NBA: Goat is actually me

Chapter 118 Collapse!

In the first game, Jordan played like a pure point guard for most of the time, deploying formations, organizing the offense, and moving the ball.

After the game, he found that this was far from enough. Meng Jin's firepower alone could not destroy the Piston, this steel battleship.

Jordan told his head coach Collins about his idea, and after thinking about it, Collins agreed with Jordan's idea.

Collins gave up the inside in G2, allowing the Bulls players to play crazy pick-and-roll tactics.

With the current Bulls' inside line, it doesn't matter whether they give up or not. If they play step by step, they will probably still lose. Pistons head coach Chuck Daly is too cunning. He knows where the Bulls' weaknesses are, how to make you uncomfortable, and how to attack your wounds.

The Chicago Bulls' change of tactics achieved unexpected results. In the first half, they led by 53 points with 46 to 7. Meng Jin and Jordan took turns to attack, and the two used their scoring to cover up the Bulls' lack of firepower in the interior.

In the second half, Chuck Daly responded to the opponent's moves and implemented a full-court press.

Collins extended the screen to the entire court, and the basketball game turned into a game of chicken.

Meng Jin and Jordan used their teammates' cover to avoid the Pistons' pursuit, then broke into the inside and chose to shoot or pass depending on the situation.

This unconventional style of play disrupted the Pistons' defensive system, and the Bulls pulled back in Game 2 with a score of 103-93.

Pistons coach Chuck Daly couldn't believe that the team lost at home. In an interview after the game, he said: "I don't understand what's going on! We didn't play Pistons basketball tonight!"

The victory this night gave Collins hope, but he overlooked one point: the Bulls' victory today was not only based on tactics, but also on the surprisingly good conditions of Meng Jin and Jordan.

今晚孟进26投16中，罚球6中5拿到37分6篮板1助攻1抢断1盖帽
乔丹29投15中，罚球9中9，拿到39分6助攻4篮板3抢断。

Under the high defensive intensity of the Pistons, both players scored high points with a shooting percentage of over 50%.

Just like in Game 1 against the Boston Celtics, when the two of them are in this state, winning has basically nothing to do with tactics.

Back at the Chicago Bulls' home court, Collins and Chuck Daly started a verbal battle again.

The two had not gotten along during the regular season, had cursed at each other, and once almost came to blows in the press room.

The reporters knew about their conflicts, so they provoked disputes intentionally or unintentionally. These reporters are all very bad, and each of them is afraid that the world will not be in chaos.

When Chuck Daly was asked if he was helpless against Collins' full-court pick-and-roll tactics, Chuck Daly looked disdainful: "This is a primary school tactic. One person holds the ball, others help him cover, and then the ball holder hides and runs around. But Doug Collins can't come up with any advanced tactics because he is just a TV commentator."

Before Doug Collins took over as coach of the Chicago Bulls, he was a commentator for CBS Radio.

After hearing what Chuck Daly said, Collins quickly hit back: "Chuck Daly is also a fucking commentator!"

After Chuck Daly was fired by the Cavaliers in 1981, he served as the 76ers' live commentator for a period of time.

The two people's pre-match verbal battle was like that of elementary school students, rebounding again and again.

The reporters all laughed after hearing this, and joked that this was a war between the two commentators.

There was a small episode before the game started. Isaiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer met Grant in the player tunnel. The two immediately challenged Grant: "Enjoy the last time on the court. We will let you have an early summer vacation."

Grant retorted: "Do you know why you lost the last game? It's because you were too arrogant and too stupid!"

Grant was scolded by Jordan for a whole season, and he became more skilled in talking, so he fought back very quickly.

Isaiah Thomas was very unhappy. He repeated Grant's words to his teammates, and the Pistons' wildness was aroused.

From the first round of the game, the Pistons' offense and defense were at full intensity, especially Bill Laimbeer, who had to do dirty moves every time he set a pick-and-roll.

In this game, Bill Laimbeer stretched his claws towards Jordan. Every time he screened Isaiah Thomas, he made big movements. When the game entered the third quarter, Bill Laimbeer saw that he could not block Jordan during a screen, so he simply stretched out his right leg and tripped Jordan.

Although the referee called a foul, Jordan was still not satisfied. In the next offensive round, he specifically targeted Bill Laimbeer.

When Jordan broke through, he elbowed Bill Laimbeer directly in the chest!
Bill Laimbeer was not one to submit to fate, he hit Jordan on the back with his backhand and Jordan exploded on the spot!

The two threw several punches at each other before separating. It was the first time Meng Jin saw Jordan so out of control on the court.

In fact, Jordan did not lose his mind. He knew very well what he was doing. Meng Jin's halftime speech against the Celtics gave Jordan a lot of inspiration. Before this, Jordan had been committed to improving his basketball skills and concentration on the court. Now he has a new understanding of basketball.

