Champions Creed

Chapter 305 Chapter 304: Ending? Drowned by his own blood! (Please give me a monthly ticket!)

In his first game after returning, Roger broke his career single-game scoring record.

64 points in a single game, even the craziest Hawks fans would not have thought that this comeback game against the Mavericks would be so exciting.

The most heartbreaking thing about this game for the Dallas team was that Nowitzki scored 35 points and Nash, who was in hot form, also had 29 points and 12 assists.

But when your two best players are giving it their best and still can't win, the feeling of desperation becomes particularly acute.

The better Nowitzki and Nash perform, the more desperate the Mavericks fans become.

For Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, the emotion even stronger than despair is anger.

After the game, Mark Cuban went home and smashed the huge plasma TV in anger.

This young team owner has never been able to control his temper. He has only been in the NBA for two years, but he has already been fined more than $100 million for various controversial remarks and unbridled yelling.

People felt that sooner or later he would be the first team owner to beat up a referee.

Even Dirk Nowitzki, who had a good relationship with him, couldn't stand this and once advised him in front of the media.

"He has to learn how to control himself, just like the players. We can't lose our temper all the time on the court or off the court, and I think he has to learn that, too. He has to improve in that area, not just yelling at the referees or NBA officials the entire game. It doesn't help the game and sometimes it makes it embarrassing for us."

Of course, Cuban is not mad at Nowitzki, he has great respect for the German.

But he couldn't control his temper with anyone except Nowitzki.

For example, tonight.

Cuban's pregnant wife was frightened by his action of smashing the TV. She covered her belly and huddled in the living room, not daring to speak.

Cuban immediately realized his mistake and hugged his wife: "Oh my God, I'm sorry, honey, I'm sorry, I deserve it, that bastard!"

"what happened?"

Cuban's wife Tiffany is not a basketball fan. Even though her husband spent nearly $3 million to buy a basketball team, she still has no interest in basketball.

So she didn't watch the game tonight, and naturally didn't know how Roger beat his favorite German in front of Cuban, scored 64 points, and humiliated him wantonly.

"Nothing, nothing. I just think that too many people are using plasma TVs now. What level of TV is the same as ours? I want to change my TV."

Of course Tiffany knew he was talking nonsense: "Mark, you can't be so angry all the time. Once you get in touch with basketball, it's like you become a different person."

"Of course, of course. I won't do it again next time, I promise."

Mark Cuban calmed down and didn't return to his study to continue being angry until he had accompanied his pregnant wife to sleep.

As a basketball fan, Cuban naturally knew what kind of glory Roger created in the 90s. When everyone thought Michael Jordan would ascend to the altar, this 18-year-old boy from China kicked him down and sat on the throne himself.

But a true sports fan enjoys the feeling of competition, which is why Reggie Miller will gain the respect of fans even though he has never won a championship in his life, because he has been competing against strong opponents throughout his career.

As a sports fan, Mark Cuban also hopes that his team can compete with the strong. Defeating Roger and winning the O'Brien Cup is his biggest goal.

He was indeed half successful. After he became the owner of the Mavericks, the team's exposure was greater than in the past 20 years combined, and the Mavericks became a force that cannot be ignored in the Western Conference.

But tonight, Roger's massacre made him feel like he was doing nothing.

Roger was as powerful as a fully armed soldier, while Cuban was a wild man with a spear.

He worked hard to build the team, tried to recruit players no matter how expensive they were, and invested great enthusiasm in his team. In the end, his team was like an ant in front of Roger.

Cuban was devastated. His life had been smooth as if he had been blessed with a cheat code. Who could have thought that the little kid who worked as a bartender in a bar would now become one of the most famous businessmen in the Beacon of Liberty?

But in front of Roger, he felt insignificant and a failure for the first time, and his successful life came to an abrupt end on the basketball court.

He couldn't swallow this breath, he was eager to beat Roger that bastard. However, the desperate thing was that unless the Mavericks made it to the finals, the two teams would not meet again this season.

It's like having a nail planted in your heart, causing you pain at any time but with no way to stop it.

Mark Cuban downed a glass of whiskey and tried to calm himself.

This is not a problem that can be solved in a short period of time, and there is no use in being anxious.

Cuban's view is similar to Steve Jones'. He also thinks it's time to reshuffle the league.

Judging from Roger's current relationship with those idiots in Atlanta, it's highly likely that he'll leave.

The relationship between Kobe and the Sharks reminds the world that the disbandment of the OK combination is a high probability event.

Both teams that have dominated the league in the past few years are likely to disappear next summer.

Where will Roger go? Can he find a team that is more competitive than the Eagles?
Who will leave Los Angeles, Shaq or Kobe? Can they still dominate the West on their own?
All of this means that spring is coming for other teams.

Mark Cuban believes he has to seize this opportunity to reshuffle the deck and make the Dallas Mavericks a great team.

His war against Roger may not be decided now, but it will be decided sooner or later, he promises!

When Mark Cuban vowed to interrupt Roger's reign, Roger was on the phone with Eric Fleischer.

