NBA: Goat is actually me

Chapter 169 Untitled Chapter

The Bulls have won 14 of their last 12 games. The team is back on track after coach Bach took over, although some people disdain the Bulls' current style of play, especially some veteran coaches, who call Bach a disgrace to coaches.

The Bulls' new style of play has created a whirlwind. This style of play is simpler and more brutal than before, and it is difficult for other teams to replicate. Everyone knows the tactic of one-on-one play, but other teams do not have two super one-on-one masters like Meng Jin and Jordan at the same time.

Those veteran coaches believe that basketball is a team game, and the coach is the most important link in the team. The coach leads the team to victory by arranging the lineup and plays the role of a commander. But now the Bulls' Bach plays a role similar to that of an observer. Most of the time, he hands the game directly to Meng Jin and Jordan.

In the past two seasons, many people have criticized Collins' coaching style. Bach is even more outrageous than Collins. He gives Meng Jin and Jordan even more freedom.

It is hard to imagine that this is the style of a 60-year-old man. Although Johnny Bach is old, his thoughts are not rigid. In fact, Bach is not bad at tactics. He is a mobile encyclopedia of basketball tactics, but he can also throw those tactics aside for victory. This is a manifestation of Bach's great wisdom.

Bach's wisdom is reflected in all aspects. In the recent training, he got a few curtains from somewhere and used them to separate the training hall from media reporters. Bach's explanation for this is that training will no longer be a show in the eyes of the public, it will become a part of us as a collective, and our players must reduce some contact with the outside world.

Bach tried his best to ensure that Meng Jin and Jordan were not disturbed by the outside world and let them focus on the court.

During team meetings, Bach often plays military images and war movies to prepare players for intense competition.

On January 1, when the Bulls played away against the 26ers, Johnny Bach took out a deck of cards before the game, then took out an Ace of Spades and asked, "Guys, do you know what this is?"

Jordan smiled and said, "Coach, if you want to play cards, I can play with you, but you have to wait until I get rid of those guys from the 76ers."

Bach flicked the Ace of Spades into Jordan's hand and asked, "Come on, Michael, answer my question and tell me what this is?"

"Ace of Spades," Jordan answered obediently.

"Who understands the military significance of the Ace of Spades?" Bach asked.

Bach asked again, no one spoke, but all the players' attention was drawn to it. They were all curious about what the Ace of Spades represented.

Bach began to explain: "During World War II, the Marines used this symbol to pay tribute to their fallen comrades."

"If I put the Ace of Spades next to an opponent's name on the tactical board, it means that whenever this player has the ball, you have to kill him."

Bach said as he drew an Ace of Spades next to Buckley's name.

Bach tapped the tactical board twice with a pen and said, "We must not only get rid of Barkley, but also the entire 76ers!"

The Bulls were in high spirits. They still remembered how they suffered a crushing defeat to the 76ers in the Christmas game. Although that period was the most serious time for the Bulls' internal strife, real men never make excuses.

In the player tunnel, Meng Jin patted Grant on the back and said, "I'll help you protect the defensive rebounds tonight."

Although Grant didn't say it, Meng Jin knew he was under a lot of pressure tonight as the 76ers had a top rebounding combination of Barkley and Rick Mahorn.

Rick Mahorn was considered an unprotected player in the 1989 expansion draft, as teams were only allowed to keep eight to 8 players. After he was picked by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Pistons general manager Jack McCloskey tried to trade him back to no avail.

However, Mahorn did not play a game for the Timberwolves. He was then traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. Barkley was very satisfied with the deal. Although Rick Mahorn was already 32 years old, Barkley felt that he was a rare tough guy and fully trusted his abilities.

Before the game started, the DJ on site introduced to the fans a special friend who came tonight - Joe Bryant.

Many fans applauded Joe Bryant. Joe Bryant is a native Philadelphian and played for the Philadelphia 76ers for four years. He reached the finals with the team in the 1976-1977 season. The fans still have a lot of affection for him.

Joe Bryant brought his son Kobe to watch the game today, but Joe was a little embarrassed because his son supported the Bulls instead of the 76ers. The night before, Kobe naively asked his father if he could wear a Bulls jersey into the stadium.
Just when Kobe was struggling over whether to wear Meng Jin's jersey or Jordan's jersey, his father Joe Bryant directly threw him a jersey from his 76ers days: "Hey! Kobe, you can only wear this for tomorrow's game."

