So I am the god of basketball?

Chapter 118 "New Big Bird" VS "Old Flying Man"

The top eight in the East and West this season are:

Magic, New York Knicks, Pacers, Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Nets, Celtics;

Spurs, Utah Jazz, Suns, SuperSonics, Lakers, Rockets, Warriors, Trail Blazers;

Based on the rankings, it can be seen that the Magic's opponent in the first round is the Boston Celtics.

This is the third season since Larry Bird announced his retirement, but it is obvious that this team has not yet recovered from the pain of "Big Bird" leaving.

However, this is normal. The departure of historical core players will indeed have a profound impact.

The current core of the Celtics is Wilkins, who was traded to the Clippers by the Hawks last season. But the entire Celtics' style of play is absolutely "egalitarian". Wilkins is the Celtics' top scorer, but only averages 17.8 points per game. Dino Ruddy ranks second. Ya, he also averaged 17.2 points per game.

In addition, the Boston Celtics' starting lineup also includes Dee Brown, who averages 15.6 points per game, Sherman Douglas, who averages 14.7 points per game, and their rookie this year, "North Carolina center" Montrose, who averages 10 points per game.

In terms of style, they are also an attacking team.

Averaged 102.3 points per game!

The team's scoring ability is very good.

It's just that on the defensive end, they scored an even more exaggerated 104.7 points per game!

It shows how little they pay attention to defense!

This kind of "civilian play" and a style that doesn't pay attention to defense is exactly what the Magic has the most control over. Playing 100 games against such an opponent, the Magic can win at least 105 games!

Therefore, no media is optimistic that the Celtics can complete the "Black Eight Miracle" like the Nuggets did last year.

The more common view among these guys is:

Let alone winning, even if the Boston Celtics want to win even one victory from the Magic, it is not an easy task!

The results also proved this. From the first game of the series, the Magic team has been crushing them like a Twitter machine without any interference at all. Cleanly defeated the Boston Celtics 3-0.

They can beat them by more than 18 points per game.

孟浪场均24.3分5.3篮板以及7.3助攻2.3抢断；沙克-奥尼尔场均27.6分13.7篮板3.3助攻2.3盖帽；哈达威21.3分4.3篮板8.3助攻1.6抢断；“眼镜蛇”格兰特场均15.3分7.3篮板，安德森场均13.3分，每场比赛可以投进1.6个三分球！

The Magic's "five-star lineup" still maintained their strong performance in the regular season in the first game of the series.

As the buzzer sounded in Game 80 of the series, the crowd at North Shore Garden began to leave. Their eyes were filled with pain. After experiencing the glory of the s, it was really difficult for them to accept that their home team had been swept away by the autumn wind.

But they may not have imagined that this cold wave will continue for a long time...

David Stern's fear of "Cardinal" lasted until the day of his death. Otherwise, it would be really hard to explain. After Auerbach passed away in 06, the Boston Celtics quickly had the "Big Three" in 07.

But there is nothing that can be done. If the "Cardinal" really has a "king bomb", David Stern is also afraid that the NBA will once again be played as his "private server" by Auerbach alone.

The main reasons why the gold content of "8 consecutive championships" has been questioned:

One is that there were fewer teams at the time; the other is that Auerbach manipulated most of the transactions in the league, and there are "disciples in red" everywhere. They can have any player they want. Don't say that such a team " "8 consecutive championships", even "18 consecutive championships" is still okay.

It was also because Auerbach turned the NBA into a "private server" that the story of David Stern taking office to save the NBA came about...

It's just that the "private server" was so fun to play at the beginning, but now the cold winter wind is so biting.

Another season for the "Green Army" is officially over.

Montrose was still hesitant to say hello. He and Meng Lang were old acquaintances, at least from his perspective.

But he stayed at North Carolina until graduation and only entered the league last year.

He really didn't expect that just one year after joining the league, Meng Lang would have such a big gap between him and him.

He did pretty well in his rookie season and averaged a "quasi-double-double" per game, but the gap between him and Meng Lang is really visible to the naked eye. He is just a rookie now, while Meng Lang is already the "superstar" of this league!

Even he couldn't believe it. Looking at Meng Lang at this moment, he actually felt a sense of timidity in his heart that could only be felt when seeing a "super giant".

But before he could finish hesitating, Meng Lang had already walked over and said to him with a smile, "How does it feel to be eliminated by me again?"

Meng Lang usually only talks trash at two types of people now.

One is a qualified person!

He began to subconsciously ignore people like Reggie Miller who he felt were not qualified;

Another one is naturally an "old acquaintance" like Montrose.

