So I am the god of basketball?

Is the “Jordan Era” really over?
Meng Lang doesn't think so.

He knew very well what level of player Michael Jordan should be in the 97-98 season.

It just happened that on such a night, he showed the vicissitudes and old age that a 35-year-old veteran should have, but this does not mean that his strength is just like that. "God's Last Shot" is definitely not a player of this level.

Facts have proved this. Michael Jordan, who was so belittled by major media, scored 48 points in the next game against the Mavericks, with 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

Mashburn, who had just emerged and averaged 20.5 points per game, was transformed from an "offensive kaleidoscope" into an "offensive bamboo tube" under his defense, making only 18 of 3 shots.

Dominating the game on both offense and defense, the topic of whether Jordan is really old has come to an end!

The Lakers continue with their remaining schedule and January is approaching, a time when all teams are prone to problems.

Teams with an older average age will encounter fatigue during this period, and the entire team will suffer various injuries. Even whether this season can stage the "old soldiers never die" will have an answer during this period.

After all, for a group of "old men", a healthy body is the beginning and guarantee of everything.

The "young players" will suffer from physical fatigue and lose their concentration on the court due to some off-court issues. The players who play well will lose themselves in the praise of the media and in the various fame and fortune events that attract them.

In addition, after becoming famous, they will be targeted and enter a period of slump. They may become better players, or just be a flash in the pan and then sink for the entire season... Most of these things happen during this period.

A team like the Lakers, which has both older core players and young newcomers, is plagued by a "double de buff", and it is easy for both the "old and young" to be affected.

This is a challenge for the Lakers.

Closing the "tail" of December well will allow them to face November with a more calm mindset.

So far in December, the Lakers have performed well, with a record of 12 wins and 12 losses in 9 games. If they can win the last 3 games, they will have a record of 3 wins and 12 losses.

This result is a significant improvement compared to November.

The result was not a big problem, and the Lakers finished the rest of the season with a "3-game winning streak".

Kobe, who was in a slump during the "Christmas Game", seemed to suddenly come to his senses in these three games, averaging 3 points, 16.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game. Although the statistics are not as impressive as in the previous strong period, it is worth mentioning that he only had 4 turnover in these three games!
This data is a bit exaggerated. As a rookie, fewer mistakes mean that he is becoming more and more stable. Especially for a rookie like Kobe, he prefers stability. This means that he has adapted to the current game intensity and the team's positioning of him.

The better news is that McGrady has not been playing as well as him during this period.

This is the first time that Kobe's performance is more outstanding than McGrady in the same stage.

But he was not happy. In his opinion, comparing the 18-year-old McGrady with the 19-year-old him was already an insult.

But what made him even more unhappy was that at this stage last year, his performance was indeed not as good as McGrady's...there was no way to explain it!
The silent Kobe put all his depression into torturing himself.

I have to admit that this guy's body is really durable. If it were Yao Ming, he would have been broken 8 times.

Meng Lang also won the "Player of the Month" in December thanks to the team's performance. He averaged 12 points, 12 rebounds and 38.4 assists per game in December. Compared with last month, his scoring power has improved significantly.

Well, that’s not the real reason why he won the Player of the Month award.

No matter who you compare his data with, he will never lose.

What really put him at a disadvantage was the team's record. Last month, the record made him only runner-up. This month, the Lakers' record can rank among the top three in the league, and there is not much difference between them. Without the record dragging down the team, Meng Lang can completely hold his head up and say:
I want to hit ten!
But after winning the "Player of the Month" award, the Lakers' days were not easy. First, Barkley's old knee injury recurred and worsened, forcing him to rest for half a month. Then the "kids" at home showed signs of fatigue. At the same time, their playing style was gradually understood by other teams in the league, and their performance began to fluctuate.

The same is true for Kobe, Jones, and Ben Wallace.

Well, it's not surprising that Kobe is like this. He was a "nervous person" at the beginning of his career. He was not a "nervous person" like Li Wan who could have attacks at regular intervals. But the fact that Jones, who has always been steady, has shown a slump is enough to prove that the problems of this Lakers team have become serious.

As for Ben Wallace, his condition under the basket is still solid, so Chuck Daly is still very confident about his condition, because there is no room for his performance on the offensive end to decline.

But what Chuck Daly didn't expect was that on the offensive end where there was not much room to play, Ben Wallace actually created such a ups and downs.

最近4场比赛，他有的得分分别为：5分、1分、7分、2分……

In fact, the main reason for all this is Barkley's absence. His injury caused the Lakers to lose one of their few fixed "scoring points" this season. It can even be said that only Meng Lang is left.

This means that other teams have the energy to limit Ben Wallace.

Now the way other teams play against the Lakers is very simple, that is to lock up other players and let Meng Lang score alone. As long as Meng Lang's scoring speed cannot catch up with them, and other players on the Lakers cannot step up to share the pressure, then they have the possibility of winning, and this possibility is very high.

The Lakers' three-game losing streak in mid-to-late January also illustrates this problem.

But can you say that Meng Lang’s firepower is not enough?

In the 10 games played in January, he averaged 40.2 points per game, which is an improvement over last month, especially in the three games he lost, he averaged 3 points per game. One person's score is often higher than the two core players of the opposing team combined.

But the others were so locked down that the entire Lakers team had a really hard time.

"Dream, who do you think can stand up and help you on the offensive end in the next game against the Pacers?"

In the first game after three consecutive losses, the Lakers faced the Indiana Pacers, who were second in the Eastern Conference. Given the team's defensive capabilities, many media believed that this game would be another one in which Meng Lang would score high points but lose.

