Champion Rules

Chapter 317, Section 313: The Man About to Become a Laughingstock (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

Before the start of the new season's training camp, the NBA officially released the full schedule for the 11-12 season.

For Indianapolis fans, they received both good news and bad news.

Good news: The Indiana Pacers have finally earned their second season opener in franchise history since 2002.

Bad news: The opponent is the New York Knicks.

Perhaps it was Chris Paul's high-profile behavior after joining the Pacers that touched a nerve with David Stern, and the league decided to send him to the ultimate test at the beginning of the season, to face Lynch's iron-fisted dominance.

Let's see if he benefits from the eastern region's development or becomes a beneficiary of it.

Chris Paul was excited about the arrangement and waved his arms on a beach in Spain while vacationing with Cameron Anthony.

"Melo, it seems I'm already a top superstar in the East. As soon as I arrived in the East, they assigned me the best opponent."

CP3 has always been confident in the Pacers' roster.

Paul George has unlimited potential, Roy Hibbert will be the best traditional center of this era, and Dahntay Jones has always been a consistent defensive player.

And that guy Larry Bird drafted this year, judging from his physical attributes, he also seems capable of developing into a quality starter.

This is a team without superstars, but whose role players are all quite capable.

As a point guard, CP3 can actually perform better in this kind of team.

Because he will be the absolute driving force, the team's games will be played strictly according to his and the coach's ideas, and the tactical execution will be very strong.

In fact, it's not just CP3 who thinks this way.

Media outlets from various countries are also very optimistic about the Pacers' prospects for next season.

Many Chinese media outlets even believe that David West will achieve great success after following CP3 to Indianapolis.

His career potential is: floor: Duncan; mid: Lynch; ceiling: Ma Jian!

Seeing his excited friend, Carmelo Anthony simply chuckled:
"Chris, you know I'll always stand by you, but if I may be so bold—"

The league isn't giving you the best opponents; you're facing the worst opponents in the world.

Chris Paul completely disregarded his friend's words, failing to consider that Melo, who had been battling Lynch for so many years, might think Lynch was his worst opponent.

The scorching Spanish sun seemed to be burning away his inflated confidence, leaving only boundless anticipation for the future in his eyes.

Another world, Salt Lake City.

Lynch's annual private training camp began in this city, which has almost no entertainment and is stripped of all glitz and clamor.

This year's training camp was quite lively, featuring familiar faces such as the Thunder's Big Three and Dwyane Wade, as well as all the players the Knicks drafted, and that veteran European rookie.

On the first day of training camp, when Lynch arrived, Jimmy Butler was already training.

His vest was completely soaked with sweat, clinging to his strong back as if he had just been pulled out of the water.

Lynch was not surprised by this.

Because when everyone gathered yesterday, the Knicks' trainer assigned to Jimmy Butler told Lynch:

You absolutely won't believe what Jimmy went through this summer.

He was a poor boy who received a huge fortune this summer that he never dared to dream of.

As a result, after buying a villa for his adoptive mother's family, he stopped making extravagant purchases, stopped indulging in food and entertainment, and didn't even buy himself a car.

His biggest expense was renting a stadium, a stadium without internet or Wi-Fi.

Then every day he would wake up and go to train, and after training he would go home to rest, and when he got bored after resting he would go to train again.

day to day."

If this story is true, then it's no surprise that Jimmy Butler was the first to arrive at practice today.

Lynch casually waved his hand as a greeting: "You've gotten quite muscular, Jimmy."

Jimmy Butler paid no heed to the praise from the King of New York. His gaze swept across the empty arena entrance, his only concern being: "Why hasn't Kyrie arrived yet?"

This eagerness did not stem from teammate camaraderie.

Kyrie Irving disliked this rough fighting dog from the bottom of his heart, which had embarrassed him during his trial.

Jimmy Butler, too, looked down on that arrogant "prodigy".

Yes, Kyrie Irving is a man favored by God.

But for Jimmy Butler, his greatest passion in life is to prove to everyone that those abandoned by God in the shadows can also triumph over the arrogant heads of the "favored"—you are nothing special!
This is why, in the original history, he would deliberately lead the substitutes to defeat the starters more than once during training.

His hostility wasn't directed at Kyrie Irving; he hated all arrogance but had never proven his own genius.

He harbored immense hostility towards people like them.

So when Jimmy Butler was in Philadelphia and Minneapolis, he was a locker room bomb.

