Champion Creed
Chapter 563 - 563 203 I Scott was born to assist Roger!

563: 203: I, Scott, was born to assist Roger!

(Asking for monthly votes!) 563: 203: I, Scott, was born to assist Roger!

(Asking for monthly votes!) Reggie Miller went through the darkest six minutes of his career.

Apart from playing one-on-one with his sister as a child, he had never been defended like this before.

Watching the score gap widen, watching more and more of the game time slip away while his team still hadn’t scored a point, Reggie Miller really wanted to do something.

But he couldn’t do anything.

He truly felt the despair of being left alone in a raging fire, with all the doors and windows firmly sealed shut.

Roger had closed off all the doors and windows tight, leaving Miller to burn alone inside.

The Gaoler’s cruel methods were chilling.

This game showcased Roger’s brutality and the Hawks’ frightening defensive capabilities, which were even more impressive than in their last ten games.

Because Stevie Smith had been activated, his level of effort on the defensive end had improved more than just marginally.

While everyone was talking about how strong and scary the Pacers’ defense was, the Hawks taught them a lesson.

On the other hand, it also displayed the Pacers’ weakness on the offensive end.

Every team encounters situations where they suddenly can’t score for a period of time.

At such times, a star player is often needed to break the scoring drought.

But the Pacers didn’t have such a star, leading to their scoring droughts potentially lasting a very long time.

That’s why the ’98 Pacers could push the ’98 Bulls to a Game 7, yet lose by 29 points in Game 5.

That’s why in Game 3 of the ’98 Finals, the Jazz could shockingly lose to the Bulls by 42 points.

And the Bulls hardly ever suffered such collapses.

The Pacers and Jazz were indeed strong teams, but if no one could step up to stop the downward spiral in a certain game, that game was likely to get out of hand quickly.

Unfortunately for the Pacers, they started off today with the Hawks’ tight defense initiating “sage time,” getting soft before the game even began.

So, 19 to 0.

Andy clapped proudly in his seat, not just Andy, all the fans were puffing out their chests because of this start.

This was the team and the star they loved.

This was what Roger brought to Atlanta.

Maybe the time for the Hawks to completely replace the Warriors in Atlanta, and for basketball to completely replace baseball in Georgia, would be shorter than expected.

During the timeout, Miller sat on the bench, his face ashen.

He couldn’t help but think, if he had Dale Davis apologize directly to the kid and Roger when it happened, none of this would have occurred.

But he would never know the answer now.

There was no turning back; he could only face Roger’s burning rage that was growing stronger.

After this timeout, the Pacers finally broke the scoring drought as Rik Smits’ turnaround jumper in the post went in.

But they were still down by 17 points.

And the Hawks did not relent because of this.

In the following possession, although Stevie Smith’s long shot missed, the Hawks were still very energetic on defense.

And, to Miller’s surprise, the person guarding him was still Roger!

Reggie Miller was exactly the kind of player many defenders hated to guard.

After all, his favorite was the off-ball offense.

Guarding such a player is like playing a game of cat and mouse.

Not only is there no chance to pad stats, but it also consumes a lot of energy.

Basketball players are humans, not machines, and humans have emotions.

How long can you maintain your defensive enthusiasm when you’re doing the most tiring job all game, putting in several times the effort of your teammates, only to find a blank slate on the stat sheet?

It’s even rarer for a franchise star to directly guard an off-ball player like Miller.

If your franchise star is run to death on the defensive end, then what about the offense?

So, Miller had assumed that after giving him a warning at the start, Roger would go defend someone else.

But to his surprise, Roger was still sticking to him like glue, not budging an inch!

Steve Jones also mentioned this issue, “Is Roger still guarding Reggie?

How much is he investing on the defensive end?”

An unrestricted commitment!

Roger was like he had tied an invisible thread to Miller, shadowing him no matter where he went.

Experience and enthusiasm are very important for off-ball defense.

Rich experience allows you to roughly predict your opponent’s running routes, and enthusiasm determines how actively you shadow them.

Roger had both of these qualities now.

So the entire first quarter went by with Reggie Miller being defended to the point of not scoring a single point!

As the team’s leading scorer, scoring zero points in a quarter was really unacceptable.

Reggie Miller felt frustrated because Roger had not only shut him down but also never stopped trash-talking.

Why would a franchise star go to such lengths to guard another franchise star with no mercy?

Honestly, even Bird didn’t quite understand.

The only possibility was that it was a personal vendetta.

“Reggie, damn it, what exactly did you say to Roger before the game started?” Bird couldn’t hold back during the break, he had to get to the bottom of it.

The usually outspoken Reggie Miller realized that when he tried to repeat what had been said, the words were difficult to say.

Who would curse an ill child to die tonight?

That’s revolting!

When he himself tried to say that sentence, he realized how excessive it was.

Miller just couldn’t say it, and so he looked at Dale Davis.