Chapter 1038
Garnett messed with you? Go find him then! Why are you bullying me?
Soon, the warm-up ended, and the Lakers fielded their most frequently used starting five from the regular season: Bynum, Durant, Barnes, Kobe, and Lin Tian.
The Suns' roster was also mostly familiar faces: Gortat, Garnett, Pierce, Dragic, and Nash.
Van Gundy's voice also came out as the starting players came on the court: "There's not much to say about these two lineups. Everyone is very familiar with them. If this year's Lakers were to face the Suns from 5 years ago, I would say it would be the best matchup in the league! But now, unfortunately, I don't think the Suns will be able to cause the Lakers any trouble."
Miller said, "That's right, it's such a pity that these two teams can't meet when they are at their best. It really takes away a lot of fun for the fans! After all, these two teams have four players who have won the MVP award: Kobe, Garnett, Nash and Lin Tian."
"The total number of All-NBA Team selections, All-Defensive Team selections, and various individual awards these players have won is countless. If I were to read them all out, the first quarter would be almost over by the time I finished reading their list of honors."
"But I've noticed another interesting question," Jackson said with a smile. "Guess who among these top stars doesn't have a championship?"
"You can go to Los Angeles and ask Kobe in front of him, and see if he'll beat you up." Miller laughed. "But you're right, apart from Lin Tian and Barnes who came here with him, no one on this Lakers team has ever won a championship."
"They are definitely the team that needs to win more, which is why I favor the Lakers to win the championship. They are incredibly hungry! They crave life, they need to win!"
With the commentators' pre-game banter, the game officially began. Bynum slapped the basketball to Lin Tian, giving the Lakers their first offensive opportunity of the night.
Before Lin Tian could even do anything with the ball, Nash suddenly stepped forward and closed in on him to defend.
"Are you crazy?" Lin Tian saw that Nash was courting death, so he didn't hesitate either. He turned to the side, stuck out his butt, and was about to sit down.
"No, you don't need to do this, do you?" Nash said helplessly.
Does he not know his own defensive capabilities? He just came up to say hello as a joke, and then he was about to retreat to his own three-point line to defend. But what about you, Lin Tian?
They're still in the backcourt, and they're already preparing to post up? Have they no shame?!
"Why not? This is the playoffs! Every inch of ground is crucial! Who knows what kind of schemes you might have? I have to be careful!" Lin Tian snorted, watching Nash run away quickly, as if afraid that he would actually sit all the way from the backcourt. Lin Tian smiled smugly.
Are you afraid of this?
Let's have this today!
Lin Tian quickly dribbled to the frontcourt, then with a wave of his hand, the rest of the Lakers immediately spread out to the other side, creating a one-on-one opportunity and space for Lin Tian.
Lin Tian and Nash both shouted at the same time when they saw this.
Nash screamed in agony, while Lin Tian cheered, something like, "Come on, baby."
Turning around, sticking his butt out, and tensing his shoulders, Lin Tian began to backstab.
If this guy were to drive to Nash face-up, he would definitely be accurate every time, and the pace would be faster and the effect would be better. But Lin Tian is different; he wants to give Nash a chance.
An opportunity to catch up with you, and for you to defend yourself.
Run? Don't even think about it.
"Boom! Boom!"
With two consecutive impacts, Lin Tian almost instantly penetrated the Suns' interior defense, and Nash really couldn't withstand Lin Tian's back-to-the-basket moves.
The difference in strength, weight, and physical strength is too obvious.
However, Lin Tian and Nash had a good relationship, and their mindset was completely different from when Lin Tian wanted to beat Paul to death to avenge Durant. So after sitting down twice and rushing into the offensive zone, Lin Tian quickly turned around and prepared to shoot.
But just as Lin Tian turned around, a tall, thin black figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
Regarding the timing, angle, and ability of this help defense, needless to say, there is only one player on the Suns who can do it: Garnett!
Although it was anticipated that Garnett would play for the sake of stats, his defensive fundamentals, speed, and size are undeniable. If you're not careful, you could really fall into his trap.
After all, steals and blocks are also statistics, aren't they?
If this ball had been played by 95% of the point guards in the league, they would probably be scrambling to react, either managing to pass the ball without creating any opportunities, or getting directly stolen or blocked by Garnett. This guy, who is over 210 centimeters tall, has an incredibly strong presence on the defensive end.
But Lin Tian is clearly one of the top 5% of point guards. Even though Garnett's help defense was just right, and even though Garnett almost cornered Lin Tian and blocked all his shooting or passing angles, Lin Tian still found an opportunity.
Lin Tian slammed the basketball directly onto the floor. With a 'thud,' it bounced off the floor, slipped between Garnett's legs, and flew towards the basket, where Durant, who had just completed a cut and been left behind by Garnett, was positioned!
After receiving the pass from Lin Tian, he immediately turned sideways and pulled up for a close-range floater, making the ball go in smoothly!
