Jordan's comeback and return to the NBA may not be a secret to the league's top management. This matter has been planned by Stern for a long time, and the major media have more or less caught up with some information.
But for the vast majority of ordinary fans, it was a shocking event without any warning!
What does Jordan represent?
The best scorer in NBA history, the founder of the Bulls' three consecutive championship dynasties, and the only true god in the entire basketball world under Stern's god-making movement.
This can be seen from the sudden drop in NBA ratings and attention after Jordan retired.
And Jordan's comeback is undoubtedly like a bomb suddenly dropped on a calm lake, suddenly exploding and causing a storm.
The United States and even the entire world are in shock.
Overnight, the NBA's attention rose to unprecedented heights, even surpassing the football and baseball leagues in the United States.
Jordan's comeback team still chose the Chicago Bulls, which also left Pippen struggling to support himself. The Bulls, who were already about to fall out of the playoffs, became the favorites to win the 1994-95 season overnight!
All the strong teams that were originally eyeing this year's championship were dumbfounded. Why did Chen Yaojin show up halfway through?
"That guy Michael...damn it!"
Even though Jordan had little contact with basketball during his two years of retirement, and his comeback was in mid-March when the regular season was about to end. There was seriously insufficient time to recover and adjust with the team, but no team still dared to underestimate him.
The strength of the Bulls after Jordan's return.
The coaching staff of almost all teams began to work overtime urgently and began to discuss and formulate tactical strategies for the Bulls.
There are also teams in the Eastern Conference that have begun to study the upcoming regular season schedule, hoping to avoid the possibility of meeting the Bulls prematurely in the playoffs as much as possible.
…
Jordan successfully occupied the front pages of major newspapers and magazines, completely overshadowing Wang Feng, who has recently emerged.
Wang Feng had already been mentally prepared for this.
After all, he is just a newcomer who appears suddenly and has just arrived. No matter how excellent his performance is on the court, his influence is far from being comparable to that of the basketball god Jordan.
At the same time, Wang Feng also knows that Jordan, who has just come back this season, is not enough to become Wang Feng's opponent.
Jordan, who had not been exposed to basketball for two years and lacked systematic training, had weakened visibly.
In his memory, in his first game after his comeback, Jordan was shown off by his old rival Reggie Miller.
After finally encountering Jordan who was out of form, Miller attacked mercilessly and scored 28 points on 8 of 18 shots. Jordan, on the other hand, had no touch at all and only made 7 of 28 shots. He only made 25% of his field goals in his first game.
The rate was 19 points.
In the remaining 16 games of the regular season, Jordan averaged just over 41% from the field and averaged 26.9 points per game.
However, after entering the playoffs, Jordan's condition began to recover rapidly, his scoring average increased to 31.5 points per game, and his field goal percentage also returned to a high level of 48%.
But the Bulls he led were eliminated in the second round by the Orlando Magic led by O'Neal 4:2.
As for the second year, the Bulls introduced rebounding maniac Dennis Rodman and posted a world-shaking 72 wins and 10 losses. The playoffs were absolutely unbeatable and they won the championship all the way.
The situation now may be slightly different.
According to the current situation, it is very likely that the Knicks, not the Magic, will take first place in the Eastern Conference. If the Bulls' record is consistent with the original history, then it will be the Knicks who will meet the Bulls in the conference semifinals.
In this case, Wang Feng will have the opportunity to play against the God of Basketball in his first season in this era, which is not bad.
…
Like the original historical development, Jordan's first show began immediately the day after announcing his return.
The Bulls played against the Pacers away from home. The much-anticipated game ended with a result that many people did not expect.
However, after the game, not many people criticized Jordan for playing poorly. Everyone knew that Jordan had not touched basketball for two years, or in other words, he could play like this without training for such a long time. He was worthy of being the god of basketball.
Obviously, after Jordan's return, the Bulls will still need some time to adjust and explore.
On the other hand, the Knicks continue to make great progress.
On March 21, the Knicks defeated the Charlotte Hornets 102:78 at home.
Wang Feng made 13 of 20 shots, 6 of 10 three-pointers, and 8 of 8 free throws. He scored another 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists, a super triple-double.
Perhaps it was Jordan's comeback that put the team's head coach Riley under pressure, or perhaps the pressure brought by Stern and the outside media forced Riley to make further compromises on the distribution of Wang Feng's ball rights.
