Champions Creed

Chapter 348 Chapter 347: The court may not be able to judge you, but the savior can (ask for monthly tickets!)

In the stands, seeing that the Lakers were still close in the score, some Oakland fans began to get anxious.

The Los Angeles Lakers are indeed strong this season, and they are also the team that caused the most trouble for the Warriors during the regular season.

No one knows who will have the last laugh.

Someone started yelling at soul dancer John Cage: "John, why don't you dance? Whenever you dance we win."

"Shut up Andre, do you know how many loaves of bread I sold to buy this ticket today? Do you know how long my wife has been nagging me about coming to watch the game? My wife also warned me not to embarrass myself again, otherwise I would sleep outside the door tonight."

"What's so shameful about this? Your bakery is doing better business because of this. Fans love to go to your house to buy bread, right? And John, I don't know why you are so henpecked. My wife listens to me at home."

"That's because your wife won't blow your head off with a double-barreled shotgun! Shut up, I'm not doing that today, no dancing!"

After John Cage finished speaking, he stared at the court, looking at Roger and Kobe who were resting on the bench, his palms were sweaty with nervousness.

He couldn't say which side would win in the end because Kobe Bryant was a very special opponent.

For Kobe, who is in his eighth season in his career, this year is his best opportunity to reach his peak.

He doesn't have a shark by his side, but the Lakers have a very competitive lineup. This means that if the Lakers win the championship, he can completely step on the shark head that is incompatible with him.

Moreover, Kobe Bryant will realize his original dream - to become Roger.

Of course, if Kobe had the nerve of LeBron James, he could also say that he has replaced Roger as the spokesperson for the league.

But it is obvious that self-declared kingship without a champion is not convincing.

In this era when the Roger dynasty was temporarily interrupted, anyone was qualified to start a new dynasty.

For Kobe, this championship window is particularly important. Therefore, in terms of mentality, Kobe will never give up easily.

No matter how terrible Roger's performance was, he would not be intimidated, but would fight back even harder.

Kobe is the one most qualified to challenge Roger!
Yes, John Cage, like 90% of other Americans, doesn't like Kobe. The Eagle County incident has once again made fans realize a fact: you only know what kind of player he is, but you don't know what kind of person he is.

A fighter who is aggressive on the court may cheat on his wife when she is pregnant, a player with a glorious image may like to attend messy parties, and an introverted player may like the gender between men and women.

John Cage didn't like Kobe as a person. Even if Kobe hadn't raped that girl in Colorado, he had hurt his wife.

But as a player, you have to admit he's strong.

Kobe is the second best outside player in the league after Roger. Whether in mentality or technique, Kobe is the guy closest to Roger.

So, tonight's game is indeed dangerous.

Roger and Kobe have both scored 36 points in three quarters, but this will not be the final score.

These two still have to fight bloody, and only they can kill the game.

John Cage's judgment was correct. As for tonight, the only ones who could kill the game were Roger and Kobe.

Karl Malone was completely lost in the entanglement of Marcus Camby, and the combination of Malone and Theo Ratliff made it difficult for Stoudemire to perform.

Steve Nash's offensive threat was greatly reduced under Roger's defense, and Alan Houston was almost defended by Kobe into the second Peja.

But on the other hand, it is precisely because both sides have too many threatening offensive points that Kobe and Roger have many opportunities.

Kobe was so busy defending Alan Houston that he didn't have the energy to help defend Roger.

Roger couldn't take care of Kobe because he couldn't let go of Nash.

The offense and defense restrained each other, which eventually led to a situation where Roger and Kobe competed with each other.

After the start of the fourth quarter, Kobe and Roger took a short break, and both sides' rotation lineups played well for a few minutes.

On the Lakers side, while Roger was away, Nash and Ukrainian center Stanislav Medvedenko played pick-and-roll very well.

Steve Nash is definitely one of the best offensive players of the 21st century and one of the earliest point guards to play pick-and-roll shooting. As long as he is given a big man who can hang on, he can play well on the offensive end.

On the Warriors side, Stoudemire took advantage of the Lakers' inside rotation to lower the height of the team. The Lakers' inside line has a fatal flaw, which is that the rotation lineup is too weak. The combination of Karl Malone and Theo Ratliff is indeed very good, but the only inside players who can be used as substitutes are Medvedenko, the aging Horace Grant and the aging Rick Fox.

