Champions Creed

Chapter 273 272: Fear is the worst thing (ask for monthly ticket!)

"Jeff, after two months of playing for the Eagles, what do you think of Roger?"

"We are Lumberjack. Roger and I have a tacit understanding like a family!"

"But in Salt Lake City, you said more than once that Roger was a jerk."

"You know, I was too young then."

Looking at Hornacek being interviewed, Pete Babcock shook his head.

Can you believe that when Hornacek was recruited, his biggest worry was being bullied by Roger?

Look at the result, how much Hornacek is enjoying now!
Hornacek was indeed worried before, after all, Roger's reputation has always been not very good.

Not to mention his legendary deeds with the Bulls, his conflict with the Sharks in Orlando is well known.

In Atlanta, the good guy Steve Smith was eager to escape.

Top superstars like them all have bad tempers, and when Hornacek was playing for the Jazz, he had a feeling every time he played against Roger: this bastard probably doesn't even know how to write the word "respect".

Roger will use the most cruel means to humiliate his opponents, and his mouth is even more foul than Paul Pierce in last season's finals.

But now, Hornacek found that the image of Roger in his mind had completely changed.

He is simply a mature leader, a trustworthy partner, and a person worthy of respect!

Hornacek didn't know why the image of the same person in his mind was so different.

Maybe it's because Roger is hypocritical enough?
Being his opponent and being his teammate are two completely different things.

But in fact, it is not just a change in identity. Roger, who turned 25 in just half a year, has become more mature, and he himself has changed a lot over the years.

He no longer oppressed his teammates like a fascist villain and no longer yelled at them at every turn.

Roger still has prestige and is still strict, but he treats different people in different ways.

Steve Smith's departure and Paul Pierce's joining taught Roger a lot, turning him from a very powerful boy into a man who truly controls the locker room.

If Michael Redd had appeared in the Atlanta Hawks lineup three years ago, he would never have been able to play well in his life because Roger would have destroyed his confidence.

But now?

Roger would train with him and give him encouragement.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that Roger has become gentler. He still loses his temper with his teammates and is still demanding.

But now he can strike the right balance.

He doesn't make his teammates feel too suffocated, nor does he come off as a nice guy.

And Roger and Lenny Wilkens skillfully played the black and white face tricks, using their invisible big hands to push their teammates forward.

The only thing that remains unchanged is that deep down in Roger's heart, he still desires to win, even though he already has five rings on his hands.

He can take more control of the team and pursue victory as always.

That's why he is invincible, that's why he defeated the Lakers big3.

After the game, Roger returned to the locker room and leaned back in his chair, not wanting to move at all.

He was too tired. He only played for 45 minutes, and there was basically no slacking in these 45 minutes.

Those who often persist for such a long time know that even if you still have plenty of energy and even if you don’t collapse, your muscles will start to ache.

Roger sat on the bench to rest, did not attend the celebration party organized by Pierce, and declined Jeff Hornacek's invitation to dinner.

He is not Kobe, who always keeps his teammates at a distance.

Roger was just too tired to go anywhere.

Gradually, there were fewer and fewer people in the locker room, until only Roger and Lenny Wilkens, who had been harassed by reporters and had not returned yet, were left.

At this time, Roger received a text message from Kobe.

"Next time I throw a nail I'll pierce your palm!!!"

Just from those three exclamation marks, Roger could tell how uncomfortable Kobe was.

Roger felt extremely happy when he thought about how Kobe was so angry now.

"You'd better stab my heart. Even if I get pierced through my palm, I will pull the nail out and slap you again."

"Fvck you! Merry Christmas, asshole!"

"Merry Christmas, and by the way, tell your dearest brother Shaq that Christmas is the New Year, which means he has delayed paying for my Ferrari wheels for another year. If this continues, I will really call the police."

After a brief chat, Lenny Wilkens pushed open the door and walked into the locker room. He was a little surprised when he saw Roger. "Savior, are you planning to stay here? Or did you make an appointment with your supermodel girlfriend and want to experience everything that Magic did at the Great Western Forum?"

Roger waved his hand. "I don't want to dirty your desk. I just want to take a break. I'm really exhausted tonight. Hey, didn't anyone tell you that you're worse to me than Larry Brown is to AI?"

Roger teased Larry Brown, who often let AI play the entire game.