Unknowingly, Wang Feng's ball possession rate and average number of shots per game have completely reached the same level as Ewing.
Without the suppression of his teammates, Wang Feng's terrifying offensive firepower was displayed vividly and exquisitely in this era of shortened three-point line.
Wang Feng's shooting range is really too far. Even when the three-point line is not shortened, he can maintain a stable shooting rate at a distance of more than one meter from the three-point line, let alone when the three-point line is shortened.
The 360-degree, ultra-long-distance three-pointer is difficult for any team in the league to adapt to, and Wang Feng is not only good at three-pointers.
Comparable to Grant Hill's first breakthrough, running all over the court with seemingly endless physical energy, able to compete with Barkley's head-on physical confrontation, and finally coupled with the blessing from Stern's father (whistle protection)
), making Wang Feng's scoring ability even more terrifying than Jordan's at his peak.
In order to limit Wang Feng's scoring, some teams have begun to double-team Wang Feng.
On March 23, the Knicks played against the Denver Nuggets away from home.
When the Nuggets faced Wang Feng, they did not hesitate to use double-teaming tactics in an attempt to curb Wang Feng's performance.
The result of this is that people have seen another unique skill of Wang Feng, passing the ball.
With a passing ability of 91, passing awareness of 99, purple ten cents and playmaker badges, plus a silver fancy passer badge, Wang Feng can transform into a passer at any time if he wants to.
Ball Master.
In the whole game, Wang Feng did not take many shots. He made 9 of 14 shots, 3 of 3 three-pointers, and 4 of 4 free throws. He scored 25 points. However, he sent 16 assists in a single game and made 0 turnovers!
He scored 25 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists, helping the Knicks easily defeat the Nuggets 114:101.
Even Riley was shocked by Wang Feng's ability in assisting.
Riley was candid in his postgame press conference.
"Today's Wang Feng is much beyond my imagination. I see the shadow of that extremely familiar old friend in him. Yes, I am talking about Erwin. Although Wang Feng's passing style is different from Erwin,
But he is also full of spirituality, and the timing of passing the ball is just right. I think Wang Feng is fully capable of serving as a point guard!"
In this regard, Wang Feng calmly told reporters.
"Actually, I have played point guard for a long time before, and I know very well what a point guard needs to do."
Wang Feng really has no humility at all.
Jordan has returned, the ultimate goal of the dynasty terminator is in place, and the time has come for him to show off his talents and challenge the opponent!
It is worth mentioning that Jordan, who had only returned to the league for a few days, was also asked about Wang Feng.
"I have watched Wang Feng's game. In fact, as soon as he appeared, he immediately caught my attention. He is a very strong player, especially his three-point shooting ability, which I still remember freshly."
"It's a pity that when I was playing in front of him, he had not yet joined the NBA, but fortunately, now that I am back, there are many opportunities to play against him."
Jordan gave Wang Feng a very high evaluation, which is quite rare for the always arrogant Jordan.
If Wang Feng wasn't already 30 years old, he might have been dubbed the strongest successor to Jordan by now.
However, such a nickname will definitely not make Wang Feng happy. After all, his goal is to defeat Jordan. What's the point of being Jordan's successor?
Jordan VS Wang Feng, the contest between the rookie with the most momentum in the league in recent times and the returning king of basketball, has made everyone look forward to it.
What's even more coincidental is that there is actually one game between the Knicks and the Bulls in the remaining regular season. On April 16, at the Bulls' home court, the two teams will have their last regular season showdown.
In the previous three regular season games between the Knicks and the Bulls, the Knicks had the upper hand 2:1. However, before Wang Feng joined, Pippen single-handedly defeated the entire Knicks team in the Christmas game.
Now that both teams are strong, who can be better has immediately aroused great interest and concern among the general public.
Before that, both teams have more than ten long games, which can also be regarded as warm-up preparations before the strong showdown.
…
The Knicks achieved a record of 10 wins and 2 losses in the next 12 games.
The two games they lost were to the Seattle SuperSonics and the Portland Trail Blazers.
Neither team is the top team in the league, but they are neither weak. It coincides with the Knicks preparing for the final game against the Bulls, and arranged for the main players to take turns to recuperate, so they selectively gave up the victory of these two games.
