Champions Creed

Chapter 195 Chapter 194: We may be even more outrageous than them (ask for monthly tickets!)

This was the first time O'Neal heard the phrase "Shaq did it, too."

For the first time, this sentence made him understand what extreme blood pressure was.

Of course, what the shark doesn’t know is that this amount of damage is far from the limit of this sentence.

At best it can only be considered a warm-up.

O'Neal was very angry. What do you mean my one-on-one efficiency is not high?
How many people are defending me, and how many people are defending you?

The Shark was in a bad mood, very bad, not only because of what Kobe said, but also because he was almost laughed at by the media in the United States.

"After leaving Roger, Shaq was like a giant baby who couldn't walk."

"A great leader who led his team to a loss by less than 30 points in the first game."

"The most dominant center in history, as Los Angeles fans call him, can't handle a team with no height inside."

"If you've seen the tragedy of Scott leading a team alone in Chicago, you won't be surprised by the results of Shaq leading a team alone. Because in essence, they are the same type of players."

It only took O'Neal one night to go from being the center of attention before the start of the season to being hated by everyone now.

In the past, when there were conflicts between Shark and Roger, Reebok would use the media to smooth things over.

But now that the Shark has left the Reebok team, there is no media to help him at all.

He became a complete laughing stock.

The Shark needed to vent, and the outlet was Kobe who annoyed him.

The next day at the training ground, O'Neal scolded Kobe: "You are qualified to say that to me? I have never seen a rubbish player who only has a 30% shooting rate when defended by one person! If Roger is defended by one person, then he..."

At this point, O'Neal himself couldn't continue.

He has been unconsciously comparing Roger and Kobe.

Because in the Sharks' minds, Kobe was Roger's substitute.

Kobe was already in his sophomore year, and when O'Neal and Roger worked together, Roger was also in his sophomore year. So, why can't we compare?
But the more I compare them with O'Neal, the more I realize that the two are simply not comparable!
Although Roger, a sophomore, has not yet won the scoring title, his passing vision is still limited, and his defense is not good enough.

But he is already considered one of the league's top scorers.

What about Kobe? He can't compare with Roger in any other way except training harder than Roger.

Kobe did not respond, but continued to shoot on the training ground, letting O'Neal call him.

But O'Neal did not let Kobe go. After the morning training, the Shark left the coaching staff and organized a player meeting in the locker room.

Rather than a players' meeting, it was more like a "Kobe Bryant criticism meeting."

The content of the meeting was to criticize Kobe.

Why did the sharks hold such a meeting?

Firstly, it was to vent his dissatisfaction, and secondly, it was because he was sidelined in the same way last season!

O'Neal will never forget the locker room meeting Roger held last season and the famous "bloody vote."

Since then, O'Neal has no status in the team. Since then, the Orlando Magic has completely become Roger's team.

O'Neal wanted to emulate Roger. He had to take complete control of the team to avoid another humiliating defeat like this.

He has to learn to be a real leader, he has to completely deal with Kobe!
The Sharks knew that Kobe, who had an EQ of -120, had a bad relationship with almost all the veterans on the team, so he was confident about this meeting.

After closing the door, O'Neal spoke first: "Hey Kobe, you have to play team basketball! Don't always do the old trick of dribbling between your legs and missing shots. Give me the ball and cut, and I will immediately pass the ball back to you, so you can easily get 20 points a game. Why can't you ever listen to other people's opinions? Why?"

Someone immediately responded to O'Neal and stood up, such as Van Exel: "Every time Kobe indulges in a one-on-one, the coach always says 'He's just a kid, let him go'. To be honest, this just annoys me! Kobe, the coach's tolerance is not a capital for you to do whatever you want!"

After all was said and done, it was Shark and Van Exel who were embarrassed.

They have tried their best, but there is no reaction at all!

As Roger said, "Shaq, I don't even feel your presence."

Kobe just sat in front of his locker, not saying a word.

His attitude of "I don't care what you say" almost made O'Neal want to slap him in the face.

Eddie Jones also stood up and prepared to speak, but the door of the locker room was suddenly pushed open.

The one who broke in was Del Harris. He looked like a mad bull, his eyes seemed to have turned blood red. "Damn it, have you guys never been young and selfish? Shaq, was it you who called a player meeting against Kobe!?"

Eddie Jones, who has always had a good relationship with the sharks, immediately sat down when he saw this and pretended it was none of his business.

Instead, Fisher, who had a lukewarm relationship with Shaq, stood up and said, "Coach, Shaq has no other ideas. He just wants to win."

"Damn it, you can't do this! Kobe still needs time, you can't judge him like this!"

Soon, Jerry West also arrived at the scene.

No one knows who told Del Harris about this, but Del Harris must have informed West before coming.

Maybe Del Harris knew he couldn't control the shark, but West could.

