NBA: Goat is actually me

Chapter 128 Taking off
"Seriously, Dominic! At least get behind that guy when he doesn't have the ball!"

Moses Malone couldn't help it and complained to Wilkins when he was about to serve the ball from the baseline.

Wilkins didn't reply. To be more precise, he was too embarrassed to speak. What could he say? This is my most serious defense! This is probably more embarrassing than not defending seriously.

Wilkins took the ball at the top of the arc and started a one-on-one match. He realized that it was unlikely to limit Meng Jin by defense, so he might as well try his best to attack.

It took Dominique Wilkins less than two minutes from making up his mind to play good defense to going back to his comfort zone.

Meng Jin continued to let Wilkins go to the left.

Wilkins didn't say a word and broke through to the left. After dribbling the ball twice, Wilkins took a big jump and rushed into the penalty area.

Wilkins is not good at dribbling, especially with his left hand, so when he is far away from the basket, he uses his body and burst to score.

Most of the outside players in the league are afraid of Wilkins' style of play, but Meng Jin is just the opposite. He likes this type of player who directly competes with his body. There is no one in the league that Meng Jin is afraid of.

Wilkins exploded instantly and raised the ball above his head with both hands!
Big steps, strong explosive power and good jumping ability are Wilkins' labels and also his biggest advantages when facing other players. However, these advantages are not advantages in front of Meng Jin.

Meng Jin leaned sideways and followed Wilkins into the paint area, then jumped at the same time as Wilkins. Meng Jin's jumping height was slightly lower than Wilkins', but his height and wingspan were far ahead of Wilkins. Wilkins felt a rare sense of oppression. Usually, it was his opponents who had this feeling when he was flying in the air at full speed.

Meng Jin held the ball with his hands, and Wilkins' veins bulged on his hands. He was ready to use brute force to break through Meng Jin's blockade, but Meng Jin's strength was also above his.

The two men stayed in the air for a short time, as if time stood still. The next second, cheers rang out from the audience, and Meng Jin forcibly pushed the ball down by Wilkins!

Before the commentator could even start talking, Wilkins picked up the ball and immediately bounced it up a second time!
Wilkins' jumping speed was as terrifying as his bounce. His eyes were full of anger and he stared at the basket, as if he had a grudge against it.

Just as Wilkins was about to hit the ball in, Meng Jin's huge palm appeared in front of him again.

Continuous jumping is Meng Jin's long-term training program, and he can fully keep up with Wilkins' jumping speed.

Wilkins failed to break through Meng Jin's defense with both hands just now, and now it is even more difficult with one hand. Meng Jin blocked the shot again.

Scored twice!

"Wow! He blocked Dominique Wilkins twice in a row. This is not a common scene," said live commentator Johnny Kerr.

"Wilkins' bomber wanted to attack the Chicago Stadium, but Meng had already sounded the air raid alarm. He intercepted Wilkins in mid-air, twice in a row." Jim Durham said excitedly. The audience in front of the TV were as excited as he was. As far as the fans could remember, they had never seen Wilkins in such an embarrassing moment.

Meng Jin passed the ball to start a fast break, and Michael Jordan easily hit the mid-range shot in the counterattack, and the Bulls took a 6-2 lead at the start.

The Hawks started quickly, and Doc Rivers made a long pass to Seuss before crossing half court. The latter received the ball, dribbled one step, and shot directly from the high position.

The basketball bounced out of the rim and the Bulls switched offense and defense. Both teams suddenly accelerated from this round.

In the next 3 minutes, Meng Jin scored 8 points in a row, and his personal score had risen to 12 points in less than half a quarter.

Meng Jin's personal offensive desire was not strong tonight. It was Wilkins who activated him. Only 12 of the 2 points were scored by Wilkins, and the remaining 10 points were scored against Moses Malone or Antoine Carr, because Wilkins completely ignored Meng Jin and his teammates had to clean up the mess.

Meng Jin made 6 of 6 shots at the start and was unstoppable. Hawks coach Mike Fratello asked Reggie Theus and Wilkins to switch defensive positions. He felt that he had corrected the mistake in time, but the players on the court did not think so, especially Moses Malone. He felt that Doc Rivers or Reggie Theus should have defended Meng Jin at the beginning of the game, or at worst he could have defended him himself. Now his condition is fully open, and it is difficult to stop him by changing the defense.

Meng Jin continued to ask for the ball to attack, and Jordan immediately lobbed the ball to Meng Jin in the elbow area after crossing half court.

