So I am the god of basketball?

Chapter 77 Don’t call me before the next game!

In this game, Meng Lang reached two new career records:
  第一个是出场时间，下半场首发出场的他打了18分34秒，加上上半场的14分45秒，这场比赛他一共打了33分19秒。是他职业生涯的新高；

In addition, in this game, he scored 11 points in the first half and 13 points in the second half, for a total of 24 points. This was the first time he scored 20 points in a single game since entering the league.

In addition to 24 points, he also had 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

As a player coming off the bench, he once again helped the team complete a comeback when the team was lagging behind.

Barkley came over to say hello, then turned around and left. He scored a "big double-double" of 30 points and 20 rebounds, but he failed to take away the victory, which meant that his pre-game remarks were slapped in the face.

He left the scene in a hurry.

Shaquille O'Neal began to be interviewed by courtside reporters at this time. He scored 27 points and 15 rebounds tonight. The data was slightly inferior to Barkley's, but he won the victory. That was enough for him to do the interview with a smile on his face.

The host’s last question was related to Meng Lang and the slogan “we need meng!” that sounded during halftime!

"This is the respect he deserves. He has been unfairly criticized." O'Neal tried his best to show a generous expression. In fact, he felt a little sour in his heart at that time, like taking a small bite of lemon, because it was his "Little brother" Meng Lang, so it's okay.

Meng Lang was also facing this problem, and he answered it briefly: "I don't care!"

"Why?" His reaction puzzled the reporter.

Meng Lang repeated: "I don't care!"

The people in Orlando forgive Meng Lang, but Meng Lang has not yet forgiven the people in Orlando.

This is the news headline that the interviewer prepared in his mind.

The next question was: "Chuck Daly directly put you into the starting lineup in the second half. Do you think this is a signal? When do you think you can enter the Magic's starting lineup?"

"That's a good question!" Meng Lang nodded in agreement, "You can ask Chuck for me to see when I can enter the starting lineup. I'll wait for your news!"

Soon there was a clear answer to this question.

But it wasn't this reporter who told Meng Lang.

Instead, he rushed to the airport the next morning and met the Magic's assistant coach. He revealed to Meng Lang in advance: "Chuck has decided to put you in the starting lineup for the next game against the Warriors."

it's time!

Everyone in Orlando was chanting Meng Lang's name.

This is a perfect reason for a player to enter the starting lineup.

Because the team wants to sell tickets, they have to show the people they want to see!

This reason is enough to convince everyone, and there is no need to compare Meng Lang's data with Nick Anderson and Denis Scott.

Qualifications are worthless in front of love.

Although Meng Lang still has not forgiven the Orlando fans, many local newspapers in Orlando this morning were calling on Chuck Daly to put Meng Lang into the starting lineup as soon as possible.

Apart from……

Orlando Sentinel.

"Chuck Daly's plan came true. He made the Chinese newcomer look like the 'savior' of Orlando, so he must be included in the starting lineup..."

When Meng Lang saw the newspaper, he tore it into pieces.

And when he saw a reporter from the Orlando Sentinel chasing him to the airport for an interview, he spit directly into the camera.

This is uncivilized behavior, specially used to treat uncivilized "ghosts"!
  Maybe this will become the headline content of the "Orlando Sentinel" tomorrow, but Meng Lang is not worried about his image at all.

He can redeem himself with his performance on the court.

Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James…

It’s all done this way!

Unlike most other teams that use a city as a prefix, the Warriors use a state as a prefix, and the Golden State is another name for California.

The Warriors' home stadium has also been changing in various cities in California.

In the 70s, they used San Francisco as their home court, then went to San Diego to play a few games. Now the Warriors' home court is in Oakland. ——One of the worst cities in California.

When they first arrived at the hotel, Chris Webber called and asked for their hotel address. Within an hour, he appeared at the door of the hotel.

It has been almost 2 months since they last met. During this time, Chris Webber wanted to thank Meng Lang in person.

The quarrel they had in the summer - looking back now, it wasn't much of a quarrel. ——A big help to Chris Webber.

Webb, who confirmed that his first career stop in the Golden State Warriors in the draft, has very clear goals for his future planning:
  Become the next "Magic" Johnson!
  He believes that his talent will receive preferential treatment in the NBA. Even if the Warriors' head coach is Nelson, a veteran NBA coach, he will tolerate what he has to go through on the road to becoming "Magic" Johnson.

But that conversation gave Webb a vaccination, and Nelson may have his own plans for his future.

What if two ideas collide?

This was something he noticed in advance before the Warriors training camp started. After the training camp officially started, differences did arise.