If you want to win the game and win the championship, you can't just rely on these things. You must be ruthless, you must fight back, and you must fight with blood!
The referee quickly stepped forward to separate the two and gave each of them a technical foul.

Less than a minute later, Rick Mahorn also joined in the fun. He deliberately struggled with Oakley when grabbing a rebound. When both of them fell to the ground at the same time, he took the opportunity to give Oakley an elbow, a very concealed one.

Oakley covered his chest and pushed him hard when he stood up!
Rick Mahorn turned into a glider and slid from the penalty area to the sideline.

Oakley also received a technical foul. The referee on duty tonight was lenient towards the Bulls. If the referee had been stricter, Jordan and Oakley would probably have been watching TV in the locker room.

The Bad Boys kept harassing the Bulls players with small moves. Jordan and Oakley had to hold back their anger and played cautiously. If there was any more physical conflict, they would have to leave the court.

In the last 5 minutes of the game, the Pistons continuously attacked the Bulls' inside line to lock in the victory, and finally won the away game 98-90.

2 to 1, the Bulls lost their home advantage in an instant.

In this game, Meng Jin scored 24 points and Jordan scored 26 points. With a huge disadvantage in the interior, the two had to explode at the same time to win.

In the fourth game, the Bulls defended their home-court advantage with a victory, but the price they paid was a bit high.

At the beginning of the game, Meng Jin made two consecutive mid-range shots and was in very hot form.

Seeing that something was not right, Bill Laimbeer began to mess with Meng Jin's mentality. He elbowed Meng Jin repeatedly when the Bulls were playing pick-and-roll, and tripped Meng Jin when he was dribbling through with the ball. Bill Laimbeer's movements were very covert, and most of them escaped the referee's eyes.

Meng Jin decided to seek justice for himself and received two fouls in the first quarter. When it comes to playing dirty, he will never be able to beat Laimbeer. There is no other way because Bill Laimbeer has only focused on this one thing in his life.

Bill Laimbeer noticed Meng Jin's mental fluctuations and stepped up his efforts in the second quarter.

Meng Jin did not try to restrain his anger. He decided to try a different approach and use his performance on the field to break Bill Laimbeer's heart.

Five minutes into the second quarter, the Pistons made a mistake in their coordination. Rick Mahorn's pass to his teammate was intercepted. Jordan launched a fast break and made a one-handed long pass to Meng Jin in the half court.

Meng Jin looked back and saw Bill Laimbeer chasing him desperately from behind.

Meng Jin deliberately slowed down to give Laimbeer the chance to get close to him and then dunk!
Meng Jin deliberately used his left hand for this dunk.

you ask why?
Because his right hand is stronger.

Meng Jin swung his right elbow while dunking, and Bill Laimbeer fell to the ground in pain.

Meng Jin's right elbow was like a sharp knife, directly cutting a gash on Lambier's forehead.

Ranbir didn't feel anything at first, until his right eye vision suddenly blurred. Ranbir reached out and touched it, only to find that it was blood.

The referee stopped the game and NBA players had to leave the court if they saw blood. Bill Laimbeer was indeed a tough guy and he came back out less than a minute later.

The Pistons team doctor's hands were very fast and he wrapped half of Bill Laimbeer's head like a mummy.

"You should be put on exhibit in the Egyptian Museum," Meng Jin sneered.

"I know it was just an accident, and I will let you experience this kind of accident later." Bill Laimbeer hit back.

With one minute and a half left in the second quarter, Meng Jin found another opportunity to humiliate Bill Laimbeer. He received the pass from Oakley and went inside, then rode on Bill Laimbeer and slammed the ball into the basket.

After the dunk, Meng Jin did not rush down. He grabbed the basket with both hands, hung his legs on Laimbeer's shoulders, and rode him like a mount for a few seconds.

Bill Laimbeer didn't look very good, but he held it back. His plan was to let Meng Jin break the defense, not to break it himself.

Bill Laimbeer is a dirty guy, but he still uses his brain well. That's why he is the most famous among so many dirty guys in the NBA. Most dirty guys rely on recklessness, but he relies on his IQ.

During the halftime break, Bill Laimbeer did not forget to guide his beloved disciple Rodman.

Bill Laimbeer told Rodman not to be intimidated by one or two dunks from his opponents. They were just bluffing. The more they tried to use this method to break down our inner defenses, the more it proved that they were almost reaching their limit.

