Champion Creed-Chapter 905 - 299: Until the opponent is completely destroyed, he will never be satisfied (Requesting monthly votes!)

Chapter 905: 299: Until the opponent is completely destroyed, he will never be satisfied (Requesting monthly votes!)

The clash between the new order and the old order was destined to be a bloodbath, with the game scene heating up amid repeated fouls, curses, and shoves.

Both sides proved themselves, the Pistons proved they indeed have the ability to usher in a new era, as they could go back and forth with the Hawks. Meanwhile, the Hawks proved their foundation as defending champions, as the Pistons couldn’t easily destroy them.

Watching this game, the live commentator Steve Jones could well understand why Roger, the tyrant, always managed to win everything.

It was proven that a nice guy was indeed not suitable to lead a team.

Grant Hill’s talent was above every Pistons player on the court, but when he led the Pistons team, they couldn’t even be considered a match for the Hawks.

But look at the current Pistons, they used defense, tenacity, toughness, and a thug style to plunge the Hawks into a bitter battle.

The game reached halftime in a tense atmosphere, with the Hawks leading 53-49 by 4 points.

Roger had 18 points and 6 assists by halftime, as there weren’t many opportunities for seven-second offenses, his shooting percentage was suppressed to 41%. However, against the Pistons’ league-leading defense, it was still an outstanding performance.

Overall, Artest’s defense on Roger in the first half wasn’t very successful. In fact, he was one of the few players who could make Roger uncomfortable with single defense, but he struggled too much against the pick-and-roll.

Naturally, the Hawks seized on this and decided to hit hard on it, so during halftime, Lenny Wilkens instructed to continue increasing the frequency of the V-cut pick-and-roll in the second half.

Thus, the Hawks went with the V-cut pick-and-roll for the first offense in the second half, pulling Pierce and Reeves, two high-threat long-range shooters, to the corners, effectively removing the Pistons’ wing assistance.

As long as Roger could use the pick-and-roll to deal with Artest and the Double Wallace, he could easily attack the basket.

This time, Roger feigned a break towards the side where Big Ben was in charge, but actually changed direction to the left, bypassed the screen, and attacked the basket.

Artest tried his best to get around but was still half a step slow, managing only to stick to Roger’s side and rear.

Artest knew he was out of position, so he grabbed Roger’s jersey with one hand to slow down his drive to the basket, and cut hard with the other hand trying to disrupt Roger’s dribble. But Roger suddenly picked up the ball, lifted it over his head, avoiding Artest’s steal. Then, he jumped directly against Rasheed Wallace, who came chasing from the other side to the paint, and slammed it in!

Both Rasheed Wallace and Roger fell to the ground, but the ball went in. With a powerful finish, Roger managed to cut a gap in the Pistons’ impregnable defense!

Roger got up without even glancing at the Yelling Maestro still lying on the ground, and headed straight for Artest: "Look, I got to enjoy your helpless expression once again."

Artest was irked: "Damn it, that idiot only knows how to play pick-and-roll, he doesn’t even have the courage to play one-on-one with me!"

This was an illogical statement because basketball games aren’t about one-on-one duels.

In the subsequent possession, facing the Hawks’ V-cut pick-and-roll again, Big Ben decided to stay down low to protect the basket.

But after Roger broke through, he passed to Kurt Thomas, who was completely unguarded, and the latter hit the mid-range shot steadily.

The Pistons indeed had no solution, even Big Ben, the best defensive player, had a headache dealing with the V-cut pick-and-roll.

If he didn’t stay low to protect the basket, Roger could easily drive there.

If he did stay low, Kurt Thomas’s open shot from mid-range was also very threatening.

The only weakness of the V-cut pick-and-roll might be the relatively average quality of the pick-and-roll on Marion’s side, but even so, it could still provide Roger a chance to break through and take a shot.

Steve Jones straightforwardly said: "Once the pick-and-roll is executed, Pistons players can only hope that Roger misses the shot, no one else can do anything about it."

On defense, Roger extended his roaming help defense range.

Thus, Hamilton, the Yelling Maestro, and Artest’s offenses were all affected by Roger.

Of course, Roger’s roaming would leave Chaki Atkins open, who was an efficient guard this season with a 41% three-point shooting percentage and 46% field goal percentage.

But he could only make completely uncontested shots; as long as Roger turned back quickly enough to provide some interference, his output would not be high.

The Pistons even brought in Steve Kerr, traded along with the Yelling Maestro, but it still couldn’t change Roger’s defensive strategy.

He would rather allow Kerr and Atkins to score than let the three biggest offensive threats of the Pistons have their way.

In the eighth minute of the third quarter, Roger double-teamed the moment Rasheed Wallace held the ball and successfully intercepted it before the Yelling Maestro could pass it to Kerr!

Roger quickly turned around for a fast break, Artest prepared to pressure Roger near the mid-court line to slow him down, but Roger made a long pass to find Marion cutting in from the right. Marion caught the basketball and drove directly into the paint for a dunk, the Hawks executed a brilliant seven-second offense!

Once the Pistons committed a turnover, the seven-second offense was unstoppable.

With this, the Pistons were trailing by 9 points!

This 9-point lead did not come easy; several times there seemed to be a momentum to widen the score, Atkins and Kerr would resolve the crisis with a basket.

But this time, Roger intercepted the ball before Rasheed Wallace could pass it out, depriving the Pistons of the chance to stabilize the score difference.

With just 1 more point, the Hawks could extend their lead into double digits. Everyone believed that would be the turning point of the game.