Chapter 1015
How about your name is Tyrannosaurus Rex, or Emperor Penguin?
Rondo!
Theoretically, Rondo has the best opportunity for the Clippers at this point.
Let Rondo attack Isaiah Thomas aggressively, let Rondo use his height to attack Thomas twice, which can not only narrow the score gap, but also force Lin Tian to come on the court earlier, instead of waiting on the bench.
Unfortunately, Rondo doesn't have that scoring ability.
This guy isn't very good at even free throws, except for layups. He's fine with orchestrating the offense and making great passes, but if you put him on the offensive end, you're putting too much pressure on the opponent.
First, the opponent's defensive system must be weak, with slow rotations and quick help defense. Second, the rim protection must be poor, giving Rondo repeated opportunities to drive to the basket for layups.
If the opponent's rotation is quick or their rim-protecting center is strong, Rondo basically can't produce many threatening individual offensive plays, and can only occasionally steal a few chances.
Fortunately, his passing vision remains top-notch in the league. Although he doesn't score many points himself, whenever the Lakers collapse their defense to help him drive into the paint, he always manages to find open teammates.
Ultimately, although the Clippers have played reasonably well recently, they haven't been able to exploit the Lakers' biggest weakness.
In NBA team battles, if you don't exploit your opponent's weaknesses, your weaknesses will be heavily attacked by your opponent!
For example, after Durant entered the game, his alternating one-on-one challenge with Kobe also came out again.
The Clippers can match up against Kobe and Durant, but asking them to deal with both of them at the same time is really asking the impossible.
Especially when Durant came on the court, Clippers head coach Negro was slow to react. Instead of immediately bringing on Gomez, who was taller and heavier than Durant, he sent Nick Young, a player with the standard size of a shooting guard, to match up against Durant.
The nearly 15-centimeter height difference immediately turned Nick Young, who was not originally considered a weakness, into one.
Durant also shook off his poor form in the first quarter and quickly regained his rhythm, scoring 5 points in a row with a mid-range shot and a 3-pointer, which widened the score gap from close to 10 points!
At this point, Negro finally made a substitution, bringing in Gomez to match up against Durant, but Durant, who was already on fire, was clearly not so easy to suppress anymore.
Durant continued to score, meaning the Clippers' offense remained effective, preventing the Lakers from widening the gap further.
But for the Clippers, a close game at this moment is already a defeat.
They've already brought out all their starters, but Lin Tian is still resting for the Lakers!
With 6 minutes left in the second quarter, Lin Tian arrived!
"FUXX!" Griffin, who had just narrowed the gap to 7 points with a powerful dunk, wanted to celebrate with a glide, but as soon as he stretched out his arm, he collided with someone.
Lin Tian's palm.
This guy had just stood up and was waiting at the scorer's table for the referee to give him permission to play when Griffin came over with his arms outstretched.
Lin Tian never fails to appreciate the kindness of others.
He extended his hand and gave Griffin a high five, then smiled and said, "Since you're so welcoming of my return, I certainly won't let you down, don't worry."
This is why Griffin got so angry that he swore out.
He wanted to take advantage of Lin Tian's absence to score a few more points.
But before it even started, Lin Tian came back.
Lin Tian even told him that he wouldn't let him down?
Do you know what it takes to make your buddy happy?
Can you forge ten pieces of refined iron first?
No?
Who wouldn't curse in that situation?
Lin Tian clearly didn't care that Griffin wasn't welcoming him when he appeared. In fact, he was even willing to get extra close to Griffin.
Upon returning to the court, Lin Tian immediately received the ball and began preparing for an attack.
"I thought you wouldn't dare come back tonight!" As soon as Rondo saw Lin Tian return, he couldn't wait to start provoking him. His mouth was also one of his weapons, and he could often make his opponents lose their minds and make irrational decisions.
The Clippers always benefit from this.
But clearly, Rondo's trash talk tonight had no effect on Lin Tian.
Lin Tian completely ignored him, didn't say a word to him, and barely even looked at Rondo.
