Champion Rules

Chapter 281, Section 277: If it were me, this would be too easy (Seeking monthly votes!)

This is the second time in LeBron James' career that he has nearly collapsed on the court.

He was so angry he could barely breathe.

He didn't know how Lynch could come up with such a sharp, almost malicious term as "off-peak travel," which directly targeted his carefully planned physical conditioning strategy this season.

At that moment, LeBron James' fists clenched white, and blood rushed to his head—he really wanted to rush up and hit Lynch without considering the consequences, even if it meant being ejected from the game!

But then I glanced at the Knicks' Big Three on the bench.
Never mind, I'm already a seasoned star player.

The New York Knicks are currently the only team in the NBA that can develop two different playing styles on the court.

He still feels lingering fear from the scene where Ron Artest completely shut him down during last season's playoffs.

LBJ chose to swallow his anger, constantly telling himself that he had to fight back, he had to fight back.
But then, something even worse happened.

During a dead ball situation, Thunder head coach Scott Brooks substituted Serge Ibaka with former Knicks center Nazr Muhammad.

Nazr Muhammad has consistently made positive contributions on the defensive end, which is why, despite his mediocre stats and wandering between multiple teams, he has always been able to establish himself in the NBA.

However, no matter how excellent his defense is, it cannot compare to Serge Ibaka, who has already reached the edge of the defensive line.

His presence on the court means that LBJ will receive significantly less support on the defensive end.

Even on the offensive end, his space is no longer as ample.

While Serge Ibaka isn't known for his scoring, his mid-range shooting is decent, which can create space for LeBron James to some extent.

As a purely blue-collar player, Nazir Mohammed has absolutely no shooting range on the offensive end.

Without enough space, it means LeBron James might not be able to get back on track later!
In the following defensive possession, LBJ, not wanting to continue allowing Jordan Crawford to score easily, didn't dare to double-team Lynch again.

This almost certainly means the Thunder's defense has failed.

Sure enough, Lynch immediately seized the opportunity, making a deft hook shot over Nazir Muhammad, and the basketball obediently swished off the backboard and went into the basket.

In just three possessions led by LeBron James, the Thunder had already taken a 7-point lead.

Good news: James stepped up on the offensive end again.

The bad news: It's James Harden.

James Harden is fully prepared for tonight's game against the Knicks.

He even refused a match request from a big-assed guy last night for the sake of the game – his first voluntary rest of the season.

Because he didn't want to lose face in front of his childhood friend, DeMar DeRozan.

With 5 seconds left on the 24-second shot clock and no chance to score, James drove, passed, and shot.

James assisted James to hit a three-pointer, narrowing the gap between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Oklahoma City Thunder to 4 points.

If LeBron James insists on calling himself a good leader, the only reason is that he helped James Harden make significant progress.

Before this season, James Harden, as the sixth man, rarely took crucial shots.

But this season, James Harden has been one of the most clutch players in the entire league.

His frequency of "shots in the last few seconds of the game" suddenly increased.

Once again receiving the ball that was passed to someone else, James Harden remained calm and steadily took the shot to narrow the gap for his team.

James Harden laughed wildly at DeMar DeRozan on the bench, while LBJ breathed a sigh of relief; James Harden's emergency jump shot came at just the right time.

Lynch's sharp and witty remark immediately made LeBron James's relaxed nerves tense up again.

"LeBron, since you love dealing cards so much, why did you leave the Detroit Pistons? Haven't you realized that no matter where you are or what your teammates are, you're best suited to be a dealer? Admit it, there's no shame in facing the fact that you're not a superstar."

LBJ gave an inappropriate example: "So Jason Kidd isn't a superstar anymore?"

"Jason is, of course. Any player who can lead a team to the Finals year after year is a superstar. So, LeBron, how many times have you led your team to the Finals?"

LeBron James remained silent.

He's really making things difficult for himself on both ends!
The game continued, and Thunder backup guard Daequan Cook saw Lynch preparing to back down Nazr Muhammad again, and rushed over to help defend without hesitation.