Apart from solid screens and an unstable mid-range shot, Medvedenko has almost no role on the court.

Horace Grant was a figure during Jordan's three consecutive championships and the Magic dynasty. He and Roger briefly teamed up again during the Hawks dynasty, but he was already useless by then.

Rick Fox has been in such bad shape this season with injuries to his feet, neck and back that he is considering saying goodbye to basketball and starting a second career in the San Fernando Valley.

So Phil Jackson had to screw Karl Malone and Theo Ratliff this season. During the regular season, it was because these two inside players were screwed too hard by the farmer's tactics, suffered minor injuries from time to time, and had a low attendance rate that the Lakers' regular season record was only fourth in the Western Conference.

However, no matter how hard they try, Karl Malone and Theo Ratliff cannot play a full 48 minutes. There will always be a time when they leave the court at the same time.

Stoudemire seized the opportunity to bully the weaker team and started to compete with Nash during the rotation.

Because no one could defend the other, the score difference between the two sides remained basically unchanged. After three minutes of play, with Stoudemire forcing Horace Grant and dunking over Medvedenko, the Warriors once again led by 4 points.

The game was suspended and Nash and Stoudemire's brief performance ended.

The confrontation between these two people was more like a halftime performance in a tense game, like the sign girl in a bloody boxing match. Its only effect was to make the fans feel relieved.

The whole world knows that the next 9 minutes will belong to God and Satan!

After the timeout, Roger did not stand up. He sat on the bench, frowned and glanced at everyone, then shouted with full energy: "Beat LA!"

On the Lakers bench, Kobe Bryant didn't stand up immediately. He stared at his hands and whispered to himself, "Fvck Warriors!"

Roger stood up and shouted again in the middle of the crowd: "Beat LA!"

Kobe stood up and growled through gritted teeth: "Fvck Warriors!"

The players of both teams were infected by Roger and Kobe's emotions, and they began to roar along with their star players.

“Beat LA!”

"Fvck Warriors!"

“Beat LA!”

"Fvck Warriors!"

Shouts rose and fell alternately on the court, and the tension between the two sides continued to grow stronger.

Roger and Kobe stepped onto the court like two knights fully armed and ready to duel.

This is a battle of honor and status.

At this time, both teams had a change in their lineups. The Lakers replaced Nash for a rest, and the Warriors replaced Stoudemire.

This means that the defensive pressure on both sides has been reduced a lot, which also means that the two star players will face tighter defense.

Because other people finally have time to spare.

The Lakers attacked, and Kobe, who was eager to win, singled out Prince as usual. He had already eaten the second-year prince clean today.

After once again relying on his body to force his way to the mid-range, Kobe stopped abruptly, pushed Prince with his ball protector, and then made a pull-up shot.

But this time, Roger reached out from Kobe's side and successfully interfered with Kobe, disrupting Kobe's rhythm.

"boom!"

"After missing the basketball shot, Roger can finally help his little brother on the defensive end!" Al Michaels breathed a sigh of relief for Prince.

He was really afraid that Kobe would make this second-year rookie so autistic that he would never recover.

After Steve Nash left the court, Roger had plenty of energy to deal with Kobe.

The Warriors immediately counterattacked. Roger got past Mutombo's screen and completely passed George Lynch. Facing Theo Ratliff's switch defense, he chose to step back and shoot directly from outside the three-point line.

But Karl Malone suddenly appeared from the side, deflected Roger's shot with his fingertips, and successfully blocked the shot!
Obviously, when Karl Malone no longer needs to defend Stoudemire, he can expand his defensive range to outside the three-point line and protect George Lynch's back.

"Go to hell, you promiscuous bastard!" Malone laughed and cursed Roger after blocking the shot.

"At least I don't touch minors, you perverted postman." Roger was as good as Malone in words, but he must have been very unhappy to be covered.

This is the situation now. The offensive environment for Kobe and Roger has become extremely bad.

Jeff Van Gundy looked at the not-so-high shooting percentages of both teams and smiled like a pervert: "I like this game. Both teams played defense to the extreme. This is the art of the playoffs. Believe me, the fourth quarter will not be the offensive battle that people imagine, but a bloody defensive showdown!"

But Jeff Van Gundy was slapped in the face as soon as he said this.

He greatly underestimated the firepower of Roger and Kobe.