But in Miami, where talent was scarce, he became a tough leader.

Just then, Kyrie Irving appeared inside the arena.

The stab he received a few months ago from the tough guy kept Kyrie Irving up all summer.

He was fiercely competitive and desperately wanted to crush this bastard who had brought him shame on the court.

Kyrie Irving gave Lynch a polite nod, then glanced at Jimmy Butler and began to stretch.

During this period, more and more players and trainers arrived at the training facility to warm up.

Lynch stood between Jimmy Butler and Kelly Irving, and he could feel a surge of heat rising from them.

Finally, after warming up, Jimmy Butler yelled, "Kyrie, I'm going to beat you to a pulp today!"

Without any concealment, without any politeness, without any euphemism.

Jimmy Butler challenged the number one draft pick of his own draft class in the most straightforward way.

Everyone was stunned; they hadn't expected the training camp to be so tense on its very first day.

But Lin Qi didn't try to stop him; he just watched silently from the side.

Chandler Parsons, also a freshman, tried to smooth things over, imagining that the three of them should have a more amicable relationship:
"Jimmy, can you tell me about your summer?"

“Pretty boy, step aside,” Jimmy Butler said without turning his head, his eyes fixed on the number one draft pick, his voice firm and decisive. “I’ll come back to you later, but right now, I have to deal with that arrogant bastard.”

Kyrie Irving picked up the basketball and walked up to the mad dog: "Lincia, could you please give me a referee?"

“Hey,” Roger Hans, the head trainer at the training camp and also the Knicks’ head of training, tried to stop them, “this is a training camp, not a pickup game.”

But before he could finish speaking, Lynch interrupted his protest: "Okay, Carey, Cruise, you go officiate their one-on-one, 21 points."

"Lynch! We didn't come to watch a street fight!" Roger Hans spread his hands, not understanding Lynch's behavior.

Lynch just shrugged: "Why so serious? They're just playing ball, not dueling with revolvers. Don't worry, nobody here is going to imitate Gilbert Arenas."

Amidst the laughter of the crowd, Roger Hans gave up resisting.

Lynch crossed his arms; he was eager to see just how far Kyrie Irving and Jimmy Butler had progressed.

The whistle blows, the duel begins!
Kyrie Irving started the game with a beautiful crossover dribble that instantly pierced Jimmy Butler's tight defense, scoring in one fell swoop.

In the second round, the number one draft pick pulled up for a three-pointer, and Jimmy's wingspan, which was "as short as Shaquille O'Neal's head," was in vain as the ball went in again.

For the next few rounds, Kyrie Irving didn't miss a single shot, hitting his target every time.

It's clear that Jimmy Butler's defense on Kyrie Irving was extremely pressuresome.

He poured every drop of sweat into applying pressure on the defensive end, and every close-quarters defense was met with relentless, ruthless intensity.

However, his defensive skills were too rough and his experience too little, and Kyrie Irving easily overcame all of this.

Kyrie Irving has improved.

The improvement is not just in more consistent shooting, nor is it just in stronger physical play.

The key difference lies in the fact that he began to take every opponent seriously.

During his trial a few months ago, he looked down on everyone in front of him.

He would deliberately tease his opponents, even creating openings without making a move.

He would do a lot of unnecessary movements, even if they were completely useless.

Now, all that restless dust has been washed away.

Kyrie Irving knew that playing in New York was no joke.

He also knew that Lynch had expectations of him.

Although that bastard was always verbally abusive, he was the one who ultimately made the final decision to halt all trades involving the number one draft pick.

Faced with these expectations, Kyrie Irving now only wants to be a true championship point guard, not just a number one draft pick who plays beautifully.

Beside Lynch, Milos Teodosic felt a chill run down his spine and gasped, "My God, what a terrifying talent!"

“Don’t worry about Milos,” Lynch patted him on the shoulder, “You have your own talent too.” On the court, Kyrie Irving had extended the lead to 11-0.

Jimmy Butler stood frozen in place, sweat dripping down his taut jawline.

His eyes were filled with disbelief, astonishment, and resentment.

He couldn't believe it; he had worked hard all summer, yet he couldn't even touch the ball in the hands of this bastard!
Head trainer Roger Hans sighed:

"It's over, that kid's mental defenses are about to collapse. The gap between the first pick in the first round and the thirtieth pick in the first round seems to be far beyond his imagination, the gap is far more than just 29 digits. Lynch, should we stop training? We can't let Jimmy lose his confidence."

