Champion Creed
Chapter 63 - 63 047 The First Close Encounter with the Demon

63: 047: The First Close Encounter with the Demon 63: 047: The First Close Encounter with the Demon Anfernee Hardaway was thoroughly defeated this time.

By defeat, it means that Nike found they couldn’t even spin the loss in a positive light afterward.

Play with pride despite defeat, the spirit of a moral victory?

Roger has been chasing Penny all over the court, while Penny has been dodging Roger.

Clearly, Roger’s mental game was stronger.

Reasonable comparison?

Roger’s 40 points and 0 assists may indeed be unreasonable, but using Hardaway’s rule-abiding 20 points and 10 assists to challenge the youngest ever to score 40 just seems foolish.

Continue marketing Penny as the sunny, good-guy image?

He kicked over a trash can after the game and at the press conference said only, “Yeah, Roger always makes those damn shots,” before angrily tossing the microphone and storming out.

None of this fits with his original image.

Plus, Penny is still very young.

If he had been 39, Nike could have taken the angle of age.

“What more can you ask from a 39-year-old veteran?” would have plugged all mouths.

But this kind of spin is clearly not suitable for a young Penny.

Nike couldn’t offer Penny any protection this time; Jordan’s chosen successor was pinned by Roger to the pillar of shame.

Speaking of Jordan, he became one of the main characters of this game as well.

Roger’s post-game remarks about Jordan undoubtedly caused a huge uproar.

In the NBA of the ’90s, disrespecting Michael Jordan symbolized rebellion.

The 1996 genius from Philadelphia was vilified by the media for years after simply saying, “I don’t respect anyone on the court, including Michael.”

Furthermore, considering Roger is a Bulls player himself.

As Jordan’s junior, not giving Jordan face is considered a cardinal sin.

But Roger doesn’t care about that, he doesn’t think bootlicking Michael Jordan is of any benefit to himself.

Especially since it was that old bastard who disrespected him first.

What, he looks down on me, so I should be like, “Michael, please let me be your successor”?

No way.

Roger doesn’t want to be the hot-headed sheep, especially not the sheep to an old black GOAT.

Roger also knows his words will give some media the chance to criticize him, making his image even more rebellious.

But is a perfect image useful to a sports athlete?

As long as you can win, even Michael Jordan, a complete asshole, can become a saint.

Roger’s minor troublemaking is nothing compared to what Jordan has done.

Normally, a junior team member’s disrespect to the most successful senior in team history would trigger the management’s displeasure.

However…

Krause is absolutely in love with Roger now!

He’s been Jordan’s lapdog for so long and has never felt so exhilarated!

That old bastard thinks he can still control everything, huh?

No, now it’s Roger’s era!

This league damn well needs young people like Roger!

The day after the game ended, Krause was grinning from ear to ear in front of the media, “Don’t get me wrong, I believe Roger definitely respects Michael.

But as a fighter, Roger has the right to defend himself.

Michael said he wasn’t good enough, yet he defeated the one Michael thought was better.

Isn’t that desire to win the most valuable quality of Michael’s?”

In the end, Krause couldn’t resist playing a little public strategy: “A competitive athlete like Michael must absolutely love Roger.

The team now has a fighter just like him, he’s got to be content.

Angry?

Michael is not so petty.”

If Jordan gets angry, he’s petty.

If he’s not, he’s frustrated.

Seeing Krause’s smug face on TV, Jordan’s mood could be described with a line from the movie “A Cool Fish”: “Roger, I love you selling twisted dough!”

Jordan was already annoyed at being disrespected by a rookie.

Now, the person he hates second only to assassins in the world was openly smug in his face.

It’s always been I, Michael, who brazenly gets in others’ faces, man or woman.

How dare this fatso!

But Jordan still can’t publicly curse out Krause in front of the media.

After all, he has to go back to the United Center for his jersey retirement ceremony after some time.

Although he hates Krause and hates Roger, the jersey retirement ceremony is still a moment of glory for him, and he doesn’t want to make it undignified for everyone.

Jordan’s jersey retirement ceremony is tentatively scheduled for December 3, before the game against the New York Knicks, and at that time, Jordan wants to see with his own eyes whether that 18-year-old kid will still be as tough in his presence as he is on TV!

Before that, Pippen made his comeback in the last game of November.

With a fire in his belly, he exploded for 37 points against the Spurs, along with 8 assists and 6 rebounds.

He was eager to prove that the Bulls were still his team, so he took the initiative in shooting the ball on his first game back, temporarily setting aside the role of playmaker.

Roger had a poor performance that day, scoring a career-low of 15 points.

Now with a still less sufficient confrontation ability, he struggled against the impenetrable defense of Admiral and Rodman, which took a toll on his shooting touch.

So, Pippen’s impressive stats ultimately amounted to nothing.

But Pippen was in a pretty good mood, at least he had outperformed Roger that day.

