So I am the god of basketball?

Chapter 104 He wished me good morning, good afternoon, and good night!

What is it like to be a precise pitcher with an elusive passing ability?

Just look at Bob Hill scratching his head on the sidelines.

He kept pacing back and forth and paused to shout four or five times, but it had no obvious effect.

I could only watch as the Magic continued to widen the point difference with Meng Lang's shooting and passing.

The Spurs' wing defense simply couldn't keep up with Meng Lang's off-the-ball movement. In the case of losing, Rodman's supplementary defense is supposed to limit Meng Lang's shooting. But for some reason, Meng Lang, who usually has enough passing threats, his passing in this game was even more sharp.

All kinds of hard-to-prevent passes and pass fakes made Rodman, who was defending, gradually become more defensive.

This was originally a "strong showdown" between the No. 1 player in the Eastern Conference and the No. 1 player in the Western Conference, and the referee did not interfere in any way, and the penalties for both sides were very fair. Not to mention how anxious this game will be, at least there will be sparks of confrontation between strong teams.

But as a result, at the beginning of the game, the Magic quickly took the initiative thanks to the performance of Shaquille O'Neal. The Spurs' change of formation allowed Rodman to defend Shaq to a certain extent. During that time, the two sides played hard. The situation was anxious, but it only lasted less than 1 minute. With Meng Lang's performance, the Spurs once again fell into a passive situation, and this time they were passive and never adjusted.

The score difference became wider and wider, and eventually turned into a crushing game with a score difference of more than double digits.

118 to 103, the Spurs played their usual rhythm and scored 103 points, which is not far behind their average of 106.6 points per game so far, but their defense is not as good as usual. Especially when it came to cutting off Meng Lang, they did a terrible job.

Finally ushered in a 15-point defeat.

Bob Hill said bluntly after the game: "Dream did a great job. We lost because we couldn't limit him! He seemed to have scored more than 20 points and a dozen assists. When he played like this , I don’t think any team in this league can stop them!”

Hill's words are actually a bit exaggerated. Meng Lang's final statistics were 24 points and 9 assists.

The reason why Hill feels that he has a lot of assists is mainly because every pass he makes directly or indirectly helps the team score. In other words, although some passes are not recorded as assists, they are still counted. He threatened to pass the ball, tearing apart the opponent's defense, allowing the next "setter" to help his teammates gain offensive space.

Shaquille O'Neal had a great time dunking tonight anyway, and for the first time in a long time, he ran over to hug Meng Lang as soon as the game ended. He scored 32 points and 14 rebounds tonight. Among Meng Lang's 9 passes, at least four or five were passed to him for dunks.

And the pass that indirectly helps him complete the dunk is even more!

At least at this moment, he forgot about the "boss dispute" between him and Meng Lang. He truly felt that he and Meng Lang were so compatible!

Meng Lang didn't know what he was thinking at the moment, but if he knew what the "big shark" was thinking at the moment, he would definitely complain:

You may still not understand how good your own life is!

You know, with some outside core partners, they are obviously the ball-holding No. 4 core, but they cooperate with him to become a "space-based No. 4"; they are obviously low-post heavy-working No. 5, but they cooperate with him to become a "Space-based No. 4" "Space-type No. 5"; the most perverted thing is that a "Space-type No. 4" really cooperated with him, and he made them into a "weight-increasing No. 5"!

In short, any inside player who cooperates with him will not be able to play in the way he is most comfortable with.

And what about Shaquille O'Neal?

Without playing the "triangle offense", Meng Lang was stunned to allow him to gain so much space under the basket... Do you think the "big shark" may clearly understand how good his fate is?

"A softie is a softie. Such a guy will never lead the team to a championship!" After the game, Shaquille O'Neal continued to blast David Robinson.

"The Admiral"'s statistics tonight were 19 points and 9 rebounds, which was much worse than usual, and even more incomparable with Shaquille O'Neal.

It can be said that Shaquille O'Neal won both games and people tonight.

Extremely proud.

Compared to him, David Robinson naturally sat lifelessly in front of the microphone, answering questions one after another in a short and low tone. Finally, when a reporter asked why the Spurs lost, he said: "I didn't perform as well as I should have. This is the most critical reason why we lost."

Still took the responsibility for the team's loss.

