Champions Creed

Chapter 233 232: I suggest you don’t believe any fart from now until the end of the season (ask for monthly votes!)
Paul Pierce lay on the hospital bed and slowly opened his eyes.

He couldn't remember how many times he had woken up from the hospital bed. His eyes felt very heavy, as if it took all his strength to open them, so he could only stay awake for a short while before falling asleep again.

Every time he woke up, the first thing Pierce did was to pick up the blood-stained phone and look through the call records.

Once again, after searching for it expectantly for a while, Pierce put his phone down in disappointment.

After the accident, Pierce received calls from many people, but among all these call records, there was not a single one from his biological father, George Pierce.

Pierce was extremely disappointed that even when his life was in danger, his father would not stand up to support him.

Even at this moment of death, he could not get the fatherly love that he had always longed for.

Pierce felt like a part of him died.

Paul Pierce longed for fatherly love, more than any other black player raised by a single mother.

Because unlike those black children who don’t even know who their biological father is, Pierce has experienced the entire process from having a father to having no father.

Before he was 6 years old, he could still feel the warmth brought by his father's love.

But his father's sudden departure when he was 6 years old caused him great psychological damage.

It's like this with anything. The pain of going from having something to having nothing is often more unforgettable than never having it at all.

Pierce had always fantasized that the bastard would change his mind, but until now he hadn't shown up.

The empty ward was eerily quiet except for the cold "beeping" sounds of various instruments. He was the only one in the room, which made him feel hopeless and helpless.

Thinking of this, Pierce felt his eyelids become heavy again. Just as he was about to fall asleep again, he finally saw someone walk into the ward.

At the moment when he needed someone's company the most, the first person came to accompany him.

The last bit of clarity allowed him to see the man's face.

The person who came was not the George Pierce that Pierce had fantasized about countless times.

It was Roger.

Darkness, endless darkness.

Paul Pierce felt like he was in a darkness without boundaries.

He could only vaguely hear some sounds, which were two people talking.

"How the hell did this all happen?"

"He had a verbal conflict with a gangster in the nightclub. You know Paul's character. He has always been outspoken. But this time he picked the wrong guy. The other party had killed someone when he was 14 years old. He was drunk at the time, so he was very impulsive.

After the conflict broke out, he didn't even warn Paul, but stabbed him with a dagger. Before Paul could react, he was hit on the head by a wine bottle. The guy's two accomplices also took out knives and stabbed Paul until Paul lay motionless in a pool of blood.

There were a total of 13 knife wounds on Paul's body. The incident happened very quickly. According to witnesses, the 13 stab wounds were completed in about 35 seconds.

The knife wounds were all over the face, neck and sphincter. One of the wounds pierced the lung and was only 25 mm away from the heart. Although he is no longer in danger of death, it must be said that he played a joke on death!

"Wait, sphincter?" Roger's tone was full of surprise.

The doctor was also confused. Shouldn't you be paying attention to the knife that almost pierced Pierce's heart?
Why do you focus on the sphincter cut?

"Yes, there were two stab wounds near the sphincter." Although the doctor was puzzled, he still answered honestly.

Roger shook his head. This incident was too different from the original history. Originally, this incident happened in the 2000 offseason, and it happened in Boston. That's why Roger didn't warn Pierce in advance, because Pierce now has nothing to do with Boston.

In the end, he was stabbed in Los Angeles, and he was stabbed twice more than the 11 in the original history, and those two stabs hit the sphincter.
Why stab the sphincter with a knife? Can anyone tell me the psychological state of the perpetrator at that time?
Pierce is already known for his inability to hold his tongue, and now his sphincter is injured.
"When will he recover?" Roger didn't dare to think further and decided to focus on the present.

"His knife wound is serious, you'd better prepare for the worst. According to my advice, it's best for him not to play this season."

"Thank you, doctor. I'll just stay with him from now on."

"You were the first one to get to the hospital Roger, I think Paul will be happy to see you when he wakes up."

The conversation ended and Paul Pierce heard the doctor close the door.

He tried to open his eyes, but felt very sleepy and fell into sleep again.

When Pierce woke up again, the ward became quiet again.

Was everything that just happened an illusion?

He reached for his cell phone out of habit, but saw Roger lying on the bedside table beside him.

For the first time since entering the hospital, Pierce felt safe.

He was finally not alone in this cold ward.

Roger opened his eyes after hearing the noise and happened to meet Pierce's eyes.

"I warned you long ago not to be so outspoken, how do you feel about that?"

