170: 088: Silent Roger, the Most Terrifying Presence (Two in One!) _3 170: 088: Silent Roger, the Most Terrifying Presence (Two in One!) _3 And don’t let Nike’s reputation hit the floor!
Jordan has already had problems, and as Nike’s new hope, Penny absolutely cannot be completely dominated by Roger!
Before the match started, the camera panned to Larry Miller in the stands.
As per the custom of American sports broadcasting, when a celebrity is spotted, they linger on them for an extra moment and then display their name and profession at the bottom of the screen.
And so, all of America knew that it was this old guy who originally gave up on Roger to sign Penny.
Larry Miller stared intently at the court, hoping that Penny’s promise to lead the team into the playoffs wasn’t just talk.
O’Neal helped the Magic win the jump ball, and guarding Roger was Sprewell.
Last season, it was over Sprewell that Roger became the youngest player in NBA history to score 40 points in a game.
So today, Spree was defending with all his might.
He didn’t want to be someone else’s poster, he too, wanted to sign a big contract like Penny.
In the first round, the fully concentrated Spree successfully stole the ball from Roger, causing the entire Oracle Arena to erupt in cheers.
Spree then drove past half court and passed the ball to Penny, who had sprinted to the front.
Penny drove straight into the paint and ultimately scored with an emphatic dunk over Harper!
NBC commentator Bob Costas nodded in approval, “Today’s Warriors are different, they really want to make the playoffs!”
In the second round, Roger’s mid-range shot under the interference of Sprewell and the helping Hardaway hit iron.
Hardaway, excited about successfully defending for the second time in a row and constantly being suppressed by Roger, yelled furiously, “You can only kneel and pray you can sign a contract as big as mine, you yellow-skinned bastard.”
Meanwhile, Spree scored on the fastbreak layup, and the Warriors led 4 to 0.
Larry Miller stood up and clapped, good, Penny was on a roll today.
If they won the game tonight, he could proudly say in a post-game interview, “I’m lucky, I chose the right person.”
Penny pumped his fists and cheered, completely unaware of the catastrophe he had just unleashed.
Roger didn’t like that term, much less when someone prefixed it with “yellow-skinned.”
The victory in this game actually wasn’t important to the Magic, because they would still be first in the East even if they lost their last four games of the season.
But clearly, Roger now really needed this win.
He wouldn’t let Penny off the hook.
In the next round, Roger didn’t give Spree any chances.
Using post-up moves, Roger got past Spree with a spin and banked in the shot, 4 to 2.
But Penny quickly returned the favor, this time deliberately running a pick-and-roll with his teammate Clifford Rozier, trying to exploit O’Neal’s known reluctance to defend the pick-and-roll.
Using the screen, Penny pulled up for a mid-range jumper, and sure enough, O’Neal lazily stepped out and just reached out his hand.
The ball swished through the net, and Warriors fans went wild with excitement.
They believed that today’s fierce Penny would no longer be dominated by anyone!
Penny continued to taunt Roger with an arrogant nod, “See that?
That’s a $72 million shot, asshole!”
6 to 2, Warriors had the upper hand.
What’s worse, a round later, Roger’s jump shot following a drive past Sprewell was blocked by Warriors’ power forward Clifford Rozier, and once again, the Magic lost the chance to close the gap on the score.
“Beautiful defense, Roger has underestimated the Warriors, and today’s team isn’t just about Penny wanting to make the playoffs.
Everyone will give their all for this goal,” NBC commentator Bob Costas felt Magic might lose today, as their lack of desire didn’t match the Warriors’ fighting spirit.
At this moment, O’Neal also stepped forward and patted Roger on the shoulder, “Buddy, how about I take the lead this time?”
“Shaq, give me the ball.”
O’Neal shrugged, “Who am I to refuse spoiling you?”
The Magic played the ball in from the sideline, still passing it to Roger.
Roger resolutely used the screen to break past Sprewell, and Clifford Rozier, as usual, switched over in time.
Seeing this, Roger pushed the ball outward with one hand toward the mid-range shooting Horace Grant.
Rozier hurriedly ran towards Grant, knowing how excellent the ‘Goggles’ mid-range game was this season.
At the same time, he felt fortunate to finally have forced Roger to pass the ball.
But as Rozier left his defensive position, Roger pulled back his extended hand.
Using this to get past Rozier, Roger jumped from mid-range, preparing to make a floater.
But the Warriors defense didn’t collapse, as the NBC commentator had remarked, it wasn’t just Penny who wanted to make the playoffs this year.
Warriors power forward Chris Gatling came from the side, reaching out to block Roger’s yet-to-be-released shot.
But he missed completely, as Roger cradling the ball slightly retracted his arm, avoiding the block, and then gently tossed the ball into the basket.
Magic fans cheered, the most elegant part of the move was that from the fake pass to the avoiding of a block in mid-air followed by the floater, Roger operated with just one hand.
He handled Sprewell, Rozier, and Sterling all by himself with a single hand!
After scoring, Roger didn’t celebrate but went straight to Penny’s side:
“Do you know why the Warriors are close to making the playoffs this year?
Not Anfernee, Tim Hardaway.
You should be grateful he played 62 games, otherwise you wouldn’t even be brushing the edge of the playoffs.”
O’Neal shook his head, Roger was really petty.