Chapter 996
Want to see Master Lin's strength? Then let me show you!
As the commentators said, for Lin Tian's fans, his performance in the first half was absolutely perfect, absolutely satisfying, and absolutely worth the three-year wait.
Even the most critical critics and the most extreme haters would find it difficult to find fault with Lin Tian's performance.
It's nothing more than comments like "too insidious," "shameless," "bullying young people with underhanded tactics," or "not as handsome as Parsons," etc.
These directions...
It has no lethality whatsoever.
Even a large portion of this, if heard or seen by Lin Tian's fans, would only make them think: "Aren't you guys praising him? Keep going! Go all out! Praise him harder!"
However, in the following match, Lin Tian, who ended the first half with an absolutely perfect 2 minutes, once again fell into silence.
He returned to the form he had mostly maintained in the first half: passing the ball, finding teammates, organizing the offense, and only taking shots when he had an opportunity.
This passive playing style resulted in him scoring only 2 points in the third quarter. It seemed like he was determined not to take a shot unless it was absolutely necessary.
Lin Tian's lackadaisical performance led to Kobe, Durant, and Rose all scoring more points than him by the end of the third quarter.
Lin Tian clearly didn't care about this at all.
So what if they surpass it? What can you do about it?
It's also worth mentioning that Jackson clearly changed his strategy after watching the first half of the game.
In the second half, he changed the team's rotation again.
Lin Tian was substituted off earlier in the third quarter than in the first half, with five minutes remaining before Thomas took his place.
As for Kobe and Durant, they played the entire third quarter together.
When the fourth quarter began, Kobe and Durant both went to the bench to rest, and when Lin Tian took to the court, he was surrounded by substitute players!
“Jackson’s rotation…” Van Gundy bit his lip. As a coach who relies on rote memorization, he disliked Jackson’s unpredictable substitutions the most.
You're making completely different rotations in the first and second halves, what's the point?
“Jackson… isn’t he trying to force Lin to fight?” Miller hesitated for a moment before saying, “He’s clearly telling Lin to go all out and attack like his life depends on it! You want to slack off? I won’t let you! I’m forcing you to go all out.”
"Otherwise, you can't explain why Jackson would bring out this lineup at this stage of the fourth quarter when the Lakers were only leading by 3 points!"
Jackson said, "That makes sense. After all, besides Lin, the other four players on the team are Murphy, McRoberts, Parsons, and Kapono."
"These four players are either rookies, near-rookies, or veterans past their prime, especially Murphy and Capono. They have big names, but even in their prime, they weren't good at attacking with the ball!"
"That's too kind of you," Miller interrupted him. "Does Capono even have any ball-handling skills... He's just a pure shooter! And a shooter whose performance has clearly declined due to a serious injury."
"Kapono was once the league's three-point king, and he also averaged 10.5 points per game in the 2006 season with a 51% three-point shooting percentage. However, this was the only season in which he averaged double-digit points, and his scoring average has been declining for the past three seasons."
"From 5.1 points to 3.4 points and then to 0.9 points last season, it's safe to say that if the Lakers hadn't been so short-handed, this guy would have already left the league. After all, who would need a pure shooter who has no other strengths besides shooting and whose shooting accuracy has declined significantly?"
"Murphy's situation is basically the same as Capono's; the decline in their performance and their personal circumstances are also basically the same."
"Phil Jackson brought out such a lineup, I can only say that if this wasn't a test for Lin, or a way to force him to take action, I would have eaten the table right now!"
Van Gundy said, "That's impossible. Do you think Phil doesn't want to win tonight? He wouldn't joke about winning or losing. He's a top coach with absolute professional ethics. He wouldn't do something like that!"
If Jackson heard Van Gundy's thoughts, he would definitely say: "You really can't judge people properly. That's exactly what I think!"
At this moment, Jackson was watching Lin Tian with complete ease. If he was still somewhat worried about Lin Tian's condition in the first half, and was figuring out how to hide Lin Tian, how to protect him, and how to maximize Lin Tian's role, then...
At this point, Jackson really wanted to see where Lin Tian's limits were.
After all, although Lin Tian trained with the team for a month and went through a full training camp and preseason games, it wasn't a real game.
