Champion Rules

Chapter 112, Section 108: Simple and Direct Approach Works (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

A series without sideline turnovers, brutal wrestling, and bloodshed is incomplete.

The inbounds ball, a global challenge, always seems to become the main focus of the game at unexpected moments.

The most fatal flaw of a throw-in error is that the team making the error is often still on the offensive, making it difficult to catch up and defend.

Such an event, if it occurs at a crucial moment, can directly change the outcome of a match.

Amid cheers from New York fans, Lynch took off his jersey and threw it into the boisterous stands.

The moment he took off his jersey, the cameras immediately captured the bruises and bloodstains on his body.

As a player with light skin, these scars were particularly noticeable on Lynch.

Those purplish-red patches, like medals, covered his skin, telling fans how fierce the battle with the Pistons' iron-blooded army had just taken place.

As Lynch walked to the sidelines, Spike Lee tipped his hat to him, saying, "Thank you for everything you've done."

Lynch smiled and pointed to Ariza, who had just made the crucial steal: "Thank him."

"You are always so humble."

"Just telling the truth." Lin Qi's casual response was drowned out by the deafening roar of MVP cheers.

In fact, Lynch was being modest.

Trevor Ariza's steal was crucial, but the Knicks were already leading by 4 points before that steal.

His steal secured the victory for the Knicks, but even without it, the Knicks might not have lost.

Lynch, who played 46 minutes, was the cornerstone of the Knicks' victory tonight.

With 33 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, and 6 blocks, Lynch defended the home court with a tough performance.

Spike Lee's favorite thing about Lynch is that he is arrogant to outsiders, but humble to insiders like a different person.

He is the complete opposite of the kind of person who thinks, "If I win, it's on me; if I lose, it's on us all."

He always takes the blame upon himself when things go wrong, and he always shares the spotlight with his teammates when things go right.

Of course, separating the starlight wouldn't dim Lin Qi; on the contrary, it made him even more dazzling.

That's why Spike Lee has always emphasized that Isaiah Thomas wasn't entirely without merit; at least he didn't trade his number one draft pick for Shaquille O'Neal.

There is no better young leader than Lynch.

Lynch walked wearily toward the players' tunnel and reached out to give high-fives to the fans in the stands on either side.

Even after Lynch disappeared from the game, the chants of "MVP" continued to resound throughout the arena. Tonight, Lynch truly proved that he deserves to be the Most Valuable Player.

The New York fans continued chanting, not only as a tribute to the hero, but also as an expression of their dissatisfaction with Lynch missing out on the MVP award.

On the other hand, the Pistons players were in a completely different mood.

Rasheed Wallace, who had just been in charge of passing the ball, sat outside the sideline after the game. This famously hot-tempered "Roaring God" was now curled up under the scorer's table like a child who had made a mistake, his fingers deeply embedded in his fluffy curly hair.

Rashid Wallace felt incredibly guilty; he had seen Trevor Ariza chasing Billups but mistakenly believed Ariza couldn't catch up.

The entire Detroit Pistons team paid the price for his misjudgment.

The pressure of winning three consecutive championships was immense, so much so that any loss in any game would leave Rasheed Wallace dejected.

He was particularly depressed tonight. He was terrified that his three-peat would crumble into starlight fragments at his fingertips.

He didn't know what impact this loss would have on the series, and if the Pistons ultimately lost the series, he simply couldn't face his teammates and Detroit fans.

Larry Brown was ranting like a madman: "Idiot, idiot! Idiot-like mistakes, fuck! Why can't you even throw in a cross properly, you fucking idiot! We had a chance, damn it! The highest-paid player on the team is supporting a pig that only knows how to root around in feed!"

Larry Brown was furious because Rasheed Wallace let match point slip away.

Match point means the Pistons are very likely to make it to the Finals, and if they do, they could very well win a three-peat.

Once Larry Brown wins three consecutive championships, which team he chooses to join and how much of a contract he wants to sign next season will be entirely up to him.

But Rasheed Wallace's pass ruined it all.

Although the Pistons haven't completely lost the series yet, this defeat has significantly slowed their progress toward winning their third championship and added more uncertainty to the series.

