Champions Creed

Chapter 36: I Allowed Scott to Hide Behind Me
As the man who took away Roger's first assist, Steve Kerr felt that Roger was not as independent as everyone said.

Roger passed the ball to Cole twice today, but Cole missed one shot, so Roger only had 1 assist.

So in Kerr's opinion, that kid is clearly an all-rounder! There's nothing wrong with the Zen Master letting him start!

Roger helped the Bulls get off to a good start in the new season and won the starting position, which did not cause much controversy in the locker room.

Even Pete Meyers, who was squeezed out by Roger, had no objection.

After all, competitive sports are not about seniority. If you are not as skilled as others, you have to give way. Even the best shooter will have his days of failure. Seniority only represents the past, not the present.

However, Pippen looked even more depressed than Meyers, who lost his starting position.

I thought I could finally come to the fore, but ended up being suppressed by a rookie in the first game of the new season. Who could be happy about this?

But then again, who made Pippen unable to handle the game?

You can imagine how people would comment on Roger's 30 points in a single game if Pippen's 25% shooting percentage was not used as a backdrop.

The media will probably say: "Scoring 25 points against the Hornets, whose perimeter defense is not that strong, does not prove Roger's scoring ability."

But because of Pippen's presence, Roger's offense seemed so outstanding.

Roger began to understand why Pippen was one of the best second-in-commands in history.

If Wade's actions during the Big Three era hadn't been so incredible, Pippen wouldn't even need to have the "one" added to his title of "the best second-in-command in history."

But today, it wasn't just Pippen who set off Roger.

Compared with Roger, who won consecutive one-on-ones at critical moments, Weber, the top pick whose IQ completely dropped at the critical moment, naturally became a stepping stone to Roger.

In order to set off Roger, the second pick Sean Bradley, with a height of 229 cm, had an incredible 16.7% hit rate in his debut. The hole was right in front of him, but he just couldn't get in.

Webber just didn't perform well at the last moment, but Bradley never had a good performance from the beginning to the end. The two of them are worthy of being the dragon and phoenix of the 93rd draft.

76ers coach Fred Carter had to keep the poor giant in the snow in the fourth quarter to prevent his hit rate from falling below 10%. Was he defending Bradley's dignity? No, he was defending the IQ of the 76ers management.

The wonderful performances of these two players made ESPN SportsCenter host John Anderson say bluntly: "I thought Roger and Penny were the No. 1 and No. 2 picks."

Well, the only person who didn't become a clown today is probably Penny.

Because the Warriors' other "Speedy Beetle" Hardaway suffered a devastating injury of a torn left knee anterior cruciate ligament in training camp, Pence got the ball.

In a team like the Warriors that emphasizes fast-paced and crazy offense, Hardaway's debut stats are naturally quite impressive.

With 20 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds, Penny led the Warriors to defeat the Spurs led by the Admiral.

Hardaway's gorgeous style of play was brought into full play under old Nelson's crazy system.

David Stern was very satisfied with the result. In the first game of the new season, both of Jordan's successors performed as he expected.

Although director Stern has always been trying to promote Roger and Hardaway, in competitive sports, if you don't have the ability, you can't promote them.

Think about it, if a player can't even figure out how many steps to take for a layup, then it's useless to hype him up as the GOAT.

So when Hardaway and Roger stood out on the first night of the new season, Stern was happier than either of them.

These two people have talent and good looks, which is enough even if they don’t need my support.

They will surely become super idols who can replace Michael!

Under the league's packaging and media reports, who is stronger between Roger and Hardaway has also become a hot topic of discussion among fans.

The next day, after training at the Berto Center, Pippen was interviewed with a look of despair.

Although he likes to be surrounded by the media, half of the dozen questions he answered today were related to Roger and Hardaway!

This made him very irritated.

Now, a reporter from the Chicago Sun-Times asked him again: "Scott, who do you think is a better player, Roger or Anfernee?"

This kind of question is actually very easy to answer, just support your teammates.

But Pippen thought for a while, then smiled and said, "Roger is more talented in scoring, but he still has to learn how to read the offense. Man, he can't just get one assist every game. When you can't score smoothly, you always have to find other ways to solve the problem. Anfernee did a good job in this regard."

The sharp reporter noticed Pippen's inner dissatisfaction: "Scott, do you think Roger is a little too arbitrary? Will a player of his style entering the starting lineup affect the overall operation of the team?"

