Champions Creed

Chapter 166 Chapter 165: Now, the cake is no longer exclusive to Orlando (ask for monthly tickets!)

The headline in Sports Illustrated surprised many fans.

Roger, who has been compared to Michael Jordan, has never won an MVP?

This is just as surprising as when people discovered that the so-called "Super Dirk" only shot 11% in the 41 Finals but still won the championship.

But if you think about it carefully, Roger has just started his fourth season, so it is normal that he does not have the MVP.

In fact, last season Roger's personal data and team performance have reached MVP level.

上赛季，在奥尼尔常规赛只出战50场的情况下，罗杰依然率队拿下了68胜，场均30.8分3.7次助攻4.1个篮板1.2次抢断1.0次盖帽的个人数据也十分耀眼。

But Michael Jordan's record of 96 wins in 72 was too strong, so Roger had to come in second.

In any other season, Roger's personal performance and team record would be enough to win the MVP.

It is generally believed that if Shaq had not been injured last season, the Magic would have a high chance of winning more than 70 games.

In that case, Roger might already have an MVP.

This season, the top five players in the MVP rankings so far are Jordan, Malone, Roger, Shark and Grant Hill.

God knows how Grant Hill got on this list, but considering his good relationship with all the media, it is not surprising that he is in the top five.

What is very interesting is that Roger and Shaq have excellent personal statistics. As long as the Magic are not suppressed by the Knicks and Jazz in terms of record, the MVP trophy will probably become an internal competition within the Magic team.

It is not an exaggeration for a team to have two players in the top five of the MVP rankings. Pippen and Jordan have done this before.

But no matter how high Pippen ranked in the top five, people knew that he would never win the MVP. This is the confidence that Pippen's ability gave people.

But O'Neal is different. He really has the ability to win the MVP trophy.

Moreover, he was now full of hostility towards Roger.

What this means is that he would be more than happy to compete with Roger for the award.

However, the two cannot simply compete with each other.

If anyone plays selfishly for personal data, the Magic's record may be quickly left behind by the Jazz and Knicks.

To win the MVP, both personal data and team performance are indispensable, unless you have achieved milestone personal data, such as averaging a triple-double.

Therefore, in the competition for MVP, Roger and O'Neal are both the biggest competitors and the partners who need each other the most.

This struggling relationship has been talked about a lot.

The Sharks really care about MVP.

If he can win an MVP trophy, who will dare to say that the Orlando Magic is Roger's dynasty team?
Who would think that the person who won the MVP is just the second in command?
What about Roger? He certainly knows what MVP means. If a top player doesn't want to compete for MVP, then he is not a top player at all.

As a result, the Magic's internal competition has enabled the team to achieve a virtuous cycle in terms of performance.

Faced with the temptation of personal honor, O'Neal and Roger did not act childishly and selfishly by playing one-on-one. Instead, they tried their best to win every game and strive to make the Magic team's record far ahead of other competitors.

First, grab the cake and get it to Orlando.

As for how to divide it, that’s up to Roger and the shark.

After Christmas, Shark and Roger set out on their journey of conquest.

Every night, their opponents have to face the most terrifying outside firepower in the league.

Of course you can send people to siege, unless you want the rebound to be dunked by a shark in the paint.

On January 1997, 1, the Magic traveled to the Philadelphia 7ers.

The Philadelphians believed that the equally rebellious Allen Iverson could compete with Roger, and AI did score 25 points with pleasing moves.

Roger scored 26 points in the face of siege, which was only a slight advantage.

But O'Neal completely destroyed the 76ers' inside line, finishing with 39 points and 17 rebounds.

The reason may be that Roger did not hate the 1996 No. 1990 pick Iverson, but O'Neal hated the No. pick Derrick Coleman who once dunked over him.

