Champion Creed
Chapter 707 - 707 244 No there's a battle tonight!

707: 244: No, there’s a battle tonight!

(Requesting monthly votes!)_2 707: 244: No, there’s a battle tonight!

(Requesting monthly votes!)_2 21 wins and 5 losses were impressive; 23 wins and 3 losses were even more well-known, as they had been widely publicized by the Los Angeles media, because the record of the Bulls during the Christmas season that year was 23 wins and 3 losses!

The final records of both teams would definitely directly affect the outcome of the MVP.

Although Roger and Shaq only met twice in the regular season, their competition was multifaceted.

Roger was right, his all-out war with Shaq had kicked off!

After the Christmas battle, the Hawks continued to win.

On the 27th, the Hawks took down the Charlotte Hornets.

Today, Derrick Coleman, who had moved among multiple teams, scored 35 points for the Hornets; he severely exploited Big Ben’s lack of mass, scoring repeatedly one-on-one in the post and delivering his best performance of the season.

Many sports column writers who wanted to mythologize Big Ben’s defense must have felt disappointed, as Derrick Coleman, a supposed nobody, actually blew Big Ben away?

This was normal because Big Ben was not a perfect defender.

No matter how abnormal his wingspan and speed, it couldn’t change the fact that he was just over 2 meters tall, so Big Ben was never a strong low-post defender.

When defending O’Neal and Duncan, he mainly attempted to front them to limit their ball reception.

Once Duncan or Shaq comfortably received the ball in the low post, even Big Ben needed his teammates’ help for a successful defense.

But Derrick Coleman, this outlier, could receive the ball in a not-so-deep position, back to the basket, and immediately turn for a jump shot or hook shot after receiving, making it difficult for Big Ben to defend.

Indeed, one of the most crushing defeats in Big Ben’s history occurred in 2001 when Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 50 points in a single game.

Such technically skilled players who are difficult to limit in their reception, capable of mid-range and low-post play, are Big Ben’s nemesis.

However, Derrick Coleman’s best performance of the season did not secure a victory for the Hornets.

Roger’s 36 points and Pierce’s 23 points, along with Pippen’s shutdown of Eddie Jones, led the Hawks to a 108-101 victory.

At the end of the match, everyone on the Hawks team excitedly hugged each other.

One might have thought they had won a divisional final.

However, this precisely showcased a major characteristic of the Hawks that season; they always played with passion.

This was truly hard to explain because most of the main players on the Hawks team had won the championship with the team in 1998.

According to nearly all examples, this Hawks team should have found the regular season boring, struggling with “greed” and working hard to rediscover their championship passion.

After all, passion tends to be consumed through repetitive contexts and actions.

Yet, the situation with the Hawks was quite the opposite; they had won a championship but still invested a lot of passion in every regular-season game.

Roger would look up and howl after a beautiful block by Big Ben.

Pierce would cheer with his arms raised after Roger played tricks on their opponents.

The entire Hawks team would laugh collectively after Pippen missed a shot: “Scott, you’re always a little shorter than Roger!”

And whenever Pippen heard this, he would look down at his crotch, remembering that afternoon he and Roger urinated together.

No one could explain how this phenomenon came about, you can understand Roger being always full of passion, after all, he is a superstar, who never tires of championships and victories.

But how do you explain players like Eric Snow and Clifford Robinson, who had also won championships, yet were still full of passion?

Following the Hornets, old rivals the Pacers couldn’t stop the Hawks, and Grant Hill’s Detroit Pistons habitually lost their game.

After the game, Grant Hill was very disappointed.

His best assistant tonight shot frantically 25 times but hit only 6.

Now he understood why Jerry Stackhouse had been defeated by the high-school Kobe Bryant.

Grant Hill’s upbringing wouldn’t allow him to say this, otherwise he would definitely have cursed in front of the cameras: “Jerry that damn bastard is absolutely useless!”

The entire Pistons team was lifeless, while the atmosphere on the Hawks side made Grant Hill envious.

Everyone played their hardest, and everyone joked and laughed.

Grant Hill also wanted to play in such an environment.

Auburn Hills was not his palace.

He was not the hope for the revival of the Detroit Pistons.

Thus, the Hawks departed the 90s with a record of 24 wins and 5 losses.

The footsteps of the millennium were approaching, presenting a brand new era to everyone.

The battle between Roger and Shaq was to be the theme at the beginning of this era.

In 2000, the competition continued, with the Hawks and the Lakers still reaping victories.

The first game of 2000 was against the last season’s first-round opponents, the Milwaukee Bucks, with “Big Dog” Robinson and Pierce having a high-scoring duel.

Robinson scored 36 points, but Pierce just edged out “Big Dog” with 37 points.

In the post-game interview, Pierce was dripping with sweat.

“Tonight, I requested the matchup with Glenn Robinson.

If I couldn’t win, Roger would make the 14th hole in me.

I’m not joking; he threatened me like that.

So, I wasn’t craving for victory, I simply had no choice under Roger’s bullying.

God, I can’t stand Roger anymore, trade me, trade me.

I want to be on the same team as Shaquille O’Neal, obviously he is a better second-in-command than Roger, at least he knows that you can’t just make holes in your teammates willy-nilly.”

Roger had just walked past Pierce, pointing at the camera: “I’m going to apply to Pete to trade you right now; you scored more than me?

Damn, I can’t stand this!

Dare to score more than me today, tomorrow you’ll dare to steal my FMVP!

You’re gone, you’ll be gone by tomorrow morning!

Hey, you can put this out, the Atlanta Hawks are shopping Paul Pierce!”