Champion Creed-Chapter 1449 - 454: Equivalent Exchange

points in a single quarter, Roger hits the shot that made James stumble, and the Lakers call a timeout, Spoelstra subs Roger out to rest.

James scores 10 points, 3 assists, and 3 rebounds in one quarter, undoubtedly his best performance since the Western Conference Finals.

When he focuses solely on winning, he’s not as unbearable as he seems.

Kobe actually played well too, scoring 8 points with 3 out of 4 shots in the first quarter, a very efficient performance.

But Roger’s performance eclipsed both Kobe and James.

Yet, the atmosphere at the Staples Center continued to energize the Lakers players. Even in the last 6 minutes of the first quarter, the Lakers fans kept cheering, shouting, singing for their heroes.

This time, Kobe didn’t blame James. He saw that James had given his all in defense today: "LeBron, that bastard can’t maintain that state all game long, show him the real you! You can stop him!"

"Of course!" James shouted, "I’ll damn well take care of him, you keep things steady on the offense! Chauncey, you need to attack, you need to be more proactive, you can’t let Roger have it so easy on offense! I know you made no mistakes in the first quarter, but just not making mistakes won’t beat the Warriors!"

"LeBron’s right!" Kobe stood firmly backing James.

This was the moment Phil Jackson had been waiting for the entire season—Kobe and James, setting aside all grudges and differences, leading the team with a wholehearted pursuit of victory.

Both James and Kobe were angered; one didn’t want Roger to score high, the other didn’t want his home ground to fall so easily.

At least for tonight, they were united.

On the other side, Spoelstra was squatting in front of Roy: "Don’t stop moving, don’t let Chauncey stop! Exhaust him, make him pant like an old dog! Brandon, I need you to wear him out!"

Using strategy against strategy, although James didn’t score much in the last game, his active movement on offense made Roger stay vigilant, affecting Roger’s offensive efficiency, making this draining tactic successful.

Today, Spoelstra planned to use the same method against Chauncey Billups.

How does a woman make a man weak? By riding him, without stopping no matter how much he begs.

The same logic applies for how one man weakens another.

Roy doesn’t have to score, but as long as he keeps moving, Billups has to defend.

And a Billups overly drained on defense will only have passing value left on offense.

If the Lakers pull Billups away from Roy, then only Kobe can step up. But if Kobe has to chase Roy all the time, will the Lakers’ own offense still function?

In fact, Phil Jackson knew well Roy’s level. In his mind, Roy was the league’s fourth-best shooting guard, just behind Roger, Kobe, and Wade. Game 1 already proved even Kobe couldn’t completely lock him down one-on-one.

So, the defense on Roy couldn’t be relaxed.

Roger was in great form today, and if Roy also got activated, the Lakers would be in big trouble today.

So at the start of the second quarter, Phil Jackson didn’t adjust the matchups.

Seeing James still in front of him, Roger didn’t hesitate and began to attack.

He used a pick and roll to shake off James, faced Howard who came up for the double team, and made a bounce pass as if to Stoudemire rolling in. Howard immediately backed off.

But the ball didn’t bounce to Stoudemire; instead, it bounced back to Roger, thanks to the spin he added, creating the illusion of a fake bounce pass.

After opening up space away from Howard, Roger immediately shot, and although James caught up to provide some interference, it was interference Roger could handle.

"Swish."

"19 points now, LeBron," Roger said with a smile, "your opportunities are dwindling."

Immediately, during the Lakers’ offense, Chauncey Billups also called for a pick and roll to attack Roger, wanting to counter him on offense.

Billups wasn’t new to this role; in the 2003 Pistons Championship, during the finals against the Spurs, Chauncey Billups used pick and rolls to wear down Duncan, forcing him out on defense.

This was effective, Billups’ draining and the Pistons’ tight defense collectively limited Duncan’s shooting percentage to just 41% in that series.

A shooting percentage that wouldn’t be acceptable even for perimeter players.

But Billups himself was already greatly worn out on defense and was not known for explosiveness now.

So Roger easily slipped past the screen and stood in front of Billups.

Billups wasn’t a mid-range master; blocked by Roger, he had no good offensive options.

He began looking for someone to pass to, eventually passing to Howard moving in.

Howard caught the ball and was about to explode upwards when Stephen Jackson rushed in on behalf of Stoudemire to foul the Magic.

Frustrated, Howard slammed the ball to the floor: "Damn it, why can’t they just penalize them out of the game? Damn it!"

Throughout the series, Howard had rarely seen satisfying offensive moves. Peak Howard in the 2009 finals, facing high-level opponents, averaged just 15 points. So now, with this Howard, you can’t expect much in terms of offensive contributions.

You could say his offense is better than Big Ben, who couldn’t even manage a layup, but that’s the only comparison.

The Warriors’ front-line reserves were deep; even if one fouled out, the rotation remained adequate. So when it came to fouling Howard, the Warriors never hesitated.