Champions Creed

Chapter 56: Michael is no longer surrounded by the world
"How could Scott Pippen have the nerve to leave the press conference early? Yes, Roger missed the last shot. But if our great Mr. Scott could raise his shooting percentage to 30%, yes, it's not too high a requirement, as long as he could raise that damn shooting percentage to 30%, the Bulls would have won that game long ago."

When Shaquille O'Neal was asked about Roger's failed buzzer-beater, he supported his good brother Roger.

Not only Shaq, many media also criticized Pippen for not being like a big brother in the locker room.

His shooting percentage was terribly low in three consecutive games, but he seemed very unhappy as a result.

The Sports Center program also felt: "You all say Roger is rebellious, but I think it is Scott who has been making the atmosphere in the Bulls locker room tense."

Roger never expected Pippen to support him. This man who lived in jealousy and resentment all his life had little sunshine left in his heart.

After missing the buzzer-beater last time, Roger just continued to work on his off-ball offensive skills and continued to adapt to the feeling of shooting in strong confrontations.

Larry Bird's face no longer made Roger feel disgusted, and Reggie Miller's game videos became Roger's best spiritual food.

Roger even had a special request, asking Abunassar to collect a college player's game video for him.

In this era when the Internet is not well developed, let alone indecent videos, even serious videos are not easy to find.

Abunassar found an NCAA scout he was familiar with and obtained the video Roger needed in exchange for one of Roger's original jerseys and original signed sneakers.

Ray Allen of the University of Connecticut.

Abunassar had heard of this kid. When he was in high school, many people compared him to Roger. They believed that Ray Allen was one of the few backcourt talents who could be compared with Roger.

After entering college, Ray Allen's game style changed dramatically. He reduced his ball-holding ratio and focused on off-ball offense. Moreover, the kid did very well.

His screen-driving, cutting in and out, and jump shots are all textbook-level and impeccable.

He rarely made mistakes, and he only had one offensive foul all season. He was like a clockwork robot, running precisely over and over again.

He even commented on himself in an interview with the media: "I don't like anything to go wrong at all. Control is all part of my life."

Although Roger, who is the same age as Ray Allen, is already an NBA All-Star starter, Abunassar has to admit that Ray Allen is someone worth learning from.

Lu An soon discovered that Roger seemed to have returned to high school.

Apart from training, competition and sleeping, his life just consists of...

His room is covered with posters of all the Knicks players, just like the basketball tactics that were posted on the walls.

Pat Riley's poster was hung in the middle of the wall, covered with darts, like a huge dartboard.

The first thing Roger did after getting up every day was to grab a dart from the bedside table and accurately hit Pat Riley's shiny head.

Roger felt uncomfortable if he didn't ejaculate once a day.

Veteran Bill Cartwright saw all of this. After one day's training, he looked at Roger, who was holding a basketball and preparing for extra practice. He turned his head and looked at John Paxson: "This kid is under too much pressure. All of Chicago is looking forward to him beating the Knicks in the playoffs, but people often overlook the fact that he is only 18 years old."

"What are you worried about, Bill?" Paxson asked.

"I'm worried that he will be crushed before the playoffs start. It's too heavy for an 18-year-old to carry a city on his shoulders. We have to help this young leader."

Pippen, who was standing by, heard the word "young leader", rolled his eyes at Cartwright, did not join in the conversation, changed his clothes and left.

Paxson and Cartwright didn't care about the unhappy Pippen. Pippen's remarks after the last loss to the Knicks made many people in the locker room disappointed with him.

Cartwright approached John Paxson and asked, "John, what did you want most when you were 18?"

"To have enough food to eat and for my family not to be kicked out by the landlord." Paxson answered honestly.

"Well, apparently our young leader is already a multimillionaire and has no such worries. Think of something else."

"Damn it Bill, how can I remember what I wanted most when I was 18? Besides having enough food and a woman?"

"Woman?" Bill Cartwright's eyes lit up. "Yes, John, yes, you are right. Didn't the Illinois State cheerleaders and players come to visit the Berto Center today?"

Paxson seemed to have noticed something and reminded him, "Bill, don't go too far."

Cartwright pulled a box out of his locker and placed it on the bench in front of Roger's locker. "Overdoing it? I did it all so Roger could relax."

Half an hour later, Roger, who had finished the first set of off-ball running training, sat on the sidelines sweating profusely.

He proved with his actions that there was no Iceman on this planet.

The Iceman doesn't sweat during training, simply because he doesn't train much or he slacks off during training.

