So I am the god of basketball?

Defense is Gary Payton's most confident weapon.

96年总决赛，迈克尔-乔丹6场比赛，场均27.3分5.3篮板4.2助攻1.7抢断，投篮命中率只有41.5%也证明了这一点。

This was Jordan's lowest field goal percentage in his five finals appearances.

Neither Meng Lang nor the Lakers restricted him to this extent.

This was also Michael Jordan's lowest average score per game. Similarly, neither Meng Lang nor the Lakers did this.

Gary Payton has his own problems, but he is confident enough when it comes to defense!

Therefore, when the game comes to the point where he needs to solve the problem through defense, his eyes are full of confidence.

He believed that they would definitely win the sixth game of this series.

Even though the person standing opposite him was Meng Lang, he just averaged 40 points per game in the regular season this season, becoming the second "scoring champion" in his career. This average score is something that Jordan has never achieved.

However, since he can limit Jordan, he can definitely limit Meng Lang.

He believed he could do it.

Everyone pulls away...

Not only the Lakers want Meng Lang to play alone, but the Supersonics also want Payton to defend alone. They also believe in Payton's defensive ability, just like the Lakers believe in Meng Lang's offensive ability.

Meng Lang was very proactive. With the ball in hand, he immediately closed the distance with Payton.

The "glove" watched him approach without any retreat.

In fact, he is best at defending players who are holding the ball and playing one-on-one.

Compared with those faster and more flexible players, he is more adept at facing players who hold the ball and play "post-up".

rash……

It's like digging a hole for yourself and then jumping into it.

Now, let me bury you.

In just a moment of close contact, Meng Lang had no intention of observing slowly. He immediately turned forward and forced a breakthrough. Gary Payton's lateral movement was "historical level" and he blocked Meng Lang steadily.

But Meng Lang seemed to assume that his lateral move would definitely allow him to re-intercept the ball, so he did not stop and continued to move sideways, creating space to the right, and then jumped up and shot.

The entire offensive method is almost the same as Jordan's.

but……

Payton caught up with Jordan and also interfered with Jordan's shot.

But facing Meng Lang, he felt that he was no match for him.

The ball shot over his head and hit the basket steadily.

As a result, the score difference came to 4 points.

The Sonics wanted to use the same trick again, but when Mourning was going down the court, Kobe came out from the side, intercepted the ball one step ahead, and immediately launched a counterattack as soon as he got the ball in his hands. Fortunately, the Sonics' forward line retreated quickly enough, so they failed to succeed in this fast break.

When the ball came into Meng Lang's hands, he was not in a hurry. He just waited for the Supersonics to fall into formation and then Payton to stand in front of him.

Although he failed to defend Meng Lang just now, Payton was not discouraged. Instead, he became even more motivated.

Meng Lang led him outside the three-point line.

Payton didn't want to expand his defensive area any further out because the further he stood, the less time the other Sonics players would have to back him up.

But when he saw Meng Lang one step away from the three-point line and glancing towards the basket, he had to admit that this guy was harder to defend than Jordan.

At least when he restricted Meng Lang, he had one more thing to consider.

However, in this case, as he worried, Meng Lang forced a breakthrough and the Sonics' wingers had no way to support him or double-team him to delay him.

In the confrontation with Meng Lang, Gary Payton discovered another disadvantage:
"The Glove" is 1 meters tall, which is considered tall and open at the No. 91 position. So when he faced Jordan, he could barely keep up with the size.

But the problem now is...

Meng Lang is taller than Jordan. At 2 meters, he is already the standard height for a forward.

With such height and wingspan, Gary Payton, a guard, cannot keep up.

After gritting his teeth and holding on for two rounds, Payton watched Meng Lang rush to the free throw line and then raise his hand to make a shot.

The pace of catching up is not fast.

But what was more fatal than the 2-point 2-point reduction was that Gary Payton was beaten again and again.

Such scenes will also bring psychological pressure to other players of the Supersonics.

