Champions Creed

Chapter 410 409: He is the champion creed itself (asking for monthly tickets!)
Tracy McGrady showed off his outstanding personal abilities in the first quarter.

In this timeline, Roger witnessed T-Mac's growth from his rookie period and gained a new understanding of his abilities.

The guy with the girl's name was stronger than Roger thought.

As a striker with a real height of about 206 cm, McGrady is definitely a man blessed by God. His ability to combine man and ball is perfect, which allows him to use the height of a striker to perform the technical movements of a guard at will.

He has a full set of offensive skills, as well as team awareness and defensive awareness. He has amazing athletic ability and a soft touch.

From a pure strength perspective, McGrady is definitely one of the top ten players this season.

But God doesn't like to create perfect people.

There are also some loopholes in McGrady that God deliberately left.

For example, congenital scoliosis makes McGrady's attendance rate always unstable, limiting the upper limit of his achievements.

Another example is his weak stamina, which means he can only choose between defense and offense. What's more fatal is that if McGrady consumes too much energy on the offensive end in the first three quarters, his level will plummet in the fourth quarter.

An exaggerated statistic is that McGrady's average hit rate in the fourth quarter of his career is only 34%. If we go into the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, McGrady's hit rate is only 28.6%, his three-point hit rate is only 10.5%, and even his free throw hit rate is only 47.1%.

35 points in 13 seconds is the greatest performance of McGrady's career, but the irony is that most of the time he is very weak in the fourth quarter.

The inability to dominate the fourth quarter is the key to T-Mac's career not being able to make a breakthrough.

Those who often participate in confrontational sports know that the final sprint often determines the final quality of this exercise. If you become weak early in the final sprint, all the previous efforts will be in vain.

And now, the Warriors have to do just that, relying on defense to wear down McGrady in the first three quarters.

With poor three-point shooting, the Warriors could only rely on defense to drag down the Son of Orlando.

But Brian Hill, the Magic's meritorious head coach who once established the Orlando dynasty with the strongest duo in history, played a trick of Tian Ji's horse racing with Spoelstra.

He replaced McGrady in the fifth minute of the first quarter and let him rest for a while, which led to McGrady's energetic goal just now.

Now Roger is leaving the court, and McGrady will definitely continue to play until the end of the first quarter.

Therefore, the task of consuming McGrady must be handed over to others.

At all times, the Warriors' defense must be at full strength in order to achieve the goal of wearing down the opponent in the first three quarters.

As a member of the back line, Gary Payton, although not directly facing McGrady, is also responsible for consuming McGrady.

He must lock down Byron Davis so that he can force McGrady to constantly exhaust himself.

Well, the former point guard DPOY, the defensive player who fought with Jordan and Roger, has become a guy who is considered successful as long as he can barely defend Baron Davis.

This is indeed a bit sad.

But this is what you need to accept if you choose to continue fighting when you are old, which is why Roger is paranoid about leaving an insurmountable back. He really doesn't want to go through such a tragic period.

The timeout ended, and Roger stared at the back of Gary Payton, the defeated opponent who had never beaten him.

He had no expectations for the old guy, but his trash talk just now made Roger inexplicably expect something.

The game started again, Tracy McGrady ran across half court, head held high and looking down on everything. In his opinion, the Warriors' transition lineup was simply vulnerable.

But Byron Davis did not pass the ball. Instead, he waved his hand, indicating that he wanted to play one-on-one.

Conquering the weak is almost in the genes of every male. Seeing Gary Payton standing in front of him, the strong and fast Baron Davis became excited.

McGrady had no problem with Baron Davis' choice. For many years, McGrady didn't have a No. 2 player to help him handle the ball. So he could only burn himself out in the first three quarters and then become meat on the chopping board in the fourth quarter.

This season he and Baron Davis have worked very happily together. He really needs someone like the first generation of Beard who can help him handle the ball and give him a few breathers.

Gary Payton lowered his center of gravity, and he must not be exploded at this point. If Baron Davis played too smoothly, McGrady would get some rest time.

