NBA: Goat is actually me

Chapter 165 If you are tired, you won't cause trouble
"Answer him! Hit him!"

In the Spurs' next offensive round, David Robinson received a pass from Elliott after a pick-and-roll, and got a chance to face Meng Jin 1v1. The Spurs substitutes on the sidelines started to cheer wildly. In the previous round, Meng Jin dunked over David Robinson, and they wanted to see David Robinson get back on track.

David Robinson took a series of tentative steps and then suddenly passed the ball, dribbled one step and turned around. During the confrontation, David Robinson felt the hardness of Meng Jin's body. After turning around, David Robinson did not choose to attack himself, but passed the ball to Cheeks on the outside.

The teammates who were about to stand up and celebrate sat down in unison. David Robinson was too soft. Not only was he soft in confrontation, but his temperament was also soft. If he was a little more domineering, he would have more dominance on both offense and defense with his physical talent.

John Paxson gave Cheeks a break. The Spurs are the team in the league that least likes to shoot three-pointers. They only take 2.8 three-pointers per game. There is not a single reliable shooter in the lineup. None of the five starters average more than one three-pointer per game.

Although shooting three-pointers is not mainstream in this era, the Spurs' situation is still a bit extreme. Most teams in this era average more than 5 three-pointers per game, while the Bulls average 8 three-pointers per game. Paxson and Craig Hodges on the bench are both excellent shooters.

Cheeks was left open and didn't take a shot. He started to rush inside and then tried to pass the ball again.

John Paxson defended very well and kept close to the experienced old point guard, which caused Cheeks to pass the ball at a narrow angle and Jordan rushed out and finished.

Jordan is very experienced in stealing this kind of ball. It is an instinctive sense. Jordan assisted Meng Jin in the transition between offense and defense, and Meng Jin completed an alley-oop slam dunk!

This was the third pass Jordan made to Meng Jin and his second assist in this game, which dispelled the rumors that the two had a fight in the locker room.

When their relationship was at its worst, an unscrupulous media outlet broke the news that Meng Jin had hidden an iron rod in the locker room, while Jordan had hidden an electric baton. One day after a game, Jordan attacked Meng Jin with an electric baton, and Meng Jin fought back with the iron rod, and the two fought each other in the locker room.

At first, everyone just laughed off this obviously fake news. Friends who were familiar with Meng Jin knew at a glance that it was a rumor. Did Meng Jin need props to beat Jordan?

Meng Jin and Jordan have never clarified this matter because it is ridiculous, so this kind of entertainment news has become more and more outrageous, and more and more people believe it. Although rumors stop at wise people, most people just go with the flow and do not have the ability to think independently.

When Meng Jin passed by Jordan, he raised his right hand and high-fived Jordan. The two did not reconcile, nor did they even speak. This was a subconscious action, a muscle memory. Meng Jin did this with Jordan almost every night in the past two years.

The outside world has different interpretations of this action. Fans think it is a signal, a signal that the two have reconciled.

At this moment, a middle-aged man who was watching the game on TV was stunned.

The coffee cup in Collins' hand was shaking. We were at loggerheads when I was coaching the Bulls, and we shook hands and made peace in the first game I left?

Are you two playing me?

Collins fell into deep thought, and he even felt that he was killed by Meng Jin and Jordan.
The Spurs slowed down the pace and played positional games with the Bulls. They couldn't play a fast-paced offensive game against the Bulls. This is something that all Americans know.

Cummings was trying to position himself for a one-on-one play in the paint, but Grant lowered his center of gravity and took the blame. Cummings didn't take Grant seriously. Cummings had been famous for a long time, while Grant was only the fourth-highest scorer on the Bulls. Although their fame was not proportional, Grant was not afraid of Cummings in terms of height, wingspan or physical fitness.

After two back-to-the-basket shots, Cummings turned over and made a hook shot. Cummings did not push Grant away when he made the back-to-the-basket shot, and Grant stretched out his left hand and pounced on Cummings when he shot.

Cummings awkwardly missed the target.

Grant learned this blocking skill from Meng Jin. Meng Jin learned a lot of low-post blocking techniques from Gilmore. The system is Meng Jin's most powerful weapon, but he does not rely entirely on the system. He is also constantly learning new skills in practice.

Meng Jin took the ball and launched a counterattack. Sean Elliott learned his lesson this time. He anticipated the situation and retreated to the basket.

David Robinson, Cummings and Willie Anderson also retreated to the penalty area at the first opportunity.

Meng Jin took a step towards the free throw line and suddenly shot.

