Champions Creed

Chapter 64 063: We don't need MJ, now you only need me! (ask for monthly ticket)
At the age of 18, most players may not be able to start in college at this age.

And Roger has already forced the most terrifying defensive team on the planet into a Game 7.

Understand the gap and you'll understand why Pat Riley was so upset during his press conference.

He could accept being eliminated by Michael Jordan, but being beaten like this by someone who should have experienced hardships in the NCAA, Riley just felt ashamed.

Last summer, many people thought Roger's decision to enter the NBA directly was an overconfident challenge. But now, Roger is almost there.

New Yorkers were also extremely angry. This group of the most difficult fans in the world first criticized all the players of the Knicks.

In the fan connection program on the car radio, fans complained about Ewing's roughness, complained about Starks' instability, complained about Derek Harper being completely made a clown by Roger, and earnestly advised Greg Anthony to find a factory job.

Of course, they didn't forget Roger.

New York fans shouted collectively in the subway station, in the square, and in front of the camera: "Fvck Roger!!!"

From now on, Roger has another identity.

Roger, a Chinese, is a film actor, a famous basketball player, and the honorary mayor of New York.

How popular is Roger now? When the Bulls' bus drives through the streets of New York, passers-by will salute Roger wherever they go, make international friendly gestures, and burst into passionate shouts of "Fvck Roger".

Roger accomplished in just six games what took Michael Jordan years to accomplish.

Now Michael Jordan can only rank third in the list of "NBA players most hated by New Yorkers", with Roger and Miller ranking first and second.

Regardless of whether he wins the game 7 in the end, Roger has successfully done one thing. He told Pat Riley: The Bulls without MJ are not trash!

At this time, Riley had a serious expression on the training ground. Anyone whose defense was not in place would be scolded by him.

He was like a scumbag who took out all his frustrations on his wife when he got home. But in the Knicks, it was not his wife who bore his wrath, but the Knicks players.

Riley pushed everyone like crazy. He couldn't lose this Game 7, which was his best chance to win the championship. If he couldn't win the championship without Michael Jordan, Riley couldn't forgive himself.

To Riley, basketball is similar to war. There is no happiness or relaxation in this sport, and victory is the only thing to pursue in this sport.

And he forced his players to accept this.

After the training, the players in the Knicks locker room were exhausted.

Riley is like an unsatisfied 40-year-old woman who has to drain her own energy every night.

However, no one in the locker room complained. Patrick Ewing's ascetic leadership and Riley's training philosophy were a perfect match. The team leader didn't say anything, so it was natural for the other players to not complain.

As an undrafted player, Starks has no reason to complain.

But he really felt that his physical strength was reaching its limit. After the training, he was so tired that he couldn't even lift his arms, and his already injured knee was aching.

Fortunately, there is only one game left in the Eastern Conference Finals.

If you grit your teeth, you should be able to persevere.

When the Knicks players were too tired to speak in the locker room, Pat Riley, wearing a custom-made Armani suit, had already appeared in front of the reporter's camera: "I'm not worried at all that we will lose in Game 7. The New York Times reporter is right. Madison Square Garden is not a place for a little kid to run wild."

Riley, citing the New York Times, issued Roger an ultimatum.
-
In a luxurious manor in Chicago, Michael Jordan met with his personal lawyer and agent David Falk.

Falk brought some bad news: "The labor negotiations in the major leagues are not going well."

"How bad is it?" Jordan was smoking a cigar, and the whole room was filled with smoke.

"In the worst case, there is a possibility of a lockout next season. But this is also an opportunity. If the major league players go on strike, they will definitely send players from the minor leagues to the major leagues. Michael, entering the major leagues has always been your childhood dream. This is a godsend."

Jordan put down his cigar, waved his hand, and a glass of whiskey was immediately handed to him: "David, this is not a shitty God-given opportunity. If I accept the substitution, I will be standing against all the striking players. I can never play at that time."

The two fell into a brief silence, and at this moment, NBC's classic soundtrack Roundball Rock, which precedes the NBA live broadcast, sounded on the TV in the room. Many fans didn't know the name of this soundtrack at all, but they knew the NBA had begun when they heard the familiar melody.

Falk then realized that Jordan was preparing to watch tonight's NBA game, the seventh game between the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls.

