NBA: Goat is actually me

Chapter 182: One Quarter Destroys the Confidence Built in a Series

The Celtics were eliminated in the first round, and the usually arrogant Green Army fans suddenly fell silent.

Before this, the slogan shouted by Celtics fans was revenge on the Bulls and regaining the championship. In the end, they were eliminated without even seeing the Bulls. This was very ironic, and Celtics fans naturally didn't have the face to shout anymore.

Previously, the outside world unanimously viewed the Knicks as weaklings, but their reputation reversed after they beat the Celtics.

In the eyes of fans and media, this Celtics team is still the championship team. With the huge market bonus of New York, people were promoting everywhere in the next few days that this Knicks team should not be underestimated.

But this couldn't scare Meng Jin. He knew that the Knicks didn't get much stronger, but the Celtics had deteriorated too seriously. Although Larry Bird was still able to average 24 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists per game in the series, his speed on the court had obviously slowed down a lot after his serious injury, and the curse of sadness had been bothering him. Larry Bird had to play in severe pain in every game. Although Bird used his perseverance to hold on in every game and not let others see it, the pain did have a great impact on him.

Robert Parish is also old, and he was completely defeated by Ewing on both offense and defense in this round of playoffs.

Dennis Johnson's condition has fallen to the bottom. He announced his retirement the day after losing this round of playoffs.

However, he is already 36 years old this year, which is definitely considered old in this era. Dennis Johnson's career is also very successful. As a second-round pick, he has won championships, made the All-Star team, made the All-NBA First Team, made the All-Defensive First Team, and won the Finals MVP. He is also the 36th player in NBA history with a total score of more than 2 points and more than 11 assists. He definitely deserves the title of legend.

The outside world is praising the Knicks because they have too deep a filter for the Celtics. Phil Jackson repeatedly emphasized to the players in training over the next few days: Don't be fooled by what the media says. The Knicks are still the same Knicks. They haven't evolved as a team just because they have reached the playoffs.

Now Phil Jackson's role in the team is a psychological counselor, and he seems to have gradually accepted this position. He is good at this and has this expertise.

The outside news did not affect the Bulls, but deceived the Knicks.

The Knicks lost themselves in the media's praise and started a fierce battle with the Bulls in the first game of the series.

The Knicks came out to attack with great momentum.

After winning the jump ball, Ewing immediately positioned himself inside to ask for the ball. He felt that he had completed an overall evolution this season and had become incredibly strong.

It is true that an athlete's self-confidence needs to be nourished by victory. After defeating the Celtics, Patrick Ewing's confidence reached the peak of his career.

Meng Jin understands this feeling, he has had the same experience. In Meng Jin's rookie season, the Bulls defeated the Celtics despite everyone being pessimistic about them. That series victory gave Meng Jin a great confidence boost.

It was at that time that Meng Jin experienced his first psychological transformation after entering the NBA. Ewing now feels a bit like Meng Jin back then.

The Knicks coaching staff's opening tactics were simple. They planned to let Ewing play one-on-one. As long as Ewing opened up, other players would have more opportunities and the entire team would be activated.

Ewing can deal with Cartwright the same way he dealt with Robert Parish. In the past two years, Cartwright could still compete with Ewing, but this season he is 33 years old, and his confrontation and athletic abilities have declined a lot, while Ewing is thriving. One is on the rise while the other is on the decline, and the gap between the two is very obvious.

Cartwright knew how important this point was. If he was exploded too thoroughly, the Bulls would be in a passive position. Cartwright took the initiative to issue a military order before the game. He said that he would do his best to stop Ewing in this series.

His teammates all believe in Cartwright's determination. He is not the kind of person who makes promises casually, but he is no longer the Ewing of a year ago. In the last round of the playoffs, he averaged 31.4 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. It is definitely not possible to limit an inside player of Ewing's level by relying on Cartwright alone.

Meng Jin and Jordan later stated in the locker room that they would help Cartwright with defense.

The two men's words gave Cartwright a sense of security.

The view returns to the court. The moment Ewing got the ball, Jordan had already moved to his side, exuding a strong sense of oppression!

Jordan didn't wait for Ewing to catch the ball and then double-team him, which would have been too slow. Instead, he started while the ball was in the air.

Ewing made a half turn and tried to pass the ball to the other side.

