Champions Creed

Chapter 138 Chapter 137: Shut up, you're not even the best player on your team (ask for monthly tickets!)
In six games, none of them had a double-digit score difference.

Fierce fighting, extreme offense and defense, the performance of stars, and the explosion of role players
Over the past six games, Orlando and Chicago fans have found almost everything they expected before the game.

But the one thing they were looking forward to most didn't happen: victory.

Both teams had chances to finish off the other.

When the Bulls were leading 2-0, if they continued to make efforts in G3, it would be tantamount to sentencing the Magic to death.

When the Magic were leading 3-2, if they had stabilized the situation in Game 6, they would have been preparing for the finals now.

But regretting the past is the stupidest thing in the world.

For them, the most important thing is to seize the present moment.

The day before the Eastern Conference Finals Game 7 began, the Western Conference Finals Game 7 started first.

In the future, perhaps countless writers will use various styles of writing to describe the great rivalry between the 96 Bulls and the 96 Magic, and the most highlighted one will definitely be the upcoming Game .

But absolutely not many people would care about the Game 7 between the Supersonics and the Jazz, as the Western Conference teams completely became supporting roles.

But in fact, this round of competition is also full of drama.

The Seattle SuperSonics' advancement process was surprising. They swept the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets, who had reached the finals in the previous two years, in the Western Conference semifinals.

In that round of the series, Dream was limited to only 18 points per game. The most embarrassing thing was Game 1 of the series. As the top center in active service, he only scored 6 points in a single game, which was 8 points less than 2 points!
Fortunately, the Internet was not well developed in the 90s, otherwise it would be hard to imagine how Da Meng would be criticized.

The Supersonics easily defeated Dream's Rockets, which made everyone think that they could also easily defeat the Jazz.

In fact, the Supersonics did have a chance to advance easily, and they once took a 3-1 lead.

But the slackness in G5 and G6 allowed the Utah Jazz to recover.

Today's Game 7 was very intense, but at the critical moment, Karl Malone missed consecutive free throws and ruined the game.

Free throws are a key factor that is overlooked by many fans. After all, free throws are probably the least enjoyable and most boring part of a game.

At least there were Chinese acrobatics and cheerleading performances during the game break, but free throws? It was hard to arouse the fans' interest.

But many times, victory in the game is closely linked to the most boring free throws.

In the 2013 Finals, the Spurs played against the Heat in Game 6. With 19.4 seconds left, the Heat were still two points behind the Spurs. At this time, as long as Leonard could make both free throws, the Spurs could start celebrating their victory. In the end, he made one of the two free throws, and everyone knows what happened next. Chris Bosh grabbed the offensive rebound and Ray Allen made the equalizer to save the Kings.

In the last 2006 seconds of Game 3 of the 3.4 Finals, Nowitzki had a chance to tie the game with a free throw, but he only made one, which allowed the Heat to win Game 3. If it weren't for this free throw, the Mavericks would have had a chance to lead the Heat 3-0, and maybe Nowitzki's first championship would have come earlier.

In Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, if O'Neal hadn't pulled his hips during free throws and been cut, Kukoc wouldn't have had the chance to turn the tide at the last moment.

As for Karl Malone, his most talked-about missed free throw was undoubtedly the "The Postman Doesn't Work Sunday" in 97.

But in fact, before that, Karl Malone had already achieved great results.

Just look at this, in the final moments of this year's Western Conference Finals, Karl Malone's free throws once again ruined the Utah Jazz.

In fact, Malone's free throw shooting was very poor throughout the game. He took 12 free throws and only made 6.

Rainman, who was facing him, made 11 of 10 free throws, which was a very close hit rate.

At the end of the game, Stockton and Karl Malone stood with their hands on their hips, looking thoughtfully at the Sonics players celebrating their victory.

The duo has been working together for 11 seasons, and they are like two living statues in Salt Lake City, never moving from their positions.

From the battle between black and white, to Michael's miracle, to Roger's sudden emergence, they have experienced the changes of the times together time and time again.

