Chapter 2 Leadership, Carter, and The Sun

On the 2nd, the Raptors returned to their home court to face the Suns.

Because they only needed to win eight of their remaining ten games to break the Bulls' historical best record, Su Feng, as the team leader, decisively convened another team meeting in the locker room before the game.

At this meeting, Su Feng emphasized that while the Raptors' situation was excellent, with the playoffs approaching, every Raptors player should practice "inspecting themselves three times a day."

At the same time, Su Feng pointed out that the more critical the moment, the more vigilant each Raptors player should be, remembering the lessons of the past and avoiding repeating them.

In addition, at the end of the meeting, Su Feng stated that on the road to success, as long as the Raptors players could withstand the trials, fight the tough battles, withstand the pressure, and continue to carry forward the glorious tradition of Raptors' happy basketball, they would be the strongest team in the league, without exception.

"Is this the leadership a team leader must possess?"

In the team's locker room, after listening to Su Feng's speech, Nash thought with emotion.

Nearby, Battier felt that Su Feng's speech sounded very familiar.

But he couldn't remember where he had heard it for the moment.

It is worth mentioning that before this game against the Suns, Carter had approached Su Feng alone.

"Su, I felt great during warm-ups tonight. Can you let me be the main offensive focus tonight?" Carter said sincerely, looking at Su Feng, the team's decision-maker.

It must be said that after more than a year of painstaking effort, Su Feng's image as the team's overlord had taken root in this Raptors team.

Because in other teams, the head coach usually had the final say.

However, in Toronto, Carter was very clear...

Without Su Feng's approval...

Davis was just a mascot.

In March, Su Feng's performance was too dazzling, which led to Carter having fewer opportunities on the court.

As a result, because the media felt they couldn't just report good news about the Raptors, Carter became the unlucky guy who was frantically criticized.

In addition, in late March, Carter failed to score in double digits in three consecutive games, and for a time, many media outlets described Carter as a useless bum who was only good at dunking.

Ha, you say Carter had a big triple-double when he played the Nets before?

Tsk...

As the saying goes, if you want to condemn someone, you can always find a reason.

As long as the media wanted to nitpick and stir up trouble, they could selectively forget how well Carter had performed before.

Therefore, the young and energetic Carter was anxious.

He was broken by the media and desperately wanted to take practical action to slap the faces of those who said he couldn't do it again before the end of the regular season.

Su Feng naturally saw Carter's anxiety and was secretly delighted...

Bah, pained in his heart!

Because he used to be Allen Iverson's sidekick in Philadelphia, he knew why a role player like Carter would feel uncomfortable.

However, with the Raptors about to enter the crucial moment of their final sprint...

Huh?

No!

Wait...

In the team's locker room, looking at Carter's excited face, Su Feng, who originally wanted to persuade him to focus on the big picture, suddenly remembered a famous scene about Carter.

Although, due to the changes in history in this life, many of the classics in Su Feng's memory had been replaced by new classics.

However, after carefully considering it in his mind for a while, Su Feng felt that Carter might create a legendary night for himself tonight.

So, after giving Carter a "rogue-like Pippen coaxing smile," Su Feng said, "Of course, no problem, Vince. As long as you're in good shape, you'll be our absolute core in this game."

Ding!

Vince Carter's favorability +99999.

Cough...

Although Su Feng didn't have a so-called favorability system, after he said these words to Carter, looking at Carter's moved expression, Su Feng felt that if there weren't so many people in the locker room, Carter would definitely hug him and kiss him.

"Su, thank you for your trust.

Don't worry, I know my own role.

As long as I can shut up those who doubt me in this game, I will definitely do my best to assist you next." Carter, who was moved by Su Feng, said with rare emotional intelligence.

But...

Carter might not believe it if he said it.

In Su Feng's opinion, unless Carter could win a championship after he left, the outside world's doubts about him would probably accompany him for the rest of his life.

In Su Feng's previous life, the reason why Kawhi Leonard and Paul George would rather start their own teams than cooperate with LeBron James was because they knew very well that winning a championship with LeBron James, no matter how much they contributed, the credit would always go to King James.

In short, this was the "negative impact" brought about by Su Feng's current high status in the martial world.

The so-called "the Lakers lost, but Kobe didn't" was also the same.

Therefore, when Tracy McGrady told him that he wanted to leave the Raptors after this season, Su Feng didn't choose to force him to stay.

Because in that case, even if Su Feng could keep Tracy McGrady, he would probably be left with a Tracy McGrady who resented him.

Reality is not a game after all, where you don't have to consider people's hearts when assembling a team. In this life, after personally experiencing many things, Su Feng finally realized the greatness of those championship teams.

...

