Champions Creed

Chapter 386 385: Don't Let Anger Become a Curse (Please give me a monthly ticket!)

The 04-05 regular season came to an end. The Warriors were not first in the Western Conference, and the Los Angeles Lakers came to the top in the new Showtime storm brought about by Kobe, Nash and Marion.

Rudy Tomjanovich did not leave the team due to physical reasons as in the original timeline. In fact, in the original timeline, he left the Lakers most likely not because of physical discomfort. His reason at the time was "mental and physical fatigue", which had nothing to do with his previous bladder cancer.

This is most likely a respectful statement made by both sides after Rudy Tomjanovich was cut by the Lakers because his team's performance did not meet expectations.

In this timeline, the Lakers led by Rudy Tomjanovich had no problems with their record, and he really persevered.

Moreover, his coaching staff also includes an old acquaintance of Roger: Mike D'Antoni.

Wherever there is a fast-paced offense, there is the figure of the man with a mustache. Blitzkrieg and mustaches seem to have formed some kind of supernatural connection.

With his offensive coaching and Rudy Tomjanovich's management and control of the locker room, the Lakers' regular season record is unlikely to be bad.

But Roger was not without success, he won the scoring title for the tenth consecutive season.

This is a record that is almost impossible to be repeated.

Michael Jordan also had ten scoring titles, but those ten titles were not consecutive.

You can certainly say that he voluntarily gave up the possibility of winning the scoring title for ten consecutive years, because he was not the scoring title only in the season he retired. If he had not played baseball, he might have won the scoring title for 11 consecutive seasons.

But if is just if after all, and Roger's honor of winning the scoring title for ten consecutive seasons is real.

This season, due to the implementation of new rules, the league's outside players have collectively seen a surge in scoring.

For the past several seasons, the only players averaging over 30 points per game have been Roger, or occasionally two.

But this season, there are four players averaging more than 30 points per game.

Kobe averaged 35.4 points per game, AI averaged 33 points per game, and the Chosen One averaged 30.2 points per game.

Of course, Roger got the highest score, 35.7 points.

Considering that Amar'e Stoudemire also has to take up a large portion of the shots, Roger's data is already quite terrifying.

Nike's mouthpieces tried to overwhelm Roger by using Michael Jordan's average of 86 points per game in the 87-37.1 season, proving that the boiled egg's scoring ability was stronger than Roger's and destroying Roger's prestige.

But this behavior was despised by Bill Simmons, who quickly wrote an article in his column in response.

"I don't know why so many people suddenly mentioned Michael's 37.1 points per game. In the past ten years, no media has mentioned this matter, and Michael himself doesn't like to mention it. But when Roger averaged 35.7 points per game, these media seemed to suddenly remember that old story and started to dig up the past.

No matter who is behind it, I can conclude that Roger is the best offensive player in history, better than Michael.

All of these players with exaggerated scoring averages encountered the same problem that season, which is that they had no helpers.

If a player has someone around him who can help him handle the ball, and if he is not an idiot who only looks at the basket when he gets the ball, he will never be able to average 37 points per game.

I mean, it's not about individual ability, it's about the fact that basketball games are only 48 minutes long and at least eight people have the right to shoot in each game.

Roger obviously had more helpers than Michael in the 86-87 season, so he didn't need to score so many points. Anyone who tries to discredit Roger by saying 37.1>35.7 is a fool's errand.

Why don't you say that Kareem is the all-time scoring leader, so he is better at scoring than Roger? Even Kareem himself wouldn't use the all-time scoring leader as an excuse.

Kareem is great, but in terms of scoring, Roger is the best in history.

The glory of being the top scorer for ten consecutive years will not be tarnished by any such stupid remarks.

And Roger is not only the scoring champion, don't forget that he also delivers 35.7 assists while outputting 7.5 points.

I can say it again, he is the best offensive player of all time."

Bill Simmons did not exaggerate about Roger because similar data seemed almost incredible to people of that era and were history-making, just as incredible as the Bulls' first 72-win season.

