NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

"The Mavericks' roster is almost perfect. At least I can't see any obvious flaws in them. If I had to say something, it would probably be that Haywood is unlikely to be able to withstand Yao Ming and completely contain the Eastern giant's offense."

"But it must be said that Yao is no longer the dominant inside player that many people remember, the one who could go toe-to-toe with O'Neal. In the past two years, due to injuries, he has lost a lot of weight, and his weight is at least 15-20 kilograms less than at his peak!"

"His height is still there, his touch is still there, and his shooting range is even greater, but his size and ability to take on opponents in the paint are indeed far from what they used to be."

"But looking at the Mavericks, their roster has no weaknesses. From the compatibility and absolute ability of their two core players inside and outside, to the players who can step up off the bench, they are truly perfect!"

"Scorers, rebounders, attacking players, defensive stalwarts, experienced veterans, and young rookies—this Mavericks team has it all!"

"They lack nothing except a championship trophy! None of their players have ever won a championship trophy! They crave and yearn for this trophy! This is their biggest asset and opportunity!"

"More importantly, their team has several players around 30 years old who are in their prime, but their peak years are also coming to an end. These players have one thing in common."

"That's the level of thirst! An unparalleled level of thirst!"

The above are what Payton said in a special TNT program before the start of the series.

He has high hopes for the calf.

Shaquille O'Neal shares his optimism about the Mavericks.

Compared to Payton's detailed, professional, and logical analysis, O'Neal's reason for favoring the Mavericks was much simpler: "Lin has beaten me many times, and I will always support his opponent. I hope he loses a few more times."

Even if I'm no match for him, I still hope someone can defeat him!

Standing opposite these two are, of course, Barkley and Kenny.

Barkley's current show format is very similar to O'Neal's: being silly, cute, and witty. His and O'Neal's "twin fat" duo is the funniest sports commentary duo today, without a doubt!

"I hope Lin is invincible because he's my buddy, and I want my buddy to keep winning, especially to keep crushing that shameless, fat, greasy bastard! I've said it before, this show only needs one fat guy, and that's me, Charles!"

Kenny took on the professional part.

"The Bobcats are young, they have unlimited potential, everyone on their team is hungry for victory and full of variables. Their regular season record is not as good as the Mavericks because of Rose's injury. If Rose were here, they could very well be the best team in the league this year!"

"And, the Mavericks have Lin. How many miracles has Lin created this season? I don't think I need to elaborate. He is the symbol of victory. His changes, his bold and crazy tactics and personnel choices, his unparalleled imagination and courage are all top-notch in the league today!"

"When the two teams are evenly matched, the coach is the one who can decide the outcome of the game! And Lin is clearly better than Johnson!"

"You think the Mavericks have James and Nowitzki, but the Bobcats also have a combination of Rose, Yao Ming, and Boozer. Yes, these three don't have the same league status as James or Nowitzki, but what I'm saying is that 3 is always greater than 2. No matter if you're 2.1 or 2.999, 3 is greater than 2!"

"Another important point is that the Bobcats have encountered countless difficulties this season, from Rose's injury and the adjustment period after his return, to facing desperate comebacks in two consecutive rounds of the playoffs, and narrowly winning two consecutive Game 7s on the road."

"The Bobcats' resilience is unparalleled, and their reactions to difficulties are astonishing. They are the best team in the league at playing from behind, and they are the best team in the league at pulling off upsets!"

"In conclusion, I believe the Bobcats have a greater chance of winning the championship!"

……

Similar debates, besides those on TNT, have been ongoing on major sports channels, newspapers, magazines, and online forums across the United States and even the world. The 72 hours between the end of the regional finals and the start of the finals are basically a time of frenzy for fans and commentators.

However, although everyone was arguing fiercely and the fans from each side were fiercely hurling insults at each other, it seemed like the two sides were evenly matched.

However, judging from the voting results collected online and from various media outlets, the Mavericks are still favored in this series.

Overall, more than 60% of fans believe the Mavericks can win the championship and take this series.

Furthermore, judging from the odds offered by casinos in Las Vegas and other cities, the Mavericks also have an absolute advantage, with their odds being significantly higher!
Of course, theoretically speaking, none of the above has much to do with the player himself.

The players from both sides should have already gathered in Dallas by now, conducting their respective training sessions and final targeted drills.

Everyone knows how important this series is; it's a battle that could determine the ultimate champion of the entire year!

Therefore, according to past practice, players should keep a low profile, stay away from the media, and focus on training at this time.

To prevent anyone from saying something inappropriate to the media, which could trigger a public opinion crisis and add unnecessary trouble and pressure to the team.

The above is in theory and in principle.

There will always be some people who ignore these rules and still casually accept media interviews and express their opinions at this time.

That's him, Lin Tian!

Two days before the game, when the Bobcats arrived at Dallas International Airport, countless reporters with their cameras and lenses surrounded their route, hoping to get some scoops from the players.

