NBA: Goat is actually me

Chapter 153 Is this how you treat the honorary citizens of Los Angeles?
The Pistons wanted to disgust the Bulls one last time, but they simply ignored them. The Bulls players didn't care about the attitude of the Pistons, their defeated opponents; they were immersed in the joy of victory.

It was not until the whistle blew that Meng Jin said to Collins what he had been holding back for the entire game: "Doug, you are wearing two different shoes. You don't have to be so nervous when I'm here."

Collins looked down and patted his forehead. He was really nervous today. He realized that he was wearing two leather shoes, one with a lizard and one with a crocodile, on his left and right feet respectively.

Jordan's eyes were filled with tears, and he was filled with emotions, not just the joy of victory.

He only scored 13 points, 7 assists and 1 steal. It can be said that Meng Jin carried him to win this game. Throughout his career, his teammates relied on Jordan. In such a crucial game tonight, Jordan became the one who relied on his teammates.

Just as Jordan was about to go up and celebrate with his teammates, he was carried away by a group of big men. The Bulls had to give him a comprehensive examination, because concussion is no joke.

"Where's Michael?"

It was only when the Eastern Conference Finals trophy was pushed out that Meng Jin realized Jordan was missing.

"Meng, you come and raise the glass!"

Surrounded by his teammates, Meng Jin raised the Eastern Conference Finals championship trophy!
There is no way, when Jordan is not there, he is the most qualified man on the team to win the trophy.

"Let me go! I want to go back!"

On the way to the hospital, Jordan was still roaring. He had worked hard for so many years and finally had a chance to touch the championship trophy, but it was taken away by these bastards.

"Michael, be quiet and don't shake. It's not good for your brain," the Bulls team doctor scolded.

"Meng, how does it feel to take revenge on the Pistons?" After the award ceremony, the reporter handed the microphone to Meng Jin's mouth.

Meng Jin was deeply impressed by this question. After the Bulls defeated the Pistons in the opening game, many reporters asked this question. At that time, Meng Jin's answer was that this was not revenge, because the Bulls lost to the Pistons in the playoffs last season. How could winning a regular season game be considered revenge?

However, tonight, Meng Jin can openly and proudly say that he has completed his revenge. If he still says that it is not revenge, it would be a bit too pretentious.

Meng Jin: "It's great. The entire Bulls team has been looking forward to this moment for a year. The game was very difficult. To be more precise, we played very hard in this series and this game. Many times the victory or defeat was decided at the last moment, but we did it! We did not disappoint the fans who came to support us, and we did not disappoint ourselves."

"How will the Bulls team spend tonight?" the reporter asked.

"We will celebrate in a nightclub, but we won't go overboard. We will save the best celebration for the next series."

Doug Collins was even more excited than the players. During the interview, he praised all the players on the Bulls team with great enthusiasm.

When asked by reporters why the Pistons did not limit Meng Jin tonight, Collins said: "In fact, I think the Pistons have done a good job."

After hearing Collins' words, the reporters were at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Meng Jin scored 51 points tonight. Is that a good score?

If Collins is not in Versailles, then he is in the Pistons. If he were in any other team, with Meng Jin's condition tonight, his score would definitely be 60+.

The Bulls' finals opponent had already been decided, and the Lakers advanced by sweeping the Suns 4-0.

In G4, Byron Scott broke out and scored 35 points. After Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was unable to play, Byron Scott and James Worthy took turns to serve as the team's first firepower. Although "Magic" Johnson was the MVP, his style was to make things difficult for his teammates, and his shooting ability was limited, so he was easily targeted by opponents in the playoffs.

This is why Meng Jin had to practice shooting quickly. If he didn't shoot in a situation like G6, the Pistons would have used a solid defense and the Bulls would have been finished.

This season is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's last year. The Lakers want to bid farewell to this team hero with a perfect three-peat, but it is very difficult. The Lakers' three consecutive sweeps look very impressive, but the NBA's pattern during this period was strong in the East and weak in the West, and Pat Riley was too ruthless. He believed in high-intensity training.

Pat Riley believes in high-intensity training, which makes his players miserable every day. He has a typical farmer's mentality and believes that as long as he doesn't die from training, he will train to death. This training method can tap the players' potential in a short period of time, but the cost is to overdraw the players' career lifespan.

The day after entering the finals, Byron Scott was injured in training. Byron Scott showed signs of injury before. He played the hardest in the Western Conference Finals. He not only had to defend the opponent's key players, but also provided firepower output on the offensive end.

Byron Scott limped out of the training ground. The Lakers still held out a glimmer of hope, after all, there were still three days before the finals. However, the diagnosis result one day later made all the Lakers players feel disheartened.

Byron Scott was diagnosed with a hamstring strain and was ruled out for the finals.

As the news came out, the sky in Los Angeles turned gray.

Byron Scott is the best defensive player of the Los Angeles Lakers. The day before, Los Angeles fans were still discussing whether to let Scott defend Meng Jin or Jordan. Now they don’t have to worry about it.

