So I am the god of basketball?

Monica could clearly feel that when she sat down, all the cameras found her position. The big screen at the scene also gave her a close-up. This kind of treatment from a top star is something she has never experienced before.

Prior to this, the biggest award she had received was a nomination for Best New Actress at the 22nd French Film César Awards. As for this award, it was only through last year's "Extraordinary Apartment" that I was nominated.

For this reason, Monica originally planned to return to France to develop.

But an unexpected All-Star trip and an accidental kick to Meng Lang made her quite popular in the United States. It also led to a new movie shoot. She accepted Meng Lang's invitation. In addition to a certain amount of guilt, a large part of the reason was that she wanted to express her gratitude to Meng Lang in person...

The attention on her continued until the Lakers players entered the scene through the home tunnel.

The whole stadium was filled with cheers at this moment.

Monica was a little confused.

She also heard the cheers during the All-Star Weekend.

But although the fans at that time were excited, they would never have such die-hard and fanatical voices. Monica had only one feeling. She felt that the nearly 2 fans at the scene were not coming to watch the game, but coming to make a pilgrimage.

This is not a Los Angeles arena, but Jerusalem.

Especially when Meng Lang entered the field, the cheers seemed to overturn the entire arena. Under the bright spotlight, Meng Lang's every move affected the entire arena. At this moment, Monica seemed to really see "God".

"God" smiled at her and sat down next to her.

Then Monica discovered that the seat number Meng Lang gave her happened to be next to the Lakers bench. She was sitting next to Meng Lang. At this moment, all the eyes of the audience were locked on her and Meng Lang.

More than that, Monica knew very well that there were probably millions of fans watching this scene at this time.

For some reason, she lowered her head shyly.

Romance is engraved in the bones of French women, and this is also the reason why Monica is shy. She feels that she is in a love affair with Meng Lang that everyone knows. This thought made her face heat up.

Meng Lang briefly greeted her and then turned his attention to warming up.

He has called people over and is sitting on the sidelines. The next step is to play well in the first playoff game that is about to begin.

If this game doesn't go well, there's no telling what the media will say after the game.

Of course, if you really want to say it, it is very difficult to overturn the game against the Clippers!

The core of the Clippers this season... saying this may be a bit insulting to the word "core". Because Roy Ott, the Clippers' highest scoring average this season, only averages 14.9 points per game.

Malik Healy, who ranked second, only had 13.5 points...

Such data is at the level of "Magic" Johnson for the Lakers.

But most importantly, he doesn't have as much experience as Magic Johnson.

This is the Clippers' team situation this season, and as far as the team's statistics are concerned...it's even worse. The team averages 97.6 points per game, but loses 99.8 points per game! In other words, they concede more points per game than they score per game!
It was really difficult for such a team to enter the playoffs in the past, which was the 96-97 season when everyone wanted to compete for Tim Duncan.

This was fully reflected in the first goal of the game. Meng Lang took the ball to the frontcourt and suddenly made a through ball to the inside, helping Barkley score points at the basket. The moment the ball went in, the Clippers defender didn't even react.

This is true on the defensive end, and similar on the offensive end.

As soon as Darrick Martin brought the ball to the frontcourt, he was tightly guarded by Eddie Jones. He almost made a mistake in passing the ball. Fortunately, his teammates took the lead and saved the ball.

But without the organization at the first position, the Clippers' ball couldn't move at all, and the ball eventually fell into the hands of the Clippers' "scoring king" Ott.

Facing Barkley, he held the ball and prepared to hit hard, but looking at Barkley's eager look and his stocky body, the little thought he had originally had completely disappeared.

He probably thought for a moment that if he broke through with the ball, there was a high probability that he would be directly pushed out.

There's no way to hit it at all!
This round ended with Otto's random shots. The ball flying towards the basket made a "bang" without any accident!
In the first round, the two sides showed completely opposite offensives. One side played extremely easily, and the other side played hard and ugly.

And this is a microcosm of both sides of the entire game.

Every time the Lakers attacked, nine times out of ten, they successfully ran out of the open space. Although the final shot did not go in, it always made the Clippers coach on the sidelines sweat. On the other hand, the Clippers' offense has almost come to a standstill. How easy is Chuck Daly's game?

Let's put it this way, everyone in the audience kept their arms folded in front of their chests, or had their hands in their pockets. Fans who don't know this will think that this is where the audience comes from.

