162: 086: Most Hated Person (Request for Monthly Votes) 162: 086: Most Hated Person (Request for Monthly Votes) New York nights, O’Neal was having a great time.
Although Ewing won the stats, O’Neal had once again clinched the victory.
In the past two years, he had always lost the games when facing the other three major centers.
But now, Shaq had gotten used to beating them.
All this was because he had Roger, whom he loved more than anything.
The team was especially excited after consecutive victories over the Bulls and Knicks, the two big teams from the East.
Thus, after the game ended, O’Neal decided to take everyone to the nightclub.
Rarely coming to the bright and colorful New York, it was necessary to indulge in vibrant sights and sounds and relax thoroughly.
Of course, O’Neal did not break the Roger Rule.
There was no game tomorrow, so according to Roger’s rules, he could take his teammates out partying without upsetting the truth.
Everyone gathered in O’Neal’s room, waiting for him to change clothes.
After changing, Shaq made a call to Roger, planning to invite him out.
But as soon as the call connected, unspeakable noises were heard from Shaq’s phone.
“Oh~ oh~ come on baby~ I’m coming!”
Then Roger’s voice followed, “Oh…
“Are you going out with us tonight?”
“I’ll come later, oh Yasmeen, don’t twist so hard.
Shaq, text me the location later, order me two juices, gotta hang up bro, I’m in the middle of a fashion design class.”
“That damn shameless bastard, he just met that girl last night!
Damn it, I want to call the cops on him!” Shaq yelled indignantly after hanging up.
“Let’s go, Shaq,” Harper smiled, “don’t disturb Roger enjoying his exquisite dinner, you know, he rarely gets a chance to fill up on non-junk food.”
The next day, the whole team boarded the plane, all drunken.
Brian Hill looked displeased but held back from blowing up.
The team was performing well, and they had no game today, so let these rascals relax a bit.
On the plane, O’Neal took out several posters of Yasmeen Ghauri, causing everyone to crowd around and see the face of the “Roger girl.”
“You should thank me, if it weren’t for my assist, you wouldn’t have landed that last hit last night.” O’Neal teased Roger, referring both to Roger’s block on Ewing and his dash at Yasmeen.
“Thanks, Shaq, I’ll treat next time we hit the club.”
“Wait until we play away at Los Angeles, don’t think you can get away by treating us in Orlando’s trashy clubs!”
“Whatever you say, Shaq, whatever you say.”
Shaq and Roger were still immersed in the joy of victory, completely unaware that the great Black Jesus was plotting his own chilling event.
Over the next few weeks, Magic’s smooth season faced some turmoil, plagued by injuries.
Grant took some time off due to knee pain, and Michael Cage also rested due to a hamstring injury.
Anthony Bowie, Donald Royal, and other main rotations also underwent a period of injury breaks.
But with Shaq and Roger around, Magic’s record was still relatively stable.
Until February 3, just before the All-Star, Magic lost to the SuperSonics and temporarily held the first place in the East with a record of 34 wins and 11 losses.
The price was that Shaq and Roger were exhausted.
In the game against the SuperSonics, Magic could only rotate 7 players at one point.
Although it was a 7-man rotation, the five starters all played for over 40 minutes.
Even Jeff Turner, who averaged only 6+4, had to be reluctantly put in the starting lineup, implying the strength of the remaining substitutes.
In fact, the recent games were all .
In these recent games, Roger realized why Tom Thibodeau would later be voted the coach players least wanted to play for, profoundly understanding what plantation-style tactics and sharecroppers’ five-donkey strategy meant.
No wonder OG Anunoby always complained about lack of playing time while with the Raptors, only to keep quiet once under Thibodeau.
No wonder Josh Hart playing full 48 minutes in the playoffs wasn’t his limit, it was the limit of the game time.
During this injury wave, Magic exemplified the saying “basketball is a sport for five people” to the utmost, literally having five people play from start to finish.
Having just lost to the Pacers the previous game, and now losing to the SuperSonics experiencing back-to-back defeats, Roger thought the media would harshly criticize them the next day.
But the next day, many media outlets criticized Jordan instead.
In the “SportsCenter” show, John Anderson straightforwardly questioned, “Shawn Kemp’s defensive assist yesterday made it very rough for Shaq and Grant, but can you believe it?
Michael Jordan actually rejected this trade, he refused to acquire someone helpful for the team.
If the Bulls fail this season, how should he be responsible?”
How to be responsible wasn’t known, but Jordan knew how to make Roger and Shaq embarrass themselves in the All-Star game.
The season paused temporarily, and Shaq and Roger finally got a chance to breathe after being devastated by the plantation strategy.
And after All-Star, Magic’s lineup would gradually become complete again.
Jordan also finally had time to invite old friends to relax and discuss his “plan.”
Anfernee Hardaway was excited; he hadn’t expected to be invited to Jordan’s private party.
He had always admired this big brother also under Nike, feeling that being part of such a party meant entering Jordan’s circle, and that he was now someone significant.