So I am the god of basketball?

Chapter 145: The fight for class and power broke down on the way to the official stage.

The buzzer sounded, and on the big screen was a picture of a calm-looking Meng Lang being overwhelmed by Magic players coming from all directions.

Excitement filled every Magic player who rushed towards Meng Lang.

Hardaway's face showed uncontrollable excitement and visible surprise.

Jordan completed the winning goal in a singles, which was an image that he did not dare to dream of in his dreams, but his brother Lang was now in front of him and completed it abruptly.

Shaquille O'Neal also had a look of shock on his face. He never expected that Meng Lang would make such a choice in this last attack. He singled Jordan and completed the score. You are so awesome. Is it made by your family?

O'Neal was convinced by Meng Lang. ——Although this does not mean that he is willing to assist Meng Lang. These are two different things. Even if Wade is honest and honest, if you ask him to be the "second boss" at Shaq's current age, he will definitely not be willing to... right?

As a human being, who would be willing to be someone else's "second child" and be pinched by someone else's crotch?

But Meng Lang's goal once again refreshed his recognition of Meng Lang and directly reached a new height.

Think about it carefully, it is also very interesting to become teammates with such a guy in the first few years of your career, right?

Anyway, Shaquille O'Neal didn't think he could suppress Jordan like this.

This is...

When the score is tied, the buzzer-beating shot is not considered a buzzer-beater?

"This Magic team is really powerful!"

So cool, so cool!

The reporter mentioned the choice of attacking Meng Lang in the last attack. He heard what Meng Lang said to Jordan, so his eyes were full of surprise at the moment. He was surprised by the conversation between Meng Lang and Jordan, and even more surprised that this guy actually did it in the end. this matter!

Thinking about it again, this is not the first time he has done something like this.

No one felt that Jordan was the real Jordan last season!

The question he wanted to ask the most was, are you really not afraid, dream!

But he had to ask the question according to the text, so his question was: "Can you tell me the reason why you chose to play singles at the last moment?"

He sublimated the theme!

The host of the interview was stunned for a long time after hearing these words.

So before this game, all Bulls fans believed that tonight the Bulls will wash away the humiliation of last season. Jordan is still the same Jordan. To describe it in two words:

Invincible!

After reading the technical statistics, winning this game gave Meng Lang a feeling of pleasure like drinking ice cream in the dog days of summer. In the end, he defeated Jordan, which doubled this feeling.

Just like the Bulls, all members of the Magic are online.

It can be said that the Bulls' "Iron Triangle" performed to the extreme tonight and fully demonstrated their characteristics.

At first, Meng Lang planned to step on Pippen and pretend to compete with Jordan, but when the words came out, he felt that he was not strong enough, so...

"However, my suggestion is that Michael should be familiar with this feeling, because this is a new era! He wants to regain his dominance, which is not an easy road. I know many fans think that the Magic won two games. The consecutive championships are because Jordan chose to retire, but the 'Christmas Game' from the end of last season to tonight was enough to make everyone realize one thing clearly..."

So powerful, so unstoppable, so arrogant...

Seeing this, Meng Lang called him "perverted".

In fact, if the "Most Shot" badge hadn't been activated during this game, I'm afraid this "Christmas War" wouldn't have ended without two overtimes.

"Big Bug" Rodman also has "classic Rodman" statistics: 7 points and 21 rebounds, including 7 offensive rebounds, which is simply crazy!

At the beginning of the second half, he gradually gained more shots, and coupled with the winning goal at the last moment, his score successfully exceeded 40 points and reached 43 points! In addition, he completed the "killer" tonight and won the victory.

Meng Lang said: "In the first half, I faced Scottie and completed a single, which made me realize that I was in good condition tonight. I had every reason to do this in the last attack, and... when the score was tied Under the circumstances, making any shot selection is not a stressful thing for me!"

Jordan!

Chuck Daly also had a bit of uneasiness in his eyes.