"Hahahaha, be thankful, Roger. Your tonight is just a daily routine for AI."

"Stop talking. I'm already starting to feel sorry for him. Poor AI, how did he end up meeting Larry Brown?"

"Do you need me to drive you back?"

"No, Lanny, I'll rest for a while and go back by myself."

"Okay, drive carefully. By the way, Roger, you owe me $5000."

"When?"

"Just now, you really misjudged him this time. Michael Reed is just not cut out for it." Lenny Wilkens' blood pressure soared instantly when he recalled the scene of Reed hesitantly going up to hit three pieces of fine iron on such an important night.

His off-ball movement is still a mess, his shooting form is as abstract as Marion's, and most importantly, his accuracy is terrible.

The only thing worth praising about Reed tonight was his good defensive attitude, but it was just a good attitude. He was still beaten by Kobe and was at a loss.

If Reid hadn't underestimated him, tonight's game wouldn't have been so difficult.

Michael Reid has worked hard enough, but that is exactly the problem. He has worked so hard but still has no progress, which is enough to show that he has no potential.

Roger waved his hand: "Let's wait until the end of the season. The regular season has only started for two months. What do you expect him to do?"

"I hope you're right, but I won't give him another chance these days unless he can prove himself again in training."

"You are the boss, you have the final say."

After the conversation, Roger rested for a few minutes before he recovered and stood up to drive away.

When he walked into the parking lot, Roger saw Michael Reed waiting in front of his parking space.

His parents were also accompanying him.

Roger looked at his watch. Since he had rested for a long time, they had been waiting for at least an hour.

"Michael."

"Roger, my parents said they must thank you in person for the tickets."

After Reed finished speaking, his father came up and shook hands with Roger: "Thank you very much, thank you for everything you have done for us." "It's just a small favor, Mr. James. If you want to come to the game, you can always tell me. Of course, at least one day in advance."

Reed's mother looked apologetic: "Michael didn't behave well today, sorry Roger, he should have helped you more."

Reid pouted unwillingly when he heard this.

Roger rubbed Reed's head. "You have a goal, and you try your best to pursue it. You have to try your best to make yourself vulnerable and leave no energy behind. It's still early, Michael. It's still early. Just keep up the momentum. Your time hasn't come yet, but it will come."

After that, Roger said goodbye to the Reed family and drove home.

Reed sat in his father's car and didn't say a word on the way home.

He knew Roger was just comforting himself.

I must have completely disappointed Roger.

After a long while, Reed suddenly said, "I don't want to play basketball anymore. My college statistics are getting worse every year, my record is getting worse every year, and my draft pick is getting lower every year. Who would have thought that at this time last year, I was still in the lottery discussion range. Since entering college, I haven't been able to do one thing well. I have been failing, failing, and failing. Maybe I'm really not suitable for it? I don't want to play basketball anymore."

James Reid turned back from the driver's seat, ready to give a heartfelt speech.

But his beloved wife stopped him with a wave of her hand.

"Michael, you know what? For the first twenty years of my life, I lived in fear that something bad was going to happen.

Will there be bread tomorrow? Will my father die tragically on the street? Will James leave me? I often couldn't sleep because of these things.

The night I learned I had breast cancer, I cried. In the face of the threat of death, everything seems so insignificant.

You have heard the story that followed about a hundred times. Your father always stayed with me, encouraged me, and gave me courage.

I'm not going to repeat this to you, I'm just going to say that in this process I realized that a shitty life or even illness isn't the worst thing, fear is the worst thing.

When I am full of courage, I feel that there is nothing in this world that cannot be overcome.

So Michael, what is your fear?
Was it because he was afraid of disappointing Roger? Was it because he was afraid of the night? Was it because he was afraid of a strong opponent? Or was it because he was afraid of failure, so he just gave up?
Whatever it is, stand up and pull yourself together. What you should do is to overcome your fear and then beat the hell out of those who stand between you and Roger next time!"

After saying this, she held her husband's hand.

A good family atmosphere gives people strength, which is something most NBA players do not have.

Of course, Reed is fed up with the two of them showing off their affection all the time!

Reid looked out the window and took a deep breath.

The next day, Lenny Wilkens arrived at the Elmer Training Center early as usual.

