So I am the god of basketball?

Chapter 146 He should be prepared to come back early

In this game, the Magic faced the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers are currently ranked 6th in the Western Conference and are a strong team in the playoffs. In terms of hard power, they are not far behind the Magic, who are currently experiencing injuries to both their "twin towers" inside. Therefore, before the round when Meng Lang was injured, the score between the two teams was very close, 67 to 68, and the score difference was only 1 point.

After Meng Lang left the field injured, the Trail Blazers quickly opened up the score and finally won the game 100 to 89, with a score difference of 11 points.

However, for the entire Magic team, the defeat in this game is of no importance. What is more important is the condition of Meng Lang's injury. After Chuck Daly watched Meng Lang come off the field, his thoughts were always on him. As soon as the game ended, he hurriedly shook hands with the Trail Blazers head coach and then walked towards the team's locker room.

The team doctor conducted the first examination, and the situation was not optimistic. Now he has been sent to the hospital for detailed diagnosis.

This was probably the most difficult night in Orlando in the past three years. Hardaway's remarks when facing reporters are enough to illustrate the emotions of all Orlando people: "Dream's injury will affect the morale of the entire Magic team!"

He is so crucial to this team!

Chuck Daly was also very helpless after the game: "You know, this is part of the NBA. We try to avoid injuries, but damn injuries will always happen... Damn it!"

He said "damn it" twice in a row, obviously in an extremely bad mood.

The next day, the results of Meng Lang's magnetic resonance imaging came out. The moment the news came out, a deep sigh was heard throughout Orlando:

Meng Lang's shoulder was dislocated and his entire arm was severely strained. But that's not the worst thing. The worst thing is his little finger. After two reexaminations, it was basically confirmed that there was a fracture.

When will he be able to exert such pressure on Jordan?

Ok!

"ESPN" also expressed regret for the Magic, which suffered a wide range of injuries during this period: "This is the reason why there are so few 'three consecutive championships' in this league. In addition to the strength of the team, the strength of the opponent, and more importantly, , there are also a series of factors including injuries that are affecting the pace of the "three consecutive championships". These are factors that need to be overcome. The good news is that the Magic have not completely lost the opportunity to create a "three consecutive championships" . As long as they can keep their ranking in the top three in the Eastern Conference, as long as they don't meet the Bulls before the Eastern Conference Finals, and wait until Dream returns, then they will still have a chance to create a 'dynasty'!"

And he is gradually adapting to the feeling of high-frequency shooting. If he is allowed to play two more games, he feels that he can compete with Jordan for the "scoring king" this season!

With the rampage in January, his scoring average has approached 1 points per game, and is about to reach 27.6 points per game!

"It is worth mentioning that Dream not only maintains outstanding efficiency on the offensive end, he also has a very tough side on the defensive end. His confrontation shots are almost from the beginning to the end of every game. You can always see him. Actively return to defense instead of spending all your energy on the offensive end, or just trying hard to mark the opponent's arrows for one round..."

And he is relatively lucky. He only has a broken little finger and a dislocated shoulder, which are not major injuries that affect his physical fitness. Although he is now out for the season, as long as he rests and waits for recovery, there will be no sequelae.

In this league, except for the "Big Bird" who gave Jordan a two-round sweep, no one else can achieve a worse record than Meng Lang. It was also for this reason that Barkley subconsciously believed that Meng Lang and Jordan would fight for seven games...

"He just showed such an attitude on both ends of the offense and defense, and then played full time on the court, averaging nearly 40 minutes per game. This is a role that Dream has never assumed in the past. I have to admit that he completed it very well, but It consumes his body like this. In an era like this, injuries are normal! Michael has also experienced something like this!"

In other words, they must at least ensure that they are ranked second or third in the Eastern Conference, or simply fall to the sixth or seventh position in the Eastern Conference... The good news is that they have won a lot in the past, and they are currently ahead of the Pacers, who are third in the Eastern Conference. 4 wins, and the Cavaliers, who are fourth in the Eastern Conference, have 6 wins.