He didn't know why LeBron James suddenly gave up double-teaming, just because that rookie Jordan Crawford had just trash-talked him, and he disregarded the overall situation?
He didn't want to think too much; he only knew that if he didn't join the attack, Lin Qi would ruthlessly dismantle the Thunder defense line.

As Lynch turned his back to prepare to exert force, he keenly caught sight of Daquin Cook lunging at him.

The Kings of New York admire this guy's courage; sometimes, role players are more responsible than stars.

Unfortunately, Daquin Cook let go of a guy who absolutely couldn't be let go.

Lynch skillfully passed the ball to Ray Allen in the low post, who then launched a three-pointer with his well-honed jump shot.

Ray Allen gave a cold nod to that bastard Lynch, then fell silent and retreated defensively.

The Thunder were still down by 7 points, but LeBron James narrowed the gap to 5 points with a bank shot in the next possession.

Lynch couldn't help but applaud: "What great luck!"

“That wasn’t luck,” LBJ responded forcefully.

"Ha, then go ahead and score one more!"

The Thunder launched another attack, and LBJ indeed fired again from the same spot.

Unfortunately, Lady Luck turned her back on him, and this time his jump shot slammed into the front of the rim.

However, Nazr Muhammad grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it to James Harden.

This is a strange phenomenon, because the other James is clearly closer to Nazir Mohammed.

But he instinctively chose to pass to James Harden, who was further away beyond the three-point line.

It's clear that LBJ's leadership with the Thunder is impeccable.

He thought he only needed to win over KD, but in reality, he hadn't won over a single player on the team, and he hadn't even earned the genuine trust of a single player.

When James Harden got the ball, there were only 5 seconds left on the shot clock.

LBJ just wasted too much offensive time.

This is related to a rather puzzling playing habit of LeBron James. As a player with a high basketball IQ, once he has the idea of ​​attacking, he seems to suddenly become mentally challenged and habitually controls the ball possession to the extreme.

Even when faced with a defense he's not confident he can win, he won't choose to pass the ball early. Instead, he stubbornly squeezes out every last bit of offensive time before hastily taking a shot or passing the ball to the opponent.

He wasn't confident he could score against Lynch and the players lurking behind him, Jordan Crawford and DeAndre Jordan, but instead of passing to his teammates earlier, he dribbled until the very last moment and suddenly forced a shot.

It's normal that you can't play like two Jordans, but it's not normal that you can't play like them and don't pass the ball.

However, James Harden did not panic despite the time constraints.

He calmly executed a series of crossover dribbles in front of Goran Dragic, pressing forward relentlessly.

Just as Goran Dragic shifted his weight backward, James Harden took a lightning-fast step back to create space, and pulled up for a shot almost stepping on the edge of the backboard where the blinding red light was flashing!
Although it was a two-pointer with his foot on the three-point line, it still helped the Thunder further narrow the gap!
The Thunder were only down by 3 points, but LeBron James felt frustrated and couldn't muster a single smile on his face.

Because it's clear that a different LeBron James is in control now.

This is completely different from the takeover of the game he had envisioned.

Even Thunder home commentator Bryan Davis couldn't resist teasing his own player, LBJ:

"LeBron is distributing his energy."

He doesn't play when the main players are facing off because he needs to prepare for rotation time.

He doesn't play during the rotation time because he needs to prepare for the main matchup in the second half.

He might not play in the second half when the starters face off, because he needs to prepare for his rotation time in the second half.

On the defensive end, LBJ still did not double-team Lynch.

In fact, the Thunder's rotation strategy was to have LBJ double-team Lynch, even if it meant allowing role players to score a few baskets.

But when the "role player" who is pre-selected as someone who can be discarded is a guy named Jordan Crawford, whether the tactics can be executed is another matter entirely.

LeBron James was torn between "double-teaming Lynch" and "preventing Jordan Crawford from scoring" in order to save face.

Clearly, he now favors the latter. His footwork seemed nailed to Jordan Crawford, and he once again abandoned his attempt to help defend Lynch.

He wouldn't allow this newbie to humiliate him again with the video incident from back then.

What does the video Nike confiscated have to do with me, Under Armour's number one star LeBron James? So you have to respect me!
Nazir Muhammad: Then who will respect me?!

