So I am the god of basketball?

The "Five Small" lineup shocked the entire league.

Meng Lang was not surprised by this.

Because the Bulls won the "three consecutive championships" by relying on the "five small" lineup.

Just because they won the last championship after the "three consecutive championships", the Bulls disintegrated. No one will study why such a team is so strong. They hastily attribute all the reasons to one name:
Michael Jordan!

Jordan is indeed powerful, but the Bulls' "five small lineups" winning the "three consecutive championships" are definitely not the result of Jordan alone.

More than ten years later, the Warriors also used the "five small lineups" to create the "Warriors Dynasty" recognized by the league with three championships in four years.

This is a tactical lineup that can create a "dynasty".

It's just that the Bulls' peak disintegration resulted in no one studying this lineup.

Of course, it should be unlikely now.

After all, the Lakers and Bulls used such a lineup to achieve dominance at the same time. It is impossible not to study the "five small" lineup.

Moreover, even if the Bulls are still at their peak and disintegrating, the Lakers' lineup can still last at least 2 to 3 years.

If they win "three consecutive championships" during this period, it can be expected that when the Warriors put on the "Five Deaths" on the court 18 years later, it will definitely not be so amazing.

Ok……

It will definitely still cause some surprises.

After all, the "Splash Brothers"'s unstoppable three-point touch was indeed the most beautiful scenery of the Warriors in those years.

However, the unlimited defense changes and the rapid transition between offense and defense should not make people feel bright.

Because, the Warriors' "infinite defense change" is now destined to be the rest of the Bulls and Lakers.

Pat Riley has also become a name mentioned daily by the media these days, because he said forty or fifty years ago that "the future of basketball must be five magicians playing on the court."

The "Magician" he refers to here naturally does not specifically refer to "Magic" Johnson.

Which team can gather 5 "magicians"!

What he means is that the position is blurred, and several forward players with a height of about 2 meters and all-round skills are playing on the court.

This can be regarded as the earliest "small ball" concept.

And now the "five small" lineups of the Lakers and Bulls have proven this.

In their two "five small" lineups, there is no specific traditional center. But they can guarantee rebounds. ——In fact, it should be said that it guarantees defense.

Only with successful defense can we have the opportunity to rebound!
This is the reason why ordinary big players are helpless when facing the "five small lineups". Their height advantage cannot be fully exploited.

Only the top inside players can perform at a dominant level when facing the "five small lineups".

The statement that Shaquille O'Neal can bring the "small ball era" back to the "traditional center era" is not just a casual statement.

It can actually be seen from the configurations of the Bulls, Lakers and Warriors in those years. They also know that the "five small lineups" are afraid of super centers. The Bulls have Longley and the Lakers have Divac. The Warriors have Bogut in front of them and "Zha" behind them. They are all "human shields" prepared to restrict the tall inside line.

However, the "New York Times" mocked Pat Riley: "The 'Magic Fortune Teller' figured out the future development trend of the NBA. He did it 40 years ago. This was a crazy idea at the time. , it’s as shocking as seeing this vision become a reality now, but Pat Riley obviously didn’t expect that he would be defeated 40 years ago!”

The New York Knicks are mocking the Heat's current situation.

Their series with the Pacers has now finished 4 games.

After losing the first game, the Heat worked hard to equalize the score. But in the third and fourth games after Indiana, the Pacers showed their resilience, winning 2 games in a row and leading the Heat 3-1.

After the "Black 6", the Pacers were only one step away from eliminating second place in the Eastern Conference.

Shaquille O'Neal used facts to prove that the law that unless a "top shooting guard" cooperates with him, he cannot win the championship is true.

Tim Hardaway has already performed better than during the regular season. In these four games, he averaged 26.5 points, 6.5 assists and 1.25 steals per game. If you want to score individually, you must score individually, and if you want to pass the ball, you must pass the ball.

It's a pity that Reggie Miller on the opposite side is also a "Mr. Big Scene" who improved again as soon as he entered the playoffs. The explosive scoring show averaging 29.5 points per game is even better. Coupled with Olajuwon's "I'm a teenager" when facing Shaquille O'Neal, the Pacers won the core comparison. In terms of role players, they also had a faint advantage. It was more difficult for them to win every game. . But they all won it without any danger.

Compared with Olajuwon's 28.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, Shaquille O'Neal's 24.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game seem to have some advantages. But in terms of the criticality of the data, there is at least one Ewing difference between him and Olajuwon... Well, it doesn't look like there's much difference. It's not even good to call it a "gorilla" at the critical moment, but it's a difference. It's just bad.