As mentioned earlier, experienced coaches and management would definitely give the players a gag order beforehand, telling them not to open their mouths to answer any questions. Anyway, the road isn't long, and reporters can't really block the way. The players walk forward with their heads down, and it only takes about 3 minutes to get to their bus.

"You all go first, I'll cover the rear!"

Then, just as everyone had broken through the encirclement and boarded their cars, Lin Tian suddenly turned around, his face showing a heroic expression of going forth without looking back, and looked at everyone in the car: "Go back to the hotel immediately, don't worry about me, and don't look back, head straight for the hotel!"

"Oh!"

With a muffled thud, Lin Tian slammed the car door shut.

Honestly, Lin Tian's lines really don't fit here.

If the reporters below were replaced by a hundred or so zombies, Lin Tian's words and actions would make some sense and even give him a heroic appearance.

But given the current situation...

"The coach is definitely going to sneak out to play by himself!"

"He didn't even take us! What a disloyal guy!"

"They even promised to take us to the best place in Dallas to experience the wildness of the cowboys!"

"Shut up, all of you!" Van Gundy couldn't take it anymore. He stood up and yelled at the players, "What are you saying! The coach isn't that kind of person! He definitely has his reasons. What we need to do is listen to him! Go back to the hotel as soon as possible and wait for him!"

"Coach Van Gundy, we respect you, but honestly, do you even believe what you're saying?" Boozer said with a wicked grin, leading the jeering from his seat.

"I don't believe it at all. Lin is a complete bastard. It's normal for him to do anything shameless!" Van Gundy spread his hands, betraying Lin Tian without a second thought, which made the players burst into laughter.

"But I also have to say, since Lin isn't here, I have to take responsibility. No one is allowed to go out tonight. The curfew hasn't been lifted, so everyone should go back to their rooms and get some rest. Tomorrow morning's training won't be canceled, and it's impossible for it to be canceled!"

"understand!"

The players were just making a fuss and causing a ruckus; none of them were really protesting or demanding that Van Gundy let them out to play.

Even at this stage of the season, the players still have a strong sense of collective honor.

After all, apart from a handful of players, none of the rest of the Bobcats team had ever won a championship. Everyone desperately wanted that championship, and everyone knew what was more important.

But even if they can distinguish right from wrong and respect each other, if Lin Tian really goes out to play alone tonight, the players will definitely still be unhappy.

The worst thing for a team is to allow officials to set fires while forbidding ordinary people to light lamps.

If Lin Tianzhen goes out to play, the Lynx team will definitely encounter some internal conflicts, some minor and some major.

Fortunately, when the team bus stopped in front of the hotel where the team was staying, the players, especially the coaching staff members such as Van Gundy and Stevens, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

They saw Lin Tian standing quite dashingly at the hotel entrance, signing autographs for the fans.

As soon as Lin Tian saw the team bus arrive, he immediately waved goodbye to the fans and then signaled everyone to hurry up and follow him back to the hotel to sleep.

"Where did you go?" Van Gundy couldn't help but ask. The old man had been extremely nervous just now, and had already started thinking of all sorts of contingency plans in his mind.

"Of course we're getting down to business!" Lin Tian waved his hand and said, "At this time, it's time to bring some extra joy to the Mavericks and let them prepare well for the Finals!"

"Are you such a good person?" "Of course not." Lin Tian stretched and yawned, "Let's go, let's go to sleep. We'll know what I did when we read the newspaper tomorrow morning."

"Then why did you come back earlier than us?"

"You're stupid, Jeff." Lin Tian waved his hand impatiently and said, "I took a taxi as soon as I was done. You know how Dallas drivers are, they all drive like they're from San Lodoss, they drive like crazy! They drove that Camry like it was a Bugatti."

"So of course I'm much faster than you guys who take those snail-paced buses back to the hotel."

"What kind of damned place is Saint-Louis?"

"A place that teenagers all over the world yearn for and want to go! Alright, that's the end of tonight's Q&A session. I'm really going to sleep!" This time, Lin Tian didn't give Van Gundy any more chances to ask questions and turned around to go into his room.

After Lin Tian left, Van Gundy couldn't sleep at all.

He really wanted to know what Lin Tian had gone to do.

If it weren't for the time constraints, he might even have suspected that Lin Tian had assassinated James.

I can't figure it out, and I have a headache.

It's just that Van Gundy is bald; otherwise, he would have lost at least a thousand or eight hundred hairs tonight.

Confused and curious, Van Gundy didn't sleep all night. He arrived at the hotel lobby early and practically blocked the newspaper delivery person. After grabbing several newspapers, Van Gundy sat down in the hotel lobby coffee shop, ordered a coffee, and began to study what Lin Tian had done the night before.

Then, Van Gundy shook his head and muttered, "I should have known better. I'm such an idiot. I really should have slept well last night."

He regretted it, regretted that he hadn't slept all night over such a small matter.