The Lakers also successfully opened the point difference to more than 18 points in the first half. Then the point difference is gradually widened. At the end of the third quarter, the score difference between the two sides had reached 25 points.

Amid the laughter of the Los Angeles people at the scene, the Clippers reluctantly picked out "GG".

In the end, the Lakers won the first game 118-92 with 26 points!
Meng Lang's final statistics in his first playoff game as a Lakers player were 28 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, which looked worse than in the regular season. But in fact, he only played 3 and a half quarters in this game and then sat off the court.

Barkley had 18 points and 18 rebounds.

Meng Lang destroyed the Clippers' outside line, and Barkley destroyed the Clippers' inside line. He only played 3 and a half quarters. Otherwise, he would definitely have a "double 20" record in this game.

Everyone else's numbers are pretty good too.

Including Kobe!

His final statistics in the first playoff game of his career were 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 turnovers.

Except for a few mistakes, his performance in other aspects was perfect. Considering his age, it shouldn't be a problem to give him a score of 80. Of course, he himself was not very satisfied. He thought he could perform better.

In the post-game interview session, there was really no suspense about whether the Lakers would win this game, so the reporters didn't ask any questions related to the game. They really don't see the possibility of the Clippers winning.

Even winning just one game in this series is very difficult.

What they were more concerned about was the relationship between Meng Lang and Monica.

In the second half of the fourth quarter, Meng Lang did not play again. Sitting off the court, he lowered his head and talked with Monica. He didn't know what they talked about. Monica lowered her head and covered her mouth several times to hide her uncontrollable smile.

"Have you confirmed the relationship?" These reporters all recognized Meng Lang's charm, especially after he captured Madonna and asked her to give him a son. So even though the media captured the scene, this was the second time Monica and Meng Lang were in the same frame. But they still believed that Meng Lang had captured Monica.

It's a pity that Meng Lang didn't answer this question directly, but mumbled it.

Monica specially greeted him when she left. When Meng Lang went back to the locker room to get his phone, he also saw the text message Monica sent him. It could be seen that she must be very happy today.

Things were developing in the direction Meng Lang hoped, and he didn't want these reporters to interfere with the development between him and Monica.

So there’s not much to say.

Meng Lang and others "will fall into place".

The first round between the Lakers and Clippers is a microcosm of the first game of the entire series, and it is also a microcosm of the entire series.

In the second game between the Clippers and the Lakers, fans who turned on the TV late might think it was a replay of the first game. Because when they turned on the TV, the huge score difference was already there, and what they saw was Kobe who was constantly taking shots on the court.

Another mediocre victory.

The "venomous" New York Daily commented on the Clippers, who were trailing 0-2: "Other teams can still look forward to returning to their home court and playing a game with fans cheering. But the Clippers There is no such expectation. After the first two games of this series, I believe that even the Clippers fans in Los Angeles have now taken off their Clippers jerseys and replaced them with Lakers jerseys. "

You can be beaten down, but you can't be beaten down so hard!

There is absolutely no suspense in the two games, and there is not even a 1% chance of winning. Even the most loyal Clippers fans can't go to the home court to cheer them on, right?

Another key point is:
As a Los Angeles native, if you don’t follow the Lakers with such a strong team, then you are a “little broken ship” here, right?
No matter how "masochistic" you are, you can't do this kind of thing, right?
So even though the next game should be the home court of the Clippers according to the rules, the New York media still believes that it is still the home court of the Lakers.

This view is recognized by most media.

And the final result was just as they guessed.

In the third game between the Lakers and the Clippers, the clothing of the fans on the sidelines did not change at all from the previous two games. Almost everyone came to cheer for the Lakers. The Clippers eventually lost this home court written as "Clippers" and pronounced as "Lakers" without any suspense.

0-3!

Not surprisingly, they were swept by the Lakers.

孟浪在这3场比赛中，场均可以拿到29.3分8.3篮板8.3助攻的数据，投篮命中率是夸张的60%！

The Clippers' back line are all traditional number one positions with a height of 1 meters.

Meng Lang is not easy to guard against such defenders, but Eddie Jones is there to deal with them.

But similarly, if they want to defend Meng Lang, that's just a fool's errand! If it weren't for the playing time, which was only about 31 minutes and 13 seconds, it would not be a problem for Meng Lang to get a "30 plus 10 plus 10" data in the first round of the series in his career on behalf of the Lakers.

