Champion Rules

Chapter 88, 084: The Future Champion (Seeking monthly votes!)
Fans are already eagerly anticipating the new season.

The NBA during David Stern's era was always full of epic narratives, with each era having its own brilliant chapters.

From the fateful duel between the two giants to Jordan's reign as "God incarnate," from the love-hate relationship between the OK combination to Duncan's debut at his peak, it's like an epic, with heroes carving legends on the gilded floor with their flesh and blood.

This is completely different from the "god-making" strategy of the Adam Silver era, which ignored the essence of competition and forcibly boosted data.

As it turns out, forcibly creating a new god cannot create a new god. The NBA under Adam Silver can only ever focus on LeBron James, Curry, and Durant. When these three also fade from the historical stage, the great decline of the entire NBA is inevitable.

What fans need is a real, exciting rivalry storyline.

Now, David Stern's script is undoubtedly centered on Cameron Anthony.

A super rookie who was able to establish a dynasty in the first three years of his career has become an important part of this epic.

Of course, the narrative power in the world of basketball never belongs to a single protagonist.
Everyone knows that if someone can break the Detroit Pistons' dominance next season, the entire storyline and the protagonists that the story focuses on will change.

Dwyane Wade, Lynch, and Carmelo Anthony all have a chance to dominate this era.

The alliance's structure is like a suspense movie, with every twist and turn potentially leading to a disruptive outcome.

The steel torrent of Detroit, the phoenix-like rebirth of New York, and the lightning of Miami's South Shore are together composing the most enigmatic chapter of this era.

Carmelo Anthony's declaration that "being Karl Malone wouldn't be so bad" kicked off the new season.

Karl Malone tried hard to appear indifferent during the interview:
"Talk about Carmelo Anthony? Why? He's just Carmelo Anthony, what more do I need to say? Do you expect me to fawn over him like the media? He's a great guy, but so am I. The Detroit Pistons won the championship, not Melo."

As one of the league's most renowned superstars, Karl Malone certainly didn't want to be humiliated by someone who had only been in the league for two years.

He tried to appear nonchalant, but the resentment in his eyes betrayed him, revealing the deep regret of never winning a championship.

He must be thinking that if he had a damn championship, even just one, he wouldn't have ended up like this.

But in any case, Karl Malone could no longer change anything.

His professional career is over, and he can only accept the outcome of never winning a title.

No matter how unhappy he was, he could only keep it to himself.

While watching an interview with Karl Malone at home, Lynch actually felt a pang of sympathy for this villain who had killed countless people.

But that's competitive sports. When people want to celebrate the greatness of a winner, the best way is to use the losers as stepping stones.

Just like 20 years later, in the documentary about Michael Jordan's "The Last Dance", the production team brought those old guys who were defeated by Jordan back then in front of the camera and licked Jordan's boots again.

Those legends that Jordan trampled underfoot eventually became gilded ornaments inlaid under the throne.

This is the fate of losers.

Lynch must stop Carmelo Anthony next season, or ten or twenty years from now, he will be publicly executed on camera like Karl Malone.

This is a goal that cannot be missed, and it can only be accomplished by Lynch himself.

Sharks? Unreliable.

Dirk? Even less reliable.

Someone who's smiling so brightly? No respectable person would get a technical foul for smiling.

After finishing training at the end of August, Lynch began a recovery period to build up his physical fitness for the new season.

During this period, he tried not to think about basketball or do any training; he just relaxed.

The whole of New York entered the final calm before the storm.

This rare period of calm was prematurely shattered by the arrival of Carmelo Anthony.

Two weeks before the start of the new season's training camp, AJ held a launch event in New York for Carmelo Anthony's new shoes.

AJ's choice to hold this event in New York is, in a way, a signal of challenge to Reebok and Lynch, who dominate New York.

After the press conference, Cameron Anthony drove to Lin Restaurant—now one of the hardest restaurants in New York to get a reservation at.

In New York, if an office worker can book a table at Lin's restaurant on the weekend and take his female colleague, whom he admires, out for abalone, he will have the opportunity to eat truly delicious abalone that evening.

Anthony walked into the store and hugged the restaurant owner, Wu Lan.

Under the flashing lights of the reporters, Lin Qi walked out of the kitchen and brought out several dishes.

This exposure is undoubtedly a powerful publicity for the restaurant, something Anthony and Lynch had already discussed beforehand.

As a friend, he wouldn't mind helping Lynch promote his restaurant.

The two sat down to eat, the reporters were cleared out, and Melon was finally able to share some heartfelt words with Lynch.

"I'm sorry, Lynch. If Karl Malone's analogy offended you, I apologize. I just acted impulsively and didn't think it through."

"Child, eat more." Wu Lan put a piece of fatty meat on An Gua's plate.

Angua nodded his thanks, then continued looking at Lin Qi: "Hey, you're not really angry, are you?"

Lynch shrugged: "I'm not Shaq, and soon your words will become nonsense, in the very first game of the new season."

One of the opening games of the new season is the Detroit Pistons vs. the New York Knicks.

Just as Anthony was about to say something, Wu Lan put more food on his plate: "Kid, eat more."

