"Watch out, Roger."
"You too."
Reggie Miller joins the conversation: "Roger, you should have retired in the summer of 2002, then your career would have been perfect. Now, I’m going to thoroughly ruin your perfect career, and I’m more than happy to do so. I’m going to do it tonight."
"And you’re just lucky, Reggie, having a clean career, so clean it doesn’t include a single ring. Trust me, your mongrel career will be clean to the very end."
The referee is too lazy to remind them to watch their language because from 1993 to 2003, this has almost become a regular feature of Roger and Reggie Miller’s encounters, lasting for ten years. You can understand it as just their way of greeting each other.
They would always exchange some harsh words and then beat each other to a pulp during the game.
What’s the most amazing thing? The most amazing thing is that Roger and Reggie Miller hardly ever have any arguments outside the game and often even praise each other.
They are like deadly rivals, yet also like friends who appreciate each other.
But if you ask them personally, they would surely reply: "Friends? I just want to stomp his face with the sole of my shoe!"
After a simple greeting, the game begins, with Mutombo taking the first possession.
The Pacers directly use Reggie Miller to primarily guard Roger. Nowadays, Reggie Miller isn’t even considered the third offensive option for the Pacers. The top three in shot attempts within the team are Pierce, Jermaine O’Neal, and sixth man Al Harrington.
Miller is now just a spiritual leader and role shooter.
But precisely because of this, he no longer needs to conserve energy on defense.
Reggie Miller’s defense isn’t top-notch, but it’s not bad either; it’s highly aggressive and very annoying.
Of course, Roger naturally won’t be stopped by Reggie Miller. With one change of direction, he bypasses Miller, which you must admit, the 38 years have left a noticeable mark on Reggie Miller.
But just as he reaches the midrange position, Jermaine O’Neal immediately provides help defense, blocking Roger’s breakthrough.
Reggie Miller can’t solo guard any superstar, but with Jermaine O’Neal’s help defense, it’s a different story.
At this time, Jermaine O’Neal is the foundational element for the Pacers to achieve top-tier defense in the league.
At his peak, he was almost like a weakened version of Kevin Garnett on defense, mainly weakened due to not being as quick to sense steals. Otherwise, he could also deliver terrifying blocks, move quickly, and cover the entire half-court.
After being contained by Jermaine O’Neal, Roger passes the ball to Stoudemire, who moved to the midrange. Stoudemire steadily fires from midrange to score the first points for the Warriors.
Roger shakes his head at Reggie Miller: "Sorry Reggie, even your little buddy can’t save you."
Reggie Miller isn’t frustrated; instead, he’s smiling.
It seems this competition makes him feel joy.
In one play, Little O’Neal immediately returns one against Stoudemire.
Reggie Miller, as an off-ball master, always has his offensive threat underestimated.
Look at the stats, and you’ll find that Reggie Miller only had one season averaging over 22 points per game, so why does his offense always bother every team? Read full story at novel⸺fire.net
Actually, like Stephen Curry, because the off-ball threat is great, Reggie Miller can still affect defenses even when not touching the ball, keeping defenders constantly alert.
While he distracts the defense, he creates more ample offensive space for his teammates.
For example, in this Pacers’ offense, Reggie Miller runs through a screen and suddenly changes direction, pulling Tayshaun Prince, who was prepared to help cover Jermaine O’Neal, away, giving Jermaine O’Neal the chance to go one-on-one against Stoudemire.
He feigned a face-up drive but suddenly shifted to a post-up, then after a series of shoulder feints made a small hook shot to score.
Amar’e Stoudemire’s defense was flawless; the problem was Jermaine O’Neal’s skill was too versatile.
Among the top tier power forwards of this period, Kevin Garnett and Stoudemire were only face-up players, while Duncan and Rasheed Wallace, among others, clearly had stronger post-up games.
Jermaine O’Neal balanced face-up and post-up games; individually, he wasn’t the top in either, but he was undoubtedly the best at combining both.
Jermaine O’Neal score then immediately helps Reggie Miller regain face: "Sorry Roger, your little buddy can’t save you either."
With the score tied at 2-2, the game begins with both sides locked in a fierce back-and-forth battle.
As the game progresses, the scores keep alternating in the lead, with the scene becoming increasingly intense, just like the many years of battles between Reggie Miller and Roger.
In the third minute of the second quarter, Jermaine O’Neal posts up against Stoudemire in the low post. In his spin move break, Mount Mutombo raised his arms, providing support defense.
Yet Little O’Neal still chooses to attack the basket directly, using his top-notch explosive power to leap into the air, inadvertently elbowing Mount Mutombo in the face, gently throwing the ball with one hand, and scoring with a bank shot.
Mutombo walks to the sideline, spits out a tooth on the ground, and continues to run forward.
Marcus Camby shakes his head; that’s why he doesn’t want to talk to Dikembe Mutombo, that old bastard is too dumb.
What’s the point of doing this? What’s the point indeed?
Mutombo led his team to perform the only black eight miracle in NBA history (in the novel, the Knicks didn’t perform a black eight), and what happened?
When he was in Philadelphia, he played full of injuries for AI, often wrapped in bandages sitting in the locker room, and what was the result?