Karl Malone held the ball in the low post this time, but he was not going to attack. Instead, he served as the axis of the triangle offense and passed the ball to Kobe in the mid-range on the right side.

After receiving the ball, Kobe faked a shot, then turned around on the spot, created space, and took a jump shot.

As expected, Roger came up to defend again, completely leaving Fisher, who replaced Nash, open.

Kobe didn't pass the ball to Fisher, not because of him, but because Fisher's form this season was simply terrible.

Fisher played all 82 games in the regular season and only shot 35% from the field and 29% from three-point range.

His performance did not improve in the playoffs.

You can't regard something as a highly accidental thing like a "playoff buzzer beater with 0.4 seconds left" as part of a player's strength.

Kobe continued to shoot under the interference of Prince and Roger. His two old teammates, Mutombo and Karl Malone, were already throwing elbows at each other under the basket to compete for the rebound.

As a result, the basketball hit the right side of the basket and bounced into the frame. Kobe Bryant scored his 38th point in the game and narrowed the gap to only 2 points!
In just one round, Kobe had already adapted to the feeling of being defended by two people.

Al Michaels shrugged: "Roger and Kobe will not turn this game into a defensive battle. As long as Kobe and Roger are in the game, it can't be a defensive battle!"

After scoring the goal, Kobe glanced at Roger and said, "Don't waste your energy. Do you think I'm afraid of double-teaming?"

But before Kobe had time to show off, Roger immediately responded to him.

In this attack, after Roger broke through George Lynch, facing Karl Malone who came to defend, he chose to receive the ball and stepped to the left to break through.

When Karl Malone moved sideways, Roger's next step was to the right. This extremely strange step allowed Roger to directly pass through Malone's defense.

This is a Eurostep, and it is the inspiration for Wade's Phantom Step.

As European step masters such as Wade and Manu Ginobili began to emerge, more and more guards realized the practicality of this skill.

But don’t forget, in this timeline, it was Roger who popularized the European step technique because he was teammates with Sarunas Marciulionis and received some guidance from him!

After passing Malone, Roger gently picked the ball up, and the basketball passed over the chasing Malone and the blocking Ratliff, and successfully fell into the net!

Roger perfectly combined the two most unique skills, allowing him to easily score even when surrounded by the Lakers' twin towers.

The ball went in, and Roger spread his five fingers and waved them in front of himself: "Now you see me, Now you don't!"

Roger also scored 38 points, widening the gap to 4 points again.

Everyone realized at this time that even facing a worse offensive environment, these two guys would not stop scoring!

In the next few rounds, Roger and Kobe both scored some difficult goals.

It was as if these two were on a completely different level from everyone else on the court, playing with all the defensive players’ efforts.

Coaches on both sides tried every strategy.

Hubie Brown replaced Alan Houston with Jason Richardson to defend Kobe, but the effect was not satisfactory.

Phil Jackson used the sturdy Devin George to face off against Roger for several rounds, but his mediocre defense and basic offense prevented him from taking advantage of the confrontation.

There were five minutes left in the game. When the Warriors replaced Amar'e Stoudemire and the Lakers replaced Steve Nash, everyone in the stadium knew that the decisive time had come!

The Warriors were attacking, and Roger was still thinking about how to torture George Lynch in this round, but he saw that Kobe became the one responsible for defending him!

Now that both sides have sent out their final winning lineups, the addition of Stoudemire and Nash will tie up each other's defenses, which means that the defensive resources invested in Roger and Kobe will be reduced.

So, just use the best one-on-one defender on the team to match up against the opponent's best scorer!
Michael Jordan had goose bumps all over his body. This kind of head-on collision was something he and Roger had experienced countless times.

Whether in the Bulls or the Knicks, he and Roger often had to confront each other.

But it is also because of this that Michael Jordan lost so completely.

A face-to-face confrontation with Roger can be the beginning of a dream, but it can also be the end of one's wish!
No Warriors fans at the scene could sit still. On the basketball court, it was a rare sight for the top stars of two teams to face off against each other.

What’s more, they are two star players who are in extremely good form.

Al Michaels was as excited as the Oakland fans at the scene: "This is a war between men!"

Roger also waved his hand and called away Xiao Si who was about to set up a screen.

This kind of thing is of no use to No. 8.

Roger slowly approached, and Kobe used his flexible steps to adjust the distance. One-on-one duels in basketball are similar to boxing, and distance is particularly important.

