So I am the god of basketball?

Chapter 110 I'm Back!

At present, the entire Magic team is not in a good state due to a record of 1 win and 3 losses. After Daly announced the news the day before the game, it can be seen that the mental outlook of the entire team is completely different.

The entire scrimmage was full of positivity.

Hardaway, who had been so worried for the past two days, suddenly relaxed his brows and said, "It's great, we can continue to win again!"

His words are also what many Magic players want to say.

Including Grant, the "old rookie", he didn't say it, but he knew in his heart that during this period without Meng Lang, he really wasn't as comfortable playing as before.

Their changes fell into the eyes of Shaquille O'Neal, who suddenly made the 3-pound "fat-headed shark" extremely angry. Now he finally saw clearly Meng Lang's influence on the entire Magic team.

During the interview on the day of the game, reporters were still asking Chuck Daly whether Meng Lang would come back in this game. ——Chuck Daly has never told reporters that Meng Lang is about to return in the battle against the Pacers. He is preparing to catch the Pacers off guard.

Well, he believed that when Larry Brown saw Meng Lang's name through the Magic's activation list before the game, his heart would definitely tremble.

Meng Lang has this kind of influence.

Whether it's against this team, against Orlando, or against opponents across the league.

This feeling of being caught off guard will definitely allow the Magic to take advantage of it!

In order to win this game more smoothly, Chuck Daly had to start from these aspects and play some tricks. - Meng Lang's comeback is good news, but if they still lose this game, there will be problems within the Magic team.

A winning streak can cure some problems, but if you keep losing, even if you are still ranked first in the league, there will definitely be turmoil in the locker room.

If Meng Lang fully recovers and returns, Chuck Daly won't need to play these psychological games.

It's just that under the current situation, he has to ensure that the team wins steadily, so he can only be cautious.

The effect of this is still very obvious.

As soon as the game started, the Pacers really didn't turn a corner!

The tactics arranged by Larry Brown were based on tapes of previous games. After Hardaway's breakthrough, the Pacers immediately tightened the defensive circle. In this way, whether it was Hardaway's pass or his personal breakthrough, the Pacers could complete the interference.

Anderson's shooting was not enough to scare them enough not to narrow the encirclement, but it was different with Meng Lang.

Hardaway's pass to the outside found Meng Lang. Meng Lang controlled the ball with one hand. Looking at the defender who was still thousands of miles away from him, he once again completed the three-pointer with his right hand without using his assist hand. The whole movement was not fast, but very smooth, and the ball fell steadily into the basket.

Bill Walton, who was commentating on the game, was stunned by this shot: "Is this... showing off your skills?"

As we all know, the auxiliary hand when shooting can correct the direction of the ball. Without the auxiliary hand, the stability of the ball after it is released will be greatly reduced. Therefore, it is said that the more standard the shooting posture, the higher the shooting accuracy.

And Meng Lang actually completed a one-handed three-pointer. This kind of shot that does not require the assist hand to correct the shooting direction is really awesome!

It's not an exaggeration to say it's "showing off skills"...

But at the same time, his mind suddenly thought of a familiar figure, a certain pretense he did on a certain night!

After this goal, the Pacers really didn't dare to shrink the encirclement so small anymore.

Larry Brown hurriedly used his second move, double-teaming Hardaway in advance, forcing him to play the ball quickly.

This move is also a defensive tactic based on the previous video of the Magic. Without Meng Lang as a coordinator, organization and passing fall into the hands of Hardaway alone. At this time, Hardaway only needs to be forced to play the ball quickly. , then the Magic's ball movement can easily become a solo battle between individual players.

Without enough three-point threats from the perimeter, the Pacers' defense does a good job of limiting the Magic's isolation plays.

But this time, Hardaway successfully passed the ball to Meng Lang after being double-teamed.

As soon as Meng Lang's right hand touched the ball, he immediately passed the ball toward the right baseline.

Grant took the ball and made a layup.

After scoring easily, he almost shouted "Wuhu" directly.

This familiar feeling is back!

Next, Meng Lang made another pass, quickly passing the ball back to Hardaway's hands. "Penny" cut through the middle and dunked. He felt the same as Grant at the moment.

All, are back!

Including Shaquille O'Neal, after receiving Meng Lang's pass, he felt a familiar feeling in his heart reluctantly.

At the end of the first quarter, Meng Lang scored 5 points and 4 assists. Relying on Larry Brown's "ignorance" of him, he used his best passing and shooting to help the Magic open the score smoothly.

After the first quarter, the Magic's lead has reached more than 9 points.

This point difference immediately disrupted the Pacers' position, and these people were not in very good condition. So much so that after three quarters, the Magic's lead reached more than 18 points.

In the end, with 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Larry Brown chose "five up and five down" and waved the white flag helplessly. Chuck Daly looked at the long-lost "clock in advance" and also showed a comfortable smile.

