Chapter 1012
The Unique Durant and the Terrifying White Beast!
"Is that why you gave up the entire forest?" Kobe leaned against Lin Tian and asked curiously, "It's completely understandable."
"Lin, could you ask Theron for me?" Before Lin Tian could reply, Durant cautiously approached.
"Do you want a photo or an autograph? Go find her yourself. Do I need to relay such a small matter?" Lin Tian cursed. This kid has already received a super contract worth nearly 100 million US dollars, how come he still has such a strong loser vibe?
"No, that's not what I meant. I just wanted to ask Theron if she knows Scarlett... and if possible, could she give her my phone number?"
"Idiot." Lin Tian gave him the middle finger and said, "Kevin, you'll never get a girl like that, especially not a girl like Scarlett. She won't even give you a second glance."
"You need to be confident, you need to show some backbone, at least you need to have some courage, right? What kind of person would let someone give Scarlett your phone number? I bet Scarlett will never call you!"
“You’re right, Lin!” Durant nodded heavily, as if he had been activated, expressing his determination.
Just as Lin Tian nodded, thinking that the kid was teachable and not entirely hopeless, Durant added, "I'll go find Theron and firmly state: You must give Scarlett my phone number, and emphasize that it's my number!"
Lin Tian raised his leg and kicked Durant in the butt.
It's unimaginable, absolutely unimaginable that a billionaire would do this?
The key point is, this guy isn't some innocent young puppy or a 25-year-old virgin!
When they go out together, Durant gets really crazy when he's having fun!
Lin Tian had even seen this guy walking his bird in the street!
Why does it become like this when it comes to Scarlett?
"You're right, Lin! I can't do this!" Durant straightened his back again, mustering his courage, but unfortunately, Lin Tian had already given up all hope for him.
This kid is hopeless.
"I'm going straight to Theron and asking for Scarlett's number! I'm going to ask her directly!"
"Lin? Lin, why did you leave?"
Having mustered his courage and made up his mind, Durant didn't get a reply from Lin Tian. He quickly turned around, only to find that Lin Tian was no longer responding to him.
"How did I leave? Can't you see Scarlett sitting right there? It's only this short distance, why do you need someone to pass on a message? Are you afraid people won't know you're an idiot?" Lin Tian pressed Durant's head with both hands, forcibly turning it to a different angle so that he could see Scarlett sitting there chatting with her best friend.
Lin Tian also knew Scarlett's best friend, Jessica Alba.
Lin Tian felt that he and she might have had something going on, but he wasn't sure.
It seems that it was after the finals of a certain year, when I won the championship, that I talked about the stars and the moon with the girl.
But that's not important.
It happened so many years ago, who cares?
The important one is Durant.
Since it's Christmas Eve, Lin Tian felt he could help his little brother take that brave step.
“I could see her, I saw her a long time ago, I even saw Scarlett the moment I entered the arena! Her charisma is undeniable.”
“In that respect, you two are quite a good match. Your unique charisma is also undeniable.” Lin Tian released Durant’s head and said, “Go ahead, go and get to know him.”
"I'm not going," Durant shook his head, wanting to remain single.
"You don't dare?" Lin Tian tried to provoke him.
"Yes, I dare not." Provocation didn't work; no one can provoke a coward.
"What price are you willing to pay to get to know Scarlett?" Lin Tian asked again.
"Everything!" Durant said firmly once again.
“Very good, then the most handsome Santa Claus in history is here to deliver your Christmas presents!” After saying that, Lin Tian grabbed Durant’s neck without saying a word, and then kept the guy in his neck without stopping, without hesitation, and without listening to Durant’s screams and protests.
After walking up to Scarlett and Alba, Lin Tian finally let go of Durant. Under the gaze of the two beauties, Lin Tian said, "My buddy, I'd like to get to know you. He's always been a fan of yours and has always liked you. He hopes we can become friends."
Scarlett.
"Huh? It wasn't you?" Scarlett covered her mouth, disappointment written all over her face. But an actress is an actress, and the girl quickly put on a smile and said, "Actually, I've always been a Kevin fan, and I really like Kevin."
Lin Tian also noticed that Alba next to him also had a disappointed expression, as if he thought, "So he didn't come to see me after all."
Wow...that's terrifying!
I'm no longer in the martial arts world, so why are my legends still so prevalent?
Although Lin Tian was secretly pleased with this situation.
However, today's occasion is not quite appropriate.
