Champion Creed
Chapter 391 - 391 155 The Consequences of Luxury Tax Rules

391: 155: The Consequences of Luxury Tax Rules?

Diversity of Personality (Request for Monthly Tickets!)_4 391: 155: The Consequences of Luxury Tax Rules?

Diversity of Personality (Request for Monthly Tickets!)_4 “I’m already so hungry, buddy.”

“Wait till I finish training.”

Roger was speechless.

If he were Kobe’s teammate, he wouldn’t like this clueless brat either.

“How much longer do you have?”

“At most two and a half hours.

I’m fast; just bear with it.”

“Fine, I’ll go eat by myself.

Goodbye, Kobe Bryant, it was fucking great to meet you.”

Roger was really fed up with Kobe; he and Garnett were complete opposites.

The next day, inside the old Great Western Forum, the Orlando Magic were being chased down by the Lakers.

This season’s Lakers were a fickle team.

Kobe, Eddie Jones, and Nick Van Exel all seemed to have tied up with a web novel’s overused experience card system.

Every now and then, one or two of them would freak out as if they’d gotten a star player experience card.

Today was special because all three of them freaked out at the same time!

In the second quarter, O’Neal smashed Elden Campbell’s defense once again inside.

This 211cm center entered the league in ’90, reached his peak last season, averaging 13.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game.

He was sixth in the league in blocks, higher than Ewing, and only 0.1 short of Mourning.

Los Angeles fans were clamoring to send him to the All-Star game.

In front of the media, he also claimed the title “Almost All-Star Center.”

But tonight, he got a new nickname: Barbie doll in Shaq’s hands.

O’Neal’s vengeance-filled slams destroyed the Lakers’ paint.

But the Magic were only leading by 5 points.

Although O’Neal was trampling Campbell, the situation for the Magic was not optimistic.

It was hard to imagine the Magic struggling so much.

No doubt the Lakers were a completely tanking team.

Logo traded away the only All-Star on the team during the off-season without bringing in any star players.

So, the fans thought that the Magic, who won the previous seven games with overwhelming might, should easily take down the Lakers.

Where did it all go wrong?

The camera focused on Roger, dressed in a warm-up suit on the bench; he had not played in the first half due to a cold.

If there was a problem with the Magic, it was definitely here—they were missing their star player.

Shaq looked angry because, without Roger leading the team, even playing a lottery team was tough, and he couldn’t accept that.

If this continued, wouldn’t he be solidifying his position as second fiddle?

But the problem wasn’t with Shaq; he had already done well enough.

The problem was that the Magic couldn’t contain Kobe, Jones, and Van Exel.

Harper couldn’t stop Van Exel; it wasn’t that Harper wasn’t serious, but “Crazy Van” on a streak was unstoppable; he scored in ways that were beyond belief.

The skinny guy, frail as could be, always managed to make shocking plays.

As for Saru who started in place of Roger, let’s not even mention him; he was completely toyed with by Eddie Jones on the defensive end.

Dominique Wilkins?

His defensive attitude had been correct since the regular season began, and when serious, his defense was above average, capable of defending most forwards.

But guards like Kobe were just too quick for Wilkins.

Any one of these three, if contained, would have significantly reduced the firepower of the Lakers.

But unfortunately, they couldn’t contain any of them.

In the past, people only talked about Roger’s offense, but his role on defense was undoubtedly underestimated.

Starting last season, Roger had become someone who could create an impact on the game with his defense.

Today, without him, the Magic’s perimeter defense was pityingly weak.

Tonight, the most battered of the Magic’s perimeter was Wilkins; Kobe’s assault on the film highlight included but was not limited to:

A crossover that shook Wilkins followed by a one-handed cleave dunk.

A turn-around fadeaway in Wilkins’s face.

As well as the high-flying alley-oop that ignored Wilkins’ defense.

Kobe’s full energy made the highlight reel incredibly painful, as the contrast between the two made him acutely aware of the ugly marks time had left on him.

One side was a youthful storm, and the other showed signs of aging.

After scoring, Kobe never forgot to provoke Wilkins, “Dom, you really should have stayed in Europe and not come back.

I still prefer you in those video highlights.”

On the bench, Michael Cage complained to Roger, “That kid on the Lakers is just like you, he has no respect for anyone!

Other rookies see Dom and they shake hands, hug, and pay respects.

Kobe?

He just fucked him over!”

“There is a difference, though.

The difference is he’s only averaging 13 points per game, and I’ve never known what it’s like to average less than 20.

In other words, if it were me, Dom would have been fucked over even worse.”

“See, you’re both the same, just two heaps of dog shit,” Cage joked.

In the final attack before halftime ended, Kobe continued to face Dominique Wilkins, easily breaking through his defense and then, facing Shaq, pulled off a Finger Roll layup.

The basketball softly swished through the net.

Although Kobe’s movement wasn’t as graceful as Roger’s, he still scored.

This basket brought Kobe up to 13 points for the half and also allowed the Lakers to close the gap to three points.

Los Angeles fans cheered ecstatically, everyone shouting Kobe’s name.

Because Kobe was already a hot topic before the draft and had a visually appealing style of play, his popularity in Los Angeles was very high.

Even though Kobe’s immediate combat ability was nowhere near that of Roger, who also entered the league straight from high school, his potential was so overflowing that it made Los Angeles fans extremely happy.

After this basket, Kobe didn’t spew trash talk at Wilkins again.

He went straight to Roger on the bench, “You’re just hiding from me, Roger!

You, with your two championships, have lost your edge!”

That number 8 thirsted for competition.

This was how he differed from Garnett—he didn’t want to be just some little old brother to Roger, not just to learn from him.

From the beginning, his greatest desire was to compete against Roger!

Seeing Kobe shouting at Roger, the cheers from the crowd grew even louder.

Kobe had become famous because of Roger, and his draft template was also Roger.

Now, he wanted to challenge Roger, making it as captivating as Wenbanyama vs Antetokounmpo.

Lakers Head Coach Del Harris’s face turned even darker.

That kid better not provoke Roger into getting in the game!

Roger stared hard at Kobe without speaking until Kobe was pushed away by the equally excited Van Exel.

The king of the Magic World stood up, looking at his old minister Michael Cage beside him, “Was I this much of an asshole in my rookie season?”

“Even worse,” Michael Cage found, as Roger’s expression had completely changed.

Before, Roger was just chatting about Kobe with a mindset of watching the fun.

But now, he had the eyes of a hunter.

“Really?

That’s indeed pretty assholish.

Hey, Bryant, I’m getting in the game for the second half.”

“There’s no need for that, just take care of your sickness.

What’s the point of getting worked up over a rookie,” Brian Hill replied crisply.

“I’m getting in the second half, that’s decided,” Roger didn’t give the coach a chance to refuse him.

Saru chuckled beside him, “Roger, I thought you were his big brother, treating him like you treat Kevin.”

“I am indeed his big brother, but I’m not going to treat him like I do Kevin, because he’s not as polite as Kevin,” Roger replied.

Dominique Wilkins wasn’t unaware of why people would praise Roger, right?

In the second half, Roger would show Wilkins a bit of what personality diversity means.

Two days ago, Roger could be the kind of big brother that Garnett kept praising, a good guy.

Tonight, he could also be the kind of bad brother who would wipe the smile off Kobe’s face later.

The very bad kind!