Rodman and Bill Laimbeer looked at each other and smiled, and said in unison: "Increase the intensity in the second half." Bill Laimbeer was right, Meng Jin had indeed reached his limit. During the halftime break, the team doctor simply treated some of his injuries. He had scratches on his hands, his feet were bleeding, and there was a bruise on his butt. Meng Jin couldn't remember when Bill Laimbeer attacked his butt. In short, this guy attacked Meng Jin whenever he had the chance, which messed up Meng Jin's mentality.

After returning in the second half, Bill Laimbeer continued to do his own thing, making Meng Jin irritable. Halfway through the third quarter, Meng Jin received a pass from John Paxson during a counterattack. The moment he jumped, Laimbeer behind him pulled him over from the air!
Meng Jin fell straight down on his back.

All the fans in the stadium covered their mouths, and the commentator Johnny Cole shouted angrily: "This is not a basketball move, this is a murder move!"

Everyone was praying for Meng Jin. It looked like he had fallen pretty hard just now.

Just as the team doctor was preparing to carry the stretcher onto the field, Meng Jin got up by himself.

The moment Meng Jin stood up, Bill Laimbeer fell straight down.

"boom!"

One punch.

Meng Jin only used one punch.

Johnny Cole shook his head and muttered, "This is a killer move."

Johnny Cole spoke in a light tone, and he was not saying this to the audience, but simply speaking from his heart.

Meng Jin's punch was so fast that even the other four Pistons on the court couldn't react.

The punch was so powerful that even the audience on the second floor stands heard a muffled sound.

Meng Jin's masseur Lao Zhang was also present at the event. Many years later, he recalled this scene when he was commentating on the game on CCTV.

"It was very noisy around me. I heard a muffled sound coming from the front court. I had been looking elsewhere before. When I looked over, Bill Laimbeer had already fallen. Then there was a cheer from the surroundings, and the cheer quickly spread to the whole court. I then realized that it was Meng Jin who knocked Bill Laimbeer down. I was so shocked at the time. A 211cm tall guy fell straight down after being hit by Meng Jin."

Coach Zhang was so excited that he talked more and more excitedly. His partner Coach Xu beside him quickly touched him twice, reminding him to stop talking. After all, this was CCTV, and it was not appropriate to describe bloody and violent topics in detail.

When the referee on duty sent both Meng Jin and Bill Laimbeer off the court, Meng Jin took action immediately. Needless to say, he did not want to waste time arguing with the referee and went straight back to the locker room.

Bill Laimbeer was ejected for a second-degree flagrant foul and was directly expelled.

The Pistons' team doctor once again carried Bill Laimbeer out on a stretcher, and he appeared to be unconscious.

Meng Jin returned to the locker room and was examined by the team doctor. He had just fallen pretty hard, and although it looked like Meng Jin was fine, the team doctor still gave him a comprehensive examination just in case.

孟进下场后所有人都觉得公牛这场没了，结果乔丹以一场42分8助攻8篮板4抢断的全能表现，硬生生抢下这场胜利，将双方总比分扳成2比2平！
Jordan's outburst was one reason the Pistons lost, and another reason was that Isaiah Thomas was too obsessed with competing with Jordan.

Maybe he wanted to prove to his hometown folks in Chicago that he was a better player than Jordan.

The "Smiling Assassin" was born and raised on the West Side of Chicago. His biggest wish was to play for the Chicago Bulls. So on the eve of the 1981 draft, when McCloskey, general manager of the Detroit Pistons, asked Isaiah Thomas some questions, he deliberately acted crazy and answered irrelevant questions in order to prevent the Pistons from selecting him. However, this elementary school trick could not be fooled by the Pistons' management, and they still insisted on bringing Isaiah Thomas to Detroit.

He took 27 shots and scored 33 points, but only had 4 assists.

The Pistons' top star Dantley was blunt: "This was a game that could have been easily won. The team had no coordination at all, and no one was connected. We played like a piece of shit."

Dantley and the Assassin have not had a good relationship this season. Most of the time, Isaiah Thomas complained that Dantley played too many low-post singles. His frequent requests for the ball and singles disrupted the team's offensive fluidity. But tonight, the "Smiling Assassin" did not quarrel with Dantley. The Assassin admitted his mistake in the locker room, apologized to the whole team, and promised that he would not abandon his teammates and go to Jordan to fight alone in the next game.

Meng Jin was blocked by reporters in the locker room. The reporters no longer cared about the outcome of the game. They just wanted to know what happened with Meng Jin's punch.

"Let's talk about Bill Laimbeer!" Reporters handed the microphone to Meng Jin.

"What's wrong with that girl?" Meng Jin asked back.

"Why did you throw punches at him when they were in the ring?"

"You all saw it. He wanted to destroy me. He used a non-basketball move to pull me down from the air. I was lying on the ground for about 20 seconds. While I was lying on the ground, I kept thinking about one thing. If I didn't die this time, then he would definitely die. He was clamoring to beat me from the beginning of the game and used all kinds of tricks. In the end, he fell down in one round. Fighting with him is just a waste of time."