Averaging 35 points and 7 assists per game, these statistics were only achieved by the almighty James in his prime, but that was the small ball era, when the league's speed and scoring were much higher than they are now.

As for James, who is known to be very versatile, he has never had a similar regular season performance in his entire life.

Such statistics were already terrifying in the small ball era, let alone in 2005, a league that had just emerged from the dark defensive era.

Such data is like science fiction to today's fans.

Of course, no matter what era, there will always be some nostalgic guys who think that the players of the past were better than the players of today.

As a result, people have been arguing endlessly about the topic of "the best offensive player in history."

When Roger reaches this level, it's normal that everything about him will cause discussion.

So Roger doesn't care about the news on the Internet, nor does he care about the title of "the strongest players in history".

He just wants to focus on the playoffs.

The same is true for Carmelo Anthony, who has made the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Melo feels like he's living a dream because he has a chance to get a playoff victory from his idol this year.

This has special meaning for Anthony.

In 1994, Carmelo Anthony was just a ten-year-old kid who, apart from going to school, witnessed drug trafficking, street shootings and gang fights. He was as ordinary as could be.

It was this ordinary boy who, on that hot summer day, on that crazy night, in the basketball Mecca, Madison Square Garden, holding a bucket of popcorn that seemed to never end, witnessed a game that dealt a severe blow to his brain.

At that moment when everyone thought the outcome had been decided, Carmelo Anthony just wanted to finish the popcorn in his hand and take the opportunity to move to a position in the front where there was no one, so that he could be closer to the court and see it more clearly.

He remembers every detail of that time. As early as 1994, Madison Square Garden was filled with shouts of "Fuck Roger!" and all he could hear were those shouts.

Amid such cheers, Anthony, like all the fans at the scene, was ready to celebrate the Knicks' victory.

As a result, Roger made a three-pointer right at the start and directly reversed the score.

Then came the controversial scene, where Roger knocked down Derek Harper, stole the sideline ball from Charles Smith, dribbled outside the three-point line and raised his hand for another three-pointer. Even now, there are still fans on the Internet who will argue endlessly about "whether Roger committed a foul on this ball."

At that time, the air in Madison Square Garden had frozen. Because just a few seconds ago, New Yorkers had begun to celebrate the victory of the series. But now, they were on the verge of elimination.

Next, Scott Pippen jumped to grab the ball and passed it to Roger who was running forward. Roger picked up the basketball, turned his head and stared at Pat Riley on the sidelines, and then dunked to completely kill the game.

What followed was a dead silence that Carmelo Anthony had never experienced before.

Madison Square Garden, such a big place with so many people, was as quiet as a cemetery late at night.

Then he told his mother: "I want to be a player like Roger!"

His mother told him gently, "You will, Merlot. You can do it."

It has been 11 years since this story began, and he has gone from being a gangster on the streets of Baltimore to a super genius at Oak Hill High School.

He went from being the king of Oak Hill High School to a phenomenal freshman who led Syracuse University to a championship in his freshman season.

Now, he's the icon of Denver, standing before the man who made his head go blank 11 years ago, with a chance to beat him.

For a little boy, this was really exciting.

Yes, Anthony had already faced Roger in the playoffs last season. Needless to say, the Nuggets were swept cleanly.

But this year, the Nuggets and Anthony have improved a lot. He doesn't fantasize that he can beat Roger in a series, but why not snatch a victory from Roger? It's not like he didn't win in the regular season.

G1, Oracle Arena, Carmelo Anthony hugs Roger tightly in the center circle.

Roger, who was being hugged to the point of being breathless, patted Angua's shoulder and said, "Mello, are you heartbroken?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"I thought you were hugging me so tight for comfort."

"No, I was just excited, like a little boy walking down the street with a pistol for the first time."

Roger:
It was really hard for Roger to empathize with his excitement.

