Champions Creed

Chapter 270 269: He is the key to everything (asking for monthly tickets!)
There is never a shortage of egomen in the NBA. Kobe dared to challenge Roger in his rookie season, Jerry Stackhouse still calls himself Roger's lifelong enemy, and Latrell Sprewell says every day that he is the league's top superstar and should get an annual salary of tens of millions.

In this competitive environment where everyone is a genius, people with strong abilities and great humility are as hard to find as dinosaur fossils.

Grant Hill and Tim Duncan are probably the only two outliers in the league who possess top-level abilities but are incredibly humble.

He has the best change of direction and first step in history, the best passing vision at the forward position, top athletic ability, a keen sense of backcourt rebounds, excellent ball sense, and even developed a mid-range shot last season, becoming one of the most comprehensive players in history.

This is Grant Hill now.

In the original timeline, Grant Hill, who was about to reach his true peak after mastering the mid-range shot, completely fell due to injury.

No one knew what kind of legend Grant Hill could write in the league at his peak.

And now, Roger could see one version of that.

Such a strong player is only the third man in the Lakers. This lineup is indeed too luxurious.

No wonder Bill Simmons thinks the Lakers make the game boring.

But Kobe didn't think so. He knew very well what kind of person Roger was and what he could do.

Even with two extremely strong teammates, Kobe will not let his guard down.

In the Lakers' internal team training match today, Kobe and Grant Hill led their teams to compete respectively.

Kobe is very serious. Although there is still some time before the Christmas game, he has already entered the killing mode.

In the training game, he kept looking for Grant Hill to challenge him one-on-one, as if he mistook Grant Hill for Roger.

But Grant Hill has been motivating his teammates by passing the ball. Facing Kobe's trash talk and provocation, Grant Hill had no reaction.

Gradually, Kobe found this guy boring.

This guy, who received a congratulatory call from then-US President Bill Clinton on the day he was elected in 1994, was truly different from everyone else.

If Kobe had that kind of change of direction and speed, he would definitely rush to the basket like crazy, scoring, scoring, and scoring non-stop.

Grant Hill is a little too selfless.

Kobe felt that even if Hill had already broken through to the basket, he would pass the ball to another teammate under the basket.

However, this is probably why Hill needs Kobe and O'Neal, and why Kobe and O'Neal trust Hill.

This guy's selflessness made Kobe and O'Neal willing to give the ball to him, and his outstanding personal ability made Kobe and O'Neal feel at ease to give the ball to him.

At the end of the training game, Kobe's scoring data naturally surpassed Grant Hill.

But Grant Hill's team won by 2 points.

After the game, he smiled and bumped fists with Kobe: "Good game, man."

Kobe curled his lips, not knowing how to get angry.

Grant Hill's personality has been a good fit for this Lakers team so far, but Kobe is worried that this overly humble mentality will affect the game.

As we all know, if you want to beat the Eagles, you must devote yourself to victory, you must have a desire to win that is as uncomfortable as ants crawling all over your body, and you must have a determination of "I am going to kill you today."

Thinking of this, Kobe looked at the shark lying on the sidelines as if he was on vacation.

The Sharks are completely different this season than they were last season. Last season's overly serious mentality made him feel exhausted physically and mentally, and Jerry West's departure also made the Sharks feel deeply. If even the great Logo has to go, then everyone on this team is just a commodity.

So, why bother fighting for the Lakers?

So O'Neal stopped training and working hard in the summer. He went to the Los Angeles Police Academy to train, fulfilling his childhood dream, and successfully passed the police qualification exam, participating in more than 100 arrests.

Yes, that's what Shaq did this past summer. He completely removed himself from basketball and went hunting for criminals.

As for the regular season, O'Neal has also figured it out and there is no need to exert any effort at all.

Last season, the Lakers won 69 games, played beautifully in the regular season, and worked hard. Then what? Was it useful?

Since the regular season record is of no use, why play so seriously?
So this season, the Shark has developed the habit of slacking off in the regular season and showing off in the playoffs. He will take care of even a minor injury, and will only say his knee hurts if he doesn't want to play. The Zen Master also knows the Shark's idea, but he keeps it to himself. As long as the Shark doesn't go too far, he is willing to cooperate.

The Shark is very happy now. The season has started for almost two months, but he feels like he is still on vacation and is extremely relaxed.

But Kobe hated O'Neal like this. He couldn't understand how the Shark could be so careless when the team lost so badly in the finals last season.

