So I am the god of basketball?

Chapter 122 "Five Stars" vs. "The God of Basketball"

Meng Lang still said this classic trash talk.

Although it has not yet swept Jordan.

But with the big score of 3-0 here, Meng Lang doesn't believe that he will become the Olajuwon in last season's finals.

He has enough confidence in himself and the entire Magic team.

And the situation is really different.

The Rockets’ lineup is here:

"Stars everywhere"!

All tactics revolve around Olajuwon.

This kind of tactics has the ability to win championships. Whether it is Olajuwon, LeBron James or "Antetokounmpo", they have proved this. It’s just that the configuration parameters required by everyone are different.

Olajuwon's "one star and four stars" does not require as high a configuration as the other two.

This can be seen from his original "two consecutive championships".

It's just that they encountered a Magic team with a higher lineup limit and more changes. This time it was nailed to the "historical background board" and could not be moved.

As for the Bulls, apart from being 0-3 behind, they were like the Magic in last year's finals, but in other aspects, they were nothing like them.

Not to mention anything else, just this:

After losing three games in a row, the Magic immediately changed their formation and began to focus on tactics with Meng Lang as the core.

At this point, it is already a change that the Bulls cannot make.

They couldn't find any other way unless they placed their treasure on Jordan...

Just talking about the composition and configuration of the team, the Bulls are more like the Rockets last season.

They have not changed their formation!

Of course, Meng Lang also knew that provoking Jordan like this would definitely lead to strong revenge from this guy.

But don’t forget, in Jordan’s two 40-point performances, the Bulls failed to win, and each game was lost by more than 10 points. In other words, Jordan scored more than 10 points more than these two games. Just now it was possible for the Bulls and Magic to be in a stalemate!

If Jordan can really play in that state, Meng Lang has nothing to say!

This is Jordan, he can do anything on the court!

But without provocation, Meng Lang always felt that this series was too dull.

It felt like what Byron Scott said to him: when playing with Jordan, don't anger him, just win the game quietly.

What's the point of fighting this!

If you don’t pretend to be bad when playing basketball, it’s better to go home and lay the foundation.

If you don’t say it, just show it on your face!

Meng Lang's trash talk quickly spread throughout the United States.

Jordan also responded with actions:

He took off the No. 23 jersey hanging above the Chicago United Arena and wore it on himself. ——He will pay a fine of $5 for this move.

But it doesn't matter, since that bitch wants to see how No. 23 Jordan plays, then Jordan will do what he wants.

And this is actually an intense way.

Not only for himself, but for the entire Bulls team, and for the entire Chicago, it goes without saying what No. 23 Jordan means.

"Come on, that bitch has already told us in last season's finals that 0-3 definitely does not mean death. He nailed Hakeem to the pillar of shame. Now it's our turn!"

Before entering the scene, Jordan, wearing jersey No. 23, also gave an impassioned speech.

This confident look and domineering attitude made the rest of the Bulls inadvertently forget the fact that the team was already 0-3 behind at the moment.

When the heart forgets that taking a step back is the abyss, then the abyss no longer exists!

According to "Tang Niu's Inequality", 0-3≠I am behind!

There is no way out, it is the best way forward!

Such "effective chicken blood" made the entire Bulls team full of momentum when they entered the field.

Jordan came out second to last.

The No. 23 jersey is particularly eye-catching.

Plus the faint smile on his face.

At this moment, the vague figure in the memory of Chicagoans was completely clear.

The great "Bulls leader" is really back!

Eager eyes appeared on the faces of all Chicagoans, and many people had a ridiculous idea:

They wanted to thank Meng Lang...

If it weren't for Meng Lang's aggressiveness, Jordan might never have worn the No. 23 jersey.

This is just like an island country actress changing her stage name. Although she is still the same person, if she is not called by that name, it will always make people feel uncomfortable.

No. 45 Jordan is still Jordan, but Chicagoans want No. 23 Jordan back!

Now, he's really back!

Looking at the cheers from the audience, it is really hard to imagine that this is the atmosphere that a team that is 0-3 behind can have. The rising momentum is just because Jordan changed his number from 45 to 23!

What does the number 23 represent?

The spirit of a king!

Now that Jordan No. 23 is back, Bulls fans believe that anything is possible...

Before Meng Lang went on the field, he checked his clothes and shoes again, tied up his belt again, and tied up his jersey. He looked at the other people next to him, and there were more or less small movements. This is the embodiment of the ups and downs of mentality.