Normally Kobe can wear whatever he wants, but in the 76ers' home court, Joe wouldn't allow him to wear the opponent's jersey. Kobe listened to his father but not everything. He wore a 76ers jersey on the outside and two Bulls jerseys inside, one No. 1 jersey of Meng Jin and one No. 23 jersey of Jordan. Kobe wanted to ask the two for their autographs after the game.

The starting lineups of both sides are announced.

Chicago Bulls: John Paxson, Jordan, Meng Jin, Grant, Cartwright.

Philadelphia 76ers: John Dawkins, Jose Hawkins, Barkley, Rick Mahorn, Mike Gominski.

The 76ers' starting lineup is much more complete than that of the previous two seasons. The new point guard John Dawkins' organizational ability is no worse than Cheeks, and his scoring ability is even better than Cheeks. Rick Mahorn can guarantee the team's rebounds, Gominsky can provide a certain amount of firepower in the interior, and the second-year rookie Jose Hawkins is growing very fast. He now averages nearly 20 points per game and is already Barkley's best helper. Barkley also has the offensive ability.

Halfway through the season, many experts predicted that the 76ers would do well this season, at least making it to the second round of the playoffs, and even having a chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Meng Jin entered the game state in the first round. Cartwright won the jump ball and the ball flew into Meng Jin's hands.

After Meng Jin dribbled across half court, he passed the ball to Paxson. Jordan pulled to the weak side and the game started for Meng Jin.

After passing the ball, Meng Jin ran to the left elbow area to ask for the ball, and John Paxson immediately passed the ball to him.

Barkley elbowed Meng Jin from behind. Tonight he planned to face Meng Jin on both offense and defense. All the stars of this era are like this. They don't like mismatches and like to hit the opponent's hardest point.

If Barkley used the pick-and-roll to play against Paxson, it would be easier for him to score, but he couldn't get over it in his mind. He would feel that this was not what basketball was supposed to be about and that it was an escape.

"boom!"

"boom!"

The two of them were full of passion right from the start!
Meng Jin pushed twice but failed to move Barkley.

Barkley is not only heavy, but also has a very stable lower body.

Meng Jin did not choose to head the third time. He received the ball cleanly and then took a step sideways.

Barkley flew over to block the bullet hole, but after jumping he found that everything he did was in vain, because Meng Jin not only jumped high, but also leaned back a little.

"Shh!"

After the two-point shot, Barkley was not upset. This ball had nothing to do with his defense. It was just that Meng Jin was too shameless.

"No coordination, no team awareness, and poor shot choices," Ramsey said in the commentary booth, shaking his head.

"Charles, you have to send someone else to defend me!" The moment the ball went in, Meng Jin's trash talk also came, the two were almost synchronized.

Philadelphia 76ers live commentator Steve Meeks said: "What a flying! A very difficult shot. Charles did not lose his position. He defended very well. Meng will not always score such a goal."

Another commentator, Ramsey, then said: "Do you really think that the action just now is what a player of his height should do? He could obviously use his height to shoot inside, but he made such a bad shot choice. Although the ball went in, I don't agree."

It's not the first day that Ramsey has disliked Meng Jin. Most of the veteran players and coaches dislike Meng Jin. Even though Meng Jin won the FMVP last season, it still can't change their views. It will be a long process to convince them because it is a process of changing their perceptions. In the eyes of those old guys, big guys should fight in the interior, and Meng Jin is an outlier.

In the Philadelphia 76ers' offensive round, Barkley first set a screen for Jose Hawkins, then ran to the edge of the penalty area without the ball.

Before Barkley could reach out for the ball, John Dawkins had already hit the ground ball in.

Although they have only been teammates for half a season, John Dawkins has already figured out Barkley's temper and style of doing things. His mind must be full of how to get back at Meng Jin.

Barkley took the ball with his back to the basket, and without any unnecessary movements, he arched his butt, pushed Meng Jin away, and then quickly half-turned and dunked with one arm.

Grant came over immediately, but he still watched for a while and became Barkley's background.

Meng Jin had no space to defend this ball. The moment Barkley pushed Meng Jin away, he turned around and jumped. His timing was just right.

This year, Barkley had the highest shooting percentage in his career, with a shooting percentage of 60%. Whether in terms of technology, physical fitness or psychological maturity, he has reached the peak of his career.

