NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

The game resumed quickly, and both teams changed their lineups. The Celtics opted to inbound the ball from the baseline, and the two teams began their final battle!

"Lin is really good at controlling the game! He only brought out his strongest lineup at this point, and he only launched his final attack at this point! Even when he wasn't using his strongest lineup before, the team was still able to firmly control the game!"

After the pause ended, Miller was the first to begin his analysis.

Then, of course, Jackson followed up: "But I think there might be some problems on the Celtics' side, because we just saw that it was Duncan who called the timeout, not Rivers. Rivers just waved to signal the team to continue the offense."

"I wonder if this slight disagreement will affect their mentality and performance in the game?"

"Another noteworthy point is that the Spurs have switched to a big man and four small men lineup, and they've taken Howard out! The last time they played this big man and four small men lineup, they got blown out by the Bobcats."

"Can they hold on this time?"

Before the two commentators could even finish their guesses, Duncan had already received the ball in the low post once again. This time, Hayward's help defense came very quickly, but before he could even move his feet, Duncan had already passed the ball back to Jackson on the perimeter.

Hayward then quickly chased after Jackson, but Jackson passed the ball to Duncan!
After repeating this cycle twice, Hayward was already a little confused.

While he was still in a daze, Duncan had already taken the ball and was ready to launch an attack.

But before Duncan could even finish half of his turn, the referee suddenly blew the whistle.

Duncan and Yao Ming displayed unprecedented chemistry at this moment, both of them spreading their hands and arguing incredulously with the referee.

"what's the situation?"

They instinctively felt that since their opponents hadn't done anything, then it must have been the two of them who had committed a foul.
That's what an honest person is like!
"It's not the two of you." The referee looked helpless, pointing at Allen and DeRozan outside the three-point line.

DeRozan seized the opportunity and fouled Allen.

Get to the free-throw line, bro!

"This is never going to end, damn it." Even Duncan was exasperated this time.

You're leading by 10 points!
Such a blatant foul, and they won't even let us have a single offensive possession?
Tony Allen isn't that loyal!

He has a free throw percentage of nearly 70%, and you guys just do this?

Duncan shook his head helplessly as he strolled around, and before he knew it, he had walked to the Bobcats' bench. When he saw Lin Tian, ​​he couldn't help but give him a thumbs up.

You're really ruthless.

Lin Tian shrugged, indicating that he was just praising him, and then gestured towards the area behind Duncan, saying that Allen had missed his first free throw.

"This is never going to end," Duncan muttered, turning around and quickly walking to the basket. He greeted Ginobili, and the two switched positions.

Duncan and Jackson went for the rebound, while Parker and Ginobili immediately retreated to their own half of the court to prevent any potential fast breaks.

"Shh!"

Fortunately, although Tony Allen's free throws were terrible, at least he didn't miss both. After making the second free throw, he knew that his free throws were dragging the team down, so he immediately rushed to Rose and started a full-court press defense.

"No more fouls from now on!" Lin Tian said to Yao Ming as he passed by. "Of course, you can foul if you want, it's up to you."

After Lin Tian finished speaking, he gave Yao Ming a high five before sitting back down in his seat.

"Coach, why didn't you continue to foul? Wasn't this time effective? Tony Allen is likely to keep shooting poorly." Stevens seized the opportunity and asked sincerely as soon as Duncan left.

“He will likely continue to struggle, but I can’t.” Lin Tianyi looked at Stevens with righteous indignation and said, “Young people can’t always think about taking shortcuts or cheating, and they shouldn’t always think about winning the game in a less-than-honorable way.”

"Open and aboveboard! Understand? Open and aboveboard! If we win, we must do it honorably; if we lose, we must hold our heads high!"

"I have my bottom line, my principles and pride, and my own dignity and beliefs! So I will no longer use foul tactics, and I will no longer win games in such a dishonorable and unattractive way."

"From now on, I will act with integrity and uprightness!"

Lin Tian's words truly confused Stevens.

He had a vague feeling that Lin Tian seemed to be possessed by something.

Why don't we find a shaman or priest to help him?
Stevens was young after all; he couldn't quite grasp the concept.