The "Shark" could feel that Olajuwon was obviously holding his breath and wanted to prove something. In this regard, his commitment is not as good as Olajuwon.

The first thing you can't deny is that Shaquille O'Neal is a "big boy" who is extremely easy to satisfy.

When he left the Magic, it was to prove the Magic front office wrong. He is worth a 100 million contract, and he thinks he proved it after helping the Heat get second place in the Eastern Conference regular season.

As for the game against Olajuwon, in his opinion, he had nothing to prove against the opponent he had defeated twice in the finals. At least in his own opinion, that's the case.

The problem of willpower is the reason why the original Shaquille O'Neal failed to become a greater player.

He almost played around and became the "league's number one" in the NBA in the first three years of 00!
Of course, from Meng Lang's perspective, he was not surprised that the Heat played like this.

After all, he is "the man who has been swept the most times on Presidential Hill". As glorious as he was during the Lakers' "three consecutive championships", he was just as miserable as he was four years after leaving the Magic.

Karl Malone alone shaved his head twice, once with an "inch" and once with a "bald head."

He even had his head shaved once by second-year player Tim Duncan with the Spurs.

Three years of "two lights", to be honest, he was much worse than LeBron later. But it was his "three consecutive championships" with the core members of the original team that cleared everything up for him.

This kind of thing is almost a remake of Jordan.

It's just that Jordan led the Bulls with the original team to defeat the Pistons with the original team, which is even more commendable.

Anyway, he seems to have more perseverance than the one in the future.

Who ran twice in a row and finally won the "8th consecutive Eastern Conference championship", but the Spurs, whose original team was even older, did a personal flip-flop and ran away.

When evaluating a player's historical status, if you only look at his achievements, it is easy for such opportunistic people to appear.

To truly and fairly evaluate a player's historical status, no matter how many honors he has achieved, it also depends on how he obtained these honors.

After two groups of people were changed, there were a total of 4 peak All-Star players. Is the "ticket to the 8th consecutive finals" really considered a benefit?
This does not include the "weak in the east and strong in the west" pattern!
You have to know that when someone goes to the Western Conference, his teammates change again and again. It takes him 4 years to win a championship, and he also has the embarrassing situation of not making the playoffs during his peak period...

The big score of 1-3 fell into the eyes of Pat Riley, which was a dazzling sight.

He can accept that he is "being overcome by the inferior", but he absolutely cannot accept that he is "conquered by the inferior."

This is a matter of principle.

In his view, there is only one reason why teams with better regular season records do not defeat teams with worse records:
That means there is not enough desire to win.

The first thing he did after returning to Miami was to gather everyone together for additional training.

Shaquille O'Neal looked strange today, much more serious than usual. Also be more focused than usual when training. This surprised him. After a season together, he now knows Shaquille O'Neal very well, and this is a "big boy."

The big score of 1-3 is certainly dazzling, but it will definitely not make him silent to this extent.

But soon he knew the reason:

NBA announced this season's "best team"!
Shaquille O'Neal, who averaged 26.2 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.9 blocks per game, only made the "Best Third Team".

Olajuwon and Ewing won the "Best First Team" and "Best Second Team" respectively.

可不管是场均23.2分9.2篮板3助攻2.2抢断1.5盖帽的奥拉朱旺，还是场均22.4分10.7篮板2助攻2.4盖帽的尤因，数据都没有明显的优势。

How come...

"Big Shark" is a man who cares about face.

He can accept defeat. But he wants to lose willingly.

He couldn't accept the current situation so calmly.

He held back his energy and wanted to prove himself in the next game.

In addition to the three "best team members" at the center position.

The other 12 players in the "All-NBA Team" are Michael Jordan, Meng Lang, Grant Hill and Karl Malone who were selected to the All-NBA First Team; Tim Hardaway and Scottie Pippen were selected to the All-NBA Second Team. , Barkley; Stockton, Gary Payton, Anthony Mason Jr. and Chris Webber were selected to the third team;

Among them, Chris Webber and Anthony Mason Jr. were selected to the "All-NBA Team" for the first time.

As for Grant Hill, he has achieved the leap from "best second team" to "best first team". Although he is a bit miserably educated by Jordan, the Pistons' progress this season is obvious to all.

Coupled with his popularity, there is no problem in entering the "best team". However, seeing the two rookies from the 90s, Meng Lang and Hill, appear on the "Best Team" list, the media also realized that the league has indeed entered the stage of alternation between the old and the new again.

