NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

Felton waved for everyone to separate, and at the same time gave Oku a wink.

He could tell that Yao Ming was camped in the paint and had no intention of leaving the paint, so it would be difficult for another tall player like Okur to interfere with or defend him.

So after he had everyone spread out, he immediately accelerated and began to forcefully break through.

Okur, who understood Felton's look, began to move towards the top of the key as Felton broke through, which was his favorite release point and shooting position.

Felton charged toward the basket, pushing past Rose. Then, as he took a step inside the free-throw line, he suddenly felt something was off. He felt like something was missing, but his body was faster than his mind. He passed the ball with one hand behind him to Okur, who was already in position.

The moment the basketball was released, Felton realized why he felt something was wrong.

When he broke through, no one double-teamed him, no one interfered with him, and no one used the signature "closing-the-door" defense of the zone defense!

DeRozan didn't come to defend him, so where is DeRozan?
Of course, I stood behind him.

The Bobcats are still blocking Felton's passing lanes!
Felton's pass was practically a direct pass to DeRozan, finding his way right into his arms. DeRozan immediately accelerated after receiving the ball, leaving the tall but slow Okur behind in the blink of an eye.

Okur couldn't catch up, and Wallace and Ariza, two physically explosive forwards, were also stuck at the bottom of the court and couldn't catch up either.

The Knicks players could only watch as DeRozan dribbled down the court, charged forward again, and completed a thunderous dunk!
"boom!"

With a loud bang, DeRozan slammed the ball into the basket again with a two-handed windmill dunk!

Excitement! Extreme excitement!
After DeRozan slammed home a dunk, he waved his hands wildly up and down in celebration.

The Bobcats are really on fire!
The 4-0 score in the second half also proves that Lin Tian's halftime strategy has once again given him the upper hand!

A successful offense and a successful defense!
Next, it remains to be seen whether Don Nelson can make timely adjustments, or whether the Knicks can execute their midfield strategy.

Felton waved to his teammates, implying that the ball was entirely his fault for not noticing the Bobcats' defensive trap in time, which led to the turnover. At the same time, he glanced back at Don Nelson and found that the old man was not angry at all, but just squinted and waved.

The meaning couldn't be clearer: It's okay, keep going, I believe in you!

Seeing Nelson's expression, Felton finally breathed a sigh of relief and was no longer so nervous.

The coach trusts me! Even when I make silly mistakes, he doesn't get angry, he doesn't even give me a dirty look. If I don't give him my life, how can I be human?

Fight!

Of course, this is also why Felton doesn't know what old Nelson is thinking.

If he knew, he'd probably already be thinking about running away to Panama or Portugal.

"If this little bastard makes another such a stupid mistake, I'll blow his head off!"

Felton, completely won over by Don Nelson's smile, didn't embarrass himself again. He forced his way through and, taking advantage of his physical strength, dribbled the ball around the three-second zone twice, turning the Bobcats' defense upside down before passing the ball again.

The ball was passed directly to Stoudemire, who caught it, jumped up, knocked Yao Ming aside in mid-air, and slammed the ball into the basket with one arm!
The Knicks finally got their first win in the second half!
In their half-court offense, the Bobcats continued to attack Stoudemire aggressively, focusing on his weakness. They had their two forwards pull Ariza and Wallace, the Knicks' best defenders, to the wings, and then Rose would either drive to the basket himself, pass the ball to Boozer, or take advantage of mismatches to isolate and attack Stoudemire.

In short, aim at Stoudemire and keep firing!
This is a weakness that Don Nelson cannot hide, and it's also a reason why the Knicks dare not substitute players simply because of poor defense.

After all, even if Crawford is strong on offense but weak on defense, I can simply substitute him. The Knicks can still fill the gap left by Crawford.

But Stoudemire is not an option. If Stoudemire leaves the game, they will lose their number one scorer and their most reliable offensive weapon. Their offensive system will collapse by at least half.

