575: 207: This is the All-Star weekend of God (Seeking monthly pass!) 575: 207: This is the All-Star weekend of God (Seeking monthly pass!) The Seattle SuperSonics let the other teams in the West really feel the fury of a savior.
Gary Payton completely became Roger’s plaything, just like Shaq toyed with Ewing, just like Jordan toyed with Drexler.
And, the more honors Payton acquired, the more they served to highlight Roger.
The more All-Defensive Team selections he got, the more it showed how strong Roger was.
In the following games, while the SuperSonics were determined to double-team Roger, they also increased their defensive rotations on the three-point line, causing the Hawks’ three-pointers to start missing the mark.
It must be said, the shooting ability of role players from this era was indeed lacking.
Even a slight disturbance could cause a significant fluctuation in their shooting percentage.
In Roger’s opinion, only Stevie Smith’s shooting could approach the level of players from the second decade of the 21st century.
However, the Hawks weren’t a team that solely relied on their three-point shooting touch; what was truly terrifying about them was their defense.
Roger locked down Schrempf, and though Pippen wasn’t shooting well, he tried his best to suppress Payton.
The SuperSonics only had Vin Baker as a stable scoring option.
Of course, a single scoring point could also win the game, provided that scoring point could go 40+ or even 50+ at the drop of a hat like Roger and Jordan.
Vin Baker obviously didn’t have such capability.
116 to 99, the Hawks beautifully crushed a strong team from the West.
With a grand double-double of 41 points and 14 assists, Roger made Payton’s 17+7 look worthless.
This was the third time in Roger’s professional career that he had put up 40+10 stats; the first time was last season’s regular-game against the Jazz, and the second time was earlier against Reggie Miller when he went 50+10.
As Roger improved in combining scoring and passing, such exaggerated numbers began to appear more frequently.
Since 1984, the NBA players who have managed five or more 40+10 assist games are only three: Larry Bird, Michael Adams, and, of course, Michael Jordan.
“I have reason to believe Roger will be the fourth, and his legendary career is becoming greater and greater,” Bill Walton said.
In fact, if Roger wished to do so more often, getting five 40+10 assist games would be quite easy.
But that wasn’t Roger’s style.
Beyond crushing the SuperSonics and racking up 40+10 stats, the game brought an unexpected gain—making O’Neal, who had never beaten the SuperSonics, even more embarrassed.
After Shaq left Roger, he hadn’t won against the SuperSonics once, but Roger seemed unaffected after leaving Shaq.
In the competition between Shaq and Roger, one side had already taken the lead.
Gary Payton walked off the court dejectedly, the most arrogant and haughty player in the league always had to lower his proud head whenever he met Roger.
Hannah Storm approached Roger, and even she felt, there was a shining halo around Roger.
“Roger, do you think this game can bring confidence to the fans in Georgia?”
“Of course, I’ve never thought we were any worse than the teams in the West.
We have lost some games to Western teams, and I won’t say any defeat is justified.
But a few regular-season losses aren’t enough to define whether we can achieve ultimate success.
Today, we proved that point.”
“What does it feel like to be a savior?”
“Honestly, I’m more curious about how Shaq feels being disliked by Los Angeles fans.”
The last sentence became the defining moment of the game.
Hurting Payton wasn’t satisfying enough for Roger.
After taking the opportunity to mention Shaq, Roger finally felt at ease.
At the end of this game, the Hawks’ record was 38 wins and 11 losses, leading the East by a comfortable margin as they entered the All-Star Weekend.
This battle firmly established Roger’s persona as a savior.
By now his influence in Georgia was unmatched.
Whether it was Falcons star running back Jamal Anderson or “Mad Dog” Maddux of the Warriors, they all faded into obscurity.
This city was completely under Roger’s control.
Walking on the streets of Atlanta, many people were wearing T-shirts that read “One team, one city, one goal.”
In the local courts, fifty percent were wearing Roger’s No.
14 jersey and signature shoes, the other fifty percent were either unable to afford them or hadn’t managed to get one.
The local radio spent half the time talking about Roger.
The basketball atmosphere in Atlanta became incredibly intense; even the rundown Georgia Dome seemed vibrant.
Yet, Roger’s influence wasn’t limited to Georgia.
This year’s All-Star Weekend fully reflected Roger’s current status in the league.
This year, Roger was undoubtedly voted as an All-Star starter again, and he became the sole top vote-getter for the All-Star game.
With Jordan retired and fans’ novelty interest in Grant Hill fading, Roger had no competition in voting, as he was the only player to receive over a million votes.
The promotion for All-Star Weekend was mostly centered around Roger.
On the night of the All-Star Three-Point Contest, Roger was just sitting courtside, but he got as much camera time as the competitors themselves.
When Jeff Hornacek held up the Three-Point Contest trophy, even the question reporters asked him was about Roger:
“Do you think you could have won if Roger had participated?”
On February 8th, the day of the All-Star game, Roger was the center of attention.
When he stepped off the bus, he was the only one surrounded by several cameras following his every move.