"Much better." Pierce's voice was weak and hoarse.

"Your family is on the plane coming here. They just moved into their new home in Georgia, and now they have to return. Your mother has been worried for most of her life, afraid that something like this would happen. She finally waited for her child to get on the right track, but something like this happened. Do you have to make her worry for the rest of her life?
I told you to do whatever you want before the training camp starts. I didn't tell you to cause trouble. And you run fast enough. One day you were sweating in Atlanta, and the next day you were in Los Angeles. "

As he spoke, Pierce actually shed tears.

"Stop talking Roger. Why is this damn fate so unfair to me?"

"what?"

“I obviously have a father, but he never stood up for me since I was a child.

I had been training hard all summer to get my revenge, and this shit happened and ruined all my efforts.

Why do I always have to deal with this!? "

Pierce was in a very low mood. Thinking about the phone call that would never come and how all his hard work that summer had been in vain, he felt like he was going to collapse.

"You are a man now. You can't always expect others to support you. You should support your family and yourself. As for your efforts, believe me, those sweat will not be in vain. As long as you still have the courage to challenge fate, those efforts will not be in vain. Hey, you survived 13 knives. Is there anything worse in the world than this?"

After listening to this, Pierce was stunned for a few minutes, then put down his phone.

He didn't need to look up anyone's phone number anymore.

That damn George Pierce, let him be buried forever in the memory of a six-year-old.

"Roger, I will be back before the season starts. No one and nothing can stop us from doing what we planned for this season."

"Come on, you can't even hold your sphincter now."

"Damn, my sphincter is great!"

"Hahahahahaha, then I'll wait for you to come back, Paul."

Pierce's family arrived at the hospital that afternoon.

Roger and Joe Abunassar returned to Atlanta to prepare for the upcoming training camp for the new season.

The stabbing of Pierce is now known throughout the United States, and all major media outlets are lamenting the misfortunes that the Hawks have endured.

"Roger finally got back his loyal Scott Pippen, but now he has lost Paul Pierce. Will Atlanta's dynasty be further delayed?"

"Doctors have recommended that Paul Pierce take a season off, and this is another difficulty the Hawks will face on their road to a dynasty."

"Roger is going to lose his second leading scorer again?"

Although Pierce's performance in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals last season was a disaster, the outside world still believes that Pierce is an important part of the Hawks next season.

After all, the Hawks cannot be without a second person to handle the ball.

Without a second point to absorb the ball, any team can win a seven-game series by simply double-teaming Roger like the Heat did last season.

No one can have the last laugh in a long and tight situation.

On media day the day before training camp began, countless reporters gathered inside the Emory Health Center.

Since Roger arrived in Atlanta, the Eagles' media day has attracted much attention every year.

But even compared with the previous two seasons, this year's media day can be said to be the most lively.

After all, Pierce's stabbing was a big news, and reporters had very little information to get during this period. Therefore, they could only find out the news on media day.

"Lenny, will Paul be back next season?"

"The advice we have received at this time is that it is best for Paul to get enough rest."

"If Paul is going to miss next season, do you think the Hawks can still return to the championship?"

“No matter what happens, our goal will not change.”

"Roger, what's going on with Paul? What do you know about it?"

"He's fine, his life is not in danger."

“Do you think he’ll be back this season?”

"You heard what Coach Lanny said. He better get enough rest."

Of course Roger knew that Pierce would not be absent for too long, but he could not say it directly, otherwise it would seem as if he was forcing Pierce to return for the championship.

That guy needs to stand up on his own and straighten his back again.

One day after the media day of the preseason training camp ended, the reporters who were waiting at the hospital entrance were surprised to find that Paul Pierce had been discharged!

Reporters immediately swarmed over, and Pierce, wearing a hat and sunglasses, had a smile on his face.

"I'm fine now. I'm very grateful to the hospital for treating me. I will donate to them in the future. As for when I can return to the stadium, I still have to listen to the doctor's advice. But I can tell you that I'm fine now."

Although Pierce was wearing sunglasses, the scars on his face could not be completely covered, and the hat could not hide the bandage on his forehead.

He still looked very embarrassed, but he treated all the photographers with a smile.

Reporters were all surprised because it had only been four days since Pierce was hospitalized.

However, more surprising things are yet to come.

As preseason training camp continues, the Eagles' situation is of greatest concern to the media.

Every day, the media lamented Roger's fate.

Last season, Roger had a good chance to defend his title, but Steve Smith and Alan Henderson left and Pippen was out for the season.

