So I am the god of basketball?

McGrady took off in his third season.

This is one season earlier than he originally intended.

But it was okay, because he was originally on the Raptors, a team full of talented players, especially Vince Carter. This led to the team's focus on the "North Carolina Flyer", and he played as a substitute for two or three seasons.

In the Bulls, he was trained from the beginning as the "second in command" and the future core of the Bulls. In the shortened season last year, when Michael Jordan was unstable due to old injuries and had to rest, he was treated as the team's top player.

Besides, he has been training with Tim Grover!

This trainer was the key to Michael Jordan's complete transformation into a "god".

If McGrady still has to wait until he becomes the "boss" to see his statistics explode, then the experts who have praised his talent over the years are really exaggerating.

The Bulls are back on the rise, and the Lakers have regained their strength from three years ago.

This year's "Christmas War" has suddenly become more exciting.

Entering December, the Lakers continued to maintain their strong performance. In addition, they faced weak teams during this period, so the Lakers went on a "12-game winning streak" until before the "Christmas Game", when they lost the second game of the season.

The media are all saying that the Lakers will win at least 70 games this season.

Originally, this number was quite "mythical".

After all, it only happened twice in the 90s, but it has happened 2 to 3 times now.

Therefore, seeing the current strength of the Lakers, the media all believe that the Lakers will reach 70 wins again this season.

The Bulls remain strong heading into December.

In the 11 games before the "Christmas War", they lost a total of 3 games, one of which was lost due to "back-to-back" games.

Apart from Philadelphia, they are clearly the strongest team in the East.

The Philadelphia 76ers have only lost 12 games so far in December.

Meng Lang vs Jordan, Kobe vs McGrady...

After the Bulls showed signs of decline last season, most media thought that this gimmick would no longer work, but they didn't expect it!

One summer later, this is once again one of the hottest topics in the league.

When the plane arrived in Los Angeles, Michael Jordan looked good. It was obvious that the Bulls were back on track and he was very happy. Of course, the biggest reason for his happiness was that the voices saying he was getting old were becoming less and less.

Michael Jordan's self-esteem would not allow him to die in poverty like other superstars.

So being eliminated in the second round for two consecutive seasons did not dampen his fighting spirit, but made it burn even more fiercely. Even if he retires, he will make a brilliant turn on the highest stage.

God never lets his sweat go to waste.

This year he was able to suppress the onset of his old injury and regain his former form.

Although he is only 8% of his peak strength now, in his opinion:

That's enough!
because……

He finally got his "new Pippen":
Tracy McGrady!
Oh, no, now he no longer thinks McGrady is his "new Pippen".

He is McGrady, no one else.

because……

If it was Pippen, there was no way he could have called him after being eliminated in the playoffs last year, made himself believe in him again, and then completed the transformation in the new season.

Pippen didn't have that kind of spirit.

Of course, it is people like this who are willing to be second in command and not fight for power or profit.

It is certain that McGrady has the fighting spirit and wants to be the "boss".

A person's character will determine what kind of things he does.

There aren't many "second in command" in this league who have a bad temper and a calm personality. Often, such guys either don't have the ability to be the first in command, or they are just pretending.

However, even if McGrady wanted to be the boss, there would be no problem. In Jordan's eyes, his career was almost coming to an end.

It's stuck at the node where it can be "handed over".

So he had no guard against McGrady, only satisfaction.

And if you say...

For Jordan now, besides retiring on the highest stage, if he has any wish, it is:
Defeat Meng Lang once!
Ok……

He hadn't thought about meeting the Lakers in the finals.

That's still too far away.

For Jordan now, if he is aiming for the championship, then his biggest imaginary enemy is definitely not the Lakers, but the Philadelphia 76ers. Only by defeating them can he discuss the possibility of a narrow encounter with the Lakers.

what?
You mean the Heat?
Without PJ Brown and Mashburn, what is the Heat team?
In the first game of the season between the Bulls and the Heat in November, Michael Jordan scored 11 points, and with McGrady's 30 points, 23 rebounds and 5 assists, the team successfully completed its revenge.

