Chapter 1165: Chapter 370: The Cold-Blooded Emperor
After a few pre-season games, Allan Houston’s shooting accuracy was terrible.
He felt that he tired easily now, and his breathing would become labored after just a little running.
This physical condition made it impossible for him to find his shooting touch.
On the other hand, Jason Richardson posted a 42% three-point shooting rate in the pre-season, averaging 1.5 steals per game!
You could say he has already become an above-average 3-and-D guard.
Whether it’s the “3” or the “D”, he’s already better than Allan Houston, plus he has efficient finishing ability that Allan Houston lacks.
In the last pre-season game, both Jason Richardson and Allan Houston got 20 minutes of playtime.
The former scored 13 points, 3 assists, and 1 steal; the latter scored 4 points, 0 assists, and 2 rebounds.
After the game, a reporter asked Allan Houston a question that left him speechless: “Allan, do you think you’ll still be a starter next season?”
Allan Houston didn’t answer, but Erik Spoelstra’s response to the same question was: “Our starters are determined by the players’ condition. Whoever is in better shape gets more opportunities, and this is fair.”
Allan Houston was completely panicked.
He was very aware of why he still possessed such high commercial value now, because if he was just a substitute with few appearances, he would be worthless.
After the last pre-season game ended, Roger was in the parking lot just about to get in when he heard someone shout: “Roger, wait!”
Roger turned his head, it was Allan Houston in a suit, last season’s immovable starting shooting guard for the Warriors.
“What’s up Allan?” Roger asked knowingly.
Allan Houston had long lost his previous calm demeanor, he stammered: “Roger, please, I really want to play on the court with you, I really want to contribute to the Golden State Warriors. I know my pre-season performance wasn’t great, but give me some more chances, I’ll do better in the regular season, I promise!”
Roger didn’t answer whether or not he’d give him a chance, he just replied with a nerve-wracking statement: “Jason has been playing well lately, no, he’s been playing exceptionally well.”
Allan Houston understood what this sentence meant, he also knew Roger absolutely had the authority to start whoever he wanted. Although last season everyone got along well, Roger was always different from everyone else.
He was the supreme ruler in that locker room, he controlled everything.
Allan Houston was in despair, even though he won the championship with Roger last season, his relationship with Roger wasn’t really close, they were just ordinary teammates, maintaining basic friendliness and courtesy, and that was it.
Last season, it was their common goal that kept him and Roger in sync, it was their common goal that made them feel they were closely linked.
But now, Allan Houston suddenly realized how far away he was from Roger.
“Roger, I can do better, last season was proof!” Allan Houston began to struggle desperately.
But Roger’s eyes still held no emotion: “Sorry Allan, but didn’t I tell you before that you’d better cherish this opportunity to prove yourself again? To be blunt, the starting shooting guard for the regular season is Jason. At least until you can beat him on the practice court, he will remain the starter.”
After the ruthless ruler pronounced Allan Houston’s “death sentence,” he got into the red Ferrari and left.
Why did Roger like driving the Ferrari? To constantly remind himself that Shaquille O’Neal still owed him money for the rims.
In the rear-view mirror, Roger saw Allan Houston standing there, motionless.
Roger admitted it was somewhat cruel to Allan Houston.
Last season he was a championship starter, the team’s third scoring option.
This season, he suddenly fell to being a substitute, losing out in publicly challenging his teammates.
But that’s Roger’s team, or rather, that’s a dynasty team.
No complacency is allowed here, regardless of the year, everyone must maintain that competitive spirit. If not, they will be replaced by someone more competitive.
Roger shook his head, he wasn’t an emotionless bastard, he could imagine how cruel this was for Allan Houston.
But at least, he still had that $15 million annual salary.
With that thought, Roger felt much more at ease.
A ruler sometimes needs to be cold-blooded, otherwise, you cannot produce a dynasty team.
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Will Allan Houston fall out of the starting lineup for the regular season? Would his relationship with Jason Richardson become a hindrance on the Warriors’ path to defending their title? – “Hoop”
The Lakers were undefeated in the pre-season, Kobe Bryant officially reached his peak on the 15th! – “Los Angeles Times”
The United States is a country of free speech, anyone is eligible to discuss whatever they want to. – LeBron James talks again about the matter of “LeBron is the least qualified to evaluate the statue.”
In the first game of the new season, fans will see significant changes brought by the new rules. Rejoice, the ugly defensive basketball is gone for good. – Mark Cuban speaks on the impact of the No HandCheck rule on the opening game, and is confident about crushing the Warriors in the opener. After all, there’s no team in the league with a stronger offense than the Mavericks.
Did Mark ever consider that HandCheck and zone defenses were actually used to limit Roger? He unlocked the shackles with his own hands, and he will surely bear the consequences of unlocking them. – Bill Simmons’ Blog.