NBA: Goat is actually me

Chapter 112: Trade that damn number 23!

After returning home, Meng Jin received a reward from the system. After getting his first triple-double in his career, the system rewarded him with 2 potential points.

Meng Jin added all of his skills to [Layup], and his current [Layup] attribute is 78 (80).

Early the next morning, Meng Jin went to the training hall to practice. Meng Jin was full of energy. If the Bulls won another game, they would get the match point in the series.

Meng Jin is not the only one who is full of energy. In the training hall, Jordan is sweating profusely while practicing shooting.

"Michael, did you gamble all night again last night?" Meng Jin teased.

"I can't sleep, so I'm going to shoot some basketball."

"Let's challenge each other."

Meng Jin changed into his training clothes and walked up to Jordan.

Meng Jin usually loses more than he wins in one-on-one matches against Jordan, but he is not completely unwinnable. Today he was in very good shape and won three one-on-one matches in a row.

At 8:30, the Bulls players arrived at the training hall one after another, and Collins also came. However, the team training was delayed because Jordan was too excited and kept pestering Meng Jin for a one-on-one challenge.

This is also one of the main reasons why Meng Jin has more losses than wins. If Jordan loses, he will pester him to continue playing until he wins.

He is simply the first generation torture king.

Therefore, there are usually only two outcomes for a one-on-one match between Meng Jin and Jordan.

When you are in good shape, you win first and then lose.

When you are in bad shape, you always lose.

Collins didn't rush to stop them. He liked to see this kind of competition between players, which helped boost morale.

"Michael! You can't guard me!"

"Put away your damn rubbish steps. Is this the only move you can use?"

"One move is enough to deal with you."

The two men's bullfighting is not only a way to practice their football skills, but also their talking skills.

"Snapped!"

Jordan saw the opportunity and successfully cut the ball when Meng Jin used the European step.

"That's all you can do? That's all you can do?"

Jordan took the ball and taunted with a crooked mouth.

The ball was in the hands of Jordan, who wanted to tease Meng Jin. He dribbled to the free throw line, then turned his back to Meng Jin and said, "I'm going to post up against you, and then I'm going to hit you hard on the head."

"Come on, if you dare to do that I will fan your shot to the other half of the court."

Meng Jin put his right elbow on Jordan's waist, feeling his center of gravity.

The next second, Jordan suddenly turned his legs and pushed the ground with his left foot!
Jordan started suddenly and very quickly, and passed Meng Jin by a body length in an instant.

Meng Jin did not chase after him. He jumped up and went straight behind Jordan!
"Snapped!"

Meng Jin slapped the ball out of Jordan's hand!

Meng Jin successfully stole the ball and returned it to Jordan.

This steal was learned from Jordan. He is the steals leader this season, and his stealing skills are unique in the entire NBA history.

"Nice steal! This is not accidental, it is the result of your accumulation and learning this season. Congratulations on learning the new skill [Strange Hand Thief (Basic)]: This skill will increase your steal success rate to a certain extent, but don't stretch your hands out randomly. If you fail to steal, you are likely to lose your defensive position.

Good, Meng Jin nodded, thinking that this was a practical skill, and his arm span and athletic ability could maximize the effect of this skill.

That afternoon, the league announced the candidates for the 1987-1988 Rookie of the Year.

Meng Jin won this honor without any suspense. Even those who hate Meng Jin the most cannot deny his statistics and explosive performance on the court.

At the instruction of David Stern, the league widely reported the news of Meng Jin's award. Meng Jin was labeled as "the first Asian to win the NBA Rookie of the Year". The official NBA report described Meng Jin as a pioneer and said that he was a role model for Asian players.

Meng Jin was naturally selected into the best rookie team. The other four rookies were Kenny Smith, Mark Jackson, Almon Gilliam and Greg Anderson.

Reggie Miller occasionally had outstanding performances in his rookie season, but there is still a gap between him and Kenny Smith and Mark Jackson. Kenny Smith averaged 13.8 points and 7.8 assists per game, while Mark Jackson was even more exaggerated, averaging 13.6 points, 10.6 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game.

Not to mention Pippen, he knew from the first game of the season that he would not be able to make the best team because his competitor was Meng Jin.

The above are all the honors Meng Jin has received this season. Many Bulls fans have spoken up for Meng Jin. They think Meng Jin should have a place in the best lineup. The ideas of these fans are too subjective. Although Meng Jin had a perfect rookie season this year, there is still a gap compared to the players in the best lineup.

The players selected to the All-NBA First Team this season are Earvin Johnson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley and Olajuwon.

This is almost the best in history in each position, let’s take a look at the second lineup.

John Stockton, Clyde Drexler, Dominique Wilkins, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing.

Meng Jin's direct competitor is Dominique Wilkins, who averaged 30.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game this season. Not only his personal data, Wilkins' performance as a team leader is also very good. This season, he led the team to fourth place in the Eastern Conference. No matter how much the media likes Meng Jin, he can't squeeze out Wilkins.

