Champions Creed

Chapter 32: No match for Roger! Truth or the clown?

Although the incident in which Roger beat Pippen in the locker room of the Beto Center attracted a lot of media attention, it did not cause any serious adverse effects.

It won't be like Green KO Poole, which directly leads to Green being banned.

After all, fighting between teammates happened almost every day in the 90s when everyone was kind and civilized.

The only special thing about this incident is that the person who was beaten was not a rookie but a veteran.

Although the incident did not cause any bad effects, Roger's image in the public eye changed.

Before this, people only knew that Roger had a strong competitive spirit and high morale, but they didn't expect that he was also good at fighting.

You wouldn't have guessed it, but this Asian guy is actually quite a tough guy.

Compared to Penny, who brought gifts for each teammate on the first day of joining the team and always had a charming smile, Roger was simply a villain.

Stern naturally prefers Penny, but SportsCenter host John Anderson expressed this view on the show:
"Because Roger is a villain, I think he is more like MJ than Anfernee. A tyrant wearing a Chicago red jersey? Well, I am more and more looking forward to his performance in the game!"

Anderson was right. Even people on the Bulls felt that Roger was very similar to MJ.

Not only is he like MJ in taming Pippen, but even his training spirit is very similar.

After training every day, Roger would stay behind to practice his shooting from interference and finishing in confrontations in various positions, without fail.

As the leader of the team, Pippen naturally didn't want to admit defeat. Although he was beaten last time, he felt that he still had room for redemption.

Jordan was also one of the most diligent players in the team. He was able to convince others because he did it himself. As early as the North Carolina period, Jordan believed that practicing hard = playing time + respect from teammates.

Pippen planned to do the same.

So he practiced with Roger every day, wanting to let the whole team see his determination.

But after just one week, Pippen couldn't hold it anymore: "Rookie, you don't have to practice like this every day!"

Roger scratched his head and said, "Scott, if I remember correctly, you were the one who said in front of the media that you should be strict with rookies like us because the Bulls are a championship team. So, I was just a little strict with myself."

Pippen almost called Roger "brother" and said, "It's inhumane to be so strict. I won't allow you to practice like this in the future! I'm kindly reminding you as a person who has experienced this that playing basketball requires a combination of work and rest!"

What he actually thought was: "If you don't go home, I want to go home!"

Following the method of establishing authority through a one-on-one fight and the method of establishing authority through a slap in the face.

Pippen's training to establish his authority also failed!
At this point, Pippen only had one last trick left.

This was his trump card, with which he once made Jordan feel ashamed and won respect.

The next day, during the training break, many players ran to the toilet to relieve the burden on their bodies.

When they saw Pippen come in, everyone suddenly became a little nervous and didn't dare to look him in the eye, for fear that he would run next to them to pee.

Pippen held his head high, walked over to Roger, and confidently took off his pants.

There is a legend in the Chicago Bulls: Michael Jordan had never been defeated by anyone in his life until that afternoon when he and Pippen peed next to each other.

Pippen is very confident. This time, he will give this rookie a huge shock. I just want to ask you whether you are convinced by me or not!
But after taking a glance at Roger beside him, Pippen used his invincible lateral speed to instantly create a distance of three urinals between him and Roger!
The legend of the Chicago Bulls can be updated from now on: Scott Pippen had never been subservient to anyone except Jordan in his life, until that afternoon when he glanced at Roger.

Pippen's secret weapon of using a stick to show his authority still failed!

He really didn't expect that he would fail so badly in this traditionally advantageous event!
Roger's good friend in high school, Andy Li, was indeed not lying. As the top long swordsman in Brock High School, if Roger had not been gifted and entered the NBA at the age of 18, he would have gone to the more intense Sacred Valley to support his family.

How to compare with Pippen?
Finally, after all the stick-holding methods failed, Pippen gave up.

He admitted that he had no chance of winning over Roger.

