So I am the god of basketball?

After the "Christmas Game", the Lakers had only four games left in December. They maintained their momentum and won three of them. In the last month of the 12s, they only lost two games.

So far this season, they have only lost three games.

Meng Lang was very satisfied with the result. He said, "We have gone through some difficult things, and now we are in the best condition!"

On January 1, Meng Lang once again won the "Player of the Month Award". Now more and more media believe that Meng Lang will become this year's regular season MVP.

And there aren't a lot of competitors.

The Philadelphia 76ers are even better than last season and are currently first in the Eastern Conference.

But Tim Duncan's numbers are not much different from last season.

Their performance is actually not much better than that of the same period.

They are ranked first in the Eastern Conference purely because the Heat are no longer as invincible as they were last season.

In terms of the level of stunningness, they are not as good as the Bulls.

Although McGrady has made great progress, it is not to the point where he can enter the discussion for the regular season MVP.

Michael Jordan's condition has only returned to the late peak compared to last season. Some media believe that he can also win the regular season MVP. However, compared with Meng Lang, the voices supporting Michael Jordan to win the regular season MVP are undoubtedly much smaller.

In the first game of January, the Lakers will face the Golden State Warriors away.

From this day on, the Lakers will experience an 8-game road trip.

It's a tough schedule, and it's also because of L.A. They need to make way for the Grammys.

Staples Center will be contracted out during this period and cannot be used for competitions.

For this reason, the Lakers in previous years would experience a long away trip during this period.

This year is no exception.

And because the consecutive away games coincided with the "injury wave" in January, this time of year is the most nervous time for Chuck Daly. He is more worried about the condition of the Lakers players than the consecutive losses...

Of course, Chuck Daly doesn't have to worry so much this season.

The Lakers have completed their renewal, and now the team is led by a group of young people.

Young people don't have anything. With their physical fitness and endurance, there is absolutely no need to worry. Most importantly, these players have no history of major injuries. Even if Meng Lang was once out for the season, it was only an accidental injury to his little finger. Moreover, after joining the Lakers, he has played in almost every season. There is no need to worry about his potential injuries.

The Warriors' momentum this season is still very strong.

They changed to Princeton tactics last season, and they cooperated more tacitly this season. Even if the Lakers' rise was not too strong.

Then the top spot in the Western Conference this season should belong to them...

From here we can see how amazing the Warriors' condition is.

The start of this game was also very exciting. Both teams got into shape very quickly and scored consecutively. The score was 34 to 33 in the first quarter. The Lakers led by 1 point thanks to Meng Lang's buzzer-beating mid-range shot.

In the second quarter, the Warriors' ball movement was smoother, especially this season, Chris Webber and Hardaway had more coordination, and with the help of the two of them, the Warriors were turned into the Harlem Globetrotters.

This shows how gorgeous their passing is.

The Warriors are not the team with the best record this year, nor are they the team with the greatest hope of winning the championship this year, but they are definitely one of the most watched teams this year. It can be seen from the number of fans present that the style of this team is loved by Bay Area fans.

And their gorgeousness was not the kind of flashy and showy. Until the last 2 minutes and 34 seconds of the third quarter, they were still only trailing by 1 point.

Meng Lang made a three-pointer, widening the gap to 3 points. At this time, Hardaway made another three-pointer to narrow the gap.

This season, Hardaway has improved not only in his synergy with Chris Webber, but also in his outside shooting ability.

Because of Meng Lang, his ability to create space with three-point shots was recognized by the entire league early on, including the Warriors.

The "Princeton System" is also a system that has very high space requirements.

Hardaway has been improving his three-point shooting over the past few years.

Plus, he hasn't suffered the same serious injuries as he did with the Magic over the years. Now that he's at his peak, he's a player that the original fans regretted not having seen.

In addition to not having teammates as strong as "Magic" Johnson, he also does not have his "back-to-the-basket" ability, but his three-point shooting and personal ball-holding offensive abilities are also things that Johnson does not possess.