The more Lin Tian ignored him, the more anxious Rondo became. In fact, every time Rondo's trash talk went unanswered, he would think of the words Lin Tian had said to him at the beginning of the game.
"I don't talk to those little guys."
Like a shadow, it lingers and cannot be shaken off; it resonates for days on end, its beauty unending.
Rondo felt like he was about to explode with anger, but Lin Tian just wouldn't take the bait.
Not only did he not respond, Lin Tian was even tired of facing him. He waved for Barnes to come forward and provide cover for him. Lin Tian immediately created space and faced off against Griffin!
"Since you're so welcoming, I'll give you a reward!" Lin Tian dribbled the ball while creating space, performing a series of crossover dribbles to test Griffin's defensive balance: "Spread your arms out, Blake! Straighten them out!"
"With your arms bent, who can you guard? If you can't defend, you'll never become an MVP!"
"The first step to mastering defense is to spread your arms out and cover as much area as possible to disrupt your opponent's shot!"
"Shut up! I'm already straight! FUXX! Come on!" Griffin yelled at Lin Qi, "Come on! Stop talking nonsense!"
"It's straight?" Lin Tian's eyes widened, his expression as shocked as the protagonist of Jurassic Park seeing a Tyrannosaurus Rex for the first time. He looked at Griffin and said, "It's straight now?"
"FUXX! Are you going to play basketball or not?!" Griffin felt like his naturally curly hair was about to straighten out of anger.
"Shh!"
But no sooner had he finished speaking than Lin Tian jumped up and shot, making the basket!
After Lin Tian made a three-pointer, he stretched out his arms and said to Griffin, "If I had known you would have stretched out your arms earlier, I would have shot right away!"
"Since you can't reach it anyway, why should I bother?"
"Oh, right!" Lin Tian said, gesturing to Griffin with his arms as he backed away, "My wingspan is 210 centimeters!"
How long are you?
Griffin remained silent; he was quite displeased.
He decided to go all out!
He wants to prove himself with a powerful dunk, preferably a dunk over someone!
He had already planned out the trash talk he would say after making a dunk.
"So what if I have short arms? I can still throw down an explosive dunk!"
He's got the trash talk right, the desire to dunk is there, and his ability is no problem.
I've been waiting for this opportunity!
With Griffin's abilities, it's hard for him not to have an opportunity to dunk when he wants to.
In the very next possession, the Clippers' basketball, after a series of passes, came into Griffin's hands.
After receiving the ball, the guy faked a shot into the sky, making Barnes jump. Instead of going over to draw a foul, he made a quick turn and slipped past Barnes in the blink of an eye.
Then he took a step to build up his strength, and after both feet landed at the same time, Griffin gathered all his strength and jumped up with all his might.
He doesn't care whether it's Durant or Bynum under the basket for the Lakers right now. Even if God came, he'd still complete this dunk!
"Oh!"
But Griffin had only just left the ground; he didn't even feel his feet leaving the ground.
He bumped into something.
It is obviously quite dangerous to encounter and crash into something while sprinting and jumping at full speed.
Griffin immediately lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Fortunately, he was experienced and quickly found a safe way to land. He rolled a few times on the floor, looking disheveled, but he was unharmed.
Only then did he have time to look back.
Then he saw Lin Tian lying on the floor, celebrating with a fist pump, and the referee, full of passion, making an offensive foul gesture with both hands.
He was called for an offensive foul!
“FUXX!” Griffin once again demonstrated his amazing vocabulary.
He wasn't sure what had just happened, but he was certain he'd been tricked again.
“Tyrannosaurus Rex is a more suitable nickname for you than White Beast.” Lin Tian stood up first and said to Griffin, “How about changing your nickname? Or if you don’t like such a fierce animal, how about Emperor Penguin? It’s both majestic and cute.”
"Or if you prefer something purely cute, you could name it Corgi, the 'Super Dog'. Which do you prefer? I can help you promote it. We both play basketball in Los Angeles, so helping each other out is only right!"
"Screw that!" Griffin cursed, but that was all he did. He quickly returned to defense.
