NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

Chapter 885 Master-Disciple Battle: A Clash of Minds!

The basketball that Yao Ming blocked landed in DeRozan's hands. After getting the ball, he immediately turned and charged forward. However, after driving all the way to the frontcourt, he was somewhat helpless against Ariza's defense and had to stop dribbling.

After dribbling around once, he reluctantly handed the ball back to Rose.

Lin Tian nodded in agreement with DeRozan's choice.

Although rushing in too aggressively and lacking vision caused them to miss a good opportunity for a fast break, they managed to hold back and not make any reckless attacks, so it didn't cause too much trouble.

The Bobcats' next offensive possession was another pick-and-roll initiated by Rose. This time, Wallace didn't dare to help defend again, so Stoudemire had to step up and block Rose's path to the basket. Rose then delivered a bounce pass to Boozer.

Boozer, who was missed, pulled up the ball and threw it, sending it into the basket with his rather unpredictable shooting form!

To be honest, he and Marion are quite similar in terms of shooting form, and both of them are incredibly accurate!

They're all the kind of players who can give their opponents a real headache with their shooting skills.

"DeMar!" As the Bobcats quickly returned to defense, Lin Tian called out DeRozan's name and pressed his hand down, signaling him to stay calm and not rush the attack. Then Lin Tian leaned back in his chair again.

"Do you think the league will allow me to move a massage chair to the sidelines? This chair is really uncomfortable."

"Phil Jackson's ass is practically split into eight pieces, the league just put a cushion under his ass for him." Van Gundy couldn't help but roll his eyes and said, "Can't you just focus on coaching the game properly?"

Van Gundy was genuinely fed up with Lin Tian's overly relaxed attitude. When he was coaching, he would stand and direct from the very first second of the game, constantly yelling and looking at his notes, wanting the players to do things his way every round.

But Lin Tian, ​​that guy, was acting like he'd bought a VIP ticket, he was completely carefree.

"What's the point of giving orders at the start? They're playing pretty well." Lin Tian shrugged, then turned to Spike Lee behind him and said, "Right, Spike? My guys are playing pretty well, aren't they?"

"It's alright." Spike was equally too lazy to pay attention to Lin Tian. He was watching the game and had no interest in chatting with Lin Tian.

In the first stage of the game, the Bobcats had a slight advantage, leading by 3 points after 7 minutes. Lin Tian then made substitutions, replacing Hayward and DeRozan with rookie Fields and defensive specialist Marvin Williams.

Williams entered the league with the title of the new Pippen, but unfortunately his development after entering the league was terrible. Apart from defense and cutting, his other abilities were not worth mentioning.

Fortunately, he is physically strong and thick, and his lateral movement speed is also quite good. He can defend from position 1 all the way to position 4, making him one of the most reliable defenders on the Bobcats right now.

Although Fields was only a second-round pick, he demonstrated considerable basketball IQ and fighting spirit during training camp and preseason games.

This guy averaged 5.5 rebounds per game in the preseason, and in the eighth game, when the team's starters were all out, he single-handedly recorded a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Lin Tian's intention in putting these two players on the court was clear: to have Marvin help Boozer defend Stoudemire, who had just scored 7 points in 7 minutes and was in hot form, and to have Fields grab more rebounds.

After all, the Knicks had grabbed three offensive rebounds in just a few minutes, which had already caught Lin Tian's attention.

There's nothing we can do about it; neither Yao Ming nor Boozer really has a way to deal with high-flying players like Wallace and Ariza.

When the Bobcats made their first substitution, it had a remarkable effect.

Although Fields didn't find a shot opportunity after entering the game, he twice rushed in front of Ariza and Wallace to secure two defensive rebounds for the team.

Marvin was the same. Although he didn't perform well on offense, he made a crucial defensive play. First, he helped defend Stoudemire, causing Stoudemire to miss his shot. Then, when he switched to defend Felton, he caused Felton's mid-range shot to bounce off the rim.

Meanwhile, on the offensive end, Rose's speed remains terrifying, and he can still easily cut through the Knicks' defense. More importantly, Yao Ming has finally found his rhythm!
A few minutes ago, Yao Ming had a chance to shoot from beyond the three-point line but missed. But this time, he finally made a shot and scored his first three-pointer.

Then, taking advantage of the opponent's concern that he would continue to shoot three-pointers, Yao Ming ran to the basket to receive the ball. With a series of dreamy spins, he made Stoudemire jump up and down. Then, Yao Ming used a side hook shot to send the ball into the basket!
"Beautiful footwork! Brilliant!" Jackson exclaimed from the sidelines. "Lin's transformation of Yao has been truly remarkable! In my memory, Yao only used such flashy footwork in the first year or two after entering the league."

"After that, he gave up those footwork techniques because he gained weight, and instead started to fight head-on with his opponents!"

