NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

Kobe certainly wouldn't change his ways, much less be satisfied with just the Western Conference title. Although he's never won an NBA championship, he's won quite a few Western Conference titles. How could he possibly relax completely after winning just one division title?
So Lin Tian was very curious as to why Kobe would refrain from offering any opinions.

"Because I'm not the team's leader," Kobe said, spreading his hands. "It would be normal for you or Phil to do this. It's not my place. If I said anything, it would affect your authority, wouldn't it?"

"You actually have this kind of emotional intelligence?" Lin Tian stared at him and said, "I'm really impressed with you, Kobe. I thought you would be more oblivious."

Do you believe I'll kill you?

Lin Tian said helplessly, "Alright, alright, the reason I won't say is the same as yours. I have to give Phil some face, or rather, I have to give him some room to maneuver."

“If he continues to drift along like this, he’ll probably go crazy, and might even have a stroke. I’ll be in big trouble then, so it’s best to leave this to Phil to handle.”

“But he doesn’t seem inclined to solve it,” Kobe said. “He acts like he doesn’t see anything, he seems… he seems…”

"It's like having a stroke or cerebral hemorrhage, Alzheimer's, or being a hundred times dumber, and being oblivious to everything?"

"That's exactly it!" Kobe clapped his hands, indicating that buddy was absolutely right.

Lin Tian said, "He's waiting too. Waiting for an opportunity."

"An opportunity?" Kobe once again said he couldn't follow his train of thought.

"Wait for an opportunity to humiliate us, then he will descend as our savior, give us a lecture and guidance, and after that we will suddenly understand, regain our form, unite as one, and return to our peak to win the game."

"So he's waiting for us to suffer, waiting for us to take a big tumble, waiting for us to be hit hard, and then Phil will jump out and say, 'Young people, you're celebrating too soon!'"

"Come on, listen to veteran championship coach Phil tell you how to regain your confidence and rhythm, and defeat the Cavaliers to win the championship!"

"To put it simply, Kobe, Phil has been waiting for this opportunity for three whole rounds. Throughout the entire Western Conference playoffs, he has been waiting for a chance to step up and completely integrate the team after we fell down. It's just that we played too smoothly, and he never had the chance."

"Is this Phil's plan?" Kobe scratched his head and said, "Couldn't he have said so earlier? Couldn't he have stopped everyone from relaxing before the game even started?"

“Sure. But if that’s the case…” Lin Tian was about to say when Kobe suddenly interrupted him.

"In that case, he wouldn't stand out?" Kobe guessed.

"No, Phil is a jerk, and although he likes to show off a lot, and although he loves to be mysterious, stir up trouble, and act like a ghost, he won't gamble with the team's record and championship. He won't let his own desires affect the team."

"Then I just don't understand," Kobe said, sounding like his CPU was about to overheat. "There was still a chance, so why didn't he act sooner? Why didn't he change things up before the Finals even started?"

"Because one championship isn't enough," Lin Tian said with a smile. "Kobe, is one championship really enough to satisfy you?"

"Of course not!" Kobe said decisively this time, "I don't know how many championships would satisfy me, but I'm sure it's not one, not two, not three..."

“Yes, that’s it.” Lin Tian said, “We had such a smooth season. We were first in the West and first in the league. At the end of the season, we competed with the Warriors for the top spot in the West and completely crushed their confidence.”

"Although the three rounds of the playoffs were a bit troublesome, we advanced to the finals with a 12-0 sweep without any suspense. We were too relaxed, Kobe. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that. It's not bad to have such an easy run all the way to the final championship."

"But what about next season? And the season after that?"

"Next season?" Kobe frowned, feeling like he was starting to get the hang of things.

"An invincible, ever-victorious team can certainly sweep everything away, but it will also lose respect and humility. This is very important on the basketball court. It can keep the players always remembering who they are and keep them sober instead of getting completely arrogant."

"If a team only wins and never encounters any trouble, then the problems within the team will be completely hidden."

"Then, as problems and conflicts accumulate, the day of their explosion will draw ever closer."

"In the end, there is only one path waiting for the team: disintegration."

"That's why Phil wants us to have some trouble, wants us to get into trouble, wants us to lose some games."

"Let us know our true selves, let us remain humble, recognize that we are not invincible, know that we can also lose, and know that if we forget our original intentions and forget our previous failures, we cannot stay at the top forever and will definitely be kicked down soon."

"That's it. Phil doesn't want a championship, he wants a dynasty and an invincible team, so he has to take some risks, he has to gamble."

"Is it really possible to gamble like this in the Finals...?" Kobe couldn't help but question.

"He didn't want to gamble on the Finals either," Lin Tian said with a smile. "But we've been doing so well in the West, we're not giving him a chance. If we had encountered even one setback before, Phil would have started much earlier."

