Champions Creed

Chapter 227 Chapter 226: Hey, it's hard to win with such a burden, right? (Seeking monthly votes!)

Roger's remarks when he got off the bus angered Los Angeles fans.

When the gorgeously dressed O'Neal arrived, reporters quickly relayed Roger's words.

Shark laughed, took out a Reebok stuffed doll of Roger with a big head, and then beat him against the wall: "When I hit him in the face with my fist, he will speak like a human being. You will see, you will see Roger begging for mercy here!"

O'Neal's hatred for Roger is three-dimensional, multi-faceted and comprehensive.

First of all, it's jealousy.

This kind of jealousy is like a man who has accomplished nothing seeing his friend who is not as good as him driving a Land Rover.

It's like a Chinese fan seeing the 172-centimeter Kawamura Nagaki slaughtering the European and American powerhouses, and almost defeating France when Hachimura Rui was sent off, reaching a height that no Chinese defender has ever reached.

You admit that he is very strong, but you are jealous and you keep asking yourself: Why is he so strong? What is wrong with me?

Secondly, O'Neal hated Roger's disrespect for him.

Especially during the offseason just past, O'Neal could hardly hold his head up in front of the players' union.

At the beginning, Roger was not included in the core group of the players' union, and O'Neal was considered a candidate for the next vice president of the union.

The result? Roger suddenly broke into this small circle, and then got the support of most people in this small circle, and squeezed O'Neill out in an undignified manner.

For O'Neal, this was a bloody vote from the players' union!
It would have been fine if he had been sidelined in the Magic locker room before, after all, that was just an internal matter of the team.

But this time, O'Neal was really embarrassed to be sidelined in front of so many people by the players' union.

All of these, accumulated over the years, have made the sharks extremely resentful.

What is there for him to be so arrogant about? Is it a big deal that he won the championship last season?
Look at what kind of team the Hawks were last season? Pippen, Steve Smith, Ben Wallace, Alan Henderson, Clifford Robinson, Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas, Eric Snow, plus Roger himself, this was a team of nine!

Even so, they were forced into a sixth game by the Pacers.

If I had the Big Nine, I would have swept four rounds in a row and won the championship!

Well, the Sharks may have forgotten that they were swept last season with three All-Stars.

Roger and Shark's remarks and actions before the game undoubtedly angered each other.

Before the game even started, a strong smell of gunpowder surrounded the entire Staples Center.

Paul Pierce arrived at the scene early today to warm up, and glanced at the stands from time to time.

Roger initially thought Pierce was visiting his family.

All his family members came to the game today and cheered for him.

But Roger soon discovered that Paul Pierce was not interacting with his family.

He seemed to be searching for something in the stands.

"Hey, who are you looking for?" Roger asked Pierce casually while sitting on the floor and stretching with the help of a trainer.

"My father."

After he finished speaking, Pierce's shot bounced out of the rim.

"Will he come?"

"I don't know, but my mom told me yesterday that even after I got to the NBA, that asshole never called home."

Roger knew why Paul Pierce was in a bad mood yesterday, but he didn't understand. Why should you care about this bad father who abandoned his family?
"With all due respect, you better not expect any heartwarming scenes to happen at the Staples Center."

At this moment, among the continuous boos from the Lakers fans, Roger caught a glimpse of a fan wearing an Hawks jersey.

Considering that the Hawks and Lakers are now considered sworn enemies, this gentleman is definitely a warrior.

Let's put it this way: his behavior is the equivalent of picking up soap in a prison shower room full of people.

But the strange thing is that he was not wearing Roger's No. 14, but Pierce's No. 34.

Just as Roger was curious, the man stood up and shouted, "Anton, come on!"

If this fan didn't look anything like Pierce, Roger would probably have thought he was Pierce's father.

After hearing the man's shout, Pierce also laughed and waved at him.

"Anton? Why does he call you that?" Roger was curious about their relationship.

"That's my middle name."

"Is he your uncle?"

