Champions Creed

Chapter 306 Chapter 305: They can only pray to God (please give me a monthly ticket!)

In the first round of this year's playoffs, the Hawks did not have any flaws like they did last season.

With a clean 3-0, Roger swept Ray Allen's Bucks for the third time in his career.

Sometimes, Roger feels that some things are really destined.

If everything had gone according to the original timeline, the Bucks would not have made the playoffs this year.

As a result, because Ron Artest was traded to the Pistons instead of the Pacers, the Pacers' strength plummeted and a playoff spot was vacated.

The vacant spot was just taken by the Bucks, and then the Bucks happened to meet the Eagles again.

And Roger happens to be one of Ray Allen's least favorite players.

Ray Allen didn't know why God had to arrange for him to go through such suffering and humiliation. He hated Roger, he had hated Roger for a long time, he hated the way Roger always acted superior.

But every time he fought with Roger, he could only watch Roger continue to be arrogant in front of him and was powerless to do anything.

That’s not all. Every time after losing to Roger, Ray Allen would inevitably be insulted by that old bastard George Karl.

Of course, Ray Allen's suffering has nothing to do with Roger.

He is only responsible for destroying the opponents that stand in his way, and he will not look back at the destroyed places.

The journey to a championship always involves bloodshed, and the Milwaukee Bucks just happened to be unlucky enough to stand in the way of the Hawks.

In the second round, it was Reebok’s favorite drama, Roger VS Allen Iverson.

To be honest, Roger was surprised to see AI in the second round.

What on earth did Tracy McGrady do that made him unable to beat the already declining Philadelphia 76ers? This was his best chance to break the first-round curse.

The recent situation of the Philadelphia 76ers is indeed not good. After the 76ers and the Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, AI's personal reputation reached its peak, and Philadelphia fans also believed that the team was not far from the finals.

Then last summer, AI finally married his high school girlfriend.

He achieved success and married the woman he loved most. That was the happiest time in AI's chaotic life.

But sometimes, the trough always comes unexpectedly after the peak.

In the summer of 2001, the Philadelphia 76ers had nothing to gain in the free agent market and could only sign Derrick Coleman, who was already 34 years old. Although AI was still young, the Philadelphia 76ers were actually a very old team. Signing Coleman made the team even older, which was a very fatal step.

In the regular season, these old guys were very lazy, and their desires seemed to age along with their bodies. The fans begged for victory like a begging wife, but they received no response from the old men.

The young AI is full of desire, but his body is not made of iron after all.

The injuries all over his body are still getting worse. AI's willpower can suppress the pain, but it cannot make it disappear. Injuries have plagued AI from beginning to end this season.

The opening of the joint defense was the last straw that broke the camel's back for AI.

Perhaps David Stern's original intention of opening the zone defense was to limit Shark or Roger, but under the wheel of the times, the big guys are often still able to stay out of trouble, and it is the "ordinary people" like AI who are ruthlessly crushed.

In the man-to-man marking era, once the AI ​​receives the ball, the defense can only leave it to fate.

But in the era of zone defense, all teams can deploy three or four people to guard the penalty area in advance to block AI's penetration route.

Once Iverson receives the ball this season, he has only two options - one against three or one against four.

Of course, with AI's breakthrough ability, he can completely use breakthrough passes to attack the opponent's double-team defense.

But in the Philadelphia 76ers, can you find a reliable shooter? AI can pass the ball, but his teammates can't make the shot.

Larry Brown's one-star and four-guard deformed lineup could still work in the man-to-man defense era, but after the zone defense was opened, the 76ers became a remnant of the times, and their basketball seemed extremely outdated.

The aging lineup and outdated strategies have made the entire 76ers lifeless after reaching their peak last season.

So this year, the 76ers' regular season record was not good, and they played the Magic to a game five in the first round.

But McGrady is McGrady after all, he can always stay in the first round in ways you can't imagine.

When the situation was going well, McGrady managed to help AI advance to the semifinals with a 9-of-1 performance in the last quarter of the Game .