At the Air Canada Centre, before the game started, under the lead of the on-site DJ, Martin, nearly 20,000 Raptors fans used their Northern Roar, which was enough to shatter the sky, to make the Suns, who were visiting tonight, feel the Raptors' home court's feverish atmosphere.

This season, the Raptors' ability to create history was inseparable from the support of their home fans in Su Feng's opinion.

Just like former Liverpool coach Shankly said, without fans, football is nothing.

In fact, this saying also holds true on the basketball court.

In competitive sports, because there are many objective factors that can affect the final result, the strength of the two sides cannot be completely used as a reference for the final result.

In Su Feng's previous life, the reason why a large number of "gamblers" lined up to go to the rooftop every World Cup year was because these people were too superstitious about the assessment of the strength of the two sides.

On the court, after the entrance ceremony, the big screen showed the starting lineups of the two teams tonight.

Raptors: Ben Wallace, Jermaine O'Neal, Su Feng, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady.

Suns: Luc Longley, Tom Gugliotta, Clifford Robinson, Anfernee Hardaway, Jason Kidd.

This season, as a rising force in the West, led by Scott Skiles, the Suns are currently ranked sixth in the West.

Last summer, the Suns acquired Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway from the Magic through a trade.

In addition to former All-Star forward Tom Gugliotta and former Bulls' defensive center Luc Longley, at first glance, the Suns were already a "super team" on paper.

However, in reality, this Suns team was completely useless in Su Feng's eyes.

During his time with the Timberwolves, because Kevin Garnett always helped with rotations and help defense, Tom Gugliotta not only relied on his all-around face-up skills to put up excellent numbers averaging 20+ points per game, but also made the Western Conference All-Star team as a reserve in the 96/97 season.

And thanks to his excellent performance with the Timberwolves, Tom Gugliotta also successfully deceived the eyes of Danny Ainge, who claimed to understand basketball.

As a result, after arriving in Phoenix, Tom Gugliotta's numbers immediately plummeted.

Because of his lack of athleticism and slow lateral movement, Tom Gugliotta was simply a defensive black hole.

When defending on the perimeter, his side was a free pass when faced with a pick-and-roll.

And when defending one-on-one in the paint, the area he guarded was an ATM for the opponent.

Therefore, this season, in order to solve the Suns' anxious interior defense, Danny Ainge self-righteously introduced Luc Longley, who had long been eliminated by the times.

And then...

There was no then.

Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that Jason Kidd was at the peak of his career during this period, and the Western Conference wasn't as nightmarish as it would be in the future, Su Feng didn't think this Suns team could have made it to sixth in the West.

In Su Feng's previous life, it was in a game against this Suns team in the 99/00 season that Vince Carter scored his career-high of 51 points.

And before the game, as a walking "Encyclopedia of the Four Shooting Guards," Su Feng had only approved Carter's voluntary request after remembering this incident.

Because no matter how history changed, the fact that players like Carter were the Suns' kryptonite could not be changed.

Of course, in Su Feng's opinion, he was also pretty much the Suns' kryptonite...

But...

"Forget it, forget it, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Where can you find such a good thing these days?"

On the court, looking at the high-spirited Carter, Su Feng finally convinced the part of himself that had been obsessed with the sewer lately.

My Pippen, do you know how much I have sacrificed for you?

In the center of the court, Ben Wallace and Luc Longley jumped to start the game.

The Suns had possession, and Jason Kidd was responsible for dribbling the ball across half-court.

Su Feng had already experienced how slow Luc Longley was three years ago in the summer league.

On the court, in order to wait for Luc Longley's screen, Su Feng felt that Kidd was about to lose it.

It must be said that there were a lot of clueless coaches in the NBA.

Because even a keyboard warrior knew that Kidd and Longley didn't mesh, but whether it was Danny Ainge or Scott Skiles, they seemed to be unaware of this truth.

So now the question is.

Was this because there was no "strongest person" on the Suns, so Scott Skiles could only choose this way?

The answer was of course no.

Because in the current Suns team, they really did have the strongest person who could break the deadlock.

--Shawn Marion.

The future "Matrix" Marion.

One of the strongest swingmen in the NBA in the first decade of the 21st century.

This season, according to ESPN statistics, when Marion and Kidd were on the court at the same time, the Suns' efficiency on both ends of the floor would increase significantly.

Because guards like Kidd very much liked to partner with swingmen.

In Su Feng's original timeline, the reason why Kidd was able to lead that Nets team to the Finals several times was thanks to their strong frontcourt.

However, because Marion was just a rookie at this time, Danny Ainge and Scott Skiles had been unwilling to trust him.

But in fact, because he had been polished in college for two years, Marion was already quite good in terms of immediate impact.

