2-in-1

After losing to the Knicks on Christmas Eve, the Trail Blazers unexpectedly lost in Boston to a team with Jordan, Thomas, Barkley, Sabonis, and Nance. They lost against the Celtics who only had Sampson.

Sampson manipulated Sabonis like plasticine in that game.

His dominance lasted the entire game, finishing with 66 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 blocks.

Even if Sampson performs like this, without the help of his teammates, it will be difficult to defeat the Trail Blazers.

Billy Owens provided maximum help, recording a triple-double of 26 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists.

If the Blazers perform normally, even if Sampson performs like this and Owens performs at a super level, the two sides will still be in a 50-50 matchup.

But in the end the Blazers lost by 12 points.

"This team is starting to get toxic."

Bill Laimbeer said it to the point.

He concluded that there was a problem in the Trail Blazers' locker room, and Riley's control over the team was no longer what it once was.

And this judgment is not unfounded.

Riley used high-pressure tactics in Portland.

He wants the players to feel tremendous pressure and at the same time brings an unbearable amount of training.

Barkley complained endlessly. He persisted for two years but gained nothing.

Now he couldn't hold on any longer.

Riley's words no longer work. Barkley's self-management ability is his number one problem in reaching the highest level.

He is not the kind of person Jordan would endure anything to win.

And this is precisely where Riley, Jordan and Barkley differ.

Barkley and Jordan used to be die-hard buddies, but now their relationship has cracked.

Jordan repeatedly emphasized the need to work harder, but this determination is not seen in Barkley.

The Christmas War brings up all the problems.

The Blazers took a turn for the worse and lost consecutive games.

On the Knicks side, there are no problems either.

The contract extensions of Louis and Wilson have never been finalized, and the future of the team is uncertain.

At the player level, the conflicts in the past have been eliminated this season.

Because of Ewing's growth, and because of Wilson's deliberate avoidance, a new balance emerged.

But the problems of individual players cannot be completely eradicated.

For example, Muhammad Rauf, whose faith has always been a sensitive area within the Knicks.

Everyone knows that place is untouchable, but fans don't think so.

Rauf may be the only Knicks player who is not popular in New York.

Rauf was most criticized for his disdain for pre-match rituals last season.

When the superstars that MSG paid a lot of money to come on stage to sing the American national anthem, Rauf was either not present, stayed in the locker room, or stood in the corridor waiting for the ceremony to end.

Therefore, some fans insulted Raouf as a coward.

He didn't even dare to look at the Stars and Stripes.

There were more and more voices like this, which made Rauf make a decision.

January 12, 1994

This is a special game, the second game of the season between the Knicks and the Magic.

Ewing, O'Neal, Kemp, Webb, this will definitely be an extremely bloody internal hand-to-hand battle.

The garden was full, and all the seats in the front row were occupied. Even Louis, who had not appeared at MSG for many days, came to the scene with his family.

Before the opening scene, the camera specifically showed Louis.

Louis' daughter seemed to dislike the atmosphere at the scene and clamored to go home, but was hugged hard by her father.

Then, Louis probably told a joke to make his daughter laugh.

"If the leader renews his contract with the team, I am willing to help him coax his daughter for free." Knicks star Walter Frazier joked.

Angie then said: "Then you have to work hard, Clyde, Coach Lu's daughter is the smartest child I have ever seen, and she is not that easy to coax."

In this happy atmosphere, Rauf decided to do something big.

In fact, when Louis saw Rauf among the players on the Knicks court, he felt that something was wrong.

The opening ceremony is about to begin, and Rauf usually finds an excuse to get out of the way at this time.

But he's still on the field.

Has he figured it out, or has he lost track of time? Or, is he planning to do something?

The person in charge of singing the national anthem tonight is the queen of rock and roll, Tina Turner. However, although she is famous, Louis only knows her because she had a fight with her husband.

As a man, her husband finally lived up to the physical structure given by the Creator that is more conducive to fighting. He had an absolute advantage in points and undoubtedly defended the dignity of men. But it would be great if he could not defend his dignity by beating women.

.

At this time, Louis didn't care at all about Tina's severely fat figure. He just wanted to know what Rauf was going to do.

He also wanted to rush down to the field to remind Rudy.

But he cannot do this in his current status.

Moreover, the most sacred moment of the national anthem ceremony has begun.

Everyone must stand up and must not move without permission, even Louis, a foreigner.

Tina sang loudly, while Rauf lined up with his teammates.

"Oh, you can see the first ray of light at dawn!"

The high level of singing is always a great pleasure for the audience, and patriotism can be seen spreading among the Americans who are proudly paying attention.

"What makes us so proud and cheering at the last light?"

There is only one American who has no pride on his face.

Unfortunately, that person is Rauf.

He put his hands on his waist, and Stockton behind him had a look of horror on his face: "What the hell are you doing?"

His hands extended downward, and his body slowly sank.

"Stop!" Stockton's roar attracted the attention of the person in front of Rauf.

Reggie Williams turned around like he saw a ghost: "Damn, what are you doing?"

He didn't do anything, Rauf just felt that he had to do what he should do.

He has to show an attitude.

"Oh, that Star-Spangled Banner is still flying high, isn't it?

Flying in this land of freedom, in this home of the brave!"

At this moment, Mohammed Abdul-Rauf sat down.

In this land that claims to be free, in this country that advocates individual heroism, Rauf has used an irreversible way to let everyone understand that he does not care about the bad song that Tina Turner is singing.

He also doesn't care what others think of him.

He can do whatever he wants.

"You're going to fucking kill us!" Stockton roared irrationally.

Rauf closed his eyes, the corners of his mouth were trembling, and his shoulders kept twitching.

He can't control his mood, just like he can't control other things. The only thing he can control is his own will.

Just when the whole audience was in an uproar, Louis turned around indifferently and left the scene.

From that point on, no one cared about the game.

Rauf's behavior began to be discussed, from fans to commentators.

"This is an unforgivable move," NBC announcer Marv Albert said.

Rauf made the game awkward, and the Knicks fans at the scene didn't know whether to support their team.

His teammates were also at a loss.

The whole game was shrouded in a weird atmosphere.

In the end, the Knicks won.

The dedicated Wilson and Ewing showed their prowess, one dominated the outside and the other dominated the inside, making the Magic's geniuses suffer in the away game.

After winning the game, Ewing didn't feel relaxed at all.

Because he knows the real trouble lies behind.

"Patrick, what do you think of Mohamed Abdul-Rauf's disrespectful behavior towards the flag?"

At this time, playing dumb is Ewing's only way to avoid taking a stand.

"I don't know. I'll figure it out and then I'll have the answer."
To be continued...