"Thank you, Ms. Wu. Lynch, you bastard, do you really want to ruin my championship ring night? Just like you dumped Megan Fox?"

"You take your ring, I take my victory, we each get what we want. I'll congratulate you, but that won't stop me from defeating you."

"Ha, you bastard, you really did avoid the topic of Megan Fox! Oh well, even if you do win, it's better than being defeated by some other bastard." Angua lowered his head to eat, only to find that his bowl was piled high with meat. He looked up in confusion and saw Wu Lan smiling kindly: "Child, eat more."

Eat more, it's good! Eat more and you'll get so fat you won't be able to run or jump next season!
Carmelo Anthony left clutching his stomach, clearly overeating.

Before leaving, he hugged Lynch at the restaurant entrance and whispered his lips in Lynch's ear.

"As I just said, I'd rather lose to you on championship ring night than to anyone else; that would be the perfect opening game matchup."

But friend, you'd better not get your hopes up too high. You're not Karl Malone, because Karl Malone and MJ weren't exactly friends. But even Charles Barkley couldn't ruin MJ's story.

“Melo, do you know what level of performance MJ gave that dominated Charles? That’s something you could never do.”

"Some people said last season that winning two championships in a row was something I could never do. By the way, your mom's cooking is really great, please thank her for me."

Anthony left with his signature sweet smile, and Lynch watched the car drive away under the flashing lights.

"Looks like that bastard had a great time eating here, but I guarantee he'll have a completely different expression next time we meet," Lin told the sea of ​​reporters in front of him without any hesitation.

There was never any need for feigned politeness between them.

Carmelo Anthony's trip to New York served as a warm-up for the new season, with the opening game becoming the most talked-about topic.

For fans, the new season's training camp is like an eternity; they suffer even more than the players who are actually training.

Can the strengthened Knicks and the improved Lynch really upset the Pistons? It's like a veil, keeping everyone on the edge of their seats.

Compared to the growing pains of last season, this year's Knicks preseason training camp was remarkably smooth, with a surprisingly harmonious locker room atmosphere.

If we had to pinpoint a sweet problem, it would undoubtedly be the "visual pollution" created by the alien Kassel.

Stephon Marbury is vividly recreating the scene of his contamination on camera:

"That day I was enjoying the hot water in the shower with my eyes closed when I suddenly heard someone say, 'Brother, can I borrow a bottle of shampoo?' from the next stall."

Can you imagine? When you open your eyes amidst the steam, Sam Cassel's sharply defined face suddenly emerges from the mist.

Fuck, I swear, I almost fainted! I was still having nightmares when I got home that night!

The burst of laughter from the press section froze abruptly the next second—Sam Cassell nimbly climbed onto Marbury's back, his withered fingers pinching his teammate's cheek with a sneer: "Little bastard, do you need me to help you remember who scared you into throwing shower gel in my face?"

This scene, comparable to a B-movie horror film, plunged everyone present into an eerie silence. Stephon Marbury looked like a pitiful creature caught by a monster.

Cassell looked so intimidating in public; God knows what the Knicks players went through in the locker room.

But this shocking scene, which left the reporters speechless, precisely illustrates how close-knit the Knicks' locker room has been this season.

Sam Cassell is serving as Stephon Marbury's backup for the New York Knicks this season, but judging from their interactions, the guy who was used as a star player for the Timberwolves doesn't seem to care about being a substitute and accepts the role change with ease.

This season, the Knicks don't have Isiah Thomas causing trouble.

There was no cutthroat competition among players for starting positions.

Unlike last season's Stephon Marbury, who seemed lost and aimless.

Stephon Marbury repeatedly pondered his obsession with bringing a championship to his hometown.

When Grant Hill talked about fulfilling his ultimate dream with the Knicks.

Trevor Ariza shouted that he and his team would not lose again.

Jamal Crawford talks about his trust in his teammates.

A kind of invisible champion gene is quietly awakening under the dome of Madison Square Garden.

It's worth noting that at this time last season, Marbury was embroiled in trade rumors, and Isaiah Thomas was demanding that Jamal Crawford start.

This season, everything went very smoothly from the start. This season, Lynch only needed to focus on one thing—winning.

This gave Lin Qi a lingering feeling.

He felt that the team's window of opportunity to win the championship had completely opened.

In the preseason, the Knicks defeated all their opponents with a perfect record.

On October 30, the entire Knicks team boarded a flight to Motor City, ready to begin their new journey in the first game.

Looking at the clouds outside the window, images of being eliminated by the Pistons six months ago flashed through Lynch's mind.

He closed his eyes, then opened them again. The image disappeared, replaced only by longing.

All the efforts of this summer will soon shine in front of the steel defenses of the Motor City.

In the afternoon, the Knicks arrived in Detroit.

Lynch stood up as the plane taxied.

"Here we come, guys. We're the New York Knicks. Or you can call yourselves future champions."

"Our primary goal is to defeat the current champions!" Marbury roared, pumping his fist.

Everyone had a sly smile on their face.

They want to take everything from the current champion.

(Thanks to Kissmyarse, 走走烟云岁月, 书友20241008135619500, 天竺猫, and other generous donors! I am deeply grateful!)

(End of this chapter)