It's not so easy to restrict players like this.

"Meng! You have to double-team me!"

Barkley responded to Meng Jin's trash talk. After a fierce offensive and defensive round, Meng Jin felt his blood boiling. Strong confrontation can easily activate the players' bodies and allow them to enter the game state faster.

"Look! This is a good player! A good player must use his physical advantages."

As soon as 76ers commentator Ramsey finished speaking, Meng Jin scored another goal, using Ramsey's most shameful way.

A big guy swayed left and right at the top of the arc, then suddenly jumped up and shot!

Charles Barkley wanted to use his hips to launch an attack again. He had trained with Meng Jin many times and knew that Meng Jin had no way to deal with this trick. Not only Meng Jin, but basically no one in the league could do anything about this trick.

Barkley still used a minimalist offensive style, just pushing his butt up after getting the ball and then turning around.

But this time Barkley was blocked, and Meng Jin did not confront him head-on. He first retreated a small step, not giving Barkley a chance to confront, and then slapped the ball away when Barkley turned around and jumped.

Meng Jin knew very well that it would be difficult to jump up after confronting Barkley, so he simply retreated to advance.

Barkley is very mobile. After landing, he immediately fought for the ball. After getting the ball, Barkley was a little excited and took a big step and jumped into the paint area against Meng Jin.

Barkley first faked a shot!
Meng Jin was not fooled.

Barkley immediately made his first fake shot.

Meng Jin still didn't jump.

Meng Jin had already taken a favorable defensive position. As long as Barkley didn't jump, he would raise his hands high and press in front of him in an extremely aggressive posture.

Seeing that he failed to shake Meng Jin off after two attempts, Barkley decided not to play tricks and went for it with the third attempt.

Barkley's jumping ability is great, but Meng Jin's is even better, and he also has the advantages of height and wingspan. It is very difficult to get the ball over Meng Jin's five fingers in this non-confrontational situation.

Meng Jin fanned the ball away again, and this time the basketball flew very far, directly outside the three-point line.

John Paxson took the ball and counterattacked, and Michael Jordan received the ball and slammed it with one arm, which was a very cool move.

However, everyone's attention was on Meng Jin, and even the broadcast camera was given to Meng Jin.

After completing two consecutive blocks, Meng Jin rushed to the baseline and shook his fingers in front of the camera in a very arrogant manner.

The Philadelphia coaching staff complained that Meng Jin made a provocative gesture, but the referee ignored it because Meng Jin was shaking his finger at the camera, not at Barkley or any other Philadelphia 76ers player.

Meng Jin's [Golden Finger] skill was triggered, and the morale of the Bulls team was boosted!

When the Philadelphia 76ers served the ball from the baseline, they discovered that the Bulls were actually playing a full-court press in this round!
Jordan and John Paxson pressed the 76ers' guards in the backcourt, while Meng Jin was waiting for an opportunity near the center circle!

The Bulls' defensive intensity increased without any warning, and even an experienced veteran like Rick Mahorn almost failed to pass the ball.

Rick Mahorn did not pass the ball to the team's point guard John Dawkins, who was pressed too tightly by Jordan and looked difficult to catch.

Rick Mahorn passed the ball to Barkley in the center circle, which fell into the Bulls' trap. The Bulls' full-court pressing strategy was for Jordan and John Paxson to disrupt the opponent's server's vision in the backcourt, and then Meng Jin acted as a free man, ready to intercept the defender's pass at any time.

Meng Jin sprinted and knocked the basketball out of Barkley's hand.

After stealing the ball, Meng Jin passed the ball forward and then sprinted forward himself.

The Bulls launched a counterattack after stealing the ball on the spot. Barkley lost his balance and fell to the ground after being intercepted, and the Bulls were in a situation of having more players against fewer players in the frontcourt.

John Paxson threw the ball into the air, and Rick Mahorn took a step back consciously after seeing Meng Jin rushing up. After so many games between the Pistons and Meng Jin, he realized a reality, that is, Meng Jin's physical talent is at least one level ahead of everyone in the league.

Seeing that there was no one in front of him, Meng Jin started playing directly. After grabbing the ball in the air, he swung it in a windmill.

This big windmill is rounder than the full moon on the 15th day of the lunar month.

It can be called the state of great perfection!
(End of this chapter)