Champion Creed-Chapter 530 - 193: Shaq is Jerry’s biggest mistake since 1981 (Begging for monthly tickets!)_4
Chapter 530: 193: Shaq is Jerry’s biggest mistake since 1981 (Begging for monthly tickets!)_4
O’Neal knew that Roger was lowering his center of gravity to shoot, so he immediately reacted, stepping forward to stretch out his hand and interfere.
Shaq’s huge hand covered Roger, but the next second, O’Neal still heard the "swish" sound.
After a triple threat, Roger pulled up and shot over O’Neal to score. O’Neal had given Roger too much space, his interference might have been effective against an average player, but it was far from enough against Roger!
Logo held his head; Shaq was simply being dragged out for a public execution today.
Seeing that his timely block still resulted in a score, O’Neal muttered discontentedly, "It’s just luck!"
"You still know how to make excuses for yourself, Shaq."
"It is luck, and you can’t deny that!"
Having said that, Shaq sank into the low post, called for the ball, pushed Kurt Thomas away, and dunked single-handedly over the approaching Alan Henderson!
"That’s what I call power!" Shaq roared.
Roger nodded. Since that was the case, they would play again.
This time, Roger used a fake screen to break past Eddie Jones. Eddie Jones, originally considered a guard version of Pippen, now seemed almost an insult to Pippen.
"Damn, waste!" O’Neal cursed as he began to help on defense, seeing Roger continuously break toward the paint, Shaq also quickened his steps.
But as Roger stepped into the paint, he suddenly stopped and then quickly turned around.
Shaq screeched to a halt, but the huge self-weight combined with the force of inertia, twisted O’Neal’s ankle a bit, and then the massive figure staggered a few steps backward. Ultimately, Shaq couldn’t stabilize his center of gravity, and was shaken to the ground under the basket!
Yes, in the original history, no one could shake O’Neal off his feet.
Because he rarely helped his teammates defend the perimeter, and you can never shake off someone who doesn’t defend seriously.
But this time, because of Roger, O’Neal was unusually serious in defense.
So, the tragedy happened.
Sitting awkwardly on the floor, Roger didn’t immediately shoot but smiled and pointed at O’Neal before making a mid-range shot before Eddie Jones could cover up.
The basketball netted, the ball just dropping in front of O’Neal.
"How about that, Shaq, is that also luck?"
This was an extremely humiliating shake-off, second only to Leonard’s last-minute withdrawal shaking off the entire United States team.
At Roger’s taunt, O’Neal was speechless, angrily punched the ball away, and then got up.
The hearts of Los Angeles fans turned cold, Shaquille O’Neal, their hero for reviving the Purple and Gold dynasty, appeared as miserable as a stray dog in front of Roger.
It felt like a web video streamer turning off her beauty filter and removing makeup.
Less than halfway through the game, people had already realized how much O’Neal needed Roger.
Previously with Roger, no team dared to double-team Shaq like this. Thus, Shaq could score more easily.
But now, without Roger, O’Neal was simply miserable on offense.
In Shaq’s mind, it had always been him helping Roger by drawing the defense, so Roger could score easily.
But in reality, they helped each other draw defense, both benefiting.
Now, Shaq probably understood Roger’s importance more than anyone.
As for defense, that goes without saying.
With Roger, Shaq didn’t need to constantly cover for the guards; he just needed to defend his spot. But now? He had to come out and help on defense, which led to his ultimate tragic end.
O’Neal tonight was utterly humiliated; he absolutely did not expect to face such an embarrassing situation today.
After Roger scored two baskets over Shaq, the difference came to 7 points.
Watching the embarrassing image of Shaq on the big screen, Roger felt he had had enough fun.
The perfect filter O’Neal had in the eyes of Los Angeles fans had been completely shattered.
But Roger was still not satisfied; playing with O’Neal was fun indeed, but O’Neal was just one of Roger’s agenda items for today.
After backing down this round, Roger walked over to Stevie Smith: "Switch."
"What?"
"I’ll guard Kobe."
"Lenny arranged it?"
"No, I arranged it."
Stevie Smith was speechless, this damn privileged player!
Though somewhat discontented, he still quietly walked away, guarding Eddie Jones this round.
Kobe, seeing Roger come to guard him, instantly got pumped up.
He raised his hand for the ball, which was immediately passed by Van Exel, who was under pressure from Pippen.
Shaq held his position and shouted at Kobe.
But Kobe again ignored him.
"Asshole! Damn, asshole!" O’Neal cursed inwardly, knowing that, even in the worst times with Roger last season, Roger never ignored Shaq’s call for the ball.
Kobe got the ball, again showing off his fancy dribbling, confident this style could beat his opponent.
During this period, Kobe’s style was still too naive; he enjoyed all sorts of dribbling to get past people, not understanding the principle that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
After a series of shakes, Kobe made a strong move left, but Roger immediately blocked him with a lateral move. So, Kobe pulled up right over Roger.
A crisp clang of the rim almost gave O’Neal a heart attack on the court.
Why would anyone be such an asshole?
Do you think you can play one-on-one like Roger?
Roger, in his sophomore year, had already scored 40 points in three consecutive finals games. Do you think you compare?
O’Neal shook his head, again slapping himself: "Don’t think like that, Shaq. Kobe is the best, Kobe is the best, Kobe is the best..."