Champions Creed

Chapter 171 170: Welcome home, Dom (ask for a monthly ticket!)
Tim Hardaway's inclusion in the top five of the MVP rankings was as surprising as Zach Eady being selected ninth overall.

Because of the low attention, many people don’t know that the Miami Heat are indeed very strong. They just won 11 consecutive games a week ago.

At the beginning of the season, this newly formed team was still in the process of running in and its performance was up and down.

But after the schedule entered 1997, the Heat's performance was obviously much better.

It is true that Dennis Rodman and Pat Riley did not get along so well. Riley was very annoyed by the Worm's frequent absence from training.

Riley didn't understand why an idiot like Phil Jackson could control someone, but he couldn't.

But as of now, the relationship between Rodman and Riley has not affected the team's combat effectiveness too much.

Rodman may not care much about Riley, but he admires Mourning for fighting for his life in every game.

He had never seen anyone eat painkillers like chocolate chips just to win.

Mourning's personality is completely different from the Admiral's. Rodman likes his toughness, so the Worm is still willing to assist him for now.

In fact, the biggest obstacle to Rodman's performance was not Riley, but his new love, Carmen Electra.

If Madonna is the devil, then Carmen is the mistress of hell.

But at least for now, Rodman hasn't collapsed.

So after a wave of victories in 1997, the Heat's current record is 42 wins and 13 losses, the third best in the league.

Therefore, the reason why Tim Hardaway, who had never even started in the All-Star Game before, can make it into the top five of the MVP rankings is very simple - he is the leading scorer in the league's third-best team.

Public opinion now generally believes that the Heat have the strength to compete for the championship this season.

Although they lost the last time they played against the Magic, who had both Roger and Shark, they only lost by 7 points.

The Heat are not completely without chances.

And when Tim Hardaway entered the top five of the MVP rankings, the confidence of all Miami fans was greatly boosted.

They are eager for the Heat to prove themselves against those strong opponents and prove that they are truly a championship-contending team.

Among them, the media is probably most looking forward to the Heat meeting the Magic again. The battle between the MVP candidates and the battle between the rivals in the same state made NBC add that game to the national live broadcast early.

But before that, Roger made an example of someone else to scare the monkeys.

The game entered March, and after defeating the Warriors, Kings and then losing to the Hornets, Roger and Magic went to Detroit.

There, Roger met Grant Hill, who was fourth in the MVP rankings.

Grant Hill's statistics this season are indeed very strong, averaging only 21.4 points per game, but averaging 9 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game.

He and Chris Webber have formed a force that cannot be ignored in the East.

At the beginning of today's game, Brian Hill used Wilkins, who has been in good form recently, to defend Grant Hill, allowing Roger to focus on offense.

The aging Wilkins was completely unable to stop Hill, who had a historic first step, which allowed Hill to score 12 points in the first quarter.

But in the second quarter, Wilkins deliberately gave Hill a step on defense to weaken his breakthrough power.

This worked because Grant Hill's shooting was not that stable during this period, and Wilkins was almost desperately defending, so Hill was suppressed and only scored 4 points in the second quarter.

This defensive effect continued until the middle of the third quarter, until Wilkins' physical strength could no longer hold out and Hill began to score continuously again.

In the ninth minute of the third quarter, Grant Hill held the ball on the right side and slowed down as if preparing to organize the play. However, the next moment, he made a small change of direction and accelerated incredibly, so that Wilkins felt like he was passed by with only a gust of wind, and he didn't even have time to react.

After passing Wilkins, Grant Hill ignored Michael Cage who blocked him at the right time, soared into the air, and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand through Cage.

The Palace of Auburn Hills was filled with jubilation, and Grant Hill raised his arms high in celebration.

Wilkins stood with his hands on his hips, staring at the orange basket in a daze.

So energetic! Grant Hill's energy once again reminded Wilkins of a cruel fact: I am really old.

Today, because he was fully focused on defending Grant Hill, Wilkins made almost no contribution on the offensive end and has only scored 3 points so far.

When you are used to scoring 3 or 10 points every night, and suddenly you can only score points a game, it is like a joke to Wilkins. He used to think that anyone can score points in a single game in the NBA.

