Champions Creed

Chapter 330 Chapter 329: Are we finished? We are just getting started! (Please give me a monthly ticket!)
The trade for Marcus Camby has finally come to fruition. The Seattle SuperSonics are willing to trade Ukrainian center Vitali Potapenko and Serbian forward Vladimir Radmanovic for Camby.

Vladimir Radmanovic's role is too similar to that of Rashard Lewis. Both are space-type power forwards, which are rare in this era. The Supersonics no longer need them.

Although Vitaly Potapenko's statistics are mediocre, he is at least a tough inside player, and the Warriors can still use him. At worst, he can take a few fouls against Shaq and Duncan.

Bob Bass is still struggling over whether to make the deal. To be honest, he doesn't think either of these two chips are good.

But at least it's more sincere than scraps and second-round draft picks.

The huge obstacles encountered in the trade made Marcus Camby take the initiative to break the barriers. At noon on the day of the game against the Pacers, Camby found Roger and said: "I hope you can let me return to the roster and let me perform well, so that there will be teams willing to trade me. I won't cause you any trouble. I only need to play for more than ten minutes in each game. All this is just to make it easier for me to be traded."

After listening to this, Roger looked at Marcus Camby with disgust in his eyes: "Are you playing basketball to get yourself traded faster? Go away, Marcus, don't talk to me."

"Roger, I have no problem with you. Even though you kicked me, I never bothered you, and I never said anything to the media. I just don't want to play in the Bay Area anymore, that's all. There's no need for you to deliberately mess with me."

"Intentionally? You have the nerve to say that in front of me? When we were fighting hard against the San Antonio Spurs, who deliberately wasted our efforts?"

"You are so funny. You blame a role player for the loss."

"Whoever wastes everyone's efforts is to blame."

The two parted unhappily. Roger didn't want to see Marcus Camby on the court again, and Marcus Camby didn't want to lower himself to face Roger again.

The matter came to nothing, and Marcus Camby decided to let nature take its course, and the trade would eventually happen.

In the afternoon, Reggie Miller and his Indiana Pacers arrived at the Oakland Arena on time.

Reggie Miller doesn't have a very deep impression of this place, and he didn't have any special feeling when he played here in the past, because the Golden State Warriors had a weak presence throughout the 90s and had very few interactions with the Pacers.

But everything changed when that man came.

Inside the Oakland Arena, Reggie Miller always feels a strong sense of mission.

And his mission is to make these cheering fans go home crying!

Reggie Miller has already won the defending champion and the Western Conference champion this season, but the Indianapolis legend didn't feel very excited when he won those games.

Because in his mind, it is useless to win against those opponents.

To really win a season, you can’t get around Roger.

For Reggie Miller, beating Roger meant more to him than beating anyone else.

He wanted the nightmare of Indianapolis and his own nightmare to be defeated once and for all, and then he could return home with the ring.

The Pacers have great hopes this year, but if they can't beat Roger, everything will be in vain.

Seeing Reggie Miller standing in a daze in the middle of the court, O'Neal threw a ball to him deliberately: "Old man, what are you thinking about?"

"When will you and Paul learn not to interrupt other people's thoughts?"

"What can you think? Don't think I don't know the dirty thoughts in your head."

Reggie Miller smiled. He was indeed thinking about dirty things in his mind. It was indeed dirty to try every means to make the home fans suffer.

"You are 38 years old. Leave it to me and Paul. This year, we will not have any more accidents. You will definitely get the ring and enjoy the cheers of the fans." Jermaine O'Neal talked to Reggie Miller while warming up.

Reggie Miller stared down at the wooden floor and rubbed it with the sole of his shoe.

I'm 38 years old now? Well, these floors look old.

"Shut up, so what if you're 38? Time is just an illusion. In fact, you exist at every moment, but your consciousness sorts them out and connects them together."

"Look, you've gotten so old you've started talking nonsense."

"I want to tell you that time is not important. What's important is that the fans in Indianapolis are thirsty, and we want to let the blood of all opponents flow into the fans' red wine glasses! You are as useless as Paul, and you only want to be a hero. Today, be a villain to your heart's content. Don't say stupid things like "I'll leave it to you". I'm going to be the first to pick up the dagger and make No. 14 bleed!"

O'Neal Jr. smiled and said that this is why he was willing to follow Reggie Miller.

Over the years, Roger has been creating brilliance, while the Pacers have had a much rougher journey, having experienced several ups and downs. But Reggie Miller's spirit has never been affected. No matter how many ups and downs he has experienced, when the team is back on track and he gets up again, he will once again challenge the god who has left him bruised and battered.

No one would dislike teaming up with Reggie Miller. Even Pierce believes that Reggie Miller and Roger are at the same level in terms of their obsession with winning.