Jordan finally broke the silence by saying, "Is a major league lockout inevitable?"

Falk nodded: "That's the way it looks now. There's about an 80% chance that it will be shut down."

"Well," Jordan took another puff of his cigar and focused his eyes on the TV, "how about we go back to the NBA?"

"How long?" Falk was not surprised by Jordan's decision.

Jordan didn't answer, just stared at the TV intently.

how long?

That depends on today's results.

That depends on whether the Knicks are still vulnerable.

Roger stood in Madison Square Garden, and the shouts of "Fvck Roger" never stopped since he entered the arena.

Even Michael Jordan never received such treatment. New Yorkers recognized Jordan from the bottom of their hearts, but not Roger.

Like Riley, they couldn't accept that the Knicks were surpassed by a high school rookie. They made a tsunami of noise, trying to upset the too-young All-NBA guard.

Roger was not affected and his shooting accuracy during warm-ups was still perfect.

But other players on the Bulls may not be in as good a shape as Roger.

After the game started, the Knicks' defense against the Bulls was already consuming.

Steve Kerr's first two shots bounced out of the basket. Pippen missed his mid-range shot against his old teammate Oakley, and his breakthrough was no match for the Knicks' muscular inside line.

The Bulls were slow to score after the start, and the Knicks took this opportunity to get off to a perfect start of 8-0.

The Bulls attacked again, and Pippen passed the ball to Cole in the low post. Cole was about to pass the ball to Roger, but Starks stole it.

Starks immediately picked up the basketball and counterattacked.

All the fans in the stadium stood up, and the 10-0 lead was right in front of them.

But No. 14 in the red jersey embarrassed the New York fans again. He quickly caught up with Starks from behind and gave Starks a solid chase shot!

This move was like a timely brake, stopping the Bulls' decline.

This second also made New York fans hate Roger even more. This high school rookie once again ruined their good fortune.

Starks was not impressed by the block. He stood beside Roger and kept talking to him: "You can't change anything, rookie. Madison Square Garden is not a place where you can do whatever you want."

This was the third time Roger had heard someone say this, from the New York Times to Pat Riley to Starks, everyone was saying the same thing.

They act like Madison Square Garden is some kind of holy place.

To good kids, their repeated emphasis on this matter might be considered as intimidation.

But for the rebellious Roger, the more they emphasized, the more he wanted to do whatever he wanted here!

Roger ignored Starks and quickly called everyone to come over to defend: "That's enough, we can't fall behind anymore!"

The 18-year-old young man was giving orders on the court, but the members of the three-peat team all rushed over to defend.

This Bulls team is used to being led by Roger.

It turns out that Roger's block was of great significance, not just adding one more block.

This block was like a powerful slap in the face, waking the Bulls players from their dazed state.

After this defense, the entire Bulls team was very serious and did not allow the Knicks to find any opportunities.

Starks could only pass the ball to Ewing before the 24-second offensive time ended, hoping that the King of New York could break the deadlock.

Unfortunately, the gorilla's hasty turn and jump shot bounced out of the frame.

Roger grabbed the rebound himself and quickly counterattacked, helping the team break the scoring drought.

2比8和0比10，这其中的差距可不仅仅是4分。罗杰改变的，是球员们的心态。

In subsequent games, Roger repeatedly made similar performances when the Knicks were about to gain momentum.

The Knicks' offense suppressed everyone on the Bulls except Roger.

In the sixth minute of the first quarter, Starks had another highlight moment of the game, breaking through the baseline and dunking over AC Green.

Green has never ridden anyone in his life, but he has been ridden many times. People like him who defend diligently are the easiest targets for dunking.

This dunk boosted the morale of the Knicks, and they seemed to be ready to eat the Bulls alive.

But soon after, Roger returned a magnificent goal on the offensive end.

At that time, Pippen broke through Oakley and attracted the defense, then passed the ball to Roger on the outside.

Roger raised the basketball and prepared to jump shot, but this time it was just a fake shot. After picking up Mason, Roger rushed straight into the restricted area, jumped directly at Oakley who had not yet had time to withdraw, and slammed the ball into the basket through him!
Although Oakley is fierce in defense, he is not good at blocking shots. Only in two seasons in his career did he average more than 0.5 blocks per game.

So when faced with Roger who suddenly rushed in, Oakley was completely powerless to stop him.

