Sure enough, under Butler's constant trash talk, Jokić snapped out of cruise control and locked in.
Malone, sharp-eyed as ever, quickly noticed the change in his players' mentality and nodded in approval.
The Kings' biggest problem had been Rudy Gay, their only real leader, who had a reputation for coasting through games. When the leader slacks off, the rest follow suit. Gay's attitude had, to some extent, rubbed off on the younger players.
But Butler's arrival solved that problem perfectly. In the locker room, Butler and Gay could play the good cop/bad cop routine, keeping the young guys in check.
While Malone was still reflecting on this, Butler had already stormed into the paint, clutching the ball like a battering ram and throwing himself into the defense!
"Beep!"
The referee's whistle blew. Cousins raised his right hand with a helpless look, acknowledging the foul.
Against such a reckless drive, there was nothing else he could do.
Butler crashed to the floor hard, even startling Malone. That hit looked brutal—he just hoped Butler wasn't hurt in his very first game as a King.
But after lying there for only a moment, Booker rushed over and pulled him up. Butler rolled his shoulders like nothing had happened and walked straight to the free-throw line.
"Holy crap!"
Malone's jaw dropped. "Does this guy even feel pain? He's already up!"
Everyone saw it clearly—Butler had practically been sent flying. Most players would have stayed down, groaning, maybe even trying to sell it for a harsher foul.
But Butler? Not a scratch. Honestly, if Booker hadn't helped him, he probably would've gotten up himself.
He stepped to the line, calmly drained both free throws, then flashed a taunting grin at Wall. As if to say: That all you got?
Wall instantly felt his blood boil.
Beal, seeing his teammate's face turning red, knew immediately—Wall was losing his cool.
He grabbed Wall's arm quickly.
"Don't lose it! Butler's baiting you! Don't play into his rhythm!"
But as the East's top point guard, Wall wasn't about to listen.
"If I don't put him in his place, how can I call myself a leader?"
Shaking off Beal's hand, he strode into the frontcourt with the ball.
The next few possessions turned into a duel between Wall and Butler. Both treated the other as a stepping stone, going all out on both ends of the floor.
"Timeout! Timeout!"
Wizards head coach Randy Whitman was the first to call a timeout.
"John, what the hell are you doing? Treating this like it's your personal showcase?"
Whitman tore into Wall. "Look at the score! You lose your head, and now the whole team's paying for it!"
Only then did Wall realize the lead had quietly stretched to eight points.
It wasn't that Butler was flat-out stronger than Wall, but he thrived on subtle mind games.
On defense, Butler discreetly signaled teammates to send help. He constantly harassed Wall, wearing him down.
"I got it, coach." Wall finally snapped back to reality.
"Run the plays!"
After the timeout, the Wizards regained their structure. But their backcourt duo was still locked down by the defensive wall of Butler, Gay, and Thaddeus Young.
Meanwhile, after Jokić took a few hits from Cousins, Malone wasted no time pulling him and sending in the tough, physical Oden.
The Wizards' Big Three instantly fell silent.
Malone's move was a masterstroke. It strengthened the defense while staggering Jokić's minutes against Cousins.
The moment Cousins went to the bench, Malone sent Jokić back in.
Jokić might have been hesitant against Cousins, but facing the Wizards' backup center, the "Polish Hammer" Marcin Gortat, he went right at him.
His dazzling footwork in the paint left Gortat completely lost.
Beyond their Big Three, the Wizards had almost no reliable role players, while the Kings' depth was on a completely different level.
So when the Wizards' stars returned in the third quarter, they managed to hang on briefly before finally folding.
...
"This game was incredible!"
Back in the broadcast booth, excitement filled the air.
"Indeed," one commentator said. "There are two major takeaways from this matchup."
"Oh? Which two?"
The other analyst raised two fingers with a grin.
"First—the Wizards' problem. Their Big Three might look intimidating, but the rest of the roster just isn't good enough. If they head into the playoffs like this, they'll be in trouble."
"Exactly. The Wizards' lineup is really lopsided," his partner agreed. "Their bench couldn't stop the Kings at all. Even Richardson, coming off the bench today, had plenty of room to shine. Their defensive weakness is obvious."
"The second point is this..." the analyst continued, shaking his head.
"With Butler now on the Kings, their defense has jumped to another level. Before, we always said the Kings' defense was their weakness, something opponents could exploit in the playoffs. But after tonight, I can say with confidence—the Kings now have playoff-caliber defense."
His partner picked up the thread.
"Exactly. You could already see it from their earlier trades. The Kings stockpiled defenders like Ben, Thaddeus Young, Greg Oden, and Otto Porter Jr., but without a true anchor, they couldn't maximize their ability.
Now Butler has become that anchor—turning them into an elite defensive unit!"
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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