Champions Creed

Chapter 216 215: Sit still! (Please give me a monthly ticket!)

After Game 1 of the Finals, ESPN released a very different game highlights compilation.

Highlights of the Jazz and Hawks players playing dirty tricks on each other in Game 1.

To be honest, the dirty tricks Stockton played in the game were enough to make Bruce Bowen blush.

Tripping the opponent when he was running around the pick-and-roll, elbowing the back when the referee wasn't paying attention. If someone lost their mind and tried to use the pick-and-roll against Stockton, they would definitely accidentally hit the screener in the groin.

And referees never paid any attention to him because he looked like one of those guys in superhero movies who always gets mugged.

Karl Malone's highlights are even more tragic. His pair of iron elbows can almost be regarded as playing on the court with weapons.

However, what is surprising is that Ben Wallace, a player who did not play for a long time, has a very strong presence in this highlight reel.

Whenever he was on the court, he would elbow Karl Malone and commit fierce fouls on any Jazz player who dared to challenge the paint.

He's like a cross between "Bone Crusher" Unseld and "Old Oak" Oakley.

It’s just that Ben is physically stronger than them, but his skills are rougher than theirs.

Kurt Thomas is also tough, but not as aggressive as Ben Wallace.

Bruce Bowen is very damaging, but compared to Ben's bravery, he is more insidious.

Only Big Ben could cause trouble for Karl Malone in a head-on confrontation.

Big Ben played for less than 20 minutes in the last game, and he almost had a conflict with Karl Malone twice.

After the Jazz's tactical drill today, Karl Malone grimaced in pain from time to time.

If Karl Malone were white, he would definitely notice the bruises all over his body.

Most of these injuries were caused by Daben.

"Damn, that guy with afro!" Karl Malone was very angry. He didn't expect that he would be hurt by an unknown person.

He swore that he would kill that bastard sooner or later!
Currently, the 1-0 lead in the total score has boosted the morale of the entire Jazz team.

They can't wait to expand their victory in the second game.

When interviewed after the training, almost the entire Jazz team expressed this determination.

But Karl Malone said something different on this basis.

"Karl Malone doesn't like Ben Wallace. That little guy thinks he can threaten the Mailman, but he's just a substitute who doesn't get playing time. He can never go head-to-head with Karl Malone. He's just a pathetic little bug."

When Ma Long is interviewed, he always likes to refer to himself in the third person. God knows why he has this speaking habit.

It can be seen that although Ma Long did not play against Ben Wallace for a few rounds in the last game, he was already quite dissatisfied with Ben Wallace.

On the other side, Lenny Wilkens announced the decision during training.

"For the next game, I decided to start Ben Wallace."

Most people had no reaction to the news.

Only Alan Henderson's face darkened for a moment, barely perceptible to the naked eye, and then quickly returned to normal.

In a contract year, being suddenly sent to the bench during the finals would make anyone unhappy.

However, Alan Henderson did not express any dissatisfaction with this.

If even Roger didn't express his dissatisfaction with the change, then no one could express their dissatisfaction with it.

Although he has made huge progress this season, Alan Henderson is a young man who knows his position.

Big Ben's face was full of surprise. He never thought in his life that he would be able to start in the NBA Finals.

He averaged less than six minutes per game for the Bullets last season, and he has never started a regular season game this season.

As a result, he is going to start in the finals?

Da Ben felt like he was dreaming.

Seeing that no one had any objections, Lenny Wilkens clapped his hands and signaled that the training should continue.

Big Ben swallowed and walked to Roger's side: "I can't believe this is true."

Roger glanced at Ben and continued his shooting practice: "Then you'd better believe it quickly, because those bastards in Salt Lake City are waiting to kill us."

"Don't worry Roger, as a starter in the finals, I'm willing to die for victory!"

"It's not that exaggerated, but you can try to make Karl Malone die."

"I'm ready Roger, I'm ready!"

"Listen to me, Ben. Don't be so excited, or you'll have a hard time falling asleep tonight. Save your excitement for tomorrow night."

There was someone who had a hard time sleeping that night, and that person was Karl Malone.

The reason was that he got angrier and angrier as he watched sports at home.

The Jazz were clearly leading 1-0, and they clearly had put in a good enough performance in the last game.