What else can he do? Use his honors to suppress newcomers like Jordan did?
Yes, those old photos hanging in the corridors of the Beto Center and those championship banners hanging in the training hall were once Pippen’s glory.

But if Pippen also used Jordan's "look around" rhetoric, it would seem untenable.

Since he couldn't conquer Roger, he didn't conquer him. Since then, Pippen no longer picked on Roger, but instead found great satisfaction in Kukoc.

It’s a pity that the whole team now knows that Scott can’t handle Roger.

This was undoubtedly a devastating blow to his prestige in the locker room.

However, Roger's prestige in the locker room skyrocketed like a rocket.

The class division in NBA teams is very subtle. After seeing Roger beat Pippen in one-on-one, boxing and stick fighting, even Cartwright never asked Roger to help buy water again.

Everyone knows that this rookie is not someone that everyone can control, so it's best not to mess with him.

This is the tragedy of Pippen. He is unwilling to be a supporting role, but also not capable enough to be the protagonist.

Later when he went to the Trail Blazers, few of the young people respected him.

It's just a pity for Kukoc. Things like buying water, carrying shoes and bags have become exclusive to this European magician.

After Roger's position was stabilized, the days of training camp passed one by one and the preseason games soon arrived.

In the preseason, the Zen Master tried to integrate Roger and Kukoc into the triangle offense.

The results were encouraging. When Toni Kukoc and Roger played at the same time, they played like fish in water.

Kukoc can coordinate in the high post. The European magician's passing is indeed talented and he understands the triangle offense very quickly.

Roger's off-ball offense is also very smart. The Zen Master discovered that Roger is not only a one-on-one master, but also a master in everything related to scoring.

Because of their outstanding performance, Roger and Kukoc both got a lot of playing time in the preseason, and both of them put up some pretty impressive numbers.

After five preseason games, Kukoc averaged 13.4 points, 5.7 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. The all-around attributes of this European magician made Chicago people crazy.

But the most dazzling one is Roger, who averaged 21.6 points per game and shot 48%. His data is not as exaggerated as in high school, but it turns out that Roger is still an excellent scorer even if he crosses over to the NBA.

When Webber didn't realize that dribbling randomly in the NBA with his height would be a complete disaster.

When Hardaway still didn't understand why his mid-range and long-range shots suddenly became unreliable under NBA defense.

When Bradley still didn't understand why NBA inside players were like animals.

As a high school student, Roger adapted faster than these college players!
So, before the regular season started, Pippen's least favorite thing happened.

After Roger, a rookie, became MJ, he became the focus of the entire Chicago!
From all aspects, Roger is the true successor of Jordan. Anfernee? He should first learn how to shoot the ball steadily into the basket in a fierce confrontation. ——Chicago Sun-Times

Believe it or not, the person who has adapted to the NBA pace the fastest is Roger, who skipped college. He is a super talent! - Chicago Tribune

The guy who fixed Pippen in his first week will now fix other teams. --The New York Times

I am not sure whether Roger will start in the first game, he is too young and he still needs to adapt. But I can confirm that Roger will be a key player. - Phil Jackson told reporters at a press conference.

I think Roger will be the best rookie of the season, because when others start to adapt to the NBA, they will find themselves far behind Roger. -- NBC commentator Steve Jones commented on Roger on the show.

It wasn't just Pippen who was overshadowed by Roger, but all the rookies in 93.

Because of his outstanding performance in the preseason and the aura of "Jordan's successor", Roger is currently attracting a lot of attention.

However, such huge attention is also a double-edged sword with great risks.

You can become the focus of the world, but the price is that the world will be extremely harsh to you from then on.

With such attention, if Roger plays well in the regular season, the fans will chase him even more crazily.

But if his performance in official competitions is even slightly inferior to that of his peers, he will be mercilessly ridiculed.

Truth or clown?
The entire NBA can't wait.

(End of this chapter)