NBA: Goat is actually me

Chapter 185 The End of the Demonic Bird Era
“This is a nightmare that New York never wants to relive.”

"I had a nightmare that night, and I'm sure I wasn't the only Knicks fan who had a nightmare."

"How I wish I hadn't come to this game."

"Meng is like a killer. When his bullet is loaded, someone must sacrifice their life."

Years later, Spike Lee still felt frightened when he talked about this game.

The next day, all sports media were talking about Meng Jin, discussing how he was the first foreign regular season MVP, his terrifying celebration, and how he broke Jordan's 63-point playoff scoring record. Meng Jin's photo appeared on the front pages of major media and became the focus of the entire United States.

In G3, Meng Jin scored 65 points without taking a single three-pointer. Many years later, fans considered this a miracle. In the post-game interview after Jordan scored 63 points against the Celtics in the playoffs, Larry Bird said that God was playing in No. 23 tonight. However, the Knicks players kept silent about Meng Jin's performance after the game. It's not that they are not magnanimous enough, but the situations are different.

Although Jordan scored 63 points that year, it was the Celtics who won the game, so Larry Bird could naturally praise his opponent generously. However, the Knicks were not only scored 65 points by Meng Jin, but the team was also slaughtered by the Bulls. It was difficult to praise the opponent in this situation.

The Knicks players couldn't praise Meng Jin enough, but the fans praised him to the sky. In just one day, many fans called Meng Jin "Yellow Jesus".

The story originated from the chat between commentator Heinsohn and Hubie Brown after the game. Hubie Brown asked Heinsohn about his evaluation of Meng Jin's game. It is well known that Heinsohn is a fan of Meng Jin. He would not miss this opportunity to praise Meng Jin. He cleared his throat and said, "When Michael Jordan scored 63 points, Larry Bird said that God put on his jersey. Tonight Meng Jin scored 65 points and led the team to victory. If I don't say that God has come again, wouldn't it be a bit unreasonable?"

Hubie Brown laughed and said, "Yes, God once again wore a Bulls jersey, but this time he wore No. 23 instead of No. 1."

But what really made the nickname "Yellow Jesus" spread was Meng Jin's MVP speech.

After returning to Chicago, Meng Jin received David Stern's MVP trophy before the start of Game 5. Amid the screams of fans and the thunderous shouts of "MVP", Meng Jin gave a speech.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone who supports me. The regular season MVP trophy means a lot to me. This is an honor that every NBA player aspires to win."

Meng Jin paused and raised the trophy: "I did it."

Meng Jin had just said one sentence when thunderous applause broke out from the venue. All the home fans stood up and pushed the atmosphere to its peak with screams and cheers.

After the noise died down a bit, Meng Jin spoke again: "Thank you very much. I want to thank everyone here again, thank you to my parents, thank you to the team management, coaching staff, trainers, team doctors and all the staff, and thank you to the fans who have always supported me. Three years ago, when I first stepped into the NBA court, many people thought that I was inexperienced because I was only a freshman. Many people thought that I was a foreigner and couldn't play in the NBA. Many people thought that my playing style was non-mainstream. In short, everyone in the outside world was sending me a signal. They wanted to tell me that I was not good enough and I should get out as soon as possible. But I never took these words seriously. I set a goal for myself on the first day I entered the league, and that was the regular season MVP."

"Yes, you heard it right. When I was a substitute, I was eager to hold up this trophy that represents the highest individual honor in the league. This has always been my motivation to move forward. I want to tell everyone that the bigger your ambition is, the bigger the stage you will have."

"Since the first day I stepped into the United States, people have been telling me that yellow people can't play basketball well. Everyone seems to think this is a fact and truth, but today I proved to everyone that yellow people can not only play basketball well, but also play it the best."

“Because basketball is orange.”

When Meng Jin was speaking, David Stern was watching with admiration. He felt that what Meng Jin had done in recent years was beyond his expectations. David Stern just wanted to lay a solid foundation in the Asian market through Meng Jin, but he didn't expect Meng Jin to almost become the number one player in the league.