In the 87-88 season, the NBA had not yet opened the selection for the All-NBA Third Team, otherwise Meng Jin would have had a chance to make the All-NBA Third Team with this data.

Meng Jin ranked 10th in the regular season MVP selection. This is not an honor, but it is a kind of recognition. You know, the regular season MVP competition in the 87-88 season is known as the most intense MVP competition in history, it is simply a fight between gods.

Lafayette Leaf ranked 9th. His average statistics were not outstanding, with only 18.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 2.7 steals. One important reason for his high average was his explosive performance in April. His performance in the sprint stage of the regular season was impressive. That month he averaged 4 points, 25 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game, a figure close to a triple-double.

The regular season MVP selection is very subjective. After all, it is the media, not professionals, who vote, and there is no standard for voting. As long as a player leaves a deep impression on the media and has good statistics, he is likely to get a vote.

排在第8的是卡尔-马龙，他的场均数据是27.7分12篮板2.4助攻1.4抢断，他的投篮命中率达到了52%，斯托克顿场均也有14.7分13.8助攻的表现，爵士队今年有崛起的迹象。

Olajuwon can only rank seventh. He is good at both offense and defense and averages 7 points, 22.8 rebounds, 12.1 assists, 2.1 steals and 2.1 blocks per game. After the twin towers disbanded, Olajuwon single-handedly brought the team to sixth in the Western Conference. Leading the team alone is his biggest plus.

Another player who led the team, Dominique Wilkins, ranked sixth in the MVP voting. He averaged 6 points, 30.7 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2.9 steals per game. Under his leadership, the Hawks ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference. Such a result would even have a chance to win the regular season MVP trophy in some years. Drexler ranked fifth. His average data was not too outstanding, 1.3 points, 5 rebounds, 27 assists and 6.6 steals per game. He helped the Trail Blazers rank in the upper half of the Western Conference and second in the Atlantic Division, second only to the Los Angeles Lakers, who ranked first in the league. This is an important reason why he ranked in the TOP5.8.

Ranked fourth is Charles Barkley, who averaged 4 points, 28.3 rebounds, 11.9 assists, 3.2 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. Apart from the statistics, people are perspective animals and there is no way to ignore his powerful performance in the restricted area every night.

"Magic" Johnson ranked third in this year's MVP voting. Many fans expressed dissatisfaction and confusion with this ranking. "Magic" averaged 3 points, 19.6 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 11.9 steals per game. The Los Angeles Lakers had the best regular season record in the league. In other seasons, he would have won the MVP steadily, but unfortunately the top two were too abnormal.

Larry Bird averaged 29.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game. This season, his average playing time reached 39 minutes, his shooting percentage was 52.7, and his three-point shooting percentage was 41.4%, leading the team to first place in the Eastern Conference.

Michael Jordan averaged 33.8 points, 8.8 assists, 7.8 rebounds, 3.2 steals and 1.6 blocks per game, impeccable statistics. Compared to that time and space, Jordan's average points per game has decreased, but his rebounding and assists data have improved significantly. The outside world believes that if Jordan sacrifices some firing rights and plays like this from the beginning of the season, he will have a chance to get a triple-double this season.

Before the start of Game 4, the league announced that Jordan was elected the regular season MVP of this season. At the entrance ceremony, all the fans shouted Jordan MVP. Jordan was extremely excited and started crazy shooting mode in the first quarter.

Jordan wanted to replicate the way he won the previous game and win the game on his own.

However, his efficiency tonight was obviously not as good as in the previous game. This was due to his own touch and the change in the Celtics' defensive strategy. In the last game, Jordan scored 50+ points, and his scoring method was basically the same, both catching the ball and shooting from the wings. In this game, KC Jones made a switch defense as soon as he encountered a screen, making sure to interfere with Jordan before he could shoot.

乔丹全场比赛疯狂出手34次，砍下41分4助攻4篮板2抢断。

At first glance, Jordan's statistics look good, and it was another crazy day, but everyone who has watched the game knows that Jordan was completely out of touch with his teammates. In the first three quarters, the two sides played back and forth, and the Bulls even led at one point, but in the fourth quarter, after the defensive intensity of both sides further escalated, the Bulls could not hold on.

The Celtics are very familiar with this game mode. Jordan played like this in the past few seasons. Jordan often scored high points in the games against the Celtics, but could not win the game.

The same was true tonight, as the Celtics won the road game 102-94.

When the final whistle blew, General Manager Krause, who was watching the game, was furious.

He watched the entire game while cursing. In his opinion, it was Jordan's illness that caused the Bulls to lose Game 4. The home-court advantage that the Bulls had worked so hard to gain in the series was given away after this game.

