Who will be the role players now that everyone's been reborn?

"Stop struggling, I'll limit your score to single digits."

Your stellar performance of 28 points per game is now coming to an end!

On the court, Chen Dong and Calderon were passing to each other from the outside, but Ariza still skillfully circled around to defend him like Spider-Man, not giving Chen Dong an easy chance to escape his prey.

Haven't you heard?

Larry Brown will be joining the Knicks to take the helm as their head coach.

"What did you say?!"

Chen Dong didn't respond again; he called for a screen.

Bang-!

Hayes set a screen for Ariza, and David Lee, who switched out to defend, lunged at him menacingly. Ariza, after getting around Hayes, also charged forward aggressively at high speed. Chen Dong dribbled between his legs and took two or three steps back, playing like James, fighting and retreating. When he was three or four meters away from the three-point line, he pulled up the ball, jumped, and made a two-handed pass to Hayes, who had just rushed into the paint after the screen. Hayes caught the ball, took three steps, jumped up, blocked Channing Frye's help defense block with his left hand, and then slammed his right hand down the basket with great force.

Clang!

Hayes scored two points with a powerful dunk.

Chen Dong also received his third assist.

As he turned to defend, he didn't forget to answer Ariza's question, "Are you stupid?!"

Chauncey Billups once said that Milicic is unstoppable on the court and has unparalleled talent, and Larry Brown continues his tradition of not liking to use rookies.

Which year did you participate in the talent show?

"04!" Ariza blurted out.

Chen Dong said calmly, "That's settled then. You're still a rookie, and a second-round pick at that."

I bet Larry Brown won't give you much playing time after he brings his coaching talents to the Knicks.

"So, I'm no match for you. Our role players hurting each other will only benefit your team's three new first-round picks."

"Remember to drive and shoot when you need to on offense. Don't lose because you can't express your offensive skills." As soon as Chen Dong finished speaking, he immediately turned his back to Ariza and double-teamed Nate Robinson, who was driving hard to Calderon, like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey. Before Chen Dong could even get close, Nate Robinson swiftly passed the ball to Ariza, who was completely open on the left wing. The moment he received the ball, Chen Dong's words, "Don't lose because you can't express your offensive skills," were hitting him hard. Without hesitation, he received the ball, raised his hand, and launched a three-pointer.

As a result, with a loud clang, it struck the fine iron hard.

Off the court, coach Herb Williams, whose face was already dark, held back. "You have to be decisive when you shoot, but Trevor, focus on doing what you do best."

Ariza glanced expressionlessly at the coach on the sidelines, thinking to himself, "So, nobody thinks highly of my offense, believing that I'm only good at defense, and that offense is irrelevant to me."

"You just had a bit of bad luck, believe in yourself!"

I'll continue to create opportunities for you to use your phone later.

Don't be discouraged, there will be bread, and there will be goals.

Chen Dong promptly offered Ariza words of comfort, but the astute Ariza immediately realized this was an attempt to incite conflict. "I won't fall for your tricks again," he said.

"So you're willing to lose because you can't express your attack?"

"You want to be a good guy on the field?"

"..."

After the conversation on the court ended, Calderon was pressured by Nate Robinson's defense and chose to pass the ball to Chen Dong. Chen Dong caught the ball and immediately raised his head, pretending to shoot a three-pointer. Ariza came close but was not faked out, and opened his right hand and placed it in front of Chen Dong's eyes.

Unfazed by the faked shot, Chen Dong gathered the ball and made a quick step to the right. Ariza moved swiftly to the side, maintaining his defensive position. "I told you, here comes the one who's going to take your 28 points per game."

"If I were you, I wouldn't focus my energy on defense!"

Before Chen Dong finished speaking, he immediately passed the ball to Hayes, who was positioned high to facilitate. Chen Dong then cut inside the three-point line, received a pass from Hayes that resembled a wall pass, changed direction, drove to the free-throw line, and, with David Lee's help defense blocking the shot, launched a two-point jumper that pierced the heart of the ball.

Swish-!

The knife falls, the ball goes in.

Chen Dong finally, finally scored a point.

"Sorry, you've earned 2 points."

"You still have 8 points of defensive space." Chen Dong reminded Ariza, then continued sincerely, "You wait here, I'll be right back."

On the defensive possession, Chen Dong didn't hesitate and charged forward like a dragon, lunging at Nate Robinson who was dribbling the ball. Even with this kind of treatment from a top star, Robinson still couldn't break through. He chose to pass the ball. His breakthrough was unstoppable, but his shooting was inconsistent. He could shoot, but he couldn't kill the game. At this point, passing was the most reasonable choice.

Ariza then received the ball again, and taking advantage of the moment when Chen Dong turned back to defend and hadn't returned, Ariza chose to dribble and drive inside.

As Lu Xun once said, the closer you are to the basket, the higher your shooting percentage.

Of course, that refers to the situation where Ariza drove to the basket for a layup, but was blocked by a double-team from Hayes and Pat Burke.

The ball bounced off the rim after hitting the metal, but Chen Dong caught it and launched a counterattack. Before Nate Robinson could steal the ball, he passed it to Calderon. Calderon saw Nate Robinson lunging at him like Forrest Gump, and the ball was passed back to Chen Dong. Chen Dong dribbled to the basket and, instead of using a sliding tackle dunk like an aristocrat, he made a simple layup and put the ball in.

Swish-!

Despite having zero chances, Chen Dong didn't hesitate to score.

Passing by Ariza, he continued to remind him, "You still have 6 points of defensive space."

After saying that, Chen Dong continued to resolutely implement the double-team tactic. The Knicks fielded a one-star-four-shooter strategy. As long as they shut down Nate Robinson, the "one-star" in terms of tactics, the Suns would have won half the battle. The other half, of course, was that the "four shooters" failed to make those damn shots.

Even a prime LeBron James couldn't withstand a single successful shot.

The reason why #24 vs. #23 has never happened in the Finals is because the Magic's shooters made those shots.

This is also why Chen Dong provoked, or rather, advised Ariza, "Don't lose because you can't express your offensive statistics."

You're already being called "Iron Man" by people, I bet you won't be able to shoot until you can pierce your opponent from the three-point line.

In fact, Ariza couldn't handle two-pointers either. In the 04/05 season, when he played a driving style of play, his field goal percentage was only 44.2%, and he almost dared not shoot three-pointers because his three-point percentage was a paltry 23%.

If you don't show your true skills, others won't know you don't have them. That's why Ariza later had the amazing performance of going two consecutive seasons without making a single three-pointer, and that was in his third and fourth years in the NBA.

The reason he can still stay in the league is because his top-notch physical talent is simply obvious to the naked eye. If he is willing to fight on defense, he can show terrifying defensive fighting power, and he is known as "McGrady".

Yes, McGrady also started out playing defense.

During the first quarter, Chen Dong frequently created offensive opportunities for Ariza on defensive possessions.

As a result, Ariza was ineffective, making only 1 of 5 shots, scoring 3 points, 0 assists, and 1 rebound. His offense failed to work, while Chen Dong's counter-attack offense was booming. Even when set up in a half-court situation, Chen Dong was relentlessly guarded by Ariza. After calling for pick-and-rolls, he either drove, passed, or shot, playing more and more smoothly. He scored 6 points, 6 assists, and 2 rebounds, leading the Knicks to a 31-25 lead at the end of the first quarter, establishing a 6-point advantage.