Only by defending Byron Davis can McGrady be forced to continue to exert his strength.

Baron Davis used an exaggerated crossover to break through Payton. As a street player, the bearded man's moves were very entertaining. He and McGrady may not be the strongest duo in the league, but they are definitely qualified for the "Best Playing Combination Award".

Payton's lateral speed has seriously deteriorated. He can only use small movements to grab Baron Davis's jersey to stop him from sprinting, and then try to catch up as much as possible.

But after the confrontation, Byron Davis still knocked Payton away.

As a 191cm point guard, Baron Davis weighs 97kg, which gives him an ability to fight against defenders without losing out. In fact, you can think of him as a poor man's Gilbert Arenas.

His playing style and tactics are similar to those of the general, but his hit rate in all areas is not as good as that of the general.

Roger knows what it feels like to be hit by such a tanky guard. Last season, he was hit by Kobe who had gained a lot of weight and had his ribs broken.

Fighting against someone who is heavier than you requires not only skill, but also determination and courage.

And that's exactly what's been disappearing from Gary Payton.

So far this season, Roger has never seen him give his all on defense.

But tonight, Gary Payton turned around. After being pushed away, he gritted his teeth and rushed forward again, using his long arms to interfere with Byron Davis' jump shot.

This interference had a huge impact on Byron Davis. The reason why he became the point guard DPOY was because he has a height of 193 cm and a wingspan of 203 cm. He is like a Spider-Man on the back line.

Baron Davis is 191 cm tall, but his wingspan exceeds 195 cm. Such a talent is rare in the NBA.

Therefore, his jump shot is very easy to be interfered, which is also the main reason why his efficiency is far less than Arenas.

"boom!"

"Fuck!" Byron Davis, who originally wanted to pick on the weak, was disappointed with this failure.

Gary Payton immediately became interested: "Is your bowel movement normal?"

"Watt?" Byron Davis didn't know what Payton was talking about.

"There's only one way a piece of trash like you can earn tens of millions a year, and that's because your boss got you dermatitis. I never thought you could do a secretary's job while playing basketball."

Byron Davis was so angry that his veins popped out. If trash talk is considered part of defense, then Gary Payton's threat in this regard is obviously greater than his wingspan.

The score difference was still 1 point, and the Magic did not seize the opportunity of Roger going off the court to overtake.

But in the next attack, the Warriors missed another three-pointer and failed to expand their advantage.

However, as long as the defense can hold up, the Warriors don't have to worry about being defeated.

This time when the Magic attacked, the ball was given to McGrady.

Baron Davis is an offensive point guard, but he is still a point guard at heart.

He will take over the game when he is in great form, but if he is not in good form, he will not act recklessly.

The trash talk just now really made the Bearded Man mad, but his anger level had not yet reached the critical point for him to fight to the death with Payton.

He simply fed the ball to McGrady who was cutting out, and McGrady waved his hands, calling Howard for a screen and preparing to launch an attack from the side.

McGrady is not obsessed with one-on-ones like AI and Kobe. He is a person who really likes to initiate offense with screens.

But Matt Barnes did not let McGrady get an easy chance. He fought fiercely with McGrady and tried to steal the ball. Normally, it would be difficult for a 206-centimeter striker to keep control of the ball under the pressure of Matt Barnes.

But McGrady used a beautiful and timely change of direction to pass Matt Barnes the moment Matt Barnes made his move. The whole action was extremely smooth and fluent. McGrady always kept his center of gravity very low when dribbling. Coupled with his long legs, he could basically pass all defenders in one step, which was both gorgeous and practical.

People say that McGrady is as entertaining as Penny, Roger's arch-rival in the early days of his career. Indeed, Penny's playing style is both entertaining and elegant.

But Penny is just over 200 cm tall, while McGrady is almost as tall as a power forward. It is incredible that he can play like Penny.

McGrady broke through Matt Barnes, but just as he was about to shoot, Gary Payton came up to assist in time and appeared in his field of vision.

