NBA: Goat is actually me

Chapter 180: Poor Miller

"3 to 0."

Before the first round of the series started, Meng Jin made his predictions for the first round in front of the media.

The Chicago Bulls' first-round opponent is the Indiana Pacers. If other players said this before the game, fans would think that the player was a show-off, but if this came from Meng Jin's mouth, the fans' first reaction would be "Oh! He just told the truth."

That's right, Meng Jin was just telling the truth. The Bulls are ranked first in the Eastern Conference and the Pacers are ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference. The two teams are a level apart in terms of hard power. If Meng Jin said before the game that the opponent is very strong and the Bulls will face a tough battle, that would be hypocritical and pretentious.

Meng Jin's confidence comes not only from the team's record, but also from his personal ability. This season is the season in which Meng Jin has made the greatest progress in all attributes.

After the season ended, Meng Jin's progress of [Revolt] reached 70%. The system rewarded Meng Jin with 3 unlimited attribute points and 3 unlimited potential points. With the points added throughout the season, Meng Jin's current personal attributes are as follows:
【Name: Meng Jin】

【Date of Birth: 1967.12.12】

【Height: 213CM】

[Weight: 113 kg]

【Arm span: 228CM】

Layups: 90 (90)

Close shots: 82 (83)

CPG: 92 (93)

Long shots: 39 (39)

Speed: 94 (99)

Strength: 93 (99)

Post-up: 70 (71)

Positions: 65 (65)

Coordination: 89 (99)

Steals: 81 (82)

Rebounds: 88 (89)

Bounce: 94 (99)

Passes: 60 (62)

Possession: 90 (90)

Blocked shots: 93 (93)

Physical Fitness: 94 (95)

Star skills: [Boxing champion reborn], [Basic ball control], [Ten sprays per second], [Aerial interception (intermediate)], [Meng Jinbu (advanced)], [Heart of steel], [Strange hand thief (intermediate)], [Pull-up jump shot (intermediate)], [Injury immunity (passive)], [Fade-away jump shot (primary), [Golden finger], [Confusing change of direction (intermediate)], [Left-right balance]

Meng Jin has become a bug-like existence in the league this season. What's more terrifying is that he still has room for improvement, and it's not small.

The outside world's opinion is similar to what Meng Jin said in the pre-match interview, but there are also a small number of people who think that the Pacers will win the next one or even two games. Their basis is that the Pacers beat the Bulls during the regular season.

This statement seems to be reasonable, but the person who said it obviously overlooked one point, that is, a championship-level team like the Bulls is two different teams in the regular season and the playoffs, and players of the level of Meng Jin and Jordan will also use two different competitive styles.

Reggie Miller is ready to go. This is his first playoff game since he entered the NBA, and his opponents are Meng Jin and Jordan. It is hard not to be excited. Reggie Miller is born for the big stage. The bigger the scene and the more spectators, the hotter his blood will be.

Bach specifically circled Reggie Miller before the game, then tapped a few times on the tactical board with a marker and said, "This is a dangerous guy."

The main reason why the Bulls lost to the Pacers in the regular season was because of Reggie Miller's extraordinary performance.

Jordan didn't wait for Bach's words to fall. He immediately said, "Coach, leave this guy to me."

"Michael, are you sure? This guy can run very fast. If you feel you need help, tell me anytime. I will let Meng or other players switch defense with you."

"No need. I will lock him down tonight. I will make him forget what it feels like to put the basketball into the basket." Looking at Jordan gritting his teeth, Coach Bach nodded with satisfaction. He said that on purpose to motivate Jordan and make him defend Reggie Miller with all his strength.

Coach Bach feels that Jordan is the most suitable player on the Bulls to defend Reggie Miller. He and Reggie Miller are of similar height. Although Meng Jin has a larger defensive coverage area, he is not suitable for defending long-distance runners like Reggie Miller.

During the warm-up phase, Reggie Miller did not talk to Meng Jin as usual. He was practicing shooting by himself with a stern face. It was not until the players from both sides high-fived before the game started that Meng Jin found the opportunity to talk to Reggie Miller.

"Why so serious, Reggie?"

"Have you ever seen a killer who wasn't serious?" Reggie Miller said.

Meng Jin laughed and said, "Reggie, there are no reporters here, so there's no need to say such pretentious things."

Reggie Miller ignored Meng Jin. He knew that Meng Jin was good at psychological warfare. Reggie Miller closed his eyes and muttered a few words that Meng Jin could not understand.

This is Reggie Miller's way of calming down. He wants to play without any distractions tonight. A whistle blows, and the game begins!
Cartwright jumped to win the ball for the team.

