Chapter 1055
I call this snap the "Slice Snap"!
With the commentators on the sidelines going this crazy, how could the fans in the stadium possibly stay calm? As the replays were shown on the big screen again and again, the cheers and shouts of the fans grew louder and louder.
Madness ensued. The entire Staples Center was in a frenzy. Everyone knew how strong Lin Tian was, and everyone knew how terrifying his achievements were, but no one could believe that Lin Tian, who was nearly 40 years old, could cause such a commotion on the court!
He passes the ball and he shoots, both are fine.
At his age, how can he still be so stingy?
Unbelievable!
The NBA, a place where miracles happen.
The fans' frenzy didn't stop at all because of the timeout!
On the contrary, their madness is escalating wave after wave and is completely out of control!
The timeout was called by the Grizzlies' head coach.
He couldn't stay calm and not call a timeout at this point, nor could he let the players handle the game on their own.
If they don't call a timeout now, the Grizzlies are really going to be crushed by the Lakers, or rather, by Lin Tian!
The players' confidence, morale, and form will be severely impacted.
For example, Marc Gasol, the team's defensive anchor, is completely lost right now.
He covered his face with a towel, clearly unable to believe that he had been straddled like this.
The atmosphere within the Grizzlies team has become incredibly bad.
And what about the Lakers?
"You, come down and rest!" Jackson pointed at Lin Tian and said in an unquestionable manner, "If you keep playing like this, you'll easily get injured! Even if the Grizzlies don't dare to foul you or play dirty, the way you play will still make you very vulnerable to injury."
So, shut up, be quiet, sit down, rest, and calm down.
Jackson adopted an unusually tough stance, and Lin Tian no longer resisted Jackson's orders.
After all, Jackson was right, and Lin Tian wasn't some real beast, troublemaker, or scoundrel. He had absolutely no interest in, and would never do, openly challenge the head coach or argue with him in front of everyone until they were red in the face.
Aside from a hothead, who would deliberately shove their shoulder against the coach during a timeout, or glare at the coach with a "death stare" to unleash their murderous intent?
After the timeout ended, Lin Tian sat on the sidelines. The Lakers only substituted Lin Tian; the rest of the starting players continued playing on the court.
Lin Tian sat comfortably on the bench, watching the game and chatting casually. Thanks to his crazy series of dunks, the Lakers had established a slight advantage, though not a big one. But as he said during halftime, he had completely taken control of the game!
We used the simplest and most direct method!
I'll target your strongest point; that's Lin Tian's consistent style.
Perhaps the only pity is that because Lin Tian did not continue to play, his score for this quarter was fixed, and he was unable to achieve a stat line of 20 points in a single quarter against a super defensive team like the Grizzlies, which is truly a pity.
Although Lin Tian was absent, the Lakers' offense, led by Kobe, Durant, Bynum, and others, did not diminish at all. They attacked even more fiercely and aggressively!
The team's morale and confidence were boosted by Lin Tian's consecutive dunks, and the lead of less than 10 points was widened to 11 points by the end of the third quarter!
Considering the Grizzlies' scoring ability and pace, 11 points in a quarter is indeed a bit too much!
As for the Lakers...
Eleven points is a lot, but it's clearly not enough to guarantee a win!
They want to continue to extend their lead!
All three commentators gave this analysis.
Miller analyzed, "Lin will definitely play. He rested for the second half of the third quarter. I think Durant can also continue playing. The young man has plenty of energy. And the Lakers should at least bring in Bynum to strengthen their offense! Strengthen their firepower!"
"The Lakers have a chance to take advantage of this momentum and crush the Grizzlies!"
Van Gundy shook his head: "If the Lakers played an all-or-nothing style, they wouldn't have let Lin rest early in the third quarter. Since Lin rested early, Kobe and Durant, who played the entire third quarter, wouldn't be able to play at this point!"
"I suspect that Lin might be the only one in the Lakers' starting lineup to continue playing. What they need to do in the next few minutes is to stabilize the situation, slow down the game, and maintain the point difference as much as possible."
"Then, in the last eight minutes or so, that's when the Lakers will really fight! So until then, give it your all! Seize this opportunity!"
"Smash them!" Jackson, unusually vocal on his bench, roared to boost his players' morale, demonstrating to his players just how important this was!
"We're not going to wait four minutes, we're not going to wait for our starters to recover before going all out. Right now, immediately, starting from the beginning of the fourth quarter, let's crush the Grizzlies!"
"They will be unprepared. They won't field their full starting lineup right away. We'll catch them off guard! Especially after they see our starting lineup!"
After saying this, Jackson glanced across the entire bench and then said, "Troy, Jason, Chandler, and Will, the four of you will come on with Lin!"
"You four only have one task: run, and once you receive the ball, don't think, just throw it! Understand? Throw it! Throw it as much as you can! Throw it whenever you have the chance!"
"I want to widen the score gap; I want to widen it completely before their key players return!"
