114: 070: A Completely Different Locker Room Atmosphere (Requesting Monthly Tickets) _3 114: 070: A Completely Different Locker Room Atmosphere (Requesting Monthly Tickets) _3 As for what the outcome would be this time, it was all up to Roger to decide.
So, after finishing all the commercial activities, Roger plunged back into training.
He knew what level of player Jordan was and that there were no shortcuts to beating him, and absolutely no room for slacking off.
In fact, while engaging in commercial activities, Roger also studied game videos every day.
Of course, just skimming through the game videos wasn’t helpful.
To make watching the videos effective, Roger specifically hired a 24-year-old to edit the videos for him and point out the key aspects.
This young man was the latest addition to Roger’s team.
He didn’t have a particularly impressive resume, having played in the NCAA with an average of only 9 points and 4 assists over four years.
He had played professional games in the Bundesliga, but that hadn’t gone too well either.
He yearned for the NBA because his father, Joe, had worked in the management of several NBA teams, and he had been attracted to the NBA since he was a child.
But his talent was poor, and even though he tortured himself almost pathologically, he couldn’t stand his ground in high-level competition, not even touching the fringes of the NBA.
However, his NBA dream hadn’t been shattered; he still longed to work for an NBA team, even if not as a player.
Finally, last month while in Germany, he received an international call from his father: “Roger wants to interview you, he wants to invite you to join his team.”
Well, he didn’t know why Roger, as a player, would need him.
But soon, he had a new profession—as a video editor.
Roger required him to edit all kinds of videos that could help Roger learn defensive techniques and game-reading skills.
Moreover, he had to write notes for each segment of the videos.
This was a tedious job, but considering Roger was generous with the salary and it was a job related to the NBA, he gladly accepted.
Thus, Erik Spoelstra became Roger’s personal video editor.
At that time, Roger was watching videos of Jordan’s breakthrough plays.
If you were just viewing the videos, the only thing you would marvel at was “Jordan’s first step is damn fast.”
But in Spoelstra’s edited videos, things weren’t that simple.
Spoelstra specifically circled Jordan’s left foot in the video, and then wrote in the notes:
“Observe Jordan’s posture; he switched the ball to his right hand, and then his left foot subtly stepped back—a signal that he is about to make a breakthrough.
At this moment, you need to immediately block his right hand, obstruct his breakthrough, or force him to change direction, disrupting his rhythm.
If you disrupt the rhythm of the offense, you’re the one leading the pace!
The most important thing for a defender is to become the attacker in defense!”
You have to acknowledge Spoelstra’s talent in basketball, after all, he would make the Heat the first team to consider the head coach as the cornerstone of building the team in the future.
Well, that’s just fans teasing, but he indeed had talent.
Since his talent couldn’t let him unleash his potential as a player, Roger helped him make good use of it.
With Spoelstra’s help, Roger improved both his game-reading abilities and defensive details.
Of course, these things couldn’t be achieved overnight, but any progress is good.
Meanwhile, Roger was still gaining weight—he had increased his body weight to 93 kilograms.
Then, it was about continuing to adapt to this weight, maintaining coordination and agility.
Roger certainly had the capacity to gain seven or eight kilograms at once, but that would greatly increase the risk of injury.
Michael Jordan was relentlessly pushing himself, and Roger was doing the same.
These two men knew that their encounter next season would be a bloody moment.
Whoever lost would carry the burden of shame.
Finally, the time had come—October 4th, the start day of the Magic Team’s training camp.
The Magic’s owner DeVos, representing Amway Corp.
and AdventHealth, had always had deep cooperation, and the Magic’s training base was sponsored and named by them, so it was called the AdventHealth Training Center.
Like the Berto Center, the training base was located in the suburbs.
Roger drove up in a blue Ferrari F512M, its massive roaring sound drawing everyone’s attention in the parking lot.
This car was actually red, as those who frequently purchase Ferraris know that 80% of the owners choose the classic red color of Ferrari.
But considering red would always be associated with the Bulls, Roger had it painted blue.
Upon arriving at the parking lot, Roger saw a huge triple parking space with a sign hanging: Reserved for Roger.
Well, this was completely different from last year when even parking could lead to a quarrel with the neurotic Pippen.
In Orlando, Roger was the one with his own reserved parking space.
In the entire parking lot, only O’Neal enjoyed the same treatment as Roger.
This was what Roger deserved, since his arrival had caused the Magic’s season tickets to sell out early and brought unprecedented attention to the Magic.
A reserved parking space was really nothing.
After parking the car, Roger took out a small bag.
Entering the locker room, he handed the small bag to his teammate, Anthony Bowie.
Bowie was somewhat surprised, “This is…”
“A gift for you, thanks for letting me have the no.
Prior to this, the no.
14 jersey belonged to Bowie.
Although he was just a role player, he had played in the NBA for five years, older in experience than Roger.
Therefore, he had every right to keep his jersey number.