Champion Rules

Chapter 185, Section 181: Don't let Lin Qi hate you (Seeking monthly votes!)
Deron Williams was named to the All-NBA Team last season.

This means he is one of the best players in the entire league.

However, his reputation has not changed substantially compared to a few years ago.

ESPN writer John Hollinger ranked him 10th in the latest MVP rankings, while his arch-rival Chris Paul was ranked 5th.

In Hollinger's player evaluation report, he mentioned the word Deron Williams hated most: system.

"Deron Williams is an excellent point guard with a solid jump shot and excellent finishing ability around the basket. Of course, he remains a solid point guard, and his passing ability in tight spaces during half-court sets is underestimated."

However, a large part of his excellence is due to his reliance on Jerry Sloan's pick-and-roll system.

Deron Williams is extremely efficient in pick-and-roll situations and is adept at taking shots when the opponent is unable to switch defenses after a pick-and-roll.

Correspondingly, he is not as good at one-on-one play, and his efficiency drops significantly when he plays one-on-one for extended periods.

He is undeniably an excellent engine for the pick-and-roll system, but he is still only one part of the system.

In the section evaluating Chris Paul, John Hollinger's words made Deron Williams' hands tremble as he held the magazine: "Deron is All-NBA level, while Chris is already an MVP-caliber point guard. Although his dirty tricks are as annoying as LeBron's shrug, there's no denying his pure talent."

Deron Williams has always felt a lump in his throat about this misunderstanding.

He thought that his selection to the All-NBA Team would dispel such misunderstandings. But clearly, people still see him as a typical beneficiary of the system.

Deron Williams couldn't stand such comments; he had always wanted to prove himself as a superstar who could stand on his own.

This also led to a deterioration in his relationship with Jerry Sloan.

He didn't want to stay in Salt Lake City to play, and he didn't want to work for a "system-first" coach like Jerry Sloan anymore.

When Dwyane Wade, Pau Gasol, and Paul Pierce joined forces to lift the division championship trophy, and when the Los Angeles Lakers formed the Big Three and stood on the top of the world, Deron Williams' gaze towards the cold winter of Salt Lake City grew increasingly anxious; he also longed to leave.

Team up with superstar teammates and break away from Jerry Sloan's system to reap honors.

If it were in the 90s, he could have simply walked away in the summer of 2009.

However, under the current collective bargaining agreement, the damned "restricted free agent rule" makes things very difficult for him.

Even if he accepts offers from other teams, the Utah Jazz can easily drag him back to the cold Energy Solutions Arena with a matching contract.

This sense of frustration at being unable to get what he wanted in every situation intensified his rebellious tendencies.

This season, he has started to go against Jerry Sloan more and more.

They began to express their dissatisfaction through passive resistance during training and outward compliance but inward defiance during tactical execution.

Deron Williams had the arrogance of a star player, while Jerry Sloan wasn't the kind of coach who knew how to pamper star players like Phil Jackson.

He treats everyone the same, and even when Deron Williams is selected for the All-NBA team, he has no tactical freedom or special privileges.

The conflict between the two deepened, and the bond that once held their master-disciple relationship together was now reduced to Ronnie Brewer, an awkward mouthpiece—forced to act as a messenger between two proud souls. Deron and Sloan no longer wanted any form of face-to-face communication.

This is exactly the situation Deron Williams wants; he knows what Jerry Sloan means to the Jazz. Therefore, he is increasingly eager for the team to abandon the contract matchup next summer because of this falling out between mentor and protégé.

What's there to be embarrassed about? LeBron James, a native of Cleveland, has promised he would never leave, yet he's now being linked with other teams.

Of course, Deron Williams did not completely act recklessly, nor did he allow the conflict to completely erode his professionalism.

Caught between confrontation and compromise, he maintained his competitive edge. He continued to pursue victory and prove himself.

He never misses a fast break opportunity, nor will he give up any defensive play for the sake of a fast break.

He sees the next match as another good opportunity to prove himself.

Raja Bell's recent poor form is well-known, and Deron Williams could easily end the Knicks' winning streak with a spectacular individual performance.

This was the opportunity he had been longing for to attain enlightenment.

At that time, the whole world will see whether it was Utah's tactical manual that created the superstar, or whether the superstar should be above the system.

This ambition led him to ignore Stephen A. Smith's warning on the show the night before the match.

