So I am the god of basketball?

In!

In!

Finally got in!

The moment Kobe watched the ball fly into the basket, he almost burst into tears of excitement.

The day he met Meng Lang was already 3 years ago. Since he challenged Meng Lang for the first time 3 years ago, today, this is the first time he has scored a goal in a 1v1 against Meng Lang. Yes, in all these years, although he only had one chance, it would add up to at least hundreds of times. Facing Meng Lang hundreds of times, he failed to grasp the first attack, and then was unilaterally tortured by Meng Lang, until today...

He finally faced Meng Lang and scored his first 1v1 goal in his life.

It's not easy!

It’s really not easy!
He looked towards the sidelines with a look of astonishment on his face: "Meng Lang, didn't you shoot today?"

Normally, Meng Lang would place a camera on the sidelines to record all the scenes of him being beaten. Over the years, there have been dozens, if not hundreds.

Meng Lang shook his head and said indifferently: "It's too many, I don't want to record it anymore!"

This is just like when you suddenly see a certain Welfare Ji's work, and you are ecstatic to search for her other works, and find that there are hundreds of them. After reading them all, you will also say adamantly:
But err!

Although it was Kobe who was being beaten, but after having recorded it dozens of times, Meng Lang really had no interest in recording it again... He had basically seen how miserable he was being beaten.

Kobe was anxious at the time.

Don't want to record...

If you don’t want to be recorded, you should have told me earlier!

Is this my first time ruined by you?
You compensate me for the first time!
His mentality was a bit broken at the time.

In the second attack, he was eager to finish, but Meng Lang seized the opportunity. He was close to him and gave him enough confrontation. Kobe, who couldn't get rid of him, finally reached the basket. The moment he put his hands together with the ball, he was hit directly by Meng Lang. "Hand Knife" cut the ball off.

then……

There's no after that!

Kobe has made some progress, especially as his physical fitness improves, and his toughness on the defensive end has also increased rapidly.

However, he was still unable to withstand "uncle's back slap".

"Post-up play" was once the strongest "single skill" in the league. In the future, Livingston, as a representative of "post-up play", has not yet reached the top level, and he is enough to use this move in the Warriors. The bench opened the situation.

This shows how damaging this move is to ordinary defenders.

Speaking of which, "post-up play" can be regarded as the most offensive move that utilizes physical fitness.

As long as you have a certain physical advantage over your opponent:

For example, Barkley has a better butt and can squeeze away opponents; for example, Livingston relies on his better height than ordinary guards to turn around at the basket and overpower his opponents; not to mention Michael Jordan, who jumped at 41 years old. He's not tall, he doesn't run fast, and he's not explosive enough, but he relies on enough tonnage and strength to still average 20 points per game...

In short, as long as you can make good use of your physical advantages, you can use "post-up singles" to bully your opponents infinitely, and make your opponents lose their temper at all.

What's more, Meng Lang has a higher height and better wingspan when facing Kobe. In addition, he also has considerable advantages in terms of tonnage. Basically, as long as he "backs up" and finds opportunities to exert force, he can let Kobe take care of him. If you don't care about your body, even if you want to fight hard, you will only be defeated quickly.

It's like the chick met the "big sister" and wanted to show off, but as soon as the "big sister" used her moves, she couldn't hold it anymore and quickly surrendered. Then say the previous sentence:
"I will definitely perform better next time!"

Meng Lang probably measured Kobe's current ability, which has improved a lot compared to his rookie season.

Among the many starting second positions in the league, he can be regarded as an above-average player.

It should be faster than his growth in the same period.

However, Meng Lang was not surprised by this, for two reasons:
The first is that Kobe should have accepted the "Breakfast Club" training now; the second is that during his usual training, he is fighting with Meng Lang. It definitely helps to compete with outside singles of this quality.

And a player like him who mainly attacks with the ball has better singles ability and can transform into better court performance.

What he lacks now may just be experience.

This is simple and simple, that is, just accumulate performance one game after another.