Pat Riley was forced to adjust his tactics. In the last series, Byron Scott averaged 16 shots per game. He is the second-best player on the Lakers. If he is absent, who will take over these shots?

During the regular season, the Bulls won both games against the Lakers, and Byron Scott was injured at this critical moment. The outside media unanimously believed that the Bulls could win the championship this year.

However, public opinion could not help the Bulls win the championship. In the training session on the morning of the game, head coach Collins repeatedly emphasized this point. For the Bulls, the toughest opponent is the Pistons, but it does not mean that the Lakers are an easy opponent. They have won two consecutive championships and have a deep championship foundation.

The foundation of a champion is something magical and difficult to explain scientifically, but sometimes it can give you a helping hand in the dark.

When the Bulls players were training, a pure and beautiful girl walked into the players' field of vision.

"Damn it! Is the door of the training hall not closed? How come someone walked in?"

Collins roared, and then someone said, "Jennifer Connelly?"

The Bulls players turned their heads to look and saw that it was indeed Jennifer Connelly. Everyone put down their basketballs at once, and before Collins could even say anything, the Bulls players surrounded her.

Beautiful Hollywood stars came to visit the set, and it was hard for these hormone-filled players not to be moved. Collins knew that Hollywood stars would not come to visit the set for no reason. This must be a trick of old man Jerry Buss. He wanted to distract the Bulls players.

Jerry Buss did it. Jennifer Connelly only came for half an hour and tried her best. She even left her phone number for many Bulls players and told them that she would have a drink with them in the bar after the game.

In the game that night, the Bulls started off poorly, scoring no points in the first four minutes and relying on free throws to get 4 points.

Jerry Buss said proudly to his daughter Jenny, "See? They are just a bunch of hot-blooded young men. If a beautiful woman talks to them, they can get hard all day. I guarantee they are playing basketball with hard-on now."

"Daddy?" Jenny Buss was speechless about what old Buss said. How could a father and daughter say such things?

"Saury, Saury." Buss raised his hands to apologize. "Dad's words just now were a little rude, but it's the truth. Basketball competition is not only on the court."

On the court, Jordan took the ball and attacked, and the Great Western Forum were filled with thunderous "defense".

The fans' desire for a three-peat is no less than that of the players. Everyone wants to witness history. Before the game, some players even said shamelessly that they did not want the Lakers to sweep the Bulls, because then they would not be able to witness the team win the championship for three consecutive years at the Lakers' home court.

Jordan took the ball and played one-on-one amid the noise. He turned around and forced his way to the basket but missed the layup. The Lakers wanted to launch a quick counterattack. After the basketball was passed to the center circle, James Worthy found that all five Bulls players retreated to half court, so he decisively chose to slow down.

After receiving the ball, Magic Johnson backed up Jordan, and after two back-to-back shots, he moved sideways. Jordan made a strong leap, and Magic Johnson seemed to be about to make a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar skyhook. Seeing Jordan rushing over, Magic immediately changed his strategy and passed the ball to the inside. AC Green took the ball and turned to layup. Grant was out of position, and Meng Jin immediately made up for it. AC Green missed the shot, and the referee's whistle blew at this time.

Meng Jin rarely lost control of his emotions. He roared at the referee and asked for an explanation. He didn't even touch AC Green's hair on this ball.

Collins quickly replaced Meng Jin. This was his second foul tonight. The first foul came in the second minute of the game when he received the ball and knocked "Magic" Johnson away, and was called for a technical foul.

Meng Jin had nothing to say about that foul. The cunning "Magician" stood in his path the moment Meng Jin started. But this foul was completely a home call. Getting two fouls too early would affect Meng Jin's playing time in the first quarter, which was the reason why he lost control of his emotions just now.

Meng Jin walked to the bench and slammed his towel. Phil Jackson saw this, but he didn't say anything. When Meng Jin seemed to have calmed down a little, Phil Jackson walked over to him and said, "Meng, next time you encounter this situation, try to meditate. Don't be controlled by your emotions. The sooner you calm down, the better it will be for the game."

The fans temporarily forgot the pain of losing Byron Scott. After the first quarter, the Lakers led by 27 points, 16 to 11.

Lakers voice Chick Hearn said directly: "The Bulls were beaten in the first quarter. This is the difference between a championship team and a rookie team. They were scared by this scene."

The second quarter started with a showdown between the two teams' substitutes. Due to Scott's injury, Michael Cooper was promoted to the starting lineup. The Lakers' second lineup was weaker in firepower than before, and the offensive burden fell on Michael Thompson.

Due to family reasons, Michael Thompson was in a slump in the middle of the season, but he regained his fighting spirit in the playoffs and got back to his early season form.

In the first two rounds of the series, Michael Thompson averaged 12 points and 5 rebounds per game. He got into the game right from the start tonight, first getting two points with a tip-in, and then hitting a mid-range shot one round later.