"No, it's a neighbor, Officer Kurt Collins. A neighbor who often takes me to play basketball, gives me some change to buy food, urges me to get up at six o'clock every day to practice, makes me always go to school with sweat and stinking, and helps me cut my hair on the day of the draft. He is more like my father than my father."

"God, Paul Pierce actually listens to others? I'm curious, how did he convince you to get up at six o'clock every day to train. According to your style, shouldn't you say 'OK, OK, Mr. Neighbor' on the surface and continue to sleep until 8:30 the next day?"

Pierce rolled his eyes at Roger and said, "Roger, no offense. But can you tell me, besides being sarcastic, do you have any other hobbies?"

"Yes, I like to do Pilates and ride a bike, and it's even better with a female companion.

Of course, I also like to practice boxing, wrestling and jiu-jitsu. I'm not talking about the fake showmanship of Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman. I'm talking about the real, useful fighting techniques."

"Huh?" Pierce was really confused. The hobbies of you gods are really extraordinary.

As they were chatting, the boos from the audience immediately turned into cheers.

The Lakers players came out to warm up.

As soon as Shaquille O'Neal came on the court, he stared at Roger with murderous intent.

Kobe also stared at Pierce with his venomous eyes, cold-blooded and terrifying.

Pierce and Roger were like two long-horned deer lost on the African savannah, targeted by hungry hunters.

I won’t talk about the conflict between Roger and the shark.

Kobe also has a lot of opinions about Pierce.

In the eyes of the media, Kobe is O'Neal's younger brother, and Pierce is Roger's younger brother.

They are inevitably compared together.

Kobe didn't allow the media to compare himself to trash like Pierce.

He will tell the world today that his benchmark is Roger.

Andre Patterson immediately stood next to Roger and kept an eye on his surroundings, fearing that the shark or some other Lakers player would suddenly rush over and strangle Roger.

Halfway through the season, Patterson has adapted to the role of bodyguard.

His nickname within the team is even called bodyguard.

However, the Lakers are far from being that impulsive.

Neither Kobe nor O'Neal approached the midfield line, did not talk trash to Roger, and just warmed up in their own half.

Except for Roger's old friend Ron Harper who came to the Hawks' half to hug Roger, no other Lakers player came close.

Harper patted Roger on the back. "Listen, I'll do my best to keep them in check."

Roger joked to his old friend: "Okay, but if we really fight later, which side will you help?"

"Damn it! My wife asked me yesterday who I would save if she and my mom fell into the water at the same time. Why are you doing this again today? Spare me, Roger!"

After a brief moment of reunion, the referee signaled the players from both teams to move closer to each other.

Then, there was only a solemn and murderous atmosphere in the Staples Center.

Apart from the boos, the players on both sides could no longer hear any other sounds.

Roger is now the public enemy of all Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Lakers fans don't like him, and most Los Angeles Lakers players, led by Shark, don't like him either.

The Lakers' starting lineup this season is Fisher, Kobe, Glen Rice, Rick Fox and Shark.

The Hawks fielded a combination of Roger, Bowen, Pierce, Big Ben and Kurt Thomas.

O'Neal was already breathing heavily. Just seeing Roger's face made him want to punch him hard.

But both groups were unexpectedly silent before the battle began, which made the atmosphere even heavier, like the last calm before a desperate charge.

At this time, if someone is tactless and says something rubbish, it would be like lighting firecrackers on cow dung, which is absolutely brilliant.

Coincidentally, the Eagles have such a guy who is tactless and outspoken.

"Roger, did you know that the shark's internal skeleton is cartilage? That's why he was so soft and fell to his knees in front of the asset. Fortunately, this cartilaginous fish swam fast and swam to the West, otherwise he would have been beaten by us four times in one season."

Paul Pierce loves playing the cow dung explosion game, and he likes to use the biggest firecrackers.

"Fuck you! Roger, take care of your dog, or I'll take care of him!" The one who looked the most like cow dung was really furious.

Of course Roger couldn't turn his elbow outward. Since the explosion had already happened, he might as well explode again: "Shaq, I can only hear you barking about your incompetence."