Although Van Gundy, who was standing next to him, was known for his stubbornness and poor adaptability, he immediately exposed Lin Tian's lies.

"He just thinks the Celtics' offensive system has been completely destroyed, so he's spouting nonsense here. If he believed the Celtics could still put up a fight and pose a threat to us with their normal style of play, you'd see if this kid would back down!"

A word to wake up the dreamer!

After Van Gundy finished speaking, Stevens understood.

If we were to summarize Lin Tian's long speech into its central idea and core elements, it could be summed up in four words.

brazen!
Lin Tian, ​​of course, didn't care about this.

This guy has never had any sense of shame since he entered the NBA. He's been like this since his playing days. Do you think he can raise his moral standards after becoming a coach?
After all, it's common knowledge that the coaching clique is absolutely the one with the lowest moral standards and the most corrupt hearts in the entire NBA.

After all, most of the dirty tricks those players did were ordered by the coach.

In the following game, the Bobcats finally stopped intentionally fouling the Celtics and sending them to the free-throw line. They started playing properly, and on the Celtics' side, Duncan unleashed his full range of skills without reservation.

Of course, the Bobcats' defense against him became increasingly tight. As soon as he got the ball, the double team would arrive almost instantly. And he is not O'Neal. He does not have O'Neal's ability to pull up and force an attack anytime, anywhere, even when facing a double team.

But Duncan has other advantages.

His greatest strength is that he can do anything, and he loves to do everything!

Whether it's a pick-and-roll or an off-ball screen, whether it's a high-low post play or a pass inside, whether it's a free-throw line from the wing or a face-up offense, not to mention his signature post-up game and mid-range bank shot, Duncan truly could do everything a power forward or center should do!
Duncan's all-around game revitalized the Celtics' offense.

From initial lethargy and near collapse, to Duncan quickly rousing his teammates' fighting spirit and starting a real battle with the Bobcats on the court, Duncan succeeded in just two rounds.

Under his leadership, the Celtics began to close the gap again.

Their resilience is beyond doubt and concern.

Unfortunately, firstly, there wasn't much time left; secondly, a gap of more than 10 points was quite significant; and thirdly, and most importantly, the Bobcats were also in excellent form!
The two teams traded blows, neither giving an inch, and the next three minutes were filled with an incredibly exciting duel!
Even though Duncan used all his trump cards and the rest of the team played exceptionally well, their pace of closing the gap was still incredibly slow.

When the countdown finally reached the last 120 seconds of the game, it meant that from this moment on, all fouls against players without the ball would be punished with one free throw and one possession.

So, Howard can finally make his appearance!

At this point, the score was still 85:93!

Despite the Celtics and Duncan's best efforts, they only managed to close the gap slightly, with the difference still reaching a substantial 8 points!
Time is running out for the Celtics!

"We haven't lost yet!" During a team timeout and substitution, Duncan clapped wildly, roaring loudly—a rare sight for him—to boost the team's morale: "Let's give it our all! Let's win this damn game! We can win!"

"Eight points, that's only three points! Stay focused, we haven't lost! We can advance to the Eastern Conference Finals!"

Duncan's roar and the Celtics players, who had finally been playing more freely in the past few minutes, also raised their arms and shouted that they were going to launch a counterattack! They were not willing to lose like this!

"Howard's about to go in." Lin Tian, ​​on the other hand, remained calm and composed. When he was a player, he had to maintain his passion at all times, using his games and his exciting performances to boost the team's morale.

But now he's a coach, and staying calm and rational at all times is what he should be doing.

Therefore, Lin Tian has maintained a calm and refined demeanor for most of the season, as if everything is under his control. Even when he is not actually that confident, he makes everyone around him believe that he is 100% certain.

"If he gets the basketball, send him to the free-throw line! Want to play basketball properly? Don't even think about it."

"Remember, you can only foul if you get the ball, otherwise it's one free throw and one possession. There are only two minutes left in the game."

"If he doesn't get the ball, then he can just play normally."

Soon, this important timeout ended, and the players from both sides returned to the court.

At this point, neither side resorted to any fancy tricks; they simply fielded their strongest lineups and started practicing.

