Champion Rules

Chapter 98, 094: Only Black People Understand Black People (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

The history of San Antonio is filled with the legends of its backdrops.

From the Admiral to Tim Duncan, two generations of Spurs leaders exemplify the highest level of global backdrop manufacturing.

It's hard to imagine how many memorable moments the NBA would have lost in the 90s without The Admiral.

Tim Duncan then took up the mantle of the general, contributing his own strength to the creation of iconic basketball moments in the 21st century.

During the live television broadcast, Lynch's dreamlike waltz in the paint was presented in slow motion from multiple angles for fans around the world to enjoy.

Lynch's movements combine power and elegance. Most importantly, his series of complex and varied steps are very clean, without any hint of traveling.

This visual feast has added a magical touch to the reputation of Hakeem Olajuwon's training camp. The former championship center is now known as the "Dean of the Magic Academy of the Inside" in people's hearts. It seems that any talented rough gem can shine brightly after being guided by his fingertips.

Look at Lynch last season, who only knew how to attack the basket like a beast, and look at Lynch who just toyed with the Stone Buddha.

It's hard to believe this is the same person.

The Los Angeles Lakers, with their keen sense of opportunity, have already called Hakeem Olajuwon's cell phone.

If Hakeem Olajuwon can teach Andrew Bynum, the young center the Lakers drafted this year, similar footwork, then the Lakers will soon have the next OK combination!

LeBron James and Dwight Howard thought the same thing, and the two prodigies began searching for the registration method for Hakeem Olajuwon's training camp with the same devotion as medieval knights searching for the Holy Grail.

They are so eager to improve.

Hakeem Olajuwon hung up the phone from the Lakers, grinning from ear to ear, his smile as radiant as when he won his first championship in 1994.

For a superstar like Hakeem Olajuwon, money is a minor matter; status is the key.

In most cases, a star player's status in the industry declines year by year after retirement.

Just five years ago, Karl Malone was still considered one of the best power forwards in the league.

But now? He can only be mentioned in Carmelo Anthony's trash talk.

The higher people stand, the harder it is for them to accept the fact that they are gradually being forgotten.

Hakeem Olajuwon, meanwhile, is undoubtedly establishing a new dynasty in the field of education and consolidating his position in the industry.

At this moment, Hakeem Olajuwon was unaware that behind the incessant ringing of the telephone lay a series of nightmares about to unfold.

Not everyone is like Lynch, able to become an excellent student.

He'll understand when his blood pressure exceeds his height.

As the game entered a timeout, Popovich looked at Duncan, whose brow was furrowed, and realized that the Spurs were facing a real crisis tonight.

Because throughout the entire season, you rarely see a similar expression on this number 21.

What is number 21 thinking?
Perhaps they were marveling at the terrifying strength of this generation of star players.

In last season's Finals, Carmelo Anthony, only in his second year, shone brightly, helping the Pistons secure a close victory and making the Spurs the biggest loser.

This season, second-year player Lynch has taken the New York Knicks to another level.

If last season the Knicks were merely a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference, this season, no one can deny that they are now a championship contender.

The stars from the 03 and 04 draft classes have only just entered the league, yet they have already begun to influence the league's landscape.

Kobe, Kidd, Nash, Dirk, and Garnett, who entered the league in the 90s, are still at their peak, while stars who entered the league in the 00s are already eager to make it.

He's living in the era of the league's most explosive talent!
Number 21 knew all too well that winning the championship under such circumstances would be an extremely difficult task.

But Tim Duncan was not intimidated. When the buzzer sounded to signal the end of the timeout and Duncan pulled off his towel, Popovich saw in his eyes the burning light of his heroics in 2003.

This may be the destiny of great players—to bear the pain of being stepped on by younger generations to reach the top, and to forge an even more brilliant flame in the cracks of time.

Truly great players get excited in a highly competitive environment and then rise to the challenge.

Instead of feeling cowardly and then running away in a sorry state.

The game continued, and Tim Duncan stood on the edge of the paint, ready to post up immediately.

The moment he received Parker's bounce pass, the entire ATT Center erupted in a thunderous roar of battle cries—a triumphant counterattack by the Western Conference champions.

This historic power forward, with the precision of a precision instrument, dropped his shoulder and exerted force, instantly displacing Kurt Thomas from his defensive position.

But as he turned to complete his signature 45-degree bank shot, Lynch flashed in from the weak side to help defend, disrupting the Stone Buddha's shot.

"Bang!" The sound of the rim vibrating made the hearts of 20,000 home fans skip a beat. Duncan stared at the basketball bouncing off the rim and let out a low growl of frustration.

