So I am the god of basketball?

Chapter 120: Jordan's "Successor"

全场比赛结束，迈克尔-乔丹45分7篮板3助攻2抢断2盖帽，表现恐怖到了极点。

But the Bulls still lost the game by 12 points.

Does he have what it takes to sustain this performance?

The answer should be yes.

In Michael Jordan's career, he has averaged 4 points per game in a single series four times.

They are:

85-86赛季东部首轮，他场均43.7分、6.3个篮板、5.7次助攻、2.3次抢断和1.3次盖帽，公牛队以0-3输给了凯尔特人；

89-90赛季东部半决赛，他场均43分、6.6个篮板、7.4次助攻、4次抢断和1.2次盖帽，公牛队4-1淘汰了费城76人；

91-92赛季东部首轮，他场均45分、9.7个篮板、6.7次助攻、3次抢断和1次盖帽，公牛队3-0淘汰热火队；

以及让迈克尔-乔丹封神的92~93赛季总决赛，公牛队4-2淘汰太阳队的系列赛中，他41分、8.5个篮板、6.3次助攻、1.7次抢断！

This is Michael Jordan!

A "human-shaped scoring weapon" whose personal offensive capabilities have reached the extreme!

This is also the reason why Kevin Durant could still become a role model even though he couldn't do a single bench press. No one thinks that he will become a parallel import. In addition to his unique personal physical talents, there is another point. He is called by the media as "the most scoring machine after Michael Jordan."

For players who have always been linked to Jordan, you don't care what their future achievements are, but their draft prospects in the draft year are definitely not small.

If it weren't for meeting Greg Oden, whom he "met once in twenty years", to be honest, whether it was in 04, 05, 06, or later in 08 and 09, Kevin Durant would have been... It is "the posture of the number one scholar"!

There is no need to doubt Jordan's scoring ability.

But can he perform even more explosively?

answer:

Maybe it still works!

But he couldn't maintain his more explosive performance.

The end result of doing that is very likely to end with leg cramps. This is a situation that Jordan has already experienced during the regular season. In the more ferocious playoffs, failures will only become more frequent.

Jordan can average 40 plus points per game, but he certainly can't average 50 plus points per game!

Pippen's final statistics for this game were fixed at 23 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.

This is also his performance above the normal level.

Since Jordan can't go any further and Pippen can't do better, the Bulls can only count on the "X factor."

Looking back at the Magic team:

Meng Lang "only" scored 24 points in this game, which was similar to his data in the regular season. But no one will regard Meng Lang's scoring performance as his limit. They will only think that he only took a slight shot tonight.

Meng Lang's more eye-catching statistic is his assists. He got 10 assists tonight.

This is a new high in assists in his career in the playoffs, and it is also the first time in his career that he has scored double-digit assists in a single game in the playoffs.

In this game, his energy in supporting and passing was greater than his personal offense.

This can be seen from his shooting efficiency.

With 14 shots, he ranked third on the Magic, behind Hardaway and Shaquille O'Neal.

But he hit 14 of 11 shots and missed 3, including 3 of 3 three-pointers. In this game, he almost always took shots within the range of his abilities. As long as it was not the best shot opportunity, he would usually find his teammates and let them finish it.

In this way, he not only dragged Pippen to death, but also benefited the rest of the Magic team.

Shaquille O'Neal scored 33 points. Among them, he received at least 4 passes from Meng Lang and easily completed dunks under the basket. One of them even created a "2 plus 1" for the Bulls; Grant also received 3 passes from Meng Lang. Assists, he scored 16 points, plus 8 rebounds, which can be said to have demonstrated his characteristics well.

And the 59 points he scored with Shaquille O'Neal compared to the 28 points scored by the Bulls inside, it's a huge difference!

The Bulls lost by 21 points in the paint alone... Although the Bulls are not a team that focuses on the paint, they usually have a small disadvantage in the paint when facing other teams, but it is rare to be suppressed so miserably. .

The impact of the lack of Grant was indeed reflected in this game.

Hardaway scored 17 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. He was not very satisfied with his performance. In his opinion, he should have performed better!

So even if he won this game, Hardaway was not very excited.

Normally, he didn't care so much about his performance. When he was partnering with Meng Lang, he knew very well that he was the foil. This was the "bloodline suppression" that started with the college student sparring group, but tonight he couldn't perform better against his idol. He was somewhat concerned about his performance.