But few people still think that the Jazz led by him can win in the finals.

Isaiah Thomas made fun of Malone and Stockton on his NBC show.

"John was good, very, very good, but not great. The proof is that it's hard to find a peak season for him, because there wasn't one.

Many people say that he is the clutch king of the playoffs, and I can only express my regret for this, because it proves that people only remember recent events and tend to ignore the past.

In the 92 playoffs, the Jazz were eliminated by the Trail Blazers, and John made a total of 25 of 6 shots in the last two games.

In the 93 playoffs, the Jazz were reversed by Seattle, and John made 4 of 14 shots in Game 4, which could have ended the series.

In the 94 playoffs when the team lost to the Rockets, John's shooting percentage for the entire series was only 41.5%, allowing Kenny Smith to play his career masterpiece.

95年季后赛再遇休斯顿，约翰在抢五大战中14中4，三分6中1。

In the 96 Western Conference Finals, people blamed Karl for missing a free throw at the critical moment of Game 9.9, but ignored John who was severely criticized by Gary Payton. In that round, John averaged 39 points per game and shot %.

This is John, the one you call the King of Keys, but the fact is that he has been making mistakes almost every year.

As for Carl, he was lucky because Charles was past his prime, because Rain Man went East, and because David was injured.

During those times, Carl was like one of those guys who only appears in the credits after the movie is over, not worth mentioning.

And then all of a sudden, because of all kinds of good luck, he appeared on the stage and became a top power forward and even became the second person in the MVP rankings. It was ridiculous.

These two people want to defeat the great Roger? What? Continue to poison the food? Haha ...

Listen, the Utah Jazz may be able to steal a game or two, but they can't win the final victory. Because the two leaders of this team are not qualified to win a championship. "

When saying this, the Smiling Assassin did not look at any script.

He recited Stockton's failures fluently as if he was reciting his ancestors' teachings.

From this we can see how much he hates Stockton and Karl Malone.

One of these two people took away his spot in the Dream Team, and the other left him with the infamous "Devil's Elbow".

He hated the Utah duo.

But is that why he blew Roger?
There is indeed some personal grudge involved, but Isaiah Thomas really thinks Roger is stronger.

The Smiling Assassin felt that Roger was not only Atlanta's savior, but also his own savior.

He embarrassed Michael Jordan, and now he is going to embarrass Utah's duo.

And these are the people the assassin hates the most.

Finally someone can get justice for themselves!

Karl Malone clenched his fists, but considering the grudge between the Smiling Assassin and the Jazz, he didn't think that guy's evaluation was objective.

Anyone with normal skills knows that the Jazz have a sure win.

But soon, another guest on the show, Hubie Brown, said something that Karl Malone didn't want to hear.

"First of all, I want to make it clear that there is no doubt that both teams are great enough. But what Roger has done in the past five seasons makes you believe that he will be the final winner. Lanny will definitely make adjustments to the rebounding problem, which is also the only problem of the Hawks. If this problem is solved, the Jazz's advantage will become very small."

Hubie Brown coached the Eagles in the 70s, and that was his only connection with the Eagles.

But people don't think he will favor Roger because of this. As a commentator over the years, Hubie Brown has always been known for his neutrality.

So his point of view is considerable.

Karl Malone was so angry that he had a headache. He didn't understand why so many people were optimistic about Roger.

Without the shark to help, what does that bastard have to brag about?
In this year's regular season, the two teams had the same record, and the Jazz defeated the Hawks twice, but the MVP was given to Roger.

Now, even though the Jazz have taken the lead, everyone is still optimistic about Roger.

Why! ?

Karl Malone turned off the TV and forced himself to fall asleep as soon as possible to recharge his energy.

He wants to use the total score of 2-0 to completely clip the Eagle's wings and shut everyone up!

Game 2 of the Finals continued at the Triangle Center, and today, Karl Malone finally heard someone supporting him.

Before the game, on the TV in the locker room, the news was broadcasting NBC's interview with O'Neal.

"This is not a fairy tale, this is competitive sports. The Utah Jazz are strong and a great team. So why wouldn't Atlanta lose? In fact, they will lose again tonight!"

However, O'Neal's support did not make Karl Malone feel better, because Malone felt that the idiot's remarks did not count.

