Champion Rules

Chapter 378 (374): Surpassing him would be the greatest honor for me (Seeking monthly votes!)
ESPN called the Knicks' blowout victory over the Nets the greatest comeback of the season.

This game was truly dramatic: LeBron James's curse, a large halftime lead, a back-and-forth second half, a classic pass in the final moments, and the game-winning shot.
But what's most frightening isn't just Lynch's incredible finishing ability, but Mike Malone's almost threatening words during an interview: "When Lynch doesn't need to handle the ball a lot and focuses on scoring, you all know what's going to happen."

This seemingly casual remark sent chills down the spines of the Brooklyn Nets.

Following this victory, the media's praise for Lynch became even more frenzied.

What's special is that this time he was linked to Bill Russell.

Bill Russell was the first player in the basketball world to truly reach the top.

He and his Boston Celtics created the first true dynasty in professional basketball history.

But people often question whether Bill Russell would be successful in this day and age.

His athleticism is certainly not a problem, but his height and weight are completely unsuitable for a center in this era—even Kobe Bryant was heavier than Bill Russell for most of his career.

He's not like MJ. Whether it's MJ in 1992 or MJ in 1996, if you put him in any era, he would immediately become one of the best superstars of that era, or even the best.

Moreover, it is well known that Bill Russell came from an era with severely limited competitiveness.

Even so, most media outlets are still very willing to rank Bill Russell in the top five of all time.

And almost no media outlet dared to let Bill Russell fall out of the top ten.

Because all basketball media outlets know that Bill Russell is a true superstar who can lead his team to victory, and he is a pioneer who popularized the word "leader" in the basketball world.

What defines a true leader? Comparing him to his old rival Wilt Chamberlain easily reveals the difference between a leader and a star player.

Wilt Chamberlain had a greater impact on statistics, while Bill Russell had a greater impact on wins. Chamberlain peaked in the regular season, while Russell peaked in the playoffs. Chamberlain tended to back down in crucial moments, while Russell grew stronger under pressure. Chamberlain lost almost all major games, while Russell won almost all major games. Chamberlain cared about the opinions of fans and the media, while Russell only cared about the opinions of his teammates.

It's safe to say that LeBron James' nickname is truly fitting. In some ways, he's practically a second-generation basketball emperor.

Aside from his less frequent off-court fan interactions, he bears a striking resemblance to Wilt Chamberlain.

Bill Russell once spoke about the responsibilities of being a star player on a team:

"Star players have a greater responsibility than just statistics: to lead the team and inspire the locker room. You have to say things and do things to make your opponents worse and your teammates better. These things are a hundred times more important than statistics."

That's why Bill Russell is so great.

It is precisely based on a profound understanding of the value of leadership that Bill Simmons, a GOAT-level sports columnist and a staunch supporter of the Boston Celtics, made such a bold statement before the playoffs began:

"As long as Lynch wants to, he can keep winning championships in this league. Let me put it this way, he is the Bill Russell of this era, he is a Bill Russell with even greater individual ability."

This is a rather unconventional viewpoint; most of the time, sports columnists are keen to compare a player to MJ.

Lynch was no exception, even though he and MJ were completely different types of players.

This is the first time someone has compared Lynch to Bill Russell.

Since Kyrie Irving's injury, Lynch's actions and the Knicks' incredible consistency have reminded Bill Simmons of Lord of the Rings.

Lynch led by example, keeping the team hungry, shouldering the greatest pressure, and minimizing the impact of Irving's injury.

At the same time, they can also put up impressive statistics.

Bill Simmons' remarks served as a warm-up for the upcoming playoffs.

The Knicks, on the other hand, also used the regular season to complete their final warm-up.

Kyrie Irving finally returned to the court in the final game of the regular season against the Washington Wizards.

Mike Malone plans to give Kyrie Irving some playing time before the playoffs begin.

Before the game started, another number one draft pick, guard John Wall, and Kyrie Irving embraced warmly.

Then, they swayed their bodies and danced to the rhythm of the live music.

Although the dance moves weren't as elegant as the one Yang Hansen performed with his pink backpack, they were still sufficient.

John Wall seemed to be in a good mood, as he was about to embark on a pleasant vacation.

But his smile gradually disappeared after the match started.

Because Kyrie Irving, who was all smiles before the game, wasn't going to treat him like a human being tonight.

"Kerry, he almost fooled Jamal! Beautiful crossover, Kyrie throws up, yes!"

John Wall shook his head in exasperation; this was the fourth consecutive round he had been blown out by Irving.

Just a week ago, John Wall signed a contract extension with the Wizards, receiving a maximum salary contract.

He has no financial worries.

Besides, no one would criticize his team even if they had a terrible record.

He also feels no pressure regarding his record.

Therefore, John Wall had no desire for victory whatsoever; he simply wanted to enjoy his upcoming vacation.

Tonight, the final regular season game of the 12-13 season, felt like a high school prom to him. The boys' biggest goal tonight wasn't to be the best or most dedicated dancer, but to find a way to help a girl grow up alongside them.