You can't win a trash talk contest, and you've already been called for an offensive foul. What else is there to say?
The key is to score again next time.
Lakers' offense.
This time, Lin Tian once again used a pick-and-roll to get matched up against Griffin.
This guy seemed to have found some offensive code. After facing Griffin, he accelerated and broke through, then stopped abruptly, pulled up, and shot over Durant, making the basket.
"Shh!"
This time, it's 2 points.
Lin Tian immediately went on fire after entering the game, scoring 5 points and drawing a foul, bringing the gap between the two sides to 12 points.
"Come on, Blake! Stretch your arms straighter, or even stand on your tiptoes! It's not shameful! Short arms are normal, a hundred times better than so-and-so's short arms on your team!"
"By the way, you're not short in that area either, are you?"
Griffin was furious, but what could he do? He wasn't good at defense to begin with, and what could he do against someone like Lin Tian, who had explosive talent and an unstoppable offense?
We still have to fight back with an offensive!
Griffin was already a bit tipsy.
Lin Tian's trash talk is like that—it's incredibly damaging, every word piercing straight to the heart.
Lin Tian's trash talk was never a one-off attack, but a combination of continuous attacks. Seeing that Griffin's expression was not good and he was about to change his attitude, he continued to use it.
Immediately continue to finish off enemies while defending.
"Did I hit the nail on the head? You're not short in all the right places, are you? You're not even as good as so-and-so, at least so-and-so has long arms."
"No, I don't talk to people who are short. If you're short, then I'm not talking to you."
"I'm tall enough!" Griffin cursed, grabbed the ball, and drove straight into the paint without a care in the world!
But this time Bynum was well-prepared. He blocked Griffin's space to jump directly to the basket, while Barnes, who was defending Griffin, quickly followed up, and the two of them double-teamed him.
Griffin immediately turned around, intending to dribble the ball out.
He knew very well that his height and wingspan were disadvantages in the paint, so he had to run and attack. If he just stood there under the basket, his threat was minimal and his success rate was low.
But just as he turned around, he bumped head-on into Kobe, who was coming from the other side.
Three-man encirclement!
Bynum was alright; as soon as he saw Griffin turn around, he immediately returned to the basket to continue guarding the area.
With four hands, Kobe and Barnes weren't going to hold back. After a flurry of frantic scrambling, Kobe snatched the basketball from Griffin's hands!
You can't blame Griffin for this. No matter how good his fundamentals are, he's still no match for the power forward. With two excellent defensive players at positions 2 and 3 attacking the paint to steal the ball, he simply couldn't protect his own basketball.
After stealing the ball, Kobe glanced at it and immediately threw it towards the frontcourt!
Lin Tian is almost down! This guy's sense of speed when it's almost over is always amazing.
After all, those 2 points on the fast break were so easy to get, why not swipe them?
Oh, there is a player on the Lakers who doesn't score on fast breaks.
Kobe.
This guy's absolute speed and running speed are not top-tier among the 2-3 positions in the league, and if he also has to dribble to advance the ball, his speed is even less impressive.
Especially now that they've reached their peak, their physical abilities have declined significantly, and Kobe's fast break ability has dropped rapidly.
So on the court, you can often see the Lakers grab the rebound, advance quickly, Kobe dribbles past half-court, Kobe stops, turns his back to the opponent to prepare for a post-up, or Kobe stops and suddenly throws a mid-range shot over the defense.
As I get older, my talent wanes!
Lin Tian, however, does not have this flaw.
He sprinted all the way and got the basketball at the edge of the three-second zone, but instead of jumping up to dunk, he suddenly stopped, held the ball in his hands and raised it into the air.
"Jump!"
Lin Tian shouted, and just like a summoning spell, a guy wearing a Clippers white jersey rose from the ground behind him and passed by Lin Tian.
"Wow, that's a high jump!" Lin Tian exclaimed in amazement. He watched as Rondo, his face full of resentment, swept past him and landed out of bounds. Then, he easily made a layup off the backboard, scoring another 2 points for the team.