"I will perform better!"

But overall, all members of the Magic team were quite excited when they were interviewed. After all, they defeated the Bulls and won the first victory in the series.

For a team with 73 wins, winning is no longer unusual. The key depends on who wins!

Anyone in this era would be excited to win against Jordan.

After all, this is the person who can sound the "red alert" in the United States by announcing his comeback!

Beating other people doesn't give them a sense of accomplishment, but beating Michael Jordan does.

Compared to the atmosphere here with the Magic, the overall atmosphere during interviews with the Bulls was much heavier.

Especially Michael Jordan, there was no expression on his face and it was impossible to tell his mood.

Well, this is what people who are not familiar with Jordan would think so.

Anyone who knows Jordan knows that Jordan will only behave like this when he is extremely angry.

Obviously, Jordan was almost burned out by the flames of his own anger after being slapped in the face again by Meng Lang!

To put it briefly:

Jordan is a "big loser" now!

But some reporters still chose to "add fuel to the fire": "Michael, what do you think is the main reason for the Bulls' defeat in this game? Whose responsibility is the biggest?"

There was a hint of coldness in Jordan's brown eyes: "If you want exposure, I can give it to you. Anyway, this is your last chance to interview me. If the Bulls lose, of course I bear the greatest responsibility as a leader." , we didn’t play well, and the Magic played a performance that deserved a victory. Are you satisfied with this answer?”

Then without waiting for the reporter to say anything, Jordan said domineeringly: "My answer is finished. Now please get out, otherwise I will not answer any of the next questions!"

A simple sentence made the reporter who asked the question a target.

However, this reporter was not surprised by Jordan's dominance. He stood up with a fake smile, but before leaving the field, he suddenly thought of something and said to Jordan: "Your time has passed, Michael, you will never Maybe you can defeat Dream! You may be able to defeat him once or twice, but you will always be the one who loses more, I firmly believe this!"

Jordan, who had experienced some relief just now, deteriorated again at this moment.

He looked at the back of the reporter as he left, his eyes fixed on him, not moving away from that guy for a long time. If eyes could kill, then this reporter would have died hundreds of times.

Such "disrespectful" remarks made the atmosphere at the scene even more depressing.

But some keen guys can feel that some changes are happening more or less in this era. These changes can be stated more clearly:

Jordan gradually lost control of the league!

After losing to Meng Lang for the second consecutive time...

Once this situation continues, it can be expected that similar situations will occur in various places and become more and more frequent.

And tonight, it can be called "Offensive Divine Era Night"!

This incident also became the headlines of major media the next day. It was rare in previous years for a reporter to be so disrespectful to Jordan.

Because this means that he has lost the most popular opportunity for the interview! No journalist would put themselves in that situation.

But now, some people choose to be "disrespectful" just for the sake of temporary pleasure!

What's worse is that this guy didn't realize the seriousness of the problem at all. When he became the subject of the interview, he just smiled and said:

I can also go interview Dream!

Meng Lang is being considered by more and more media to be a new generation who can compete with Jordan...

Jordan was in a bad mood, but before the second game of the series, he had a "big incident" with Nike! ——He wore the "Air Force One" endorsed by Hardaway in the second game of the series.

When this scene appeared on the sidelines of the court, all cameras were immediately focused on Jordan's feet.

That pair of Air Flight One looks particularly dazzling!

This is the first and only time Jordan has worn someone else's shoes to play since he had his own "signature shoes."

Hardaway's whole body felt like he was struck by lightning.

No one told him about this beforehand!

This was a "dream moment" for him.

After all, his idol plays on the court wearing his own "signature shoes". Whoever experiences this feeling of pleasure knows it. Especially when this person is Jordan.

Jordan's answer was: "My new shoes won't arrive in two days, and I don't want to wear my old shoes, so I thought about trying other people's shoes. Anfernee is the guy I've always been optimistic about!" These shoes are also very nice!”

Meng Lang really admired Nike's marketing department. This kind of marketing method is indeed gimmicky enough!

To be honest, Hardaway's reputation as "Jordan's successor" probably started at this time. From then on, the media called Hardaway and just now frequently used the title "Jordan's successor".

The marketing was successful enough, and only then did the Magic regard him as the "cornerstone of the team" and shouted to Shaq, "We don't want Anfernee to be sad!"

It’s not that I’m not optimistic about Hardaway’s ability, but...

