NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

"I can say with 100% certainty that if either Stoudemire or Anthony had played to their usual standard tonight, the Knicks would be leading right now!"

During halftime, the TNT commentators sat in the studio and chatted, with Barkley being the first to share his thoughts.

"But the rest of the Knicks were just too bad tonight! They didn't live up to Lin's performance at all! Look at the most basic stats."

"The Knicks scored 44 points as a team tonight, with Lin scoring 31 of them!"

"He scored 70% of the team's points! It's fair to say that in the first half, the Knicks only managed to stay in the game because of Lin's efforts."

“还有另一组同样直观的数据。”肯尼接着道：“林在前两节的比赛中18投12中，3分球3投3中，罚球4罚全中，爆砍了31分。他的命中率高达67%。”

“而他的队友们呢？总计32投5中，其中3分球8投0中，甚至罚球都只有7罚3中！”

"They can't even make free throws! Can anyone tell me what's wrong with the Knicks players tonight? Did they eat expired pizza together, or did they drink fake alcohol last night?"

“It’s impossible that they drank fake alcohol,” Payton shrugged. “Because Lin is the king of nightclubs in the entire league. With him around, it’s impossible for the Knicks to drink fake alcohol. Even if they did, Lin would definitely be among them. He couldn’t possibly be unharmed.”

"Can you guys stop with this boring and stupid speculation? Can you just enjoy the game? We all live in New York, don't we know better than anyone whether they've been out partying these past few days?"

"These guys are all incredibly honest. They spent their time in the training facility and at home waiting for the Eastern Conference Finals to begin. They resisted the temptation of New York. We should praise them for this, not spread rumors! This is the bottom line for commentators."

"In particular, what we are witnessing right now is likely the greatest individual shooting show in NBA history. Lin is simply using his shooting skills, using only the most direct and difficult mid-range shots to score, and he is about to completely destroy the Celtics!"

"Yes, the Knicks are still trailing. But think about it, if Lin can maintain this touch and efficiency in the second half, then who will collapse next?"

"The Celtics' defense will be completely torn apart by Lin sooner or later!"

"If I were Rivers, I would change my formation in the second half. I would have at least two players double-teaming Lin. I would have at least two players in front of Lin every time he received the ball," Payton said. "With Lin playing like this tonight, if you don't double-team him, you can expect him to break records!"

"As for what record he broke, and what kind of record it was, that depends on the Celtics' luck."

"But one thing I'm sure of: the Celtics absolutely cannot continue playing like this!"

"I agree! Continuing to defend like this is suicidal! You can't pray that Lin's shooting touch will drop."

"This is Lin! How many defensive systems has he destroyed? How many strong defensive teams has he dismantled? From his rookie year with the SuperSonics, to the Knicks, Heat, Jazz, Magic, Lakers, Pistons..."

"The league's top defensive teams have come and gone, formed and disbanded, but they all share one fate: being broken up by Lin!" Miller said, counting on his fingers as he went, essentially recounting all the top defensive teams of the past few years.

Then, Payton instinctively sensed something was wrong!
"Speaking of which, it seems like half of these teams are connected to someone!" Upon hearing Miller's words, Barkley immediately grinned mischievously and said, "Gary, as the poor guy who has been beaten up by Lin the most times, what do you think?"

"After all, when you were getting destroyed by him, your teammates were changing from Kemp and Baker to Malone and Mourning. Your teammates changed again and again, and your team kept changing, but your fate of being destroyed by Lin never changed."

"So, if you, with the most experience, were in this situation, what would you choose? How would you defend against him?"

"Give him a beating." Payton's mouth was practically pointing to the sky, but he managed to suppress his anger and didn't curse. Instead, he gave a serious answer to the question.

Yes, quite serious.

"Or rather, provoke him, let him beat me up, and then we both join in. That's the only way to deal with Lin in this state tonight. You're powerless otherwise!"

"Double-team? Hmph, what about Jordan and Pippen's duo back in the day? Did their double-teams stop Lin? He still managed to beat the Bulls to a pulp in the Eastern Conference Finals, didn't he?"

This time, no one refuted Payton's words; the other three nodded in agreement.
That's certainly true.

Aside from the method Peyton suggested, there really is no other way to stop Lin Tian!
If such a method existed, over the years, with so many teams and so many people, they would have already figured out how to defeat Lin Tian!
"Keep defending like this in the second half! Our defense in the first half was fantastic! This is the result I wanted! We limited the Knicks, who average over 120 points per game in the playoffs, to only 44 points! Perfect! I can only say perfect for your defensive performance!"