Meng Lang curled his lips: "Charles, I need to remind you that my current record against that guy is 6 wins and 0 losses, and I haven't lost yet!"

Even if they can't hold on to the second position, they should be able to prevent themselves from falling to the fourth position in the Eastern Conference.

“His scoring average is second only to Michael Jordan’s 32.5 points!”

The good news is that he once beat "Big Bird", so if you think about it, he can be regarded as beating Jordan.

The final report was no different from the results Meng Lang had already obtained.

"Crazy for love, Madonna shows up in Orlando with a bulging belly to become Meng Lang's 'nanny'!"

After all, Grant is about to return, and Shaquille O'Neal should be able to return in another month.

Grover then also talked about Meng Lang's problems: "His physical strength has become better, and he has become more proactive in confrontation. These are all positive feedbacks brought by the 'Breakfast Club', but At the same time, this also caused a higher intensity load on his body's bones. Injuries mean that he needs a good rest. Of course, there are also some areas that need improvement..."

And with the Bulls in the East...

It is a well-known thing that the league's "goat" will lose to the last place in the league without three main teammates. Naturally, Hardaway cannot compete with the Phoenix Suns. Even though the Suns are not very strong this season, they are only ranked seventh in the Western Conference and almost fell out of the playoffs.

Generally, the recovery period for a little finger fracture is two months, and the recovery of the entire hand will take another one to two months. In other words, under ideal conditions, Meng Lang would not be able to recover until late May at the earliest. Return to the court, and if the recovery is slower, it may not be possible until June before a complete comeback.

Grant's comeback will be in the next game, so only Hardaway will lead the team in this game.

In other words, Chinese players in the NBA have more or less similar problems.

These more authoritative views are somewhat anachronistic in this era.

The next game for the Magic is at home against the Phoenix Suns.

Buckley was in a much better mood.

For example, Kobe gained weight during the 04-05 season and was called "Little Malone" for a period of time. However, he felt that such physical exertion was unbearable because he immediately lost weight.

Meng Lang actually faced such a problem.

This record made Barkley call it "abnormal", and he almost drooled from his eyes with envy.

"Bleacher Report" believes that Meng Lang's injury has long been a sign: "Dream's performance during this period has been watched by everyone. He is full of dominance. Throughout January, he averaged 1 points, 30.5 rebounds and 6 rebounds per game. Assists, 7.5 steals, and three-point shooting. He is still the best player in the league. No one. For such a player, he still shot a lot from the three-point line last season. He is the best shooter in the NBA regardless of production or efficiency. He still needs to keep up. If other players share the title of 'Best Three-Point Shooting', I think this is the biggest disrespect to Dream!"

If the Magic wants to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, they must avoid meeting the Bulls before the Eastern Conference Finals.

Madonna showed up in Orlando with a big belly, and brought an elite medical team specially recruited by her agent to conduct another round of diagnosis on Meng Lang's injuries.

In the 90s, most media's attitude towards injuries was: irresistibility and bad luck!

But in the face of more authoritative sports science, many injuries can be avoided.

But Barkley's presence makes this Suns team still competitive.

Barkley took the initiative to run to the Magic bench before the game, asked about Meng Lang's injury, and finally patted him on the shoulder: "I look forward to you and that braised egg fighting in another 7 games in the playoffs!"

Yao Ming's stress fracture, Yi Jianlian's "three minor injuries in one day and one major injury in three days", including the less diligent Sun Yue, have all encountered injuries that affected their performance on this court.

Otherwise, it would be really unsatisfactory for him to get injured after just playing a few games! ——During this period, there was no Shaquille O'Neal to share the shooting rights here, so he was happy. He had never shot so well before.

The headlines of the day in the Hong Kong gossip media were:

But these reports reminded him that the next time he draws cards, he has to look forward to more cards with ability to resist injuries!

damn it!

