Champion Creed-Chapter 549 - 198: I’ll show you how a real man should carry the team (Vote for monthly tickets!)_3
Chapter 549: 198: I’ll show you how a real man should carry the team (Vote for monthly tickets!)_3
Previously, the Admiral might have touched the ball 40 times in a game, but now it was only 20 times. So, he had to find ways to effectively score with fewer opportunities to touch the ball.
He did well, his role transition wasn’t complete, but it was a good start.
On the Hawks’ side, since the inside was sealed off by the Twin Towers, their offense greatly relied on shooting.
But the team’s best shooter, Stevie Smith, continued his poor performance, going 0 for 5 from beyond the three-point line in the first half.
By the end of the second quarter, except for Roger, no one even passed the ball to him.
This was a vicious cycle, Stevie Smith’s performance caused him to lose his teammates’ trust, and his teammates’ behavior made Stevie Smith even more depressed.
The team’s division seemed inevitable.
Ultimately, Duncan had 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists by halftime, and the Admiral had 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Roger had 22 points at halftime, sending the Hawks into the second half with a 7-point deficit.
During the halftime interview, Popovich sarcastically said, "Roger thinks I’m a hypocrite, I’m not upset. I just hope the Hawks don’t attack my players in the second half, I hope they can stand tall and fair until the end."
Steve Jones couldn’t help but praise Duncan: "Since Jordan, Duncan has been the biggest threat to Roger!"
Popovich always stood on a moral high ground to attack the Hawks, which annoyed Roger.
Everyone has the right to claim the moral high ground, but not a scumbag like Popovich!
Lenny Wilkens was equally angry; he was utterly disappointed with Stevie Smith’s performance.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Why can’t you make those damn shots!? You fucking softie, if you can’t play just get off!"
This wasn’t the first time Lenny Wilkens had yelled at Stevie Smith; he had not been gentle with him in previous seasons either.
An old-school, tough coach encountering a star player who couldn’t shoulder responsibility in critical matches, it was enough to drive him mad.
In the past, faced with Wilkens’ criticism, Stevie Smith would remain silent.
But this time, the usually reticent Stevie Smith couldn’t bear it anymore:
"Enough! What did I do wrong? Why is everyone suddenly ostracizing me? I carried the team for three years, I love Atlanta. But just because I wasn’t willing to fight that day, now you all don’t need me? You want to kick me out? Is that fair to me? What did I do wrong!?"
Now, Roger could confirm that Stevie Smith felt disheartened because he had lost his teammates’ respect, and the fact that no one but Roger had passed him the ball just now had further hurt him.
"Alright, shut up Stevie," Roger looked up at the number 8, his fierce gaze telling Stevie Smith that what he was about to say wasn’t meant to console him.
You say you carried the team? You say you love Atlanta? But what the fuck are you doing? As a professional player, if you can’t bring victory to this city, what love are you talking about? This is competitive sports, everything should be about winning!
You talk about being ostracized? No, it’s not us ostracizing you, it’s your irresponsibly odd behavior lately that’s alienating you from the team!
You come last for warm-ups because you’re feeling blue, then you play terribly on the court. Because you’re upset, you’re absent-minded on defense and even made Hornacek’s little daughter cry! Is this what you call carrying the team?
Are we ostracizing you? What were you doing when we were desperately fighting against the Trail Blazers? What were you doing when we were giving our all for victory? It’s not about you having to fight, but you could at least have been more proactive!
All of us are striving for victory, but we have one person in the team who disrespects victory, and that’s why you’re being alienated from the team!
So shut up, I’ve had enough of your endless complaints, always looking for excuses in others! I’ve talked to you about this before, I don’t want to say the same thing a second time! In the second half, I’ll show you how a real man should carry a team!"
Roger said no more, he just focused on resting.
Today, it was indeed difficult for the Hawks to defend against the Spurs’ Twin Towers.
All they could do was use their height advantage on the outside to block passing lanes, but once Duncan or the Admiral got the ball, it was hard to stop them because they also had strong inside passing.
And the rest of the Hawks’ offense struggled today because the Spurs’ defense philosophy was to keep pressure on the perimeter ball handlers, forcing them to go baseline and eventually help with Duncan or the Admiral.
This meant that opportunities for cutting to the basket or for Roger to break through and pass to an outside shooter were scarce. The only opportunity was to force play at mid-range with the ball.
But due to Stevie Smith’s lack of offensive threat in the first half, the Spurs completely left him to double-team Roger, making it difficult for Roger to even create opportunities for mid-range plays.
However, in the second half, if Wilkens substitutes Stevie Smith or if Stevie Smith regains his form, forcing the Spurs to revert to their style of primarily guarding the perimeter individually, then Roger could try to exploit their defense at mid-range!
Roger would do only one thing in the second half, the thing he was best at—scoring!
Unable to stop the opponent, battling the Spurs’ Twin Towers was the only chance.
He had to go all out, using greater firepower to overshadow the dominance of the Twin Towers, he had to become the formidable scoring demon once more!
No rookie can celebrate a victory at Roger’s home court, the biggest threat to Roger after Jordan?
No, even if it’s the Stone Buddha, Roger would shatter him!
