47: 033: Tell them quickly, don’t ever go easy on me!_2 47: 033: Tell them quickly, don’t ever go easy on me!_2 This caused the Hornets to pile up defensive resources on Pippen without hesitation.
In the past, with Jordan’s help in drawing attention, Pippen often had some easy scoring opportunities on the court.
But now, when Pippen had to face the opponent’s tight defense alone as the core, scoring became much harder.
Every time Pippen attacked, he first had to wrestle with the robust Grandmama outside the three-point line, and also be wary of the Hornets’ starting point guard Hersey Hawkins’ double-teaming.
Even when he succeeded in breaking through, he still had to deal with the Hornets’ even more terrifying presence under the basket.
Not only Roger needed time to adapt to the new season, but Pippen did as well.
Such intensity in defense required Pippen to adapt over time too.
Watching his team get beat up by the opponent, Kukoc on the bench just shook his head.
Last season’s Hornets were only a one-round team, but today they were grinding the defending champions into the floor.
However, Kukoc thought there was a way to solve the problem:
“Ro, it’s fine that I’m not starting, but I don’t understand why you’re sitting here on the bench with me.
If this continues, Scott is going to mess everything up.”
Roger wasn’t in a hurry: “Phil has his plans.”
The Zen Master indeed had plans.
In the preseason, he had tried the triangle offense centered around Roger and Kukoc, and it was very powerful.
But there was a problem—both were not known for their defense.
Therefore, the Zen Master dared not put Roger and Kukoc in the starting lineup right away.
Even if he had to play both at the same time, he would not dare use them for too long.
The Zen Master still wanted to stabilize the defense first.
But as it turned out, the Zen Master failed.
The team’s defense was still decent, but the offense was terribly poor.
He realized that at least one of Roger and Kukoc had to be on the court for the Bulls’ offense not to stagnate.
Also, the Zen Master hoped that Roger and Kukoc would first get used to the NBA game atmosphere on the sidelines.
If they started as starters, he worried the two rookies would be too nervous and lose all composure.
Especially Roger, he was still too young.
After five minutes into the game, the Zen Master called a timeout.
At that moment, the Bulls were seven points behind, with Pippen only getting two points from free throws.
Larry Johnson looked triumphantly at Pippen, “We’re going to chop the Bulls’ head off!”
Pippen angrily returned to the bench and slammed his fist hard against the backrest.
He had anticipated that this season would be tough, but he hadn’t expected to be unable to beat a trash team like the Hornets!
Pippen was now very impatient, but the Zen Master stood up calmly, walked to Roger: “You’re substituting for Pete, and after you get on the court, you have only one task, seize those damn scoring opportunities!”
When the timeout ended and Roger took off his warm-up jersey to enter the game, fans watching on TV got excited.
After such a long wait, they finally saw the highly anticipated high school rookie.
NBC commentator Mike Fratello immediately picked up Roger’s information:
“Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you’ve been waiting for has finally arrived.
At 18 years and 65 days old, this super-talented young man from Louisiana has become the youngest player ever to set foot in an NBA game.
Let’s see if he can turn around the Bulls’ slump.”
Pippen glanced at Roger entering the game, biting his lip.
He intended to consolidate his leadership position with an outstanding performance on the court, but didn’t expect it to be so smooth.
In the end, they even had to resort to bringing in a rookie to solve the offensive problems.
Under the spotlight, Roger tucked his red number 14 jersey into his shorts: “Scott, it’s a tough night, isn’t it?”
“Rookie, I’m teaching you your first lesson right now, which is to shut your mouth and play seriously, because your opponents won’t go easy on you like me,” Pippen replied impatiently.
“Ah, right, right, thanks for giving me a break earlier, Scott,”
The game resumed and Pippen, getting the ball beyond the three-point line, faced the usual double team.
Grandmama and Hersey Hawkins knew very well that the current Bulls posed no threat if they could just shut down Pippen.
Reluctantly, Pippen passed to the wide-open Roger.
He wanted to prove that he could lead the team out of trouble without Roger’s help, but he was being penned in with no space at all.