No matter how many times he has defeated others, it is better to defeat Meng Lang and the Magic once; and if he loses to the Magic again, then for him, even if the Bulls are strong enough and have only lost one game before tonight, it is equivalent to not losing a game. win……

Before tonight, the Bulls had only lost one game. Everyone was saying that the Bulls were about to become another team after the Magic last season to score 70 plus wins in a single season.

Come to think of it, no one would say that his 43 points were inferior to Jordan's 59 points!

In addition, for the Bulls, Pippen, who was in poor offensive form in the first half, regained his offensive feeling in the second half with the help of Jordan. He scored 24 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks;

But today's Magic team has really done it! ——Yes, no matter what, most people, including Chuck Daly, regard this victory as the first real defeat of Jordan.

Bill Walton looked at this scene and said: "For Michael, who is used to winning, tonight is destined to be difficult." He knew very well that although the Bulls were eye-catching enough this season, the one Jordan wanted to defeat most was definitely Meng Lang and the Magic, this is Jordan's obsession. This is a small-minded guy, and everyone in the league knows his character.

What is called……

There is no doubt that this is the most exciting game since the new season. The two teams that dominate the league played the dominance they should have in tonight's "Christmas War", the highest stage of the regular season. The Bulls' " "Ace" combination Qiaopi faced off against the Magic's "LV" three new heroes. They were sometimes restricted, but also performed eye-catchingly at critical moments. Until the last moment, they became the "Ace vs. Ace" between Jordan and Meng Lang. It should be like this, it should be. in this way. But the final “winner” was a bit beyond everyone’s expectations:

Meng Lang defeated Jordan again, and he did so in the way Jordan was best at:

Shooting plus "killer"!

This is a scene that is destined to be a classic. If Meng Lang really replaces Jordan and establishes his own dynasty in the future, then this moment will definitely be considered by everyone as the beginning of "seizing power."

Then he said after the game, "When I found out I wasn't the first player to score 50 points on Jordan, I changed my mind and scored 60 points!"

In the last attack of the game, he dared to say such arrogant words to stimulate Jordan.

But the result...

But it’s classic enough!

Jordan put his hands on his hips and looked at the cheering Magic team members with a disappointed expression, as if he had not yet woken up from being "killed". It took him a long time to make his next move:

Walking towards the active player channel without looking back.

When they met for the first time in the regular season, he asked Jordan before the game: "Has anyone ever scored 50 points on your head?"

"When the score was tied, the buzzer beater was not considered a buzzer beater in my opinion. It was just an ordinary goal!"

Meng Lang wiped his sweat on the bench and began to be interviewed by reporters on the sidelines. During this period, the staff showed him tonight's statistics so that he could answer the questions better...

Under the restless celebrations, there is a "Silent Hill" in the auditorium of the United Arena, with people holding their heads, scratching their hair, and wearing "pain masks". As "human misery" as it is, this is what the Chicago Bulls are at this moment. Sample!

He and the Pistons once defeated Jordan, but they only suppressed this guy through the "Jordan Law" and a series of methods that are no longer allowed in the league. Even Chuck Daly would not dare to think about defeating Jordan with offense.

Chicago is strong enough this year, so strong that everyone is paying attention.

而魔术队这边，孟浪除了43分外，还有5个篮板跟6次助攻以及2个抢断；沙克-奥尼尔拿到29分13篮板，罚球13罚9中；安芬尼-哈达威拿到了23分5篮板7助攻；格兰特拿到了16分10篮板……

After Meng Lang was surrounded by the Magic team members, what he left to the fans at the scene was still his cold handsome face, but it was about to become a nightmare for this city...

公牛队这边，乔丹最终的数据定格在了59分6篮板7助攻3抢断1盖帽。

Is it because of this reason that you have been expressionless just now?

It also……

Isn't it too pretentious?

The ABC supporter who interviewed Meng Lang was a pose host, and he had also interviewed Larry Bird before.

One thing that is undeniable is that he recognizes Meng Lang's strength, but he has always felt that in a certain sense, there is still some distance between Meng Lang and Larry Bird. But now, seeing Meng Lang's pretense with his own eyes, He felt that Meng Lang overlapped with Larry Bird's shadow at this moment.