"If I were Deron Williams, I would apologize to Lynch after the game tomorrow night and take back what I said before."

This is a piece of advice, buddy: never let Lynch hate you.
-
Under the leaden sky of Salt Lake City, Raja Bell gazed out the car window at the familiar streets.

This city, which other players considered a harsh and cold place, was warm in his memory.

Because this is where he was able to establish himself in the NBA.

It was on Jerry Sloan's playbook that Raja Bell, an undrafted player, was first given a significant role.

Jerry Sloan always believed that ordinary players could achieve great things if they played the right way. Therefore, his team was never short of ordinary people who shone brightly.

An experienced coach who is willing to give ordinary people a chance is infinitely better than a snobbish bastard like Sam Presti.

Therefore, Raja Bell doesn't understand why Deron Williams would have a falling out with a good guy like Sloan.
Lin Qi didn't understand either, but what he didn't understand was the timing of this event.

He forgot exactly when Sloan and Deron Williams broke up in the original history, but it certainly wasn't during the 08-09 season.

What caused the two sides to be so tense so far in advance?

Perhaps the early concentration of talent in the league accelerated the expansion of star power, or perhaps LBJ's more extreme 2+1 contract opened Pandora's box.

Whatever the reason, Lynch will not underestimate his opponent because of the Jazz's internal conflicts.

On the bus to Energy Solutions Arena, Lynch clapped his hands: "I don't like anyone who talks big, like Deron Williams. Cheer up! I know some of you are getting tired of winning all the time. But tonight, we can't afford to lose!"

"Roar!!!"

The game at EnergySolutions Arena had just begun when Deron Williams faced off against Raja Bell.

Deron called for Carlos Boozer to cover, but Lynch didn't choose to double-team him. Instead, he continued to follow Boozer, who was firing from the outside, leaving Bell to face Deron's attack directly.

Deron Williams got a fleeting shooting opportunity, and although Raja Bell was very active around the screen, he still managed to capitalize on that tiny opening and hit a mid-range jumper.

He glanced at Bell with disdain, then turned his gaze to Lynch: "I'm not kidding you, you bastard, your winning streak is going to stay here."

Deron Williams has been very aggressive this season and isn't friendly to anyone.

But his pride shattered just seconds later when Nash delivered a deceptive pass that perfectly mimicked a feint, assisting Lynch for a dunk.

Carlos Boozer is no match for Lynch in terms of either size or athleticism, and when Lynch runs and plays, he is far behind the number 20.

In the next round, Salt Lake City fans were horrified to discover that Lynch seemed to be angry.

Perhaps Deron Williams' declaration before the match that his winning streak was about to end angered him, which led to his extremely strong offensive desire today.

As is customary, Lynch would let his teammates try out the game at the beginning of the match.

But tonight, the Kings of New York revoked that benefit.

From his first powerful dunk, Lynch attacked whenever he had the chance.

Carlos Boozer's expression was one of despair from the first quarter. Seven minutes later, when Lynch had already racked up 12 points, the former Dream Team player sat on the bench complaining, "Damn it, I didn't do anything! I didn't mess with that bastard! I didn't even say a word of trash talk! But that bastard is playing like MJ against Karl Malone!"

Andrei Kirilenko smiled wryly: "Perhaps he took what Delon said to heart."

Deron Williams was panting. He had scored 6 points so far in the quarter, but he felt he would be more effective if he played one-on-one.

Boozer's efficiency was really low tonight because of Lynch's defense.

Deron Williams didn't shirk responsibility: "We're not that far behind. I'll increase my singles attempts and I'll be responsible for closing the gap."

Jerry Sloan was furious; he hadn't expected that guy to dare say such things to his face.

The stubborn old man looked at Ronnie Brewer: "Tell that megalomaniac to continue our pick-and-roll strategy!"

Ronnie Brewer:
You two are standing so close together, yet you still want to put me in the middle, treating me like a sports protective gear!

You two are quite safety-conscious!
Seeing Brewer hesitate, Sloan roared angrily, "Tell him! Now! Right now!"

Brewer had no choice but to relay the message, but Deron did not respond.

The game restarted, with the Utah Jazz trailing by 7 points. To make matters worse, Lynch seemed determined to go all out tonight.

Deron Williams dribbled the ball across the midfield line, his posture like a lion surveying its territory. Facing Boozer, who was making his usual screen, Deron waved his hand: "Get out of the way, man."