If George Gervin had trained like Roger, the nickname Iceman would never have been born.

At this time, Abunassar heard someone knocking on the door of the training hall.

Roger looked up at Abunassar in confusion, and Abunassar hurried towards the door: "I promise, Roger, I have notified all the staff to let them not disturb you."

"Relax, Joe, I don't mean to blame you, and I won't deduct your salary this month. Just find out who it is and let him go back."

Roger saw Abunassar walk to the door of the training hall, open it, and then stand there in a daze.

"Joe? Who is it?"

"I don't know either, Roger. The girl looks like she is lost." Abunassar said, turning sideways, and Roger also saw the young girl standing at the door of the training hall.

The girl at the door was also confused. "Sorry, I'm a member of the Illinois State cheerleading team. I came to visit the Beto Center with the team today. Bill said that a lucky audience member will be drawn to watch Roger's training today, and I am that lucky audience member, so I came."

Roger sighed. Bill Cartwright just loved to play these kinds of pranks.

Last time, he stuffed all his unwashed socks that had been stored for a week into Kukoc's locker. When Kukoc finished training, he thought there was a dead mouse in the locker.

Roger waved to Abunassar, meaning for the man to go back.

Abunassar blocked the door with his body again: "Sorry, little girl, go back quickly. Bill was just joking with you. Our training is not open to the public. But don't be sad, you can still get a signed jersey from Roger."

Roger really didn't expect that his original small products could solve so many problems now.

"But." The little girl looked around: "Bill said that Roger would drive the lucky spectators back. So I told the team not to wait for me. Now if I go out alone, I can't get a car at all."

It's true, the Beto Center is located in the suburbs of Chicago, so it's almost impossible to get there without a car.

Roger vowed right then and there that he, too, would save a week's worth of socks and stuff them in Cartwright's closet.

"Joe, tell the girl to wait at the door and not run around. Let's continue training. When we're done, you take her back."

An hour later, Roger finished training, changed his clothes and walked out of the locker room.

Of course, I didn't take the box of things Cartwright left behind. Who would be so inhumane as to cheat a female college student?

But after seeing the girl's face, Roger realized that Pippen was really fucking inhumane.

This girl was none other than Larsa Younan, who later became extremely famous among the aunts.

How could Pippen have the heart to let a female college student endure such a severe social beating?

Although Larsa made Pippen and Jordan's son linger, to be honest, Roger always felt that Larsa did not meet his aesthetic standards.

Not to mention the "slutty aunt" version of Larsa, her plastic surgery has reached the point of abstraction. Especially her lips that are as thick as starchy sausages, when Jordan's son kisses her, it's not much different from kissing two bicycle tires.

Even the 18-year-old Larsa is not good enough for Roger. Her skin is very rough and she is not very pretty without makeup.

Roger had no interest in the woman in front of him. Cartwright might have wanted to do a good deed, but he obviously didn't understand Roger's taste.

So, Roger didn't intercept Pippen. In the end, Abunassar drove Roger home first, and then he drove Larsa back to school alone.

However, the next day, the news that Roger's car took a college girl back to school appeared on the front pages of major newspapers in Chicago.

Although people did not take a picture of who the driver was, since it was Roger's car, the driver was naturally assumed to be Roger himself.

这件事并没有太多后续热度，因为从3月23号开始一直到4月15日，状态极佳的公牛队打出了赛季最长的一波12连胜！

Roger has been in rampage mode since his last failed buzzer-beater. He scored over 12 points in 6 of the 30 games.

With this outstanding record and the approaching playoffs, the incident of Roger's car appearing on the college campus was quickly forgotten.

But people don’t know yet that this temporarily forgotten news will give rise to a famous saying in the basketball circle and make Scott Pippen a laughing stock for the rest of his life.

In the last game of the season, the Bulls and their old rivals the Knicks met again.

This time, the Bulls defeated the Knicks 98-86, their first win of the season, and finished second in the Eastern Conference with a record of 57 wins and 25 losses, miraculously tying their record from last season after losing MJ.

At least judging from the regular season results, Jordan's departure seems to have little impact on the team.

However, considering that Riley only allowed the main players to score 20 points in this game, this victory is not very convincing.

After the game, Riley really didn't take the loss to heart: "I welcome that kid to come and seek revenge on me if he can make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Ladies and Gentlemen, I think we should talk about Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley."

Riley, who was aiming for the championship, didn't take a rookie seriously at all. His eyes were already on those in the Western Conference who might compete with him for the championship.