This old guy smelled danger with his keen sense of nose. As a veteran, his speed may have slowed down, but his understanding of the game is still profound.

Seeing this, McGrady stopped suddenly and performed his signature pull-up jump shot against Gary Payton.

His gloves tried their best to block the shot, and he seemed to be 10 years younger on the court today, completely different from his previous state.

Unfortunately, even though Gary Payton blocked his face, McGrady's pull-up shot still made it, and the Magic overtook by 1 point.

The ball still went in, but Eric Spoelstra was not angry.

Gary Payton's attitude deserves recognition. You can't expect the Warriors to completely strangle McGrady with the transition lineup. As long as you can make McGrady uncomfortable, it can be considered a successful defense.

Payton twisted his mouth, but his enthusiasm did not diminish because of this failed defense, and he was not depressed like in the previous games.

He quickly directed the team's offense and passed the ball after crossing half court without challenging the opponent one-on-one.

And one round later, he was still active, defending like a blue-collar worker.

All signs indicate that Gary Payton is adapting to his current role.

He began to really humble himself and try to be a substitute player.

This time, as soon as McGrady received the ball, he was double-teamed by Matt Barnes and Gary Payton, so he could only pass the ball to Byron Davis during the double-team.

The latter didn't have a good three-point shooting touch today, so he broke through with the ball, but bumped into Payton who was returning and standing still.

The strong Byron Davis knocked Gary Payton out directly, and he slid several meters away on the floor.

The referee immediately blew the whistle, indicating an exchange of ball possession, and gave Byron Davis an offensive foul!
"Excellent defense," Doug Collins, who was commentating on the game, felt like he was back in the 90s. "How long has it been since we saw Gary Payton make his opponent so angry that he yelled at the referee?"

Payton stood up with a smile and pointed at his head towards Byron Davis: "Your mother got pregnant with you because she squeezed too tightly. I didn't expect that she squeezed too tightly when she gave birth to you, and broke your head."

This is the second time tonight that Gary Payton has trash-talked Baron Davis.

This is Gary Payton's style of trash talking, very direct, truly interpreting what "trash" means.

The anger in Byron Davis' heart was burning fiercely and was beginning to get to the point of getting out of control.

The Bearded Man is a gangster-like guy. In fact, if Roger hadn't changed the timeline, he would have been a member of the Golden State Gang.

Facing such trash talk, Baron Davis would not give up. After the ball was exchanged, when Gary Payton approached the midfield line, he was violently knocked out of the sideline by Baron Davis.

The bearded man did it on purpose. He wanted to teach Gary Payton a lesson.

Throughout the history of the NBA, probably only Gary Payton and Chris Paul would be hated until the end of their careers.

Byron Davis walked up to Payton and yelled angrily: "Want to try again? Bastard! Shut up!" But Gary Payton didn't care at all, and even sat on the ground and clapped: "I really want to try it again, but it's a pity that your coach probably won't allow you, a loser who only knows how to foul, to continue doing this."

Sure enough, Brian Hill was yelling at the court: "Damn it, don't foul so easily, we are giving the opponent an easy chance to score! You have already fouled twice, do you want to be sent off!?"

Gary Payton, who was knocked down, stood up like a winner and glanced at Byron Davis with contempt: "Please continue to bump into me, why don't you dare? Coward!"

Baron Davis clenched his fists. He really wanted to drag Gary Payton to UFC to sign a contract.

At the free throw line, Gary Payton made two free throws, helping the Warriors to overtake by one point again.

He tilted his mouth, looked at McGrady, but pointed his finger at Baron Davis: "Get a smarter dog, Tracy."

On the Warriors bench, Eric Spoelstra, who was standing on the sidelines, turned his head and looked at Roger: "The old guy hasn't changed. He's still so disgusting."

Roger smiled and said, "To be honest, this is the first time I feel he is not that disgusting."

In the subsequent games, Gary Payton gave his all on the defensive end.

He played like Eric Snow, without taking any shots, only passing the ball and defending, taking care of all the dirty work.