"You two idiots are dead!"

"Hahahaha, your words are harder than bones. No wonder Kobe doesn't accept you."

"Bastard! Don't stop me, damn it, I'm going to teach him a lesson!"

Before the jump ball even started, the two sides almost got into a fight.

The referee who was trying to break up the fight was very helpless and asked, "Can you just jump the ball first?"

At least bring a ball first!
Although O'Neal and Roger did not fight in the end, the anger that filled the entire stadium could not be retracted.

All referees on duty today must be extremely alert, because this match may turn into a fight at any time.

The game started and O'Neal won the ball for the Lakers.

On the first attack, the Sharks asked for the ball in the paint.

Big Ben quickly moved forward, and Kurt Thomas also took the opportunity to double-team him.

During the confrontation, the Shark got rid of Big Ben, trapped him behind him, and raised his hand to ask for the ball.

Fisher steadily passed the ball in, and the Shark leaned back suddenly the moment he received the ball. Even Big Ben could not completely block the powerful Shark outside the three-second zone.

Before Kurt Thomas could double-team him, the Shark turned around and squeezed under the basket, then jumped on the spot and slammed the ball over Ben Wallace!

After completing the dunk, O'Neal roughly pushed Ben, who was sticking to him, out of the court.

"Get out of here, you idiot. Your length and this hairstyle make you look like my X."

As soon as he finished talking about the shark, he realized something was wrong. On the surface, he was scolding Ben, but why did it feel like he was secretly scolding himself?

Big Ben picked up the basketball and threw it at O'Neal, but he missed such a huge target that was so close to him.

You can always trust Ben Wallace's accuracy.

On the first attack of the game, O'Neal set the tone for the game with a brutal finish.

Before Pierce had time to calm down, Rick Fox knocked him down with an extremely rough foul.

Many people think that Pierce and Anthony are the same type of players, but that is not the case. Although they are both strong and like one-on-one, Pierce is a very magic ball wing who either shoots three-pointers or lives in a crowd. Mid-range and long-range single jump shots are not Pierce's favorite offensive means.

So in this attack, Pierce took the ball and went straight to the penalty area.

Rick Fox had no grudge against Roger, let alone Pierce.

But emotions are contagious.

When your team is almost at odds with the other team before the game starts, when the game is full of trash talk and physical collisions in the first round, you will also enter a state of anger. Rick Fox grabbed Pierce's arm in the air and flipped him over.

Pierce immediately climbed up and grabbed Rick Fox by the collar.

Seeing this, O'Neal pushed Pierce away, but Roger walked up and bumped into O'Neal.

The referee had to come off the field again to maintain order.

Bob Costa, who was commentating the match, laughed: "This is simply a WWF Royal Rumble!"

The two teams were separated again, but the referees were already under tremendous pressure.

For this, they directly gave Rick Fox a first-degree flagrant foul.

The referees tried to calm both sides down by using heavy penalties.

The Eagles took two free throws and then took an inbounds ball to continue their attack.

Facing Glenn Rice's defense, Roger easily passed him with a change of direction and a turn.

Then, Roger challenged the Lakers' restricted area again!

O'Neal made an aggressive save, and his defensive enthusiasm reached its peak at this moment.

Roger tried to lay up in the air, but as soon as the basketball left his fingertips, he was knocked down by a shark.

Roger lay on the floor and heard the whistle and the sound of the nets.

2+1!

Roger sat up, roaring and waving his fists: "Shaq, you have never beaten me, never! You never won before, you never win now, and you never will win in the future!"

Yes, that's why the Sharks are always weak against Roger.

After leaving the Magic and becoming rivals, the Lakers and Hawks have a record of 0 wins and 2 losses.

If we lose again today, we will have 0 wins and 3 losses.

Considering that Roger won the championship last season, O'Neal automatically seems to be a head shorter than Roger when standing next to him.

The shark had no place to vent his anger and could only kick the cushion of the basketball hoop.

Just when he had finally vented his anger, Pierce came up again and said sarcastically, "Roger, I heard that a fat pig who didn't know his own limitations wanted to beat you up?"