Even Spike Lee thought Larry Brown's insults were too harsh; Larry Brown was practically a master at insulting players.

The Black director couldn't help but wonder how badly the Serbian kid would have fared if Darko Milicic had gone to the Pistons instead; he might have lost his confidence long ago because of him.

Carmelo Anthony walked up to Larry Brown and yelled at him, causing all the reporters in the arena to immediately turn their cameras to him: "Shut up, you old man!"

Larry Brown looked surprised; it wasn't news that he and Carmelo Anthony had become increasingly at odds at the start of the season.

Even if they don't get along, Anthony will at most make a few sarcastic remarks, but he won't directly confront him.

But at this moment, Anthony directly defied him in public and told him to shut up.

"Mello, who the hell do you think you're talking to?"

"Shut up to a bitch! Rashid has given his all for the team, and what about you? You're like a prostitute, calling around to solicit business from other old men! Fuck you, stay away from him!"

Interestingly, none of the Pistons players tried to stop Anthony.

This means that Larry Brown has lost the support of the entire locker room.

In his third year in the professional league, Carmelo Anthony finally crushed Larry Brown's authority.

He's no longer the rookie who came off the bench in the regular season; he's now the true leader of Motor City.

That last sentence was the young lion king's final ultimatum before he tore into the old lion king's throat.

After saying this, Anthony and his teammates helped Rasheed Wallace up.

Rashid Wallace's morale soared; what a person needs most when facing setbacks is support.

And now, everyone on the Pistons is supporting him.

This gave him the courage to continue fighting.

“This loss is no one’s fault. Don’t dwell on what’s already happened. Let’s go back to Auburn Hills and kill these bastards!” Anthony gripped Rasheed Wallace’s shoulder tightly.

Tonight's loss has made the Pistons' locker room even more resilient.

Regardless, the discord between the generals and the commanders will become a topic that all the media will be desperately hyping up. The already huge conflict will be further amplified by the media, and a vortex of public opinion will hang over Detroit.

The locker room couldn't possibly remain completely unaffected. Having seen too many similar incidents, Mike Brin could almost predict what would happen next.

"If the Detroit team can win the pivotal game, they will be invincible. But if they lose again, the media storm will completely erupt and kill them."

For Detroit and Carmelo Anthony, the next game is their last chance to preserve their dynasty.
-
The pivotal battle of Mount Auburn Hills will return to the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Inside the Pistons' locker room, Larry Brown, having finished drawing up a play, took off his glasses to wipe them clean.

"Kids, memorize those damn pick-and-roll points and running routes again."

Before the game started today, Larry Brown tried his best to keep his tone calm.

The players in the locker room did not have any further conflicts with him.

Both sides maintained the last shred of tacit understanding and decorum, preserving a fragile balance.

They all knew that the defeat at Tianwang Mountain would overshadow everything else.

When faced with a critical setback, all the pent-up frustrations of everyone will erupt.

That would completely ruin the team.

Mike Breen was right; this was the Detroit Pistons' last chance.

Although there's still a sixth race after losing the fifth, the Pistons, having lost the fifth, are like a car that malfunctions in an F1 race. Even if they manage to finish the race, they're unlikely to be winners.

The experienced Lenny Wilkens certainly knew this too; the Pistons were already internally divided. If they could just win this game, the dynasty would be nothing but a pipe dream for Detroit.

Of course, the Detroit Pistons will fight tooth and nail in this game. This is their home court, their last chance, and they will give it their all to hold onto the winning flame.

The Pistons players are like the defenders trapped in Stalingrad, and this will be the NBA version of the Battle of Stalingrad.

The game unfolded as Wilkens predicted, and the Knicks did not have a smooth first half.

The Detroit Pistons' defense was as excellent as ever, which was not surprising. What was surprising was that Rasheed Wallace broke the deadlock with his offense.

Today, Carmelo Anthony used a lot of off-ball movement to create scoring opportunities, repeatedly shaking off Michael Pietrus.

This forced Lynch to provide extensive defensive support.

Rasheed Wallace capitalized on the openings left by help defense, repeatedly attacking the Knicks' defense with jump shots.

