NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

James chose to give up early.

Of course, even if he didn't give up, he couldn't catch up with Lin Tian with this ball. Lin Tian's speed was truly unparalleled. Even if James ran at full speed, he could only run 2-3 meters more in that time. Catching up with Lin Tian was out of the question!
Therefore, giving up in advance is actually the most correct and energy-saving method. Considering that James will most likely play 48 minutes tonight, giving up this unnecessary waste of energy is definitely a wise move!

Whether it was wise or not, Lin Tian clearly didn't care at all.

No matter what thoughts are going through your mind, it won't stop me from criticizing you.

"Coward! Softie! Trash! Coward! You don't even have the courage to chase me?" Lin Tian opened his mouth and unleashed a torrent of abuse at James!
With 40 seconds left in the second quarter, the Knicks are leading by one point, but this small lead is clearly not enough for Lin Tian. He wants to keep provoking James and extend the lead!

“You’re talking nonsense! I’m not a coward or a softie.” James said as he passed the ball from the baseline to the frontcourt and started running. “I’m not afraid of you at all.”

"Then why can't you catch up with me? I deliberately slowed down, just waiting for you to catch up with me!"

"You're talking nonsense! You haven't slowed down at all!"

"I slowed down!"

"You didn't..." This time, James suddenly accelerated his attack halfway through his sentence.

These two guys are like kids, bickering while playing ball, and most of their bickering is just pointless nonsense.

But these two did not neglect their offense at all while arguing. James did not call for a screen this time. He had realized that the best way to deal with Lin Tian was to be simple and direct!
Simplify your offensive strategies, simplify them further!
The simpler it is, the easier it is to see results!

For example, this time he didn't make any fancy moves like changing direction; he just accelerated and charged straight at Lin Tian, ​​quickly grabbing the basketball and using his absolute advantage in height and weight to force his way to the edge of the three-second zone.

Then James jumped up, caught the basketball with one hand, and tossed it onto the backboard.

"Shh!"

After a bank shot, the basketball went into the basket again!

66: 67!

The lead has been reversed again!
There were only 9 seconds left in the first half!
"Stop! Everyone stop! We need to go into the second half with the lead! With the lead! No matter the consequences! Stop your man! Don't let anyone slip through!" James yelled wildly after scoring, reminding his teammates to mark their man tightly.

He then followed Lin Tian again, intending to have a one-on-one duel with him.

But this time it's not that simple!
Lin Tian twitched his shoulder, and with a feint in his head and feet, he tricked James into pausing for a moment. With that one movement, Lin Tian made a reverse run and successfully got the chance to receive the ball!

At this moment, facing Lin Tian, ​​a guy whose agility was almost monstrous, James's massive weight and physique became a hindrance!

In fact, James has never been particularly good at dealing with agile players who are good at changing direction and have super speed. He is better at help defense and rotation defense. When defending against rhythmic and heavy perimeter players one-on-one, his effectiveness is absolutely top-notch.

Some people will definitely say, didn't James stop Rose in the 11 Eastern Conference Finals?
Actually, no!

Or rather, in that series, it was the Heat's defensive system that contained Rose, not James who guarded him.

In that series, James's main purpose and greatest role in the first line of defense was to block the view.

With his towering physique, Rose's height disadvantage of less than 190 centimeters was magnified. Under his shadow, Rose was completely unable to observe his teammates' movements and the situation on the court.

In this situation, Rose is unable to effectively organize the offense or observe the Heat's defensive setup in a timely manner.

He can still use his terrifying speed to easily leave James behind with a single change of direction.

But the problem is that after getting past James, he was faced with Wade, Haslem, and Bosh.

There will always be someone blocking his way, someone preventing him from launching a comfortable attack.

If Rose had the passing and vision of players like Kidd or Nash, there would be no problem; the Heat's system would be completely broken down by his passing in just a few moves.

If Rose had the accuracy of Kyrie Irving or Stephen Curry, able to pull up and shoot anytime, anywhere, that would be fine too. He could get past LeBron James and finish the game before the Heat's help defense could even come up, completely dominating the Heat's tight, pressing defense.

Unfortunately, he didn't have any of those.

Although his playing style was incredibly explosive, and his wide-open and extremely aggressive style of play was unparalleled, he was truly powerless against the Heat's impenetrable defense and the help defense specialists everywhere.

So the Bulls lost that year.

But Lin Tian obviously won't encounter that kind of predicament.

He has the vision of Kidd and Nash, the shooting ability of Irving and Curry, and his physical attributes are even better than Rose's.

With someone like Lin Tian, ​​how do you think you, James, can defend him?

