Champions Creed

Chapter 33: Tell them quickly, don’t give in to me!
After the first game of the new season, the Sharks almost smashed the locker room.

Last season, the Orlando Magic and the Indiana Pacers both had 41 wins, but because the Magic lost the key positioning battle with the Pacers, they still fell out of the playoffs even though their record was the same as the Pacers.

The hottest topic at the time was: "If Anderson is replaced by Roger, can the Magic make the playoffs?"

O'Neal has been holding his breath, hoping to avenge his previous defeat this season.

As a result, the Magic lost again in today's opening game against their old rival, the Pacers.

O'Neal scored 49 points and 11 rebounds, showing his dominance as a superstar in the first game of the new season.

It is worth mentioning that the Sharks made 18 of 15 free throws, which were criticized, today, with a hit rate of 83.3%.

So why did the team lose?

You can find the answer in Chris Webber.

15分8个篮板4次助攻，但有5次失误。其中2次失误，发生在比赛最后两分钟。

In the tense situation, Webber seemed to have a blank mind for a moment. He passed the ball to the bench once, and then made a fancy cross-leg dribble and bumped into someone like a headless fly and lost the ball.

Before Chris Paul, Webber was the man who "never disappoints when it comes to failing."

He inexplicably fails at critical moments, which is a problem Weber has had since college.

Let’s go back to April 1993, 4, when the University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina reached the final of the NCAA tournament to compete for the national championship.

In the last 20 seconds of the game, North Carolina made one of two free throws, and Webber grabbed his 11th rebound of the game. At that time, the University of Michigan was trailing North Carolina by 71 points at 73 to 2, and it was already a life-and-death moment.

But at this critical moment, after grabbing the rebound, Webber seemed to be suddenly dumbfounded. He stood there for a long time, not knowing who to pass the ball to, and almost made a traveling mistake.

In the end, he couldn't find the passer, so he dribbled the ball across half court in a hurry and ran into North Carolina's encirclement.

Under the double-team of North Carolina, Webber was like a frightened deer. He was completely at a loss and could only subconsciously call a timeout.

This was an extremely stupid decision, because Michigan had already used their last timeout about two minutes ago. So Webber called another timeout and was called for a technical foul. In this tense moment, he took the initiative to send his opponent to the free throw line.

In the end, North Carolina did not show any mercy and made two free throws to secure the victory and take the championship.

Webber's outrageous move was called "the stupidest moment in basketball history" by fans and the media.

Is Webber stupid? No, he has a high basketball IQ.

But when it comes to the critical moment, his mind goes blank, his legs go weak, and he can't get hard.

The same was true today. In addition to two turnovers at the critical moment, Webber missed three of the four free throws in those two minutes. Webber, who is known for his accurate mid-range and long-range shooting, only had a 25% free throw rate today!

I thought O'Neal's free throws were invincible, but I didn't expect there was someone even braver than him.

The Sharks, who were originally determined to take revenge, played at their best, but the team lost the game in the final moments, just like last year, because of missed free throws.

Last year it was Anderson, this year it’s Webber again.

O'Neal was really furious. If I was guilty, I would rather stand trial than be tortured by these two bastards who couldn't make free throws at crucial moments!

At the same time, Shark couldn't help but think that if it was Roger fighting alongside him today, the Pacers would have been finished long ago!
After changing his clothes, Shark met the team's general manager Pat Williams in the player tunnel.

Williams could see that Shaq was in a bad mood, so he took the initiative: "You were the best player tonight, Shaq."

"And Chris Webber is the worst player! I told you Pat, I told you so!"

"Don't be mad at Shaq, give him some time, it's only his first game."

Shark snorted, "Roger will soon tell us that this is no excuse."

After saying that, O'Neal hurriedly got into the car and prepared to go home.

He was going to watch Roger's NBA debut.

The Charlotte Arena was packed today. Although Jordan was gone, Hornets fans were still very interested in the Bulls.

To be precise, I am very interested in the art of butchering an ox.

When Jordan was there, the entire league was overwhelmed by that guy. Now that the Bulls are without Jordan, shouldn't they pay back double?

Scott Pippen also knew this, so he wanted to send a signal to the entire league in the first game of the new season: "We still have blood on our horns!"

