535: 194: We might be even more outrageous than them (Votes for monthly ticket!)_3 535: 194: We might be even more outrageous than them (Votes for monthly ticket!)_3 There’s not much to say about this game; T-Mac only scored 7 points, and the Magic were powerless to resist.
Even so, T-Mac’s impressive physique and fluid playing style still filled Orlando fans with hope.
But no matter how hopeful, it couldn’t hide their longing for Roger.
After the game ended, countless Orlando fans wearing Magic’s number 14 jerseys sobbed in the stands, “We once had the best player in the league!”
But what could they do?
They could only wish Roger the best in Atlanta.
On November 4th against the Pistons, Grant Hill was completely shut down by the Hawks’ fatal front line.
He shot 5 out of 20 and only managed to score 14 points with a 25% shooting percentage.
Grant Hill’s first step is indeed fast, so fast that even Pippen struggles to contain him.
But facing the Hawks, getting past Pippen is just the first step.
Roger, Stevie Smith, Alan Henderson, and even Kurt Thomas playing center would quickly erect a second and third line of defense behind Pippen.
For the inconsistent shooter Grant Hill, it was a hellish defense.
Because Grant Hill was contained, the Pistons ultimately lost by 26 points to the Hawks, 71 to 97.
Adding up the first three games of the new season, the Hawks had a net victory of 72 points over their opponents!
The Hawks’ performance was revolutionary, as they played the league’s top defense without any tall center.
Even the originators of the forward pinch from the SuperSonics were not so extreme.
George Karl would always have at least one center over 210cm in the rotation each year, and don’t forget, in the summer of ’97, they sought to bring in the 216cm tall center Jim McIlvaine, which indirectly led to the departure of Reign Man Kemp to Cleveland.
So, the Hawks’ lineup was even more extreme than the SuperSonics; they really didn’t want any big men.
At first, Lenny Wilkens himself had a hard time accepting this unconventional lineup; he was even prepared to take the fall.
After all, if the team had a poor start, someone would have to be held accountable.
But the team simply dominated the first three games.
This lineup was a nightmare for perimeter attackers, especially for those who weren’t stable with their mid-to-long range jump shots.
And this year, everyone’s long shots were collectively off because the NBA had moved the three-point line back to its original distance of 7.25 meters for the season.
This change had a significant impact.
Roger’s memories from his previous life told him that after the three-point line was moved back in the 97-98 season, the leaderboard didn’t feature a player with over 200 three-pointers in a single season, and the number of players with over 100 threes also dropped to just 32.
Therefore, in this season with weakened long-range shooting, it was great news for the Hawks’ pseudo-zone defense.
“I think our defense can stop anything,” Lenny Wilkens told reporters at the press conference after defeating the Pistons.
He wasn’t boasting, because soon, a tragedy similar to Grant Hill’s befell the more capable scorer Allen Iverson.
On November 5th, in the fourth game of the season, the Hawks hosted the Philadelphia 76ers at home.
Even though this Philadelphia native was fast as lightning, his breakthroughs were still miserably contained by the Hawks’ frontline, forcing him to seek attempts from the outside.
But in the end, AI only managed to hit 1 out of 6 from beyond the three-point line, or as Big Ben would say, “Ha ha, he tried so hard, but he couldn’t even touch our defense!”
Roger, puzzled on the bench, glanced at Big Ben, wondering what odd metaphor that was.
well, it could be saved for future use against Shaq.
As for Philadelphia’s own Jerry Stackhouse, his three-point performance was slightly better than AI’s, 2 out of 7.
A worthy rival in Roger’s life.
Today, the best performance surprisingly came from Christian Laettner, who had been traded away by the Hawks in the off-season; he scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for a double-double, making 7 out of 13 shots.
His performance even surpassed that of the 1990 first overall pick Derrick Coleman, who, having ballooned into a chocolate ball, only had 9 points and 6 rebounds for the entire game.
Originally, the 76ers traded for Laettner because they were impressed with his immediate combat ability.
However, it turned out that while Laettner did have immediate combat ability, it was not as impressive as Larry Brown had hoped.
Up to this point since the start of the new season, the 76ers had yet to win a game.
Meanwhile, the Hawks had already secured four straight wins since the beginning of the season.
Roger’s new empire in Atlanta was gradually expanding its territory.
After the game with the 76ers, Pete Babcock congratulated Roger outside the locker room.
Roger wasn’t too excited because the 76ers didn’t really count as opponents.
He felt Babcock must also be aware of this.
So, there had to be another reason for him coming to see Roger.
Sure enough, after exchanging pleasantries, he handed Roger a list, “Roger, if you have time, you could take a look at this.”
Roger flipped it open to see that it was a predictive list for the ’98 draft.
“Pete, I didn’t expect you to take such an interest in the late first round draft picks.”
No, no, no, we have a chance at a lottery pick next season!”
“Huh?” Roger was a bit puzzled, you don’t trust me that much, do you?
“Oh, you might not have noticed.
We swapped our ’98 first-round pick with the Philadelphia 76ers in the trade involving T-Mac.
So, I’m not distrusting you, I’m putting my trust in Philadelphia,” Babcock joked, a joke Larry Brown would surely kill him for if he heard.