NBA: Goat is actually me

Chapter 117 Dirty Things

On the evening of May 5, the Chicago Bulls' Eastern Conference Finals opponent was announced.

Without much suspense, the "Bad Boys" Detroit Pistons defeated the Atlanta Hawks 4-2 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Before the Eastern Conference Finals started, Meng Jin had a phone call with Reggie Miller, who said that the Los Angeles Lakers would definitely make it to the Finals this year. Their opponent in the Western Conference Finals would be the Mavericks, and the Lakers would have no problem dealing with them.

As a Los Angeles native, Reggie Miller naturally pays special attention to his hometown team.

Meng Jin said that he should book a flight to Los Angeles in advance and visit Reggie Miller at his parents' house. When Reggie Miller heard this, he knew that this kid was showing off again and was thinking about the finals before the Eastern Conference Finals even started.

Reggie Miller reminded Meng Jin that the Detroit Pistons were not easy to play against, but Meng Jin knew it well without Reggie Miller's reminder. The Bulls had played against the Pistons more than once during the regular season, and the Pistons' tactical system had already taken shape. Chuck Daly had built a tough, iron-blooded, and tacit "Bad Boys" over the past five years.

For him, the investment period has ended and now it is time to check the results.

In the East, everyone's attention is attracted by teams like the Celtics, Bulls, and Hawks, and not many people pay attention to the Pistons.

In the eyes of fans, the Pistons have no attractive points. They have no super scorers, no gorgeous team cooperation, and no foundation and fan base. Even though they are first in the Central Division, not many people are optimistic about them.

But from the players' perspective, no one dares to underestimate this team. All players know that the Pistons are rising at an unstoppable pace. The strongest point of this team is their super execution ability. They can complete the coach's tactical deployment 100% or even 120%. If they encounter any obstacles and cannot complete it, they will also think of some dirty tricks.

In the locker room before the game, Jordan gave a general mobilization speech. He said, "I don't like to talk about revenge, but this series is indeed a revenge battle for the Bulls. The Pistons have played against the Bulls players many times on the court in recent years, especially himself. Every time he played a game with the Pistons, it was difficult for him to get up the next day. He hoped that all the players would continue the momentum of the first two rounds, beat the Pistons, and give them a heavy blow on the spiritual level."

Meng Jin said he's coming again? The Bulls played three rounds of playoffs, and Jordan got revenge for three rounds!

These words encouraged some Bulls players, but Meng Jin didn't feel anything.

Meng Jin knew that this was a strategy used by Jordan to motivate the entire team, but the same routine would have no effect if repeated too many times. Moreover, Meng Jin had no resonance with revenge on the Pistons. He had never been beaten up by the Pistons players. On the contrary, it was he who beat up the Pistons players. If one had to talk about revenge, it was the Pistons players who were taking revenge on Meng Jin.

"Meng Jin is finished. I want revenge in this series. I will teach him a lesson."

Bill Laimbeer is gearing up in the locker room.

"Take it easy, Bill, that guy has practiced before," Isaiah Thomas reminded.

"Don't worry, I will torture him in my own way."

Pistons head coach Chuck Daly heard the conversation between Bill Laimbeer and Isaiah Thomas and did not stop Bill Laimbeer.

Chuck Daly knew that Bill Laimbeer was a smart player and would not mess up his defensive deployment.

Before the game started, three referees called the starting players of the Bulls and Pistons together and reminded them not to cause trouble.

Today's referee is Jace Cousy, a tough guy. In the 1986 Western Conference Finals, in order to stop the fight between Olajuwon and Kupchak, he stood in front of the two burly men and hugged Olajuwon!

He was only about 1.7 meters tall, but he used unimaginable strength to push Olajuwon to the bench. The conflict was resolved only after security personnel came on the court.

Cosey became famous after this battle. There is a reason why David Stern asked him to be the referee tonight. If the two sides really fight, David Stern hopes that he can replicate what he did in 86 and control the situation.

In the first game, Bill Laimbeer used all his dirty tricks over the years, using all kinds of dirty moves to defend Meng Jin's pick-and-roll, breakthroughs and fast breaks.

Most of them are very covert, but sometimes he has no choice but to do it openly under the referee's nose. "A woman's trick?"

In the third quarter of the game, Bill Laimbeer stepped on Meng Jin's shoes during a pick-and-roll.

Bill Laimbeer raised his hands innocently: "I don't know what you are talking about. I just want to play well."

Meng Jin thought Bill Laimbeer's innocence was asking for a beating, and he was just acting for the referee.

When Meng Jin was picking up his shoes, Bill Laimbeer kicked them out of bounds. Meng Jin did not get angry because he knew this guy was playing psychological warfare with him.

Meng Jin would feel great if he threw a punch, but doing so would be too irresponsible to the team. He cannot let his fist control his brain.

When the Pistons' home fans saw Meng Jin being humiliated, they all burst into cheers.

Tonight, 4 people poured into the Pontiac Silverdome, the Pistons' home court, for two reasons.

One is that Detroit fans want to see the home team beat the Bulls. They hate Jordan's flashy style and Meng Jin's arrogant performance during the regular season.

Second, the team will move to the Palace of Auburn Hills next season, and the fans are saying their final goodbyes to this stadium.

These 98 fans did not return disappointed today, as the Pistons defeated the Bulls 90- in the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Dirty moves were not the main reason for the Pistons' victory in this game. Their victory was inseparable from their crushing in the interior.

Korsin is still injured and the Bulls have no reliable big man to use. The Pistons dominated the rebounds tonight.

The rebounding ratio between the two sides throughout the game was an exaggerated 60 to 41!

In terms of offensive rebounds, the Pistons had 10 more than the Bulls, which is equivalent to ten offensive opportunities, a very scary number.

Jordan tried his best to organize the game, and he scored 28 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds.

孟进也有25分10篮板2助攻2盖帽1抢断入账。

There was no big problem with the performance of the two of them today, it was normal performance, but the rest of the Bulls players fell.

Charles Oakley had 4 points and 13 rebounds, Paxson had 6 points and 3 assists, and Grant's stats were unexpectedly good, with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. He has improved a lot after the Celtics series.

Grant is very suitable for the Bulls' run-and-gun system. He is very mobile and can keep up with the speed of Meng Jin and Jordan in counterattacks.

But this still cannot change the fact that the Bulls' inside line is weak. Grant can score points on fast breaks with the two MJs, but he is not good at either offense or defense in positional battles.

During this period, his mid-range jump shot was not very stable, and his defense was too immature whether facing Rick Mahorn, Bill Laimbeer or Rodman.

Grant showed the coaching staff his plasticity, but now he can't compete with the Detroit Pistons players. Leaving him on this court is like throwing a good student into a group of bullies.

(End of this chapter)