Once again, Nazir Muhammad watched helplessly as Lynch scored with an easy turnaround jump shot over his head.

The former New York player was practically beating his chest in frustration, lamenting to Lynch, "Damn Lynch, can't you at least have some sympathy for us?! I've done so much for New York, I've shed blood for the Knicks, you can't do this to me!"

Lynch laughed: "Ha! I'm not the one who heartlessly abandoned you to face the superstars alone."

LeBron James' nerves were stretched thin by the constant pressure, but finally, the whistle for a timeout saved him.

Scott Brooks decided to substitute LeBron James early, as James was clearly mentally unstable, to let him calm down.

Lynch, who came in and out at the same time as LBJ, was also substituted, and James Harden, the Thunder's sixth man, dominated the remainder of the first quarter.

At the end of the first quarter, the Knicks trailed by one point.

凯文.杜兰特8分，斯蒂芬.库里8分，詹姆斯.哈登9分，勒布朗.詹姆斯2分4次助攻0失误。

You could say LBJ was crucial, because without his two points, the Thunder would be trailing now.

Of course, most people don't have this kind of peculiar thought process.

They would simply think that LBJ was indeed an excellent dealer.

During the break, Scott Brooks stared intently at number 23: "LeBron, I need you to be more focused on defense! We don't have a significant roster disadvantage, and we have a chance to upset the defending champions! Maybe you won't be the top scorer tonight, but victory is the only badge of honor, isn't it!?"

LBJ nodded silently, temporarily banishing all his distracting thoughts. He had to win tonight, no matter what.

Last season, the Oklahoma City Thunder lost both games against the New York Knicks and also lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs.

This season, the Thunder have already beaten the Lakers once.

If they can also defeat the Knicks, that would be enough to prove that his presence is the key factor in the Thunder's transformation!
That is enough to prove that he is the leader of this team!
Data? To hell with it!
Victory! Victory is the only truth!
Returning for the second quarter, LeBron James regained his composure.

When he had the opportunity, he attacked the basket with unparalleled force; when he didn't, he did a good job of organizing the dealing of cards.

He actively rotated and double-teamed Lynch, working hard to protect the rim and supporting the Thunder's defensive backbone.

Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and James Harden transformed into sharp scythes, reaping points.

One fact is that the Oklahoma City Thunder have indeed become a force to be reckoned with.

Logo's move to bring in LBJ has transformed the Thunder from a young team overflowing with talent into a true powerhouse with both potential and immediate impact.

Wilson Chandler was completely outmatched by Kevin Durant today. He tried his best, but it was difficult to contain that tall, skinny jump shot king.

To stop KD, he had to frequently try to steal the ball. Because once KD jumped to shoot, it was too late.

Unfortunately, KD's improved ball handling and Wilson Chandler's bad luck meant that most of his steals hit KD's arms and the back of his hands. With three minutes left in the game, he finally fouled out.

Dramatically, Thunder center Serge Ibaka soon suffered a similar fate.

Facing Lynch, he was so tense that he fouled out in the next possession after Wilson Chandler.

With key players on both sides suffering losses one after another and little time remaining in the match, the battle has reached a fever pitch.

To break the balance, Lynch activated his scoring mode.

He scored first with a turnaround jump shot despite being double-teamed by Nazir Muhammad and LBJ.

Facing the iron wall of three defenders, Lin Qi showed no fear, twisting and turning in mid-air to score with a layup.

Lynch hit two superstar shots; this should have been a matchup between superstars.

But no one from the Thunder stood up.

KD acted like a star player, taking over the offense in two consecutive crucial possessions.

He really wanted to show LBJ through his actions that he should stop pretending to be the boss.

Unfortunately, his declining physical fitness acted like a heavy chain, distorting the arc of his jump shot that he relied on for survival and affecting the stability of his jump shot.

Furthermore, Ron Artest, who replaced Wilson Chandler, brought out extremely aggressive defense, further impacting KD's jump shot.

This isn't a sudden resurgence of Ron Artest's talent; rather, it reflects KD's current fear of strong defenders.

Ron Artest is like Carlos Boozer dealing with Yao Ming back in the day – not because he was particularly strong, but because he happened to encounter a player who could counter him.

