Champions Creed

Chapter 83: He is a better scorer than the scoring champion, and he is a worse bad boy than Dennis!

The matchup between the top teams in the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference has already attracted much attention.

Coupled with the feud between O'Neal and the Admiral, this game adds more fun.

If that wasn’t enough, how about Roger the Rebel meets Rodman the Bad Boy?
The Alamodome was very crowded on January 1th. Everyone knew that this game was a potential preview of the Finals, but that alone was not enough to attract so many fans. Most importantly, Spurs fans spit on the phrase "He is a better scorer than the scoring champion, and he is a worse bad boy than Dennis."

You can really brag!
Why don't you surpass D'Ely with 0 championships and surpass Jordan with 1 championship?
So many Spurs fans came to the scene today just for one thing, to see their No. 1 MVP and scoring champion beat up Roger and Shaq, who were praised by the media.

The Magic came to warm up an hour and a half earlier today. Magic coach Brian Hill explained: "I know Craig Popovich's tricks, so it is necessary for us to check the air conditioning system in the locker room in advance to see if there are any messy things in the players' lockers."

After Popovich became the general manager of the Spurs this season, the frequency of air conditioning failures in the visiting locker room of the Alamodome increased significantly. Everyone knew what was going on, so Brian Hill led the team to inspect the locker room early.

The Spurs slowly entered the court after the Magic team was halfway through warming up.

After seeing David Robinson, whose figure was almost as perfect as Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Terminator", O'Neal patted Roger on the shoulder and said, "That's him!"

As one of the owners of the Alamodome, Rodman was the first to express his welcome to Roger.

The red-haired man walked to the Magic's warm-up half court as if nothing had happened, chewing gum and showing a disdainful attitude: "Shaq, this is the helper you found? He just took advantage of the schedule and scored 30+ in three consecutive games against three lottery teams. Is this what you call a scoring master? The next game is not a preview of the finals, but a preview of my David's coronation ceremony. I can crush you two little chicks with one hand."

Roger was not surprised by Rodman's attitude. He still respects David Robinson and is willing to fight for the Spurs.

Although everyone knows that he refused to help defend Hakeem Ole in the 1995 Western Conference Finals, the reason behind this is not as simple as "MVP should handle his own matchup."

Rodman is not an idiot. He certainly knows that different people in a team have to perform their duties. During his time with the Bulls, he enjoyed helping Jordan with defense. He knew in his heart that the MVP did not have to handle his opponent.

The real reason for Rodman's refusal to cooperate was probably that Popovich, as the team's general manager, did not offer Rodman a satisfactory contract at the end of the season. When he joined the Spurs, then-Spurs general manager Bob Buss promised to renew Rodman's contract with an annual salary of 700 million next year. But after Popovich took office, he refused to acknowledge this promise.

So Popovich didn't give the contract, and Rodman, who felt cheated, threw a tantrum and refused to help defend Dream in the Western Conference Finals. This is the truth of everything.

In fact, Rodman not only refused to defend Dream, but Horry made 42 three-pointers with a hit rate of 17% in the entire Western Conference Finals series, which was the most three-pointers in his entire career. While refusing to help defend Dream, Horry also exploded. It can be seen that Rodman was just messing around because he didn't get a big contract. It can be called the defensive version of eight points to release the power.

Now, the conflict between Popovich and Rodman has not yet reached the point of a major outbreak. Therefore, Rodman still has a strong desire to win the championship with the Admiral.

He will help the general deal with anyone who creates trouble on the road to the championship.

Magic is trouble, so let's fix the magic.

But Roger felt that these two guys were destined to have no results, as they were not from the same world at all.

Rodman was extremely arrogant, but what about the Admiral? Although the verbal battle was fierce before the game, when the game was about to start, David Robinson still shook hands and hugged all the Magic starters in a friendly manner, and wished everyone: "Good luck."

No matter how harsh the admiral's words are, they can't hide the fact that he is a good man.

Rodman finally managed to muster up his momentum, but the Admiral ended up doing this, leaving Hua Da Chong speechless.

But he still went his own way and didn't follow David Robinson's steps. Before the game started, he stared at Roger with his devilish eyes and wiped his neck: "You and Shaq are two big gluttons. You two can't even get one ring with your twenty fingers together."