But they always become spectators of the times and become the dust of history.

This was the closest they had ever been to the Finals, closer than in 1992 and 1994, so close that they only needed to make a few damn free throws to make the dream come true.

However, the dream was ultimately shattered by a few seemingly insignificant free throws.

Stockton patted Karl Malone on the back, and Jerry Sloan left the court with a sullen face.

Malone stared at the orange basketball hoop in the Tacoma Dome with a blank expression.

He never expected that one day he would fail in a free throw.

Free throws are far more important than people think.

This also applies to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The next day, the whole of Chicago was filled with a suffocating and depressing atmosphere.

Because tonight, their perfect season could be elevated, or it could be destroyed.

If we lose this game, then 72 wins, MVP, best coach, three first-team defensive players, etc. will all become meaningless.

Of course, the same is true for magic.

Losing this game means failure to defend the title, which means that Roger's talk of two consecutive championships and three consecutive championships are just the bragging of an incompetent person.

Phil Jackson knew the pressure the players were facing, but as a man well versed in psychology, he did not motivate the players. Instead, he told everyone before the game: "Face the reality. You may lose today. Be mentally prepared for this in advance."

Jackson always likes to use these reverse motivational methods because they always work on Jordan.

"No, Phil, we will definitely not lose tonight." Jordan replied with his wild-eyed brown eyes.

While warming up, O'Neal was practicing his free throws, which was his only concern.

He didn't shoot well from free throws in the last game, and he didn't want a Karl Malone-like tragedy to happen to him.

Fortunately, the Sharks felt pretty good about free throws today, and their hit rate was very stable during the warm-up.

Although free throws in official games are completely different from free throws in training, at least the Sharks won't have a hit rate of 9 out of 1 today.

The game was about to start, and Phil Jackson changed the starting lineup today. He put Rodman on the bench and brought up Kukoc, who had performed brilliantly in the final moments of the previous game.

Phil Jackson hopes the team can establish an advantage in the early stages with a more efficient offense.

Kukoc was nervous, not because he was afraid of performing poorly, but because Roger was nervous.

Roger's emotionless words, as if spoken to a dead person, kept echoing in his mind: "You will lose in the end anyway."

He knew Roger too well to know that if you couldn't kill him, you would face a nightmare.

On the first attack of the game, Kukoc's jump shot missed due to the interference of Horace Grant.

He was a little too nervous, which affected his shooting rhythm.

After the Magic counterattacked, they followed their habit in the previous games and passed the ball to the Big Shark in the paint.

In regular time, these shooting opportunities all belong to O'Neal.

Kukoc immediately double-teamed Rodman, but his defensive pressure was completely not on the same level as Rodman.

The Shark turned around easily and scored with a hook shot under the defense of two people.

The Bulls then attacked, and Kukoc continued to play his role on the offensive end. He used his shooting threat to pull Grant out of the paint, and then passed the ball to Jordan who cut in along the baseline as a command tower.

At this time, Longley held the Shark tightly behind him, and Jordan was facing almost an empty basket.

But just as Jordan took three steps to prepare for a layup, Roger came back in time and cut the ball out of Jordan's hand!
Kukoc knew that Roger would be a huge trouble today.

The basketball slipped out of their hands, and Jordan, Roger and Harper fell to the ground almost at the same time to scramble for it, and elbowed each other on the floor.

Finally, Roger pushed the ball to McKay in the distance. McKay and Pippen ran towards the ball at the same time, and both fell to the ground after a fierce collision.

But in the moment before falling, Pippen pushed the ball towards Dumars.

Dumars just bent down to pick up the ball, but Roger suddenly appeared, took the ball off the ground, and then counterattacked and dunked to score. 4-0.

"Looking at how fierce the fight for the ball was in the last round, you can know how this game will turn out. Both sides have risked their souls in the battle!" What Bill Walton said was not an exaggeration at all. The two teams will certainly not hold back today and will give enough physical confrontation from the very beginning. The tit-for-tat round just now was just a microcosm of this game.

