Champion Rules

Chapter 399-395: KD's Strict Father (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

Kevin Durant certainly didn't expect to have such a difficult start tonight.

If Lynch's press conference after returning from vacation was already quite assertive, then...

Once on the court, Lin Qi's toughness was probably ten or twenty times greater than before!
His trash talk was endless, and his attacks were merciless.

He is definitely not the kind of player who "just talks to you for fun".

If Lynch makes harsh statements about you in public, his actions will only be even harsher!
In this respect, Lynch and LBJ are two extremes.

With Lynch's outstanding performance, the Knicks firmly controlled the situation for the first 9 minutes of the game.

However, as Lynch left the court, the Oklahoma City Thunder gradually gained the upper hand.

With Chandler Parsons out for the season, the Knicks' wing defense during transitional periods this season hasn't been that great.

Vince Carter and Amir Johnson are very dedicated to defense, but their abilities are limited.

Khris Middleton has made tremendous progress this season. This guy, who didn't shoot much in college, has developed an almost foolproof off-ball positioning and excellent off-ball shooting through a lot of practice.

However, his position on the offensive end is awkward because of his poor athleticism.

As a power forward, he is not strong enough, and his help defense is also mediocre.

As a small forward, he is too easily beaten by his opponent.

Chris Middleton is not yet at the point where he can compensate for his physical deficiencies with experience and skill.

Therefore, the Knicks' defense during transition periods has been terrible this season.

Under normal circumstances, he can make up for his shortcomings on the defensive end with his offense. Moreover, as a player who mainly plays off the ball, his partnership with Theo during transition periods is a perfect match.

However, as a pure catch-and-shoot wing player, Middleton's offense is too reliant on his shooting touch.

Unfortunately, Khris Middleton, who was making his first official rotation appearance tonight, didn't have a particularly good shooting night.

The Oklahoma City Thunder seized this opportunity and successfully narrowed the score gap.

There was a brief incident where, with one minute left in the first quarter, the Knicks brought in this year's fifth overall pick, Giannis Antetokounmpo, hoping to strengthen their defense.

When the Greek appeared, only Kevin Harlan of the TNT quartet was able to pronounce his name correctly.

Charles Barkley gave up halfway through reading it, exclaiming, "Is this some kind of 26-letter gibberish? This is the first time I've ever seen a player whose name is so small you can barely fit it on the back of his jersey!"

As the fifth overall pick in a weak draft class, Knicks fans had very limited expectations for him.

After all, if even the number one pick, Anthony Bennett, is like this, how much better can you expect from a fifth pick? When Anthony Bennett played in the preseason, people discovered that this number one pick couldn't even execute a single pick-and-roll in an NBA-level game.

Many of the top three draft picks have been busts, but the only ones who couldn't even execute a pick-and-roll properly were probably Anthony Bennett and James Wiseman.

The quality of this year's draft class, which is considered weak, has been fully demonstrated by the number one pick in the preseason.

Therefore, New York fans have already lowered their expectations for Giannis as much as possible.

Even so, he still managed to make those already low expectations plummet with his shocking performance.

Giannis Antetokounmpo's performance in that minute was nothing short of disastrous.

He committed two fouls in a row, and was intercepted less than three seconds after receiving the ball for the first time.

Kenny Smith commented, "This is one of the few instances in Knicks draft history where they made a mistake. Where did they find this guy who probably can't even tell the difference between basketball and football?"

This is how Giannis Antetokounmpo's NBA career began.

The Greeks were quite dejected as they left the field.

He is well aware of the significant gap between himself and the true NBA level, but he believes that after a summer of hard work, at least some of that gap can be bridged.

But the harsh reality is that the gap is far more terrifying than he had imagined.

The Knicks' defensive lapses during their rotation phase remained unaddressed, allowing the Oklahoma City Thunder to capitalize and quickly recover some of their deficits.

At the end of the first quarter, the Thunder trailed by only 3 points.

Andre Iguodala continued to instill confidence in Kevin Durant off the bench:
"Keep playing our own basketball! Lynch's individual stats don't translate directly into victory! Our offense flowed smoothly in the first quarter, our passing and cutting were unstoppable, and we're still on the road to victory!"

Steve Kerr is glad the team got a player like Andre Iguodala.

This made his job as head coach much easier.

Last season, Kevin Durant was very resistant to passing and cutting.

But this season, Andre Iguodala has consistently ensured that KD plays within the system.