The next day, the league issued a penalty announcement.

Meng Jin and Bill Laimbeer were each suspended for one game. Before Game 5, Jordan was listening to music alone in a corner with headphones on. This was the most stressful game for him in the series. Without Meng Jin, he could only rely on himself.

Jordan started the game with full firepower and scored 6 points in a row. He was surprised to find today that the Pistons did not double-team him!
The Pistons let Joe Dumars defend Jordan alone throughout the game. Jordan turned off the pass button and started his personal singles mode, scoring 34 points in three quarters. The Bulls fell behind by 6 points entering the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Jordan was ready to burn himself, but the Pistons suddenly changed their defensive strategy at this time.

When Jordan was one-on-one, Joe Dumars deliberately let go of the left side, luring Jordan to move to the left, and then his teammates on the wing and inside came up to double-team him.

When Jordan tried to run a pick-and-roll, the Pistons used double-teaming and physical contact to limit his breakthroughs and jump shots.

When Jordan was posting up, the minimum treatment was to be surrounded by three people in front, on the wing and behind him. When Jordan was moving without the ball, Rodman and Joe Dumars took turns to chase him, and Rick Mahorn knocked him to the ground whenever he had the chance.

Jordan took the ball with anger and tried to attack the basket, but the Pistons' big men were prepared and knocked him to the ground.

Jordan is not Meng Jin. He does not have that much strength and impact, and it is easy for the Pistons to knock him over.

Michael Jordan was lying on the ground, feeling that his body was about to fall apart. At this moment, Joe Dumars reached out to him: "Michael, are you OK?"

Dumars was simple and honest, and his temperament was incompatible with the other Pistons players. He never used dirty tricks against Jordan, nor did he talk trash to Jordan. Jordan never got angry when he played against him.

"Stand up, Michael! Beat them up, don't give in to these sons of bitches!"

Meng Jin in the audience shouted towards the field. Due to the suspension, he could not appear on the team's bench and could only cheer for his teammates in the audience.

As soon as Meng Jin said this, the Pistons fans were instantly furious, and all kinds of insults poured into Meng Jin's ears like a tide from all directions.

Meng Jin simply chose to ignore it. He stood in the crowd with his arms folded across his chest. From all directions were Pistons fans pointing at and insulting him. In order to ensure his safety today, the Detroit Police Department temporarily dispatched 16 police officers, who were now distributed around Meng Jin.

In G4, Jordan once thought that he had evolved and could defeat the Pistons even without Meng Jin. However, in G5, he faced the reality and realized that the current Pistons were not someone he could challenge.

Chuck Daly used the "Jordan Rule" in this game. This was the first time that the "Jordan Rule" was used in actual combat. This tactic had been studied in the middle of the season. Chuck Daly had not been able to find a suitable opportunity. Tonight's absence of Meng Jin was the most suitable opportunity.

It takes courage and determination to try out new tactics in crucial games, and Chuck Daly succeeded.

Jordan struggled a lot in this quarter. Every shot he took was very difficult. Since Jordan was the only one playing in the first three quarters, his teammates had poor shooting. Jordan tried to pass the ball several times, but their shooting percentages were ridiculously low.

The Bulls only scored a pitiful 14 points in the fourth quarter, their lowest score in a single quarter this season. The team quickly collapsed, and the fans at the Pontiac Silverdome roared with derision.

77比92，公牛打出了本赛季系列赛最低分，乔丹全场出手35次，拿到40分5篮板3助攻1抢断1盖帽。

Looking at the final score, Jordan looked around and felt dizzy and his vision was blurred.

"Michael, Michael, the game is over, it's time for us to go." Oakley woke up Jordan.

Despite Jordan's best efforts, the Bulls still lost the decisive battle.

The Bulls are currently trailing 2-3 in the total score, but Jordan has not completely lost confidence. Meng Jin will return in the next game, and it will be the Bulls' home game. He is confident that he can drag the series to a game 7.

But after returning to Chicago, the overwhelming negative news caused Jordan's emotions to explode again!
"Michael Jordan is a selfish guy who can't make his teammates better!"

"Jordan led the Bulls to the lowest score in a single quarter this season, scoring in three quarters and then disappearing in the final quarter!"

Michael Jordan destroyed the Bulls with one forced shot after another

"Without Jordan, the Bulls might be better!"

"A fake MVP. If it weren't for Meng Jin, he wouldn't have made it past the first round!"

"Data brush, Michael Jordan is thinking about filling his own data instead of winning!"

Jordan was very upset. He didn't understand why the media wouldn't let him go even though he had tried his best for the team.

(End of this chapter)