So I am the god of basketball?

McGrady was helpless, especially since he had just played well before the "Christmas Game", and not in one or two games, but three games.

It would be a lie to say he had no expectations for this match.

But he was taught a lesson in this game.

The difference is visible to the naked eye...

The greater his expectations, the greater his disappointment at the moment.

The most frustrating thing is that he thought he had adapted to the rhythm of the NBA and had a certain understanding of both offense and defense. However, in this game so far, he found that he was still a "primary school student" who had not graduated in front of top players.

Watching Meng Lang easily hit the free throw and listening to the cheers from the audience, he couldn't help but wonder:
If I want to be this kind of player, how much effort should I put in...

Or, even if I try hard, I can't reach such a height.

There was no way, he worked hard enough this summer, but after entering the league, he only became a qualified main player. Grover told him, you are only 18 years old, you still have plenty of time to realize your untapped talent.

But the frustration at the moment made him feel that he had not made any progress in the past summer.

McGrady was lost in thought and the game restarted. Phil Jackson did not take him off the court, but let him stay on the court "walking the tightrope" with three fouls.

If we only consider the number of fouls he committed in the first half, then even if he stayed on the court in the second half, he probably wouldn't have performed well. It would be better to let him continue playing. Even if he was fouled six times in the end, it would still be an experience for McGrady.

The new player made his first appearance on the stage of the "Christmas Game" and ended up leaving the game with 6 fouls. Not only he himself, but even others who heard about it felt it was unforgettable.

Phil Jackson is not a gentle head coach. He does not treat rookies as flowers in a greenhouse.

Besides, he was kind enough to McGrady.

This is because of Jordan's attitude and the importance of McGrady in the Bulls' current and future lineup.

When it comes to social etiquette, the "Zen Master" has always been very good at it.

If he did something that was not in line with human nature, then there is only one reason:
He thought this person was not worth his effort to please.

Just like Pippen...

Chicago's "new Pippen" continued to stay on the court, but the Lakers did not target him.

Both Chuck Daly and Meng Lang knew very well that whether McGrady was on the court or was fouled out would not have a crucial impact on winning against the Bulls.

As for the initial targeting of McGrady, you can understand it as...

An "old bird" welcomes a "newbie".

What's more, this "rookie" has the words "Meng Lang's disciple" written on his head, so Meng Lang has to treat him well.

After the 2+1, the Lakers once again took a 10-point lead, and they maintained this lead until the end of the first half.

Meng Lang continued to exert himself in the second quarter. At the end of the first half, he had already scored 26 points, almost tying his highest score in a half in Orlando this season. Bill Walton commented: "What's more exaggerated is that Dream looked very relaxed, as if he had done something that could be done very easily."

This is the most incredible thing.

After all, this is 26 points in the first half!
You know, a player who scored 26 points in the game is already a "star among stars"!

For an ordinary star player, this is already an extraordinary performance.

Perhaps thinking about this incident, Bill Walton's expression became even more stunned. He realized it later and suddenly reacted. He regarded this as a common occurrence.

dream……

He is already a phenomenal star!

That was the only way he could explain it.

Just like when Chamberlain averaged 50 points per game, the commentators at that time, at least in that season, were not surprised by it. They gradually got used to it and became accustomed to it. And now Bill Walton feels the same way.

For most stars, 26 points in the first half would only be a performance they can only achieve if they are in great form.

For Meng Lang...

"He's in better condition than usual..."

But that’s all!

Bill Walton has a basis for this, because this kid averaged 35.5 points per game this season.

For a player who can output such firepower in every game, if he really scores 26 points in the first half and 52 points in the whole game, it can only be said that... his condition is better than usual, which is reasonable, right?
Jordan also exploded in the second quarter, scoring 13 points, on par with Meng Lang.

As a result, his score in the first half reached 20 points.

It was his outburst in this game that maintained the score difference at 10 points and retained a certain suspense.

If they met other opponents, with Meng Lang scoring so many points in the first half, I'm afraid more people would be preparing to watch "garbage time".

Well, there might be another reason:
Michael Jordan!

When he stands on the court wearing the No. 23 Bulls jersey, as long as he has not given up and the game time has not ended, you can't say the game is over.

This is a man who can create endless possibilities!

Unfortunately, he once again exposed the damage his age had done to him. He was so hot in the first half, but he became unstable again in the second half. He was not in good shape tonight, which was evident from the start, but he adjusted himself with his years of experience and was hot for the whole quarter.

To be honest, if it weren’t for Meng Lang, the score difference at halftime wouldn’t have been as high as 10 points.

The consequence of being too anxious is that the situation will become more chaotic.

Jordan's form was gone, and the Bulls' support was gone.

In the third quarter of the game, the reversal that the Bulls fans expected did not occur, but instead it became a quarter in which the Lakers secured the victory.

In the last 5 minutes of the third quarter, led by Meng Lang, the Lakers played an 8-0 run, which directly widened the gap to more than 20 points. It is worth mentioning that this 8-0 run was completed by Meng Lang alone. He first made consecutive three-point shots from outside the three-point line, then broke through McGrady, causing a foul, giving him his fourth foul of the game, and then made two free throws, which completely widened the gap to more than 4 points.

When the second free throw was made, the entire Lakers arena cheered in unison:

"MVP!"

"MVP!"

"MVP!"

The camera on the scene also moved quickly to give a close-up shot of Michael Jordan sitting on the Bulls bench.

Jordan, sweating profusely, covered his mouth with a towel, so his expression could not be seen clearly. But from his motionless sitting posture and slightly blurred eyes, one could probably guess some of his inner thoughts at the moment.