Rodman also played the standard "Rodman statistics" of 4 points and 15 rebounds in his first game of the new season, but he looked at the reporters interviewing him fiercely, as if he was warning them in this way. Help reporters:

It’s a little bit tricky, don’t ask if you shouldn’t ask!

But after the reporters got over their emotions, they still asked him the question he least wanted to hear: "In this game, the Spurs arranged for you to cover Dream, but judging from the final result, it didn't work very well. As a result, do you think the main reason why the Spurs lost this game is because your help defense did not put enough pressure on him, which caused the Spurs' defense to collapse."

In fact, these reporters all know that the three most important reasons for the Spurs' defeat must have nothing to do with Rodman. But if they don't stimulate Rodman so much, how can they come up with exciting stunts?

Rodman's eyes became like those of a poisonous snake whose venom has been quenched, and he stared at the reporter who asked the question, as if to say:

Okay, good, boy, I remember you, don’t give me a chance!

The reporter who asked the question urged him to answer his question. Rodman, who couldn't avoid it, said: "This is my first game of the new season. My state has not been adjusted to the best state yet, and you can't deny that my The defensive task is not just to cover that guy, I also need to fight Shaquille O'Neal in the paint, which is not an easy thing, I can perform better, but it takes time!"

In the end, Rodman's calmness made the reporters slightly stunned. They didn't think Rodman would lose his composure, and then yelled. But what I didn't expect was that this guy answered the question in such a calm tone.

"Big Chong" has no choice. He is very clear about his current situation. This is his contract year. He can no longer do anything recklessly, which will prevent him from getting the next contract.

The only thing Rodman is afraid of is:

His life returned to before entering the NBA. He did not want to return to the slums, so he was unwilling to end his career so soon.

Popovich's harshness made him realize that if he continued to do things casually, the hard-earned opportunity to lift the ban would disappear immediately. He can't cause any more trouble.

The Spurs actively prepared for this game, but ultimately returned to San Antonio with a more than ten-point defeat.

Meng Lang's performance in this game once again aroused heated discussion in the media.

If in the previous games, his passing was like "Big Bird", then in this game, his passing was really exactly like "Big Bird". The classic "pass fake" to trick the defender, and then use the shot to score points on the opponent's head, can also be regarded as a very iconic scoring performance of Larry Bird.

And tonight Meng Lang did something similar.

Moreover, the name of the person he was teasing was:

Dennis Rodman!

This pass also became the second among the "Top 10 NBA Balls of the Day", second only to Pippen's dunk on Karl Malone.

Regarding his passing becoming more and more like Larry Bird, Meng Lang's answer was: "Recently I have been watching Larry's videos and my own game replays, looking for the differences, so I have another Some insights!”

"You seem to have learned Larry's one-handed swing?"

"Yes, I tried to practice for a while, but I didn't expect that I could actually practice it... I was also surprised myself!"

Reporters: "..."

I tried practicing for a while, but I didn’t expect that I actually got it right?

Listen, is this human language?

In addition, this huge victory over the No. 1 player in the Western Conference gave most media a new understanding of the power of this Magic team!

They didn't just sweep the entire Eastern Conference, they could even defeat the No. 1 player in the Western Conference with ease!

No wonder...

Originally, the combination of Hardaway, Meng Lang and Shaq had already won the championship in June. Now Meng Lang's passing has become even better, and the addition of "Cobra" has made the Magic's fourth position no longer the same. "The shortest board".

For such a team, in the NBA without Michael Jordan, it is normal for a team to reach "supermodel"!

But at the beginning, no one expected that Meng Lang would "evolve" his passing ability first when he scored a goal!

This makes this team more fit.

A very scary number. In this game with the Spurs, the average shooting percentage of the "lv" combination was around 55%. With Grant included, it was even more than 55%!

A team's core lineup has such offensive efficiency.

What kind of defense can't they beat?

On December 12, after easily defeating the weak Clippers at home, the Magic faced another blockbuster battle, facing Barkley's Suns.

The Suns still maintain a strong momentum this season and are currently ranked third in the Western Conference.

Second only to the Spurs and Jazz.

Like the Magic, the Suns are also a very fierce team. They averaged 110 points per game this season. There are as many as 2 players in the team who have scored more than 7 figures. If you include players with more than 7 points, Then this number can come to 9 digits.

In terms of "more flowers" alone, the Magic would have to be defeated.

From the outside world, this game is a test for the Magic.

This time the media guessed correctly. The Magic played really hard in this game, and the level of stalemate far exceeded that of the game against the Spurs.

