Champion Creed

On the day before the opening game, during the tactical meeting, Erik Spoelstra announced the starting lineup for tomorrow's match, with Jason Richardson prominently listed, making Allan Houston's championship defense season filled with failure right from the start.

Most people in the locker room embraced and high-fived Jason Richardson to offer congratulations. Of course, there were also some people comforting Allan Houston.

But it was clear that those comforting him were mostly doing it out of courtesy. Allan Houston always had a sense of distance with everyone, much like players such as Ray Allen; he was a "Black Pearl" with a dark exterior and white interior.

His father, Wade Houston, was once a professional player and later became the head coach at the University of Tennessee. Hence Allan Houston lived a privileged life since childhood, even playing college ball under his father's guidance, which afforded him many conveniences.

Born into a basketball family, he naturally entered the NBA, started in games, secured a big contract, became an All-Star, and last season, together with Roger, won the championship, elevating his reputation to its peak.

It can be said, Allan Houston never faced too many setbacks in his life, unlike those Black brothers who endured rough childhoods accompanied by firearms and drugs.

Players like this often find it difficult to integrate into the locker room.

Indeed, Allan Houston at least, in terms of emotional intelligence, is much more normal than that guy in Los Angeles who switched to the number 15, and more approachable than that compulsive patient in Seattle. Thus, in the Warriors' locker room, nobody truly disliked him.

Yet, a person always gravitates towards those with similar experiences, so, comparatively, Jason Richardson had better rapport in the locker room, whereas Allan Houston hardly had any close friends among his teammates.

Seeing the starting list devoid of his name, the Mid-range Shot King lowered his head in deep disappointment.

Since 1995, in nine years, he had never played as a substitute on any team, making it very hard for him to accept such a huge disparity.

Although Roger had already told him in the parking lot ahead of time that his starting position would be taken away, essentially preparing his mind.

But mental preparation is like taking Chinese medicine; you think you're ready, but when it actually goes down, you still feel like throwing up.

Watching Allan Houston remain silent, everyone in the locker room understood one thing: it was best not to slack off just because they had already won a championship last season, it was best not to think that everything was accomplished just because they had won the championship last season.

If you lose your desire to win, if you lose your motivation to improve, if you think you can relax after winning a championship, this is the outcome.

You will be excluded from this championship team.

In Roger's team, you can gain honor, wealth, and respect.

But as a consequence, you must put in more sweat. If you cannot endure striving with all your might year after year to fight for the championship, it's best to retire gracefully like Charlie Ward.

For everyone, a game permits only five people to be on the court concurrently, with a total playing time of 240 minutes. If you become complacent, this 240-minute cake won't be shared on your plate. If you want to claim a piece of the cake, even at age 40, it'd be best to sprint to the forefront in a fast-break.

As a man who created two dynasties, Roger understands well: consecutive championships are often harder won than single ones, and internal difficulties far outweigh external ones.

Some will develop dissatisfaction with their roles, and when victory is no longer novel, some will lose motivation; Roger has experienced all these.

Currently, most mainstream media believe that Roger and Shaq winning only three championships is far from sufficient. Given that they simultaneously held the league's two best players, people think Roger and Shaq's championship tally should be eight.

Roger deeply agrees with this view, even he couldn't overcome internal team difficulties, ultimately parting ways with an ambition-swollen and increasingly complacent Shaq, leading to their championship count stopping at three.

Roger aims to create final glory in San Francisco, not allowing any team issues, not being defeated by any difficulty, not tolerating any "championship killing the champion itself" event to occur again.

Allan Houston's fate reminded everyone that last season's championship was not the end of everything.

After the tactical meeting, Allan Houston remained unmotivated during training.

He didn't erupt with the determination to "take back everything that belongs to me"; having been stripped of his starting position, he sank even deeper.

Holding the championship ring and a big contract, he already lost the drive to strive, lacking the courage to face any challenges anymore.

Roger shook his head; he had no issues personally with Allan Houston, but he was fortunate that, at least now, the starting second position at the Warriors was filled by someone still hungry for victory, truly unleashing a championship-level fighting power.

An individual alone cannot achieve success, but the reverse holds: one person alone can impede success.

Luckily, the Warriors stemmed the source of complacency before it spread.

Thus, on November 2nd, the revitalized Golden State Warriors welcomed their first opponent of the championship defense season, the Dallas Mavericks, at their new home, Oracle Arena.