But as soon as he finished speaking, Roger Hans realized he had asked an unnecessary question.

Although a brief look of surprise and resentment flashed in his eyes, once the possession began, Jimmy Butler unleashed an even more ferocious energy on the defensive end, relentlessly pursuing Kyrie Irving's every move, with the pressure increasing rather than decreasing!
Now, the astonished gazes shifted to Kyrie Irving's face.

An incredulous sense of respect swept through the genius's heart for the first time.

A high school prodigy, a college superstar – the genius Kyrie has shattered the confidence of countless players.

Most of them, after suffering a series of blows, will completely give up on defense – since they can't defend anyway, and trying to defend seriously would just make them look like clowns, they might as well walk around with their hands on their hips.

Jimmy Butler is the only guy whose defensive intensity hasn't diminished at all, even when he scores on him repeatedly.

But Kyrie Irving won't show any mercy.

One-on-one games in basketball are brutal; there are no excuses, only trampling or being trampled.

At this moment, Kyrie Irving continuously changed the dribbling rhythm of his left and right hands, and the basketball seemed to be pulled by invisible threads, precisely affecting Jimmy Butler's center of gravity.

Suddenly, the top draft pick accelerated to the right and broke through. Jimmy Butler almost instinctively moved to the side to block him, using his body to become a desperate barrier.

Seeing his opponent completely shift his center of gravity, Kyrie Irving made an incredible change of direction to the left.

His body control, his coordination, his sense of rhythm are simply impeccable.

Jimmy Butler forcibly shifted his center of gravity, but Kyrie Irving did not continue to break through. Instead, he followed up his change of direction with a step-back.

This completely disrupted Jimmy Butler's rhythm. He raised his hand to block the shot, but slipped and fell forward as if swallowed by the ground.

Kyrie Irving made a shot as Jimmy Butler fell to the ground, shattering Butler's pride.

With the score at 12-0, Kyrie Irving looked down at his opponents on the ground, his voice calm and unwavering: "Shall we continue?"

Jimmy Butler pounded the floor, then nimbly rolled over and stood up, grabbing his collar and fiercely wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Without a moment's hesitation, he opened his arms and stood across from Irving once more. His stubbornness seemed to suggest a determination to die on the defensive position.

Irving paused for a moment, but quickly concealed his emotions and shoved the ball into Jimmy Butler's arms.
“Where we play, we rotate possession every 12 minutes. Now, it’s your turn to attack.”

Jimmy Butler attacks, and Roger Hans feels a surge of anticipation.

He hoped this tenacious guy could use this opportunity to turn the tables on the genius.

But the moment Jimmy Butler dribbled the ball, Roger Hans was completely stunned.

Others are just making jokes, but you play like LeBron James for real!
That stiff dribbling, that ugly layup, that crisp miss.

Roger Hans could almost smell the ocean and couldn't resist the urge to catch crabs.

What kind of player would be created if the genes of Michael Jordan and LeBron James were combined? Just look at Jimmy Butler.

According to the rules, possession of the ball automatically changes after a missed shot, so Kyrie Irving regained the offensive opportunity.

After that, Kyrie Irving also had some misses, but Jimmy Butler's weak offense cost him one of the few chances to turn the game around.

21 to 2, that's the final score.

Kyrie Irving easily took down the jerk who had humiliated him during the tryouts.

On the sidelines, Kevin Durant swallowed hard. He knew that Oklahoma City fans who were hoping the Knicks would be significantly weaker after Steve Nash's retirement were going to be disappointed.

This successor named Kerry seems to have terrifyingly strong immediate combat capabilities.

Yes, he certainly can't replicate Steve Nash's impact from last season in his rookie year.

But he is by no means a burden.

In this one-on-one match, Kevin Durant abandoned his illusions and prepared for battle.

To beat the Knicks, you can't expect the team to get weaker on its own.

You can only hope to become stronger yourself.

After the one-on-one match ended, Jimmy Butler seemed to have all his strength drained away, collapsing onto the floor with his chest heaving violently.

The physical exertion from each round of intense defensive pressure is enormous, which is clearly Jimmy Butler's current weakness.

His defense is fierce, but his endurance is too poor.

If you can't keep going after a few thrusts, you can't satisfy anyone.