Leading the Bulls 3-0, everyone on the Magic team knew that an amazing achievement was in front of them, and that was:

Sweep Jordan!

This achievement will not enhance their historical status. ——The historical status here is a comparison of honor in a broad sense. But when comparing some teams and players, in a more detailed comparison, this achievement actually has a bonus effect.

For example, many fans will not accept that LeBron James's historical status is above Tim Duncan.

Because of the three finals encounters, Tim Duncan lost once and won twice.

If you lose that time, you may not lose if you try it over again; but if you win that time, you can win it cleanly no matter how many times you try again...

The 4-0 and 4-1 records are really crushing.

No matter what period of "old, middle or young" you are, or what teammate configuration you have, you can't beat me. Why can you be ranked in front of me?

Therefore, eliminating Jordan is definitely an exciting thing. Even 50 years later, it would be a very impressive thing to tell your grandchildren.

I was so excited that I couldn't calm down.

Meng Lang looked at Hardaway next to him and reminded him: "Anfernee, stay calm. The real battle starts from now on!"

No matter what others do, as long as he and Hardaway can maintain a normal rhythm, the Magic's offense will not be chaotic. As long as the Magic plays normal offense, the Bulls will undoubtedly lose.

The first three games have proven this, the Bulls can't contain this Magic team's offense.

The game officially begins after the buzzer sounds.

Hardaway took the ball to the frontcourt, and there was a pick-and-roll between Hardaway and Meng Lang that had been rare in the previous three games.

Jordan was forced in front of Meng Lang. As soon as Meng Lang's hand touched the ball, he threw the ball back to Hardaway's hand.

With a quick first step, Hardaway shook off Pippen and faced Kukoc under the basket. Under the physical confrontation, he hit the ball and got an extra penalty opportunity.

"Ho!"

Hardaway, who has always been reserved, also roared fiercely.

This goal greatly enhanced the momentum of the Magic team and dampened the morale of the Bulls team. The cheers that had been continuing before the game in the audience died down at this moment. Some Chicagoans suddenly returned to reality and clearly realized that so far, they were trailing by a big score of 0-3.

The extra penalty was a solid hit, and Hardaway got a good start for the Magic.

Jordan originally wanted to warm up the hands of his teammates first, and then step up and take over the game. This was a conclusion he came to after careful consideration.

If he has been involved in the offense before, his physical fitness will have problems in the second half, which will prevent him from being involved on both ends of the offense and defense, and without the help of his teammates, he really cannot beat this Magic team.

When Jordan returned to the league again, his thinking began to change from how he led the team to victory to how he should make the team win.

This is the transformation from "boss thinking" to "team thinking".

Jordan is still the same Jordan, but when you look at the overall situation, it's better.

Therefore, it is difficult for Jordan to score 8 points in a single game.

If you are here to win and have no other thoughts, then the fundamentals are here, no matter how bad your performance is, there is a limit.

Many fans will definitely take issue with Kobe.

But there is an issue that cannot be ignored:

Kobe is the only player in "President's Hill" who started as a substitute and worked his way up step by step. His top talent is indeed not as good as that of the "President's Hill" group, and he did appear in the 00 Finals where he was the worst performer. A serious injury to the sprained foot.

If you have to use Kobe as a foil, then you have to say this:

When were you born and when was he born?

If the Lakers let Kobe lose two years in vain, would it be possible to lose weight in the finals?

From cooperating with others to having others cooperating with you, this road has always been the most difficult to walk.

It is normal to have some ups and downs on such a road.

How old would another Kobe be in 00?

In the words of some teams, it is "Young Science"!

On the contrary, a player at his peak age played the worst game of his career in the "life and death battle" of the finals. This is something that cannot be justified in any case.

However, this is Jordan's idea.

But the problem is...

Hardaway came up with a "2 plus 1"!

Jordan's nerves immediately became tense.

For the first shot, he chose to do it himself, a mid-range jumper from a 45-degree angle on the right side, and he hit it steadily!

2-3!

"Defend, defend, let's defend the next goal!"

Jordan shouted eagerly.

From this first ball, he understood that if he wanted to give the other Bulls time to find their feet, it was necessary to contain the Magic's offense for a period of time.

It's just that the Magic team did have a lot of changes today...

It’s not just the “Hameng” connection shown in the first round.

The Magic's second offense was also Meng Lang's finishing shot.

The same mid-range jump shot, return the favor!

5-2.

Jordan had to continue his personal offense with the ball.

Although the counterattack was completed, the Magic's third offense once again found Shaquille O'Neal, who was very confident, and his strong attack under the basket caused damage. An unprecedented two free throws.