"Wow!" Miller exclaimed dramatically. "Brilliant! Spectacular! The very first play of the game was a play that could easily be ranked among the top ten assists of the year!"
"Lin's bounce pass was absolutely brilliant! Theoretically, he shouldn't have been able to see Durant at all! Garnett should have completely blocked the space, but Lin found Durant, finding the only angle from which he could pass the ball, and assisted his teammate to score!"
"This is the style of this year's assist leader, this is the performance of the only monster in NBA history to average more than 15 assists per game in a single season!"
Van Gundy said, "Only a monster like Lin can feed two teammates who average 25+ points per game on the same team."
"His passing is truly amazing."
“What’s even more remarkable is,” Jackson continued, “that Lin’s passing hasn’t become boring as he’s gotten older. Many point guards, no matter how high-flying and imaginative they are when they’re young, become mature and steady but boring towards the end of their careers.”
"Of course, there are also many players who are known for their boring and dull passing as soon as they enter the league."
"But Lin is not like that. Lin has not become boring at all. Lin has not disappointed at all. He is still that imaginative genius creator and artist who makes people gasp every time he passes the ball!"
"He wasn't changed by anything; on the contrary, he changed countless things. I think that's the strength and inevitable influence of the league's number one player!"
Lin Tian's brilliant pass not only amazed the commentators but also sent Staples Center into a frenzy of celebration; the pass was truly stunning.
After all, that's Garnett!
To actually pierce his crotch—that courage and thinking are truly impeccable.
No matter how much the fans cheered, or how spectacular the play was, for the Suns, it was only 2 points.
Being older has its disadvantages, but its advantages are also obvious.
Having seen big events, remaining calm in the face of both honor and disgrace, and possessing exceptional mental fortitude are their advantages.
Nash quickly dribbled to the frontcourt, and before he even had to raise his hand, Garnett rushed out to set a screen for him.
As Nash broke through the screen, just as Lin Tian was about to follow, Garnett silently took another half step.
The referee, as always, made a move to cover Garnett's slight movement, and the referee, as always, ignored it.
With this movement, Nash successfully shook off Lin Tian and charged toward the Lakers' interior.
"Change!"
Lin Tian wasn't worried at all. He shouted and turned around to stick to Garnett, completely ignoring Nash.
Although Nash has shaken off Lin Tian, the person guarding him is giving him a headache.
Kevin Durant.
He's a monster whose height, wingspan, and agility are probably no less than Garnett's.
One Spider-1, and one Spider-2.
This type of person is best at dealing with players like Nash who rely on rhythm and space.
As they move quickly with their arms outstretched, they can truly block all the routes for a guard like Nash. If he were younger, Nash could dribble around and find opportunities and space, but now he's almost 40, and he doesn't have that mindset anymore. If Durant is bullying me with his height, then I'll find someone to bully you with my height too.
The basketball immediately came into Garnett's hands, and the person guarding him was Lin Tian, who was a whole head shorter than him.
But this guy failed to get into the most comfortable attack zone at all.
Garnett was just about to set a screen and then quickly cut to the basket to receive the ball, either to shoot directly or to drive to the basket and finish.
But who knew that Lin Tian was so fast that he blocked Garnett's lower body early on, not giving him any chance to rush into the basket.
Just then, Nash's pass arrived, making Garnett extremely uncomfortable.
Just pull it out. Lin Tian is pressing down on his lower body, making it difficult for him to exert force comfortably.
Dribble past him. At this distance, facing Lin Tian, Garnett has no doubt that he doesn't even need to dribble. As long as his basketball is below his waist, Lin Tian will definitely steal the ball without hesitation.
How to do?
Garnett hesitated.
Hesitation doesn't necessarily lead to defeat, but it will certainly stagnate a team's offense, especially for a team like the Suns that desperately needs the ball to flow and be passed around; they are extremely reliant on the fluidity of their offense.
Fortunately, the Suns still have Dragic. This young man suddenly accelerated and sprinted towards Garnett. The two then executed a handoff pass, and Garnett stepped to the side to block Kobe's pursuit. The quality of this guy's screen is absolutely top-notch!
It's arguably the league's number one Wailing Wall, and it's even movable.
Kobe was tightly blocked by Garnett. Although Lin Tian quickly stepped forward to try to intercept Dragic, he was several body lengths behind. In addition, Dragic played decisively and directly, taking the ball handoff and immediately pulling up for a shot!
"Shh!"
After a crisp sound, Dragic made a long two-pointer almost touching the three-point line!
"We don't just have old guys!"
After Dragic scored, Garnett shouted excitedly, "Our youngsters are very strong too!"
"Is that so?" Lin Tian grinned and said, "They're not bad, but compared to our young people, they seem to be lacking."
