Champions Creed

Chapter 153 152: Only the simplest step left (monthly ticket requested!)

Judging from the status of the Magic's training camp and preseason, George Karl's prediction seems to be coming true.

He was looking forward to the day when the Magic would fall apart, and he even had some red wine ready.

The team was indeed in danger, and O'Neal took Roger's cake, but he was also a little unhappy.

He didn't like the way Roger spoke to him in a commanding manner. A few years ago, in Baton Rouge, Roger was just a high school kid.

If it wasn't for him, would Roger have won the championship? The winners of the 1994 Finals were not him and the Bulls.

To be honest, I should be the big brother in the locker room!
But what was Roger like? He was sitting on a sofa with a cigar in his mouth, legs crossed, and giving orders to everyone with a contemptuous attitude.

Did he think he looked like Marlon Brando?
O'Neal was getting tired of Roger's leadership sermons. Why did that guy think he was the leader of the team? He couldn't even handle Wilkins.

He claimed to be his brother, but he became more and more arrogant. Even in the quarrel with the management before the season, Roger did not stand on his side, but only made some ambiguous and neutral remarks to reporters.

O'Neal felt that their relationship was no longer equal.

But Roger has something the Sharks agree with: Win the win, win it all.

Why did he endure John Gabriel's insults and continue to stay with the team? Of course it was not because he liked to quarrel with John, but because he wanted to win three consecutive championships and the Finals MVP.

O'Neal didn't think Roger was qualified to lead him, but he did want to win. And to win, he needed Roger.

Wilkins felt the same way. He still didn't like Roger's superiority, but he had to win.

Why can a fool like Scott Pippen become one of the top 50 stars? Because he has three real rings.

Wilkins believes that his failure to be selected as one of the top 50 superstars is just a sign. If he really does nothing, his name will be completely forgotten in a few years.

He doesn't like Roger, but he longs to join Roger's "Victory Club".

To put it bluntly, I am here just to curry favor with others. Besides the championship, what else do you need to desire? Is there anything else you need to consider?
Yes, he hadn't done his best to be better before.

But now he knows that he must put aside his star status and devote himself to defense like Charles Barkley.

If your scoring statistics and dunks cannot bring victory, they are just like a pile of waste paper.

Becoming part of a dynasty could save his pathetic career to a certain extent.

The opening game against the Houston Rockets is a perfect showcase, and both Shaq and Wilkins have thought it through and they know what they want.

The day before the game, Sir Charles came to Orlando with the team.

Before boarding the team bus, a reporter caught up with him: "Charles, how much trouble do you think you're going to get into in Orlando?"

Buckley almost laughed like a pig. "Trouble? I think Roger is in bigger trouble than my ass right now."

Judging from the news coming out of the Magic during the training camp and preseason, Roger is indeed in big trouble and is facing an unprecedented dilemma.

He needs to defeat more than just his opponents.

During training the day before the game, Magic players noticed that there were many more people carrying cameras in the locker room and training ground.

They are a filming crew from the NBA entertainment department, and they will follow the Magic throughout this season, shooting footage for the documentary.

Whether it is the establishment of a new dynasty or the collapse of two consecutive championships, this process is worth recording and full of stories. As a documentary, it is just right.

The players quickly adapted to the filming crew because they were like real spectators, never saying a word and just doing their job quietly.

Today's training was very simple because there was a game the next day, so Brian Hill just had the players conduct some offensive and defensive drills.

But even so, Roger was still talking trash to Wilkins.

"Asshole, why are you always half a beat late in rotation? You've played professional basketball for 14 years, but you can't even do this basic thing!"

"If I were Tomjanovich, I would let Charles Barkley attack you in every way possible. It would be too easy to score on you."

"Is this your attitude towards joining the Victory Club? How could you allow Saru so much space to shoot?"

The crew was very excited. If they could record a clip of the Orlando Cup boxing championship between Wilkins and Roger, the documentary would definitely be a hit.

But they were disappointed.

Dominique Wilkins didn't say a word. What was even more surprising was that every time he was scolded by Roger, he would work harder on defense in the next round.

He is pushing himself to work harder, he doesn't want to end his career with nothing!
O'Neal did not slack off. To quote Derek McKay, "I arrived at the basketball arena at 8 a.m. this morning. When I opened the door, I got a fright. Did I see a ghost? No, it was even scarier than that. I actually saw Shaq warming up."

Moreover, he stopped attacking management in front of the media.

It seems that the Magic were not defeated by all the mess.

But this doesn't mean anything. Before victory, everything is empty talk.

Finally, on November 11st, the opening game of the 1-96 season was held at the Orlando Arena.

When O'Neal and Wilkins showed up, they were wooed by reporters.

Because everyone knows that they are the source of a series of troubles for the Magic.

However, Wilkins and O'Neal answered the same question in response to various sensitive questions: "I had a conversation with Roger and all the problems have been resolved."