The rookie he once tricked with "Nice try" is now loudly proclaiming the changing of the times.

Lynch maintained the same bloodlust he had at the start of the game. The trash talk that had just broken Duncan's defenses pleased Lynch, but he was far from reaching his climax.

He worked incredibly hard on defense and then continued to shine on offense.

After Cassell missed his shot, Lynch grabbed the offensive rebound, and Duncan stood in the perfect position with his arms raised to prevent Lynch from going for a second-chance opportunity.

But Lynch didn't do that. He dribbled with both hands and then made a hook shot after a half-turn, making the difference 13 points.

He is very different from last season.

“Welcome to the new era, Tim,” Lynch shouted, pointing at Poker Face.

"He grabs offensive rebounds like a beast and then elegantly scores with a hook shot. Lynch is like a hybrid demon king with Moses Malone as his base and all sorts of other skills added on!" ESPN commentator Mike Breen keenly observed this.

The cheers at the ATT Center have died down, and this won't be the first time Lynch has silenced them tonight.

Excellent defense, coupled with Ginobili's absence, completely stifled the Spurs' offense.

The Spurs' defense was certainly at a high level, but an 11-point deficit cannot be erased by defense or offense alone.

To catch up, you must be highly efficient on both offense and defense for a period of time.

After the first quarter, the Spurs were still down by 12 points.

At the start of the second quarter, fans at the ATT Center cheered as they welcomed back Manu Ginobili.

But Lynch silenced the Spurs fans once again with his third block of the game, swatting away Ginobili's first offensive play after his return!
He broke into the restricted area with unpredictable movements, but still couldn't escape Lynch's gaze.

Excellent defense caused Lynch's mid-range and long-range shooting touch to decline, and his accuracy began to waver, but Eddie Jones and Stephon Marbury stepped up.

They capitalized on Lynch's ability to draw defenders, hitting several mid-range jump shots.

That championship basketball, whose name was inscribed on it by everyone, not only inspired Grant Hill, but also planted a seed in everyone's heart.

After the second quarter, the Spurs were down by 17 points, and the dome of the ATT Center seemed to be weighed down by a massive cloud of lead.

Their situation is just as bad as the Dallas Mavericks' a few days ago.

Mike Breen found it strange: "It's like the Knicks all go into overdrive whenever they face a Texas team."

You could call it a retaliatory act.

Last season, the Knicks had a terrible record against Texas teams, so this season they are always able to bring their best performance to the Texas teams.

In the second half, Ginobili's outburst helped the Spurs close the gap to 6 points.

But as Lynch said, as long as the gap is big enough, even if Ginobili has a breakout performance, the Spurs can't make up for it.

With a steady and methodical approach, the Knicks widened their lead to 11 points by the end of the third quarter.

The truly fatal turning point came in the fourth quarter, when Lenny Wilkens almost became Doc Rivers, making a decision that nearly led to a Knicks comeback.

He fielded the same one-star, four-shooter future lineup he used against the Mavericks, hoping to use Lynch's ability to draw double teams and take down the Spurs in one go.

As a result, the Knicks' three-point shooting was terrible in the fourth quarter. Their perimeter shooters did get opportunities, but simply couldn't make them. This was, after all, an era before the No Handcheck rule was implemented; excessive physicality made it difficult for players to maintain their shooting touch. Furthermore, with defenders having access to the defense, the space for long-range shots wasn't as great.

Fortunately, Lenny Wilkens cut his losses in time, allowing this lineup to appear for only three minutes before switching back to the traditional playstyle.

As it turns out, discussing tactics without considering the rules is the dumbest thing you can do in the world.

You can't create brilliance in the dark defensive era using the methods of the small-ball era.

In the dark era of defense, three-point lineups are not the ultimate answer to winning; they can only be used as a gamble in certain specific moments.

The Spurs narrowed the gap to 5 points, and cheers erupted again in the ATT Center.

But what San Antonio fans don't know is that this was their closest chance to victory tonight.

In the following games, Lynch continued to solidify his interior defense and control Duncan's output, while his occasional performances under the basket slowly widened the score gap.

With 47 seconds left in the game, Lynch used a spin move to get past Nestenovic. Facing Duncan's help defense, Lynch used his exceptional body control to suddenly interrupt the move, making a half spin in the opposite direction and then scoring with a close-range fadeaway jump shot.

The cheers at the ATT Center fell silent again because of Lynch.

This shot put Neukölln back in the lead by 11 points, effectively ending any suspense.

Lynch scored his 34th point of the game, showcasing all his skills under the basket against the formidable Duncan.

Mike Brin's roar summed up Lynch's perfect performance in the game: "Too big, too strong, too fast, too good!"