Not just him, but also Ben and Jones...

Therefore, the Lakers' record in the new season may not be so gorgeous, but Meng Lang believes that whether they are second, third or even fourth in the Western Conference, they will enter the playoffs. The Lakers will also be one of the most competitive teams.

Just like the original Spurs in the 00s, no matter where they entered the league, as long as they entered the playoffs, no one could underestimate them.

The Spurs have a shot in the arm, and so do the Lakers.

Due to the team's capital investment problem, the Spurs often cannot retain the players in the main lineup except for GDP. Therefore, the regular season often requires new lineups and chemical reactions.

The same goes for the Lakers. New players come on board and need games to pay their tuition.

But this group of newcomers to the Lakers are a group of guys who have experienced the finals and won the championship. They have experienced big scenes, so they are not afraid that they will become "soft-footed shrimps" at critical moments.

Chuck Daly probably had the same idea. In the preseason, Meng Lang and Barkley basically took a rest after the first quarter, leaving the rest of the time to these newcomers.

科比场均上场30分14秒，本-华莱士场均上场32分24秒，埃迪-琼斯也有场均34分28秒的上场时间，他是全队上场时间最多的球员。

The intensity of the preseason is here, and coupled with the fact that the Lakers don't have to play in the China League this year, this gives them enough time to adjust. In the first 6 games of the preseason, even though Meng Lang and Barkley did not play much time, the Lakers still achieved a record of 4 wins and 2 losses.

在这6场比赛里，埃迪-琼斯场均可以贡献20.5分5篮板5助攻的“全能数据”；科比场均可以拿到18.5分3.5篮板4助攻的数据，看着水准已经接近了埃迪-琼斯。

And the styles of these two people can be said to be very similar!
Eddie Jones later went to the Heat and became a spot-up shooter as his physical function declined. But when he was with the Lakers, his offensive ability with the ball was not bad at all.

Speaking of which, the Lakers chose to let Jones leave just because his style was similar to Kobe's, so that Kobe could grow better.

Of course, this is also related to the original Lakers tactics.

The original Lakers played a "triangle tactic", which required a strong point on both the inside and outside. No matter how many ball holders there were, it would make the entire lineup unable to stretch. And it is prone to inaccurate player positioning.

Another point is...

Kobe's growth ceiling is obviously higher! Shaquille O'Neal said that as long as there is a defender on the outside who can hold the ball, he can lead the team to the finals.

But that is definitely a "superstar" level outside line-up.

From Hardaway to Kobe to Wade, this has been proven.

And if you want to win the championship, you must have Kobe and Wade who can achieve the level of "sitting five and watching three" in the back line at that time.

Jones clearly isn't up to that level.

He is a player who is just barely good enough to be an "All-Star" player.

However, now the Lakers, with Meng Lang as the core, play the same "five small" lineup as the Bulls.

Then outside ball handlers are very necessary, and there is no too many.

The only thing that needs attention is the distribution of ball rights...

With Meng Lang around, this problem wasn't a big deal.

More importantly, his style of play means that Kobe and Jones can take turns holding the ball, without having to worry about the situation of Rivers and Russell on the Lakers in the future.

Moreover, in terms of personal abilities, Kobe and Jones are definitely better than Rivers and Russell. They are more comprehensive in their playing style. There is no situation where they can become invisible without taking the ball... Kobe's stability is not as good as his style of play. It has a lot to do with his age and his heart that always wants to take action.

But again, Meng Lang was holding on, and he couldn't make too big a storm.

Then there is Ben Wallace, who was almost at the level of "Peak Ben" in the preseason, averaging 10.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.

This summer, it can be seen that he mainly practiced positioning under the basket and rebounding skills.

During the closed training camp, Meng Lang could notice that even Barkley, who just won the "rebounding title" last season, might have an early advantage against Big Ben. But as the game progressed, he was easily exhausted.

It is estimated that after this season, Ben will be the Lakers' new "Guardian of the Basket"!