Of course the fool wanted Roger to lose so that he could continue to brag, "Look, I'm on the same level as Roger, because we can't beat the Jazz."

No, there is no point in what such a fool says.

O'Neal's words did not make Karl Malone happy. Instead, Roger's words in the pre-match interview made him even more angry: "The biggest problem in this game is that I didn't eat enough at noon, because I had to test everything I ate to see if it was poisonous."

This joke was like rubbing salt into the Jazz's wounds.

After saying this, Roger continued shooting to warm up.

Few people noticed that Roger was a very good three-point shooter today. Lenny Wilkens had seen Roger make dozens of three-pointers from various positions.

In addition to Roger, another focus of the Eagles today is Ben Wallace.

When the technical desk received the starting lineup, they were all shocked.

After losing G1, many people thought that the Hawks might adjust their lineup.

But unexpectedly, the person who was promoted to the starting lineup was Ben Wallace.

So, it was the first time that Big Ben faced the camera before the game.

"Ben, your first start this season is in the finals. What is your biggest expectation?"

This question is easy to answer.

Get the good data.

Win the victory.

Don't let the coach down.

These answers are all standard answers, and you won’t go wrong with any of them.

But Ben's answer was as surprising as the fact that he was the starter itself.

"My greatest hope? Well, I don't think that much. I just want to protect Roger."

This reminded the reporters of the media day on the first day of this season. Ben said at the press conference: "You will soon know that I am the best guardian of Roger." He has a deep obsession with protecting Roger.

Karl Malone was extremely excited when he learned that Big Ben would start tonight.

That’s right, what you wish for will come true!
The most annoying thing for Malone in G1 was that the shorty had too little playing time and Malone didn't have enough opportunities to torture him.

Now, that bastard has come to my door on his own initiative!
Ma Long secretly made up his mind that he must make that bastard wear the mask of pain the whole time!

The starting lineups of both teams took their positions, Mutombo got the first attack ball and the game began.

In the first round, Karl Malone asked for the ball in the mid-range, preparing for a one-on-one play.

Because he saw Big Ben actually running over to compete with him without knowing his own limitations.

After receiving the ball, Karl Malone broke through directly, not giving the Hawks a chance to double-team him.

In the last game, he used this trick to completely destroy Alan Henderson. Henderson had no way to deal with Malone's breakthrough.

When Malone is running fast, it will be a daunting sight. In fact, facing Karl Malone's straight-forward breakthrough, the defender has a good chance of causing him to commit an offensive foul.

But there are probably a few forwards in NBA history who you can't easily make commit offensive fouls against. They are LeBron James, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley.

When Charles Barkley and Karl Malone rush forward, you will give up the idea of ​​committing an offensive foul in order to save your life.

When LeBron James starts rushing, you can't catch his rhythm at all.

From the 90s to the present, no one would risk his life to cause Karl Malone to commit an offensive foul.

But this "fool" Ben did just that.

He was like a determined defensive end on the football field, standing in front of Karl Malone without giving an inch, and then there was a loud "bang".

Big Ben fell heavily to the ground and slid two meters on the floor before stopping.

It was a shocking and violent collision, and even in the 90s, the force of this collision was quite terrifying.

Karl Malone is the perfect combination of strength and speed, and he has a personal grudge against Wallace, so he aimed his elbow at Wallace during the collision.

"Ben Wallace may have damaged his ribs!" said the magician during the on-site commentary.

Alan Henderson on the bench swallowed and suddenly felt that it was a lucky thing not to start.

Karl Malone was secretly pleased with himself. That little rubbish player should know how powerful he is now. Although he was called for an offensive foul, it would be worth it if he could teach Ben a lesson.

But before Karl Malone could appreciate Ben Wallace's painful expression, Ben Wallace immediately stood up and applauded the referee: "Nice call! Keep an eye on that bastard!"

At that moment, the cost-effectiveness of this offensive foul completely failed.

Karl Malone didn't see any expression of pain on Big Ben's face, and he couldn't even keep Big Ben on the floor for one more second.

It is the greatest disgrace of all when your opponent shows no response to your powerful thrusts.

Jerry Sloan began to yell at the court: "Calm down, Carl! Don't ask for a foul!"

Big Ben's value began to show from the first round.

He caused Jazz core player Malone to commit a foul right at the start.