Instead of taunting his opponent as usual, Kyrie Irving walked over, reached out, and tried to help Jimmy Butler up.

But Jimmy Butler refused. He forcefully slapped the number one draft pick's hand away and, with that fierce strength, pushed himself up to his feet: "I'll beat you eventually, Kyrie."

Chief trainer Roger Hans clapped his hands at the opportune moment, dispelling the stagnant atmosphere:

"Alright guys, the exhibition match is over. Welcome to Lynch's Training Camp, the Breakfast Club of the 21st century. Now, find your respective trainers, and let's all begin training!"

The crowd dispersed and resumed their training.

Lynch gave Kyrie Irving a thumbs up, expressing his satisfaction with his immediate impact, which is why the Knicks had to draft him.

"Well done, Kerry. Now you're qualified to fight me one-on-one. Whenever you want to start, just let me know."

Kyrie Irving simply nodded, but didn't show the same eagerness as before to challenge Lynch to a one-on-one fight.
“We’ll see. Actually, I’m more interested in beating Chris Paul right now than you. I want to win the match, Lynch, a real match, not just a one-on-one.”

This restraint surprised Lynch even more than the transformation in his offensive skills.

On the other side, Jimmy Butler resumed training after a short rest, and did not give up because of the humiliating one-on-one match.

Lynch finished a set of strength training and strolled over to Roger Hans—from the start of the training, the head trainer's gaze had been magnetically drawn to Jimmy Butler.

Clearly, that unknown rookie number 30, with his fighting spirit under desperate defense, broke Roger Hans's fixed perception.

In fact, this was one of the reasons why Lynch needed the two of them to have that one-on-one match.

The draft decision was made by Lynch and Sam Presti, but they may not have been able to fully convince the coaching staff and training team.

Faced with someone like Jimmy Butler, whose physical and dynamic talents are both mediocre, most training teams tend to underestimate his potential and don't bother to develop him.

But clearly, Jimmy Butler's performance shattered Roger Hans's preconceived notions.

"Roger, you see the potential in that kid. Let's leave it at that for this season, but next season, I hope he can become a formidable perimeter defender."

“Damn it, where did you and Sam find this bastard? A lot of people’s understanding of talent is limited to height, wingspan, speed, and jumping ability. But in fact, this,” Roger Hans pointed to his heart, “is also a talent.”

“Protect him well. He needs more defensive experience and more refined defensive footwork. Put offense aside for now and focus on developing this kid's defense. You can increase the intensity of his training as much as possible; he definitely won't complain.”

"Lin Qi, you seem to know that child very well?"

“No,” Lynch waved his hand, “I don’t know him, but I do know that this guy has no way out. No matter how harsh you are on him, he can only give it his all.”

At that moment, Jimmy Butler had just finished a set of exercises.

He frowned, looking at Lynch and Roger Hans who were talking about him. "What are you two talking about? Listen, I just lost, but I won't keep going like this."

“Jimmy,” Lynch shouted at him, his gaze piercing through the bright lights of the training facility, reaching straight into Jimmy Butler’s heart, “proving that God is wrong.”

Jimmy Butler froze, and the fire in his chest, a mixture of resentment and shame, was suddenly ignited by a more surging and directional fighting spirit.

“I will, Lynch.”

In the following days, Kyrie Irving also faced off against Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant in practice games.

These scrimmages proved KD's theory true—this rookie is anything but a rookie!

Kyrie Irving already possessed near-All-Star caliber talent in his rookie season!
No one should underestimate the Knicks next season!
Lynch's training camp has successfully concluded, and the new NBA season training camp is about to begin.

The day before the Thunder's preseason training camp began, Kevin Durant was curled up on the living room sofa scrolling through his phone. He had already followed dozens of accounts of online models who flirted with the unconventional, but still hadn't found a suitable one.

He was unusually picky tonight.

The television was on, but his mind wasn't on it.

Until he heard Chris Paul's voice.

KD looked up and saw that the TV was showing an interview with Chris Paul.

The current top point guard spoke eloquently on television:

"People are really looking forward to my matchup against the new number one draft pick. All I can say is that I respect Kyrie; he's a good guy. But all of you, including Lynch, better not expect anything to happen."

Kevin Durant smiled.

He turned off the TV and continued scrolling through the updates of those borderline models.

He wasn't interested in someone who was about to become a laughing stock.

(End of this chapter)