"Shh!"

After he hit the three-pointer, Kobe responded with a three-pointer from the wing.

The game suddenly became a three-point contest between the two teams.

Each three-point shot looked quite unreasonable, making the fans at the scene dare not even breathe.

The problems of the original Kings are reflected in this Warriors team:

After Meng Lang hit the three-pointer, Chris Webber played one-on-one in the paint and pressed Ben Wallace under him, but the ball bounced out of the basket, and Divac protected the rebound and passed it to Meng Lang.

Meng Lang looked at Kobe who was left open and passed the ball again.

"Shh!"

Another three-pointer!

Before the end of the third quarter, the Lakers widened the gap to 7 points thanks to Kobe's consecutive three-pointers.

Then the Lakers maintained their advantage and had the last laugh.

The Warriors showed their impatient side during this period.

The "Princeton"'s gorgeous offense also revealed its shortcomings at this time.

Too many passes also increase the risk of passing errors. The Warriors made three consecutive pass errors in the last four minutes and lost their last hope of catching up.

116 to 103, the Lakers won by 13 points and got their first victory in 2000.

孟浪拿到了37分7篮板11助攻，科比砍下了23分6篮板4助攻。

After the game, he praised Kobe for a rare moment: "He played very well today!"

Coincidentally, Chuck Daly also said: "I saw what I have always wanted to see, Kobe has grown up again!"

They are actually saying the same thing:
When the score was close, Kobe scored consecutive goals to widen the scoreline.

Although he had a good chance to shoot at that time, it was not surprising that the ball went in. But at the critical moment, even if it was just an open shot, it would not be different. Because it would test a person's psychological quality. Chris Webber's missed layup in an almost open situation proved this point.

Kobe having a "big heart" is what Chuck Daly has always hoped for.

After all, the current Lakers team has too few "key players". Everyone knows that Meng Lang must be the one who will make the final attack for the Lakers.

This is not only a reflection of the team's status, but also because giving the ball to others, no matter who it is, is an uncertain thing.

and so……

It has to be Meng Lang, and it can only be Meng Lang.

But now it’s different, there is one more candidate.

Although Chuck Daly would still give the ball to Meng Lang in such a situation, but...

More choices are always better than just one choice.

Kobe was a little dissatisfied with this. In his opinion, he just made some shots that should have been made. What's there to brag about?

Is my critical moment shooting bad?
If he asked Meng Lang this question, Meng Lang would definitely glance at him and then tell him with his facial expression:

Are you good or bad? Don’t you have any idea?
Kobe's psychological endurance and his ability to play key balls were definitely not strong at the beginning.

This can be seen from the fact that he missed three consecutive three-pointers in the playoffs. He is a complete "growth" player.

If it weren't for that paranoid heart, it would be difficult for Kobe to become the "dream in the hearts of 60 billion fans" later.

After defeating the Warriors, the Lakers won two consecutive away games. In the fourth away game, they will face the Suns again.

It is worth mentioning that the results of the All-Star starting lineup voting for the first week of this season came out at this time.

The results of the first week made all the fans excited. In the Western Conference, Meng Lang and Hardaway are the two starting guards, and Grant Hill is the starting small forward.

Everyone knows that the two best brothers of Meng Lang in the circle are Hardaway and Grant Hill. Now that the three brothers are sitting in the starting position in the West, the "CP party" directly shouted that it was the New Year.

At the same time, Chris Webber is also in the starting forward position. The combination of the "93 generation" is also exciting.

The starting spot at center belongs to “Admiral” David Robinson.

After a few years of silence, Robinson finally found a pretty good partner, which allowed the Spurs to return to the starting lineup in the Western Conference, and the former "Navy fans" came back to top the charts again.

Before the game started, Meng Lang and Grant Hill took a photo together on the sidelines.