West looked at Kobe, who was silent, and Shark, who was standing in the middle of the locker room, and he roughly knew what had happened.

He waved his hand: "Shaq, come to my office."

Jerry West's office is very simple, with only some photos of the team and his family.

Most people of Logo's level would put their honor in the office.

But Jerry West didn't do that.

Because he still believes that the only losing FMVP in NBA history is a shame, not an honor.

That was more like a consolation prize given to West by the league.

After O'Neal sat down, he directly stated his demands: "I can't stand Kobe, I can't stand it at all!"

Jerry West was silent for a few seconds. He felt very tired.

He had high hopes for the OK combination, but Kobe and O'Neal had only played one official game together and it had come to this.

Yes, who would have thought that after just one game, O'Neal and Kobe had already passed their honeymoon period and were beginning to celebrate their first seven days of marriage.

After a few seconds, Logo nodded: "I'll trade him."

"That's great." O'Neal instantly showed a smile as bright as the summer sunshine.

"Well, would you trade him for Roger?"

"What?" The sunny day turned into a cloudy day in an instant.

"Look, you don't want another Roger on the team. Shaq, don't you want to be on your own? Don't you want to lead a team to success? As a result, you still want a partner like Roger, and then win the game smoothly. Is this what you want?

Remember Shaq, you are leading a team now!
You're going to run into all kinds of problems along the way, and this is just one of them. And now, just because there's a little bit of a problem, you're going to come to me and ask me to get rid of someone? Is this how you lead a team?"

Logo slapped O'Neal hard, but as a top general manager, he knew how to control the players.

Now, it's time to give the shark a candy.

"Skyhook's biggest weakness is that he is not good at dealing with people, which is exactly your strength. Everyone likes you, you are simply a natural leader, and your tolerant and generous character is your most powerful weapon to dominate the team.

That kid is only 19 years old. If you guys work together and have a little patience, you can win at least five championships. What are you doing? What are you thinking? You actually call on your teammates to attack him? Attack the guy who could be your right hand?

Smarten up Shaq, you can do better than that!
You are a natural leader, I always believe!
As for Kobe, I'll go talk to him."

Logo's words made O'Neal feel better, but one fact could not be changed - O'Neal's plan to control the locker room completely failed.

He could neither suppress Kobe nor drive him away.

He didn't understand why Roger could handle him so easily, but he couldn't even handle a little kid.

Shark walked out of Logo's office, looked at Kobe who went back to training, and sighed.

Leading a team alone doesn't seem as easy as I imagined.

He still had to put up with Kobe in the end.

The loss in the first game and the failure to control the locker room left the Sharks humiliated.

That was humiliating enough, but the sharks knew it was just the beginning.

If he loses the next match, or if Roger wins the championship before him.
He will really become the next Michael Jordan and be completely out!

This is the first time O'Neal has felt such a sense of crisis since entering the league.

He stared at Kobe on the court with a serious expression, as if thinking about something.

Jerry West looked at O'Neal's serious expression and smiled with relief.

He actually thinks that pressure is not necessarily a bad thing for O'Neal.

At least, this can improve his professional attitude to a certain extent.

After experiencing such a painful defeat, O'Neal should have undergone a complete transformation.

The next day, Jerry West took out the Los Angeles Times that had been delivered to his mailbox.

The news on the sports page left him stunned.

"Shaq walked out of the nightclub at 4 a.m. with his three female companions, feeling sad and angry after losing the game, got into a large SUV and left."

What else could West say?

Shaquille O'Neal is an athlete who knows how to regulate his own pressure! ——
O'Neal's embarrassment highlighted Roger's greatness and made Roger's reputation in the media better and better.

After watching the Hawks' brutal performance against the Lakers in the opening game, Atlanta fans are increasingly looking forward to the first year of the Triple Crown.

The Eagles did not disappoint the fans, they won three consecutive games after the opening game.

In the second game, the Hawks' opponent was Roger's former team, the Orlando Magic. Although Roger had already transferred away, because he had not completely broken up with the Magic management, the Magic management still held a separate championship ring awarding ceremony for Roger.

O'Neal was different. The Magic sent it to him. And they made it clear that there would be no ceremony even if he returned to Orlando to play.

Today, the only old faces Roger is familiar with in the Magic team are Harper and McKay. Even the head coach Brian Hill has been replaced by Chuck Daly. The reason is that Brian Hill believes that as a holder of three rings, he has the right to ask the boss for advice on recruiting and personnel management.

Then John Gabriel let him know what real personnel management rights were.

Moreover, the Magic believed that Chuck Daly was a coach who knew how to train young players. Now the Magic's top priority was to train McGrady.

There is nothing much to say about this game. McGrady only scored 7 points in the whole game, and the Magic had no resistance. Even so, McGrady's excellent physique and elegant style of play still made Orlando fans full of expectations.

