Champion Creed
Chapter 256 - 256 114 Believe me one more time!

256: 114: Believe me one more time!

(Requesting monthly votes!)_2 256: 114: Believe me one more time!

(Requesting monthly votes!)_2 Through this tactical meeting, the players of the Magic Team received roughly three pieces of information:

First, the next opponent, the Cleveland Cavaliers, is not as weak as imagined.

They currently rank fifth in the East, just behind the Magic themselves.

Second, the Cleveland Cavaliers are the best team in the entire league at limiting their opponents’ scoring, being the only team that can keep their opponents under an average of 90 points per game.

In other words, their defense is top-tier in the league.

Third, this team’s offense is second-to-last in the entire league, presenting an extremely stark contrast to their defense.

After listening, Roger couldn’t help but find the Cavaliers eerily familiar.

Doesn’t this top-heavy team differ from LeBron James’s version 1.0 of the Cavaliers?

With such outstanding defense, the Cavaliers will certainly not be easy to deal with.

Tonight, Roger’s comeback game is in the spotlight.

If things go south, the fans and the media won’t care whether the Cavaliers are a strong defensive team or how many points they allow on average.

The fans and the media don’t care about these stats, they only care about one thing: that Roger can’t even beat a trash team like the Cavaliers.

Of course, Roger can’t let that happen, so he must overcome all difficulties.

On the evening of the game, the Orlando Arena was buzzing with excitement.

When Roger entered, all the fans in the venue stood up, and cheers erupted instantly.

Although Roger had only been away for two games, the fans felt as though it had been two years.

Shaq, watching the TV, felt somewhat excited.

Roger’s return after just two days was like this, so what kind of earthquake would Orlando experience upon my return?

Roger waved to the fans in the stands and then began to warm up.

During the shooting warm-up, Roger’s shooting percentage wasn’t very good.

But that’s okay, you can never tell with shooting touch – maybe it will kick in during the game?

The game is about to start, and today, before the game begins, the Magic Team has a special ritual.

Roger placed a picture frame of O’Neal on the team’s bench and then led the whole team to bow to it.

Afterward, Roger led the cheer: “Shaq is with us!”

Director Zhang of CCTV: ???

What is this all about!?

It was O’Neal who asked Roger to do this: “Bro, you know my heart is always with the team, even though I can’t play.

But those reporters don’t understand a thing, always saying I don’t care about the team.

Buddy, come up with a way to make me feel more present during the game!”

Well, that should be enough presence now.

I’m such a good brother.

With the ritual complete, the starters took to the court.

The starting five for the Cavaliers were Terrell Brandon, Bobby Phills, Chris Mills, Tyrone Hill, and Danny Ferry.

Sitting on the bench was this season’s transfer, the runner-up guard, Dan Majerle, as the sixth man.

For most Magic fans, the Cavaliers’ starting roster is quite unfamiliar; the only two names they might have heard of are Tyrone Hill and Danny Ferry.

But both gained notoriety, not for anything particularly glorious.

Tyrone Hill became known because, with averages of 13.8 points and 10.9 rebounds last season, he was selected for the All-Star reserves, considered by many as the weakest All-Star in history, forcibly included to give smaller teams representation.

Danny Ferry became known as a notorious draft bust.

In college, Ferry was a legend at Duke, the absolute leader of the Duke Blue Devils from 1985 to 1989, before the draft heralded as the next Larry Bird.

Well, with a 21st-century basketball fan’s perspective like Roger’s, knowing just this, you’d know what happened next.

Yes, he flopped.

As the second overall pick in 1989, Danny Ferry did not average double-digit points until last season.

In fact, Danny Ferry’s selection as the second pick owes thanks to his father, who was a general manager for the Bullets at the time.

Using his connections, his dad hyped up Danny intensely, successfully fooling the great, keen-eyed, wise Elgin Baylor.

But, surprisingly, Danny Ferry didn’t enter the NBA immediately after the draft, likely feeling some guilt himself, so he decided to go to Italy to play for a year to level up first.

This refusal to report and heading to Europe to play angered Mr.

Baylor, who then traded his signing rights to the Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers thought they had struck gold and promptly signed him for ten years.

And that was that.

If the Cavaliers learned any lesson from this trade, it was that one should never take anyone chosen by Elgin Baylor!

The two most famous people in the Cavaliers roster gained their fame in not-so-glorious ways.

So to describe their starting lineup using a line from the movie “Kung Fu,” it would be: “Eh, none of them look like a real person!”

Yet, under the leadership of “Shorty” Mike Fratello, the best coach of ’85 and an NBC commentator just last season, this team of average talent has undergone a complete transformation.

Fratello brought a slow, team-oriented, disciplined, defense-first style to this talent-lacking team.

Although this made the Cavaliers’ games incredibly dull, it also had effective results.

This season, they’ve won 5 out of 9 games so far, and they’ve even trounced teams like the Pacers from the East.

Today, they aim to take down the defending champions!

And so, Roger’s comeback game officially began.

All of Orlando was looking forward to Roger’s performance, but Roger started off by emphatically missing the first shot.