81: 059: Another huge trouble after Michael_2 81: 059: Another huge trouble after Michael_2 Riley firmly believed that after a few tough confrontations, Roger would be completely lost.
After all, he was just a rookie.
This ant would pay the price for his words!
Harper nodded confidently, “I know how to make a rookie lose himself in the playoffs, Pat.
You don’t need to remind me.”
Neither the Bulls nor the Knicks changed their starting lineups.
The Knicks still sent out Derek Harper, John Starks, Charles Smith, Charles Oakley, and Ewing as their formidable five.
As soon as the game started, Derek Harper, who joined the Knicks mid-season, approached Roger: “Chinaman, the Knicks never let go of those who offend the team.”
“Derek, Pat assigned you to guard me?”
I didn’t expect Pat to disrespect me this much.”
For the first time, Derek Harper felt the extreme pressure effect of Roger, the same phrase every player who had guarded Roger could understand Pippen.
But Harper quickly suppressed his anger, as he most enjoyed dealing with defiant youngsters with tough talk.
These rebellious young ones would calm down after a few rough collisions, regardless of gender.
As the game began, just as Roger crossed half-court, Derek Harper stuck to him tightly and confronted him with the tough defense Riley had instructed.
With the Knicks, not a single second was easy.
Pippen was controlling the ball at a 45-degree angle on the right side, with Roger pulling to the corner.
Harper was glued to Roger, leaving no chance for him to receive the ball.
Meanwhile, Cartwright stepped up and set a screen with Pippen, who seemed to give up on passing to Roger and wanted to make the play himself.
Just as Pippen used the screen to penetrate, Roger suddenly made a baseline cut.
But Derek Harper’s defense was tight, as Roger cut he pushed him hard, brutally shoving Roger out of bounds.
Just as Harper thought he had succeeded defensively, Roger suddenly hit the brakes, turned, and doubled back.
During the turn, he also managed to land an elbow to Harper’s chest.
He used a brutal Knicks-style move to shake free and create an opportunity!
Roger returned to the corner, and Pippen, who had penetrated inside, happened to pass the ball to him.
Roger caught the ball and immediately shot.
Having taken an elbow from Roger, Harper was a step slow, but he still pounced fiercely, knocking Roger straight out of bounds.
He hadn’t forgotten what Riley had said to him: from the start, make Roger aware of the kind of team he was up against.
But the ball, released before the contact, swished through the net!
The basketball tumbled, the whistle blew, and Roger earned the chance for a four-point play.
After the whistle, Roger quickly stood up, calmly dusted himself off, and muttered to himself, “Pat disrespects me too much by sending this trash to guard me!”
Derek Harper gritted his teeth, not anticipating that Roger would shake him off in such a rough manner, nor expecting Roger to look so relaxed and ease under such a vicious foul.
Roger stepped to the free-throw line, succeeded the four-point play amidst the Knicks fans’ crazed booing.
Pat Riley immediately yelled, “How could you let him get open so easily?
He really hadn’t expected Roger to showcase a four-point play in his first round, Riley felt his face burning with pain.
The Knicks on offense, and Derek Harper, who had just been harshly scolded, took charge of organizing the play.
As soon as he crossed the three-point line, he was tightly pressed by Roger!
Derek Harper was not the kind of guard with particularly strong driving abilities, so Roger was not worried about getting too close and being outplayed by him.
In the face of intense confrontation, Harper had to turn his back to dribble the ball, then he haphazardly passed it to Starks.
However, Pippen had already sealed off the passing lane on his side.
The moment Harper was forced to pass, Pippen rushed out, poking the ball away directly.
Roger and Harper saw the basketball go loose and both instinctively lunged after it, scrambling for the loose ball.
A second before hitting the ground, Roger slammed into Harper with his shoulder, gaining the upper hand, then disregarded the pain as he dove to the floor, wrapped his arms around the ball, and tossed it to Kukoc, who was running up the court.
Riley had intended for Harper to use tough defense to teach Roger a lesson, but now it was Harper who was forced into making mistakes by Roger’s aggressive defense!
After passing the ball, Roger quickly got up and immediately joined the offense.
He came to a halt at the top of the three-point arc, spread his arms as if ready to receive the ball for an isolation play.
But when Harper rushed up trying to cut off the pass, Roger suddenly cut inside, shaking off Harper once again!
In the last round of the playoffs against the Hawks, Roger had already demonstrated some of the results of his training in off-ball offense.
And today, he applied all the techniques he learned from the sweat he poured into training, and from the videos he watched.
The sudden changes in rhythm and timely switches between with-ball and without-ball movements made Roger’s off-ball runs even more elusive than during the regular season.
Pippen bounced the ball to Roger, who was cutting in, but inside the Knicks’ paint area were Ewing and Oakley standing guard.
One was a ferocious center who always played with resentment.
The other, the most notorious tough guy in the NBA, a genuine ruffian.
If the Knicks’ inside game was dominated by Ewing and the outside by Starks, then Oakley dominated in being the main “hitter.”
Most players, upon seeing these two, would choose to pass the ball away frantically.
But Roger resolutely charged at the basket; Harper’s previous foul hadn’t deterred Roger; instead, it spurred him to fight even more fiercely.
First, he used a spin move to slip past Oakley, who had positioned himself too far forward, then he jumped straight up for the layup.
Ewing came at Roger without holding back, the fierce confrontation sending Roger to the ground again.
But with a “swoosh,” Ewing turned in surprise, only to see the net fluttering.
Roger, forcefully finishing the drive!
NBC commentator Bob Costas cried out excitedly, “A tough finish, and the ball still goes in!
Agent 00 roams freely in the muscle jungle of New Yorkers!”
Phil Jackson also ran excitedly to the sideline, “That’s a damn and-one!
Do people have to bleed before you blow that bloody whistle?”
Pressuring the referees was the job of the head coach, and Roger didn’t complain; he got up quickly once again, expressing his disdain for the Knicks’ style of confrontation.
Then, while retreating on defense, he pumped his fist and roared.
6 to 0, as they looked at number 14 in the red jersey, Knicks fans realized, that kid was here to fight to the death with us!
The Knicks’ muscular defense was completely unable to stop his pace!
NBC’s other commentator Steve Jones was already covered in goosebumps, “Strong offense and equally strong defense, Roger has been trying to make one thing clear to the Knicks and Pat Riley since the start of the game—he’s just like them, unafraid of blood-and-guts sportsmanship!”
Riley, looking refined, had a face contorted with gritted teeth.
During the regular season, Riley’s attitude towards Roger was one of considerable disdain.
But now he had to admit.
Roger would be another massive headache after Michael!
Thanks to the great patrons such as the Western Fixing Light Happy Buddha, the Quiet and Ugly Man, and others for their rewards, thank you all!