Montrose heard the joke in his tone, smiled at him, and hugged him tightly.

Meng Lang turned around and walked into the visiting team's tunnel.

In the ESPN commentary box, Mike Breen said: "Boston people should feel the helplessness brought by 'Big Bird' as an opponent!"

In addition to lacking the ability to hold the ball in singles, Meng Lang looks like a "Big Bird" in all other aspects.

This makes Meng Lang, in addition to the nickname "The Chosen One", many media have already called him the "Second Generation Big Bird". It's just that this name is not as popular as the previous one. But that's normal. The influence of "Sports Illustrated" is not bragging!

This is the most popular magazine in America!

During the first round of the series, the league announced the final results of the "Best General Manager" and "Best Head Coach".

Both awards went to Magic's Pat Williams and Chuck Daly.

This result has actually been doomed for a long time.

The Magic's record this season is so good and they have become the first team in NBA history to win 70 games. It is really difficult for other head coaches to compete with Chuck Daly for this award. But for Chuck Daly, this award can only be regarded as a small ripple in his brilliant coaching career.

For this "meritorious coach" who has led the team to "two consecutive championships" and won a gold medal with the "Dream Team", small awards such as "Best Head Coach" are really not worth it.

He also said directly in the interview: "Honestly, I would be more happy if the Magic won tonight!"

As for the 73-win Magic, is winning against the Celtics something worth being happy about?

When Pat Williams won the "Best General Manager Award", it felt a bit like "making up the numbers". Last summer, due to the turmoil in the collective bargaining agreement, most owners were reluctant to spend money and were waiting for the introduction of new regulations. As a result, the only team with big deals was the Rockets. But look at the decline of the Rockets in the regular season this season. Come on, this award must not be given to the general manager of the Rockets!

In the end it fell to Pat Williams.

Although many media are saying that even without Grant, the Magic team this season will be very scary.

But this is also the "icing on the cake" after all, and it can be regarded as the most outstanding deal in the league last summer!

However, after this award was presented, many outside media thought that this award seemed...

Awarded early!

because……

The Rockets, sixth in the Western Conference, lost one game first, but quickly regained one game, and then tied with the Jazz 1-1 at their home court.

In the crucial fifth game, Karl Malone's lack of ability to hold the ball was exploited.

In 21 shots, he only hit 10 of them, with a shooting percentage of 47.6%!

You may not think it's a big deal when you look at it this way, but if you compare Olajuwon's data, you can see how big of a problem Karl Malone has.

Olajuwon only took 16 shots and hit 10 goals, with a shooting percentage of 62.5%!

It is worth mentioning that in this game, Olajuwon and Karl Malone not only had the same number of hits, but also the same number of free throws, both taking 20 free throws. Karl Malone also hit one more. It's just that the hit rate is almost 1% less, which is too deadly.

Especially in this critical game where the score difference is not big.

In the final 30 seconds, Drexler hit a key shot, helping the Rockets win the crucial fifth game 95-91.

Big score 3-2!

The Rockets reversed the Jazz just like this.

After the game, the Jazz team reporter complained about the official grouping rules: "If the second place in the regular season cannot play against the seventh place in the regular season, then what are our efforts in the regular season for?"

The Western Conference is also divided into two divisions. The Spurs and Jazz are both in the same division. Even though the Jazz won one more game than the Suns, they still met the sixth team in the Western Conference during the playoffs. The Rockets, and the Suns, with the third-best record in the Western Conference, are facing the challenge of the Golden State Warriors with the top spot in another division.

Obviously, compared to teams with experience in the finals, new teams like the Warriors are better opponents to handle.

The Suns easily advanced to the semifinals 3-0.

The other two teams in the Western Conference that have entered the semifinals are the Spurs and the Lakers!

However, the focus of the second round is not in the Western Conference.

Even though this is the second consecutive year that the Rockets and Suns have met in the playoffs.

But when the series between the Hornets and the Bulls was decided, the game between the Rockets and the Suns no longer mattered... The Hornets and Bulls were decided after 4 games.

The Bulls, who were eliminated in the first round last season, easily eliminated the Hornets, who were ranked higher than them, 3-1 after Michael Jordan returned and entered the next round. ——It’s normal for the Hornets to lose. After all, you really can’t tell whose home court this is in Charlotte!

After playing 4 away games in a row, the strength levels of both sides are still so similar. It would be strange for the Hornets not to lose!

The Bulls' opponent heading into the next round is none other than...

Orlando Magic!

