Legendary star

Chapter 451 Winning streak
"LeBron, have you really made up your mind?" On March 2003, 3, just after the start of the NCAA March Madness, the Pacers' arena ushered in a young man, LeBron James, who was about to graduate from high school , came to Indianapolis from Ohio, specially found Meng Xu, told Meng Xu some of his thoughts, and asked for Meng Xu's opinion, but Meng Xu did not answer in one word after listening to James' thoughts Instead, after thinking for a long time, he raised his head and asked James a question.

"Well, I have already considered it. Although many universities have contacted me in advance and promised me scholarships, but my family conditions have not allowed me to complete the whole university, so I decided to participate in this year's competition in advance. NBA draft." James, who was sitting next to Meng Xu, said with a sad face, and after a pause, James continued: "The NCAA is now investigating my accepting sponsorship from Nike and McDonald's, so even if I If I want to play in the NCAA, I am afraid I have no chance now."

James was born in a single-parent family and lived in a slum since he was a child. James from a poor family relied on the support of his relatives and a rugby coach to barely complete his elementary studies. Because James showed amazing basketball skills when he was young Talent, so after James entered high school, various sponsors came in one after another. In order to complete his studies and subsidize his family by the way, James did not refuse these sponsors, including Nike and McDonald's, especially Nike. Hui got the news from Nike that Nike has been paying attention to James for a long time, and Nike executives also plan that as long as James enters the NBA, Nike will sign James.Moreover, when James was in high school, Nike gave James a car and various sponsorships. If the American Basketball Association hadn't stipulated that high school students were not allowed to sign commercial sponsorship contracts, Nike would have given James a long time ago. Income under the flag.However, the NCAA has strict requirements in this regard. It does not allow any player in the NCAA league, and any player who is about to enter the NCAA league, to accept any form of commercial sponsorship or commercial contract. Once verified, they will be banned from participating in all NCAA games. , Therefore, after the NCAA has begun to investigate James' acceptance of Nike's sponsorship, the NCAA's door has basically been closed to James, and now participating in the NBA draft in advance to enter the NBA may be the only choice for James to continue his basketball career.

Because James was selected to the first team of the best high school students in the United States in the second season of high school, and was selected as one of the five strongest high school students of the year, he was dubbed "KingJames" by the media in the third season of high school. Some media predicted that as long as LeBron James, who graduated from high school, chooses to participate in the draft, he will at least be the top three rookies.Therefore, even if he participates in the draft early as a high school student, James does not need to worry too much about his draft prospects.

"LeBron, I support your decision." Looking at James who was still a little nervous, Meng Xu patted him on the shoulder: "Since you have decided to participate in the draft, why don't you stay and train with us, so that you can get familiar with him in advance? Take a look at the rhythm and intensity of the NBA game."

"Well." After hearing that Meng Xu supported his decision, James finally regained his peace of mind. In fact, James came today not just to ask for advice from Meng Xu, because even if Meng Xu did not support James, it would not change the situation. James' decision to enter the NBA, the main reason why James came today is actually to stay in Indiana and train with the Pacers.The high school league is over, but there is still a long time before the NBA draft. During this time, James does not want to be idle, so James wants to take advantage of this time to continue to hone his skills, but high school students The confrontation between them will no longer improve the current James, so James thought of Meng Xu. Before coming, James was a little worried that Meng Xu would reject him. After all, the Pacers are now in the middle of the regular season. The adjustment and sprint stage, but unexpectedly, before James asked, Meng Xu took the initiative to ask James to stay and train with the Pacers in Indiana.

"I'll go find Larry in a while. From tomorrow onwards, you will train with us. I will help you from the sidelines. You can also play as a substitute during our intra-team matches."

"Thank you, Meng, thank you." Looking at Meng Xu with a warm smile on his face, James was really touched at this moment. After thinking about the McDonald's summer training camp that year, Meng Xu has been guiding He even pulled himself to train together during the summer offseason. Although Meng Xu said that he just wanted to find a partner, James knew very well in his heart that Meng Xu was trying to help him.

"Okay, it just so happens that we have a game tonight, and I happen to still have two tickets for the front row, so I'll give them to you!"

. . . . . . .

The Pacers are a team that is extremely lacking in honor. Although the team has been established for nearly 40 years, it has only been in the NBA for more than 20 seasons. A bully that everyone can bully, the winning percentage in team history is less than 20%, the team's best record in the regular season is only 50 wins and 97 losses in the 98-58 season, and the Pacers are also the only few teams in the entire league that have not won As for the 24-win team, the Pacers' winning streak in the regular season is even more miserable. The 60-game winning streak in the 97-98 season is already the longest winning streak in the history of the Pacers in the regular season. .

After experiencing the slump after the All-Star Game, after Meng Xu scored 82 points against the Knicks, the Pacers gradually got out of the trough, after successive victories over the Celtics and the Bucks.Entering March, the Pacers became even more unstoppable. On March 3, the Pacers beat the Warriors 2-106 at home. Meng Xu made 100 of 24 shots, 13 of 3 7-pointers, 3 of 12 free throws, and scored 9 points. .The No. 38 Arenas of the Warriors who impressed Meng Xu was also very good in this game. He made 0 of 27 shots and 14 of 3 three-pointers. He scored a score higher than Meng Xu. 11 points, if it weren't for this kid's explosion in the third quarter, scoring 6 points in a single quarter, the game between the Pacers and the Warriors, there may be no suspense after the end of the three quarters.