If you punch too far away from your opponent, not only will you fail to hit him, but you may also expose your weakness and be counterattacked.

The same goes for basketball. If you break through from too far away, not only will you fail to break through the defense, you may also give the opponent a chance to steal the ball.

Kobe is actively mastering this distance, which can both interfere with shots and prevent breakthroughs.

Roger glanced at the basket, but this trick did not deceive Kobe's center of gravity. After this fake shooting action, Roger directly broke through, leaning on Kobe to the free throw line, stopped suddenly, turned around and shot a fadeaway jumper!
Kobe reacted quickly and blocked the shot with his hand.

All Warriors fans stared at the ball intently, and finally the basketball went into the net. Roger won the first one-on-one match with Kobe!

The fiery cheers from the crowd made Roger excitedly pump his fist, and he turned around and shouted to the Zen Master on the bench:

"Phil, I'll kill every one you send me!"

Phil Jackson was swearing a lot, and you don't have to think about it to know that his words contained a lot of curse words.

He has replaced too many people today to defend Roger, but none of the substitutions were useful.

The Zen Master is definitely not the kind of coach who can't afford to lose, but he has lost to Roger too many times.

From the Magic dynasty to the Hawks dynasty, Phil Jackson happened to coach the three biggest losers: the Bulls, the Knicks and the Lakers.

The teams he coached were one of the biggest favorites to win the championship in any era, but they never defeated Roger to win the championship.

No matter where he went, no matter which team he worked for, he would eventually be defeated by Roger.

To be honest, he was tired of the outcome of this irreversible war and hated the same ending every year.

He told himself countless times this year that he must break the curse of not being able to defeat Roger.

However, when he sent out the team's best perimeter defender, when he decided to go all out and pit star against star, he still couldn't guard Roger.

Kobe wiped the sweat off his face. His defense just now was flawless and he did his best in every step, but his efforts did not bring any rewards.

Will he be demoralized by this?

No, he would make Roger feel the same pain!

The Lakers were attacking, and Steve Nash wanted to pass the ball to Kobe, but when he saw that the person defending him had changed from Roger to Tayshaun Prince, he waved his hand and called Karl Malone to set a screen.

But the Little Prince's ability to bypass screens is equally good. Although his defensive aggressiveness is not as strong as Roger's, his large defensive area still allows him to cover Nash all the time.

Nash is not the type of player who likes to force a shot, and in this case, his first choice is to pass the ball to someone who is more confident.

Kobe received the ball outside the three-point line, and Roger pressed closely.

The fight between the stars continues!
Kobe held the ball with his back to the basket, pushed back twice and then turned over and shot.

Despite the interference from Roger's fingertips, the basketball still went through the net.

"No one can judge me, not even you!" Kobe yelled excitedly, as if venting all the pent-up emotions he had experienced over the past year.

This sentence is a double entendre, referring to the Colorado court as well as Roger.

He will not accept anyone's judgment! The war between Satan and God entered a white-hot stage. Roger and Kobe faced each other in every round thereafter, neither of them giving in.

They scored difficult goals and also had some beautiful defensive rounds.

They have proven themselves as the league's top two scorers, and they have also proven themselves as the league's top outside defenders.

They made the game time pass so quickly that John Cage felt as if only a few rounds had passed and the game was already down to the last 43 seconds.

As Kobe forced his way through Roger and caused a foul, and made both free throws, he had already scored a career-high 51 points in the playoffs!
"Roger scored 52 points, Kobe scored 51 points! This is a matchup that will destroy the world!" Al Michaels was extremely excited, while Jeff Van Gundy had a dark look on his face.

The scoring ability of these two men far exceeded Jeff Van Gundy's expectations, which also challenged Jeff Van Gundy's perception of basketball.

As a coach who believes in defense first, Jeff Van Gundy could see that both teams had done their best in defense. But Roger and Kobe both scored 50 points, which shattered Jeff Van Gundy's belief.

Can defense really solve all problems?

After Kobe scored, the Lakers were still 2 points behind the Warriors.

Although the two teams played very tensely and the competition between Kobe and Roger was very exciting, the Warriors did not let the Lakers take the lead throughout the fourth quarter.

Hubie Brown paused the game, he felt that his aging heart could no longer withstand such high pressure.

The camera turned to Roger and Kobe on the bench. Both of them were breathing heavily tiredly on the bench, and this scene was very rare for them.

