Champion Creed
Chapter 869 - 869 288 Lied to you will not see again asking for monthly votes!_2

869: 288: Lied to you, will not see again (asking for monthly votes!)_2 869: 288: Lied to you, will not see again (asking for monthly votes!)_2 In front of the live broadcast cameras, Jason Kidd unabashedly said: “The New Jersey Nets will be a highly competitive team next season, perhaps challenging the Hawks’ dominance.

After all, you know, they’re no longer the Atlanta Hawks of the previous two seasons.”

Roger really couldn’t understand; if the Lakers said this, Roger might have nothing to refute.

But who do you think you are, Jason Kidd?

Even without Big Ben, wouldn’t handling you be easy?

Roger swore that if the Nets won against the Hawks next season, he would retire and become a male model.

The crazy transfer season was underway, and after receiving Roger’s text, Lenny Wilkens also reached out to Mike D’Antoni.

The two met at a small tavern in Miami,

thinking either this Little Moustache is a swindler, or a madman.

There’s a reason he’s been frustrated in Portland.

His theories sound quite terrifying when he speaks them.

“Basketball, at its core, is just a game of putting the ball in the basket.

So, why should we divert our attention to other things?

As long as we put the ball in the basket more than others, we can win!

We just need to speed up, increase the possessions, and score before the opponent’s defense sets.

An offense needs only seven seconds or less; this speed is enough for us to beat all opponents!”

“How do we speed up?

We have Scottie Pippen at 36, Hakeem Olajuwon at 37, and Jeff Hornacek lying in his sickbed.

Should they wear roller skates to play?

And, seven seconds or less for a possession?

How do we position?

How do we organize?

Seven seconds is only enough for Roger to make an off-ball screen and catch the ball.”

Lenny Wilkens felt he was wasting time.

Because Roger had forewarned Lenny Wilkens, he was mentally prepared for Mike D’Antoni’s so-called “disruptive” approach.

But when he heard it firsthand, he was still stunned.

Lenny Wilkens felt this guy didn’t understand basketball at all; he might have had a successful playing and coaching career in Europe, but European basketball is different from the NBA.

Maybe this absurd strategy worked in Europe, but it might not be effective in the NBA.

Has he achieved anything in the NBA?

Almost zero.

He briefly coached the Nuggets during the lockout season, and that stint cost him his job, forcing him to resort to being a scout for the Spurs.

It wasn’t until last season that he finally found a job as an assistant coach in Portland.

Faced with a series of questions from Lenny Wilkens, Mike D’Antoni calmly responded.

“I’ve studied the Hawks’ lineup these past few days; we can start Michael instead of Scottie, have Kurt Thomas play as the starting center.

With this setup, we have the condition to speed up; most crucially, we have powerful three-point shooting.

When Kurt rests, Shawn Marion can play the center position!

A seven-man rotation throughout the game can maintain this speed, without a problem!”

Lenny Wilkens was almost unable to continue the conversation: “What about defense?

Without Scottie, without Hakeem, how do we defend?”

“Sir, as I said before, as long as we put the ball in the basket more than others, we can win.

Defense is not important at all.”

At that moment, Lenny Wilkens couldn’t bear it any longer.

He stood up, wanting to end the conversation.

You can imagine what it means for someone to tell a traditional coach that defense doesn’t matter—it’s like challenging that coach’s core beliefs.

This is challenging the basketball knowledge Lenny Wilkens accumulated since he started coaching in 1969.

As a defender of orthodox basketball, Lenny Wilkens saw Mike D’Antoni as a heretic, someone who couldn’t be trusted.

According to Lenny Wilkens, Old Nelson’s playing style was similar to what Mike D’Antoni was advocating.

Back in the 1970s, Old Nelson applied a fast-paced approach when coaching the Bucks—avoiding settling into half-court play and increasing the number of possessions.

By the eighties and nineties, while coaching the Warriors, Old Nelson’s small ball had become the most notable contrast to traditional basketball.