Rasheed Wallace's accuracy was quite good tonight—he has never been an efficient offensive player in the playoffs. Since joining the Pistons, as an inside player, Rasheed Wallace has never shot 45% in the playoffs.

Unlike his toughness on the defensive end, on the offensive end he is more often used as a stretch power forward.

However, if given enough strong resistance and interference, his aim will become very poor.

His lack of offensive threat has been the reason why Lynch can freely provide numerous help defenses against Anthony.

But tonight, because Lin Qi was helping defend Melo more, and when the Celtics were in excellent form, he made full use of his technical strengths and seized most of the open jump shot opportunities.

Reggie Miller praised Anthony: "It's not the flashy weapons that win, but the courageous heart. In the last game, Melo's post-game actions gave Rasheed a courageous heart, and he knew his teammates were with him. So tonight, he was fearless, decisive, and every open jump shot was made with the determination to fight for the team, which led to his excellent performance."

Rumble is in excellent form tonight and needs to be closely guarded. But if Lynch doesn't actively help defend, Carmelo Anthony will kick Michael Pietrus's ass again.

The Knicks' defense is in a dilemma.

At halftime, the Detroit Pistons led by 6 points.

Carmelo Anthony had 13 points in the first half, while Rasheed Wallace had 15 points.

The Knicks' offense played quite well tonight, with nothing to improve, so the only key to their victory is to find a way to shut down the Pistons' frontcourt!
Lenny Wilkens made a decisive change, deciding to move Lynch to the small forward position.

"Linche, you'll play the three in the second half. Focus on defending Carmelo Anthony and shut him down! Amir, you'll play the four in the second half. Stick to Rasheed Wallace like a shadow! I want you to stick to him like a shadow and disrupt his shooting rhythm with physicality! As long as there's physicality, as long as you don't give him open looks, his offense will be very inefficient! Physicality, physicality, I want you to go all out against him!"

Amir Johnson was called upon to fill the void, and Lenny Wilkens had considered using Grant Hill or Ariza at the power forward position, but neither of them could provide a strong counter to the raging star.

Nazir Mohammed has already committed a lot of fouls today, so it's not appropriate to increase his playing time further.

So he decided to let Amir Johnson give it a try.

The young man was full of energy and showed no signs of fatigue so far. Although he lacked basketball IQ and game experience, he should be able to handle the task if his only objective was to guard Rasheed Wallace.

Amir Johnson looked confused: "You want me to guard him? Not punch him in the head?"

It's normal to feel confused, after all, he's never done this kind of work before.

“Defend him! That’s all you need to do!” Lenny Wilkens emphasized.

Lin Qi walked up and patted the rookie on the shoulder: "Just deal with it in the simplest and most direct way."

As the second half began, Pistons fans noticed that the Knicks had changed their lineup.

Looking at the young Amir Johnson, the Detroiters decided to destroy the rookie's confidence with words.

"Hey, what are you doing up here? Licking Rashid's dermatitis?"

"Why did the Knicks send in a useless player?"

"Why did these people pull out 'Humanity's Victory Cigars' so early?"

Amir Johnson was annoyed by these voices, but he remembered Lynch's words and dealt with them in a simple and direct way.

So, having only completed high school and lacking any real education, he turned around and roared, "Shut up, none of your penises are as big as mine!"

That's certainly simple and straightforward.

Lin Qi shook his head; this was the most utterly worthless trash talk he had ever heard.

Anthony smiled as he looked at Lynch, who had been moved to the small forward position.

"Is this your method? Ha, have you forgotten what happened last time when Mike Brown used LeBron to guard you? Star vs. star is the stupidest thing to do."

Lynch moved close to Anthony and started battling him even before receiving the ball.

"Going up against LeBron isn't a star versus star matchup, and it's the same when I go up against you. Also, you're such a jerk, why did you have to insult your own brother? I really feel sorry for LeBron."

The commentators also mentioned this point, referring to LBJ's failed strategy of defending Lynch one-on-one in the previous round.

James, who was watching TV, swallowed hard.

Although the competition had nothing to do with him, he still felt like he was about to lose face again.

(End of this chapter)