He charged forward relentlessly to the frontcourt, then suddenly stopped and dribbled while hovering. After a slow pause and a deceptive maneuver, he suddenly made a huge change of direction!

The rhythm, speed, and amplitude of this move were terrifying. If a backcourt player in a rapidly retreating defensive position were to encounter Lin Tian's sudden stop and change of direction, probably half of the backcourt players in the league would be knocked to the ground by Lin Tian's move!
That was so fast and terrifying!

At this moment, all James could do was try to control his body and keep himself standing still. At this moment, his brain overcame his subconscious and controlled his body, preventing him from chasing Lin Tian!
If he went there, he would definitely lose his balance and fall to the ground.

Fortunately, James managed to control himself. Although it was embarrassing to be pinned to the ground and unable to move by Lin Tian, ​​it was still much better than being faked out!

At least it didn't end up rolling on the ground like a gourd, right?

James could only move his neck. He turned around and watched Lin Tian drive into the basket and easily dunk with one hand, changing the score again!
68: 67!

Last 3 seconds!
At this moment, the Spurs players had no time to lament their defensive failure.

JR immediately stood at the baseline, grabbed the ball, looked for his teammates, and then passed the ball to James.

James received the ball in the free-throw line area, and Lin Tian rushed over immediately, spreading his arms to try and stop James's final, haphazard shot.

If a team gets hit with such a long-range buzzer-beater in the last 3 seconds, it will have a significant impact on the team's morale.

To Lin Tian's surprise, James did not make a move.

As soon as he saw Lin Tian coming, he immediately turned around to protect the basketball and prevent Lin Tian from stealing it. Only after he was sure it was safe did he turn around to face the basket.

Has Lao Tzu's defensive pressure reached this level?
Lin Tian muttered something to himself, then watched James launch a long-range three-pointer without offering any defense.

Just kidding. In a maximum of 3 seconds, you receive the ball, dribble once, then turn around to observe and contest, then turn around again to aim, take another dribble to build up power, and shoot.

It would be a miracle if it worked in 3 seconds.

Forget James, even if you, James Bond, came, those 3 seconds wouldn't be enough for you.

The three-second countdown had already ended when James dribbled forward and took a step, and the buzzer had already sounded.

"Boom!"

Then, this ball actually almost went in, hitting the rim and bouncing away.

"FUXX!"

Then, Lin Tian saw incredulously that James put on an extremely frustrated expression and cursed, as if this shot would count as a point if it went in.

Then Lin Tian watched as James walked dejectedly toward the players' tunnel.

At this moment, yet another person Lin Tian couldn't understand appeared. There really weren't many people he couldn't understand in his life, especially in the NBA, a circle where people generally don't have high levels of education and aren't very shrewd. It would be very difficult for someone like Lin Tian, ​​a top student with experience from two lifetimes, not to understand him.

Even with top veterans like Stern, Bird, and West, Lin Tian doesn't feel like he can't see through them.

But at this moment, Lin Tian really couldn't figure out what James was thinking.

Was he genuinely frustrated that he missed the goal, or did he know that time had already run out?

I can't understand it, I can't understand it at all.

I really don't know if this guy is just a great actor or overly cautious.

Lin Tian shrugged, too lazy to think about it, and turned around to walk towards the player tunnel on the other side.

He still needs to prepare for the second half of the game.

"A fantastic first half!" Barkley shouted excitedly during halftime. "I've never seen such a great first half in my life!"

“I’ve heard you say that at least 30 times!” Kenny mocked Barkley dismissively.

"I've listened to it at least 30 times this season," Payton followed closely.

“29 of those were games between Lin and the Knicks.” Miller shrugged. “Charles, we all know you thank Lin for saving your career, and we know you treat him like your dear parents.”

"But aren't you exaggerating a bit?"

"What's with the exaggeration!" Barkley retorted, disgruntled. "Wasn't this game exciting?"

“It was fantastic!” Payton said. “So fantastic that I didn’t want to waste any more time talking to you and just wanted to focus on the game.”

"LeBron James certainly has the potential to dominate the league after Lin! After Lin retires this year, maybe starting next year, LeBron will be able to dominate the league, and can make a run for the championship and win one MVP after another."

"Those who entered the league between 1995 and 2000 really had a tough time," Miller suddenly remarked. "Some of these players were geniuses, and some were top-tier superstars."

"But they entered the league at the tail end of the Jordan era, and after entering their growth period, they encountered the invincible Lin. Finally, Lin chose to retire at his peak and was about to leave, and then the monster James grew up."