On March 3th, the Pacers played against the Jazz at home. The Jazz lost Karl Malone. After that, the suspense was lost. 4 to 78, the Pacers beat the Jazz by 106 points at home. Meng Xu scored 28 points in just 20 minutes.

In subsequent games, the Pacers defeated the Heat, the Cavaliers, and double-killed the Hornets. After this wave of victories, the Pacers also quietly won the longest 9-game winning streak this season, and the 9-game winning streak also broke the record. Breaking the longest winning streak in the history of the Pacers, at the same time in these 9 games, Meng Xu scored 9+ in 30 consecutive games.

Relying on a wave of 9 consecutive victories, plus the only competitor, the Nets, and losing to the Raptors, Lakers, and Spurs in a row, the Pacers lead the Nets by 3 wins and rank first in the Eastern Conference. , At the same time, there is only half a win gap from the Mavericks who are the number one in the league.At the same time, in the competition for the scoring list, McGrady and Iverson have gradually become flat after several consecutive crazy games, while Meng Xu once again overtook Iverson by relying on 9 consecutive games with 30+ points. The point difference between them has also gradually narrowed to less than 1 point. Now McGrady is 0.7 points ahead of Meng Xu, and Meng Xu is 0.2 points ahead of Iverson. The average points of these three people have exceeded 32 points per game. At the end of the remaining 20 games, Meng Xu, McGrady, and Iverson also entered a fierce competition for the scoring title.At the same time, it is the first time in this season that three players averaged more than 3 points per game. It is also the first time in NBA history. There has not been a winner yet, and there has never been a fierce player with an average of 32+ or even 35+ per game. However, since the competition for the scoring title this season is far more intense than ever, many media have now reached a consensus. The scoring champion will be the most gold-rich scoring champion in NBA history.

In the selection of the best player in February, McGrady, who averaged 37 points, 7 rebounds, and 6.5 assists, led the Magic to 10 wins and 2 losses, jumped from eighth in the Eastern Conference to fifth in the Eastern Conference, or averaged 26.5 points per game. , 13 rebounds, 3 assists, led the Mavericks 11 wins and 1 loss to the league's No. The performance is the best in the entire league.But there are still many people who feel sorry for Meng Xu. The stats of 82 points in a single game, 28.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 7 assists per game are not bad, but the Pacers only won 2 games in February. In the game, not only lost the number one position in the league, but even the number one position in the Eastern Conference became precarious. As the team boss, Meng Xu could not escape responsibility. It must be a street mouse in the mouth of all media.

After entering March, the performance of the Pacers made everyone feel a little unbelievable. In February, they were still a little shaky. The Pacers, who seemed to be about to collapse at any time, suddenly became extremely vigorous. After winning all games, the Pacers have quietly achieved a record of 9 consecutive victories. If the Pacers can beat the Magic at home tonight, then the Pacers' 10 consecutive victories will surpass the Mavericks and become the longest streak this season. winning streak.

9 consecutive victories, or even 10 consecutive victories, are nothing to most teams in the NBA. Among the 29 teams in the NBA, 18 teams have won more than 15 consecutive victories. Records, the Bucks have won 20 consecutive victories, and the Lakers have won a terrifying 33 consecutive victories, but for the Pacers, Grizzlies, and Hornets, the longest winning streak in team history is only 8 games, or even 7 games. For them, the 10-game winning streak has been enough for them to be proud for a long time, so the game between the Pacers and the Magic tonight has become a game that the entire Indiana is paying close attention to before it even starts.

On the afternoon of March 3th, the Magic, who was a guest, had already come to the Banker Life Arena first, and started the adaptive training before the game. Although the overall record of the Magic this season is relatively average, they only had 15 wins and 34 losses before that. The record of the Pacers is far inferior to the Pacers with 29 wins and 48 losses. Therefore, this duel between the Pacers and the Magic cannot be called a strong dialogue. However, due to the fierce competition between McGrady and Meng Xu on the scoring list, the two Ren's direct confrontation today has also become the biggest highlight of all the games in this round.

"Meng is one of the best players in this league, and the relationship between us is indeed very good, but the game is the game, and the friendship is the friendship. I will not show mercy to tonight's game."

"We are now ranked fifth in the Eastern Conference, only one game away from the Celtics in front, so in order to gain home court advantage in the playoffs, we must win today's game. Meng is A great player, he is the favorite for MVP this season, so we will do everything we can to stop him!"

Before the start of the game, the Magic, which has won four consecutive victories, both the head player McGrady and the head coach Doug Rivers have shown a strong desire to win, especially the team's head star McGrady. After undergoing the transformation from a superstar to a superstar, he has now become a superstar with a strength of 96, which is no worse than Kobe and Iverson.However, as one of the East Macymen who was once touted by Larry Bird, after seeing that Meng Xu has gradually left himself behind in terms of team honors and personal achievements, McGrady is full of envy. He has been holding his breath all the time, wanting to compete with Meng Xu, and tonight's match is a very good time.

Today's game, whether it is for the Pacers or the Magic, is a game that cannot be given up. The Pacers want to continue their winning streak, and at the same time overtake the Mavericks and regain the league record. No. [-] team, and the Magic also want to go further in the record rankings. Fortunately, they have home court advantage in the playoffs. Therefore, in this game, the Pacers and Magic are bound to go all out to try to defeat their opponents.But most of the media, and those neutral fans, are not so concerned about the outcome of today's game. The only thing they pay attention to is McGrady and Meng Xu, the two top two superstars in the scoring list. A direct duel between scorers, who can win.

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(End of this chapter)