Roger, who has always been elegant and gentle, also made a tough finish this time!

NBC commentator Steve Jones couldn't sit still any longer: "I don't know what Coach Pat Riley is thinking right now. If I were him, I would really regret angering Roger before. Now, he is being oppressed and doesn't even have a chance to breathe!"

After completing the dunk, Roger didn't even look at the old oak tree Oakley, but turned his head to stare at Riley: "I'm just going wild, what can you do? Shut up, Pat, I've heard enough of your bullshit during the regular season!"

Pat Riley was furious: "If that bastard dares to rush into the penalty area like that again, I'm going to see blood here!"

Of course Cartwright heard Riley's shout, so he clapped his hands: "Keep an eye on those bastards, we can't let Roger get into any trouble!"

This was basketball in the 90s. Either you win the game, or you have a good fight, or both.

As the game continued, the Knicks continued to hit the Bulls hard again and again, using their physical confrontation on the defensive end to bring the Bulls' shooting touch to a level similar to their own. Except for Roger.

The two sides were entangled until the end of the halftime, and the Knicks still failed to widen the score.

In this attack with 26 seconds left in the first half, Roger made an open shot into the basket.

At this time, the Bulls were trailing by 2 points and Roger missed the chance to tie the score.

After Ewing got the rebound, he found Starks who had already rushed to the front court.

When Ewing first encountered the supermarket cashier who tried to dunk on him on the training ground, he would never have imagined that the two of them would join forces to go through such a long journey.

And today's section is undoubtedly the most important section of their journey.

They must reach their destination safely!
Starks got a chance to get off quickly, but he was still nervous and afraid that Roger would catch up with him again.

Roger was indeed trying hard to catch up, but Anthony Mason next to him deliberately tripped Roger and both of them fell.

"You bastard! Didn't you see? Blow the whistle! The whistle on your neck is not a decoration!"

"Hey, I was just careless."

Neither Phil Jackson's roar nor Anthony Mason's defense stopped the game, and Starks continued to advance rapidly.

This time, Roger can’t create miracles again, right?
Starks took two long steps and jumped up, lifting the basketball.

Then with a "bang", the basketball was hit onto the backboard.

He was blocked again.

A nail board hit the target and Starks' fast break missed again.

Scott Pippen's long journey finally paid off.

Pippen has been trying to atone for his sins since that humiliating Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

He still didn't like Roger, and if the incident of refusing to play was brought up again even ten or twenty years later, he would definitely keep complaining about it like a nagging woman.

But at least he is now extremely eager to win.

Only victory in the series can temporarily cover up his extremely stupid behavior.

After Pippen finished the shot, the ball bounced back into the hands of Oakley who was following up.

At this time, Pippen, who flew out of the baseline, immediately took a big step back to the basket, jumped up again with amazing speed, and blocked Oakley's layup. Pippen used two consecutive blocks to defend the Knicks' determined counterattack!

You know, Pippen, who was always the second best player, was an extremely good player.

After this block, Riley was so angry that he couldn't help but hold his head, and his exquisite hairstyle became a little messy.

The Bulls still had the last chance, and Roger once again had the chance to tie the score.

Although Pippen had just completed a heroic feat, Roger had just missed his shot.

But after half court, Pippen took the initiative to pass the ball to Roger.

Second in command, just do your own job well.

The Zen Master did not call a timeout to make arrangements for the last attack of the half. He did not even stand up. Instead, he sat back and gave the offensive decision-making power completely to Roger.

This is his coaching style.

Riley was so angry that he yelled from the sidelines: "Pressure, pressure! What are you standing there for? Don't give him a second to breathe! Force him to break through! Force him to pass the ball!"

Anthony Mason immediately pressed forward. Roger turned his back to withstand Mason's mad dog-like attack, then looked up at the time on the timer.

When there were only 5 seconds left, Roger turned around and prepared to charge in. However, the difference in fighting ability made it almost impossible for Roger to squeeze past Mason.

He needed a change of pace.

So Roger turned around and used his excellent ball sense to immediately pass the ball to Mason, which gave Mason no time to react and gave Roger the space to accelerate and break through.

But the Knicks' defense still did not fail. Mason was still sticking to Roger's side, and almost all the Knicks players retreated to the edge of the penalty area.

As Roger charged in, he was surrounded by the smooth, dark muscle of the Knicks.

