NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

"Shh!"

With a crisp click, Kobe Bryant once again calmly sank the free throw, his fourth free throw of the quarter and his sixth point of the quarter. With this successful free throw, the Lakers finally tied the score.

At this point, there were still 7 minutes left in the third quarter.

Then, just as everyone was standing in their positions, ready to grab rebounds and continue the game, Lin Tian suddenly waved at Jeremy Lin.

"This guy has flaws, so you don't need to worry."

"Kobe's defense was very aggressive. His one-on-one defensive skills are among the top five of all shooting guards in the history of the league, if not the top three. Especially when he was angry and flustered, it was even more difficult to break through his defense."

"It's not shameful to be guarded by him. Remember, you're facing one of the best backcourt players in the history of this league. There's nothing to be discouraged about not being his match in a head-to-head game! What you need to know is that he has weaknesses!"

"He's not good at defending off the ball, or rather, this guy is too confident, so confident that he easily loses trust in others."

"If the ball isn't in the hands of the player he's guarding, this guy will constantly observe the situation of the game and the overall condition of the court, which is an advantage and a good habit in itself, but the problem is that Kobe is too confident and too irritable."

"He always feels that his teammates can't defend against the opponent. He always feels that his teammates will be overwhelmed by the opponent and that there will be gaps in their defense. Then he will rush over to help defend and assist without realizing it. But the timing he chooses is not always correct or reasonable. Sometimes his help defense will cause the person he is guarding to be left unguarded."

"Excessive help defense is Kobe's biggest weakness on the defensive end!"

After quickly pointing out Kobe's defensive weaknesses, Lin Tian patted Jeremy Lin on the shoulder and said, "Now you know how to play, right?"

"I understand, Coach!" Jeremy Lin's basketball IQ is exceptionally high. With just a little guidance from Lin Tian, ​​he immediately understood the strategy and indicated that he knew how to play.

Seeing that Jeremy Lin had figured it out, Lin Tian quickly made a substitution, replacing Boozer with Odom.

This is a proactive change and adjustment. This substitution gives the Bobcats another point of attack on the court, while their height in the paint, rebounding ability, and rim protection have not decreased too much.

More importantly, Odom is more agile and faster than Boozer, so he is not at a significant disadvantage when matched up against Durant in any aspect.

It's definitely much better than the defensive performance of Hayward and Boozer.

"Carlos, take a rest! I'll put you on whenever the situation allows!"

Lin Tian reached out and touched Boozer's hand, then focused his attention back on the court in front of him.

"Shh!"

With Kobe making another free throw, the Lakers took the lead. They, or rather Kobe himself, went on a 7-0 run in the third quarter to complete the comeback, and the Bobcats' advantage accumulated in the first half vanished.

This time, when Kobe once again closely guarded Jeremy Lin, the guy completely stopped dribbling and didn't even run; instead, he started strolling around.

He was extremely slow crossing the half-court line, even slower than Yao Ming.

Kobe kept his eyes glued to Jeremy Lin while constantly glancing back, clearly quite dissatisfied with Lin's slow pace.

"Run, kid! Run! You're chickening out already? You don't even have the guts to challenge me anymore? You really are a bottom-of-the-barrel undrafted player! I bet you'll be cut by your team before the playoffs even start!"

Seeing Jeremy Lin start to tank and pretend to be dead on the court, Kobe immediately started taunting him, trying to provoke him and get him back into the game.

Unfortunately, Jeremy Lin not only didn't fall for it, but also didn't argue at all. Instead, he simply strolled along the sidelines of the court all the way to the baseline and stood still.

He even turned around and chatted with a fan behind him, saying "Good evening!"

It was at this moment that Odom finally led the team to organize a fairly effective offensive wave. After a series of passes and runs, Odom finally received the ball near the free-throw line, then turned his back and made a handoff pass to DeRozan, while also blocking Fisher with a side turn.