"But tonight, Yao first hit a three-pointer that he had only managed one by chance in the first few years of his career, and then showed off some amazing footwork under the basket! It can only be said that Lin's understanding of Yao is truly beyond our imagination!"

"Perhaps this is the playing style that best suits Yao?"

“I don’t like him playing like that.” Van Gundy pouted, his expression quite comical at the moment: “It’s such a waste that someone with his physique isn’t battling it out under the basket. He shouldn’t play with such flashy moves! He should be made to play like a traditional center.”

"This is a terrible waste!"

“If he continues playing the same way, his career could be cut short at any time, either tonight or any other night this season. If he suffers another serious injury, he will definitely be finished.”

"Only in this way can we extend Yao's career and allow him to stay in the league for a longer period of time."

"I will not let any player fall in front of me for short-term gains."

"As for you, Jeff, you're a good guy, but you're too stubborn. You need to learn to look forward."

“You see, Brad is great in this respect. He’s very good at absorbing new knowledge, and no matter what he’s thinking, he never offers any unnecessary opinions. In that respect, he’s much more lovable than you.”

“I’m already starting to regret taking this job,” Van Gundy said helplessly. “And I’m quite jealous of Mark Jackson. His job is much easier than mine, at least he doesn’t have such a terrible boss.”

The two players on the bench chatted casually, while on the court, the Knicks were completely outmatched and struggling to withstand the Bobcats' offensive surge.

With three minutes left in the first quarter, Don Nelson decisively called a timeout, by which time they were already down by eight points!

"You played well just now, but everyone, get your spirits up!" Lin Tian clapped his hands to gather the players together and analyzed, "Old Nelson will definitely start making adjustments, but to be honest, I'm not afraid at all."

"He doesn't have many cards to play right now!"

"Based on my prediction, Don Nelson will increase his individual offensive capabilities in the coming period. He will bring in Jamal Crawford, whom they just acquired this year. This guy is a scoring maniac and a one-on-one monster."

“Demar, you go up next! You must stick with him and do your best to contain him, make him go to the left. His left hand isn’t as strong as his right. The rest of you, pay attention to supporting Lance.”

"In addition, he will definitely further shrink his lineup and play the small lineup that he is best at and likes the most. They will most likely have Amare play the 5 position, then bring in Carl Landry, and finally add two other damn forwards who don't care who they are."

"Their lineup relies on Crawford's individual scoring and fast breaks. If we can contain Crawford and prevent him from getting his individual offense going, we have a chance to extend our lead to more than 10 points in the first quarter!"

"Besides Demar, DJ, Itang, Matt, and Lamar, the four of you go with him!"

"Remember, the most important thing at this stage is to contain Crawford. Matt, be ready to help defend and engage him in physical contact! Lamar, you are the second most important person on the team. Once you get the ball, push the pace! You are responsible for controlling the drive."

"The rest of you, get moving! You know Lamar, he'll pass the ball to you as soon as you're in position."

"understand!"

Soon, the timeout ended, and players from both sides went onto the field.

Just as Lin Tian predicted, the Knicks simultaneously fielded two short, strong forwards: "Birdman" Landry and Jamal Crawford, New York's new generation of one-on-one king. With these two on the court, the Knicks' lineup suddenly appeared at least two sizes smaller, as one was short and the other thin, making a striking visual difference.

Crawford directly took over the point guard position, dribbling quickly into the offensive position.

Landry immediately stepped forward and stood directly in front of DeRozan, forcefully blocking him from following.

Crawford played with even greater decisiveness, taking only one step forward after using a screen before pulling up for a long-range two-pointer.

"Shh!"

With a crisp sound, Crawford's long two-pointer went in perfectly.

"There's nothing we can do." Lin Tian was more relaxed than anyone else, still leaning back in his chair, and casually said, "What can you do if a shot like that goes in, Jeff? You should understand best how helpless defenders feel when faced with a shot like that."

"After all, your entire coaching career has been almost entirely in the shadow of me and Michael. The two of us have scored at least 800 of these unreasonable goals on your head."

“I once had Michael too,” Van Gundy chuckled, retorting, “I know all too well what it feels like to have such a terrifying one-on-one specialist on your team.”

"So what should we do now?" Stevens, clearly feeling it was time for him to learn something, quickly leaned over and asked, "How do we stop this kind of guy?"

"I won't stop him." Lin Tian said without hesitation, "At least I won't give him any special attention in the first half. A scorer like him who goes on erratically can hardly keep scoring. He always has a slump in his shooting touch and will always miss shots."

"What if he keeps making shots and never misses?" Stevens still wouldn't give up.