In the regular season, what Michael Jordan cares most about now is the match with Meng Lang.

He must win this "Christmas War".

After all, he has lost to Meng Lang on this stage more than once.

The "Christmas War" often starts on the afternoon of Christmas Day.

Because of Christmas, the team usually does not prepare for training in the morning, leaving as much time as possible for the players and their families.

This was the first time Meng Lang appeared in front of the media with his two children.

The eldest son "Di Er Meng" is now more than 3 years old, and the youngest daughter, who was born by Monica in August this year, is just over 8 months old and is held in Monica's arms.

The whole family is having fun.

The youngest daughter is called "Third Dream".

Meng Lang is a “bad at naming”, which should have something to do with his biological father, otherwise he wouldn’t be called Meng Lang, right?

However, Meng Lang had thought of a name carefully, called Meng Yuan.

It sounds gentle, but the kite is a large, ferocious bird, similar to an eagle, and is extremely aggressive.

This is also what Meng Lang expects for his youngest daughter.

Although you may look gentle, you must not be too calm. Otherwise, you will easily pick wild vegetables.

When the competition was about to begin, Meng Lang had Monica and the others sent back home.

After all, Meng Yuan was born not long ago and it is not suitable for him to stay outside for too long.

The "Second Dream" remained.

It's obvious that he enjoys the atmosphere on the sidelines.

Meng Lang was also looking forward to him. After all, he was the child of his "external plug-in" and Madonna's "physical freak". Needless to say, his physical fitness was definitely good. If he really wanted to pursue a career in basketball, he wouldn't need a father to support him like Bronny did.

Of course, Meng Lang has come to this point, and the "Second Dream" will inevitably be influenced by these aspects in the future.

Just look at Michael Jordan's son.

But this is the "trouble of happiness"...

Who doesn't want to have an awesome dad?
Before the game started, the media specially put Meng Lang and Michael Jordan together and took a group photo.

Michael Jordan's career is coming to an end, and there aren't many opportunities to take a photo of the two of them standing on the sidelines like this.

Then the game officially started.

The Lakers' lineup is: Meng Lang at No. 1, Kobe at No. 2, Bryant at No. 3, Ben Wallace at No. 4, and Divac at No. 5;
The Bulls' lineup is: Armstrong at No. 2, Michael Jordan at No. 900, McGrady at No. , Antonio Davis at No. , and Rodman at No. . The Bulls' biggest signing this summer was Antonio Davis, who signed a two-year, $ million contract in the free market.

As a small-sized No. 4, Davis' main role is to "catch the cake", protect the rim and rebound. He later made the All-Stars with these.

Next year will be his peak period, and this year he has just entered his peak period.

Averaged 12.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.

Considering his 480 million contract, this is a relatively reliable signing.

In addition, the return of Armstrong has given this lineup organization and three-point shooting ability.

This can also make up for the problem of not being able to create space inside.

After all, the Bulls' latest lineup relies entirely on the wings.

Michael Jordan and McGrady are the centerpieces of this lineup.

It's very similar to the Lakers.

The Lakers also have Meng Lang and Kobe making great efforts.

It’s just that the Bulls’ lineup is not as solid as the Lakers’.

Take the two inside players of the Bulls for example. They do have a presence on the defensive end, but what about the offensive end?

One Divac can blow them up.

Of course, adding Ben Wallace would have a similar effect.

There is no way around it. Not every inside player who is good at both offense and defense can be as diligent on the defensive end as Tim Duncan.

Most of them are like Shaquille O'Neal, who does his job well and then focuses all his energy on the offensive end.

In order to save energy, Shaquille O'Neal never leaves the basket.

Whether it is the offensive or defensive end.

Therefore, if you want those defensively aggressive inside players, you have to tolerate their weaknesses on the offensive end.

And players like Ben Wallace who can defend outside players in a staggered manner are even more valuable.

The game then officially begins.