Looking at Meng Lang, do you miss the omnipotent self you once were, Michael?
Phil Jackson originally replaced Jordan at the end of the third quarter in order to give him a break and then play the entire fourth quarter. But unexpectedly, Meng Lang was completely unstoppable as soon as Jordan left the court. His approach was also very decisive. Less than 4 minutes into the fourth quarter, he immediately replaced the main players one by one.

The Lakers received the signal and replaced their main players one after another. Meng Lang was the first to be replaced. When he left the court, the whole stadium was filled with cheers and sporadic boos.

The boos were directed at Chuck Daly.

After all, when Meng Lang left the court, his score tonight was fixed at 48 points, just 2 points away from getting his second 50 points this month. But Chuck Daly replaced him at this time.

Can't we wait until he gets 50 points before changing him?

Therefore some fans are very dissatisfied.

Meng Lang himself didn't feel anything. After Jordan stopped playing, he felt a little bored. Because the Bulls without Jordan were too weak. He was not interested in scoring 50 points against such a weak team.

Unless this bottom-ranked team is called the Magic.

In addition, he would rather score 50 points when facing a strong team, which is the data with the most gold content.

Of course, winning comes before 50 points in a single game.

Meng Lang waved at them, wishing them a Merry Christmas.

What responded to him was a louder and louder sound.

A 20-point win over the Bulls, is there a better Christmas gift than this?
The two core players left on the court were McGrady with 5 fouls and Kobe with 4 fouls.

These two newcomers who have been compared by the media have finally had their own stage. Although this stage is "garbage time", the collision between the newcomers is always passionate.

In a game of this level, Kobe showed his energy.

But McGrady was not to be outdone and displayed his talent to the fullest.

At the end of the game, one of them scored 7 points and the other scored 8 points during this period.

The one who got 8 points was Kobe, one point higher than McGrady. But he was not very happy because...

He was blocked by McGrady during the game.

It’s hard to say who performed better now.

The two men went back and forth, proving to each other that there was almost no big difference between them, and the score difference did not narrow at all. 108 to 88, at the Lakers' home court, Meng Lang once again defeated Jordan.

In addition to the 48 points, he also had 8 rebounds and 8 assists.

Tonight he is associated with the number “8”.

Jordan, who scored 20 points in the first half, must have scored at least 4... uh, 26 points in the whole game!

Well, Jordan did not play in the fourth quarter and only played for more than 9 minutes in the third quarter, and only scored a total of 6 points in the second half.

Compared to him, Meng Lang, who scored another 14 points in the third quarter, simply crushed him.

"This night made the league's renewal more traceable!" This was Bill Walton's summary of the game.

And it wasn't just him. When Jordan was interviewed after the game, reporters were more critical of his offensive firepower than usual.

"Michael, you only played well for one quarter in this game. Facing Dream, you seemed to have no way out. Does this mean that he has already opened up a gap with you?"

"We want to know about that block. Dream almost predicted your position and shooting timing. Do you feel like you were seen through?"

"Michael, the Bulls lost this game by 20 points. Do you regret trading Scottie?"

……

Just looking at the content of these questions, it is enough to imagine how angry Jordan is at the moment.

But he knew one thing more clearly:
Who made him lose the game?
The weak should be severely humiliated; they have no right to speak at all.

But he was not used to this kind of atmosphere. After holding it in for a long time, he finally responded: "We lost, or rather, we lost because of me. I didn't play well. It's that simple!"

He suppressed his anger, calmly took the responsibility on himself, then turned and left.

This is Michael Jordan.

But the reporter had another question: "Tracy once again showed his inability to adapt. Do you think he can eventually become the next 'Scottie'?"

Jordan looked at the technical statistics of this game:
麦迪全场打了25分15秒的时间，全场拿到了11分4篮板4助攻，除开5次犯规跟4次失误不谈，那么他这场比赛的数据还是不错的。特别是从一个新秀的角度。

Plus, he's only 18, that's even more...

However, the premise of all this is Jordan under normal circumstances.

At this moment, he was furious, so he laughed and said, "I think the league should cancel the rule that allows high school students to participate in the draft. They really should be sent to college to learn how to become a good professional player!"

Compared to him, Meng Lang still gave positive comments on McGrady's performance: "He had five fouls for a long time, but under such circumstances, he still played well. This is his ability. You can see the future from him. This is enough. What else do we ask for from rookies?"

He was very tolerant towards McGrady, but when talking about Kobe, Meng Lang's tone suddenly became serious: "He should face up to his performance in this game and think carefully about how to become a better player. He is already a sophomore. If I remember correctly, when I was his age, I was already the Finals MVP!"

Kobe was naturally furious when he saw the completely different speech. But what could he say? If he could have played better, would Meng Lang still have the chance to say that?

Ultimately it was because he himself didn't perform well enough.

Kobe has nothing to say about this.

and……

Kobe knew that Meng Lang appreciated McGrady more than him.

So he was not surprised at all by Meng Lang's attitude.

This "Christmas War" caused heated discussion the next day.

The reason for the hot discussion is very simple...

Jordan's influence on the court was completely crushed by Meng Lang.

So far this season, Meng Lang's changes in the independent offensive end are obvious to all, and this is reflected most vividly in his average points per game.

But it was not until this "Christmas War" that everyone realized intuitively how powerful Meng Lang was.
This is Michael Jordan!
Being crushed so badly on the field...

Is it possible that Jordan's era is really over?
This era has ushered in a "new god"? (End of this chapter)