In the Celtics' locker room, Rivers was spitting as he excitedly praised his players.

"Hold down the rest of the Knicks players and let them continue to lose their way! As for Lin and Tony, you only need to take care of his three-pointers. Don't let him shoot threes. Let him keep driving to the three-point line and shooting those damn long twos!"

"He can't keep scoring forever, absolutely not! His shooting touch will definitely start to drop in the second half, he'll definitely slip up! And that's when we'll extend our lead and secure the victory!"

"The rest of you, defend the same way we did in the first half! Dwight, Ron, double-team him whenever he gets near the free-throw line! Tim, guard the basket, foul him if necessary, pull him down and don't let him dunk again!"

"The Knicks are doomed to lose tonight!"

"Coach Doug." Just as Rivers was excitedly outlining tactics and trying to get the players to keep pushing for a win, his assistant coach, Thibodeau, who was also the architect of the team's defensive system, couldn't help but say, "I don't think this is a good idea."

"What's wrong?"

“That’s Lin! He’s the best player in the league, maybe even the best player in league history! He’s done countless incredible things in his life, and I don’t think we should put our bets on him missing shots.”

Even if it's the most difficult shot on the basketball court, the longest two-pointer from a distance, the one with the lowest success rate.

"What nonsense are you talking about, Tom?" Rivers maintained his composure. "Lin is strong, that's true, but he's also human. He's just an ordinary basketball player, not a basketball god who can shoot indefinitely!"

"Our strategy is absolutely correct. Just keep defending like this, and Lin's touch will definitely drop. When that happens, they're finished!"

“But…” Thibodeau wanted to say more. He was even holding a stack of data he had just compiled. He wanted Rivers to see how many teams Lin Tian had defeated with his shooting.

“No buts, everything is settled, that’s how it is!” Rivers’ tone became stern as he glared at Thibodeau and said, “You can go do some of your own work.”

"Giving advice is my job!" Thibodeau's temper flared up at this moment, and his stubbornness was top-notch! Or rather, without this stubbornness, Thibodeau would not have been able to achieve such success in the NBA.

"So you want to lose your job now?" Rivers had completely lost his patience. He was quite annoyed by this person who was forcibly giving him advice during halftime, and felt that Thibodeau was questioning his authority.

"Tom, come and take a look at this for me." Seeing that Thibodeau was about to lose his temper and say something like "I don't want this job anymore" at any moment, Duncan stood up, walked towards Thibodeau, put his arm around him, and led him to a corner.

Duncan's strength and height created an imposing presence that was enough to shut Thibodeau up.

Although he was still dissatisfied, he did not insist on arguing with Rivers again.

Especially since Duncan had already given him a way out, there was really no need for him to insist on arguing with Rivers.

But as he followed Duncan out of the core area of ​​the locker room, Thibodeau secretly made up his mind.

I'm determined to build my own team!
I'm going to be the head coach! I'm not going to be controlled by you idiots anymore! I can put whoever I want on the field, and I can make whoever plays the full 48 minutes play the full 48 minutes!

My team is my team, and I call the shots!
An angry Thibodeau listened to Duncan's advice and didn't offer any more suggestions to Rivers. However, Thibodeau had also made up his mind that he would never be an assistant coach again.

I want to get a proper job!

In the Knicks' locker room, Don Nelson didn't yell at his players. Sometimes yelling works, but sometimes it doesn't.

For example, in the first half tonight, Don Nelson clearly saw that his players were giving it their all, putting in all their energy, but unfortunately, they just couldn't match the intensity, and their shooting touch was off. They just couldn't make the shots, so what could he do?
If swearing could make players score, then Don Nelson would have blown the locker room apart long ago.

But he knew very well that at this moment, his players needed comfort and encouragement!
"You played well in the first half! Honestly, I'm proud of your performance in the first half! Because we were actually under pressure from the Celtics the whole time, and they controlled the pace of the game."

"But so what? You guys held on, didn't you? They're only leading us by one point!"

"Even with our entire team playing terribly and unable to make shots, they only beat us by one point! I bet those Celtics bastards are trembling with fear right now."

"They're afraid we'll find our rhythm again; they're afraid we'll easily crush them in the second half if we do! Now is the time for them to lack confidence, for them to be afraid!"

"And what about us? What should we do now?"

"Put that damn ball in the basket!" Anthony, who had another terrible first half, making only 2 of 11 shots, said fiercely, "I'll put the ball in the basket in the second half!"