In the past, he had unlimited firing rights during the game, and the 24-second offensive time was at his disposal. Now, he only has a few opportunities to touch the ball a night.

The saddest part was that Dominique Wilkins had completely given up on attacking, but still couldn't stop Grant Hill. He only lasted two and a half quarters before he was completely unable to stop the young man.

Yes, Wilkins has accepted his role as a role player, and he has accepted the fact that he is no longer a star.

But every time there is a night like this, Wilkins is still surrounded by a huge sense of frustration.

At this point, Brian Hill no longer used the exhausted Wilkins to defend Grant Hill. He let Roger and Hill fight the final battle.

The result is no surprise.

Grant Hill finally scored 23 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds, a near triple-double.

But Roger solved everything with an amazing 46 points.

This Pistons team's defense isn't as good as their predecessors, so Roger's scoring has been easy.

Although Grant Hill was putting on a crazy show, the Pistons never led even once since the second half of the game.

The situation was firmly in Roger's hands from beginning to end.

Following Karl Malone, Roger defeated another MVP candidate with a score of 40+, continuing to score points for his first MVP.

It also serves as a warning to Miami fans that they'd better not look forward to the next encounter between the Magic and the Heat.

Roger has always been ruthless towards MVP candidates.

After the game, Grant Hill remained humble as always: "I think this is the difference between fourth and first. Roger is the well-deserved number one on the list. It's really hard for them to lose in a row. If the Magic lose the last game, then their next opponent will be unlucky, hahahaha."

After the game, when Roger returned to the locker room, he saw Wilkins in a bad mood. After taking off his shirt, he leaned against the locker and stared at the ceiling for a long time.

At this time, the relationship between Roger and Wilkins was no longer as tense as it was at the beginning of the season, so Roger went up to ask, "Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

"No," Wilkins turned his head and put his jersey on his shoulders, "I'm just a little tired."

"Normal, there is no other team in the league that relies on a 37-year-old veteran to defend Grant Hill. Thank you for everything you do, Dom."

"It's a fucking miracle you didn't mock me."

"I only satirize people who don't try their best."

Roger was about to leave, but Wilkins looked at the ceiling and sighed: "Maybe I should really leave. This season, whether we can win the championship or not, is my last season. The gap is too big, Roger, you won't understand. I won't say that I enjoy my current role. All this is for the championship, but I don't really want to do this for another season."

Roger could feel the fatigue in Wilkins. The double fatigue, both mental and physical, was tormenting him.

He played harder and more tired than before, but the data was uglier, which was not acceptable to everyone. It was just like exercising to lose weight, you could still tolerate it at the beginning, but few people could stick to it for a long time.

After all, losing weight, like winning a championship, is something that doesn’t give quick feedback.

However, Roger couldn't let Wilkins get tired of his current role so quickly.

The regular season has only played more than 50 games, and there will be even longer playoffs to come.

Wilkins must maintain his current level and enthusiasm for the team to have the last laugh.

Roger looked at Wilkins, thoughtfully, as if he wanted to say something.

But in the end, he just said "Oh" casually, put on his headphones and walked towards the parking lot.

Wilkins smiled and said, yes, who would care about an old bone complaining? He is no longer the protagonist of this world.

People talk about Roger, talk about Tim Hardaway, talk about Grant Hill, but no longer need the human film highlights.

That bastard Roger showed his greatest kindness by not mocking me.

At this time, Roger sat in the last row of the team bus, hesitated for a moment, and finally took out his mobile phone.

"Hello, Captain."

"Roger? What's wrong?"
-
A day later, the Magic arrived at the Atlanta Hawks for a back-to-back road game.

Traveling all night and having to play games at night was almost a death sentence for this aging Magic team.

On the bus to the Georgia Dome, everyone was taking the time to rest and catch up on sleep.

Only Dominic Wilkins looked out the window with high spirits.

The scenes that flashed by outside were some of the best memories of his career.

His peak and youth were all in this city.

But after arriving at the stadium, Wilkins felt very unfamiliar.

Because the Georgia Dome is the Eagles' temporary home stadium this season, the Eagles will play games here until the Philips Arena is repaired.

