Champion Creed
Chapter 833 - 833 279 He is about to respond to Vince Carter asking for monthly tickets!

833: 279: He is about to respond to Vince Carter (asking for monthly tickets!) 833: 279: He is about to respond to Vince Carter (asking for monthly tickets!) The night of the 2000 All-Star Slam Dunk Contest made Vince Carter a legend.

Throughout NBA history, there haven’t been many Slam Dunk Contests that could be called “great,” but even among those that can, Vince Carter’s contest would probably rank in the top three.

That night, Toronto’s UFO made the host exclaim with just the first dunk, “Everyone else can go home,” and afterward, Carter successfully solidified his status as one of the strongest dunk artists in history.

But Vince Carter wasn’t satisfied with just being an excellent dunker.

He himself had said at the end of the previous season, “Fancy dunkers come and go, but truly great players should learn to do things beyond dunking.”

In fact, at that time, Carter already knew a lot, but as a modern star guard, his long-range shooting was still slightly lacking.

During his rookie season, Carter barely shot threes, and in his second year, his three-point percentage improved, but the volume was still not high enough, with only 95 threes in a single season.

After facing Carter, Dan Majerle marveled at his talent and told the media, “He has an exceedingly rare and excellent physique, and if he can shoot from long range, he’ll be unstoppable, reaching new heights.”

So this season, Vince Carter delivered a 41% three-point shooting percentage, his three-point count breaking a hundred for the first time in his career, and an average of 27.8 points, the highest in his career.

And, he led the team to face Roger.

Dan Majerle’s judgment was correct; after honing his long-range shooting, Vince Carter had completely reached a new level.

The Toronto Raptors, a team that didn’t exist when Roger entered the league, had already been set on track by Carter.

This was yet another new-generation star player challenging Roger after last season’s Ray Allen and AI, and this season’s T-Mac.

Roger knew that the Raptors would not be as easy to deal with as the Magic.

Because under Coach Butch Carter, they have a defense system as precise as a clock and better inside defensive players.

In the playoffs, teams with strong defense often prove more troublesome than those with strong offense.

Before the first game of the series, when Roger was holding the MVP trophy at home, the Raptors players in the shadows were already prepared.

Especially the UFO used to overlooking everything from above, was ready to attack.

As expected, in the first game of the Eastern Conference semi-finals, the Hawks ran into trouble as soon as the game started.

Vince Carter scored 10 points in the first quarter, his breakthroughs were very swift, and against Big Ben’s rim protection, he could always score by avoiding defenders in the air with various maneuvers.

In the second quarter, the Raptors’ perimeter shooters started to strike as well.

Dell Curry, Chris Childs, and Alvin Williams all had reliable shooting ability.

In this weak three-point era, the Raptors’ three-point resources were indeed quite excellent.

While Carter and the shooters stabilized their offense, the Raptors’ defense was also very diligent.

Although Charles Oakley was nearing retirement, his defensive passion had a real impact on everyone on the team.

The Raptors would use fierce double teams and active confrontations to wear down the opponent’s shooting rhythm.

By halftime, the Toronto Raptors were leading by 7 points!

However, all Hawks fans believed that Roger would not let anyone sully his MVP night.

In the second half, Roger and Pierce scored many tough shots under tight defense, Carter was still seemingly unstoppable, but under the dual firepower of Roger and Pierce, the Canadian champion struggled alone and was reversed by the Hawks, ultimately facing defeat.

Pierce scored 21 points, Roger scored 37, and Carter was outstanding with 42 points, but the Raptors lost by 6 points.

Vince Carter’s performance was remarkable, scoring over 40 against the Hawks is no small feat.

During the regular season, Carter could at most score 36 points against the Hawks.

In the playoffs, Carter’s performance was near perfect.

Therefore, even though they lost, he still became a popular interview target for the media.

However, at a press conference, a journalist’s question nearly gave away the result of the next game: “Vince, it’s well known that Roger might be the most vengeful player in the league, are you worried he’ll respond with a 40-point game next time?”

Carter smiled, “I know Roger is strong, but 40 points isn’t just clicking a mouse in a turn-based game, buddy.”

Then Carter got a lesson, because for Roger, as long as he wants to respond, scoring 40 points is no problem at all.

The second game was a one-sided victory, Vince Carter was no longer as magical, while Roger reciprocated Carter with a 42-point game, and the Hawks won with an 18-point advantage.

The total score was 2 to 0.

After the prelude with the Magic in the first round, the Hawks had evidently entered a combative state.

Roger also demonstrated his strength as a superstar.

The excitement of this series surpassed people’s expectations, with Carter and Roger scoring over 40 points one after another, it was an absolute visual feast for the fans.

However, Roger did not think his performance in Game 2 was an intentional response to Carter, “Vince and his team are very tough, I just wanted to defeat them.”

The third game moved to Toronto, which is a place no player in the league wants to visit.

After all, it’s international, so the journey becomes much more troublesome.