But Kyrie Irving played so seriously that John Wall was quite uncomfortable.

Wall wanted to respond on the next offensive possession, but Kyrie Irving still didn't give him the chance.

He maintained pressure, closely guarded the ball, and fought fiercely, and then seized on a moment of lapse in Wall's concentration to steal the ball with lightning speed!
"Fuck!" John Wall cursed, turning around to see Kyrie Irving score a beautiful and effortless layup.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Kyrie Irving!" Marvin Albert applauded the in-form second-year guard. "He's ready for the championship!"

On the bench, Lin Qi crossed his legs.

He didn't plan to play for too long today; he was a bit tired.

To be precise, the degree is not just "some".

Throughout his entire career, Lynch has never felt this fatigued.

Over the past two months, he has become a machine born for basketball.

The media always focuses on the heavy burden he bears on the court—organizing, scoring, defending, and playing excessively long minutes.

In fact, what they saw was only the tip of the iceberg of Lynch's burden.

Lynch's job was not just the time between the start and end of the whistle.

The daily training, the management of the locker room, and the business operations that Lynch needs to deal with are far more complex than the 48 minutes on the court.

This kind of life has lasted for nine years.

Since his first season in the league, Lynch has never missed the playoffs and has no idea what it feels like to start his vacation in April.

Furthermore, in most seasons, the New York Knicks were not only a playoff team, but also a championship contender.

Besides competing for the championship, various events also drain his energy, such as the previous labor negotiations.

He spent nine years working at a high intensity, year after year.

This year, the feeling of exhaustion is particularly noticeable after taking on so much work in the past two months.

But seeing Kyrie Irving perform better than expected, seeing this team maintain respect for victory even in the final game of the regular season, seeing his team still contending for the championship, and seeing him getting closer and closer to his ultimate goal...

Lynch felt that all the price he paid was worth it.

In the second half, Jimmy Butler scored consecutive points with jump shots after receiving passes from Kyrie Irving.

This guy, who previously had virtually no impact on the attack, has occasionally managed to contribute some goals this year.

The Wizards offered no resistance, and Lynch only played five minutes in the second half, but the Knicks still managed to crush the Wizards by 27 points.

The Knicks' final record was 69 wins and 13 losses.

考虑到尼克斯失去了强力侧翼威尔森.钱德勒，考虑到凯里.欧文缺席两个月，尼克斯的战绩稳定性简直不可思议。    林奇本赛季场均能够轰下场均28.4分13.4个篮板8.6次助攻1.8次抢断和2.8次盖帽.
He lost the scoring title this season, but his assists per game hit a career high, and no one would think his performance was not good enough.

Lynch stood up and gave all his teammates high-fives and hugs.

Immediately afterward, as Lynch was about to return to the player tunnel, his very MILF-loving aunt Rachel Nichols, wearing high heels, jogged up and intercepted him with a photographer.

"Lynch, without a doubt, another great season. Congratulations. Did Kyrie's performance tonight invigorate the team?"

"Yes, Kyrie hasn't let us all down. In fact, he's been training even while he was injured, and his form is the result of hard work. But whether this will be a great season remains to be seen. For our whole team, only winning the championship will make it truly great."

"What do you think about the recent trend of sports columnists comparing you to Bill Russell? How similar are you?"

“We all crave victory,” Lynch said. “We’re all committed to making the whole team better, and we’re all winners. It’s an honor to be compared to Beal at the leadership level.”

The interview didn't end there. Mildred's greatest strength is that she knows everything, she can do everything, she dares to try anything, and she knows how to make you happy. Rachel Nichols, a veteran player who's just passed her break-in period, knows exactly how to make fans happy, so the last question was quite pointed:
"Interestingly, when people compared you to Michael Jordan in the past, you never seemed to express any sense of honor. Isn't being MJ an honor?"

She knew that Lynch and MJ had a bad personal relationship, and she also knew that Nike and Reebok were going head-to-head.

She wanted to create a tense atmosphere.

But Lynch never shied away from the smell of gunpowder:

"The difference is that what I wanted was never to be as good as MJ, I wanted to be better than MJ. People have already seen MJ, who wants to keep watching the same movie over and over again? I hope I can take fans to places they've never been before. So, yes, being compared to MJ isn't such an honor for me."

Surpassing him would be the greatest honor for me.

Rachel Nichols was taken aback. As a seasoned MILF, she hadn't expected Lynch to be so abrupt and direct.

Lin Qi tilted his head, then turned and walked away from the camera.

Rachel Nichols turned to the camera and made an exaggerated expression of surprise:

"Wow, that's a crazy statement. But we all know that when Lynch says something, no matter how crazy it sounds, you'd better believe he can do it. Ladies and gentlemen, the playoffs are here!"
-
Lynch made no attempt to hide his ambition, and in the first round of the playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks, he immediately demonstrated how terrifying he could be when he only needed to focus on scoring.

In Game 1 of the series, Lynch scored 42 points in just 30 minutes and 46 seconds of playing time, showing Americans what Chinese speed is all about.

Of course, this won't be the fastest 40-point game in NBA history.