On the table, the newspapers he had spread out were filled with pictures of Lin Tian or reports about him.

I'm really looking forward to playing against Dallas. This city has a great tradition of patience; they've been waiting for their core to grow—a full 13 years!

"Nowitzki is probably the superstar with the fewest trade rumors. I've never heard a single comment about him, which is quite rare!"

This is the NBA, a place rife with business and unrequited love; those who can achieve mutual success are truly enviable!

The players' perseverance is a virtue, and the owner's patience is equally inspiring!

The league needs more owners and players like them; they should be role models for the league!

Nowitzki waited 13 years, and finally got the best helper!

Nowitzki absolutely deserves a statue in Dallas; he absolutely deserves to be a hero of this city!

He's just one championship away from that statue; hopefully, it will be next year!

We will do everything we can to defend Nowitzki; his shooting and face-up drives are terrifying!

Nowitzki is definitely their number one threat!

Carlos is under a lot of pressure; he openly stated that he hopes someone can help him!

……

All of the above statements are from Lin Tian!
Who knows how many questions this guy answered or how many insightful comments he made during his short stay at the airport, but it's clear that he had a very clear plan about which questions to answer.

Answer the questions that could cause some rift or conflict between Nowitzki and James.

The reporters at the scene naturally asked a lot of questions about James, such as how they planned to defend and limit him since James is so great.

But Lin Tian pretended not to hear them and didn't answer any of them.

He only answered questions that lauded Nowitzki to the skies, but never mentioned a single question about James.

The end result was that this guy seemed to only have Nowitzki in his eyes.

James? What little Karami?

Let's not rush into playing ball; let's try splitting up the teams first. What if it works?
Anyway, the Celtics fell for this tactic, but Lin Tian didn't use it on the Cavaliers because it was pointless; none of those guys had the "I have to be the boss" mentality.

Anthony may have had that kind of personality before, but he doesn't anymore.

As for the Mavericks...

Hey hey hey.

Lin Da Guanren watched the entire 2011 finals.

He knew how valuable this series was, and he also knew how the series was ultimately decided.

My actions may not have any immediate effect, nor will they necessarily cause infighting within the Mavericks.

But Lin Tian believes that as the competition progresses, things will change and things will have an effect.

As the saying goes, it's not scarcity that's the problem, but inequality!

Lin Tian's method did not produce immediate results. The best evidence of this was the Mavericks' two games at the American Airlines Arena, where they displayed incredible momentum and fought with all their might.

In Game 1 of the series, the Mavericks shot an incredible 80% from three-point range in the first half. Nowitzki, Terry, Butler, Peja, and others combined to sink 12 three-pointers in the first half, leaving the Bobcats with no chance to fight back.

They led the Bobcats by as many as 24 points in the first half.

In the second half, after realizing that the Mavericks were on fire and the Bobcats couldn't find a way to close the gap, Lin Tian quickly changed the team's strategy.

Double-team James!
The whole team double-teamed James, and as for the others, let them throw whatever they want!
So throughout the third quarter, the Mavericks continued their momentum, extending their lead to as much as 35 points.

But James only managed 2 points and 2 assists in this quarter.

In the fourth quarter, when garbage time officially arrived, both sides brought their starting lineups to the bench for rest.

The bench players will play in the final quarter.

Ultimately, the Bobcats suffered a crushing 88-120 defeat to the Mavericks, a 32-point loss and a disappointing start to the season.

这场比赛小牛全队投进了20个3分，破了他们的队史纪录，同时最终67%的3分命中率也刷新了NBA总决赛历史上的球队单场3分命中率记录。

诺维斯基3节比赛轰下33分11篮板，佩贾命中5个3分拿下15分，特里也有22分入账。

詹姆斯虽然上半场就拿下16分5篮板5助攻的全面数据，但第三节他被山猫队疯狂针对，第四节又没能上场，所以全场比赛也就只拿到18分6篮板7助攻而已。

Fortunately, the team won big, so the statistics weren't important.

In the second game of the series, the Mavericks maintained the initiative. James suddenly stepped up in the second quarter, scoring 11 points in the quarter and once again achieving a remarkable 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists in the first half.

In the third quarter, his performance was still quite good, but at this time, the Bobcats suddenly had a breakout.

Led by Rose, the Bobcats' outside scoring group suddenly caught fire in the latter part of the third quarter. After a barrage of shots, the Bobcats managed to take the lead at the end of the third quarter!
76: 74!

The Bobcats entered the fourth quarter with a 2-point lead.

In the early stages of the fourth quarter, the Mavericks typically rest Nowitzki first, then have James lead the shooters for a few minutes before gradually bringing back the starters.

But tonight, the Mavericks' shooters seemed to have used up all their ammunition in the last game, suddenly losing their accuracy and failing to make a single shot.

After a series of missed shots, the Mavericks were down by 6 points with 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter! (End of Chapter)