Ewing was completely focused on Jordan and ignored Meng Jin on the other side. This caused Ewing to be startled when he turned around, because Meng Jin's face appeared in front of him. He should be thankful that his anus was tight enough. Ewing didn't even make a pass before the ball was snatched away by Meng Jin. Meng Jin used a method that was almost like a robber to rob the ball from Ewing's hands when he was frightened!

Three people surrounded!

In the pre-match interview, Ewing arrogantly stated that the Bulls must take him seriously in this series. He just wanted to show off and didn't let the Bulls take it for real!

Meng Jin stole the ball and turned around, Gerard Wilkins rushed up immediately. The timing of his attack was perfect, leaving Meng Jin almost no time to react.

Meng Jin pushed the ball back and completed a behind-the-back dribble in an extremely extreme way.

The commentator Johnny Cole exclaimed: "Incredible! Beautiful pass, this is a subconscious move!"

From the audience's perspective, Meng Jin's action was indeed a subconscious action, but for Meng Jin it was not a subconscious action, he reacted well, the skill [Boxing Champion Reborn] can not only fight, but also improve Meng Jin's reaction ability on the court. Meng Jin's current [90] ball control score allows him to control the basketball at will.

Maurice Cheeks also rushed over from the top of the arc. He moved from the Spurs to the Knicks in the middle of the season. After arriving at the Knicks, he quickly secured the position of main point guard, pushing the previous main point guard Mark Jackson to the bench.

In the last round, Cheeks played 40.8 minutes per game, while Mark Jackson played only 9 minutes per game, which made him not want to play. You know, Mark Jackson was an All-Star in the 88-89 season. It is unacceptable for a young All-Star player to become a water dispenser manager after only one season.

At first, many Knicks fans questioned Stu Jackson's use of this player. After all, Cheeks is a veteran who is already in the twilight of his career, while Mark Jackson is a rising star. However, after the Knicks defeated the Celtics in the first round, the doubts disappeared.

In competitive sports, winning is everything. As long as Stu Jackson can win, no one will say anything if he puts security guards and cleaners in the starting lineup.

Cheeks made a gambling steal and dived towards Meng Jin. Meng Jin had Gerald Wilkins on his left and Ewing behind him. He had just dribbled behind his back and had no space to handle the ball.

Cheeks, an experienced veteran, saw this point. Generally, he rarely uses this kind of gambling steal, especially when the opponent is playing a defensive counterattack.

It is too risky to use such a steal when the opponent is counterattacking. Usually at this time, the defender is the team's last line of defense. If the ball is not intercepted, there will be no doubt that the opponent will be left with an open space.

Meng Jin was a very skilled and courageous person. He held the basketball firmly in his right hand like a suction cup, raised it high above his head, and then jumped on one foot and whizzed past Cheeks' head.

Cheeks never thought that Meng Jin would do this. The basket is in the other half of the court, brother!
Meng Jin certainly knew that the basketball was in the other half of the court. He was playing in the NBA, not shooting basketball. Meng Jin's jump from the backcourt was not to attack the basket directly. After a short pause in the air, he sent the ball diagonally forward. Grant rushed in at high speed, facing an empty backcourt. After taking the ball, Grant dribbled three times, and then ended the battle with a standard three-step dunk.

After landing, Grant pointed to Meng Jin who passed the ball to him to express his gratitude. Sometimes a mistake and a great pass are just a matter of a thought.

In the Knicks' second offensive round, Patrick Ewing was obviously much more cautious. He did not ask for the ball directly in the low post, but chose to play a pick-and-roll with Cheeks. After the pick-and-roll, Ewing decisively went down, and he wanted to use his direct mobility to attack the basket and score.

Cartwright did not choose to switch defense. He followed Ewing closely. Ewing reached out for the ball, but Cheeks did not pass it because it was too risky to pass it over.

Cheeks passed the ball to Gerald Wilkins in the corner, who appeared to be in a triple-threat posture but was actually waiting for Ewing to get into position.

Ewing positioned himself and reached out for the ball. As soon as Gerard Wilkins lobbed the ball in, Meng Jin's double-team came.

Ewing quickly passed the ball back to Gerald Wilkins, fearing that the ball would not be passed if it was delayed for another second. Meng Jin's robbery-like steal just now still left some psychological trauma to Ewing.

Gerald Wilkins hit a three-pointer from the corner.

In this round, Meng Jin retreated too deep and could only cause limited interference to Gerard Wilkins.

Although Gerald Wilkins made the shot, Meng Jin would not change his defensive strategy. If he wanted to double-team Ewing, he would inevitably give Gerald Wilkins some shooting space and opportunities. It was impossible to have both.

