744: 255: He could really fart in Shaq’s face, making him doubt his life (ask for monthly tickets!) 744: 255: He could really fart in Shaq’s face, making him doubt his life (ask for monthly tickets!) The Hawks continued their dominance over the Lakers, securing their 12th consecutive playoff victory.
Since April began, Atlanta fans had no idea what it felt like to lose.
From Ray Allen to AI to the Heat, the Hawks did not just win the series, they didn’t let any team triumph over them.
A question was raised: could the Hawks be defeated in the playoffs?
It was a fairly serious question.
If the Hawks kept winning in battle after battle and remained undefeated in the finals, they would make history.
A history that would shake the entire NBA.
You see, even in the era when the league had no more than ten teams and only two rounds were needed to win the championship, no one had swept the playoffs.
Now, with four rounds in the playoffs, a clean sweep was even more of a pipe dream.
Indeed, the only teams that had won the championship with two or fewer losses were the ’89 Pistons and the ’91 Bulls.
That’s why an undefeated playoff run was a great accomplishment.
If a team could secure 72 wins in the regular season and remain undefeated in the playoffs, they would undoubtedly deserve to be called the most dominant team in the history of North American sports.
Of course, it was too early to talk about a perfect record.
Although the Lakers lost by double digits in the last game, they did not crumble like previous opponents.
The real lead was made in the final moments by Paul Pierce’s succession of three-pointers
Moreover, it’s worth noting that Pierce’s three three-pointers were not chance shots; they were made under tough defense.
That is, the Lakers were still defending diligently in the final moments, they hadn’t surrendered, it was just that Pierce had overwhelmed the Lakers’ excellent defense with his personal skill.
In Phil Jackson’s and most attentive fans’ view, this couldn’t be considered a rout.
So in Game 2, both sides still had a battle to fight, and the outcome was not yet sealed.
After Game 1, the fervor for the finals rose even higher.
Because this wasn’t a boring round in the finals, both the Lakers and Hawks had excellent defenses, but both teams also had exceptionally talented stars, so the offensive breakthroughs were incredibly captivating.
Just one game naturally couldn’t satisfy the fans’ appetites, and the hype for Game 2 was even higher than for Game 1.
The day before Game 2 started, many TV stations produced special programs on the finals.
ESPN had brought in Andy Li, a high-school classmate of Roger’s now a commercial director, for an interview show.
Of course, they didn’t want to interview him about how to take captivating photos of models, but rather to talk about Roger’s high school days.
It’s normal for a player’s high school classmates to become frequent guests on TV shows once the player becomes famous.
In this episode, people learned for the first time that Andrae Patterson, now serving as Roger’s bodyguard, almost became an insurmountable obstacle in Roger’s basketball career back then.
“From freshman to junior year, Roger never made the basketball team.
It seemed quite normal, an Asian face, no towering height above two meters, no robust muscles—Roger only started bulking up after entering the NBA, check his rookie season photos if you don’t believe.
Such a person, it seems, just isn’t cut out for basketball.
I don’t even want to talk about how viciously Andrae bullied Roger in high school; I’m afraid it might affect their teammates’ feelings, hahaha.
No mistake, Roger really made his name in his senior year, dominating all of America’s top ten prospects within a year, rising rapidly like a rocket launching.
But his success wasn’t due to a stroke of luck; those days he was rejected from the team, those days he was looked down upon, he still practiced tirelessly day and night.
I don’t know if anyone has ever filmed the room where Roger lived in high school, but the walls were covered with pages of tactics and training plans, all handwritten by Roger himself.”
Speaking of this, Andy Li deliberately paused, then earnestly added, “At that time, I knew one thing clearly—the wolves cannot be trapped.”
“So I told him, ‘I believe in you, one day you will make a name for yourself, become a professional player.'”
Andy Li showcased his bragging skills brilliantly because when he heard Roger was going to try out for the basketball team again, he actually advised Roger that playing basketball might not be as promising as going into business.
Well, a bit of artistic embellishment in such stories is quite necessary.
The story of a poor basketball player fighting against fate from high school fits perfectly with the identity of an inspiring sports star, and it’s the kind of narrative that the league and Reebok love to promote.
Of course, most of the story’s content remains true.
Andy Li’s interview allowed fans to understand Roger more deeply and made them even more eager for the next game.
They hoped that this incredibly inspiring legend could continue.
The finals for Game 2 officially kicked off on June 9.
Countless American families turned on their TVs, waiting to witness the entire process of this epic battle.
Indisputably, the era of live broadcasting allowed players like Roger and Jordan to benefit immensely.
Unlike Jabbar, when live broadcasting began to prevail in the NBA, he was playing the most embarrassing last six seasons of his career.
Few witnessed his true glory; most fans could only see him struggle for rebounds, get outplayed by Moses Malone, slowly move and slow down the Lakers’ brilliant Showtime, losing his hair and gaining age spots on TV.
But Roger and Jordan wouldn’t face such an issue; they built their magnificence under the watchful eyes of many, and their influence was unparalleled.