“He can’t wait! Now, we’re finally starting to relax and become careless. Even in the finals, even in the last moments, Phil has to take the gamble.”

"Because he has a big appetite, he is not satisfied with just winning 1 or 2 championships, he wants a dynasty."

"And also because Phil is confident. He is very confident in us, and he is very confident in himself!"

"Even if we have a bad start in the Finals, even if we are on the back foot at the beginning, even if we are pressured by the Cavaliers at the beginning, he can turn the tide and he believes that the final victory will belong to us."

"So, although it's risky and sounds crazy, we're actually quite confident."

"It's mainly because you're absolutely confident, right?" Kobe understood completely upon hearing this, and he felt completely relieved.

"Don't you have confidence and assurance?"

"Of course I do!" Kobe patted his chest and said, "Then let's cooperate with Phil this time!"

Combination!

Before the start of the Finals, the Lakers' two most important stars reached a decision and consensus to cooperate with Jackson.

Now it's up to the Cavaliers to seize the opportunity and create some difficulties for the Lakers.

The rest period is short.

The first game of the Finals will soon be played at the Lakers' home court. The Finals matchups will still follow the 2-3-2 home-and-away format, with the first two games and the last two games of the series being held at Staples Center!
The confident Los Angeles fans were already chanting their slogans wildly long before the game even started.

"4! 4! 4! 4!"

"16:0!"

"Sweep! Keep sweeping!"

"An undefeated playoff myth!"

Lakers fans' goals have expanded beyond just winning the championship.

They want a final that is a foregone conclusion and a complete victory over all opponents!
Although their opponent, the Cavaliers, is very strong and is the top team in the East, the teams they played against in the playoffs were all terrible.
We beat three teams that were guaranteed at least 50 wins, while none of the Cavaliers' opponents were better than, no, none were close to 50 wins.

What right does this lousy team, which swept two weak teams but lost a game to another weak team, have to stop the Lakers from winning the championship?
The confidence of the Los Angeles team, like their team's, is absolutely off the charts!

However, when the game started, Lakers fans were dumbfounded.

They quickly realized that their team was out of sorts. The team started slowly and was hit with a 10-3 run by the Cavaliers. Soon after, Wade made several consecutive breakthroughs and scored, and the Cavaliers quickly extended their lead to more than 10 points.

The Lakers were getting completely dominated!
He was beaten down the whole way!
The Cavaliers dominated the entire game, maintaining control and a lead throughout. Unlike the Grizzlies and Mavericks, who had previously held the upper hand against the Lakers for extended periods, the Cavaliers converted their advantage into a victory this night!
108: 97!

The Cavaliers broke the Lakers' undefeated streak in this season's playoffs, conquered Staples Center, and won the first game of the Finals!

Another away win! This is absolutely a dream start for the Cavaliers.

Throughout the game, the Lakers seemed to be possessed by the Mavericks from the previous game, committing 25 turnovers and shooting only slightly over 40% from the field. Various basic mistakes and missed shots filled the game.

The Lakers, who were unstoppable in the Western Conference playoffs, had a terrible performance tonight.

But even with so many mistakes and such poor shooting, they still gave the Cavaliers a real scare in the final moments.

Durant!
Out of sorts and unaware of what was happening, Durant unleashed a furious performance in the fourth quarter, scoring 19 points and leading his team to narrow the gap to 5 points at one point. However, in the end, the frenzied Durant couldn't withstand Kobe's undercover performance.

In the final three minutes, Kobe missed all three of his shots. It was under Kobe's onslaught of missed shots that the Cavaliers finally stabilized the situation, widened the gap again, and ultimately won the game.

It wasn't just the Cavaliers players, from top to bottom, who were given a real scare.

And Phil Jackson.

Jackson was a little stunned when he saw that his team was about to turn the tide in two rounds. He thought, "Wait, is my team really that strong?"
We played so badly, everyone was out of sorts and completely out of it, even my core players were performing so poorly, how could we possibly turn the game around?
Is it that the opponent is too weak, or am I overthinking things? Maybe our team doesn't need any of that stupid "adversity training" stuff at all?

Jackson even knew very well that if the Lakers really did complete the comeback in this game, then nothing he said afterward would matter.

The players can hardly hear it anymore.

A series of comebacks and victories can certainly boost team morale and make the team more united, but it can also cause the team to lose its original intentions and become completely arrogant.

By then, it will be extremely difficult to reverse the situation.

It's already very difficult now.

In the Western Conference, Jackson could confidently take shots after only half a game, and use the break to give his players pep talks and motivate them to work harder to win the game.

But when it came to the Finals, even though the game was more crucial, Jackson was even more reluctant. However, he had to put on a show at least once, and the team had to actually lose at least once before his words would reach the players' ears.

Breaking down a player's absolute confidence is difficult, and it requires the right approach.