In the next round, O'Neal continued to hold the ball and played one-on-one. As soon as he exerted force when he played with his back, he knocked Luke Longley to the ground, and the referee did not call a foul. Because Longley was too vulnerable, the Bulls did not even have time to double-team him, and the Shark had already completed a dunk with both hands.

6:0.

After landing the dunk, O'Neal took his signature bully step and high-fived Roger: "Kill them, we can definitely beat them tonight!"

It turned out that Phil Jackson's sudden starter of Kukoc was a stupid move. Even the Coach of the Year can make mistakes sometimes.

Kukoc was indeed amazing in the last game, but he is best suited to the chaos in the transition period, where he can suddenly appear, hit you a few times and then leave.

If the Zen Master really lets him start in a straight-forward manner, facing tighter defense, Kukoc's offensive role will not be so obvious. At the same time, his defensive flaws will be infinitely magnified.

Rodman on the bench was already eager to make a move: "Coach, let me take care of that idiot shark!"

"Sit down, I'll let you play when it's your turn!" Phil Jackson roared.

In the stands, Reinsdorf and Jerry Krause stared at the court without saying a word.

They all knew that if the situation continued like this, this would be the last game this group of people would play together.

This time when the Bulls were on offense, Jordan passed the ball to Pippen facing a double team, who made a mid-range jump shot.

But the Bulls' decline did not stop there. In the next defense, when Roger passed the ball to the Shark, Pippen immediately rushed into the penalty area to prepare for a double-team, trying to make the Shark make a mistake.

But O'Neal, who had already played with confidence, was very calm. He raised the basketball high and calmly passed the ball back to Roger who ran outside the three-point line.

Jordan immediately rotated to fill the position, but his interference was still a little slow.

Roger did not waste this opportunity, he scored three points with one stroke.

9 is better than 2!

O'Neal and Roger's offense was quite strong tonight. The Zen Master began to let Rodman warm up. He couldn't let O'Neal handle the ball so easily anymore.

The Bulls attacked next, and Jordan received the ball and shot but missed under the physical control of Harper.

Even Jordan couldn't be accurate in every game.

O'Neal protected the rebound, and the cheers in the United Center began to fade.

This crumbling dynasty seemed to be on the verge of being overthrown.

The confident O'Neal asked for the ball directly at the free throw line. Facing Longley, who was at a loss after being pulled out, O'Neal used a guard-like crotch change to rush through the Australian defense. Just when everyone thought he would attack the basket directly, O'Neal paused under the basket, picked up Longley, and then turned on the spot and dunked directly over Kukoc who came up to defend!

In one round, the Shark showed both a guard-like breakthrough and Olajuwon-like footwork under the basket!
11 is better than 2!

In the next round, Kukoc finally got a chance for a three-point jump shot through a series of running.

At this time, Horace Grant was blocked by the off-ball screen, so he could not defend for the time being. But at the moment when Kukoc started to shoot, Roger immediately rotated over.

That trouble is here again!
Although Roger was not selected into the All-Defensive Team this season, once you play against him you will see how obvious his improvement on the defensive end is.

Kukoc hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to pass the ball in mid-air instead of shooting, throwing the ball to Dumas who was left open by Roger.

However, even for the European magician, this pass was too difficult.

Because it was a last-minute decision to pass the ball, Kukoc failed to control the strength of the pass in a hurry, and the basketball flew directly out of bounds.

Roger successfully forced Kukoc to make a mistake!
Roger glanced at Kukoc, his eyes cold and emotionless: "Don't even think about it, Tony."

It is hard to connect the cold-blooded Roger now with the passionate Roger who encouraged Kukoc before.

Kukoc cursed inwardly a few times, he knew that this trouble would haunt him like a ghost!

Now, the Magic have a chance to extend the lead to double digits right at the start.

In this round, Roger broke through half court and reached the mid-range position on the right side, and made a quick stop jump shot under the siege of Pippen and Kukoc.