Old Nelson could only bear it; after all, Stoudemire was such a distinctive and important person.
Fortunately, the Knicks' offense wasn't bad in the third quarter either. This time, they didn't rely on the one-on-one battles between Stoudemire and Wallace, but Felton finally took on the responsibility of the team's offense and ushered in a revival.

This guy was directly inspired by Old Nelson's pep talk and encouraging smile, and he played like a whirlwind throughout the third quarter, almost unstoppable.

Although Yao Ming didn't score a single three-pointer in this quarter because Yao Ming was positioned under the basket and the Bobcats were very careful in defending his mid-range shots, he didn't score a single three-pointer in this quarter.

But apart from that, he was excellent at everything he did, whether it was dribbling and passing to his teammates, or scoring with his three-point shooting, which he wasn't particularly good at before!
Felton only committed one turnover in this quarter, but delivered a total of 5 assists and made 3 three-pointers. These three three-pointers are widely recognized as the most difficult three-point shots to make while holding the ball!
One was a step-back three-pointer, another was a pull-up three-pointer after a series of dribbling changes of direction, and yet another was a three-pointer after dribbling for more than ten seconds, struggling to find a shot opportunity in the Bobcats' interior, and then dribbling all the way to the three-point line before forcing a shot.

Each of the three three-pointers was more difficult than the last, more frightening than the last, and more unlike any shot Felton should have made.

But he got all three right!
It can only be said that mentality can indeed significantly affect a player's performance in a match!

In addition, whether it was Okur, Stoudemire, or Wallace, they all had the experience of successfully receiving his pass and making a shot in this quarter. So it can be said that Felton alone broke down the Bobcats' zone defense.

With just these two moves – penetration and passing, and three-pointers – the Bobcats' defense was put on the defensive end.

Even Felton's three three-pointers were all made in the first half of the quarter.

After Felton hit his third three-pointer, Lin Tian couldn't stand it any longer. He stood up and yelled, then made a few hand gestures, and the Bobcats' zone defense began to change.

The previous 2-3 has been changed to 3-2.

The 2-3 zone defense places greater emphasis on defense under the basket, while also essentially locking down the entire baseline and the midfield positions on both sides. It is a defensive formation specifically designed to counter players who excel at driving to the basket, corner three-point shooters, low-post specialists, and wing scorers.

The 3-2 zone defense has a completely different focus. This tactic places more emphasis on defending the perimeter and the top of the key players, so that the opponent's ball handler will face tight defense and targeted double-teams from the moment he gets the ball. At the same time, the protection of the two wings is also more aggressive.

A 3-2 zone defense is a huge challenge for players who like to face up on the basket and are good at shooting threes.

However, this defense is naturally somewhat lacking in defense of the paint and low post.

At the same time, the biggest problem with this defense is that it leaves the two corners almost completely undefended, leaving the two corner three-point shooters almost entirely unguarded.

If this were the NBA 7-8 years from now, in an era where everyone's three-point shooting percentage is over 40%, setting up a defense that allows three-pointers like this would definitely be targeted and dealt with severely.

But now, in an era where most teams and players have virtually no defense on the two bottom corners, the Bobcats' defense isn't a big problem at all.

Anyway, nobody's good at shooting from those two areas, right?
After the Bobcats changed their defense, the Knicks, especially Felton, saw their efficiency decline rapidly. It became almost impossible for him to score on his own, and the quality of his passes to the paint also became rather mediocre due to the increased defensive intensity.

If the quality of the ball is low, then Stoudemire's efficiency in isolation plays in the paint will naturally be low as well.

The Knicks' offensive firepower also began to decline rapidly under Lin Tian's tactical changes.

In the first half of the game, thanks to Felton's consecutive three-pointers, the Knicks almost turned the score around, closing the gap to just two points! They were just one step away from taking the lead.

