204: 099: The Miracle of Houston, Mastering the Joy of the Locker Room (Vote for Monthly Tickets!) 204: 099: The Miracle of Houston, Mastering the Joy of the Locker Room (Vote for Monthly Tickets!) The wind of Chicago, filled with the scent of roses.
An underprivileged kid from the Englewood neighborhood in the southern part of Chicago saw the prosperity of downtown Chicago for the first time today, witnessing the flashy side of this sin city.
He also vividly saw the decline of Michael Jordan.
In the shopping mall’s giant billboard, workers were removing Jordan’s enormous poster.
Inside the mall, piles of Bulls no.
45 jerseys were on sale at a discount, yet even so, hardly anyone was buying.
After all, who would want a number that even its owner had abandoned?
The AJ store was still booming, but the Reebok store was also not lacking in customers.
The mall’s television screens no longer showed basketball games; instead, highlights of the Chicago White Sox played.
Even in Chicago, on Jordan’s own court, you could feel this intense sense of decay.
23 was truly beginning to waver.
Just a year ago, no one could have imagined such a thing happening.
In the summer of 1994, Michael Jordan ended the basketball world’s drought with a simple “I’m back.”
And, he quickly proved that he was still one of the best basketball players on the planet.
He could score 50 points in a single game, ignore the defense to hit game-winners, easily tally 40 points in the playoffs, and silence most opponents so they didn’t dare speak to him.
However, these were not the true Michael Jordan.
The real Michael Jordan was the one who was unstoppable, invincible, always creating miracles, winning championships until his hands were sore.
Roger delivered Jordan’s death sentence with an 8-0 sweep in a single season.
It turned all of Jordan’s brilliant performances that season into nothing but a mirage.
It turned the expectations of the people of Chicago into profound disappointment.
“Derrick, let’s go, we’re going home.” A haggard black woman’s shout broke the little boy’s thoughts.
He turned around, saw his mother wearing worn-out clothes, and quickly ran over.
His mother had four children with four different men, and besides having the same mother, the only thing they had in common was that they were all fatherless.
As a result, it was no surprise that the family’s life was extremely tough.
Although his mother worked several jobs a day, she often wept over the monthly utility bills.
Little Derrick stopped and glanced at the now empty giant billboard behind him.
One day, could I put my own poster up there?
If Roger could defeat a god, why couldn’t I change my own fate?
Roger didn’t know yet, but he was already affecting more and more people.
The Viper of Philadelphia was practicing intensely because of him.
The small version of Jordan from Chicago had planted the seed of riding a horse in his heart.
The Windy City’s Rose had also gained the courage to fight against life early on.
But Roger didn’t care about the extent of the change he brought to the world, he was just here to win championships.
Before that, though, he would have to wait for the results of the Western Conference Finals.
The first four games of the Western Conference Finals were over, with both the Rockets and the Spurs claiming two wins each, making it 2-2 so far.
In other words, both teams would have to play at least two more games to determine the winner.
But the Admiral was already worn out after four games.
He felt like a toy in front of Dream.
G1, Olajuwon scored 27 points while the Admiral had 21 points; at first glance the gap didn’t seem large.
But in that game, the Admiral’s shooting percentage was only 29.4%.
And facing Olajuwon’s defense, it was like an uncle with candy in hand, tricking the Admiral into jumping all over the place like a silly child before he would put the ball in the basket.
While the two points were not hugely damaging, the nature of these baskets was extremely insulting to the Admiral!
David Robinson swore that he wouldn’t allow such a shameful game in this series again.
G2, the Admiral did just that.
That night, he received his regular season MVP trophy, that night, he shot 10 out of 18 from the field, made 12 of 14 free throws, and scored 32 points and 12 rebounds with an extremely high shooting percentage.
The Admiral played well, right?
Turns out, Dream scored 41 points, 16 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks!
Olajuwon brutally exploded on the Admiral’s MVP night!
The Admiral began to feel despair, the most hopeless thing in competitive sports is when you’ve given your all, but someone else is still better.
G3, the Admiral performed even better, scoring 29 points with a 66% shooting percentage.
But Olajuwon responded with 43 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks.
The Spurs won, but Dream didn’t lose.
Not until G4, when Dream, seemingly possessed by a flaming spirit rider, finally quieted down.
Even though it was tied 2-2, Olajuwon’s performance of two 40+ point games in four matches comprehensively suppressed the Admiral.
Not to mention those highlight moments that made the Admiral part of the montage reel.
In 1986, when Jordan as a sophomore was still being swept by the Celtics, Olajuwon, also a sophomore, had already knocked out Showtime Lakers and advanced to the Finals.
Though he didn’t win that championship, people didn’t skimp on their praise for him.
Four-time All-Star forward Maurice Lucas commented on Dream at that time, “He’s just like a big Moses Malone.”
And now, as Dream was toying with the MVP like bullying a child, Lucas’s latest comment was, “Moses Malone deserves such praise.”
Bill Walton even jokingly reminded the Admiral, “You might as well let Hakeem dunk on you, it’s better than looking dumb in the wrong direction after he scores.”