NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

More than ten minutes later, the players from both sides returned to the field.

With a 2-0 lead, the Knicks players were quite relaxed, and they were absolutely confident that they could take the match point tonight and end the series after the next game!

"We won't lose like this!" Roy lowered his center of gravity, his hands on his knees, his expression solemn, every cell in his body exuding tenacity and ferocity.

This guy already had a fierce look, much like a burly gangster, and now he looked even more like a villain.

"Dudu!"

With a whistle from the referee, the ball was taken by Pachulia, who immediately passed it to Bibby. After Bibby dribbled to the frontcourt, he faced Lin Tian's close defense. Lin Tian had long since lost any ambition and was only thinking about accumulating seniority so he could enjoy life after his career ended.

So when facing Lin Tian, ​​he didn't organize any attack, but instead directly passed the ball to Roy, who was eagerly asking for it.

After Roy got the ball, he faced Wallace and didn't say much. He accelerated and started running. After reaching the mid-range, he suddenly pulled up and took a jump shot, which is the most difficult to control, the most effective, the most lethal, and the most undefendable move on the basketball court.

"Shh!"

With a crisp sound, Roy hit a mid-range jump shot, opening the scoring for his team!

After scoring, Roy clapped his hands vigorously and shouted, "Defense! Defense! We must stop their attack! Stop it!"

"You might not be able to do it!" Seeing Roy's expression, Lin Tian could guess that this guy had probably 'rebelled'.

He wants to wrest the team's leadership position from Johnson.

As for whether the purpose was a desperate fight against being swept aside, or a cunning attempt to seize power and become Atlanta's new hero...

Anyway, Lin Tian felt that if it were him, he would definitely choose the latter. As for Roy, Lin Tian was too lazy to guess.

No matter how hard you try or how excited you get, we're going to crush you and take the victory tonight!

After Lin Tian arrived at the frontcourt, he didn't rush to attack himself. Instead, he passed the ball directly to Anthony, letting Anthony hold the ball in his favorite position. After a few fakes, Anthony successfully shook off Johnson and made a mid-range jump shot!

"Defense, Joe! You're just as good as him! How could he beat you so easily!" Roy spread his arms wide. Of course, he could see how perfunctory and casual Johnson was on defense, so he didn't reach out.

"Brandon, we don't have much of a chance in this game," Johnson sighed. "We might as well end this series sooner."

"Bullshit!" Roy cursed. "I won't admit defeat!"

"If you're spineless, if you think there's no hope, then give me the ball. I'll fight alone! I'll kill them all by myself!"

As Roy spoke, he scanned every teammate on the court with his eyes before turning and sprinting towards the front.

Tonight, the indomitable fighters are about to unleash their fury!

In the next possession, Roy not only drove to the basket and scored again, but also yelled at Johnson on defense, "Go guard Wallace! I'll deal with Anthony!"

Upon hearing Roy's words, the easygoing Johnson didn't feel annoyed or angry. Instead, he turned around and walked to Wallace's side.

Johnson's strengths are that he is obedient, sensible, and doesn't cause trouble; he has never had any negative news.

Making him the team's second or third in command is a perfect fit, both in terms of playing style and personality.

But conversely, this is also his weakness. If he were the leader, he would be too unambitious, and the team would always seem to be lacking something.

This is the biggest reason why Johnson, despite having the ability to average 25+ points per game, has had mediocre popularity and has never really taken off.

Lacking charisma, overly laid-back, and with a simple and practical playing style that lacks entertainment value, how popular can this guy possibly be?
But Roy is different. Not only is he resilient and has an indomitable spirit, but his physical abilities, while not top-notch, are still better than Johnson's. He has a lot more dunks and breakthroughs than Johnson. More importantly, Roy has a leader's charisma!
He is clearly a better leader than Johnson!
Throughout the first quarter, Roy played like his life depended on it, whether it was defending Anthony, who was half a head taller than him, or constantly taking shots and charging forward on offense, he took on the responsibility of a leader.

More importantly, the Hawks fans, who were initially lukewarm and clearly not in the zone, and who were convinced that their team was bound to lose, gradually woke up amidst Roy's repeated outbursts.

The noise they made grew louder, their cheers grew louder, and their restlessness became more and more obvious. The fans were in the zone!

Roy's performance and attitude showed them the possibility of a miracle and the fighting spirit of their team!
The players are giving it their all, if we don't cheer them on with all our might, are we even human?
In the first half of the first quarter, it was basically only Roy who was playing his heart out, giving it his all.

But as time went on, Roy's fighting spirit finally reached his teammates. Pachulia started playing defense, Williams started playing like crazy, and Bibby became more involved in the game.

In the final two minutes of the first quarter, the true 'King of the Hawks', Joe Johnson, finally got going!

This guy scored 7 points in the blink of an eye: a three-pointer, a mid-range shot, and then a strong drive to the basket followed by a layup!
Johnson's 7 points in the last 2 minutes of the quarter directly helped the Hawks stay close in the score and held the game together when Roy was exhausted and needed rest!
33: 29!

