Chapter 1248: Chapter 395: We May Grow Weary, But We Will Not Perish
Clutch ability is a rare treasure, not everyone can possess it.
Due to Stoudemire’s continuous misses in crucial moments, the Knicks ultimately won back a game, securing a home court.
Lenny Wilkens let out a long sigh the moment the game ended, the Knicks successfully climbed back from the brink of destruction.
And they also fulfilled the condition of "to defeat Roger, at least win one of the first two games in the series."
This condition does not guarantee that you will win, but at least it means you still have a chance.
It means the Knicks still have the possibility to walk out of the Bay Area alive after three consecutive away games.
Roger’s shooting percentage and output today were far less than in the last game, although he dished out 10 assists, it was still not satisfying enough.
The fundamental reason why traditional point guards cannot lead a team to win the championship is that passing is extremely limited on the Finals stage.
Isaiah Thomas? He is not related to tradition, in that two-time champion Pistons team, the Baby-Faced Assassin and Joe Dumars were two combo guards, that team did not have a dedicated point guard. In the 1989 Finals, the Baby-Faced Assassin averaged 21 points, and in the 1990 Finals, he even averaged 27 points, which already took him out of the traditional point guard category.
As facts have proven, if Roger plays in an organizer role, the Warriors cannot possibly beat the Knicks.
He must, like in the first game, control the entire court to ensure victory.
Thus, when Amar’e Stoudemire, as usual, prepared for extra practice after regular training, he saw Roger’s figure on the court.
Just as Shawn Marion previously commented on Roger, Roger is someone who never slacks off in training, but he is not yet the hardest worker in the team’s training.
Since the Atlanta period, Roger has rarely done extra practice. Therefore, seeing Roger still on the court, Stoudemire was very surprised.
"You didn’t go on a date, I’m surprised."
"Amar’e, my rib is injured, how do you expect me to do intense exercise? A date without intense exercise is meaningless."
"You can let the Olsen sisters sit on the top of the Eiffel Tower themselves."
"Very good Amar’e, your metaphorical rhetoric has improved greatly."
After speaking, the trainer had already prepared everything.
There were two trainers training with Roger, they held soft pads, one guarded the lead, and one assisted from the back. What Roger had to do was to repeatedly break through from the injured left side, then either pull up for a jump shot or lay up.
He only did this one thing, with 13 attempts per set, resting for a minute between each set, repeating over and over again.
When Roger practiced three sets and was resting for the third round, Stoudemire was stunned: "Aren’t you unable to do intense exercise?"
"If it’s for victory, that’s a different story."
"Why do you still want to stimulate the injured area?"
"Of course, it’s to adapt to the feeling of attacking from the left side while injured, I can’t just sit idle knowing that they are targeting me this way. I asked Lady Chelsea, except that it would be very painful, under normal circumstances it wouldn’t aggravate the injury. There is only one situation that would worsen my rib injury, which is someone elbowing me in the same spot."
Roger described everything in an understated tone, but immediately after, his furrowed brow betrayed him.
"You’re not Superman, Roger, stop."
"Of course I’m not, but I’m also not O. J. Simpson. When that guy was acquitted, he claimed he would use all resources and connections for the rest of his life to find the murderer of his ex-wife. So, what happened? He didn’t do one bit of that."
"Maybe the murderer was him, anyway, that’s what I’ve always believed." Stoudemire shrugged.
"That’s not the point, the point is, I just won a championship in the Bay Area, and my goal is a dynasty. I can’t let down the fans, can’t let down the owner, can’t let down myself, can’t let down those who follow me. No matter what, I’m not that kind of person, maybe in the NBA there are people like that, those who can pretend they’ve forgotten their goals and what they’ve said, but that’s not me. We want to win the championship, until I myself want to end it all."
After speaking, the alarm clock on the side rang, the minute rest was over.
Roger stood up again, and began repeating the training just now.
The trainers were apprehensive of Roger’s injury, so this time the confrontation wasn’t full force, and Roger easily pushed them away.
Unexpectedly, Roger flew into a rage: "I haven’t called tired yet, why did you soften first!?"
Shawn Marion also got one thing right.
Roger and Kobe overlap in some ways, only one of them is stronger.
Roger works very hard, but the harsh real world repeatedly tells people that hard work resulting in success is a fairy tale.
In Game 3, Roger’s left-side offense was still limited.
You can’t expect Roger to adapt to the feeling of shooting through injury in just two days, he still needs a lot more practice.
Although Roger’s performance was already better than in Game 2, scoring 34 points with a 43% shooting percentage, the New York Knicks still managed to win the game thanks to Gary Payton’s two crucial threes in a moment of revival.
Last season with the Lakers, Gary Payton still considered himself a star, he refused to execute the Triangle Offense, not realizing that his era was long over.
This season with the Knicks, the unselfish atmosphere of the whole team also made the proud Gary Payton willingly retreat behind KG, Yao Ming, and Wade.
Fans this season have grown accustomed to such possessions: the Glove dribbles past half court and obediently hands the ball to Wade, then laboriously runs to the corner, temporarily vanishing, witnessing the performance of his teammates.