"Want to chase down a block? Beg me, and I'll teach you!" After scoring, Lin Tian looked at Rondo with a mocking smile, but the expression only lasted for a second before he abruptly stopped.
Then Lin Tian quickly turned around and 'talked to himself' in a voice that Rondo could hear.
"Damn it! I forgot my principle of not talking to people with small things. I hope God won't be angry."
Rondo's eyes were becoming increasingly venomous; his anger towards Lin Tian was now almost impossible to conceal.
The fact that Lin Tian could make the usually composed Rondo so angry proves that his trash talk is indeed legendary.
Lin Tian: No, it's mainly because this kid has such a long face, he looks like he's easily angered. He just hid it well before.
However, Rondo is only on the verge of exploding; for the time being, he is still able to hide his emotions and continue to play his tactics diligently.
After Griffin's consecutive offensive failures, Rondo knew it was time to make a substitution and let Griffin rest for a while.
This time, after a series of passes and runs, the Clippers got the ball to Gordon, who dribbled to the basket, drew the defense, and then passed it to DeAndre Jordan.
DeAndre Jordan finally seized the opportunity this time, delivering a powerful two-handed dunk that helped the team stabilize the situation slightly.
Lin Tian's shooting touch finally broke down. After scoring consecutive points, he missed a mid-range shot, but the Clippers' Gomez also missed a pull-up jumper.
The two sides were thus once again entangled in a tug-of-war.
Neither side was able to change the course of the game in the remainder of the second quarter; everything seemed to remain the same as before, with both sides trading blows.
The only difference is that in the second half of the first quarter, the two sides were playing with a difference of about 5 points, in the middle of the second quarter, the difference was about 10 points, and in the final period of the first half, the difference was about 15 points.
The Lakers are clearly better at seizing opportunities and paying attention to details than the Clippers. They have a more solid grasp of the situation and can always find opportunities to widen the score gap.
When they had no chance, they maintained a stalemate, not giving the Clippers any opportunity to catch up, playing steadily and cautiously.
If the Clippers make even the slightest mistake or become careless, the Lakers will immediately launch a scoring run and widen the score gap.
The saying goes, "Keep your talents hidden until the right time to use them!"
This situation continued throughout the first half, and at the end of the first half, the score was 49-63!
A 14-point gap, in the context of the first half, is neither a huge nor a small difference.
Whether they can catch up depends on how the Clippers play and how well they play.
"Lin really dominated tonight! After Kobe and Durant, it's his turn." Van Gundy said during halftime, looking at the stats: "38 points in the first half, it's hard to believe that this is the stat line of a 38-year-old veteran."
"Then, while he scored 38 points, Rondo, who was guarding him, had 5 points, 5 assists, and 4 turnovers. And Rondo also had a lot of points and assists when Lin was not on the court."
"A nightmare for those in a position of power! Lin is truly a nightmare for all those in a position of power. Whether he is 25 or 38 years old, he will destroy everyone who is in a position of power against him."
"The Lakers don't have another player scoring in double figures, but that obviously doesn't matter. Lin alone is enough to blow up the Clippers!"
Jackson suddenly laughed and said, "I just received some video footage from the front lines. Let's take a look..."
"Look, Lin is chatting with his daughter. A lip-reading expert analyzed that his daughter said, 'Dad, you should get off work early.' Hahahaha, that one sentence about getting off work early resulted in Lin scoring nearly 40 points in the first half!"
"That's a terrible wish for the Clippers!"
"There has never been a more terrifying Christmas than this."
"But the Clippers also have room to adjust," Miller said from the sidelines. "Given the offensive energy and form they've shown this season, they have a chance to come back in the second half."
"But first they need to stay calm, free up the ball from Rondo's hands, and let Gordon organize the offense. Although Kobe's defense is also fierce, Kobe's defensive ability is not as good as it was in his prime."
"Starting from Gordon might have a surprising effect. If this move works, the Clippers should be able to close the gap and then make further adjustments based on the course of the game."
"Tonight is Christmas Day. Hopefully, the Lakers and Clippers can put on a great game and give everyone a wonderful Christmas present!" (End of Chapter)