The starting lineups of both teams took their positions. Paul Pierce hugged Roger. He was also the only Pacers player to hug a Warriors player.

"Be careful, Roger."

"You too."

Reggie Miller joined the conversation: "Roger, you should have retired in the summer of 2002, and your career would have been perfect. Now, I will tarnish your perfect career as much as I can, and I am willing to do so, and I will do it tonight."

"And you're lucky, Reggie, to have a clean career. Clean as hell without a ring. Believe me, your bastard's career will be clean to the end."

The referee was too lazy to remind the two to be careful with their words, because from 1993 to 2003, this almost became a reserved program before every encounter between Roger and Reggie Miller, which lasted for ten years. You can understand it as just a way for them to greet each other.

They always say harsh words to each other and then beat each other up during the game.

What's the most amazing thing? The most amazing thing is that Roger and Reggie Miller rarely quarrel outside of games, and they even often praise each other.

They seem like mortal enemies, but also like close friends.

But if you ask them personally, they will definitely answer: "Friend? I just want to crush his face with my big soles!"

After a brief greeting, the game began and Mutombo got the first chance to attack the ball.

The Pacers directly used Reggie Miller to defend Roger. Now Reggie Miller is not even the third offensive option in the Pacers. The top three players in the team in terms of shots are Pierce, O'Neal Jr. and sixth man Al Harrington.

Miller is now a spiritual leader + role shooter.

But because of this, he no longer needs to save his energy on the defensive end.

Reggie Miller's defense is not top-notch, but it is not bad either. He is very aggressive and very tiring.

But Roger would naturally not be stopped by Reggie Miller. He changed direction and passed Miller. You have to admit that 38 years have left a deep mark on Reggie Miller.

But as soon as he reached the mid-range position, Jermaine O'Neal immediately provided assistance and blocked Roger's breakthrough.

Reggie Miller cannot defend any superstar alone, but with the help of Jermaine O'Neal, it is another matter.

During this period, O'Neal Jr. was the foundation for the Pacers to play top-notch defense in the league.

In his prime, he was a weaker version of Kevin Garnett on defense, with the main weakness being his lack of stealing sense. Other than that, he was also able to block shots, move quickly, and cover the entire half court.

After being blocked by O'Neal, Roger passed the ball to Stoudemire who moved to the mid-range. Stoudemire fired steadily from the mid-range to give the Warriors the lead.

Roger shook his head at Reggie Miller, "Sorry Reggie, your little brother can't save you."

Reggie Miller was not upset, but smiling.

It seemed that this kind of competition made him feel happy.

One round later, O'Neal Jr. immediately returned the favor to Stoudemire.

As a master of off-ball play, Reggie Miller's offensive threat has always been underestimated.

Looking at the statistics, you will find that Reggie Miller only averaged more than 22 points per game in one season, but why does his offense always bother all teams?
In fact, just like Stephen Curry, because the off-ball threat is too great, Reggie Miller can restrain the defense even without receiving the ball, making the defense nervous at all times.

While he is holding back the defense, he will create more offensive space for his teammates.

For example, in this attack of the Pacers, Reggie Miller suddenly ran back after setting the screen, pulling away Tayshaun Prince who was about to assist in defending O'Neal, and O'Neal got the opportunity to duel with Stoudemire.

He pretended to break through facing the basket, but actually he suddenly turned his back to the basket, and then after a series of shoulder shakes, he made a small hook shot and scored the ball.

There is nothing wrong with Amar'e Stoudemire's defense; the problem is that O'Neal is too versatile.

Among the top power forwards of this period, Kevin Garnett and Stoudemire can only face the basket, while Duncan, Rasheed Wallace and others are obviously better at back-to-basket shooting.

O'Neal Jr. has achieved a balance between facing the basket and back-to-the-basket shooting. He is not the best in either facing the basket or back-to-the-basket shooting, but he is undoubtedly the best in combining the two.

After scoring the goal, O'Neal immediately helped Reggie Miller get back on track: "Sorry Roger, it's your little brother who can't save you."

2 to 2, the two sides were engaged in a fierce fight from the start of the game.

As the game progressed, the two sides kept alternating in the lead and the situation became more and more intense, just like Reggie Miller's struggle with Roger over the years.

In the third minute of the second quarter, Jermaine O'Neal was playing one-on-one against Stoudemire in the low post. The moment he turned his back and broke through, the African mountain raised his arms high to defend him.

But O'Neal Jr. still chose to attack the basket directly. He used his top-notch explosive power to jump into the air, accidentally hit the African mountain in the face with his elbow, and softly threw the ball with one hand, scoring on the rebound.

Mutombo walked to the sidelines, spat a tooth onto the ground, and continued running.