Roger has more respect for McGrady. Not everyone can stay in the first round every year based on their strength.

It’s not easy to lose to the already down-and-out Philadelphia 76ers in the playoffs!

The 76ers' advancement brought some comfort to Philadelphia fans, but the Eagles completely ended the fantasy of Philadelphia fans. Roger led the team to a clean 4-0 victory over the 76ers.

And in four games, the 76ers were unable to narrow the point difference to single digits in any one game.

The 76ers' defense is indeed strong, but their own offense is too weak.

Iverson can score 30 points per game, but his shooting percentage is only 38% under the double-team defense rules. Such efficiency is simply not enough to support victory in the game.

After seven games, the Atlanta Hawks left only endless darkness for the Eastern Conference.

After the fourth battle, the AI ​​didn't know what to say.

Roger was still at the top of his game, but his team was already in decline.

This guy who had been to the finals since 1993 still dominated the Eastern Conference in 2002, and his dominance was so unbreakable.

In the past nine years, there has been no round of the Eastern Conference Finals without Roger.

Although Bill Russell had achieved the feat of reaching the conference finals for 13 consecutive years, Roger's achievements were obviously more terrifying in his era.

Roger has caused tons of damage to the Bucks and 76ers, but he said in a post-game interview: "I think the playoffs have just begun, and we are just finishing the warm-up. No one will regard dominating the East as an honor unless he has too few championships to show for it."

Roger was not excited enough because from the beginning to the end, he only had one opponent in his mind.

Currently, the Detroit Pistons are tied 3-1 with the New Jersey Nets.

Jason Kidd is on the verge of being eliminated.

No one expected Kidd to win. Although the Nets were third in the Eastern Conference, their record wouldn't even rank in the top four in the Western Conference.

Even New Jersey fans know that the Nets are not a championship-contending team at all.

As expected, in the fifth game of the series, the Detroit Pistons defeated the Nets by 21 points.

The Nets' final score didn't even reach 70, they only scored 69 points.

All this is because Jason Kidd put up some rather bizarre stats in the life-and-death game - 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 0 points!
As the Nets' star player, Jason Kidd was limited to 8 of 0 shots, unable to create any damage, without a single free throw and scoring any points.

If you think Tracy McGrady's performance in the fourth quarter of Game 5 of the first round was outrageous enough, then take a look at Jason Kidd. Only after watching him can you understand the full meaning of the NBA slogan "where amazing happens".

69 to 90, the New Jersey Nets were defeated, and the Pistons reached the Eastern Conference Finals again after 1991 years since 11!
Detroit Pistons fans also felt that it was fate that they met the god of that time in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1991.

In 2002, another god was waiting for them in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Of course, the Pistons' hatred never changed.

The 1991 Detroit Pistons hated the Bulls, and the 2002 Detroit Pistons hated the Hawks.

When the Pistons advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals, Pistons player Rasheed Wallace did not celebrate the victory, but yelled to the camera: "We can finally skin Roger!"

The Pistons and Hawks have been at loggerheads ever since the brawl at Philips Arena.

This is not just the Eastern Conference Finals, it's also a personal vendetta.

The Detroiters caused trouble for the Hawks on the first day they came to Atlanta. In this game, their zone defense was very determined. They would rather give some space on the outside than shrink the core area.

This gave the Hawks a lot of outside shooting opportunities, but the Hawks had a very bad touch today.

Apart from Paul Pierce, there is no other player whose three-point shooting percentage is above 30%.

Even Roger couldn't do it. The Pistons' rough physical confrontation had a huge impact on Roger.

And the Pistons have a new strategy to deal with the V-shaped pick-and-roll.

In the regular season, when dealing with V-shaped pick-and-rolls, both Wallaces were used.

But now, to deal with the V-shaped pick-and-roll, usually only Big Ben will be on the field, while Roaring God will guard under the basket to prevent breakthroughs.

He will block Roger's first breakthrough with the pick-and-roll. If Roger passes the ball, Ben will use his mobility to make up for the inside shot after the pick-and-roll.

