Chapter 1247: Chapter 395: We May Grow Weary, But We Will Not Perish
Last season, after Karl Malone was transferred to the Lakers but still experienced failure, he chose to retire empty-handed.
Look at him now, only a year into retirement, and 90% of the fans have already forgotten his name.
Mentioning Karl Malone feels like talking about a Tyrannosaurus rex, as if he’s a distant figure from ancient times, yet he was clearly playing in the Western Conference Finals last season.
Gary Payton doesn’t want to leave in such anonymity, but he’s no longer sure if he can get a ring in Roger’s era.
Last season, he confidently told Roger he could, but now, he’s not even sure himself, feeling hopeless about the next game.
"Bang!"
Everyone’s thoughts were interrupted by a chair flying out.
Kevin Garnett stood up, and the chair under him had been thrown to the front of the video analysis room.
He shouted angrily, cursed a lot, and then slammed the door and left.
Lenny Wilkens can now confirm that what Garnett said during the regular season to motivate his teammates — "You can’t understand great teams or players when they win, but you can recognize them when they struggle to stay at the top" — was indeed the highlight of his lifetime.
He probably won’t say such things again; that moment used up all the talent KG had in this lifetime.
However, crude words can sometimes have an effect.
The Knicks just needed a veteran to remind the young players of one thing — we haven’t lost yet.
That’s all.
Kevin Garnett’s anger achieved just that, once again becoming the pillar supporting everything as the building was about to collapse.
Of course, Lenny Wilkens knows this is also the last time KG can save the team this way.
When you fail the first time and someone motivates you, you’ll get up quickly.
The second time you fail and someone motivates you, you’ll digest the loss more quickly and then get up again.
But what about the third time? Any motivation would become powerless.
The Knicks can’t rely solely on KG’s motivation and passion; they need some tangible victories to sweep away negative emotions.
The next game is the last chance to use a victory to clean up negative emotions.
On the other side, watching Roger appear on the training ground with thick protection wrapped around his ribs, the entire Warriors team couldn’t believe what had happened last night.
How on earth did he score 53 points?
Amar’e Stoudemire didn’t know how fans would look at this finals series 10 or 20 years from now, because even as someone who experienced it, he found it incredible.
years later, in Ben Simmons’ eyes, who might hit eight consecutive bricks even during warm-up open shots, the video of this finals series may have the same sci-fi level as "Star Wars."
The outside world still doesn’t know about Roger’s injury, but it’s only a matter of time before the news leaks.
Having been in the NBA for many years, Roger knows one thing: there are no secrets in this league.
As long as the reporters want, they can dig up anything they need.
However, the speed of the information leak was faster than Roger expected.
During the open locker room interviews that afternoon, the reporters’ first question was about the injury: "Roger, is it true that you played last game with a fractured rib?"
Roger instinctively looked at himself; he had removed all his protection, and normally the reporters couldn’t have guessed he was injured.
It seems the leak was unavoidable.
"Yes," Roger didn’t cover up anymore, "but it proved not to be one of the factors affecting the game."
"How will you persist through the entire series and win the championship under such circumstances?"
"Go on, play ball, take the victory, just keep at it."
"Do you think the New York Knicks will make any targeted arrangements for your injury?"
"Even if they do, it’s their right."
Roger had already prepared himself for this, which is why he didn’t want the Knicks to know about his injury. After learning about his injury, the Knicks’ morale would revive, and they would defend against the injury specifically.
As Roger expected, in Game 2 of the series, detail fanatic Shawn Battier didn’t miss this opportunity.
In the Game 2 match, besides applying pressure, Battier mainly defended Roger’s right-side breakthrough.
In the last game, Battier didn’t block one of Roger’s sides because Roger’s right and left hands were very balanced, and the efficiency of breaking through either side had no obvious difference; blocking one side was useless.
But knowing that Roger’s left rib was injured, Battier forced Roger to go left as much as possible.
This move worked; when Roger broke through to the left, affected by the injury, his efficiency in either pulling up for a mid-range shot or attacking the basket was far less than on the right side.
Coupled with the Knicks’ pressure and double-teaming, Roger only scored 28 points in Game 2 with a 42% shooting percentage.
Amar’e Stoudemire carried the offensive banner, blasting 33 points for the game, but his limitation of facing the basket in crucial moments was as evident as those of the past greats.
The "Little Dominator" created countless classic moments with the Warriors, his explosive athletic ability turned him into a highlight machine.
But if you look closely, you’ll find that none of those dazzling highlights feature any game-winning shots.
Essentially, as a power forward, if you don’t have a strong back-to-the-basket game or elite level three-point shooting, your impact in critical moments won’t be too strong.