Roger rejected the plan to go to Boston over the phone. Boston has enough history, enough market, enough determination to win the championship. Most importantly, they have enough salary space.

But you never know when you might be traded away by Danny Ainge.

Even though Roger would not be traded easily given his status, getting along with Danny Ainge would definitely be a very tiring thing.

Moreover, the city of Boston is not as friendly to minorities as Orlando and Atlanta. Although Boston fans today are not as bad as they were to Bill Russell back then, they are definitely not friendly either.

Yes, Boston is home to Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has a high level of education per capita, making it the city with the strongest educational atmosphere in the United States.

But it's useless, to be honest.

If you are Asian or black, you will be stopped and checked even if you are driving honestly on the streets of Boston.

Boston is one of the major cities in the United States with the highest percentage of older white people. No matter how educated people are in such places, some things are deeply rooted and cannot be changed.

Just forget about fighting for a group of people who look down on you in their bones. The beacon of freedom is so big, why do you have to go to a place that disgusts yourself?

Eric Fleischer smiled. As a white man, he indeed ignored this aspect of the problem.

That means the field of team selection has been narrowed again.

The most minority-friendly place in the United States is definitely the West Coast. After all, it was developed late and traditional white people's ideas are not so deeply rooted.

The high-tech industry has also brought in a large number of immigrants, making the proportions of various ethnic groups very diverse.

Los Angeles?

Eric Fleisher needs more time to confirm. This may be the most important transfer in Roger's career. If he makes a mistake, it may reduce the value of Roger's career.

Look at how embarrassed Charles Barkley was after joining the Rockets. People almost forgot that he almost interrupted Michael Jordan's three consecutive championships. They only remember that he chose to join a team at the end of his career.

Let's look at Michael Jordan. He chose to go to New York in his last year, but still lost to Roger, which made his reputation drop a lot. He lost the moral high ground of "loyalty" and failed to win.

A player's choice of last stop must not be wrong.

Before hanging up the phone, Roger seemed to remember something: "By the way, Eric, I must emphasize one thing."

"You said."

"Whether we leave or not, or wherever we go, don't give me a live TV announcement about it."

Eric Fleischer's tone was very surprised: "Of course! That's stupid! Who would want to hype it up in this way? Who would stab the fans of their old club in the chest live? Why do you think I would let you do that? Hey, I remember you emphasized this during the last transfer. You don't have to emphasize it every time. It makes me look stupid! God, there is no way anyone in this world can be so stupid!"

Roger laughed. "Don't be so blunt, Eric."

The next day, Roger left Big D (Dallas nickname) admiring the news in the newspaper that he scored 64 points in Dallas. Even the local newspaper in Dallas couldn't stand Cuban's provocation to Roger yesterday.

Roger particularly liked the review in the Dallas Morning News.

"You can imagine that a strong young man has been holding back for a month and is worried about not being able to find a place to vent. As a result, an ignorant guy has to seduce him at this time, then of course you will be fucked viciously all night long!

I can understand it this way: Steve and Dirk's perfect performance last night was ruined by Mark Cuban's big mouth! "

Although Mark Cuban madly accused Roger of being rude in front of the media, what's the use? As long as Roger can win, he will have the support of the majority.

At this point, the Eagles finally got back into winning streak after more than half a month of failure.

In January, the Hawks played strongly and only lost one game, to this season's Eastern Conference rival, the Detroit Pistons.

Although there was no conflict between the two sides in this game, the process was still full of physical confrontations beyond the level of the regular season.

It is conceivable that if the two teams really meet in the playoffs, it will definitely be a bloody war.

Losing to the Pistons made Roger feel bad, but the following February was brilliant, and the Hawks had their first winning month of the season.

Among them, the Hawks took revenge on the Pistons and defeated the Lakers, which made the Atlanta fans and Roger happy.

Although February has the fewest games of all months due to the All-Star Game and its length.

But the undefeated record is still brilliant enough.

But what Roger cares about is that the Hawks only won by 6 points against the Pistons this time.

The Pistons' defense was indeed too suffocating. Now Roger could understand why the ratings of the 2005 Finals in the original timeline were so low, because it was really difficult to score a goal when playing against the Pistons.

So, be thankful. If LeBron James hadn't emerged and contributed two shocking finals in 2007 and 2020 to save the league, this series would have been the finals with the lowest ratings in history. LeBron made a bad finals not so bad, which is not something everyone can do.

In March, the Eagles, who were mentally exhausted, relaxed a bit and lost three games. But even so, the team still firmly occupied the first place in the Eastern Conference.

Finally, the regular season entered the last half month.

Roger has been eager for the playoffs, and there is another good news for the Hawks in April: Jeff Hornacek can participate in training.

On the first day of April, when Michael Reed arrived at the training center early as usual, he found that he was not the first person to arrive that day.

The first one to arrive was Hornacek. When Reed arrived, Death Ray Gun was already practicing jump shots.

When Reed saw Hornacek, he was stunned for a few seconds: "Damn, I have been treating you as an assistant coach for the past few months, and I forgot that you haven't retired yet!"

