Champion Creed
Chapter 48 - 48 034 He still didn't pass the ball but he still managed to score!

48: 034: He still didn’t pass the ball, but he still managed to score!

48: 034: He still didn’t pass the ball, but he still managed to score!

Fratello had just said that Pippen set the stage for the newcomer MJ as a joke, with no ill intentions.

But if Pippen heard it, he’d certainly grab his long gun tonight and seek out Fratello for an explanation.

However, Pippen did indeed help Roger achieve greatness with his actions.

Without his previous 0 for 4, Roger’s score wouldn’t have looked quite so dazzling.

After the ball went in, Roger, standing on the free-throw line, easily snatched another point.

NBA career first shot, and it’s a three-pointer.

On the basketball court, once someone has a shining moment, it means another is bound to screw up.

Jordan’s great final shot in ’98 can’t be separated from Bryon Russell being faked out of his shoes.

Nowitzki’s grand 2011 championship can’t be separated from the 26.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game of Wade.

If it weren’t for Wade being too CBA, Heat wouldn’t have lost to that group of old, weak, sick and disabled.

And now, the one who’s goofed is Alonzo Mourning.

As a powerful center, he couldn’t handle a high schooler without resorting to fouls; wouldn’t that make people laugh their heads off if word got out?

No center of this era would want to be called soft.

Mourning was pissed, and Hornets head coach Allan Bristow was furiously yelling at the players on the court: “Alonzo, you absolute idiot, what good does this mindless foul do you?”

Bristow was very angry, the hard-earned 7-point lead of the Hornets had almost halved due to Mourning’s incredibly stupid decision.

For a coach as disciplined as he was, that was unacceptable.

Mourning never thought that one day he would be cursed by a coach because of a rookie.

Unable to vent his anger at the coach, he could only take it out on the person who caused him to be scolded!

Mourning ran to the front court and set a screen for Larry Johnson.

But Pippen’s speed navigating the screen was swift.

Seeing no chance, Grandmama attempted to pass the ball back to Mourning, who had popped out after the screen.

But everything he did had already been completely anticipated by Pippen.

Pippen, with his quick hand, slapped the ball away from Grandmama before he could pass it.

Pippen picked up the basketball, then quickly rushed forward to the front court on a fast break.

Phil, that guy is really unnecessary, defense will win championships, there’s no need to put Roger in, I can catch up the score myself.

Isn’t it about to catch up 2 points right away!

Pippen leaped towards the basket, aiming to shine under the spotlight with a powerful slam dunk.

But just as he lifted the ball, Mourning, with his explosive athleticism, caught up from behind and swatted the ball away!

The ball rebounded off the backboard, and Pippen’s close-range field goal was thwarted by Mourning!

Fratello shook his head, “What a pity, today’s rim just isn’t open for Scottie Pippen…

OHHHHHH!”

Fratello was just about to mock Pippen a bit, but then he saw Roger rush into the paint, overpowering the equally unprepared Mourning with a fierce slam dunk, eliciting a shout from him!

Just now, the ball in Pippen’s hands had been blocked and spilled out, and it was Roger who caught the rebound.

By the time Roger caught the basketball, he was already at full speed, while Mourning was still basking in the joy of his block, not expecting someone to confront him so quickly, so he couldn’t react in time to jump.

Thus Roger completed his first NBA over-the-top dunk, and O’Neal on the other side of the TV jumped up from the sofa with both hands on his head.

Look, look, that’s how you play ball!

Roger puts Webber to shame!

NBC’s Fratello, after that exclamation, pounded the table and yelled, “Told you, Roger’s a tough nut!

Though slim in build, he never shies away from battling giants!

Scott was right after getting a beating from Roger earlier, this kind of toughness is exactly what the Bulls need!

And did you see?

This guy’s flying silhouette is so like MJ!”

The real MJ was watching TV right now.

Hmmm, it was only after truly entering professional baseball that Jordan realized a hobby was different from a career.

He and Grover were researching daily how to reshape his body to be better suited for baseball, with White Sox assistant coach Walter Hriniak waking up at six every morning to practice with Jordan.

But these efforts still couldn’t salvage Jordan’s mere 20% hitting rate—under normal circumstances, this number would barely pass as competent at 28%.

Some media described Jordan’s batting skills, “He couldn’t hit the ball even with a tennis racket!”

When frustrated in an unfamiliar field, one often reminisces about achievements in one’s area of expertise.

Now Jordan was beginning to miss his invincibility on the basketball court.

So, he started watching NBA games again.

Hearing Fratello on TV saying Roger was like him, Jordan smirked disdainfully.

Jordan first heard the name Roger back in Las Vegas in 1992.

Even now, he still couldn’t forget how much he detested hearing that name.

He still hated it now; he was very clear that Krause chose the kid to replace him, but Jordan didn’t believe anyone could replace him.

He’s like me?

Hah.

You really know how to insult people.

At that moment, a voice came from between Jordan’s legs: “Don’t listen to their nonsense, Michael, you’re the best in the realm of basketball.”

Jordan closed his eyes, “Stop talking, it tickles.”

After the slam dunk, an exuberant Roger forcefully slapped the backboard before letting go and landing.

Then Roger turned to Pippen, “Scottie, it’s okay if you miss, I’m always here to back you up!”

Pippen gritted his teeth, look at the nerve of this rookie!

It wasn’t me who got posterized by a rookie, so why do I keep getting whipped!

And what’s with today’s rim holding a grudge against me?

I don’t buy it!

Is it that difficult to score!?

