Champions Creed

Chapter 135 134: Some people will never understand (ask for a monthly ticket!)
Sports Illustrated is right. For the Magic and the Bulls, this year is not just about the championship, but also a battle for survival.

If the Magic can't win the championship, Rich DeVos will definitely not give the Sharks the contract they want. After all, he is not Paul Allen or James Dolan.

He did make a promise to the Sharks, but the prerequisite for the promise was winning the championship.

The same problem exists with the Bulls. It's not that Jordan will want to run away after losing, but if he fails to win the championship, the Bulls may not give him a contract that matches his worth.

Considering that Jordan did not have a good relationship with the Bulls management, there was no possibility that he would lower his price to stay with the team.

And it's not just Jordan who will be testing the free agent market for the first time. If the team fails to win the championship, the future of head coach Phil Jackson and Dennis Rodman with the team will also be in question.

Of course, the Magic and the Bulls each have the Bird Rights of Shaq and Jordan. So there is no doubt that Jordan and Shaq can get the highest salary if they choose to stay with the team. Under the rules of the current labor agreement, Jordan and Shaq can renew their contracts with their parent teams without a cap.

But the question is, if they can't win the championship, will the owners of the parent team still be willing to offer super contracts to Jordan or Shaq?

The whole world knows that Shark wants the same 120 million as Roger.

The whole world knows that Michael Jordan wants to surpass Roger's annual salary of 2000 million.

This is not a small amount of money for both the Magic and the Bulls.

Only the championship is the standard to measure whether they are worth the price.

Therefore, this year's playoffs are extremely important for the Magic and the Bulls.

The entire alliance is waiting for one of them to fall, and then share his corpse and reap their inheritance!
In fact, this year's free agent market may be one of the craziest free agent markets in history.

The NBA has seen some of the strongest free agents in history.

In addition to Jordan and O'Neal, there are Alonzo Mourning, Juwan Howard, Gary Payton, Dikembe Mutombo, Reggie Miller, Alan Houston and so on.

Such a lineup is enough to make all bosses dazzled as if they were in an orchard.

If this were the trend in the 21st century, Jordan would probably have already called Reggie Miller.

In short, the results of this year's playoffs will directly change the league's landscape.

Neither the Bulls nor the Magic can afford to lose.

And in this cruel playoffs, the Magic's opponents are not just the Bulls.

Reggie Miller showed his evil smile just before the start of the playoffs: "Everyone expects the Magic and the Bulls to meet in the Eastern Conference Finals, but what if it's us instead of the Magic going to the Eastern Conference Finals? What if we are the Eastern Conference team going to the Finals?"

At this time, Reggie Miller is recovering at home. He suffered a fractured eye bone in a game on April 4.

This will cause him to miss the first four games of the playoffs.

However, he still believes that the Pacers can easily pass the first round and face the Magic in the second round. As long as he can return in the series against the Magic, he can deal with Roger.

Last season, Reggie Miller helped Roger break Jordan's freeze in the All-Star Game. But that was not because Miller wanted to help Roger, he just simply couldn't stand Jordan.

Now that the Magic have also become a powerful team, Reggie Miller, the Robin Hood, will naturally become an enemy of Roger.

NBC wants to put a microphone on Roger and Miller's jerseys, because if they really meet, it will definitely be an ultimate foul-mouthed showdown. At that time, there will definitely be many golden sentences.

The first round of the playoffs begins with the fans' expectations.

The first opponents of the Magic and the Bulls in the playoffs are their old rivals.

Michael Jordan met his beloved Pat Riley.

O'Neal met his good teammate Chris Webber.

Webber has made great progress this season, and his time with Grant Hill has helped him regain his confidence.

The day before the game, Grant Hill smiled and told reporters: "I trust Chris immensely. He may be the most trustworthy teammate in the world."

Then, Chris Webber shot 11 of 4 and committed 3 turnovers in Game 92 of the playoffs, leading to a 112- defeat for the Detroit Pistons.

This fact tells us not to trust others so easily.

Even if your teammate is invincible in the regular season, you can't guess what he will become in the playoffs.

You think you know your teammates, but you don't know them at all. You can never guess how badly your teammates, who are still good during the regular season, will slack off in the playoffs.

Take Dwyane Wade for example. He would never have thought that his famous teammate would become a burden in the playoffs - this refers to Shaquille O'Neal in the 2007 playoffs.

Playing in the regular season is like a little doll girl wearing a mask, making you fantasize about her endlessly.

In the playoffs, the masks were taken off, and the beauty and ugliness were clear at a glance.

Faced with a more ferocious defense than in the regular season, Webber suddenly looked neither gorgeous nor handsome.