Jeff Hornacek shrugged: "You should be thankful that I haven't retired. Have you ever seen an assistant coach who shoots better than the best shooter on the team?"

If you stay with someone for a long time, you will become more and more like him. Jeff Hornacek, who was extremely honest in Salt Lake City, now pretends to be pretentious every time he opens his mouth.

Of course, Roger will definitely tell you that it's all thanks to Paul Pierce.

But everyone knows who is influencing others.

After hearing what Hornacek said, Michael Reed, who has been firmly occupying the starting No. 2 position this season, immediately became excited: "Old man, stop talking nonsense. Pull out your guns, let's shoot a round!"

When Roger arrived at the training center at 10 o'clock, the whole locker room was talking about one thing: "Michael actually lost to Jeff in the three-point shooting competition."

Roger's first reaction was the same as Michael Reed's: "Why is our assistant coach competing with the players in shooting? Oh, yeah, Jeff hasn't retired yet."

Roger quickly changed his clothes and walked onto the training ground, where he saw Hornacek doing some restorative strength training with the help of a trainer.

He is only allowed to participate in training now and cannot play immediately.

But basketball is a game that you have to take one step at a time.

Hornacek still has a lot of preparation to do before he can actually play on the court.

Jeff Hornacek works harder than anyone imagined. During training, you can't tell that he is a 39-year-old veteran.

He will actively run in every offensive round and do his best in every defensive round.

He is just a role player, even a role player who has been excluded from the rotation for the entire season.

But he seemed to have an obsession.

Lenny Wilkens told him point blank: "I can't guarantee you playing time in the playoffs, Jeff."

Wilkens' decision is normal. The team has been working together for a season and it is impossible to suddenly disrupt the rotation in the playoffs.

Moreover, Jeff Hornacek hasn't played for nearly a year and he is already 39 years old. No one knows how well he can maintain his form.

But even so, Jeff Hornacek still works very hard during training every day.

As a person of the same age as Hornacek, Da Meng found the intensity of the death ray gun training incredible.

You know, Dream is still the main rotation, and he also said bluntly: "If I were you, I would definitely have no motivation."

Being a substitute is not scary. What is scariest is not even being able to determine your playing time, because that makes you feel like you don’t know what you are working hard for.

But Jeff Hornacek didn't care. He told Dream: "What if there is still a need for me at some point? I have to be prepared for it."

Preparing for a moment you don’t know will ever come?
Olajuwon felt that Hornacek was either crazy or that his desire to win the championship far exceeded anyone else.

On April 4th against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Jeff Hornacek finally made his debut in the 13-01 season, playing for three minutes in garbage time and scoring 02 points.

After the game, Roger patted Hornacek on the shoulder and said, "Welcome back, Jeff."

But Hornacek was not so excited. He just joked with Roger: "Garbage time is not officially back. Don't worry, the two minutes I have to wait for will be over soon."

Roger trusted the old white shooter very much, just like he trusted Saru back then.

He will definitely be useful in the playoffs, definitely.

Four days later, with the Hawks' victory in Boston, the team's regular season record was fixed at 4 wins and 67 losses.

Ahead of the 63-win Lakers and 61-win Kings, and a gap ahead of the 58-win Pistons and 52-win Nets.

This is probably why Roger gradually lost interest in the regular season.

Just as he told reporters: I have nothing to say. In the regular season, can't we get first place just by playing casually?
One day before the start of the playoffs, Roger was interviewed by ESPN and talked about the upcoming playoffs.

The eyes of the whole world are on the Pistons and the Hawks, and everyone believes they will meet in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Roger gave the Pistons a high evaluation: "They are really tough. Old Joe has built a very, very good team. But if we meet, they will only have one ending."

"What ending?"

"Drown in your own blood!"
-
Amar'e Stoudemire became the 2002 McDonald's All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. After the game, he held up a Magic No. 14 jersey and cried. Look, Roger's influence is everywhere. Orlando kids still love him, Orlando fans still love him, and he will be back! - Orlando Sentinel.

In addition to my family, the person I am most grateful to is Roger, because Roger gave me the most precious gift in the world: free but sincere encouragement! He is the greatest player in the world in my mind, no one else! ——Amar'e Stoudemire gave his MVP acceptance speech

The Next High School Genius!? Will Amar'e Stoudemire, who played only two full seasons in high school, enter the lottery? - Sports Illustrated.

New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets: Who will be lucky enough to land Yao Ming? - The New York Times

If I get the first pick, I will choose Jay Williams or Caron Butler. Look at what happened to Sean Bradley now. Only a fool would choose Yao Ming. You can't expect China to have two players like Roger! ——Charles Barkley gave advice on the show.

After the league's board of directors voted, Russian Mikhail Prokhorov completed the acquisition of the Golden State Warriors. It is reported that he promised to build a new modern stadium for the Warriors in downtown San Francisco at his own expense, and thus won the support of most people. The San Francisco City Government expressed great welcome to this. - San Francisco Chronicle.

I say, put everything else aside and focus, we are about to witness the most intense and bloody Eastern Conference Finals since Jordan and Roger! - Atlanta Military Police.

(End of this chapter)