Champion Creed
Chapter 424 - 424 164 This is your champion's curse!

424: 164: This is your champion’s curse!

The distance from MVP?

(Requesting monthly votes!) 424: 164: This is your champion’s curse!

The distance from MVP?

(Requesting monthly votes!) After returning to Orlando, Roger felt much better.

The biggest advantage of Orlando, apart from having many princesses, might be its agreeable climate.

Roger preferred warmer locales, as he despised the cold and lifelessness of winter.

In Orlando, basically you can’t feel the existence of winter.

In such a comfortable environment, Roger encountered a very anticipated opponent.

The day before the game against the SuperSonics, Roger, after finishing practice, was interviewed post-match by NBC.

He told the reporter, “I’ve prepared a special Christmas gift for George; I’ll bring it to the game tomorrow.

Don’t worry George, I absolutely won’t let the ‘accidentally slap the opponent’s coach in the face during a jump ball’ incident happen again; you don’t need to be tense.”

Roger’s level of annoyance with George Karl had reached a “red line.”

Frankly speaking, the SuperSonics’ chances of winning the championship were still slim this season.

Even under the pressure of the Utah Jazz and the Rockets’ big three, their chances of making it to the finals were slim.

In other words, the Magic and the SuperSonics weren’t really competitors; they could avoid getting in each other’s way completely.

But George Karl, like a child waiting for the fireworks display at Disneyland, looked forward to the downfall of the Magic and made statements in public like “I would happily drink to the dissolution of the Magic” repeatedly.

He took pleasure in the Magic’s misfortunes without any attempt to conceal his feelings in front of the public.

Even Pat Riley, Roger’s archrival coach, had never made any schadenfreude statements.

This was like a neighbor saying, “Your car got smashed this month?

That’s fantastic,” day in and day out.

How could that not be annoying?

Roger was now really annoyed with George Karl, and finally, he would have a proper chance to confront him offline!

On December 28, the defending runner-up, Seattle SuperSonics, returned to their place of sorrow.

The Orlando Magic, at the sight of that icy blue, all SuperSonics players would remember the feeling of powerlessness from last season’s finals.

Looking back on last season’s finals now, it was basically a blowout in every game.

Although the SuperSonics caused a bit of trouble for the Magic in Game 3, they still couldn’t change the outcome of being overwhelmed.

Clearly, the mood of the SuperSonics players before the game was not high.

This was not only because the strength of the Magic made them despair but also because the SuperSonics themselves had fallen into trouble.

Because of contract issues, Reign Man Kemp was distracted this season.

You might say, Kemp’s average score only fell by 1 point compared to last season, so it wasn’t a decline.

But he scored lower on average despite taking more shots, which really illustrated the problem.

This season, Kemp ruthlessly quit gambling, focusing instead on drinking and debauchery, indulging in play day by day.

And these two things were what could corrode the body the most.

Although it was only Kemp having issues, it affected the whole team’s morale.

You must understand that on the Magic side, even though O’Neal and Roger had a strained relationship, they still played hard on the court.

But on the SuperSonics side, when the second key player simply chose to slack off, how could the rest believe the team would perform?

Would you expect George Karl to soothe Reign Man?

He’d consider himself lucky not to fight with his own players.

Expecting him to pacify his team members is like expecting Shaq to master three-pointers.

George Karl was always ready to see the Magic’s troubles, but in fact, his own team was also in jeopardy.

Before today’s game started, a sideline reporter asked Roger what gift he had prepared for George Karl.

Roger played coy, “You’ll find out after the game.”

This match was essentially a rerun of last season’s finals.

Considering that in the summer of 1996, the SuperSonics spent millions of dollars to sign the 216 cm center Jim McIlvaine, who could only contribute 3.8 points per game, it was basically as if the SuperSonics hadn’t made any valuable reinforcements.

You could understand the need for a blue-collar center taller than 210 cm to wear down Shaq, but this act was like needing a spacious car that could shelter you from the weather, yet you ended up with a fancy but ineffective scooter priced as high as a car!

Thus, the SuperSonics were battered by the Magic this season in the same way they were last season.

They had absolutely no means of counteraction.

In the first quarter, Roger easily scored 13 points.

Facing the SuperSonics’ pseudo joint-defense, Roger still tormented Payton on the perimeter.

With Roger’s increased weight, Payton was even less able to cope.

Who would have thought?

Although a season had passed, Payton’s DPOY value could still drop!

In the second quarter, George Karl could no longer bear to watch Roger score easily; he thus began to employ a pressuring strategy against Roger.

What awaited the SuperSonics was a streak of baskets from Dominique Wilkins.

Wilkins scored 10 points in the second quarter alone, all from mid-range jumpers.

After playing for the Magic for two months, the star habits from his movie days were decreasing more and more.

He now formed an important part of the Magic’s frontline defense, always very engaged during defense.

Although he still couldn’t return the Magic to their defensive level from the previous two seasons, at least he was not a weak point in their defense.