Meng Jin took the ball and turned quickly, and Rej Seuss followed sideways. After the confrontation, Meng Jin did not accelerate, but used a change of rhythm, first pausing, and then changing direction with his hips.

The two were too close to each other, and Meng Jin was worried that Reggie Seuss would steal the ball when he changed direction in front of him. Although this guy was 201cm tall, he was a point guard and acted quickly.

By changing direction under the hips, Meng Jin can use his right leg as a natural barrier. After changing direction under the hips, he did not make any connecting movements and started directly with the ball.

Reggie Theus didn't keep up, and he finally understood why Wilkins couldn't defend Meng Jin. This guy didn't just use his physical talents to play, he combined his skills and talents very well.

In the attack just now, if Meng Jin had taken one more step, Reggie Theus would have followed.

Meng Jin took two steps from the free throw line into the restricted area. This was too easy for him. Meng Jin had to control his steps, otherwise it would be easy for him to step out of the baseline.

Moses Malone directly pulled Meng Jin down from the air, a very direct and fierce move!
Meng Jin has already dunked over Moses Malone tonight. A veteran star like him will not allow his opponents to bully him all the time.

Meng Jin staggered after landing, then immediately turned around and pushed Moses Malone.

Moses Malone almost fell to the ground because he lost his balance. This is Meng Jin's staggering transfer technique.

Jordan immediately rushed over and hugged him: "Meng, calm down, calm down."

"Michael, I'm calm now. You don't have to hold me so tightly."

Meng Jin had no conflicts with Moses Malone. He knew that the old guy was not targeting him, but he had to show something, otherwise everyone would use this method to stop him from dunking in the future.

The referee called a foul on both sides, but did not send anyone off. After Meng Jin made one of two free throws, the coaches on both sides tacitly replaced the two players. The Bulls wanted Meng Jin to calm down, while the Hawks did it to protect Moses Malone, who had just returned from a season-ending injury.

Moses Malone immediately explained to the coach after returning to the bench: "I can't let Meng Jin dunk like this anymore. He's already been crazy in this quarter. If he continues like this, the whole team will be afraid of him."

Eagles coach Mike Fratello nodded: "Moses, you did the right thing."

Mike Fratello hopes Wilkins can also show such courage, otherwise Meng Jin would not play so smoothly in the first quarter.

After a three-minute break, Meng Jin came on the court again. The pace of both sides was still fast. After the first quarter, the Chicago Bulls led the Hawks by 39 points 29 to 10.

Meng Jin scored 19 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal, but he missed two shots in the entire quarter.

Hawks coach Mike Fratello adjusted the offensive tactics during the intermission. He told Wilkins to play more pick-and-rolls in the second quarter and use his teammates' screens to get into the paint.

"I refuse. This is not my style." Wilkins answered straightforwardly. During this period, star players' confrontations were all resolved through 1V1. Calling teammates for help or using teammates for cover would be regarded as an escape, an act of surrendering.

Mike Fratello got angry when he heard this. He was really aggressive now? Why didn't he show his aggressiveness when he was defending with his eyes?

Wilkins made 7 of 2 shots in the first quarter and only scored a pitiful 4 points. Not to mention Meng Jin, even Jordan, who was organizing the game throughout the quarter, was no match for him. Jordan scored 6 points and 5 assists in the first quarter. Meng Jin was in such good shape tonight that he basically didn't think about personal offense.

Of course, Mike Fratello did not say this directly to Wilkins. The NBA is a business league. If there is a conflict between the head coach and the top star, the head coach will definitely be the one to leave.

Mike Fratello was quite smooth. He said to Wilkins: "Occasionally use your teammates' screens and let them participate in the offense."

Mike Fratello's words were already very tactful. Wilkins was beaten to pieces by Meng Jin on both offense and defense in the first quarter. Just looking at the performance of the two, some people would believe that Meng Jin is a veteran who has been fighting in the NBA for many years, or that he is a second-year rookie.

Wilkins' attributes were crushed by Meng Jin in all aspects, whether it was height, speed, wingspan, pace, or explosiveness, not to mention the defensive end. The most fatal thing was that Wilkins' playing style was restrained by Meng Jin.

Who knew Wilkins was so stubborn? He refused and said, "No, I want to use my own way. If I still can't score in the second quarter, I will pass the ball to my teammates to help them open up space. In short, I will not avoid the 1v1 with Meng Jin."

Mike Fratello was speechless. Sometimes he felt that being an NBA coach was like being a nanny, serving the team's top star exclusively. When he was coaching at the University of Rhode Island, James Madison University or Villanueva University, he always kept his word. Any player who dared not to follow his tactical arrangements would be replaced in the next round.

