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Chapter 263 Why His Teammates Always Stand Up for Him (First Update! Requesting Monthly Tickets)
On June 12, the third game of the finals was held at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Two days ago, Durant led a team without LeBron James to a stunning upset victory in Oakland, and during his entrance ceremony, he was showered with adulation from the entire arena.

If, after Game 1 of the Finals, some people still questioned Durant's decision to ask the team to DNP James...

Now then.
At least the entire Big Apple now views DNP James as a decision that could very well make the team's future brighter.

"I don't think KD did anything wrong."

In the NBA, where as long as you win, there will be "great scholars" to "debate" you, ESPN commentator A. Smith said before the game: "In my opinion, 'KD' just did what a team leader should do."

Jeff Van Gundy, who was commentating alongside A. Smith, said, "However, many people still believe that 'KD's' decision to ask the Knicks to DNP LeBron was a childish act of spite."

Upon hearing this, A. Smith shook his head and said, "I don't see it that way. Since LeBron has already proven with his past 21-game losing streak against Messiah and his poor performance of only eight points in the first game of the Finals that he can't adapt to this level of competition, why can't the Knicks bench this collapsing King?"

It's worth mentioning that on the night of Game 3, many VIPs were present at Madison Square Garden.

Furthermore, many of these individuals have close ties to James.

For example, Rihanna, the "Queen of Pop".

For example, JAY-Z and Diddy, who have always been in cahoots.

However, things are different from before.

That night, these important figures who had good personal relationships with James did not come for James' sake.

"I think 'KD' is a role model for the new generation of black players. I like his personality. He's so cool."

Before the game, Rihanna, who showed no sadness about James being DNP, said in an interview.

As for JAY-Z and Diddy?

Although JAY-Z and Diddy have never liked Durant's inherent loser-like demeanor.

However, considering that James' influence in the basketball world is no longer what it used to be, JAY-Z and Diddy certainly need to seriously consider whether James is still worthy of being their friend.

What is the warmth and coldness of human relationships?

This is the fickleness of human relationships.

Although in a sense, James, who was abandoned by JAY-Z and Diddy, may actually benefit from this misfortune.

But everything that has happened since James was DNP also reveals that James is being abandoned by the capital behind him.

LeBron James, the chosen one, has become the most disastrous marketing case in the entire sports world of the 21st century.

Because on the court, where true ability is what matters, compared to James, who at least won two championships with the help of "God Zhao Yun" and "Old Huang Zhong" during the same period in history, James in this life has not achieved anything.

Not even once.

In the finals, the team even deliberately DNP'd him.

Moreover, after being DNP'd, the Knicks even defeated the seemingly invincible defending champions.

It's no exaggeration to say that if someone like James can be called the chosen one, then God couldn't have chosen him specifically to suffer, could he?

Before the game started, since James' collapse, Durant, who has become the new crown prince of the Nike empire, took the initiative to come to the Warriors' half and continued to taunt Qin Yue: "The last game will not be the last time I beat you in this Finals."

Qin Yue, who felt that Durant's harsh words weren't harsh enough, responded by saying, "I thought you were going to tell me that if you couldn't beat me in this Finals, you would retire."

The next second, Durant backed down in the toughest tone, saying, "Who the hell dares to say that to you?"

In the center of the court, the opening tip-off was held, and Qin Yue won possession for the Warriors.

Just like in Game 2, Iguodala immediately took over the defense against Curry.

In the previous game, Curry only made 5 of 15 shots under Iguodala's relentless suffocating defense.

Because Iguodala not only physically confronts Curry when defending him, but also tries his best to limit Curry's ability to receive the ball, Curry needs some time to adapt to the Knicks' new defensive strategy against him.

But here comes the problem.

Since Iguodala's lock-down defense can effectively limit Curry, who is still some distance from his peak, why did the Knicks only change their defensive strategy against Curry in Game 2 of the Finals?

ESPN quoted Van Gundy as saying, "The Knicks have DNP'd LeBron, and now they can finally free up their hands to deal with Stephen Curry."

After facing off in last season's Finals, how could D'Antoni not know who on the Knicks roster is better suited to defend Curry?

