Champion Creed-Chapter 918 - 303: More qualified than the other guy who likes to see himself as the King (Vote for monthly ticket!)
Chapter 918: 303: More qualified than the other guy who likes to see himself as the King (Vote for monthly ticket!)
Roger still doesn’t know how much impact his simple reminder to "raise your head" has had on Amar’e Stoudemire.
But his advice was indeed well-intentioned; defense is what limits Stoudemire from further advancing his NBA career.
As a player with a height of 208 cm, a wingspan of 218 cm, and athletic ability comparable to Reign Man, it’s inconceivable that Stoudemire’s defense could be so worthless.
The main reason for this is that Stoudemire started playing basketball too late, and perhaps because high school games were too easy, he didn’t pay much attention to defense, resulting in extremely amateurish defensive habits. Then in the NBA, Stoudemire happened to encounter a coach who didn’t train defense at all.
This has kept his defense below league average, while his one-on-one defense is almost negligible.
Kevin Garnett, who is known for poor scoring explosiveness, scored his career-high 47 points facing Stoudemire. This shows that Stoudemire’s defense is as imperceptible as Garnett’s fighting skills.
What impressed Roger the most was Stoudemire’s block against Wizards center Andray Blatche, where Stoudemire neither got close nor raised his hands, purely relying on his bounce to block the opponent. Although he successfully blocked the shot, it was definitely the most amateur and streetball-like defense Roger has seen in the NBA.
He might as well put his hands on his hips, at least conserving energy for fast breaks and adding 5,000 more points to his career total.
If Stoudemire had some college experience, he could have become a decent defensive player.
No, with his physical talent, even if he didn’t attend college, just paying more attention in high school would not have made his defense so exaggeratedly bad.
If his defense is three-fourths as good as Anthony Davis’s, he would be a much greater name.
Because his offense is truly exceptional.
Before his major injury during the 04-05 peak season, many may not believe it, but Stoudemire’s mid-range shooting percentage was even higher than Nowitzki’s, and his finishing rate at the basket surpassed any season in Anthony Davis’s career.
In terms of explosiveness, Stoudemire might be slightly inferior to Reign Man.
But in terms of overall offensive efficiency and output, Stoudemire that year was far superior to Reign Man.
His offense was already flawless, and the real reasons for his low historical standing are only two factors: defense and injury.
Therefore, Roger gave him some lifelong beneficial advice.
As for how much he can absorb, it’s entirely up to him.
Roger did not pay too much attention to Stoudemire’s matters, as he was busy communicating with his new girlfriend while eagerly waiting for the suspension to end.
An eight-game suspension doesn’t seem like much, but this period was longer than Roger imagined.
Even this year’s Christmas game, Roger could only watch from the bench as the Lakers slaughtered the Hawks. fгeewebnovёl.com
When David Stern issued the suspension decision, he considered allowing Roger to catch the Christmas game.
This way, it would punish the fighter while ensuring the Christmas game box office, a win-win situation.
But after careful consideration, David Stern vetoed the plan himself.
Because such an approach would embolden star players, giving Roger the impression that "see, David doesn’t dare to truly punish me."
To prevent similar large-scale fights from happening again, David Stern decided to be thoroughly tough, willing to abandon this year’s Christmas game for more suspensions to show his determination.
So this year’s Christmas game, the Los Angeles Lakers finally secured a victory, but the OK duo’s relationship didn’t improve, as they knew this victory was worthless.
Even though Paul Pierce returned after six games, the field was still filled with players whom O’Neal and Kobe couldn’t even name.
This was by no means the real Atlanta Hawks; no one would feel proud of beating this ragtag group of free agents.
After the game, watching Kobe and O’Neal leave in silence, Steve Jones felt a strong premonition: the league is reshuffling.
The next era might not come, because Roger wouldn’t allow it.
But even if this era still belongs to Roger, the league will undergo a significant reshuffle.
Will the OK duo still exist? Will Roger remain with Atlanta?
It’s time to start the next round of the game.
This Christmas game made the Hawks lose their fifth of the eight games, and the teams capable of losing to the current Hawks are the Knicks, Grizzlies, and Cavaliers—three major players.
They truly are willing to lose any game for tanking.
This year’s Christmas game faced a ticket office slump due to Roger’s absence.
The Hawks were still conducting ticket discount promotions 48 hours before the game start just to barely fill Philips Arena.
This is the impact of Roger’s absence, and this is merely because he didn’t play, already greatly affecting the revenue. What if Roger wasn’t on the Hawks at all? The consequences would be unimaginable.
Because this was Roger’s last suspended game, he attended the post-game press conference and became the focus of reporters.
"Roger, next up, your return game will face the first-ranking scorer this season, the Dallas Mavericks; will this put pressure on you?"