From KG to Duncan, these two biggest nemesis of Lynch last season have both been thoroughly defeated by Lynch this season.

They could no longer completely crush him.

The buzzer sounded in the ATT Center as the New York Knicks crushed the San Antonio Spurs 97-89 on the road. Lynch finally broke his career losing streak against the Spurs, with a spectacular stat line of 34 points and 13 rebounds, marking a complete breakthrough in overcoming the "Stone Buddha's shadow".

When the game ended, Sam Presti stood up from the sofa and cheered.

RC. Buford looked displeased, because there was now another competitor for the championship.

At the post-match press conference, Popovich also spoke frankly to reporters.

"What are the Knicks' prospects this season? I can only say that I wouldn't be surprised at all if they made it to the Finals this year."

Meanwhile, at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

The Detroit Pistons just defeated the Miami Heat by a large margin.

The Miami Heat's Game 7 loss to the Knicks last season was heartbreaking for all South Coast fans.

They all agreed that the Heat clearly had the ability to contend for the championship. If it weren't for Jamal Crawford's sudden outburst just an hour before the game, the Heat could definitely have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

If the Heat and the Pistons were to meet, the Pistons would have no chance at all.

Yes, the word "if" often carries all the beautiful fantasies.

If only I had studied harder back then.

If only I had listened to my parents.

If I really had 20 centimeters
However, the fact that they lost both of their matches against the Pistons this season makes this "what if" increasingly unlikely.

At the same time, this game also made the Detroit Pistons' path to a dynasty look brighter.

They have remained undefeated against strong teams such as the Heat, Spurs, Mavericks, and Suns this season.

The only championship contender who caused them to suffer was the New York Knicks.

At the post-game press conference, the media kept asking Anthony about the New York Knicks.

"Melo, the Knicks beat the Spurs tonight, and Lynch held his own against Tim Duncan. What are your thoughts on that?"

Carmelo Anthony, who had been smiling, suddenly turned grim. In the past, he would have congratulated Lynch, but now he just yelled, "I don't want to answer questions that have nothing to do with this game!"

"But this has to do with you. You once said that Lynch could never defeat Tim as spectacularly as you did. Have you forgotten? But tonight, I have to say, Lynch played exceptionally well, both in terms of the game and the statistics."

“That’s none of my business. It doesn’t matter who he’s beaten. I just need to make sure he can’t beat us.”

"Do you really think you can win again if you meet in the playoffs again this season? Many people believe that the Knicks are now a true championship contender."

"There's a big difference between a title contender and a true defending champion," Carmelo Anthony replied curtly.

"So, can you average over 16 points per game against the Knicks this season?"

This question hits Carmelo Anthony's sore spot perfectly. In the games against the Knicks, Anthony has never had a game where his stats and efficiency are respectable.

If Anthony could dodge the previous question, this one left him speechless.

He didn't want to continue the interview, so he glanced at the press officer.

The Pistons' press officer immediately announced that today's press conference was over.

On his way back to the locker room, Carmelo Anthony clenched his fists tightly.

Less than two months into the season, his superstar aura has already begun to crack.

More and more people began to ridicule him, more and more people thought Lynch could win a championship, and more and more people did not believe that the Pistons could build a dynasty.

He returned to the locker room and glanced at the game schedule.

Yes, the next game is against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Fortunately, Melo can use Cleveland's chosen one to cool down.

LeBron James will have to suffer for now until he meets Lynch again.

But Anthony vowed that the next time he faces the Knicks, he will dominate!

He will not become the next tragic smiling assassin.

He wants to be Michael Jordan wearing a Pistons jersey.

Two days later, Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points in a game against the Cavaliers, and the Pistons won by 7 points.

LeBron James hugged Carmelo Anthony after the game: "Well done, Melo."

Anthony patted James on the back and said, "You guys just had a bit of bad luck."

“Hey, don’t pay attention to what the media is saying, they’re just trying to pick a fight. You know, people like us are bound to get harassed by the media. Lynch is no match for you, he has nothing, while you already have two championships.”

"Thank you for saying that to LeBron, and I wish you all the best this season."

Anthony suddenly realized that the smooth-talking LeBron James wasn't so bad after all.

This guy, who has been his rival since high school, truly understands him.

Indeed, only Black people understand Black people.

That number 23 was so kind, so easy to get along with, and so humble.

This even made Anthony feel like an animal, having actually thought about venting his anger on LBJ just two days ago.

How could I do this? He's clearly a good person.

If one day in the future, Carmelo Anthony can choose his teammates.

Then his "first pick" will definitely be LeBron James.

Who wouldn't want to be partners with such a sincere guy?

(End of this chapter)