335: 139: You know, Roger is the best player on the Magic Team (asking for monthly passes!) 335: 139: You know, Roger is the best player on the Magic Team (asking for monthly passes!) “As we know, Roger is a fantastic competitor, and he played a phenonal ga!
It’s over, the ga is over, the immortal Chicago Bulls Dynasty has completely crumbled!”
Bill Walton was deeply impressed by Roger’s performance.
With Shaq in a slump, it was Roger who truly shouldered the team, scoring more than half of the team’s total points, and delivering a lethal offense and two defensive stops at the last mont that killed the ga.
Moreover, that ga-clinching shot could be counted as one of the best monts in NBA history!
What kind of performance was that?
This was only Roger’s third year in the league!
Even so top draft picks, in their third professional season, might still be striving for an All-NBA Team selection or an All-Star appearance.
But Roger?
The discussions about him are already about his historical legacy!
However, what struck people the most in Bill Walton’s words was probably the last sentence: The Bulls Dynasty has completely crumbled!
The feeling of this dynasty’s collapse was indeed very strong, not just because Roger’s assassin-like fatal hook shot killed the ga.
Michael Jordan, the tyrant usually responsible for killing his opponents, squandered two opportunities to bury the Magic at the last minute, as if it were a sign from fate—the Bulls Dynasty was done for, even the coming of Black Jesus couldn’t keep it together!
In this all-in series, Roger stood his ground in the end, while Michael Jordan did not.
If the Bulls had only lost to the Magic once, it might not have been called the end of the Dynasty.
You could say that Roger and Shaq rely got lucky against the champions.
But when Jordan and his Bulls were defeated by Roger for the second consecutive ti, it ant their dynasty had been thoroughly overturned!
Roger, reaching the Finals for three straight years and very likely clinching back-to-back championships, undeniably signified that he had taken the reins of dominance from Michael Jordan!
The Magic players began celebrating on the court, and at that mont, the cara panned to Jerry Krause, whose expression looked as though an invisible hand had completely sucked out his soul.
He was pale, his expression vacant, a re husk without a soul.
Everything he had done the previous sumr had beco futile at this mont.
Roger had proved once again, no matter how strong a lineup you build, whether you bring in Rodman or Dumars, without , you’re not making it to the Finals!
Roger told Chicago once more that trading away was the dumbest decision in the world!
Even if it was to get Michael Jordan, it was still an utter mistake!
And such a mistake could never be compensated for in any other way!
The consequences of this mistake would haunt Bulls fans forever, leaving them to endure pain and regret throughout Roger’s entire career!
This was the greatest punishnt Roger could give to those who had disrespected him!
In the arena, countless Bulls fans shed tears.
For it was the second year in a row that Roger had cruelly terminated the Bulls.
In the playoffs, the worst ways to lose are either to be swept without suspense or to have a chance but be defeated in a Ga 7.
Roger let Chicago fans experience one of those this year.
Bulls fans hardly dared to believe that this 72-win team, this seemingly perfect roster, still couldn’t get past the Orlando Magic.
And today, Shaq’s performance was near-criminal.
He did end up with 21 points and 11 rebounds for the ga, but his efficiency was very low.
As a center, a shooting percentage below 45%, and a free-throw percentage also under 45%, with six turnovers for the ga, and even losing a crucial jump ball to Rodman, who was much shorter.
Had it not been for the number of attempts, he wouldn’t have even scored 21 points.
So, it was Roger who truly defeated the Chicago Bulls.
This was the cruelest of cruelties, because Roger was once part of the Chicago Bulls!
Toni Kukoc stood helplessly with hands on hips.
His defensive recovery just now had been very, very fast, but Roger’s Finger Roll shot was simply magical.
Even Iceman himself couldn’t have done any better.
Truth be told, Kukoc had already braced himself psychologically.
When Roger said in the last ga, “Don’t worry Toni, in the end, you’re still going to lose,” Kukoc had prepared for the worst.
But the final blow was more brutal than he had imagined.
Michael Jordan was still replaying his two shots in his mory.
He had missed countless shots in his lifeti, but those two misses would definitely be etched into his mory for a lifeti.
They would wake him from nightmares on countless nights!
If he had made even one of them, the ga would not have ended this way.
Jordan was too tired, he had no strength left for shooting at the last mont.
Although he believed he could do it before taking the shot, reality reminded him that he was already 33.
Before his first retirent, he soared and dominated every step of the way.
Now?
He was still the league’s best player, but he could no longer catch up with his past self.
He had indeed declined, even if slightly, enough to show weariness in one or two key plays.
Jordan fell into a deep self-doubt.
Last year, when swept 8-0 by Roger, he felt more anger and unwillingness, but without self-doubt.
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