581: 209: No matter how many times I say it, it’s all the same!
(Asking for monthly votes!) 581: 209: No matter how many times I say it, it’s all the same!
(Asking for monthly votes!) Before the Eastern Conference Finals kicked off, the league announced the season’s biggest individual award mystery.
Roger won the MVP trophy for the second consecutive year, and the award ceremony was to be held before the start of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Karl Malone happily landed the runner-up title for MVP, while the chubby guy who always complained last season that Roger stole all the honors didn’t even make it into the top three of MVP voting.
All O’Neal could be grateful for now was that he and the Lakers had also made it to the Western Conference Finals.
Yet, they had to thank Roger for this as well, since the strategy of the Hawks against the SuperSonics, relying on three-pointers, had inspired the Lakers.
The Lakers, following the script, put forth a “One Star and Four Shooters” starting lineup with Eddie Jones, Van Exel, Robert Horry, Rick Fox, and O’Neal.
When the SuperSonics deployed their front line to clamp down on Shaq, the Lakers’ perimeter shooting went off the charts.
Eddie Jones shot a staggering 59% from the three-point line, Van Exel 42%, Horry 44%, and Rick Fox 38%.
Forced to respect the threat from beyond the arc, Shaq scored an average of 30 points per game with a 63% shooting efficiency.
It has to be said, Shaq was quite dominant in that series.
So, he still felt qualified to challenge Roger, “Everyone who watches basketball knows that the MVP isn’t necessarily the last man standing!
Don’t forget, the Hawks only won one more game than the Lakers, and that damn Gold Club indirectly helped the Hawks win at least 10 games!
By that count, Roger actually won 9 games less than me!
His MVP is just a product of media manipulation, I knew from my time with Reebok, they would use their media connections to vote for Roger!”
O’Neal’s blasts at Roger were still full force, and many in the media and fans were already fantasizing about an O’Neal vs Roger matchup in the Finals.
This was the plotline David Stern looked forward to the most.
However, Roger didn’t care much about the raging Shaq, in fact, it wasn’t Roger who was tense when Shaq mentioned the Gold Club, but Jordan, Ewing, and Mutombo, among others.
There’s no need for Roger to deal with that fatso O’Neal; his beloved number 8 “better half” would teach him a lesson in humanity all by herself.
Heaven knows if that guy would kill the game with a string of three straight misses.
Now, the Indiana Pacers were really what Roger should worry about.
Learning that Roger had become the MVP, the Pacers were actually delighted.
Mark Jackson told reporters in an interview, “Who would refuse to knock down a Most Valuable Player?
It would make our resumes look even better.”
The Indiana Pacers are now the top villains, doing everything they can to prevent what the fans most want to see, trying to prevent Roger from saving Atlanta.
The Pacers were more than happy to play the villain, and they were full of confidence in themselves.
They believed that this year was an optimal championship window for the Pacers.
The team’s lineup was championship-caliber, plus they had Bird, a rookie coach who won the Coach of the Year award.
Moreover, the Pacers won only four games less than the Hawks in the regular season and maintained an even record in their head-to-head matchups.
So, the Pacers didn’t think the Hawks were all that great.
Even some New York fans interviewed on the street felt the Pacers might break Roger’s record of “never having lost an Eastern Conference Finals in his career.”
“Yes, Roger has never lost in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Since entering the league, Roger has made the Finals each year.
But the Indiana Pacers are different; if you’ve seen their games against the Knicks, you’d know just how tough they are.”
“I know New York is missing Patrick Ewing this year, but even if he were here, he couldn’t change anything.
Maybe Patrick could make the series total score 2-4 or 3-4, but believe me, the Knicks would never win.
The Pacers are formidable, and the Hawks are more dangerous than people think.”
“Our team was easily trounced, those jerks in Indianapolis are tough as nails, and they have inherited the true essence of Pat Riley’s basketball.
The only silver lining is that Roger will come down with them.”
Of course, there were some New York fans with the opposite view.
“Damn, Reggie Miller counts for nothing, Roger is the strongest!
One day when I join the NBA, the first thing I want to do is to break that bitch Reggie Miller’s ribs!”
Kid, what’s your name?”
“I’m Ron Artest, the strongest player in New York!”
But to most people, this guy was just seen as deranged.
Most New Yorkers felt that even Roger couldn’t stop the rise of the Pacers.
Roger admitted that the next round wouldn’t be easy, Reggie Miller’s Pacers were that typical team that performs better in the playoffs than in the regular season.
The tougher the game, the stronger the Pacers became.
And the Hawks themselves were facing some troubles.
Since entering the playoffs, Pippen’s offensive performance had been seriously lackluster.
His back injury was severely affecting his shooting.
In the last round against the Hornets, Pippen only averaged 14 points per game with less than 40% shooting accuracy.
This meant he was no longer a reliable scoring option.
Fortunately, his defense was still quite impressive.
Now Pippen was hesitant, debating whether or not to take some time off.
For an athlete, nothing is more valuable than health.
Why was Pippen’s trade value so low last summer?
Because he was not healthy, because the whole league knew he needed ankle surgery.