No one knows what kind of conversation this was, and no one knows whether the problem was actually solved.

But the answer will soon be revealed.

Before the game started, Roger received his second championship ring, and the Magic became the only team in the 90s that could share a ring with Michael Jordan - Olajuwon's Rockets didn't count because Jordan was not there when he got the ring.

Olajuwon, Barkley and Drexler watched in the dark corner, two of whom had never tasted the taste of a championship ring.

The desire of both of them was written in their eyes.

Olajuwon was not willing to be a supporting role in the 90s. He wanted to win another championship to prove himself.

For tonight's important opening game, he even made a major sacrifice - he told his 18-year-old newlywed wife that they would sleep in separate rooms for the time being this week!

Such a great spirit of sacrifice that makes us cry!

Wilkins also had eyes full of desire. From the moment he saw Roger put on the ring, he was no longer a superstar, but completely turned into an old dog stealing meat.

After the championship rings were awarded, a second championship banner was raised in the Orlando Arena.

In order to match today's atmosphere, a ceremony to introduce the starting players was specially held on site.

Derek McKay and Derek Harper received cheers, but the sound was not loud enough.

Dominique Wilkins received the least cheers.

But he didn't care, he stared at the camera with a determined look, ready to fight.

When the live DJ read out Shaquille O'Neal's name, the cheers in the Orlando Arena almost pierced people's eardrums.

The terrifying giant stood up, walked towards the camera with a ferocious expression, and tore open his training suit from the chest, like a wild beast out of a cage.

Finally, it was Roger's turn.

At that moment, you could hardly hear the DJ reading his name because the cheers were so loud. The cheers for O'Neal before seemed to be just a warm-up by the fans.

He is the hero here, he is the leader here.

He is the greatest magician who created the greatest magic.

At the age of 21, he made it into the list of top 50 stars with two championships, two FMVPs and a scoring title. He deserves such cheers.

The camera was turned to Roger, but Steve Jones did not heap praise on him: "Can a 21-year-old leader solve this crisis?"

This is a question that everyone is concerned about.

Building a dynasty is never as simple as just defeating your opponents.

The game started quickly, and O'Neal won the first attack ball for the Magic.

Roger passed the ball to the Shark, but Barkley immediately doubled up.

After McKay, whose shooting ability has deteriorated this season, replaced Grant at the power forward position, the Magic's mid-range shooting threat at the power forward position has been greatly reduced.

This allows opponents to double-team the Sharks more decisively.

O'Neal was neither impatient nor anxious, and did not attack randomly like he did in the preseason. Instead, he calmly passed the ball to Wilkins, who got rid of the defense with the help of McKay's off-ball screen and received the ball.

The glider immediately bypassed the screen and jumped up to interfere with Wilkins' jump shot.

Wilkins' shooting is not stable, and it depends a lot on his feel on the day. So as long as you can defend him in the first few times, you will definitely be able to disrupt his rhythm.

And based on Glider's understanding of Wilkins, Wilkins will definitely take action.

You don't expect this guy to pass the ball back to his teammates.

But just as Drexler jumped up to block, Wilkins passed the ball.

He accurately found Roger, who was also using off-ball running to get to the left side outside the three-point line. Mario Eli followed closely, but Roger still created space with a counter-run.

Catch the ball, shoot. The net rolls, the basketball hits!

The Magic's first goal of the new season was scored by Wilkins assisting Roger!
This is definitely an outcome that most people did not expect, because the conflict between Wilkins and Roger on the training ground has caused a lot of controversy recently.

But now? They are actually cooperating with each other!

Roger pointed at Wilkins, who nodded.

There wasn't a very intimate celebration, but at least it showed one thing - they are still on the same front!

"Dom gave up a pretty good scoring opportunity and gave the ball to Roger who had a better chance. What happened? In my impression, Dom should have rushed into the crowded penalty area and dunked." Steve Jones laughed.

The game continues and the Rockets attack.

As soon as Drexler crossed half court, he passed the ball to Dream who was in the high post. At the same time, Barkley and Drexler set an off-ball screen, which forced McKay and Wilkins to switch defense.

At the moment the defense switched, Olajuwon seemed to have seen some signal and passed the ball to Barkley.

Roger's trash talk yesterday unfortunately came true, and Tomjanovich actually asked Barkley to find a way to attack Wilkins!

At this time, Dream was in the high post, the inside was empty, Drexler was running without the ball, pulling the defense.

Wilkins had very little support, and Feizhu got a great opportunity to get to the basket.

Based on his previous behavior, he would probably pull up his trouser legs to pretend, and then let Barkley pass.

Anyway, he can dunk harder next round.

Barkley thought so too. Before easily defeating Wilkins, he decided to vent his anger first: "You useless guy, I didn't seem to hear your name when the 50 greatest players were announced a few days ago? How pathetic. You will be dealt with by me like an old dog. You should stay in the European League and comfort yourself with the compliments of the maids."