As for the Eagles' previous home, Omni Stadium, built in 1972, is now in ruins and has been completely demolished.

This was a heartbreaking thing for Wilkins, because all his good memories and times seemed to have turned into ruins.

Before the game started, there were still Hawks fans wearing Wilkins' jerseys and cheering for him.

But the focus of the reporters on the scene was still Roger and Steve Smith.

Wilkins sat on the bench, looking at the unfamiliar home court and then at himself. The boy who had flown here 15 years ago was no longer alive and kicking.

He sat calmly, lamenting the speed of time.

Before the game started, after Brian Hill arranged the tactics, Wilkins stepped onto the court and prepared near the center circle.

But he soon found that he was the only one on the court.

Wilkins turned his head and saw that his teammates had stayed on the sidelines, smiling as if they had succeeded in a prank.

Not a single Eagles player stepped onto the field.

Roger put his hands to his mouth and yelled at Wilkins, "You've been fooled, Dom!"

"Hey, what are you doing?" Wilkins was about to walk off the court when the whole place suddenly became dark.

The only light shone on him.

Above the big screen, there appeared a picture of Wilkins participating in the dunk contest.

His dunk duel with Michael Jordan was a hundred times more popular than Gordon vs. LaVine in the 21st century.

Because at that time, the dunk contest was not a place for you to talk big and gain popularity. Everyone really wanted to compete to see who was better.

Wilkins watched the young No. 21 slam the ball into the basket again and again with all kinds of exaggerated moves, and hold up the dunk contest trophy, making Michael Jordan pale in comparison.

When Wilkins held the trophy, the commentator said the classic line: "The sky is the limit today!"

After that, Dominic Wilkins' highlights began to play on the big screen.

The highlights focus on the seventh game of the 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals, the most legendary and tragic game in Wilkins' career.

The life-and-death battle at Boston Garden, the most explosive small forward at the time vs. the most skilled small forward at the time. He and Bird faced off against each other countless times, hurting each other. Wilkins scored 47 points in the game, and Bird scored 20 points in the fourth quarter.

The two left behind countless unforgettable shots and another classic commentary: "You are appreciating everything that the word greatness means!"

To this day, 47 points is still the record for the most points scored in a single game in a playoff Game 47. In last season's classic Game of the Eastern Conference Finals between Roger and Jordan, Roger only tied the record of points and failed to surpass it.

Of course, the result was heartbreaking. Dominique Wilkins, who scored 47 points, still lost the game, and the Boston Celtics continued their glory by stepping on the fallen Hawks.

And that was the furthest the Cleveland Cavaliers had ever gone in the playoffs.

Wilkins' body was shaking. The decisive battle with Big Bird seemed to have happened just yesterday. He could still feel how eye-catching that damn green color was.

After the highlights were over, the words “Thank you Dom, welcome home” appeared on the big screen.

At this time, all the fans stood up and applauded, shouting "Thank you Dom, welcome home".

The lights in the stadium came back on and Wilkins was already in tears.

In those few minutes, 15 years seemed to flash before his eyes. In the blink of an eye, regret, anger, fanaticism and passion seemed to be left behind.

Wilkins covered his face. He had never expected the Hawks to prepare this for him at home. This was the last time the Magic came to Atlanta to play this season, and it was also the last time Wilkins came to Atlanta to play in his career, and the Hawks acted as if they knew this was their last season.

Yes, how would they know? I have never told anyone about this.

He only mentioned it to Roger yesterday.

Wilkins was wondering when a strong hand grabbed his shoulder:

"Don't cry Dom, see? You are a true legend, people recognize your dedication and hard work, your glory has not been buried. And your career is only one ring away from perfection. Hang in there, you will get it, what happened in 1988 will never happen again. Because this time, the bastard who can score 20 points in a single quarter is by your side."

Roger believes this recharge will be enough to keep Wilkins active until the end of the season.

The moment the charging was completed, Wilkins leaned on Roger's shoulder like Jordan with a fever.

Countless reporters pressed the shutter to freeze this scene forever.

One cannot predict the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.

(End of this chapter)