As Lin Tian spoke, he received the baseline ball and easily advanced it towards the frontcourt. Then, he raised his left hand and made several hand gestures in the air. Kobe and Durant suddenly started moving at the same time, and after a cross-ball screen, the basketball immediately came to Durant's hands.
And the person guarding Durant became Dragic.
Durant didn't know what his older brother wanted him to do at that time.
After receiving the ball, he lowered his center of gravity, made a feint with his upper body, and then dribbled with a crossover step.
Given the huge height difference between him and Dragic, one of his steps was almost equivalent to two of Dragic's, so after Durant took one step, a huge and obvious space immediately appeared between the two of them.
Without hesitation, Durant pulled up and launched a jump shot.
"Shh!"
He never betrayed Lin Tian's trust.
"Our young people seem to be more outstanding than yours," Lin Tian said with a smile. "And more importantly, our old men are far more outstanding than you!"
As Lin Tian spoke, he pressed Nash again, continuing his tight defense: "How about it, Steve? Does it remind you of that Finals? I also pressed you like this, until your legs went weak and you were powerless, leaving you to be pinned to the ground and beaten."
“No.” Nash said with a bitter look, “If Kevin messed with you, go find Kevin! Why are you trash-talking me? I admire your Lin, I know you’re better than me, you’ve always been better than me, how about you leave me alone? Go guard Diego.”
"How about having Kobe guard you?" Lin Tian looked at Nash with a mischievous smile, indicating that a switch wasn't out of the question.
"Fuck!" Nash cursed. "You'd better not guard me."
Although he kept talking, Nash's hands and feet didn't stop at all. Especially after he came to the frontcourt, he suddenly made a low cross pass. The basketball passed under Lin Tian's arm and went directly to the vicinity of the free throw line. Pierce caught the basketball there and immediately made a series of fake moves.
Then, after Barnes was fooled by his center of gravity, the guy suddenly accelerated and rushed to the basket, almost with his feet off the ground, and made a layup. The basketball hit the backboard and then bounced into the basket.
Although the Suns' old guys have clearly declined in performance, they still have the basic skills! If they're not careful, they can definitely score easily.
Including Nash, don't be fooled by his casual and relaxed manner, as if he hopes Lin Tian will go easy on him. But when it really comes down to it, or if you dare to relax and give him a chance, this top-tier shooter in the league will definitely show you how formidable he is.
His three-pointers are never just talk!
Under Lin Tian's control, the Lakers' offense in the first quarter of this game clearly leaned towards Bynum and Durant, who scored 8 points and 4 rebounds and 9 points respectively in the first quarter, both of which were quite good performances.
Clearly, Lin Tian was showing the Suns that our young players are incredibly talented!
The Suns clearly sensed Lin Tian's thoughts and plans, and they did the same, encouraging Dragic and Gortat, the two players on whom the team had high hopes and who were expected to succeed him as the team's star players, to take more shots and occupy a larger share of the offense.
Goran Dragic is almost a smaller version of Steve Nash. He is calm, decisive, and has accurate shooting skills. He is a natural-born cold-blooded assassin.
He was more aggressive and had a much stronger offensive drive than Nash, but of course, he didn't have Nash's vision or his ghostly passing ability.
However, with Nash and Garnett, two top-tier passers with one inside and one outside, passing ability doesn't seem to matter much.
Find the opportunity, seize the opportunity, and then make the shot—that's the most important thing!
Not to mention, Dragic isn't incapable of passing; he just isn't as good at it as Nash.
In the first quarter, Dragic launched a fierce attack, scoring 10 points and dishing out 2 assists. In one instance, after a breakthrough, he drew a double team and passed the ball to Gortat, who slammed it home for a dunk, scoring 2 points for the team.
Throughout the first quarter, both sides were evenly matched and traded blows, with both teams displaying excellent offensive form, scoring over 30 points in the first quarter.
33: 35.
The Lakers are currently leading by 2 point.
The Suns are a team with 50+ wins, and even though the Lakers had a pretty good offensive performance in the first quarter, they were unable to pull away in the first quarter.
Given the offensive prowess of both teams tonight, a two-point advantage is truly negligible.
Well, of course, in any level of offensive competition, a 2-point difference is insignificant.
"Kobe..." Sitting casually on the bench, Lin Tian looked at Kobe and uttered his name.
"Shut up." Kobe's face darkened as he interrupted Lin Tian.
I haven't said anything yet.
"I know exactly what kind of bastard you're going to call me. What good things could a bastard like you possibly say?"
"I wanted to ask if you want some hot water." Lin Tian shrugged, knowing he didn't need to say anything more.
Kobe is angry.
Kobe Bryant lost face when a young player scored 10 points against him in a single quarter, including a highlight-reel layup.
He was furious.
Kobe has never been a worry in this regard. Although he sometimes loses focus when defending off-ball, he never disappoints his teammates when facing opponents on a scoring streak. (End of Chapter)