This offseason, the Hawks team worked very hard, Roger, Pierce, Ben, Marion and others were all actively training, and Pippen was also actively recovering. The situation was originally very good, but suddenly a key player was missing, casting a shadow on the Hawks' prospects for next season.

As ESPN The Magazine put it:

"Many times, God doesn't treat everyone who works hard fairly. We won't say that the Hawks are done for next season, after all, they can still add someone who can absorb the shooting rights through operations. But you have to admit that fate seems to have been making trouble for Roger since the beginning of this season."

It's true. This game gave people a sense of oppression before it even started. The entire Eagles team was under a lot of pressure. This season was suffocating from the very beginning.

Everyone lives under tremendous pressure every day.

After all, for all the Eagles players, there is only one good outcome for them next season - winning the championship.

As long as they fail to win the championship, no one will say anything good about the Hawks, even if they make it to the finals.

Everyone was full of confidence, but the stabbing of Pierce made all the Hawks players wonder: God knows what bad things will happen in the next season.

Honestly, going to a nightclub and getting stabbed 13 times is a little too outrageous. It feels like God is preventing the Eagles from winning the championship.

Before another day of training began, Ben told everyone: I thought the worst accident would be Scott getting caught for singing and prostitution, but I never expected that Paul would encounter such a thing.

Pippen, who happened to walk into the locker room at this moment, was confused: "Hey, I'm not as stupid as James Worthy to be caught!"

Big Ben smiled and said, "Look, Scott didn't deny that he would go, he just thought he wouldn't get caught."

This kind of joke can relieve everyone's stress a little, but it cannot solve the problem fundamentally.

Lenny Wilkens was worried that the players would be overwhelmed by the pressure and he thought Roger would do something.

But the pre-season training camp has already started for many days, and Roger is just training on his own every day.

He didn't give any speeches or do anything to relieve the pressure on the team.

He took his time, as if he knew this would all work out.

Before the official training started today, all the Hawks players did some shooting to warm up.

All the players who were chatting and laughing in the locker room just now became very serious when they arrived at the training ground.

The whole team was surrounded by tremendous pressure.

While they were practicing, the door of the training hall was suddenly pushed open.

Everyone looked at the door in confusion, and then stood there in a daze.

Paul Pierce was wearing the Hawks' training uniform, with a basketball tucked under his arm, and slowly walked into the court.

At this time, only 13 days had passed since he was stabbed 18 times!
Lenny Wilkens yelled in surprise: "Paul, what are you doing here?"

"Of course I'm here to train."

"Are you crazy? Your wounds haven't even healed yet!"

"I don't want to be at home and I won't let anything stop us from going into next season."

"No, get back here right now." No matter how old-fashioned Lenny Wilkens was, there was no way he would let a guy who had just escaped life-threatening danger return to the court.

"Lanni!" Pierce suddenly raised his voice, making the whole audience unusually quiet.

"I don't want to be a loser forever. I don't want to be at the mercy of fate forever. God gave me a chance, but it wasn't for me to sit at home and watch TV. Fuck the doctor's advice, fuck the knife wound. Do you know what I was thinking when I was discharged from the hospital?

I'm living the best moment!

I want to make up for the mistakes of last season, and I want to work with Roger to win back what belongs to Atlanta! "

After Pierce finished speaking, he started shooting on the court.

Now that his knife wound has not healed completely, his body will definitely feel severe pain if he exercises vigorously.

But he didn't want to wait any longer.

He didn't want fate to play tricks on him like a clown.

He also wants to be the one who can support others.

This time, he must support Roger!
Lenny Wilkens wanted to say something, but Roger held his shoulder.
"Welcome back, Paul. Screw fate, we make our own destiny!
All the media say that we have been unlucky this season, but are any of us destined to succeed?
Big Ben, you couldn't even believe that you would become a professional player a few years ago.

Scott, do you dare to believe that fate has allowed you to successfully earn tens of millions of dollars a year at this age?
Kurt, fate has made you a short inside player who can't make a living in the NBA, have you compromised?
According to fate, I should have been stepped on by Michael Jordan all my life. But now, I have one more ring than him.

So, like Paul, let us rebel against this damned fate!
Fate believes that Atlanta’s dynasty moment has not yet arrived. No, whether that time comes or not is up to us to decide!

Destiny? What position can it play?
It's time, men, to take down those who would take our crown from us!"

Pierce's comeback and Roger's timely short speech worked, and everyone on the Hawks started screaming.

"Yeah! Kill them!"

"The crown belongs to me!"

"MAGA!"