The basketball bounced off the rim, but O'Neal easily grabbed the rebound in the paint and passed the ball to Roger again.

At this time, Pippen was not with Roger because he had just rushed into the penalty area to grab a rebound. For the time being, only Kukoc was defending in front of Roger.

Roger didn't hesitate, and the moment he received the ball, he turned left. Kukoc immediately moved to block, but Roger pulled to the right almost at the moment of the ball. This quick and extremely smooth change of direction directly made Kukoc stagger, and Roger easily made a mid-range shot.

13 is better than 2!

After scoring the goal, Roger still just looked at Kukoc coldly: "Thank you for your efforts in the last game, Tony. It's you who gave me the opportunity to kill you bastards in Chicago!"

Kukoc was very helpless. This was the result of angering Roger!
This is the difference between a killer and an ordinary player!

He will not only kill you, but also tear out your tendons and skin you, leaving your soul struggling in endless pain.

The Zen Master immediately suspended the game. Such a start was simply a disaster.

In the stands, every Chicago fan's eyes were filled with despair, as if they had seen all the Bulls players nailed to the cross, as if they had seen the Bulls dynasty completely reduced to ruins.

O'Neal jumped up excitedly and collided with Roger in the air. He felt that the Bulls had been dragged down. With both himself and Roger in great shape, no one could stop the magic!
After the timeout, Phil Jackson finally replaced Dennis Rodman.

Rely on defense. If you want to win this tragic game, you still have to rely on defense!
Your touch may betray you, but your defense never will!

After the two teams came back on the court, O'Neal, who had taken a double-digit lead, looked at Jordan with great pride: "See, Michael, we easily took a double-digit lead. I am the best player in the league, and you got the MVP by selling nostalgia."

The shark didn't know at this time, but this sentence changed many things.

If he could choose again, O'Neal would never say a word to Jordan.

Facing O'Neal's provocation, Jordan put his hands on his hips and smiled contemptuously: "Shut up Shaq, you are not even the best player on your team. You know very well that Roger is the leader of this team. In a few years, the people of Orlando may build a statue for Roger, just like I got in Chicago. And you? Who the hell will remember you as a deputy? No matter how many championships you win in the Magic, it is meaningless to you, because you are just a supporting role. "

O'Neal stood there in a daze, his head blank as if he had been hit hard. Every word Jordan said was like a heavy punch from Mike Tyson, making his head buzz.

In the next defensive round, O'Neal's defense was inexplicably a step slower, allowing Jordan to easily cut in and score a layup.

In the subsequent attack, Rodman directly knocked down the Shark with a rough foul, interrupting O'Neal's momentum of getting whatever he wanted.

O'Neal stood at the free throw line. Given that he had shot well in the warm-up, Roger was confident about the Shark's free throws.

As a result, in the first free throw, the basketball hit the front left side of the basket and bounced out directly.

"Damn, damn! Damn free throw!" O'Neal was very impatient. Roger didn't know what he was impatient about as the team was clearly still in the lead.

On the second free throw, O'Neal pushed the ball out like throwing a brick, and the basketball bounced out of the frame again.

Both free throws missed!

The Bulls quickly counterattacked, and Pippen dunked, tying the score to 6 to 13. This counterattack finally gave the Bulls, who were pushed into the water, a chance to breathe.

Many times, the change in the direction of the game is closely linked to the most boring free throws, and yesterday's Western Conference Finals Game 7 proved this.

Michael Jordan looked at the impatient O'Neal and knew that his trash talk had worked.

The Shark not only missed these two free throws, but in the next game he will definitely be very impatient and eager to prove himself.

When people are impatient, free throws will definitely be affected and they are most likely to make mistakes.

Plus with Rodman's care, Jordan thought O'Neal was no longer a problem.

Now, the only trouble that needs to be solved is Roger!
On the bench, Kukoc wiped the sweat off his face.

That trouble is not as easy to solve as a shark.

(End of this chapter)