Krause has always felt that Jordan is a player who puts personal data above team honors, and he became more convinced of this after this game.

The thought that the Bulls would never win a championship with Jordan around once again came to Krause's mind.

The next day, Klaus found Bulls owner Reinsdorf.

He frightened Reinsdorf as soon as he opened his mouth.

"We have to trade Michael!"

"Which Michael?"

Reinsdorf couldn't believe that Krause wanted to trade the team's top player, Jordan.

"Michael Jordan, we can never win the championship with him. The Clippers general manager called me yesterday and asked me about the possibility of trading Jordan. He let us choose any player and gave us a lot of draft picks, including two first-round picks in the top six."

Clippers owner Donald Sterling urgently needed a superstar to help him fight against his city rivals, the Lakers. He needed a player who could surpass "Magic" Johnson to win the favor of Los Angeles fans. After much deliberation, Jordan was the best candidate in the entire league.

"Are you serious?" Reinsdorf asked, looking Klaus in the eyes.

"Boss, the Bulls will never win the championship as long as Michael is here," Krause said firmly.

This is just one of the reasons why Krause is eager to sell Jordan. Another reason is that he has no sense of existence. No matter how he builds the team, as long as they win, the credit goes to Jordan. If they lose, it is because the team management did not get good players for the Bulls.

Klaus has always had a fantasy, which is to win the championship with the players he selected as the cornerstone. This short and fat man with low self-esteem longs to become the focus of the media and the object of people's attention.

"Donald Sterling just called me and I clearly rejected him. I can't trade a regular season MVP for a bunch of draft picks. Have you ever seen someone spend all the one million cash on lottery tickets?"

"We can build a team around Meng, equip him with a top point guard and an excellent center, all of which can be obtained from the trade for Michael. The Bulls will definitely be a favorite to win the championship in the next few years."

Klaus was dancing with joy, and he excitedly explained his grand blueprint to his boss.

Reinsdorf did not show much interest. He put his hands together and said slowly, "I don't know if the team is a favorite to win the championship. I only know that if I trade Michael, I will be dead on the streets of Chicago the next day, and the fans will kill me."

Reinsdorf is not joking. Now a large number of Chicagoans are dissatisfied with him. Reinsdorf is not only the owner of the Bulls, but also the owner of the baseball team Chicago White Sox. Earlier this year, he revealed to the media his idea of ​​moving the Chicago White Sox to Florida, which aroused strong dissatisfaction among local fans.

Krause didn't respond. Saying anything more would just be a waste of words. Reinsdorf couldn't send Jordan away, either from the perspective of commercial value or his own safety.

Reinsdorf patted Krause on the shoulder and said, "The fans love him, the whole city loves him, there is no reason for me to send such a player away. As for Michael's problems on the court, you can talk to him privately. Also, don't leak today's conversation."

……

……

In the Bulls meeting room, the coaching staff is reviewing Game 4.

Phil Jackson spoke first: "Michael controls the ball for too long and shoots too many times. This is a team, not a personal performance stage. He must share the ball."

Another assistant coach, Bach, nodded and said, "Phil is right. Michael held the ball for too long in Game 4. The Celtics have proven in previous seasons that they are not afraid of this style of play. Michael's high scores can't kill the Celtics. Meng should increase the time he holds the ball in positional battles. His positioning is too bad and he is not suitable for playing without the ball."

Doug Collins: "I will talk to Michael. This is not the first time I have talked to him about this issue. Michael's problem now is that he always gets out of the team's system when he is excited and takes the ball alone. This is a habit he developed in the past few seasons. It is difficult to change the habit. We must give him some time."

Collins still defends Jordan. After all, Michael Jordan's habit is inseparable from his indulgence. Since taking over the Bulls, the sentence Collins said to Jordan the most is: "Michael, just go ahead!"

Phil Jackson smiled bitterly: "We can give him time, the Celtics won't give us time."

Doug Collins glanced at Phil Jackson: "So we have to push him and remind him that this is our responsibility as coaches."

Later, Collins met with Jordan for a chat, and Jordan realized that he got carried away in Game 4, and he wanted too much to beat the Celtics in his own way. At the same time, he said that he would stay closely connected with his teammates in Game 5, and he would put organization first. Although Jordan had a strong sense of self-esteem, he was not stubborn and rarely shirked responsibility.

This is what Jordan said in an interview after G4.

"I take the main responsibility for this defeat. I didn't open up and missed a lot of opportunities."

Jordan didn't blame his teammates. His stats tonight were very good, so it's easy for him to pass the blame on. It's just a matter of one sentence. He did his best, and his teammates...

If Jordan said this, most fans would definitely choose to believe him. Sometimes gorgeous data can be deceptive.

So at least in terms of taking responsibility, Jordan is still worthy of respect.

Two days later, the Chicago Bulls moved to the Boston Garden, where the decisive battle between the two teams was about to begin.

(End of this chapter)