At the end of the season, Cartwright encountered some injury troubles, but fortunately he returned before the start of the playoffs. All the glory of the Bulls was focused on the two core players on the outside. Many people ignored Cartwright's contribution. Cartwright's greater contribution came from the defensive end. Many fans could not see this, but the Bulls were very clear about his importance. If Cartwright was not there, basically any team could beat the Bulls inside, and the situation would return to Meng Jin's rookie season. Jordan and Meng Jin not only had to score but also maintain high efficiency, because the closer to the basket, the higher the hit rate. When the Bulls' inside line was weak, all teams would pick on their weak spot and attack.

John Paxson passed the ball to Meng Jin after crossing half court, who dribbled the ball under his crotch and then passed it to Jordan.

Jordan did not choose to attack by himself. The game had just started and his body was not yet activated. Jordan went inside, Cartwright took the ball and fought, then took one step and shot a left-handed hook shot.

This ball was a bit unlucky, the basketball spun on the rim and rolled out again.

"Shet!"

Cartwright cursed while grabbing the ball, but this was the Pacers' restricted area after all. Cartwright was outnumbered and knocked the ball out of bounds when he grabbed the rebound.

The Bulls' first attack ended abruptly, the ball possession was changed, and the Pacers attacked.

Fleming ran a pick-and-roll with Schrempf at the top of the key, and Reggie Miller started running along the baseline with Jordan stuck to his back like a plaster.

Reggie Miller looked back and didn't feel anything was wrong. At this moment he didn't realize what he was about to face next.

Fleming went to the left after the pick-and-roll and went to the baseline. Schrempf pulled to the free throw line. Schmitz was in the bottom corner. Chuck Person was in the elbow area of ​​the right free throw line. Reggie Miller played run-and-catch with River Jordan.

Fleming decisively chose to do it himself, dribbled to the baseline, turned around, and then hooked with his right hand, a move that was a bit like a combination of a hook shot and a floater. The basketball went into the net. The Indiana Pacers took the lead and scored two points. The Bulls quickly started from the baseline, and there was no chance for a fast break, so they continued to retreat.

Meng Jin grabbed the ball with one hand outside the three-point line, and Chuck Person lowered his center of gravity and held Meng Jin's waist with his hand.

Chuck Person was originally shorter than Meng Jin. Once his center of gravity lowered, he became a dwarf and looked up at Meng Jin. However, he was not panicked because Meng Jin did not have the ability to shoot three-pointers, so he did not need to worry about Meng Jin's shot from this position.

Meng Jin held the ball in his left hand and directed his teammates to move to the other side with his right hand. Chuck Person immediately focused his attention on Meng Jin's left side, which was a precursor to moving to the left side.

Sure enough! The next second, Meng Jin passed the ball and broke through on the left.

Chuck Person had predicted it in advance, but still failed to defend Meng Jin's first step. Meng Jin's explosive power was too strong and his steps were too big. Unless the defensive player could get in front of him and use his body to block him, it would be difficult to block him.

Meng Jin rushed forward with the ball in his left hand, and Chuck Person chased him closely. It seemed like he was trying very hard, but it was actually useless because Meng Jin had already got a favorable position. [Left-Right Balance] is a magical skill. It not only improves Meng Jin's left-handed finishing, but also improves Meng Jin's left-handed ball sense, which indirectly improves the speed of Meng Jin's left-handed breakthrough. Schrempf came to defend and prepare to block the shot, but Meng Jin's bounce speed was too fast, and the rhythm of his jump was also unpredictable for Schrempf. As soon as Schrempf squatted, Meng Jin was already in the air.

Seeing this, Schrempf consciously interrupted his next move. If he jumped again at this time, he would be trying to dunk.

"Bang!" Meng Jin scored the first goal by force without any reason.

This dunk not only made the fans excited, but also excited Reggie Miller. Reggie Miller has the mentality of getting stronger when facing a stronger opponent. When he saw Meng Jin start his personal performance so quickly, he couldn't suppress his inner restlessness.

Reggie Miller began his art of running after reaching the offensive half.

Left half circle.

Right half circle.

Then suddenly accelerate!
Then brake!

Counter run!

After the whole process, Jordan was still closely behind Reggie Miller.

Reggie Miller couldn't even catch the ball, let alone shoot.

Michael Jordan made a pledge before the game. He promised Coach Bach that he would lock down Reggie Miller tonight. Although Jordan has many bad habits, breaking his promise is obviously not one of them, especially on the court.