"If Iverson, Kobe, McGrady, Duncan, Nash... if these guys hadn't encountered this situation, they could definitely have built a great career, become famous, and then become top stars in the league, winning even more honors."

"But unfortunately, all they can do now is lament that they were born at the wrong time."

"Then weren't the earlier generations of players unlucky?" Kenny said. "What about those who entered the league between '90 and '95? Shaq, Mourning, Garnett, Kidd... weren't they all geniuses, capable of dominating their respective fields?"

"But aren't they the same? Even if they were invincible and unstoppable, they encountered the strongest Michael as soon as they entered the league, and when Michael finally retired, Lin seamlessly took over."

"Now Lin is retiring, but they are also at the age to retire. Those born after 95 still have a chance to fight for their dreams for a few more years, but what about those born before 95? They don't have that chance anymore. If they want to compete for the championship again, they can only find a strong player to rely on."

"It was Lin and Michael who created a 15-year reign. During their reign, players only had two options: join them or wait for them to fall asleep."

“Hakeem Olajuwon and Larry Brown each did this, but no one else has been able to do it.”

"It can only be said that the feet of the strong are destined to be piles of bones."

Barkley said, "But I don't think anyone can dominate the league starting next season. If Kobe and Shaq were 5 or 6 years younger and still on the same team, maybe they would have a chance, but right now, no team or player has that ability."

"There will be 5-6 or even more teams vying for the championship. As for who will ultimately emerge victorious, I can't predict it. What do you three think about making your predictions?"

“I can’t predict it either,” Miller said with a decisive shrug. “But what I can say for sure is that next season’s league will be very interesting! Maybe the most interesting one in recent years, because there will be a lot of teams that have been holding back for a long time and have been waiting for a long time to make their moves.”

"Many teams will be eager to make big trades to strengthen their rosters and join the ranks of those aiming for the Finals."

"After all, next year will definitely be a vacuum period! A vacuum period without absolute power and absolute rulers! Everyone has a chance, everyone has a possibility."

"Therefore, relatively speaking, this year's offseason has a very high probability of becoming the craziest and most extravagant offseason in NBA history!"

"Everyone will make a move!"

"But of course, before that, we still have to see this series go on!" Miller added. "This series isn't over yet! As the last battle of the old era, we're really looking forward to tonight's result."

Will Lin maintain his undefeated record and lead his team to an undefeated championship, or will LeBron, one of the strongest contenders for the new king, lead his team to regain some dignity?

"Let's look forward to the second half!"

During this halftime break, the exact same scene unfolded in both locker rooms.

It was Nelson and Popovich who took the lead, clapping their hands and shouting loudly to cheer on the players.

As for what they said, it was nothing more than things like, "You played well in the first half, keep up the good work in the second half and crush them," "Keep the intensity, keep the focus," "They're done for, just give it your all and we'll win," "Give it your all and leave no regrets," and "Victory! We are the champions, let's take the victory!"

Basically, it's all about uncreative stuff, relying entirely on the volume of your voice.

After both coaches had been shouting and felt thirsty and needed to drink some water, it was time for the two leaders, James and Lin Tian, ​​to step up and give another round of encouragement and motivation from the players' perspective.

As for the content, it was basically a copy-paste of what the two coaches said.

After all, when the series has reached this point, no amount of fancy tricks will help.

The most effective way is to go all out and kill them!

Both sides adopted the same tactics, which are also the most effective tactics.

The third step is for the wronged player to speak out.

Bosh, Stoudemire, Okur, JR, and others lifted up their shirts, using their wounds, bruises, and bloodstains to show how much injustice they suffered in the first half of the game, how many times they were tricked by the opponent, and how frustrating and miserable they felt.

Then Lin Tian and James stepped forward again, slamming their fists on the table and shouting, "I'll make them die! For our brothers, I'll make them all die!"

Finally, everyone stood together, shouted out their slogans and goals, and encouraged each other.

That's about it.

In short, this simplest and most direct approach, which is almost like forcing chicken soup and motivation into your throat, has proven to be incredibly effective at this time.

Both teams' players fell for this tactic.

When they came out of their respective locker rooms, everyone's eyes were red.

His eyes were bloodshot and his hair stood on end in fury.

If the players on both sides could still joke and banter with each other in the first half, then in the second half, all that remained in their eyes was anger and hatred.

In this life-or-death battle, they were determined to defeat their formidable opponent!

The second half of the game will be much closer to war!

"Game start!"

With a shout from Barkley, Francis received the ball on the baseline and advanced forward, officially kicking off the second half of the game. (End of Chapter)