Champion Creed-Chapter 902 - 298: The era will not end (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!)_2
Chapter 902: 298: The era will not end (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!)_2
If we can beat him again at Roger’s home court, that would be awesome.
This bastard who once dominated New York is not that impressive.
So from the very start, Artest was fired up, trying to provoke Roger in the player tunnel to show he’s unafraid.
At the same time, he needed to bring this anger onto the basketball court to keep himself focused.
No matter what Big Ben says, Artest won’t change his attitude.
He’s determined to take down Roger with the most aggressive fight!
He wants the wheels of the Dark Defense Era to crush the champion’s crown!
He wants to personally end this most hated player!
So in the silent locker room, Artest glanced at Big Ben: "I’m here to fight, and of course, we will win the game and leave. But how do we win? That’s not for you to decide, big guy."
Ron Artest ignored Big Ben’s warning and continued to do things his way.
Big Ben knew that he couldn’t really control Artest. Even though the conflict during the preseason training camp temporarily made Artest comply, it was merely a facade.
Artest indeed didn’t dare to directly challenge Big Ben, but this doesn’t mean he will obediently listen to him.
Big Ben sighed, perhaps Artest wouldn’t listen, but he still reminded him: "I just hope you don’t do anything stupid here. Believe it or not, I’m saying this for your own good. At Philips Arena, you can win, but no one can challenge Roger’s authority. You better remember this."
"Oh."
After getting changed, Artest walked out of the locker room, ready for warm-ups.
He really didn’t listen to a word.
Before today’s game started, Hawks’ General Manager Pete Babcock awarded Big Ben the championship ring.
This was Big Ben’s first return to Atlanta since leaving, so he received his championship ring only today.
When Big Ben put on the championship ring, countless fans in the stands held up signs saying "Trading away Big Ben was a crime," expressing dissatisfaction with the foolish actions of the Hawks’ shareholder team.
Lenny Wilkens looked at those signs and couldn’t help but complain to D’Antoni: "I hope this stupid decision teaches them a lesson."
The implication being, don’t get rid of Roger.
But Mike D’Antoni didn’t seem to get Lenny Wilkens’ point, responding: "The biggest lesson for humanity is never learning from lessons, Lenny."
Lenny Wilkens was shaken. Yeah, speaking of lessons learned, the Magic Team’s lesson isn’t enough?
He didn’t know what the future held, but he really hoped Roger wouldn’t return to Philips Arena in this manner next year.
Though receiving the championship ring was delightful, the moment the ceremony ended, Big Ben was already in character. Now, he’s the leader of the Detroit Pistons, and his target is to take down the Atlanta Hawks!
The Pistons’ starters were set, five stars being Chaki Atkins, Richard Hamilton, Ron Artest, Ben Wallace, and Rasheed Wallace.
This lineup was missing Billups, but still extremely competitive, the terror exuded from the Dark Defense Era stemmed from this.
The game began, Big Ben took the ball from Kurt Thomas’ hands, with this defensive powerhouse making the first attack.
Artest had a high desire to score today, preparing to solo against Pierce right away.
Pierce’s body was quite strong at the three position, yet Artest used his shoulder to easily push past Pierce into the lane.
Ron Artest’s drive somewhat resembled LeBron James’, not relying on the speed of the first step, not relying on flashy ball handling. In fact, Artest didn’t rely much on footwork skills either.
He’d just use his shoulder to pin you and then forcefully push to the basket with terrifying power.
Because Rasheed Wallace pulled Marion away to mid-range, Artest encountered no help defense from the four position during his drive, proceeding unhindered.
Once in the paint, Artest held off Pierce to jump, with the basketball just skimming past Kurt Thomas’ fingertips, brushing against the backboard to enter the net.
The opening attack, Artest took the lead!
The action of his confrontation in scoring couldn’t simply be deemed spectacular; it had a GOAT’s beauty.
But this is Artest’s style; he never cared if a goal looked cool; he only knew it was an effective score.
Though Artest was unstable in mid-to-long range shooting, his finishing rate at the rim was impressive, making it his primary scoring means.
2-0, Detroit Pistons maintained the vigor a strong team should have.
After scoring, Artest shook his green head: "Your era is over, your era is over! Tremble before the Dark Defense Era, bastards!"
Artest was very arrogant, but everyone knew, offense was just an additional value of Artest.
What really made this guy fierce was his defense.
And soon he would showcase this weapon.
Indeed, in this round, the Hawks’ seven-second offense was once again subdued, as Roger’s primary handle was unable to push the pace immediately under Artest’s pressure.
Ron Artest exerted pressure the moment Roger received the ball, his powerful force making it tough for Roger to move, preventing him from picking up speed.
Additionally, Roger didn’t dare to freely use fancy dribbles to get past his opponent because Artest’s stealing ability was exceptional. Whether in ball possession or intercepting passes, Artest’s ability was top-notch.
