So I am the god of basketball?

Chapter 99 Training Grant

Hardaway felt his energy, but he did not get caught up in the competition with Scales. He followed the Magic team's training in the training camp. After arriving in the frontcourt, when he saw Meng Lang successfully reaching the high post, he Passed the ball towards him.

A very quick cross ball.

Before Meng Lang moved to the high post, he made a "cut in" gesture towards Grant, but when he stood in the high post with his back to the frame, caught the ball and turned his head slightly, he did not see the familiar blue and white stripes.

Grant didn't move!

Meng Lang simply turned over and shot a jumper.

His pause made Rex who was following him think he was still considering whether to pass the ball, and the sudden "turnover jump shot" was something he did not expect. He blocked it in time, but his height is only 1 meters.

Meng Lang found the basket in the air, forced a shot, and hit a mid-range jumper.

His mid-range shooting ability has now reached 90 points.

Interference like Rex has almost no impact on him.

2-3!

After the goal, Meng Lang did not let Grant go. He said to the "Cobra": "If you have a fucking eye problem, you can sit down and rest in this game!"

"I just want to know how you passed it to me!" In fact, Grant is really not going against Meng Lang. He is a person with professional ethics. No matter how much he can't understand the privileges of Jordan and Pippen, on the court He can still be conscientious. He saw Meng Lang's signal, but he didn't think Meng Lang could pass the ball to Howard in front of Howard, a highly mobile fourth position.

Therefore, he did not "cut inside" into the penalty area.

He felt that his choice was not wrong.

If he really cuts inside and draws Howard closer to the basket, it is very likely that Howard can help his teammates cover him in the middle.

In the final analysis, it was his distrust of Meng Lang's ability.

In the training camp, Meng Lang did show his passing ability, but it was only better than Grant expected. In Grant's eyes, when Meng Lang gets the ball, the most important thing to do is to shoot like he just did.

He admitted that this bitch's shooting ability is indeed at the top level in the league and is very stable.

It feels like he's been in a microwave forever.

"That's my business. All you have to do is actively cooperate with your teammates!" Meng Lang replied rudely.

"Man, you don't believe Meng?" Howard was listening next to him, his tone was incredulous. He is a member of the college student sparring team, and no one in this team will doubt Meng Lang's judgment, and he is no exception. "You don't even know how lucky you are!"

First he was teammates with Michael Jordan, and now he is teammates with Meng Lang. This is so lucky!

"What does this have to do with you, a rookie?" Grant didn't expect Howard to speak suddenly.

Are all rookies today so rude?

What about the order of this alliance?

He remembered that when Pippen first entered the league, he was slapped by Oakley!

Howard didn't speak. He responded to Grant with a mid-range catch and shoot:

I'm talking to you with a basketball, so you have to shut up!

4-3!

The Magic still played the same way they did at the beginning, with Meng Lang taking the high post. This time he gestured towards Grant again. "Cobra" saw that he insisted on moving like this, nodded slightly and became worried:

OK, I want to see how you pass the ball to me!

Meng Lang paid attention to Grant's reaction before moving this time. He saw that he ran obediently, moved to a high position, jumped to catch the ball, and twisted his body. While he was still in the air, he seemed to be a "transit station" for basketball. Generally, the ball suddenly drew an "L" shape in the air, and the "Cobra" squeezed Howard behind him. As soon as he reached the basket, he saw something flying over his head and raised his head:

ball!

With a small move, he pushed Howard behind him, jumped up high, glided to catch the ball, and completed the "alley-oop and layup".

Such wonderful cooperation caused a burst of excited howls from the scene.

Chuck Daly also applauded: "Nice pass, dream! A few more passes like this!"

Meng Lang said to him: "If you let that damn old guy coordinate his movements well, then there will definitely be more scenes like this!"

Grant was very happy to score the goal. When he heard Meng Lang complaining to Daley, his face turned blue and white, but he couldn't say anything at all.

Meng Lang proved with practical actions that he can pass the ball to the inside in time under such circumstances. And if he had done this earlier, Meng Lang wouldn't have had to take any forceful action just now. Even if that goal goes in.

In the first regular season game between the two of them, Meng Lang already dominated the conversation.

As Grant moved according to Meng Lang's instructions, the Magic's subsequent offense became smoother.