Jackson needs to determine how much playing time Lin Tian can play and what level he can perform at. In particular, he needs to figure out how much playing time Lin Tian should play in each game if he wants Lin Tian to perform at his full potential.
是40分钟、35分钟、28分钟还是说林天如今就只能保持15-20分钟的顶级水准呢？
Jackson needs to take a look!
What if his method led to the loss of the game?
Then we lose!
It's just a regular season game, so what if they lost? For the Lakers, the important thing isn't just one game. With this roster, making the playoffs is definitely not a problem!
Jackson now wants to know Lin Tian's situation as soon as possible.
Real combat was the best and fastest way for him to see Lin Tian clearly!
Lin Tian obviously knew what Jackson was up to, or rather, that's what Jackson told Lin Tian.
Jackson had asked Lin Tian long ago: "If I need you to be at full power and giving it your all, how long do you think you should play in a game? How long can you be fully focused on the game without being bothered by fatigue in one night?"
"45 minutes, I guess. I need to rest for a bit." Lin Tian gave a rather conservative answer to the question.
He's human too, he needs to rest!
Unfortunately for Jackson, he didn't see it that way: "I'm serious! I'm not kidding you, how long do you think you can last?"
"45 minutes! Didn't I say that?"
"I'm serious!" Jackson exclaimed anxiously.
"I'm serious too. It's only 45 minutes. Is it that hard? Haven't you ever seen someone with good physical fitness?"
"I'm talking about the entire season! Not a single game's breakout performance or overclocking! I'm talking about the entire season, the average time! I need the average time!"
"You should have said so earlier." Lin Tian waved his hand, looking at him as if it was all his fault for not explaining clearly. Then, after thinking for a while, he said, "40 minutes, I guess. A whole season is indeed a bit long. If possible, I need to take a break for 1-2 games to rest. My old bones are getting old, aren't they?"
"Alright, you can go now." Jackson thought Lin Tian was talking nonsense and simply said that he could leave.
He felt it was better to figure it out himself.
Jackson didn't believe a single word Lin Tian said; he just thought Lin Tian was bragging and joking.
But now that three quarters have passed, Jackson is starting to believe it! He feels that Lin Tian isn't bragging or joking.
But he still needed to observe, so Jackson brought out this lineup at this time!
He wanted to see if Lin Tian could handle it!
It can be driven!
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Lin Tian had Murphy set a screen for him, and then dribbled towards the paint!
Lin Tian was now matched up against Jeremy Lin. Facing his fellow countryman, Lin Tian certainly didn't hold back. A noticeable change in rhythm during his breakthrough immediately created space for him to shoot. He drove to the basket and unleashed a high-arc bank shot, the ball sailing over Thomas's hand and into the hoop.
81: 79!
The two sides, who were initially tied, had their balance broken again by Lin Tian's opening shot.
"Will Lin fire?" Miller asked expectantly as soon as he saw Lin Tian succeed in a one-on-one fight. "Let's have another solo show!"
Jeremy Lin dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, but didn't say much to Lin Tian. He knew that trash talk was no match for Lin Tian, so he obediently gestured for his teammates to come up and set a screen.
He knew his own limitations very well. Before he got the chance to shine last season, he was the one who was trained and tortured the most by Lin Tian the most.
Odom, a versatile player, immediately stepped forward to help Jeremy Lin screen for Lin Tian. However, although Odom could do a lot after the screen, due to his weight, the quality of his screen was only average.
Lin Tian had already spotted the opportunity and used a lateral movement to squeeze past Lin Shuhao, continuing to stick close to him.
But Jeremy Lin has never been a selfish player; after creating space, he immediately passed the ball to Odom.
This pass immediately created more openings in the Lakers' defense.
Kapono and Murphy are both well-known players who can't defend themselves; those two alone are enough for the Bobcats to keep chasing them down.
Even if the Bobcats' center right now is Thomas, who isn't good at offense, it depends on who he's matched up against.
Against 90% of the centers in the league, Thomas could only get easy baskets and dunks, but against the notoriously soft Murphy?
Thomas relentlessly pushed and shoved his way back, eventually getting inside the three-second zone. Murphy was completely unable to mount any resistance. Hayward, who had already gotten the ball, immediately bounced it off the ground and passed it to Thomas.