After the first quarter, the Magic still had a 2-point lead going into the intermission. McGrady's talent was unmatched, and the transitional lineup could not lock him down no matter how hard they tried.

But the sight of McGrady sweating profusely proved that the Warriors had achieved their goal.

Gary Payton still did not communicate with other Warriors players when he left the court. His pride was still at work.

But this time, Roger took the initiative to pat him on the shoulder and said, "God gave you a chance in 1996, but you didn't seize it. God won't give you another chance, but I will. Will you seize the opportunity this time?"

Payton didn't answer, just snorted.

That bastard is more conceited than me.

However, No. 14 does have the capital to be conceited.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Roger, who returned to the court, walked to McGrady.

McGrady continued his what-if narrative: "If it weren't for that old jerk Gary's dirty defense that escaped the eyes of the referee, you guys would have been finished long ago."

Roger had enough, really. This is probably the biggest difference between McGrady and other stars in mentality. He likes to talk about "if" too much.

But Roger didn't respond, and just started with McGrady scoring.

On a night when his teammates' three-point shooting was not good enough, Roger took a lot of shots himself, and the Magic's defense didn't have much to do with Roger.

Baron Davis is very strong in defending the point guard position, but he lacks the height and wingspan to defend Roger.

The Magic's other guard, DeShawn Stevenson, is very tough, but his defensive level is not enough to limit Roger.

The only one on the Magic who could limit Roger was McGrady, but he didn't have the courage to stand in front of Roger. He kept hiding because he knew very well that he didn't have enough physical strength to deal with it.

Roger's score continued to rise. As an Atlanta native, Dwight Howard had been looking forward to a direct meeting with his idol, but Roger could often solve the offense from mid-range and long distances.

Fortunately, McGrady was able to score under tight defense, and the two teams were in a stalemate.

After three quarters, Roger scored 36 points and McGrady scored 34 points. The Warriors were only leading by 3 points and the two sides were evenly matched.

The Warriors made up for the lack of three-point shooting with defense, while the Magic made up for the lack of perimeter defense with McGrady's offense.

But after the third quarter, there was still some difference between the two teams. Roger still looked relaxed, but McGrady seemed to be out of breath.

In the past three quarters, because of Gary Payton's recovery, the Warriors have maintained a very high defensive intensity, and Roger did not have to use up his playing time.

The glove answered Roger's question with practical actions: "He will seize this opportunity, even if it means he will be shattered to pieces!"

No victory is won in happiness, Gary Payton now knows this very well.

If you want to win, you have to pay more.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Roger walked over to McGrady as usual.

Maddie rested on his hands and knees, panting.

Roger put his hands on his hips and straightened himself.

Because of the restriction of Byron Davis, McGrady could only burn himself in the first three quarters as he did in the past.

Now, Roger could guess what would happen in the fourth quarter.

He is about to raise his butcher knife.

"Tracy, don't say ifs in front of me. Without ifs, you will die tonight!"

In the Warriors' first attack, Roger faked a shot from outside the three-point line and missed DeSean Stephenson, then went straight to the inside.

Dwight Howard ran back to the basket for the moment he had been waiting for, ready to block the shot.

But Roger's sprinting speed was still too fast. Magic had just raised his arms and had no time to jump when Roger had already smashed the ball through him!
"Tracy," Roger didn't bother Howard, but turned to look at McGrady, "Keep going, keep fighting!"

Roger said this deliberately because he knew Maddie couldn't continue.

One round later, McGrady's jump shot was blocked by Jason Richardson. This shot was obviously short, indicating that McGrady's shooting power was too weak, which was a sign that his physical strength was about to run out.

The Warriors' efforts paid off, as they completely wore down Orlando No. 1 through three quarters of hard work.

They found the formula to win despite their poor three-point shooting.

Maddie missed, but Roger showed no mercy.

