Chapter 886: 293: Under the glorious victory, the crisis is erging (Requesting monthly votes)_4
The Nets can only continue to find ways on defense. Since zone defense is allowed, they even started sending two players to chase Roger when he doesn’t have the ball.
But this tactic still failed to work.
The excessive focus on off-ball Roger completely benefited the other mbers of the Hawks.
Paul Pierce took on the task of scoring on isolations, and Michael Reed punished the Nets with the open shots they gave him.
Marion also hit the Nets with threes and long twos as they collapsed defensively.
When you see Marion and Reed tornting your nerves with ugly shooting forms but redeeming themselves with buckets ti and again, you really have a love-hate relationship with them.
The Nets tried every thod, but they couldn’t lower the Hawks’ offensive efficiency.
This team’s offensive resources are just too good, too abundant.
And they also love taking threes.
This leads to a situation—you feel like the Hawks haven’t scored much, but the point differential has already beco quite scary.
Roger’s scoring was indeed limited, as the zone defense made one-on-one opportunities much harder to co by.
But the Hawks were not limited at all, and by the fourth quarter, they were already 24 points ahead.
Roger was subbed out halfway through the fourth quarter, scoring only 23 points but dishing out 14 assists!
If garbage ti hadn’t co so early, his assists would have gone up even more.
This was a beautiful display of deterrence; the Nets beca the first victim under the defending champions’ knife, while the Hawks showed the entire league that the establishnt of a dynasty is unstoppable!
When the ga ended, Jason Kidd quickly hugged Roger and then briskly walked away.
He didn’t want to stay near Roger a second longer, afraid of being humiliated by that sweet talker.
But Roger didn’t let Kidd go just because he turned away.
“Don’t frown, Jason, it’s your first ti in the East, so you need to get used to this feeling. After all, you’ll have to endure this four tis in a season, and even more if we et in the playoffs. Call AI and ask him; he’s experienced in this, and he’ll tell you how to adjust your mindset.”
Kidd didn’t respond, just walked into the players’ tunnel on his own.
However, Roger believed Kidd could hear what he was saying.
He also believed Kidd wouldn’t be foolish enough to think he could stir up any waves in the East.
This was, after all, the King’s territory.
No one could plant a new flag here.
—————–
He is a master at understanding defense; no matter how you defend him, he always leads you by the nose.—Jason Kidd’s post-ga comnts on defending Roger.
Tonight we tried at least three different defensive strategies, but none worked! The Hawks’ offense is terrifying, you’ll know yourself when you face them, and no one will be able to laugh then!—Byron Scott, expressing helplessness regarding the Hawks’ offense.
We can play in many styles, with the fast storms brought by Mike sweeping the whole court, or we can slow down and engage in half-court duel. It all depends on how we want to kill the ga.—Lenny Wilkens proudly discussing the team’s offensive performance.
They transford from a team filled with blood, fire, and the noise of steel clashing into a light, elegant, fast team. While people worried about zone defense and the impact of losing their DPOY, the Hawks already had solutions, and the defending champions always nearly defy nature. Their offense beca impeccable, and no team in the league can truly limit them.—NBC comntator Matt Lauer, post-ga summary.
“Roger, congratulations on defeating the New Jersey Nets led by Jason Kidd again, and defending Atlanta’s championship night. The team is still winning, so do you think Big Ben’s departure really had a significant impact on the team?”
“Of course, we are still winning, but that is no excuse for the team to let go of a core mber so easily.”
“Will you opt out of your contract next sumr?”
“That’s not up to , it’s up to the shareholders’ attitude. Alright Andrew, this sumr has just passed, I don’t want to talk about next sumr yet.”
“Of course, you’re the King, what you say goes.”
——”Sports Illustrated”.
Two days later, Bo Turner looked at the news on “Sports Illustrated” and felt extrely nervous.
What Roger said in “Sports Illustrated” can generally be considered his official statent to the outside world.
He demands the Hawks’ attitude, but what is the Hawks’ attitude?
Next, the Hawks will face a salary explosion.
Next year is Paul Pierce, the year after is Shawn Marion, both of whom are players that the entire league will compete to offer maximum contracts to, and the Hawks must find a way to retain them while facing the threat of luxury tax.
This is sothing all dynasty teams must face. It is a rule set by David Stern to prevent monopolies.
Can Bruce Levenson who prioritizes interests handle everything?
Bo Turner isn’t very confident about this. Take a look at how Levenson evaluated Big Ben’s departure on the night of the opener, he still thinks he did nothing wrong.
Bo Turner has a bad feeling, the relationship between the Hawks and Roger may already be on countdown. Beneath the glorious victories, crises are looming. This is the kind of thing you know is happening but are unwilling to acknowledge.
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