Champion Creed
Chapter 746 - 746 255 He really can fart all over Shaq's face making him doubt his life ask for monthly tickets!_3

746: 255: He really can fart all over Shaq’s face, making him doubt his life (ask for monthly tickets!)_3 746: 255: He really can fart all over Shaq’s face, making him doubt his life (ask for monthly tickets!)_3 Right after that round, Kobe took the initiative to guard Pierce.

This was the first time Pierce had received simultaneous attention from the OK duo.

Phil Jackson didn’t want Pierce to find his shooting touch, so from the first quarter, he had Kobe wear Pierce down.

He believed that the reason Pierce had been so magical in the previous game was that he had already found his rhythm.

With such players, once they find their shooting touch, it’s impossible to suppress them.

Tonight, he was determined to nip Pierce’s touch in the bud.

Would guarding Pierce wear Kobe out?

Of course, it would.

But Kobe was, after all, a superstar deputy; he didn’t need to lead the attack.

Thus, focusing his energy on the defensive end was quite normal.

Seeing Kobe come to guard him again, Pierce suddenly felt energized, “What’s the matter?

Already missing the burning sensation I left on your face?

Can’t wait?”

Kobe just focused intently on Pierce, without saying a word.

Pierce backed into position at mid-range, calling for the ball, wanting to overpower Kobe.

Since you’re looking for it, I’ll let you have it!

But Pierce’s attempt to back down after receiving the ball wasn’t successful; he found he couldn’t overpower Kobe in terms of strength.

In a rush, Pierce turned and shot a jumper, but missed under Kobe’s timely interference.

Kobe had something better than Roger—by his fourth season, which was this year, he was selected for the All-Defensive First Team.

Roger had also been selected for an All-Defensive Team in his fourth season, but it was the Second Team.

In fact, Kobe’s role in the Lakers during this period resembled a younger Scottie Pippen more than a younger Michael Jordan.

Shaq grabbed the rebound, and the Lakers got a chance for a counterattack.

Initially, Shaq was asking for the ball, but then he saw Kobe backing Pierce down in the elbow area, raising his hand.

He wanted to take on Pierce in the same position!

Harper passed the ball to Kobe, and while Pierce thought Kobe was going to back him down as well, Kobe instantly spun around upon catching the ball, brushing past Pierce.

Finally, from a zero-degree angle at mid-range, Kobe faced Marion’s oncoming defense and shot the ball over his fingertips!

A powerful response shot, Kobe glared at Pierce after scoring, then quickly fell back on defense.

Today, from the start, Kobe was intent on competing with Pierce.

Phil Jackson was one of the rare coaches who had coached Jordan, Roger, and Kobe.

These three were always compared to one another, but in reality, their differences were more than people imagined.

But one thing was consistent about all three: an obsession with winning.

Kobe’s basketball IQ was very high, higher than 99% of players his age.

He turned fierce not because he was foolish, but purely because he was desperate to win.

When this strong desire to win surfaced, his instinctive solution was to take matters into his own hands, obsessively so.

Thus, an obsessive Kobe would never sit idly by after Pierce had hit a crucial three-pointer over his head in the previous game.

He was definitely going to respond today, definitely.

The Zen Master was not pleased by this obsession, for it meant Kobe was at risk of turning savage tonight.

But fortunately, Kobe’s control subsequent to his offensive success against Pierce was better than the Zen Master had anticipated.

After overtaking Pierce in offense, Kobe didn’t let up on defense.

He continued to tangle with Pierce, making it difficult for Pierce to receive the ball easily.

Roger prepared to take over the offense, with Ron Harper handling the main defense against him.

Of course, Harper couldn’t completely guard Roger now, but Glenn Rice and Robert Horry were always ready to back him up.

It’s quite poignant to think about it, Ron Harper used to be Roger’s deputy, and Robert Horry was the defensive player Roger least wanted to face during the ’94 finals.

His quick help defense made Roger, who was then playing for the Bulls, very uncomfortable.

And now, Harper and Horry were both wearing Lakers jerseys, guarding Roger who was playing for the Hawks.

“Ron, I don’t understand why you answered the call of the Los Angeles Lakers, knowing full well it’s a doomed team,” Roger said to Harper, beginning to dribble and look for an opening.

“Don’t talk trash to me, buddy.

The Hawks never reached out to me, otherwise I would have followed you instead of Shaq!”

This statement left Roger speechless; he couldn’t find a comeback trash talk.

True enough, the Brian Scott-style of trash talk still worked wonders.

Roger decided to shut up and concentrate on breaking the defense.

He dribbled past the less agile Harper with a change of direction, but just as he was about to shoot, Glenn Rice had already closed in.

The double-team was very timely, leaving Roger with no gap to shoot.

He had no choice but to pass the ball to Pippen, who went straight for the hoop but was blocked from the side by Robert Horry.

For the second consecutive round, the Hawks couldn’t score over the Lakers’ heads.

The Lakers’ defensive enthusiasm today was clearly a notch higher than the last game, from Glenn Rice’s quicker double-teams to Robert Horry’s peak-like help defense.

It was apparent that not just Shaq and Kobe, but the entire Lakers team was determined to take the victory.

Indeed, the OK Lakers wouldn’t be defeated that easily.

In the time that followed, the Los Angeles Lakers played the right kind of basketball.

Kobe worked hard on defense, not stealing the spotlight from Shaq on offense, only stepping up to support when Shaq couldn’t handle it alone.

O’Neal played with resolute strength and hardness on the inside, and also showed unmatched enthusiasm on defense.