Then in the rest of the first quarter, the Magic team continued to finish with "LV".

Michael Jordan looked at the Magic's incredibly high efficiency and had no choice but to put his thoughts on helping his teammates find their touch.

As a result, after the first quarter, Jordan personally took 8 shots, hit 5 of them, and scored 3 points on free throws, for a total of 13 points.

Jordan wanted to create scoring opportunities for his teammates and let them find the feeling of scoring, but his final thoughts deviated from what he had expected before the game.

The score at the end of the first quarter was the same as the previous three games.

Jordan was as fierce as a tiger in one operation, but when he looked back at the score, it was 28 to 35, another 7 points behind!

Bill Walton summarized the Magic's changes tonight: "In this game, the three core players of the Magic entered the state relatively early, and 80% of the shots were completed by the three of them. The efficiency is very high. Obviously, the Magic want to open the score from the first quarter!"

This is what Bill Walton saw from the data.

And Chuck Daly’s tactical intention of making this arrangement has a deeper point:

Forcing Jordan to take action himself.

He had previously expected that even if Jordan scored 50 points, as long as the other Bulls' scores combined could not score 50 points, then the Magic could still win.

The third game of the series also proved this.

Jordan almost scored 50 points, but what was the result?

The Magic still won by 16 points.

The only remaining change for the Bulls, Chuck Daly sees it, is to use Jordan's strong containment to create scoring space for his teammates and help them find their offensive state.

The Bulls, with all their members in improved condition, plus Jordan, are definitely a weapon!

A weapon that even the Magic with 73 wins must be afraid of!

But Chuck Daly knew Jordan's character very well.

On the verge of elimination, Jordan will not allow any signs of being pulled away. If the Magic open up the situation early, Jordan's response will definitely be to make individual shots one after another, using his singles scores to help the team. Maintain the score.

And how can the Magic ensure their initial efficiency and force Jordan to enter "singles mode"?

Need more to say?

Of course it was the "LV" combination that came to the end.

Chuck Daly is a master at calculating people's hearts. The process and results of the first quarter all proved how successful his formation changes in the fourth game of the series were!

The game goes on like this.

The Magic still used the "LV" combination as the main attacker, and Jordan entered the "individual scoring mode" unexpectedly.

Jordan, who has won 7 "scoring titles" and a total of 10 "scoring titles" in his career, has no doubt about his personal scoring ability. The Magic's perimeter rotation was put in front of Jordan by Chuck Daly.

But nothing could stop him from scoring.

Hardaway, who had restricted Jordan well in the previous game, was completely seen through Jordan's defensive routine at this moment. He couldn't keep up with his rhythm at all; Meng Lang's defense of Jordan occasionally had some highlights, and he could guarantee that he would not lose position until the last moment in about 7% of the matchups. But one problem he had was that his core strength was not as good as Jordan's. With his explosive power already lacking, he was still at a disadvantage in physical confrontation. As a result, his defense against Jordan could only be described as an occasional bright spot. As for Anderson, he should have the best defensive effect among the three of them, but it was just that. It’s just that the three of them have the best defensive effect...

Jordan plays harder and harder!

He scored 13 points in the first quarter, and another 15 points in the second quarter. Then in the third quarter, he broke out completely, scoring 20 points in a single quarter. After three quarters, his personal score reached 45 points. !

When he scored his 45th point in the third quarter, the fierce look in his eyes made Anderson, who was standing closest to him, shudder.

He could clearly feel...

Jordan, start risking your life!

It's no wonder that Jordan became more and more angry as he played. You must know that in the first half, he scored 28 points in two quarters, which was not only the highest of the two teams, but was almost broken. Shaquille O'Neal, the Magic's top scorer, only scored 15 points.

But the problem is, in addition to Shaquille O'Neal's 15 points, there are also Meng Lang's 13 points and Hardaway's 11 points.

In addition, Grant also scored 9 points in the first half, plus Anderson who hit two 3-pointers...

In ancient times, there was a play about "Three Heroes vs. Lu Bu", and now there is a Magic team's "Five Stars" vs. "The God of Basketball"!

In comparison, the Bulls could provide very little help to Jordan. Pippen scored 9 points in the half, which was already the best performance among the rest of the Bulls...

The Bulls trailed by 13 points at halftime!

How can Jordan not be angry in this kind of game where the score difference gets bigger the more you play?

However, after this outbreak, the Bulls successfully narrowed the point difference to 7 points and entered the fourth quarter of the game...

(End of this chapter)