There is no chance of winning against the Eagles with such a relaxed mentality.

This is what Kobe is worried about. Shark and Grant Hill have no anger in their hearts, and no strong desire to win.

One is too relaxed, the other is too humble.

After a day of training, the players returned to the locker room and accepted interviews from reporters as usual.

The Shark, who had been slacking off during training using the excuse of "recovering from injury," became active during the interview.

"Of course, we'll be making a triumphant return from Atlanta on Christmas."

"It's simple. They can't deal with me when they deal with Grant, and they can't deal with Grant when they deal with me. Kobe? Oh yeah, he's not bad either. See, how can we lose?"

"If a venomous snake bit my mother and I had to suck out the poison to win the championship, would I do it? Hell, of course not. But if the person bitten was your wife, I would!"

The locker room became very lively because of the shark, with the laughter of reporters and the hearty laughter of the shark intertwined together.

But soon, Kobe heard O'Neal say something.

"I will definitely return for the Christmas game, and the end of the world cannot change this. And, I will use my best condition to deal with Roger. I know our current record is already very good, but you haven't seen Shaq's real strength. I will tear down the Philips Arena. That small place can't contain the shark. This time, even if my knee is broken, I will persist until I win."

This was the first time this season that Kobe heard O'Neal, who habitually slacked off in the regular season, speak harshly.

Then, Kobe heard Grant Hill talking in the next closet.

"To beat Roger, that's why I came to Los Angeles. Roger was such a great opponent, but we were ready this season. Whether it was Shaq, Kobe or me, we were ready to go through the toughest battle. Believe us, all the fans in Los Angeles will receive a big gift on Christmas.

Roger is the most incredible monster in NBA history. There is nothing he can't do on the basketball court. But there is one thing he can't do this season, and that is he can't beat us!
I will use my blood and flesh to achieve my goal, and I will do it!"

Kobe was surprised by what Grant Hill and O'Neal said.

The well-known gentleman usually has no murderous intent. He can deal with any situation with a smile and is very gentle and polite.

But just now, he actually told the media that he wanted to defeat Roger and said that Roger could not defeat the Lakers.

The bastard Shark didn't care about the regular season at all, and he would skip training whenever he could. But just now, he could say something like "Even if my knees are broken, I will persist until I win."

Their tone, eyes and attitude just now all proved his determination and proved that they were not just talking.

"Hey Kobe, are you listening?"

Several reporters moved the microphone closer to Kobe's mouth, and Kobe finally came to his senses.

He was so busy listening to Grant Hill and the Sharks that he forgot he was also being interviewed.

"I'm listening."

"Last season you said the second place team was the biggest loser. If they become the biggest loser again this season, will you feel desperate under Roger's rule?"

This question brought Kobe back to this bitter summer. He clenched his fists and stared at the reporters surrounding him.

This year is different, look at the state of Shaq and Grant Hill before the game against the Hawks.

Even the lazy shark showed its sharp teeth, and even the elegant Hill showed his edge.

There's no one on this team who doesn't want to beat the Hawks.

All the doubts in Kobe's mind disappeared. For the first time, he felt that his team was so strong.

This gave Kobe full of confidence.

"That's right, the second place is the number one loser. This year, I really want Roger to experience the feeling of being the number one loser."

"Hey," Grant Hill shouted in Kobe's direction, "Hey, keep your voice down. You're disturbing my interview!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, not knowing why Grant Hill suddenly had an attack.

But Kobe laughed and said, "Sorry, boss, I'll pay attention."

Then Grant Hill shrugged at everyone: "See, this is how I rule the locker room."

After saying this, Grant Hill couldn't help but cover his mouth, and everyone realized that this was a joke.

The Shark immediately responded, "King Grant, Kobe is washing your socks today. I told him to share, at least give me one of them. But he said, 'Get out of my way Shaq, I'll take care of it.' So let him do it, this bastard is so selfish even when it comes to washing socks."

The locker room suddenly erupted in laughter and was filled with joy.

Tex Winter, who was in the physical therapy room, heard the laughter outside and looked at the Zen Master with joy: "Phil, in all these years, when has the atmosphere of this team been so good?"

Phil Jackson didn't answer, but he was actually laughing in his heart.

Bill Simmons is right, the Los Angeles Lakers couldn't be better this season.

Whether it is the locker room or the on-paper strength, it can't be better.