Alan Houston, who was in his contract year, played very vigorously, but his physical strength was limited after all, and he only scored 21 points in the whole game.

Roger and Shark scored 33 points and 27 points respectively, easily defeating the Pistons.

G2 and G3 had basically the same fate. Alan Houston shot crazily, even taking 3 shots in G25.

But his scoring was like a tickle to the Magic's defense and could not cause any substantial impact at all.

Grant Hill was a little too selfless, and Detroit people expected him to take over the game, but he didn't. He always broke through and passed the ball to Webber and Alan Houston.

In the third game that decided life and death, Grant Hill only took 8 shots.

He passed the ball to Webber and Houston again and again, and the Pistons fans watched these two greats miss shots from beyond the three-point line again and again.

Grant Hill is a gentleman and a perfect citizen. He plays the most reasonable basketball and is selfless.

But he is not the kind of paranoid person who wants more victories at all costs. This kind of personality is doomed to not go far in the playoffs.

Many people often say that if Grant Hill had not been injured, with his talent, he might really become the next MJ and might have won many championships.

This statement is ridiculous.

His character and mentality have already determined that he will at best become the next admiral.

The admiral also possesses enviable talents, but what is the result?

In essence, Hill is the same type of person as the admiral.

Steve Jones made a final judgment on Grant Hill at the end of Game 3: "Grant Hill is too kind and considerate of his teammates. Even when Chris Webber and Alan Houston were missing shots, he still tirelessly gave them shots because they had better chances. But if you want to win in the playoffs, kindness is the most useless trait."

3-0, the Magic easily swept the Pistons led by good guy Hill, as easily as brushing off the cobwebs on the road ahead.

There were no surprises in the Magic's first round of games, which was pretty much what the outside world had predicted.

But not all teams had a smooth first round. For the Pacers, their first round was very bad.

Before Reggie Miller could return, the Pacers were eliminated by the Hawks 3-1, suffering a tragic defeat.

The Pacers were already missing Reggie Miller, and during this period, Derek McKay was also recruited by the Magic, so the Pacers' fighting power was greatly reduced.

NBC's plan has fallen through, and the much-anticipated foul-mouthed showdown will not take place.

Hawks owner Ted Turner was happy about the team's unexpected advancement. He praised the team's star player Steve Smith, who averaged 22.8 points per game in the first round and shot 60% from three-point range, in front of reporters: "Steve is definitely underestimated. He might be able to cause some trouble for Roger!"

During this period, the alliance also announced the results of this year's major awards one after another.

Roger was selected to the All-NBA First Team for the second consecutive year, continuing to share the guard position with Michael Jordan.

The Sharks almost made the first team last season, but this season they regressed and were relegated to the third team.

This result is not surprising considering that he has only played 50 games this season, the lowest attendance rate among all the players selected for the All-NBA Team.

In terms of the best defensive team, McKay and Grant were selected to the second defensive team for the second consecutive year.

People originally thought that the Magic's double-two defense was cheating enough, but the Chicago Bulls turned out to be even more terrifying, with Rodman, Pippen and Jordan all being selected to the All-Defensive First Team!
This is the fourth time in NBA history that a team has had three players selected to the All-Defensive First Team!

It is worth mentioning that the three teams that had three players selected for the first defense all won the championship in the end!
The best defensive player was Gary Payton, who was the first guard to win DPOY after Jordan.

At the press conference on the day of the award ceremony, he reiterated: "I am the only player in the league who can contain Roger and Michael. No matter who of them makes it to the finals, I will make them lose face!"

Well, this "Basketball Card" who offends two great good people in the league at the same time will sooner or later make him disappear.

Before the start of the second round, the league also announced the final results of the most anticipated award, the Most Valuable Player Award.

Michael Jordan won the MVP trophy for the fourth time in his career with a 54.7% first choice rate, beating Roger's 45.1%.

72 wins is indeed a very good record. In the original history, Jordan's first choice rate for MVP voting this season was 96.4%. If it weren't for Roger, Jordan would have won the MVP more easily.

Now that all the awards have been decided, everyone can continue their journey with peace of mind.

In the first game of the second round, at the United Center, the Bulls held a grand award ceremony for Jordan.

This is not the first time Jordan has won the MVP, but this time, Jordan's expression is the most complicated.

When Jordan received the MVP trophy from Stern, his expression changed from smiling to trying to purse his lips.

He seemed to be trying to control his emotions, trying not to cry. It would be too embarrassing for the God of Basketball to cry after winning the MVP.

Jordan's emotions are understandable. Although this is the fourth MVP of his career, it was particularly difficult to get here this time.

Between the last time he won the MVP and this time, Jordan experienced the lowest point in his life.

