Champions Creed

Chapter 277 Chapter 276: When He Tasted Blood (Seeking a Monthly Ticket!)
Even in his rookie season, Roger never fell behind in the first round of the playoffs.

不少芝加哥球迷依然记得罗杰季后赛首秀的表现，18岁，31分2次助攻5个篮板2个抢断。

After the game, Nets guard Kevin Edwards said the famous quote that has been passed down to this day: "If you ask me, go to the dentist or go to the defense, I would say I'd rather go to the dentist. Although I have to go through pain, at least I don't have to be watched by 20,000 fucking people!"

At that time, Kevin Edwards would never have thought that this was not a shame at all.

Because Roger would shame more famous people for years to come.

But this year, in the eighth season of his career, someone created a miracle in his playoff debut just like he did that year.

The Orlando Magic won beautifully, but because of Larry Hughes' stupid remarks, all the media are now only concerned about one thing: how many points will the Magic lose in the next game?

That's right, it's impossible that there are any brainless media outlets that would criticize the defending champion Hawks because of a loss.

Things like the black eight miracle have happened, but it will never happen to the Hawks.

The best-of-five format in the first round does make the game more uncertain, but even so, how many times has the black eight miracle happened?
The day after the game, Larry Hughes held a newspaper in his hand and said indignantly: "Damn it, some media actually said that we will lose at least 20 points in the next game! Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous!"

Maddie lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling with sleepy eyes, chewing gum, thinking about something.

The real Roger?
Kobe made it seem like Roger was a monster.

He knew Roger was strong, but not as exaggerated as Kobe said.

Life is only a few decades long, there is no room for so much despair.

"Hey Tracy!" Larry Hughes put the newspaper in front of the dazed Maddie.

"what?"

"The Atlanta Military Police said we'll lose by at least 20 points in the next game. Aren't you angry?"

"Very angry."

"Fuck, what's your attitude? Get angry, Tracy. Let's make the defending champions look good in the next game! Just think about it, if we win the second game, we might be able to create a black eight miracle! Do you know what that means? It means we can get bigger commercial endorsements, it means we will be big names in the NBA from now on, and it even means we can go to the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show to be chosen as concubines!"

Who would have thought that the biggest motivation that inspired Larry Hughes to defeat the defending champion was actually the selection of a concubine.

Maddie took the newspaper and read a few paragraphs at random.

To be honest, McGrady did think that the statement of "winning by at least 20 points" was too exaggerated.

So far this season, including the regular season and playoffs, the Hawks and Magic have played against each other five times, with a record of 5 wins and 3 losses, which is not a big gap.

And the biggest win the Hawks ever had was by only 12 points over the Magic.

The difference of 20 points?
How is that possible?

McGrady would never let this happen. He could accept losing to the Hawks in the first round, but he would not accept losing in such a humiliating way.

In any case, he will prove with practical actions that he is already a player who can compete with Roger.

Even if he loses, he will lose standing.

On the other side, during the Hawks' internal training game, Paul Pierce had already felt Roger's anger.

In today's training game, Roger took the initiative to defend Pierce, and used almost playoff-level intensity.

"Paul, this is why you get guarded by trash like Larry Hughes."

"Hey, why don't you buy another portion of Italian Buddha tonight and freeze it in the refrigerator, and then eat it before the game starts tomorrow. This way, your potential will be fully stimulated."

"This idiot is such a loser, he is the worst of all the players in the league who average 20 points per game! Oh sorry, I forgot you were 0.3 points away from averaging 20 points per game, you piece of trash."

"Hey Lanny, I train to improve, I train to get better, there's no point for me to go up against this idiot, get me someone else!"

Lenny Wilkens shook his head and said, "It's none of my business. It was you who wanted to face off against Pierce."

It seems that because the regular season this year was played too loosely, Paul Pierce had not yet entered the playoff state in the last game.

So in today's training, Roger gave his younger brother a hard spur.

Pippen did say that Roger had changed, but Roger had not become a good person. He just encouraged when he should, and still put pressure when he should.

Recalling that Steve Smith spent almost an entire season under such pressure, Paul Pierce was already very, very happy.

Pierce didn't say anything and silently endured Roger's anger.

Because he also knew that it was all his own fault and he deserved to be taught a lesson.