The day to beat the Eagles is just around the corner, and the day to break the dominance is just around the corner!

At this time, at Emory Health Center, Michael Reid walked into the physical therapy room.

Roger was having a massage. He squinted at Reed and then closed his eyes again.

"Is the seat of your ticket important? Or can you sit anywhere?"

"It would be best if you have front row tickets." Reed stood beside Roger's bed like a minion.

"Hmm." Roger snorted and gave the two tickets to Reed.

Reed took the ticket excitedly, because tickets for the Christmas game are hard to come by, so even the tickets distributed within the team are not many.

Roger was delighted that he could get Reed two forward positions.

He thought that a big shot like Roger would not even bother with the request from a small character like him.

Looking at the ticket in his hand, Reed couldn't help but shout, "God!"

The physical therapist who was massaging Roger smiled and said, "Yes, you just got two tickets from God. In Atlanta, you ask God to help you achieve anything."

"Thank you Roger, I'll give it my all tomorrow night!"

Reed left excitedly and Roger continued to enjoy the massage.

Tomorrow night, Reed will bring his parents to watch the game. Because he is only a second-round pick, he is embarrassed to ask Pete Babcock for tickets directly, so he asks Roger for help.

Roger did not reject his younger brother. He believed that this would allow Reed, who had few opportunities to play, to maintain his enthusiasm for training.

As for whether Reed will play tomorrow night and whether he will perform well, Roger doesn't really care.

For tomorrow night's game, Roger has to prepare for the worst.

He trusts his teammates, but he knows that he can never put all his hopes on his teammates' performance.

No matter what happens, he must be prepared to take precautions.

Finally, the time came to June 12st.

All the Hawks fans got up early and went out, gathering in the outer plaza of the Philips Arena.

Since Roger arrived, this has been the unique way for Atlantans to celebrate the holidays. For fans, the crazy celebration time is not just the few hours of playing games.

From the moment they open their eyes and get up, they are enjoying the Christmas game day.

When Michael Reid arrived at the training center's field, the entire team stopped chatting and stared at him in confusion.

Reed looked back, thinking Roger was following him.

But there was nothing behind him, so he was the focus of everyone's attention.

This is the first time he has been so popular since joining the Eagles

Reed was just wondering, but suddenly he seemed to remember something. He touched his head and found that his nightcap was still on his head.

"Michael, relax." Pierce could understand Reed's feelings. He was also nervous before a big game during his rookie season.

"That's right, you'd better listen to Paul. Why did Paul perform so well in the finals last season? Because he was relaxed enough, so relaxed that he could directly spray Shaq in the face." Big Ben joked on the side. This is a joke that never gets out of date within the Hawks.

Reed was indeed very nervous, not only because his opponent was very strong, but also because he was afraid that he would not perform well when he thought of his parents being there and when he thought of not letting Roger down.

From arriving at the training center, to going to the Philips Arena, to warming up on the court, Reed was in a daze.

There was even a moment when he looked around in amazement, and then asked himself: "Damn, am I in the Christmas War?"

The fans' cheers were twice as loud as usual, and countless cameras were focused on the field. All of this reminded the players and fans that this was not just an ordinary regular season game.

This is a continuation of last season's finals, a continuation of the war between Shark and Roger, and a continuation of the struggle for dominance in this era.

Grant Hill, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, even after seeing it with their own eyes, Hawks fans still think this lineup is too dreamy.

Pippen stood near the midfield line, with his hands on his hips, looking at the guys in purple jerseys on the opposite side with a serious expression: "Damn it, three young stars in their prime teaming up, this is the first time I've seen such a thing! Just to beat us, is it that serious?"

"Believe me Scott, this combination won't be the last time." Roger muttered aside.

Kobe was also walking towards the midfield line at this time, and Roger found that Kobe was smiling, a smile full of confidence.

"Hi Roger, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too, although it's hard to be happy after losing."

"No, happiness is actually very simple, such as beating you 10-0 at the beginning of the game." Kobe has the confidence, and the Lakers also have the ability.

The game started quickly, and the Lakers showed their strong strength at the beginning of the game.

O'Neal won the ball and Grant Hill carried it across half court.

Currently it is Pippen against Grant Hill, Pierce against Kobe, and Roger defending Harper.

The first problem the Hawks needed to face immediately became apparent. In the past, when playing against the Lakers, Pippen, Roger and Pierce could take turns defending Kobe, and then each of them could withdraw to attack.