Attacking the heart is the most important thing, which is a very important point in Rodman's defensive principles.

Most people would choose to avoid Rodman's annoying trash talk, but Roger did not back down: "Shut up, Danny, you can't even defend a woman. I heard that Madonna's back-to-the-basket shot made you helpless. She kept scoring for half an hour and forced you to surrender, making you run away like a stray dog. Trash, if it were me, she would surrender."

"You envy me, Roger."

"Envy? I can run into at least ten men who have fucked Madonna when I go out to buy a bottle of water. I don't like sharing a place with so many people. Only a non-picky little dog like you would show this off as a treasure."

"Fuck you"

A gangster is afraid of meeting a more gangster. Roger's attack made even a thick-skinned person like Rodman speechless for a while.

The shark on the side saw Rodman's frustrated expression and couldn't help laughing. I've already said that I'm shaking a tough guy this time!

He will help me out!
The referee kicked off and the Shark fought for the ball over the Admiral's head.

In the Magic's first attack, Roger faced off against the Spurs' second-leading scorer Sean Elliott with his back to the basket.

The 89 third overall pick was 203 cm tall and had an excellent wingspan, but his weight was exactly the same as Roger's current weight.

Being taller, he looked even thinner than Roger.

Roger's back-to-the-basket play was not hindered too much. He reached the left side of the free throw line and skillfully turned over and shot a jump shot. But at the moment of shooting, the magic insect Rodman came up to interfere.

Rodman's timing of double teaming was perfect, as he arrived just as Roger was about to shoot, so Roger couldn't pass the ball again.

Due to the combined interference of Rodman and Elliott, Roger's first shot missed.

Rodman immediately flew back to fight for the rebound. Horace Grant had clearly jumped first and was in a better position for the rebound. However, Rodman used his incredible speed to surpass Grant in the air, poked the ball with his fingertips, flicked it over his head, and then jumped again to protect the rebound.

This is Rodman's ability. In the original history, when Pippen heard that the Bulls wanted to bring in Rodman, he trembled with fear: "We don't need this lunatic!"

But in the end, Jordan made the final decision: "But we need 20 rebounds."

That's where his value lies.

After protecting the rebound, Rodman passed the ball to point guard Avery Johnson. At this point, Rodman had completed his mission.

Rodman, who had taken care of everything, looked at Roger and shrugged: "What did I say? Big glutton, your dad should have shot you into your mother's X."

The Spurs attack, David Robinson attacks from the high position.

Although he is one of the four great centers and has won the scoring title, the Admiral's back-to-the-basket offense is probably at the bottom among the four centers.

He's a face-up player.

His offensive style is not like a center, but more like that of Davis. It's not that he can't play back, but compared to the solid Ewing and Shaq, his offense is more "floating".

In the first two seasons, he was able to easily beat the Sharks with his face-to-face skills.

However, David Robinson soon discovered that the Magic were using Horace Grant to defend him today, and the fat shark continued to squat under the basket.

This is the strategy Brian Hill prepared for Robinson. He wants to use Grant to press the general all the way on the outside, bite the general's steps, and not give him space to shoot easily, ensuring that every shot of the general is disturbed. Grant has more defensive experience than Shark, and his personality is calmer than Shark and he is not easily fooled, so he is a more suitable candidate to deal with the general outside the penalty area.

And if the general dares to force a breakthrough, the shark under the basket will take good care of him.

The move worked, as David Robinson leaned back on the spot with Grant close behind him and the ball bounced out of the rim.

Grant immediately blocked Rodman, allowing O'Neal to easily grab the rebound.

After O'Neal grabbed the rebound, he yelled, "Fake scoring champion, fake!"

After the start, neither Roger nor the Admiral scored a goal.

But this is only the first round after all. The two players may still need to adjust, but they should find the rhythm soon.

But in Roger and the Admiral's second attack, neither side scored a goal.

This time, Roger called Grant for screen, which allowed Rodman to switch defense in front of Roger.

Seeing that the big insect was trying to defend against his breakthrough, Roger stopped attacking immediately.

But the big bug's interference came very quickly. Although it kept Roger at a distance, he reacted immediately and interfered the moment Roger made his move.