After all, in their eyes, there is no one that Gary Payton can't defend.

And when such a person appears, they will inevitably feel a little nervous, which is normal.

The 6-point difference was not enough to relax. Now the difference has dropped to 2 points. As the leading team, the Supersonics are even more nervous.

George Karl decisively changed his defense. He no longer let Payton continue to defend Meng Lang alone, but asked Mourning to help defend, and the others also helped to help defend. In this way, Meng Lang was completely treated as Jordan.

In fact, this is how you should deal with Meng Lang.

But because the Sonics' offense had not been affected before, and the key to winning in the first four games of the series was not in restricting Meng Lang, they had never dealt with Meng Lang in this way.

But now, there is nothing much to say. Meng Lang must be prevented from scoring as soon as possible so that the team can breathe a sigh of relief.

To be honest, even at this moment, George Karl did not expect that one day Payton's defense would become a breakthrough for the Supersonics.

However, this kind of thing is happening now.

Meng Lang also called for a pick-and-roll in time, and Big Ben's high-quality screen allowed Meng Lang to face off against Mourning as he wished.

He was not in a hurry to attack, but let his teammates continue to create space.

Since Mourning is rushing up to help defend, fine, I’ll hit you!
After dribbling the ball continuously, Mourning began to panic, his steps were up and down, because he was not sure whether Meng Lang would break through or shoot directly. Just as he was hesitating on the three-point line, Meng Lang pretended to break through, forcing Mourning to retreat, and then he shot directly from the three-point line and hit the ball steadily.

Overtaken!
There was an immediate thunderous cheer from the audience. The entire stadium was like magma boiling and the atmosphere could no longer be quiet.

In the eyes of many commentators, this was a goal that was enough to kill the game.

This also includes Bill Walton.

The Supersonics did not change their defensive style, and in the next round, Meng Lang did not change his offensive choice. He continued to pick and roll with his teammates, switched Mourning in front of him, and then broke through the basket in a single play to score a goal.

The score difference widened further.

Bill Walton looked at the frustrated Mourning and said in a deep voice: "I think there has never been a moment when Seattle people miss Shawn Kemp as much as they do now!"

Since Mourning came to this team, the SuperSonics quickly forgot about "Rain Man" because he is really much better than Kemp and really fits this team better than "Rain Man".

The fact that the SuperSonics have returned to first place in the Western Conference proves this.

However, in these two rounds, it was revealed that Mourning was inferior to Kemp.

His mobility is not a problem when facing most outside players, but when facing this elite level of outside players, the problem becomes a bit serious. He simply cannot keep up with Meng Lang's offensive rhythm.

And if Sean Kemp was the one defending Meng Lang after the switch in this round, he would definitely cover Meng Lang well and would never let him have such an easy chance to score.

In fact, the SuperSonics also defended Michael Jordan in the 1996 Finals.

As a result, even if the Bulls used pick-and-rolls on the inside and outside lines, they were unable to give Jordan a comfortable space for one-on-one play.

That year, Jordan had no chance to "play inside with the ball from the outside."

At this moment, the balance of victory completely tilted towards the Lakers.

At the end of the game, the Lakers defeated the Supersonics 100 to 90, with a difference of 10 points, eliminating them with a score of 4-2 and advancing to the finals for the second consecutive year.

The road to defending the title is just four wins away.

George Karl listened to the buzzer sound and looked at "The Glove" and Mourning standing there with their heads down, waiting for Meng Lang to approach and give him a reluctant blessing.

"We have tried our best and this is our result. We lost in the Western Conference Finals, but it's not a pity!"

When facing reporters after the game, George Karl did not have any complaints.

The Sonics relied on the combination of Payton and Mourning to get the best record in the West and enter the Western Conference Finals. We can't blame them for their incompetence just because they lost tonight, right?
As he said, this team has reached their limit.

Moreover, their performance tonight was good enough, and everyone basically performed beyond their normal level, which led to the lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Otherwise, if they were behind by more than 20 points in the "Battle of King Mountain", that would be their true appearance.