After the training ended that day, everyone returned to the locker room, with Paul Pierce and Scott Pippen sitting on Roger's left and right respectively.

The king's left and right hands were finally complete.

Lenny Wilkens wrote a line on a huge white board: "This is our theme this year, The dance never ends!"

Never stop dancing!

"The 1998 championship is definitely not the last dance for the Atlanta Hawks. Let's keep the gorgeous dance going!"

During the media open period that afternoon, reporters were surprised by Pierce's appearance.

Even the most optimistic reports had him missing at least half the season.

As a result, Pierce has resumed training before the preseason even started?
"Paul, how are you feeling now?"

"Has the doctor given you the green light to play?"

"Are you just going to resume training, or are you going to play in the game?"

Reporters had a lot of questions, but Pierce answered them with just one sentence: "I'm sorry you're still worried about whether I can play. Why would I come back if I can't play? I came back to get rid of all those who doubted me!"

Half a month later in the preseason, Pierce started and scored 23 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

Compared to last season, Pierce is stronger and his breakthrough finishing efficiency is extremely high.

He is also very serious on the defensive end. Although his defensive skills are still a bit immature, his defensive enthusiasm is a world of difference compared to last season.

He showed the results of all his hard work over the summer.

People couldn't believe that this guy, who had just been out of the hospital, could perform so well.

Moreover, this kind of performance did not just happen in one game, but continued throughout the entire preseason!

With Roger playing only ten minutes per game, Pierce became the team's protagonist during the preseason.

He scored 20+5+5 in every game and showed a commendable defensive attitude in every game.

It was as if those 13 knives had never existed.

In addition to Pierce, Pippen's performance was also gratifying.

His defense was as torturous as ever, and back surgery did not completely turn Pippen into a useless old man.

In addition, Ben has a more mature defense, Marion has a strong off-ball offensive ability, and Bowen has a more stable three-pointer.
This Atlanta Hawks team looks extremely strong. If they are paired with Roger, who has already reached his peak, there is no doubt that the Hawks will become the biggest favorite for the championship!
Their fate has begun to be changed by their own hands.

This is like a swimming competition. Originally, Pierce's incident made the Eagles lag behind other teams by half a body length. But now, they are starting to overtake.

In the last preseason game, the Hawks defeated the SuperSonics by 13 points.

After the game, Bob Costa shook his head and sighed: "Right now, no team is more nervous than the defending champions, because they will be the first team to be ravaged by the complete Eagles! The dignity, prestige and joy of the champions are very likely to disappear completely!"

The Eagles' outstanding performance in the preseason has kept the excitement of this opening game high.

On the day of the game, in the Alamodome, Roger watched his opponent receive the championship ring in silence in the dark for the first time.

Tim Duncan, who was called the master of the next era by the media, put on the supreme ring, raised his hand, and admired its brilliance under the light.

After a brief ceremony, the starting players from both teams moved closer.

Duncan shook hands with Roger, and the No. 21 said coldly: "Hey Roger, you said before that the future is mine. The future is here, and I don't intend to give it back to you."

If anyone really thinks that Tim Duncan is a person who can't say a word for a long time, that must be the biggest misunderstanding of him.

He loves telling jokes in the locker room.

When he plays away games, he likes to visit his teammates' rooms one by one, chat with them, play games, and watch wrestling matches.

Likewise, he is not so silent when facing his opponents.

It’s just that his trash talk is a little different from everyone else’s.

He won't use swear words or extremely aggressive language to spray you, but a few simple words can make you feel the disdain and threat from Da Jigong.

Roger smiled and said, "I don't plan on asking you to give it back to me. I will grab it myself."

The game is about to begin, and all the Spurs fans at the scene can no longer contain their excitement.

Although the two champions changed sides last season, they never met. This time they finally met, which whetted everyone's appetite.

Pierce jumped twice. He didn't want to make any mistakes tonight.

He didn't want to be led by the so-called fate anymore.

From the first game to the last one, he will do his best!
At this time, Roger came up and patted Pierce on the shoulder: "Paul, I'll give you a piece of advice."

"You said."

"Given that you also got two cuts on your sphincter, I suggest you don't believe a single word from now until the end of the season."

"Ah?" Pierce was shocked. He never thought that Roger would say this.

"Listen to me, you can handle 13 knives, but you may not be able to handle this. Okay, let's get to work."

Pierce scratched his head. When did Roger start to like telling jokes?

Never mind. Roger was right in the last sentence.

Let’s get to work!
The first step is to kill the defending champion!
(End of this chapter)