437: 167: You Will Have Nothing (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)_4 437: 167: You Will Have Nothing (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)_4 In this way, Roger would get a good chance for a one-on-one at the low post!
The Magic Team rarely arranged low post one-on-ones for Roger, as that area mostly belonged to Shaq most of the ti.
Furthermore, in the past few seasons, Roger’s weight wasn’t quite enough, and playing at the low post would be disadvantageous.
Moreover, since Roger lacked back-to-the-basket footwork and would only directly spin around, there was no need for him to play at the low post.
But today, facing Bryon Russell, who was sowhat of a half-baked so-called defensive specialist, Roger was confident he could overpower him.
He didn’t need any intricate footwork to handle him.
Bryon Russell tried to push Roger out, but Roger, who was now 98 kilograms, stubbornly held his ground.
Harper lobbed the ball in, and Roger caught it firmly.
Karl Malone hesitated a bit, given that Derrick McKey had just scored three consecutive baskets.
In the end, he chose not to help defensively, as he could not leave a dangerous player unguarded at such a crucial mont.
Roger, seizing the mont when catching the ball, imdiately spun around for a jump shot, and because he was closer to the basket, Roger was very confident.
Thump swish!
The basketball hit the backboard and went into the net, Magic regained the lead!
Roger had found his rhythm again, a spin and bank shot that had always been the Iceman’s specialty, and also Roger’s.
But the Iceman, who never weighed over 90 kilograms in his life, couldn’t fully exploit this move at the low post.
And before this, Roger had never used it as his killing move.
Now, Roger could try doing so.
Just like he reflected during the top 50 stars celebration, compared to the Iceman, Roger had co a long way.
An MVP needs to use all ans to help the team win.
Jazz attacked, Karl Malone cleverly moved to a mid-range position, received a pass from Stockton, and scored another jumper.
89-88, Jazz regained the lead by one point.
But afterwards, Roger replicated the action.
Magic Team cleared one side, completely freeing up the other low post for Roger.
Bryon Russell couldn’t destabilize Roger at this position, he was like a plumber mistakenly entering a lonely housewife’s ho, completely an easy prey.
Roger firmly caught the ball, then spun around again.
Russell desperately jumped trying to block, but this ti, after spinning around, Roger just made a fake shooting motion.
After deceiving Russell, Roger finally jumped, deliberately colliding with Russell, then scooped the ball low.
Swish.
Buzzer!
Roger earned a chance for a three-point play!
Roger was right, facing soone like Bryon Russell, he didn’t need any fancy footwork.
A few simple feints were enough to bait him.
Roger stood on the free-throw line, Malone tried to distract him: “You’ll miss this free throw, lose the season’s undefeated streak, and also lose the MVP.”
Swish.
His 40th point of the ga.
Roger didn’t understand why Malone, who knew he had an 88% free throw shooting rate, would say sothing so foolish.
After making the shot, he turned and smiled at Malone: “Not only will you lose the MVP, but you will also lose the championship.
I guarantee it.”
Roger’s words escalated the ga.
Now, Karl Malone was treating this as a preview of the Finals!
Considering the strength of the Jazz and Magic this season, they were indeed likely to et in the Finals.
And indeed, Roger’s words truly stung Malone.
Although Malone’s stats were explosive, he was not one to chase stats.
His desire for a championship even exceeded his desire for the MVP.
Later, when Karl Malone surpassed Chamberlain to beco second all-ti in total points, he did not wildly celebrate but simply stated indifferently, “What I’ve always pursued in playing is the championship.
If I can’t succeed, I will retire.
I will never cling to the league just to break records; it’s just a statistical achievent, not an honor.”
He kept his word; after the failure of the Lakers’ Fab Four, the Mailman turned down multiple team offers and announced his retirent in Salt Lake City in February 2005.
It was clear how much the championship ant to Karl Malone’s heart.
For years, he had never co close to a championship, not even playing in the finals.
He couldn’t tolerate the fact that his entire professional career might end without a single championship title.
