mountain top

Chapter 239 When That Punch Was Thrown (First of Two Consecutive Updates)
Howard's dissatisfaction with his teammates and the team is practically written all over his face.

Especially as the competition progresses.

This Christmas game has become the epicenter of Howard's recent negative emotions.

In the NBA, victory is the cure for all wounds.

Unfortunately...
Throughout December, during the Knicks' winning streak, Howard was clearly more concerned with his declining stats of 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game than with the team's victories.

It's worth noting that the last time Howard put up similar statistics was back in his rookie season.

If Howard were a young player in his early twenties, or a veteran with his career nearing its end...
Howard would certainly not be so resistant to being a lackey for the Knicks' Big Three.

But since Howard is now a center in his prime and has been selected to the All-NBA First Team, his pride and arrogance mean that his patience is bound to have its limits.

And that limit was broken by that man himself that very night.

The man who was trying to quiet down the entire Madison Square Garden and make it less noisy.

On the court, the Warriors' final attack of the first quarter.

Qin Yue, who wanted to target James with a pick-and-roll, had to launch his attack early due to the limited time remaining on the shot clock.

At the high post, Howard, who was still trying his best to defend, was desperately sticking to his opponent.

But in that instant when Qin Yue suddenly started, stopped, and started again...
Without the support of his teammates, Howard's expression could only be described as one of helplessness.

This is what Jeff Van Gundy said in last season's Finals: even if you could find a player of similar height and athleticism to Qin Yue, it would be difficult to expect to contain this new-era GOAT in a one-on-one situation.

Because genius is always just the threshold to seeing the GOAT.

In that instant, he left Howard behind.

And without any sense of reason, he glided through the air and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand. Amidst the gasps of amazement from the crowd, the man instantly reminded the fans of the nightmare of being dominated by the opponent in last season's finals.

— 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.

GOAT delivered a rather unremarkable performance in the first quarter of tonight's game.

However, this report card became the trigger for Howard's concentrated outburst of negative energy.

Because during the break, the Knicks' trio of players, who all needed to relieve pressure by shifting blame, didn't care about Howard's feelings.

Once again, another side of his personality took over, and Durant said, "His scoring is too easy. What is our DPOY doing?"

Upon hearing this, Howard sneered inwardly: Now you remember I'm the DPOY?
In fact, given that the Knicks have always lacked a decent defensive system, Howard's defensive performance tonight absolutely justifies the nickname "Superman".

However, even the best defender like Howard couldn't effectively limit Qin Yue without the help of his teammates.

“Dwight, your defense is too gentle,” James said from the side. “Why didn’t you commit a single foul in the entire first quarter?”

foul?

Does committing a lot of fouls prove that you're not slacking off in this game?
On the Knicks' bench, Howard responded to James's comment with a somber tone: "If you want me to foul a few more times, then I'll make sure you're satisfied."

"Dwight, this is the Christmas Day game, you can't act out of spite!"

At that moment, Iguodala, who could tell that Howard was being stubborn, said, "Brown is right, you need to be more energetic and push yourself harder!"

Energy and drive?
Sorry, not like the Knicks' Big Three.

In Howard's eyes, this was just a regular season game.

Therefore, Howard's defensive attitude in the first quarter was more than enough to live up to the expectations of the team.

As for whether James and Iguodala want him to go all out against Qin Yue in this game?

"I think I've done enough."

Howard looked directly at Iguodala and said, "You can't keep finding fault with me."

Next, I put on my headphones and listened to music.

Howard, who chose to mute his microphone, immediately revealed a smug expression that made the Knicks' three strikers want to hit him with a stick each.

James couldn't understand why Howard could have such a leisurely attitude when the team was behind.

Durant couldn't understand why Howard would act so childishly.

And Iguodala, on the other hand, broke down and yelled, "This guy has absolutely no champion's heart!"

The heart of a champion?

Where does Howard have that right now?

Moreover, it seemed to be to prove to James that he hadn't been slacking off in this game.
In the second quarter, Howard, who was still playing in D'Antoni's lineup, committed three fouls in just two and a half minutes.

Knicks bench.

Howard was substituted by Mozgov when he was in foul trouble.

As Howard returned to the bench, he said to James, "LeBron, now you think my defense is tough enough, right?"

to be honest.
If it were Qin Yue instead of James standing in front of Howard at this moment, Howard's mere presence and speech would be a desecration of Qin Yue's martial prowess.

James's expression immediately turned ugly.

Especially when Howard put on his headphones again and became completely immersed in his own world.

"Dwight, what exactly do you want?"

On the sidelines, unlike James who always thinks things through, Iguodala stepped forward, pulled off Howard's headphones, and questioned him.

Upon hearing this, Howard's temper flared up, and he stood up and yelled at Iguodala, "It's my freedom to do what I want! I've had enough of you treating me like a dog all the time!"

This unexpected scene at Madison Square Garden even attracted the attention of Warriors players from the adjacent half of the court.

"Are they fighting amongst themselves?" Brown asked curiously.

“There’s definitely infighting,” Ben said. “I just don’t know if it will escalate into a full-blown fight.”

On the Knicks' bench, Howard's sudden outburst of negative emotions forced D'Antoni to call a timeout at the scorer's table.

"Calm down, all of you!"

Pulling Iguodala and Howard apart from their head-on confrontation, D'Antoni, who had never been so exhausted, said, "You two get back to the locker room!"

Following advice from the team's coaching staff, Howard and Iguodala walked together toward the player tunnel in the next second.

However.
Just when everyone thought this minor conflict between teammates would subside, Howard erupted again in response to Iguodala's continued attempt to reason with him: "It's our freedom to play however we want! Why do you losers blame all the problems on me?"