The only problem is that when James is on the court, the Knicks can't assign Iguodala to lock down Curry.

why?
With Iguodala always ready to help James on defense, how could he possibly have the extra energy to keep a close eye on Curry?

Especially against this Warriors team that excels at passing and cutting.

Given that the Warriors will target James' off-ball defense almost every possession, Iguodala is destined to be constantly on the move.

But it's different now.

Without James, there's one less player to clean up his messes, and Iguodala can now focus on putting more pressure on Curry.

On the Warriors' first offensive possession, Curry was met with strong interference from Iguodala the instant he received the ball and attempted a shot after a screen.

The three-pointer, which appeared to have a short trajectory, bounced off the rim and was rebounded by Howard.

The Knicks then launch their attack.

Although the Knicks lost LeBron James, they did indeed lose a player who could average around 25 points per game.

However, in the actual competition, the accounts cannot be calculated in this way.

Because after DNP James, the Knicks also freed up a lot of ball possession, giving Harden, Durant and Iguodala more opportunities to handle the ball. So the second game was actually the Knicks' most fluid offensive game in recent years.

That night, the Knicks continued their smooth offensive rhythm in their first offensive possession.

At the high post, Jeffries and Howard both moved up to act as a screen for Harden.

Then, taking advantage of the Warriors' incomplete rotation defense, Durant quickly moved Curry in front of him.

Seeing this, Harden immediately passed the basketball to Durant.

He silently mourned for his good friend Curry for three seconds.

Compared to the past, Curry's progress on the defensive end this season is obvious.

but
Even Curry, who is good at defense, can't stop Durant from pulling up for a jump shot right in front of him with his long arms.

Swish-!
At Madison Square Garden, the Grim Reaper, wielding his scythe first, ignited the entire arena.

just
Durant's isolation plays against Curry are a staple of the Knicks' strategy against the Warriors, and conversely, Qin Yue's pick-and-roll plays against another James are also a staple of the Warriors' strategy.

Previously, Harden was mourning for Curry, but now he has to pray for himself. Because Howard's screen failed, Harden was forced to switch onto Qin Yue.

To be fair, Harden's defense in this defensive possession was hard-working, aggressive, and even reckless.

But Qin Yue burned off Harden's iconic beard in almost a single glance.

Release the ball to accelerate and sprint.

The ball flies and glides.

In the Knicks' paint, Qin Yue leaped over Harden's defense and slammed home a one-handed dunk over "Spider-Man" Jeffries.

This was a spectacular dunk.

However, on the court, the other four Knicks players immediately applauded Harden, with Durant leading the way in encouraging him, saying, "Don't worry about this play, we're not going to be able to handle this kind of play."

According to incomplete statistics, this team had previously averaged at least one hundred times per game of grumbling and complaining to each other.
What made the Knicks transform overnight into a team that primarily encourages each other?
And what made Howard, who has never liked Harden, follow Durant's lead and encourage Harden, saying, "Next time I'll try to help you get around the screen"?

ESPN's A. Smith, who seems to see life as incredibly difficult as it gets, said, "Without LeBron, the atmosphere-breaker, the Knicks are clearly more united than ever."

Meanwhile, Van Gundy, speaking from a tactical perspective, said: "In a basketball game, if you want to play high-quality defense, all five players on the court must work together for each other."

On the basketball court, why are some players always surrounded by defensive stalwarts, while others always seem to have openings?
Because defense can never rely on just one person.

In a well-developed defensive system, instead of complaining about your teammates' defense at the drop of a hat, you should think more about what you have done for your teammates.
For example, in the Warriors' next defensive possession.

Knowing that Durant wanted to target Curry again, Curry used a fronting maneuver to delay and buy Qin Yue enough time to help defend.

Curry knows very well that he can't stop Durant.

Therefore, he never thought that he could limit Durant by relying on his personal ability.

And what about Qin Yue?

As the biggest star player in this game, he didn't stand still and watch the show, nor did he shrug and complain after his teammates were completely outplayed.

All Qin Yue possessed was the unwavering determination to win at all costs.

On the high left wing, Qin Yue deflected Death's scythe, which Death attempted to swing a second time.

Meanwhile, James, who was also watching the game on TV, should have been performing a knee slide in the living room in celebration of Qin Yue's incredible block on Durant.

