Champions Creed

Chapter 215 214: Look, he is a very reliable person (ask for monthly votes!)

Returning to Atlanta, Roger and his Eagles were treated like heroes.

When Roger got off the plane holding the Eastern Conference championship trophy, the cheers of the fans were enough to shake the entire city.

No, it shook the entire Atlanta metropolitan area!

This is just an Eastern Conference championship. To be honest, Roger himself doesn't really cherish this trophy.

Isn't the divisional championship something that is awarded at a fixed time every year?
But for Atlanta fans, this is more than just an Eastern Conference championship trophy.

This represents the hope of the city.

This means that countless children like Andy finally have the opportunity to realize their dreams, and it means that countless fan families in Atlanta can finally straighten their spines.

You can't have Roger and low self-esteem at the same time.

On the first night back in Atlanta, Ted Turner wanted to arrange a celebratory dinner for the entire team, but was stopped by Roger.

"Ted, any halftime champagne popping will make the team relax, and that must not happen. When the finals are over, you can celebrate however you want."

After a season together, Roger and Ted Turner have become accustomed to speaking their mind.

Ted Turner still adhered to the principle of "Roger was right" and moved the celebration party to the end of the finals.

But the old man who liked to wear a red hat couldn't hide his inner excitement. He felt that he had won in advance because his opponent looked vulnerable.

Karl Malone? A guy who was not even on people's radar during Barkley's prime.

John Stockton? Yes, he was a member of the great Dream Team. But anyone who watches basketball knows that he was selected for the Dream Team because Isaiah Thomas offended everyone.

To be honest, the old man in the red hat felt that his opponents could already lower the flag to half-mast in advance to mourn for him.

"Then I look forward to your triumphant return, Roger. Just let me know if you need anything!" Finally, Ted Turner said goodbye to Roger with these words.

This time the Eagles only had one day off. The day after tomorrow afternoon, the whole team would fly to Salt Lake City to prepare for the game. The rest time was very tight, and Roger really needed some help.

But Ted Turner couldn't help.

During the rest time of this day, Roger only met with two people.

One was Sofia Vergara, who texted Roger: "The finals are about to start, and I bought five colors of yoga pants to help you do Pilates training, which can relieve stress very well~"

Another person Roger needs is Ben Wallace.

Although Big Ben's accomplishments in basketball skills are almost equal to Kobe's accomplishments in fighting.

But Daben is quite skillful when it comes to hair cutting.

Like most NBA players, Ben's family was raised by a mother with 11 children alone. So when he was very young, he had to help his neighbors cut hair to supplement the family income.

Over the years, he became a famous Tony in the area.

Many people in that neighborhood even thought his name was Tony and didn't know his real name.

After joining the Eagles, Big Ben has cut hair for many people and his skills are really good.

So tomorrow morning, Roger made an appointment with Daben to come to his house to cut his hair.

The next morning, Big Ben arrived at Roger's house with a full set of tools.

Looking at the yoga pants with holes cut in them on the sofa in the living room, Ben knew that Roger really treated him as a brother and didn't even clean up the battlefield.

But this is also the reason why Big Ben is willing to provide free door-to-door service to Roger and even speak well of Roger for an entire season.

Roger really treats him as a brother.

First of all, it was Roger who first called him "Big Ben", acknowledging his height.

When Ben first came to Atlanta, he couldn't find a house, so Roger let him stay at his house.

In addition, Roger asked Ben to go to the garage and pick out a car to use for shopping and transportation.

When Ben went to the garage, he was stunned. You call these grocery carts? If there is any problem, my year's work will be in vain!
Although Ben didn't take Roger's car in the end and only stayed at Roger's house for two days, Roger's big brother-like behavior still captured Ben's heart.

From then on, Big Ben was Roger's loyal little brother.

This is the relationship that O'Neal fantasizes about him and Kobe having. This is the relationship that O'Neal dreams of having.

Whatever the shark desires, Roger can often get easily.

Roger is certainly not a central air conditioner. He mainly knows that Ben is simple and innocent in handling locker room relationships, and is useful to the team, so he has a good impression of him.

Although Big Ben is a bully on the court, he has basically never had any conflicts with his teammates throughout his career.

The reason he left the Pistons for the Bulls was simply because of the contract amount, not because he was dissatisfied with any teammates.

