NBA: Goat is actually me

Chapter 105: More and more vengeful
The game between the Bulls and the Trail Blazers tonight was not smooth. After the first quarter, the Trail Blazers temporarily led 34 to 25.

The Trail Blazers scored from multiple points, and the Bulls were stunned by their 8-0 run right at the start.

The Trail Blazers' lineup is indeed fierce. Their point guard is Terry Porter, who averages 15 points and 10 assists per game. This guy is very comprehensive. If his teammates are in good form, he can become a pure point guard. In a game against the Jazz this season, Drexler was in hot form and he directly turned on the assist mode, dishing out 19 assists in a single game. In the game against the Warriors, his teammates were average in form, but he stepped up and contributed 40 points. He is a rare point guard in this era.

Small forward Jerome Kersey averaged 19.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game this season. He is also a member of the 84 Diamond Generation. However, unlike dazzling stars such as Jordan, Olajuwon and Barkley, he is only a second-round pick.

Keersey has always been unknown. Last season, he averaged only 12 points per game. This season, he seized the opportunity of the Trail Blazers' starting small forward Kiki Vandeweghe being injured and rose to prominence in one fell swoop.

Center Kevin Duckworth is averaging 15.9 points and 8 rebounds per game this season. Needless to say, Drexler has officially entered his peak this season, averaging 27 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.

In this lineup, Drexler played very comfortably and could play freely, with someone passing the ball to him and someone creating offensive space for him.

After observing the first quarter, Meng Jin felt that Drexler and Jordan during this period were like two peas cooked from the same pot, so similar!
Whether it's his body shape, skills or obviously receding hairline.

The Trail Blazers actually had a chance to pick Jordan with the second pick, but because they already had Drexler, they selected the 216cm tall man Sam Bowie.

In fact, Sam Bowie is not that bad. He was able to get 10 points and 8.6 rebounds in his first season. He definitely has the potential to become a star center. It's just that the person he is compared to is Michael Jordan, which makes many fans have the illusion that Sam Bowie is worthless.

Just like the rookies ranked ahead of Meng Jin this year, their performances were actually pretty good. Almon Gilliam averaged 14.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, Reggie Williams averaged 10.4 points and 3.4 rebounds, and Denis Hopson also had 9.9 points and 3 rebounds. But compared to Meng Jin, these people all became fakes.

So far, Meng Jin has averaged 25.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. Halfway through the season, people have already said that there is no suspense about this year's best rookie, and the trophy can be sent directly to Meng Jin.

At the beginning of the season, some reporters asked Meng Jin questions about the best rookie. But in the middle and late stages of the season, no one would waste their time asking such stupid questions.

Meng Jin’s goal has never been to be the best rookie.

The second quarter started quickly, and the Bulls sent out Jordan, Paxson, Meng Jin, Grant and Cyrus.

This is a lineup of main players and substitutes. The Trail Blazers also sent out Terry Porter, Drexler, Kiki Vandeweghe, Richard Anderson and Kevin Duckworth.

The Bulls attacked first, Jordan dribbled across half court, and Grant received the ball in the high post.

After receiving the pass from Jordan, Grant held the ball and observed.

Meng Jin wanted to run out from the baseline to catch the ball, but Kiki Vandeweghe held him tightly, holding Meng Jin's wrist with one hand and his jersey with the other, and he almost wrapped his legs around Meng Jin's waist.

Meng Jin looked back in horror and said, "No, buddy, didn't you say you wouldn't defend?"
Kiki Vandeweghe has always been known for his poor defense, which is something the entire league knows, but after this injury, he lost his starting position and felt a sense of crisis.

In the 83-84 season, the Nuggets and the Pistons played out a shocking 186-184 game, and Kiki Vandeweghe was one of the participants in that game.

Kiki Vandeweghe's most classic quote was when he came to the Trail Blazers and a reporter asked him, "Will you develop bad defensive habits by playing like this in the Nuggets?" This guy said, "Bad habits? No, because I don't defend at all."

Who would have thought that a man who said such words would be pestering Meng Jin today? Pressure can really change a man, and sometimes this change happens in an instant.

In the end, it's all the Blazers' team doctor's fault. Kiki Vandeweghe had already felt discomfort in his ankle before the injury. When he found the team doctor, the doctor told him to just take some painkillers.