At the end of the first quarter, the Hawks were only down by 4 points!
In the previous two games, they were down by more than 10 points at the end of the first quarter each time.

This time, they finally made the game a little suspenseful.

During the break, Atlanta fans roared wildly!
Led by the DJ, they seemed to come back to life, displaying their energy and cheering for their team from the sidelines.

"You can rest." During the break, Johnson sat down next to Roy and said, "I can hold my own at the beginning of the second quarter! Then you can finish the game! We'll make this game suspenseful, we'll play with the pride of Atlanta!"

"The same goes for everyone else. We're all veterans who've been playing for many years. We're all warriors who've fought in this league for many years. We can't just give up like this. We can't just watch our little brother Brandon fight alone!"

"I'll blush!"

"My attitude was bad before. I was too pessimistic and arrogant. I admit my mistake. I apologize to everyone! As a member of this team, I must stand with the team through thick and thin! We must fight with the team to the very last moment!"

"Right, Brandon!"

Johnson paused here, looked down at Roy, and gestured for him to stand up and say a few more words.

Now that Roy was really into the fight, he didn't hold back and stood up, throwing off the towel he was wearing, saying, "I've rested for two minutes, that's enough! That's more than enough!"

"I don't need a second's rest for the rest of the games. If necessary, I'm willing to die on the court! Now, let's show the New Yorkers how powerful we are!"

"Let them know how powerful we are!"

The Hawks players raised their arms and cheered together, their morale was completely ignited at that moment!
With united will and concerted efforts, they will fight with everything they have to win a game on their home turf!
At the start of the second quarter, the Knicks were still led by Stoudemire and Anthony, while Lin Tian and Okur, who played the entire first quarter, were resting on the bench.

By the time the playoffs were approaching, or rather, towards the end of the regular season, Don Nelson had already begun adjusting the team's overall roster and rotation methods.

During the regular season, he used a 10-man rotation, and most Knicks players would have playing time. However, in the playoffs, the playing time of the starters increased significantly, and the number of players in the rotation was reduced to 8.

In the first two playoff games, apart from the five starters, only Smith, Nate, and Ariza had consistent playing time. As for the others? Let them wait for garbage time!

As for tonight's situation, it seems that no one else will need to appear.

The Hawks are now playing without a point guard, with Childress replacing Bibby.

He, Roy, and Johnson formed the Hawks' perimeter musketeers and began to fire away in turn!
All three players possess impressive one-on-one skills, along with good shooting range, off-ball movement, and catch-and-shoot ability. This makes the Hawks' tactics incredibly diverse. While it's ostensibly about players taking turns one-on-one and attacking the opponent's half-court, it actually incorporates many off-ball movement and back-and-forth passing details.

Defending against their one-on-one attacks is definitely not that easy.

At the very least, the Knicks can't really defend against him, especially when Lin Tian isn't there.

With Anthony and Stoudemire leading the team, there's still a lack of confidence on their part.

Four minutes into the second quarter, the Knicks made a substitution, with Lin Tian and Okur returning to the court, while Anthony and Stoudemire went to the bench for a rest.

This is also the Knicks' new rotation method after entering the playoffs, increasing Lin Tian's playing time and letting him come on earlier, while also not letting Anthony and Stoudemire play too long in the second quarter, allowing them to rest on the bench for about 2 minutes before returning to the court.

Then, in the last 6 minutes of the first half, Nelson will field his strongest full-strength lineup to close out the game.

The biggest reason why Don Nelson's tactics and rotations were able to be effectively implemented was the versatility and adaptability of the Knicks' players.

Carmelo Anthony can play positions 2-4, Amar'e Stoudemire can play positions 4-5, and Smith, Wallace, and Ariza can also play positions 2-3. Lin Tian, ​​needless to say, can not only play positions 1-3, but also defend the opponent's main scoring point at any time and attack the opponent's weakest point.

Apart from Okur and Nate, who can only play one position due to their size and athleticism, the rest of the Knicks players are versatile, all-around players.

With such a group of players, other teams would be lucky to have one or two, but the Knicks have gathered a whole bunch of them. No wonder Don Nelson can always be so bold and free when rotating players, and always experiment with all sorts of lineups!
There are actually teams with rosters that are completely opposite to the Knicks'.

A few years later, the Clippers, who became a Western Conference powerhouse, attracted countless fans, and were nicknamed "Lob City," became the best example of the opposite.

Paul can only play position 1, Redick can only play position 2, and Griffin and Jordan can only play positions 4 and 5 due to their skills and physique.

With the Clippers' four key players already locked in their positions, the only way for them to go further is to keep working on the small forward position and find a suitable one.

However, they were unable to find a suitable candidate, and with a player and a coach who were both based on causality, the team was unable to advance beyond the second round of the playoffs and remained stagnant.

