Champions Creed

Chapter 75: Roger did it too!

The photo of Roger and O'Neal squatting next to a three-wheeled Ferrari waiting for a tow truck appeared on the front pages of major media.

The photo was taken by a caring Orlando citizen who saw two young men sitting on the side of the road with a broken-down blue Ferrari sports car next to them on his way home from get off work yesterday.

After discovering that the two men were the Magic's two star players, he immediately asked them if they needed help and learned in detail why the Ferrari only had three wheels left.

It turned out that after his tire got a flat, Roger just wanted to wait patiently for rescue.

But the shark insisted, "It's just a tire change. I can do it easily."

As a result, Shark didn't hold the wheel firmly after removing it, causing the wheel to roll down the slope into the lake beside the road. If it was just the tire, it would float. But the tire and the wheel naturally sank directly to the bottom of the lake.

Shark looked at the tool in his hand and scratched his head. "Roger, those who often lose tires know that Orlando is a city of a thousand lakes, with lakes of all sizes everywhere, so it is normal for tires to fall into the lake. By the way, Ferrari is so expensive, there should be some kind of three-wheel driving mode, right? Teach me how to adjust it?"

This is what happened. The passerby took this funny photo after obtaining the consent of Roger and the shark.

In an interview with reporters the next day, O'Neal reiterated: "I didn't crush the car. Why don't you believe me? Unless Charles Barkley and I were in the same car, how could the car be crushed? It's not my fault that I lost my grip on the tire. In the final analysis, it was all Roger's fault for accidentally running over a nail while driving. Roger's driving skills are definitely the worst I've ever seen. No wonder he can't find a girlfriend. He can't even drive a car!"

Roger was not to be outdone: "Driving skills? Believe me, even if Michael Schumacher came, he couldn't drive away a Ferrari with only three wheels!"

Looking at the farce of Roger and O'Neal in the newspaper, Michael Jordan couldn't believe that these two idiots were his biggest enemies this season.

What are they? They are just two childish kids who love to make trouble.

At this time, Jordan did not know the consensus reached by these two children, who he saw as playful, behind this farce.

In fact, it's not just Shark. Everyone on the Magic team supports Roger in "beating up Jordan."

And that day is getting closer and closer.

On November 11, the Magic defeated the New Jersey Nets 18-113 at home.

Aside from the resignation of head coach Chuck Daly, the Nets did not see many personnel changes this past summer.

Therefore, considering that Roger led the Bulls without Jordan to sweep the Nets last season, it was natural that he would win easily today.

Roger scored a season-high 35 points, and this was the Magic's sixth win in the first 18 days of the season.

During this period, the Magic only lost one game, to the Seattle SuperSonics.

The Magic's current record is 6 wins and 1 loss, ranking first in the Eastern Conference.

Although the Magic's opponent tonight is the Nets, reporters kept asking questions about Jordan at the post-game press conference.

"Roger, Michael Jordan's average points per game this season ranks first in the league. Do you think he is still the best scorer in the league?"

"He's certainly the best scorer in the league, but he'll be a scorer who won't win a championship."

"The Bulls bounced back immediately after losing the opening game and are now on a winning streak with 5 wins and 2 losses. Do you think the Bulls led by Jordan have a chance to surpass last season's record?"

"I am now a member of the Orlando Magic. Don't ask me questions about the Chicago Bulls."

"Roger, has there been any thaw in your relationship with Michael? Have you guys been communicating this season?"

"Absolutely not!"

The whole world knows that Roger vs. Jordan, Bulls vs. Magic, is the most anticipated regular season game.

Therefore, all major media started building momentum for this game half a month in advance.

The same thing happened on the other side. At this time at the United Center, the Bulls had just defeated the Detroit Pistons.

联盟的新宠儿格兰特.希尔拿下了18分10个篮板7次助攻的数据，乔丹也许是为了证明自己比希尔更全能，随即拿下29分9篮板9助攻。

However, not many people mentioned Grant Hill in the press conference after the game. Reporters all asked Jordan: "Are you confident in facing the Magic in half a month?"

