Champion Creed
Chapter 316 - 316 134 Some people will never understand asking for monthly votes!

316: 134: Some people will never understand (asking for monthly votes!) 316: 134: Some people will never understand (asking for monthly votes!) “Sports Illustrated” had it right: for Magic and Bulls, this year was not just about the championship, but a battle for survival.

If the Magic couldn’t win the championship, Rich DeVos definitely wouldn’t offer Shaq the contract he wanted.

After all, he isn’t Paul Allen or James Dolan.

He had indeed made a promise to Shaq, but the promise was contingent upon winning the championship.

The same issue was present with the Bulls too, not that Jordan would want to leave if he lost, but if they couldn’t win the championship, the Bulls might not offer him a contract commensurate with his value.

Considering Jordan and the Bulls management hadn’t been on good terms, he had no chance of lowering his price to stay with the team.

Furthermore, it wasn’t just Jordan who was testing the free agency market for the first time; if the team couldn’t win the championship, both coach Phil Jackson and Dennis Rodman’s futures with the team were in huge doubt.

Of course, both Magic and Bulls held the Bird rights for Shaq and Jordan, so it was without a doubt that staying with their teams would fetch them the highest salaries.

Under the current collective bargaining agreement rules, the renewal amount with their original teams could be uncapped.

But the issue was, if they couldn’t win the championship, would the team owners still be willing to offer Jordan or Shaquille super contracts?

The whole world knew Shaq wanted a $120 million contract like Roger’s.

The whole world knew Michael Jordan wanted to surpass Roger’s $20 million annual salary.

For Magic and Bulls, these were not small amounts.

Only the championship would be the standard to measure if they were worth that price.

Therefore, this year’s playoffs were extremely crucial for Magic and Bulls.

The entire league was waiting for one of them to fall, then swoop in to pick over their carcass and harvest their legacy!

In fact, this year’s free agency market could be one of the craziest in history.

The NBA saw some of the strongest free agents in history.

Apart from Jordan and O’Neal, there were Alonzo Mourning, Juwan Howard, Gary Payton, Dikembe Mutombo, Reggie Miller, Allan Houston, and others.

Such a lineup was enough to make any owner feel like they were in an orchard, spoilt for choice.

If it were the ethos of the 21st century, Jordan might have already been on the phone contacting Reggie Miller.

In any case, the results of this year’s playoffs would directly alter the league’s structure.

Bulls and Magic could not afford to lose.

And in this harsh playoff, Magic’s opponent was not just the Bulls.

Reggie Miller revealed his sinister smile just before the playoffs began: “Everyone is expecting Magic and Bulls to meet in the East finals, but what if it’s not Magic going to the East finals, but us?

What if the team from the East going to the finals is us?”

At that moment, Reggie Miller was recuperating at home; he had suffered an orbital bone fracture on April 13 in a game.

This caused him to miss the first four games of the playoffs.

Yet, he still believed the Pacers could easily get past the first round and face off against Magic in the second round.

He just needed to make his return in the series against Magic to handle Roger.

Last season, Reggie Miller had helped Roger break Jordan’s freeze at the All-Star game.

But that wasn’t because Miller wanted to help Roger; he just simply disliked Jordan.

Now, as Magic also became a powerhouse, Reggie Miller, the Robin Hood, naturally stood against Roger.

NBC was thinking of mounting microphones on Roger and Miller’s jerseys because if the two really met, it would definitely be an epic showdown of trash talking.

It would surely be a barrage of memorable quotes.

With the fans’ expectations, the playoffs kicked off.

For Magic and Bulls, the first opponents in the playoffs were each their old adversaries.

Michael Jordan encountered his dear Pat Riley.

O’Neal met his good teammate Chris Webber.

Webber had improved tremendously this season, and getting along with Grant Hill had helped him regain his confidence.

The day before the game, Grant Hill told reporters with a smile, “I trust Chris completely; he might be the most trustworthy teammate in the world.”

Then, in the first playoff game, Chris Webber shot 4 of 11 and committed three turnovers, leading to a crushing 92-112 defeat for the Detroit Pistons.

This fact tells us not to trust others too easily.

Even if your teammate was invincible during the regular season, you can’t guess what they might turn into during the playoffs.

You think you understand your teammate, but you actually don’t at all.

You can never predict how that spotlight-dominating teammate during the regular season could flop in the playoffs.

Just take Dwyane Wade, for instance, he would never have imagined his high-profile teammate turning into a burden during the playoffs—referring to Shaquille O’Neal in the 2007 playoffs.

Playing in the regular season is like interacting with a doll avatar sister wearing a mask, inspiring endless imaginations about her.

The playoffs, on the other hand, is like taking off the mask, beauty or ugliness, it’s clear at a glance.

Facing a defense even fiercer than in the regular season, Webber suddenly wasn’t glamorous or handsome anymore.

While Allan Houston, in a contract year, played quite energetically but still had limited raw skill, scoring only 21 points in the whole game.

Roger and Shaq chalked up 33 points and 27 points, respectively, easily handling the Pistons.

G2 and G3 ended up with virtually the same fate, Allan Houston shooting wildly, with G3 even featuring 25 attempts.