After saying that, Feizhu got the ball, dribbled one step, then suddenly changed direction to the left and broke through at high speed!
But what greeted him was not a spacious breakthrough path, but a loud "bang" and a fierce confrontation!

Dominique Wilkins actually moved sideways quickly and actively engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Barkley!

Previously, the Dream Team commented that Wilkins "has the muscles and nerves of a great defender, but not the will to use them."

Now, his muscles and nerves are beginning to degenerate, but his will to defend is unprecedentedly strong!
Barkley gritted his teeth and continued to move forward, but Wilkins did not back down. He took the initiative to hold the flying pig again!
"boom!"

After another muffled sound, Wilkins fell to the ground in a mess.

He tried hard, but Feizhu is the most terrifying monster in the league after all, even if he is no longer in his prime.

But Wilkins' efforts undoubtedly greatly slowed down Barkley's pace in rushing to the basket, so when Feizhu jumped up and prepared to layup, Roger slapped the ball directly from Feizhu's hand!
"Roger blocked a shot on Charles Barkley, incredible!" Steve Jones couldn't believe what he saw.

There is nothing surprising about it. Wilkins gave Roger time to return to the penalty area, but time had already swallowed up Barkley's invincible jumping speed.

Barkley lost his balance and fell to the ground. The cooperation between Wilkins and Roger on the defensive end allowed the team to effectively protect the basket even when O'Neal was pulled out!
"Charles, this is big trouble!" Roger yelled at Flying Pig after passing the ball.

At this time, Wilkins also got up and ran to Barkley: "Old dogs can bite, bastard!"

Barkley: ???

Who said these two don't have a good relationship? Damn, they even talk trash together!

Barkley now seriously suspects that the previous troubles were just smokescreens directed and acted by the Magic!

As they were talking, O'Neal and Harper had already run to the frontcourt, but the Rockets retreated quickly and did not give the Magic an easy chance to counterattack.

Harper slowed down outside the three-point line and decided to steady his pace and play with success rate.

The game entered the final third, Harper passed the ball to Roger, who looked sideways at Wilkins, as if preparing to pass the ball, but the next second he suddenly changed direction and accelerated, easily breaking through Mario Elie.

Seeing this, the Rockets immediately double-teamed Roger. Charles Barkley's active defense made Steve Jones sigh: "Sir Charles deserves an all-defensive team!"

Roger was trapped by the crowd and forced to the baseline. With nowhere to go, he jumped from behind the backboard. In front of him were Mario Elie, Barkley, and Olajuwon. Six arms tightly blocked the basket, and Roger had no chance of scoring.

But Roger did not shoot directly. Facing the Rockets' multi-player blockade, he passed the ball to the Shark under the basket in the air.

The Shark happened to be in a position that was convenient for Roger to pass the ball. Although the Shark's feelings towards Roger have fluctuated this season, their tacit understanding remains unchanged.

The shark always knew what Roger was thinking, and Roger could always tell what the shark was thinking.

Olajuwon and Barkley turned around immediately when Roger passed the ball, but it was too late. The Shark jumped directly into the crowd, and completed a powerful one-handed dunk over Dream and Flying Pig beside him! This is Roger and O'Neal. As long as there is a connection between them, they are still unstoppable!
5-0, the Magic's start was beyond people's expectations.

Roger patted O'Neal's butt: "Welcome to the Victory Club, man."

O'Neill's reaction was not as intimate as before. He did not touch Roger's head, but just nodded: "Of course I want to win!"

This is enough.

In short, Orlando doesn't look like a team with internal problems. Dominique Wilkins is playing serious defense, Roger is actively sharing the ball, and O'Neal's state is also very different from the preseason.

Only genius knows how this happened.

But since Wilkins and O'Neal both mentioned their conversations with Roger before the game, it at least proves one thing - Roger has the ability to settle all troubles!
In this season when everyone is looking to strengthen the Magic and the team is in chaos, Roger is still capable of being the leader of the Orlando team.

In other words, act as a savior!

After completing this attack, Steve Jones believed that Orlando fans no longer had to worry about the Magic's collapse: "A great team is a wonderful concept. They may not love each other, but they know how to do the most appropriate things in the game. I think the Orlando Magic is such a great team. Roger should have handled all the conflicts and completely separated the things on and off the court."

Bob Costa on the side reminded: "This season is still long, Steve, it's too early to talk about greatness now."

"Yes, this season is long. But is it too early? No, I mean, it's hard to doubt a 21-year-old 50-year-old superstar. 21 years old, for most players, it's too early to become great. But what about Roger? There is no such word as too early for him. He is ready to build a dynasty!
He's fixed the problems within the organization, and now it's just the simplest step for him to be great."

"Which step?"

"This step of conquering one opponent after another," Steve Jones smiled. "Roger is very familiar with this step. Today, he will show you."

(End of this chapter)