Atlantic City gambling incident, death of his father, 8-0 sweep by Roger in a single season, loss of dominance.
All of these were like stones pressing on Michael Jordan's chest, making him often breathless and unable to sleep.

Because he couldn't sleep, he could only stay up late playing cards to kill the long night. It was really hard. After going through so much and winning the MVP again, Jordan's emotions were inevitably fluctuating.

In Jordan's view, this MVP is a major symbol of his regaining dominance.

During the regular season, Jordan almost completely defeated Roger except for losing the scoring title. Everything is ready for him to return to the throne, except for the championship and FMVP!
That night, the Bulls easily defeated the New York Knicks at home. Michael Jordan scored 44 points, which was a gift to his old friend Ewing.

The tortured Ewing could only sigh after the game. His old friend was always so cruel.

On the other hand, the Atlanta Hawks, who unexpectedly advanced, were also suffering. Steve Smith appeared in front of Roger and the Shark with full confidence, but in the first game, Roger defended him and only allowed him to hit 31.3% of the shots.

He had a 60% three-point shooting percentage in the last round, but today he missed all five of his three-point shots.

What made Steve Smith so embarrassed? In addition to Roger's active defense, Steve Smith's heart was almost destroyed by Roger.

From the first minute of the game, Roger hardly ever stopped talking.

"It makes me laugh to death. Even your mom would cry when she sees your shot."

"You know why the Miami Heat traded you for almost nothing? Because you're a fucking piece of shit."

"Good shot, Steve. Good shot. Another miss. Reggie Miller's injury is not a good thing for you because you didn't have to face me. But now, you have to have nightmares every day. Fucking nightmares every day!"

Roger's constant trash talk made Steve Smith upset.

Steve Smith thought he had no conflicts with Roger, even though they were both in the East and they met four times a season. But Steve Smith and Roger barely talked to each other, and he didn't know why Roger treated him like this.

Shark's reckless 41 points in the Hawks' paint and Roger's understated 31 points helped the Magic win the first game.

The second game was even more of a disaster, as the Hawks lost by a full 34 points.

O'Neal was like training with a wooden stake, shooting 15 of 11 in the paint. This kind of shooting percentage is simply not what you would expect in the playoffs.

Considering that the Hawks use Christian Laettner as center, the Sharks' performance makes sense.

In college, Laettner's achievements were undoubtedly higher than O'Neal's.

Laettner won the NCAA championship and joined the most legendary team. O'Neal and Laettner met twice during college. The first time, he was fooled like David Robinson vs. Dream, and the second time, he and Laettner just fought each other.

Throughout college basketball, the Sharks have not been able to escape Laettner's shadow.

After entering the professional basketball world, the gap between the two gradually widened.

So now O'Neal is like the guy who was very good at school, but got rich by chance after entering the society. If he met someone like Laettner who was a top student but didn't do well after entering the society, he would definitely show off.

Once again, O'Neal destroyed Laettner. Laettner paid the price of six fouls today, but still failed to stop the Shark.

With Laettner's temper and style, he really wanted to beat up the shark.

But considering that Roger always liked to put some titanium alloy in people's eyes, Lightner held back.

He had no doubt Roger would stand up for the shark.

There is a grudge between O'Neal and Laettner, so it is understandable that Shark treats him like this.

But Steve Smith simply couldn't understand why Roger treated him as his mortal enemy.

Tonight, Steve Smith only scored 18 points and continued to be inaccurate from beyond the three-point line, making only 4 of 1 shots.

Roger did not defend Steve Smith in every round. He only took over temporarily when Harper was resting.

But Steve Smith felt that the battles with Roger always took a long time, and that bastard would do everything he could to attack you and insult you.

He seems to be staring at you all the time, and as soon as you look into his eyes, he will start scolding you, making you suffer all the time.

He makes basketball games look like war!

2-0, it looks like the defending champions are not going to lose any game in the second round.

G3 after arriving in Atlanta was still uneventful. Although the Hawks returned to their home court, their hard power was not enough for them to steal even a single victory.

In the press conference after the third game, Steve Smith expressed his dissatisfaction with Roger:

"I don't know what's wrong with him. He has been verbally attacking me on the court as if he has a grudge against me, but I have no idea what I have done to disrespect him. I bet that if the media conducts an anonymous vote and asks NBA players to choose the most asshole in the league, Roger will definitely be ranked first!"

The next day, Sports Illustrated chose the picture of Steve Smith and Roger's confrontation as the cover, and the title was very appropriate: "This is a nightmare week for Steve. He must be beginning to envy Grant Hill because he doesn't need to play a fourth game to end the pain."

In Game 4, Roger completely destroyed Steve Smith. That night, perhaps to prove that he was really an asshole, Roger took the initiative to defend him, and for this he even gave many shots to his teammates.