I want to see who dares to say that he is not another "Larry Bird" now!

At the same time that the courtside interview ended, other members of the Bulls and Magic also began to be interviewed by other reporters in the player tunnel.

This is the "Christmas Day Game" that is broadcast live across the United States, and it is a matchup between the Magic and the Bulls that attracts a lot of traffic, so the reporters who came to the scene tonight almost packed the entire arena.

So even though many players were being interviewed at the same time, the reporters surrounding them were from three levels inside and three outside.

Jordan was being interviewed in the Bulls' home team locker room. He had an ice pack tied to his knee to cool down. The expression on his face was a little gloomy. I don't know if it was because of the slight sting caused by the ice pack or because the reporters' questions were too troubling. .

"This was a wonderful game. Congratulations to the boy for his wonderful kill. I look forward to our next meeting."

Apart from generous congratulations, Jordan was unwilling to talk about any more topics related to Meng Lang, which shows that he is not really generous. This is also Jordan's usual approach. When he is stepped on, he will not have any unnecessary explanations. Just like so many "Jordan Terminators" he has encountered in the past, and when he loses, his attitude will always be "We'll see"!

Not admitting defeat and not speaking harshly, these are Jordan's two major characteristics.

He will no longer be obsessed with his own performance or the team's performance. It may be a kind of self-confidence developed by winning.

Pippen talked about tonight's matchup with Meng Lang and Meng Lang's performance tonight: "He is a very difficult guy. The number of times we play against him is increasing, and he is becoming more and more difficult. His growth The progress can be seen, but I still believe that we will win the next duel, and I look forward to meeting him again."

By the end, there was a more obvious sense of exhaustion in his tone than usual.

He tried in vain to force some smile.

Damn!

What's wrong with me? Why am I so tired?

Tonight he played 42 minutes and 34 seconds, 5 seconds longer than Jordan, but this is not the first time he has played on the court for such a long time, but now the feedback his body is giving him is better than playing a game." "Back to back" is still exhausting.

In addition to the two major "traffic", there are also a lot of reporters around Kukoc. He looks very frustrated. Not only did he get 7 points and 3 rebounds due to his poor performance tonight, but more importantly, he There are more and more cracks in the monument of "Invincible Jordan".

This is the sixth time Meng Lang has defeated his idol in a row. From March to the end of December this year, Jordan has not won even a game against Meng Lang. This kind of continuous setback is unacceptable to his fans. of.

Michael…

Are you old?

No one could give him an accurate answer.

Rodman attended the Bulls' post-game press conference. When reporters mentioned Meng Lang, he responded with silence.

"Big Chong"'s performance tonight was actually not bad, but Meng Lang performed better and took away the victory. Rodman naturally thought that he was stepped on by Meng Lang again. Frustrated, he broke the microphone on the table.

Because a reporter asked: "Will you congratulate Dream's child on his birth?"

That is to say, this reporter is not in front of Rodman, otherwise he would probably feel "a pain in the balls" at this moment. But he also felt that Rodman was looking at him with the most terrifying look he had ever seen.

This made him wisely close his mouth.

His presence on the court is not as good as Meng Lang's, and women off the court can't beat Meng Lang. For Rodman, this is really a failure that opens the door to failure, a complete failure!

The Magic team unanimously praised Meng Lang.

O'Neal's expression was exaggerated: "This is really incredible, that guy can always do this kind of thing!"

Hardaway also looked excited: "He said he was going to duel with Michael, and then he completed the mid-range shot in front of Michael and returned it, oh, man~" He seemed to still be recalling the scene at that time.

Chuck Daly spoke in a normal tone about what happened on the bench when the Magic were preparing for the final possession: "When Dream said give me the ball, I knew it was over! This is Dream!" "

……

Just like that, the Orlando Magic left Chicago with a not smooth but refreshing victory.

Early the next morning, the entire American media also reported on the game in various ways:

"This is destined to be the most classic 'Christmas Game'. Meng Lang scored 43 points and Jordan scored 59 points in a stunning victory."