He wants to play like a "Magic", and Nelson hopes that he can integrate into the Warriors' tactical system to share the ball and cooperate with his teammates.

Sharing and cooperation means sacrifice, which means that Weber needs to do something he doesn't like to do and is not good at doing. Entering the Warriors as the "number one pick", he originally thought that he would become the absolute core of the team, and all tactical systems would use him as the starting point.

At this time, he couldn't find an appropriate metaphor. If he had watched LeBron James' 20-year career experience in advance, he would have said:
  Like LeBron James.

Let the team integrate into me, not me into the team!

He wanted to resist, but he thought of what Meng Lang told him:

Don't be the next one, be the first yourself!
  This sentence touched Chris Webber greatly. Maybe he can become the shape Nelson wanted. Can he become someone that has never appeared in this league?
  So despite some minor conflicts, Chris Webber tried his best to make concessions.

He made a compromise, and Nelson also gave him some rights to handle the ball on the court.

The relationship between the two of them is pretty good.

新赛季打完的4场比赛，克里斯-韦伯场均可以拿到18.5分9篮板4助攻1.5抢断2.25盖帽，场均投篮命中率55.2%！是目前“93一代”场均数据最好的球员。

The Golden State media also spoke highly of him.

He is enjoying everything now.

If it weren't for Meng Lang's words, he might look different now.

Meng Lang was also surprised that his quarrel with Weber could actually bring about such a change.

But in the NBA, changes brought about by a quarrel or a word abound.

"If you really want to thank me, I want to meet someone!" Meng Lang just made his request.

"Who?"

"Chris Mullin!"

"God's left hand", the 85th pick in the first round of 7.

Nelson's first work after coming to the Warriors.

In his first season, Chris Mullin's average reached 20 points per game, and then it soared to 26.5 points per game!
  The hard shot is Chris Mullin's signature move.

Does this word sound familiar?
  Yes, this is also Meng Lang's signature move now.

In addition, Chris Mullin is 1 meters tall. As a white man with mediocre physical fitness, he has an extremely good touch and a very exquisite passing hand. ——In these aspects, Meng Lang is only strong, not weak. Be it height or physical fitness.

In terms of feel, he believes that he in 95 will not be much worse than Chris Mullin.

In terms of ball feel, after having a "white chocolate" ball feel this summer, it will be a matter of time before he becomes better than Chris Mullin.

It can be said that at this stage, his best learning partner is Chris Mullin. His game experience and reading of the game will definitely be helpful to Meng Lang.

Help him become a "better version of Mullin".

Chris Webber has a very good relationship with Mullin. One phone call summoned this legendary boss who squeezed out many outstanding defenders into the "Dream One".

"I want to know how you adjust your touch during the game!"

After the pleasantries, Meng Lang asked the question that confused him most at this stage.

In the past few days of games, his scoring has been very concentrated, and it is easy for him to "start before finishing". If he shoots well in the front, he will suddenly "power out" in the back, and he will make 1 out of [-] shots.

There are factors of just playing in the NBA and "back-to-back" factors, but there are definitely ways to adjust as soon as possible during the game. Meng Lang doesn't plan to figure it out on his own, he plans to "pick it up" directly.

“God’s left hand” is known for its stability.

Chris Mullin joked: "You know, Dream, I'm very optimistic about you, but that doesn't mean you can deceive me of my secrets just by saying hello, long time no see, Chris."

"I'd love to order you a drink and start our conversation again, but unfortunately I'm only 19!"

This is a joke. Meng Lang knew that "God's Left Hand" did not drink alcohol.

Because Mullin used to have a habit of drinking, he gave up this bad habit in order to become a better version of himself.

As we all know, Vin Baker lost $[-] million due to alcoholism. Later, he went to a special rehabilitation center and worked as a pastor for a period of time before he corrected his evil ways.

Mullin quit as soon as he said so. Really cruel!
  But it is true that how many geniuses have become "historical superstars" based on talent alone?
  "So I've always hated sitting at the same table with minors..." Chris Mullin replied with a smile, and said in a helpless tone, "Okay, that's you, Dream, change If he is another opponent, I will not teach him how to perform better the day before the game."

"Thanks to Don!"

That is Nelson.

"His arrival changed my playing habits. He asked me to touch and hold the ball as much as possible. I think as a pitcher, (touching the ball more) is a very important thing."

If you don't touch the ball for a long time, especially in such fierce competition, the feel will be easily destroyed.