Of course, there are also examples of people who couldn't waver at all but still succeeded in the end.

Pistons.

The Pistons' five starters were all in very rigid positions, each with their own role and not suitable for playing other positions. Yet, they managed to win the championship the year Lin Tian joined the Knicks, thanks to their absolute defense and terrifying toughness.

Well, we've gone off on a tangent.

Back to the game.

When Lin Tian and Okur came on to replace Anthony and Stoudemire, the Knicks had already been tied by the Hawks, with the score temporarily at 41-41.

Then, as soon as Lin Tian and Okur went up, the two showed great chemistry. Their play was not complicated; it was just a simple pick-and-roll, with Okur bouncing out to receive the ball and shoot a three-pointer.

If you keep guarding Okur, the paint will be wide open, and Lin Tian can chase him down to the basket and score directly!
If it's just a matter of launching an attack, then that's fine.

The Knicks' defense has also improved significantly since Lin Tian returned.

With Nate on the court, anyone could easily score over that little guy, but when Lin Tian came back, the situation immediately reversed!
With Bibby absent, the Hawks didn't have a proper point guard at the moment, so Lin Tian directly started full-court defense against Childress, pressing him from the backcourt.

Childress is indeed a versatile player, with excellent skills in both offense and passing. In addition, his height advantage allows him to play positions 1 through 3.

However, being able to fight and fighting well are clearly two different concepts.

When facing Lin Tian, ​​Childress's dribbling and basic skills immediately became a joke!
In the first possession of Lin Tian's tight defense, Childress stumbled and almost committed an eight-second violation before barely managing to get the ball across half-court. However, because Lin Tian's defense was too tight, he wasted several more seconds before finally passing the ball.

The Hawks were only just starting to organize their offense when almost half of the shot clock had passed.

In this possession, the Hawks naturally failed to score.

In the second round, Lin Tian again applied full-court press.

This time Childress fared even worse, getting the ball stolen one-on-one before even reaching halftime, allowing Lin Tian to score another 2 points with a fast break dunk!
The Hawks' head coach was clearly slow to react.

He wanted to wait until the time was up before making a substitution, but this wait caused the Hawks' excellent situation to deteriorate.

Because he not only failed to make a substitution, but also failed to remind the players on the field that they could switch players to control the ball.

In four consecutive possessions, Childress only made one direct turnover, but they wasted a lot of time and energy on advancing the ball. The team's offense couldn't be organized, and their tactics were executed terribly. They were completely suppressed by the Knicks!

In addition, with the beautiful teamwork and excellent finishing ability of Lin Tian and Okur on the offensive end, the Knicks almost completely overwhelmed the Hawks in just 2 minutes!
The Hawks only managed 2 points with a difficult mid-range jumper by Johnson, while the Knicks had Lin Tian steal the ball and make a fast break, followed by two layups after two drives, and Okur also hit a 3-pointer after receiving a pass from Lin Tian!
In just two minutes, the Knicks went on a 9-2 run!
The two teams, who were just evenly matched, have suddenly widened the gap to 7 points!
It wasn't until this point that the Hawks finally called a timeout to make adjustments.

"Too late! This timeout was called way too late! It should have been called a minute earlier." Barkley shook his head and sighed, "It's a pity the Hawks played so well tonight, but this timeout that came a minute late may have ruined their entire night's efforts."

"Yeah, the Knicks are so good at seizing opportunities, and they're so slow to react. I think those two minutes were the ones that truly showed the difference between the two teams," Payton also expressed his opinion.

"You two jumped to conclusions too quickly! I knew this game wouldn't end like this." Miller snorted. "The Hawks were different tonight; they played with a lot of energy!"

"The most important reason is Roy, who went on a scoring spree from the start. This second-year kid is truly impressive! I like him! I feel he has a similar quality to me, the quality of a fighter! He is definitely a warrior, a warrior worthy of respect!"

"He won't give up so easily. This kid will definitely fight back and keep the suspense of the game going."

Miller had barely finished speaking when both teams' players returned to the field.

The Hawks brought back Bibby, and the Knicks also brought Anthony and Stoudemire back to the court.

Once the timeout was over, Roy proved Miller right with his performance!
The Hawks' first offensive possession after returning was actually a failure. Although Bibby's fundamentals and playmaking abilities were much better than Childress's, they seemed useless against Lin Tian.

He didn't immediately rebuild the team after returning.

The shot clock was ticking away, but the ball just couldn't get to a good position.

Finally, it was Roy who sprinted out from the paint, charging towards Bibby while shouting with outstretched arms, "Ball! Mike, ball!"

Without hesitation, Bibi passed the ball to Roy immediately.

When Roy received the ball, there was only a little over a second left before the shot clock expired. Roy was still carrying the rim when he received the ball and was already preparing to jump.

He completed the turn almost in mid-air, then flicked his wrist to release the basketball before time expired.

"Shh!"

A buzzer-beater!

"Atlanta has not lost yet!" (End of Chapter)