However, no matter how much they looked forward to it, it could not hide their longing for Roger.

After the game, countless Orlando fans wearing Magic's No. 14 jerseys burst into tears in the stands: "We originally had the best player in the league!"

But what can they do? They can only wish Roger all the best in Atlanta.

On November 11th against the Pistons, Grant Hill was blocked by the Hawks' death front line.

He made 20 of 5 shots and scored 25 points with only 14% shooting percentage.

Grant Hill's first step is indeed very fast, and even Pippen finds it difficult to block him.

But facing the Hawks, getting past Pippen is just the first step.

Roger, Steve Smith, Alan Henderson and even Kurt Thomas, who played center, would quickly build a second and third line of defense behind Pippen.

This was a hellish defense for Grant Hill, who had an unstable shooting.

Because Grant Hill was restricted, the Pistons eventually lost to the Hawks by 71 points with a score of 97 to 26.

In the first three games of the new season combined, the Hawks beat their opponents by 72 points!
The Hawks' performance was subversive because they played the league's top defensive performance without any big center in the lineup.

Even the Sonics, the originators of the front-line double-team, were not that extreme.

George Karl always has at least one rotation center over 210 cm tall in the team every year. And don't forget, it was the introduction of the 97 cm center forward Jim McIlwain in the summer of 216 that indirectly led to Rainman Kemp leaving for Cleveland.

Therefore, the Hawks' lineup is even more extreme than that of the Supersonics, and they really don't want big guys.

At first, Lenny Wilkens himself found it difficult to accept this unconventional lineup, and he was even ready to take the blame.

After all, if the team doesn't perform well at the start, someone has to be held responsible.

As a result, the team won the first three games.

This lineup is a nightmare for outside attackers, especially those whose mid-range and long-range jump shots are not stable enough.

This year, everyone's long-range shots collectively missed the mark, because the NBA changed the three-point line back to its original 7.25 meters this season.

The impact was enormous. The memories Roger brought from his previous life told him that after the three-point line was changed back in the 97-98 season, there were no more players on the three-point shooting list with more than 200 hits in a single season, and the number of players with more than 100 hits was reduced to only 32.

Therefore, this season when the power of long-range shooting is weakened is a huge benefit for the Hawks' pseudo-zone defense.

"I think our defense can contain everything," Lenny Wilkens told reporters at a press conference after beating the Pistons.

He was not bragging, because soon the same tragedy as Grant Hill happened to Allen Iverson, who had even stronger scoring ability.

On November 11, the fourth game of the season, the Hawks faced the 5ers at home.

Even though the son of Philadelphia is as fast as lightning, his breakthrough is still severely suppressed by the Eagles' front line, which forces him to seek attempts from the outside.

But in the end, AI only made 6 of 1 shots from beyond the three-point line. In Ben's words, "Haha, he tried so hard, but he couldn't even touch our defense!"

Roger on the bench looked at Ben in confusion. What kind of weird metaphor is this?

But um, you can save it and curse at sharks.

As for Philadelphia's grandson Jerry Stackhouse, his three-point performance was slightly better than AI, making 7 of 2.

He is worthy of being Roger's lifelong enemy.

The best performer today was Christian Laettner, who was traded by the Hawks during the offseason. He made 13 of 7 shots and scored a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds.

His performance was even better than that of Derrick Coleman, the No. 9 pick in 6, who had gained only 90 points and rebounds and had become as fat as a chocolate ball.

The 76ers made a trade with the Hawks because they were impressed by Laettner's immediate combat effectiveness.

However, it turns out that Lightner does have the ability to fight immediately, but his ability is not as good as Larry Brown thought.

Since the start of the new season, the 76ers have yet to get their first win.

The Hawks have won four consecutive games since the start of the new season, and Roger's new empire in Atlanta has begun to gradually expand its territory.

After the game against the 76ers, Pete Babcock congratulated Roger outside the locker room.

Roger wasn't too excited because the 76ers were not even a match.

He felt that Babcock should be aware of this as well.

Therefore, he must have come to see me not just to congratulate me on my victory.

Sure enough, after a few pleasantries, he handed Roger a list: "Roger, if you have time, you can take a look at this."

Roger flipped it open and saw that it was the predicted list for the 98 draft.

"Pete, I didn't expect you to take the late first-round pick so seriously."

"Late first round? No no no, we have a chance to get a lottery pick next season!"

"Huh?" Roger was a little confused. You don't distrust me so much, do you?
"Oh, you may not have noticed. Our first-round draft pick in 98 was swapped with the Philadelphia 76ers in the trade involving McGrady. So it's not that I don't trust you, it's that I trust Philadelphia too much." Babcock made a joke that Larry Brown would definitely beat to death if he heard it.