"Do you have confidence?"
"Have!"
The substitute players never expected that Jackson would send them onto the court at this crucial moment, entrusting them with such an important task and showing them absolute trust. After a moment of surprise, they all nodded and shouted in unison, "No problem!"
There are no cowards on the Lakers team, and no one is afraid of big games.
Those kinds of people are eliminated from the very beginning.
The current Lakers team, whether they are the core players or the bench players, all have one thing in common: absolute confidence!
So at this moment, no one was afraid, and no one felt that they couldn't do it.
Just do it!
Jackson's lineup and tactics may be bold or even a bit crazy, but one thing is certain: the players' respect and trust in him are absolutely at the top level.
The teams he led were always united, and everyone's hearts were always set on the same goal!
When the Lakers' five players came on the court after the break, the entire arena was stunned for a moment.
Even though I know this is a rotation period, Jackson's personnel choices are a bit too bold!
Troy Murphy, Chandler Parsons, Will Barton, Jason Terry, and Lin Tian!
When these five people stepped onto the field at the same time, neither the fans nor the commentators expected it.
Jackson didn't even include Barnes, a player who occasionally starts for the team, but instead opted for a lineup of four substitutes and one key player.
In fact, there was only one big guy among this group, making it one big guy and four small guys.
"This lineup is insane," Miller quickly commented. "No rebounds, insufficient height, questionable toughness, and more importantly, two rookies and two veterans out of the four players. I really don't know what to say."
"Apart from Lin and Terry, the others are players who shouldn't be on the court at this time under normal circumstances," Jackson said more directly, expressing his doubts and confusion.
"You shouldn't just look at the weaknesses of this lineup, look at its strengths too!" Van Gundy, however, had the opposite opinion this time: "Offense and shooting range! All five players on the team can shoot threes, and apart from Murphy being a little slow, the other four can all get going."
"Terry also has the absolute ability to catch and shoot or pull up for a jump shot! At this point, Jackson fielded a pure offensive lineup! And it was a pure offensive lineup composed of substitute players!"
"He definitely wants to exploit the offensive advantages of this lineup to widen the score gap! That's Phil Jackson for you; he always does things you never expect and often with surprising results. Let's see if he can pull off another miracle this time!"
Let's take a look at the Grizzlies' roster first!
By the time Van Gundy was speaking, the Grizzlies' first players to enter the game in the fourth quarter were already in their positions.
Haddadi, Randolph, Cunningham, Tony Allen, and Conley.
The Grizzlies' rotation was clearly much more cautious, with their three core players on the court being a center, forward, and guard, making their lineup quite balanced. But after seeing the Grizzlies' roster, Van Gundy suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "The Grizzlies have been tricked!"
"Or rather, Jackson guessed how the Grizzlies were going to play!"
"He knew the Grizzlies would definitely field half of their starting lineup at this point, which would significantly weaken their defensive system and ability. Using an all-out offensive lineup to attack the Grizzlies' half-court offense was definitely a brilliant move!"
"Jackson might use this move to launch a decisive attack and completely end the game!"
“But I don’t understand,” Miller said, frowning. “If you’re going to use an all-out offensive lineup, why not just let Kobe and Durant play for a while longer?”
"Because Jackson wanted to leave himself an escape route. He wanted to use a run to crush the Grizzlies, but he also had to be wary of the Grizzlies' resilience. He wanted to avoid his core players from playing but failing to widen the score gap."
"If the Lakers can't pull away, then they'll be in trouble due to fatigue and playing too many consecutive games. Jackson may seem bold and reckless this time, but he's not just blindly charging in. He's cautious and always has a backup plan!"
"This is what a top-class coach is like! He can advance and retreat with ease."
This time, Van Gundy kept shaking his head, looking ashamed of himself.
"You think you're not as good as him, Jeff?" Jackson joked from the side.
“Of course, I’m not as good as him.” Van Gundy nodded without hesitation this time. “I’m not as good as Phil. Give me a top-notch team and I’m confident I can lead them to a championship, but I don’t think I can create a dynasty.”
"But Phil, as long as the roster is right, he can build a dynasty team. Even when he faces a dynasty team, when his team keeps losing, he can still stabilize the team, maintain its fighting spirit, and play beautiful games."
"In the early 21st century, when he first led the Lakers, they lost to the Pacers for several years in a row. If it were me, I would have given up long ago, but he was able to lead his team to start over time again and again."
"Maintaining the status quo is much harder than forcing innovation! A hundred times harder!"
Van Gundy's words expressed his admiration for Jackson and also explained just how great Jackson was.
Meanwhile, on the field, the match had already begun.
The Grizzlies' three starters face off against the Lakers' one starter. The game begins!
Conley dribbled the ball up the court. Although the lineup had changed, their style and approach to the game remained the same: slow and steady, a classic positional game.
But after arriving at the frontcourt, Conley suddenly realized that he was no longer matched up against Lin Tian, but against Terry.