Just like that, Reggie Miller ran around frantically in the first four offenses but didn't even touch the ball.

In the fifth offensive round, Jordan's defense began to escalate. He pulled and tugged Reggie Miller, almost causing him to fall. In fact, it was Reggie Miller who started the violence first. He gave Jordan an elbow secretly while running.

Reggie Miller didn't even touch the ball for several consecutive rounds and started to get a little anxious.

Jordan's pulling and shoving was just a response to Reggie Miller.

The referee blew the whistle and Jordan's action was very obvious.

Jordan did it on purpose. He just wanted to give this young boy a tough time. Jordan didn't expect that this would make Reggie Miller even more excited.

Reggie Miller looked at Jordan's murderous eyes and had only one thought in his mind: So excited, I love it so much!
Reggie Miller is a player who desires and enjoys competition. He has the mentality of a superstar but not the body of a superstar, which prevents him from playing in the same way as Meng Jin or Jordan.

Two rounds later, Reggie Miller finally completed his first shot of the game. After setting a screen and going around the top of the arc, Reggie Miller received the ball and took a long two-point shot.

There was no hesitation in this shot, and he didn't even look at Jordan's position. He just shot it when he felt it was right. It's an animal instinct.

"Shh!"

After making the two-point shot, Reggie Miller celebrated by punching Jordan unscrupulously, which led to him facing even more suffocating defense from Jordan in the next few minutes.

Jordan took four shots in the first half of the quarter and none in the second half. He used all his energy to teach Reggie Miller that some people should not be messed with.

Reggie Miller only scored one point in the first quarter, which was a bit embarrassing.

Meng Jin scored 18 points for the Bulls, which was enough to make up for Jordan's lack of firepower on the offensive end.

In the second quarter, Reggie Miller came up and made another mid-range shot.

This time he did not provoke Jordan, but he obviously underestimated the extent of Jordan's vengeance. Jordan continued to guard Reggie Miller tightly until the end of the game.

The Bulls defeated the Pacers 107-91 in Game .

Reggie Miller only took 8 shots in the game and scored 10 points. He was locked down, which directly led to the Pacers' lack of firepower. However, no one blamed Reggie Miller because he was not the worst outside player of the Pacers in this game. Chuck Person only scored 10 points under Meng Jin's defense, and Fleming defended himself, making 9 of 2 shots and only getting 7 points.

If it weren't for the Pacers' two inside players performing well today, with Schrempf and Schmitz scoring 26 and 23 points respectively, the game would probably have entered garbage time before the fourth quarter even started.

Jordan focused his main energy on the defensive end tonight, and he paid the price for it. He only scored 22 points tonight, which was not a good score for him.

Meng Jin scored 43 points and Grant scored 20 points. The stable performance of his teammates allowed Jordan to not worry about the offensive end.

Jordan returned to the locker room and looked at the statistics sheet and cursed: "Damn, that guy still got double-digit points!"

Reggie Miller was almost broken by the defense tonight, but Jordan was still very dissatisfied. That's how perfectionists are.

The second game will start on April 4, two days later.

At the beginning of the game, the Bulls scored an 11-2 climax and directly stopped the Pacers, taking the lead.

In the first round after the timeout, the Pacers made a shot through cooperation by Fleming. Before the Pacers had time to breathe a sigh of relief, Meng Jin immediately gave them a wake-up call.

Meng Jin broke through with the ball in a positional battle. Facing three people's pursuit and interception, Meng Jin jumped from the baseline, made a big pull-up shot in the air, and then dunked it with a backhand.

Meng Jin completed this move very easily. It was not until he landed and saw all the spectators’ mouths wide open that he realized that he had completed another inhuman dunk.

This dunk almost made Reggie Miller cry. He thought to himself that if he had this physical talent, he would not be bullied by the weak guy on the opposite side.

In the post-match interview, the reporter asked Meng Jin how he made the gliding pull-up backhand dunk. Meng Jin said calmly: "Actually, I wanted to pull up, but after pulling up, I found that my head was still on the basket, so I dunked it by the way. After all, the dunk has a higher success rate than the layup."

This game was won even easier than Meng Jin's dunk. The Pacers still couldn't find their form from the outside and lost by 26 points.

Reggie Miller scored 12 points, Person scored 15 points, and Fleming scored 19 points. None of the outside players scored more than 20 points, and the inside players failed to continue their heroic performance in the previous game. The big loss was reasonable.

In this game, Jordan did not forget his original intention and continued to run a marathon with Reggie Miller. Meng Jin played steadily and scored 40+ again.

(End of this chapter)