Riley's strategy almost succeeded, and Roger's wisest choice now was to pass the ball.

Considering the Bulls' poor overall shooting percentage today, forcing Roger to pass the ball is what Riley wants to see most.

But Roger didn't do that. After all, he was a man who had never given Pippen a single assist in the entire season.

It's too difficult to pass the ball in a tight jam.

But it is relatively easy to score a goal in a tight situation.

Seeing Roger jump to attack the basket, Charles Smith, Ewing and Mason also jumped into the air to block him.

The three of them formed a circle in the air, with Roger in the middle of the circle. Three long arms covered Roger's head, so Roger couldn't even see where the basket was, let alone score a goal.

Riley breathed a sigh of relief. This was an attack that was doomed to fail.

In any case, his team could enter the second half with the lead.

Roger in the air was not in a hurry to attack when he was surrounded. If there was anything that the failure of his first shot taught Roger, it was patience.

On the basketball court, you have to be patient, even if it's just for a few seconds.

He adjusted the position of the ball left and right in the air, trying to find an angle for the shot.

But the Knicks' three players were too tight, and Roger could never find space to shoot. No matter where he threw the ball, it would definitely be blocked.

Finally, Roger simply stretched his hand out of the gap between Ewing and Mason. At this time, the bodies of the four people began to fall down.

Roger threw the ball toward the basket before landing. Ewing immediately turned in the air, trying to block the ball, but he was a step too slow.

The lifted basketball went into the net, and the game time was just over. Surrounded by three people, Roger still scored the ball steadily, successfully tying the score before the end of the first half!

After scoring the goal, Roger punched hard and turned to the Knicks bench: "Want to force me to pass the ball? Pat, I've said it before, a bench player like you will never understand the code of conduct of our superstars!"

Steve Jones covered his head with his hands like the New York fans: "Oh my God, this incredible layup was like a Michael Jordan performance!"

This is the second time in this year's Eastern Conference Finals that a commentator has commented on Roger in this way.

Michael Jordan himself was sitting in front of the TV at this time, and he was not very happy.

Even a little angry.

What is this? Why would he be compared to me?
I've only been gone for one season, and have you forgotten what true horror feels like?

At the scene, all New York fans gnashed their teeth. 41 to 41, the Knicks seemed to have the upper hand and the defense was excellent.

But at the end of the first half, they were only tied with the Bulls.

They still couldn't kill the crazy red bull.

Or rather, they failed to kill the 18-year-old rookie.

Riley turned away angrily. Roger's 16 points in the first half seemed too dazzling to him.

Considering that the team only scored 41 points in the first half, this data is already impressive.

Well, New York, which shouted "No kid is allowed to run wild in Madison Square Garden" before the game, really gave up all illusions at this moment.

They had to admit that Roger, who was only 18 years and nine months old, had already put the Knicks into a desperate situation and turned Madison Square Garden upside down!
In the next half, Roger and Pat Riley also reached the final moments of their fateful showdown.

David Falk took advantage of the halftime break to ask Jordan again: "When do you plan to return to the NBA?"

Jordan still didn't answer. He just stared at the TV with his bloodshot eyes from staying up late, and clenched his fists, as if he couldn't wait to get on the court.

What are you doing, Pat? End the game!

This kid has made enough trouble!
Returning to the locker room at halftime, all the Bulls players were breathing heavily.

Roger scored 16 points in the first half and finally tied the score with an incredible 1V3 layup, which was great.

But the Bulls are still very passive.

In the first half, in order to defend against the strong inside attacks of Ewing and others, Cartwright had three fouls, Wennington had three, and AC Green had two fouls.

Once this situation intensifies in the second half, the Bulls' already fragile inside line will be wide open.

As for the Bulls, they relied on Roger's touch from beginning to end today.

But who can tell for sure how it feels?

Therefore, the balance of victory is still tilting towards the Knicks.

Roger could see everyone's worry, he clapped his hands:

"Don't worry, I will make the Knicks' defense collapse before ours collapses. I don't understand defense, and they don't understand it either.

If the No. 23 was here, you wouldn't be panicking. But now he's gone, you have to learn to trust me.

Put aside those unnecessary worries. In the second half, what I need is a group of people who believe we can win.

We don't need him, now you only need me!"

(End of this chapter)