The resources on the defensive end are more than sufficient.

But now, two of the Hawks' three outside core players have to tumble in the defensive mud for 48 minutes.

Pippen and Pierce had to keep a close eye on Kobe and Hill at all times and had no time to breathe.

Sure enough, Pippen was attacked in the first round.

Grant Hill stared at Pippen, who was in great form recently, and slowly approached with the ball.

Pippen knew how fast Grant Hill was, so he put 100% of his focus on defense, carefully observing Grant Hill's every move.

After slowly holding the ball to a certain distance, Grant Hill lowered the center to the right, which was a signal to prepare to start.

Pippen moved half a step to Hill's right side and opened his arms. But Grant Hill suddenly turned left and accelerated at that moment. Pippen could only see the afterimage passing by him. When he chased back, Grant Hill had already passed the ball to Shark in the face of Ben's defense. The latter easily dunked with both hands, and the Hawks' defensive formation was easily broken!

Pippen was immediately sweating profusely. The game had only just started one round, so he was certainly not tired.

He was covered in cold sweat!
Grant Hill's breakthrough just now was like piercing your soul!
Pippen had played against Grant Hill before. He admitted that Hill was very fast, but Hill's previous changes of direction were more based on speed and were not that deceptive.

But in that round just now, Hill's fake moves and speed combined made it so that Pippen didn't have any chance of winning at all.

Only then did Pippen realize that it was not the speed that made the gap between him and Grant Hill, but the time.

He himself became weaker, while Grant Hill was improving, so it seemed that Grant Hill was improving so fast.

The Hawks fought back, and the Lakers double-teamed Roger in the first round, and Roger passed the ball to Pippen.

Pippen took a three-pointer, but Grant Hill made it back in time.

The Lakers' starting lineup this season can basically be understood as an upgrade from Glen Rice to Grant Hill. Many people only see the changes that Grant Hill brought to the Lakers on the offensive end, but ignore that he also did better than Glen Rice on the defensive end.

Grant Hill's defense is not up to the level of a defensive formation, but he is serious and conscientious enough.

And because of his better physical fitness, Grant Hill's rotation speed is faster than Glen Rice.

Pippen missed the three-pointer due to Hill's timely interference.

This offense and defense has put Pippen under tremendous pressure.

He must devote 100% of his energy to Grant Hill today and be careful at every turn. Otherwise, he will be beaten!

This means that Pippen can no longer focus on assisting defense.

O'Neal protected the rebound and the Lakers counterattacked.

As soon as the Shark grabbed the rebound, he passed it to Grant Hill. Kobe did not ask for the ball randomly, which ensured the smoothness of the center's pass after grabbing the rebound.

Grant Hill continued to face Pippen, but he did not perform his quick change of direction this time.

Grant Hill, who was holding the ball on the right side outside the three-point line, passed the ball to Kobe as soon as he ran over from the other corner.

This season, Kobe has made great progress in his off-ball offense. In the past few seasons, the stubborn No. 8 of the Lakers believed that he had to have the ball in his hands to control the game.

But this season, Kobe believes that as long as he has the right to shoot, it doesn't matter whether he controls the ball or not.

After receiving the basketball, Kobe broke through from the middle to the penalty area.

Pierce suffers from a speed disadvantage, so he can only sprint at full speed to chase and defend.

As a result, Kobe suddenly paused at the top of the arc outside the three-point line, and then pulled back! This unexpected pause threw Pierce, who was sprinting at full speed and had no time to brake, several meters away!
Kobe's switching between without the ball and with the ball is the best Grant Hill has ever seen. The only drawback is that it is difficult to get assists from such a player.

But Grant Hill is not a player who values ​​​​stats.

After shaking off Pierce, Kobe immediately took a three-pointer.

This was a completely open opportunity, so Kobe was confident in this shot.

He hopes to get off to a strong start and take control from the start.

Is 10-0 so far away? Once this goal is scored, it will be 5-0!
But just as the basketball was about to fly away from Kobe's fingertips, a hand reached out from the front and blocked the ball directly.

"Roger's defense was very quick, and he blocked the great opportunity that Kobe had! This is the Hawks' perimeter defense, they have the ability to turn all chances into nothing!" Magic was very excited. The Hawks are worthy of being the only team in the league that can compete with the Lakers!
Pierce then picked up the blocked basketball and passed it to Roger, who scored the first goal of the Hawks' Christmas game with a powerful one-handed slam dunk.