In the second quarter, the Knicks adjusted their rotation strategy, with Jimmy Butler leading the transition lineup to solidify their defense during that period.

However, this approach of robbing Peter to pay Paul ultimately cannot solve the problem.

Facing this Thunder team with explosive offensive firepower, the Knicks' defense always struggles to keep up when Vince Carter has to be in the starting lineup.

Vince Carter plays incredibly hard on defense, and his effort in rotation and help defense is no less than that of younger players. At 36 years old, his defensive effort is comparable to that of a 36-year-old LeBron James on a fast break.

However, the decline in physical function is difficult to compensate for by simply being proactive.

Both Stephen Curry and James Harden can easily outmaneuver Carter using pick-and-roll pick-and-roll rosters.

Andre Iguodala can even use his athleticism to repeatedly outmaneuver Carter off the ball.

Faced with Steve Kerr's more mature and fluid passing system, any tiny defensive lapses will be keenly detected and exploited.

So the defensive problem remained unresolved in the second quarter.

The Knicks' defense improved during transitions, but the starting lineup's defense weakened.

At halftime, the Thunder were down by only one point.

Stephen Curry scored 13 points, James Harden 11 points, and Kevin Durant 15 points.

Aside from Andre Iguodala's inability to defend Lynch, the Thunder played almost everything people expected.

The three young stars have all officially entered their prime, and KD is no longer obsessed with standing on his toes. All of this makes the Thunder's passing and cutting system almost the best offensive system in the world, seemingly even better than the Spurs last season.

For the Knicks, Lynch scored 23 points in the first half, repeatedly reinforcing Kevin Durant's game.

However, due to defensive issues, the Knicks have never been able to truly gain an advantage.

The problems caused by losing Chandler Parsons haven't surfaced in the preseason, but against a championship contender like the Thunder, any minor issues will be magnified.

Kenny Smith expressed some concern about the situation: "We've all seen how outstanding Lynch is; he's been just as good as he has for the past five years. But tonight, the first stop of his retirement tour, doesn't seem to be going as smoothly as Lynch had hoped. The Oklahoma City Thunder have made great progress, and they are fully capable of shedding their supporting roles."

Indeed, the Thunder's offense is so strong that it doesn't allow the Knicks' defense any room for error.

So during halftime, Lynch came up with a very extreme coping strategy.

"I want to play the entire second half."

Lynch certainly knew this wasn't a one-size-fits-all solution. If they really did meet in the Finals this season, Lynch couldn't possibly play the entire second half of every game in a series.

Even he couldn't maintain efficiency under such extreme physical exertion.

At least this can temporarily solve tonight's problem.

Mike Malone knew how much Lynch needed this victory. Over the past summer, facing a barrage of provocations and opponents trying to make his "The Last Time" a joke, Lynch desperately needed a resounding win to deliver the most powerful response.

This is the opening game of the new season, and Lynch has just had a completely relaxing vacation. So playing a full half in just one night, his stamina will definitely not be a problem.

So Mike Malone finally nodded: "Go win the match, Lynch, and watch your energy levels. Tell me immediately if you feel any discomfort."

At the start of the second half, Kevin Durant didn't seem as tense as he had been in the first half.

Lynch's aggressive opening did create a strong sense of pressure for the Knicks, but as it turned out, this pressure did not translate into an unshakeable advantage for the Knicks.

As a result, KD's confidence quietly returned.

“Lynch,” he now even dared to speak first, “I’m so sorry that your first night of retirement tour was so difficult.”

Lynch chuckled easily; KD's trash talk was practically kindergarten level to him.
“You know what, KD? It’s always better to win hard than to struggle all night and then lose.”

KD glanced at the scoreboard, where the deficit was down to just one point. "All I know is that your defense has been struggling."

Lynch didn't respond further because Kyrie Irving had already dribbled past half-court.

In this possession, Lynch let Kyrie Irving take over the offensive turn, setting a screen for him. Despite Andre Iguodala's timely delay, Kyrie Irving didn't stop, completing a spin move in extremely tight space, driving straight to the basket, and easily scoring over Serge Ibaka!
When Kyrie Irving takes over the offense, it means Lynch will have to give it his all on the defensive end.

The Thunder continued their offense, with Stephen Curry running frantically to draw the defense, and Andre Iguodala receiving the ball at the top of the key, finding James Harden.

Harden was about to take on his childhood friend DeMar DeRozan one-on-one, but KD had already shaken off Jimmy Butler and was cutting towards the basket.