"At the last moment of 1v1, Meng Lang forcibly grabbed the baton that was still in Michael Jordan's hand!" "The most intense game, this era is really going to change!"

"Michael Jordan once again scored and lost the game. He should still remember this situation!"

"The best Christmas game, the best Jordan meets the coldest dream!"

"A buzzer beater when the score is tied is not a real buzzer beater. When Meng Lang talked about his last shot, he said frankly: There was no pressure, it was just like an ordinary shot!"

……

The game was exciting enough, but what made this game exciting were various factors both on and off the field.

A video of Meng Lang's agreement with Jordan for the final one-on-one duel leaked out. The clear voice, confident tone, and final result made Meng Lang's "arrogance" in this league even higher.

At the same time, at the end of this game, more and more voices in the league began to believe that Meng Lang was about to take over from Jordan and become the "founder of the next era." Naturally, the origin of this voice was that Jordan had his first meeting with Meng Lang in the regular season last season. They met, and by the end of this game tonight, there were a total of 6 games, all lost!

Last season's defeat can be attributed to his not fully recovering. ——In fact, when he scored 55 points in the regular season and 69 points in the last game of the playoffs, some media believed that he had found his form. But it was refuted by some media as "scoring more does not mean being dominant".

Of course, these voices have no credentials now.

Jordan leads the scoring list with 30.4 points per game, and the Bulls also boast the league's best record of losing only one game before the "Christmas Day War." All of this shows that Jordan and the Bulls have regained everything they once had.

If this kind of Jordan is not a "complete Jordan", let alone others who don't agree, even Jordan himself has no face to say such a thing.

It is also for this reason that when Jordan and the Bulls lost to Meng Lang and the Magic again, even if they were only defeated by a 2-point difference, if they lost, they lost, and if they couldn't beat them, they couldn't beat them.

The "Iron Triangle" of the Bulls have fully utilized their abilities, but they are still no match for Meng Lang and the Magic.

Then it is easy to draw such a conclusion:

It's going to change!

Although many fans don't want to believe that someone can actually pull Jordan down from the altar, it all happened like that. The omens are so strong that people have to believe it even if they don't believe it...

"Magic" Johnson suddenly broke an old news at this time: "Everyone knows that Dream was the caddy of the 'Dream Team' at that time. We played two training matches and the second training match ended. After that, I had a conversation with Larry. After that game, we both felt the impact Michael had on us. Now it seems that there is nothing wrong with this feeling. We didn’t feel wrong. This guy really did. The impact!”

These words were quickly verified by Larry Bird. In fact, there was no need to verify, because Larry Bird said that he did not perform well in one of the training matches against Meng Lang, and asked him to say Trash talk. .

These two things are connected together, which proves that Johnson’s interview was not a lie.

But this has aroused heated discussion from the outside world:

What kind of performance did Meng Lang perform in that game!

There was such a rumor as "kicking Jordan's ass", which made Johnson and Larry Bird feel like this at the time. This was Johnson and Larry Bird!

It is no exaggeration to say that the two of them dominated the NBA in the 80s!

A performance that can make "Black and White" so emotional...

They really want to see how 18-year-old Meng Lang plays!

In addition, a brand new scouting report on Meng Lang came out, compiled by ESPN. In their latest program, Meng Lang's performance this season was updated in a timely manner:

"When we lamented that the Chicago Bulls were so strong this season, Dream quietly had some changes! We once said that his template was 'Chris Mullin', and this impression has stayed with us for a long time. It’s been a while, but now, it’s time, let’s overthrow this impression and see a brand new dream!”

So far this season, Meng Lang has averaged 24.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game, shooting 52.5% from the field, 44.5% from three-point range, and 90% from free throws.