Hardaway's pass, coupled with Meng Lang's support...

Well, what impressed the fans at the scene more deeply was definitely Meng Lang's "second pass", sometimes a direct "point pass", sometimes a "through pass" after jumping to shoot, including a sudden "back of the head" behind the frame. "Pass"...

Although not every time it turned into an assist, Meng Lang's passing was indeed full of threat and imagination.

When the Wizards defended him, they didn't dare to take action at all.

The ball went into the frame one after another, and the Magic hit all of their first 6 shots in the game.

The Bullets started the game by relying on the personal abilities of Scales and Howard to score goals quickly. But neither of them is a "scoring master". Although Hardaway and the Magic team are not defensive heroes. But he is definitely not the kind of player who scores 8 points by himself and delivers 10 points on the defensive end. So soon they "blacked out."

Halfway through the first quarter, the Magic already led by 8 points. This was definitely a very big gap in the era of traditional centers.

The Bullets only played half a quarter, and the Magic opened up such a point difference...

One can imagine the gap between the two teams.

In just three quarters, the Magic relied on their "wave flow" to score a huge 80-60 lead. The fourth quarter hasn't started yet. Meng Lang, Hardaway, Shaquille O'Neal and Grant were already sitting on the court talking and laughing.

The ESPN reporter at the scene took a photo of the four of them sitting side by side.

In the celebration dance of the fans at the scene, the Magic finally won the first victory of the new season with a margin of 31 points. The people of Orlando expressed 100% satisfaction with the feeling of this "winning night".

"In fact, I said these things wrong. I shouldn't have provoked him after I made two three-pointers. If I remember correctly, after I said these words, he made a total of Made 2 three-pointers.”

After the game, Rex Chapman mentioned the trash talk he had with Meng Lang during the confrontation.

After he hit two three-pointers, he said to Meng Lang, "It looks like I'm going to rain three-pointers on your head today." This sentence was accurately captured by the reporters on the sidelines. He also regretted it very much at this moment.

He messed with someone he shouldn't have messed with.

He is not someone he can mess with who can lead the team to "let 3 chase 4".

"So you didn't say any trash at him?"

"no!"

"why not?"

At the Magic's postgame press conference, reporters also mentioned the "spit" between Meng Lang and Chapman.

Meng Lang finally made a total of 5 three-pointers tonight, scoring a total of 21 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. His plan at the beginning of tonight was to adjust the lineup and train Grant at the same time, but he did not expect, "General The title "Final MVP" is so eye-catching. In the first game of the new season, he met someone who provoked him. He had no choice but to show this guy what "shooting" meant!

But after he beat Chapman, he did not respond with "trash talk", which surprised the media. In their opinion, this was not the Meng Lang they remembered.

Meng Lang said: "It feels like a guy who is 2 meters tall, strong and strong, is holding up a short guy who is less than 04 meters tall, completing a layup in progress, and then heading towards him I made a 'too small' gesture... This is not my style! "

He and I are not on the same level, so if we perform well, isn't that what we should do?

Is there any need to say some mocking words after defeating him?

No need, no need at all!

This is Meng Lang's realization as the "Finals MVP"!

After he puts on the championship ring, there are not many guys in this league who are worthy of his positive response.

Reske, he has actually heard of this name. It seems that he later went to the Heat. In a certain game, his touch exploded. Under Jordan's defense, he made 17 of 12 shots and 10 of 9 three-pointers. He scored 39 points. After the game, he excitedly said that he beat Jordan and liked Jordan's defense, because Jordan didn't like to chase his defender in the pick-and-roll, which made him feel like there was no one in front of him to defend when shooting, and he could score easily.

This is a typical "You can beat me countless times, but as long as you give me a chance, I will brag for the rest of my life!"

Of course, the result was the much-loved Michael Jordan's revenge. When the two teams met in the playoffs, Jordan averaged 30 points per game and guarded him by 9 points per game. The Bulls eliminated the Heat 3-0. Then he was given up by the Heat in the summer of that year.

Such a guy is not worthy of being marked by Meng Lang. He didn't want to have any more discussions on this topic: "Is there anything else you want to ask?"

