Champion Creed

In a dance that combined elegance with frenzy, Michael Jordan's last dance concluded.

In 1993, when he averaged 41 points per game to beat Flying Pig and win the championship, Michael Jordan didn't celebrate wildly, nor did he scream in passion.

He simply hid in the therapy room, where only the ESPN reporter was present, and then lit a cigar alone.

At the golden age of 30, having completed a three-peat miracle and becoming the best basketball player in the world, he was incredibly calm.

At that time, standing at the pinnacle, Michael Jordan would never have imagined that 11 years later, he would cry for playoff qualification.

To be precise, the Atlanta Hawks haven't completely secured their spot in the playoffs yet. Whether they make it depends on the results of the last game day.

Only if the Cavaliers lose on the last day will Michael Jordan safely lock in the eighth seed in the East.

But Jordan thinks that the Cleveland Cavaliers have no chance of winning on the last game day, given their opponents are the defending champion Pistons.

Indeed, the Pistons have started to rest players in the last three games, with Rick Carlisle strictly limiting the playing time of regular starters.

Yet, the defending champion's hard skills are evident here; even if the starters' time is limited, they are not easy to deal with.

Last time, didn't the Warriors, while resting players, conveniently wipe out the Cavaliers?

Some might say it was because Roger went all out to defend James, which is why the Cavaliers lost.

Does anyone really think that the stubborn Ron Artest wouldn't go all out to defend James?

Therefore, the probability of the Hawks ultimately getting the playoff spot is very high.

No matter what, Michael Jordan didn't let the playoff qualification slip out of his hands. He defeated that damn shameless bastard and pushed the Cavaliers, who originally needed just one win in the last three games to secure a playoff spot, to the edge.

He has completely burned himself out with nothing left to regret.

Jordan sat in front of his locker and calmed his emotions for a long time, while Pippen was right next to him, silently.

The two old fellows just sat there, seemingly organizing those long and chaotic memories.

The other members of the Hawks did not disturb them; everyone knew that after such an intense soul-stirring game, those two old guys indeed needed some wise time to gradually absorb.

A dozen minutes later, Pippen broke the silence between them.

"I got three rings in Chicago and four in Atlanta. Many people often overlook that my number of rings is already more than Larry Bird, more than Magic Johnson, even more than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. And now, with seven rings in hand, I feel delighted for the chance to fight into the playoffs. Can you believe it, Michael? It's just so magical."

"At least decently, Scott," Jordan's expression was very calm, repeating what he had said before the game, "At least decently."

After saying that, Michael Jordan smiled.

He was relieved, thinking he had made LeBron James pay a painful price for his backstabbing behavior.

Is missing the playoffs the price?

No, no, no, it's far more than that.

If the Cavaliers lose again to the Pistons, if James, with a three-games-win-one scenario to make the playoffs, screws everything up, the overwhelming public criticism will surely make James understand what the price is!

By then, the people at Nike and LeBron James would no longer have any excuses.

Michael Jordan, on the contrary, felt fortunate to have been traded away by the Cavaliers. Otherwise, if the Cavaliers ultimately failed to make it into the playoffs, this black pot would have to be carried by him.

Nike is now evidently determined to push James, even if it uses the former cornerstone Jordan as a stepping stone; it doesn't matter. So if Jordan was on the Cavaliers and the Cavaliers failed to make the playoffs, ultimately public opinion would certainly be like this: "LeBron tried his best, blame Michael for holding him back."

Now it's well, the whole world knows, if the Cavaliers don't make it to the playoffs, it's solely because LeBron James himself is incompetent.

After all, after Michael Jordan left, he personally got into the playoffs.

Thinking of this, Michael Jordan felt that the last season of his career didn't seem to be that unbearable.

As the second best of the 90s, he might not handle Roger, but suppressing LeBron James wasn't that hard?

On the other side, at the Cavaliers' press conference, LeBron James's mood was all over his face.

From the moment he entered the press conference, he hadn't smiled once; his expression looked like he had eaten two mating flies.

This 19-year-old boy's eyes were hollow, completely lacking the vigor of a young player.

This timeline's LeBron James is unfortunate.

In the original history, LeBron James had the support of Nike's power, whereas now Nike's influence in the league can't help him much.

In the original history, LeBron James's biggest opponent was no other than Carmelo Anthony. But now, he has to face Michael Jordan and Roger, two generations of basketball gods.

In the original history, even if LeBron James's team results were far worse than Sweet Melon's, he had Nike's promotional machine to back him up.

But now, when LeBron James is repeatedly being beaten by Roger and Michael Jordan, no one can help him cover up the facts of failure.