349: 143: Will it be me?
(Vote for monthly tickets!) 349: 143: Will it be me?
(Vote for monthly tickets!) After a 3-0 lead, almost no one cared about the outcome of the game.
After all, it was a foregone conclusion.
Even if the SuperSonics really took one game back in G4, what would it matter?
The championship’s destiny was already sealed; it was hard to imagine the SuperSonics defeating the Magic four times in a row.
The only suspense left was whether Roger or Shaq would become this year’s FMVP.
On the day before the start of the Finals G4, almost all of the media were discussing this topic.
So far, after three games, Roger has been able to contribute an average of 33.3 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 2.6 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game.
Compared to last year’s Finals, Roger’s assists, rebounds, steals, and block numbers have all increased.
But his scoring wasn’t as high as last season’s Finals, where Roger scored 40+ in three consecutive games, eventually averaging 39 points per game.
This isn’t because Roger has declined, but because the SuperSonics’ perimeter defense is stronger than the Rockets’, yet their interior defense is not as tight as the Rockets’.
In other words, because Shaq is also powering through, Roger doesn’t need to score as much to win the game.
O’Neal is currently averaging 26.3 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.6 blocks per game.
Just by looking at the data, Shaq doesn’t seem to have the advantage.
He has more blocks than Roger, but fewer steals, and their defensive numbers are pretty much even.
Beyond that, the only real advantage for O’Neal is in rebounds.
Of course, data is not the only standard to measure a player’s performance.
But even if you set aside the data and look at the actual performance on the court, Roger still seems better.
In the first game, Shaq was slightly restricted by a fringe double-team, and it was Roger who took charge of opening up the game.
In the second game, Shaq was heavily impacted by the Hack-a-Shaq strategy, performing poorly, while Roger continued to carry the team to a narrow victory.
In the third game, Shaq got into foul trouble and it was Roger and Saru who got through the toughest third quarter.
Although Shaq came back in the fourth quarter and went on a rampage, scoring more than Roger for the only time in the series, he was notably absent during the decisive third quarter.
However, from another perspective, it was Shaq’s nuclear-threat-like presence that prevented the SuperSonics from easily double-teaming Roger, which is also part of the game’s influence.
But looking at the performances that have been reflected, Shaq has not managed to outperform Roger in any game.
Therefore, public opinion was basically in favor of Roger securing back-to-back FMVPs.
For the SuperSonics, this was a huge insult; the Finals weren’t over yet, but what everyone was concerned about was already the FMVP award.
This could only mean they were so pitifully weak that the media completely ran out of topics to discuss.
But in fact, not everyone on the Magic Team was that happy.
O’Neal, sitting in the locker room and resting, looked at the newspaper articles already awarding the FMVP to Roger and felt somewhat irked.
Shaq felt like Frodo wearing the One Ring, constantly hearing a sinister whisper out of nowhere: “You’re not even the best player on your team.”
Although this thought had vanished from his mind for a while, it now seemed to reappear like a ghost.
Just then, the locker room door was suddenly pushed open.
O’Neal, like a kid caught looking at “Playboy”, was startled and quickly folded the newspaper, hiding it in the locker.
Roger, who had just finished a few extra shooting drills and entered the locker room, looked at the extremely guilty Shaq and laughed while pointing at him, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking, you asshole Shaq.”
I wasn’t thinking, I only want the championship, I don’t care about anything else!”
Then I’ll have Cindy not bring her girlfriend over tomorrow night.
There’s a 165 cm tall, 36D single lady who will be there; since you don’t care about anything but the championship, then forget it, you can sleep with the championship trophy instead.”
“Stop pretending, for tomorrow night’s victory party, don’t tell me you only want to hang out with a bunch of dudes.
I invited Cindy, and she said she’ll bring a few friends, let’s party it up!”
O’Neal breathed a sigh of relief; he thought his innermost thoughts had really been guessed by Roger, “Alright, wait, you’re saying Cindy will bring other girls over?”
“Of course, who wouldn’t want to see our brand new championship trophy?”
“That’s awesome Roger, we’ll party until dawn tomorrow night!”
“The condition is we have to take home the championship steadily in game four, sweep them Shaq, finish them off!”
“There won’t be any accidents, Roger, as long as you and I are both on the court, everything is destined to go smoothly.”
Upon saying this, Shaq and Roger fist-bumped.
Afterward, as Roger went to the showers, O’Neal stared at his own fist, deep in thought.
He cherished his friendship with Roger, and he and Roger always spoke their minds to each other.
If either of them needed more shooting rights in a game, okay, just say it out loud.
When Roger played against Penny, he would tell Shaq, “I want to shoot more tonight.”
When Shaq faced the Admiral, he would tell Roger, “Hey man, pass me the ball more tonight.”
If O’Neal’s defense started to wander, Roger would point it out directly.
If Roger got hot and began to hog the ball for a long time, O’Neal would also speak up generously.
When Pat Riley slandered Roger in front of the media, trying to stir up discord between him and Shaq, O’Neal would call Roger right away to tell him not to overthink it, and Roger would tell Shaq why he hadn’t strongly spoken out for him in the media before.
They always spoke frankly with each other, which was a key step in becoming good friends.
But how about this matter?
How could Shaq bring it up?
“Oh, my good brother, let me get the FMVP just once, please.”