"Dream, you once again contributed many excellent passes in this game. You got 5 assists. Everyone is talking about your assist ability this season. Can you tell us what efforts you have made in this regard? ?"

Meng Lang said honestly: "Nothing, I just looked through the videos of Larry Bird's entire career!"

"Is this how you learned it?"

"That's it..." Meng Lang nodded.

There is no need for too much explanation at all. There are many things in life that do not need explanation.

If you really need an explanation, can anyone explain how Michael Jordan grew 20cm taller in one summer?

Is this really his nonsense "suspension training"?

Why was Westbrook able to "evolve" every time he was injured when he was with the Thunder?

So sometimes things just happen so absurdly.

You can't drag Meng Lang to be "sliced" just for this reason, right?

Moreover, Meng Lang's words really made the media "behind the scenes":

Hey, not to mention, Meng Lang's passing on the court is indeed somewhat similar to Larry Bird, just say why it looks so familiar!

In fact, after training and preseason, his vision ability has reached 96 points, which is only 3 points away from reaching the full value. Now Meng Lang only needs a "dump pass", which is really indistinguishable from Larry Bird's pass.

The reporters still had many questions they wanted to ask, but unfortunately it was too late. The Magic team was rushing to Philadelphia that night to prepare for the game against the 76ers tomorrow. Therefore, after answering this question, Meng Lang's interview ended here.

On the way to the airport, Meng Lang called Hill, but he didn't get through.

The Pistons also have a game to play today, and Hill is sitting at home to meet the challenge of the Lakers.

When the interview just ended, he had already obtained Hill's exact data performance from the reporter:

25分10篮板5助攻3盖帽，即便还有3次失误跟5个犯规，但这样的表现也足够炸裂了。他到现在都没空接孟浪的电话，足可见赛后的他被多少记者围着。

——Well done, man, be careful not to get pulled for a urine test!

Meng Lang waited until he arrived in Philadelphia with the team and turned on his phone again. Only then did he receive a text message from Hill:

--go to bed early!

Two words:

intimate!

When he arrived at the hotel lobby, Chuck Daly also specifically told everyone on the Magic team to rest quickly and don't think about going out. He also specifically canceled the joint training the next morning so that the Magic team could recuperate. Charge up. But despite this, in the game against the Philadelphia 76ers the next day, the Magic still lost 97 to 104, a score difference of 7 points.

The first defeat of the new season came so quickly!

But there is nothing we can do. The "back-to-back" schedule is already tiring. In addition, the season has just begun and the brothers have not yet entered the state. This is even worse. Hardaway made 17 of 4 shots tonight, and Shaq -O'Neal made one of his eight free throws, and that one was a miss.

Including Meng Lang, he only made 17 of 7 shots in this game.

Shooting-type players are inherently disturbed by many factors. When encountering "back to back", it is a problem with the mental state itself, and it is even more difficult to adjust. This requires the accumulation of experience. Even if Meng Lang is extremely talented, this hurdle will take time.

Chuck Daly's words after the game were a bit fierce: "This is what the league wanted to see, and they succeeded!"

He was venting his dissatisfaction.

Let’s look at the past history of the NBA. Which “defending champion” started the new season with back-to-back games? From the perspective of a head coach of his type, the start of the season is very important. If the season starts well, the overall momentum will come naturally. Especially the Magic team is still a "youth army" and pays more attention to morale.

This statement prompted the league to issue a fine of $2.

David Stern will not allow anyone to provoke the league like this.

You can say that the schedule is a bit difficult, this is objective. But it cannot be said that such a difficult schedule is deliberately targeted by the league.

But Chuck Daly has his reasons for doing this.

The defending champion lost in the second game of the new season, which will make some unscrupulous media deliberately write something eye-catching. The atmosphere in the Magic's locker room is not healthy, and Chuck Daly knows this very well, so at this time he must do something to attract outside firepower and divert their attention.

Even if you pay a fine of $2 for this.

His strategy was successful. Early the next morning, all the media talked about the Magic was Chuck Daly's dissatisfaction and the Magic's "back-to-back" schedule.

Any team can be forgiven for losing in "back-to-back" situations.

Instead, his remarks made the media start to debate whether David Stern really intended to target the Magic on the schedule. The scope of the discussion was so wide that Chuck Daly's payment of $2 was not unfair at all.