Thomas jumped immediately after receiving the ball, turned sideways, and easily slotted in two points with a simple layup.
For a professional athlete, this kind of easy layup is absolutely no problem.
The score is tied again.
Lin Tian naturally understood Jackson's intentions in this situation; he simply wanted to see Lin Tian put on a show.
Lin Tian isn't some third-rate drama character who pretends to be weak to outsmart others, or some reclusive hermit healer, where he has to endure everything and only retaliate after being humiliated. This kind of show-off-and-get-slap drama was something Lin Tian enjoyed 15 years ago, but now?
With Lin Tian's status, even if he pretends to be weak, no tiger would dare to mess with him.
Who would dare to mess with an ancient behemoth that was even bigger and more ferocious than a mammoth?
In addition, Lin Tian didn't intend to hide anything. He wasn't particularly excited in the first three quarters; he was simply enjoying the fun of paddling.
Now that Jackson wants to see it, let him see it!
Beyond the three-point line, Lin Tian called Murphy to set a screen for him again, and this time Lin Tian's shot was even more decisive. After a single screen, he pulled up for the three-pointer!
"No!" Jeremy Lin glanced at Lin Tian's shooting trajectory and posture, immediately felt the ball was too short, and turned around to shout at his teammates behind him.
"You have time to shout, but you're not blocking the shot?" Lin Tian's voice floated lightly from behind Jeremy Lin.
No, to be precise, when Lin Tian uttered the first word, he was still behind Jeremy Lin, but by the time he finished speaking, Lin Tian had already passed him, and his voice came from right in front of Jeremy Lin.
This time, Lin Tian was quite insidious, speaking in Mandarin.
Lin Tian knew all too well about Jeremy Lin's Mandarin proficiency; the two had even tried communicating in Mandarin last season.
His Chinese proficiency wasn't completely nonexistent, but he could barely understand a few words by skipping around.
If you convert it, it's probably equivalent to the near-Level 4 level of a Chinese university student.
At this level, even if he could have reacted and positioned himself accordingly, Lin Tian's words would have prompted Jeremy Lin to first consider the meaning of those words before thinking about positioning himself.
Even a moment's hesitation—if you hesitate even for a moment when facing Lin Tian, how can you expect to fare well?
It's too late.
He watched as Lin Tian rushed to the vicinity of the inbound line, leaped high, and grabbed the basketball before anyone could react. Then, while still in the air, Lin Tian slammed the ball toward the basket.
No, it's not the basketball hoop.
It's the backboard!
After landing, Lin Tian took another step and then jumped up again.
Lin Tian's consecutive double jumps truly stunned the entire Lynx team's defense.
What is he going to do?
Thomas was at least completely bewildered.
This guy turned his neck several times in a row, almost forgetting what he was supposed to be doing.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lin Tian jumped to the highest point. This time, he held the basketball with one hand and slammed it heavily towards the basket!
"boom!"
With a loud bang, Lin Tian dunked with one arm, scoring another 2 points!
"Two offensive rebounds in one possession! I suspect Lin is padding his rebounding stats," Miller said with a laugh. "Otherwise, why would he go through all that trouble?"
“That suspicion is quite reasonable,” Jackson said. “Lin is going to get another triple-double tonight!”
“This suspicion is completely unreasonable.” Van Gundy shook his head and said, “You two don’t know him at all! This guy is just trying to show off.”
"Even if he's 50, he'll still play like this. Looking good is the most important thing, showing off is the most important thing. Two rebounds? A triple-double? In Lin's mind, that's nothing!"
When Van Gundy said this, Jackson didn't react much, since he wasn't familiar with Lin Tian anyway. But Miller, who had partnered with Lin Tian for many years, felt a little embarrassed.
Does the title of my number one partner seem a bit undeserved?
While Miller was still in a daze, the Bobcats seized the opportunity again. DeRozan forced his way into Kapono, drawing a foul and going to the free-throw line.
The Lakers' two shooters aren't necessarily accurate shooters.
But when their opponents hit them, it was a perfect, one-hit-one strike.
This is also where Jackson's cunning lies.
Since the old man has decided to see if Lin Tian can still appear on the court with all his might, he has to create a situation where Lin Tian has no choice but to play his heart out.
It is precisely in these moments, when the two sides are locked in a fierce struggle with no clear victor, that Lin Tian is effectively forced to make repeated moves.
