853: 284: Even many years later, this sound will still resonate in history (Vote for the monthly ticket!) 853: 284: Even many years later, this sound will still resonate in history (Vote for the monthly ticket!) If the Hawks win, he can certainly get a Championship Ring too.
But that’s not the championship ending Hornacek wanted.
Roger looked towards the player tunnel, it seemed like he heard someone cursing.
This wasn’t Roger’s first time experiencing something ; Scottie Pippen had once been out for the season due to a back injury.
No one wants to go through that, but it’s part of competitive sports.
Roger didn’t know if Jeff Hornacek could still play, didn’t know if he was seriously injured.
Even though he said he’d be back in two minutes, his painful expression just now suggested this might be wishful thinking.
Roger wished he could rush back to the locker room to find out what was going on, but as a team leader, he couldn’t just leave his post.
Lenny Wilkens was in the same situation; he cared about Hornacek, but he had to continue making decisions.
Now, he had three choices: increase Pippen’s playtime, increase Bowen’s playtime.
Or activate the guy who’s only shown up during garbage time in the first round of the playoffs so far.
The first two choices were less risky, just that Pippen and Bowen might underperform in the fourth quarter due to physical reasons.
But the payoff wasn’t great either, as their presence would limit Roger’s space.
Pippen’s shooting was unstable and Bowen couldn’t handle interference; they couldn’t provide enough deterrence, which would lead to Roger being double-teamed.
Playing off the ball?
That was a solution last season, but this season Grant Hill and Kobe have been taking turns defending Roger, making receiving the ball increasingly difficult.
Purely playing off the ball would be limited, as Roger couldn’t guarantee he’d get the ball comfortably every possession.
Right now, Roger’s most efficient offensive method was isolating with the ball.
Tonight he was in good form, and Wilkens wanted to use a steadier shooter to space the floor for Roger, allowing him to fire at will.
So the third choice, putting Michael Reed into the game, carried high risk and high reward.
Perhaps not all coaches would bench the second overall pick like Larry Brown, but most wouldn’t heavily use a second-round pick in the Finals.
Michael Reed’s improvement this season was remarkable, literally unbelievable.
Few players can improve their long-range shooting in such a short time, even with dedicated effort.
And Reed’s improvement wasn’t just in shooting; his defense improved rapidly too.
If he could replace Hornacek in attracting defense, Roger’s isolation could continuously bomb the Lakers.
But could Michael Reed handle the intensity of the Finals?
Was he ready to take on responsibility?
Last year this guy was playing NCAA, and now he’s in the NBA Finals.
Lenny Wilkens had to consider this: many people’s first times aren’t beautiful, more often than not they end in disaster.
Now it’s the decisive battle, deciding whether the Lakers or Hawks would get the advantage.
Lenny Wilkens’ substitution could determine the outcome of tonight and possibly the entire series.
His pressure was no less than that of the players on the court.
Lenny Wilkens didn’t have much time to hesitate, as the referee was already urging him to make a substitution and continue the game.
At the moment of decision, Lenny Wilkens felt he must be insane.
“Michael, hurry up and take off that damn warm-up suit, you’re going in!”
No, if this substitution led the Hawks to win the 2001 Finals decisive battle, it couldn’t be called a gamble, but rather a perfect strategy remembered by the world!
Summoned, Michael Reed was stunned for a second but soon stood up and quickly took off his warm-up suit.
Finally, the moment had come!
Lenny Wilkens thought Reed would be nervous, but Reed was incredibly calm inside.
“Fear is the worst thing; when I’m full of courage, I feel there’s nothing in this world that can’t be overcome.”
This was something his mother told him in the car six months ago, and it kept Michael Reed persevering and eventually rewarded him.
Of course, what kept him so calm wasn’t just these words.
It’s also because the Atlanta Hawks don’t have small men!
So what if he’s a second-round pick?
I can still beat the Lakers with Roger!
Roger glanced at Reed; over the past season, he occasionally practiced extra with him and watched videos together.
So he knew exactly what Reed was capable of.
The only thing that could limit him was his own mind.
Will he be troubled by this?
Roger didn’t deliberately talk to Reed, nor did he deliberately pat him on the shoulder, telling him “You can do it.”
If it had been five or six years ago, Roger might have done that, or even grabbed Reed by the collar: “Rookie, you better not screw this up!”
But now Roger knew that this kind of self-righteous “leadership” was useless and would only add to Reed’s pressure.
So Roger just cast a firm gaze across his teammates and then said a very simple thing: “Alright guys, we need to do something.”
When people saw Michael Reed playing in the Finals for the first time, Magic was amazed by Lenny Wilkens’ boldness: “This substitution might elevate his coaching career, or it could ruin his reputation forever!”
Phil Jackson relaxed quite a bit; he hadn’t felt this relaxed any minute since the Finals began.