Kiki Vandeweghe felt something was wrong, but he listened to the team doctors. After all, they were professionals. As a result, his ankle was so painful that he couldn't get up in the second week. The Trail Blazers team doctor told Vandeweghe to rest for two weeks, but he ended up resting for half a season...

Trail Blazers head coach Mike Shuler was also surprised to see this scene. In the team training a day ago, Kiki Vandeweghe still looked lifeless and unwilling to defend.

Mike Shuler took over Ramsey's coaching job in the summer of 1986. He had never coached in the NBA before and was a complete rookie. In his first season, he won the best coach award by leading his team to 49 wins. It was not because he was so good, but because the legacy left by Ramsey was too rich. However, in the playoffs, some of his problems in deployment and on-the-spot response were quickly exposed.

The Trail Blazers were eliminated in the first round that year.

In addition to being eliminated, the team also broke out in internal strife. Drexler blasted the head coach, saying Shuler was too harsh, and Shuler hit back, saying he was too sensitive. Drexler even threatened the management that he would change the environment if necessary.

This not only angered Shuler, but also angered a group of coaches in the league.

The one who had the biggest reaction was Don Nelson. In an interview with the media, he said bluntly: "If Mike Shuler leaves, he will be the second coach driven away by Drexler. Players drive coaches away? This was unimaginable in my era. With all due respect, this guy is the most overrated player in the league. He looks gentle, but he is a scoundrel at heart!"

These words had a significant negative impact on Drexler at the time.

The Trail Blazers management did not fire Shuler as Drexler wished. Of course, they would not trade their ace shooting guard. The top management decided to let them work together for another year to try.

So far, the decision made by the top management has been effective. This season, the Trail Blazers have made a comeback under the leadership of Shuler and currently have a record of 43 wins and 25 losses.

There is no negative news about Drexler and Shuler. The Trail Blazers are all satisfied with the current situation of the team. As the saying goes, winning can cover up everything.

Grant glanced at Meng Jin who was fighting with his opponent, and felt that passing the ball to him was too risky, so he turned around and passed the ball to Jordan again.

After Jordan got the ball, he immediately leaned over to pass the ball. His breakthrough was very threatening, and the Trail Blazers' formation immediately shrank as soon as he started.

John Paxson quickly went one step inside the three-point line on the right side, and Jordan flicked his wrist and the ball arrived.

"Shh!"

By the time Terry Porter jumped out, it was too late.

34:27.

The Trail Blazers sent the ball from the baseline, and Terry Porter passed the ball to Drexler just after crossing half court.

The Blazers' offense was also fast, and they quickly found Kiki Vandeweghe in the low post.

Vandeweghe received the ball with his back to the basket. His height and strength were not as good as Meng Jin's, but he was not a player who relied on his height and strength. Kiki Vandeweghe, the German small forward, played with his footwork.

After a back-to-the-basket shot, Vandeweghe shook his shoulders and then jumped sideways.

After landing, Vandeweghe made two fake moves, first a fake shot and then a fake layup before finally shooting.

Basketball hit the board.

36:27.

"This is an April Fool's Day present for you, big guy." Kiki Vandeweghe smiled at Meng Jin.

Originally this was just an ordinary goal, but after adding this trash talk, the nature of the matter changed.

Jordan was there when Kiki Vandeweghe was talking trash.

Meng Jin and Jordan looked at each other and said, "That's some nice trash talk. It's appropriate to be engraved on his tombstone as his last words."

Meng Jin spoke softly and in a flat tone, but Jordan could tell from the look in his eyes that this guy was ready to get serious!

After dribbling across half court, Jordan made a pull-apart gesture. This tactic was not called for himself, but for Meng Jin.

Meng Jin took the ball with his back to the elbow and turned around quickly!
Kiki Vandeweghe had a very positive defensive attitude in this game, but Meng Jin quickly proved with his actions that defense alone cannot rely on attitude.

Meng Jin turned around, dribbled the ball, squeezed past Vandeweghe, jumped into the paint area, and dunked!
36:29.

No unnecessary movements, just the body crushing you!

After landing, Meng Jin pushed Kiki Vandeweghe and said with a smile: "This is an April Fool's Day gift for you."

"Response ball! Meng seemed to say something to Kiki Vandeweghe after landing. Wait, I seemed to smell something, it's gunpowder!" Bulls live commentator Johnny Kerr said excitedly.