But to be honest, the super giants who entered the league in the 80s were really tough. It's been 97, but they still have no idea of ​​giving up the throne. Jordan and Olajuwon are both players of the "84 generation", and Karl Malone is also a player of the "85 generation", but they can continue to dominate. The "Best Team" quota is really nothing. Someone can do such a thing in the future. If Jordan's team really ranked 4th, 7th, 11th, and 7th in the Eastern Conference in the past four years, do you think the media would still let him enter the best team?

Karl Malone and Jordan were both selected as the "best team" with the team ranked among the top two in the Eastern and Western Conferences.

Their record and their data can be compared with other players.

In this regard, someone is completely incomparable.

Therefore, whether you put this kind of "creating a god" in Wa, LoL, or the NBA, if it doesn't work, it just won't work. It will only cause huge backlash. In the arena, all honors should be earned by oneself.

Meng Lang returned to the "Best Team" list after a year.

He himself was not too excited.

In 4 years, he has been in the "Best Team" twice and the "Best Second Team" once. The only time he missed was because of his injury. With such results in front of him, what else do you think Meng Lang should be excited about?
On the other hand, the Los Angeles media was extremely excited.

Because Los Angeles has not had a player who has made the "best team" for a long time.

Now that Meng Lang has fulfilled his dream of becoming a "rich family", this wealthy family in the 80s is finally regaining its glory.

Of course, everyone knows that the revival of the "rich" needs a championship to prove it.

It's not a true revival without winning the championship.

but……

With the current momentum of the Lakers, even this year, they are still facing Jordan and his Bulls, and there is no way to say that the Lakers have no chance of winning the championship. Not only do they have a chance to win the championship, but they also have great hopes.

No matter what the reason is, there is one thing that Jordan cannot deny, that is, the Bulls were swept by the Lakers during the regular season!

This record alone is worth a thousand words.

Except for Barkley and Meng Lang, who were selected as the "best team".

The Lakers also had Eddie Jones named to the "All-Defensive Team."

The Lakers have such a good record this season and they also do a good job defensively. The alliance naturally wants to give an award. But as far as the Lakers are concerned, Meng Lang and Barkley, the two "leading brothers", are really not qualified to win this award.

Because anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Lakers often do not let Meng Lang and Barkley defend the opponent's "arrow figures."

Meng Lang's defensive ability coupled with his current status in the world can actually be selected into the "Best Defensive Team". However, the Lakers' defensive arrangements for him make it impossible for him to skip Eddie Jones and be selected into the "Best Defensive Team". A good defense."

After all, Eddie Jones is the one who defends other teams' perimeter cores most of the time.

In fact, among the media, there are relatively high calls for Ben Wallace to be selected for the "All Defensive Team".

On the stage of the "Christmas War", his sudden emergence on the defensive end amazed many fans and media.

But in the end it seemed that he still lost the election.

I guess it's also a matter of seniority, and the other one is that the playing time is really not as good as other players.

There are too many players who are more qualified than him to be in the "best defense".

After selection, Eddie Jones became the "representative" of the Lakers.

In addition, the league also announced this season's "Best Defensive Player Award."

Mutombo once again won this award. Ever since he showed his ability to defend the iron gate in the "Black Eight Miracle", Mutombo has been the favorite for the "Best Defensive Player Award". This has also been his career. This is the second time in my career that I have won this award.

If Gary Payton hadn't been so phenomenal, Mutombo would have likely won the "Best Defensive Player Award" three times in a row.

But as far as Meng Lang knows, this is actually the beginning of Mutombo's "defensive era"...

And there is no problem in giving him this award.

Because of his joining, the Eagles have become a strong playoff team again this season. Even if the Pistons don't blossom more, Mutombo may have to lead the team to complete another "downward victory".

His defensive presence is impressive.

After the "Best Team" and "Best Defensive Player Award" were announced, there is only one regular season award left this season, and that is the regular season MVP!

The biggest voice is naturally Michael Jordan or Meng Lang.

From a statistical point of view, Meng Lang is the "scoring leader" and Jordan is "second in the scoring list."

In terms of record, the Bulls are first in the league and the Lakers are second in the league.

Judging from the momentum, this alliance is currently a "duo" of Jordan and Meng Lang. One of them is "The Rise of the New King", and the other is "The Return of the King".

With Jordan leading the Bulls to the championship last season and the reorganization of the Magic, the suffocatingly luxurious "five-star Magic team" has disintegrated. Although the Lakers are also strong, they are at most the same as the Bulls. Perpetually leading the Western Conference.