After the game, Allen Iverson, who was wearing a baggy T-shirt, was very helpless: "You can imagine what it feels like to face Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali at the same time in one night. I mean, Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali in their prime! They will shoot you left and right, punching you in the face one after another. Yes, you will be beaten so badly that your mother won't recognize you, and this is the real experience of playing against Roger and Shark!"

On January 1, facing the arch-rival Miami Heat, the scene was completely different. O'Neal only scored 9 points under the control of Alonso Mourning and Rodman.

The results of it?
Roger scored 44 points in the game and made Jamal Mashburn, a former member of the Dallas 3J who was traded to Miami, completely out of control. He was ejected for pushing Roger hard.

After the game, reporters asked Roger what happened.

Roger spread his hands and said, "I just told him that the loser who competed with his teammates for women was not worthy of competing with the real winners. I don't know why he was angry. I just stated a fact that was not too exaggerated."

Roger's words were reserved. In fact, his original words were: "A truly capable man is one for whom women will actively create emotional value. And a loser like you who licks your teammates to create emotional value for women is not worthy of competing with the real winners."

Considering that American feminism is at the forefront of the world, it is not convenient for Roger to say the original words.

Roger may not be afraid of Jordan, but he cannot help being afraid of the old boxer.

Anyway, Roger updated Pat Riley with some new nightmare material.

This is the Orlando Magic that the NBA faced in 1997. If you suppress one, another will pop up and kill you.

And they are more bloodthirsty than they have been in the past two years.

As 1997 began, the news in the basketball world seemed to be all about the Orlando Magic.

They won one victory after another and set one record after another.

So far this season, the Orlando Magic have never lost consecutive games.

As we all know, Michael Jordan once created a rather scary record: from 1990 to 1996, whenever the Chicago Bulls had Michael Jordan, they never suffered three consecutive losses.

If Roger hadn't beaten Jordan away, the record would have continued until 1998.

But the Magic have not even had two consecutive losses this season.

They will also lose games, and even lose one game and win one game in a row.

But they have never lost two games in a row.

The second record is that the Magic have never lost a game at home this season.

If these two records can continue until the end of the season, there is no doubt that this will add a lot of points to Roger and the Shark in the competition for MVP.

The Magic's terrifying winning streak continued into the All-Star Game in February.

During this period, the Magic lost to the Knicks once, but quickly won back a week later.

In addition, Roger and the Shark combined to score 77 points in that game.

Jordan tried his best to score a game-high 46 points, but Ewing was completely lost and only scored 13 points and 11 rebounds.

After the game, Michael Jordan stood with his hands on his hips at the Magic's home court, staring at the two championship banners above the Orlando Arena, and was stunned for a long time.

He knew that if a third flag was hung over the Orlando Arena next fall, it would mean that he might no longer be in the league.

Yes, Jordan made plans.

If he fails to win the championship this season, he will seriously consider retiring.

Maybe, be a great boss?
After defeating the Knicks, Roger and O'Neal went to the 1997 All-Star Game in Cleveland together and participated in the 50 Greatest Stars Celebration during the All-Star halftime.

There are a total of 50 active players among the top 11 superstars, including Roger and Shark.

The players who were selected as the 50 greatest superstars, no matter how many years they have retired or where they are now, basically all came to the celebration.

The only two people who were not present were the deceased "Pistol" Pete Maravich.

Another person who was not present was Jerry West.

In an interview a week ago, he announced that he needed a minor surgery on his nose, so he was sorry that he could not be there.

But the whole world knows that this is just an excuse. The real reason why Jerry West did not attend was that the league actually opened an investigation into him, Jerry Buss, and the entire Los Angeles Lakers at the beginning of the season to confirm that the Lakers did not conduct any illegal recruitment.

Therefore, Logo's failure to attend the celebration is actually an expression of dissatisfaction and protest.

That's Jerry West's temper. He's not afraid of David Stern or anyone else.

In fact, the current Logo has been restrained. If he were ten years younger, Jerry West would definitely come to the celebration and point his finger at David Stern's nose and say, "Who the hell do you have to question my integrity? You damn Jews, do you think you can be honest?"