"It's up to you." Lin Tian knew that this place was not a good place to stay. He hadn't done something as arrogant as picking up girls in front of fans all over the world for many years.
My friend is all about keeping himself clean and virtuous.
So after Lin Tian forcefully pinned Durant down there, he turned around and left, heading towards Theron's side.
As for whether Durant's completely petrified reaction after hearing Scarlett's "I'm a Kevin fan too" will lead to anything, whether he can successfully flirt with her, that's none of Lin's business. He's done his best, hasn't he?
"Dad, you can't go chasing girls!"
As soon as Lin Tian walked up to Claire and Theron, Claire immediately uttered a decisive blow.
“I didn’t teach him.” Theron suppressed a laugh and spread her hands to indicate, “I don’t do that.”
"You little rascal, Daddy's helping your Uncle Kevin pick up girls." Lin Tian ruffled Claire's hair.
Then he bent down and kissed each of them once, laughing as he asked, "What do you want to see tonight?"
"I want to see Daddy get 1000 points!" Claire waved her little fist, looking quite proud.
"1000 points is too much, Claire." Theron affectionately ruffled Claire's hair and said, "100 points at most."
"Then 100 points!" Claire immediately reduced the score by 10.
"Getting 100 points is difficult too," Lin Tian said, rubbing his head. "Isn't there an easier way?"
"How about we leave work early and go home for dinner?" Theron thought for a moment and said, "Can you leave early tonight?"
"No problem!" Lin Tian clapped his hands and said, "I'll take care of them quickly. You guys be ready to leave at any time. See you in the car!"
After Lin Tian finished speaking, he turned and left to warm up.
In the entire league, he's probably the only one qualified to say, "100 points is a bit difficult, let's try something else." After all, Lin Tian has actually scored 100 points before, so he's qualified to say it's a bit difficult.
With this minor incident on the sidelines resolved, the warm-up time for both sides also quickly came to an end.
The starting lineups for both sides have been taken onto the field, and the match is about to begin!
Lin Tian, Kobe, Barnes, Durant, and Bynum!
Rondo, Gordon, Gomez, Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan!
After both sides took their positions, DeAndre Jordan and Andrew Bynum walked to the center circle, and then, upon hearing the referee's whistle, jumped almost simultaneously.
Bynum was taller and Jordan had better jumping speed. The two were evenly matched when they jumped for the ball, and they hit the basketball almost at the same time.
But in the end, it was DeAndre Jordan who could jump higher and touched the basketball more often. He slapped the ball to Rondo, and the game began!
After receiving the ball, Rondo raised it above his head, then threw it from behind. The basketball bounced on the floor and then precisely passed between his legs before arriving in front of him.
This immediately drew cheers from many audience members.
A simple but rather fancy trick.
"idiot."
"idiot."
"He's mentally ill."
"It hasn't evolved, has it?"
Lakers players offered their most direct and honest feedback on Rondo's fancy move.
What's the use?
It's useless.
Not only did it not work, it also drew ridicule from the Lakers.
When it comes to trash talk, Lin Tian always takes the lead.
“I could never do this move in my life, not even once. It’s too risky for me.”
"Me too, for me, this move is harder than a 720-degree dunk," Kobe followed up with his own criticism.
"For me, this piece of junk is 200 times harder than hitting on Scarlett Johansson." Durant also realized what was going on and joined in mocking Rondo.
Then, almost simultaneously, all three men looked down at Rondo's crotch, revealing an expression that only men would understand.
"What a pity, such a fine young man, yet the gap between his legs is so large. Such a large gap means that something else is missing. What a pity!"
Rondo would understand these words without Lin Tian and the others saying them.
Otherwise, he wouldn't need to be a man. What man wouldn't understand this? Didn't you see his face change and his expression become long?
However, Rondo is known for his emotional stability and precocious maturity, so he wouldn't break down because of a few trash talk. He calmly dribbled to the frontcourt, then turned his back to Lin Tian and shouted at the court.
Griffin, the center, immediately rushed over, sidestepped, and stood next to Lin Tian. This guy was strong, fast, and ruthless. His screen was very solid, and even Lin Tian couldn't find a chance to get past him.
Lin Tian couldn't get there, but Rondo did.
This guy accelerated and charged towards the basket, then immediately threw the ball into the air as he approached the three-second zone.
DeAndre Jordan spun around and shook off Bynum, almost leaping into the air and catching the basketball with one hand in mid-air. By the time he got the ball, Jordan's eyes were already above the rim, making it a perfect rim-kissing dunk.