"Shh!"

The basketball went in steadily, it was an absolute empty shot.

Meng Jin spread his hands. He didn't know what the Spurs players were doing in this round. Maybe they were too afraid of his impact. Four people were waiting for him under the basket at the same time, but they forgot that he still had a mid-range shot.

Meng Jin's current mid-range shooting percentage has increased from 86 (90) last season to 90 (90). Many people still have the impression of Meng Jin from the first two seasons, thinking that he is just a rim-rushing monster. In fact, Meng Jin can easily score 30+ points per game with just his mid-range jump shot.

Meng Jin's mid-range shot has reached its current maximum potential. If he wants to upgrade further, he must obtain higher-level potential points.

Seeing Meng Jin started scoring early, Larry Brown called a timeout and asked Willy Anderson to defend Meng Jin. The rookie Sean Elliott was obviously stunned by Meng Jin's explosive performance at the beginning.

But it doesn't matter to Meng Jin. The player defending him has simply changed from a rookie to another rookie.

After the timeout, the Spurs continued to play inside. Cummings took the ball and continued to attack Grant. After turning his back, Cummings did not rush to turn over. He quickly shook his shoulders and deceived Grant with a shoulder shake, then turned around and made a jump shot.

Cummings has excellent physical fitness, but his playing style does not rely entirely on his body. His skills are very comprehensive. Otherwise, the San Antonio Spurs would not have spent a lot of money to get Cummings this summer, sending out their top player Earvin Robertson and forward Greg Anderson. The Spurs not only want Terry Cummings to help them capture the city, they also want Cummings to serve as a mentor to David Robinson. Both of them are inside players with super athletic ability. Cummings can teach David Robinson a lot, both on the court and in life.

In addition to his comprehensive skills, Cummings also has first-class character and no bad habits. His wish is to become a pastor after retirement. The Spurs have put a lot of effort into finding a mentor for David Robinson. You know, it's not easy to find a player like Cummings in the NBA, and it's even harder to find such an All-Star player.

After scoring, Cummings immediately defended another one, and David Robinson made a two-handed dunk in the counterattack!
David Robinson is best at scoring goals in this kind of counterattack. When he runs, David Robinson is the most lethal. However, there are not many such opportunities in the Spurs. Larry Brown is a traditional academic coach who likes to play positional warfare and emphasizes teamwork. Men are afraid of entering the wrong profession, women are afraid of marrying the wrong man, and rookies are afraid of being selected by a team that is not suitable for them. If David Robinson comes to a team like the Bulls, he will play more easily and happily, his shortcomings will be reduced, and his advantages will be magnified.

Seeing a big man like David Robinson slam dunk, Bulls fans were not surprised at all, because Meng Jin does this every night, and Meng Jin runs faster, jumps higher, and his dunks are more impactful.

Looking back, Meng Jin held the ball at the top of the arc and forced Willy Anderson to take on him, then he broke into the basket and made a layup to easily score two points.

The commentator said that the Spurs' defense is always a step behind. In fact, this is Larry Brown's tactic. His philosophy is that in a game of the NBA level, the opponent cannot be allowed to pass the ball comfortably. He even encourages his teammates to break through with the ball because he thinks there is still time to break through to the penalty area and then make up for the position.

Obviously, this theory doesn't work on Meng Jin. If you wait for Meng Jin to rush into the penalty area before making a save, it will basically be a waste.

Either it's a dunk or it's a foul.

"We should have been quicker in our help defense, or we could have tried to double-team him," Popovich whispered in Larry Brown's ear.

At this time, Popovich was just an assistant coach, standing like a minion. Unlike most famous basketball coaches, Popovich started from a very low point. He was originally just a head coach of the NCAA Division III league, and later became an assistant coach at the University of Kansas, but he was an unpaid one, and he had to take care of his own food, accommodation and transportation. It was basically a paid job. If it weren't for Larry Brown, he would never have been able to join the NBA coaching staff in his life, so Popovich had special respect for Larry Brown.

Larry Brown ignored him. It was impossible for him not to see what Popovich could see, but Larry Brown was an extremely stubborn person. He stuck to his guns and always insisted on what he thought was right.

Meng Jin was very grateful for Larry Brown's persistence. He scored 17 points in the first quarter. David Robinson only scored 4 points in the first quarter. The most impressive performance on the defensive end was being dunked by Meng Jin.