Marcus Camby shook his head. That was why he didn't want to talk to Dikembe Mutombo. The old bastard was so stupid. What was the point? What was the point?
Mutombo led the Nuggets to the only dark eight miracle in the NBA so far (the Knicks did not have a dark eight miracle in the novel), but what was the result?

When he was in Philadelphia, he was injured all over because of AI and often sat in the locker room with bandages wrapped around his body. What was the result?
You idiots, what on earth are you playing for?
However, things that Marcus Camby couldn't understand happened again and again tonight.

Two minutes later, Paul Pierce tried to single out Roger, but was intercepted by Roger.

The basketball rolled to the sidelines, Pierce and Roger collided with each other, and then both dived towards the ball, trying to save it at the last moment.

The final result was that Roger was the first to get the ball back into the court, but both Roger and Pierce's heads hit the chairs in the front row hard.

He saw Paul Pierce holding his head and grimacing in pain, and he also saw Roger lying on the ground and taking a few seconds to recover.

Then they got up again and joined the attack.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Amar'e Stoudemire dislocated his finger after falling while scrambling for the basketball.

He walked to the sidelines, and Chelsea Ryan checked the condition of his hand and asked directly: "Do you still want to play?"

Amar'e Stoudemire nodded.

"Then hold on!"

After saying that, the woman with neat short hair twisted it hard, and Stadler froze as if his whole body was electrocuted.

Then, Chelsea Ryan patted Stoudemire on the back and said, "Go ahead."

Nothing that happens on the field will be reported by the media, and the fans will not know about it.

But that's what a professional player has to deal with every night.

Tonight, everyone is competing like crazy, hoping to win.

The feud between Reggie Miller and Roger seemed to have spread to everyone on both teams.

It has to be said that the current Pacers are very difficult to deal with. Reggie Miller only had one All-Star teammate in the 90s, Dutch center Rick Smits.

Miller had more All-Star teammates in the 21st century, but he still had never worked with a top singles hitter.

When Reggie Miller used his terrifying off-ball attraction to help his teammates create space, he could only watch players of the level of Jalen Rose go one-on-one.

O'Neal? He is not a top-notch singles player, because his post-up and face-up play are not top-notch either, which is why his efficiency in the playoffs is always lower than that in the regular season. In the playoffs, when he can't use his top-notch offense to solve the defense, the Pacers will be in trouble. His value is more reflected on the defensive end.

But the addition of Paul Pierce in this timeline solved this pain point. When Reggie Miller opened up space and when O'Neal Jr. attracted the inside, the Pacers finally had a top one-on-one player to solve the problem.

The Pacers in this timeline are, overall, stronger than the Pacers of the same period!
Paul Pierce had an excellent touch today. Even with Roger's flawless defense, he frequently scored with difficult jump shots from mid-range.

Of course, Roger responded to the Pacers in the same way. With the help of Stoudemire and Alan Houston's accurate mid-range shots, the Warriors still led by 11 points when the game entered the two-minute countdown.

"It looks like the Oakland Arena will be the first place to bury the Pacers this season!" The live commentator couldn't wait to sentence the Pacers to death.

The Pacers had the ball at this time. Paul Pierce and Roger stopped the ball, and Reggie Miller ran frantically to try to provide support.

His secret collisions, speed changes, reverse runs, and screens... Reggie Miller used almost everything he had learned in his life in this round.

But Tayshaun Prince's defensive area is too large, and the Spider-Man's limbs are too long.

Fans suddenly understood one thing: if his fifth limb was also so slender, it would not be difficult to explain why he could conquer Serena Williams despite being so thin.

The 24-second offensive time was about to end, and Paul Pierce seized the opportunity to pass the ball to Reggie Miller.

But because he was too afraid of Prince's steal, Pierce passed the ball too far. Prince couldn't touch it, but Reggie Miller couldn't catch it either.

The basketball finally brushed past Reggie Miller's fingertips and flew out of bounds. Without hesitation for a second, Reggie Miller jumped over the technical table and brought the ball back into the court.

Pacers point guard Jamal Tinsley received the ball and shot directly from two steps outside the three-point line.

The backboard glowed red and the basketball went into the net.

The Indiana Pacers narrowed the gap to just 8 points!
Reggie Miller climbed up from the crowd. His lower eyelid had a big gash. Blood flowed down his cheek and into his grinning mouth: "Hey, you won't win so easily this season. Keep going!"

"It's over Reggie, you're done, and you're still down by 8 points."

Reggie Miller pushed away the team doctor who was trying to stop his bleeding and walked up to Roger: "You haven't become a champion yet, and I haven't lost yet. Are we finished? We have just started!"

Marcus Camby looked at Reggie Miller and thought about what he said.

One of them was hit so hard that all his teeth were broken.

Two heads were almost broken.