When the 50 biggest stars took a group photo, the Iceman was standing next to Roger.

He just smiled at Roger and there was not much communication between the two.

Roger looked at the Iceman, but still felt a little emotional.

At first, Roger just wanted to catch up with his template.

But now I realize that I seem to have gone a long way.

After the celebration, Sports Illustrated interviewed Roger and asked him, "Among the 50 great stars, whose failure to be selected made you feel the most regretful."

"I really don't know anything about the selection criteria. But there are indeed some players who should be on this list. They are all well-known figures in the league. For example, Dominique Wilkins."

Wilkins, who was depressed at home, smiled helplessly, but this still couldn't change the fact that he thought Roger was a bastard. However, Roger was indeed a bastard worth following.

In addition to the 50 greatest players, the league also named the top teams in NBA history. This list is based on votes from print and broadcast media members who regularly cover the NBA.

Of the ten teams, three are from the 60s, one is from the 70s, four are from the 80s, and two are from the 90s.

90年代的两支球队分别是91-92芝加哥公牛，以及95-96奥兰多魔术！
That’s right, the Bulls team that made history with 72 wins did not make the list. Instead, it was the Magic team that defeated the Bulls with 72 wins!
In other words, last season's Magic was considered one of the ten strongest teams in NBA history!

Facts have proved that championships are indeed above all else. The top ten teams selected by the NBA are all championship teams.

No matter if you have 72 wins or not, no matter if you are the all-time scoring champion or not, no matter how popular you are, it is all useless. Only championships are the standard to measure everything.

First he was selected as one of the top 50 superstars, and then the team he led was selected as one of the top ten teams in the NBA. It is hard to imagine that Roger and Shark, who are not even 25 years old, have already achieved such brilliant achievements at the beginning of their careers.

Roger and Shark's achievements are already far ahead of their peers, but they are still not satisfied.

They all desire the best record in the league and the MVP trophy that represents the highest individual honor.

In the first game after the All-Star Game, the Magic met the Los Angeles Lakers again.

This time, Kobe was unexpectedly low-key and did not yell at Roger again.

So Roger just took 35 points to show his respect: "That kid is really good, only 20 points less than me. The most important thing is that he is very polite."

After the game, O'Neal took a special look at Kobe. He did not look dejected, but instead had a look of unwillingness on his face.

Could he be my little brother? Shark didn't know the answer.

Perhaps out of spite, O'Neal did not avoid suspicion after being investigated last time, but planned to invite Jerry West to dinner in Orlando.

During the dinner, O'Neal and Logo talked a lot.

But Logo only cared about one thing: "Shaq, I see you've been playing almost 40 minutes lately."

"Yes, it's all for the MVP. Besides, Michael Cage is too old to share much playing time."

"You shouldn't play for so long, and you have to control your weight. A smart athlete never gambles with his health."

Logo said, taking in the shark's now completely out of control body.

This year, because of Roger's broken relationship with Shaq, Roger was too lazy to ask O'Neal to be self-disciplined or to help him eat healthily. The only reminder Roger gave was to ask his teammates in the locker room: "How many donuts did that bastard Shaq eat?"

However, O'Neill turned a deaf ear to Roger's reminder.

The shark's body swelled up like a loaf of bread, and its weight grew as fast as Kevin Garnett's height. (Garnett grew 6 centimeters in his first year in the league, but KG insisted that the team report that he was only 211 because he didn't want to play center.)
Logo doesn't know exactly how much O'Neal weighs right now, but there is no doubt that his knees must be under several times the pressure of others.

Colliding, jumping, and landing with such a weight is like walking on a tightrope every time!

For a player of O'Neal's size, load management is very necessary.

But the Shark disagreed: "I'm only 23 years old, and I'm as healthy as a new car that has been driven less than 100 kilometers! The only time I was injured in my career was because of a malicious foul by a Heat player. So, there must be no problem with me. If I reduce my playing time, it would be like handing the MVP to Roger. I don't want to be his appendage anymore, sir."