The duel between Meng Jin and David Robinson before the game was also one of the highlights. The two were rookies in the same class and both were tall players with outstanding running and jumping abilities. However, after the first quarter, there were mocking comments from all sides. Some people felt that if the draft was rearranged, David Robinson would definitely be after Meng Jin. They believed that David Robinson's offensive ability could not be compared with Meng Jin's, and his rim protection ability was exaggerated. However, Spurs head coach Larry Brown was very clear about the importance of David Robinson. If he were replaced by other inside players, Meng Jin's breakthrough success rate would be higher, and now he would score at least 20+ points.

The Bulls led 28-22 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Spurs had David Robinson and Willie Anderson play with three substitutes: Frank Brickowski, Vernon Maxwell and David Wingate.

The Spurs had a typical 8-man rotation lineup, which was Larry Brown's style. He generally preferred a 7-8-man rotation. Willie Anderson became the Spurs' main attacker. He made consecutive jump shots from the outside. The Bulls' substitutes also performed well. BJ Armstrong and Craig Hodges made two consecutive plays. Craig Hodges hit a three-pointer and a high-post jump shot.

The Bulls renewed Craig Hodges' contract this summer because they were impressed by his outside shooting. Players with shooting ability will be very popular in the Bulls' system, and the last thing they lack when playing alongside Meng Jin and Jordan is open space.

Jordan came on the court with 8 minutes left in the second quarter. He did not just take the ball and attack like he did in the previous games. After that conversation, Jordan sobered up a lot. He resumed his role as an outside commander, focusing on organizing and distributing the ball.

At the end of the first half, Jordan's stats were 10 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals, and Meng Jin scored 28 points and 5 rebounds. During the halftime break, Larry Brown was forced to adjust his defensive strategy. Based on his experience, he believed that the Bulls would let Meng Jin attack to the end of this game. In the third quarter, Larry Brown planned to strengthen the defense against Meng Jin. Larry Brown required that as soon as Meng Jin got the ball and broke through, the defensive players on the wing would immediately shrink back to prevent Meng Jin from entering the penalty area easily.

Meng Jin didn't take a single shot in the first four minutes of the third quarter. It wasn't because Larry Brown's defensive tactics were good, but because Meng Jin didn't want to attack at all. Bach's strategy was to let Meng Jin attack in the first quarter and Jordan attack in the third quarter.

Jordan scored 7 points in a row at the beginning, catching the Spurs off guard. In this quarter, Jordan scored 20 points alone. This offensive strategy made Larry Brown unpredictable.

Less than four minutes into the fourth quarter, the game had already turned into garbage time.

Meng Jin hit a high rebound before leaving the court, and his personal score rose to 40 points. Jordan also scored 36 points tonight.

Jordan and Meng Jin both scored high points without any conflict. Bach was very satisfied with his strategy. Phil Jackson on the side almost vomited blood when he saw this. He thought Collins' tactics were extreme before, but he didn't expect Bach's tactics were more extreme than his. He directly took out two quarters of time for the two stars to play one-on-one.

Phil Jackson even felt that Bach's tactics betrayed the true meaning of basketball, and he began to worry whether these two guys would still be able to accept the triangle offense if he coached next season.

Phil Jackson walked up to Bach and asked, "Johnny, you don't want to play like this for the next game, do you?"

Bach showed a confident smile and said, "If we can keep winning."

Phil Jackson said: "This will tire out Meng and Michael. The regular season should not make their stars so tired. The playoffs are the place to fight hard."

Who knew Bach said something that left Phil Jackson speechless. Bach said: "Tired? Isn't it good to be a little tired? If they are a little tired, they won't think about making trouble all day long."

The final score of the game was 105 to 119, the Bulls won the home victory, and Bach also won his first victory since taking office.

Bach hugged and shook hands with every player with a relaxed look on his face. Compared with Collins, Bach was much calmer. He sat on a chair most of the time, while Collins could not sit still for a second throughout the game. He even worked harder than the players on the court. After a game, his whole body was wet as if he had been in a rainstorm.

After winning the game, Meng Jin accepted interviews from reporters in the locker room with a comfortable look on his face.

When asked by reporters what he thought of David Robinson's performance tonight, Meng Jin acted like a big shot, put his hands on the back of his chair and said, "How many points did he score tonight? 14 points, 16 points?"

"It's 15 points and 12 rebounds," said the reporter.

Meng Jin pretended to be surprised after hearing this: "Wow, a double-double, for a rookie, this is already pretty good, I hope he can keep up the good work."

The reporters found it both funny and sad. He and David Robinson entered the NBA in the same year, and David Robinson was the No. 1 pick that year. Yet, now he is being commented on by Meng Jin in the tone of an older brother.

(End of this chapter)