In fact, the night before the Pistons and the Bulls met for the first time in the 07 playoffs, Ben had a party with the Pistons.

So, Roger didn't mind having a little brother who had a good personality, was loyal, and could cut hair.

Da Ben picked up the razor and said, "Brother, do you want to shave your head?"

"Ahem. Don't even think about shaving your head before the finals. It's unlucky. Just cut it short."

"Ok."

While cutting Roger's hair, Ben inevitably talked about the opponent in the finals.

"I saw ESPN Magazine say that Karl Malone and John Stockton were two of the five dirtiest players in the 90s."

"Oh? Who are the other three?" Roger was curious.

"Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn and Danny Ainge."

"Hehe, there are only two people here who are basketball players." Roger smiled.

“Who do you think isn’t a basketball player?”

"Bill Laimbeer, his job is mainly to persuade his parents. To him, the basketball court is nothing more than a place for legal fighting."

"What about Karl Malone and John Stockton?"

"Two real bastards."

After hearing what Roger said, Ben answered seriously while cutting his hair: "I won't let them touch you. OK, is the length suitable?"

"Not bad, thanks, Big Ben."

The next afternoon, the team immediately set out for Salt Lake City.

On June 6, the NBA Finals Game 3 kicked off.

This is Roger's first finals in nearly four years without home advantage.

In the first game of the finals, Roger felt the difference.

On the bus to Triangle Center, Roger saw Jazz fans filling the streets along the way.

Moreover, men, women, young and old all came out.

Most of them held up a sign with a cartoon of Karl Malone holding a shotgun in one hand and an eagle in the other.

It is not difficult to see from this how scarce the entertainment is in Salt Lake City. It seems that people here can only use basketball for entertainment.

Of course, it can also be seen that Salt Lake City fans have not forgotten the hatred of last season.

For Jazz fans, although they will no longer be playing against the Magic this season, what could be a more perfect script than "Malone takes revenge on Shaq and Roger respectively"?

A week ago, Salt Lake City fans watched with great pleasure as the Jazz chopped the Shaqs into pieces.

Now, it's Roger's turn!

They are full of confidence in the team. After all, the Jazz defeated the Hawks twice in the regular season.

Yes, the playoffs are different from the regular season, but no matter how you look at it, the Jazz have the advantage.

When we got to the competition, the Triangle Center was just as scary as I remembered.

At this time, the different mentalities of playing at home first and playing away first also emerged.

Playing at home first will make Roger feel calmer and more likely to perform well.

Playing two away games first, I feel a little insecure.

Roger is used to the thin air and the devilish home field, but how can he ensure that everyone on the team is the same as him?
Playing away first, he can't help but think a lot.

Before the game started, Karl Malone expressed his determination to win:

"I've played professional basketball for 13 years, and I know very well how to maintain home-court advantage. We won't let the Hawks walk out of Salt Lake City easily, and that's the difference from last year."

Roger was dismissive of Malone's statement.

Since when did the length of a career become an issue?
Rookie No. 21 won 19 regular season games in 1001 years, a number that even his comrades in history have not caught up with after playing for 21 years.

The game started soon, and G1 of the finals was a fierce battle.

The Utah Jazz played an even more suffocating defense than the Pacers.

Defense is the foundation of this Utah Jazz team.

Last season, the Magic were able to beat the Jazz 4-1. It has to be said that it was because the Magic's offensive configuration was too luxurious.

No team can defend the greatest duo in history, and no one will refute this point of view even ten years later.

But when the greatest duo in history no longer exists, people realize how strong the Jazz's defense is.

First of all, the Jazz's rim protection is the best in the league.

The defense of Karl Malone and Dikembe Mutombo can make top inside players such as the Admiral, Duncan and O'Neal struggle.

While protecting the rim at a top level, the Jazz can also limit three-pointers.

The Lakers were swept 4-0, in large part because their three-pointers were no longer as magical as they were against the Supersonics.

When playing against the SuperSonics, it seemed that every Lakers outside player was a historical shooter.

But against the Jazz, Eddie Jones' three-point shooting percentage immediately dropped to 28%, Nick Van Exel dropped to 19%, and Fisher dropped to 16%.

The Jazz will immediately return to their positions the moment the double-teamed inside player transfers the ball to the outside, blocking the fleeting shooting opportunity.

This sounds like nonsense. Every team knows that the double-teamed player must return to his position immediately after passing the ball, and the Supersonics do the same.