With such an open shot and the perfect spot for DeRozan to shoot, he naturally wouldn't let the opportunity slip away. He pulled up for a mid-range jumper, and the two-pointer finally went in!
After making that shot, DeRozan temporarily shook off the frustration of being completely shut down by Kobe, and waved his fist and shouted "Good!" to cheer himself on.

This goal helped the Bobcats break their five-minute scoring drought. It was their first goal of the second half, and they finally scored!
"Good defense, I can't get the ball at all." Jeremy Lin teased Kobe at just the right moment, and then surprisingly took the initiative, turning around and blocking Kobe, starting to put pressure on him!

"You're asking for it!" What kind of defense hasn't Kobe seen? Facing Jeremy Lin, who was a full head shorter than him, he didn't care at all. He practically blew all the way to the opponent's waist, then backed down to block the position and reached out for the ball.

After receiving the ball, Kobe suddenly turned around, pulled up the paddle, and threw it.

The entire set of movements was fluid and exceptionally graceful!

"Shh!"

After another crisp sound, the Lakers regained the lead!
"See that, kid! Hitting you is no different than swatting a fly! You're dead tonight!" After scoring, Kobe grinned, trying to provoke Jeremy Lin and get him to continue the one-on-one challenge.

Unfortunately, even if Lin Tian hadn't explained it to Jeremy Lin, Jeremy Lin would still know his own limitations.

He knew he was no match for Kobe, so unless absolutely necessary or the situation was dire, he would never suddenly get carried away and challenge Kobe to a one-on-one fight.

In this play, Jeremy Lin strolled over to the frontcourt again, then stood still on the baseline, practically watching his teammates play 4-on-4!

Not just in this round, but in several consecutive rounds, Jeremy Lin almost never touched the ball. Even when the ball reached him, he would pass it immediately without holding onto it.

"Did Jeremy get Harry Potter's invisibility cloak?" Barkley laughed loudly. "Why can't I see him? Why is he invisible on the court?"

"Charles, there's still a quarter and a half left in the game!"

O'Neal was a bit shaken at this point; he never expected Jeremy Lin to just lie down and play defensively! Although his lay-down move took away Kobe, a top defensive player, allowing Hayward and DeRozan to score repeatedly during that period, the Bobcats were in a good position.

But the problem is, he and Barkley weren't betting on whether the Bobcats would win or not; they were betting on whether Jeremy Lin would perform well!

So O'Neal's tone softened at this point: "And even though Jeremy disappeared in the second half, he sacrificed himself to bring the team back to life! That spirit of sacrifice is equally important! More importantly, he played perfectly in the first half!"

"Many players can't even put up those numbers throughout the entire game! Even if Lin's stats stop here tonight, his performance will still be excellent!"

"Playing well for only half a game doesn't mean you've won!" Barkley scoffed. "24 minutes isn't a perfect game!"

The two fat, dark-skinned men exchanged a glance, then almost simultaneously said, "At best, it's a draw!"

Hmm, it's a tie!

A draw is good!
The two quickly reached an agreement, leaving themselves room to maneuver.

"Two cowards." Kenny and Payton, standing nearby, almost in unison, summed up the two fat men's behavior.

Payton and Kenny were willing to gamble their entire fortunes, but if Jeremy Lin's performance in the first and second halves hadn't been so drastically different, if he had been either terrible from start to finish or great from start to finish, these two would definitely have shown a completely different attitude.

draw?

Those two cowards were just scared.

On the court at this moment, Jeremy Lin finally got his chance!

Kobe finally couldn't stand the silence anymore. When Odom once again had the ball at the top of the key and was preparing to organize the offense, Kobe quickly ran over to help defend.

The moment he let go of Jeremy Lin, Lin, like a wild beast that had been gathering its strength for a long time, suddenly burst out with speed and charged towards the basket.

Odom seized the opportunity and, just before Kobe arrived, suddenly made a through pass, lobbing the ball towards Jeremy Lin.

Without hesitation, Jeremy Lin, having received the basketball, took off and launched a high-arc floater.

The basketball grazed Bynum's fingertips, who was a step too slow in his help defense, and fell precisely into the basket!