However, after Lin Tian quickly changed his defensive tactics, the Knicks' offense was thwarted, and the score gap between the two sides widened once again.

At the end of the third quarter, the point difference between the two sides once again reached the critical value.

78: 87!

The Bobcats are still leading by 9 points!
They reached that number several times tonight and successfully widened the gap a few times, but each time, the Knicks managed to stay close and prevent the Bobcats from extending their lead further.

"This game was quite exciting! The content was very rich, and the tactical changes of both teams were particularly brilliant!" During the break, Miller once again went online to comment: "Old Nelson is still as sharp as ever, while Lin Tian has come from behind to surpass him!" "These two coaches are definitely top coaches in the league today! The competition and battle of wits between them is no less intense than the competition between the players!"

Jackson continued, "But Lin slightly suppressed Nelson tonight. Maybe it was a matter of luck, or maybe it was the players' different ability to seize opportunities. In any case, the Bobcats had the upper hand in several key moments tonight."

"Whether it was the sudden double-teaming in the first quarter or the use of zone defense in the third quarter, the Bobcats and Lin had the upper hand."

"While Don Nelson also constantly changed his lineup and playing style tonight, he didn't seem as consistent as Lin! I felt that he relied on the individual abilities of star players to play and turn the tide all night!"

"In the first half, the team couldn't organize an offense and relied on the one-on-one battles between Stoudemire and Wallace. In the third quarter, when they encountered a zone defense, they relied on Felton's sudden burst of consecutive three-pointers!"

"So in the fourth quarter, who will step up? Who can help Don Nelson close the 9-point gap? Will it be Okur, Crawford, or someone else? Who can help the Knicks turn the tide tonight? Let's wait and see!"

"No one can help the Knicks turn the tide!" Lin Tian raised his arm and said, "They're at their wits' end, they have nowhere to go! We've pushed them to the brink! Just one more push, just one more push! And we can crush them completely!"

"Crawford will return to the court in the fourth quarter, but based on the experience from the first quarter, Don Nelson will only let him attack once at most at the start! If it works, he will continue; if it doesn't, Don Nelson will immediately send him to the weak side to prepare for a shot."

"And if Crawford's offense isn't effective, he'll definitely take him off quickly and stop him from continuing."

"So, Derek and Lin, you two, smash him to pieces! No matter who he's matched up against, our strategy at the start of the fourth quarter is to chase him down and beat him to a pulp!"

"Also, because the Knicks only have Felton as a reliable guard, and he played the entire third quarter, based on my understanding of Don Nelson, he won't let Felton continue playing; he'll let Felton rest for a while."

"The players who play point guard are either Chris Duhon, that noob, or Crawford, that lone wolf."

"No matter which of them is there, no matter how they fight, kill them both! Before Felton comes back, widen the score gap as much as possible!"

"Of course, if Felton is here, then we'll focus on attacking and bullying Crawford!"

"Lamar, you'll play for Yao Ming for a while in the fourth quarter. You and Carlos can switch positions at any time."

"I don't need to tell you what they're going to do, right? They don't have that many inside players. The only reliable ones are Mehmet and Amare, but at most only one of them will be on the court at the beginning of the fourth quarter."

"Whether it's Carl Landry or Wallace playing the power forward position, we have a clear advantage!"

"Take advantage of them based on their position, either with height, strength, range, or agility! Any questions?"

"Matt, you'll be going up with those four next. Your job is to defend against Crawford!"

“You two both come from the streets, so you must know his tricks and habits inside and out. Get physical, pressure him, provoke him!”

"You five, any more questions? Very good! Everyone, go! Go and take them down! Try to completely crush them before Derek and Yao come back!"

Lin Tian's instructions were swift and effective, brief and direct, with almost no wasted words, and he got the five players onto the field.

Then Lin Tian glanced at Old Nelson's lineup, and his eyes lit up immediately!

really!

