Chapter 1123: Chapter 358: This Fire Will Burn from the United States All the Way to Athens
Roger was on the way to the Palace of Auburn Hills arena, watching an interview video of Larry Brown on the bus TV.
Then he loudly asked on the bus, "Besides me, is anyone from our team participating in the Olympics this summer?"
No one raised their hand in the bus, until Marcus Camby slowly raised his arm high.
Roger looked at him, "You got selected for the Dream Team?"
"No."
"Then what event are you participating in?"
"A good event, I’m going to watch rhythmic gymnastics."
The bus erupted in laughter, Camby had become the team’s favorite jokester ever since he fully integrated into the team.
Roger laughed too, but quickly added, "You lucky bastards, not joining Larry Brown’s team is the smartest choice you’ve made, looks like no one on this bus will experience the pain of failure this summer."
Sitting next to Roger, Dikembe Mutombo could feel the heat radiating from Roger.
And this fire would burn from the United States all the way to Athens.
Of course, Detroit would definitely be the first to be scorched.
Roger didn’t say much more afterward, he didn’t care about Larry Brown anymore.
Now, his primary target was the Detroit Pistons.
Series Game 3 was already do or die for the Warriors.
Even for Roger, he couldn’t let the series fall into a 0-3 hole.
Roger always believed that without injuries on either side, a 0-3 comeback was unrealistic.
Any thought of a 0-3 comeback was nonsense.
If you let the series score become 0-3, it can only mean you’ve failed.
Therefore, today’s game absolutely couldn’t be lost.
The League and Reebok’s crazy promotion had made this game a nationwide focus.
Tonight, Detroit hotel prices had quintupled, as numerous out-of-town visitors flocked to this old, declining industrial city just to witness this possibly historic game in person.
In the Bay Area, almost every household already had the TV turned on waiting to watch the game. If anyone went out, it was definitely on their way to a sports bar.
John Cage was among them, he didn’t have the money to specifically fly to Detroit to book a hotel and get a ticket, so he had to stay in Oakland to watch the live broadcast.
He walked into a bar, filled with familiar faces.
There, he even felt more at ease than back home. There was alcohol, and fans just like him. Most importantly, no wife was forcing him to do chores.
After finding a seat, John ordered a beer.
He quickly downed half a bottle to ease his nerves.
At that moment, someone raised a bottle and shouted, "Fuck Detroit!"
Others in the bar also raised their bottles, "Fuck Detroit!"
John Cage naturally joined in the shouting, he loved this atmosphere, and he believed this wouldn’t be a disappointing night.
On the other side, the atmosphere in Detroit was equally intense. As the Warriors arrived near the Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit fans outside booed loudly when they saw the Warriors’ bus, the noise almost shattering the windows.
Besides New York and Los Angeles, Detroit might be the city that welcomes Roger the least.
Since last season, the Pistons had almost not faced a true opponent. Although their regular-season record was always mediocre, once in the playoffs, no team could last more than six games against the Pistons.
Their only nightmare was Roger.
The shadow left from the 2002 loss still lingered over Detroit, weighing on every Pistons fan’s heart.
If the Pistons couldn’t win against the Warriors, this hatred would persist.
As the teams took the court, boos around Roger never ceased.
Both sides’ starters took their positions, Rick Carlisle nervously glanced at the Warriors’ starters, noticing they had not changed lineup, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Generally, down 0-2, a team that makes no changes is dead. Rick Carlisle thought Spoelstra would adjust their starters.
But it turned out he worried too much.
Once the players took the court, they were unusually silent, even between Roger and Big Ben, there was no words exchanged.
Under the fiery atmosphere, both teams wanted to take another step forward under the world’s gaze.
And this step was bound to be bloody.
In this situation, any communication or goodwill seemed redundant.
On the sidelines, Spoelstra frowned even before the game started.
Yes, he hadn’t adjusted the starting lineup, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t done anything.
Amar’e Stoudemire, being a high schooler, couldn’t say anything too fancy in the locker room before, but he got one thing right: "If we can just figure out a way to score four or five more goals in one game, we can take them down."
In fact, it wouldn’t take that many, the Warriors only lost the first game to the Pistons by 5 points, and the second by 6 points. Just three more goals in each game and the Warriors could have taken the Pistons.
And that’s the direction of Spoelstra’s adjustments; he wants to ensure the Warriors can score those few extra goals. His adjustments will slowly reveal themselves during the game.
As the game began, the rhythm in the first few minutes was similar to before. The Pistons unleashed an incredibly terrifying defense, and besides Roger, others’ offense was basically unreliable.
But there were some different defensive details on the Warriors’ end; starting this game, the Warriors sent Tayshaun Prince to chase Hamilton, using Allan Houston to guard Billups.