Champions Creed

Chapter 58: I will stuff that damn failure into Pat Riley's dog mouth!
Completely different from what Michael Jordan expected, the arrival of the playoffs did not make Chicago fans miss him more, but made Roger more of a hero in Chicago.

At the age of 18, Roger scored 31 points in his playoff debut and delivered an unparalleled performance.

"What a bunch of fucking losers!" Michael Jordan started cursing when he saw the game results on the morning news after playing cards all night.

No one knew he was scolding the Bulls players who had become accustomed to relying on Roger.

Still cursing the Nets players who couldn't defend Roger.

The blood vessels on Jordan's head bulged. It was a normal physiological phenomenon for a man's head to be congested with blood early in the morning, but Jordan's blood obviously rushed to the wrong head.

Grover became increasingly worried about Jordan's physical condition. He often stayed up late and was often angry, which must have an impact on his physical health.

During the last orbital bone repair surgery, the doctor said Michael had high blood pressure. Because of this, the surgery was postponed three times.

Jordan had never had this problem before, but Grover knew exactly who was responsible for his high blood pressure.

Grover has always felt that Michael Jordan would most likely return to the basketball court. He believed this from the first day Jordan announced his retirement.

But now it seems that Michael's return may be earlier than expected.

Roger's performance made Jordan furious. He couldn't understand what was so difficult about an 18-year-old kid.

The feelings of Chicago fans were completely opposite to Jordan's. They were completely immersed in happiness.

If it were just dry stats like 31 points, 2 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals, Chicago fans might not be too excited.

But compared to Webber's 8 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 turnovers in his playoff debut, don't you instantly feel that Roger is much better?
If that's not enough, how about comparing it to Penny's 36 points, 12% shooting and 5 turnovers in his playoff debut?

Sean Bradley? Forget it. The poor No. 49 pick played in games before his season was over.

Roger's playoff performance is undoubtedly the best among the 93rd rookies.

Chuck Daly no longer expected the team to win. He could see from just one game that the two teams were not at the same level.

In fact, Chuck Daly has decided to resign and retire after this round of series.

He could never find the passion he had in Detroit again with other teams.

The most important thing is that when Michael Jordan chose to retire and when such a terrifying newcomer like Roger had already emerged in the league, Daly deeply felt that his era was gone forever.

The second game went almost the same as the first.

Roger used his powerful one-on-one abilities to turn anyone who tried to stop him into a clown.

Kenny Anderson continued to be lost under Pippen's stare. He had never encountered such an airtight defense. Compared with Roger, he was more like a rookie who was at a loss.

As usual, Derrick Coleman showed off his gorgeous skills in the low post. Even when there were only two minutes left in the game and the team was trailing by 2 points, Coleman was still attacking tirelessly.

But even a three-year-old knows that gorgeous personal data does not necessarily help the team win. The fans know the value of this data.

Derrick Coleman finished with a game-high 31 points and 15 rebounds.

But the Nets lost by 18 points.

Roger only scored 23 points today because he went off the court halfway through the quarter.

Pippen had 18 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, and commented on Kenny Anderson: "Give that guy a pair of glasses, he can't see the basket at all."

Kukoc had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, and performed quite well.

There was no need to compete in the third game. The night Coleman returned to New Jersey, he was photographed in a nightclub. Although he made a lot of money, Coleman was born in a poor family and knew how to save money. The wine in the nightclub could not be wasted.

Before Game 3, an NBC sideline reporter said to the camera, "When Derek walked into the court, I could smell the strong smell of alcohol on him! To be honest, I don't care about his performance tonight. I'm just curious about who can drink more between him and Vin Baker."

The NBC sideline reporter was prescient in that there was nothing to be desired from Coleman’s performance today.

He shot 12 of 2 from the field and only managed to get his personal score into double digits thanks to free throws.

It's not a question of whether Coleman is accurate or not today, he's not even in the right place.

There were several times when he had an open mid-range shot, but he refused to shoot and rushed into the crowded inside to force a layup, and then missed. Bill Walton even joked: "Coleman played well today, played at the level of a No. 1 pick, but he wore the wrong jersey. He is actually on the Bulls side."

Just like that, Coleman and Anderson, who were very arrogant before the game, were swept out 3-0 in a humorous way, just like the protagonist in "Speeding Life" when taking the driving test, "they acted as fiercely as a tiger, but when they looked closely, they were stuck in the same place."