Duke University posted this poster in the school's stadium that same day.

The Lakers lost the game in the end. The impact of four consecutive away games on the Lakers was more serious than any injuries.

Even Ben Wallace's afro looks a bit limp.

When playing against a "run-and-gun team" like the Suns, you can do without anything, but lack of physical strength is the real suffering.

The Lakers suffered their first loss of the new year.

In the end, they ended their 6-game road trip with a record of 2 wins and 8 losses. When they returned to Los Angeles, these people were so unconscious that they couldn't even open their eyes.

When Meng Lang got home, he saw Monica sitting on the sofa in the living room holding "The Third Dream". The noise of his return woke up both of them.

"Why are you sleeping here?"

Monica felt angry and amused at the same time: "She was crying and making a fuss 10 minutes ago. I was holding her and fell asleep. I didn't expect her to fall asleep again now. Here you go. Maybe she knew you would come back today and was waiting for you. I'm going to sleep first."

She handed the "Third Dream" to Meng Lang.

Meng Lang looked at the sleeping Meng Yuan and felt a lot more relaxed at once.

After the "eight consecutive away games", the Lakers have a much better time. They will play five games at home and then one away game. After this away game until the end of the month, they will be in Los Angeles...

With such a comfortable schedule, the Lakers started their winning streak again, and together with the last two wins of the "8-game away game", they ended their entire January journey with an 11-game winning streak.

Finally, a Los Angeles media couldn't help asking Meng Lang: "Dream, can we get more than 70 wins this season? Is it possible for us to break the best record in history?"

The best record in NBA regular season history is 73 wins and 9 losses when Meng Lang was with the Magic. Now the Lakers have lost a total of 5 games. With less than 34 games left on the schedule, they should have no problem winning 70 games.

After all, the most difficult "eight consecutive away games" have passed, and there are only a few "back-to-back" games left. Kobe's key shots are getting better and better. When the score is tense, Meng Lang and Kobe work together to suddenly hit a "scoring boom" to lock the game. This has become the norm for the Lakers now.

The league also announced this season's Eastern and Western All-Star starting lineups. The Western Conference All-Star starting lineup remained unchanged, maintaining the lineup after the first round of voting.

Then on the Lakers side, Kobe and Ben Wallace were selected for this All-Star lineup as substitutes.

In the East, Allen Iverson and Jordan are the starting guards, Vince Carter and McGrady are the starting forwards, and Shaquille O'Neal is the starting center!
Just like before, Vince Carter, McGrady, and Francis all announced their participation in this year's "Slam Dunk Contest". Kobe's competition was not originally on the list. But Meng Lang praised McGrady every day.

This guy actually chose to participate in this "Slam Dunk Contest".

Meng Lang signed up for the "Three-Point Shooting Contest".

His announcement of participation immediately made the event hot, and a number of shooting stars such as Ray Allen and Alan Houston chose to participate in this year's three-point shooting contest.

David Stern's teeth almost fell out from laughing.

Hamilton had also signed up, but was rejected by the authorities on the grounds that he was not well-known enough!
A rookie should act like a rookie!
There is no other reason for such a lively All-Star weekend than this being the first All-Star Game in the 21st century. Everyone knows that it will definitely leave a mark in NBA history.

Since entering February, Kobe has been practicing "Dream Steps" with Meng Lang for a month.

Kobe's progress is still very fast.

The gap between his physical hardware and Jordan's is destined for him to make up for it with these steps.

However, to be honest, Kobe's steps were sometimes too broken, so much so that he might have been traveling.

But given his superstar status, referees generally don't focus on his footwork.

Anyway, compared to some players who can tell at a glance how many steps they have taken.

He couldn't even be described as "walking".

Kobe is still somewhat dissatisfied with his progress. In his opinion, his progress is still too slow.

According to his estimation, Meng Lang should have mastered it in one summer, so he couldn't be slower than Meng Lang. (End of this chapter)