Champion Rules

Chapter 204: Not an underestimation, but a fact (Seeking monthly votes!)

The New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers are the only two teams to advance to the second round with a sweep.

This brought Kobe and Lynch together in the media once again.

Lynch is used to this; the 20 vs 24 promotion has never stopped since the beginning of the season.

With Lynch leading the Knicks to an astonishing 73 wins, fans' anticipation for a showdown between the two has risen once again.

Last season, the Lakers' Big Three demonstrated their dominance.

This season, Lynch has once again appeared as an unstoppable force.

They each dominate their respective regions, and what fans are eager to witness is the ultimate clash between these two dominant teams on the Finals stage.

On the eve of the second round, Kobe and Lynch, two men destined to become arch-rivals, met.

This is purely a coincidence.

They both participated in the filming of NBA playoff promotional commercials, and the reason why the league chose them as the main characters is quite clear.

When Kobe and Lynch met, they greeted each other like good friends.

"Congratulations on dealing with that softie Deron Williams. Salt Lake City fans will thank you. If Deron had led the team to the second round, they would have questioned Jerry Sloan's decision and whether the pick-and-roll system really limited Deron's performance. Luckily, you proved that Deron Williams is just an arrogant idiot."

“Congratulations on taking down the Chicago Bulls,” Kobe said, taking off his sunglasses. “But be careful, Ray Allen is a low-key dangerous man. I’ve known him for over ten years. George Karl called him Barbie, but don’t believe him. He’s an executioner, the most cold-blooded kind.”

"I never expected you to praise your mortal enemy."

"Nemesis? Ray?" Kobe immediately shook his head in denial. "No, no, no, we did have some friction, but that's all in the past. To be honest, I just don't want to wait another year for you, so I'm reminding you. You know, a year is actually quite a long time."

Lynch glanced at Kobe, whose face was full of pride.

Last season, Kobe really wanted to defeat Lynch in the Finals and win the championship because before the Big Three were formed, Kobe's record against Lynch was really too ugly.

This obsessive competitor, who insists on winning every card game with his daughter, will never forget his defeats.

At the time, Lynch was a two-time champion and the man who had dominated the league for the past two years.

In Kobe's mind, only by defeating the strongest opponent can a championship be considered truly valuable.

He always felt that last season's championship was missing a crucial element—that is, personally defeating Lynch.

Faced with Kobe's provocation, Lynch remained calm: "Yes, a year is a long time. So don't worry, I won't wait until you and your old buddies can't walk anymore before I come looking for you. The old era's counterattack is over, Kobe."

The “counterattack of the old era” that Lynch was referring to was the headline on the cover of Sports Illustrated after the Lakers won the championship last season.

Kobe retorted, "That sounds tough, but LBJ and Melo were just as confident as you before they played the Magic. That stupid writer from the Cleveland Plain Dealer made everyone underestimate Dwight Howard's potential."

Lynch laughed and responded with a phrase Kobe was very familiar with: "Don't compare me to those guys."

Kobe smiled too.

This is precisely the iconic, unique, and verbal retort he made when he clashed with Ray Allen in 2004.
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The media's overwhelming coverage of the "20 vs. 24" scenario has left the entire Orlando Magic team feeling extremely unhappy.

In this competition, this kind of publicity seems to suggest that other teams can only be supporting characters in this match.

Nobody likes feeling ignored.

This is especially true for the Magic, who have performed so well this season.

The Magic have not received the respect they deserve this season, and one of the main reasons is that their core players have been consistently undervalued.

Ray Allen has always been too debonair. As the son of a U.S. Air Force welder, Ray Allen spent too much of his childhood wandering in Europe.

In Europe before it became "darkened," people admired poets, gentlemen, and thinkers, and Ray Allen was deeply influenced by this.

Even after returning to the United States and joining the NBA, he still maintained the demeanor of a civilized person.

He would never lose his composure to force himself to be passionate; he would simply quietly improve his career.

In the NBA, most of the most popular stars are crazy people who love to be at odds with the world, love physical contact, and love to hurl insults at their opponents.

Ray Allen, however, was unconventional in his pursuit of tranquility.

Such a person is destined to be difficult for the media to regard as a top competitor in the NBA.

What about Dwight Howard? Ever since he was "forced out" by Adidas, he hasn't been smiling as much, and he's started to care about winning.

However, due to Nike's extensive media coverage, Howard has been firmly labeled as "the worst of the Dream Team".

Even though he eliminated LBJ last season, and even though his team has won 59 games this season, he still can't completely shake off this label.