Before the game started, Pippen called the starting players together and shouted passionately: "Let's take back that damn respect!"

Then, just three minutes into the game, Pippen went 4-for-0, completely destroying the passionate atmosphere.

On the bench, Roger couldn't help shaking his head. He even felt a little sympathetic towards Pippen, who was always aggrieved and tearful.

However, this 4-for-0 performance cannot be entirely blamed on Pippen's poor performance.

What is the current level of the Bulls' starting lineup? Steve Kerr, Pete Meyers, Pippen, AC Green and Cartwright.

Only Pippen and Cartwright were left in the starting lineup last season.

The team's coordination is not harmonious enough, and the most important thing is that this year the Bulls' No. 2 player is Pete Meyers, not Jordan.

Even in Serie A last year, Meyers' performance could not be compared with Jordan in the NBA.

This allowed the Hornets to unscrupulously pile their defensive resources on Pippen.

In the past, because Jordan helped to contain the defense, Pippen often got some easy scoring opportunities on the court.

But now, when Pippen has to face the opponent's tight defense alone as a core, it is no longer so easy for him to score.

Every time Pippen attacked, he had to fight with the strong old lady outside the three-point line first, and he also had to be careful of the double-team of Hornets starting shooting guard Hersey Hawkins at any time.

When he successfully broke through, he still had to deal with the even more terrifying guy under the Hornets' basket.

It's not just Roger who needs to slowly adapt to the new season, Pippen also needs some time to adapt to such defensive intensity.

Watching his team being beaten by the opponent, Kukoc on the bench kept shaking his head.

Last season, the Hornets were just a first-round team, but today they crushed the defending champions.

However, in Kukoc's view, the team had a way to solve this problem:
"Rob, it's fine if I can't start, but I don't know why you're sitting on the bench with me. If this continues, Scott will mess everything up."

Roger was not in a hurry: "Phil has his plans."

The Zen Master did have an arrangement. He tried it in the preseason. The triangle offense with Roger and Kukoc as the core was very powerful. But there was a problem - neither of them was good at defense.

Therefore, the Zen Master did not dare to push Roger and Kukoc into the starting lineup right away. Even if these two people had to play at the same time, he did not dare to use them for too long.

The Zen Master still wants to stabilize the defense first.

But as it stands now, the Zen Master has failed.

The team's defense is indeed quite good, but the offense is extremely bad.

He realized that at least one of Roger and Kukoc had to be on the court for the Bulls' offense to not stagnate.

In addition, the Zen Master wanted Roger and Kukoc to get used to the atmosphere of NBA games on the sidelines first. If they started directly, he was worried that the two newcomers would lose their form because of being too nervous.

Especially Roger, he is always too young.

After five minutes of play, the Zen Master called a timeout.

it's time.

At this time, the Bulls were trailing by 7 points and Pippen only scored 2 points from free throws.

Larry Johnson looked at Pippen triumphantly: "We are going to chop off the bull's head!"

Pippen sat back on the bench angrily and punched the back of the bench hard.

He thought this season would be very difficult, but he didn't expect that he couldn't even beat a garbage team like the Hornets!

Pippen was very impatient now, but the Zen Master stood up calmly and walked to Roger: "Replace Pete. You only have one task after you come on the court, seize those damn scoring opportunities!"

After the timeout, fans in front of the TV became excited when they saw Roger taking off his training clothes and running onto the court.

After waiting for so long, I finally got to see this much-anticipated high school rookie.

NBC commentator Mike Fratello immediately picked up Roger's information:
"Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you have been waiting for has finally arrived. At 18 years and 65 days old, this super talent from Louisiana has become the youngest player ever to enter the NBA. Let's see if he can get the Bulls out of their slump."

Pippen glanced at Roger who was on the court and bit his lip.

He originally wanted to consolidate his leadership position with his outstanding performance on the field, but he didn't expect that he could play so smoothly.

In the end, they had to rely on replacing a rookie to solve the offensive problem.

Roger tucked his red No. 14 jersey into his pants under the spotlight: "Scott, it was a tough night."

"Rookie, the first lesson I'm going to teach you now is that it's best to shut up and play seriously, because your opponent won't give in to you like I do." Pippen responded impatiently.

"Oh yes, yes, thank you for letting me go before, Scott."