At this time, the Knicks no longer attach so much importance to winning the next regular season, because they are already four games ahead of the Orlando Magic, who are second in the Eastern Conference, and firmly occupy the first place in the Eastern Conference.
Next, regardless of whether they win or lose the showdown with the Bulls, the Knicks have only four games left in the regular season, facing the Bucks, Hornets, Celtics and Washington Bullets respectively.
No matter how you look at it, it is impossible to lose the first place in the Eastern Conference.
In other words, the game against the Bulls is also the last serious game the Knicks want to win in the regular season.
On April 16, the entire Knicks team flew to Chicago on a special plane. At the same time, a large number of reporters and fans from all over the world also focused their attention on this early.
That night, the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls, was packed with seats. A large number of Chicago fans cheered in the stands, cheering for their home team and Jordan.
After nearly a month of returning to competition and training, Jordan's condition is constantly recovering and he is becoming more and more like the basketball god he was before his retirement.
In the last game, the Bulls led by Jordan challenged the Detroit Pistons away from home. Jordan made 12 of 23 shots from the field and scored 29 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists, a near-triple-double. He was in excellent condition.
Almost all Bulls fans believe that this battle, which has attracted the attention of the whole country, will definitely end with the Bulls winning!
As a time traveler, Wang Feng naturally has no impression of such a regular season game.
But not long after the game started, he realized that the Bulls would probably win this game.
The reason is very simple. Within the first 5 minutes of the game, the Knicks' two main scoring points, Ewing and Starks, were so bad that it was hard to complain.
Ewing made 1 of 4 starts and only scored 2 points.
Starks was even worse, going 0 for 3 and scoring no points.
Facing the momentum of the Bulls, the Knicks, who clearly had an absolute advantage in record, played timidly, as if they were the weaker side.
Because of this, before Wang Feng could seriously play against Jordan for a few rounds, the Knicks were already defeated by a wave of continuous attacks by the Bulls. In less than 5 minutes, the Bulls had already scored 17 points, while the Knicks had already scored 17 points.
Only 8 points were credited.
Of the Knicks' eight points, five were scored by Wang Feng, mainly from a long shot from beyond the three-point line and a mid-range pull-up jumper.
When he played against Jordan for the first time, Wang Feng originally wanted to wait and see, but looking at this, if he didn't exert his strength, the game would lose suspense in a short time.
"Is it coming?"
Seeing Wang Feng starting to take the initiative to ask for the ball, Jordan raised his eyebrows slightly.
At the beginning of the game, Jordan had the same idea as Wang Feng. Although he wanted to see Wang Feng's true strength in person, he was ready to test it out first.
Therefore, for the Bulls, Pippen and Kukoc are more responsible for the offense.
I didn't expect these two people to be so powerful. They were so powerful right from the start and almost defeated the Knicks.
Now that Wang Feng couldn't wait and took the initiative, Jordan naturally did not hesitate and immediately stood in front of Wang Feng.
"Coming, coming! Michael VS King!"
Seeing this scene, the audience in the stands became excited, including Directors Zhang and Su who followed the Knicks to the Bulls home court.
This game is also the focus of much attention in the country.
Jordan's name is also quite well-known in China. Many entry-level basketball fans may not know the rules of the NBA, but they absolutely must know Jordan's name.
There are actually players in China who can directly compete with Jordan, or Wang Feng, who has been in the limelight recently. Everyone wants to know who will win in the duel between the two.
"He is worthy of being named to the 9th All-Defensive Team. He is one of the few top defenders who can win the Defensive Player of the Year Award as a perimeter defender."
Wang Feng stood outside the three-point line with the ball. Looking at Jordan in front of him, he immediately felt a rush of pressure.
Jordan's defense is so strong that it can be seen with the naked eye. If you want to compare, Wang Feng feels that even Leonard at his peak did not put as much pressure on him on the defensive end as Jordan did.
Of course, the psychological effect that the word "Jordan" brings to Wang Feng may also have something to do with it. After all, putting aside defensive skills, Leonard, who is 2.01 meters tall and has a terrifying wingspan of 2.21 meters, is far superior in static talent.
Better than Jordan, who is 1.98 meters tall and has a wingspan of 2.14 meters.
Which of the two is actually better defensively requires Wang Feng to experience it personally through the game.