Under the influence of Roger's strenuous defense and trash talk, Steve Smith only made 9 of 1 shots from beyond the three-point line!
Steve Smith is too dependent on his three-pointer. He is a very versatile scorer in the regular season. But in the high-intensity competition of the playoffs, he always seems to be hiding and always wants to change his fate with three-pointers.

Originally, he made 8 of 1 three-pointers today, but with 1 minute and 04 seconds left in the game, Roger faced Steve Smith who received the ball and chose to put his hands behind his back and said, "Shoot it, you idiot, you can't make it at all."

Steve Smith, whose mentality was completely broken, missed the shot from a wide open position.

"You damn cold-blooded animal!" Steve Smith cursed after missing a shot.

"That's better than a loser like you." Roger responded with a smile.

106 to 88, the Orlando Magic defeated the Hawks without any bloodshed and entered the Eastern Conference Finals undefeated!
Steve Smith averaged 22.8 points per game in the last round, with a shooting percentage of 51.3% and a three-point shooting percentage of 60%.

This round averaged 16 points per game, with a shooting percentage of 40.4% and a three-point shooting percentage of 29.1%.

The difference is clear at a glance.

"This is the cruelty of the playoffs," Bill Walton concluded as he looked at the dejected Steve Smith. "If you are not strong enough, your opponent will completely humiliate you! Maybe Roger just wanted to tell the world that a player of Steve's level would not cause him any trouble at all."

Hawks owner Ted Turner sighed. He didn't expect that what he said before the series would bring fatal disaster to Steve Smith.

All he knew was that he was becoming more and more obsessed with Roger.

At the end of the game, Roger calmly shook hands and hugged every Eagles player, which surprised Steve Smith.

Because this shows that Roger has no personal grudge against Hawks at all.

If that's the case, then why does he treat himself like a Nazi?
Steve Smith was very puzzled. When he hugged Roger, he took the initiative to ask: "Do you have any problem with me? Why do you disrespect me so much?"

Roger looked at Steve Smith in confusion: "I don't have any problem with you, Steve, I just want to beat you."

"What?" This is definitely the most ridiculous reason Steve Smith has ever heard.

"Listen, this is the playoffs, if you want to be better than me, you have to chop my head off. I have no personal grudge against you, but we are playoff opponents, so I am going to destroy you in the most brutal way possible, simple as that.

Honestly, you might as well leave this spot to Reggie Miller, he's more of a fighter than you are, you're just wasting your time and opportunity. Goodbye, Steve, but don't be too sad, at least you can tell your kids that you and Roger were on the cover of Sports Illustrated together."

Steve Smith didn't understand Roger's killer instinct, didn't understand Roger's brutal passion.

He is a kind and good man, he has won the Sportsmanship Award, he often helps children in the community, he never fights or competes, and he plays all the games calmly.

But as Steve Jones said before when commenting on Grant Hill: "If you want to win in the playoffs, kindness is the least useful trait."

It's not just Steve Smith. Some people will never understand this cruel passion and will never be a killer. After all, only a small number of people can be called winners.

Olajuwon in 1986, Drexler in 1990 and 1992, Nowitzki in 2006, LeBron in 2007, LeBron in 2011. Most of these losers lacked this cruel passion and killer blood at the time.

Grant Hill can't understand why people criticize him for passing the ball too much.

Steve Smith couldn't understand why Roger made this like a war.

As a result, they all became Roger's defeated enemies and could not hurt Roger at all.

And now, Roger is finally going to meet a guy as cruel as himself and decide the direction of the history of this alliance.

I don't care if Steve is happy or not, I just need to beat the opponent in front of me, that's my job. - Roger on Steve Smith

Honestly, these two rounds are too easy for us. Chicago Bulls? They might be a little bit harder, but we can still handle everything. -- O'Neal talks about the upcoming Eastern Conference Finals.

"Steve, sum up this season."

"We played well, 46 wins, and made it to the second round. I think we played well and each of us did our best."

"Want to talk about Roger?"

"No, not at all. That guy is a complete jerk and a psychopath. That's all I can say about him. That's all I want to say about him."

"If fate forced you to make a choice, would you rather be teammates with Roger for a season, or be locked in a room full of Charles Barkley's smelly socks for six hours?"

"What's the question?"

"Please answer this."

"Then I'd rather challenge my sense of smell."

"Is Roger that bad? Worse than Sir Charles's socks?"

"It's terrible. The greatest luck in my life is that fate will never allow me to be teammates with him."

"Fate is amazing, Steve."

"Impossible is impossible."

——Steve Smith accepted an exclusive interview with Sports Illustrated.

(End of this chapter)