Wilkins' condition improved in the second quarter. He broke through Meng Jin right at the start. Meng Jin continued to let Wilkins go to the left in the second quarter. Wilkins also knew that he could not sit there and wait for death. He chose to break through to the right. He first had a tough physical confrontation with Meng Jin to disrupt his defensive rhythm, then he shook with one hand, and then exerted his super explosive power, rushed to the position near the free throw line, then turned his back sharply, dodged Meng Jin and shot.

The basketball hit the rim and bounced into the basket.

Meng Jin's mentality was calm. Even if he defended well, it was impossible for a player of Wilkins' level to not score a single point.

Wilkins scored 7 points and 3 rebounds in the second quarter. The Atlanta Hawks trailed by 56 points at halftime with 71 to 15. Jordan and Meng Jin made consecutive wonderful fast breaks in the second quarter. The Bulls' score rose rapidly. The audience in front of the TV was very happy. The Bulls' SHOW-TIME is sweeping the United States. Now fans have almost forgotten the Lakers' SHOW-TIME. Fans have found that the balls that Magic can pass, Jordan can also pass, but the dunks made by Meng Jin, no one on the Lakers can do it.

The game was at the end of the third quarter, and Wilkins, who was famous for his powerful dunks, completed his first dunk of the night, which surprised the fans. After all, Wilkins was the man who used dunks as a regular scoring method before Meng Jin.

Wilkins missed a long jump shot in front of Meng Jin, but after landing he quickly moved to the basket and made a tip-in.

Meng Jin missed the ball very well in this round. Firstly, he didn't expect Wilkins to be so fast and have such a keen offensive sense. Secondly, he didn't expect Wilkins to have the leisure to make a tip-in when the team was trailing by 23 points.

The Hawks tried to catch up in the fourth quarter, and the score was once narrowed to 15 points, but Meng Jin and Jordan came on the court and widened the score again with jump shots and counterattacks.

Before the game, the outside world predicted that this would be a evenly matched game, but the result was one-sided.

The Bulls beat the Hawks so badly that they had almost no chance to fight back. The fourth quarter became garbage time before it was even halfway through. Jordan and Meng Jin sat on the sidelines and started chatting.

Jordan said his wife is about to give birth, probably in the next two weeks.

Jordan seldom discussed such private matters with Meng Jin. The two were teammates with a good relationship, but not real friends. It could be seen that Jordan, who was about to become a father, was in a very good mood.

Speaking of being a father, Meng Jin also had something to say. He said that he would also be a father in 9 months, to twins, and he had already named them Madonna.

Jordan's smile disappeared immediately. He immediately remembered the 2000 million US dollars incident, which made Jordan very unhappy. He shamelessly went to chat with Madonna but she ignored him. Meng Jin not only picked up Madonna, but also made a fortune by making her pregnant, which made Jordan feel very frustrated.

The conversation between the two came to an abrupt end. After sitting quietly on the bench for a few minutes, the game ended.

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Hawks 131-111 at home.

Meng Jin scored 44 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals in the game. Meng Jin's scoring data this season can be described as taking off. Jordan gave up more shooting rights. Meng Jin's progress in the new season made Jordan more confident in this sophomore rookie. Meng Jin himself also worked hard and did not let Lu Dan down, and efficiently digested these shooting rights.

Jordan scored 30 points, 14 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Giving up the shooting right does not mean that Jordan becomes a pure point guard. He can still score high points in every game, and his efficiency is higher than before. But when Meng Jin scores more points, opponents have to spend more energy to defend or even double-team him. Jordan is very comfortable playing in this environment.

Grant had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. He was like a chicken with blood injected tonight. Sometimes he rushed faster than Meng Jin in fast breaks. Players like him attach great importance to the opportunity of national live broadcast. Cartwright had 17 points and 12 rebounds, John Paxson had 10 points, and 5 Bulls players scored in double digits.

Wilkins only got 19 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists tonight, which is not up to standard for a superstar of his level. Wilkins' scoring output has always been No. 1 among small forwards, although his efficiency is not high, 86-88 were his peak three years. The regular season rate fluctuated around 54% for three years, and in the playoffs it dropped to around 50%. Look at those small forwards who are famous for their scoring. Dantley and King each averaged 30 points per game with a true shooting percentage of 60% in the regular season and playoffs.

Today, however, Wilkins is not only inefficient, but he also lacks the production value he was so proud of.

(End of this chapter)