141: 079: Roger Rule (Requesting Monthly Votes!)_2 141: 079: Roger Rule (Requesting Monthly Votes!)_2 Drexler lost face, being defended so awkwardly by Roger, who’s notoriously weak at defense.
In fact, Roger’s defense wasn’t as bad as everyone thought; he had improved a lot since the last season.
Conversely, Drexler was no longer as good as everyone remembered.
Since the ’92 season, Drexler’s output and efficiency had both seen a noticeable decline.
His speed wasn’t as fast, his explosive power not as strong.
This made it harder for him to shake off defenses.
And his scoring technique wasn’t on Jordan’s level.
So, he could hardly be considered one of the league’s top scorers anymore.
The league’s top scorers wouldn’t score only 19 points for two consecutive seasons with a shooting percentage below 43%.
So, as long as Roger gave his all in defense, Drexler was not going to have an easy time.
This time, O’Neal faced a double team in the paint, but he still managed to force up a layup and score despite the tight pressure.
The Trail Blazers’ interior line wasn’t strong enough, Clifford Robinson, although a defensive power forward, was after all a four.
The Trail Blazers’ center, Dudley, who was harshly criticized by Strickland, looked even thinner than Robinson.
O’Neal was completely at ease against this kind of insufficient interior resistance.
Drexler wasn’t a stubborn fool; knowing it wasn’t easy to play one-on-one with Roger, he switched to playing off the ball this round.
But Drexler was entirely unable to shake Roger off, even if he gained a sliver of space by running off screens, Roger would immediately latch on again.
For the first time, people realized that Roger’s defense might be stronger than they had imagined?
All this was because Drexler’s explosiveness had declined whereas Roger’s physical condition was at its peak.
Thus, sticking to Drexler wasn’t difficult.
In the end, the offensive play ended with Clifford Robinson’s mid-range shot clanging off the rim.
During this round, Drexler didn’t even get to touch the ball!
“Clyde, I didn’t ask my teammates to help defend you, so why can’t you score?
Didn’t you say that I only won so many games because my teammates were better than yours?
Then why the hell don’t you score over me!” Roger trash-talked right into Drexler’s ear.
Drexler couldn’t believe it; he was actually being locked down by a junior whose defensive achievements were not notable.
Bill Walton also noticed Roger’s unusual activity on the defensive end, “Roger has kept Clyde from finding scoring opportunities for two consecutive rounds, it seems he has quite an issue with what Clyde said before the game.”
After thwarting Drexler twice, Roger began to show his prowess on offense.
This time, O’Neal, facing a double team, passed the ball out to Roger.
Buck Williams was guarding Roger, this muscle-bound beast who had been selected to the All-Defensive teams four times, twice as a first-team member.
Roger called for Grant to set a screen, but ended up driving toward the side without the screen, stopping abruptly, and scoring with a jump shot.
Buck Williams’ glory days were behind him, just like Drexler; he was getting too old.
In three months, he would be 35, and in the NBA, you seldom see a perimeter defender of that age maintain a top-notch defensive level—unless that player has a powerful media presence that lets fans overlook their ugly on-court defensive antics, like James or James Harden.
The current Buck Williams still had remarkable defensive awareness and a strong physique, but his lateral movement had slowed down too much.
Facing the fake pick-and-roll from Roger and Grant, he was out of countermeasures.
He could still defend wing players, but guarding a guard like Roger was beyond Buck Williams’ capabilities.
After scoring, Roger turned and looked at Drexler beside him, “How long do you plan to hide behind the Buck?
I faced you head-on from the start, and what about you?
Do you only dare to face me when being interviewed?
Come on, coward, guard me!”
Drexler still didn’t speak, but Strickland got fired up, “Idiot, stop picking on the old guy, do you dare to guard me?”
However, what awaited him was another round of being ignored.
Roger didn’t just not respond; he treated him as thin air, not giving him a glance.
Strickland was furious, so in the next offensive play, as the point guard, he threw all tactics and strategies out the window, going for a solo play against Harper!
Strickland, performing an intricate footwork routine, actually managed to breach Harper’s defense.
Seeing this, Roger was reminded of the ’90s Kyrie Irving.
But he wasn’t the real Kyrie Irving.
After bursting into the paint, Strickland’s layup crossed over Grant’s fingertips but was swatted away by Shaq who had taken off from behind Grant.
O’Neal completed the block, and the Trail Blazers’ head coach, P.
Carlesimo, famous for nearly being choked by his own player, totally lost it: “Idiot, you’re worse than a stupid pig!
Just now you had at least three chances to pass the ball, you complete idiot!”
But Strickland didn’t care, “Shut up, hairy freak, I know how to play the game.”
“You should’ve passed the ball to Clifford, he was open,” Drexler also went up to argue with Strickland.
“Old man, you just tried to shoot once and missed, but I didn’t say a word.
So, you’re in no position to lecture me.
Like I said, if it weren’t for you hogging the shots, I could score 50 points!” Strickland continued to display his cantankerous nature.