Champions Creed

Chapter 95: Black Jesus also makes mistakes (ask for monthly tickets!)
The Zen Master's targeted arrangement against O'Neal worked, but it was completely ineffective against Roger.

This also means that Scott Pippen's good days are coming.

He should be thankful that he is not DPOY, because if DPOY becomes the appetizer of offensive players, it will undoubtedly be very embarrassing. However, it is only slightly embarrassing for the best defensive first team player to become the appetizer.

In the game after the first quarter, Roger used pick-and-roll to beat Pippen hard, just like he did in the regular season.

Wasn't Pippen a great defender? Of course not.

He is one of the best players in the league defending the pick-and-roll.

But no matter how powerful a pick-and-roll defender is, it is impossible to go straight through the screener's body.

In any case, the pick-and-roll will definitely give the attacker a gap of varying sizes. The key is how confident you are when facing this small gap. Often, this is the key to distinguishing ordinary players from stars.

Roger was very confident. He repeatedly scored two points or even three points at the moment when Pippen was setting the screen.

If your defense is even slightly imperfect, Roger can punish you with points.

Regarding Roger's scoring ability, there has always been a popular saying in the media: If he hadn't had to share the shooting rights with Shaq, he would have been the scoring champion.

Tonight, Roger demonstrated his scoring champion-level offensive ability.

At the end of the first half, Phil Jackson smashed his second tactical board of the night.

The camera just happened to show this scene, and NBC commentator Steve Jones' tone was full of sympathy for the Zen Master:
"Going down the line, strong delay, weak delay, freezing tactics, direct double teaming. In the first half of the game, Phil Jackson used almost all the methods of defending pick-and-roll in modern basketball. But what did he get in return? Roger scored 19 points and 5 assists in the first half.

Roger's offense has no blind spots. He can do almost everything except that he can't use his body to crush Pippen one-on-one.

And, you read that right, he also had 5 assists. Roger now is a Roger who knows how to cooperate with Horace Grant. We have said long ago that Roger after the Eastern Conference semifinals is different from the Roger before, he is more mature. "

Kobe Bryant, who was watching the game, had a different comment: "Roger played really well in the first half. The only flaw was that he made two mistakes. He should reduce the number of passes and control the mistakes."

Joe Bryant could no longer refute anything. It was normal for children to have their own ideas when they grew up.

Phil Jackson was almost going crazy. He finally knew why Pat Riley had messy hair last season.

But fortunately, the Bulls still have Jordan.

Jordan scored 24 points in the first half, helping the team lead 57-54 into the locker room.

This year, although only Roger made the first team of the Magic, Grant and McKay both made the second defense.

But the Magic, with two second-tier defensive players, still couldn't trap Jordan.

Brian Hill used Harper and McKay to defend Jordan, but he couldn't defend either.

What makes Jordan more free-spirited than Roger is that most of the time he doesn't even need pick-and-roll or run without the ball. He can simply hold the ball and fight one-on-one before the double-team comes.

His confrontation and experience are better than Roger's.

And while scoring points crazily, Jordan could also harass the Sharks, making them cry out that they couldn't stand it.

In the second half, the two sides were still engaged in a tug-of-war.

The complete Jordan was unstoppable, and his offensive power caused the Magic to suffer an unprecedented devastating blow.

Roger is still lowering Pippen's historical status, but he can see that his team's defense is not good and Jordan's offensive power is stronger.

He's like Hannibal Lecter, he smells blood, he's got his eyes on your carotid artery, if you give him a chance, he'll rip your heart out and eat it.

After three quarters, Jordan had 35 points. Considering that the Bulls are a slow-paced team, Jordan's score in three quarters is already exaggerated enough.

At this time, the Bulls were trailing by 1 point at the end of the third quarter.

Brian Hill told Roger: "Pass the ball more in the fourth quarter, let Shaq and Horace take more shots. I need you in the critical moment."

Roger nodded, he knew what the coach meant.

He wants to save his energy for the critical moment.