"Besides," O'Neal laughed and raised an eyebrow at Logo, "Don't people like chubby girls? I'm sexier this way!"

Logo:.
Well, West felt that he had to get used to the shark's way of speaking in advance to lay a good foundation for future interactions.

O'Neal was still laughing, mainly because he was very confident about his body, and he did have the capital to be confident.

Perhaps Shaq's greatest talent is indeed his strong knees. Given his weight and playing style, his career is incredibly long.

If you look at how poor Zion's attendance rate is in the 21st century, you will probably know how terrifying the Sharks are.

But no matter how talented he is, O'Neal is not RoboCop after all.

His long career is due not only to his own amazing physical talent, but also to the Lakers' excellent load management and the miraculous healing skills of the Suns' miracle doctor.

But today's sharks know nothing about this.

Logo still wanted to persuade: "You still have many opportunities to win the MVP Shaq, but how many times can your knees withstand it? Look at Patrick, he is very good, but the height of his career was seriously dragged down by his knees. You'd better listen to me, no center with your size plays nearly 40 minutes per game, this crazy thing should stop. Believe me, this is advice."

"Okay sir, okay, I got it." O'Neal nodded and dealt with it.

But he has no intention of reducing his playing time.

If Roger averages 4 minutes more playing time than himself, then Roger's statistics will certainly be better and he will be closer to the MVP.

There was no way the shark would agree to that.

If it had been two years ago, O'Neal could have watched Roger hold up the MVP trophy with a smile, and even prepared a victory party for him to celebrate.

But this year, the Sharks won't let that happen.

It was he and Roger who worked together to improve the team's record. Why should he give up the competition for MVP?

After the All-Star Game, the Magic's win count continued to grow at a crazy pace. They still have not lost consecutive games and have not lost even a single game at home.

On February 2, when the Magic easily defeated the San Antonio Spurs, the Magic's record was 19-45.

During the same period, the New York Knicks had 40 wins and the Utah Jazz had 39 wins.

Roger and O'Neal's crazy performances have allowed them to gradually widen the lead.

If this continues, no one else will have the right to share the MVP cake.

At this moment, the Shark was completely immersed in the joy of victory and the fantasy of MVP. If he could get the MVP trophy, it would be the perfect ending for him in the Magic.

He can tell everyone that this is his dynasty team!
The joyful Shark completely ignored Jerry West's advice.

On February 2, the Magic faced the Rockets Big Three again.

The game was intense from the beginning. The Houston team didn't want to be swept by the Magic in the regular season, so they fought hard.

O'Neal continued to engage in fierce physical combat in the paint, and everything was normal.

In the seventh minute of the fourth quarter, Roger passed the ball to O'Neal who had a better chance.

Shark turned around and tried to force Da Meng to attack him, but maybe it was because of his physical condition, he felt that his legs were a little weak and he was unable to push Da Meng away directly.

O'Neal quickly adjusted himself, faked a shot and then shot directly under the basket.

In the fierce confrontation, the shark lost his balance and the basketball bounced out of the basket.

The referee blew the whistle and Olajuwon fouled.

O'Neal landed, felt a sharp pain in his knee, and curled up on the ground.

But after taking a break, the Shark stood up again with the help of his teammates, and insisted on taking two free throws, making one of them.

Then, the Shark limped back to defense. He felt that he could still hold on, but when Barkley broke into the restricted area and made a layup, O'Neal found that he couldn't jump up at all. Not only was his left leg in unbearable pain, but he also couldn't exert any strength at all.

After this defensive round, O'Neal waved to Brian Hill.

At that moment, Shark had only one voice in his mind: "I should have listened to Jerry!"

Hill immediately paused the game, replaced O'Neal and returned to the locker room for examination.

In the subsequent games, O'Neal did not come back, and Olajuwon and Flying Pig took advantage of the Shark's absence to frantically attack the Magic's inside line.

