So I am the god of basketball?

Jordan now has this feeling:
A fallen phoenix is ​​worse than a chicken!

In fact, he thought that Barkley would confront him today, but he didn't expect that this feeling would be more unbearable than he imagined.

He had suppressed this group of people for almost his entire life, and just as this era was about to pass, he did not expect this kid to fight a "comeback battle."

This feeling is as if his former subordinate has now become his boss, but the key is that he cannot just quit... You can imagine how uncomfortable it is!
Michael Jordan was even more eager to win tonight's game.

The Lakers' home court was also packed before the game started. Monica appeared in the audience seats after a long absence and even sat with "Second Dream" this time.

Since their relationship was exposed, Meng Lang and Monica have not been together very often.

It is even rarer for them to appear together in front of the media.

Compared with his previous relationship with the "Queen of Pop", Meng Lang's relationship with Monica this time is much more low-key.

At one point, the media thought that the two of them had broken up.

However, this time Monica sat next to "Second Dream", which not only broke the doubts, but also proved that their relationship was developing in an orderly manner and Monica had a deeper integration.

Because in the past, when the "Second Dream" appeared in front of the media, it was usually a woman named Martha.

This was the first time a woman other than Martha appeared on the sidelines with a "second dream".

Before Meng Lang went on stage, he glanced at Monica, and the two of them smiled knowingly.

Then the sour smell of love was dispersed by the gunpowder smell of the competition.

Everyone can see that the Bulls don't just treat tonight's game as an ordinary game.

In fact, for the Bulls, whose chances of winning the championship this season have been greatly reduced, cultivating McGrady is the top priority, and then beating the Lakers in the regular season... In the case that there is a high possibility that they will not make it out of the Eastern Conference playoffs, if they can beat the Lakers in the regular season, it can be regarded as a consolation for their defeat in the finals last season.

Of course, even if he knew the truth, he couldn't say it out loud. There was no way Jordan would admit these things.

Even though he has prepared himself mentally, he hopes that when the entire Chicago talks about the goal of this season, it will still be the championship.

Kobe went on the court ready to go, glancing at McGrady several times intentionally or unintentionally.

The last time they met was two years ago, when McGrady used his amazing "first step" to make Kobe a foil in the ABCD camp. But even then, Kobe didn't expect that two years later, they would become the object of comparison.

What he didn't expect was that McGrady's momentum would overwhelm him.

What the hell...

Kobe is very unhappy!
In this game, he must prove how wrong these guys outside are.

He is very confident.

Because he successfully scored another goal in the bullfight with Meng Lang yesterday, and only one month had passed since the last time, which shows that he has indeed become stronger.

This confidence made him want to receive the ball and play one-on-one against McGrady right from the start.

However, Eddie Jones simply chose to ignore his outstretched hand and waited for Meng Lang to rush out from the flank and then passed the ball to him.

When Meng Lang ran out, he deliberately walked along Kobe's back. When Jordan wanted to follow him, it was too late. As a result, the Bulls had to switch defense, and McGrady stood in front of Meng Lang.

"Come on, Tracy, show me your progress!"

Meng Lang didn't hesitate at all and continued to move to the right with the ball.

If they stopped and allowed Jordan to bypass Kobe, they would definitely be double-teamed. After playing so many games from 95 to 97, he was already very familiar with the "old rogue".

McGrady's explosive power is indeed excellent, and after training with Grover, his physical potential has exploded faster than before. In addition, it seems that he has changed his force-generating movements, and now McGrady is more daring in his moves.

Anyway, Meng Lang failed to get rid of McGrady in the first attempt.

She's only 18 years old!

What a terrifying explosive power!

If he waits until he is 25 years old...

But fortunately, Meng Lang also has the ability to suppress him.

That is: power!

McGrady is only 18 years old, so his fat is not obvious.

Meng Lang's strength is now top-notch in the third position, so he can be suppressed.

McGrady was persistent enough. Although he was squeezed out of the way to the basket by Meng Lang, he still followed him all the way to the basket.

But maybe it would be better not to follow!
Meng Lang quickly stopped under the basket, turned around and twisted McGrady away, then raised his hand to fake a jump, and again tricked McGrady who was about to pounce on him into losing his balance.