“Jason, but you said yourself you could handle him.” Lin Tian, facing off against the Grizzlies’ weakest offensive player, Tony Allen, cheered Terry on from the sidelines: “Go for it!”
"Stop nagging!" Terry, after all, was a veteran who had been famous for many years. At this moment, he was also fully focused on the young Conley, trying to stop Conley's attack.
However, his defense was no match for Lin Tian's. After Lin Tian stopped closely guarding Conley, Conley completely let loose.
Organize the offense, call out tactics, instruct teammates to take their positions, call for Haddadi to screen for him, and then drive and attack with the ball.
Conley thought this round was wonderful!
It feels so good without Lin Tian tearing at me like that!
After easily driving to the edge of the three-second zone, Conley, now free, suddenly jumped and launched a floater, wanting to help his team take the lead and narrow the gap to within 10 points.
But he's been struggling for three quarters, only making 2 out of 8 shots in the first three quarters combined. When it comes to shooting touch, it's not something you can just get back on your feet.
"Boom!"
With a muffled thud, the basketball bounced off the rim and went out.
Then a figure leaped up from the ground and, before Randolph could reach out, snatched the basketball into his arms.
Lin Tian!
The person who rushed over to grab the rebound was none other than Lin Tian!
"rush!"
He let out a loud roar, then dribbled the ball and sprinted towards the frontcourt!
Lin Tian took the lead and overtook many players in the blink of an eye. His speed and driving ability are the best in the world at any time!
Lin Tian sprinted forward at full speed, but the Grizzlies' defense was also incredibly fast. Just as Lin Tian was about to enter the Grizzlies' three-point line, Cunningham and Allen successfully blocked him.
But if the two of you block Lin Tian at the same time, it means there will definitely be an open space!
With a 'thud,' Lin Tian slammed the ball onto the floor, and it bounced off the sides of the two men.
Will Barton arrived in a flash, showcasing his athleticism to the fullest. After receiving the ball, he strode towards the basket and unleashed a powerful two-handed dunk!
"Here it comes! The Lakers' counterattack! Here it comes!" Miller shouted excitedly. "If I remember correctly, this is the first time the Lakers have executed such a comfortable and fluid counterattack tonight. This time, they're relying on Lin's individual ability!"
"That's why Jackson picked up all these guys at once!" Van Gundy said. "Barton and Parsons are young and have plenty of energy to run, while Terry and Murphy can shoot. If the Lakers' three-man attack in the first wave doesn't manage to get to the basket..."
"Then Terry and Murphy will follow up with the catch and shoot."
"Because regardless of whether Lin and the others can put the ball in the basket, they can at least completely compress the Grizzlies' defensive lineup and squeeze them into the paint, giving the Lakers' perimeter players a huge amount of space!"
Jackson followed up, "The reason why Lin stopped guarding Conley and instead went to defend Allen is because of this! Allen's offense is almost completely negligible; as long as he doesn't go to the basket, he has no ability to put the ball in the hoop."
"When Lin is matched up against him, he can completely ignore Allen and then drive to the basket to protect the rebound, making up for the lack of toughness and strength in the paint of this lineup."
"Everything is going according to the Lakers' plan!"
No sooner had Van Gundy and the others finished speaking than Allen received the basketball in the mid-range area and got a huge open shot.
Unfortunately, nobody paid any attention to him, absolutely nobody paid any attention to him, nobody even glanced at him. Everyone on the field was focused on something else, as if he were invisible.
Allen awkwardly raised the ball twice, but no one paid any attention to him.
Finally, the guy had no choice but to pass the ball out again.
He passed the ball from an open space to Cunningham, who was being closely marked.
Unfortunately, the Grizzlies played slowly, and when Cunningham got the ball, there were only 2 seconds left on the shot clock. He could only dribble a bit to find his rhythm and then force a jump shot.
Even a superstar wouldn't have much of a chance to make that shot, let alone an inconspicuous substitute on the Grizzlies.
With a clean 'thud,' the basketball struck the ball, and Lin Tian once again correctly judged its landing point, grabbing it and launching another counterattack!
Cunningham retreated very quickly this time, because he knew the ball was gone the moment he released it, and turned back to defend almost immediately after landing.
"One by one! Don't help defend!" Cunningham was full of confidence when facing Lin Tian, waving his hand to indicate that he was keeping an eye on his own men and not creating a huge gap like in the last round.
Then, Lin Tian barely made any extra movements, just a dribbling motion and a hesitant step, before suddenly accelerating again, leaving Cunningham completely behind in one step.
This time, Lin Tian was completely unmarked. The Grizzlies players were all guarding their assigned opponents, so Lin Tian had no trouble driving straight to the basket and finishing with a one-handed dunk!
"boom!"
After a loud bang, the score difference between the two sides reached 15 points!
The Grizzlies, on the other hand, dared not be so overconfident anymore.
pause!
They immediately requested a pause. (End of Chapter)