In the end, the Rockets' Big Three got what they wanted and won a game in Houston, defeating the Magic and avoiding being swept by the Magic in the regular season.

After the game, Roger returned to the locker room and found that O'Neal was not there.

He thought the guy might be in the physical therapy room, because the shark was able to stand up and shoot free throws just now, which meant it shouldn't be serious.

Roger didn't want to talk to Shark, but he wanted to know about Shark's condition, so he called out the name of the chief team doctor: "Kirk, tell me that bastard is okay. I told that fat pig to eat fewer donuts and control his weight. What an idiot."

But still no one responded, no O'Neal's scolding, and no explanation from the team doctor.

Are they in the hospital? Is it that serious?

At this time, Roger's trainer Abunassar walked into the locker room and whispered a few words to Roger.

After listening to this, Roger frowned: "What?"
-
Sad news: Shaquille O'Neal has a partial tear of the lateral collateral ligament and a torn joint capsule in his left knee and will miss the next 7-8 weeks. He does not need surgery, but will wear a splint for 2-3 weeks before starting rehabilitation. This means that Shaq has almost withdrawn from the MVP race. In the past 19 years, the NBA has not had an MVP who can only play 50 games. Fortunately, he can still play in the playoffs, and the hope of a three-peat still exists. - Orlando Beacon.

The Magic had a very unfortunate incident at a very unfortunate time, because when Shaq was injured, the trade deadline had just passed. How could the Magic strengthen their weak inside line? The answer is that they can't strengthen it. From now on, it all depends on Roger. - Florida Sports News.

This is a heavy blow to Shaq. We all know how good he is. He became a top 50 star and his team was selected as one of the top ten teams in NBA history. If he and Roger can play 82 games healthy, maybe he can create another 70-win season, maybe he can win an MVP and take his career to the next level. But unfortunately, at least this year, there is no hope for him. I wish Shaq good luck and hope he can come back as soon as possible and create real magic in the playoffs. - "NBA Time and Space".

It is generally believed that Shaq's excessive weight led to this result. His weight exceeded Patrick's in his rookie season, and no one outside knows the exact number of his current weight. When Shaq landed, his knees must have been under great pressure. Shaq remained healthy in the first three seasons of his career, but this is the second consecutive season that Shaq can only attend 40-50 games. Who does this remind you of? Yes, I believe no one wants to see the tragedy of another Ralph Sampson. - "Orlando Daily News".

"Do you really think that Shaq is the only one who has withdrawn from the MVP race? No, Roger has withdrawn as well. Orlando's recent brilliant performance is the result of Shaq and Roger working together. Without Shaq, the Magic's record will slowly be surpassed by the Knicks or the Jazz.

I'm not saying that the Magic's performance will collapse. After all, we have all seen Roger's ability to lead a team alone. Even I, a well-known Roger hater and a person who goes against the truth, must admit his ability to lead a team.

But we also have to face up to the strength of the Knicks. In the next 31 games, the Knicks' winning rate will definitely be higher than that of the Magic. They will slowly devour the Magic's few advantages until they surpass them.

Roger's statistics are not overwhelmingly different from those of Michael and Karl Malone, so the record almost determines who will become the MVP in the end.

Without Shaq, it means that others are also eligible to share the cake, and the cake is no longer exclusive to Orlando.

If Roger can really win a real MVP on his own, he will win the respect of everyone, including me.

Unfortunately, the Magic will face many playoff-level opponents in March and April, and the starting center for the Magic is a 3-year-old guy.

To Roger, this was more like divine punishment. His arrogance, his pride, his conceit, and the bottle of red wine he gave to George Karl to humiliate him were all punished for him. "

- Jim Gray shrugged when he talked about Roger in his show. He was in a good mood because he seemed to have realized his previous wish: he wanted to see the guy who won the game by missing a call and was so proud of it, when he failed.

(End of this chapter)