Just look who’s the boss, huh?

Then a sideline reporter asked him, “Scottie, how does it feel to score the second-highest individual game points for the Bulls this season, second only to Roger?”

Pippen: …

You guys really don’t need to emphasize the whole ‘second place’ thing!

As for Pippen’s 37 points, the reporters just mentioned it in passing.

No one cared about Pippen’s 37 points or Roger’s 15 points in the subsequent press release.

There was only one thing everyone cared about—Michael Jordan was coming home.

Though Roger was angry about how Jordan had looked down on him before and had even confronted Jordan after the game angrily,

he didn’t want to dampen everyone’s spirits during such a significant event like the jersey retirement, so he offered some lukewarm praise, “I’m happy to witness such a glorious moment.”

Men need to be tough, but being tough at the wrong time only hurts you.

Instigating conflict mindlessly only shows a lack of upbringing.

However, Roger’s words made Michael Jordan misunderstand his intention.

“He’s still an 18-year-old kid.

When it comes to facing me head-on, he’s scared,” Jordan said with a smirk, holding a cigar at the smoky poker table in front of Flying Pig.

He seemed to be boasting to Flying Pig, “Look, Charles, even though I’ve retired, everyone is still afraid of me.”

Barkley couldn’t agree, “I think Roger was just saying something polite, it doesn’t mean he’s afraid of you.

I’ve played ball with the kid, and he’s got guts.”

“He seems gutsy because it’s you.

If it were me, he’d only be crying after the game.”

“Fuck off, Michael, don’t act like you always win.

You can’t win on the baseball field.

I’m telling you, I could play better baseball with the golf club, no, with the stick in my pants, than your batting average!”

“Ha, let’s not talk about what happens on the baseball field.

You have to admit that I always win on the basketball court.

Just watch, Charles, when I return to the United Center, that cocky kid will only show me reverence.”

So, on December 3, before the Chicago Bulls VS New York Knicks game,

Michael Jordan, like an emperor returning to his domain, looked down on everyone and accepted their adulation.

When that number 23 jersey was raised, Jordan glanced at Krause.

Well, even Krause, that stupid pig, had to choke back tears and clap like crazy for me.

And Roger?

Jordan turned his head to look, and sure enough, there he was, standing at attention and clapping respectfully.

See, right in front of me, he wouldn’t dare to let out even the slightest fart!

Michael Jordan loved this feeling, he relished the sense of superiority his prestige brought, and he liked seeing the fear in everyone’s faces towards him.

But Jordan still wasn’t completely satisfied.

He decided he’d escalate that sense of superiority after the game.

Jordan’s jersey retirement ceremony was perfect, but the result of the game spoiled the night.

Last season, the New York Knicks’ defense had caused Jordan to only shoot 40% from the field in the playoffs, and this season their defense was as tight as ever.

So both Roger and Pippen’s scores didn’t reach 20 points, Roger scored 17 points with a 41% shooting percentage, and Pippen, who deliberately increased his number of shots after coming back, scored 16 points with a 35% shooting percentage.

Scottie Pippen, the perfect second-in-command, always has a way of underperforming just a bit more than Roger in these moments, making Roger’s performance seem not so bad after all.

The media criticized Pippen harshly, saying he was even worse than a rookie.

But actually, Roger struggled too.

At this stage, his ability to compete in such extreme muscular defenses was indeed a bit overwhelming.

If a high schooler just one month into the NBA could easily trample the Knicks’ defense, their defense wouldn’t be one of the best in history.

The Bulls lost by 9 points, suffering their biggest defeat of the season and their first back-to-back losses.

After this loss, the Bulls’ record was 9 wins and 5 losses.

Considering that Pippen was out for a period during that time, this record was actually okay.

But failing to score 20 points in two consecutive games still left Roger feeling a little unsatisfied.

He stayed behind at the United Center to practice his one-on-one and off-ball offense after the game ended.

The Knicks’ defense was no joke, and if he met this steel team in the playoffs, Roger didn’t want to end up with shameful single-game stats like scoring only 8 points.

In the middle of his practice, Roger suddenly heard a voice, “You disdain to be my successor?

You’re not worthy of it, rookie.

Scoring less than 20 points in two games, I’m truly sorry for you.”

Roger turned around and saw Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan, dressed in a practice jersey.

This king of Chicago wanted to relive those days when he always won.

This king of Chicago liked to destroy anyone who tried to be his enemy.

This king of Chicago wanted to take his sense of superiority to the next level.

Roger had no idea why Jordan had changed into a jersey and come to the court, nor did he understand why he suddenly lashed out at him.

Is this the great leader Michael Jordan?

Truly exceptional.

It was the first time they met, and Roger already disliked him.

“You don’t have to feel sorry for me, Michael, at least I haven’t scored just 6 points in an NCAA championship like you did when you were 18,” Roger replied very amiably.

This was Roger’s first close encounter with the Chicago devil.

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