Kiki Vandeweghe reached for the ball after crossing half court, and Terry Porter lobbed the ball in for him to play one-on-one.

Kiki Vandeweghe took the ball with his back to the basket and turned to the front, took a tentative step and quickly passed the ball, then took a step back and shot a mid-range shot.

"Shh!"

38:29.

The tentative step + step back is Kiki Vandeweghe's signature move. The forward and backward movement makes it very difficult for defensive players to defend. Kiki Vandeweghe's move shocked Meng Jin for a moment, because in this era this move is very advanced. Kiki Vandeweghe is indeed an offensive kaleidoscope.

However, there is usually a second half to the sentence "Attack Kaleidoscope".

During the Bulls' offensive round, Meng Jin got the ball at the edge of the paint area.

Jordan stood on the strong side to assist, and Drexler didn't dare to double-team Meng Jin. With Jordan's restraint, Meng Jin could play one-on-one with confidence.

Meng Jin grabbed the ball with one hand and turned sideways to observe the position of Kiki Vandeweghe and the Trail Blazers' defensive deployment behind him.

suddenly!

Meng Jin received the ball and turned around!
Kiki Vandeweghe predicted the situation in advance and moved a step to the bottom line, trying to block Meng Jin's breakthrough route.

Kiki Vandeweghe doesn't like to fall in the same place twice. In that parallel universe, he became the vice president of the NBA after retiring. He has both high IQ and basketball IQ.

Kiki Vandeweghe's advance prediction did not give him the upper hand in the duel between the two. Meng Jin did not score the ball after turning around. He simply used his right foot as the axis and took a step forward with his left foot while turning.

After seeing Kiki Vandeweghe move ahead, Meng Jin retracted his left foot and raised his hand to make a shooting motion.

Seeing that he had been tricked, Kiki Vandeweghe rushed forward.

As a result, this dive completely made him lose his position.

When Meng Jin received the ball and leaned over to throw it, Kiki Vandeweghe realized he had been fooled.

"Beep!"

The referee blew the whistle, and the Pacers' center Kevin Duckworth, who came to defend, gave Meng Jin a bear hug and pulled him down from the air.

Kevin Duckworth yelled at Vandeweghe after committing a foul: "Kiki, play defense more seriously!"

"Duck, I tried my best!" Kiki Vandeweghe looked innocent.

Everyone has inertial thinking, and so do Vandeweghe's teammates. The only thing to blame is that his usual lack of defense is too deeply rooted in people's minds.

Meng Jin made one of two free throws, and the score came to 38 to 30.

The Blazers attacked, and the ball didn't reach Kiki Vandeweghe in this round. He is no longer the core of the team. As a substitute player, it is impossible for his teammates to open up to him every round. Drexler's strong attack on Jordan missed. Jordan knew too well what this type of shooting guard was thinking when attacking.

After Grant grabbed the rebound, he turned sideways, grabbed the ball and threw it to the front court!
This is a unique skill that Grant has mastered over the past half of the season - the long pass from the quarterback.

This is why Collins recently increased Grant's playing time.

This long pass is very important for a running and gunning team.

The moment Meng Jin got the ball, there was an open space in front of him. Kiki Vandeweghe could not match him in speed. The two started running at the same time, but when they reached midfield, there was a gap of three body lengths between them.

However, Meng Jin slowed down significantly after entering the three-point line. Kiki Vandeweghe saw the opportunity and immediately accelerated and rushed over.
Meng Jin caught sight of Kiki Vandeweghe out of the corner of his eye, and his deceleration turned into a pause.

"boom!"

The moment the two sides made physical contact, Meng Jin dunked the ball with one hand!

The referee blew the whistle, and the car behind was fully responsible for the forced rear-end collision!

"This is your April Fool's Day gift next year," Meng Jin said to Kiki Vandeweghe with a smile.

Hearing this, Kiki Vandeweghe realized that he had been fooled by Meng Jin again.

He is now experiencing dizziness and shortness of breath.

At first, Kiki Vandeweghe thought Meng Jin was just a guy with amazing athletic ability.

After a few rounds, he found out that he was wrong.

Meng Jin is the kind of player who will not only destroy you physically, but also your IQ!
Kiki Vandeweghe's misjudgment put him in an awkward position, and Trail Blazers coach Mike Shuler replaced him when Meng was about to make a free throw.