Meng Lang was very reluctant, but the current situation was that he could only rest in peace.

It's a pity that I encountered an injury...

It cannot be said that the bones of Asians cannot adapt to such intensity of confrontation, but at least it means that this is a "traditional art", and it is normal for Meng Lang to feel that he cannot avoid it.

This news is certainly not good news for the Magic, which aims to defend its title, because it means that if the Magic want to wait until Meng Lang returns, they need to persist until the Eastern Conference Finals, or even the Finals...

Hardaway rarely leads a team with such an outrageous "single core". His personal performance is only an ordinary 21 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists. The Magic team has no one else to stand up, so naturally they can only watch the Suns from Orlando. The arena took away the victory.

Barkley didn't feel any joy. Winning against such a dilapidated Magic team was not something to be happy about. Moreover, the Suns' record this season is here, and they have completely fallen out of the first tier of the Western Conference.

Speaking of which, he sympathizes with the current situation of the Magic, because one of the main reasons for the Suns' poor record is also caused by injuries.

The two core players of the team, Kevin Johnson and Danny Manning, have suffered season-ending injuries. In terms of tragedy, they should have been ranked first in the league, but in recent times The Magic achieved "overtaking in a corner" and became an even more miserable team.

Especially since they just defeated the Bulls in the "Christmas Day War", it makes their recent experience even more tragic.

Look at Michael Jordan and the Bulls continuing to dominate. The team has only lost 4 games so far, which makes Barkley want to curse:

This old boy's life is really good!

The Magic dominated the league for two seasons and defeated them in the "Christmas Day War". As a result, a large number of injuries immediately appeared. Who would believe that this kid is not the "lucky boy" of the NBA?

Barkley felt sorry for Meng Lang, because according to the current situation, he had a good chance of completely ending Jordan's era this season, but now... there has to be a big question mark.

The most critical question is whether he can come back this season, and what kind of situation the Magic will be in when he comes back...

This is the most critical thing. If Meng Lang cannot come back this season, then everything will be out of the question.

The Magic welcomed Grant back in the next game, and Hardaway finally had help on the court.

In the first game back, Grant obviously still needed to find his form. His performance was not very good. Every layup with a wide open space was missed. In the end, he only got 11 points and 6 rebounds.

So much so that even if Hardaway scored 33 points, it would be difficult for him to lead the team to defeat the Jazz with the "Utah Double Evil".

Counting the game in which Meng Lang was injured and left the game and ultimately lost, the Magic ushered in a "three-game losing streak." After Meng Lang was injured, they have not won even a game.

"The army was defeated like a mountain"...

This word is perfect to describe the Magic team in front of us.

After the Magic lost to the Jazz, "ESPN" gave the news headline: "Now, Orlando people should know the importance of Dream to this team! What's bad is that they will have to wait for a long time to come. Keep feeling this bad for a while.”

I don’t know if it was because of ESPN’s poison. In Grant’s second game back, they faced the Cavaliers, the fourth-placed team in the Eastern Conference, and the Magic ended up winning 99-90, a 9-point deficit to avoid continuing their losing streak.

This victory also allowed the Magic to take a big breather.

Because after this "three-game losing streak", the Pacers and the Cavaliers have narrowed the very big difference in wins. If the original Magic team still had a considerable winning advantage, then the current Magic team must have a pressing need. Feeling.

This victory in direct dialogue means that the Magic win one game and win two games!

However, just when the Orlando media thought that everything was about to get on track and the Magic were about to return to their previous 60% winning rate, the Magic suffered another losing streak. It was not until the All-Star Weekend that they got Meng Lang's injury. Game 2 victory.

So far in February, Orlando has 2 wins and 4 losses.

Excluding the two games with Meng Lang in February, the Magic's record during this period was 2 wins and 2 losses.

This record makes Orlando's prospects suddenly dim.

Now they can only hope that O'Neal will come back soon.