In this time and space, his entry into the "Best Defender of the Season" list will be greatly advanced...

Of course, he is already a historical-level defender. With Meng Lang's foresight to "encourage the growth", it is not surprising that he has grown faster.

Chuck Daly is also very satisfied with the performance of these three newcomers in the preseason, and often mentions their shining points in post-game press conferences.

The Los Angeles media looked at their data and felt happy because the new season looked bright again.

It is worth mentioning that Ben Wallace and Kobe have taken more and more photos in front of the media, and the title of "Afro Brothers" has become more and more popular.

When Daben mentioned this matter, he would always say stupidly: "I have a dream... that is to let Dream have the same 'Afro' as we do. I believe that there will be such a day!"

Reporters also asked Meng Lang more than once: "Would you consider joining them?"

Meng Lang always said with a determined expression: "Never, never!"

With the preseason over, the regular season is about to begin.

The discussion about championship rings has become louder...

Old Buss is a very ritualistic person, so there are always some high-quality rings among the Lakers' championship rings in the past.

This year is the 11th championship the Lakers have won...

In terms of the number of championships, this is a relatively meaningful number.

The first championship after winning 10 championships, the second "1-Crown Journey" officially started.

As long as the 24-year-old Meng Lang doesn't encounter injury problems, he will still have at least 10 years of peak performance. With his shooting style, he can even last longer. Like Michael Jordan, at 36 years old, he is still the most ferocious player in the NBA in the new season. One of the scorers.

Coupled with the fact that Kobe, Jones and Ben Wallace are all young, all Lakers fans are looking forward to how many championships the "Dream Era" will eventually bring to the Lakers.

In fact, some media also asked similar questions, and Meng Lang almost said directly: "Not one, not two, not three or four..."

Mainly, he couldn't imagine the possibility of leaving the Lakers.

No matter in life or in any aspect, he is doing well in Los Angeles.

It's not that he doesn't have the confidence to win so many championships, but...

The omen is not very good. After LeBron said this, he entered the finals for 8 consecutive years but only won 3 championships, all under various circumstances. Therefore, he cannot be too immoral. He can only say: "This is the beginning!"

Before the game started, Meng Lang also saw the third championship ring of his career, taking one step closer to the "Thanos Glove".

In fact, even if he retires now, Meng Lang has long been on the NBA history list.

The "50 Greatest Stars" launched to commemorate the NBA's 50th anniversary proves this point. Meng Lang's name is considered to be one of the stars that is absolutely impossible to fall out of this list. And this is the beginning of the sixth season of his career.

With 3 championship trophies, 3 finals MVPs and 2 regular season MVPs, Meng Lang, who is about to turn 25, has already transformed his career into a legendary player.

So what he said, as a fan of this team, naturally has enough reasons and confidence to expect it to become a reality...

They believe this is just the beginning!
The Lakers' first game of the new season was against their Western Conference finals opponent, the Utah Jazz!
For the Utah Jazz, last season was a sweet nightmare.

The arrival of the "death gun" has allowed the Utah Jazz to exude the charm of an "elderly". Even though he and Stockton's backcourt is "defending against thousands of people", with the old man's coquettishness and tricky " Small moves”, they also give their opponents a headache.

The record of being second in the Western Conference and once first in the Western Conference proves this.

Then the arrival of the "Glider" gave this team a bit more of a "veteran immortal" flavor. They made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals. Seeing that their first trip to the Finals in their career was just around the corner, the result They encountered the biggest "Waterloo" in the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers' restrained style of play and seemingly specially targeted personnel nailed them to the "pillar of shame" in the Western Conference Finals.

Ultimately, they ended last season in pain.

Now it seems that David Stern does not intend to let them go, and actually arranged such a game against the Lakers in the opening game.

Watching all members of the Lakers team who stepped on their corpses to win the championship put on their rings...

Just thinking about this scene is enough to make people feel heartbroken. (End of chapter)