"Oh, he's a piece of shit, he can only punch basketball hoops and dolls."

When it comes to trash talk, Roger and Pierce have always had a tacit understanding.

Roger made the free throw and the Hawks led 6-2.

Then, Glen Rice got rid of the defense through a series of running and received the pass from Kobe. But the moment he received the ball, Pierce stuck close to him.

He did what he said and his defensive attitude was very good today.

Glen Rice tried to force his way through, but Pierce stopped him with his strong body.

There was no choice but to pass the ball back to Kobe.

Facing Bowen, Kobe made a triple threat move outside the three-point line and then pulled up directly!
O'Neal politely greeted Kobe's family in his heart, but the basketball finally went into the net.

Finally, Kobe broke the Lakers' embarrassing deadlock.

Kobe has made great progress this season, averaging 19 points per game and has become O'Neal's best helper.

After scoring the goal, Kobe looked at Pierce, who had been unhappy for a long time, and asked: "What else can you do besides talking nonsense?"

"I don't talk to cartilaginous shark dogs."

"Oh, I see you're quite honored to be Roger's dog?"

Pierce deliberately walked up to Kobe and elbowed him, and Kobe fought back.

Then, Kobe simply pushed Glen Rice away: "Go away, I'll guard him!"

Great, originally it was just Roger, Pierce and O'Neal.

Now Kobe has joined the game.

The four men were stabbing and fighting each other, and the referee felt that the scene was too exciting just thinking about it.

The game was on the verge of getting out of control.

At this point, the referee already had the feeling of "a safety officer getting sentenced to 42 years on his first day at work because he met a bunch of talented people."

This game was broadcast live across the United States and was one of the few major matchups in this disastrous, shortened season.

David Stern repeatedly reminded people before the game that there should be no accidents.

But now, it’s really hard to avoid unexpected events.

In the next round, Pierce, who was a little excited, challenged Kobe one-on-one.

But Kobe used his detailed, dense and fast footsteps to surround Pierce 360 ​​degrees, leaving him no chance to break through.

In 1999, Kobe was already an excellent perimeter defender.

In the 99-00 season, he was already at the level of a defensive first team. This season he was not on the defensive team, but in fact his defense was already very good.

Maybe not enough to deal with Roger, but it's more than enough to deal with first-year Pierce.

Pierce wanted to use his stronger body to break through, but he was intercepted by Kobe just after he got the ball!

Kobe quickly picked up the basketball and dunked it to score!

"Still barking?" Kobe continued to stand beside Pierce and he started to argue with Pierce.

O'Neal smiled and said, yes, although Kobe is annoying as hell, he has indeed made great progress this season, which is why O'Neal is confident that he can lock up the championship.

Pierce continued to run frantically, trying to get another one over Kobe's head.

But Kobe was always there, and Pierce couldn't even catch the ball.

Roger had to attack by himself. He waved his hand and called Kurt Thomas to come out to play pick-and-roll. Seeing this, Rick Fox followed him out.

They would not be so stupid as to expose O'Neal directly to Roger.

But Fox couldn't defend against Roger and Kurt Thomas' pick-and-roll.

After Roger got through the screen, he broke through Fox before Fisher could get around him, and once again went straight to the basket guarded by O'Neal!
O'Neal, who already had a foul, didn't dare to make any big moves, so he just jumped up to block.

Roger easily avoided the shark with a pull-up layup and scored!
During the long offseason that just passed, Roger continued to strengthen his upper body muscles and further enhance his finishing ability.

So this season, Roger's desire to raid the penalty area is very strong.

Roger scored again over O'Neal's head, but before he could be happy, Kobe also scored.

In this round, the young and energetic Pierce also pushed away Bowen who was originally defending Kobe: "Get out of the way, I'll deal with him!"

The results of it?
He was blown up by Kobe with a mid-range pull-up jumper after a crossover.

"Damn it!" Pierce cursed loudly. Who would have thought that his feud with Kobe would start 9 years in advance.