"The guy who scored 101 points against Messiah was LeBron, not me!" "The guy who played like a girl against Messiah's defense was 'KD,' not me!"

"And it was you guys who got swept by the Warriors in the Finals, not me!"

"I'm a fucking All-NBA center, the best center in the league right now, not your dog! Understand?"

Player tunnel.

After Howard recounted the Knicks' and the Knicks' Big Three's dark history against Qin Yue and the Warriors, a heavy punch from Iguodala landed right in his face.

And what about Howard?
"I'm going to fucking kill you!"

Howard charged at Iguodala, baring his teeth and brandishing his claws: "I'm going to fucking kill you!"

Despite being "dissuaded" by several assistant coaches and staff, Howard, whose eyebrow bone was broken by Iguodala's punch, did not actually kill Iguodala.

But this powerful punch from Iguodala had driven Howard into a frenzy.

"Wonderful!"

On the Warriors' bench, Ben Wallace, who had experienced the Malice at the Palace, couldn't help but sigh: "In my long career, I've seen people fight with opponents and I've seen people hit fans, but this is the first time I've ever seen someone hit a teammate in a public place like this!"

Completely berserk, Howard was eventually carried back to the locker room by his assistant coach and staff.

After this incident, the Knicks had no motivation to play well against the Warriors that night.

On the sidelines, knowing that the Knicks would inevitably face league punishment afterward, D'Antoni's mood at that moment could only be described as wanting to die.

James and Durant both looked rather grim.

The reason the former looked unhappy was not because Howard had just recounted his dark past in the player tunnel.

But
After Howard and Iguodala had a falling out, Howard became like a bomb, igniting the Knicks' locker room.

As for the latter?
"If Russell were still here, this would never have happened."

In the summer, Durant, who thought Howard's addition would make the Knicks' offense and defense more balanced, almost instantly began to miss Westbrook.

Perhaps Westbrook isn't the best fit for the Knicks.

But compared to Howard, who can't recognize his own limitations and always disgusts his teammates with his childish behavior, perhaps only Durant himself knows what an excellent teammate Westbrook is.

Madison Square Garden.

Neither Iguodala nor Howard played in the subsequent game.

In the latter part of the third quarter, the Warriors, thanks to five consecutive three-pointers from Curry and Green, turned this Christmas Day game into garbage time.

However, compared to the result of this match
People were clearly more concerned about the farce that unfolded between Howard and Iguodala in the player tunnel.

Indeed, this was a match in which even Qin Yue's fans didn't care how Qin Yue actually performed.

"Dwight and Andre just had a verbal argument, and I don't think people need to overanalyze it."

After the game, James said in an interview: "In the NBA, it's normal for players to argue and bicker because of disagreements. Michael Jordan also had a fight with Steve Kerr back in the day."

James, hoping to downplay the issue, answered questions about Iguodala and Howard with high emotional intelligence.

However, the media did not buy it.

Because it's different from Jordan and Kerr back then.
Tonight, Iguodala got into a fight with Howard in front of countless viewers.

If these two didn't have some deep-seated grudge, how could they possibly fight so fiercely in such an important match?
That night, when Iguodala brought the Knicks' internal conflicts to the forefront through that punch, the prospects of this team, which aimed to contend for the championship, were already shrouded in a shadow.

The league announced the penalty the following day.

For punching a teammate in public, Iguodala will be suspended for five games and fined $50,000.

As the one who took the beating, Howard was also punished by the league with a one-game suspension and a $25,000 penalty.

Judging from the subsequent punishment, the alliance clearly intended to settle the matter peacefully.

However.
Just as public opinion was escalating, Howard, through his agent, submitted a trade request to the Knicks the very next day.

"Whoever likes this team can stay!"

After being punched by Iguodala and receiving cold stares from his Knicks teammates, a disheartened Howard told the Knicks management, "Since you don't welcome me, I won't fight for you anymore!"

Howard's trade request was like a bombshell, once again igniting public opinion.

The Knicks team committee, led by the Knicks' Big Three, held an internal meeting shortly after Howard requested a trade.

"Tell me, what should we do now?"

What should I do?
Durant said, "To be honest, I don't like Dwight at all. Like Ender said, he has absolutely no sense of honor or responsibility."

Harden chimed in, "What we need are like-minded teammates, not overgrown babies who start acting out at the drop of a hat."

After calming down, Iguodala, realizing he should never have punched Howard, said, "Is there any chance we can persuade him to change his mind?"

James shook his head and said, "Dwight is very determined to leave."

In fact, if possible, James would also like Howard to stay.

After all, in this era, where can the Knicks find an inside player who can compete with Qin Yue?
Admittedly, Howard is a bit of a giant baby.

But Howard isn't there.
How should the Knicks deal with that man?

And
With Howard requesting a trade, GM LeBron James, who had deeply manipulated the team's management during his time with the Cavaliers, knew better than anyone that Howard's trade value would inevitably be suppressed by teams eager to acquire him.

Headache.

Since entering the league, James has never had such a headache as he does now.

After posing a century-old problem to the Knicks management and his teammates, what about Howard?
"As the focus of fans recently, Dwight Howard seems to be in a much better mood than we thought."

The following day, several media outlets photographed Howard swaggering around shopping malls in New York.

Furthermore, Howard readily agreed to be interviewed by reporters.

"I will not be an informant."

In an interview, Howard said, "But I think that since I joined the Knicks, this team has never given me the respect I deserve."

……

PS: This is the first of two consecutive updates.

(End of this chapter)