Before the series started, Derrick Coleman told reporters with a tough look on his face: "I'm going to show you who I am."

Now everyone knows who he is, he is a big idiot!
After winning the first round, Roger just raised three fingers as usual: "Three games closer to the Eastern Conference Finals."

In the second round, the Bulls faced the Atlanta Hawks.

Playing against the Hawks is not much more difficult than playing against the Nets, because the Hawks' configuration is too restrained by the Bulls.

The strongest player of this Hawks team is undoubtedly Danny Manning, the No. 88 pick in , who was hailed as "a shining star of American basketball in the future."

He is indeed a very powerful forward swingman with solid mid-range skills and mature low-post techniques.

But the Hawks' best offensive player happened to meet the Bulls' best defensive player, Scott Pippen.

Under Pippen's defense, Danny Manning could only average 16.3 points per game, and the Eagles had no other stable scoring point except Manning.

Like most point guards of the same height, the 183cm Mookie Blaylock has difficulty taking over the offense directly. Not all 183cm point guards have the ability to score 58 points in a single game.

The 213-centimeter rebounding behemoth Kevin Willis averaged 19 points per game in the regular season, but his finishing was weak and his offensive efficiency was very low when facing the tough defense of Cartwright and Wennington in the playoffs.

The Eagles' offense almost came to a standstill.

Roger continued to do whatever he wanted and showed the results of his hard work over a long period of time. He played mainly without the ball and averaged 26.6 points per game against the Hawks.

As a guard who has been selected to the All-Defensive Team six times in his career, Mookie Blaylock has a strong ability to steal the ball from the ball handler.

Because of him, Roger made 4 turnovers in his first game, the highest in his career.

And because he was afraid of Blaylock's steal, Roger didn't dare to slam the ball, which greatly affected Roger's rhythm.

In order to solve this problem, Roger deliberately reduced the number of singles with the ball and increased the proportion of off-ball offense starting from G2.

Blaylock had no way to deal with this. When Roger made a beautiful change of speed, accurately passed through layers of screens and caught the ball and shot, the only thing that Blaylock, who was not tall enough, could do was pray.

It’s a pity that Roger’s touch is hopelessly stable, and he can hit the ball from any position.

Agent Zero ruthlessly carries out kill after kill until his opponent collapses.

Danny Manning is still working hard. He scored 3+ points in both G4 and G20, but his scoring ability is not a panacea after all. It can only allow the team to breathe a little longer.

4 to 1, the Bulls easily crushed the third-placed Hawks in the Eastern Conference and made it to the divisional finals even without Michael Jordan!

When Roger was interviewed by NBC's sideline reporter, for some reason, all he could think of were the words Pat Riley had said during the regular season and his contemptuous smile.

"Tell the kid I'm really sorry."

"If he really meets us in the playoffs, he will know what cruelty is."

"Regular season results don't tell you anything. He'll soon know the difference between him and MJ."

Immediately afterwards, Roger's ears were filled with the sound of missed shots, the same sound of missed shots that he failed to make the buzzer-beater when he faced the Knicks last time.

The noise lingering in Roger's ears made him unable to even hear what the reporter asked, so he grabbed the microphone directly:

"Pat thought he could easily beat me because he was just a role player and didn't understand what a superstar could do. If he had devoted half of his attention to basketball, he might have achieved what I did in my rookie season in his prime.

Now, I don't want to celebrate any victory, I just want to tell you one thing: without Michael, I would still stuff that damn failure into Pat Riley's dog's mouth! "

Finally, Roger waited for the moment to kill. His gun would never jam again this time!
Shaquille O'Neal was extremely disappointed with Chris Webber's playoff performance, and the Magic ended their chaotic season in the first round. Obviously, this was not the goal that Shaq expected, nor was it the goal that the Magic expected. Will the No. 93 pick in really be put on the shelf in Orlando? - "Sports Time and Space" magazine.

Chuck Daly decided to end his 12-season coaching career. The great legend finally came to an end. Perhaps it was not Roger who nailed the coffin of Chuck's coaching career, but Derek and Kenny's laxity, which made Chuck disappointed. - New Jersey Record.

Bulls fans are really beginning to accept the days without Michael, because under Roger's leadership, the team is still invincible and still stands at the top of the Eastern Conference! And Pat Riley, the old man who always dresses up beautifully on game nights, has to be careful now. He thought Michael's retirement would give him hope, but a new nightmare is about to cover New York! - Chicago Tribune

(End of this chapter)