Chapter 1014
: 15 years ago, we were 2 versions ahead of the League; now we are 1 version ahead!
This style of play, which involves setting a screen and then pulling up and throwing the ball, was popularized by Lin Tian about 10 years ago. However, even after all these years, very few players in the league dare to use this as a regular tactic and throw the ball up like this all the time.
Or rather, besides Lin Tian, only Curry from Miami could throw up a few like that.
The others still didn't dare, and the coach absolutely forbade it.
Lin Tian's playing style is still too advanced; the league's overall philosophy and training methods haven't kept up.
But they can't keep up, and Lin Tian won't stop and wait. His playing style remains the same, and even 10 years later, it will still be ahead of the current version of the league!
At most, a few young people have started to study Lin Tian's previous playing style.
For example, Curry has a natural touch, so he started to imitate Lin Tian's crazy three-point shooting.
Take James Harden of the Thunder, for example. He has a natural instinct and an unparalleled sensitivity to the rules. He started to learn the flopping style that Lin Tian used in a few games, and he has already made some progress in it!
But Lin Tian, as the founder, not only created two new styles at the same time, but also brought the traditional guard style to its extreme!
For example, when he tried to score in the first quarter, the Clippers simply couldn't contain him!
17 points!
In the first 7 minutes of the first quarter, Lin Tian scored 17 points in a row!
During this period, apart from Lin Tian, no other player on the Lakers team scored.
He single-handedly scored 17 consecutive points to bring the score back!
The Lakers trailed by 9 points before Lin Tian took the shot, and they rallied to 20-17!
They are now only 3 points behind!
They also have possession of the ball.
Lin Tian continued to dribble and observe beyond the three-point line, and once again waved his hand, calling for a screen from his teammates.
However, this time, facing Lin Tian who scored 17 consecutive points, the Clippers finally changed their defensive strategy.
After a pick-and-roll, Griffin and Rondo both stepped up and double-teamed Lin Tian!
The high-post double-team tactic is a defensive tactic that every team practices, but some teams practice it well while others only practice it moderately.
But what remains absolutely consistent is that, regardless of how well one practices, the purpose of each move is exactly the same.
The goal is to lock down the opponent's ball handler, causing them to make mistakes or miss opportunities, thus preventing the opponent from executing their offensive tactics and bringing their system to a complete standstill.
This is the move that those players with average skill levels or those who are particularly good at holding onto the ball fear the most.
But now the Clippers are using this against Lin Tian?
That's suicide!
Suicide in the absolute sense!
Griffin and Rondo didn't even manage to touch Lin Tian's clothes.
Because as soon as this guy saw a double team, he immediately dribbled backward!
This is a major no-no for players with the ball at the top of the court when facing a double team!
Because retreating means moving away from your teammates' support and closer to your own half of the court. Not only will your teammates have difficulty providing support, but if you make a mistake and the ball is intercepted, the opponent can immediately launch a counterattack.
But as I said before: common sense only applies to ordinary players, and Lin Tian is clearly not an ordinary ordinary player.
After retreating quickly to create space, Lin Tian suddenly jumped up and threw the ball with both hands towards the far corner of the three-point line!
That place was completely deserted!
Before the fans at the scene could even gasp and think Lin Tian was about to make a mistake, someone suddenly appeared in that corner.
Durant!
This guy sprinted all the way here, arrived at just the right moment, and then comfortably got the basketball!
No one could tell whether Durant started running first or Lin Tian gave him a head start.
Lin Tian passed the ball first, and Durant caught up and got the ball.
The only thing everyone can be sure of is that the two of them have an amazing understanding of each other!
Perfect understanding leads to perfect teamwork.
After Durant ran beyond the three-point line, he caught the basketball, then turned and jumped to shoot!
"Shh!"
Another crisp sound, and the Lakers tied the score!
20: 20!
Meanwhile, Lin Tian's scoring streak was finally broken by Durant, whose scoring streak stopped at 17 points.
As expected, Lin Tian didn't take many shots in the first quarter after that.
The main reason is that he has successfully motivated his teammates, and most importantly: the Clippers have been double-teaming Lin Tian!
It's not that we can't double-team, it's just that there's no need for us to do it ourselves!