But it hasn’t reached the point of being completely crushed...

In the East, the Pacers' fighting power with Olajuwon is really terrifying, and the Heat are almost about to be killed before their eyes.

On the Western side, the "Four Old" combination of the "Utah Twins" plus the "Death Ray Gun" and the "Glider" also makes the Lakers dare not underestimate them.

You know, it is true that the Lakers are leading the Warriors 3-1, but last season's runner-up is now being dealt with by the Jazz and is unable to take care of themselves. Similarly, the Jazz are also leading the Super League 3-1. Team Sonic.

This is an opponent that even the Bulls need 6 games to solve!
It is true that their condition is not as good as last season, but the Jazz can handle it so easily, which shows how strong they are!

Even so, Meng Lang and Jordan are still the ones carrying the flag in the east and west. And given David Stern's urinary nature, it is impossible to arrange other characters to play when these two people are singing opposite roles.

At least this season is unlikely.

Judging from the current situation, more media believe that Meng Lang will win this award.

Because although the Bulls are still first in the league, their record is not as terrible as last season. Moreover, the throne of "scoring king" is now under Meng Lang's butt.

David Stern is like this. He will not continue to give awards to people who cannot improve.

There are many good reasons for Meng Lang to win this award.

He won the "scoring title" for the first time in his career. The Lakers were reorganized this summer. Only two main starting players are still in the lineup. However, under his leadership, they quickly got together and played an eye-catching momentum. Finally ended the playoffs ranked first in the Western Conference and second in the league.

These are all things that the media could not fully predict before the start of this season, but he did them all. This sense of surprise is the reason why he won the regular season MVP!
The media also asked Michael Jordan and Meng Lang about this issue

Jordan said: "There's not much to say. I think the Bulls are the best team. The record shows this. If this is the judging criterion, then this award should be mine, but there are other judging criteria for this award. He did a good job, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he really got it! "

This is the Michael Jordan pattern.

He is full of desire for victory, but he doesn't care so much about certain names.

Just like when he originally answered the question "goat" after he became famous, he said: "I will not think that I am a goat, and I will never say that I am a goat, because I did not follow Jerry West, I did not follow How can I think that I am a goat because I have played against great players like Chamberlain?”

He doesn't really care about these awards. All he cares about when he steps onto the court is the championship!
At this stage of his career, it's obvious that he doesn't even care about the regular season MVP.

Meng Lang was not modest at all: "I haven't won this award for two years, and I also think that I am fully qualified to win this award this season, no matter how I compare with anyone else!"

These two words between the two of them were hotly discussed by the media. Bill Walton said: "This is the difference between a 35-year-old man and a 24-year-old young man..."

One is already looking down on other honors, not to mention statistics and the like, and only has the ultimate honor left in his eyes - the NBA championship; the other is young and energetic, wishing he could take all the honors for himself body.

"This is very interesting, because there is no difference between the 24-year-old Jordan and the 24-year-old Meng Lang. This makes people wonder whether the 34-year-old Meng Lang will encounter a young and energetic man like Michael now. The juniors challenge!”

Meng Lang and Jordan were put together, as if they were a topic they would never tire of talking about.

That night, the Bulls defeated the Pistons and became the first NBA team to lock in the conference finals this season. Jordan hugs Grant Hill.

There was a bit of frustration on Hill's face, but there was no gnashing of teeth. He is always polite in front of the camera. Jordan was a little dissatisfied. He thought Grant Hill lacked some paranoia about revenge and was not a true "Piston."

He looked at Joe Dumars, but he didn't feel that strange anymore. He greeted his old friend and said, "You should let that rookie know what the true Pistons spirit is!"

"Sorry, Michael, I miss my old gang, but times have certainly changed, and Grant will cause you trouble, in his own way!" Dumas countered gently.

Hill returned to the locker room and took out his mobile phone. On it was a short text message from Meng Lang:
——Wait, man, I will avenge you!
At the same time, the match between the Heat and the Pacers also had a winner.

Shaquille O'Neal held his breath and wanted to prove himself, but in the end the Heat should lose anyway.

The "Shark" scored 36 points, but it was a pity that he could not make a comeback.

After the game, Olajuwon faced the media and smiled happily and said: "I am not afraid of any opponent in the fifth position, whether it is now, in the future, or in the past! I don't want to shirk the responsibility for losing. But if it weren't for Dream, I would I thought I had won the championship long ago!" (End of Chapter)