607: 216: Roger is the Champion of Fools (Seeking Monthly Votes!) 607: 216: Roger is the Champion of Fools (Seeking Monthly Votes!) Big Ben’s starting appearance tipped the balance of victory in favor of the Hawks.
Today, Karl Malone had intended to teach Big Ben a lesson, but now he had to consider whether it was worth it.
First of all, that wild hairdo definitely does not belong to a fat clown like O’Neal, who’s all brawn and no brains.
Big Ben had a vicious streak, the kind that would really go in for the kill in a fight.
Secondly, if things went too far, it would be a lose-lose situation for both Karl Malone and Big Ben.
Malone couldn’t afford to get physical with Big Ben; he had to look for sneaky opportunities to get at him.
However, Karl Malone was exactly an expert in that regard.
The inspiration for the game “Hitman 47” might have come from Malone, given his knack for making intentional harm look like an accident.
The game continued, with the Jazz taking the offensive.
Malone called for the ball on the low post, and as he turned around, he aimed his elbow at Big Ben’s head, hoping to replicate the sweet moment with David Robinson.
But Malone’s elbow ended up buried in Big Ben’s wild hairdo, causing no actual harm to Big Ben’s head!
Malone was impressed; who knew a wild hairdo could serve that purpose?
While Malone was in a daze, Pippen had already swooped in for the steal with a swift cut.
Pippen quickly passed to Roger, who easily dunked it again.
6 to 0, the Utah Jazz had a very, very bad start.
Roger began to chirp incessantly, “Karl, it’s my first time seeing a star player of a championship-contending team who couldn’t even hold onto the ball.
You’re only good for bullying trash like Shaq.”
“Shut up Agent Zero, in this game, your score is going to be zero.
No matter how many points you score, it’s all for nothing!”
Don’t you get it, Karl?
I don’t treat war as a game!
That’s the difference between you and me!”
Roger’s trash talk had just mentally wounded Malone, and soon Big Ben physically hurt him.
This time when Malone positioned himself, Big Ben gave him a solid elbow to the waist.
Most players in the league were afraid of Malone and wouldn’t dare challenge him.
But Big Ben was not afraid.
He was afraid of no one.
Even though he knew that had Malone’s elbow hit him in the head, he might have ended up like Tomjanovich.
“If you’re afraid, you lose for life.”
Many years ago, when he had brought the money earned from cutting hair to Charles Oakley’s training camp, that was the first lesson Oakley taught him.
The smaller players in the NBA who wanted to survive had all learned this lesson, so those point guards who made a name for themselves were usually tough as nails.
The Baby-Faced Assassin, Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, and John Stockton, was there anyone among them who was easy-going?
He was certainly tough too, just in a different way.
When you see Ben Simmons cheating out of money year after year because of a back injury, all you need to know is that Nash’s back issues were much worse.
With continuous injections and sheer willpower, he clinched back-to-back MVPs.
Isn’t that another kind of tough?
Big Ben and Oakley might not be small in the traditional sense, but in the paint, they faced the same situation as point guards.
They weren’t tall, so they had to be strong inside first.
After being elbowed by Big Ben, Malone’s positioning became unstable, so Stockton gave up on the idea of feeding him the ball.
Both physically and mentally battered, Malone gritted his teeth and cursed, who the hell allowed Roger and Big Ben to play on the same team!?
Stockton, abandoning the pass to Malone, started looking for Hornacek and passed the ball to him.
But what followed was “Abby’s Moment of Madness.”
The moment Hornacek caught the ball, he was swiftly cut off by Roger, who then sped up, sprinted, and finished with another beautiful slam amid Abby Hornacek’s cheering.
8 to 0, Roger put a stop to the Utah Jazz!
As the timeout whistle blew, Abby Hornacek was more excited than the Hawks players.
Jerry Sloan roared at the players as they came off the court, “Karl, you’re just being led by the nose by Ben Wallace!”
Jerry Sloan knew his star player’s mind was in disarray and had to think of a way to snap Malone out of it.
Karl Malone didn’t say a word, just clenched the towel tightly in his hands, wishing he could crush it into powder.
After taking a deep breath, Malone nodded slightly, “I’ll be careful.”
On the other side, Lenny Wilkens was encouraging Big Ben instead, “Nicely done, that’s how you handle Karl Malone!
The tougher you are, the weaker he’ll get!”
Returning from the timeout, the fierce confrontation continued.
This time Stockton squeezed past a screen and took a mid-range shot, but Stevie Smith’s tight defense made him miss.
A fierce battle ensued under the basket, with Karl Malone and Big Ben elbowing each other for position, and Kurt Thomas firmly blocking Mutombo.
In the moment the basketball fell, Big Ben forcefully bumped Malone aside and then firmly secured the rebound.
In fact, grabbing rebounds was the real significance of Big Ben’s starting role.
To have Karl Malone sitting on the ground with a loss of face was just a side effect.
If the Jazz hadn’t got so many second-chance opportunities in the last game, they certainly wouldn’t have been able to keep their 6-point lead to the end.
But Big Ben’s presence made it no longer so easy for the Jazz to snatch offensive rebounds.
Tonight, Roger finally didn’t have to worry about his efforts on defense going to waste.