Meng Lang and Michael Jordan met again since March 3.

This will be the first time in their careers that they meet on the playoff stage.

"New Big Bird" meets "Old Flying Man"!

This gimmick alone is enough to make people look forward to it.

Not to mention that when Meng Lang met Michael Jordan for the first time, he scored 60 points on him. Calculating it carefully, there are now three accounts to be settled between Jordan and Meng Lang.

Coupled with this, do you think there is a more interesting series in this league than this?

It can actually be seen from the league's publicity efforts that they are all warming up for this series!

On the night when Michael Jordan completely eliminated the Hornets, there was no joy. Instead, he said more seriously: "I won't have any joy until I win the next round of the series!"

This shows how much he values ​​this game.

However, this is normal.

You know, Meng Lang not only scored 60 points on his head, but also gave him leg cramps.

This is probably not the first time Jordan has felt such humiliation since entering the 90s.

With his competitive personality, how could he allow this matter to continue to be discussed?

What he is thinking about now is probably revenge on Meng Lang!

The media relayed Jordan's determination to Meng Lang. After hearing this, Meng Lang said: "Isn't he happy to beat the Hornets? That's it. He shouldn't be able to laugh this season!"

!!!

Meng Lang's words made the reporters surrounding him widen their eyes.

no……

What do you mean?

He probably won’t be able to laugh this season!

Listen to this...

Are you preparing to sweep the Bulls?

This idea is very bold, but I really can’t blame these reporters for being so bold. But when faced with Meng Lang's words, they had to think in a bold direction, because he had done too many bold things and said too many bold words!

However, he actually did these bold things and made these bold words become a reality.

Now, even though it was just such an ambiguous statement, the eyes of these reporters suddenly lit up.

It is no exaggeration to say that these reporters' appetites have been completely whetted by Meng Lang. For them, ordinary plots can no longer stimulate them. They want to see the big one!

They believed that Meng Lang could also show them the big picture.

It's just that Meng Lang didn't express his meaning clearly this time.

Even if these reporters were not wrong, Meng Lang did have the intention to defeat Jordan.

But this time there was no "plug-in" blessing, so Meng Lang decided to give Jordan a little respect. He didn't speak too bluntly, but just expressed what he meant. Let these reporters speak out the subtext for him.

If you do it, you can pretend to be cool and cool.

If it doesn't happen, then it's just the media that is trampling on it. What does it have to do with me, Meng Lang, giegie?

Ok……

This white lotus!

The original Magic team also met the Bulls in the semifinals of this season.

In the end, Jordan lost his first series since entering the 90s.

However, the process was not easy. It can only be said that it was difficult to laugh at the end with 4-2.

This game gave birth to many famous memes. For example, Jordan No. 45 is not as good as Jordan No. 23. Another example is that Jordan is a flying man and I am Superman. Superman can fly higher than a flying man.

The person who said the first sentence was Anderson, and the person who said the second sentence was Shaquille O'Neal.

Then the next year, they were simply shaved "bald" by the Bulls.

The emergence of Meng Lang has enabled this Magic team to achieve a "super evolution", from a team with 50 plus players to a team with 70 plus players. The intensity of the leap is evident.

According to the formula, it is not difficult to deduce that this Magic team has the possibility of sweeping the Bulls!

But Jordan is definitely an "unstable factor." Meng Lang knows one thing very well:

If you think your opponent is too strong to control, don't be crazy about it.

After winning, it’s not too late to go up again...

This is the famous "no slap in the face principle"!

It's just that his words, after the media added fuel to the fire, also reached the level of irritating Jordan.

On May 5, after the Bulls arrived in Orlando and took a day's rest, the Eastern Conference playoff semifinals game between the Bulls and the Magic came as scheduled.

The lineups on both sides have not changed and are still the same lineups as when they met for the last time in the regular season.

The Magic's "LV" combination adds Grant and Anderson;

For the Bulls, Jordan, Pippen, Armstrong, Kukoc and Will Perdo.

It is worth mentioning that, whether it was the last time they met, Meng Lang's performance was so bad that the Magic won easily. Before the game started, people in Orlando were mad at Jordan.

When the buzzer sounded for the game, Jordan came on the court, his face looking extremely bad.

Sure enough, there are exactly what kind of fans there are for every kind of player!

The fans in this city are just as annoying as that bitch!

Before Meng Lang came on the court, he high-fived Hardaway, Shaq and others in sequence. Finally, he rubbed his upper hand and patted it:

The "Zero Michael Jordan" battle is about to begin!

(End of this chapter)