"Lin! Jeremy Lin!" Seeing Jeremy Lin finally come back to life, Shaquille O'Neal immediately forgot about the so-called 'truce' and slammed his fist on the table, saying, "He was more like the Black Mamba than Kobe on that play! Unexpected and decisive!"

Lin Tian, ​​sitting in the audience, smiled and said, "Brad, in our Chinese parlance, Jeremy is hiding his true intentions, waiting for the right moment to strike! What? You don't understand that? Never mind!"

"So here's another question for you: If it were you, what would you do next?" "I would continue playing like this, letting Jeremy draw Kobe's attention, and if Kobe helps defend someone else, I would immediately cut to the basket or prepare to catch the ball and shoot!" Stevens gave his standard answer without hesitation.

"It's the standard answer, but it's missing a little detail." Lin Tian said with a smile, "You forgot to keep provoking Kobe! At times like this, you have to add fuel to the fire for Kobe and put him in a dilemma."

"To put it simply, we put two cups of poison in front of him and force him to choose one to drink!"

"One of the poisons is Jeremy's off-ball ability, and what is the other poison?"

"It's Fisher." Lin Tian smiled, stood up again, and shouted towards the field, "Lamar, pass the ball to Demar!"

"Alright." Lin Tian sat back in his chair with a relaxed expression and said with a smile, "What do you think Kobe would do if Demar beat Fisher? What would he choose?"

“But if Demar…” Stevens frowned. He felt that sending a second-year rookie to fight Fisher, who had been in the league for 15 years, was a bit too risky.

Especially now that the team is in a bad situation and has a very low scoring efficiency, Stevens thinks the ball should be given to Yao Ming so that he can go to the basket for a one-on-one game.

Firstly, experience is very important!

Secondly, the closer you are to the basket, the easier it is to score and the higher your efficiency, which is one of the ironclad rules of basketball today.

“There are no ifs.” Lin Tian said without hesitation, “If Demar can’t even beat Fisher, he should just retire. Even my grandma could beat Fisher now.”

"Also, Brad, you have to remember one thing: a good head coach has to be willing to gamble! He has to have a bit of a gambling spirit. If you just stick to the conventional rotations and play reasonable tactics, no matter how hard you try, you'll just be Jeff."

"Huh?" Van Gundy turned his head immediately when Lin Tian mentioned him and said, "What do you mean by 'at most, I'm the only one'? Is it shameful to become a head coach of my level?"

“It’s not shameful, you’re already an excellent head coach.” This time, Lin Tian praised Van Gundy first, and then said, “But you’re still far from outstanding and top-notch.”

"Which top head coach hasn't made unexpected substitutions, come up with ingenious tactics, and surprised changes? These are essential, and they're what make them stand out!"

"What if you lose the bet?" Van Gundy was still unconvinced and continued to argue.

“If you lose the bet, it proves you’re not destined to become a top head coach.” Lin Tian said quite casually and matter-of-factly, “Luck is also part of ability.”

"So Brad, you need to think carefully. Do you want to be an average head coach who scores at least 60 points, but at most 80?" Lin Tian pointed at Van Gundy, then at himself: "Or do you want to be a coach who might only score 30 points, but has the potential to reach 100 points?"

“I understand!” Stevens nodded in deep agreement, indicating that he understood.

While the three chatted, time flew by on the court. Just as Lin Tian had said, his luck with gambling was quite good.

DeRozan can easily beat Fisher; he doesn't just dominate, but Fisher really can't put much pressure on him.

DeRozan quickly regained his form!
He scored twice in the next few possessions, helping his team extend their lead again.

After DeRozan scored twice, Kobe had no choice but to rush over again. This time, Jeremy Lin once again made a quick cut to the basket, looking for an opportunity, but unfortunately DeRozan didn't have Odom's vision and passing skills.

Even though he was double-teamed, he still forced himself to shoot!
"Boom!"

With a muffled thud, DeRozan's mid-range jump shot missed, but fortunately, Jeremy Lin's cut to the basket was perfectly timed. He leaped high and grabbed the rebound, then pushed the ball upwards with both hands before landing, immediately changing its direction and sending it flying towards the basket.