Before the game, while studying the Suns' game film, Mike D'Antoni had complained to Alvin Gentry that if Marion were on the Raptors, he would recommend that Marion start.

And to this, Alvin Gentry also expressed his agreement.

In Su Feng's previous life, many Danny Ainge boosters often touted Danny Ainge's various strokes of genius, but in reality, the number of terrible trades that Danny Ainge had made was simply beyond your imagination.

On the court, the Suns' first possession failed to score.

After Luc Longley slowly completed the pick-and-roll with Kidd, because the Raptors' defensive formation had already spread out, Kidd had no choice but to brace himself and drive inside while being guarded by Tracy McGrady.

Ben Wallace happily got a rebound, and the Raptors took advantage of the situation to speed up and launch a transition offense.

And then...

Anfernee Hardaway, who was no longer what he used to be, cried.

Where was Hardaway, who had been plagued by injuries for the past few seasons, a match for Carter?

On the court, Carter received a pass from Su Feng and was unstoppable, finishing with a one-handed windmill dunk after driving into the paint!

Bang!

Accompanied by the shaking sound from the rim, the atmosphere at the Air Canada Centre was immediately ignited by Carter's domineering opening dunk.

"Is that your idol?" Carter said with some disdain, looking at his cousin while retreating.

Tracy McGrady: "..."

At this moment, Tracy McGrady felt that his decision to tell Su Feng earlier was indeed the right one.

Because if he continued to be teammates with Carter, Tracy McGrady felt that he and Carter might not even be brothers anymore in the future.

It is worth mentioning that, although he was arrogant and special when facing his cousin...

But after noticing the smile Su Feng gave him, Carter was uncharacteristically emotionally intelligent tonight!

"Hmm... That pass was really great!

Su, in my opinion, even Steve couldn't make such a good pass!" Carter said, giving Su Feng a thumbs up.

Evolved, evolved.

It must be said that the idiom "being influenced by what one constantly sees and hears" was not made up by the ancients.

Because look, this Carter has actually begun to learn how to speak like a normal person.

Tsk!

Wonderful!

Really wonderful!

On the court, the Suns' second possession.

After slowly advancing across half-court, Kidd passed the ball to Hardaway.

Facing Carter, who had just dunked on his head, Hardaway, as the former heir to Michael Jordan, naturally was...

Naturally couldn't beat him.

Now, Hardaway, who only had his skills left to be praised, couldn't even beat Nash, let alone Carter...

Well, he might still be able to beat Nash.

Cough, in short, Hardaway, who wanted to repay Carter with skills, failed this time.

Because just as he had passed Carter, Carter had caught up again.

After several major injuries, Hardaway's speed and explosiveness had declined significantly, so even if Carter had many bad habits when defending, he could keep Hardaway in check with just his talent.

So, Hardaway had no choice but to timidly pass the ball to Clifford Robinson.

And when the latter received Hardaway's pass, his heart was filled with curses...

Because with the shot clock down to only 3 seconds, asking Robinson to go one-on-one against Su Feng was just bullying him, wasn't it?

Clang!

Facing Su Feng, Robinson forcibly completed his shot, but unfortunately, the basketball bounced off the rim. Ben Wallace secured the rebound and passed the ball to Su Feng.

Then, the exact same script was here again!

Carter ran down the court, Su Feng threw a long pass, and the former caught Su Feng's "brilliant pass" in the air, more than three meters high, with a dumbfounded expression on Hardaway's face!

Bang!

On the court, as Carter arrogantly slammed the basketball into the rim, Luc Longley and Tom Gugliotta were still in the Raptors' half of the court.

What is a fast break?

This is a fast break!

"Su, that pass was too good. I think even Magic Johnson couldn't do better!"

After landing, Carter rushed to Su Feng at the first moment, celebrating with Su Feng and saying with relish.

At this time, Hardaway, who happened to be passing by, was not calm.

Because in his opinion, Su Feng's long pass was clearly aimed at a turnover!

To put it bluntly, in the NBA, besides Carter, how many people could receive a pass like that just now?

Unfortunately, even if Hardaway wanted to refute Carter, he couldn't refute him.

Because on the court, Nash was fast, but Su Feng was faster!

After Tom Gugliotta's high post jump shot missed, the Raptors' fast-break duo almost tore through the Suns' entire defense in an instant!

These...

Were simply two tornadoes!

Su Feng hit the backboard, Carter followed up.

Bang!

Carter, who was already dunking like crazy, once again performed a "hang arm dunk," burying his entire arm in the rim after receiving Su Feng's backboard pass!

0 to 6!

On TNT, Smith exclaimed: "My God, send a Superman to save the planet! No one can stop these two aliens, Su and Vince!"

...

ps: Cheer up, try, work hard, shorten the x, explode in length √.