KD's physical fitness is certainly outstanding compared to that of ordinary players, but for a super scorer who relies on jump shots, any slight fluctuation in physical fitness will be magnified infinitely in life-or-death moments.

After missing a shot, KD yelled, "That was a foul!"

Of course, the referee ignored it.

With the Thunder trailing in the crucial moments, Stephen Curry is determined to step up.

But his three-point attempt also bounced off the rim.

Steve Nash defended him very tightly, and the Wind's aggressiveness on the defensive end was never the reason for his poor defense.

Moreover, you can't expect a second-year Stephen Curry to be as good as a Stephen Curry in his prime.

Scott Brooks quickly waved his arm, signaling the red-hot James Harden to go to the scorer's table to prepare to replace the Swiss Army knife Thabo Sefolosha during a dead ball situation.

But before James Harden could even enter the game, Lynch scored again.

He moved to the right baseline corner through off-ball movement, received a pass from Steve Nash, and took a shot immediately.

Lynch scored 7 points in a short period of time, and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who had been holding on for the entire game, seemed to be on the verge of being completely crushed.

At this moment, Stephen Curry's shooting touch is ice-cold, Kevin Durant is limping, and James Harden is still on the sidelines, eagerly awaiting the arrival of LeBron James, whom the Oklahoma City Thunder need!
It was a divinely ordained script—when the team was on the verge of collapse, the leader stepped up, turned the tide, and was crowned king!

LeBron James has the perfect opportunity to prove his leadership!
Under the spotlight, number 23 received the ball at the top of the key during the next offensive possession, and the fans at Chesapeake Energy Arena cheered for him.

Lynch was constantly by his side, forcing LBJ to protect the ball with his back to the basket.

He called on Nazir Muhammad to provide cover before launching the breakthrough.

Without a second thought, Lynch bypassed Nazr Muhammad, blocking LBJ's path to the basket but giving LBJ a fleeting opportunity for a jump shot.

But LBJ ignored those fleeting shooting opportunities, and in crucial moments, he had no confidence in his mid-range and long-range shooting.

He roared, channeling all his strength into his legs, and slammed into Lin Qi like a battering ram out of control!
"boom--!"

The terrifying thud of muscles colliding echoed throughout the arena, and Lynch was pushed back half a step by this brutal impact.

LBJ seized the opportunity, leaped into the air, and prepared to finish with a layup!
But DeMar DeRozan double-teamed them, and the Thunder's two interior players, Nazr Muhammad and Nenad Krstic, who have no shooting range, also blocked the paint, making the interior extremely crowded.

With no other option, LeBron James couldn't push any further, so he instinctively turned around, avoided the double team, and took a turnaround jump shot.

However, his awkward turnaround jump shot bounced off the rim due to Lin Qi's interference!

"Fuck!"

The leader's perfect script has been shattered!

LeBron James couldn't step up and stop the Thunder's losing streak either!

Number 23 roared in frustration: "Damn space!"

After one round, Lynch took over again, using a crossover to get half a body length in front of LBJ, and then pulled up for a jump shot.

Kevin Durant immediately came to help defend, because Ron Artest couldn't provide the same accuracy as Wilson Chandler, so KD didn't hesitate to leave him alone.

In other words, Lynch, like LBJ, doesn't have much space on the offensive end.

Both sides have lost a key player who could create space, and both sides face the same predicament.

However, the results were quite different.

KD and LBJ both reached out to interfere.

But they were still a beat too slow. Lin Qi seized the tiny opening in the narrow gap, pressed his wrist lightly, and made a jump shot.

Scored 9 points in a row!
The New York Kings' takeover of the game unleashed a sharp blade that nearly pierced the Thunder's heart!
Faced with these two men, both eager to become leaders but powerless in crucial moments, Lynch slowly shook his head:
"They say the defense is too aggressive, the spacing is too poor, and their shooting touch is bad."
Don't make excuses. If it were me, this would be too easy.

At that moment, the invisible flame of competition between LeBron James and Kevin Durant was completely extinguished by Lynch's bucket of ice water.

Because in front of the King of New York, they felt they were not worthy of the title of leader.

(End of this chapter)