Even so, Meng Lang showed up at the arena early. 2 hours earlier than normal training time.

If the day after his last game was in such a bad shooting state, he could still arrive at the arena at 8:9 as usual, start warming up at 9:, and wait to assemble at :. Then he is definitely not a player with aspirations.

At least that's the case in most cases.

Meng Lang's "championship heart" is not just words, but words and deeds. He was disgusted by his state in the last game.

The "Finals MVP" must practice more to perform in such a state.

By the time the rest of the Magic team arrived at the arena, he was already sweating profusely, so he ran to the locker room and changed into a brand new training uniform.

Grant had just arrived at the arena. Surprise flashed in his eyes: "You finally look like a rookie! When I was your age, I was always full of enthusiasm!"

"Don't compare you to me, Horace. I won the Finals MVP in my rookie season. My salary in the second year of my career has exceeded 3 million. By the way, I had my own signature in my rookie season. Shoes, the brand that is rushing to give me signature shoes is called Adidas!" Meng Lang said as he neatly changed into training clothes and walked out of the locker room again.

Grant looked at his leaving figure and his teeth almost broke!

What he is most angry about is:

What Meng Lang said is true!

In the third game of the season, the Magic returned to their home court again. Their opponent this time was their opponent in last season's semifinals:

New York Knicks.

In the eyes of the outside world, this game is a focus battle, and this outside world refers to the "New York media" alone.

Because the New York Knicks did not make any big trades this summer, they still have the same lineup as last season.

In the past, present and future of the NBA, there are only two teams that can maintain competitiveness by maintaining a core lineup all year round, one is called the Chicago Bulls, and the other is called the San Antonio Spurs.

The former has Michael Jordan, and the latter has Tim Duncan in the future.

If the core lineup of other teams does not change, especially those teams that have not won the championship, it is inevitable that there will be a natural decline in form.

From the outside world, the New York Knicks are no exception.

Ewing is not a player who can maintain a high level of form all the time, and his team cannot remain competitive enough for a long time.

Time will tell this very well.

More importantly, the Magic have a specific formula for playing the New York Knicks:

When Meng Lang appears at the fourth position, it is difficult for the New York Knicks to resist the Magic's firepower.

So even though the entire New York Knicks emphasized before the game that they are no longer the same as last season, their belief in revenge will make them stronger. Most media are optimistic that the Magic will easily win the New York Knicks.

This is like "bloodline suppression" and has nothing to do with the Knicks' own strength.

However, Chuck Daly did not come up with the Magic's "winning formula."

The New York Knicks have the inside combination of Ewing and Oakley, which can be used to test what Grant's arrival can bring to the team's fourth position.

Grant could also feel this from the atmosphere before the game. This game was extremely serious before the game. Not at all as lazy as he was in his last few games.

Well, yes, tonight's opponent is Oakley. He was Oakley's substitute during his rookie season. Later, the Bulls helped him move up and traded Oakley. With Oakley's temper, he naturally kept this account in mind. Every time he fought against his old master, he was always extremely energetic. ——As the saying goes, those who are close to vermilion are red, and those who are close to ink are black! Michael Jordan's bodyguard looks like this.

Coincidentally, Grant had the same mentality.

"If possible, I would like to take more shots!" In the locker room, Grant made a request that in his opinion was not too much. Anyway, the core of the team has such a privilege. When he meets an opponent he cares about, or it has special meaning and must perform on a night, he can take more offensive shots than usual on the offensive end.

From his perspective, his importance to the Magic team must be at the level of a core player!

Shaquille O'Neal nodded: "Don't worry, man, these stupid reporters were originally watching you during this game!"

"Big Shark" expressed his tolerance, but his eyes kept spinning on Meng Lang and Chuck Daly. When he saw Chuck Daly looking towards Meng Lang for the first time, he cursed in his heart:

Damn it, I knew it!

Fortunately, he didn't look at Grant at this time, because "Cobra" was also looking at Meng Lang at the moment!

He hates this guy, but since he came to the Magic, everyone from the management to the coaching staff and his teammates have been telling him in silent actions:

There is no apparent boss in this team, but everything requires Meng Lang's consent.

"What, are you going to beat Oakley from behind?" Meng Lang glanced at him.