Adidas's weak media influence is simply not enough to help him tear off this prejudice.

Just yesterday, LeBron James even had the audacity to say, "Dwight beat me because the league changed the rules. Before the league changed the rules, I never lost to him."

This is clearly sophistry, because the formal implementation of the No HandCheck rule actually strengthens the ability to penetrate, and Dwight Howard will not benefit from this.

Howard should be saying that!

Marc Stein's comment on this was simple and blunt: LeBron has no shame!

With two key players being so underrated, the Orlando Magic as a whole are naturally destined to be underestimated as well.

Therefore, everyone involved in the magic show was holding back a pent-up frustration with nowhere to vent it.

This is undoubtedly very dangerous.

When a team is determined to make a name for itself and prove itself, they often unleash tremendous energy.

On May 3, the fighting finally reignited at Madison Square Garden.

Before the game, Dwight Howard bluntly told Lynch: "You know very well that our whole team just doesn't want 20 vs 24 to become a reality."

"Of course, I understand."

“So,” Howard emphasized, Lynch had never seen such a serious expression on this guy who could eat both abalone and sea cucumber, “don’t underestimate us.”

"I can't," Lin Qi said decisively.

The Magic took possession of the ball first.

Ralf Alston dribbled the ball forward, but he wasn't a true point guard. Just past half-court, he passed the ball to the Turkish player, Sikhan Turkoglu.

The Turks were directing the attack, but Lynch's marking put him under immense pressure.

He didn't expect the Knicks to assign Lynch to guard him.

As a 208cm tall forward, Turkoglu has a significant physical advantage when playing the small forward position.

This is also why his jump shot after a pick-and-roll is so accurate.

Even if most of the small forwards responsible for guarding him manage to get around the screen in time, they are unable to effectively disrupt his height advantage.

If the inside players come to help defend, his pass will instantly penetrate the defense and assist Dwight Howard to the helm.

Even Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James struggled to defend against this Turkish forward.

This Turk may not look particularly impressive, but any defender standing in front of him would feel insecure.

But when facing Lynch, it was Turkoglu himself who felt uncertain.

He still called for a screen from Warcraft and set a screen for himself, and Lynch went around as quickly as possible, giving Turkoglu a chance to strike.

Just as he made his move, Lin Qi's hand firmly covered him.

Howard's screen delayed Lynch's defense to some extent, so he couldn't make the block, but the tight interference still caused Turkoglu to miss his mid-range shot.

To put it simply, all of Turkoglu's advantages on the field are mismatch advantages.

However, when faced with Lynch, who possesses both the speed of a small forward and the height of a power forward, the Turk's advantage vanished.

Tyson Chandler grabs the rebound, and Steve Nash prepares to launch a fast break.

However, the Magic had clearly made specific arrangements, and this season's rebounding leader, Dwight Howard, showed no intention of grabbing offensive rebounds.

Not only him, but the entire Magic team began to retreat quickly the moment the Turk made his move.

Coach Stan Van Gundy's strategy was extreme but very clear: sacrifice second-chance opportunities, completely abandon offensive rebounds, and do everything possible to prevent the Knicks from launching their signature fast breaks.

This tactic worked. The Magic quickly set up their defense, forming a tight defensive formation that left Steve Nash no opening to launch a fast break.

The game was forced into positional warfare.

The Magic are definitely underrated; this one game alone showed that they are a team with excellent tactical discipline.

The moment Hedo Turkoglu released the shot, no one stood in the frontcourt with their hands on their hips, demonstrating extremely high team defensive execution.

Once the game transitioned to half-court offense, the Magic's defensive style became very similar to that of the Knicks in the 09s and the Miami Heat during this period.

Everyone relentlessly pressured their opponents, forcing them to break through narrow sideways, emphasizing physical confrontation, and maximizing Howard's help defense capabilities.

This defensive system has proven highly effective, with the Magic ranking fourth in defensive efficiency in the league this season, behind only the Knicks, Lakers, and Cavaliers.

Steve Nash was closely guarded by Alston, but instead of driving to the basket, he passed the ball to Lynch, who was backing down Lewis in the mid-range.

The moment he got the ball, he turned around sharply and made a close-range jump shot.

The biggest weakness of this lineup is its vulnerability to strong position 4 players.

Neither Rashard Lewis nor Hedo Turkoglu possessed strong one-on-one defensive abilities.

The Magic's excellent defense relies almost entirely on Dwight Howard as their defensive anchor. Lynch scored easily, making it 2-0.