If you talk about the excitement of understanding the true meaning of art for the first time, perhaps Roger can empathize with it.

"You have no idea what it feels like to play a series with your former idol. The first time I saw you play was in the playoffs between the Bulls and the New York Knicks. That night, I decided to be a professional player like you. In my mind, you are an engineer of the human soul. Now, I stand here and have the possibility of winning a game against my former idol in the playoffs. It feels like a dream."

"Melo, I advise you not to have too high expectations." Roger really didn't know how to express it, because he didn't intend to let Anthony win a game in the playoffs.

"Hey, hey," Anthony was probably the only one who could laugh before playing against Roger, "Can my situation be worse than last season?"

Of course. Of course it could be worse.

In the first game of the series, the Nuggets lost by 29 points.

Carmelo Anthony didn't have a good shooting touch today and was completely lost among the Warriors' front line.

The Nuggets' defense was not as strong because they were without Marcus Camby, allowing the Warriors to easily get to the basket continuously.

The next three games were basically the same. In last season's playoffs, Anthony at least played a game with a single-digit score difference in Game 3. But after four games this season, Carmelo Anthony has not been slaughtered by double digits in any of them.

Roger did not deliberately humiliate Melo, but the gap in strength between the two sides is so big.

Denver's No. 14 (because Roger Anthony is No. 14 in the book) threw his headband to the ground in frustration at the end of Game . He had worked hard all season, but was still powerless against Roger.

Roger took the initiative to walk towards Anthony and hugged him: "I told you before, don't have too high expectations."

"You've been winning for so many years, but you still haven't learned how to comfort people?" Melon shook his head.

Roger really didn't know how to comfort Anthony because he had never known what it felt like to lose in the first round.

At this moment, Roger suddenly remembered something, so he pressed Melo's shoulder and said, "The most important thing for people is to learn to be content. Yes, Dwyane played in the second round in his freshman year, and Dako even made it to the finals with the team, and they will definitely enter a deeper round this year. But you don't have to be dejected because of this. Don't forget that at the same time, there are people who haven't made the playoffs for two consecutive years."

Thank you great LeBron!

Without him, Roger wouldn't know how to comfort Melo.

Although the Nets failed to form a trident this season, they still occupy the eighth place in the Eastern Conference because the Magic have both McGrady and Howard.

In other words, among the most anticipated young players of the 03 generation, only the Chosen One has not played in the playoffs.

To be honest, Roger doesn't know why Anthony and Wade, who made the playoffs consecutively, were far less famous than LeBron, who made his playoff debut, in the original timeline.

All I can say is that Nike in the original timeline was really good at promotion and marketing.

Michael Jordan made an indelible contribution to the game. His Bobcats won the Cavaliers once in the last five games of the season, which was considered the biggest stumbling block for the Cavaliers to eventually fall outside the playoffs.

Nike was unhappy with Michael Jordan's behavior, but not only could they not do anything about Jordan, they had to pay him a large sum of money every year.

In fact, this scene was foreseeable. On the day of Roger's statue unveiling, Jordan said to Roger: "It's hard to come up with a lineup that is good enough to win the championship, but it's not too difficult to come up with a lineup that is good enough to beat him."

He just does what he says.

So it’s not that Michael Jordan is too weak. Whenever his opponent changes from Roger to someone else, he immediately becomes stronger.

Hearing Roger say this, Carmelo Anthony raised his head again: "I feel much better, Roger."

"Beast!" Roger complained in his heart.

Are you so happy to see others not making the playoffs?
The Warriors' first round of games ended without any surprises, and the next day, the Dallas Mavericks easily swept the Kings without Webber with a total score of 4-0.

Vince Carter and Roger met in the second round as scheduled.

At the press conference after the game, reporters were extremely active. This might be the most lively press conference scene for the Mavericks this season.

Because the next matchup will be a battle of traffic.

Whether it is Shaq and Roger or Carter and Roger, there are endless topics to hype.

The Shark attended the press conference with a crown in his hand.