2 to 2, Kobe's attempt to start with a 10-0 lead was shattered at the beginning.

The Zen Master sighed off the court. This is Roger, the freak who won five championships in seven years.

That was one of the few reasonable shots Kobe made, and he had complete open space.

As a result, Roger was able to fill in the position in time and ruin a great opportunity.

However, this is also a scene that the Zen master likes to see.

Look at the defense in these two rounds. At the beginning of the game, the three main outside players of the Hawks had to increase their defensive intensity to the maximum to resist Kobe + Grant Hill.

Last season, the Hawks' high-intensity pressure defense was indeed very powerful, but it could only last for one quarter.

But now, they are forced to start this defensive mode in the first quarter.

And this will definitely affect the Eagles' offense.

In the subsequent games, the Eagles paid a huge price on the defensive end.

Pippen and Pierce had to keep close to Grant Hill and Kobe at all times, while Roger had to provide assists in defense at all times.

Big Ben and Marion were of little help; they already had enough trouble dealing with the sharks.

When Hornacek comes on the court, Roger has to personally match up with Kobe or Hill on the defensive end.

After the first quarter, the Hawks were trailing by 2 points.

Roger scored 25 of the Hawks' 15 points. Because they put too much energy into offense, Pippen and Pierce were not very active on the offensive end.

Pierce's shooting percentage was not high, Pippen's cut-in frequency decreased, and Roger's offensive pressure increased greatly.

In subsequent games, Lenny Wilkens also used the semi-circle tactics, allowing Roger to use singles to attack against the Lakers' big 3.

But Hornacek's defense and physical strength limited the duration of the semi-circle tactics.

In the middle of the second quarter, Wilkens called Michael Reed at the end of the bench for the first time, hoping that he could take over from Hornacek, who was already gasping for breath, and continue to create space for Roger.

But Michael Reed was unable to perform an inspirational story on this huge stage.

He went 3-for-0 from beyond the arc and made a turnover. He was very nervous and looked totally unprepared.

After being scolded by Lenny Wilkens, the second-round pick was stuck on the bench and never played again.

The Lakers were in control of the situation, Grant Hill was decisive, and the Shaq was very serious in defense. Not to mention Kobe, the player who wanted to win the most on the Lakers was always on fire.

At the end of the third quarter, the Lakers had widened the gap to 12 points in one breath!
All the Lakers fans in front of the TV were boiling at that moment. Bill Simmons was right. The Los Angeles Lakers were making the game boring. But for Los Angeles people, it was so fun!
During the break, Roger wiped the sweat off his face and drank half a bottle of Gatorade in one breath.

He has only rested for three minutes so far today. In the regular season, Roger rarely plays for such a long time.

But there was no way, after three minutes of rest, the Lakers were already leading by 12 points. If they rested a few more minutes, the game would be even more difficult.

Lenny Wilkens developed a strategy to reverse the game. He decided to use two mixed lineups to defend first and then attack.

"Listen, in the first half of the quarter we are going to use defense to catch up! Scott, Bruce, spare no effort to bite those two Lakers guys on the defensive end and create counterattack opportunities!
With the score close, Jeff, Paul, take those damn three-point opportunities, don't act like some piece of shit! I want you to create space for Roger to play one-on-one!"

After saying that, Wilkens glanced at Reed, who lowered his head and said nothing.

There is nothing wrong with Lenny Wilkens' strategy. In basketball games, defense is the basis for catching up with a large score difference. It is impossible to catch up with more than ten points in one quarter by relying on offense.

Therefore, we need to play extreme defense in the first half of the quarter to close the score or tie it.

But as time goes by, the defensive effect will definitely get worse and worse. After such fierce defense, Pippen and Bowen were unable to use accurate shooting to open up space for Roger.
Therefore, after catching up with the score through defense, Lenny Wilkens would replace Hornacek and Pierce, who had rested enough. Ideally, the score should have been caught up by this time, so the game could be ended by offense.

The only problem is that Roger is key in both stages and must be present.

When he plays defense as the main role, he also has to provide assist defense.

When playing offense, he is the main one-on-one attacker.

He can't rest in the fourth quarter, he is the key to everything!

After listening to the strategy, Roger nodded. He was not afraid of taking responsibility or being under pressure.

He clapped his hands and told everyone with a firm look: "Let the people of Los Angeles enjoy a real Christmas Eve."

(End of this chapter)