The looseness of the regular season made him forget the hunger of last season, but this hunger was very obvious in Larry Hughes, which was why he was suffocated by Larry Hughes in the last game.

During the regular season, Roger also allowed Pierce to be guarded by Larry Hughes.

But the playoffs?

This was unbearable for Roger.

It’s not that Roger has to rely on his teammates to win. If his teammates try their best but still can’t change anything, then OK, Roger won’t blame you for being too weak, he will take the responsibility.

After all, if your teammates do everything, what else do you need to do?

But Paul Pierce was basically sleepwalking in the last game.

"That's enough Roger, I know I was wrong."

"You know nothing. If you really knew you were wrong, you wouldn't have trained so hard until now without getting any points. Pick up the ball and try to beat me, you wimp!"

Jeff Hornacek, who was resting on the sidelines, shook his head: "It seems that Roger is really angry. Poor Paul."

"Have you ever thought about this, Jeff?" Lenny Wilkens looked at Hornacek. "If they treat Paul like this, how bad will the Orlando Magic be?"

"Hey, don't tell me we really have to win by 20 points to make Roger cool down."

Lenny Wilkens just smiled and said nothing.

20 point?
That's all because of the Magic's luck.

The second game of the series continued at the Philips Arena. Before the game started, a reporter asked a question that surprised Roger.

"Do you know why Mr. Steve Belkin never came to watch the game in the second half of the season? He didn't even show up in the playoffs. Where did he go?"

It is indeed strange that he, who was in the first half of the season and was working with Roger to sideline Bruce Levinson, seemed to have lost interest in running the team in the second half of the season.

Belkin hadn't contacted Roger for a long time, and hadn't come to watch a game for a long time.

To be precise, after he promised Ben Wallace a maximum salary contract extension, he seemed to have disappeared from the basketball world and there has been no news of him since.

"I don't know, but I believe Steve must be paying attention to the team. Let's focus on the game."

Roger didn't want to be affected by all this mess, he just wanted to defeat the Magic quickly and return what he lost in the previous game!

Before the game started, McGrady hugged Roger as usual.

But after this hug, Roger asked McGrady a question: "Tracy, tell me, is Larry Hughes usually so brave?" "Huh?"

Roger said nothing more, but Maddie became nervous.

Roger's eyes, Roger's state, the aura Roger exudes are completely different from the regular season.

He looks like he's here to kill someone!

The game started soon and the Eagles had the ball.

Roger controlled the first attack, and McGrady was responsible for defending Roger.

This is why McGrady looked so magical in the last game. He was able to score 33 points while defending Roger.

McGrady's height and wingspan are indeed an advantage at the No. 2 position, but McGrady never expected that Roger would take one step and then shoot directly towards McGrady!

McGrady immediately jumped up to interfere. Because Roger's body size was not as good as McGrady's, it was different from McGrady's straight up and down. After Roger jumped up, his body slightly leaned back in the air, which made him find the shooting space. And under the interference of McGrady's long arms, he steadily shot the ball in!
"Damn it!" Doug Rivers was already getting nervous. Roger used a pull-up shot to deal with McGrady right from the start. This was a provocation and also a signal that he was going to kill him!
"Tracy, this trick is not difficult."

"Roger, I don't want to get into trouble." McGrady smelled danger, but he was definitely not a fool like Kobe who would go against Roger.

"Very good, then let that loser Larry Hughes come out and face it."

Larry Hughes heard what Roger said, but he didn't respond.

The Magic team attacked. There was nothing special about this team's tactics. The first move was to give McGrady a one-on-one attack.

Look at the guy sitting in the Magic team's coaching booth, and you'll probably know the level of the Magic team's tactical arrangements.

McGrady was about to continue beating Pippen, but he saw Roger standing in front of him!

In the previous game against the Magic, Lenny Wilkens never let Roger defend McGrady.

During the regular season, it was because the Hawks didn't want to fight hard, and in the first game of the playoffs, it was because Lenny Wilkens was still dreaming of saving Roger's energy.

But after losing the first game, there was no need to save energy anymore, which meant that the competition had reached the point where real fighting was needed.

McGrady was a little nervous. Roger came to defend him in the first round. What did this mean?
It means that Roger will fight to the death at all costs.

Seeing that the Hawks did not provide any help in defense, McGrady boldly went for a one-on-one play.