After that, Kobe played his best game of the season.

He completely pinned down Pierce on the defensive end, causing him to miss shots frequently.

On the offensive end, Kobe took on both Bowen and Pierce.

Pierce is aggressive enough, but too rash.

Bowen defended too conservatively, so Kobe felt no pressure.

None of them could handle 1999 Kobe.

Kobe's level can be divided from 1999.

Before 1999, Kobe was just a lousy and playful kid.

But after 1999, he was already one of the top scorers in the league.

Yes, in the 98-99 season Kobe averaged only 19 points per game, still less than 20.

But his efficiency has greatly improved compared to the previous two seasons. The reason he only scored 20 points is simply that he hasn't had enough shots.

Pierce completely became Kobe's background board. The cruelest thing for Pierce was that he did defend seriously today, but it was of no avail.

Kobe Bryant completely showed off. In the sixth minute of the third quarter, Pierce lowered his center of gravity and guarded outside the three-point line. About two steps in front of him was the spirited purple and gold No. 8.

Kobe dribbled the ball in front of Pierce, and after a hesitation step, he accelerated and passed Pierce who was eager to steal the ball. Then Kobe went straight into the inside, facing the help defense of Ben, and shot the ball in with his back to the basket!
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Pierce has never been so upset since he entered the NBA.

So far, Kobe has scored 22 points in three quarters and Pierce has scored 7 points. The gap between the two sides is quite obvious.

However, after Kobe scored the goal, the cheers in the Staples Center were not enthusiastic.

Because the Lakers are still 5 points behind.

reason?

Just look at this attack.

Roger set a pick-and-roll and bowed to Robert Horry who was on the bench. Horry hesitated, not knowing whether to raise his center of gravity to block the ball.

Just as he hesitated, Roger accelerated, like a bullet, quickly scraped through the air flow, passed through Horry, and hit the basket directly.

O'Neal was furious because he allowed Roger to score too many points in the paint, which was why the Lakers fell behind.

If Roger had made these shots from beyond the three-point line and mid-range, O'Neal could still say, "My teammates lost, but I didn't."

But Roger scored a lot of points in the restricted area today, and O'Neal was mainly responsible for the Lakers' decline due to his poor rim protection.

So this time, O'Neal jumped up and rushed towards Roger fiercely.

In the air, Roger separated O'Neal with one hand and tried to stabilize his center of gravity with his strong upper limbs. But even so, Roger was still knocked behind the backboard.

Then, Roger made an incredible move.

Even with physical contact, he brought the ball back to his chest with one hand, moved his hand from behind the backboard to the other side of the basket, and used his magical fingers to pick the ball in before completely losing his balance!
"Amazing move! Oh my god, Dr. J's layup after rebounding is no longer the ceiling for this type of move! Because Roger replicated Dr. J's move with physical contact and loss of balance, it is undoubtedly more difficult! The basket guarded by Shaq was destroyed by Roger again, which is why the Hawks can take the lead!

Kobe took care of Roger's little brother.

But Roger got Kobe's big brother!
This is the difference between Roger and Shark, and this is why Roger can win the championship without Shark! "

Bob Costa's words were like needles, piercing the hearts of every Los Angeles fan.

After the ball went in, Roger stood up from the ground, waving his fist, and then turned to Kobe: "Hey, it's hard to win with such a burden, right?"

Kobe didn't say anything, but the shark's shame was already over the top.

On one side, the younger brother was not performing well, but the older brother was carrying the team strongly and leading the team to the lead.

On one side, the big brother was playing poorly, while the younger brother was carrying the team strongly and leading the team to catch up.

The shark's dignity is completely gone.

Faced with Roger's humiliation, the shark was unexpectedly silent.

He didn't want to argue anymore.

He swore that if Roger dared to enter the restricted area again, he would kill that bastard!

(Only one update today, 6K words, and I'm taking a half-day off. I couldn't sleep yesterday, and my brain is like a paste this year. It's definitely not because of watching the Japan-France match or watching emo, absolutely not)

(End of this chapter)