The game resumed, and Pippen was double-teamed as usual after receiving the ball outside the three-point line. Big Mom and Hersey Hawkins knew very well that the current Bulls would no longer be a threat as long as they double-teamed Pippen.

Pippen reluctantly passed the ball to Roger who was left open. He wanted to prove that he could lead the team out of trouble without Roger's help, but he was trapped and had no space at all.

As an organizing forward, Pippen is very good at passing the ball in double teams. And the triangle offense has very particular positions. If you are too close, you will be easily double-teamed. If you are too far away, you will easily make mistakes. So the triangle position is just the right distance.

The excellent pass and the right positioning allowed Roger to get the ball comfortably and shoot directly.

He raised the basketball outside the three-point line and was about to shoot, and the All-Star guard Hawkins immediately rushed towards Roger.

Hawkins deliberately rushed forward very aggressively, hoping to use this defensive momentum to intimidate Roger.

A high school student sees an NBA All-Star guard rushing towards him, and either doesn't dare to shoot, or shoots hastily and misses the shot.

Hawkins recalled that he was extremely nervous when he first played in the NCAA at the age of 18, let alone playing in the NBA.

But Roger gave him a third answer - fake a shot and then dribble calmly past the All-Star guard.

Hawkins rushed forward too hard and couldn't retreat immediately to bite Roger. Roger dribbled the ball straight into the penalty area, and countless fans in front of the TV stood up excitedly.

Pippen cursed inwardly when he saw Roger didn't shoot a three-pointer or a quick jump shot, but chose to attack the basket.

This idiot, does he really think Mourning is as soft as the old centers on our team?

Like Laettner, Mourning had a bad impression of Roger because of his previous comments about O'Neal. Moreover, this rookie actually dared to challenge the restricted area directly, which was really desperate.

Mourning wouldn't mind giving Roger a "Welcome to the NBA" ceremony.

Mourning saw the right moment and jumped towards Roger.

But in the air, Roger curled up his body and avoided the blockade.

If this happened in the 21st century, Roger would have scored a beautiful pull-up goal.

But it was different in the 90s. If a rookie dared to challenge the inside line like this, the inside players would never let the opponent succeed easily even if they committed a foul. Even if they committed a foul, they would warn the opponent: "This road is blocked!"

Mourning is a big fan of this rough defense. He likes to use rough confrontation to scare others. Seeing that he couldn't block Roger, he pulled Roger's shoulder with his hand.

Roger's body leaned back in the air, and Pippen shook his head. I told you, others won't let you go.

I have been unable to break through the defense for a long time, do you think you can easily deal with it?
But in the state of being completely weightless, Roger lifted the ball from bottom to top towards the backboard. In front of Mourning's astonished eyes, this seemingly casually thrown ball hit the backboard and went into the net. It didn't seem to matter to him whether he lost his center of gravity or not, he could finish it!
This was the first time the NBA saw Roger's magical fingertip layup.

NBC commentator Fratello excitedly grabbed his partner Joel Meyers and said, "Did you see that? Damn it! Alonzo Mourning, who averaged 3.5 blocks per game last season, committed a foul but still couldn't stop 18-year-old Roger! He easily opened a hole in the Hornets' defense!"

The highly anticipated Roger satisfied the fans' fantasy of him with his first attack.

This high school genius is truly talented. And he is also a really tough guy!
It's rare to find a rookie guard who dares to go straight to the basket on the first possession.

At this time, Cole and AC Green walked over and pulled Roger up.

After Roger stood up, he spread his hands away from Pippen with a smile: "Scott, tell them quickly, don't let me go."

Mourning immediately understood why Pippen had to fight with the kid in the locker room.

After being excited, Fratello in the commentary booth also made a joke:

"The tight defense that Scott had been unable to break through for a long time was broken by 18-year-old Roger in one go. What else can I say? Scott is simply the best assistant in history. On the first day of the new season, he set the stage for Chicago's new MJ. Don't blink from now on, I heard that this high school rookie has many more ways to score."

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Thanks to Warrior Bingnuan, Book Friends 20220822112916871, TangEr and other big guys for their rewards, thank you all! The new book period 4K chapters are presented, and the conscientious Laohe begs for follow-up reading, monthly tickets, and rewards, thank you!

(End of this chapter)