Now, they are under both physical and psychological pressure.

Hubie Brown picked up the tactical board and said a few words, but suddenly he covered his chest and fell onto the bench.

"Hube?" Roger was shocked. He knew that in the original history, Hubie Brown only coached the Grizzlies for two full seasons due to physical reasons.

The pressure of coaching the Grizzlies and the Warriors is completely different. The pressure he bears may be five or six times that of the original timeline.

70 years old is definitely considered old for a coaching position. Craig Popovich who was still coaching until he was 75 is just an exception.

Most coaches retire at around 70 years old.

This is true for Nelson Sr., Jerry Sloan, Larry Brown, Chuck Daly and many others.

Hubie Brown seems to be no exception.

The commentators seemed to have noticed something was wrong, and they all craned their necks to look at the Warriors bench: "Hubie Brown was sitting on the bench, holding his chest. What happened to him? Will it affect the game?"

Chelsea Ryan, the Warriors' chief team doctor, arrived quickly. She knew that Hubie Brown had been having some minor heart problems, but they had been under effective control. For safety reasons, she could not take any risks.

"Hubby has to quit this game!"

Chelsea Ryan has hated her job ever since it was announced that Marcus Camby would be out for two consecutive years.

This job requires her to always be the one to break bad news.

Hubie Brown knew the game was at a critical moment, but his racing heart was making it difficult for him to hold on.

Hubie Brown raised his head with difficulty and looked at Spoelstra and Jeff Hornacek.

Finally, he made a choice in a weak voice: "Eric, you will direct the next game."

This is a reasonable choice. After all, Jeff Hornacek has only been an assistant coach for two years, while Spoelstra has been with Pat Riley for many years. And because of physical reasons, Spoelstra has been doing many of the work that belonged to Hubie Brown.

For a moment, Spoelstra was surrounded by everyone's eyes.

He took the tactical board and Hubie Brown patted the young man on the shoulder.

He knows how hard Spoelstra works and what he can do.

With the help of the team doctor, Hubie Brown left, leaving Spoelstra with little time to arrange tactics.

But his mind went blank.

Spoelstra is only five years older than Roger. At the age of 34, he suddenly took over the coaching position at the most important moment of this most important series, and Roger was unable to react at all.

"Eric!" Roger reminded this old friend who entered the NBA world because of him.

Spoelstra came to his senses and began to write on the tactical board: "Guys, pass the ball to Roger later, and then..."

"Beep~~~"

The timeout was over, and Spoelstra couldn't even arrange a complete tactic.

He wanted to say something else, but the referee warned him: "Mr. Coach, why don't you just go on the court with the tactical board?"

Spoelstra stepped back, shaking all over.

He felt like he had screwed up everything.

"Damn, this was an unexpected turn of events. Hubie suddenly left the game in the final moments. Hubie's health has always been a concern for Oakland fans, but he always said at the press conference that he was fine. He wanted to hold on, but his body had reached its limit." Jeff Van Gundy has been a head coach himself, and he knows very well how stressful it is to be a head coach.

You gotta handle the locker room, you gotta handle the opponent, and while the guys are staying up late having pool parties with the models, you gotta stay up late having parties with the tapes.

The game continued, and the Warriors players had to play this crucial round without clear tactical instructions.

Roger pressed the time and then called on Stoudemire to come out and cover.

But this strategy was too conventional. Kobe was already prepared. He grabbed the screen in advance and stood in front of Roger without any delay, which actually interfered with Roger's shot.

This was another difficult shot, and the Warriors fans at the scene held their breath.

But this time, the basketball hit the rim and bounced out.

The Warriors' key attack failed!

"This ball is too simple," Al Michaels shook his head. "Didn't Eric Spoelstra arrange any tactics just now?"

The camera turned to the Zen Master, who was full of confidence, as if he had already taken the initiative in the game.

Phil Jackson did not call a timeout. He had already arranged two consecutive rounds of tactics during the previous timeout, so the Lakers players all knew what to do next.

Not calling a timeout means he won't give Spoelstra any chance to react.

The Warriors players are like isolated soldiers who have lost contact with the command center and are destined to be wiped out in confusion!
The Lakers did not use Kobe to hold the ball this time. Nash, Malone and Devin George, who has excellent three-point shooting ability, formed a triangle formation on the right side of the court.