If Klay Thompson, the god of ball handling, can replicate history in the future, he will achieve the feat of scoring 40 points in 18 minutes and 25 seconds—with a total of only 11 dribbles and 90 seconds of possession.

But considering that Lynch isn't a pure shooter who relies on his touch, his speed in scoring 40 points is already quite astonishing.

The Milwaukee Bucks perfectly illustrate the characteristics of the Eastern Conference: the gap between top teams and mid-tier teams is huge, much larger than in the Western Conference.

The backcourt duo of Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis posed no threat to the Knicks' defense.

The frontcourt defense of Luke Richard Mbah a Moute, Ersan Ilyasova, and Larry Sanders posed no threat to Lynch.

In the words of Stephen A. Smith: "God knows how this team made it to the playoffs."

The Knicks crushed the Bucks in three quarters, and even with Jimmy Butler going 1-for-8 in the fourth quarter, the Bucks couldn't close the gap to within 15 points.

The New York Knicks crushed the Bucks 126-108 in Game 1 to take the lead.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this series will likely maintain this dominant momentum until the end.

The result of Game 2 proved this point, with the Knicks once again crushing the Bucks by 26 points, taking a 2-0 lead in the series.

But if nothing unexpected happens, something unexpected is about to occur.

Game 3 of the series will be played in Milwaukee.

Just three minutes into the game, DeAndre Jordan picked up his second foul of the night.

"DeAndre has to go to the bench," Bucks commentator Jon McLoughlin said, watching DeAndre Jordan walk past the scorer's table, who slammed his fist on the table, clearly extremely unhappy with the call. "For a center, an early foul means he'll be walking on thin ice all night."

As he walked off the court and back to the bench, DeAndre Jordan was still complaining, "Fuck, how could that be a foul?!"

Mike Malone would yell at any player who committed an unnecessary foul, but he didn't yell at DeAndre Jordan at this moment.

Because he also felt that the defensive play just now didn't qualify as a foul at all.

In the following games, the Milwaukee Bucks got a lot of opportunities to go to the free-throw line.

DeAndre Jordan wasn't the only player on the Knicks struggling with foul trouble.

Vince Carter and DeMar DeRozan both picked up three fouls early on.

Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings then began to make numerous drives to the basket, and with more goals coming from these drives, the Milwaukee Bucks managed to close the gap to single digits.

At halftime, the Knicks led by only 8 points.

Mike Malone, his face flushed, told reporters, "The key to the second half? The key to the second half is how to stop the Bucks from executing their patented 'give the ball to Monta or Brandon, and the referees will send him to the free-throw line' tactic!"

Mike Malone's outspokenness destined him to receive a penalty from the league, but what he said was indeed the truth.

Today's calls instantly brought back memories for New York fans of the bizarre officiating standards at the beginning of the season.

James Dolan violently snapped a cigar in his home, having thought his early-season conversation with David Stern had resolved everything.

But tonight's result shattered his illusions.

Adam Silver did indeed hear the warning relayed by David Stern, and he did indeed stop targeting Lynch during the regular season because he really needed to let Lynch, a box office draw, continue to shine.

However, he will continue to execute his plan during the playoffs.

He hopes the Knicks and Bucks will play five or six games to boost Milwaukee's basketball market.

He hopes that the league will no longer have only one championship team.

Will Lynch retire because of this?

Adam Silver didn't believe it at all.

This is a powerless threat.

How can Lynch guarantee that even if he retires at a young age, fans will remember him for a long time?

A player becomes worthless once he can no longer be remembered by fans.

Inside the locker room, everyone was complaining about the refereeing in the first half.

Lin Qi also found the new president somewhat ridiculous.

Does he really think he can control the game from his office?
In the second half, Lynch turned on his scoring mode.

He took a lot of shots and aggressively attacked the basket.

Although many of the Bucks' fouls were ignored, Lynch still managed to score 18 points in the quarter!
His example ignited his teammates like a raging fire, transforming their resentment at being treated this way into a burning fighting spirit that declared victory was inevitable!

After three quarters, the Knicks led by 19 points!
In the fourth quarter, perhaps seeing that the tide had turned against them, the aura surrounding Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings faded.

The experienced referees, on the contrary, began to award the Knicks a large number of free throws—so that when fans saw the final free throw count, they would see a relatively balanced number.

They know very well how to officiate a "fair" match.

But is it actually fair? Fans watching the game know the answer perfectly well.

The game ended with the Knicks defeating the Bucks by 32 points, taking a 3-0 lead in the series!

After the game, Lin Qi showed no interest in celebrating and walked straight to the players' tunnel with a frosty expression.

Entering the players' tunnel, Lin Qi pointed to the camera that had been filming him, as if the live broadcast signal had broken down the barrier of distance, and looked directly at someone behind the screen:

"No matter what you do, you won't get the results you want. I will take everything I want, I will control every game I participate in, and you can't do anything about it."

No one knows who Lynch's resounding declaration was aimed at.

But one thing is for sure: this was definitely not meant for the Milwaukee Bucks.

(End of this chapter)