"No rush!" After a series of runs, Parker successfully received the ball at the top of the arc, protected it immediately, and waved to signal everyone to run according to the tactics and not to rush.

Howard immediately moved up to Parker's side to provide cover. No matter how upset or upset he was, Howard still wanted to win. He was just impulsive and wouldn't self-destruct.

With Howard's screen, Parker immediately accelerated, easily shook off Rose, and drove toward the paint.

After driving all the way to the edge of the three-second zone, Parker executed his signature 360-degree spin, successfully creating half a body length, and then prepared to shoot a layup.

But Boozer, who was helping on the defense, was clearly more tenacious than he had imagined. The guy did his best to spread his arms to interfere with Parker's layup. In order to avoid the defense, Parker could only force a layup, adjust the arc, and then throw the basketball toward the basket.

"Boom!"

Unfortunately, Parker failed to capitalize on this excellent opportunity, and the basketball bounced off the rim once again.

The players under the basket immediately scrambled for the rebound. Duncan, Yao Ming who had just returned to his position, Howard, Jackson, Hayward, and other perimeter players from both sides were all vying for it. This rebound, which could determine the outcome of the entire game, was extremely important to both sides.

Nobody wants to throw it away!
In the crowd, Duncan single-handedly blocked Yao Ming and Hayward. He didn't even jump; instead, he wrapped his arms around Yao Ming and Hayward's arms, preventing them from jumping, while shouting, "Dwight!"

With this level of pulling, and given that it was TD Garden's home court, Duncan was absolutely certain the referee wouldn't blow the whistle.

Howard did not disappoint Duncan this time. He jumped up from the spot, revealing his super long wingspan and terrifying speed. He successfully grabbed the rebound with a height that was almost half an arm's length higher than everyone else!
The only downside was that Howard had too much contact before jumping, so he couldn't maintain his balance in the air, let alone throw the ball out, unless he just threw it randomly.

But even someone as capricious as Howard wouldn't dare to just throw the ball around in mid-air like that. He chose to land and then jump again to attack the basket.

This time, Howard was even smarter. He knew how the Bobcats would deal with him, so he didn't put the basketball down at all. Instead, he kept it high, using a high-raised shot to ensure that no one could touch the ball and interfere with his shot.

But Howard clearly underestimated the Bobcats' determination. With his jumping speed, he didn't even get a chance to jump again before he was grabbed and caught.

Rose!

This guy had already driven into the paint, and as soon as he saw Howard grab the rebound, he accelerated and grabbed the guy.

Go for the free throws!

"It's the 40th free throw! These are Howard's 39th and 40th free throws tonight! Unfortunately, he only made 16 of his previous 38 free throws. Honestly, if he had made just 5 more, the situation would be completely different. But unfortunately, he just can't make them tonight!" Miller announced loudly as Howard was fouled again.

"But it's not just tonight that he misses free throws, is it? His career free throw percentage has never exceeded 60% in any single year! His free throws haven't improved at all over the years. If they haven't improved, that's a weakness, and if it's a weakness, you have to be prepared for opponents to exploit it."

"Honestly, I hate this free throw tactic. It makes the game terrible and disrupts the rhythm. This intentional hacking style of play is definitely the worst tactical invention in NBA history."

"But I don't think it's the inventor's fault, it's the fault of those guys who can't score! You are the world's top athletes, yet you are unwilling to work hard to master this most basic skill, making the game terrible and ugly. They are the culprits!"

"And to those guys who get sent to the free-throw line again and again because of their poor free-throw shooting, and then protest, oppose, and hope that the League will introduce rules to limit such intentional fouls, I also have something to say to them."

"If you're bad, practice more! Don't just complain! You don't need to be incredibly good. If you have a shooting percentage of over 65%, no one will dare to foul you. If your free throw percentage is around 50% or even 40%, and you're not as accurate as other people's three-pointers, why would they foul you? You deserve it!"

"Boom!"

Before Miller could even finish speaking, Howard had already delivered a clean and decisive iron shot.

This guy has never disappointed his haters at the free-throw line! (End of Chapter)