"Shh!"

After a crisp sound, Jeremy Lin scored on a putback, extending the Bobcats' lead to 6 points once again.

Now, it's Jackson's turn to have a headache.

Logically, his best course of action now would be to replace Fisher and hide this weakness, just like Lin Tian replaced Boozer to increase the team's ball-handling options.

The problem is that the Lakers' other main point guard is Farmar.

This guy has good physical attributes; he's fast and can break through defenses and attack.

The problem is, this guy only has these three advantages.

Apart from these three things, everything else, whether it's passing, defense, shooting, or rebounding, is not worth mentioning.

A role player with a rather limited function.

Bringing in Farmar won't help the defense or change the game's dynamics. The Lakers' current roster is what it is; at best, Kobe is the only player who can defend in the backcourt, and there's nothing anyone can do about that.

If Kirilenko were two years younger and faster, Jackson might have let him switch roles and try guarding different players. But unfortunately, Kirilenko is getting older and more injured. He can guard players at the 3 and 4 positions without any problem, but it would be really difficult for him to guard guards.

Jackson was heartbroken!

Now it's his turn to choose how to gamble and what to choose.

Should we keep Fisher to at least ensure a stable and confident striker on the field, or bring on someone else to slightly improve the defense but give up space?
“Phil also has a strong gambling spirit.” Lin Tian sat on the bench and continued to analyze the situation on the court: “If he didn’t have a gambling spirit, I wouldn’t have been able to get into the rotation so early back then.”

"Based on my understanding of him, I guess he will definitely keep the lineup unchanged!"

"He needs to keep someone who can shoot. Even if Fisher can make just one of those shots, the Lakers' situation will improve significantly."

No, it was quite a while after Lin Tian finished speaking, and several minutes into the third quarter, Jackson still hadn't managed to take down Fisher. It wasn't until the last three minutes of the third quarter that he finally managed to get Fisher off the court.

But this is no longer a matter of responding to changes or replacing personnel.

This is just a normal rotation and a change of personnel at the appointed time.

At this point in the game, Lin Tian has emerged victorious and become the winner.

Because DeRozan dominated Fisher, and Jackson dared not or was unwilling to make substitutions. Meanwhile, although Fisher remained on the court, he did not contribute any points. He only made one free throw during the three-second rule in this quarter, scoring 1 point, and otherwise barely touched the ball.

Jackson lost his bet, so Lin Tian naturally won! Although Jeremy Lin only made two shots in this quarter, he played with unwavering determination. Every time he made a cut, he would rush to the basket without hesitation, unafraid of physical contact or the presence of Bynum or Kirilenko under the basket.

This aggressive style of play earned him a total of 6 free throws in the quarter, and he made 5 of them.

He had already scored 9 points in the third quarter, bringing his total to 27 points that night!

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will definitely score his first 30+ or ​​even 40+ points tonight!

After the Lakers made a substitution, Lin Tian didn't let Jeremy Lin continue playing on the court. Instead, he took him off the court to let him rest for a while.

Although the Bobcats are in the lead right now, the score is still very close!

Everyone was having a bad night, and no one could score consistently or create any scoring opportunities.

So while the Bobcats capitalized on Fisher's weakness to score repeatedly, Kobe, who had a poor first half for the Lakers, also showed his fangs in this quarter, causing repeated damage.

His consecutive free throws were also the reason why the Lakers briefly took the lead in the middle of the third quarter.

Unfortunately, although both sides had players who could create scoring opportunities in this quarter, most players performed quite poorly overall.

For example, although Jeremy Lin scored 9 points and DeMar DeRozan scored 8 points for the Bobcats, the team only scored a total of 18 points, and their scoring efficiency was negligible.

As for the Lakers, apart from Kobe, the contributions of the rest of the team were also quite pitiful, and the team only scored 18 points.

18: 18.

The two sides are tied again in this quarter!
60: 66!

The gap between the two sides remains at 6 points! (End of Chapter)