In the fourth quarter, O'Neal and Grant scored together to help the Magic maintain a firm lead.

By the tenth minute of the fourth quarter, the Bulls were already trailing by 5 points.

At this time, NBC's camera turned to Nick Anderson.

Last season in the Magic, he was the teammate who was criticized the most by O'Neal except for Webber.

Now, he is also the player who is most criticized by Chicago fans.

His three consecutive missed shots from wide open positions and a panicked pass error in the fourth quarter are the main reasons why the Bulls are now trailing by 5 points.

This reliable outside scorer during the regular season always suddenly shuts down at critical moments in the playoffs.

Excellent people are never affected by the environment and will be criticized everywhere.

There was no choice but for Michael Jordan to continue taking over the game. He was almost crazy.

In his first attack after the timeout, he made a fadeaway jump shot despite the interference of Harper and McKay.

The score difference returned to 3 points, and Jordan stared at the scoreboard with his eyes wide open. Just one goal, just one goal!

However, the person that Jordan hated the most stood up again at this moment.

In this attack, Roger used a fake screen to break through Pippen, and then jumped up and scored a layup from mid-range.

This was Roger's 32nd point in the game. In the game before the fourth quarter, Roger deliberately reduced his shooting frequency and gave more opportunities to O'Neal and Grant.

So now he has enough physical strength to continue to output steadily.

Now, it's his time to break the myth of Black Jesus!
But Jordan quickly returned the ball. This time, Jordan was forced to the right side of the court by Harper. Facing Grant's double-team, Jordan could obviously pass the ball to Webber who was completely open.

But he ignored the wide open space and drifted for the shot despite double interference.

The basketball hit again desperately, and the score difference returned to 3 points. Orlando fans no longer knew what to do to make the defense better this time.

Jordan looked at Roger, who had already scored 45 points. "See? Black Jesus never makes a mistake!"

Jordan is confident that he can destroy the Magic at the critical moment, and he is in good form now.

However, Jordan did not dominate the game because Roger was still able to respond to him.

In this round, Roger's breakthrough after the pick-and-roll was stopped for the first time by Pippen who defended vigorously. Roger was forced to hold the ball with his back to the basket and made a turnaround shot with his back to the basket.

"Bang! Brush!"

The two pleasant sounds almost blew off the dome of the Orlando Arena.

Roger raised his five fingers and said, "You are about to lose to me for the fifth time in a row, Michael. Jesus will not lose to the same person so many times."

Jordan was irritated by this sentence. Now the whole world knows that the angry Jordan will definitely take action again.

So in this round, even Roger abandoned Pippen and went to double-team Jordan who was breaking through.

Jordan missed the shot due to interference from Harper, Roger and McKay. At the critical moment, Jordan missed the shot first!
Offense was almost a one-and-done deal for the Bulls, as O'Neal and Grant would secure all the rebounds.

This time too, O'Neal grabbed the rebound steadily.

After Harper controlled the ball across half court, he immediately passed it to Roger. This time, Roger didn't even ask for a pick-and-roll. The moment he received the ball, he broke through to Pippen's left side, trying to catch him by surprise.

But Pippen was still too fast. He blocked Roger's breakthrough in the first moment. Roger could only use his signature move, turn to the right, and then shoot directly.

However, when Roger was about to shoot in the air, he saw Jordan blocking him.

But Roger still stared at the basket, and the basketball slipped smoothly from his fingertips.

Pippen and Jordan's arms were in the air, they were defending Roger at the same time!
The basketball hit the front of the basket, and Roger lost his balance after landing and fell to the ground.

O'Neal and Webber both jumped up to fight for the rebound.

But after jumping up, both of them retracted their hands, because the basketball had not yet left the basket and if they touched it, it would be a goal interference.

As O'Neal and Webber retracted their hands, the basketball went into the net!
Roger, lying on the ground, felt the floor shaking.

"Another response ball, Roger kept responding to Michael at the critical moment, which is something no one else can do!

