Champion Creed

Matt Barnes took over the spot left vacant by Allan Houston in just one game.

Derek Anderson and Nick Van Exel have no complaints about it, knowing well that they can't bring the same defensive energy as Matt Barnes.

However, after this game, some media critiqued Matt Barnes.

LeBron James' mouthpiece Dave McMenamin was one of the harshest critics.

"Matt Barnes is nothing but a despicable thug, and his dirty moves cannot be simply covered up as 'will to win.' In just about 20 minutes of play, he got four fouls, each one of which would constitute deliberate murder on the street. Roger's decision to include such a person in the Warriors' main rotation is a blasphemy against basketball."

Fortunately, Roger and Barnes don't care about these bad reputations.

Although Matt Barnes is a bully, he almost never makes those malicious injuring actions.

In Roger's view, as long as this bottom line is held, defending aggressively shouldn't be considered dirty but should be called tough. Fans are not blind; they can distinguish between toughness and dirtiness.

So Roger won't respond to these groundless accusations, especially since the influence of Nike's mouthpiece is currently just self-entertainment and can't stir up any storm.

Speaking of which, Nike has been pushing Dave McMenamin to output at such a high frequency because LeBron James and the Cavaliers are on the rise.

Nike believes it's time for LeBron James to become a hot topic in the League, hence the continuous media hype.

James' experiences this season so far have indeed been quite dramatic.

In the first three games at the start of the season, the Cavaliers were defeated in all of them.

Coupled with the Olympic fiasco, James' reputation almost hit rock bottom.

And during the three-game losing streak, in the Olympics, Larry Brown, who faced major losses and now can only return as the Pistons' assistant coach, even added insult to injury by revealing to the media: "Before the Olympics began, LeBron arrogantly proposed that he could control the entire team and deserved more playing time. Now it seems this young guy hasn't figured things out at all. Look at the Cavaliers' results; LeBron doesn't know how to be a leader yet. He always pretends to be mature and is immersed in his self-created illusion."

Larry Brown has never been a coach who protects his players, and what he has most frequently done this season is to pass the buck.

The United States was embarrassed in the Olympics, but he didn't want to take all the blame alone.

So, he accused many star players of lacking patriotism, withdrawing from the Dream Team for ridiculous reasons, saying they should be stripped of their right to vote in presidential elections.

He accused Tim Duncan of not putting his heart and soul into the Dream Team, accused Shawn Marion of having inconsistent performance compared to his NBA days, and criticized Stephon Marbury for playing recklessly.

Almost everyone in the Dream Team was blamed, even LeBron James who had little playtime wasn't spared.

The story about LeBron claiming, "I can control an entire team," was set against the backdrop of the Cavaliers' three-game losing streak, making LeBron James appear as an overconfident, narcissistic, and incredibly foolish child.

But a dramatic beginning often relates to a plot twist. No one expected that after the painful three games, the Cavaliers would seemingly wake up, managing an eight-game winning streak.

The most dazzling game among them was the recent Cleveland Cavaliers versus Detroit Pistons match.

Before the game, Cavaliers center Big Z declared: "LeBron said he would get revenge because Larry Brown is there."

And he indeed did that; LeBron James scored 21 points in the first quarter against the Pistons and another 12 in the third quarter. When the Pistons started to catch up, number 23's two three-pointers broke the momentum of the Blue Army.

By the end of the fourth quarter, when James was subbed out, his teammates had collectively scored 44 points while he alone had 43 points.

After the game, even Larry Brown had to admit: "LeBron is already quite a dangerous guy. He has improved so much since the summer; it's one of the most wonderful performances I've ever seen."

Under the new rules, the Detroit Pistons have practically become the biggest victims this season, and any team that defeats them gets hyped up.

For Nike, this is a chance for them to engage in legendary storytelling.

From a three-game losing streak to an eight-game winning streak, from being mocked to achieving perfect revenge, the Chosen One's sophomore season seems to be shaking off the shadow left by Michael Jordan.

But for the legend to transcend, merely defeating the Pistons isn't enough.

What is a legend?

A legend is when an old man on the edge of his life gets reelected as president.

A legend is Tom Brady transforming from an ugly duckling into a swan, returning to the peak from the bottom.

A legend is 41-year-old Michael Jordan leading his team back into the playoffs.

A legend is Cleveland's Chosen One fulfilling people's expectations of him.

The Detroit Pistons are strong, but for the Chosen One to truly uplift the Clevelanders, to truly write a legend this season, he has only one path — to defeat Roger.