"No, that's not it, my dear Messi and Ronaldo. That's not the most important thing for us in the second half!"

"Honestly, do you know why I'm so proud of you guys? It's not because you can't score, which actually makes me a little anxious, but that's not important."

"What makes me truly happy is that even after you missed shots, you didn't get frustrated, didn't complain, and didn't lose your enthusiasm and courage! You still bravely took shots whenever you had the chance! In the second half, I ask you to continue playing like this; I don't care whether you make the shots or not."

"I only care whether you dare to do it!"

"We still have motivation. Since we can't make the shot, that's no problem! Shouldn't we try to grab the rebound after we miss? And if we don't get the rebound, and the Celtics get possession, shouldn't we fight for it?"

"In half-court defense, should we prevent the Celtics from making shots, should we prevent them from getting offensive rebounds, and should we prevent them from having second-chance opportunities?"

"This is what I expect of you in the second half!"

"I don't want to see the Celtics take open shots, I don't want them to grab offensive rebounds. I want you guys to fight tooth and nail, to grab every possible offensive rebound! Do you understand what I mean?"

"Courage and initiative! That's what we need to do in the second half!"

"What if you can't make the shot? What if you can't get the basketball into the basket?"

"It's too easy. We have Lin, they don't! So, I believe we're going to win the second half!"

"Now, it's my turn to ask you: are you confident?"

"Have!"

Can you maintain your enthusiasm?

"can!"

Where is your courage?

"It's on our own bodies!"

"we are……"

"Championship!"

Accompanied by chants that resounded throughout the locker room, the Knicks players stood up one after another, their eyes burning with a fierce intensity!
Even if Lin Tian's performance declines in the second half, and even if his shooting percentage starts to drop, the Knicks' beasts will definitely be able to help him get enough offensive rebounds and take down enough opponents!

The Knicks are brimming with confidence at this moment!

Soon, the second half of the game was about to begin, and the players from both sides once again entered the field.

There were no substitutions; neither coach made any changes.

The Celtics gained possession on their first offensive possession of the second half.

They continued to play slowly and patiently, the basketball circling back and forth between the three perimeter players twice, but they couldn't find an opportunity to get the ball inside.

Because the Knicks' defensive intensity and speed of movement have both improved significantly!

The sudden increase in intensity caught the Celtics somewhat off guard, but fortunately they were experienced, and the Knicks' defense was indeed not very good.

So they just passed the ball around a couple more times, and then quickly got it to Duncan in the paint.

After receiving the ball, Duncan quickly turned around and, facing Okur, raised his hand to make a signature mid-range bank shot.

"Shh!"

After a crisp sound, the Celtics' attack lasted 21 seconds, but the ball went in smoothly.

Turning back, Okur wanted to quickly inbound the ball from the baseline, but Duncan was also very fast. He hadn't forgotten the team's strategy for tonight, and once again frantically swung his arms to prevent Okur from easily inbounding the ball.

By the time Lin Tian turned back to receive the ball, the rest of the Celtics had already completed their defensive retreat, once again thwarting the Knicks' signature fast break.

Lin Tian didn't care about this at all. He dribbled the ball to the frontcourt at a leisurely pace, looked at Parker, and suddenly grinned and said, "Tony, here it is!"

After saying that, he dribbled with his left hand again and accelerated, then took a step past Parker, took another step into the three-point line, and then pulled up for another long two-point shot!

"Shh!"

After another crisp sound, the Knicks completed their attack in just 9 seconds!

There's no ball movement, no pick-and-roll or any other tactics; it's just the most direct pull-up jump shot, a direct pull-up!
But it works! Lin Tian just can make the shot!
Parker was genuinely feeling a bit numb at that moment.

He was completely helpless against Lin Tianba, but Rivers preferred to argue with Thibodeau rather than change his defensive strategy.

What can Parker do?
He is also desperate!

He really wanted to call for help, but unfortunately, Rivers insisted on having him defend one-on-one.

"And all you have to do is keep an eye on Lin and prevent him from shooting three-pointers, leave the rest to me."

What the hell are you talking about?!

Do you really want Lin Tian to kill us with his mid-range shots?
Parker was really full of resentment at this moment, and this resentment turned into impulsiveness when it came to the court!

For example, in the second round, he didn't follow the tactics. Instead, he lowered his head and accelerated straight into the paint!
After colliding with Stoudemire in the paint, this guy immediately executed a flawless signature spin move, cutting inside, trapping Stoudemire behind him, and pulling up for a layup! (End of Chapter)