It is no exaggeration to say that if Meng Jin retires now, he can enter the Hall of Fame. He has a regular season MVP, a Finals MVP, two All-NBA First Teams, an All-Defensive First Team, plus some small honors here and there. If any player can achieve what Meng Jin has achieved in these three seasons in his lifetime, he will definitely be a figure left in the long history of the NBA.

Basketball is orange. This sentence instantly became popular across the United States. Countless white and black teenagers thought Meng Jin's speech and this sentence were cool. The title "Yellow Jesus" also spread quickly. Meng Jin had many nicknames before, such as "The Answer" and "Rain Man", etc., but no nickname spread faster than this one. People thought this was the most appropriate nickname for Meng Jin.

Meng Jin's words have also become the Bible for yellow players.

Several years later, Yao Ming said to the media: "This sentence has always inspired me, and I believe it has always inspired all yellow players. Whenever I encounter setbacks on the basketball court and feel that I am about to give up, I will think of this sentence, basketball is orange. Of course, I think not only of this sentence, but also of the person who said it and the story behind him. In the early 90s, a foreign player won the NBA regular season MVP, a very important award. This seems incredible now. Brother Meng used his actions to tell all Chinese players, all yellow players, that I have even done such a difficult thing, what else do you have to be afraid of?"

Jeremy Lin: "When I first entered the league, I couldn't play basketball and even had to sleep on my teammates' couches. During those most difficult days, Meng Jin was the one who inspired me. I read his autobiography and his documentaries many times. I wrote his famous quote on the cover of my notebook. Yes, it was the quote that basketball is orange."

After the speech, Meng Jin saw that the atmosphere was so set. They had to win this game, so they tried their best from the beginning. The other Bulls players played excitedly, and Jordan played angrily. No matter what, the Bulls played with a momentum that the Knicks could not resist. The Bulls led by 10 points since the first quarter. The Knicks seemed to have a chance throughout the game but were actually dying a slow death. In the last game, Meng Jin destroyed the confidence of all the Knicks players. In this game, the Knicks even became timid about fouling. They were afraid of angering Meng Jin and causing another outburst.

121 to 101, the Bulls won Game 4 and eliminated the Knicks 1 to to advance to the next round.

孟进打出了一场全能表现，他全场拿到38分13篮板7盖帽5抢断5助攻。

The Bulls' opponents in the Eastern Conference Finals will be the Pistons and the 76ers. The Pistons are currently leading 3-1, and the fifth game between the two teams will start tomorrow. The media asked Meng Jin to predict the results of the two teams' games. Meng Jin said: "You know, Barkley is my brother. From an emotional level, I hope the 76ers advance, but from a rational level, the Pistons have a greater chance of winning, and much greater."

"Would you like the two sides to fight for 6 or 7 games? That way the Bulls will have more time to rest." asked the reporter.

"No, no matter how many games the Pistons take to advance, we will beat them in the Eastern Conference Finals, just like last year."

Many fans say that Meng Jin has been too crazy this year and starts to show off whenever he is interviewed by the media. In fact, Meng Jin doesn't want to show off anymore. He just speaks out some big truths.

Meng Jin's prediction was correct. The next day, the Detroit Pistons defeated the Philadelphia 99ers 89-76 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. Barkley received special care from the Pistons in this game. He only took 10 shots in the whole game. Even so, he still scored 17 points efficiently. However, for the Pistons, it doesn't matter whether Barkley is efficient or not. What is important is to limit his number of shots.

If Barkley doesn't shoot, his teammates will have to help him take the shots. No one on the 76ers can maintain such a terrifying shooting percentage as Barkley, so the 76ers' overall shooting percentage will inevitably decline, and it will be much easier for the Pistons to win.

Although the league's structure is that the East is strong and the West is weak, the strong teams in the East are also divided into levels, with the Bulls and Pistons in one tier and the other teams in the lower tier.

The Pistons caused a lot of trouble for the Bulls last season, and they are aiming for revenge this season. However, the Pistons' lineup is obviously much weaker than last season. Important defensive player Rick Mahorn left the team last season, and now the Pistons' inside player is 35-year-old veteran James Edwards.