After Meng Jin made the free throw, the score came to 38 to 33.

New small forward Jeromy Kersey came with a mission, and Mike Shuler asked him to be tougher and keep a close eye on Meng Jin.

Jeromy Kersey has excellent physical fitness and is a dunker. He was the runner-up in the dunk contest in the 86-87 season. The champion that year was Jordan, the man next to Meng Jin.

After he came on the court, Meng Jin felt some defensive pressure, but not too much. Jerome Kersey's defensive skills were average, and most of the time he used his tough body to make trouble for Meng Jin. This defensive style of play quickly led to him committing two fouls. Once the foul count increased, the old black man immediately became much more honest. Meng Jin scored 14 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist in this quarter, helping the Bulls overtake their opponents by 61 point with a score of 60 to 1.

Entering the third quarter, the Trail Blazers head coach tried to let inside player Steve Johnson defend Meng Jin, but the effect was not as good as outside.

Meng Jin made two breakthroughs at the beginning and scored 4 points.

Any big man defending Meng Jin feels powerless.

He looks about the same height as me, or even taller, so why is he as agile as a point guard?
This is Steve Johnson's voice.

It was even more terrifying from the audience's perspective, the 213cm tall Meng Jin beat the 208cm tall Steve Johnson and it felt like the smaller one was beating the bigger one!
After calling a timeout, Mike Shuler adjusted the defensive deployment and let Jerome Kersey stand in front of Meng Jin again.

In this quarter, the Bulls controlled the tempo on the court and played Chicago's own SHOW-TIME!

Jordan and Meng Jin scored in fast breaks one after another, and the Blazers were dizzy with the fast play. After three quarters, the Bulls overtook by 90 points with 81 to 9.

At the beginning of the final quarter, Jerome Kersey was fouled by Meng Jin again, which was his fourth personal foul.

Meng Jin grabbed the rebound and was about to launch a counterattack when Jerome Kearsey ran straight into him.

This foul was a bit unreasonable. Meng Jin's timing for counterattack in this round was not very good, and three Trail Blazers players had already retreated to the backcourt. The reason why Jerome Kersey fouled was that he was scared by Meng Jin's fast break in the first two quarters.

After Jeromy Kersey committed a foul, Meng Jin staggered to the Trail Blazers bench and yelled at Kiki Vandeweghe: "Come up and help your teammates share some pressure. I remember you still have 4 fouls. You should be able to hold on for 2 minutes."

Kiki Vandeweghe was both angry and regretful at this moment. He was angry that someone would chase him to the bench and talk trash, and he regretted that he shouldn't have said those words to Meng Jin at that time!

After saying this, Meng Jin was suddenly stunned. Huh? Why did he seem to be holding grudges more and more?

Thinking of this, he turned his head and looked at the boiled egg. Could this be the legendary "If you keep company with vermilion, you will become black; if you keep company with ink, you will become black"?

The Bulls quickly widened the gap to double digits. With seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers showed their tenacity and narrowed the gap to 7 points.

Steve Johnson stepped up. The traditional academic center first scored 2+1 on the second offense and then scored two points with a hook shot.

This is the terrifying thing about the Trail Blazers' lineup. Their starting five all have the ability to lead the team's counterattack. Drexler and Terry Porter also scored consecutively later. The Trail Blazers showed signs of gaining momentum until center Kevin Duckworth fouled out at 4 minutes and 39 seconds.

The Trail Blazers don't have any reliable backup center, and Bowie is already useless. Here we have to mention the Trail Blazers' veterinary team again. Bowie's illness is not a terminal illness. He just has a broken leg. Compared with cruciate ligament injuries, complex ankle structure injuries, etc., leg fractures are just minor problems in the eyes of professional orthopedic doctors. All they need to do is put on a plaster and rest for a long time.

As a result, the Trail Blazers' veterinarian forced him to miss two seasons.

The injury itself may not have hurt him as much as the Blazers vet did.

Kevin Duckworth played almost the entire game. When he came off the court, he had played for 42 minutes. With such a long time of playing time and the alternating attacks from Jordan and Meng Jin, it was a small miracle that Kevin Duckworth could hold on until this time.

A minute later, Jerome Kersey was also sent off, and the Trail Blazers' defensive system completely collapsed.