"On the offensive end, Meng Lang, who focused on shooting last season, has significantly increased the frequency of offense with the ball. This season, his proportion of holding the ball in each game has reached 15.4%, which is about 8.6% higher than last season. The offensive efficiency The choice is still to focus on catching and shooting after running without the ball, and shooting with the ball by himself. Under this general framework, he has more face-to-face attacks, and his ability to forcefully kill the basket has improved with the improvement of his physical fitness. There is a significant improvement, as can be seen from the number of dunks. Meng Lang, who had not dunked once in the previous two seasons, has completed 20 dunks this season, almost reaching the frequency of 1 dunk per game, which is better than many dunkers in the league who are famous for dunks. There are many generals!”

“The increase in the proportion of holding the ball is mainly reflected in his supporting side with the ball. This season, his average assists per game have not increased, but the number of indirect assists has increased significantly. Dream, who averaged 5.5 indirect assists per game last season, has averaged 7.25 indirect assists per game this season. The average number of indirect assists has reached !"

The Magic's internal and external connection now relies more on Meng Lang on the wing.

Of course, Hardaway's data is also exaggerated, but it just so happens that Meng Lang helped him find more suitable players to shoot many of his shots.

At least half of his indirect assists were obtained through the "transit station" Meng Lang.

"Then there is the defensive end. This season's dream, when defending, the frequency of active confrontation has increased, and he has outstanding lateral movement. His presence on the defensive end is no less than that of Anderson, who is mainly responsible for single defense on the outside. In terms of strength confrontation, Meng Lang is now He is no longer inferior against most second positions, and even has a slight advantage! There is reason to believe that he can have better defensive capabilities."

Finally, ESPN gave their closure:

"The more accurate template for Meng Lang now should be the defensively enhanced version of Larry Bird."

"I don't mean to disrespect Larry Bird's defensive ability. As the 'Big Bird' born at the fourth position, he has very good single defense and assist defense, but this is only limited to facing forward players. When facing outside players, , especially when faced with faster defenders, it is difficult for him to parry."

"Dream has the height of a striker, but he won't be a loophole when facing average speedy guards. Except for those guards who are more explosive and guards who are too short, Dream doesn't perform well. Under normal circumstances, he and Anderson is the defensive barrier for the Magic!"

According to ESPN, Meng Lang is very likely to enter the "Best Defensive Team" in the future. Even if he does not reach the height of the "Best Defensive First Team", he should be able to enter the "Best Defensive Second Team".

This article aroused heated discussion in the outside world, but there was not much questioning or ridicule. At least, not as loud as the doubts caused when ESPN said he was the next "Chris Mullin."

There is a reason for this. Meng Lang is no longer the young boy he was back then. He now has two finals MVPs and a regular season MVP. Moreover, everyone has been calling "the next Larry Bird" for so long. Is there anyone who still objects at this time?

On the contrary, this scouting report made many people think that it more clearly demonstrated Meng Lang's current abilities and characteristics.

When Meng Lang was asked what he thought about his new template, he just said lightly:

"I am very satisfied!"

The Magic continued with the rest of their schedule, all ended in December, and they lost another game.

This allowed them to happily return to Chicago with the "League No. 1" they had chased in the "Christmas War". However, neither the Orlando media nor Magic fans care much about this matter.

So what if the Bulls are "first in the league"?

If you say I'll fight, I'll fight!

For a rich man like Jack Ma, do you still care about what he is wearing?

For a team like the Magic, do you still care that he is ranked No. 1 now?

Don't panic at all!

The "December Player of the Month" subsequently issued by the league seemed to confirm this.

Although the Magic lost one more game than the Bulls, Meng Lang still won this month's "Player of the Month Award". Jordan, who won the "Best Player of the Month" in November, did not regret not being able to defend his title.

The New York Times is never too late to speak out:

"Now Jordan has 5 accounts to settle with Dream!"

Lost 3 times, plus once for the jersey, and now the "Player of the Month Award" once.

After the time entered January, the Magic also faced some troubles.

For a mature team like this, the general trouble is not that it has a big impact on the team. There are occasional fluctuations, but they can rise back quickly. Just like Moutai's stock, stability is a word.

