NBA: Goat is actually me

Chapter 150 The last time playing in this damn place
"Detroit is our biggest opponent this year. We can't let down our guard just because we won an away game. We have to do our part and do our job well in the next games.
I will do my best to defend and distribute the ball, and you guys should not let me down. I don't want me to score 50 or 60 points in this series, because that means some of you guys are completely broken. I hope we can do our own things well.

Jordan is serious.

On the plane back to Chicago, everyone on the Bulls expressed that they would not lose their home court this time like they did last year.

The Bulls were united, but reality gave them a heavy blow. In Game 3, the Bulls lost to the Pistons by 16 points. They could not blame others for the loss, but the Bulls themselves had a cold touch, and their collective touch was cold.

When the players' shooting was cold, the more they wanted to make the shot, the more nervous they became when they couldn't make the shot. The psychological pressure on the Bulls players in this game was extremely high. Chuck Daly keenly sensed this and asked the players to add some small moves in the game to make the Bulls players' already irritable hearts even more confused. This trick worked very well. The Bulls averaged 15 turnovers per game in the playoffs this year, and they had 21 turnovers tonight.

In addition, Chuck Daly had the team shrink its defense very early in the game and focus on defending the Bulls' breakthroughs. The Bulls couldn't shoot from the outside and had difficulty breaking through to the inside. The scoring in positional battles was very slow and they relied entirely on fast breaks. Meng Jin had a few unreasonable one-on-five attacks, but it was impossible for him to do so throughout the game.

The day after the loss, the NBA officially announced the regular season MVP. It was not Meng Jin or Jordan, but "Magic" Johnson.

Although Meng Jin did not say it, he was very disappointed with the result. Previously, there was a lot of support for Meng Jin to win the regular season MVP, but he was not the only one disappointed. Jordan was also disappointed. This season, Jordan was the assists king and he was also the engine of the team. He was also a hot candidate before the MVP selection was announced.

However, both of them lost to Magic Johnson, who averaged a triple-double. This once again reflects the amateur nature of the media judges. Many times, their voting does not have a fixed standard, but is entirely based on personal preference, which can change at any time.

Both players entered G4 with anger. It is said that anger is the best catalyst, which is true. Jordan scored 10 points, 3 assists and 3 steals in the first quarter. Jordan made all of his first 4 shots. Dumars was beaten badly by him on the defensive end tonight, but he was not the worst player on the Pistons.

Just four minutes into the first quarter, Rodman received two fouls on Meng Jin.

Rodman defended Meng Jin well in the last game. Chuck Daly moved Rodman into the starting lineup for this game. Looking at the entire Pistons team, he is the most suitable person to defend Meng Jin. He has athletic ability, brains, and is not too short.

However, defending Meng Jin is never a one-man show. Rodman defended well in the last game because he had a group of teammates behind him. In this game, the Bulls' players' shooting was back, and the Pistons' defense didn't dare to shrink so deep, which gave Meng Jin room to break through. In addition, Meng Jin's anger level reached the top before the game even started.
Rodman returned to the court in the second quarter after resting for most of the quarter. Rodman kept Chuck Daly's deployment in mind and strictly controlled the number of his fouls.

Rodman is very smart. When defending, he takes a small step back to prevent Meng Jin from breaking through. If Meng Jin breaks through forcefully, he will push against him. Two teammates will help him defend from behind. Even if Meng Jin has explosive physical fitness, it is impossible for him to push against him every time. Besides, his push is different from the conventional push. Rodman learned from Bill Laimbeer and knows many little tricks to make opponents uncomfortable without being called for fouls by the referee.

As a result, Meng Jin made 4 pull-up jump shots against his defense in this quarter. When Meng Jin made the fourth pull-up jump shot, the system sounded, and Meng Jin obtained a new skill given by the system [Pull-up jump shot (primary): When you use a pull-up jump shot, you can ignore the opponent's interference to a certain extent]

This skill is a magical skill for Meng Jin. His height and wingspan plus this skill make him basically unstoppable when shooting. Whether he can make the shot depends entirely on his own feel.

Tonight, Meng Jin's touch was hot and he continued his jump shot performance in the third quarter. Even Rodman couldn't deal with him. How the hell is he going to be defended against?
Rodman lost his composure on defense, Meng Jin knocked him away twice and then went into the basket for a slam dunk. After the two slam dunks, Rodman was completely defeated. Chuck Daly replaced three players to defend Meng Jin but it didn't work. He just shot at whoever he saw tonight.

Facing the omnipotent Meng Jin tonight, Chuck Daly used a double-team tactic starting from the third quarter. Jordan began to take over the game in the second half. This was the most enjoyable game he had in the series. With Meng Jin's attracting firepower, Jordan was like a fish in water and scored 45 points.

Meng Jin had 31 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks, 23 of which were scored in the first half. It's not that he couldn't deal with the Pistons' double-team, but there was no need to force it. After all, with Jordan by his side, the Bulls had a more reasonable and easier way to win.

The final score was 125 to 108, and the Bulls tied the series at 2 to 2.