Why do some players who shoot very accurately often become unable to play when they are next to players with their own systems? On the contrary, they have better shooting performance when they are not on the court. The reason is that he has more opportunities to touch the ball.

Meng Lang actually noticed this, so he actively participated in the teamwork of catching and passing the ball, and then started trying to shoot.

Thinking about it now, he was on the right path, but he failed to maintain this habit well during the game.

After a summer of hard work until now, Meng Lang's ball-handling ability has reached 68 points, which is close to the NBA starting level.

It’s just that he is more accustomed to playing in his comfort zone:
  He uses running without the ball to get rid of his opponents. At the moment of catching the ball, he relies on his strong shooting ability and height difference to form an atypical misplaced shot.

This makes him unfavorable in the NCAA.

But now in the NBA, we are facing opponents who are stronger and have better physical fitness.

It's difficult for him to reach his top state in the NCAA just by relying on his shooting.

His hand fluctuates more frequently than in the NCAA.

You have to get out of your comfort zone.

You can’t just catch and pass the ball, you have to try to dribble more.

A few dribbles and then pass the ball...

This was Nelson's initial request for Chris Mullin.

Gradually, Mullin's passing bloodline awakened.

This makes Mullin catch the ball in some open spaces when he escapes from defenders. The defending players often need to be wary of his passing and do not dare to pounce on him, allowing him to get an easy shooting opportunity.

The more Meng Lang listened, the more he felt that this was a very good way to solve his current predicament.

Entering the starting lineup means stronger matchups and more intense confrontations. He can't wait until he hits the "rookie wall" before thinking of a solution. He had to make changes immediately.

The Warriors have just gone through a "sweet period."

The arrival of Nelson, after correcting Mullin, selected Tim Hardaway, and formed the "RUN TMC" combination with "The Rock" Mickey Richmond. This combination has led them to the playoffs five times in the past seven years. Before Nelson arrived, they had not made the playoffs for 7 consecutive years.

It was at this time that Nelson became the "god coach" in the minds of Golden State fans.

It seems that the "Mad Scientist" really has some kind of buff with Golden State. Later, he left Golden State and came back again, and he led a group of people to do a big job in the 07 playoffs!

With Tim Hardaway and Reid Monkey having been traded in the past two seasons, the Warriors have now entered a rebuilding phase.

Last summer, Nelson and the management did a good job. They used the 24th pick in the first round to win a "lottery":
  Latrell Sprewell!
  The famous "Madman".

He is more famous for two incidents:

One was to "choose" his head coach; the other was that he felt that [-] million was not enough to support his family, so he chose to retire directly.

Last season was the first season of his career. He averaged 15.4 points, 3.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.

At that time, Old Nelson thought this guy could do it!
  The new season increased his role on the offensive end. After four games of the new season, he averaged 21.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game.

A second-year "rookie" has produced such brilliant statistics that the Golden State media has put the title of "the league's No. [-] shooting guard" on his head. Um……

This is probably the seventh or eighth "league's first shooting guard" that Meng Lang has heard this season.

Michael Jordan suddenly retired, and the media couldn't wait to give their players the special hat of "first shooting guard." It seems that after Lu Bu's death, everyone has the courage of Lu Bu.

Plus Chris Webber, who just arrived.

The Warriors formed a new "Trident".

It just so happens that the Magic team is also composed of the "Erlangwei" trio. ——Because the empty ear of "Erlangwei" sounds similar to "LV", some media also call the Magic's "threesome" a "luxury" combination.

It is indeed quite a luxury for a team to have such a trio.

This game is also extremely full of gimmicks.

Because the "93 generation" civil war between Chris Webber and Meng Lang and Hardaway has already made many people look forward to it.

The league specifically upgraded this game to the level of "National Live Broadcast". ——The "National Live Broadcast" at this time is somewhat different from the later "National Live Broadcast". The current broadcast partner of the NBA is NBC. This is also the company with the worst broadcast cooperation in the NBA. Because they experienced two Jordan retirements.

The Magic themselves have about 18 "National Live Broadcasts" this year, but they didn't expect that before their first National Live Broadcast came, the officials actually arranged a "National Live Broadcast" for them in advance.

Their record is worthy of official treatment, and they haven't lost a game yet!

NBC's tagline for the game is:
  The talent battle of the "93 generation".

"Congratulations, man, you finally started!"

When Weber heard that Meng Lang would start tonight, he felt a little uneasy. These reactions were all the sequelae of the "Dream Team" training camp. But he was still really happy for Meng Lang. Meng Lang is such a capable person, but his talent is really compromised on the bench.

Meng Lang didn't take it seriously: "Sooner or later, it will happen."

