Champion Creed

In Jeff Hornacek's view, Matt Barnes made a fatal mistake, which was defying Roger.

From the start, he was trying to challenge the owner of the locker room and showed a lack of respect towards him.

Jeff Hornacek didn't think Roger's performance in the training match was unkind at all, because Matt Barnes' trash talk, high-intensity confrontation beyond training, and those dirty little tricks were enough to infuriate Roger.

So, when he heard Erik Spoelstra's conclusion, he thought the Filipino head coach must have stayed up late to the point of losing his mind.

In the office, Jeff Hornacek asked the head coach, "Give me a reason why Roger would like Matt Barnes. He let Roger score 21 points in 20 minutes, missed all his three-point shots, and only scored 2 points through cuts to the basket. Does he have any bright spots?"

"Yes, he never gave up defending Roger, not even in the last round. He didn't relax one bit on defense because of stamina or mindset, a trait that is rare even among superstars. Many superstars are defending physically, but their minds are on how to fast break dunk later on."

At this moment, the office door was knocked, it was Roger freshly showered.

Tomorrow is the game against the Los Angeles Lakers. In front of this nationally broadcast heavyweight matchup, the Warriors can't even come up with a complete rotation list, Roger came to discuss this matter with the two coaches.

As soon as Jeff Hornacek saw Roger, he went straight to the point: "Quick tell me Erik is crazy. He actually thinks you would like Matt. We all know Derek Anderson is the safer choice, my point is, he indeed doesn't have many highlights, but he doesn't have major flaws either."

Jeff Hornacek hoped Roger would end all discussions about Matt Barnes, but Roger answered without hesitation.

"Yes, Erik is right, I like Matt, he's awesome."

Jeff Hornacek was stunned for a few seconds, then covered his head with his hands.

"Damn, damn! If six or seven years later my daughter brings back a crazy boyfriend like you two, I'd bloody go look for my revolver at the bedside cabinet! Why!? Did Matt put some kind of spell on you? When you signed him, I thought you guys must be mad! He's a troublemaker, an incapable troublemaker, can you imagine him shouting at you loudly on the court? Just like today!"

"Putting all that aside, Matt is one of the few players who were tormented by me for 20 minutes and still unwilling to give up. Jeff, how long did you last before? Maybe five minutes?"

"Get lost! That's because coach Jerry Sloan only let me match up with you for five minutes!"

"Jerry Sloan was right, he didn't want to see a good father being humiliated in front of his daughter for 20 minutes, he's incredible, I always thought old coach Sloan was a good person."

"Alright, Roger, maybe Matt is a player with strong willpower. But just because of this you think he can join our main rotation? His shooting is too bad. In the era of zone defense, if one person's jump shot isn't good enough, it means Roger will face double the defensive pressure."

"You said his shooting can quickly improve." Erik Spoelstra interjected.

"I said it is possible to improve quickly, the thing about shooting, who can say clearly? Who would have thought Amar'e could become an elite mid-range shooter in his second year of career? And who would have thought that Tim Duncan, the master of fundamentals, still hasn't resolved his weakness in free throws?"

"Then let him try, Jeff, if possible, I'd like you to personally coach his jump shot, there's no better shooting coach in the team than you, I appreciate if you work overtime. I like Matt, anyone bold enough to mess with me is qualified to be my teammate, the Golden State Gangsters need this kind of hungry mad dog full of desire."

Jeff Hornacek didn't refuse Roger, because working overtime is still better than facing his wife's question of "how many Swiss rolls can I eat" at home.

But he still had one last concern: "How do you control this ferocious dog? Ensure he doesn't bite our own people? You've said before, locker room atmosphere is more important than anything, how do you ensure he doesn't act out?"

"No need to control," Roger confidently replied, "he will recognize who gives him food, he's a wild dog, not a mad dog."

Twenty minutes later, Jeff Hornacek walked into the training gym.

There were still several players practicing extra, Matt Barnes was one of them, he was still working on his shooting.

As his stamina decreased, the basketball he shot veered left more severely.

His terrible offense is the key reason he couldn't establish himself firmly in the NBA.

Finally, Jeff Hornacek couldn't stand it any longer, and said something almost identical to last season's Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy: "Stop practicing, it's useless, you're completely wasting your effort."

Matt Barnes stopped his actions, he hated the feeling of being rejected everywhere.

He is a mixed-race of black and white, not black enough nor white enough, so from childhood to adulthood he couldn't integrate into any group, even if he played excellently in high school games, no one cheered for him.