Roger really didn't know about this. After all, he was still in the Magic when the deal happened, so he didn't pay much attention to the details of the deal.

"That means we can compete for the championship while also getting potential new stars?"

"Here's the thing. Because of the rule that prohibits trading draft picks in consecutive years, we can't trade this draft pick. So, we can only use it to select players. I will keep updating this draft list for you. If you have someone you want, you can tell me.

I can't guarantee that I can bring the person you want to the team, but my management team and I will definitely consider your suggestion carefully and focus on the rookie. "

"Cool, I'll give you some names."

Roger felt very happy. In the Magic team, that idiot John Gabriel never asked Roger for advice on the draft.

"Very good. Oh, there is one more thing."

"You said."

"Sofia Vergara from CNN wants to do an exclusive interview in the locker room in a few days. As you know, CNN is the media owned by the captain, so we hope you can try to make time to attend."

"no problem."

"Then I won't disturb you from enjoying this victory night, Roger."

"It doesn't matter. This season, we will have many, many winning nights."

After returning home, Roger studied the list and found that the quality of the 98 draft was actually quite good.

Mike Bibby, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Al Harrington, Rashard Lewis, Coach Lu, and Nowitzki.

The overall strength is much better than that of the 97 class.

Soon, Roger discovered a very interesting name - Paul Pierce.

Well, I almost forgot about this ten-year-old Romy.

Since being abused last time, the outspoken Paul Pierce talked about Roger in an interview, always following only one principle: lick if you can.

It doesn’t matter if you criticize others, after all, it’s just moving your mouth.

But if you criticize Roger, he will literally fly over to beat you up.

If the 76ers' record is really bad after the season ends and the Hawks really get a lottery pick, Pierce will probably suffer from insomnia every day.

However, Roger would definitely not consider Pierce.

The Eagles' front line is already too crowded and there is no room for him.

But Roger thought that he was now teammates with Pippen and Steve Smith.
Don't be too decisive in your words.

In the next game, the Eagles suffered their first loss of the season.

They allowed Ewing to get a big double-double of 26+16 at Madison Square Garden.

And the Knicks' strong defense completely silenced Pippen and Steve Smith.

Roger scored 37 points alone, but still failed to prevent the defeat and suffered the first defeat of the season.

Meanwhile in Dallas, the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Mavericks 101-94 to become the only team to remain undefeated this season.

Yes, perhaps even the Portland fans themselves did not expect that the team with the best record in the league at the beginning would be the Trail Blazers.

After the game, Michael Finley of the Mavericks was miserable: "I felt like I had fought in a boxing match, and my whole body was covered with bruises. There is a reason why they can win five games in a row. No team can stand up to their rough defense. This team is like finding a group of vicious prisoners from prison to play in the game."

This is absolutely true. Many players on the Trail Blazers have won the Prison Cup Basketball Championship.

Michael Finley's evaluation is not exaggerated, the Portland Trail Blazers' defense is excellent. Moreover, like the Hawks, they have an enviable forward configuration.

Although there are no superstars in the team, every position has its strong points.

And their next game is against the Atlanta Hawks.

Isaiah Rider, the leading scorer of the Trail Blazers, was very confident: "Roger? No, even God can't let us lose. We are going for the championship this season, man!"

The day before flying to Portland, Clifford Robinson reminded everyone: "Guys, we have to be careful in the next game."

"What? Are girls in Portland more aggressive than those in Atlanta? It doesn't matter. We can handle it, right Roger? Whether they are women in Atlanta, Portland or those who have boyfriends, they will all be conquered by Roger." Ben was using some weird metaphors again.

And this inexplicably hit Pippen's equally strange pain point: "Fuck, what are you barking about!?"

Big Ben spread his hands towards Pippen, not knowing how he had offended him.

Only Roger was concerned about Clifford Robinson's question: "Be careful? Why?"

"You have no idea how outrageous that group of people in Portland is. Let me put it this way, when I trained with them, it felt like a fight. Oh no, not a feeling, they often fight in training! That group of people is really, very, very outrageous. Maybe you don't know a technical statistic. Last season, the Trail Blazers were the team with the most technical fouls in the league. I mean, you don't know what they will do on the court."

Roger understood. Yes, when Clifford Robinson left the Trail Blazers, all the members of the Portland Trail Blazers that reached the finals in 92 had left the team, and the team had completely entered the prison team era.

He thought the guys would have trouble in Portland; after all, those guys looked like they wanted to win.

No one wants their undefeated streak to be easily broken.

And as long as those guys want to win, their games will go in a more outrageous direction.

but
Roger looked at Ben, Bowen, Kurt Thomas and himself and shrugged:

"Don't worry, Clifford, have you ever thought about it?

We may be even more outrageous than they are.”

(End of this chapter)