Chapter 208: Mouth Continues to Work
When Pippen said this, everyone’s heart skipped a beat.

Is this another breakdown?
Pippen covered his head with his hands, looking painful, but it didn’t look like he was pretending.

Meng Jin squatted in front of Pippen and patted him on the shoulder: “Scottie, how do you feel now?”

Pippen shook his head and said, “I feel like throwing up now, Meng.”

“Hold on, the team needs you.” Meng Jin said.

Meng Jin felt that Pippen’s migraine was caused by psychological reasons. If he wanted to relieve the headache, he must insist on playing. After overcoming the psychological demons, the headache will naturally go away.

Pippen himself didn’t think so. He continued to cover his head and said: “I can’t concentrate. My eyes are blurry. I see double, just like I’m blind.”

The short timeout soon arrived, and Meng Jin had to accept the fact that after playing two good games, Pippen failed again, and this time it was a complete failure.

Bulls head coach Bach had no choice but to make a substitution. He sent on Craig Hodges to form a double point guard combination with Paxson.

During the Bulls’ offensive round, Paxson dribbled to the middle and Meng Jin ran from the baseline to the 45-degree angle on the wing.

The Celtics defended tightly but still failed to stop Meng Jin from receiving the ball.

Meng Jin’s teammates blocked the ball twice while he was running. Cartwright completed the first block at the baseline, helping him block Reggie Lewis, and Grant helped him with the second block.

After getting the ball, Larry Bird switched to Meng Jin.

Larry Bird took a small step back because he knew Meng Jin did not have the ability to shoot three-pointers. At the same time, he did not give Meng Jin enough space to accelerate and attack the inside. Larry Bird’s defensive handling was very smart.

Larry Bird has always been known for his high basketball IQ on both offense and defense, but his weakness is his physical strength. Meng Jin held the ball with one hand, and he wanted his teammates to help him create offensive space.

However, the Celtics did not give Meng Jin this opportunity. Brian Shaw always hovered not far from Meng Jin.

As soon as Meng Jin scored the ball, he made a breakthrough and Brian Shaw immediately followed him.

John Paxson was suddenly open, and Meng Jin pushed the ball to him.

John Paxson took the ball and shot without any adjustments.

Seeing this, Kevin Jumbo in the corner rushed over.

John Paxson did not force a shot, he made a lateral pass to Craig Hodges.

Hodges’ hands were still cold when he first came on the court, but as a shooter, he would definitely take the shot as long as the opportunity came.

“Shh!”

Hodges made a three-pointer!
Craig Hodges played an important role in the Bulls’ two consecutive championships. He has seen many big scenes and his psychological qualities have been honed long ago.

Meng Jin loudly encouraged Craig Hodges to high-five, and reached out to high-five him. After Pippen left the court, the Celtics will definitely further strengthen their defense, and Meng Jin needs his teammates to stand up and help him share the burden.

During the Celtics’ offensive round, Meng Jin stood in front of Larry Bird.

Now Meng Jin has heavier tasks on both offense and defense. He will face greater pressure on the offensive end, and he also has to limit the opponent’s key figures on the defensive end.

If you want to win the game tonight, these two points are indispensable.

Larry Bird went around the outside to get the ball, and Meng Jin tried to put pressure on him when he was running without the ball, forcing him to go farther to receive the ball.

Larry Bird received the ball one step outside the three-point line at the top of the arc. Meng Jin didn’t stick too close to him. Ultra-long three-pointers were not popular in that era. Unless there was not enough time, players rarely made such an attempt.

Larry Bird got the ball and directed traffic at the top of the arc, and he passed it to Reggie Lewis.

Reggie Lewis received the ball and made a fake move, then shot Grant away and then made a strong attack in the paint.

The Celtics fans stood up instantly. Reggie Lewis looked like he was going to dunk. Reggie Lewis really thought so. He rushed into the paint and jumped over Cartwright.

“Snapped!”

Cartwright blocked Reggie Lewis’s dunk attempt.

Cartwright’s current condition has declined a bit compared to the previous two years, but it is mainly reflected on the offensive end. He is still a good player on the defensive end.

Paxson took the ball and pushed forward, but Meng Jin did not rush to take the ball. He ran into the penalty area without the ball.

Just as Meng Jin reached out for the ball, four Celtics defensive players who returned to the defensive half instantly pounced on him!
Meng has gravity!

Paxson originally wanted to pass the ball to Meng Jin, but after seeing this situation, he was stunned for a second, then made a slight adjustment and took a mid-range shot.

“Shh!”

Paxson made the shot without any interference.

These two balls are crucial. Meng Jin needs his teammates to create an offensive threat so that the Celtics players will not dare to rush at him recklessly.

There was not much rhythm in these two rounds, and the Celtics immediately made tactical adjustments. They gave the ball to Kevin Jumbo and asked him to single out Hodges, the Bulls player who had just come on the court.

Kevin Jumbo is a size bigger than Hodges. He used his height and weight to crush the opponent and caused a foul, then made both free throws.

After the free throws, the Celtics quickly retreated to half court, determined not to let the Bulls find a chance to play a fast break.

In the Celtics’ view, a Bulls team that plays fast break is much more terrifying than a Bulls team that is in a defensive position.

But Meng Jin has a way to make the Celtics uncomfortable.

He got into position on the weak side, used his strength to push Reggie Lewis away, and then reached for the ball.

This is the disadvantage of the Celtics using Reggie Lewis to defend Meng Jin. Reggie Lewis has good mobility and can keep up with Meng Jin’s first step in positional warfare, and can cooperate with his teammates to encircle Meng Jin.

But his strength is a level lower than Meng Jin’s.

After receiving the ball, Meng Jin turned over gracefully and the basketball went into the net.

In the last game, Meng Jin made a lot of similar goals, and the Celtics were completely unable to defend them. In this era, double-teaming on the weak side without the ball is not allowed. The Celtics could not stop Meng Jin from receiving the ball, and it was too late to double-team him when Meng Jin received the ball.

“Lei Jie, I will teach you how to defend me. You should pray in advance. This is the only thing you can do.” Meng Jin not only started to exert his strength on the offensive end, but also started to exert his strength with his mouth.

The Celtics played a team game in the next offensive round. Larry Bird received the ball on the wing and immediately passed it back to Brian Shaw, then ran towards the penalty area. Robert Parish and James covered Bird at the same time.

There was chaos at the edge of the restricted area. Larry Bird took the opportunity to go around the baseline to the basket. Brian Shaw quickly passed the ball to him, and Bird had a chance to beat a smaller opponent.

After getting the ball, Bird didn’t make any extra moves and jumped directly to attack the basket. Hodges took a step back. He behaved very rationally. He knew that he had to control the number of fouls in this game, otherwise the Bulls would be in a situation where no one was available.

Bird easily hit the rebound.

The Bulls prepared to do the same thing in their next offensive round, and Meng Jin continued to ask for the ball on the weak side.

Reggie Lewis started a physical fight with Meng Jin. He grabbed Meng Jin’s arm from behind and pulled him back.

Reggie Lewis’s action was so outrageous that the referee couldn’t stand it and blew the whistle for a foul.

Meng Jin looked back at Reggie Lewis who was breathing heavily, and continued to exert force with his mouth: “Did you exert force just now? Sorry, I didn’t feel it.

(End of this chapter)