As he gets older, he gets less sleep, so Lenny Wilkens goes to the Elmer Training Center at 6:30 every day, rides around the center for an hour, and then starts the day's work refreshed.

The team's training usually starts at ten or eleven o'clock, so usually when Wilkens finishes riding, the training hall is empty.

Except for that second-round pick, he came early almost every day to practice shooting.

However, Lenny Wilkens was not sure whether Michael Reed would come to extra practice today after he scolded him yesterday.

Put yourself in their shoes. You work hard every day, but setbacks and failures still surround you all the time. Do you still have the motivation to keep going?

Lenny Wilkens originally wanted to go directly to the office, but for some reason, he suddenly became curious and somehow turned to the training hall.

When I walked to the door of the training hall, sure enough, there was no sound of dribbling.

Lenny Wilkens smiled, not knowing what he was expecting.

At the end of the day, he was just a second-round pick, so it was normal to give up on him.

You can't expect to win on every lottery ticket.

Wilkens was about to leave when he heard a shout from inside the arena: "Okay Michael, the break is over, let's start the next round."

Then, there was the sound of the basketball hitting the floor and passing through the net.

He pushed open the door and saw the trainer passing the ball to Michael Reed, whose vest was wet.

Michael Redd bypassed the obstacles on the court again and again, catching the ball, shooting, and making shots.

It was so boring, but Reid remained focused and didn't even notice anyone at the door of the training hall.

After watching a set of training, Lenny Wilkens closed the door without saying a word and walked towards his office.

Last night's Christmas battle was exciting, but also thrilling.

科比最后时刻的投篮只差一点就能杀死比赛，只差一点就会让罗杰的55分4个篮板8次助攻4次抢断3次盖帽的伟大数据沦为空砍。

So even though they won yesterday, Lenny Wilkens didn't dare to say that he could definitely beat the Lakers in the playoffs. After all, this game was too difficult, and the strength of the two teams was too close.

But if Michael Redd can really take on more responsibilities and make the Hawks' offense more stable, their chances of winning will undoubtedly be greater.

Like he said, not everyone can forget about setbacks and failures and continue to invest after working hard every day, but Reed really did it.

He decided to give Reed another chance.

It was the first time Lenny Wilkens had this feeling, the feeling of wanting to lose $5000.

On the 27th, the Atlanta Hawks faced the Toronto Raptors led by the Canadian Flying Man at home.

In the third quarter, the Hawks led by 11 points. Lenny Wilkens walked to the end of the bench and knocked Michael Reed on the head with the tactical manual: "Get ready, you go!"

"Yes, sir!"

Reid was staring at the court with eagerness today, unlike before when he was dejected at the end of the bench.

After receiving the order, he immediately took off his training clothes and ran into the field full of energy.

Roger, who was resting on the bench, was a little surprised. It seemed that Lanny said that he would not send Reed to play recently?

Roger glanced at Lenny Wilkens, who shrugged, "What? I just don't want you to play 48 minutes a game. Besides, you've already humiliated Vince Carter because of a media comment that 'Vince can dunk on you.' Please, give this league idol some dignity and let him have a few possessions. I quite like him."

An old-school coach has to save face, so he certainly can't just say, "Damn it Roger, I broke my promise, I was soft-hearted, I still want to give that kid a chance."

But Roger saw through him at a glance: "That's very kind of you, Lanny, but when the time comes, you still have to pay the $5000, not a penny less."

"Hey, aren't we family?"

"My family also needs to come to terms with this. I once suffered a great loss at the hands of a shark because I was soft-hearted."

"Oh, if I had a daughter I would definitely not let her marry you, you money-loving bastard."

"There will always be someone willing to marry their daughter to my Lanny. You don't have to worry about that."

As they were chatting, Roger and Lenny Wilkens heard a "swish" sound coming from the court.

Just now, Michael Reed received a pass from "Family Man" Hornacek and successfully hit his first three-pointer since entering the NBA.

Michael Reed punched hard, roared, then gritted his teeth and defended seriously.

No one cared about this ball, no one cared about Michael Reed, and many people thought it was just luck.

It's just a three-pointer, what's the big deal?
Little did anyone know that this was just the beginning of the gears turning.

This Hawks team, which has already defeated the Lakers' big three, can get stronger and better.

(End of this chapter)