Carlos Boozer didn't want to go against Jerry Sloan, but on the court right now, he had no choice but to listen to the point guard, otherwise the offense simply couldn't continue.

Derek Williams felt a surge of satisfaction as he looked at the wide-open space before him to break through.

This is the stage that superstars need!

Deron Williams created some distance for his sprint, and once he started, he showcased his beautiful double crossover dribbling.

After shaking off Raja Bell, Deron Williams had a chance for a mid-range jump shot.

But seeing Lynch stretched thin by Boozer and rookie center DeAndre Jordan blocked by Oku, Deron Williams chose to drive straight into the paint and score with a powerful one-handed dunk! He did it on purpose because Jerry Sloan disliked him using double crossover dribbling and dunking.

With the score difference narrowed to 5 points, Deron Williams shrugged at Lynch: "Have you figured out how to trade this trash yet?"

Deron Williams was intentionally provoking Raja Bell, knowing he was in a lot of trouble lately.

He would also love to see this irritable guy foul him because he was provoked.

If he has to leave the game due to a technical foul for being late or a flagrant foul, Deron Williams will be able to control the offense more freely.

Lynch glanced at Raja Bell, wondering if the comment he'd deliberately made during the last interview had had any effect. That was beyond Lynch's control; the only thing he could control now was continuing to dominate Boozer.

The Jazz retreated quickly on defense, dragging the Knicks' offense into a half-court game.

As soon as Lynch leaned on Boozer, Ronnie Brewer moved two steps toward Lynch, intending to block the passing lane.

Seeing this, Lynch immediately ran out to the left side of the three-point line to receive the ball. Facing Boozer, who was not good at defense, Lynch boldly chose to drive to the basket.

Ronnie Brewer immediately double-teamed him, and Lynch, who was near the baseline, suddenly stopped and raised the basketball with both hands.

Boozer raised his center of gravity to prepare for interference, while Ronnie Brewer jumped up to try and block the shot.

Lynch's shot came to an abrupt halt halfway through. He nimbly stepped forward, weaving between Boozer and Brewer, easily breaking through the Jazz's double-team and scoring a layup.

The point difference has narrowed to 7 points, and Lynch has already scored 14 points.

He also glanced at Deron, but not with the expression of someone looking at an opponent, but with the expression of someone looking at trash.

That condescending contempt infuriated Deron Williams even more.

He decided to continue playing singles and to keep provoking Raja Bell.

As he dribbled the ball past half-court, Deron Williams deliberately slowed down and started talking incessantly.

"Hey, why aren't you leaving New York yet? Is it fun being a leech behind Steve?"
In Game 6 of the 07 Western Conference Semifinals, you made 1 of 4 three-pointers.

In Game 7 of the 06 Western Conference Finals, you only had a 33% field goal percentage throughout the game.

"Haven't you noticed? You're just a fucking burden!"

The mention of that word made Steve Nash frown: "Raju, don't listen to him!"

But Deron had already caught sight of the crimson surging in his prey's pupils. The thug was gritting his teeth, as if he couldn't wait to rush up and punch him right now.

He knew that Raja Bell's emotions were on the verge of spiraling out of control, so he seized the opportunity to break through and deliberately used his shoulder to create a confrontation with Raja Bell.

Lynch saw Raja Bell reach out his hand. Was this a clothesline foul?
"Snapped!"

Without committing a foul, Raja Bell calmly snatched the ball from Deron Williams' hands, then dove to save it, catching the ball rolling out of bounds and returning it to Nash's hands.

He didn't want to be a burden; he just wanted to be a useful championship piece alongside Steve Nash.

Jerry Sloan looked at the fighter lying on the ground, a man deeply imbued with the tough genes of Utah, and then glanced at Deron, who had already gone off track, and couldn't help but feel heartbroken.

Nash quickly orchestrated a counterattack, delivering a long pass that directly assisted Lynch for an alley-oop dunk.

Before the first quarter was even over, Lynch had already scored 16 points!
After getting up, Raja Bell sneered at Deron Williams: "And you? You can't even suck blood from the system properly."

Steve Nash smiled, knowing that Lynch's efforts and tolerance had not been in vain.

They found the complete, most dangerous guardian of the Arizona desert.