“Then let him score 50 points.” Lin Tian shrugged and said, “Changing the defensive system and the established plan for a pure scorer of his caliber can easily cause a chain reaction. The Knicks have no shortage of offensive experts. He just made a difficult shot.”

"Like I said, if he only shoots these super difficult long-range two-pointers all night, I'll accept it even if he shoots me to death!"

At this point, Lin Tian paused suddenly, then grinned mischievously and said, "After all, no one understands this better than me. Some players, once they get into a rhythm, are simply unstoppable. Instead of thinking about how to stop them, we should think about how to surpass them on the offensive end!"

"Are you talking about yourself?" Van Gundy rolled his eyes, completely losing interest in Lin Tian. He had never seen a coach who was so narcissistic.

"But of course, I have a way too." Lin Tian said, then suddenly stood up, buttoned up his suit jacket with both hands, and strode to the sidelines.

Van Gundy pricked up his ears, wanting to see how Lin Tian would respond, while Stevens even took out his notebook, wanting to record any brilliant moves Lin Tian might have.

Just then, Crawford drove into the three-point line after a screen, then suddenly stopped and pulled up, hitting his second consecutive mid-range jump shot.

"DeMar, give it your all! You can do it, this guy isn't that strong! Keep going, I believe you can crush him!" Lin Tian shouted at DeRozan, even giving him a high five to encourage him.

"That's it?" Stevens was utterly dumbfounded as he watched Lin Tian loosen his shirt and sit back down on the bench.

This guy put on such a big show, and that's it? Just a shout of encouragement?
Lin Tian: What else? I already said that a top attacker who's in form is unstoppable, so let's just wait for his form to drop.

If you're on such a hot streak throughout the game, then wait until the second half; now is not the time.

In the final minutes of the first quarter, Don Nelson narrowed the gap thanks to Crawford's consecutive attacks and Landry's offensive rebound and putback. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 27-26.

The Bobcats are leading by one point going into the second quarter.

The second quarter went according to Lin Tian and Don Nelson's plan. The Bobcats failed to extend their lead, and although the Knicks briefly took the lead, they couldn't maintain it.

When the first half ended, the score was 55-52!

The Bobcats hold a very slight lead.

In the second half, Rose, who had only scored 7 points in the first half, suddenly exploded. He first hit two consecutive mid-range jump shots after pick-and-rolls, and then drove hard to the basket for another score.

After a 6-0 run, the Bobcats extended their lead to 9 points!
At this point, less than 3 minutes had passed since the start of the third quarter.

At this point, Don Nelson made the first tactical change!

He has never been the kind of person who sticks to the rules. Seeing that Rose's firepower was so strong that he immediately made a substitution, bringing on Crawford, who scored a game-high 15 points in the first half.

"Gordon, DeMar!" Lin Tian stood up as the Knicks made their substitutions and shouted at the two players, "Remember our halftime strategy!"

After shouting this, Lin Tian didn't make any adjustments and sat back down on the bench.

Crawford truly lives up to his reputation as a microwave-type attacker. Once he's on the court, there's no need for him to "heat up" before anything else. He immediately dribbles the ball up the court and, this time, doesn't even need a screen. He simply changes direction and accelerates, trying to force his way past Rose.

But just as he accelerated into the three-point line, Hayward's help defense rushed over and, together with Rose, blocked Crawford in the middle.

Crawford's agile but slender physique once again became his fatal flaw. Faced with a double-team, he almost couldn't even stand up, let alone complete an attack.

If it were someone else, they might have taken a shot at this point.

But Crawford is clearly no one else.

In situations like these, this guy is more likely to push his limits.

He suddenly stepped back, then dribbled behind his back twice in a row to look for an opportunity. He then made a reverse crossover dribble to get between Rose and DeRozan. He then made a lateral step to force his way between the two, and then jumped up for a strong floater.

"Shh!"

Come in!

"It's a bit scary." Lin Tian pursed his lips, then, aiming at Crawford's approach path, shouted loudly in a voice he could clearly hear, "If this guy keeps shooting like this all night, we're in big trouble. We can't defend against him at all!"

"Who says I can't stop him!" Rose happened to walk over at that moment and said fiercely, "I can stop him! He's just a skinny monkey! I can beat him to a pulp with one hand! If you've got the guts, bring on another one!"

"Kid." The biggest problem with players like Crawford on the field is that they get carried away.

Not to mention that Lin Tian is praising him while Ross is not convinced.

In situations like this, Crawford is even more determined to take down Rose two more times!
"Bring that kid along too!" Crawford, though easily angered, wasn't a complete fool. At this point, although he had decided to continue the one-on-one fight, he wasn't stupid enough to continue fighting two against one.

"Let's see if I can take you both down with my eyes closed!"

"No need for Demar!" Rose had indeed fallen for the trap!
"I'll fight you one-on-one!"

(End of this chapter)