But the Lakers are not the first team to advance to the next round.

Over in the East, the Bulls also swept their opponents 3-0 and entered the next round.

Then the Heat, who are second in the Eastern Conference, have already achieved a big score of 2-0 and are waiting for the next game to eliminate their opponents and advance to the next round.

Similarly, the Jazz, second in the Western Conference, also easily scored a 2-0 score.

In this year's playoffs, the higher the team, the more obvious their dominance will be when facing the lower team. This can actually be seen from their different records.

Even before the start of the series, some media predicted that this year would be the least likely year in which a "bottom versus top" situation would occur.

The top teams in the East and West are too solid!
During this period, the league announced this season's "Best Sixth Man" and "Most Improved Player Awards."

This year's "Best Sixth Man" belongs to John Starks.

In the first year when he changed from starter to substitute, Starks showed a very good state, allowing everyone to see what the dimensionality reduction impact of "starting" on the "substitute rotation stage" is.

He averaged 26.1 points in 13.8 minutes per game!
It doesn't look like much.

But since the past two years, the league's "strong defensive era" has gradually begun to take shape.

Even though Meng Lang and Jordan both averaged more than 30 points per game this season, they still can't hide the decline in the points per game rankings.

Under Jordan, third on the scoring list is Karl Malone, who averages only 27.6 points per game. Under Malone, former Lakers "old guard" Glenn Rice averages 26.8 points per game. Plus the Kings' Richmond averaged 25.6 points per game. Everyone else's scoring average is under 25 points per game.

There is only one "madman" from the Warriors who averages more than 24 points per game.

This is also reflected in the assists per game rankings.

Except for Mark Jackson and "model worker" Stockton, who averaged more than 10 assists per game, other No. 10 positions, including Meng Lang, averaged less than 9 assists per game, and only a few reached more than . Got a Kevin Johnson!
The defensive ability is enhanced, so there are fewer "scorers" who are good at scoring, and the number of rounds is reduced, making it difficult to get assists.

These two points are proof that the league's "strong defense era" is coming.

At this time, a "sixth man" like Starks is really rare.

Compared with him, the Lakers' sixth man, the "Old Dunk King", has a loose offensive environment, but he only averages 11.3 points per game...

The "Most Improved Player Award" belongs to Isaac Austin.

Meng Lang had no impression of him. In the two games against the Heat, he seemed to be a substitute. Meng Lang feels that there are many players more suitable for this award than him this year. Maybe David Stern wanted some "little people" stories?
Anyway, this kind of award that allows the media to vote for does sometimes lead to some big mistakes. Just like the subsequent 15 Finals MVP.

In early May, the Lakers awaited their second-round opponent.

It’s none other than the Golden State Warriors!
At the same time, the list of teams entering the second round in the Eastern and Western Conferences has also been released.

In addition to the Lakers VS Warriors, the other three matchups are Jazz VS SuperSonics, Bulls VS Pistons, and Heat VS Pacers.

Almost every game has a breaking point.

Lakers VS Warriors Needless to say, if Meng Lang and Hardaway, the Magic backcourt pair, and former "good friends" meet on the playoff stage, it will definitely be a big fight. In addition, Chris Webber, the "No. 93 pick" in , competed in the same field.

ESPN commented on this series like this: "Dream, who had just been selected in the draft that year, faced the reporters interviewing him and shouted the slogan that the '93 generation will become the golden generation! Now, the '93 generation' is the first player in his career. For four seasons, at least the West has been theirs!”

The absolute core of the Warriors and Lakers are both high-draft players from the "93 generation".

Just like this, it seems that Sean Bradley is a little embarrassed!
In the fourth season of his career, "Big Bamboo Gang" averaged 12.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. This is a new high in his career. From a data point of view, it is not too bad. But the problem is that he exposed another very big problem:
His body is so brittle!
Last season with the Philadelphia 76ers, he suffered a season-ending injury after playing only 11 games, which made the Philadelphia 76ers decide to trade him. Then we arrived in New Jersey. But after playing more than 60 games, he encountered injury problems again.

Even the media in New Jersey believe that it will be difficult for Bradley to catch up with the vanguard of the "93 generation"!
The SuperSonics and Jazz are old rivals.

Last season, the Sonics defeated the Jazz 4-3 in the Western Conference Finals and advanced to the Finals. When we meet again this time, Karl Malone has already said that he will never let the same thing happen again.