The thing that makes the Magic call it "trouble" is naturally injuries:

Shaquille O'Neal suffered a major injury, one that was worse than last season. It is initially expected that he will be absent for almost a month this time.

This is just a preliminary estimate, it may take longer, maybe two months.

And about two games after Shaquille O'Neal suffered an injury, even more trouble came:

Yes, it's still injuries, and this time it was "Cobra" Grant who was hit by injuries.

His injury is less severe than O'Neal's, but in the doctor's opinion, he won't be able to return in a week or two.

Meng Lang had already expected that the two of them would be injured:

Because originally this season, the Magic team encountered a large-scale injury wave.

Shaquille O'Neal ended up playing only 54 games this season, and even had him come on the bench for two games to protect him; Grant ended up missing 19 games this season, including one game as a substitute;

Two generals were injured in a row, and they are also the pillars of the inside.

The powerful Magic team suddenly became "internally troubled".

Fortunately, at the end of December, they had just played the Bulls and also played the SuperSonics, which was the top team in the East and West at the time. After playing with the two teams, in the next 12 games, the Magic faced nothing but crap!

Hardaway and Meng Lang were "double stars shining". Even though their average rebounds per game were not as good as their opponents, they managed to post a record of 4 wins and 1 loss.

Meng Lang's scoring average exceeded 30 points per game during this time. Although his shooting percentage dropped to 45.3%, without being restrained in the interior, being able to achieve such a shooting percentage is actually considered a pass!

During this period, Hardaway's scoring average also soared to 25 points per game, with two games scoring "20 plus 10". With more possession of the ball, he made full use of his breakthrough ability.

It was also due to the performance of the two of them that they won 5 out of 4 games with more rounds and super scoring ability even though the rebounds were not as good as their opponents.

Even the game we lost was because our opponent was firing on all cylinders.

The Kings, who averaged only 5.6 three-pointers per game this season, actually made 13 three-pointers, and what's more, they shot 45% from the field.

This kind of "explosive seed" is really fatal to the Magic team, which has no advantage inside.

If you really want to say it, even if they have an advantage inside and the Kings are so accurate from beyond the three-point line, the Magic may not be able to win...

Meng Lang and Hardaway were in such a state that the entire Orlando media was stunned, and the outside media was also in deep thought.

Everyone believes that the strength of this Magic team is due to the combination of "LV" and "Cobra" Grant.

This is a kind of power on paper, power that can be seen at a glance.

But now the Magic can still continue to win and remain strong even though they lack the inside duo.

"Why Dream can win two consecutive Finals MVPs and a regular season MVP? The Magic's record during this period can give you the answer!" - This is the "Los Angeles Times" view on this matter .

The Orlando media, who were originally worried that the Magic's record would plummet, also took the initiative to publish an article, admitting that they underestimated Dream's ability and misjudged the situation.

Ok……

After the news came out that O'Neal and Grant were injured, the Orlando media were more pessimistic than any media. They even believed that the Magic would not be able to achieve a 50% winning rate for a long time!

But now, Meng Lang has used his actual performance to prove that these ideas are wrong:

Less than 50%?

Huh~

80%!

Subsequently, the Magic's record declined as the opponents they encountered gradually became stronger, but they still maintained a 60% winning rate.

In the entire Eastern Conference, only three teams have a record of more than 60%. Apart from the Magic, they are the Bulls and Pacers!

After losing two generals, O'Neal and Grant, in a row, the Magic are still the top three teams in the Eastern Conference!

A month will soon pass. During this period, the Magic won 15 of 9 games. The winning rate in January was exactly 60%...

The team doctor also reported good news. Grant is recovering very well and will be back in a week.

But just before Grant was about to come back in the game, Meng Lang accidentally knocked off his shoulder during a duel and at the same time poked his opponent with his little finger...

"Oh, No!"

Chuck Daly, who had not lost his temper when Shaquille O'Neal was injured and Grant was injured before, looked at Meng Lang's painful appearance and subconsciously grabbed his hair with both hands, with a look of collapse on his face.

A big red exclamation point also appeared in his mind:

Finished!

(End of this chapter)