After watching the first four games between the two sides, people outside exclaimed, isn’t this the same script as last year?

The Bulls first won G1 and then lost a home game, and then tied the total score. The difference is that this time the Bulls won the decisive battle.

The Pistons had a bad start in Game 5, missing consecutive shots, which gave the Bulls a chance to fight back. The Bulls played fast breaks in the first half and entered the second half with an 8-point lead.

Even though the Bulls controlled the tempo, Chuck Daly still did not change his defensive strategy. The Pistons did not press. In the last round of the playoffs, the New York Knicks led defense 4 times in 37 games, but only succeeded 2 times. Jordan was still very stable as a point guard. Under the opponent's pressure, Jordan's turnover rate was very low. Once Jordan passed the ball, Meng Jin would start to wreak havoc when facing a loose formation.

Chuck Daly studied the second-round videos of the Knicks and the Bulls. He felt that Pitino was too superstitious about this kind of pressing tactics, and the Bulls happened to be the team in the league that was best at dealing with the lead defense tactics. If the Knicks defended normally, Chuck Daly felt that they had a chance to win a game.

After the halftime break, the Pistons' touch returned a little. As long as the hit rate goes up, the opponent's chances of counterattack will naturally decrease. This is a very simple thing. The Pistons were not in a hurry in the third quarter. An 8-point deficit was nothing to them. They just played to their success rate, played more in the basket, and tried to cause fouls if they couldn't make it.

After the third quarter, the Pistons narrowed the gap to just one point, and the game seemed to be back in the Pistons' rhythm. Isaiah Thomas arrogantly shouted at Jordan, "Michael, this is the last time you'll be ahead tonight."

Faced with provocation, Jordan also made a direct threat: "If the score is not widened in the first three quarters, you know who will take over the game in the fourth quarter." Meng Jin said that this person was him. In the final quarter, Meng Jin scored 14 points, none of which were stupid points. All of them were offensive points, and half of them were difficult goals.

The Pistons were also very resilient and held on until the last 47 seconds of the game. Aguirre's turnaround shot narrowed the gap to just 2 points.

In the next round, the Pistons used a full-court press, which was their first full-court press tonight. Grant almost couldn't pass the ball, and Jordan barely caught the ball at the last second.

There was a lot of booing at the Pistons' home court. Fans felt that the Bulls' serve in this round had exceeded the time limit and the referee had gone easy on them.

After Jordan got the ball, the Pistons began to surround him frantically. Even if they didn't stop the ball, they wanted the Bulls to deal with this round of offense quickly. If they played at the rhythm of this game, the Bulls would definitely use up all 24 seconds. Even if they didn't make the shot, they wouldn't leave the Pistons much time to attack.

Jordan braked suddenly and pulled back. Among the crowd of people, he saw Meng Jin.

Jordan made a straight pass and handed the ball to Meng Jin on the sideline.

This pass is very bold. If your hands shake, the pass will fly directly out of the sideline without any room for maneuver.

Meng Jin handled the situation more boldly. After getting the ball, he turned around and passed Aguirre who was pressing him as if he had eyes on the back of his head. Aguirre was the hero of the Pistons in the last round but this time he could only be a bear. His slightly fat body could not keep up with Meng Jin at all.

Meng Jin drove straight in, and all he could hear was the sound of the wind and Chuck Daly yelling "foul."

When Meng Jin took his first step, he was directly hugged by Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn. Meng Jin used inertia to take another small step and then threw the ball into the air.

The ball somehow hit the bank, but it doesn't count.

During this period, the NBA did not yet use the continuous action rule, and a foul had to be committed on the shot in order to take a free throw.

However, the Pistons' cumulative foul count was reached, and Meng Jin still went to the free throw line, but it was not a 2+1.

Meng Jin made both free throws amidst the boos, widening the score to 4 points again.

The Pistons turned around and tried to shoot but missed. Bill Laimbeer grabbed the offensive rebound and caused a foul, but he did not have the big heart of Meng Jin and only made one of two free throws at the critical moment.

Collins called a timeout, and during this timeout he deployed a tactic, which was to delay time.

Jordan took a shot in the last 3 seconds of the round, but missed.

The Pistons called a timeout immediately after getting the rebound, leaving them with only 6 seconds.

Chuck Daly knew he could only try to get a three-pointer, and Collins was even more ruthless. As soon as the Pistons passed the ball, they directly adopted a foul tactic and sent them to the free throw line.

Isaiah Thomas made the first free throw and intentionally missed the second free throw, and the key rebound was protected by Meng Jin.

The moment he grabbed the rebound, Meng Jin felt seven or eight hands reaching out to him. Meng Jin heard Jordan's voice, but he did not pass the ball as it was too dangerous. He chose a safer way and held the ball tightly against his chest.

The Pistons had no choice but to adopt a foul strategy. Meng Jin made both free throws to seal the victory and win the decisive battle with great difficulty!

After winning the game, everyone gathered around Meng Jin. He raised his fist and shouted, "This is the last time we play in this damn place, Detroit, this season!"

(End of this chapter)