This statement is as meaningless as "playing the game the right way." The real difference is that the Jazz executed all of this with skill and precision, like a machine without any mistakes.

They can really block the outside opportunities the moment the ball is passed inside.

In addition, the Jazz's confrontation was extremely fierce.

This is the Utah Jazz. The inside, three-pointers and mid-range are all areas they are good at defending!
The Eagles are now stuck in this defensive quagmire.

As soon as Roger got the ball, he would be double-teamed, and the moment he passed the ball to his teammate who was left open, the Jazz would immediately rotate into position.

Breakthrough? Karl Malone and Dikembe Mutombo made Roger pay a heavy price.

Yes, that’s the price of pain.

The Jazz's defense is very rough and they will always try to hurt you.

Of course, when Ben comes on, he will also cause pain to Stockton or Malone, which is cool, but it cannot solve the substantive problem.

The game was very tense, with Roger being the only stable scorer for the Hawks. Moreover, under the defense of the Jazz, Roger could not score 40 points as he did in the last round.

However, the real difficulties do not end there.

With 1 minute and 16 seconds left in the game, the Jazz were leading by 3 points. Hornacek missed a shot from beyond the three-point line, and Abby cheered.

Logically, this is the Eagles' chance to change the situation.

But after Hornacek missed the shot, Mutombo grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it to Brian Russell immediately.

Fortunately, Roger blocked it in time, so Brian Russell's three-pointer missed.

But the rebound was grabbed by Karl Malone!

Lenny Wilkens was so angry that a blood vessel almost burst on the sidelines: "Fuck, what are you doing!? Do you really think you are the champions? I have never seen a champion who can't grab rebounds!"

The Hawks lost to the Jazz in both regular season games, partly because they were unable to compete with the Jazz on rebounds.

Before this game, Lenny Wilkens repeatedly emphasized that everyone should actively fight for rebounds.

Relying on their enthusiasm, the Hawks were able to handle the Pacers on the rebounds.

Although the two Davises on the Pacers are also rebounding maniacs, their rebounding abilities can only be regarded as the ceiling among ordinary players.

As for Rick Schmitz, although the 224 cm Dutch giant is intimidating in height, he has been criticized for many years precisely because he does not like to grab rebounds.

Therefore, the Eagles were able to make up for the height difference in the last round with their enthusiasm.

But in this round, facing Karl Malone and Mutombo, two truly elite rebounders, Kurt Thomas alone is definitely not enough.

Karl Malone grabbed the offensive rebound, which meant the Jazz had their third chance to "take it one more time."

This time, Karl Malone grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to his good partner Stockton very tacitly.

As you know, John Stockton would never turn down the idea of ​​stabbing an opponent to death, and Charles Barkley would certainly resonate with this.

With a flick of the hand, the basketball went into the net, ending the round.

Stockton's three-pointer gave the Jazz a 6-point lead.

Bill Walton shook his head in frustration: "All the problems are due to rebounding. The Hawks' short lineup can run rampant in the East, but in the West, where there are more outstanding big men, it seems to be stretched!"

After that, Roger narrowed the gap with a mid-range turnaround shot.

But the team is still 4 points behind.

Karl Malone missed the mid-range shot, but Mutombo tipped the ball in, bringing the score difference back to 6 points.

At this moment, it is estimated that countless Chinese fans have deeply understood the saying in "Slam Dunk": "Controlling the rebounds means controlling the game."

Chinese fans in the original history also had this feeling. When facing the Jazz, the Rockets were robbed of rebounds more than once.

In the end, the Hawks failed to pull back those 6 points.

92 to 86, the Utah Jazz won their first Finals victory at the Triangle Center!
Karl Malone roared with excitement after the game.

His Utah Jazz can finally show off their power at home!

He believes that tomorrow the footage of his name screaming into the sky will definitely occupy the screens of major news programs!

However, the live camera did not focus on the winner Karl Malone, but instead on Roger who was walking off the court with his hands on his hips.

For the first time in four years, Roger trailed in the finals.

今天罗杰的表现依然无可挑剔，34分4个篮板6次助攻2次抢断1次封盖。

The entire Hawks team only scored 86 points.

But all these statistics mean nothing if we can't win.

In the locker room after the game, Pippen was lying on the bed in the physical therapy room receiving electrotherapy.