When Reggie Miller came off the field, he was cursing.

Not only him, but also all the "cornfield people" in the audience were hurling all kinds of abuse!

They are not people who cannot afford to lose, they just refuse to admit defeat!

But that's not why they were so angry tonight. What makes them even more angry is:

Meng Lang, this bitch, has only used his left hand a few times since he played for such a long time tonight. He has always used his right hand to pass and catch the ball, including passing the ball!

What the hell...

Do you want to say that you can defeat us with just your right hand?

This is too pretentious!

Well, what makes them most angry is:

Meng Lang, this bitch, really did it!

三节半打卡下班的孟浪在今晚15投7中，三分球7投3中，罚球3罚3中，拿到了20分，另外还有3个篮板跟8次助攻，再加上2次抢断！

Whether it was his "one-handed passing" or "one-handed shooting", it was a fatal blow to the Pacers' defense!

This is really...

It's so annoying!

In the end, the Magic defeated the Pacers 114-94 by 20 points.

A hearty victory wiped away the Magic's previous weakness.

However, after the game, just like Reggie Miller and the Pacers fans, the reporters were more concerned about Meng Lang's fact that he only used his right hand to play in the game.

Chuck Daly first pretended to be Meng Lang: "The Magic team is in a very bad situation recently. Dream hopes to come back early. He told me that he still has one hand that can be used intact. This hand is enough. Let the Magic win, and he did it!"

When reporters were interviewing Meng Lang, one reporter asked a sharp question: "Larry Bird used to only use his left hand in games. Dream, are you intentionally imitating his movements? Because recently many media Everyone is saying that you are very similar to him?"

February 1986, 2, NBA game, a regular season match between the Celtics and Trail Blazers. Before the game, Larry Bird was questioned by the media, saying that his left hand was not good enough. Maybe it was to compete with the media, or maybe he was too bored. He made a bet with the media: I will finish the game today with only one left hand.

那一场比赛，拉里-伯德34投21中，疯狂砍下47分+14篮板+11助攻的三双数据，并且带领凯尔特人队以120-119战胜了对手开拓者。

Of course, there are two more points that must be mentioned in this story:

There is another half of Larry Bird’s words, which is:

Keep your right hand to beat the Lakers!

In addition, Bird actually only used his left hand in the first three quarters. Because the score was too close, he still used his right hand in the fourth quarter and contributed a "quasi-winner."

Meng Lang knew this story very well and understood why the reporters said this.

After all, the opponent in this game is the Pacers, and the current general manager is Larry Bird.

It’s just that the media’s associations are like this. Meng Lang said: "Larry Bird did this because he was bored. I did it because I was injured. My left hand has not recovered yet. I can only use my right hand to complete the game and try not to disturb the recovery of my left hand." …”

It's hard to say that.

The inadvertently revealed cup-taking temperament reminded the senior reporters at the scene of that night nine years ago.

There is no doubt that this is another story that will become a classic in the future.

Shaquille O'Neal wasn't so excited after the game.

Although he scored 29 points and 13 rebounds, he knew very well that the credit for this victory would definitely belong to Meng Lang.

For him, this is no different than losing.

Sure enough, in the media the next day, all kinds of praises were related to Meng Lang.

However, there is nothing we can do. Without Meng Lang, the Magic team has 1 win and 3 losses. With Meng Lang, the Magic team beat the second best team in the Eastern Conference by 20 points.

Is there anything better than this that illustrates Meng Lang's improvement for the Magic?

After beating the Pacers, the next thing they faced was the "back-to-back". In the first game of the "back-to-back", the Magic faced the Denver Nuggets on the plateau. In this game, Chuck Daly chose to let Meng Lang rest.

Rely on Shaquille O'Neal, Hardaway and Grant to fight this game.

The opponent is not very strong and is only ranked eighth in the Western Conference.

Referring to the game against the Boston Celtics, even without Meng Lang, the rest of the Magic's lineup is still in control of such a broken formation.

The result also proved this, the Magic easily defeated the Nuggets 98-90, 8 points.

The process was not smooth.

Continuous away games, coupled with the high altitude, the players of the Magic team were already exhausted physically and mentally, and they did not play a good state at the beginning. Fortunately, the Nuggets could not find the feeling of the game in this game. The Magic team Relying on resilience and sufficient experience, this team still managed to win the first "black eight team" in NBA history without any danger.

In the second game of "back-to-back", the Magic finally returned to their home court. 10 days have passed since the last home game.

The Orlando Arena was naturally filled with people that night, but more of the cheers were for Meng Lang. There were so many Magic No. 23 jerseys on site that it was hard to see.

Meng Lang's "savior" battle clearly demonstrated his importance to the Magic team.

In this game against the Kings, Meng Lang is also the most eye-catching person on the Magic team.