Our Lakers have a deep roster, including two top scorers. With this lineup, if Lin Tian insists on playing alone after being double-teamed, he's just making things harder for himself by going the long way around!
With 15 seconds left in the first quarter, Lin Tian still had possession of the ball at the top of the arc, trying to finish the game and leave the Clippers with no chance.
At this point, it was Lin Tian's turn to do it himself!
Durant, Kobe, and Bynum all went to the bench to rest.
Accompanying Lin Tian on the court right now are Thomas, Parsons, Murphy, and Turiaf.
This lineup has players who can score, but they all seem unreliable, so it feels like we still have to rely on Lin Tian.
The last 8 seconds!
Lin Tian knew that if he called for a screen, the result would definitely be that he would attract multiple Clippers players to double-team him.
Therefore, Lin Tian did not call for any cover this time, but instead had all his teammates spread out.
Even so, the Clippers didn't allow him to have comfortable one-on-one opportunities.
Nick Young, who came off the bench, rushed over and, together with Rondo, double-teamed Lin Tian.
Just as the double-team was forming, Lin Tian had already executed a behind-the-back dribble and a lateral step, weaving directly between the two defenders. After one step through the double-team defense, Lin Tian took two more steps to drive straight to the basket!
This time, DeAndre Jordan finally stopped spacing out and caught up, jumping up and waving his arms.
Facing DeAndre Jordan's defense, Lin Tian jumped almost at the same time as him, but when he jumped, Lin Tian first turned to the side, using his back to block DeAndre Jordan's body, and then curled up and glided in the air!
After this gliding phase, the towering DeAndre Jordan began to be pulled down by gravity.
Lin Tian, however, seemed completely unaffected by the laws of physics, continuing to glide through the air with plenty of energy to spare.
Lin Tian exerted his strength again in the air, his waist muscles suddenly bulging. Just when it seemed that Lin Tian was about to land, he suddenly jumped up a bit more in mid-air.
Lin Tian certainly didn't know this technique of adding force in mid-air to jump upwards. He had never been to Wudang, so how could he know this peerless martial art of leaping upwards by stepping on the right foot with the left?
The reason why the fans had this illusion was because Lin Tian took advantage of this moment to unfold his body, which was originally curled up. After unfolding, Lin Tian immediately gave people the illusion that he had risen higher in the air.
Whether it's an illusion or reality, DeAndre Jordan couldn't stop Lin Tian's bombardment of the rim after his controlled release and rebound!
"boom!"
In the blink of an eye, Lin Tiankong twisted his body and slammed the ball in with a one-handed dunk!
His basket gave the Lakers another 2 points!
Meanwhile, Lin Tian's control over time was impeccable; he only gave his opponent 0.2 seconds.
The Clippers basically run out of time after inbounding the ball, and they don't even try to shoot. It's pointless to miss a shot in that time.
"Perfect! Perfect play! Perfect dunk! And even more perfect is Lin's control of the time." Van Gundy finally had time to comment on the last play of the first quarter after it ended.
"If there are 0.2 seconds left after a shot, there's nothing to say, everyone can try it."
"But to control the timing so perfectly after a breakthrough and dunk, leaving no room for the opponent to maneuver, is truly remarkable."
"This is truly more than just talent; it's the result of a combination of talent, experience, ability, confidence, technique, and many other factors!"
Jackson added, "Lin is really something, you can't praise him enough. He always brings all sorts of surprises and new things."
"You two, that's enough. Stop praising him. Lin can't hear you. Let's take a look at the performance of both teams in the first quarter." Miller said with a smile, "The Lakers have gained a 4-point advantage thanks to Lin's basket!"
“25：29！如果去掉快船队开局阶段那一波9：0的话，湖人队就是在第一节的后9分钟里，打出了一个16：29的进攻波，他们后半节赢下了13分！”
"Lin is undoubtedly the biggest contributor. After Durant and Kobe had their breakouts in November, it's finally Lin's turn to explode!"
"He scored 22 points in the first quarter tonight, along with 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block!"
"Standard Lin-style stats, all-around and omnipotent! He's a one-man show on both offense and defense. While he was dominating his opponents on offense, he was also keeping Rondo in a tough spot on defense."