"beep!"

Then he leaned on McGrady's falling body and threw the ball. As the ball went in, the referee blew the whistle.

2 plus 1!

With the first ball of the "Christmas War", Meng Lang successfully ignited the whole audience and made McGrady pay the tuition.

"It's a little late, but I still want to say, welcome to the NBA, Tracy." Meng Lang said on the free throw line, closing his eyes and hitting the free throw. This scene made the scene excited again.

There was a hint of helplessness in the depths of Maddie's eyes as he looked at the sleepy boy.

I got a foul right at the start, so the pressure was a bit high.

The ball possession changed at this time, and it was McGrady who got the ball in the Bulls' backcourt.

In order to better adapt him to the team's rhythm and the intensity of NBA games, McGrady, who plays the No. 2 position, often dribbles the ball across half court like a "dribbling guard."

Of course, for a rookie, especially one like him who needs to hold the ball to perform, letting him control the ball across half court actually helps him find his form.

Just look at the future "Shui La" and you will know how big the difference is between not having the ball and having the ball!

McGrady's situation is not that outrageous, because he still has a sharp breakthrough, but he is just a rookie and his need for the ball is not much less than that of "Swoosh". Phil Jackson came up with this idea to increase his touch time.

As soon as McGrady brought the ball to the front court, Kobe immediately pressed forward and formed an offensive and defensive situation with him. McGrady did not hesitate and looked for offensive opportunities with the ball. This attack showed his growth. With the help of Jordan and Grover, McGrady knew how to use his tall body to create opportunities for breakthroughs.

Plus his invincible “first step”!
and so……

With just a dragging step and then a sudden accelerated diagonal sprint, McGrady broke through Kobe's defense. However, facing Meng Lang who was defending from behind, he instinctively chose to pass the ball and blocked Meng Lang with his body.

This move is the legendary "Varejao pick-and-roll" that LeBron is proud of.

However, there was no such concept at that time, and McGrady's movement was not that outrageous. He stopped immediately after passing the ball.

Kobe switched defense to Jordan.

Michael held the ball and tested Kobe's defensive reaction. During this period, other Bulls players also helped to open up space. Bulls No. 23 immediately leaned forward with his shoulder, twisted his body and broke through, confronting Kobe.

Kobe has a very bad habit in defense, which is to support his elbows with a large amplitude.

After he became a "superstar", referees turned a blind eye and rarely called fouls on him. But you can notice this when you look at Kobe's defense. Of course, it may also be the "defensive inertia" caused by the "non-contact" rule that has not changed in this era.

Compared to Kobe's inability to control his elbows on the defensive end, a certain "goat"'s inability to control his elbows on the offensive end is even more outrageous.

Let him dry the player in the head after turning around like he said in Miami;
Not one, not two, or three. But for some reason his fans still say he is pure and innocent and never does anything dirty.

Jordan made good use of Kobe's defensive habit. He suddenly jumped up during the confrontation, allowing himself to take the hit, and then "faded away" to successfully score the ball.

It’s also “2 plus 1”!
And it was much more difficult than Meng Lang's just now. After all, this shot was completed against the elbow of "Little Malone".

What a fucking “old rogue”!

Meng Lang knew very well how hard Kobe's elbow was.

He rolled his eyes at Kobe and said, "How many times have I told you to pay attention to this during the game?"

Kobe Bryant said indignantly: "I have always defended like this!"

Well, this is the referee's fault for taking Michael Jordan's side, right?
"Shh!"

Jordan also made the free throw steadily, and at the same time heard Kobe's complaints, he said: "Even if the referee didn't blow the whistle, this is still a good shot!"

Kobe was speechless because the ball did go in.

But Jordan's words aroused his competitive spirit.

Originally, Jordan was the opponent he wanted to defeat the most, but recently the media was crazy about him and McGrady's CP, so he had to kill Tracy first and then "return to his original intention." But Jordan's words made him very unhappy, and he wanted to continue defending Jordan.

This damned competitive spirit!

Meng Lang listened to Kobe's request and didn't say much.