"boom!"
Then came a loud bang as DeAndre Jordan completed a one-handed alley-oop, scoring a powerful 2 points!
"Andrew, keep a close eye on him! Watch out for his spin move. If he doesn't get past you on the first try, he's nothing. This guy is useless on offense except for dunks!" Lin Tian reminded Bynum of the key defensive points for tonight as he received the ball from the baseline.
DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin are two completely different types of players.
Players like DeAndre Jordan are pure blue-collar workers.
If you pair him with a good point guard who can throw alley-oops, he can put on several highlight-reel plays in a single game.
Without good guards and no one to throw him alley-oops, his offensive impact is essentially zero; he's practically harmless.
But Griffin is different.
In that pick-and-roll, he was simply completely blocked by Lin Tian and couldn't get going. If Lin Tian hadn't blocked his position in time to prevent him from rolling to the basket, this guy would have had a lot more fancy moves after receiving the ball.
Whether facing the basket or with his back to the basket, whether he starts directly or dribbles to find an opportunity, he can do it all!
If Durant has the height of a power forward and the shooting range of a small forward, then Griffin has the build of a power forward and the fundamentals of a small forward.
If these two complement each other, they could definitely create an incredibly terrifying player.
This is also why Lin Tian was willing to let Rondo go and ignore him, but he was determined to block Griffin no matter what.
If Griffin can get going, the Clippers' tactics will work. But if he can't get going and can only play on the ground, he may still have an All-Star level, but it will be difficult for him to change a team's overall rhythm and defensive system.
In other words, the Griffin on the ground can't kill anyone.
He has to fly.
Jackson had analyzed and shared these things many times before the game, telling everyone how to defend the Clippers' key players. Jackson was also well aware that tonight would definitely be a tough battle!
"Understood!" Knowing that he hadn't positioned himself well enough to allow DeAndre Jordan to dunk easily, Bynum didn't say much, but quickly nodded in apology.
Bynum, who hasn't become arrogant, is definitely a good player.
What happens after expansion is hard to say.
But regardless, it's the Lakers' turn to attack now.
Lin Tian arrived at the frontcourt and observed the Clippers' defensive positioning.
Their head coach, Niederlo, isn't exactly a well-known coach, but the defensive tactics he devised for the team were quite reasonable.
He assigned Gomez, who has good strength and height, to match up against Durant, clearly hoping to limit Durant with physicality and size. Meanwhile, Griffin was matched up against Barnes, the least threatening player in the Lakers' starting lineup.
Firstly, Griffin's wingspan limits his defensive contributions.
Secondly, it was to allow him to conserve his energy on the defensive end so that he could unleash his full potential on the offensive end.
DeAndre Jordan and Andrew Bynum were camping in the paint, while Kobe was bullying Eric Gordon.
One of the types of players Kobe was best at dealing with was someone like Gordon, who had average physicality but a huge height disadvantage. Kobe had a significant advantage when matched up against him.
For example, right now, even though it's only the first possession, Gordon has already been forced back by Kobe, making it quite difficult for him to even maintain his defensive position.
Seeing this, Lin Tian didn't hesitate any longer. He made a low pass and sent the ball into the paint to Kobe.
"You don't have the guts to fight me one-on-one?" As soon as Lin Tian passed the ball, Rondo immediately started trash-talking, regardless of whether Lin Tian fell for it or not.
"I don't talk to small-minded people like that." Lin Tian didn't even look at Rondo, his face full of disdain.
Who are you calling smaller?
Lin Tian ignored him.
"I'm not a kid!"
Lin Tian still ignored it.
"You're the one who's small!"
Lin Tian continued to ignore him.
Rondo wanted to continue criticizing, but unfortunately Kobe had already turned and blew past Gordon, taking a mid-range pull-up jumper.
Unfortunately, Kobe's shooting touch didn't seem to be on point at the start, as he missed the very first shot of the game.
DeAndre Jordan grabbed the rebound and immediately passed it to Rajon Rondo.
Rondo lowered his head and immediately accelerated, trying to forcefully speed up his charge despite Lin Tian's defense.
Unfortunately, Rondo couldn't easily break through Lin Tian's defense.
To think of a quick advance against a well-defended Lin Tian is simply wishful thinking!
However, Rondo didn't force it. Seeing that Lin Tian blocked his path, he immediately passed the ball to the middle. Gomez caught the ball and didn't stop. He continued to throw it in front of him. This time, it was Griffin's turn to receive the ball!