Lynch's tense nerves finally relaxed slightly; of course, his tolerance had its limits. If Raja Bell had continued to do as he pleased after that interview, Lynch really would have lost his temper.

Fortunately, that guy wasn't that stupid.

The match continued, and Deron Williams still wanted to go one-on-one, but his mindset had already switched with Raja Bell's.

Raja Bell is very relaxed now, while Deron Williams is hurt by the label of "system vampire".

Raja Bell continued to add fuel to the fire: "Come on, let me see where Salt Lake City got its superstar."

Deron Williams made a hasty drive, then stepped back for a jump shot.

He was eager to create space, but Raja Bell was not an easy defender to deal with.

Bell intervened in time, and Deron Williams practically forced a shot.

Kobe Bryant was very good at slapping Raja Bell in the face when he came close.

But not everyone can create this kind of face.

"Bang!"

"No, no, no, what the hell is that shot selection! What is Deron doing? Why is he so obsessed with one-on-one? Does he think he can go toe-to-toe with Lynch?" Commentator Mark Jackson simply couldn't understand Deron's decision.

Lynch grabbed the rebound, passed it to Nash, and then sprinted forward.

Carlos Boozer tried his best to bite Lynch, but Lynch's counter-run put him out of position.

Lynch gets the basketball and drives to the basket again.

Ronnie Brewer vowed he would never jump this time, no matter what.

But Lynch didn't give them a chance to attack from both sides this time.

After dribbling once, Lynch followed up with a step-back jump shot, and the ball went in smoothly.

18 points in a single quarter!
The Utah Jazz are trailing by double digits!
"Fuck! Fuck!" Boozer cursed, clutching his head. He wasn't complaining; he was completely devastated.

Jazz assistant coach Tyronn Corbin yelled at Sloan, "Boss, we need to call a timeout! That damn Deron Williams is insane!"

But Jerry Sloan did not respond.

He stared at Deron Williams on the court, his cloudy eyes filled with nothing but sorrow.

Deron Williams gritted his teeth and dribbled quickly across half-court. He thought that if it were that damn Chris Paul, he could easily take down that bastard Raja Bell.

Deron Williams used a series of rapid changes of direction to forcefully create space for a breakthrough. His knees were under tremendous pressure, as if his ligaments and tendons were on the verge of collapse.

But he didn't care about any of that; he just wanted to score as quickly as possible.

This really worked; Raja Bell was shaken off by Deron Williams' exaggerated, unrelenting change of direction.

Deron Williams charged into the paint like a bull, raised the basketball, found the perfect angle for a layup, and the point difference was about to be narrowed back to single digits.

But a large hand slammed the basketball onto the backboard, shattering his last illusion.

Lynch took the basketball and made eye contact with Deron Williams for the second time tonight.

The disdain in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

Deron Williams tried to stop Nash from passing the ball, but Nash passed it to the red-hot Lynch just past the half-court line.

Just as Lynch's toes reached the three-point line, the basketball was delivered from the perfect position.

He just raises his hand and throws, without even needing to adjust.

Stephon Marbury and Lynch had great chemistry over the past few years, but his passing was nowhere near as good as Nash's – it was like comparing a skilled player to a master.

"brush!"

"21 points! Lynch scored 21 points in a single quarter, extending the lead to 14 points! He was on fire tonight, and he's making sure the Knicks' winning streak doesn't end in Salt Lake City!"

Jerry Sloan finally called a timeout, and an overly excited Raja Bell chased Deron Williams to the Jazz's bench, yelling, "What the hell are you? You think you can go toe-to-toe with Lynch? You think you can comment on me?"

Raja Bell only turned back after seeing Jerry Sloan's bitter face.

He doesn't respect the Jazz's star player, but he respects the Jazz's head coach.

Lynch smiled and pointed to Nash, who had been supplying him with ammunition, then walked off the court and patted Raja Bell on the head as he passed by him.

From the start of the match until now, Lynch has remained very calm, and he hasn't even said a single trash word to Deron Williams.

But his performance was enough to slap that arrogant guy in the face.

Mark Jackson sighed as he looked at the huge gap between the two players' numbers on the data sheet.

“Listen, I’ve always thought Stephen A. was a guy who talks a lot of nonsense. But this time, Deron should really listen to him.”

Whatever you do, don't let Lin Qi hate you.

That will only bring disaster.

(End of this chapter)