Roger returned home and looked at the Riley poster full of darts in the room. He walked silently to the poster and took the darts off one by one.

He no longer needed to vent his anger in such a childish way.

Soon, he'll be able to take out that bastard himself in the playoffs!
The day after Roger ended his rookie season, the great Michael Jordan also ended his first season in baseball.

The Southern League where Jordan is located is a 2A league, which is only equivalent to the third-level league of American professional baseball.

Even though the Southern League's game venue was in a dilapidated state and there were only four cameras in the entire venue, this at least ensured that fans could see Michael Jordan.

Under the watchful eyes of the public, Jordan performed very well in his first year of baseball career in a small league like the Southern League.

His batting average is 20.2%, the third-lowest on the team. His on-base rate is 28.9%, the fourth-lowest on the team. His slugging rate is 26.6%, the second-lowest on the team. His offensive rating is 55.6%, the second-lowest on the team.

Look, although all his statistics are below the league average, at least none of them is the last in the team, which is enough to prove his strong strength.

Even local fans have full confidence in him: Michael's professionalism is impressive. He practices extra before and after games. Although he started from a low point, his serious training is admirable. If he continues like this, in another three years, no, just two years, Michael might be able to guard the water dispenser in the major leagues!
The media even wrote article after article specifically to praise Jordan's greatness during this brilliant season.

Michael has a dream of playing in MLB, so let him keep dreaming. -Sports Illustrated

Considering he is 31 years old, if his name is not Michael Jordan, he will hardly survive in the AAA league. - Chicago Sun-Times

Pack your bags and go home. You've been a disgrace on the baseball field. -- The Washington Post

Michael Jordan sat in the back seat of a limousine, legs crossed, reading newspapers and magazines.

It is not difficult to imagine how bad the mood of this man, who is used to winning, is at this moment.

He has been on the podium for too long, and any loss is a shame for him.

But on the baseball field, he was humiliated in almost every game.

Jordan continued to flip through the magazine and saw news related to basketball.

"57 wins! The Bulls without Michael Jordan have achieved the same record as last season! Roger averaged 24.2 points, 1.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and only 1.1 turnovers. His scoring ranks seventh in the league this season, and those ahead of him are all superstars. The best rookie is already in Roger's pocket!"

"At least in the regular season, Roger was a perfect replacement for Michael. Considering that Roger and Scott had a hard time working together for a long time and still won 57 games, his actual performance was better than it looked on the surface."

"Let me tell you something you may not know. Since the 80s, Roger is the rookie with the highest average score per game except for Jordan. But Michael was already 21 years old when he played in the NBA. What kind of scoring data could Roger get at the age of 21? Maybe he can surpass Michael at the age of 21?"

"We have reason to expect that the 12-year-old Roger, who led the team to 18 consecutive wins, will put on a brilliant performance in the playoffs. It's time for people to see the truth about the playoffs."

The young man he hated the most became a hero in Chicago, while he himself was like a sewer rat, hated by everyone.

The huge sense of disappointment made Jordan clench his fists and almost tear up the magazines and newspapers in his hands.

At that moment, Jordan lost the sense of superiority that he had established in the summer of 92, "I control the world and the world revolves around me."

At that moment, he missed basketball so much for the first time since his retirement.

He remembered those victories that were easily won by him, he remembered those elegant jump shots that never missed, and he remembered the spotlight that belonged only to him.

He wanted to make the world revolve around him again.

And he knows how to do it, and as long as he returns to basketball, he can have it all again.

Thinking of this, Jordan laughed almost morbidly, like the villain in a horror movie who studies centipedes:

"Tim, look, these people are crazy. They imagine a damn kid to be the hero of this city. The regular season record has confused the eyes of Chicago fans. Do they really think that Roger and Scott won 57 games in the regular season and this Bulls team will be exactly the same as last season? No, when the playoffs start, even if it's just the first round, they will find out that Chicago really needs me!
Do you think they still need me, Tim?"

Tim Grover didn't respond, but he could feel that Michael Jordan was getting closer and closer to making up his mind.

How close, that's entirely up to Roger.

If that kid really led the Bulls without MJ to defeat the powerful Knicks and win the Eastern Conference championship, then maybe Michael would be stimulated and make up his mind immediately.

But speaking of it, if that day really comes, would Jordan be willing to be teammates with Roger, whom he hates?
Grover didn't think about it any further; it wasn't something he should be thinking about.

(End of this chapter)