"Doug Collins can't sit still. He looks very anxious. This young head coach often can't sit still. Usually he only spends 10% of the time on the bench in a game, maybe less."

Commentator Chick Hearn teased Bulls head coach Collins, implying that Collins is too young and too impetuous, and such a person cannot lead a team well.

Collins replaced Meng Jin and Jordan less than three minutes into the second quarter. In this situation, he must increase the playing time of the two players.

When Meng Jin came on the court, the score was 19 to 33, the difference between the two sides reached 14 points, and the Lakers were on the offensive.

Meng Jin didn't play much in the first quarter as his body was not yet warmed up. Jordan's touch was not good. Although he scored 9 points in the first quarter, they were all by attacking the inside and causing fouls.

Seeing Meng Jin coming up, Michael Thompson's eyes were filled with anger and he immediately went for a one-on-one play. The one responsible for defending him was the Bulls' backup center Cyrus. Cyrus has been completely useless this season. Last season, he averaged around 9 points per game, but this season only 6 points, and in the playoffs his points dropped to 4 points.

It would have been a good thing for him after Oakley left the team. He only had to compete with second-year rookie Grant for a starting position, and at worst they would have shared the playing time. However, in the playoffs, he only played 10 minutes per game, basically helping Grant when he was off the court, and completely became a marginal figure.

Michael Thompson took the ball, moved sideways, and took a hook shot, but missed.

However, he grabbed the rebound and scored on the second attack, making it 19-35.

The cheers at the Lakers' home court were deafening. The Bulls players couldn't play under such noise. Meng Jin knew very well that he had to step up to reduce the noise in the stadium.

After getting the ball, Meng Jin took a simple test step, then passed the ball and stopped sharply in one go.

Michael Thompson rushed forward and hit Meng Jin in the chest, but the referee did not blow the whistle. There was no such thing as violation of the cylinder during this period, and the referee would not blow the whistle even if he knocked his opponent down directly after the shot.

The basketball bounced twice in the front frame, and when it bounced out the third time, Meng Jin used his big hand to smash the ball in.

21:35.

The Bulls expanded their defense. At this time, "Magic" Johnson had not yet come on the court, and the Bulls wanted to press the whole court to put some pressure on them.

Backup guard David Rivers almost made a pass error, and the Bulls' pressing was effective, but luck was on the Lakers' side, and after some missteps, the ball fell into the hands of Tony Campbell.

Tony Campbell also has explosive physical fitness. He would dunk after taking the ball with one dribble, but he was facing Jordan.

Jordan bounced up ahead of him and dunked the ball from a commanding position.

After the basketball bounced, Meng Jin got the ball and sprinted all the way along the sideline. David Rivers wanted to come up and steal the ball, but was blocked by Meng Jin.

Meng Jin admired his courage very much. This little guy was only 177cm tall and weighed only 77kg.

Meng Jin made his way to the basket and dunked the ball over Michael Thompson.

This ball does not involve any technical content, it relies purely on physical talent.

Michael Thompson not only lost face, but also got a foul.

Meng Jin made the free throw, and Pat Riley replaced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and James Worthy. Facing this young and dangerous Bulls, Pat Riley did not intend to give them any chance to gain momentum.

After Magic Johnson came on the court, he immediately connected with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar missed the first shot, but after getting the rebound on the second shot, he used his signature sky hook to score.

The Bulls had a bad rebounding season during this period, so Collins called Cartwright to come on the court on the next dead ball.

Although the rebounding was a mess, the Bulls were very efficient after Jordan and Meng Jin returned to the game, because all the shots were made by Meng Jin alone. When Meng Jin scored 11 points in a row, Los Angeles fans began to feel uneasy.

Pat Riley began to instruct his players to confront Meng Jin. Michael Thompson fought with Meng Jin twice in a row when he rushed for rebounds. The noise at the scene became louder and louder, and everyone knew about the conflict between the two.

Meng Jin's counterattack was very rough. With 3 minutes and 11 seconds left in the second quarter, Meng Jin completed a tip-in directly over Thompson's head. While dunking, Meng Jin clamped Thompson with his legs and pushed with both hands the moment he landed.

Thompson fell directly into the group of cameras at the baseline. After getting up, Thompson broke the defense, picked up the ball and threw it at Meng Jin, cursing.

At this time, Pippen and Miller were watching the game on TV. Pippen couldn't help but say: "I sympathize with him. Now he and his wife have been ridden by Meng."

Reggie Miller glanced at him and said, "Be serious, it's her ex-wife."

"Meng Jin sucks!"

"Meng Jin sucks!"

"Meng Jin sucks!"

The home fans shouted in unison to express their dissatisfaction and support for Michael Thompson.

While the referees were still discussing how to call the ball, Meng Jin walked to the sidelines and shouted at the noisy audience: "Is this how you treat the honorary citizens of Los Angeles?"

(End of this chapter)