This was exactly what Stan Van Gundy feared before the game: his weakest link in the lineup had come head-to-head with the Knicks' sharpest weapon.
Stan Van Gundy reluctantly made a gesture, indicating that he would launch a pincer attack on Lynch ahead of time.

However, the Magic's offense also encountered problems.

Hedo Turkoglu called for a pick-and-roll again, but this time he didn't shoot after the pick-and-roll. Instead, he passed the ball to Ray Allen, who was cutting along the baseline.

Turkoglu's height not only allows him to shoot easily, but also gives him excellent passing vision.

His pick-and-roll with Howard is the Magic's most frequently used offensive initiation method. After the pick-and-roll, Turkoglu can shoot or pass with ease.

If Dwight Howard is the Magic's defensive anchor, then the offensive anchor is the Turk.

But Lynch's long arms forced Turkoglu to adjust the angle and power of his pass, resulting in the basketball flying directly from Ray Allen's fingertips.

The Turk raised his hand in frustration: "My mistake, damn it!"

Hedo Turkoglu missed a shot and made a turnover at the start of the game, which deepened Stan Van Gundy's worries - the team's offensive hub was struggling to make any progress in either individual offense or playmaking against Lynch's defense.

Commentator Marvin Albert put it more simply: "When the Magic played against the Cavaliers and Pistons, their frontcourt looked unstoppable. Especially Hedo Turkoglu, he's basically a face-up version of Magic Johnson. But when he faced Lynch, damn it, why did he suddenly become so weak?"

Marvin Albert hesitated for a long time before uttering the last sentence, clearly pondering the wording, and ultimately chose the most tactful way of putting it.

In fact, you could also translate the phrase "How did he suddenly become weaker?" as: "Those two trash, Melo and LBJ, made us completely overestimate the Turk."

Lin Qi finally couldn't hold back any longer. The match had been too quiet from the beginning until now, which was not what he wanted.

He looked at Howard: "Man, didn't you tell that to your teammates? That Turk thinks my defense is as trash as LeBron James', and he actually thinks he can beat me with his fucking pick-and-roll. Tell him to look me in the eye and stop treating me like LeBron James!"

"Shut up and focus on playing basketball. This isn't the time to tease LBJ!" An unexpected voice interrupted Lin Qi.

The one who responded to him was Ray Allen.

"Hey, when did you and LBJ become inseparable, Mr. Barbie?"

Ray Allen didn't say anything more.

He's probably the player in the entire league who dislikes trash talk the most.

Therefore, he just expressed his dissatisfaction.

But that doesn't mean he'll keep entangled with Lynch forever.

The Magic launched another attack, inbounding the ball from the baseline. Ray Allen was very active, weaving through the crowd.

He wants to break the team's scoring drought.

At the same time, he also wanted to shut up the noisy Lynch completely.

Turkoglu had been forced out of possession, and Ralf Alston took control of the game in this round.

Ray Allen used his teammate's off-ball screen to create space on the wing. Alston's pass arrived precisely on time.

Ray Allen catches the ball, jumps, and shoots—his shooting form is incredibly beautiful. As many have said, he is a refined and perfect shooter, like an elegant work of art inlaid in the world of basketball.

But just as he made his move, a shadow appeared from the side.

"boom!"

With a loud crash, the artwork shattered on the ground.

The basketball flew out of the court and slammed into the stands, instantly igniting the frenzy at Madison Square Garden!

The New York number 20 pounded his chest and roared at the gentleman, "You want me to shut up? You'd better score a goal, Lei Lei!"

Hedo Turkoglu is accustomed to initiating attacks from the top of the key, which provides Lynch with the opportunity to extend his help defense to beyond the three-point line.

Ray Allen remained expressionless and did not respond to Lynch.

But his clenched fists betrayed his emotions at that moment.

The Magic's offense was repeatedly thwarted, and the same person was responsible for extinguishing their attacks.

The New York Kings' dominance showed no signs of waning in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Orlando Magic inbounded the ball from out of bounds again, and this time they had to play the simplest tactic: lob the ball to Dwight Howard in the low post.

Although Howard lacks post-up skills, his running and jumping abilities are truly outstanding.

The one-star, four-shooter lineup creates space, allowing Howard to run and jump freely.

After receiving the ball with his back to the basket, Howard is extremely difficult to defend, whether he drives hard to the basket or turns around to break through.

This time, he used a swift back turn to get past Tyson Chandler. Tyson Chandler's athleticism is already excellent, but it must be admitted that Dwight Howard is outstanding in this aspect.