If you cut inside after a pick-and-roll, you will have to face Rasheed Wallace's rim protection.

The key to all this is Ben, who has to defend two points at the same time when facing the V-shaped pick-and-roll, Roger as the ball holder and the potential shooting point. This is very difficult to execute, but Ben's value as the DPOY last season is fully reflected.

Faced with this defensive strategy that requires taking two points into consideration at the same time, Big Ben executed it perfectly. The efficiency of the Hawks' V-shaped pick-and-roll was not very high today.

The V-shaped pick-and-roll was the Hawks' killer move against the Pistons during the regular season. But it didn't work tonight, and the Hawks' three-point shooting was still so bad, so the Pistons won Game 86 of the Eastern Conference Finals 83-.

Judging from the score, this was an Eastern Conference Finals that couldn't be more typical.

Teeth-gripping defense, rough confrontation, and low shooting percentage.

除了罗杰轰下34分，老鹰其他人累计57中16，包括保罗.皮尔斯也只有17中6。

The solid protection of the two Wallaces and the meat grinder stranglehold on the perimeter forced the Atlanta Hawks to play ugly.

Although everyone already knew that the Pistons were strong, the result of the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals still made Atlanta fans a little panicked.

So far this season, the Pistons are the only opponent that the Hawks have not been able to easily beat.

In the regular season, the two teams were tied at 2-2. Of the two games the Hawks won, one was interrupted by a fight, and the other was won by just 6 points.

Now they have lost the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals again. This is the first time, and Hawks fans can't feel at ease.

Because in the five games against the Pistons, the Hawks did not show strength that was completely stronger than the opponent.

However, Atlanta's savior is never absent when the team needs it.

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals was still a meat grinder-like battle. Although the Hawks were suffocated in the last game, Roger's performance was still outstanding.

But today even Roger couldn't hold on. With 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Roger's shooting percentage was just 40%, and the Pistons were trailing by 3 points.

With just 11 seconds left, the Detroit Pistons were leading the Hawks 2-0.

Even so, Rick Carlisle was a little nervous.

So he had his players commit a tactical foul on Kurt Thomas the moment the Hawks served the ball, sending him to the free throw line.

Carlisle had his considerations. Kurt Thomas was not in good form today and his free throws were unstable. He might miss two free throws or make one of two. Even if he made two free throws, the Hawks would still be one point behind.

The most crucial point is that he was afraid that Roger would score the tying goal.

When Rick Carlisle was an assistant coach for Larry Bird, he witnessed how Roger slaughtered the most promising Indiana Pacers team.

If there is any superstar in this world who can solve all difficulties alone, it must be Roger.

But the Pistons players refused this request. A tactical foul when leading? This seemed like a cowardly avoidance.

They were confident that they could defend against the Hawks' offense in the final 11 seconds.

Even the team leader Ben Wallace thought so: "We'll get it done, Rick."

Of course, the Pistons' players didn't just refuse to execute this strategy out of confidence.

If Kurt Thomas made one of two free throws, the Hawks would still have a chance to foul Ben Wallace.

The probability of Ben missing both free throws is very high, so the Hawks may be able to kill the game with a three-pointer at the last moment.

Even if the Hawks made a three-pointer next, they would only tie the game. But if the Hawks could use foul tactics in return, they would have a chance to kill the game directly.

At critical moments, the Pistons' free throws were more vulnerable than the Hawks'.

They would rather defend the next one, which is safer.

When the game started, people saw Jeff Hornacek, who had hardly taken advantage of the opportunity before, was substituted in.

Rick Carlisle frowned. Will he be an unexpected finisher?

No, he was responsible for feeding the ball to Roger steadily.

This time Roger played without the ball. He ran back and got to the three-point line with Olajuwon's screen, received a well-timed pass, and then made a long shot under Hamilton's help defense.

Rick Carlisle was shocked, Roger made a three-pointer!

After the ball went in, the entire Philips Arena was shaking.