Suns head coach Paul Westphal had a different approach to the arrangement of this game. I don’t know if he felt that he couldn’t limit the Magic’s offense. In this game, he didn’t do anything special about the Magic’s offense. Defensively targeted.

If you, Shaquille O'Neal, want to "turn the clouds and rain" under the basket, then let you "turn the clouds and the rain"; you, Meng Lang, play like Larry Bird, and I will show you the stage; not to mention Hardaway, you can break out if you want. , you can pass it if you want, if I double-team you, I will take your last name Anfernee...

The Suns' main focus tonight was on individual offense.

The several timeouts Westphal called were all to adjust the team's offense.

Facts have proved that his idea is undoubtedly successful. The powerful energy displayed by the Magic on the offensive end has not been resisted by any team so far. The Suns are not a very good defensive team. They concede 106 points per game. It is undoubtedly unrealistic to expect such a defense to limit the Magic's offense.

The Magic's average points loss per game should not be underestimated. They average around 100 points per game.

It's just that their scoring average of 113 points per game is so dazzling that no media pays attention to their average points lost per game.

From the perspective of the Magic's player composition, they do not have a player who can become the core of the defensive system. Neither Grant nor O'Neal is such a player. You can't find such a person on the inside, let alone on the outside. Meng Lang and Anderson have become the league's top defenders through their enthusiasm, but they are definitely not at the top level. The kind of defensive intensity that can lock down the opponent alone is even more impossible.

This is exactly the point that can be targeted.

Westphal was the first to discover this!

Of course, it's not that other teams don't think about this, but they really don't have that kind of offensive firepower.

Averaged 113 points per game. With this kind of firepower, other teams except the Suns would really scratch their heads when they see it.

In addition, the Suns have a unique condition:

Kevin Johnson happens to be the kind of "little submachine gun" Hardaway is most afraid of defending!

Ever since, a battle against Biao started from the beginning and lasted until the end of the game.

When the final whistle sounded, the Magic team:

沙克-奥尼尔30分、孟浪25分10助攻、哈达威21分8助攻、格兰特15分、安德森15分……

For the Suns:

巴克利30分18篮板、凯文-约翰逊24分7助攻、丹尼-曼宁18分、丹-马尔利20分、A.C-格林15分……

It is not difficult to infer from the scores of these people that the scores on both sides of this game are very high.

In fact, the final number was a bit higher than everyone expected:

128 is better than 121!

The two teams competed for a whole game, but in the end, the Magic's offensive firepower could last longer, and they had the last laugh with a 7-point difference, taking away the victory from Phoenix.

Westphal shook his head helplessly after the game: "We have done well enough, but we are still a little behind. The talent of this Magic team is really great!"

Barkley was a little unconvinced. When he was 2 points behind at the end, he turned around and put the basketball into the basket, but it slipped out again. If that goal had been scored, maybe everything would have been different.

"We will definitely win next time!"

Everyone on the Magic team didn't know what he said. They left Phoenix that night and rushed to Boston to welcome their first "back-to-back" game in December.

December is difficult for them, they have three "back-to-back" games to play!

In this era without "three games in four days", such a schedule can be considered harsh.

Of course, this also has a lot to do with the fact that there are not 30 teams in the league now. After playing 2 games with each team in the Western Conference, and there are more games left, when David Stern is arranging, usually All adopt the "nearby" principle.

Teams in the same division may meet five times a season.

The Boston Celtics signed Wilkins this summer after leaving the Hawks last season.

"The Essence of Human Movies" has suffered a severe decline in form this season. He averaged 24 points per game last season, but only averaged 17.8 points per game this season.

Being dissatisfied is a very fatal thing for a player!

Therefore, this Celtics did not perform very well in the new season. It was only better than last season and is currently lingering at the end of the playoffs.

For the Magic, there is no need to worry about such an opponent.

But this is under normal circumstances. Now they have just ran with the Suns for a whole game, and finally defeated the Suns. Now they immediately met an Eastern Conference playoff team. The game is difficult. The extent is predictable.

The entire competition process was much more difficult than many media thought.

All members of the Magic team were affected by their physical fitness, and it was slow to enter the state of the game. The Celtics, who were sitting at home and waiting to work, played very strongly and the team successfully took an early lead 19-7.

And they carried this momentum into the third quarter of the game.

During this period, the Magic's state improved, so they launched several counterattacks.