Difficult, very difficult.

After another offensive play, Pippen’s turnaround jumper missed the basket under Grandmama’s interference.

He was now 0 for 6 in field goals today.

Pippen’s offense can be like this, occasionally it will just short-circuit and lose power.

Just like how people still can’t scientifically explain why Pippen suddenly went 1 for 10 in Game 7 of the ’90 Eastern Conference Finals.

According to him, it was a migraine that blurred his vision, almost blinding him.

But there was no medical report to support that claim, and the so-called migraine never occurred again.

Fortunately, A.

C.

Green grabbed the offensive rebound, Pippen called for the ball wanting to attack again, but Green passed it to Roger instead.

Pippen: ???

Can’t you see who has a higher chance of scoring?

What kind of basketball IQ is that!

Once Roger had the ball, Hersey Hawkins started to defend earnestly.

Even though Roger had already made two shots in a row, the Hornets naturally weren’t going to double-team an 18-year-old high school rookie.

Hawkins and Roger were still one-on-one.

Hawkins carefully watched for changes in Roger’s center of gravity, but Roger was backing him down, beginning to post up.

Pippen was fuming because he had just failed at posting up himself – was this kid mocking him on purpose?

Fine, I want to see if you can make it!

Pippen was somewhat paranoid, as Roger’s back-to-basket play wasn’t meant to taunt Pippen, but rather because the Hawk guarding him was only 192cm tall.

Posting up was Roger’s most dependable choice.

He leaned into Hawkins, pushing into mid-range position, and seeing nobody came to double-team, he calmly turned around to shoot.

Both wore red jerseys, but Roger’s turnaround jumper didn’t remind people of MJ.

Jordan’s turnaround jumper had a high fadeaway arc, while Roger’s fadeaway angle was very slight.

But thanks to his height and wingspan advantage, he still managed to avoid the defense.

However, the moment Roger released the shot, the trajectory of the basketball looked skewed.

Pippen snorted softly; those two previous shots were made because I drew away the defense for you.

Don’t you think you’re that good at one-on-one in the NBA?

Nonetheless, the basketball brushed off the backboard and into the net the next second.

An Iceman-brand turnaround bank shot hit the mark, Pippen’s 0 for 6 juxtaposed with Roger’s continued 7 points was so glaring.

“A turnaround bank shot too!

His performance is just as excellent as in the preseason!

I’ve said it before, this kid already has perfect offensive skills!” Fratello was completely on Jie’s side today.

In fact, Roger’s offense was far from perfect; he hadn’t yet fully developed the Iceman’s talent.

However, compared to most rookies, his repertoire was indeed rich enough.

Pippen was rattled; just now A.

C.

Green didn’t pass the ball to him but to Roger, and then Roger succeeded with a turnaround jumper which he had failed at.

Meanwhile, Zen Master was shouting from the sidelines, “Scottie, focus and defend one more time.

Roger is improving our offense, and your job is to not let our defense get worse!

We’re about to overtake them, just a moment more!”

I work hard on defense and then let that kid score?

Isn’t that what a second option does?

Even so, Pippen still defended with all his might, forcing Grandmama to give up the ball in the following possession.

Finally, Mourning tried to post-up Cartwright with a turnaround jumper down low.

But the moment he shot, A.

C.

Green immediately helped on defense, entering the paint to disrupt Mourning, resulting in a missed shot.

The Bulls’ defense had been pretty good today; falling behind earlier was mainly due to issues on offense.

Now, they had Roger on the field.

They wouldn’t have trouble on offense anymore.

Pippen grabbed the rebound and took the ball across half court.

He really wanted to score but didn’t mess up, instead, he passed the ball to A.

C.

Green, who served as the pivot in the triangle offense.

Green then passed, switching the ball to the weak side where Roger was.

At this point, only Green and Roger were on the weak side, giving Roger a wide one-on-one space.

He feinted a jab step to the left at Hawkins but quickly broke to the right instead, completely disrupting Hawkins’s balance.

Seeing Hawkins get beaten again, Grandmama went on her own to help defend, leaving Pippen.

Pippen got ready to catch the pass, determined to make this empty jump shot no matter what.

It could only be said that Pippen didn’t know Roger at all.

If Andrae were on the court, he wouldn’t even think about catching the ball but would rush to the basket for the rebound right away – this is called game experience.

Seeing Grandmama double-teaming, Roger didn’t pass to Pippen, but quickly pulled up for a jump shot before the double could set!

“My god?” Pippen could hardly believe what he was seeing.

He could accept A.

C.

Green not passing him the ball, but now, that rookie wouldn’t pass to me when I’m open?

If this shot didn’t go in, Pippen swore he would confront that arrogant rookie on the spot!

But the ball went in.

Hawkins and Grandmama both reached to contest it, but one was too short and the other too far, so their actual interference was minimal.

The perfectly aesthetically pleasing shooting form allowed Roger to score despite seemingly being contested by two players.

The shot was good, the whistle blew, and with Roger’s 9 consecutive points, the Hornets were overtaken and called a timeout!

Fratello raised both arms: “That’s Roger!

He still didn’t pass the ball, but he still made the shot!”

Hornets’ coach Bristow was nearly berserk: “Good heavens, how could you all let this happen?

How?!

He’s just an 18-year-old kid!”

Roger was indeed just an 18-year-old kid, but he might be the most terrifying 18-year-old scorer in history.

Pippen watched himself being ignored while wide open, and Roger still scoring amidst double-teams, and suddenly felt…

Michael, it’s like you’ve never left.