The basketball missed the shot again, but Rodman did not forget to do something after he landed. He pretended that he had too much inertia and could not stand steadily, and then he pressed his whole body on Roger and pulled him to the ground.

The referee considered it to be a non-malicious contact, so no foul was called.

Rodman smiled as he looked at Roger who was pinned down by him: "I can use this posture to attack Madonna for 30 minutes, and then I will go back to the court and make you miss the shot."

After saying that, Rodman proudly stood up and prepared to leave.

Little rookie, you want to play with me? A few more rounds and his mentality will definitely collapse!
But just as Da Chong got up and was about to run forward, he felt someone pulling his ankle, causing him to fall flat on his face.

Rodman, who was hit on the chin, raised his head with pain and saw Roger running past him with a smug look on his face: "In 30 minutes, Madonna can score five or six points on you, but she can't score a single point on me, you second man."

Not only was Roger's mood not affected, he even fought back in time!
At that time, O'Neal was thinking that if Madonna really heard those two bastards talking trash on the court, she would probably not be able to control the water valve on the spot and invite the two gentlemen to help her fix the drain at the same time.

Spurs fans pointed angrily at the court, accusing Roger of having just pulled Rodman.

But the referees still didn't react. They even urged Rodman to get up quickly: "Stop pretending, Dennis. If you flop again, I'll call a technical foul on you!"

Irony, what a irony.

Rodman's fake falls often resulted in his opponents being called for a foul, but once he was actually pulled down he didn't even get a whistle.

Rodman pounded the floor unwillingly, then climbed up. Although he had defended Roger in this round, he was not happy at all.

This was the first time Spurs fans had seen Rodman suffer in such a dirty business.

On the next Spurs attack, the Admiral received the ball in the low post with his back to the basket. He tried to sit back, but Horace Grant held him down.

The key to defending the back is to defend the lower body, which Grant is naturally aware of, and the general's weakest point is precisely the lower body.

The general wanted to turn around and force a breakthrough, but the space under the basket was completely filled with the sturdy O'Neal, and it was difficult to score even if he got in.

So the general slowly turned to face the basket, made a three-threat move, and shot. Another shot, he played like a small forward.

The result of this shot was the same as Roger's, the basketball still didn't go in.

NBC commentator Bob Costa said: "Both Truth and Admiral didn't have a good touch today. They have to find ways other than shooting to threaten the basket."

The Magic's offense also found O'Neal after Roger missed two shots, and O'Neal excitedly prepared to force a shot.

Although the Admiral's muscles are comparable to those of a bodybuilder, he is actually the lightest among the four centers.

O'Neal pushed the general away and was about to attack the basket, but the ball was cut off by a strong hand and bounced out of bounds. Although the Magic still had the ball, the Sharks' offense was disrupted.

There is no doubt that it was Rodman. His timely assist in defense prevented the Admiral from appearing in today's game highlights.

O'Neal was annoyed by Rodman. This guy's block and steal stats were negligible, but he could make things difficult on the offensive end.

Seeing the chagrined look on Shark's face, Rodman approached him with a grin and said, "That's why you can only be second in the scoring list."

Rodman loved to irritate O'Neal's nerves, because O'Neal at this time was a powder keg that could explode at any time. Rodman only needed to create a little spark to enjoy the dazzling fireworks.

But just as he was about to go up and continue to harass O'Neal with his little tricks, Roger appeared beside Rodman: "Shaq, did you get bit by a mosquito just now?"

O'Neill immediately smiled: "Yes, the truth is still buzzing now."

"Don't worry about it. You know, we can't kill mosquitoes with one slap, not because they are so strong, but because they are too good at hiding."

After saying that, O'Neal went to the baseline to prepare for serving. Roger deliberately stood at the position closest to the baseline, and Rodman naturally pressed closely on Roger.

But when Roger raised his hand to ask for the ball, his elbow deliberately hit Rodman in the face. Rodman angrily pushed Roger from behind, and Roger rushed to the referee, hugged the referee and fell into the audience.

In an instant, the entire Alamodome became agitated, and the other two referees immediately blew their whistles, giving Rodman a technical foul.