The good news is that Shaquille O'Neal's recovery speed is within expectations, the bad news is:

Even if he recovers well, it will still take him almost 3 weeks to come back!

Three weeks, that is, 3 games... Those media who were optimistic about the Magic's record before are no longer optimistic that the Magic can maintain its top three ranking in the Eastern Conference before Shaquille O'Neal returns!

Meng Lang was a little confused at first. Supposedly, the original Magic team encountered a similar situation, but they still ended up with a record of 60 wins and 22 losses. The combat effectiveness shouldn't be this bad.

But he soon came to his senses.

The original Magic team did suffer serious injuries to Grant and Shaquille O'Neal, but the lineup at that time also had elite players like Denis Scott and Brian Shaw, and in this time and space, because With Meng Lang's salary, Pat Williams does not have the money to keep Scott, nor does he have the money to strengthen the back line like Brian Shaw. In addition, the Magic's offensive system originally relied on him to open up the situation. Now that he is missing, the natural combat effectiveness has dropped significantly, not to mention that the combat effectiveness of Shaquille O'Neal has not yet returned.

Turning into fish belly is actually quite normal.

Chemical reactions can be really fatal sometimes. Don’t you think that when a “luxury ship” is formed in the future, it will also go to hell in the beginning?

It was still in the "doomsday run-in" of "8 consecutive defeats" that it gradually grew into a veritable "spaceship".

The same is true for the current Magic team. Large-scale injuries require this team to re-adjust.

Under such circumstances, even if two more members of the Magic team are selected for the starting lineup and four members are selected for the All-Star lineup during this year's All-Star Weekend, Orlandoans cannot be excited about the upcoming All-Star Weekend.

not to mention……

There’s really no reason to get excited!

Although four people have been selected to the All-Stars, Meng Lang and Shaquille O'Neal have decided not to attend this year's All-Star Weekend due to injuries.

It can be said that this is the All-Star Weekend with the least amount of "magic" in recent years.

Grant Hill once again proved his popularity.

In Michael Jordan's first season back on the All-Star Weekend stage, he still topped the vote.

This is still something that has never happened in the entire history of American sports!

However, although Hill defeated Jordan in the vote, this year's All-Star Weekend was obviously designed to welcome Jordan's return.

The Eastern All-Star team still defeated the Western All-Star team without Shaquille O'Neal and Meng Lang. But it is worth mentioning that Jordan, who scored 20 points in the game, won the All-Star MVP, while Hardaway, who scored 25 points, could only stand off the stage and watch his idol win the All-Star MVP trophy.

He didn't care at all that he didn't win.

But Meng Lang was glad that he was injured, otherwise, he would have to praise Jordan's bad feet, which would make him feel unhappy.

The first game after the All-Star break was against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Meng Lang was very unhappy about his injury. The main reason was naturally that he felt that the injury came at the wrong time, and there were also a few other reasons. One of them is...

You can't teach Stackhouse, this "Jordan junior", a lesson!

This guy is quite mean. He clearly knows that Meng Lang has been retired for the season and cannot play tonight's game. Before the game, he even said arrogantly: "I don't like this happening. I have been waiting for this game." It’s a pity that our match may not have until next season, which must be a lucky thing for him!”

The provocative words quickly reached Meng Lang's ears, and he curled his lips and said: "If he is really so eager to fight me, there is actually another way in front of him. I will do it as soon as late May. When he comes back, all he has to do is lead the Philadelphia 5ers to the Eastern Conference finals, which shouldn't be a difficult thing, right?"

These words left Stackhouse speechless.

Leading the Philadelphia 76ers to the Eastern Conference Finals?

It's better to let him score 60 points in a single game. He thinks this is a more realistic goal!

Well, his career high so far in a single game is 25 points...

With his scoring status, scoring 60 points is undoubtedly a fantasy. But compared to leading the team to the Eastern Conference Finals, this dreamy goal is actually more realistic.