Jordan smiled and said, "You know, every time I went to Orlando to play away games, I was always uninterested because the games were too easy. For this reason, I had to take my two sons to Disneyland to make my away trips less boring. The two energetic little guys always exhausted me in the park. Dealing with them is often much more difficult than dealing with the Magic."

At this point, Jordan put away his smile and said: "This time, to show respect to Roger, I will only take one child."

The outside world was happy with Roger and Jordan's reactions, but the two were still on edge.

This kind of confrontation is interesting. The world of competitive sports does not need so many brothers. What everyone wants to see more is the endless fight between Jordan and Isiah Thomas, and the iron-blooded battle between Oakley and Barkley.

The most amazing thing about this game is that the two sides are not just sworn enemies, Jordan and Roger.

11月22日公牛战胜了快船，这场比赛韦伯拿出了加盟公牛以来的最好表现，全场24分12个篮板7次助攻，6罚5中。

Jordan thought his coaching had worked, so he praised him at a press conference: "Chris has gotten into the rhythm. I don't understand why people keep saying that trading Roger has made the Bulls lose money. Chris is good, Nick is good, and we are strong.

Webber also wanted to prove that he was not the bust No. 1 pick as O'Neal and the Orlando media said he was, and that it was extremely stupid for the Magic to send him away at such a low price.

So he also had nothing good to say about the Magic: "When I arrived in Chicago, I realized that I had come to the right place. When I return to Orlando, I hope they won't regret it."

Well, Webber actually felt that Chicago was not a good place, and Jordan was even worse than the Sharks.

But in front of your ex, you have to pretend to be happy.

The next half month was filled with intermittent verbal battles between the two sides.

The Magic went crazy and filmed an ad mocking the Bulls and Jordan.

The advertisement is called "Roger's Magic Show" and the content is that Roger took out a Bulls No. 45 jersey and after performing "magic", the jersey turned into a pile of cow dung made of chocolate by the prop team.

O'Neal, who was standing by, exclaimed with an exaggerated expression: "Holy shit, magic!"

Roger smiled and said, "No, it's bullshit."

Although the swear words were replaced by a "beep" sound, fans could still tell what they said from their mouth shapes. Jordan's No. 45 jersey was called bullshit, and the Magic's official actions were completely disrespectful to Jordan.

Michael Jordan didn't do any of this. He just became more bloodthirsty. On December 12, in the game against the Atlanta Hawks, Jordan scored 1 points.

This is the second time this season that he has scored more than 40 points.

Considering that Jordan was going to face Roger in the next game, this was considered a demonstration.

Jordan wanted this match so badly; it was his first chance to beat Roger in public in more than a year.

During this period, the media led by Nike kept reiterating that Jordan would definitely make the Bulls great again. They used various data to prove that Jordan's Bulls were much better than Roger's Bulls.

Nike and Jordan have spent a lot of energy and resources on this, but as long as there is one thing that cannot be accomplished, then these public opinions will have no persuasiveness at all, and that one thing is to defeat the Magic.

Only when the Bulls led by Jordan truly expose the magic, people will believe that Jordan is still great.

People say that the Bulls' trade created Orlando, great, then I will destroy Orlando!
Finally, December 12rd, the day everyone had been looking forward to, arrived.

Michael Jordan led the team into the Orlando Arena two hours in advance to warm up.

From the first second he stepped onto the court, Jordan's eyes seemed to be spitting fire. He did not forget that he had titanium implants in his eyes, and he did not forget the words "You don't need MJ".

It wasn't just Jordan who was angry, Chris Webber hated every floor here.

Scott Pippen can finally teach Roger a lesson.

You could still bully me when Jordan was not around, but now that Jordan is back, won’t I have to take advantage of his power?
Moreover, Pippen was already with Larsa at that time. Because of their relationship, the media recently dug up the news that Roger had driven Larsa back to school. Although the one driving was not Roger, the media did not care so much.

Pippen asked Larsa, and Larsa told Pippen the truth about what happened that night, saying that there was nothing between her and Roger.

