NBA: Goat is actually me

Chapter 54: Twisted Dunk
"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Chicago Arena! Welcome to the world of basketball! I am your old friend Johnny Cole!"

"Hi everyone, my name is Jim Durham."

Two familiar voices to Chicago fans came from the TV.

Johnny Cole and Jim Durham are both veteran commentators and are very popular in Chicago.

"Tonight the Chicago Bulls' opponent is the Indiana Pacers. Their current record is 2 wins and 2 losses. They lost to the Boston Celtics in their last game," said Johnny Kerr.

"Larry Bird had a terrifying stats of 48 points and 20 rebounds in the last game. I wonder if the Indiana guys are having nightmares when they go back." Jim Durham laughed.

Johnny Cole: "Haha, even though it's cruel, I have to say they're probably going to have nightmares tonight."

Jim Durham: "Michael Jordan exploded in the last game and scored 51 points. This is Michael's first 50+ this season. According to his habit, once the scoring valve is opened, he will score high points in several consecutive games."

Johnny Kerr: "The Bulls' lineup changed tonight, and Meng appeared in the starting lineup. I believe this is something that many Bulls fans are happy to see."

Jim Durham: "This guy's dunks are crazy. I have to admit, I'm almost a fan of his."

Johnny Cole: "Excuse me, I'm already a fan."

Amid the jokes of the two live commentators, the players came on stage one by one.

Meng Jin only found out that he was on the starting roster an hour before the game started.

Everything happened so suddenly that he thought he would sit on the bench for a few more games.

Although I played a few good games, from a coach's perspective, the tacit understanding and chemistry of the entire team are the most important.

Collins just wanted to give it a try tonight to see if Meng Jin could be compatible with the other starters.

Head coach Collins arranged Meng Jin as the starting power forward.

As a young coach, Collins is bold enough.

However, Meng Jin felt that he could be bolder and put himself in the small forward position.

Meng Jin wants to play small forward and Oakley wants to play power forward.

If the positions of the two were swapped, the lineup would be perfect.

It's a pity that it can't be replaced.

Because Collins is the boss here, he has the final say.

However, Collins soon discovered that this position arrangement seemed to be useless.

In the first round of the game, Oakley frantically went inside to block the ball, while Meng Jin naturally drifted to the outside.

If you don’t look at the roster, fans would really think that Oakley plays power forward and Meng Jin plays small forward.

In the first offensive round, the Bulls played a tactic around the inside.

Gilmore received the ball in the small penalty area and made a hook shot.

Gilmore used his height and weight to overwhelm Pacers center Stipanovic.

Stipanovic had no way out. The ball was so deep that even if Gilmore couldn't jump up, he couldn't defend it.

After all, his height, wingspan and weight are there.

Gilmore's physical condition has declined seriously this season, but if he is allowed to attack in the first three to five minutes of the game, this big guy can still perform like an All-Star.

The Pacers used a successful off-ball screen tactic on their first offensive possession.

Point guard Vaughn Fleming passed the ball from the top of the arc, and Chuck Person used the inside screen to get around the free throw line and caught the ball and made the shot.

2:2.

Chuck Person, nicknamed the Rifleman, was the best rookie last season. He has excellent shooting skills and is an underestimated scoring machine.

In the Bulls' next attack, Jordan took the ball, took one dribble and shot directly.

The basketball bounced off the rim.

Meng Jin accelerated and prepared to grab the rebound.

Oakley and Gilmore under the basket have already taken advantage of the position to jump.

The three of them fought for the ball and knocked it out of the baseline. It's hard to say who was right or wrong, but if the Bulls had three people fighting for the rebound in the paint at the same time, it would have been very crowded.

Transition of possession.

The Pacers continued to play as a team.

The Pacers team's ceiling is not high, but its floor is not low either. The five starters average more than ten points per game, and their offense and defense are both above par, with no obvious shortcomings.

Chuck Person took another shot in this round.

The Pacers' opening tactics were basically designed around him, trying to create open shooting opportunities for him.

"Left!" Gilmore predicted before the basketball even touched the basket.

I was on the bench most of the time and couldn't see many details.

Only after he appeared on the court did we realize how experienced this veteran is.

But Gilmore was only responsible for shouting, not for grabbing.

His current movement speed is like a frame rate drop in a game. Unless the rebound falls on his head, he basically has no chance of getting it.

The reason why Gilmore shouted out was because he knew Meng Jin could grab the ball.

Meng Jin moved two steps to the left, jumped lightly, and grabbed the rebound.

Very easy, no confrontation at all.

Meng Jin turned his head in the air and saw that the battle situation on the ground was extremely brutal.

Gilmore was seen with Stepanovich behind him and Tisdale in his hand.

One to two!

Meng Jin couldn't help but sigh, and you, my friend, are the real hero.

Meng Jin immediately passed the ball to Paxson and started sprinting.

Dribbling all the way is cool, but this kind of off-ball transition is faster and more efficient.

Paxson dribbled to the center circle and passed the ball to Jordan.

The moment Jordan got the ball, Meng Jin had already penetrated the three-point line at high speed.

Jordan threw the ball into the air, trying to make a beautiful alley-oop.

However, there was a problem with the tacit understanding between the two.

Meng Jin was still running with his head down, but Jordan had already thrown the ball into the air.

Jordan probably suddenly remembered his promise to pass the ball to Meng Jin halfway through the run.

"Look up at the sky!" Jordan yelled.

Meng Jin looked up while he was at it.

The ball is almost flying over my head, isn’t it quite high?
Damn, are you kidding me?

Before the game he said he would pass me two balls. Could they both be like this?
Meng Jinlai had no time to turn around and could only jump hastily in an awkward posture.

Meng Jin twisted his body in the air, grabbed the ball with both hands and smashed it backwards!
2:4.

The Pacers players were all shocked.

What kind of weird posture is this?
Even though his body was twisted, he could still jump so high.

The key is to be able to find the basket!

In fact, Meng Jin didn't find the basket either, he just shot the ball based on his feeling.

The fans also said that they were enlightened. They have seen dunks, back dunks, and alley-oops, but this is the first time they have seen an alley-oop and back dunk by twisting the body.

Several years later, this shot appeared in the "MJ 200 Best Plays" collection made by fans, ranking outside the top plays. Fans affectionately called this shot the twisting dunk.

(End of this chapter)