NBA: Goat is actually me

Chapter 21 Draft Trends
At the beginning of the second half, Meng Jin felt the defensive pressure.

When Meng Jin received the ball on the weak side, Reggie Miller quickly retreated to double-team him.

In this era, off-ball double-teaming on the weak side is not allowed, otherwise Meng Jin would be even more uncomfortable.

Meng Jin could only pass the ball to the outside.

Washington missed a three-pointer.

In the next round, Meng Jin was surrounded by three people!
The basketball was directly hit away by Pippen.

Meng Jin had a hard time in the second half, as his opponents used the same tactics they used to deal with superstars against him.

This made Meng Jin very uncomfortable.

But then again, double-teaming a player in a game of this nature is a form of recognition in itself.

The scouts saw it, too.

Before the third quarter was over, Meng Jin had already received four fouls.

Two of them were made by Pippen.

After committing the second foul, Meng Jin was temporarily substituted off the court. Pippen even gave him a look on purpose, saying, "Brother, I know you."

After Meng Jin left the court, his teammates were happier.

The opportunity to perform in this kind of game is much more important than winning.

They divided up Meng Jin's shooting rights, but it was too tricky and the score gap kept getting bigger and bigger.

In the fourth quarter, Meng Jin returned to the court. Pippen played hard to defend him and his teammates on the wing targeted Meng Jin.

Meng Jin can still seize opportunities to score in fast break counterattacks, but there is no better way to deal with positional warfare. It seems that he needs to practice his shooting ability, which is the magic weapon to break double-teaming.

With 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Pippen dribbled the ball to the basket but was blocked by Meng Jin.

Pippen felt that Meng Jin had four fouls on him, so he definitely didn't dare to defend this ball with all his strength.

But Meng Jin didn't care about that. He just did it. The worst that could happen was that he would be sent off. Anyway, he had demonstrated all the abilities he should have tonight.

After one round, Meng Jin received the ball and ran quickly. Pippen followed Meng Jin from the side with all his strength. He wanted to block Meng Jin and get back the advantage.

Pippen played very insignificantly tonight, with all the limelight stolen by Meng Jin and Reggie Miller.

Just as Pippen's feet left the ground, Meng Jin put down his raised hand.

Unexpectedly, Meng Jin made a fake move with just a little effort.

Pippen is stupid, this is unscientific.

When did you, Meng Jin, learn to feint? Aren’t you always straightforward and evasive?
Meng Jin raised his hand again and used the same trick to shake off Reggie Miller who was following behind him.

Miller was very unhappy with Meng Jin and wanted to block him as well.

Because of the resentment in his heart, Miller jumped so high.

Miller rolled over Meng Jin, and just as he was about to fall, Meng Jin grabbed him with his right hand and hugged him like a princess.

Miller looked at Meng Jin in shock. If he had fallen directly to the ground, he would probably be half crippled.

Meng Jin looked into Reggie Miller's eyes and said, "Reggie, can I let you down now?"

全场比赛结束，孟进这边输掉了16分，孟进下半场打的一般，但全场下来依旧砍下了35分14篮板4助攻4盖帽3抢断的闪耀数据。

As I said, the outcome of this kind of game is not important, what matters is the individual performance.

Bulls general manager Krause brought the team's assistant coach Phil Jackson to watch the game tonight. He regretted it before the game was over. He should have tried his best to hide this monster and promised to select him with the first round pick.

But it's too late to say anything now. Meng Jin has been targeted by many teams. If nothing unexpected happens, he will become a hot commodity in this year's draft market.

"Meng, thank you, thank you for helping me just now."

After the game, Reggie Miller came over to thank him.

If Meng Jin hadn't helped him, Reggie Miller would probably have fallen badly.

"No need to thank me, this was my subconscious reaction." Meng Jin shook hands with him.

Reggie Miller then asked the question that had been bothering him throughout the game.

"Meng, how did you know about my sister and I fighting bulls in the backyard?" Meng Jin patted Reggie Miller on the shoulder: "I am very optimistic about you, so I have been paying attention to you."

Meng Jin had no choice but to make it work this way.

"Keep your eyes on me?" Reggie Miller looked puzzled.

Meng Jin nodded affirmatively: "Your physical condition is average, but your shooting ability is very strong. The most important thing is that you have a strong heart, which is a necessary condition to become a superstar."

Miller's mouth couldn't help but crack, and Meng Jin just touched it slightly, and he was lost. Haha, this is what young people are like.

Reggie Miller is also very worldly-wise: "Meng, I'm optimistic about you, too. To be honest, I envy your talent, especially after watching your performance in the dunk contest. You're smart and a jerk. You know how to disrupt your opponent's mentality. I was almost out of control just now because of you."

Meng Jin smiled. He knew that the word "bastard" that Reggie Miller was talking about was a compliment.

After the two hugged again, Meng Jin said, "See you in the NBA."

"Maybe it won't take that long. We might meet during the tryout."

Speaking of tryouts, Meng Jin didn't know that he had received invitations from several NBA teams. After saying goodbye to Reggie Miller, Meng Jin found Falk on the sidelines.

Falk: "Meng, I was just about to tell you about the tryout. We have received invitations from five NBA teams, the Chicago Bulls, Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, and Philadelphia 5ers."

"Do you have any idea?"

After Falk asked the question, Meng Jin was silent for three seconds.

“The buck isn’t going.”

"Why?" Falk asked back.

"It's so damn cold. The girls there wrap themselves in cotton jackets. I estimate their weights to be off by 35 pounds, which can be fatal."

Hearing this, Falk laughed out loud: "Meng, I have the same opinion as you on this point. I don't want you to try out with the Bucks either."

Meng Jin: "Are you also afraid that I will fail in Milwaukee?"

Falk: "It's not because of this, it's mainly because the Bucks don't have a first-round draft pick this year."

"First-round draft pick?"

Meng Jin asked back, five parts puzzled and five parts frightened.

During this period, Meng Jin has been concentrating on training and has not paid attention to his draft status.
Falk: "Meng, they think highly of you and predict that you will be in the first round, and may even enter the lottery."

"Lotto?"

Meng Jin said that the surprises were bigger than each other!

Meng Jin's goal was just to be selected, and he never thought about being selected at a high position. In his opinion, he was not fully prepared.

One final + two invitational tournaments to get into the lottery?
It really works.

In this era, the scouts' selection criteria are very unified. The first is physical static and dynamic talent, and the second is defensive ability.

Meng Jin is excellent in both aspects. Although he is sometimes too aggressive in defense and easily gets fouled, this is not an unforgivable and incurable habit in the eyes of scouts.

In addition, Meng Jin also demonstrated talents rarely seen among players of this era: tall, fast and strong.

And he is still clear-headed on the basketball court.

Just now, Pippen's agent told him that many teams with first-round picks are interested in him, which means he may also be picked in the top 15.

Pippen is also tall, fast and strong. Although he looks thin, he is quite strong. He is a bit like a smaller version of Meng Jin.

He had good stats in college, but that was NCAA Division II and no one cared about his performance there.

Just like the data from the NBA Development League, it has little reference value.

Pippen really impressed the scouts with his performance in two invitational tournaments.

It can be said that both brothers made a comeback by relying on the Portsmouth Invitational and the Hawaii All-Star Game.

Of course, this doesn't mean the two are stable.

The next tryout is also a very important step. The management of these teams are all smart people. They have to observe the attributes of these favorite players from all angles at close range, and then finally decide whether to accept them.

(End of this chapter)