In the past, point guards were generally divided into three types. The most common were those like Kidd and Stockton—point guards who organized the offense and controlled the tempo. Their stats might not have been outstanding, but if someone did have great stats, they were definitely a superstar point guard. This was the consensus in those days.

The second type was the scoring point guard, like Allen Iverson, Havlicek, Isiah Thomas the “Assassin,” and Marbury.

The third type had only one person—Magic Johnson...

But Francis was different from all three types. He could organize the offense like Kidd—maybe not as well, but he could still get six or seven assists per game. He could score like Iverson—maybe not as explosively, but he could still put up over 20 points a game. He was as versatile as Magic, grabbing six or seven rebounds per game, though getting a triple-double was tough.

He had the physique of a small forward and the aerial dominance of Jordan, Carter, and James Worthy.

To use a term that would become common a decade later to describe Francis—combo guard!

Francis was the first true combo guard in NBA history. Unlike Iverson, who was moved to shooting guard by Larry Brown in the 2000-2001 season, Francis from the very beginning “took over” all the duties of both shooting guard and point guard, leading the team’s tempo while also being the team’s top scorer.

For Francis to do this, and for the Rockets’ legendary coach Rudy Tomjanovich to let him do it, showed just how strong he was.

Francis’s explosiveness at the point guard position was revolutionary—no one in the league could match him. The Hawks’ two point guards picked up three fouls each before halftime, and with two more fouls from shooting guard Jason Terry, Francis kept punishing the Hawks’ weak defensive backcourt, drawing foul after foul—by halftime, the Hawks’ perimeter players had committed eight fouls...

Facing such a ruthless opponent, Ethan Brooks thought there was no way Coach Lon Kruger would put him on the court.

But Ethan Brooks had a feeling that Coach Lon Kruger seemed to be looking out for him. It was just that part of his memory was still a bit muddled, and he couldn’t quite recall...

Chapter 3: Basketball at the Turn of the Century

51 to 47. Looking at the score, Ethan Brooks would have thought the first half wasn’t even over yet. But when he checked the game clock, it turned out the third quarter was almost done...

You had to admit, the games at the turn of the century were something else. The pace wasn’t exactly slow—both the Hawks and Rockets played at a pretty fast tempo—but the defensive intensity was truly frightening. Even Jason Terry dared to use his slight frame to try and physically defend Francis.

And there was one crucial point: back then, you could use your hands on defense!

As long as you didn’t hit the opponent’s hand, or make an obvious push or pull, if your hand just “rested” on the offensive player, the referees wouldn’t call anything.

It gave Ethan Brooks a strong sense of déjà vu, like watching basketball documentaries from the 80s and 90s.

People usually preferred to watch games from the 80s and 90s when it came to old-school basketball, and for the new era, they liked games after 2005 when hand-checking was banned. The only impression people had of games at the turn of the century was that the Lakers, Spurs, and Pistons won six straight championships, and it seemed like those were the only teams that mattered—after all, from 2000 to 2005, those three teams took every title.

But in reality, the level of physicality in those years was more intense than any other era.

Compared to players born in the 60s and 70s who played in the 80s and 90s, the average physical condition of players in this era was much better. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, global trade developed rapidly, living standards improved, and average athleticism increased. Ordinary players were much stronger than those from the 80s and 90s, and the old rules were still in place, making the competition incredibly fierce. That’s why, in those years, aside from the Lakers, no team could stop the Spurs and Pistons. They took advantage of the improved average athleticism, used relatively ordinary lineups to play suffocating, ugly basketball, and then beat their opponents.

That’s also why, after hand-checking was banned in 2005, a bunch of scorers exploded like wild horses, and why the Spurs and Pistons began to decline.

Watching the game on the court, Ethan Brooks felt that after getting used to the Warriors’ and Cavaliers’ relaxed, three-point-shooting style, this game was almost painful to watch. The shooting was just so brick-heavy, and the physicality was off the charts.

Ethan Brooks couldn’t praise Jason Terry for much else, but he truly respected his attitude on the court. With the point guards in foul trouble, it was his turn to guard Francis. He stuck to Francis, took an elbow right to the chest, and still stuck with him.

Francis’s style was the kind that used to be played by the Admiral David Robinson and the Big Diesel Shaquille O’Neal—bulldozing with his body.

Looking at Dean Holloff and Jacque Vaughn, both point guards already with three fouls each, and Emmanuel Davis, a quality undrafted shooting guard from the golden class of ‘96, already subbed out with two fouls, Ethan Brooks was praying for Terry.

Yes, praying.