Champion Creed-Chapter 536 - 194: We might be even more outrageous than them (Vote for monthly ticket!)_4
Chapter 536: 194: We might be even more outrageous than them (Vote for monthly ticket!)_4
Roger had no idea about this since he was still with the Magic when the trade happened, so he didn’t pay much attention to the details of the trade.
"So you’re telling me we can compete for the championship while snagging a promising rookie?"
"That’s the situation, because of the rule against trading draft picks in consecutive years, we can’t trade this draft right. Therefore, we have to use it to pick someone. I’ll keep this draft list updated for you, so if there’s someone you want, just let me know.
I can’t guarantee that we’ll definitely get the player you have in mind, but both I and the uniform team will seriously consider your suggestion and pay special attention to that rookie."
"Cool, I’ll give you some names."
Roger felt great inside. That idiot John Gabriel with the Magic would never consult Roger about the draft.
"Alright, there’s one more thing."
"What is it?"
"CNN’s Sofia Vergara hopes to schedule a locker room interview in a few days. As you know, CNN is part of the Captain’s media network, so we hope you can make some time for it."
"No problem."
"Then I won’t keep you from enjoying your victory night, Roger."
"No worries, this season, we’re going to have very, very many victory nights."
After getting home, Roger studied the list a bit and found that the quality of the ’98 draft was actually pretty decent.
Mike Bibby, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Al Harrington, Rashard Lewis, Coach Lu, Nowitzki.
Overall strength was much better than the ’97 class.
Soon, Roger spotted a very interesting name—Paul Pierce.
Hmm, almost forgot about this rival of a decade.
Ever since the last time he was thoroughly defeated, the outspoken Paul Pierce only followed one principle when mentioning Roger in interviews: flattery will get you everywhere.
It’s fine to trash-talk others, after all, it’s just words.
But trash-talking Roger, he’d seriously take a flight to beat you up.
If the season ends poorly for the 76ers and the Hawks really get a lottery pick, Pierce might not sleep well at night.
However, Roger definitely wouldn’t consider Pierce.
The Hawks’ frontcourt was already too crowded, with no room for him.
But as Roger thought about how he was now teammates with Pippen and Stevie Smith...
You can’t be too categorical in what you say.
In the following game, the Hawks suffered their first defeat of the season.
They let Ewing put up a huge double-double at Madison Square Garden with 26 points and 16 rebounds.
Plus, the Knicks’ strong defense completely shut down Pippen and Stevie Smith.
Roger scored 37 points alone, but still couldn’t stop the loss, eating their first defeat of the season.
Meanwhile, in Dallas, the Portland Trail Blazers crushed the Mavericks 101 to 94, becoming the only team in the league to maintain an undefeated record this season.
Yes, even the Portland fans themselves probably didn’t expect that the team with the league’s best record in the early season would be the Trail Blazers.
After the game, Michael Finley of the Mavericks was in misery: "I feel like I’ve been in a boxing match, my body is covered in bruises. They have five consecutive wins for a reason, their aggressive defense is too much for any team to handle. This team is like they recruited a bunch of vicious convicts from a prison to play."
His remarks were spot-on, many players from the Blazers team had indeed won prison basketball championships.
Michael Finley’s assessment wasn’t exaggerated—the Portland Trail Blazers’ defense was outstanding. And like the Hawks, they had an enviable lineup on the frontcourt.
Although they lacked a superstar, every position was strong.
And their next opponent was none other than the Atlanta Hawks.
The Blazers’ leading scorer, Isaiah Rider, was very confident: "Roger? No, not even God can make us lose, buddy! We’re going for the championship this season!"
The day before flying to Portland, Clifford Robinson warned everyone: "Guys, we need to be careful in the next game."
"What’s up? Are the dames in Portland tougher than those in Atlanta? No worries, we can handle it, right Roger? Whether it’s the women from Atlanta, Portland, or those with boyfriends, they all fall for Roger." Big Ben used yet another bizarre analogy.
The oddly specific comment hit a sore spot for Pippen: "Damn, what the hell are you yapping about!?"
Big Ben spread his hands towards Pippen, confused about how he had offended him.
Only Roger was concerned with Clifford Robinson’s warning: "Be careful? Why?"
"You guys have no idea how outrageous those people in Portland are. Let me put it this way, training with them felt like I was fighting. No, not just feeling like it, fights often broke out during training! Those guys... really, they are extremely extreme. You might not know a stat from last season— the Blazers had the most technical fouls in the entire league. I mean, you don’t know what they’ll do on the court."
Roger got it, indeed, when Clifford Robinson left the Blazers, that ’92 team which made it to the finals had completely disbanded, entering what was essentially the prison team era.
He figured the guys would run into trouble in Portland; after all, those dudes looked like they really wanted to win.
No one wants their undefeated streak taken lightly.
And as long as those guys wanted to win, their game would evolve in a rather extreme direction.
But...
Roger glanced at Big Ben, Bowen, Kurt Thomas, and himself, shrugging:
"Don’t be nervous, Clifford, have you ever considered...
We might be even more extreme than them."