He easily beat Tyson Chandler, but just as he jumped to dunk, Tyson Chandler grabbed his jersey.

The foul caused Howard to miss his dunk, and although the referee blew the whistle, the New York fans continued to cheer.

They all know what level Dwight Howard's free throw shooting is at.

Howard stepped to the free-throw line with a sense of helplessness. The moment he received the ball, a deafening roar erupted in Madison Square Garden: "You shoot free throws like LeBron! You shoot free throws like LeBron! You shoot free throws like LeBron!"

In New York, this is the dirtiest form of insult, a sarcastic remark that could incite a shooting.

Dwight Howard's forehead veins bulged—being compared to LeBron James was something he loathed most.

The intense emotional fluctuations exacerbated his already poor free throw performance.

Two free throws, precise, two in a row, clean and crisp, were rejected by the basket!
With two missed shots, the Knicks shut down the Magic's offense for three consecutive possessions.

The Knicks attacked again, and Flip Saunders had clearly perfected his strategy, as Nash once again passed the ball to Lynch in the low post.

He's determined to target the Magic's power forward.

Seeing this, Ray Allen had no choice but to join forces with Lynch.

At that moment, Lynch had a clear opportunity to pass to the open Raja Bell, but he chose to ignore it.

"Be careful, Ray Allen is a low-profile dangerous man."

A reminder from before the competition suddenly flashed into Lin Qi's mind.

He knew Kobe was watching the whole game, so...
"Lin Qi still opted for a turnaround jump shot despite being double-teamed, and the ball went in despite the interference from two players! The King of New York has always been able to do whatever he wants in his territory!" Marvin Albert certainly knew that the attack just now was unreasonable, but as long as he could score, he had nothing to criticize.

Lynch glanced at Ray Allen, this time refraining from trash talk, and simply asked a question: "Can you score 51 points every game? No, even 40 points a game would be fine. If not, how do you plan to beat me?"

With a 4-0, 59-win season, the Magic, who eliminated the Detroit Pistons, look to be under pressure.

In the next offensive possession, Rashard Lewis' jump shot missed under pressure from Ariza, and the $100 million man couldn't break the Magic's scoring drought.

Howard desperately wanted to grab the offensive rebound, but the defensive strategy forced him to watch Tyson Chandler take it.

However, this is at least the only thing the Magic can be proud of tonight: they haven't allowed the Knicks to mount a single comeback so far.

The Magic stopped letting Lynch receive the ball so easily. Turkoglu, Lewis, and even Dwight Howard all moved closer to Lynch, forming a tight circle around him.

Even if they can't directly intercept Nash's pass to Lynch, they can quickly double-team him the moment he receives the ball.

Nash passed the ball to Ariza, but Ariza's less-than-stellar shooting allowed Turkoglu to simply step back and block his opportunity.

Ariza reluctantly passed the ball back to Nash, who tried to find Raja Bell, but Ray Allen was desperately trying to hold him back.

This looks like a successful defensive play, and the Magic seem to have found a way to compensate for their weakness at the power forward position.

Seeing this, Lynch waved his raised hand, meaning: Give me the ball.

Nash did as instructed, smoothly lobbing the ball through a bunch of long arms to Lynch.

Nash's pass was indeed brilliant, but the moment Lynch received the ball, the Magic immediately double-teamed him as planned.

But the moment Lynch's fingers touched the basketball, before the Magic could react, he twisted his wrist and instantly moved the ball to the basket!

"A fantastic pass!" Marvin Albert exclaimed.

At this moment, because Howard rushed out to help defend Lynch, Tyson Chandler was completely unguarded under the basket.

The latter jumped up and dunked, easily scoring 2 points.

DeShawn Stevenson on the bench jumped up: "Yeah! A cappuccino for the real best center in the East!"

With a 6-0 lead, the Knicks had the Magic struggling to breathe from the start.

Marvin Albert shook his head:

"We shouldn't underestimate the Orlando Magic, but we also shouldn't overestimate the Pistons and Cavaliers."

Stephen A. is right. For LeBron and Melo, playing against the Magic is either a matter of good weather or bad.

But for Lynch, everything was calm and peaceful.

This isn't an underestimation; it's a fact.

In front of the television, Kobe Bryant pressed the power button on the remote control, and the screen instantly went black.

Kevin Garnett, standing to the side, spread his hands: "What? Dude, what are you doing?"

“There’s no need to watch,” Kobe said. “Get ready to fight this Knicks with blood and sweat in the Finals. Nobody in the East can beat them.”

(End of this chapter)