Jackson was not worried at all about the Bobcats targeting his two weaknesses, and he completely ignored Stevens's adjustment of seizing the opportunity to bring on Yao Ming and start attacking the weaknesses in the paint.
He was just watching; he wanted to see how much fuel Lin Tian still had left.
Lin Tian: Oil? My family owns a gas station, you know!
In the next three minutes, Lin Tian was not always on target and scored continuously; he missed some shots and made one mistake.
But for most of the time, Jeremy Lin couldn't stop him, and Yao Ming, who came off the bench, couldn't contain him under the basket either.
This guy is still unsolvable!
With 8 minutes and 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Lin Tian dribbled the ball to the frontcourt once again. He looked at the timer and dribbled the ball unhurriedly. This time, his defender was Rose again.
At 8 minutes and 5 seconds, Lin Tian started!
He forcefully accelerated past Rose, and although Rose immediately moved to catch up, Lin Tian suddenly dribbled behind Rose's back and came to the other side of Rose.
Although Rose was able to catch up with him this time and did not fall behind in terms of footwork, Lin Tian made another crossover!
These three consecutive attacks were not only lightning fast, but also seamlessly connected without any pauses or flaws. Ross really couldn't keep up at all. If he tried to move his feet again, he would most likely be knocked down by Lin Tian!
Rose could only watch as Lin Tian dribbled past him, drove to the edge of the three-second zone, and then suddenly launched a high lob.
Basketball isn't played by aiming at the rim.
McRoberts, who was behind Yao Ming, somehow managed to shake off Odom, leaped up, caught the basketball with one hand, and slammed it into the basket!
"boom!"
After that loud bang, the Lakers extended their lead to 4 points!
91: 87!
At this point, there were exactly 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Lin Tian clearly timed his shot precisely, hitting the ball at the exact moment.
There's no particular reason, it's just obsessive-compulsive disorder. He feels comfortable finishing the round on time.
Stevens also stood up again and called the first timeout of the fourth quarter.
It's unstoppable, it's truly unstoppable.
Stevens bit his lip, unsure of what to do.
After all, three of their main players haven't even played yet! Our side is almost entirely composed of their main players, yet we can't even beat Lin Tian plus four substitutes. Lin Tian alone is making us vulnerable everywhere. Once everyone else comes on, how are we going to win?
"Wow! Absolutely amazing!" Miller exclaimed from the bottom of his heart. "In those four minutes, it was entirely Lin's personal show! 10 points and 1 assist! All 12 points the team scored during that period were related to Lin!"
"What is a superstar? This is a superstar!"
"Getting old? Declining abilities? Can't play anymore?"
"This doesn't exist in Lin at all!"
Jackson said, "Now the Bobcats are in trouble. They need to figure out how to deal with Lin. If this keeps up, they definitely won't be able to hold on!"
“Now they need to worry about more than just Lin,” Van Gundy said. “Kobe and Durant are out, Bynum is out, and the Bobcats are falling behind. That’s the fatal problem for them.”
"After this timeout, those three guys will all be back. What will happen then? What will the Bobcats do? How will they defend against the Lakers? How will they compete with the Lakers?"
"This is the Bobcats' biggest problem going forward! It's also the first major test Brad will face after taking over. He has to prove he can handle all of this!"
"To be honest, I feel a little sorry for Brad. It is really lucky for a new head coach to be able to lead a strong team that he knows very well and whose players cooperate perfectly. Many coaches have been coaching for ten or twenty years and may not even have the opportunity to coach a strong team like the Bobcats with a clear system, obedient leader, and all players at their peak."
"But on the other hand, the Bobcats won the championship last season, so for the Bobcats this season, not winning the championship is a step backward! It's a great opportunity, but also a huge pressure. I really hope Brad can hold on. I have absolute faith in him and hope he can do a good job."
"Stop talking nonsense, Jeff. If you really care about him and are worried about him, then don't quit your job. Continue to be an assistant coach to help him. Why are you becoming a commentator?"
“ESPN pays better,” Van Gundy chuckled. “The salary is high, and you don’t have to travel around most of the time, so of course you get more money, less work, and are close to home!”
"You caught Lin's infection! Shameless!" (End of Chapter)