In the past, he only needed to do electrotherapy before the game, but now he has to do it after the game, otherwise he will be tortured by pain all night.

Steve Smith stared at his hands blankly, unable to believe that he was defended by a short guy like Stockton and was only able to make 12 of 4 shots and 5 of 1 three-pointers.

Stockton's little move upset Steve Smith, but he knew it was no excuse.

Alan Henderson said nothing. He was severely taught a lesson by Karl Malone tonight.

Karl Malone scored goals over his head, grabbed rebounds over his head, and did whatever he wanted over his head.

He felt like he was just Karl Malone's toy.

Lenny Wilkens was furious in the locker room: "I told you to be more aggressive in rebounding! What are you doing? Damn, if we don't want to win the championship, why don't we take the whole team off in April to go fishing like we did in previous years!"

Lenny Wilkens's yelling motivates the team most of the time, but not tonight.

Everyone was already depressed, and Wilkens' yelling made the atmosphere of the whole team even worse.

In fact, just now on the court, everyone was trying their best to protect the rebounds.

It's one thing to just stand there with your legs spread out and let the rebounds go to waste, like the men's basketball team in the 21s.

But it is another thing to try your best and still be unable to win over others.

Everyone has tried their best, but still gets scolded by the head coach. This is not good for their confidence and fighting spirit.

What Karl Malone said before was right. For the Hawks, what they have to overcome is not only physical fatigue, but also psychological fatigue.

But now Lanny's temper will only increase everyone's psychological fatigue, thus accelerating the team's collapse.

As the leader of the locker room, Roger must find a way to help the team get through this difficult time.

After returning from the press conference, most people had already left the locker room.

Lenny Wilkens sat in a chair wearing reading glasses, staring at the roster with a frown.

Roger took this opportunity to talk to Lenny Wilkens.

"Lanni, are you free?"

"What is it Roger?"

"I think we should adjust the starting lineup." Roger said straight to the point.

Lenny Wilkens raised his head, his reading glasses on his nose, and stared at Roger over his glasses.

If any other player had dared to interfere with his job so bluntly, he would have been furious.

The old-school coaches are different from the new-school coaches like Tyronn Lue who always stay on the job.

They are extremely obsessed with tactical autonomy. Not to mention the players, even the general manager and the owner have no right to interfere with tactics and lineups.

But Lenny Wilkens knew very well that Roger was a privileged player.

He knew it from the first day they met.

At that time, Lenny Wilkens did not like this lineup full of short players, nor did he like Roger's recruitment plan.

But in the end, management listened to Roger.

But it turned out that Roger's idea was correct.

The Hawks won 60 games with this lineup and reached the finals.

Roger is indeed a franchise player, but a franchise player with insights.

So, Lenny Wilkens was willing to talk tactics with him.

“Who do you want to start?”

"Ben Wallace."

Lenny Wilkens admitted he was a little surprised.

He thought Roger would say Clifford Robinson.

Although Robinson's mobility is not as strong as Alan Henderson, he has height and three-point shooting, and can take care of both rebounding and offense at the same time.

But Ben Wallace?
That kid is strong on defense and even stronger on rebounding.

But every second he's on the court is a detriment to the offense.

This season, Lenny Wilkens rarely lets Big Ben and Kurt Thomas play at the same time because there would be too few offensive options on the field.

"Ben's presence on the court means you'll be double-teamed more tightly," Lenny Wilkens reminded.

"I know, but we need rebounds. Clifford and Alan are both good, but Ben is our best rebounder. Many times, we can defend the Jazz's first offense, but they steal too many points on the second offense. We must avoid this from happening. As for the Jazz's double-team, I will handle it.

Ben is my little bro, and I trust him to get those damn rebounds. I know he's a bit of a jerk, but he's a very reliable guy."

As soon as Roger finished speaking, Big Ben suddenly rushed back to the locker room.

"Damn it, has anyone seen where my phone went? Ah, Coach, you haven't left yet? Roger, have you seen my phone? I clearly took it with me just now, but I can't find it after I got on the bus!"

Roger sighed and pointed at Big Ben's hand: "It's right in your hand."

Big Ben lowered his head in disbelief, then scratched his head embarrassedly and left in embarrassment.

Roger looked at Wilkens and shrugged. "Where were we just now? Oh, yes, you see, as I said, he is a very reliable person."

(End of this chapter)