At worst, I can just sit on the sidelines after 3 minutes of the first quarter!
As for his current influence on the Lakers, actually... he can hardly make much of a difference in whether the Lakers can win or not.

and……

It’s Christmas!

Meng Lang should be a "Santa Claus" and fulfill the wish of this "little snake".

The Lakers counterattacked, and the ball was still in Meng Lang's hands. The Bulls were still very protective of McGrady, and Harper defended in front of Meng Lang. Meng Lang didn't rush to attack this time, because Jordan was already in position and could make up for it at any time.

He slowly dribbled towards Harper, and when he stepped on the three-point line, he suddenly accelerated, took a step before the free throw line, and made a quick stop jump shot.

"It's not a shot, it's a pass!"

Bill Walton looked at the arc of Meng Lang's shot and reacted immediately. The ball fell directly into Barkley's hands under the basket.

The "Flying Pig" stuck his butt to block Rodman behind him, raised his hand and pretended to do a layup. After making sure that Rodman really couldn't jump up, he immediately made a layup under the basket.

Even if the Lakers' focus this season is on the growth of newcomers.

But in such an important game, Meng Lang and Barkley still have to be the base.

Before the game, Chuck Daly developed his offensive tactics around these two people.

In previous games, Barkley rarely got a chance to finish so early, and Phil Jackson didn't think too much about it. Rodman was mainly responsible for Barkley's defense in this game.

This is also done to move the defensive formation upwards to ensure that Meng Lang is restricted.

Unfortunately, the result of doing so was that Meng Lang seized the opportunity and completed the "Meng-Ba connection".

This time, Pippen faced Meng Lang directly and decisively passed the ball to Jordan on the wing.

Kobe's eyes looked like he wanted to eat Jordan.

But his overly aggressive defense gave Jordan an opportunity. He started with a "three-threat shooting" and a fake "one-handed pass" to trick Kobe into retreating. Then he moved sideways in the opposite direction and easily made a mid-range jump shot.

Meng Lang watched Jordan "training the newcomer" and was not surprised that Kobe was fooled.

After all, Kobe's hands are too small, and no one would have thought that he had such a "one-handed grab and pass fake move".

"Rookie, the only thing you deserve praise for in defense is your attitude!"

Jordan's light-hearted trash talk only irritated Kobe even more.

He took the initiative to ask for the ball and wanted to make a shot.

Meng Lang attracted a double-team during his breakthrough, and seeing Jordan coming to defend, he quickly threw the ball to Kobe who was left open on the wing.

Kobe rushed forward to get the ball, but Jordan stood firm and blocked his way, successfully causing him to commit an "offensive foul."

"fxxk!"

Kobe cursed angrily and glared at the referee on the sidelines.

The result was a technical foul.

The referees at that time were still very authoritative. It was not the era when anyone could complain to the referee. In this era, anyone who dared to complain to the referee would be given a technical foul immediately, without any hesitation.

Things like dragging the referee to the technical desk to watch replays, which will happen in the future, would never have happened in David Stern's era.

Jordan gave the free throw opportunity to McGrady.

After the free throw, the Bulls had another chance to serve.

The Lakers made a substitution at this time and Kobe was taken to the bench.

Two fouls prevented him from continuing to play, and his current mood was not suitable for staying on the court.

This is Bulls time.

Kobe probably knew how big a mess he had made, and after the game he sat quietly on the bench without even taking a towel.

Well, with such a short time, it’s indeed not easy to sweat.

The Bulls completed the serve at this time. The moment McGrady dribbled across half court, Meng Lang suddenly rushed out and pressed him closely. This defensive change happened very suddenly, and it can be seen that McGrady did not react at all.

His dribbling rhythm suddenly became disrupted.

The ball that was about to be passed in a panic was intercepted by Meng Lang.

The Lakers' chance to counterattack!

Only McGrady followed Meng Lang in the frontcourt.

Unable to stop Meng Lang from scoring, McGrady chose to foul in a hurry.

"Dangdang!"

Meng Lang was hugged and the ball did not go in.

However, McGrady also received his second foul of the game.

In this way...

He also has to go off the court to rest. (End of this chapter)