The Lakers' team reporter also believed that if the Lakers wanted to win this game, there must be someone in the team who could stand up and help Meng Lang, otherwise, he might face a "four-game losing streak".

Meng Lang’s answer was intriguing: “My annual salary is more than the other four people combined…”

He means:

It's normal that other people on the Lakers need him!
But if he still needs others to help him, then his high annual salary should be shared with others.

"When the team encounters trouble, it proves that I haven't done enough... If 45 points are not enough, then I will get 50 points. If 50 points are not enough, I will get 60 points!" Meng Lang said this with a normal expression.

The reporter standing next to him had only one feeling:
This person is straight!

There is no possibility that he could become gay!
Isn’t this too manly?

These words quickly reached the ears of Lakers fans.

They felt their blood boiling at the time, and they believed that after tonight's away game against the Pacers, the Lakers' "three-game losing streak" would end, because Meng Lang would use his actual actions to stop the decline. Yes!

Most definitely!
Yes!
As long as it's him, it will definitely work!
These are the fans in Los Angeles. Unknowingly, they have already become Meng Lang's fans.

That night, the Pacers were also on high alert, waiting for the arrival of Meng Lang and the Lakers.

Reggie Miller even gave a speech in the locker room: "No matter how many losing streaks this team will experience, or how many winning streaks it will experience, at least tonight, we must not let him leave this arena with his head held high!"

The Pacers and the Magic have a mortal feud.

They were slaughtered by the Magic twice in a row at the doorstep of the "Eastern Conference Finals".

Of course, more Pacers fans will blame Meng Lang for this.

This also includes Reggie Miller!
They believed that they had to settle the score with Meng Lang before they could take revenge.

Tonight seemed like an opportunity for Miller.

Without Barkley, Meng Lang was alone with a bunch of "small soldiers and crab generals" around him. Reggie Miller would not feel honored to defeat such a Meng Lang. But he just wanted Meng Lang to taste the taste of fighting alone, and also wanted him to know that you were able to defeat me in those years purely because of the luxurious lineup of the Magic team, not you as a person!
Olajuwon also had the same idea as him.

Even his hatred is deeper than Miller's.

After all, this was the guy who was nailed to the "pillar of shame" after "coming back from 3-0 down to 4-0" in the finals...

Although it is recognized by everyone that Meng Lang's performance was the key reason for the reversal of that game, Chuck Daly's move to change the tactical core from Shaq to Meng Lang has become a "classic change of formation."

But he insisted that if Shaquille O'Neal had not tied him up, he would never have allowed Meng Lang to act so recklessly.

He has the ability to defend to the three-point line.

Now it's his turn to join hands with Reggie Miller to bully this lone wolf.

In short, we must win this game!

The entire Pacers home stadium was also affected by this atmosphere, and the intuitive feeling given to the major commentators was:
This doesn't feel like a regular season game, it feels more like a playoff game.

The Lakers' starting lineup is: Jones, Kobe, Meng Lang, Ben Wallace, Divac;

To put it more simply:
Meng Lang and his four "engineers".

When Meng Lang saw the media describe it this way for the first time, he was stunned.

He believes that when the media and fans see this lineup 10 years from now, they will be absolutely stunned, and will be even more shocked when they see the reviews.

The lowest level among them should be Divac, but he also made the All-Star team once.

Among others, Jones has won the "Best Defensive Team" award, Ben Wallace is even "one of the Mount Rushmores in the defensive world", not to mention Kobe.

But now they have become four "engineers".

After 20 years, no one will say that Meng Lang only knows how to form a team and ruin his teammates, right?
Ok……

It seems that the passage of time does tend to create "history books of years".

The Pacers' lineup has not changed much. After trading for Olajuwon at the end of last season, the team has completed its lineup upgrade.

And from the team's perspective, with Mark Jackson in charge of the ball, Reggie Miller in outside shooting, and Olajuwon in the interior on offense and defense, this team already has the "rudiments of winning the championship" and there is no need for any trades.

As soon as the game started, it was a fierce confrontation.

The Lakers rookies who got the first attack moved very discontinuously during the confrontation.

They have also experienced this level of confrontation, but the team's position is different, and the degree of targeting they receive is also different. Now they are the backbone of the team and are subject to the highest level of strict defense.

Meng used all his energy and finally created an open space, which Jones saw.

The moment the ball reached his hands, the Pacers' formation quickly shrank towards his side. Meng Lang observed the opponent's defensive formation and found that the space inside was compressed very small.

Reggie Miller obviously knew what his brothers were doing, engaging in all kinds of close combat and creating confrontation.

Obviously he wanted to force Meng Lang to break through and didn't intend to give him any chance to shoot.

However, the resistance that his thin body could create could not have much impact on Meng Lang today.

With his back to Miller, Meng Lang pushed him hard the moment he loosened his grip. This was a "butt-sticking technique" that was learned from Barkley. Reggie Miller resisted this and fell backwards involuntarily.

Meng Lang was facing the basket at this moment. The open space in front of him allowed him to shoot without hesitation, and the ball went into the basket.

This is still a 3-pointer!

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became quiet.

The person Indiana people hate the most now is Meng Lang.

But they also had to admit that once Meng Lang showed a fiery state, this was also what they feared the most!

They longed for revenge, but were truly afraid of Meng Lang.

This shows how deep the shadow Meng Lang left in their hearts is.

The ball passed from Mark Jackson to Reggie Miller. He faced Meng Lang and wanted to make a three-pointer, but unfortunately the ball hit the rim and bounced out.

Ben Wallace was about to protect the rebound, but Olajuwon snatched the rebound over his head, and then the "second attack" was successfully completed.

2-3! (End of this chapter)