"I have always believed in and supported Phil's decisions. If he says that kid is qualified to start in the NBA, then he is. I can only say that he still has a lot to learn. Yesterday, my teammates and I had a few opportunities, but he didn't see them. Although those shots he made went in, what about the times he didn't?"

Pippen complained in front of the media, and with the previous fight incident, even the dumbest media should have realized that Pippen and Roger were not as harmonious as they seemed!

The media's favorite activities are nothing more than making up stories and adding fuel to the fire. Pippen's complaining speech finally allowed the media to catch a few words.

It would be a waste if we don't hype it up.

As a result, Klaus soon saw many headlines like this in the newspaper:

"Scott Pippen is unhappy with Roger taking up so many shots. It looks like the Chicago train's journey out of the dark tunnel will be a long one. What about the Warriors? Everyone loves Penny, and they are on their way to a great season."

"Letting Roger start will ruin the triangle offense, because the most taboo in the triangle offense is single-handed possession of the ball. And Anfernee will play a positive role in any system."

"Scott Pippen didn't say it directly, but he probably thought it was too early to let Roger start."

Krause was furious. He didn't understand why Pippen was making trouble again.

Last season, Grant's dissatisfaction with the amount of his contract extension, coupled with his suspicion of leaking information by Jordan, had already created a bad atmosphere in the locker room.

Pippen should know how much impact this will have on the team.

As a result, this season comes again?
It just so happened that the Bulls lost the second game of the regular season at this time.

迈阿密热火以95比90拿下了胜利，211公分的黎巴嫩巨人罗尼.塞卡利在公牛历来羸弱的内线为所欲为，斩获28分11个篮板。

Glen Rice was in great form and scored 24 points.

But these are not the key to the loss. The key is that the Bulls' offense was too inefficient today.

史蒂夫.科尔9中2，库科奇12中4，卡特莱特和温宁顿两个中锋加起来只有16中4。

Only Roger and Pippen had relatively normal shooting percentages. Roger scored 45 points with a 22% shooting percentage, and Pippen scored 43 points with a 20% shooting percentage.

The Bulls' worst offensive moments came in the middle of the second and third quarters.

The Bulls during these two periods have one thing in common: Kukoc and Pippen were not there.

When they were both gone, the team's offense had no "lubricant". The entire Bulls' offense was like a rusty machine that could not run smoothly at all.

Without the axis of the triangle offense, it is difficult for others to get good opportunities.

AC Green is great, but he doesn't have Grant's high-post coordination ability. The Zen Master intended to let him play the role of the axis, but the result was a mess.

Kerr and Pete Meyers are both offensive guards. If you give them the ball, they can't pass it well or score.

So during those two periods, Roger simply played solo. He didn't mean to not pass the ball, it was just a helpless move.

The Zen Master also discovered this problem and is ready to solve it. The team's rotation still needs to be adjusted. No team remains unchanged from the beginning of the season to the end of the season. The loss of this game is not anyone's fault.

But some people don't think so. Some people think that Roger took away too many shots in his first start.

After the game, a reporter asked Pippen: "Scott, this is the first game the team lost this season, what do you want to say?"

Pippen was furious: "What does this have to do with me?"

"Ah? Aren't you a member of the Chicago Bulls?"

"But when I was on the court, our offense was smooth. After I left the court, it became worse."

"Are you saying Roger plays too solo? You don't support him starting?"

"I'm saying, go find whoever loses, go find whoever has the most shots, don't bother me!"

Ten minutes later, Roger heard what Pippen said from a reporter.

But his evaluation is more explosive than Pippen:
"Yes, the loss has nothing to do with Scott. In the past, when we lost, Scott could hide behind Michael. Now that Michael is gone, I allow him to hide behind me. So don't bother him. If you have any problems after the loss, just come to me."

Pippen originally wanted to express his dissatisfaction in order to attract the team's attention.

But the next day, people were praising Roger for his responsibility and leadership qualities.
Pippen: ???
Why does everything I do have the opposite effect?

Of course, there were also media outlets that sided with Pippen.

"The fight between the two drivers, Scott and Roger, over the steering wheel could very well end up destroying the entire car and killing everyone on board. Roger is a good scorer, but also a huge trouble. If the Bulls had gotten Anfernee, the team wouldn't have had these troubles at all." - Chicago Sun-Times.

Klaus had a headache. What annoyed him most was these media coming in to meddle in his affairs. That was how they took Michael away!
He really didn't want the team to get into any more trouble, so he had to make some follow-up plans.

If the team completely gets out of control, he must have a way to deal with it.

(End of this chapter)