However, although Meng Lang regained his position with his mouth, Stackhouse's "blessings" had just begun. As soon as the game started, he felt like he had stabbed a hornet's nest, with Hardaway and Hardaway following. The Magic's outside defenders, headed by Anderson, had no one else in their eyes, they were all staring at him. He only made 15 of 4 shots in the game, and the Philadelphia 76ers simply lost the game by 15 points.

The last one is indeed like this.

Hardaway also rarely showed his aggressiveness after the game: "If this is all you have, don't provoke Dream anymore. Such grandstanding is not a good choice!"

He must stand up for his good brother!

The Magic made a good start by winning the first game after the All-Star Weekend. Unfortunately, they fell into the pain of not having a dream again. No, this can no longer be described as labor pain.

This damn thing is already a "long-term pain".

It can now be concluded that Grant's return has not brought any changes to this team. Anyway, it is definitely incomparable to the Magic team of Hardaway and Meng Lang, except for some who are bent on winning the 96 draft. For the team that signed the contract, the Magic's losses became the norm when facing other opponents.

On March 3, the Magic faced the Bulls again after the "Christmas Day War". This time they were at home, and Jordan specifically walked up to Meng Lang before the game. This was the 1th day after Meng Lang was injured. He asked about Meng Lang's recovery process. When he heard that Meng Lang was in good condition, he asked, "Can I come back early?"

The Magic and Bulls have one more game this season, and that game isn't until April.

Meng Lang shook his head, and Jordan's eyes flashed with regret, and he whispered: "It's boring!"

Without any surprises, the Bulls successfully completed their revenge in this game.

Even though Grant's eyes were red tonight, he scored a big "double-double" with 18 points and 14 rebounds. ——When meeting his old club, he is always particularly motivated. But it still couldn't prevent the Magic from defeating the Bulls by 16 points.

The entire Orlando Arena was silent.

This is the first time the Magic have lost to Jordan and the Bulls since Jordan's comeback.

Since Jordan retired, during the regular season and the playoffs, the Magic had an 11-game winning streak against the Bulls so far and also died on this day.

During the "garbage time" of the game, the big screen at the scene was always pointed at Meng Lang whenever he could. It seems to be saying, if Meng Lang was on the court, we would not be so miserable in this game. No, it's not that it won't be so miserable, but we will definitely not lose!

It's just that such a close-up makes the people of Orlando feel even more uncomfortable.

There is another person who is also unhappy. It is none other than Shaquille O'Neal. He is also injured. During the period when he was absent, the entire Orlando was still thriving, as if the night had never come.

But now that Meng Lang was injured, the gang was about to die.

Even now, the on-site director has repeatedly given shots of Meng Lang.

And me?

Do you think I'm dead?

Just pretend I’ve never been here!

Shaquille O'Neal can feel that after the start of the new season, his status on the team is obviously not as good as Meng Lang. But it wasn't until this injury that he discovered that his status on the Magic team was much lower than he expected...

It wasn't until the end of the game that the director remembered that there was another Shaquille O'Neal on this team and gave him a close-up shot. But at this moment, the "big shark"'s expression was as black as coal.

This is the first time he feels urgent about his injury and he hopes he can return to the court soon.

In his opinion, the reason why these people miss Meng Lang so much is inseparable from the fact that Meng Lang and Hardaway together maintained the Magic's 60% winning rate. He wants to prove his presence, so bringing the Magic's winning rate back to 60% is the quickest way!

At the same time, he suddenly discovered that this was an opportunity, an opportunity to prove himself:

With the current situation of the Magic, once he comes back and pulls this team out of the quagmire, the entire Orlando will definitely be grateful to him. At the same time, he can also take advantage of this opportunity to get his team status!

By the way, changing the Magic's playing style over the past year, it is not impossible to turn this team into a team with the inside as the core of tactics...

Of course, he also knows that the premise of all this is:

His comeback can get the Magic back on track!