This afternoon, when Chuck Daly announced the result, Denis Scott, who was squeezed out of the starting lineup, did not have any dissatisfaction.

Just like Meng Lang said, this day will eventually come!
  Since Old Nelson failed to win the championship with the Bucks relying on defense, he was "broken" by the attack. From this period on, as long as he accepts the team, it will always be two words:
  Run and boom!

Run and boom!

Still a special run and gun!
  Chuck Daly was not afraid of the Warriors' fast-paced offense and defense.

Judging from the last game, "run and gun" allows Hardaway to express himself better.

Well, in fact, the "run and gun" system is the system that improves the point guard the most.

Think about how many No. [-] positions have become famous by relying on "run and gun" tactics.

Jason Kidd, Steve Nash... including Jeremy Lin, and James Harden.

Especially for the latter few, the "run and gun" tactics directly improved their performance on the court to a higher level.

Hardaway's physical talent and court vision are also perfectly suited to the "run and gun" tactics.

The "Shark" would rather the team play positional warfare around him, but with Hardaway's constant passing assists and dunks, he gradually forgot his "positional warfare heart."

Meng Lang also continued to hit shots with Hardaway's assists.

The person the Warriors are guarding him tonight is Chris Mullin, who they just met yesterday.

He suffered an injury last season. When he returned to the court this season, his offensive status was not affected, but his defensive footwork was much slower than at his peak.

Also at the beginning of this season, he gradually slipped from his peak period, and his scoring average dropped repeatedly.

At the end of the first quarter, Meng Lang scored 8 points.

He made 5 of 3 shots and 3 of 2 three-pointers, which was extremely efficient.

Before Chris Mullin came off the field, he stood opposite him and panted: "I just said I can't pass on all my experience to you before the game starts!"

Meng Lang responded with a smile, and he did not deny that he did incorporate Chris Mullin's suggestions in this game to increase more time on the ball. This goes against his shooting habits, so he takes very few shots.

But from an efficiency point of view, this works very well!
  What you have to do now is to adapt to this style of play and change your shooting habits.

This was a long process, and Meng Lang was mentally prepared. He would not be able to maintain this state all the time when he first started to adjust.

Meng Lang's worries were not unnecessary. His condition declined in the second quarter:

3-of-1 from the field.

However, in the third quarter, he quickly improved his shooting percentage:
  4 of 2 shots!
  Until the last 3 minutes and 14 seconds of the game, Meng Lang made 3 of 2 shots, and his condition improved compared to the third quarter.

The battle was extremely fierce, and the run-and-gun battle between the Warriors and the Magic was definitely worthy of today's "National Live Broadcast."

The Magic's "luxury" combination performed well, and the Warriors' "trident" was also in hot shape.

"Madman" keeps beating Kenny Anderson with the ball, and he has scored 25 points so far in the game.

There's a reason why he's such a treasure at the end of the first round.

Scouts were too concerned about his height of 1 meters and his age of 96, and underestimated his physical fitness and all-around skills.

Kenny Anderson couldn't hold him down at all.

Chris Webber also showed his versatility on both offense and defense in this system.

Whether it was personal offense, or defensive defense, basket protection, especially support in the high post, Meng Lang vaguely saw the gorgeous "King". He has sacrificed in the Warriors' system, and he will never be able to do it here. Play like "Magic" Johnson, but aside from that, Old Nelson lived up to his talent, and played it all out bit by bit.

"Mad scientists" can cultivate good power forwards, and Nowitzki is a good example of this later.

As things stand now, Chris Webber might be too.

In the last minute of the game, the Warriors trailed by 2 points.

Sprewell faced Anderson with the ball and made a cool step-back jump shot. The ball bounced out of the basket. Chris Webber used his better mobility to grab the rebound, in front of Shaquille O'Neal. , completed the goal with a sideways hook.

This was his later signature stunt.

The score is tied.

Hardaway controlled the rhythm, waited for Shaquille O'Neal to get into position, and gave the ball to him.

In terms of success rate, it's definitely Shaquille O'Neal.

What the Magic want now is success rate!

But the Warriors' double-team was very fierce. Shaq turned halfway and his whole body was covered. He couldn't take any more shots and he caught a glimpse of Meng Lang.

Meng Lang caught the ball, faced Chris Mullin, and successfully scored.

The moment the ball went into the frame, the Warriors' home court was filled with fans holding their heads in their hands and looking in pain.

In the fourth quarter, his touch returned to that of the first quarter.