A broken finger came back.

If you don't get stitches quickly and fall behind by 8 points, what do you mean it's just the beginning?

Crazy, these people are fucking crazy!
Reggie Miller's lower eyelid needed stitches to heal, but at Miller's request, the team doctor on the scene only gave him temporary treatment and allowed Reggie Miller to return to the court after stopping the bleeding.

The game continued. When Stoudemire received the ball and prepared to shoot, O'Neal rushed over immediately. Seeing this, Stoudemire broke through the basket with the ball, facing Jeff Foster, a 211-cm white center who averaged less than 0.5 blocks per game, and jumped up to dunk.

But when Stoudemire was leaning on Foster, O'Neal, who was also very mobile, chased back to the penalty area and slapped Stoudemire's dunk away!

Jamal Tinsley, the fastest player in the league, quickly counterattacked after receiving the ball, and Roger followed behind him, pressing him step by step. So when he broke into the penalty area, he did not counterattack directly, but passed the ball to the right at a 45-degree position, and Reggie Miller happened to run there!

The 38-year-old man with gauze under his eye jumped up and attacked.

Under the gaze of all Warriors fans in the stadium, Reggie Miller made a three-pointer, narrowing the gap to 5 points!
It only took the Pacers two possessions to go from trailing by 11 points to trailing by just 5 points, and there are still 57 seconds left in the game!
Reggie Miller shouted proudly: "Are we still 8 points behind? I said, it's just the beginning, it's just the beginning!"

"Damn corn cockroaches!" Roger complained in a low voice.

However, the final 57 seconds left Pacers fans heartbroken.

First, in this attack, Roger's turnaround shot was successful despite the interference of Pierce and O'Neal Jr.

One round later, Dikembe Mutombo blocked O'Neal's hook shot and the basketball fell into Pierce's hands. He took advantage of the chaos to attack the basket directly for the second time, but was blocked by Stoudemire again.

Inside, everyone fell to the ground, and the blocked basketball was grabbed by Roger.

He didn't wait for the timeout or his teammates, he immediately dribbled the ball and counterattacked.

Reggie Miller gritted his teeth and pressed forward, but Roger made a sudden stop outside the three-point line, causing the exhausted old Miller to fly far away and completely out of position.

He was still struggling to get up, but Roger had already taken action.

"Roger chased and shot directly. Hit! The score difference was widened to 22 points in the last 8 seconds! The Pacers have indeed become better, but the GOAT is still here! As long as he is still here, Reggie Miller will not be able to achieve his wish. This is Reggie Miller's insurmountable fate!"

Reggie Miller sat on the ground, the gauze on his lower eyelid had been soaked red.

He stared at the net, fascinated.

Roger walked up to him and held out his hand: "I told you you were done, old man."

Marcus Camby felt comforted in his heart because in the end, all Reggie Miller got was humiliation from Roger.

Roger had been humiliating him for ten years.

So what is he doing this for? And what is everyone else doing this for?
Only Roger is the only winner, the sacrifices of others are not worth mentioning at all.

If you can't be Roger, why are you trying so hard?
Marcus Camby felt that his values ​​were fulfilled in front of poor Reggie Miller. Look at him, look at Reggie Miller's appearance like a lost dog. He must be wondering what the meaning of all this is, and he must have given up.

I'm not a jerk who doesn't work hard. I just realized earlier than others that it's meaningless to work so hard.

Reggie Miller didn't realize it until he was 38, but it was too late.

But the next scene made Marcus Camby stay in his seat.

Reggie Miller took Roger's outstretched hand and stood up again.

Blood had seeped out of the gauze, like blood-red tears.

But the 38-year-old is not discouraged.

"You are laughing like a chicken neck, our season has just begun."
-
The Indiana Pacers' undefeated streak was broken in Oakland. Ten years later, Roger is still dominating Reggie Miller. It turns out that the Warriors do have the strength to defeat most teams in the league, but when will they break the Spurs' curse? - "Slam Dunk".

The Cleveland Cavaliers started with 2 wins and 6 losses. LeBron's average shooting percentage is only 41% so far, and his average turnovers are ranked third in the league. Can Michael still make the playoffs? - "Sports Center".

The Bulls never agreed to add the words about Roger under the statue. Jerry Reinsdorf claimed that it was Michael's personal behavior and had nothing to do with the Bulls. - Chicago Sun-Times

The Golden State Warriors have become very strong, but it's useless because we are suppressing the Warriors. They lost to the Spurs last season, and this season the Warriors can't beat the Spurs. Roger's era ended last season, and the next era is Gary Payton, the Admiral and Tim Duncan. As long as they can't beat us, it doesn't matter how good they become. -- Gary Payton in an exclusive interview with ESPN.

(End of this chapter)