Champion Creed
Chapter 691 - 691 240 8 points that's Kobe's value asking for monthly tickets!

691: 240: 8 points, that’s Kobe’s value (asking for monthly tickets!) 691: 240: 8 points, that’s Kobe’s value (asking for monthly tickets!) The name “Angel Envoy Paul” originates from the Latin “Paulus,” meaning “the humble one.”

Initially, Paul did not believe in God, but after witnessing the great miracle of God’s resurrection, he decided to change his faith and became the most loyal apostle.

Paul Pierce also did not believe in God initially, even challenging God to a one-on-one match in his youth.

It was on that day that he witnessed the greatness of God’s power and then became an apostle of God.

Well, at first, he just pretended to believe in God to avoid divine punishment.

But as he continued to believe, his faith grew more sincere.

Inexplicably, the similarities in some things are just so exaggerated.

Phil Jackson realized the game was in trouble.

Trouble he hadn’t anticipated.

He hadn’t expected the Hawks and Roger to give Pierce the offense in the fourth quarter.

The solo plays in the first three quarters were all damn traps!

Phil Jackson hated traps.

Looking back to his first day at the Lakers’ office when Jeanie Buss slid her foot from under the desk to rub his, he had already fallen into that woman’s trap.

He thought Jeanie Buss just wanted to talk about feelings, but he didn’t expect her needs to be so great.

And tonight, the moment he had Kobe defend Roger, Phil Jackson fell into another trap!

The Hawks deliberately let Roger use up a lot of shooting rights to save Pierce’s energy.

Then they forced Kobe to guard Roger alone in order to drain Kobe’s energy as much as possible.

As for why Roger had to guard Kobe in the fourth quarter, it was simple—Roger was currently the best individual defender on the Hawks.

Even better than Pippen.

Pippen’s experience and skills were superior.

He could devote more energy to defense, but he had slowed down after all.

Even against a Kobe who had been defending hard for the first three quarters, Pippen might not be able to hold him down.

So the person to take down Kobe could only be Roger.

Roger’s mauling of Kobe in the first three quarters was just a warm-up.

When Roger began to defend Kobe, it meant that the moment of judgment had arrived.

Pierce’s recent basket put the Hawks ahead by 8 points; Kobe had to sort out the offense quickly.

The ball was given to Kobe again, who was now the starting point of the Lakers’ offense.

True, the “Zen Master” became famous with the triangle offense, but his teams, whether the Bulls, Knicks, or Lakers, never used the triangle offense during game-ending phases.

That’s why many coaches think the triangle offense is just pretentious nonsense.

Like now, the Zen Master’s tactic, plainly speaking, was to give the ball to Kobe and then improvise.

Either Kobe connects with Shaq, or Kobe breaks through to disrupt the Hawks’ defensive formation and then passes the ball.

But the reality now was that Kobe couldn’t do anything.

The Hawks chose to let Roger defend Kobe one-on-one, which was Lenny Wilkens’s confidence.

Roger had spent a lot of time and patience on defense, finally making the All-Defensive First Team in his sixth season last year.

Now, in his seventh season, Roger’s defense had truly matured.

Only he didn’t often show his defensive skills because he needed to focus more on offense.

But when it was time to show them, Roger wouldn’t go easy!

Kobe made a sham move to the left as a triple-threat and then quickly broke to the right.

But he couldn’t shake any space, Roger’s rapid reaction and footwork left no chance for Kobe.

Kobe, under the interference of Roger, shot and the basketball swished out of the rim.

Roger shook his head: “Keep shooting, Kobe, keep shooting.

The more you shoot, the closer we get to victory.”

Watching Roger’s perfect defense, Pippen could only marvel at how quickly time passed.

It felt like just yesterday he and Roger were playing together in the Bulls, the ’94 Finals, even Vernon Maxwell, who was almost non-existent now, could point out a few faults in Roger’s performance.

But now?

Roger was shutting down one of the league’s most talented guards.

It wasn’t fair.

It really wasn’t fair.

In this world, truly all-round players are still just a minority.

Most players like Roger, who were not great defenders early in their careers, might improve defensively in the mid-late career due to experience, skill, and mental maturity.

But by then, they usually past their physical prime, so their defense isn’t notably impressive.

But Roger?

After seven seasons of growth, he was only 24, his body in prime condition, his experience and skills at their peak.

That was just too unfair.

Seeing Kobe miss again, O’Neal was somewhat annoyed.

He agreed to let Kobe take over in the fourth quarter, but not to watch Kobe miss shots.

Frankly, O’Neal didn’t care about the starting win-streak record; these pretentious things were useless.

But O’Neal couldn’t allow the record to be broken by Roger.

Roger said he would be the first to beat the Lakers this season.

It couldn’t just happen because he said so!

On the following possession, Pierce took a jump shot, but the Hawks still led.

So this time, O’Neal decided to keep on the offensive: “Kobe, give me the ball!”

“Shut up, Shaq!”

Phil Jackson sensed trouble; this was the first time this season that Kobe and O’Neal had a dispute over who should have the ball.

“That’s right, Kobe, ignore that waste.” Roger continued to stir the pot.

“Damn!” O’Neal felt helpless; it really seemed that centers had no rights!

If he were a guard, he could just go to the three-point line, stick out his butt to ask for the ball, and then initiate the offense himself.