As a point forward, Pippen’s ability to distribute the ball under pressure was strong, and the spacing in the triangle offense was meticulous—too close together made it easy to get trapped while too far made passes prone to mistakes.
The triangle spacing was just right, neither too close nor too far.
Excellent passing combined with accurate positioning allowed Roger to comfortably receive the ball, ready for a direct shot.
As he raised the ball to shoot from beyond the three-point line, Hawkins, the All-Star guard, immediately charged at Roger.
Hawkins deliberately charged with great ferocity, hoping to intimidate Roger with his defensive momentum.
A high schooler faced with an NBA All-Star charging at him would either hesitate to shoot or rush the shot leading to a miss.
Hawkins remembered how nervous he was during his own first NCAA game at 18, let alone in the NBA.
But Roger gave him a third option—after a pump fake, he calmly dribbled past the All-Star guard.
Hawkins had charged too aggressively forward to immediately pivot and keep up with Roger.
Roger then drove straight towards the paint, and countless fans in front of their TVs jumped to their feet, thrilled.
Pippen cursed quietly when he saw that Roger didn’t opt for a three-pointer or a pull-up jumper but instead went for the basket.
“This fool, does he really think Mourning is as soft as our old centers on the team?”
Like Laettner, because of previous comments about O’Neal, Mourning didn’t have a good impression of Roger either.
And here was this rookie, daring to challenge the paint as if he had a death wish.
Mourning didn’t mind offering Roger a “Welcome to the NBA” ceremony.
Mourning timed his jump to meet Roger’s.
But in mid-air, Roger tucked his body, avoiding the block.
If it were the 21st century, Roger would’ve performed a beautiful finger-roll for the basket.
But the ’90s were different.
A rookie daring to challenge the interior like that meant that the big men would not let him have an easy shot, even if it meant committing a foul.
Even with a foul, they would send a message: “This way is blocked!”
Mourning was a fervent supporter of such aggressive defense, taking pleasure in making others afraid through brutal confrontations.
Seeing he couldn’t block Roger, he tried to grab at Roger’s shoulder.
Roger’s body leaned back in mid-air, and Pippen shook his head.
“I told you, others won’t go easy on you.”
“My own relentless offense couldn’t break through the defense; did you think you could handle it that easily?”
Yet in a state of complete weightlessness, Roger scooped the ball up towards the backboard.
To Mourning’s dismay, what seemed like a casual toss of the ball swished through the net.
Whether or not he lost his balance seemed immaterial to Roger—he could finish the job regardless!
This was the NBA’s first glimpse at Roger’s magical finger-roll.
Excited, NBC commentator Mike Fratello grabbed his fellow commentator Joe Myers, “Did you see that move?
Alonzo Mourning, with an average of 3.5 blocks last season, couldn’t stop 18-year-old Roger even with a committed foul!
He effortlessly opened up a hole in the Hornets’ defense!”
The much-anticipated Roger, in his first offensive move, met the fans’ fantasies about him.
This high school prodigy was truly gifted, and indeed, a tough contender!
Daring to drive to the basket in his first offense, rookie guards like him were rare.
At this moment, Kukoc and A.
Green walked over to help Roger up.
After standing up, Roger laughed and opened his arms towards Pippen, “Scott, you better tell them not to go easy on me.”
Mourning suddenly understood why Pippen had fought with this kid in the locker room.
After calming down from the excitement, Fratello cracked a joke:
“Scott’s relentless defense, which he couldn’t break through, was breached by the 18-year-old Roger on his first try.
Scott is simply the best sidekick.
On the first day of the new season, he’s set the stage for Chicago’s new MJ.
Don’t blink now, I’ve heard that this high school rookie has many more scoring tricks up his sleeve.”
Thanks to warriors Bing Nuan, book friend 20220822112916871, TangEr, and other big shots for their rewards.
Here’s the new book with a 4K chapter offering, your conscientious old author begging for follow reads, monthly tickets, and rewards, kneeling in gratitude!