Steve Jones, who was in charge of the commentary, shouted until his throat was hoarse: "Roger has been doing this in the Eastern Conference Finals since 1994! Do you remember how Roger repeatedly blocked the New York Knicks at critical moments? Now it is 2002. When Roger slaughtered the Knicks, most of the Pistons players had not yet entered the league. Time flies, opponents have changed one after another, but Roger's control has not dissipated!"

After scoring the goal, Roger looked at the entire Pistons team and calmly held out his hand: "Don't be so quick to laugh at the bastards, everything is under control. Big Ben, I allow you to laugh, but the bastards don't include you."

Of course, Big Ben certainly couldn't laugh. His expression was even sadder than when his family didn't let him hand in his homework.

It’s no use calling the police if you are not allowed to hand in your homework. The police cannot force you to do this.

And it's no use regretting Roger's equalizer, because even if you change your strategy, he might still kill you again.

All very helpless!
This goal dealt a heavy blow to the Pistons' morale. In addition, in the overtime period, Dream's mid-range shooting was in great form. With Ben Ben's repeated desperate interference, he made 4 of 3 shots and scored 6 points. In the end, the Hawks won G2 in overtime, and the total score of the series was tied at 1:1.

At the end of the game, Roger left the field to the cheers of all Atlanta fans.

His tying three-pointer, his performance of 6 points, 3 assists and 0 turnovers in overtime, and his total of 38 points and 14 assists are all worthy of praise from the fans.

In the player tunnel, Michael Gillen cheered and wanted to hug Roger.

"Hahahaha, a perfect victory. I almost kneel down on my knees for you!" He ran towards Roger excitedly.

But Roger didn't even look at him. Instead, he pushed him away with one hand with disgust and walked forward on his own.

Roger has already cut ties with the shareholder team. He has long said that he plays for his career and fans and does not want to have anything to do with the shareholder team.

This is a victory shared by him and his teammates.

It is a common victory for him and the Atlanta fans.

But it is not a joint victory for him and his shareholder team.

If it’s not a shared victory, why celebrate together?

The days when the shareholder team picks up Roger's leftovers have officially entered the countdown stage.

Paul Pierce deliberately patted Michael Gillen on the shoulder when he passed by him and said, "Don't waste your energy, man. It's useless even if you hold a shareholders' meeting and kneel down to him."

"What about you, Paul?"

"Me? I'm not God, you don't have to kneel down to me. But if there is no God, do you think Jerusalem can still be called a holy place? Do you think people will still yearn for this place so much?"

One night, Michael Gillen and Rick Carlisle both felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

Michael Gillen had no place to vent his anger, he could only pray to God, praying that Roger would choose to stay with the team because of his feelings for this city.

Rick Carlisle was furious on the team bus: "I told you, I told you to foul! Damn it! We are ruined, we should have won this game!"

The whole team was silenced by the roar. Ben stood up as the team leader and answered in an unquestionable voice: "Go back to the front row of the bus, Rick. The Eagles can never win in Detroit again. We can all guarantee you that."

"That's right!" Artest waved his fist.

"Those bastards have no chance. We will get the match point when the game comes back!" Rasheed Wallace was also encouraged.

"Damn it, if it weren't for the Dream's last-gasp performance in overtime, Roger would have already lost! This kind of thing will never happen again in Detroit!" Richard Hamilton also yelled.

Seeing the team recover from the overtime loss, Rick Carlisle didn't want to disrupt the locker room, and didn't want to conflict with the team leader. So he tried to calm down, stopped yelling, and returned to the front row of the bus.

The bus started and the entire Pistons team headed back to the hotel, returning to Detroit the next day to prepare to regroup at home.

Carlisle sat in the front row, clenching his fists.

He really wanted to answer Da Ben just now:
"You can't waste any opportunity to stab Roger to death. It may become a regret for your whole life."

Can they make up for this lifelong regret in Detroit?

Carlisle could only pray to God and hope for a response.

Well, when the only way they could deal with Roger was to pray to God, it was enough to show that they were completely unable to do anything.

The king will firmly secure his rule.

Until he left on his own initiative.

(End of this chapter)