But the media has been making fun of it: "Roger also slept with Scott's girlfriend."

"Roger did it too" even became a famous meme in the sports circle, which made Pippen extremely ashamed.

Pippen really didn't expect that Roger would still be able to help him even after he left the team.

So today, he must vent all his resentment!

However, there was not only hatred on the court. When Roger entered the court, he hugged another friend who was a magician in the center circle.

Kukoc glanced at his teammates who were warming up and whispered, "I really hope you beat up that old bastard. Really, since he came back, I found that Scott has become quite amiable. However, as a professional player, I have to do my best for the game."

"I understand, Tony. I totally understand. Even though you'll be a hindrance, I'll still find a way to kick that old bastard's ass. I promise."

After saying hello to Kukoc, Roger returned to his own half.

After warming up, both sides made final arrangements on the bench.

Roger's expression turned serious, and he told everyone: "I'm going to set the tone from the start. In the first round, I'm going to go straight to Toni Kukoc."

Everyone on the Magic team was confused. What?

Isn't that your good friend? You two were hugging each other just now.

Roger ignored the surprised looks of his teammates and continued, "If we win the ball, I want to take over the first attack. Grant, help me set a screen and force Tony to come over to defend me!"

Grant didn't know what Roger wanted to do, but he nodded: "OK, what if we start the game on defense?"

Roger replied coldly: "If it's defense, I have my own way to set the tone."

Afterwards, the starting players of both sides stepped onto the court.

Michael Jordan, wearing jersey number 45, stared at Roger number 14.

Chris Webber stared at Shaquille O'Neal with ill intent.

Jordan walked up and prepared to shake hands with the Magic players. In his plan, he would not shake hands with Roger, in order to put psychological pressure on Roger.

Jordan walked towards Ron Harper. They had played cards several times in private and were familiar with each other.

But when Jordan extended his hand, Harper did not react at all.

Jordan awkwardly patted Harper on the shoulder, then walked over to former teammate Grant.

Grant glanced at the hand Jordan extended and said "huh" indifferently.

It's not just them, everyone on the Magic team was indifferent to Jordan, and none of them wanted to shake hands with Jordan!
This is something that would never happen in other teams. There would always be someone on other teams who would give Michael Jordan face.

But on the Magic, no one welcomes him!
No one wanted to shake his hand!
Jordan was shocked. Before, it was just Roger who disobeyed him. But now, he actually led the entire team to disobey him!
What kind of shitty team is this!?

"Michael, sorry, we don't shake hands with the defeated!" Roger looked at the embarrassed Jordan and smiled slightly.

This is the first time the Anti-Mike Alliance has embarrassed Jordan!

Jordan's anger could no longer be concealed: "You will soon understand why you were kicked out, not me."

"I now know why I left, because you are afraid of me. You are afraid that you can't control me in the team. You are afraid that I will replace you. You are a coward who dares not compete with me, so you let the team trade me. Michael, do you really have to make me say it so clearly?"

"Bastard, hold on to Shaquille O'Neal's thighs! I promise you will die uglier tonight, I promise!" Jordan turned around angrily and went back to his own half. No one could stop him from killing Roger today. This was not just a regular season, it was a personal grudge!
The game is about to begin. The Bulls' starting lineup this season is Nick Anderson, Jordan, Pippen, Kukoc and Chris Webber.

Webber is indeed not strong in defense at the five position, but it sounds like the Bulls have other strong centers.

Before the jump ball, Webber also reminisced with his old teammate O'Neal: "Is your grandmother watching the game, Shaq? If so, it's too unfortunate, because she will find out that her beloved little Shaq is a waste."

The last time Webber mentioned Shark's grandmother, he got slapped.

This time he deliberately mentioned it again, he knew O'Neal couldn't stand it. And a shark who lost control of his emotions was good for the game.

The referee kicked off the ball, and the overly angry Shark failed to concentrate, and the basketball was snatched away by Webber, who also had explosive athletic ability.

