Champion Creed
Chapter 641 - 641 226 Hey it's pretty hard to win with such a burden isn't it

641: 226: Hey, it’s pretty hard to win with such a burden, isn’t it?

(Vote for me!) 641: 226: Hey, it’s pretty hard to win with such a burden, isn’t it?

(Vote for me!) Roger’s statement upon getting off the bus enraged Los Angeles fans.

After the extravagantly dressed O’Neal arrived, reporters quickly relayed Roger’s words.

Shaq laughed, pulled out a Reebok-promoted Roger bobblehead doll, and then thrashed it against the wall, “When I punch him in the face, he’ll start talking human.

You’ll see, you’ll see Roger here begging for mercy!”

O’Neal’s hatred for Roger was three-dimensional, multi-faceted, and comprehensive.

First was jealousy.

It was like a man who hadn’t achieved anything seeing a less capable buddy driving a Range Rover.

It was like a Chinese basketball fan watching Yuki Kawamura, at 172 cm tall, wreak havoc against European and American strong teams, almost toppling France in a disadvantaged situation when Rui Hachimura was sent off, achieving a height never before reached by Chinese guards.

You admit he’s strong, but you’re jealous, you keep asking yourself: Why can he do it?

Where exactly do I fall short?

Secondly, O’Neal hated Roger’s disrespect towards him.

Especially this past off-season, O’Neal could hardly hold his head up at the players’ union.

Initially, the core group within the players’ union did not include Roger, and O’Neal was considered the next candidate for union vice president.

What happened?

Roger suddenly burst into the circle, then won the support of most people in that circle and ousted O’Neal without any dignity.

For O’Neal, it was like a bloody vote in the players’ union!

It was bad enough that he had been marginalized in the Magic locker room, but that was just an internal team matter.

But being marginalized in the players’ union in front of so many people, that was a slap in O’Neal’s face.

All these years of accumulation had filled Shaq with deep-seated resentment.

What’s there for him to be arrogant about?

Was it so great that he won the championship last season?

Look at what kind of team the Hawks were last season?

Pippen, Stevie Smith, Ben Wallace, Alan Henderson, Clifford Robinson, Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas, Eric Snow, including Roger himself…

That was a solid team of nine giants!

And yet, they were still pushed to Game 6 by the Pacers.

If I had nine giants, I would just sweep four rounds consecutively and win the championship!

Well, Shaq probably forgot that he himself was swept last season, even though he was legitimately with three All-Stars of the season.

The pre-match remarks and actions of both Roger and Shaq undoubtedly infuriated each other.

Before the game even started, the scent of gunpowder enveloped the entire Staples.

Paul Pierce arrived early for warm-ups today, occasionally glancing at the stands.

At first, Roger thought Pierce was looking at his own family.

Today, his entire family had come to the game to cheer for him.

But soon Roger realized that Paul Pierce was not interacting with his family.

He seemed to be searching for something in the stands.

“Hey, who are you looking for?” Roger, sitting on the floor and stretching with the help of a trainer, casually asked Pierce.

“My father.”

After saying that, Pierce’s shot rebounded off the rim.

“Will he come?”

“I don’t know, but yesterday my mom told me, even after I joined the NBA, that bastard never once called home.”

Roger now understood why Paul Pierce was in a bad mood yesterday, but he didn’t understand, why would you care about a deadbeat dad who abandoned his family?

“No offense, but you better not expect any heartfelt scenes to unfold at the Staples Center.”

At that moment, amidst the continuous booing of Lakers fans, Roger spotted a fan wearing a Hawks jersey.

Given the enmity between the Hawks and the Lakers, this gentleman was truly a Warrior.

Put it this way, what he was doing was akin to dropping the soap in a crowded prison shower room.

But strangely, he was not wearing Roger’s number 14 jersey but Pierce’s number 34.

As Roger was curious, the man stood up and shouted, “Go Anton!”

If that fan didn’t look so unlike Pierce, Roger would have thought he was Pierce’s father.

After hearing the man’s shout, Pierce also smiled and waved at him.

“Anton?

Why does he call you that?” Roger was curious about their relationship.

“That’s my middle name.”

“Is he your uncle?”

“No, just a neighbor, Officer Scott Collins.

A neighbor who regularly took me to play ball, gave me some change to buy food, made sure I got up at six for training every day, sent me to school reeking of sweat, and helped me get a haircut on the day of the draft.

He’s more like a father to me than my real father.”

“God, Paul Pierce actually listens to someone else?

I’m really curious, how did he convince you to wake up for training at six every morning?

According to your style, shouldn’t you just say ‘okay, okay, Mr.

Neighbor’ and then continue to sleep until 8:30 the next day?”

Pierce gave Roger a sideways glance, “Roger, no offense.

But can you tell me, other than being sarcastic, do you have any other hobbies?”

“Sure, I like doing Pilates, and I enjoy biking, even better with a girl.

And of course, I like practicing boxing, wrestling, and jiu-jitsu, not the fake showboating like Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman, I’m talking about the genuinely useful fighting techniques.”

“Huh?” Pierce was genuinely perplexed.

Your divine hobbies are indeed extraordinary.