He grabbed the rebound himself, dribbled across half court, and made a jump shot. DeSean Stephenson, who had just been kicked away, was afraid of being fooled by Roger again, so he did not jump to interfere this time, so Roger made the shot easily, widening the gap to 8 points!
The Warriors won the first two games in a very tense and hard-fought manner.

And today, the Warriors, with their full lineup, won’t be satisfied with that kind of victory.

Roger is going to go on a killing spree in the fourth quarter!
One round later, McGrady and Howard set a pick-and-roll, but McGrady didn't shoot. Instead, he passed the ball to Howard. Unfortunately, Stephen Jackson saw through McGrady's idea. He quickly ran to the passing lane and reached out to steal the ball. McGrady's turnover rate is very low, but it doesn't mean he never makes mistakes.

There was actually nothing wrong with his passing, it was just that the Warriors' defensive mobility and ability to create turnovers were too strong.

The moment the steal happened, everyone on the Warriors was running forward.

After a not-so-good start, the Warriors finally found the ultimate answer to winning in the game against the Cavaliers.

Unfortunately, the subsequent suspension caused the Warriors' emotions that should have been released to be suppressed for a period of time.

And today is the night to let go of everything.

Tracy McGrady thought he could break the curse on the Warriors this season, but no, his blood will become nutrients for the Golden State gang!

The Warriors' passion will eventually burn out, and if they want to keep the passion going, they have to keep adding fuel to it.

And there is nothing in this world more suitable as fuel than the blood of your opponent.

As soon as Roger crossed the midfield line, he threw the ball to Tayshaun Prince who came in from the wing. The little prince jumped up to catch the ball in the air and pushed it towards the basket before it landed.

The basketball hit the backboard and bounced back, and Jason Richardson arrived just in time, jumped high and dunked to score!
All the members of the Golden State Gang jumped up in excitement. They finally enjoyed the pleasure of completely defeating their opponents tonight.

The score difference reached 10 points, and Roger hooked his finger at McGrady: "Come on, don't just say if."

In the fourth quarter, the Magic were completely at the mercy of the opposition.

McGrady seemed to have put on the invisibility cloak in the Harry Potter story. He began to pass the ball more and gave more responsibility to Baron Davis.

Even if you take action occasionally, there is a high probability that a pop-up window will appear.

The Warriors became more and more courageous as the game went on. This was what they were expecting, a resounding victory.

Roger didn't hold back either, he needed to vent as much as everyone else on the Warriors.

Finally, with two minutes left in the game and the Warriors leading by 24 points, Eric Spoelstra replaced Roger.

他此时的数据是48分8次助攻5个篮板2次封盖1次抢断。

McGrady scored only 2 points in the fourth quarter, making 5 of 1 shots.

As Roger walked off the court, countless Orlando fans cheered for him.

Tracy McGrady looked at the stands, dejected.

He was just like everyone else.

Just like Kobe, LeBron, Shaq, The Postman, Fliggy, Michael Jordan and others, they will always live under the shadow of Roger's rule!

Payton also sighed when he replaced Roger.

He realized that he had been too stupid before.

Look at this team, look at poor McGrady, and now look at myself trying to change because of Roger.

The team led by Roger is completely different from other teams.

In the end, the Golden State Warriors defeated the Magic on the road and won the most satisfying victory since the start of the season.

The right strategy, a complete lineup and Payton's awakening, all of these have put the Warriors back on track after a brief slump.

People began to truly believe that the Warriors, without Amar'e Stoudemire, might actually be able to defend their title.

In today's post-match interview, Gary Payton, who only scored 3 points and 2 assists, attracted a lot of attention.

Because everyone saw his changes tonight and how good he was as a substitute tonight.

"Gary, do you think your dream of winning the championship can come true with the Warriors?"

Gary Payton nodded: "Of course it can be achieved. The biggest mistake of people like me, or people like LeBron and Tracy is to regard themselves as Roger's opponents. I think I have found the true championship creed."

After saying that, Payton glanced at Roger who was also being interviewed not far away.

There is no championship creed.

Roger is the champion creed itself.

(End of this chapter)