Griffin truly lives up to his reputation as a player with the skills of a small forward. After receiving the ball, he showed none of the panic and effort that most power forwards experience. Instead, he smoothly dribbled the ball forward, accelerated, and charged towards the frontcourt!
Durant and Barnes were both incredibly fast on defense, arriving at their defensive positions almost simultaneously to try and stop Griffin's advance.
But the two retreated so quickly that they forgot to control the distance!
When Durant saw Griffin rushing to the vicinity of the free throw line, he realized something was wrong. This guy is an aggressive type, how could he let him rush like that?
With just one moment of hesitation, it was too late!
Griffin took a step forward from the inbounds line, gathered the ball, and launched himself up like a bull, flying towards the basket!
Given Griffin's weight, size, and impact, Durant and Barnes, those skinny guys, really couldn't stop him, and wouldn't dare to.
The two players made way for each other with perfect understanding, watching Griffin charge towards the basket and slam dunk with one hand!
"boom!"
Another loud bang! The Clippers started the game tonight with two spectacular and powerful dunks!
Unfortunately, there were too many Lakers fans here, and although their two plays were spectacular, they failed to ignite Staples Center.
"Cheer up!" Being hit with two top-ten plays in a row, while not fatal and not affecting the game plan, is still a somewhat embarrassing start for Lin Tian and his team.
After getting the ball back on the baseline, he clapped his hands hard. This ball had to go in!
But for some reason, the Lakers just couldn't get into the game at the start. Lin Tian passed the ball to Bynum, who had almost completely shaken off DeAndre Jordan under the basket, but his hook shot, which was just inches away from him, failed to go in.
But this time the rebound bounced very close, and the Clippers were unable to launch a fast break.
After Rondo arrived at the frontcourt, he passed the ball extremely quickly in the face of Lin Tian's defense. He had obviously been instructed by the coach in advance to know that he could not go head-to-head with Lin Tian. After the ball went through several players on the perimeter, it finally came to Griffin in the backcourt.
After receiving the ball, Griffin faked a move, but Barnes, who was guarding him, remained unmoved, keeping his center of gravity low to prevent Griffin from taking the opportunity to drive to the basket.
Ultimately, Griffin's most lethal weapon is his unparalleled physical attributes and destructive power when he drives to the basket.
Seeing that Barnes remained unmoved, Griffin didn't stand on ceremony with him.
After glancing at the basket again, the guy pulled up and launched a mid-range jump shot, scoring another 2 points for the team!
With his mid-range shot and powerful dunks, Griffin's two signature moves are reminiscent of his predecessors Shawn Kemp and Amar'e Stoudemire, who also built their reputations as top forwards in the league with these two skills.
But compared to these two, Griffin, although slightly smaller, has more outstanding advantages.
Both players have fairly simple offensive styles and court attributes; their offense is simply finishing after receiving the ball. They are just like traditional beast-like inside players, with the addition of a catch-and-shoot jump shot.
But Griffin is different.
Griffin can carry!
He could receive the ball, dribble haphazardly, and then shoot and make the shot. At the peak of his career, Griffin could even dribble, break through, and pass to organize the offense.
In the later stages of his career, he was less a beast-like striker and more an all-around small forward! It's just a pity that when his skills reached their peak, his physical abilities had already declined significantly due to a series of injuries.
But no matter what, Griffin's ability to find a way to defend against any type of defender is the real reason why he is so difficult to guard. This guy is really hard to deal with.
In other words, Stoudemire and Kemp are absolute superstars and regular All-Star starters, but Griffin has the potential to become an MVP-caliber weapon!
The next round further illustrated this attribute of Griffin.
The Lakers' offense faltered again. Kobe Bryant received the ball in the paint and was double-teamed. He quickly passed the ball to Barnes, who was left open. However, Barnes hesitated after receiving the ball and did not shoot immediately. He was considering whether to draw the defense and then pass the ball back to Kobe or simply shoot himself.
It was this hesitation that cost him the opportunity.
Griffin quickly chased back, showcasing his terrifying physical abilities. At the same time, Griffin's powerful pressure forced Barnes to stop dribbling and quickly return the ball to Lin Tian.
But there was a problem with this return shot!
In his haste, his pass lacked both power and accuracy, and the ball was stolen by Gomez, who suddenly appeared from the side! (End of Chapter)