In the end, the Chicago Bulls once again used their gorgeous running and gunning to defend their home court and won 121-114.

孟进全场38分7篮板2助攻2抢断1盖帽，乔丹35分11助攻10篮板3抢断。

Jordan finally got a triple-double tonight. He changed someone to help him with statistics. Tonight he let the water cooler god Jack Harry do this job.

格兰特今晚表现不错，拿到15分10篮板4助攻，奥克利13分13篮板，帕克森12分。

Kevin Duckworth played the best on the Trail Blazers side, scoring 32 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block. No one on the Bulls' inside could stop him, and except for being sent off in the last quarter, he played flawlessly tonight.

The other starters performed relatively evenly, with Jerome Kersey scoring 17 points, Terry Burt scoring 20 points, and Drexler scoring 22 points.

Except for the first quarter when he played well, Drexler's performance was mediocre the rest of the time. During this period, judging from the skills alone, there was not much difference between Drexler and Jordan, but the mental attributes of the two were very different. In Drexler's eyes, there was no desire for victory like Jordan. He always looked gentle, and he rarely roared even after completing a slam dunk on the court. Even when the team was behind, he rarely came out to motivate his teammates.

With the joy of victory, the entire Bulls team took a day off.

Jordan invited Meng Jin and Jack Haley to play golf at Medina Country Club.

Jack Haley is really good at dealing with people. He basically doesn't play in the game, but he has entered Jordan's circle of friends.

When Meng Jin arrived at the club, he found Jordan chatting and laughing with a beautiful woman.

"Hey! Who is this big star who's late?"

Jordan smiled and joked before introducing them: "This is Cindy Crawford, our Chicago supermodel, and this is Meng, the youngest All-Star in the entire league."

Meng Jin shook hands with Cindy Crawford, who smiled and said, "I used to watch the Bulls games when I was in Chicago. That's when I met Michael."

"So you are not in Chicago now?" Meng Jin asked.

"I'm in New York most of the time now, and sometimes in Los Angeles, you know, work requires it." Cindy Crawford smiled.

Before 1986, Cindy Crawford was already very famous in Chicago. She left Chicago for New York in order to have a bigger stage.

"They are all international cities. I just heard from Michael that you are a model?" Meng Jin asked.

"Yes, that's the case at the moment," Cindy Crawford replied.

Meng Jin looked at Cindy Crawford and asked, "The kind that shoots for Playboy?"

Jordan couldn't listen any longer and interrupted immediately: "Hey! Cindy is a supermodel, why would she shoot for Playboy?"

Who knew that Jordan would be slapped in the face the next second: "I have already talked to Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy, and I will go to shoot a group of photos for their magazine next month."

Jordan was a little embarrassed, and he immediately adjusted his tone: "Wow, this issue of Playboy will definitely sell out. I have to pre-order one in advance."

Meng Jin: "Hugh Hefner? I know that guy. He's a nice guy and very comfortable to get along with."

Cindy Crawford smiled and nodded: "I know you know each other. I have seen you talking together."

Meng Jin's brain froze for a moment. He and Hugh Hefner had only met once, at that party.

Meng Jin asked tentatively: "What else did you see?"

Cindy Crawford instantly put on a seductive expression: "I also saw you dunk, this is definitely the most exaggerated dunk I have ever seen."

Seeing Cindy Crawford's half-smile, Meng Jin knew she had seen everything, but Meng Jin didn't care about that. He looked directly into Cindy Crawford's eyes and said, "Do you want to see it again from a closer distance?"

Meng Jin is as direct as ever. Of course, he is not so direct to everyone. Usually he will be so direct after receiving hints from the other party.

Cindy Crawford came up to me and said, "I've always wanted to confirm one thing, whether I was dazzled that night."

Meng Jin took her hand very gentlemanly and said, "It seems we must find a place to reminisce about the past."

After Jordan swung a few times, he turned around and saw that both of them had disappeared.
Jordan didn't care too much because he had a group of friends to play with him.

Soon, Meng Jin found a reasonable collision area in the lounge of the club.

Half an hour later, Meng Jin reappeared in Jordan's sight.

"Damn it! Meng, where have you been? I've been in the cave twice."

Meng Jin glanced at Jordan and opened his mouth slowly: "Michael, I'm in the hole too."

Today I have posted two chapters together.

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(End of this chapter)