In the end, the team lost the game, and Jackson actually breathed a sigh of relief. He had a long-term vision, and he already believed that this loss would be the most important defeat in the Lakers' dynasty journey!
Jackson was relieved and calmed down, but Lin Tian pulled Kobe aside and said, "No, your acting is just too good! You deserve an Oscar! I really didn't think you could do so much at first! You've sacrificed so much for this team, Kobe!"

Lin Tian said this because Kobe's performance was truly explosive.

全场比赛24投6中，其中3分球5投1中，另外5次失误的同时却只有3从助攻，如果不是靠着11次罚球拿到10分，他今晚的得分连20分都到不了！
In particular, those three consecutive missed shots before the end of the game directly led the Lakers to an irreversible fate, allowing the Cavaliers to win the game!

"I...I didn't act." Kobe's voice trailed off, and he even sounded a little embarrassed at the end.

"What did you say?" Lin Tian asked, utterly surprised. "Speak louder so I can hear you."

"After Kevin closed the gap to 5 points, I forgot about our strategy." Kobe's voice was even softer: "I think if we can win, we should win first, get a good start, and then talk about dynasties or improvements in the second game."

"Then I started shooting, and then I realized, I just couldn't make the shot..."

He's not acting, he's genuinely bad at the game...

Lin Tian was a little embarrassed.

This guy is pretty honest.

"It seems Phil's plan really worked. Even with your form so bad, you can't even tense up and win the game. That shows how bad our current form is."

"What plan?" Durant asked with a pained expression as he leaned closer.

He was in a terrible mood. It was his first time playing in the finals, and his first finals journey had ended in a defeat. He felt like his heart was broken.

Durant felt particularly frustrated, especially after his stellar performance in the fourth quarter, which ultimately resulted in a loss.

"Apologize to Kevin, kneel down and apologize. Your performance tonight is not worthy of Kevin." Lin Tian pressed Kobe's head down hard, and Kobe was actually forced to bow deeply at a 90-degree angle.

Whether his back can handle it or not is his own problem.

"It was indeed my fault, Lin is right." Kobe said sincerely, "Next time there is a crucial moment, I won't take the shot like that again, Kevin. I will play more as a team and be more selfless."

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant!" Kobe's apology completely stumped Durant, who quickly waved his hand to show his innocence and then stood up to run away.

If this topic continues, he'll really be coming to interrogate us.

Thank goodness, Durant really didn't mean it that way; he's not the type to complain about his teammates.

Jackson stood in the middle of the locker room, scanning the faces of every Lakers player.

Jackson was quite satisfied with the expressions of fear, self-blame, regret, and dejection displayed by the vast majority of players!
Brothers, that's the spirit we're after! That's exactly the kind of attitude we want!
As for why he wasn't satisfied with the vast majority of players, it's because Jackson saw Lin Tian and Kobe.

These two are acting like nothing happened, like they've never lost.

They sat there chatting, arms around each other's shoulders, having a wonderful time.

Jackson opened his mouth, wanting to reprimand the two men, but he tried several times without making a sound.

Finally, Jackson made an incredibly bold and crazy decision.

At the post-match debriefing, he still didn't lash out; he remained silent once again.

As for the reason...

It's quite simple; he felt the Cavaliers were just so-so, and he didn't think they were strong enough.

The team played so badly tonight that they almost managed to win the game. So the Lakers have no problem winning this series.

Give up the second half!

When the first half of the next game ends, I will appear as the savior and give these young people a shock!
The reason why Jackson was so confident to the point of arrogance is actually quite simple.

He saw that Lin Tian looked relaxed, and that Lin Tian didn't take the defeat seriously at all.

That means Lin Tian also has absolute confidence, and Lin Tian absolutely believes that he can win!

The fact that this guy didn't even jump out to expose him means that this kid knows what he's doing!
He has a plan, so let's let him compose a song to his heart's content!
We'll talk about the next game. At halftime, it's not a problem for the team to be down by ten or so points. Jackson believes that as long as he uses his "Ji Tang" technique, the whole team can be revived and then catch the Cavaliers off guard.

You're guaranteed to win!
In fact, if the team is completely at a disadvantage or even in dire straits, the fighting spirit and cohesion that erupt at that time are definitely stronger and more memorable than those that erupt after taking a 1-0 lead.

Jackson has even begun to imagine that a year or two from now, when the team encounters some danger, is overwhelmed by the opponent, or the whole team once again enters a mode of arrogance, complacency, and excessive relaxation, he only needs to casually say: "Do you still remember the Cavaliers by the Daming Lake?"

Do you remember when we almost got completely crushed by the Cavaliers because we underestimated them?
Young people, wake up!

Simple, convenient, and incredibly effective!
Jackson was delighted.

He remained silent.

But what happened in the subsequent series completely exceeded his expectations. (End of Chapter)