Harden gave up his own scoring opportunity and bounced the ball to KD.

But the moment the basketball bounced back, Lin Qi appeared without warning, spread his fingers, and intercepted the ball with one hand!
While defending Andre Iguodala, Lynch also kept an eye on the Thunder's movement.

And ultimately made the most accurate decision!
After securing the basketball, Lynch passed it to DeMar DeRozan. The latter shrugged off his childhood friend and easily scored a layup.

Lynch's defense was excellent in this round, but it wasn't too surprising.

After all, for Lynch, such excellent defense is just the norm.

Lynch maintained this defensive stance throughout the third quarter.

Kevin Durant was substituted out in the sixth minute of the third quarter. In order to exploit the Knicks' weak defense during transition periods, Stephen Kerr would always leave one of the three young stars out early to rest, and then bring him back in during those transition periods.

In the first half, those were Curry and Harden. Now, it's KD's turn.

Nine minutes into the third quarter, the Thunder were down by seven points.

Steve Kerr wasn't worried about the mistake because he was about to bring Kevin Durant back in.

He knew very well that it would be incredibly easy for KD to overtake him during the transition period.

Who can they use to defend KD?
Is it the outdated Carter? Or the slow-moving Middleton?
Before the game, Steve Kerr specifically told KD, "You can take over the game in any way you like and lead us to a comeback!"

Kevin Durant nodded confidently: "Their lead is over!"

The timeout ended, and KD stepped onto the court.

But the moment he looked up, his pupils contracted slightly, and his steps faltered.

Lynch remained standing on the field.

According to the Knicks' usual rotation strategy, the last three minutes of each quarter should have been Lynch's rest time.

But this time, Lynch broke the rotation rules.

Clearly, he came here specifically for the defensive transition phase.

Steve Kerr frowned. If Lynch remained on the court, the team's comeback would not be so smooth.

The key question is, how long will Lynch stay on the court?

One minute? Or a full quarter?
Before a series of suspenseful moments were revealed, the competition began.

Kevin Durant receives the ball at the top of the key after crossing half-court. When he leads the transition lineup, he can temporarily ignore the passing and cutting system and use his favorite one-on-one attack to solve problems.

This was also a compromise strategy that Steve Kerr came up with to get KD to obey.

Lynch spread his arms and lowered his center of gravity; this was his first direct matchup against KD tonight.

KD holds the ball with his back to the goal, creates a small space, and then drives to the basket.

After taking a step, Kevin Durant executed a stunning crossover dribble the instant Lynch caught up!

The hard work during the offseason paid off, and this crossover was perfect in terms of timing, speed, and angle, leaving Lynch with no chance to steal the ball.

In the past, it would have been hard to imagine Kevin Durant daring to show off his dribbling skills in front of Lynch.

Lynch was faked out by half a body length. For most defenders, once KD's crossover blew them out by half a body length, it meant the defense had failed. All you could do then was pray that KD wouldn't make the shot.

In the preseason, KD has already used this tactic to defeat many opponents.

KD got some space and, as usual, pulled up for a shot.

But then, he got a completely different outcome than in the preseason.

Lin Qi quickly turned around, stretched out his arm, and poked the bottom of the basketball the instant KD released his shot!
Under Lynch's block, the basketball's trajectory was completely skewed, ultimately resulting in an airball!

"My God! What a beautiful block!" Kevin Harlan yelled. "This is the first time I've ever seen someone block a shot after being faked out by KD!"

Shaquille O'Neal laughed: "Lynch put up such a defensive play in his first direct matchup against KD tonight. Yes, KD may be very strong, but Lynch is KD's strict father!"

Amir Johnson retrieved the blocked basketball and passed it to Theo.

Theo received the ball and immediately made a long pass from the spot.

The basketball flew in a beautiful arc, heading straight for the basket.

Lynch leaped at the perfect moment, caught the basketball in mid-air, and slammed it down with one hand!

The rim thudded under the strain, and the fans in the arena cheered wildly.

The Oklahoma City Thunder's attempt to turn the tide in the transition period was thwarted right from the start.

Lin Qi let go, landed, turned around, looked directly at KD, and pointed to the score on the big screen:
"Does our defense look like it's struggling?"

Kevin Durant did not respond, avoiding Lynch's gaze.

The confidence he finally regained in the third quarter gradually disappeared again.

(End of this chapter)