Nash fed the ball to Malone, Devin George moved outside the three-point line, and Nash ran from the top of the arc to 45° on the right.

But Karl Malone didn't pass the ball to any of them, but gave it to Kobe on the weak side!

After receiving the ball, Kobe drifted back and shot, and the whole movement was extremely smooth and continuous.

Phil Jackson raised his arms in advance, as he believed this was a turning point in the fate of himself and Kobe.

From now on, Roger could no longer suppress them.

"The ball goes in!" Al Michaels' voice spread to every household across America. "Kobe Bryant's 53rd point in a single playoff game pierced Roger's armor! The Lakers led by 18 point in the last 1 seconds. The No. 8 from Philadelphia in Los Angeles is going to change the dynasty!"

Kobe did not celebrate excitedly, but just raised his fist and ran to his own half, and then was hugged by his excited teammates who jumped up.

"Damn it!" Some Warriors fans in the stands covered their heads with their hands. "Damn it, we won't lose, right?"

"Roger is exhausted. His pursuit just now was obviously a little slow. We don't have Hubie yet. Look at Eric, he's not ready at all!"

"Shut up!" John Cage yelled, "Shut up, I trust Roger 100%!"

Spoelstra used up his last timeout. He squatted among the players. His head was usually filled with tactics, but now he couldn't think of a single one.

"Roger has the ball, use the screen!"

"Who's going to cover?"

"Marcus, no, Amar'e. Then Alan will take over in the corner. If someone double-teams him, give it to him!"

"Coach, which corner do I go to?"

"Left, no, right."

Spoelstra's mind was extremely messy. In the original timeline, although he became the best coach in the league many years later, Spoelstra was not recognized by the fans at the beginning.

People say he is just Pat Riley's puppet, that he only knows how to use the Heat's Big Three, and that his tactics are so simple that even a three-year-old child can predict them.
No one is at their peak right after debuting, and the same goes for coaches.

Finally, with the reminders from the players, Spoelstra managed to arrange a complete offensive round.

After the timeout, the young acting head coach sat on the bench with a blank look in his eyes and glanced at Jeff Hornacek beside him: "Did I do a bad job, Jeff?"

Jeff Hornacek patted Spoelstra on the shoulder: "Think about LeBron James. You're not that bad."

The game continued, and the Oakland fans in the stands were more uneasy than the players.

They all knew that if Roger or anyone else failed in this attack, all their efforts for the entire night would be in vain.

Roger, who scored 52 points, will completely become Kobe's background board, and Kobe will rise to the top just like Roger stepped on Jordan.

The Warriors kicked the ball out, and John Cage clenched his fists. After struggling for a while, he yelled, "Fuck you, sleep outside the door!"

After saying this, John Cage took off his shirt again.

It turned out that underneath the pile, his body had already been painted with the words: "Roger is the eternal king."

Then, he shook the fat all over his body and began his final dance.

This is a loyal fan's way of expressing his love.

The scene immediately became agitated, and the cameras on the big screen gave John Cage an extremely precious few seconds of close-up at the most tense moment of the game.

Because John Cage's seat was right behind the Lakers' backboard, Roger saw the guy too.

The security personnel at the scene wanted to rush in and take him away, but were stopped by the captain who led the team: "At least wait until he sees Roger score a goal."

Roger is still pressing for time, which means he has absolute confidence.

Of course, the Lakers also have to thank David Stern for abolishing the Hack-a-Shaq tactic, otherwise the Warriors would only need to foul Theo Ratliff crazily when the Lakers got the ball.

Roger followed the tactics and continued to use screens to attract defense.

But the Lakers did not double-team him, and Kobe was still used to defend Roger alone throughout the game. Therefore, the Lakers' defensive formation did not change because of Roger.

Seeing that there was no chance, Roger retreated back to the three-point line again and simply waved his hand to signal everyone to move away.

He counted down silently in his mind, then looked up at the basket and John behind the backboard.

He will not leave Oakland empty-handed, never!

Roger broke through, changed direction, and then turned around.

So far, Kobe has defended well, not losing his position or giving space, and he knows Roger's offensive style very well.

Seeing this, Roger could only continue to rush forward, raising the basketball at zero degrees on the side of the basket, trying to kick Kobe.

But Kobe did not jump up rashly, he just raised his arms high to block Roger and the basket. He knew very well that as long as he stood like this, Roger would have no angle to shoot!
In the end, Roger could only jump on the spot before the game time ran out, then lift the ball with one hand and throw it towards the basket.