However, before James could even slide to his knees, Durant, like a flying praying mantis, leaped and saved the ball back to Iguodala's hands.

Seeing this, Iguodala fired without hesitation from the outside and hit the target.

At that moment, James felt as if this Knicks team, fighting tooth and nail, had been putting on a show for him all along.

but
In this world, where do so many people come from who want to play LeBron James?
In this possession, Iguodala was convinced that Durant would be able to save the ball.

Just like Durant was convinced that Iguodala would make the shot after he saved the ball.

Having been tempered by Game 2 of the Finals, this Knicks team has reached a whole new level of unity and fighting spirit.

On the Warriors' side, Qin Yue, who scored 18 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in a single quarter, is facing a similar predicament to the previous game.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 29-33.

The Warriors, playing away, are down by 4 points.

Qin Yue scored 18 points in a single quarter, yet the Warriors were still down by 4 points. What does this tell us?
This indicates that the other Warriors players were not in good form that night.

Curry, in particular, went 0-for-4 in the first quarter and 1-for-7 in the first half.

However, during halftime, Qin Yue, who was not worried that Curry would lose his form, joked with Curry in a leisurely manner: "If you keep playing like this, I can grab at least 30 rebounds this game."

In Qin Yue's previous life, why did Curry always have teammates who could step up in life-or-death battles?

From Klay Thompson, who famously said, "Go ask around on Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, and you'll see who's the boss," to Hield, whose "7 in Game 7 is 'cowardly mushroom' 7," to Hield's "7 in Game 7."

Is it possible that, whether on offense or defense, Curry will always unconditionally trust his teammates like Qin Yue is right now?
Qin Yue has faith in Curry's ability to adjust.

In this regard, Qin Yue was very clear about what qualities Curry possessed.

So, after halftime, in the third quarter, Qin Yue, who was intentionally trying to help Curry get into form, then witnessed Curry shooting from the outside and making all sorts of meme-worthy expressions.

On the court, the Warriors are on offense.

Curry first used a screen to make an unreasonable three-pointer.

Then, in the next possession, with Qin Yue's tacit approval, Curry made another tough three-pointer against Iguodala.

Curry, who nearly had the ball stolen by Iguodala several times while dribbling, sent the basketball into the hoop with an unbelievable physical movement.

Iguodala's completely bewildered expression at that moment
Isn't this also a true reflection of the inner thoughts of those opponents whose mentality was repeatedly broken by Curry's shooting on the court, as Qin Yue remembers?
I've done C, I've done D, but I've never been cowardly.

At Madison Square Garden, with Curry scoring 17 points for the Warriors in a single quarter, he single-handedly bought Qin Yue this precious time to play and rest on the court.
In this highly anticipated game, Knicks fans experienced the same despair that Lakers fans had felt in the final quarter.

With 1 minutes and 57 seconds remaining in the game.

Warriors' offensive possession.

Qin Yue, who had been playing alongside Howard, scored the final basket of the game in the Knicks' paint, bringing his personal total to 14 points in the fourth quarter.

The combination of Core Qin and Core Li secured a crucial victory for the Warriors at Madison Square Garden.

The final score was 119 to 110.

全场比赛，秦岳总计砍下48分20篮板7助攻4封盖2抢断。

而上半场只有3分进账的库里，则是在下半场砍下了22分，全场总计斩获25分5篮板4助攻。

If the Knicks hadn't DNP James that night, James would definitely have asked in the post-game interview:
Why are Qin Yue's teammates always able to step up and help him?

But since this is a DNP for James' Knicks.

Compared to James complaining that Qin Yue's teammates performed better, Durant was naturally more concerned about why he couldn't do what Qin Yue did and get his teammates to step up as well.

"I think I still have a long way to go in helping my teammates," Durant said at the press conference.

Furthermore, Durant, whose personality was completely dominated by the Grim Reaper side, also made a bold statement after the game: "In the next game, we will definitely defend our home court."

"If I can't do it, I will retire immediately."

……

PS: First update delivered. PS2: Oh no, now A-Qiao really is a jinx. (But speaking of which, since A-Qiao is a jinx, could it really be because A-Qiao keeps praising LeBron James every day that he failed to lead the Lakers to a championship?)

(End of this chapter)