After being elbowed and given a technical foul, Rodman immediately tried to rush towards Roger, but was stopped by the Admiral and Elliot, leaving Rodman with nothing more than a verbal attack: "You idiot, the referee saved you!"

Roger did not talk to Rodman directly. He looked at the shark and said, "Listen, Shaq, there is a buzzing sound of mosquitoes. I was bitten just now."

After that, Rodman started to yell at him, but such yelling only made him look like he was incompetent and furious.

Seeing Rodman almost out of control on the court, Spurs general manager Popovich covered his head in the private room: "Damn, why does this team have such a player? 700 million? He is not worth even a penny! I will get rid of him, RC. I swear I will get rid of him this summer! Even if other teams take a pile of shit to trade for him, I will accept it!"

Popovich's assistant RC. Buford did not respond. Rodman's rampage on the court reminded him of the evaluation of Roger by the "Sports Center" program yesterday: "A better scorer than the scoring champion, a bad boy worse than Dennis."

I don’t know if he is a better scorer than the Admiral, but he is indeed a bad boy who gives even Dennis Rodman a headache.

Roger took the technical foul free throw and broke the scoring drought, 1-0.

The ball still belongs to the Magic.

After scoring, Roger continued to approach Rodman: "Best defensive player? You're a fucking ATM machine."

"Fuck you"

Rodman was about to retort when the referee warned them: "Shut up, both of you! Play well and stop causing trouble. I will definitely keep a close eye on you today. If you don't want to get a technical foul, then play well. You don't want to be sent off, do you?"

The referee interrupted Rodman's counterattack, forcing him to hold back his anger.

Rodman has always been the one who messes with other people's mentality, but this time it was Roger who messed with him instead.

Seeing Rodman getting beaten up by Roger one after another, Shark was so happy. Finally, someone can finally deal with that bastard!

The game continued, and after missing two consecutive shots, Roger knew that he couldn't keep shooting from outside. His touch wasn't going well at the start of today.

Give the ball to the Shark? Never mind. With Rodman as a bodyguard, it would be hard for O'Neal to score in the paint.

So Roger told O'Neal: "Shaq, help me block the general, I want to shoot to the basket, it's time to tear apart the defense of these bastards!"

The Spurs don't have any particularly strong players on the outside, so this is a good opportunity for Roger to attack the basket!

"Yes sir." O'Neal agreed readily.

The Magic team kicked the ball out from the sideline and Roger caught it steadily.

Rodman heard the conversation between Roger and O'Neal just now, so he kept his eyes on Roger.

Get to the basket?
I'm going to make sure you die a miserable death!
Roger looked at Elliot, the old Spurs player who was serious and hardworking, but relatively mediocre on defense.

Roger easily created a little space for breakthrough with a back dribble. Facing Elliot's defense, Roger did not choose to make a quick stop jump shot to test his touch. Instead, he continued to drive to the basket, bumped into Elliot forcefully, and after creating a little space, he jumped up and made a layup.

Elliot was too thin, and Roger, who had already gained weight, not only did not suffer a loss in the fight with him, but even had a slight advantage.

At the same time, Rodman jumped high, waving his long arms to defend, but he was a step too slow. He knocked Roger down in the air, the referee blew the whistle, and the basketball went straight into the center of the net!

After missing consecutive shots, Roger made a tough 2+1!

Roger was lying on the ground, shaking his head: "And one! Damn best defensive player, Dennis is just a big ATM!"

O'Neal and Grant came up and pulled Roger up, and Roger made the free throw steadily, and the Magic led 4-0!

Rodman was very angry. It was the first time he was provoked like this. Roger would not be affected by his trash talk, but would instead output more powerfully.

But what was even more infuriating was yet to come. In the next round, the Admiral still failed to score. He had missed a mid-range jump shot for the third time in a row.

He had missed twice before, but he still shot from mid-range with ease.

Rodman's anger grew even more intense. He didn't know what the admiral was doing.

Even a guard like Roger knows to go to the basket!

Even Roger could shout out something like "It's time to tear down these bastards' defenses."

Why can't the admiral always show that kind of determination at critical moments?
Rodman was used to playing under an iron-blooded leader. He had witnessed with his own eyes how the Smiling Assassin, with only one leg working, relied on his determination of "I must kill them" to attack the Lakers again and again and scored 25 points in a single quarter.

