Champion Creed
Chapter 712 - 712 245 Never before has the best player of today been such a natural question asking for monthly votes!_3

712: 245: Never before has “the best player of today” been such a natural question (asking for monthly votes!)_3 712: 245: Never before has “the best player of today” been such a natural question (asking for monthly votes!)_3 Kobe had been very confident, and his personal relationship with T-Mac was quite good.

They had known each other since high school and often hung out together during the offseason.

So, he felt T-Mac was different from the other riffraff in the East.

But the result?

Kobe’s shoulder-shaking fadeaway jumper was fiercely swatted away by T-Mac!

Kobe stared at the sleepy-eyed T-Mac, who just shrugged, “I don’t want to be the most embarrassed one, brother.”

“No, you’ve definitely embarrassed yourself today!”

Good, very good.

Even as bench players came onto the court, the game continued to heat up.

This is the fresh energy brought by young players, this is what the fans want to see in the All-Star.

So, O’Neal and Roger became very awkward.

The two had been clamoring to snatch the AMVP before the game, being the main characters of this season, but today, they hardly received any passes.

It wasn’t that they didn’t get the ball at all, but everyone’s shooting was too evenly distributed.

Shaq felt very frustrated; he often positioned himself in the paint for ages, but the ball, while being passed around, would eventually be disrupted in someone’s hands.

Garnett might go for a solo play just because of a comment like “You’re just Roger’s dog.”

Kobe might shoot recklessly due to “You aren’t even qualified to be compared with Roger.”

O’Neal wanted control over the ball and could only go for offensive rebounds himself.

Thankfully, since the East’s inside line was weak, Shaq easily grabbed rebounds and made second-chance points.

In the East, the only true center was Mourning.

Besides him, the only other person in the post was Raptors’ Antonio Davis—he was described as the weakest All-Star player ever, averaging just 11+8 this season.

Because Ewing was injured, if it weren’t for him, the Eastern team wouldn’t have even had a backup center to choose from.

On the West side?

Shaq and Duncan, both rebounding monsters.

Once they grabbed an offensive rebound, they could simply overpower and finish directly under the basket.

So, with strong second chance points, the West still led the East by eight points after three quarters.

The entire arena cheered; this All-Star game had been fiercely competitive from the first quarter and was absolutely thrilling.

However, the most exciting part hadn’t started yet.

“As we know, the All-Star game’s fourth quarter will step up a level in competition and intensity!

So ladies and gentlemen, don’t blink!” Doug Collins said.

For the West, the best performer in the first three quarters was undoubtedly Shaq.

He secured 20 points and nine rebounds through second-chance opportunities, shooting over 60%.

Roger had only 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.

AI was the most frequent shooter for the East in the first three quarters; he played well today but couldn’t defend anyone.

The second most frequent shooter was Ray Allen, yes, the same Ray Allen who complained about his teammates being selfish in the locker room.

You think he didn’t want to showcase himself?

Don’t kid yourself.

Seeing so many peers soaring and showing off on the court, you, as a bona fide All-Star, would think one thing: I’m no worse than them, why isn’t the spotlight on me?

However, Ray Allen was even worse off than AI today as he had no shooting touch, and against the West’s tight defense, he had shot 4 out of 13 by now and for three-pointers, only 1 out of 6, with not a single assist.

Returning to the bench, Roger didn’t miss a chance to tease Ray Allen, “Hey, if we want to win, we better all learn from the wise Ray!

We passed too many pointless balls; why doesn’t everyone just shoot directly?”

Faced with Roger’s sarcasm, Ray Allen hung his head, displeased, but offered no retort.

He had no ground to retort.

“Alright, stop that nonsense,” Eastern Conference All-Stars head coach Pat Riley reminded everyone, “I know you all want to win, but you must have a main point of attack to lead the team in the fourth quarter, our offense is too chaotic!

And in the fourth, you definitely need to play defense seriously!”

Even Riley was affected, it’s hard to imagine a coach asking his players to play hard on defense in an All-Star game.

But Riley indeed articulated the key issue, the East was too disorganized offensively without a rebound advantage.

The West could afford disorganized offense because they could secure offensive rebounds; they had the capital to miss shots.

But the East didn’t have that advantage; their offense had to be more organized and efficient.

The East needed a clear leader to handle the ball, not just anyone feeling good taking a shot.

But that was the hardest part.

In a tense game, amid a frenzied crowd, with honor all desire…at this moment, these stars usually wouldn’t want to cede the ball to one person to control.

Who should get the ball?

Who deserves it?

If the best player today deserves it, then who is the best player today?

However, to Riley’s surprise, after he finished speaking, except for Ray Allen and Jerry Stackhouse, everyone on the bench looked towards Roger.

You should know, most of this team comprised rather proud young men who had competed intensely today, just to prove themselves.

But at the most critical moment, they all looked at Roger!

Never before had the question “Who is the best player today?” been solved so naturally.

Fittingly, Roger had planned to step up in the fourth quarter as well.

So he stood up confidently, not feeling pressured even though the room was filled with significant All-Star players.

He was as composed as if he was in the Hawks’ locker room.

Then, Pat Riley would never forget the sight that followed.

“Alright guys,” Roger stood up and clapped his hands, his gaze confidently sweeping over everyone, “I can’t guarantee everyone will take the AMVP, but I promise we all can take home the win.”

That aura, that confidence, that vibe, Roger was like a dictator, ready to take charge of the situation.

And from his mouth, those words sounded unquestionable.

Riley shook his head, poor Shaq, brace yourself to come out empty-handed.

This was Roger’s era.

This was Roger’s show.

You simply couldn’t beat him.

Nobody could beat him.