Champion Creed

Tim Duncan scored only 9 points in the college game against Marcus Camby, which certainly wasn't all Camby's credit, but he was undoubtedly the biggest contributor.

As a player who considers Duncan his biggest rival, Marcus Camby has studied Duncan meticulously and is very familiar with the habits of this great number 21.

So even when Camby was defending alone, Duncan couldn't just do as he pleased under the basket.

In the previous defensive round, Marcus Camby didn't get any statistical data.

No blocks, no rebounds, nothing, just like his defensive style at the New York Knicks.

Even though he didn't get any stats, he rediscovered the true joy of defense.

Excellent defenders are always indifferent to stats; you can't be tempted by data. You must remember your mission is to guard the basket behind you. Even if the ball is within reach, unless you're certain of a successful interception, you better not risk it.

This is especially true for the inside, as an outside player being passed still has inside players to clean up.

But if an inside player loses position, the basket would be completely exposed to the opponent.

So the margin for error for an inside player on defense is very low, which is why players who can both achieve defensive stats and complete effective defenses are so precious.

Marcus Camby doesn't know if he can protect Duncan while also gaining stats; right now he only wants to protect the basket.

He believes what Mutombo said, as long as you do what needs to be done, the honors are sure to follow.

Gary Payton was somewhat panicked; he joined the Spurs because they were the closest to the championship among all teams needing him.

Yet now the team was trailing the Warriors by 6 points in the first quarter, Duncan was no longer dominating.

Can the Spurs still get close to the championship?

Subsequently, Parker immediately made a layup after a penetration to reduce the Spurs' deficit to single digits, boosting the Spurs' morale.

Parker's basket seemed effortless; he almost passed Stephen Jackson in one step, then spun to reach the basket, avoiding Camby's block for a successful layup.

Tayshaun Prince can defend Parker because he possesses agility that doesn't match his height and wingspan, and considering Parker's shooting ability at this time was almost negligible, Prince just needs to give Parker a step, combined with his long-arm obstruction, it's enough to realistically limit the French sports car's speed.

But Stephen Jackson was not as much of a threat to Parker, Parker easily broke through him, while the Frenchman's finishing rate at the basket could rival a center.

Just when the Spurs caught their breath, Roger again made the score difference 10 points!

This move saw Roger break through Bowen with Ginobili immediately coming over to assist, but Roger simply ignored Ginobili, leaning on him to continue accelerating.

Compared to Payton, Ginobili's resistance was weaker, and his defensive timing wasn't as precise as Payton's.

In short, the Argentine's assistance was not threatening to Roger.

Against the Argentine, and with Bowen chasing, Roger already attracted two defenders.

Alongside Duncan, a total of three Spurs players chased Roger.

Roger passed behind his back amid the crowd, and the pass landed directly in the air.

Seeing Roger's pass, the Warriors fans in the stadium already stood up in advance, ready to greet the upcoming thrilling moment. They all knew this moment would not disappoint.

With Ginobili completely left open, Jason Richardson cut along the baseline, received the airborne basketball, and performed a single-handed 180° spinning slam!

In Oakland Arena, there's a saying: When you leave Jason Richardson open at the corner, it's not the corner three you need to worry about.

This naturally gifted slam artist will cut along the baseline, delivering a performance akin to a dunk contest level show for fans.

After scoring, Richardson pointed at Roger: "Thanks, boss!"

"You should have spun one more round; this was too easy," Roger replied. If basketball hadn't been filmed yet, he would've shown Jason Richardson how embarrassing his dunk move really was.

The performance certainly was spectacular, but for this offensive play to succeed, 90% of the credit goes to Roger.

He easily attracted three defenders, unless Roger was blind or a hindrance, otherwise his teammates would have easy opportunities.

This is the downside of having Manu Ginobili on the court; Parker's defense was already poor, and with Ginobili simultaneously present, the Spurs' perimeter defense can only rely on Bowen.

But against a real superstar, Bowen alone is not enough to defend.

So when the Spurs let Parker and Ginobili take the floor together, if the offense can't take down others, then they will be taken down.

Unfortunately, Ginobili's next attempt was directly swatted out of bounds by Stoudemire.

This round saw Ginobili trying to take on Roger, after receiving Duncan's screen, he immediately broke through.

Yet Roger quickly bypassed the screen, Ginobili staggered his way through into the inside under pressure, then suddenly stopped and leaned back.

The basketball surpassed Roger, but behind Roger, Amar'e Stoudemire arrived timely, leapt high for yet another block!

Warriors fans had lost track of how many times the team had defended opponents inside today; Mike Breen only knew one thing: "The Warriors' once-weak inside now has become an impenetrable fortress!"