Champions Creed

Chapter 53: I am the one who made Black Jesus bleed!

Scott Pippen proved with his powerful firepower that he is a bad main attacker.

This tough guy never plays tricks. He usually uses actual actions to prove that he is really not capable.

After the 20-point defeat against the Knicks, the Zen Master and Roger personally took away Pippen's unlimited firing rights.

Normally, if Pippen took more shots, the Zen Master would turn a blind eye. Moreover, since Pippen's return, the team's record has been very good.

But in the game against the Knicks, Pippen was really messy.

The Phil Jackson must ensure the team is on the right track.

Pippen was naturally very dissatisfied with this, but he really didn't want to mess up the locker room anymore.

There is only one most shameful ending for Pippen this season, that is, the team's record is far from that of the previous season.

If Jordan's team could beat the Knicks, but his team was swept by the Knicks, just imagine what a disaster that would be.

How should he face the media and tell them, "At the end of the day, this is just basketball"?

So, Pippen chose to compromise.

He was not afraid of Roger's fist at all, he was thinking about the record.

In fact, he also knew that if he wanted to achieve his goal, he couldn't do without Roger.

An hour before the game against the Pacers started, Roger arrived at the Market Square Arena to check out the court.

In today's game, Roger must ensure that there are no problems with his touch.

Because if he lost today, he would become a laughing stock around the world: "Look, there's that idiot who said the team can do without Michael."

Likewise, he would become a laughing stock of Pippen. If he made Pippen give up his shot and failed to win the game, Pippen would never be so obedient again.

While shooting, Roger saw another person who came to the court early. He was thin, but his eyes were extremely fierce, just like the thin version of Majin Buu in the Dragon Ball comics.

This person is none other than the Pacers' flagship figure, Reggie Miller, who Roger considers to be one of the top three tough guys in history.

Miller glanced at Roger and greeted him first: "I like what you said to Michael, and I like what you did to him even more. Yes, Michael really thinks he is a god, and he thinks everyone should be afraid of him. Fuck him, he is not unbeatable. You proved that Michael Jordan can bleed."

Miller is fed up with young men who lick Jordan's feet at every turn. He doesn't understand that behavior. We are all men, and we are all here to fight. Is there any benefit in being submissive to your enemies?
This is why Reggie Miller never won a championship in his life. He didn't know how to turn enemies into friends. In fact, after entering the 21st century, the Celtics Big Three invited him to come out. But he refused because he was stubborn and didn't want to fight with the enemy.

He thinks the basketball court is just a place for fighting and killing, he is too naive.

Miller first expressed his affirmation of Roger, but those who are familiar with him know that it is almost impossible for this guy to praise his opponents.

Even when his own sister was playing basketball with him, she wanted to slap Reggie Miller back to his mother's womb because of his chattering.

Miller put away the few affirmations in his eyes and raised his chin slightly: "But you are indeed far worse than Michael. The only way for you not to lose to the New York Knicks in the playoffs is to lose to us first."

Roger was still shooting, making every shot steadily, and he spoke calmly: "Let me tell you something I know, Reggie. You have never won a series since you entered the industry in 87. So you have no right to tell me anything about the playoffs."

Reggie Miller liked Roger more. He walked to the other half of the court and started shooting as well. "You can say whatever you want, but after the game today, your girlfriend will regret licking a piece of trash like you."

As one of the few people in the NBA who has been beaten by both Jordan and Kobe, you can imagine how well Reggie Miller speaks.

As time went on, more and more people filled the Market Square Arena.

Roger didn't want his hands to get cold, so he would go up and shoot a few times every few minutes of rest.

Before the game started, a sideline reporter found a gloomy Scott Pippen and asked him, "When Phil said liberating Roger, does that mean your shots will be reduced?"

"That's a good question." If you observe carefully, you will find that when an NBA player does not know how to answer a question, they will always say this sentence first to buy themselves time to organize their words.

"I don't care about the number of shots. As long as I can win, who cares about that thing?"

It would be strange if you didn’t care!
It's so embarrassing to be deprived of a shot by a rookie.

The game started soon, and the Pacers' starting lineup was very much based on Larry Brown's style.