But D’Antoni was even crazier; his suggested strategy was faster than Old Nelson’s, and he openly claimed defense wasn’t necessary.

You have to know that even Old Nelson’s Bucks heavily emphasized defense.

And don’t forget what Old Nelson’s nickname was—Mad Scientist.

He conducted various crazy basketball experiments across teams.

The basketball world needs such people, but Lenny Wilkens couldn’t be such a person.

Because he must play championship-level basketball, his mission is to ensure the Hawks secure a three-peat, he has no time for experiments.

Although somewhat angry, Lenny Wilkens maintained his last shred of poise and courtesy: “Mike, this conversation has been enlightening; I might contact you again.”

D’Antoni scrambled to pack away the hundreds of pages of tactics he’d brought, revealing a delighted smile.

“Do you really believe everything I’ve said?

We can revolutionize this league!

Hey, Roger is very talented, I know he’s famous for scoring, but he’s actually very skilled at organizing.

He possesses excellent athletic ability, has enough team spirit and basketball IQ.

I believe, he can absolutely lead the fastest team in the league!

If we build this strategy around him, we can succeed!”

“Yes, yes, let’s hope so.

I must leave now, Mike; if all goes well, next time we meet we’ll have to wear overcoats.”

“Lenny, let me walk you out!”

Lenny Wilkens waved his hand and turned to leave the tavern.

Kidding you, we’d never meet again.

After returning to the hotel, Lenny Wilkens sent a text to Roger: “I agree with your ‘change or die’ saying, but I fear we need to change in a different direction.

I have a plan; otherwise, next season we’ll start Dream.”

At this moment, Roger couldn’t receive Lenny Wilkens’ text.

Because he was in China watching the semifinal basketball match of the 2001 World University Games, Team China vs.

the United States team.

Roger’s trip to China was mainly for various commercial activities; watching the University Games was purely out of his own interest.

This year, the United States team didn’t send the top NCAA players, yet they still averaged over 30-point wins against their opponents.

After all, the US Men’s Basketball Team had won six consecutive championships at the World University Games, keeping an unbroken streak of 46 games.

Therefore, facing Team China, the Americans were completely unprepared.

Then, they were schooled by that 226 cm fellow.

The whole match, the United States team couldn’t widen the gap; having dazzled at the Jordan Training Camp and Nike Training Camp, and tormented this year’s second pick Tyson Chandler, Yao Ming continued to overpower NCAA players, scoring 18 points and 4 blocks in the final 15 seconds, leading Team China by one point.

The United States team’s unbeaten streak of 46 games was about to end here, but they had a 15-second opportunity to defend their honor.

Just at the last moment, that 226 cm center who terrified the United States team shot down their glory with a blocked shot and an inexplicable “Tomato” phrase.

The game ended, Yao Ming blocked the United States team’s game-winning ball, achieving 5 blocks in the match, leading to the first defeat of the United States team at the University Games.

On-site, Roger saw many NBA scouts.

After all, aside from the host China itself, hardly anyone paid attention to such matches.

So those foreign onlookers taking notes while watching the game, what else could they be but scouts?

This match undeniably laid the foundation for Yao Ming to become the first pick, as he achieved something Roger always wanted to witness—overwhelming NCAA players.

As the game concluded, Roger prepared to go onto the court to shake hands and chat with the players.

As he got up, Eric Fleisher, who accompanied Roger to China, chuckled: “Guess whether David Stern would concoct another frozen envelope to send yet another great center to New York.”

“New York?” Roger was surprised, because in his memory, the Knicks didn’t have high draft picks in recent years.

But suddenly he recalled that in this timeline, the Knicks didn’t have Allan Houston nor Spree, they were at their worst.

They weren’t without the chance to dive for the first pick next season.

Good, what interested Roger most was seeing how history would change.

However, while appreciating the historical changes, Roger first had to blow his porridge cool.

“Eric, try to contact Lenny for me when we get back to the hotel.”

“Is it urgent?”

“He should have already met with Mike D’Antoni, I need to talk with him—it concerns the dynasty.”