This year, he finally saw the long-awaited championship opportunity open up.
And now, number 14 had declared he would make lose the championship?
Karl Malone now wanted to kill Roger!
“Try it if you dare!”
Roger’s 2 1 had just brought him his 40th point of the night, putting the Magic ahead by 2 points.
With little ti left in the ga, the Jazz was on the offensive, and Karl Malone was also working in the low post.
He wanted to kill the ga himself.
But this ti when Malone received the ball in the low post, Roger was the first to double-team him.
Seeing this, Malone passed the ball to the unguarded Hornacek.
Roger quickly switched his focus, but to be honest, his stamina had declined, making it very difficult for him to rush toward Hornacek in ti.
In the end, Roger only slightly disturbed Hornacek’s shot.
Normally, such a level of disturbance wouldn’t have much impact on Hornacek.
But this ti, the usually reliable Hornacek missed his shot!
Roger’s pressure on Hornacek hadn’t been in vain because so far, Roger had completely shut down Hornacek, aning each of Hornacek’s shots carried imnse psychological pressure.
With every shot, he wondered if it would go in.
The more he thought about breaking out of this awkward situation, the less relaxed his shooting beca.
After the ball hit the rim, Hornacek heard Abby shouting, “Cool defense!”
A player, a father, completely crushed!
Roger had perfectly executed the defense, and all those nights Spoelstra had stayed up, those dark circles under his eyes, had not been in vain.
Roger’s vision and ability on the defensive end had clearly matured a lot.
It was a long rebound, so none of the four inside players got to the ball — it was caught by Dominique Wilkins, who then quickly passed it to Roger sprinting forward.
Since the Magic’s inside line was at a disadvantage, Wilkins had to actively join the rebound battle, and today, he had worked very hard and perford this task brilliantly.
Roger quickly dashed across the halfway line and glanced back as usual to check the situation behind him.
After that, upon entering the three-second zone, Roger didn’t go straight for the basket, but instead forcefully slamd the ball to the floor.
The basketball bounced high, and the following Dominique Wilkins caught it in midair.
This was Roger’s reward to Wilkins for consistently doing the grunt work diligently.
No matter how old the Hawk was, it longed to soar in the sky.
With a one-handed slam, Wilkins and Roger put on a slam-dunk contest-worthy performance.
The Orlando Magic expanded their lead to 4 points with 1:05 left on the clock, prompting Jerry Sloan to call a tiout.
Steve Jones, who had been praising Malone earlier, looked at Roger leading his team to overtake at a critical mont and shook his head, “I guessed the ga would be conquered by a jump shot and defense, but I didn’t expect it to co from Roger!
All I can say is, this is an MVP-level showdown!
Whether it’s Roger or Karl, they both have the ability to control the ga!”
Roger also walked towards the Jazz’s bench, and shouted at Karl Malone, who had just swaggered to the Magic’s bench, “You’re right Karl, cowards will always be crushed in the ga.
You, such a coward, only pick on 13-year-old girls.
Jeff, don’t you have a daughter?
John, don’t you have a daughter?
How can you stand to play with this brass-loving junk?”
“Fuck you!” Karl Malone burst from the bench, but was quickly held back by the Jazz players.
Facing the furious Malone, Roger didn’t step back an inch, just staring him down.
Soon, a group of Magic players surrounded him.
Roger crossed his arms, and got up close to Malone’s face, “First a victory, then an MVP, and finally the championship.
Just wait Karl, you can’t stop , you will end up with nothing.”
As tensions escalated, the referees imdiately intervened, and the terrifying booing from the Delta Center along with the referee’s whistle added to the chaos on the court.
The ga was far more exciting and intense than expected, but it wasn’t over yet.
At that mont, including Steve Jones, most people were wondering: between these two explosive MVP candidates, could there be a direct face-off to decide the winner?
In that case, the winner would undoubtedly be more convincing.
But for the loser…
It would be even more brutal.
This was the blood-spilling final minute.
Reviews
All reviews (0)