289: 124: The Battle of Hypocrisy (Vote for Monthly Tickets!)_3 289: 124: The Battle of Hypocrisy (Vote for Monthly Tickets!)_3 However, who exactly is no longer important.
Because once suspicion arises, it erodes trust.
And once trust is damaged, relationships are destroyed.
Just like Jordan and Horace Grant, even if Grant wasn’t the snitch, Jordan wouldn’t trust him again.
When the defending champions are no longer united, their rivals are undeniably the happiest.
Pat Riley treats basketball as a war, and the highest art of war is to direct the enemy.
On the eve of the second encounter between the Heat and the Magic, two fierce rivals from the same state, Riley took the opportunity to stir up even more trouble within the Magic Team.
In an interview with NBC, Riley made some controversial remarks:
“The only reason the Magic Team hasn’t come to an agreement with Shaq is not because of injuries, not because of Shaq’s abilities, but because Roger is getting too much.
$20 million a season, a $120 million contract, do you think the Magic Team can afford two contracts ?
I know you’ll argue with me, ah, Roger and Shaq are good brothers.
Heh, haven’t you noticed?
This season, Roger has never, not once, publicly supported Shaq’s renewal.
Last season, when Roger was near renewal, Shaq spoke up for Roger every other day.
But now that it’s Shaq’s turn to renew, how does Roger act?
His ploy is to treat Shaq as a friend first, pretending to get along very well with him, letting Shaq lower his guard and feel like Roger is on the same side.
Then he uses his friendship with Shaq to make Shaq sacrifice himself, helping him win the championship and secure his own renewal first.
After signing his big contract, he couldn’t care less about what happens to Shaq.
It’s not just Shaq, every other person on the Magic Team has become a stepping stone for Roger.
They won the championship together, but in the end, it’s only Roger who benefits the most.
He’s a phony, a con man, that’s just the way he is.
I really don’t understand how such behavior can still be adored by fans.
If I’m lying, may God punish me.”
This was a severe accusation against Roger, directly insulting his character.
Of course, Riley knew he was lying; he knew perfectly well this was a lie.
In this world, there couldn’t really be someone who would win a championship, secure a big contract, and then betray his teammates, could there?
But it didn’t matter whether his words were true or not, Riley only hoped that such remarks would cause infighting within the already troubled Magic Team, thus affecting the overall state of the team.
Pat Riley has always been the kind of coach who dares to take shots at stars, be it opponents or his own players, he dares to fire.
In order to achieve his goals, he dared to make unrestrained comments about the renewal between O’Neal and the Magic Team.
He was certain it would be effective.
As the former coach who had built the Showtime Lakers, Riley had seen too many such scenarios; he knew the complexity of human nature intimately.
The reason the Lakers didn’t win back-to-back championships in ’81 was that the whole locker room felt Magic had received too much attention alone.
In ’86, the Lakers missed consecutive championships again because Jabbar, who was not yet past his prime and had won the FMVP in ’85, thought he still controlled the locker room.
Meanwhile, Magic felt it was his time to take control of the team.
It was only in ’87 and ’88, after the Lakers finally won back-to-back championships, that they reconciled because Jabbar, near 40, was dominated by the young center led by Dream in the ’86 playoffs, which forced him to acknowledge his decline.
Only then did he fully step down from his pivotal role, becoming a “regular” teammate alongside Magic, who shed his youthful arrogance.
Only then were they able to get along harmoniously.
So, back-to-back championships.
Riley knew all too well how championship teams operated and what changes they undergo after winning the title.
He thought he had played a good chess move.
Because a young O’Neal and a young Roger could never possibly coexist peacefully.
The Lakers couldn’t win a three-peat because Jabbar was too old, but they managed to score back-to-back championships precisely because Jabbar was old.
When both cores are young and strong, it’s very difficult for them to truly coexist.
What Riley did was simply ignite a fire between the young players.
He admitted he was talking nonsense, but he did not believe that O’Neal hadn’t, at some moment, felt jealous of Roger—he was certain he had hit an emotional nerve with O’Neal.
And starting from tomorrow morning, all media will rush to cover their story.
Under the influence of public opinion, would there be no suspicion between Roger and Shaq?
However, Roger and O’Neal were really not influenced at all.
This isn’t some melodramatic TV show where two main characters who can clearly talk things out instead stubbornly keep it to themselves and foster misunderstandings over dozens of episodes, making the audience itch with frustration.
Reality isn’t so overdramatic.
After Riley made his statement, O’Neal immediately called Roger, “Hey, don’t listen to that idiot’s bullshit!
I know that’s not the kind of person you are.
Don’t let it affect your game.
Do it for me—take them down!
Just the Miami Heat, just that bastard Pat Riley, they are unforgivable!
If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be unable to play even now!”
Roger also told Shaq, “I just didn’t want to exacerbate the conflict between you and the management, which is why I’ve never discussed your contract renewal in public.
Don’t worry, I wouldn’t give in to Pat.”
There were no issues between Roger and Shaq, Riley’s scheme didn’t succeed.
Or rather, it succeeded in part.
He had indeed stirred up Roger’s emotions, making him incredibly angry.
On the afternoon they left for Miami, Roger gave an interview at the airport.
“Would you like to comment on some of Pat Riley’s remarks about you?”
Why should I shy away from a despicable scoundrel?
He constantly claims to be for the players, but he never considers their health, so who’s the real hypocritical liar?
Riley is trying to influence our team with such a despicable method, and he has chosen the wrong path.”
“Can you reveal any news about Shaq’s contract renewal?”
“I don’t know more than you do, but I’m sure the team will offer him a fair contract, the whole team knows he is a part of the championship.”
“Last question, will Pat Riley’s comments affect your upcoming games?”
“Of course, they will.
He has angered me, which will greatly affect the upcoming games.
Would you be happy being unjustly splattered with mud?
No one can just anger me like that without facing the consequences for doing so.”
After finishing, Roger boarded the plane.
Throughout the interview, he didn’t smile.
Completely different from his carefree demeanor when dealing with Starkhouse, this time, Roger was definitely going all out!
That night on NBC’s NBA show “NBA Showtime,” Bob Costas bluntly said, “Pat Riley’s attack on Roger is a serious strategic mistake.
I know what Riley’s trying to do.
He wants to mess with Roger and Shaq’s heads and then take advantage of the Magic Team’s starting lineup missing two inside players to win again.
Unfortunately, the master strategist has miscalculated this time.”
The next day, “The New York Times,” in response to Riley calling Roger “the con man,” dubbed the game “The Con Game.”
The Battle of Hypocrisy.
Not referring to Roger being hypocritical, but rather to Roger, labeled “the hypocritical con man,” descending upon Miami for a battle of revenge.
People believed that the heat from Roger’s anger that evening would be more tormenting than Miami’s heat wave.
Before the game started, NBC sideline reporter Hannah Storm asked Riley, “Any regrets?
Roger has seemed quite unhappy all day today.”
Pat Riley, as per his custom, was dressed to the nines and wore a confident smile, “Regrets?
I’m not here to make him happy; I’m here to compete.
If he’s angry, it exactly proves that I was right.”
Hannah then interviewed Roger, who said without a trace of humor:
“He doesn’t regret it now because he doesn’t know the consequences yet, but he will soon find out.”