The rest of the Magic team has gone through "back-to-back" situations, and even Shaquille O'Neal's jumping height is obviously not as high as usual. That's why Chuck Daly let Meng Lang rest. And tonight they also focus on Meng Lang.

The Kings are currently ranked tenth in the Western Conference, and the core of the team is Richmond, who is known for his shooting.

This game also became a "showdown" between Meng Lang and Richmond. In the end, Meng Lang defeated Richmond's 32 points with 25 points, helping the team win the game by 7 points. This score The difference is exactly the difference between Richmond and Meng Lang's scores.

After a three-game winning streak, the Magic are back on track.

There is also good news. These exhausted people can take a good rest, because the 95 All-Star Weekend is coming!

The venue for the 95 All-Star Weekend was Phoenix.

Barkley was the host, and he received a lot of votes. He was expected to win the "vote king" again, but unfortunately, Grant Hill appeared halfway, and Meng Lang led the team alone, attracting a large number of fans, so that he The number of votes ultimately ranked third.

However, 118 million votes also shows the popularity of "Flying Pig"!

On February 2, the first day of the All-Star Weekend, the NBA’s second Rookie Challenge kicked off.

One of the highlights of this game is Meng Lang VS Hill.

It's a pity that the league started to warm up in January and whetted the public's appetite. However, two days before the game, Meng Lang officially announced that he would miss the Rookie Challenge. race.

"I need a good rest because my finger has not recovered yet. This is a very regrettable thing. I look forward to cooperating with Grant on the All-Star stage, but all this can only wait until later!"

This news is regrettable, but even David Stern cannot ask an injured person to attend the All-Star Weekend.

In this way, Meng Lang missed his second All-Star weekend.

Anderson was a blessing in disguise, becoming an All-Star substitute and entering this All-Star weekend.

Due to a combination of circumstances, the Magic still managed to form a "five-star lineup."

The Orlando media went crazy with posts celebrating this historic moment.

In the end, on the first day of the All-Star Weekend, the first-year team lost to the second-year team, and Chris Webber won the MVP of the Rookie Challenge; on the second day of the All-Star Weekend, the Heat's Glenn Rice won the three-point shooting contest. The champion, Harold Miner, became the winner of the Slam Dunk Contest; the MVP of the All-Star Game still belonged to "The Rock" Richmond as before.

After the All-Star Weekend, Meng Lang's finger also fully recovered. The Magic, who had returned to "complete body", made great progress and added another 6 consecutive victories. In addition to the 3 consecutive victories before the All-Star Weekend, they ended their 9-game winning streak with 2 consecutive victories. The entire journey of the month.

Shaquille O'Neal knew that this "Best of the Month" would not be his, so he had no expectations. The good news is that this time the "Best of the Month" does not belong to Meng Lang, but to "Big Dream" Olajuwon!

场均29.5分10.1篮板3.8助攻1.4抢断3.4盖帽，投篮命中率55.2%！

In a total of 14 games, the Rockets achieved a record of 10 wins and 4 losses, which was the Rockets' best result in a single month. Thanks to Olajuwon being both a father and a mother, they finally stabilized their ranking at 6th in the Western Conference. Location.

However, it is not very safe, only 7 games ahead of the seventh-place Trail Blazers.

Olajuwon really didn't expect that when the "glider" came to the Rockets, he would be even more tired than last season!

The Magic are as strong as ever in March.

They kept winning, pushing their win count to 13 games.

The first half of March also passed as they continued to win.

Their number of losses remains at 6 games, and news about them reaching "70 wins" for the first time in NBA history is becoming more and more frequent.

On March 3th and March 12th, the Magic encountered fluctuations. They had their second "two-game losing streak" this season. After these two losses, the Magic's number of losses came to 3 games.

But the Magic quickly stopped the decline and won the "back-to-back" games that followed. The New York Times commented on the Magic team: "With Meng Lang here, this team always seems to be able to find their correctness immediately." trail of!"

During this period, in addition to the discussion about the Magic's 70 wins, there is another thing that has aroused more and more discussion, that is, Michael Jordan's "comeback rumors" are becoming more and more intense.

Various rumors are circulating that Jordan is about to make a comeback!

Miamians are looking forward to it!

In the early morning of March 3, a piece of news from a Chicago radio and television station caused a huge shock:

Michael Jordan will announce his return today and will also participate in the national broadcast against Indiana on Sunday.

Subsequently, all TV stations in the United States were interrupted. The three major TV networks issued notices at the same time, and the TV was full of Jordan's dunk highlights and game footage.

On the TV, a bald middle-aged man was present. It was none other than Jordan’s agent David Falk. His voice was hoarse due to excessive excitement: “I will announce on behalf of my client, Mr. Michael Jordan. His exact words…”

"I'm Back!"

(End of this chapter)