With 4.3 seconds of accurate buzzer beater, the Warriors' last attack, as the "Madman" missed a hurried jumper, the Magic won the Warriors by 2 points and started their 5-game winning streak.

This is the Magic's best result since its establishment, even though the Magic's team history is only 6 short seasons.

"Don't call me before the next game!" Chris Mullin smiled, hugged Meng Lang, and complained in his ear.

The templates of "God's Left Hand" and "God's Left Hand" embraced each other at the end of the game. This scene attracted the cameras on the sidelines.

The scene freezes at this moment.

There is a high probability that this photo, or the photo of Meng Lang beating Mullin to complete a quasi-win, will become the headline of the newspaper tomorrow. The headline is titled:
  inherited!

"Congratulations, Dream. Congratulations on your first game-winner in your career. What a wonderful shot... Can you tell me how you feel now?"

Meng Lang sat at the press conference table after the game and was interviewed.

他今晚16投9中，三分球7投3中，拿到了21分，不如沙克-奥尼尔的29分15篮板。

But you know, sometimes even if you get 40 points and 20 rebounds, you may not be the MVP. ——Needless to say, this MVP only watched all 6 games, not the finals. Everyone knows that if the roles of two people are reversed and the data of the previous 5 games are reversed, when someone gets this in the finals When it comes to statistics, the MVP must also be his. ——What you have accomplished is not important, who you are is the key!

That's an MVP forced upon someone by the league.

Tonight is also the first game of Meng Lang's career. Even without this winning goal, he will appear at tonight's post-game press conference.

This is called "building momentum"!
  This is what anyone does when there is someone behind them.

"I'm disappointed with my performance, I didn't play well because the game was not decided until the last minute..."

???

The reporters waiting for him to speak were stunned.

They had all heard that Meng Lang liked to pretend, but the problem was...

Isn’t this too awesome to pretend?
  You just completed a near-win, and then you reflect on why you didn't perform better and let the game wait until the last moment to determine the winner?

hiss~
  The reporters at the scene gasped.

They had a hunch that there was going to be a new "big boss" in the show-off world!

Shaquille O'Neal was interviewed in the player tunnel: "When I saw Dream catch the ball and take a shot, I knew he could make the shot. This is my trust in him!"

On the plane back, Anderson shyly approached Meng Lang, hesitated for a while, and said:

"I'm sorry for my previous behavior on the court. You did the right thing, but I was distracted by too many other factors and I apologize to you."

Anderson is not a bad person.

If a person keeps remembering his dead friend and uses his friend's number throughout his career, and even builds a website specifically for his dead friend after retirement, and treats his family well, he is a bad person.

Then there are really not many good people in the NBA.

It's just that sometimes, interests force two people to come to opposite sides.

Meng Lang understood this, but his tone was still cold: "If you are worried about what I will do, you don't have to apologize!"

Even if Meng Lang has a higher team status, he will not deliberately do something against Anderson, such as isolating him or forcing the team to trade him.

The conflict between the two of them is not that big.

Anderson's ill will towards him was not that deep.

"I sincerely apologize. You don't have to believe it, but that's all I have to say." After Anderson said what he wanted to say, he left the seat next to Meng Lang. This move showed his thoughts:

I'm here to apologize, but I'm not here to beg to be your friend.

This is a very manly thing.

It would be a good thing for everyone on the team to get the word out!

Meng Lang still appreciated this. Of course, this would not make Meng Lang deliberately ease the relationship between them.

It's what you saw the first time you met.

This is Meng Lang's principle of doing things.

His character seems full of edges and corners, but given his life, he can definitely continue to survive like this.

He will become a big shot in the NBA!

What Meng Lang didn't expect was that after just accepting Anderson's apology, he would immediately have to face a situation where he needed to apologize.

The trash talk he spewed at Rodman still spread.

Madonna got his phone number from nowhere.

However, this is not a big deal. She is a "diva", so she can still do this.

"I apologize to you!"

"???"

Madonna didn't expect Meng Lang's straightforward apology. When she called, she had learned some things about Meng Lang. In her opinion, Meng Lang was also a "finger-wagging" fan. He literally calls the gang "bitches" and when he says "I don't care"...

Unexpectedly, he apologized so readily.

"Then I accept your apology!" Madonna also showed her generosity.

The next day, she also defended Meng Lang in front of the media: "He is a very nice person. I think this is not his original intention. Trash talk is also part of the game. When I watched Dennis play on the sidelines, , I can feel this very clearly, let all this pass, this is a matter between Dennis and him, and I will not make any further response."

　I finished writing 1 today. I will write another chapter later to pay back what I owed.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)