The reporters were excited: "Shaq, have you already got Roger's crown in advance?"

"Roger? No, I'm just saying the Sacramento Kings don't deserve the crown."

This answer disappointed the reporters. Did the Sharks do all this just to mock the Sacramento Kings?
"Meeting Roger again in the playoffs, do you have any special feelings?"

"Nothing special, just another round. Of course, I hope to win."

The reporters were disappointed again because the Shark did not say something like "I'm going to tear Roger's head off and feed it to that pig Kobe."

What happened to that big guy?
When did he become so civilized?
The Sharks didn't realize the atmosphere was getting weird until reporters asked Vince Carter, "Roger once said you couldn't get past the second round. How would you respond in the game?"

"That egomaniac will pay the price for his arrogance. We will play our best game and we are ready."

At that moment, the shark knew what the problem was.

The reporters were eager to find some gunpowder in him, but he did not satisfy them.

Shark didn't mean it, his answer just now was completely in accordance with his heart. However, he seemed to be unable to say anything harsh subconsciously.

After all, you can't swear at someone you don't hate that much.

After the press conference, Vince Carter asked the Shark a question in the locker room: "Shaq, what's wrong with you?"

"Huh? Is there something wrong with me?"

"Where's your anger? Where's your attitude? You just acted like you were scared of the upcoming game."

"Bullshit, how can you tell that I'm scared?"

"You're not usually this gentle when you're playing against Roger. I don't feel your passion. I don't know if it's right or not, but when I play with anger, I feel stronger."

Carter is indeed playing with anger this season. After being traded to the Mavericks, he returned to the Raptors' home court for the first time and scored 39 points with an expression that said "I'm going to kill all of you" on his face.

In the game against Roger, he seemed to be possessed by Iverson and played a lot on the offensive end.

Now, Carter is still filled with anger.

He wants to personally step over the head of the person who says he can't make it to the second round!
The shark was stunned for a moment, and he found that he was indeed different from before.

He should have been angry. His breakup with Roger was the most famous basketball soap opera in the 90s. After he moved to the Lakers, he was defeated by Roger year after year. Roger was the culprit who caused his career to fall.

But at the beginning of this season, the Sharks found that their anger was gradually subsiding.

He still wanted to beat Roger, but he didn't hate him as much. He even praised Roger in the press conference after losing the opening game to Roger.

After a long pause, Shark smiled and replied, "You know Vince, Roger and I separated in 1997, which was already 8 years ago."

It's been 8 years. Time can dilute everything, it really can.

Looking back now, Shark feels that Roger is not such a jerk, especially compared to a beast like Kobe.

Carter shook his head: "It's not a matter of time. We must defeat that bastard."

After saying that, Vince Carter, still furious, walked out of the locker room. Shark could feel that anger, just like himself in the past few years.

But apart from becoming a curse to himself, can this anger really play a role in "defeating Roger"?

Shark also didn't know whether Carter would fall into the curse or break his fate.

Shaquille O'Neal stood up and looked at his locker. There was a Christmas card in there that Roger had sent him this Christmas—the first since they separated.

There is just a simple "Merry Christmas" on it. Maybe it was not written by Roger himself, but it was indeed sent by Roger.

This was a small response from Roger after the Shark expressed his friendliness at the press conference.

Shark closed his locker door, pulled out his phone, and sent Carter a text message.

"Of course we have to win, but don't let anger become your curse. It will only trap you and double your pain."

Vince Carter did not respond, and did not respond until the day of Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals, and did not even talk about the text message with Shark.

Before the game started, Carter walked up to Roger with a serious face and said, "I'm glad to personally jump over your head in the second round."

Roger glanced at the shark, then fixed his eyes on Carter.

From this moment on, the king's prey seemed to have shifted.

"Don't be too quick to be happy Vince, didn't Shark tell you not to jump to conclusions before competing with me?"

"Damn it!" The shark shook his head.

The curse has begun to surround Carter.

(End of this chapter)