The Lakers got the first attack, and Meng Lang faced Michael Jordan with the ball.

Seeing this, Meng Lang immediately took the ball and broke through without using any of his footwork.

After all, facing Jordan, using footwork to play is actually in line with his wishes. You have to make his old arms and legs move in order to wear him down.

But the Bulls obviously also have this in mind.

He just needs to attack with the ball, and then chase and intercept him in the inside.

Meng Lang's previous ability to attack the basket with the ball and face timely defense was indeed not the best in the league. But after he had "footsteps", he had too many routines to deal with these defenses.

The rhythm changed, he paused under the basket, stood firmly on both feet at the same time, and then made continuous fake shoulder shakes, and Antonio behind him was directly fooled away.

only……

Behind Meng Lang, Michael Jordan stepped forward and tried to steal the ball from him.

Meng Lang had no choice but to raise his hand in advance. However, when he shot, he was still interfered by Antonio's long arms.

The ball hit the basket with a bang.

However, Ben Wallace grabbed the ball and passed it to him. His feet were moving fast again. After two consecutive fake moves, Meng Lang hit the rim with one arm and scored a goal.

Even Jordan dodged it this time.

Ok……

This round clearly shows what old man Time has taken away.

The Bulls counterattacked, and Jordan faced Bryant.

The moment he stuck out his tongue and rolled it in, it looked like something Kobe could do.

Brian felt the same way.

But he could stop Kobe, but he couldn't stop Jordan's quick turnaround.

"Snapped!"

However, as soon as Jordan jumped up, Meng Lang came over and slapped him in the face, sending the ball flying directly into his hands.

The Lakers' fast break counterattack, Kobe took the lead with the ball. But he also heard footsteps behind him:
Bulls No. 1 Tracy McGrady!
The young McGrady felt unfamiliar to Meng Lang.

Because of this guy's serious attitude on the defensive end, it feels like he has just woken up.

Kobe was really scared and threw the ball behind him.

When the ball was in Meng Lang's hands, McGrady also changed his target and rushed towards him.

But as soon as the ball reached Meng Lang's hands, he threw it over the basket without stopping.

"Bah!"

With the sound of the rim hitting the basket, Kobe completed an alley-oop slam dunk.

The Staples Center exploded with consecutive dunks.

After Jordan got the ball this time, he did not attack directly, but slowly pressed in. When he reached a position where no one could help Bryant, he turned around and made a jump shot, which scored 2 points steadily.

Meng Lang did not attack himself in this round because the Bulls kept Jordan and Antonio Davis on the same side with him and placed Rodman on the other side ready to provide backup defense at any time.

In such a situation, there was no need for Meng Lang to force an attack.

The ball was given to Kobe.

He and Maddie looked into each other's eyes, and there was a flash of electricity between them.

Kobe suddenly blocked the ball, then walked inside leaning on McGrady.

But he overestimated his physical fitness and underestimated McGrady's defensive judgment. In just one second, the ball in his hand was cut off.

Meng Lang watched McGrady dribbling the ball and making a fast break, and the last one he made was a drifting dunk into the basket. He felt that this McGrady had indeed entered his peak period, but he was a little different from what he remembered.

Apart from other things, his defensive judgment is something he never had even when he was with the Raptors.

It seems that following Michael Jordan not only helped him grow faster, but he also learned a lot of experience that only a "champion wing" can have.

This greatly enhanced his individual defensive capabilities.

The score was tied, and Kobe wanted to try to make a shot. Meng Lang asked him to stay on the wing for a while, called for a high pick-and-roll for Divac, and then gave the ball back to Divac.

Divac made a high move, Kobe went around him to receive the ball and rushed to the basket.

"Bah!"

This time, even McGrady couldn't stop him.

Phil Jackson watched with envy, as this was a tactic that the Bulls would never be able to implement now.

Michael Jordan tried to respond, but Meng Lang double-teamed him in advance. Armstrong received the ball and made a steady three-pointer, demonstrating the value of his return.

The Bulls overtook by 1 point! (End of this chapter)