If the player who signed a signature shoe with Nike at this moment was Grant Hill, Meng Lang believed that Jordan would definitely say "Grant is the most like him"!

This can be said to be another successful marketing by Nike. If it were not for injuries, Hardaway would have had more brilliant resources.

Speaking of which, if Hardaway had not been injured...

After Adidas snatched away Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan and formed the "Adidas Five" to seize the market, the momentum will not be so great. Similarly, Nike may not be so desperate to squeeze out all the treasures. It's on LeBron James.

Nike at that time...

Jordan had just retired. Although he signed Kobe, the "Eagle County Incident" caused his image to plummet. As a result, the mighty Nike could not be a "face". LeBron James appeared at this time. It can really be said that It's "driving the ducks to the shelves", it's not him, it has to be him.

Therefore, those fans who think LeBron is unlucky can really take a break. Whether it is on or off the court, LeBron's opportunities are one after another!

With that kind of packaging, I was originally going to be "the next Jordan", but with a good hand, I suddenly turned into a "seniority battle"...

"Anfernee, these sugar-coated bombs won't knock you out, will they?"

"Don't worry, Dream, I'm just a little excited! This will only make me perform better!"

Hardaway took the initiative and said to Chuck Daly: "Chuck, I will defend Michael in this game!"

He wants to use his ability to prove to Jordan that there is absolutely no shame in wearing his shoes and playing on the court!

Chuck Daly nodded without objection.

The main thing is that he has been mentally prepared. In this game, he can even accept Jordan scoring 50 points!

As long as the rest of the Bulls are locked up, it will be impossible for the Bulls to defeat the Magic!

This is the information analyzed by Chuck Daly after reviewing the last game.

It can actually be seen from his pre-game arrangements that the Magic's defensive tactics will be clearer in this game:

Let go of Jordan, let him swing hard, lock up the rest of the Bulls, and prevent them from performing!

Well, this is actually a helpless move. After analyzing the first game of the series last night, Chuck Daly also came to another helpless conclusion:

No one on the Magic team can limit Jordan!

This "let go of Jordan tactic" is both the best tactic and the most helpless tactic.

As long as Jordan can be restricted, Chuck Daly cannot be mentally prepared for him to score "50 points."

But the Magic are different from the Pistons back then.

At that time, the Pistons had the ability to limit Jordan with their strong forward group and interior defensive capabilities, coupled with his "I want to see blood"; but now the Magic team has strong offensive capabilities, and the iron law of basketball is, As long as you score more points than your opponent, you can win the game!

It's okay if Jordan scores 50 points. As long as everyone else can't score 50 points combined, the Magic can win.

With the Bulls' huge inside disadvantage, it will be difficult for them to prevent the Magic from scoring more than 100 points. ——Just look at the game between the Lakers and the Thunder. The Thunder, with their explosive athletic ability, left Anthony Davis alone without any temper. The current Bulls are facing a "triangle tactic" "Shaq O'Neal with blessing!

The Bulls were once forced to use the "shark-killing" tactic, but in the end, in the second game of the series, the Bulls lost another game 98 to 112, with a score difference of 14 points, and the big score came to 0-2!

However, although there were no surprises on the offensive end of this game, the Magic played smoothly as Chuck Daly thought. However, the other main starters of the Bulls and the "sixth man of the team" combined to score 60 point……

On average, everyone got 10 points!

This data is still somewhat exaggerated.

However, the main force of the Bulls played very well, but Jordan stretched his crotch!

He didn't score 50 points in this game...

Don't say 50 points...

Jordan didn't even score 30 points in this game.

Anfernee Hardaway gave Chuck Daly a surprise. He really did what he said before the game and successfully restricted Jordan.

In this game, Jordan made 23 of 7 shots. Although he got a lot of free throw opportunities by breaking through the basket, his score was only more than 20 points. In the end, he scored 21 points. ——Facing opponents like the Magic and the current Bulls, Jordan only scored 21 points. It is obviously impossible for the Bulls to win the game!

"I actually did it!"

The buzzer sounded. Looking at Jordan's data on the data sheet, Hardaway looked incredulous.

So even though he only scored 15 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists, he was not frustrated at all.

Even so, he can be regarded as "single replacement for Jordan"!

How many people in this league can do such a thing?

　Jordan wore Hardaway's signature shoes and was restricted by Hardaway. These are all real things that happened in the first two games of this series.

　　

　

(End of this chapter)