Of the two inside players, one must be willing to devote himself to doing the dirty work and must be a tough guy with muscles in his brain. He doesn't have to know how to attack, as long as he can dunk the ball within two meters of the basket. But he must be ruthless and fierce.

The other inside player can be relatively weaker, but must be tall, and preferably have a jump shot threat so that he can cooperate with the guard in pick-and-roll.

The wing must have a solid forward with sticky defense, and it would be best if he is tall enough to play as a power forward. Anyone who dares to come in and score will be beaten to a pulp.

The best shooting guard is a marathon runner who can run thousands of kilometers on a single charge and outrun others. It is best if this player does not touch the ball for the entire game but can score as soon as he catches the ball.

The point guard can be as old-school and traditional as he wants, but he must be tough, stubborn and aggressive on defense.

So, the starting lineup of Haywood Workman, Reggie Miller, Derek McKay, Dale Davis and Rick Smits appeared in front of everyone.

In fact, in the future, whether it was the 76ers or the Pistons, Larry Brown's teams were all replicas of this configuration. He always chose the right puppets to perform his own dramas.

Larry Brown's team is like a rigid, rough, black smoke emitting large machine, without any aesthetic feeling. But this team made of steel is enough to crush most people who try to stop it.

He is like an expert in cooking Sichuan and Hunan cuisine, mainly using spicy and fresh dishes, but fresh ingredients can easily be wasted in his hands.

AI is the only outlier in the iron army coached by Larry Brown. He plays basketball with great aesthetics and despises the meticulous academic standards.

So after years of accommodating each other, they finally broke up.

This Pacers team is not easy to deal with because they have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in the two seasons since this year, and both times they reached a Game 7, making them one of the strongest teams in the Eastern Conference.

Larry Brown stood on the sidelines, serious.

It's really sad that Phil Jackson pinned his hopes on an 18-year-old high school student.

Yes, Roger's scoring statistics this season are dazzling. But when facing muscular defensive teams such as the Spurs and the Knicks, Roger performed poorly.

This is where Larry Brown's confidence comes from.

This high school student can't fight a tough battle.

Larry Brown even felt that the nonsense of "liberating Roger" was just a smokescreen, and the Bulls would still focus on Pippen's offense today.

The game started. Scott Pippen, who almost smashed the basket in the previous game, controlled the ball across half court. The person responsible for defending him was Derek McKay.

Pippen passed the ball to Kerr at 45 degrees on the right, and Kerr passed the ball to Roger at 45 degrees on the left.

Then Pippen and Kerr moved to the other side, giving Roger enough room to perform.

Many Bulls fans in front of the TV rubbed their eyes. This is how Michael Jordan plays!
The 188cm tall Workman blocked Roger's lower body. Larry Brown's team emphasized pressure, and he did not allow his opponents to shoot or pass easily. He would rather let the opponent break through and then assist in defense. Roger is not a picky eater, he will eat whatever you give him.

He pushed away Workman who was blocking him, and then accelerated to break through.

Workman walked quickly, always keeping in front of Roger. But Roger suddenly turned around, shook off Workman who was unable to brake in time due to inertia, and then made a jump shot after turning around.

But this time, not only did Workman rush over to interfere, but Reggie Miller on the side also came to assist in defense in time.

The two arms crossed, leaving Roger with only a small space to shoot. Although this shot did not directly block Roger, it also caused a huge interference, which really tested Roger's jump shot ability.

But Roger has become quite proficient in the move of turning around and jumping shot. It can even be said that it is his biggest killer move besides the layup when he is trying to break the position.

What's more, he had been deliberately maintaining his touch today, so the ball drew a perfect arc and went into the net, and Roger scored the point easily.

Seeing Roger still score a goal under such double-teaming, Pippen curled his lips.

Okay, okay, we all know that guy has a soft touch.

But the key is, when playing against a team like the Pacers, how do you ensure that your touch remains so good?
In the end, the breakthrough will still depend on me!
After one round, Roger once again resolutely chose to break through.

On the Pacers side, Dale Davis and Smits were already waiting under the basket.

But Roger didn't even rush to the basket. He jumped and made a layup one step inside the free throw line to finish the shot.

In the subsequent games, Roger took most of the shots on the offensive end and the Pacers' defense was repeatedly broken.