He had just seen this quality in Roger as well.

But David Robinson never showed similar determination.

Rodman muttered to himself, venting his dissatisfaction.

But in basketball, no one cares whether you are satisfied or not.

In this round, Roger still did not give up attacking the basket. He drove to the basket forcefully, faced the Admiral, and then pulled up for a layup, even though this would make him completely lose his balance.

Risking a broken arm, Roger made a layup, making it 6-0.

Roger immediately got up and started to defend, yelling as he did so: "Where are you, little Danny? Otherwise, go defend Madonna. You can only look tough in a woman's bed! The only thing you can handle is the X between a woman's legs, and that's all you can do!"

Orlando's rebellious son continued to attack Rodman, who was feared by the entire league. NBC commentator Bob Costa shook his head: "Dennis acted like a good kid in front of Roger today."

"Shut up Roger, shut up!" the referee continued to warn, but Roger ignored him.

Popovich watched all this silently. Roger's adjustment and scoring ability were amazing. He had heard the rumor that trading Roger was one of the conditions for Jordan's comeback. He could only say that this was the stupidest thing that the shrewd Michael Jordan had ever done in his life.

The game continued, and seeing Roger had found his rhythm, the Admiral also realized that he could no longer rely on his touch, so he finally decided to go inside, but O'Neal's defense made him bleed, and he was directly knocked to the ground with the ball.

The man who ranked first in the MVP rankings was in a very awkward position on the court tonight. When the Magic had already started to gain momentum, he still couldn't get tough.

The basketball that was hit away fell into Roger's hands, and Roger immediately counterattacked after getting the ball.

But at this time, Dennis Rodman, the red-haired beast, was already running wildly in front of Roger. He rushed to the front court the moment the general was blocked, becoming the last line of defense for the Spurs.

He would not allow Roger to score recklessly again. Even if it meant a foul, he would make Roger sober up!

If the Admiral can't step up, then he will!

Roger saw the Big Worm right in front of him, but he did not slow down his pace to attack the basket, and jumped straight towards Rodman.

Danny the Magic Insect did not give in, and directly grabbed Roger with both hands in the air. At this time, he was defending Roger in the same way as he defended Jordan back then!
Roger now understood why Jordan had to gain weight like crazy. If he weighed 98 kg, he would definitely have an advantage in the aerial confrontation. However, his weight of 93 kg made Roger lose his balance instantly when facing such fierce defense, and he could not keep his center of gravity stable under Rodman's block.

But Roger didn't give up. He couldn't complete a dunk, and it was even impossible for him to make a pull-up or other layup moves.

So, he smashed the ball into the basket with one hand, through Rodman! The basketball was smashed directly into the net, and Roger also fell down riding Rodman. The referee whistled, Rodman fouled, and the goal was valid. Once again, Roger completed the attack toughly!
Roger and the Chong climbed up almost at the same time. After completing the shot, Roger had transformed into a bloodthirsty beast, and his passionate emotions completely exploded:
"You think you can defend me? Huh? I'm going to kill you, do you hear me? I'm going to kill you today! Fuck the coronation ceremony, today is the mourning ceremony for the No. 1 team in the Western Conference! Get out of here, Danny, get off the court, trash like you should stay on the bench or stay under Madonna's crotch!"

NBC commentator Bob Costa was equally passionate: "A tough finish, a shot that hit the rim over the defense, this is a rare finish! Dennis couldn't stop Roger, 8-0, Truth scored the first 8 points for the Magic, and he's going to take a free throw soon! In addition, Dennis got two fouls early on because of Roger, the Spurs are going to make a substitution, and coach Bob Hill has asked Terry Cummings to go to the technical desk to prepare."

Looking at Rodman who was scolded by Roger and could only smash water bottles on the bench, looking at David Robinson who had not scored a point so far, looking at Roger who raised his arms high, shook his fingers, provoked the emotions of the Spurs fans, and dominated the entire start, Bob Costa added another sentence.

"Maybe they're right, Roger is a better scorer than the scoring champion and a worse bad boy than Dennis. See, even Dennis, who breaks all the rules, can't go against Roger's rules.

This is an iron rule.”

(End of this chapter)