The Knicks lacked a backup point guard. Their bench player, Duhon, was a fringe NBA player with mediocre abilities in all aspects, so Don Nelson didn't dare to put Duhon on the court at this time.

At the same time, he did indeed choose to let Felton rest.

He put Crawford at point guard!

"This old man is finished!" As soon as Lin Tian saw this lineup, he knew that unless some miraculous and inexplicable miracle happened, his lineup would definitely have the upper hand and crush the Knicks!

"Brad, do you think he'll miss me?" Lin Tian leaned back in his chair, quite relaxed, and said, "Old Nelson, will you miss the unpleasant days when I played under him?"

"Boss, the salary you pay me doesn't include the job of flattering and being a straight man."

"Then you can go back to your university and be a coach." Seeing that Stevens wasn't offering him any flattery, Lin Tian immediately threatened, "See if any other place will hire you?"

"If you leave here, you definitely won't be able to find a job in the NBA. Nobody will want someone with such a simple resume. You probably won't be able to find a head coach position in college either. It's too difficult for someone your age to become a head coach."

"So, maybe you could go back to your alma mater and volunteer for them for a few more years? That's your best option. Hopefully, you'll earn enough money this year to support your volunteer work."

“He’ll definitely miss you!” Stevens admitted quickly and without hesitation, “He’ll miss you every night! When he can’t sleep, when he’s alone, when the backcourt gets blown out and he can’t do anything about it, and of course when he’s reminiscing about his perfect resume and past successes.”

He will miss you terribly!

"Promising!" Lin Tian nodded, quite pleased with Stevens's cheesy and disgusting flattery!
Even though he knew Stevens was forced to say those words by circumstances, Lin Tian was still happy and pleased to hear them!

What did that sentence say?

Being flattered can be divided into three stages: 1. Feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed when hearing insincere flattery, as if you have been stripped naked.

2. When you hear insincere flattery, you begin to enjoy it comfortably and can listen to people say such things with your eyes half-closed for an entire afternoon.

3. You won't flatter me with those fake compliments? I'll kill you!
It's hard to say exactly which stage Lin Tian is in right now, but Stevens feels that Lin Tian has already begun to rapidly advance towards the third stage.

The fourth quarter had officially begun. Crawford quickly brought the ball to the frontcourt and then had a direct confrontation with Rose. After dodging Rose's attempt to steal the ball, Crawford quickly spun to the other side.

He wanted to use his signature high double spin move to get past Rose and drive into the paint!
But just like when he came on in the first half, just as he turned around, slightly got rid of Rose, and was about to accelerate to continue his attack, Barnes rushed over and accurately blocked Crawford's path.

To reiterate, if Crawford's dribbling wasn't so good, he could have passed the ball directly to Ariza, who was missed by Barnes, and Ariza could have easily taken a shot.

But Crawford is different.

He was going to show off his dribbling skills, and facing a sudden help defense, Crawford executed a beautiful, ultra-low-altitude one-handed dribble.

"Pah, pah!"

The basketball bounced twice on the floor in quick succession. Crawford dribbled in and out twice with his outside hand, then suddenly changed direction sharply and cut inside again!
Barnes was indeed struggling to keep up with Crawford's rapid dribbling pace and change of direction, but he didn't need to.

Because there's also Rose!
Rose, who had just been slightly shaken off by Crawford, quickly turned around and blocked Crawford's side again. After finding the right position, he once again launched an extremely fierce attack on Crawford.

Barnes on the other side was not to be outdone, blocking Crawford from the other side. The two of them sandwiched Crawford from the left and right, squeezing him directly into the middle!

No matter how flashy or attractive his dribbling was, he had no room to showcase his dribbling skills this time.

"Snapped!"

Seeing the opportunity, Rose slapped the basketball towards Barnes. Rose then turned and ran, while Barnes grabbed the ball and, without even looking, threw it behind his head in perfect unison.

At that angle and speed, no one but Rose could catch that ball! (End of Chapter)