The basketball flew from the side and back of the backboard and went over the top edge of the backboard.

Kobe turned around and stared at the basketball, only to see it fall into the net at a terrible angle! Once again, Roger used his magical layup to defeat the defense that was originally unsolvable!
In the stands, John Cage jumped up like crazy, and all the fans around him rushed towards him.

"I've already said that we will win when you dance!"

"Hahahahaha! Roger dealt with that bastard Kobe. I knew he could do it. I knew it!"

"You should go to the championship parade John, you definitely deserve it!"

What excited John Cage the most was that after scoring the goal, Roger pointed at him in the stands.

He felt his passion and he lived up to his passion.

After interacting with John Cage, Roger stared at the stunned Kobe: "The court may not be able to judge you, but the Savior can!"

At this time, there were only 0.4 seconds left in the game, and the Golden State Warriors were almost certain to win. On the bench, the Warriors players were also jumping. Obviously, everyone felt that they had already won.

But Phil Jackson calmly paused the game and called the whole team together to arrange the final tactics.

He has a final tactic like Spoelstra that a rookie can never prevent!
Spoelstra yelled nervously: "Keep an eye on Kobe Bryant, keep an eye on him! 0.4 seconds is enough for him to complete a shot, we can't let him catch the ball! Except for the inside players, everyone else's goal is to prevent Kobe from catching the ball!"

0.4 seconds, Lakers, Phil Jackson.

These three key words echoed wildly in Roger's mind.

He was thinking all the time. After he came on the court, Roger yelled at Prince: "Don't chase Kobe. You stay on the side of the three-point line near the serving point!"

"Ah?" Tayshaun Prince was a little surprised. "There's no one there. Do you want me to defend the air?"

"Stop talking bullshit and listen to me!"

Prince didn't argue any further. He was just a sophomore and he respected Roger.

So, even though it was irrational, Prince decided to do what Roger said.

The game resumed and all the Lakers players stood in a row, which was a typical starting point for the Starburst tactic.

Either Kobe Bryant goes around and shoots, or Karl Malone cuts into the basket. This is a tactic the Lakers have used countless times at critical moments this season.

So, Tayshaun Prince didn't know why Roger asked him to guard the side near the three-point line instead of joining him in encircling Kobe.

Eric Spoelstra also didn't understand why Roger changed his tactics and why he let Tayshaun Prince defend the air.

But there was no time to adjust now. Before he could even yell, the Lakers kicked the ball out from the sideline.

Kobe went outside, Malone went inside. Everything looked the same as before, and the Lakers seemed to still be using their most classic and most reliable tactics.

But they were both just baits, because the Lakers' sideline ball was eventually given to Derek Fisher who suddenly appeared unexpectedly!
Phil Jackson likes to make unexpected choices at critical moments, and this habit has been maintained from the 90s to now!
Fisher received the ball and prepared to shoot in the last 0.4 seconds.

What caught Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher off guard was that Tayshaun Prince had already guarded that area early on and stretched out his long arms to jump the moment Fisher made a jump shot.

Phil Jackson's eyes widened. He didn't expect that his strategy would be discovered.

The basketball failed to get past Tayshaun Prince's hands before the game time expired.

The basketball ended with an extreme block.

"It's over, it's over! Roger made the greatest on-the-spot command in NBA history at the last moment! We can see that before the Lakers saw the sideline ball, he had already directed Tayshaun to defend in an area where there was no one. He perfectly predicted Phil's strategy and he was in complete control of the game!

Behind in the score? He overtook it himself!

Losing the head coach? He is in charge himself!
106 to 105, the Golden State Warriors had the last laugh, and the savior Roger had the last laugh! "

Phil Jackson slumped down on the bench with a dull look in his eyes.

It's really hard to defeat Roger.

This is probably the hardest thing in the world.

Roger broke free from the arms of his teammates and walked up to Kobe.

"Go back to hell, Satan!"

In the stands, the security personnel also walked up to John Cage and said, "Sorry, we have to ask you to leave, sir."

John Cage's eyes were red.

"Okay," he wiped his eyes, "Okay."

He feels that he has no regrets in his life.

(One update today, because I have almost reached 10,000 words. I still have some finishing work to do for the move, so I have to combine two updates into one to free up some time for the afternoon)

(End of this chapter)