Chapter 1168: Chapter 371: When the Beast Breaks Its Chains
Shaq’s anger was completely ignited; he hated the feeling of being ignored.
What made him even angrier was that Jason Richardson was snickering on the side.
"What’s it got to do with you!?" Shaq roared, unable to believe that someone like Jason Richardson dared to mock him.
Jason Richardson was almost out of breath from trying not to laugh and couldn’t help but say, "The HandCheck rule was your last talisman, and now you don’t have it. Tonight, you’ll only see true art, true art of slaughter."
Shaq didn’t know when he turned from a formidable super center into a joke, where even Jason Richardson dared to challenge him.
He vowed to ruin the first game at Oracle Arena!
The game began with Marcus Camby securing possession for the Warriors. Roger brought the ball past halfway, and the one tasked with primarily guarding Roger was sophomore rookie Josh Howard.
Last season, he started in only 29 games for the Mavericks, but this season, he directly started in the first game, and was also directly assigned to guard Roger.
Because the new head coach of the Mavericks, Avery Johnson, firmly believed that Josh Howard could become the next superstar-level player.
Although the records showed Josh Howard was born in North Carolina, Roger always thought this guy might have been born in Guizhou; otherwise, it’s hard to explain where he learned to bewitch Avery Johnson.
Josh Howard treasured this opportunity, earnestly defending Roger without hesitation.
Roger switched hands beneath him and then accelerated to break through, but Josh Howard’s long arms and extremely fast lateral movement immediately blocked Roger’s breakthrough path, clearly demonstrating he was indeed a talented guy.
But just as he blocked Roger, the referee blew the whistle: Josh Howard committed a defensive foul.
In the first game of the new season, referees were tasked with getting players and fans accustomed to the new rule standards, thus the enforcement was quite strict.
Josh Howard couldn’t quite understand, if he couldn’t use his hands, how was he supposed to stop Roger?
If he could only use his body to block, there were not many people in the league, no, not even anyone, who could stop Roger’s offense!
Josh Howard’s judgment was correct, which is why Bill Simmons said the HandCheck and zone defense were actually used to limit Roger.
During the HandCheck era, Roger was already indefensible; no one knew to what level his firepower would rise in the No HandCheck era.
The Warriors passed the sideline ball again, and Roger attempted another breakthrough. Josh Howard didn’t dare foul again, allowing Roger to easily pass him by.
Jason Terry came over to cover, but was too short, and Roger’s quick pull-up shot scored easily.
But the Mavericks quickly responded as Shaq received the ball inside, drew a double team, and passed it to Dirk Germany’s mid-range zone. When Stoudemire rushed up, he feinted and then accelerated to breakthrough.
Stoudemire wanted to reach out to stop him, but quickly lifted his hand when recalling the new rule change, also allowing Nowitzki to easily complete the breakthrough and score a layup.
In just two rounds, everyone realized the NBA was entering an entirely new era.
For many years to come, offensive players, especially those focusing on outside skills, would hold a crucial position in the league.
For a long, long time, center players would be completely out of touch with an award like MVP.
However, when it comes to offense, Roger is not inferior to anyone.
One round later, Roger took a three-point shot from beyond the arc. Since Josh Howard didn’t dare lay a hand on Roger, Roger had ample shooting space.
The basketball swished through the net, and Roger stretched out his hands to Shaq: "Thanks to your boss Mark for creating such a relaxed scoring environment for me! His actions have successfully distanced you further from the championship!"
One round later, Shaq wanted to take advantage inside. However, the No HandCheck rule was nearly a rule that only benefited outside offensive players, with no improvement in the inside offensive environment.
When Shaq received the ball, Marcus Camby could still arbitrarily resist Shaq with both hands.
He turned his back to Camby attempting to dunk, but Camby directly jumped up and choked, pinning him to the ground, resulting in only an ordinary foul for Marcus Camby.
The NBA hadn’t completely softened, especially inside, where competition was still fierce. Shaq’s offensive difficulty and Dirk Nowitzki’s offensive difficulty weren’t on the same level at all.
If the late 90s was the twilight of the center era, then now was the complete end of the center era.
Stoudemire rushed inside to grab the rebound. Roger received the basketball, pushed it to half court and first used a crossover to bypass Josh Howard, then immediately used a spin move to get past Devin Harris.
During this, neither dared to reach out to block Roger or grab his jersey.
As a guard transitioning from the 90s, Roger had never felt that breaking through could be so easy.
He stormed into the inside, against Germany coming from behind to block, completed a powerful two-handed dunk right over the German!
Dirk Nowitzki was knocked to the ground as Roger had already scored 7 points.
Mike Breen thought the new rule was utter nonsense; it didn’t let others’ offenses approach Roger’s level but rather elevated Roger’s offense to unprecedented heights.
"Maybe Roger can easily score 50 points!" Mike Breen predicted.
In the subsequent rounds, the Mavericks could only use double-teaming to deal with Roger, but the Warriors’ three-point shooters responded to these double teams.
Jason Richardson and Tayshaun Prince showed excellent three-point accuracy today, especially Jason Richardson, who seemed exhilarated by just taking on the starting role, as he scored each time he caught the ball beyond the arc.
This is why Erik Spoelstra needed him to start because a sluggish Allan Houston absolutely wouldn’t have such accuracy.
Jason Richardson’s accurate jump shots made the Mavericks hesitant to double-team, allowing Roger to regain control of the offensive pace.
He, like an experienced butcher, skillfully dissected the Mavericks.
The new defensive rules allowed Roger to play as if it was a training match; his mid-to-long range jump shots seemed forever unfailing.
Once, twice, three times...
O’Neal watched repeatedly as Roger shot effortlessly and again and again retrieved the ball from underneath the basket.
In front of the TV, Mark Cuban was completely dumbfounded. Roger seemed like a beast unleashed from its chains, and the idiot who unleashed the chains was none other than himself!
In the ninth minute of the first quarter, while Dirk Nowitzki’s forced shot under Stoudemire’s defense failed, O’Neal and Camby both jumped, but Camby finally grabbed the rebound first.
He was no longer that monster with mismatched athletic ability and size; Shaq could feel his athletic ability declining, unable even to compete against the likes of Marcus Camby in the air.
Drenched in sweat, Shaq immediately sprinted back to the other half only to see Roger, after a hesitation step, accelerate past Josh Howard, then rise to the air, elegantly releasing the ball from the highest point.
That No.14 rose tall, and Shaquille O’Neal instinctively reached out, only to find the distance between himself and Roger was so vast it seemed forever unreachable.
The ball went in, the entire audience erupted in cheers.
In just nine minutes, Roger had already scored 21 points!
Dirk Nowitzki had marked 12 points in the same quarter, yet in front of Roger was overshadowed.
The game paused, the Mavericks players walked off the court reluctantly.
In front of the TV, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was stunned, while nearby GM Donnie Nelson could only hear his muttering.
"They were right, they were right; I’ve unlocked the chains on the beast!"