely is it that they both shut down again? Roger is just a beast struggling to the end after being injured, just an emperor who is beginning to fall into decline. His glamorous cape is already full of lice. The championship will stay in New York. - The New York Times.

I know that the Knicks' tickets for Game 6 and Game 7 have been sold out. But believe me, Game 6 will put an end to everything. New York will experience a brutal game like beheading, and the audience will be the Knicks players themselves. The Kings are very tired, but that is not demise, and it is far from the point of Roger's demise. ——Bill Simmons column

(End of this chapter)