In the regular season, he averaged 14.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Both his statistics and performance were average. In the playoffs, as the intensity of the competition increased, his statistics dropped to 13.5 points and 4 rebounds. The Bulls coaching staff unanimously agreed that Edwards was a breakthrough point. Once the Bulls got on with the pace, James Edwards would definitely not be able to keep up. Even in positional offense and defense, they could use Edwards' slow pace to make pick-and-roll jump shots.

James Edwards' substitute is John Salley, a pure blue-collar player who knows nothing about offense. As long as he is on the court, this guy will devote himself to the defense. He is good at face-to-face defense with both hands and feet stretched out, entangled with opponents like an octagonal spider.

The Pistons also know that the team's strength five position is a weakness, but they have not been able to find a suitable replacement throughout the season. There is no point in worrying about the players at this stage. Chuck Daly can only use mental magic to brainwash the team. Chuck Daly told his players that the Pistons are a team, while the Bulls are just two players with outstanding personal abilities and three ordinary guys. No matter what kind of five people they are, they cannot beat a team.

Most people predicted the two teams in the Eastern Conference Finals, but an upset occurred in the Western Conference. The second-ranked team in the Western Conference, the Lakers, were unexpectedly eliminated by the Jazz 2-4.

If we had to choose the most disappointing player in this series, it would be James Worthy.

James Worthy made only 19 of 5 shots in the first game, including two misses in the final crucial moments.

第二战詹姆斯-沃西21中12高效砍下27分5篮板，第三战詹姆斯-沃西再次拿到27分，就在湖人球迷觉得詹姆斯-沃西又回来的时候，这家伙又在G4拉了个大的。

詹姆斯-沃西全场21中5惨不忍睹，第五战詹姆斯-沃西19投再次只命中5个，并且还有5次失误。

In the life-and-death battle, James Worthy simply didn't dare to shoot in the first half. He played a little more normally in the second half with the encouragement of Pat Riley, but his shooting percentage was still not ideal.

James Worthy's performance in this series was undoubtedly disappointing. After Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retired, he was the Lakers' top inside player. But he played like this, forcing Magic Johnson to score 45 points in a row in the last two games. You know, Magic rarely shoots like this. There was really no way out in this series. The Lakers' offensive firepower was obviously insufficient, and he had to step up.

Although James Worthy was injured, he was not the main reason for the Lakers' loss. Pat Riley and Magic Johnson often had disputes on both offense and defense, and the players all listened to Magic Johnson, which made it difficult for Pat Riley to do his job and many of his tactical plays could not be implemented.

After the game, Pat Riley handed in his resignation directly. He couldn't stay in this place any longer.

Jazz fans held a wild party. They lost to the Lakers 3-4 in the playoffs two years ago. This season was perfect revenge for them, and the fans felt almost like they had won the championship.

Another team that made it to the Western Conference Finals was the Portland Trail Blazers. With the collective efforts of inside and outside players such as Jerome Kersey, Terry Porter and Drexler, the Trail Blazers defeated the Spurs with a total score of 4-3 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

The Spurs' performance was enough to surprise the fans. Last season they were just a bottom-ranked team in the league, but this season they have become a powerhouse in the Western Conference.

David Robinson averaged 22.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game in this series, with a shooting percentage of 50%. Except for the first game where he only scored 9 points, David Robinson's performance in the rest of the games was up to his level.

G1 of the Eastern Conference Finals started on May 5th. Meng Jin had three days of rest. During these three days, he did not mess around. Meng Jin was with Mira Sorvino all the time. Although Meng Jin did not say it, his good brothers and friends all thought that Mira Sorvino was Meng Jin's girlfriend. They had never seen Meng Jin stay with a woman for such a long time before.

Mira Sorvino is a great cook, and the Chinese food she cooks is very authentic, much better than the ones in restaurants outside. The Chinese food in restaurants outside has been modified mainly to cater to the American tastes. Mira Sorvino learned Chinese cooking seriously in BJ.

Meng Jin read the newspaper while eating breakfast, which is a habit he developed in this era. The content in the newspaper was all about the Lakers being eliminated. The media said that the era of Magic Bird was over, but in Meng Jin's view, the era of Magic Bird had ended last season, but the media and fans were unwilling to accept it.

(End of this chapter)