Moreover, in this game, Roger still made a mid-range shot despite being defended by Scott and Michael at the same time. This is definitely one of the most classic scenes in NBA playoff history!

Incredible touch, incredible goal! This goal gave the Magic a 1-point lead in the last 06 minute and 7 seconds! "NBC commentator Steve Jones was extremely excited.

He responded to Jordan again and again, and scored goals while being defended by Jordan and Pippen at the same time.

This is the moment for superstars to shine!
Roger, who was lying on the ground, was almost lifted up by O'Neill: "Punch his myth, Great Plato!"

Phil Jackson paused the game, and Roger continued to show five fingers: "5 wins and 0 losses Michael, 5 wins and 0 losses!"

Michael Jordan tried his best but was still in danger of falling off the cliff.

That young No. 14 was incredibly tough.

During this timeout, Phil Jackson yelled at Jordan: "Remember how we defeated the Lakers in Game 1991 of the 5 Finals and won our first championship? Find whoever is in the open space!"

Jordan didn't say anything, of course he remembered how they won the 91 Finals. In the last 5 minutes of Game 4, the Lakers double-teamed Jordan, and Jordan passed the ball, so John Paxson scored 10 points by himself, hitting one open jump shot after another.

Not only that, in Game 93 of the 6 Finals, John Paxson's buzzer-beater from three points also helped the Bulls win their third championship.

He is an example of a small person changing history. The beginning and end of the Bulls dynasty are closely related to John Paxson.

But the key point is that Jordan doesn't trust Nick Anderson. He is not a role player with a big heart like John Paxson.

This guy was so nervous in the fourth quarter that his hands were shaking and he couldn't speak clearly.

However, Jordan had started to miss shots, and he didn't know if he could continue to hit the ball under double-teaming.

Roger's trash talk made Jordan think too much. He couldn't lose, and he couldn't bear the consequences of failing again.

Do you want to send it?
Jordan fell into deep thought.

God also has troubles.

The game resumed, and Roger continued to stimulate Jordan's competitive spirit: "5 wins and 0 losses, almost there, Michael!"

Jordan was still struggling. He couldn't let Roger kill him at the critical moment, but the Magic team would definitely double-team him.

He is not afraid of taking responsibility, he just doesn't want to lose, he must find the best solution to win.

Jordan received the ball, broke through, and was indeed trapped at the free throw line.

In fact, Jordan was still hesitant until the last moment.

He had already made a move to shoot, but in the end he passed the ball.

But the target was not Anderson, but Pippen, because Roger also abandoned Pippen and continued to attack Jordan with Harper and McKay.

However, this decision ruined the game.

Pippen thought Jordan was going to pass the ball to Anderson, so he rushed into the restricted area to grab the rebound the moment Jordan jumped.

As a result, the basketball suddenly flew towards Pippen, catching him off guard.

Pippen stretched out his hand, and the basketball scraped past his fingertips and flew out of bounds.

The whole world was shocked. When Roger responded to Jordan again and again at the critical moment, Jordan made an incredible pass error at the critical moment!

He failed to create greatness and even lost miserably!

Kobe in the stands shrugged: "What did I say? You should reduce the number of passes. Roger did this at the critical moment, so he is about to win. I have realized the truth of basketball."

This mistake was the Bulls' doom, and their morale plummeted.

Roger seized the opportunity and broke through and made a layup in the next attack, widening the score difference to 9 points!
Jordan, who never makes mistakes, missed shots and made mistakes at critical moments.

However, the mortal Roger gave a near-perfect performance at the critical moment.

The myth of the invincible Black Jesus in the playoffs was completely shattered, and Michael Jordan's divinity was severely hit. Because God does not make mistakes, and Jordan's incredible mistake at the last moment told the world that he is only human.

Someone who can be defeated.

After scoring the goal, Roger smiled at Jordan and said, "5 wins and 0 losses. The number in front will continue to grow, but the number behind will always be 0. I know a lot of people support you, Michael, but you should have heard a saying that the truth is always on the side of the minority."

This is a famous saying of Plato.

(End of this chapter)