But the Celtics successfully blocked their counterattack.

Until the beginning of the fourth quarter of the game, the Celtics still led by 7 points. Seeing the game time falling below the last 5 minutes, the situation suddenly changed in these 5 minutes. Hardaway broke through the basket and succeeded, causing a foul and making two free throws.

Shaquille O'Neal attacked the basket and scored the ball, causing the opponent to foul. Unfortunately, he missed the extra penalty.

Coupled with Meng Lang's three-pointer, the Magic pulled back the 1-point difference in 7 minute.

Wilkins tried to step up to save the team, but as he missed the frame, with the cooperation of the Magic team, Grant completed the score and officially took the lead.

Final 101 to 97!

The Celtics, who were leading for three and a half quarters in this game, were defeated by the three core players of the Magic at critical moments. They pulled the score back and were defeated.

The Magic won two consecutive games "back to back"!

But what surprised the outside media more than the Magic winning this game was the Magic's tenacity when falling behind and their calmness in chasing points at critical moments.

"Just looking at the Magic's offense in those few rounds, it seemed like there was no point this team couldn't catch!"

Did the Magic have any special tactics during that period?

No!

Did the Celtics make any fatal mistakes?

No!

These three rounds are a complete display of the star's personal abilities!

And this is precisely the scariest thing...

"Who can tell me how high these three guys will take the Magic?" TNT headline asked.

"Back-to-back" against strong teams in the league like the Suns, and then in most situations where the overall situation was unfavorable, he was still able to stabilize his position at the last moment, stepping forward at the last moment to help the team quickly narrow the score.

Such a team with full offensive firepower and these three young leaders cannot be summed up in one or two sentences.

Amid the exclamations from the outside world, it was not until December 12th that the Magic lost their first game since entering December, and they only lost in their second "back-to-back" game.

As of this period, the Magic's record is 22 wins and 2 losses!

Yes, after a quarter of the schedule has been played, the Magic have only lost 4 games so far!

In these 24 games, they defeated the New York Knicks in the East, the Spurs and Suns in the West...

There are not many strong teams left that we have not encountered yet.

In the eyes of the media, the most challenging teams are the Utah Jazz, currently second in the Western Conference, the Pacers, third in the Eastern Conference, and the Sonics, fourth in the Western Conference. As for the "Christmas War" stage, what will they encounter? The Rockets and more and more media do not believe they can pose a threat to the Magic.

On December 12th, the last two games before Christmas, the Magic went to Indiana to challenge the Pacers!

After this year's Eastern Conference Finals in May, the Indiana people's hatred of Meng Lang has reached a new level. However, it was not this game that attracted the most attention from the media before the game, but Larry Bird...

The comments about Meng Lang's passing like a "big bird" have become more and more fierce, especially after Meng Lang learned to use the "one-handed throw pass". The characteristics of his playing style are almost not much different from those of Larry Bird. the difference.

The media also want to know what Larry Bird thinks of the "Chinese Big Bird."

Bird had actually heard about this matter for a long time, and he also watched a few Meng Lang's games.

In his opinion, Meng Lang was a little different from him.

Although the offense and defense are similar, he attacks near the frame, while Meng Lang prefers to shoot three-pointers and mid-range shots from mid-to-long range. Of course, he also knew that this was deliberately opening up space for Shaquille O'Neal.

And in Bird's view, he held the ball much longer than Meng Lang.

He can already be regarded as a representative of not occupying the ball, but compared with Meng Lang, he has even become a little greedy for the ball.

However, he had to admit that Meng Lang was indeed very similar to him in some aspects, especially...

Pass the ball!

He saw Meng Lang passing the ball for the first time this season and once wondered if he had taught him some tricks. Otherwise, how could they be so similar?

"He also needs to improve his back-up ability. This is the key to him becoming a superstar! He can not have such good teammates at any time." Larry Bird gave his opinion.

It can even be described as advice.

This attitude was somewhat beyond the expectations of the media.

Because in the past, occasions like this were his time to show off.

Larry Bird wanted to talk more, and he took the initiative to talk about some things in the training camp:

"He was only 18 years old at that time, but in that training match, he completely beat me. I couldn't guard him at all. I said, boy, you completely defeated me, and he said..."

"Big Bird" paused and looked at the curiosity in everyone's eyes before he spoke again: "He wished me good morning, good afternoon and good night!"

(End of this chapter)