Then he helped the team get the ball.

"Oh shit!"

Ma Long cursed and turned back to defend unwillingly.

He was very unhappy, but fortunately, he could vent his anger on the defensive end next.

In the last game, Alan Henderson's soft mid-range shots and smart cuts forced Karl Malone to focus on him when defending.

But now he is facing someone who has no role on the defensive end, which means he can boldly double-team Roger!
As soon as Roger crossed half court, he faked a move to the left, shaking Brian Russell's center of gravity, then immediately changed direction to the right and accelerated, completely breaking through the first line of defense.

After dribbling past Brian Russell, Roger rushed straight into the restricted area, and the Jazz had no time to double-team him from the outside.

But Karl Malone had been waiting for a long time, and he rushed towards Roger who was jumping!

Roger's strength and weight are already very good, but he is still at a disadvantage in front of Karl Malone.

His center of gravity in the air was instantly destroyed, and Roger leaned forward and hastily lifted the ball towards the basket.

At the same time Roger fell to the ground, Karl Malone also landed on his feet.

He was just about to say something smug and harsh to Roger when he heard a "swish" sound behind him.

"Magic five fingers! I've said before that Roger's layup has surpassed the Iceman. He can lob the ball in no matter what state he's in! This should be a 2+1, this should be a 2+1! Karl Malone is wishful thinking for trying to stop Roger in this way!"

When Magic was yelling, several people on the Hawks bench were imitating Roger's actions. Finally, they came to the conclusion: "Damn, this is impossible!"

After scoring the goal, Roger also stood up without any hesitation.

Roger would rather play "stupidly" than kneel on the ground for show.

Roger and Big Ben's reactions after being fouled were as if Karl Malone was a powerless wimp, which made him feel extremely humiliated.

"Hey Carl, I guess you're starting to miss Shark. Forget it, I'm not as easy to deal with as him. You're too soft, not even half as strong as Charles' ass."

Karl Malone's anger was almost reaching a critical point, and he vowed to make those two idiots regret it!
This time the Jazz's offense started with a pick-and-roll between Mutombo and Stockton.

Steve Smith was blocked by a pick-and-roll, and Stockton wanted to take the opportunity to break through, but Kurt Thomas switched defense immediately.

Mutombo took the opportunity to cut inside, but Ben quickly switched defense and blocked Stockton's passing route.

Ben has made rapid progress this season. Although his level is not as good as his peak period, his ability to read the opponent's offense is much better than when he first joined the team.

However, this is exactly what the Jazz wanted.

After Mutombo forced the opponent's power forward to help defend, Malone was able to cut out and catch the ball for a mid-range shot.

Stockton didn't hesitate and immediately passed the ball to Karl Malone who was temporarily left open.

But the moment Malone received the ball, Kurt Thomas quickly switched defense in front of Malone, and Steve Smith continued to take over Stockton.

The Eagles' defensive rotation in this round was perfect, fully utilizing their mobility advantage.

When Lenny Wilkens decided to let Ben Wallace start, he was determined to compete with the Jazz on defense. The inside combination of Kurt Thomas and Ben Wallace may be weak on the offensive end, but the defensive end is definitely enough to give any opponent a hard time.

This pick-and-roll tactic did not help the Jazz get any easy shooting opportunities.

Karl Malone faced Kurt Thomas, raised the basketball, made a fake shot, and then went straight for the lead.

Kurt Thomas is very strong in confrontation, but not as abnormal as Ben Wallace.

Malone crushed him into the restricted area, then forced a jump layup.

In the air, Malone had completely pushed Kurt Thomas' body away, then picked up the basketball with one hand and threw it into the basket.

For Karl Malone, this layup is a sure thing.

But after he threw the ball, a guy with an afro quickly rose up, blocked the basket with his hand, and kicked the ball away!
Big Ben came to the rescue in time, causing blood to spurt out of Karl Malone, and preventing him from making the shot that he was determined to win!

Karl Malone immediately yelled, "Goal Interference!"

The ball just now flew very high and could not have been blocked. So Malone had reason to suspect that Ben only touched the ball after the basketball began to fall.

The referee actually paused the game and went to the technical desk to watch the replay.

But this just confirmed Karl Malone's death.