It's just that he is so looking forward to it at the moment, but it will take at least a week for him to return to the court. Before his comeback, the Magic ushered in the "darkest moment". The Pacers and Cavaliers surpassed each other in record. Without him, the "league duo" who were originally on par with the Bulls fell to the fourth place in the Eastern Conference in two and a half months after suffering extensive injuries in January. The New York Knicks, who were fifth in the Eastern Conference, were even further away from them. There are only 1 wins left.

Or in fact, it has already exceeded...

The New York Knicks have played one less game than the Magic. If they win this game, they can use the win advantage between the two teams to squeeze the Magic into fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

Finally, on March 3, Shaquille O'Neal announced his return two months and one week after his injury.

In the first game back, he showed his long-lost "Shark" style dominance in the paint, scoring 32 points and 15 rebounds to help the Magic defeat the San Antonio Spurs, the second-placed team in the Western Conference. Immediately afterwards, the Magic defeated the Warriors and the Washington Bullets in succession, achieving their first "three-game winning streak" since Meng Lang was injured.

In the following period, their record also recovered rapidly.

However, the winning rate only hovers around 55%. A large part of the reason is naturally the lack of Meng Lang's shooting. As mentioned before, signing Grant has occupied the entire salary space of the Magic. This is still giving up Scott. The situation has just allowed the Magic to retain the entire main lineup this season.

In the absence of Meng Lang and Scott, the Magic only have Anderson and Hardaway outside the three-point line.

Hardaway is also better at three-point shooting with the ball, which means that he can catch the ball and shoot three-pointers. Anderson is the only one who can open up the space. This kind of offensive space has led to Shaquille O'Neal's ability to gain space under the basket. Much weaker.

He plays harder.

At the same time, Grant's opportunity to "eat the pie" was divided after Shaquille O'Neal returned. Although his scoring average increased, his scoring efficiency dropped.

In these aspects, all are due to the lack of Meng Lang's influence.

As a result, the Magic still couldn't regain their status as a strong team in the Eastern Conference. After the "three consecutive wins", their status went up and down. Until the end of March, the Magic still ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference. From time to time, because of the same record as the New York Knicks, they were squeezed into the fifth position in the Eastern Conference.

Shaquille O'Neal has performed brilliantly during this period, averaging 33.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 2.3 assists per game. The Magic have become an interior-based team as he wished. Unfortunately, in the eyes of the Orlando media, this Magic team still needs Meng Lang to achieve qualitative changes.

The game against the Bulls in April also proved this. With the return of Shaquille O'Neal, the Magic put more pressure on the Bulls than in the previous game, but in the end the Bulls still lost 4 to 99. , defeated the Magic with a 89-point margin.

Bill Walton bluntly said: "The key to defeating the Bulls lies in Dream's hands!"

On April 4, as the last wave of teams played their last regular season game, the NBA 15~95 season came to an end.

强势了一个赛季的公牛队最终还是没能追平魔术队上赛季打出的73胜9负的战绩，甚至还不如他们原本的72胜10负，他们最终的战绩定格在了71胜11负。

But this is also the second team in NBA history to achieve "70 wins" in a single season, which is impressive enough.

Many media believe that based on the Bulls' record, this season's regular season MVP should already be in Jordan's bag.

The Magic ended up ranking fourth in the Eastern Conference, which meant they would face the Bulls early in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

According to Meng Lang's recent consultation, the recovery of his little finger is very ideal, but the speed is not ideal. Now the fracture is considered healed, but the recovery of the entire hand has just begun, which will take at least a month. …

The "Orlando Sentinel" directly published the headline before the start of the playoffs: "As a player of the Magic, Meng Lang should know his responsibilities. Even if he has not fully recovered, and even if there are still some risks, he should choose to advance early." Coming back is a performance that is responsible for the entire team. Don't forget, it was Orlando that made him the regular season MVP!"

(End of this chapter)