"Rondo, who played the entire first quarter like Lin, showed none of the flair of being second in the assists rankings. He only scored 2 points and 2 assists in the first quarter, along with 2 turnovers!"
"This 222 statistic is really nothing compared to Lin's; he really got crushed by Lin! Hopefully, this won't affect the young man's confidence."
Jackson said, "Fortunately, although Rondo was dominated by Lin, Griffin played really well tonight! I think he can be an All-Star starter this year!"
"Griffin also put up a great stat line of 12 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist in the first quarter. His performance in big games can be considered acceptable at first."
"I agree with your point of view, but All-Star starters?" Van Gundy said, "This is the West! Aren't there a lot of forwards in the West waiting to become All-Star starters?"
"Durant from the Lakers, Nowitzki and James from the Mavericks, Milicic from the Nuggets, Aldridge from the Warriors, and now Griffin too. And I haven't even included Bosh, Garnett, Pierce, and the like!"
"So what? Of all the people you're talking about, how many are truly qualified to compete for an All-Star starter position?" Jackson said. "James, Durant, and Griffin, that's all! The rest of them either have an unpopular playing style, are past their prime, or have average team records and popularity."
"No one else can pose any danger to these three. I'm telling you this: there won't be a fourth person to become the All-Star starting forward for the West!"
Miller said, "I agree with Mark, I think he's right, but who do you think will be the final two? Right now, the three guys are ranked Durant, James and Griffin, but the gap between them is so small that it's obvious to the naked eye. Durant, who is in first place, is only 5 votes ahead of Griffin, who is in third place. Anything is possible in the final vote count!"
“I think it’s Durant and James,” Van Gundy said. “These two guys already have high popularity, and their teams have good records. Especially James, he was always a top vote-getter, it’s just that his popularity declined a little last year because of his decision.”
"Even so, I think it's no problem for him to come back and take the top spot. As for Durant and Griffin, Durant has more experience and more fans, but Griffin's playing style is more aggressive and attracts more fans. The two should be evenly matched."
"But now that Durant is with the Lakers, and he has Lin as a teammate who can bring a lot of votes from China, he has a greater chance of defeating Griffin in the end."
"So I think that in the end, it's highly likely that Durant and James will become the All-Star starters!"
"The game has started!" Jackson was about to continue discussing the All-Star starting lineups when Miller, seeing that the game had begun, interrupted them, saying, "Let's take a look at the lineups for both sides!"
"It's only natural that our two core guards, Rondo and Lin Tian, are not here, since both of them played the entire first quarter."
"The Lakers have built around the core of the inside-outside duo of Kobe and Bynum, plus three role players."
"The Clippers, on the other hand, are not so luxurious. They don't have that many star players. Right now, Gordon and Griffin are leading the team together."
"On paper, the Lakers have a clear advantage, but basketball is never about roster strength alone. We'll only know the truth after the game!"
As the commentators analyzed the game, it progressed rapidly on the field. With both sides missing their key defenders, the game became much simpler and more direct.
The tactics on both sides were no longer so complicated, with one-on-one plays and simple breakthroughs and passes becoming the most commonly used tactics.
During this period, both Griffin and Kobe were in good form, and with their performance, neither side was able to narrow or widen the point difference.
Four minutes into the second quarter, the gap between the two sides remained at five points, with the Lakers only managing to outmaneuver the Clippers by one point during that period.
However, at this moment, the Lakers made the first substitution, bringing on Durant, while Lin Tian remained on the bench to rest. Clearly, Jackson was heartbroken that Lin Tian had played the entire first quarter, and he wanted to let his beloved disciple rest for a while longer.
Even with just Durant on the court, the Lakers' firepower was immediately and significantly enhanced.
Although the Clippers acquired Rondo at this time, the Clippers team still started to fall behind.
Their firepower is simply not as fierce as the Lakers'!
With Kobe and Durant taking turns attacking from the left and right, plus Thomas occasionally making sudden drives to the basket, the Clippers' defense was completely shattered.
Actually, the Clippers also had a chance at this point.
After all, the Lakers have brought in Isaiah Thomas! (End of Chapter)