"MVP!"

"MVP!"

"MVP!"

There was a huge cheer at the scene, given to Meng Lang who defeated both Payton and Mourning by himself.

"At the beginning of Dream's transformation, there were many voices saying that he shouldn't do this, but now the facts have proved that when he finds his form, he can lead the Lakers to win in this way!" Bill Walton praised Meng Lang.

From "Magic" to "Michael Jordan".

This is the difference between Meng Lang this season and last season.

However, he has proved that he can lead the team to the finals under any system.

With four games left, he can even prove that he can lead the team to win the championship in any system and in any way.

This is a very scary thing...

At least in all his years in the NBA, he has never seen such a player.

Meng Lang is creating a new legend!
Well, Meng Lang’s playing style when he was with the Magic was not the same as when he was with the Lakers.

It's just that from "Larry Bird" to "Magic Johnson", there are some similarities, but the playing style of these two people is completely different from Michael Jordan. It's amazing that Meng Lang can still make the transition.

Anyway, Bill Walton is convinced.

Then, Meng Lang, surrounded by his teammates, held up the Western Conference championship trophy.

"We have experienced a lot this season and a lot of changes have taken place. For us, entering the finals this season is more difficult than last year. However, now that we have entered the finals, we only have one goal left, and that is the championship!" Meng Lang made no secret of his desire for the championship trophy after the game.

If he wins one championship, his number of championships will catch up with Jordan.

Although he won't show four fingers to everyone he sees like Thompson, this is undoubtedly a milestone.

Regardless of whether he still needs to be compared with Jordan, one thing is inevitable, that is, if his number of championships cannot exceed Jordan, he will definitely be criticized by the media.

"Would you rather the Heat advance, or the Pistons?"

A common question.

This question can make the finals more topical.

Meng Lang said: "In the 88-89 season, the Lakers were swept 4-0 by the Pistons in the finals. This season is exactly 10 years later. I hope I can have a chance to get revenge. Moreover, I am looking forward to Grant's first trip to the finals. I think I can teach him a lot."

"But if the Heat advance, it will be the first time he has led a team to the finals since you and Shaq separated!"

Meng Lang glanced at the persistent reporter and said indifferently, "I don't mind meeting Shaq on the stage of the finals. He has already won the regular season MVP. This is his best year. However, he still needs me, his former teammate, to teach him how to win the finals MVP!"

This interview directly mocked both teams.

But neither Shaq nor Hill could say anything to refute it.

Because Meng Lang was telling the truth.

If the Pistons advance, this will indeed be Grant Hill's first trip to the Finals.

And Shaq has indeed never won the Finals MVP...

Of course, Shaq was already talking trash in his mind:

He has never lost in the finals, and this time, I will let him experience the feeling of losing in the finals.

only……

The Heat are now trailing 2-3 and are on the brink of collapse.

Before sending Meng Lang to his first defeat in the finals, he had to lead the team to complete another reversal.

More importantly, even if he gritted his teeth and refuted in such a situation.

If he is eliminated by the Pistons, he will probably be ridiculed all summer.

So, he could only stare blankly.

But he kept this grudge in his heart.

Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals then officially began.

The stimulated Shaquille O'Neal exploded at the beginning of the game, hitting consecutive shots, and he made 7 of 7 shots at the beginning, helping the Heat to take a 6-point lead. The Pistons had no choice but to use the "Hack-a-Shaq" tactic to interrupt his rhythm.

But tonight, Shaq's free throws were "unbelievable", he made 10 of 7 free throws, and gave the Pistons no chance at all. Instead, the Pistons missed consecutive attacks after Shaq's free throws, allowing the Heat to open up a double-digit point difference in vain.

Then the Pistons were unable to recover and lost the sixth game of the series at home.

Shaquille O'Neal scored 38 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks in this game.

The power of the "Great Shark" was fully demonstrated. At the same time, the momentum also came to their side. (End of this chapter)