He dribbled the ball between his legs continuously to find the rhythm, then found a gap and suddenly jumped with the ball!
But as soon as McGrady's feet left the ground, he saw Roger reach out and easily cut off the ball!

At that moment, McGrady felt very desperate because Roger seemed to have been waiting for this moment to cut the ball, and everything was under his control.

The moment Roger cut the ball, Paul Pierce had already rushed forward.

His enthusiasm today was completely different from the previous game. Roger pushed the ball with one hand and easily assisted Pierce to make a dunk.

4:0.

But the score was soon changed. Mike Miller's three-pointer missed due to Pippen's interference, and Big Ben protected the rebound.

Pippen may not be able to hold down McGrady now, but it is still easy for him to defend Mike Miller.

Also, you can't expect Mike Miller to have a great three-point shooting touch in every game.

The Magic retreated quickly and gave the Hawks no chance to counterattack.

In this round, when Roger received the ball and was about to continue to challenge McGrady, Larry Hughes double-teamed him. Pierce was ready to receive the ball and make a jump shot. He would never waste any opportunity today.

But Roger didn't pass the ball. Before killing his prey completely, Roger wanted to play with them first.

Roger walked towards the baseline, and McGrady and Larry Hughes followed closely, blocking the direction of the basket like a wall.

But Roger did not break through, but drifted backwards under the defense of two people.

Larry Hughes covered his face, and McGrady jumped up with all his strength to block the ball. As the net made a pleasant sound, their efforts were in vain.

6-0, the floor of Philips Arena was shaking.

Doug Rivers began to arrange his "Let's go" tactics on the sidelines: "Let's go! Let's go! Don't be afraid, we can't be afraid! Go, go, cabin, cabin!"

The great thing about Doc Rivers is that he is the coach who is least worried about players from other teams eavesdropping on his tactics.

Because even if you hear his tactics, you won't be able to crack them.

Under the coaching of the God of Comeback, the Magic's offense failed as expected.

This time, McGrady called on his inside teammate Andrew DeKlerk to set a screen for him, then he bypassed the screen and shot directly.

But Roger easily got past Andrew de Klerk's thin body in one step, so when McGrady was about to shoot, he saw Roger's palm blocking the ball.

It was too late for McGrady to stop his shot. The basketball was thrown out and then was touched by Roger's middle finger, completing the block!

The young man who was as poetic as the white horse and long bridge during the regular season was now being defended by Roger and made a fool of himself.

Big Ben grabbed the ball and passed it back to Roger.

Roger was fast-breaking with the ball, and McGrady was right beside him. But he still resolutely rushed into the restricted area and scored a layup while holding McGrady's defense in the air.

8 is better than 0!

Roger roared to the sky, then punched the cushion of the basketball hoop hard.

Atlanta fans felt extremely relieved at this moment because Roger finally tasted blood.

And once Roger tastes first blood in the playoffs, he will keep killing!
The game had just begun, but Lenny Wilkens guaranteed that it would turn into a massacre.

The Magic won two games against the Hawks this season, but they were not able to hold Roger down. Instead, they relied on their collective firepower to counter Roger's firepower alone.

But today, when Roger was able to knock out the Magic's most powerful firepower point on the defensive end and continue to maintain output, the Magic had no way to break the deadlock.

They could only watch the score widen in the following time.

As expected, the following game was completely one-sided.

When Paul Pierce dared not relax anymore, when McGrady was defended to only 6 points in the first half, Mike Miller and Darrell Armstrong's long-range shots were no longer so magical, and the Hawks led by 22 points in the first half!
McGrady couldn't believe that he would lose by 20 points, but Roger did it all in just half a game!
The most terrifying thing is that after the first half of the game, Roger reminded Larry Hughes: "I hope you are still on the court in the second half, because it's not over yet, Larry. You want to play a second round? Come on, continue in the second half!"

McGrady's head was buzzing. He was already leading by 22 points, so what did he mean by "it's not over yet"?
Is this the real Roger?

Back in the locker room, Jeff Hornacek thought Roger's anger had subsided: "You completed the task ahead of schedule, Roger."

"In advance? No, not yet."

"You're up by 22 points, like the media said."

"Yes, I'm already 20 points ahead in today's game, but what about the last game?"

After hearing these words, even as a teammate, Jeff Hornacek felt a chill down his spine.

This is the real Roger, the real Roger.

(End of this chapter)