Gerald Wilkins averages 1.5 three-point shots per game and makes 0.5 of them. Meng Jin is not afraid of him shooting three-pointers because they can't kill people anyway.

The Bulls entered a positional battle. Meng Jin held the ball and faced Gerald Wilkins alone. All the players moved away. Meng Jin dribbled to the corner from the left and then made a mid-range shot.

The Knicks still let Ewing hold the ball in the interior. With him as a fulcrum, even if he didn't have a chance to shoot, he could pass the ball to his teammates to attack, just like in the last round.

Ewing turned around and shot from the right side with his back to the ball, but Meng Jin pushed the ball down from behind.

Ewing was very depressed. Why was Meng Jin still around tonight?

The Bulls had already studied Ewing's habits thoroughly. Ewing could not make a hook shot with his left hand. If he wanted to shoot after backing up on the right side, it must be a jump shot. Meng Jin rushed out from the blind spot before he jumped, and then completed a block very easily.

After getting the ball, Meng Jin immediately launched a counterattack.

Three Knicks players returned to the defensive half, Meng Jin was one against three in the frontcourt, and with a simple heavy charge he pushed Gerald Wilkins away, then took off and made a left-handed layup.

Ewing was not besieged in the next offensive round because he didn't have the ball at all. In the next few offensive rounds, he focused on supporting his teammates. Ewing wanted to slow down, and the Bulls' high-pressure defense at the beginning made him very uncomfortable.

Two minutes later, Ewing held the ball again and played one-on-one. After missing the shot, Ewing grabbed the frontcourt rebound. Just as he was about to jump for a second attack, Jordan appeared behind him as if by magic, and then stretched out his little hand and directly completed the steal.

Meng Jin has a keen sense of smell and runs to the frontcourt in advance. Jordan passes the ball to him, creating a one-on-one situation. Meng Jin starts with the ball in his hand and performs a towering dunk!

It’s not that Gerald Wilkins doesn’t want to defend, nor that he doesn’t dare to defend, it’s that he really can’t defend.

Ewing didn't score a single point in the first five minutes of the game, made two turnovers, and was blocked once. Meng Jin and Jordan almost targeted him like an amateur player.

A minute later, Ewing finally scored the first point of the game.

Ewing caused Cartwright to foul when he shot and made one of two free throws.

With 3 and a half minutes left in the first quarter, Ewing scored the first positional goal of the game.

Ewing took the ball with his back to the basket, dribbled one step, then jumped sideways to create space, and made a layup the moment he landed.

This move is called the rabbit hop, which is actually a jumping method. It makes the original jumping step after dribbling the ball with the back to the basket become facing the basket, so that a face-to-face jump shot or a direct layup can be completed. Ewing has big steps and can dodge a large space with his jumping steps, which can be called a unique skill.

However, the biggest drawback of this move is that it is very damaging to the knees and it is too dependent on the feeling of the hand at the moment of the shot.

Targeting Ewing does not mean not letting him score any points or make any shots. It is impossible to completely prevent Ewing from scoring.

After scoring the goal, Ewing ran back to the defensive half, thinking that everything would slowly get better, until 10 seconds later, Meng Jin screened and shook off Gerald Wilkins, passed Oakley in one step, and then completed a dunk over his head.
Bulls commentator Johnny Cole once again made a classic quote: "Ewing put Meng Jin on the poster!"

In the first quarter, the Bulls led by 32 points 25-7.

尼克斯落后的不算多，但尤因被打的很惨，单节4中1只拿到3分2篮板1助攻但是有4个失误。

It can be said that the confidence that Patrick Ewing built up over a series was destroyed by the Bulls in just one quarter.

In the second quarter, Ewing began to change his playing style, increasing his mid-range and long-range shots, trying to avoid going to the basket as much as possible, and not holding the ball for more than three seconds. After holding the ball with his back to the basket, he would observe his teammates in advance and then pass the ball.

The Bulls' targeted defense made Ewing play with trepidation. Throughout the game, he only scored 15 points, less than half of his average points in the previous round.

With Ewing playing like this, it was naturally difficult for the Knicks to win. The Chicago Bulls won the first game by nearly 122 points with a score of 93 to 30.

The crushing defeat made the Knicks players sober up a lot. In the second game, they began to slow down the pace and focus on defense. The Knicks played better than in the previous game, but they still lost by 2 points in G18.

With a 2-0 lead, the Chicago Bulls headed to New York.

(End of this chapter)