Champion Creed
Chapter 326 - 326 137 Shut up you're not even the best player on your team asking for monthly passes!_2

326: 137: Shut up, you’re not even the best player on your team (asking for monthly passes!)_2 326: 137: Shut up, you’re not even the best player on your team (asking for monthly passes!)_2 Jackson always liked using reverse psychology, because it worked on Jordan every time.

“Not tonight, Phil.

We’re definitely not the ones who are going to lose,” Jordan replied, his brown eyes fierce as those of a wild beast.

During the warm-up, O’Neal was practicing his free throws, his only concern.

His free throws had been poor in the previous game, and he didn’t want to suffer the same tragedy as Karl Malone.

Fortunately, Shaq’s free throw touch felt good today; his success rate during the warm-up was steady.

Although the free throws in an official game were completely different from practice, at least Shaq wouldn’t repeat something like a 1 for 9 performance today.

The game was about to start, and Phil Jackson had switched up his starting lineup today.

He benched Rodman, promoting Kukoc, who had performed heroically in the final moments of the last game.

Phil Jackson was hoping the team could establish an advantage at the onset with more efficient offense.

Kukoc was nervous, not because he feared a poor performance, but because he was anxious on behalf of Roger.

The phrase that kept echoing in his mind was Roger’s emotionless words as if addressed to a dead man: “In the end, you’re still going to lose.”

He knew Roger too well, so he was well aware that if you couldn’t kill him, you were in for a nightmare.

On the opening play, Kukoc’s jump shot missed under the interference of Horace Grant.

He was overly nervous, which affected his shooting rhythm.

On the Magic’s counterattack, following their habit from the previous games, they passed the ball inside to Shaq Daddy.

In regular play, those shots would belong to O’Neal.

Kukoc immediately doubled, but his defensive pressure was nowhere near the level of Rodman’s.

Shaq easily turned around and scored with a hook shot over the two defenders.

In the Bulls offense that followed, Kukoc continued to play his role on the offensive end.

He used his shooting threat to draw Grant out from the inside, then, acting as the playmaker, he passed the ball to Jordan cutting along the baseline.

At that moment, Longley had Shaq blocked behind him, so Jordan was facing practically an open basket.

But just as Jordan took three steps to prepare for the layup, Roger hustled back in time, swiping the ball from Jordan’s hands!

Kukoc knew that today, Roger was going to be a huge problem.

As the basketball came loose, Jordan, Roger, and Harper all hit the floor almost simultaneously, trading elbow jabs as they scuffled on the court.

In the end, Roger pushed the ball to McKey, who and Pippen both rushed towards the ball, collapsing to the ground after a fierce collision.

However, in the moment before falling, Pippen managed to push the ball towards Dumars.

Dumars had just bent down to pick up the ball when Roger suddenly appeared, snatched the ball off the floor first, and went on to slam it home on the break.

4 to 0.

“Just look at how intensely both sides fought over possession this round, and you know what this game is going to be like.

Both teams are putting their souls on the line!” Bill Walton’s words were no exaggeration, neither team was holding anything back, going in hard from the start.

That contentious round was just a microcosm of the game.

The following play, O’Neal continued to go one-on-one with the ball.

As he began to back down his man, he knocked Luc Longley straight to the floor without drawing a foul call, as Longley was far too easily overpowered, and the Bulls couldn’t even double-team Shaq before he slammed it home with both hands.

6 to 0.

After landing from the dunk, O’Neal strutted his signature imperial walk, then high-fived Roger: “Take them down, we’ll definitely beat them tonight!”

As it turned out, Phil Jackson’s sudden decision to start Kukoc was a blunder; even the Coach of the Year makes mistakes.

Kukoc indeed played magically in the last game, but his best use was still in chaotic transition plays, appearing unexpectedly to strike a few blows before vanishing again.

Having him play methodically as a starter, facing more stringent defense, Kukoc’s offensive contribution wasn’t as pronounced, and meanwhile, his defensive lapses were magnified.

On the bench, Rodman was raring to go: “Coach, let me deal with that idiot Shaq!”

“Sit down, I’ll put you in when it’s time!” Phil Jackson roared back.

In the stands, Reinsdorf and Jerry Krause watched the court, not saying a word.

They were both well aware that if the situation continued this way, this would be the last game this group played together.

In the next Bulls offensive play, Jordan, facing a double team, passed the ball to Pippen, who hit the mid-range jumper.

But the Bulls’ slump didn’t stop there.

In the next defensive sequence, as Roger passed to Shaq, Pippen immediately charged into the paint ready to double team, looking to force a turnover from Shaq.

But O’Neal, brimming with confidence, held the ball high and calmly passed it back to Roger on the three-point line.

Jordan quickly closed out, but his contest was a fraction too slow.

Roger didn’t waste the opportunity.

As quick as lightning, he launched the three-pointer, and it sank through the net.

9 to 2!

O’Neal and Roger had a strong offensive presence tonight, and the Zen Master started getting Rodman warmed up; he couldn’t allow O’Neal to handle the ball so easily any longer.

In the Bulls’ next offense, Jordan shot and missed under the smothering harassment of Harper.

Even Jordan couldn’t be perfectly accurate every game.