Eight minutes into the first quarter, Scott Pippen took his first shot, and it was a dunk in a counterattack.

Whether Larry Brown believes it or not, Scott Pippen has completely become Roger's deputy on the offensive end!
In previous games, Roger and Pippen were actually evenly matched on the offensive end.

Pippen had no obligation to serve Roger exclusively, and Roger had no absolute right to fire.

Only when Pippen was resting or injured, Roger was the absolute offensive spearhead.

But today, everything has changed.

Pippen was running hard to help Roger open up space. He took it as his responsibility to organize the pass and put most of his energy on defending Reggie Miller. He almost never took the initiative to attack unless Roger couldn't handle it.

He completely turned back into the Scott Pippen who was pushing hard from behind beside Michael Jordan!

With this change in strategy, Roger scored 10 points in the first quarter.

On the contrary, Miller only scored 2 points in a single quarter under Pippen's defense.

The second quarter was Roger's regular rest time, and he only played half a quarter. And with Kukoc's high-post support, other Bulls players got a lot of opportunities, so Roger only took 2 shots in this half of the game.

But both shots hit the target.

One was a layup after breaking through the baseline while being defended by two giants, Smiths and Dale Davis.

One time was at the end of the second quarter, when there were only 1.2 seconds left in the game. Pippen's pass was blocked by Derek McKay and kicked out of bounds, and the Bulls had another chance to serve from the sideline.

Although there were only 1.2 seconds left in the game, the Pacers' defense was still fully focused.

Order, details and defense are the creed that old man Larry Brown brought to this Pacers team.

Even if it is just 1.2 seconds of defense, Larry Brown requires everyone to be perfect.

What's more, the Pacers are now trailing by 7 points.

He didn't want to enter the third quarter with a nearly 10-point disadvantage.

Reggie Miller was assigned to defend Roger this time, and Larry Brown had to pay attention to the 18-year-old Chinese.

The skinny fighter No. 31 grabbed Roger's jersey with both hands and said, "Do you want to be the Black Jesus? You are not him, even though you are both wearing red jerseys. You will miss the shot, you will definitely miss this one!"

Roger had a cold expression: "I am the one who made Black Jesus bleed!"

The referee blew the whistle, Roger pushed Miller away, ran from the left to the right along the baseline, and caught the basketball.

Miller chased after the ball, and suddenly he found this feeling familiar. He did everything he could to chase down a dangerous player in a red jersey and try to stop him.

But before, he had never successfully stopped the No. 23.

But I should be able to take down No. 14, right?

When Roger received the ball at a zero-degree angle on the right side, his back was facing the basket. So the moment he received the ball, he had to jump while turning around and shoot directly.

Reggie Miller chased very closely, almost interfering with his face.

But Roger's shooting movement was still steady, without a trace of haste or nervousness.

The basketball finally went into the net at the moment the red light came on. The dangerous madman in the red jersey destroyed Miller again.

Miller finally felt how sharp the blade that made Black Jesus bleed was!
The Zen Master was looking at Roger, who remained calm at the critical moment, and was thinking about something in his mind.

Maybe this child can take on greater responsibilities!
This buzzer-beating goal gave Roger 14 points in the first half and led the Bulls to a 9-point lead entering the second half.

Larry Brown was defeated by the rookie he least expected!
Roger didn't spare Brown and Miller during the halftime interview.

"Larry certainly wanted me to play two more years of college basketball because he knew that if I was in the NBA, his chances of winning a round in the playoffs would be even lower. As for Reggie, I said I liked his style. After all, who likes a dead fish?"

In this half of the game, Roger completely took control of the offense and the Bulls beat the Pacers badly.

Back in the locker room, the Zen Master praised Roger's performance in the first half.

And told him: "As long as you can keep this touch, I have no problem with you taking 30 shots in the second half."

Pippen sat silently by the side, his eyes empty.

On the one hand, he was deprived of the right to shoot.

On one side, the Zen Master said to Roger, "I have no problem with taking 30 shots."

But even so, everyone should know that I am the boss of the team, right?
Well, everyone should know.

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The public period is still available in 4K! Lao He begs for monthly tickets and rewards, thank you all!
(End of this chapter)