757: 258: For the legends of Atlanta, you must have the utmost respect (asking for monthly tickets!)_2 757: 258: For the legends of Atlanta, you must have the utmost respect (asking for monthly tickets!)_2 Bruce Levenson was involved in a variety of businesses, including healthcare, energy, mortgages, telecommunications, and news, among others.
He was a purely business-minded individual, and his willingness to take over the Hawks was solely because they were one of the most profitable teams in the NBA, and he wanted a share of the lucrative sports competition industry.
Steve Belkin, on the other hand, was the opposite of Bruce Levenson; he was a true sports fan, taking over the team out of passion and a desire for victory.
As for Bo Turner and Rutherford Seydel, they were just minor figures among the group of shareholders.
How the team would develop in the future was highly dependent on the attitudes of Steve Belkin and Bruce Levenson.
They were scheduled to meet in Los Angeles with Roger for Game 4 of the series.
Roger nodded, “I know they can’t control the overall situation, but if a shareholder meeting requires a vote on certain issues, we have at least two guaranteed votes on our side.”
“That’s right, oh, and there’s something I need to correct about what they just said.
You don’t need to retire to become Atlanta’s banner; you already are.”
Roger agreed, “As a selfless person, I also want to make Shaq the banner of Los Angeles!
The Staples Center already has enough banners flying high, so I’ll make him into a unique flag of shame!”
In the beginning stages of the game, Paul Pierce was extremely dominant, scoring 6 points in quick succession.
Phil Jackson was furious because Paul Pierce’s 6 points all came through aggressive drives to the hoop.
When he surged towards the basket, Lakers players seemed to be deliberately avoiding him as if he was coated in something unclean!
Well, it wasn’t that Pierce was unclean; his entire being was.
The shocking scene from the last game was still intimidating every Lakers player.
They were all afraid it would be their turn to be drenched head to toe.
These brutes, who could handle their girlfriends with ease, were now afraid they’d become the next ones to be filled up.
Shaq couldn’t stand it any longer and motivated his teammates during the timeout, “Hey, as someone who has been there, I can assure you, that stuff isn’t nearly as frightening as you imagine!
Do you want to be cowards, or heroes who aren’t afraid of a sh*tty threat?
We have no way out but to face the difficulties!”
O’Neal’s words convinced his teammates; after all, he had truly experienced it.
If he was no longer scared, what was there to worry about?
O’Neal was also gambling; he was betting that Pierce didn’t have any more ‘ammunition’ left in his butt!
Under Shaq’s encouragement, the Lakers began to properly defend against Pierce, and the game got back on track.
In the second quarter, Shaq continued to humiliate the Hawks’ underweight and shorter interior players.
When Shaq once again moved into the low post, primed to slam dunk, Shawn Marion arrived under the basket just in time, pressing down on Shaq together with Big Ben.
But as soon as Shaq turned around to face off with Marion, the referee’s whistle blew.
Shawn Marion, angry, yelled at the referee, “Damn it, you can’t use two different standards to officiate the game!”
The referee didn’t explain, simply raising his hand and issuing Marion a technical foul.
Marion’s outburst was not due to youthful overreaction; he had just picked up his third foul.
Moreover, two of these fouls were incredibly baffling.
He was just competing naturally against Shaq, and then the whistle would blow.
Roger calmed Marion’s emotions, preventing him from being ejected outright.
Today’s officiating was indeed abnormal; Lakers were getting fouls too easily, while it was very hard for the Hawks.
The refereeing standard was completely different; the home-court advantage was blatantly evident.
It was as if invisible hands had reached into the court and were controlling the referees’ whistles.
Without saying, it was known to whom these invisible hands belonged.
Did David Stern dislike Roger?
No, he adored him greatly; he’d always seen Roger as the greatest box office draw after Michael Jordan, viewing him as the vanguard of the NBA’s globalization strategy.
In fact, Roger had already become the league’s best ticket-seller.
There’s no need to elaborate on the Hawks’ profits; most exaggerated was the fact that every time Roger visited an away venue, that arena’s attendance would see a significant increase over the average.
But precisely because Roger was making so much money, David Stern didn’t want the Finals to end so quickly.
On one side was the most profitable basketball player, and on the other, the most profitable market.
He hoped to make some ‘minor adjustments’ in the game to see if anything could change.
With the Lakers, he had success in such endeavors.
If you’ve watched the comparing foul statistics of the first two games of the 1991 NBA Finals between the Lakers and the Bulls, you’d understand why Magic being swept in a gentlemanly manner was already fortunate.
Marion, saddled with three fouls, was forced to sit on the cold bench.
Without Marion, the Hawks’ offensive situation deteriorated once more.
The offensive black hole duo of Big Ben and Kurt Thomas made the Atlanta fans relive a nightmare; the Lakers could more boldly double-team Roger.
On the Hawks side, penetrating to the paint rarely drew fouls, so they relied more on perimeter shooting.
This reliance, however, inevitably reduced stability.
Lakers’ offense, in contrast, was much smoother, with the game occasionally interrupted by the referee’s whistle.
After three quarters, the Lakers were leading by a full 11 points.
This was the largest lead the Lakers had in the series so far.