Gary Payton's counterattack was unambiguous: "Of course it won't happen again, because if you lose this time, it won't be in the Western Conference finals, but in the second round of the playoffs!"

However, the outside world is generally optimistic that the Jazz will advance to the next round. The reason is very simple:
After "Glider" joined the Jazz, he really made the team more powerful. Whether on the bench or in the starting lineup, he had very good scoring points. In the past, the Jazz, who could only rely on the "Utah Twins", now not only have the "Death Ray Gun", but also the "Glider"!
The Sonics' defense will face a huge test.

In the East, Grant Hill also got the opportunity to challenge Jordan for the first time in his career.

The outside world is optimistic that he will cause trouble to Jordan in this series.

He himself said very modestly: "I don't think about it that much. I can win a game first and then think about the rest!"

Such an attitude is touching:
It's hard to imagine that Meng Lang and Grant Hill came from the same school.

If Meng Lang faced a situation like Hill's, I'm afraid he would be ready to make a lot of nonsense again!

Not to mention the last set of games between the Heat and the Pacers.

As the only team to complete the "downside and above" this season, the Pacers eliminated the New York Knicks, the third-placed team in the Eastern Conference, as the sixth-placed team in the Eastern Conference. When "Gorilla" faced "Big Dream", he had absolutely no room to fight back and was pushed to the ground and rubbed by him in various ways.

In the end, the New York Knicks, who had a better record, lost to the Pacers with a big score of 1-3.

In the first four games of the series, the New York Knicks also won one game at their home court. In that game, the "Best Sixth Man" Starks broke out and scored 4 points to help the team get through the danger.

Without such an explosion, the New York Knicks never won a game.

After being eliminated in the end, it was naturally impossible for the New York media to blame Starks on his head.

If he could score 40 plus points in every game, he wouldn't be on the New York Knicks' bench.

They pointed their finger at Ewing and criticized him thoroughly.

In the New York media's verbal criticism, "Gorilla" should die immediately!
It's also because Ewing's salary this season is only more than 8 million, instead of more than 1800 million last season. Otherwise, this "fire" will probably be even more intense.

The Pacers' promotion means that "Big Dream" and Shaq will face three battles in the playoffs.

This time, Shaquille O'Neal did not have Meng Lang next to him, but was replaced by Tim Hardaway.

His ability is definitely weaker than Meng Lang!
And the helper around "Big Dream" also changed from Drexler to Reggie Miller.

In terms of honors, Miller is not the opponent of "Glider", but in terms of ability in the playoffs, Drexler is definitely not as good as Miller.

In comparison, O'Neal's helpers have become weaker, while "Big Dream"'s helpers have become stronger...

Two teams that are even closer in strength!
"Big Dream" is full of fighting spirit. This time, he must let everyone see clearly that it is not that he is inferior to Shaq in the finals, but that he does not have Meng Lang. As long as Shaq does not have Meng Lang... I can beat the shit out of him. No?

Facts have also proven this...

As the fastest matchup in the Eastern Conference to start the first game of the second round.

Their first game was played at the home court of the Miami Heat.

But the final result was that the Pacers turned away and played very proactively, even suppressing the Heat at one point, making them unable to counterattack.

Shaquille O'Neal's invincible power against other centers seemed to disappear when facing Olajuwon, like Superman meeting a Kryptonian. Played extremely passively.

When Tim Hardaway faced the Pacers' defensive system, he played very tangled at the same time.

Oh, I forgot to mention that after the Olajuwon deal was reached, Larry Brown dismissed get out of class, and Larry Bird directly took over as head coach. Although the Pacers' defensive system still retains Larry- Brown's general skeleton, but he is no longer so rigid about reducing the number of rounds, but makes good use of "Big Dream"'s defensive ability to keep the Heat in a constant state of passing the ball.

They don't have a very complex offensive system.

The presence of Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Hardaway makes Pat Riley's offensive style as concise as possible, focusing on highlighting the star's personal abilities.

Pat Riley is very accomplished in this set. He played this way with the Lakers back then.

As a result, the Heat encountered such a defensive routine, and the Heat played very uncomfortable. In the end, the Pacers defeated the Heat 91 to 85, a 6-point difference, and won their first victory in the second round of the playoffs.

Meng Lang saw that the Pacers were once again "defeating their superiors" and suddenly discovered a bright spot:
Sixth in the Eastern Conference!

Olajuwon! (End of chapter)