Because people saw through the video that Big Ben blocked the shot when the basketball reached its highest point!

"Incredible height, this guy is only 206 cm!" Steve Jones exclaimed.

If he knew Ben's real height, he would definitely be even more shocked.

The referee determined it was a foul and gave the Jazz an inbounds ball.

Stockton passed the ball, Karl Malone impatiently asked for the ball and turned over for a jump shot, but the basketball bounced off the rim.

The defensive pressure that Big Ben brought to Malone was completely different from that of Alan Henderson.

Roger ran forward while deliberately speaking in a sarcastic tone: "What's wrong, Carl? Are you floating outside and shooting jump shots again? Is this how you want to win the game? The championship is not that easy to win!"

Ma Long was so angry that he couldn't say a word. All he wanted now was to raise his elbow and hit Roger hard on the top of his head.

At this time, Mutombo, perhaps seeing Malone not saying anything, spoke up for him: "Shut up, Roger. You're also playing outside."

"It's not your turn to speak here, Dikembe. I don't want to bully a 50-year-old man."

"50-year-old man? Come on, Roger, you've never dunked on me. If I were an old man, why couldn't you do it?"

"I admit that I haven't dunked on you recently because you're not worth it."

"No, not recently, not in your entire career."

Roger chose to shut up, and Mutombo thought he had convinced Roger.

He is so old, yet so innocent.

In this offensive round, Roger was running without the ball, taking Brian Russell around in circles.

Running to the right corner, Roger received the pass from Pippen.

Brian Russell, who had been fooled by Roger for a long time, was already very impatient, so when he saw Roger holding up the basketball, he immediately jumped up without hesitation and tried to block it.

As expected, Roger was just faking a shot, and he passed by the fooled Russell after a fake shot.

At this moment, Roger had a clear path ahead of him. The only obstacle was the huge African mountain standing under the basket.

Mutombo was previously blocked by Kurt Thomas, but he quickly and roughly pushed Thomas away.

But at this time, Roger had already jumped up to meet him, and Mutombo could only jump up hastily to block him.

By the time his body was rising, Roger had already slammed the ball into the basket with one hand! Roger easily crossed the African mountain!

"Roger dunked over the DPOY! Will all DPOYs become Roger's toys in the finals!?"

As the magician yelled, Roger looked at Mutombo with pride, then did his signature move and shook his finger: "Is it hard for you to dunk? I don't even have a fucking sense of accomplishment, old man."

Then, Roger turned around and continued to attack Karl Malone: ​​"See? Any of my attacks is stronger than your copper smelting habit!"

Malone, who was already furious, deliberately pushed Roger hard to vent his dissatisfaction, and the players from both sides, who were nervous, immediately gathered together.

Big Ben was the first to rush over, but he did not confront Malone directly. Instead, he rushed between Roger and Malone, then spread his hands in a swimming posture, looking like a messenger of justice who came to persuade them to stop fighting.

But Ben's right hand only touched Roger's chest lightly, while his left hand used great force to block Ma Long. Ma Long felt that he was bounced out by something, stumbled a few steps, and fell to the ground.

Malone, who wanted to teach Roger a lesson, fell down in embarrassment instead.

At that moment, Karl Malone's anger was suppressed.

He didn't know what the guy with the Afro ate to grow up, and how could he have such terrifying strength!

There are only a handful of people in this league who can knock Malone over with one hand. And Ben didn't just knock him over, he pushed Malone out with one hand!
Karl Malone can now be sure of one thing: he will absolutely not gain any advantage if a fight breaks out.

Tonight, whether playing basketball or anything else, Karl Malone has no advantage!
The referee stopped the game, but only gave Big Ben a normal foul.

After all, Big Ben was just trying to "stop the fight" and he just used a little more strength. What was wrong with that?
The Jazz fans' cheers became smaller. In this round, Mutombo was dunked over and Karl Malone was knocked over.

The strong inside line that they were proud of seemed vulnerable in this round.

Roger walked up to Karl Malone, who was sitting on the ground thinking about life, and waved goodbye to him.

"Goodbye, Carl. It's already good enough for me to let you win this game. From now on, just sit still and I will be responsible for sending you home!"

Karl Malone, who was about to attack, saw Big Ben behind Roger and chose to sit still.

(End of this chapter)