On the first attack, Webber used the high post as a pivot and passed the ball to No. 45 Jordan who was outside the three-point line.

At the same time, Kukoc set an off-ball screen for Jordan.

But the next second, the whole audience heard a loud "bang".

Roger directly knocked over Toni Kukoc who was setting up a screen, ran straight to Jordan, and blocked his three-point jump shot!

Of course, the referee called a defensive foul.

But everyone at the scene was stunned. Roger's collision just now was really hard. He said he would run towards Kukoc at the beginning of the game, and he really did it.

Then everyone, including Kukoc who was lying on the ground, understood what Roger meant.

He was sending a message, not just to the Bulls, but to his teammates: Hey, this may be my brother, I play with him, we have a close relationship, but today, I don't care about anything except winning!

As Roger himself said, he sets the tone right from the start!

It worked, and all the Magic players understood at the time that there was no room for retreat in this battle.

They must smash this bull, or they will be smashed themselves!

Then the Bulls took a sideline kick, and Michael Jordan ran back and tried to shake off Harper to catch the ball.

But Harper simply grabbed Jordan's jersey and slammed his elbow into Jordan's chest during the pursuit.

Everyone in the anti-Mike alliance was already very excited today, and after Roger set the tone for the game, everyone's enthusiasm was raised to the highest level.

This allowed the Magic's role players to attack very aggressively on the defensive end.

Of course Jordan would not spread his hands and complain to the referee, so the referee assumed that there was nothing wrong with this ball.

Seeing that Jordan couldn't shake off Harper, Webber planned to pass the ball to Pippen.

But Derek McKay, who was responsible for defending Pippen, also stayed close to him. The moment Webber passed the ball, McKay bumped into Pippen, then stretched out his arms, which were as long as Pippen's, to disrupt the pass!
After completing the steal, McKay directly launched a counterattack.

"Shit pass, shit!" Scott Pippen yelled while chasing McKay.

In terms of athletic ability, Pippen is much better than McKay. After all, he can also dunk from the free throw line. However, when the Bulls mentioned the free throw line, people tend to only remember Jordan and habitually ignore Pippen.

In short, it would be too easy for him to catch up with McKay with his athletic ability.

McKay rushed into the penalty area with the ball, and Pippen was ready to return the favor with a bloody chase.

He swore to make trash like McKay pay the price. How dare you steal my ball!

However, after McKay ran to the basket, he did not attack the basket directly, but passed the ball diagonally behind him!
Pippen turned around subconsciously and saw Roger, who was already blocking out the sun and looked like he was setting fire to the sky!
Pippen tried to jump up to block it, but it was too late.

As soon as Pippen's feet left the ground, Roger rode on him and slammed the ball in with one hand! Because of the huge inertia, Pippen was knocked over and sat on the ground, covering his painful head in embarrassment!
"Roger dunked over Scott Pippen right at the start! Is there a more perfect response than this? Roger made the whole of Chicago regret it, and made Jerry Krause regret it! This was a very strong start. The raging bull with bloody horns met the bravest bullfighter this time!" NBC commentator Mike Fratello was fully engaged from the start.

The opening led by Roger was really exciting. Even the commentator was so excited. It is not difficult to imagine what state the Magic players are in now.

They have transformed themselves into the most ferocious beasts, ready to devour the bull!
After Pippen put down his hands that were covering his head, people noticed that there was a bump on his forehead.

Just now, Roger's thigh hit Pippen's forehead. Roger didn't mean to do it, but he was very satisfied with this unexpected result.

He leaned over and stared at the disheveled Pippen: "Scott, Larsa is fucking tighter than you!"

At a time when the "Roger did it too" meme is popular, this trash talk undoubtedly touched Pippen's nerves.

As Roger retreated, he enjoyed the expression on Pippen's face, who was furious.

Very good, this is exactly the feeling Roger wants.

He just wants to kill this team in the most brutal way!
But Scottie Pippen was just an appetizer.

Roger has now shifted his target to Jordan.

Tonight, there's more to it than just that!

(End of this chapter)