"Of course not!" Grant almost broke through the defense and roared angrily. He has some low-post ability, but not enough to challenge Oakley. He still has to rely more on his inside cuts and open shots.

Meng Lang ignored him and looked at Chuck Daly. The tacit understanding between the two of them has now reached over 90 points. Just by looking at each other, Chuck Daly understood what Meng Lang was thinking. He said to Grant: "This is not a big problem, but you have to agree first. One thing for me, starting from tomorrow, I will practice 5 middle distance reps every day for half a month!"

"Chuck, even if it's not a trade, I will do it!" Grant was very dissatisfied with Chuck Daly's request.

Who do you think he is!

If Chuck Daly really arranged for him to practice mid-range shooting every day, would he still refuse?

Meng Lang slandered:

You would be surprised!

In the original 90s, Grant "died" with the Bulls. Since he left Chicago and Michael Jordan, his mid-range shooting ability has continued to deteriorate, and even other abilities have also suffered to varying degrees. The decline is related to his injuries, but it is definitely related to him leaving the "paranoia" of Jordan.

He is slacking off!

Chuck Daly probably also noticed this sign, so he understood Meng Lang's thoughts with just a glance.

Anyway, the idea of ​​taking more shots came true.

Grant didn't think much more and concentrated on preparing for the game.

The New York Knicks got the right to attack first, and Starks, who held the ball through half court, took a shot himself.

"Shh!"

This "nerve knife" seemed to be in good shape tonight, and he succeeded in making mid-range shots as soon as he started.

During the Magic's offense, while Hardaway held the ball through half the court, he was planning tactics with Meng Lang. After Meng Lang communicated with him, he began to indicate the tactics for this round to Grant and Shaquille O'Neal inside.

Grant understood and quickly stepped forward to help with the pick-and-roll. ——It is worth mentioning that the pick-and-roll job originally belonged to Shaquille O'Neal. With his body shape here, he is the most suitable candidate for the pick-and-roll.

But Shaq didn't want to leave the zone.

To put it bluntly, I don’t want to be a “green leaf”.

The original Magic team used Grant to play pick-and-roll with Hardaway.

This time...

Although the reason was a little different, Shaquille O'Neal needed to be restrained at the basket and could not stand in the high post, but in the end Grant still stepped up to play the pick-and-roll.

Hardaway successfully switched to the opposite side of Oakley and continued cross-step dribbling, tricking Oakley into leaning too far forward. He hit the ball from Oakley's crotch to behind him.

Meng Lang just cut to this position, and he was about to lay up against Ewing, but when he jumped up, he gave the ball directly.

After Grant formed a mismatch with Harper at the first position, he successfully squeezed to the basket with force.

Meng Lang put the ball in front of him, and it was very comfortable.

Have the ball in hand.

"Bah!"

Ewing jumped out and jumped together with Meng Lang. As a result, he was still in the air and could only watch as Grant completed the "bombing the basket" above his head!

"wooooooow!"

The first thing that happened was the drama of "Dunking on Ewing".

The entire Orlando Arena was excited, and cheers poured out from all directions in the auditorium, filling every corner of the arena.

Grant looked at his hands in disbelief, and then glanced at Meng Lang who made the perfect pass.

His strength and confrontation are not bad, and he can even resist one or two Barkley's back blows, but even so, if he uses his own strength to dunk Ewing's head, I'm afraid his entire career will be useless.

Don't look at it: "Gorilla" is the strongest background board in the NBA.

But in fact, most people really don't want to dunk him.

The names of the "Big Four Centers" are not just called casually.

It's also two points, and the Magic team has great momentum.

This buckle really boosts morale.

Grant was so excited that he even wanted to high-five Meng Lang. If it weren't for Meng Lang not even looking at him after he completed the dunk...

"I want one in return!"

Ewing suddenly suffered such a big blow and forced the ball on the next possession. It's a pity that he faces Shaquille O'Neal, the steadiest No. 5 player in the league. Continuous back blows, but the steps are getting farther and farther outside.

Seeing that he was about to shoot a three-pointer, he could only use his unique skill "rabbit jump". Grant next to him had been paying attention to his movements and successfully defended, interfering with his hook shot.

Shaq turned his head to protect the rebound.

(End of this chapter)