novelraw Chapter 250 The Showdown of the Old Foxes! Bird and Stern
Chapter 250 The Showdown of the Old Foxes! Bird and Stern
Chapter 250 The Showdown of the Old Foxes! Bird and Stern are both full of wicked schemes!
"Larry, how have you been lately?" Stern dialed Bird's number and greeted him with a smile.
"Lin's playing time can't be too long. If the game is decided, I'll take him out immediately." Bird rejected Stern's offer before Jackson could even speak!
They're all old foxes; how could he not know why Stern was calling him at this time?
It can't just be about reminiscing about happy times from the past, can it?
FUXX! That damned old fox!
Stern cursed inwardly, but didn't show his displeasure. Instead, he continued, "Let's have a good chat. We're old friends, aren't we?"
"Throughout my career, I've been fined over $20 by you for various reasons, including trash talk, technical fouls, and off-court comments. It may not seem like much now, but how much did I earn before? I don't think there's any friendship between us."
That damned old fox!
Stern cursed again. He knew very well that Bird would never offer a price, nor would Bird make any demands. Similarly, Stern would never ask what Bird needed, much less make any promises to Bird.
Both of them are cunning old foxes. What if some bastard records them?
Therefore, both of them were perfectly clear-headed, yet neither of them was prepared to speak human language.
"How's Reggie's injury? I heard he's recovering well?" Stern asked, trying to figure out how to start a conversation with Bird.
"I'm not sure. I'm not a doctor, and I know absolutely nothing about sports medicine!" Bird was completely out of the loop at this point. He wasn't in a hurry at all; the game was still a long way off, and he was quite relaxed!
After uttering his third curse, Stern took a deep breath and said, "Let's just get straight to it!"
"I heard Reggie's injuries are related to overwork and continuous combat?"
"I did say that, the schedule this season is still too packed!" Bird, being such a smart guy, was quick and ruthless when it came to responding! He immediately grasped the hidden meaning in Stern's words.
That damned old fox! That old fox who deserves to go to hell!
Stern cursed Bird again. He was rolling his eyes so hard they were practically pointing to the sky in front of the phone, but his voice remained as calm and gentle as ever on the other end.
"Yes, this season has indeed been difficult. It's difficult for you, and it's difficult for us. Next season, we must find a way to make everyone's work easier!" Stern continued to subtly suggest, "We don't want to see these unnecessary injuries caused by overwork and a tight schedule."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Bird chimed in, "The president is absolutely right! If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."
Stern was too lazy to curse Bird in his heart anymore; after all, Bird needed his help now. But Stern had already made up his mind: Bird had better never fall into his hands again, or else... hmph!
"Larry! I've been thinking about a whole new season format, a way to make the schedules of the top teams and popular teams more reasonable! Including those teams with big markets, good records, and popular players. If they always play games back-to-back, it's easy for fans to get tired of it, which inevitably wastes their brand and appeal."
"You said if I let them play fewer back-to-back games and fewer consecutive matches, wouldn't that maximize their viewership?"
"Sorry, Mr. President, I don't understand marketing, so I don't quite understand what you're saying." Bird chuckled and continued to act foolishly!
"Larry Bird!" Stern started to get annoyed. I've already said it to this extent, I'm practically telling you that we're reducing the number of back-to-back games next season, and you're still playing dumb with me.
There has to be a limit!
"I'm just curious, what level of team would the president consider ours?"
"High popularity, good results, and top-tier stars!" Stern viciously fell into Bird's trap.
"Then next season..."
"You can either die next season or join the CBA!" Stern declared, "I've run out of patience. You can't force me to say these things!"
"Alright, alright." Bird had tested Stern's limits. He knew Stern wouldn't give him any more specific promises; this was the limit. So Bird said, "Lin really wants to break the record! He's very interested in having the sole record holder!"
"At the same time, he also feels that this year is his best chance to win a scoring title! So, as the head coach, I will try my best to meet his needs and ideas!"
"That's good! Have a good game!" Stern snorted and slammed the phone down.
After hanging up the phone, both old foxes wore very satisfied smiles.
They all got what they wanted!
The Pacers will definitely be one of the teams with the fewest back-to-back games next season, and Stern is not worried that Bird will replace Lin Tian early if the Bulls are likely to underperform. With a record of consecutive triple-doubles and two individual statistical titles, Lin Tian, you have to achieve one of them for me, right?
Hmm... even after Stern hung up the phone, he was actually thinking about whether Lin Tian was capable of doing even more.
For example, he currently ranks third in the league with 2.5 steals per game, and his total steals are 124. The first place is Kendall Kier with 2.7 steals per game and a total of 132 steals.
The two are only 8 steals apart! However, Kiel still has one game to play. If he still manages around 3 steals in the next game, then Lin Tian only needs to...
Okay, he needs at least 11 steals, but if he can do that, he can monopolize all three individual statistical titles for a single season!
If this can really be achieved, won't the buzz explode?
Of course, 11 steals in a single game is a really difficult number to achieve.
After all, the NBA's all-time record for steals in a single game is only 11, and that record was just set by Kendall Geer last month!
Even a single game with 10 steals has only happened 10 times in the entire history of the NBA.
Alvin Robertson, who retired just two years ago, has 10 steals in a single game four times and even achieved the only quadruple-double in history. Drexler has 10 steals twice, while everyone else has only 4 steals once!
It is precisely because achieving 10 steals in a single game is extremely difficult that neither the media nor the fans paid any attention to steals; they were focused on Lin Tian's scoring and assists!
After all, compared to 10+ steals, which have only appeared a handful of times in history, 40 points and 17 assists, while frightening, at least seem much more normal! So, even though this game has been watched globally and everyone is waiting for Lin Tian to break the record, very few people will actually be watching how many steals Lin Tian can actually make!
Apart from Lin Tian's die-hard fans and ultimate believers, no one dares to have such high expectations!
"I think I don't need to say more about what we need to do in this game." After hanging up the phone with Stern, Bird was feeling quite pleased with himself. Although it would probably only reduce the number of back-to-back games for the team from 17-8 to 13-4, who wouldn't be happy to gain an advantage?
"Receive the pass from Lin, shoot immediately!" Carter shouted excitedly.
"Provide Lin with cover, so he can get an easy chance to strike!" Davis added.
"Box out! Block out all positions and let Lin grab a few more rebounds!" Ben Wallace clenched his fists, looking like he was all set.
"Defend the opponent tightly, force them to pass the ball reluctantly, and let Lin steal it!" Christie chuckled, indicating that defense was his primary concern.
Seeing the crowd cheering, Bird clapped his hands in satisfaction and said, "Very good, it seems everyone knows our objective tonight! Tonight, we fight for Lin's unanimous MVP! Tonight, we fight for Lin to achieve a new historical record!"
Lin Tian isn't a pretentious person, nor is he the kind of person who pretends to be a non-scorer and doesn't play for stats while simultaneously berating those who don't consider him among the all-time top scorers, and then immediately checks the statistics after a game.
Lin Tiancai would never do such a hypocritical thing!
Moreover, this is something that can make history!
Moreover, it's an opportunity to create multiple historical records. How could Lin Tian not be tempted? Of course he was!
"No matter the result tonight, no matter if I can achieve my ideal stats, let's have a good time after the game! You choose the place, it's on me! I guarantee we'll all have a great time!" Lin Tian stood up, his voice full of magnanimity. "Let Reggie go save us some seats!"
"Let's go camping, with our wives and kids, barbecue, camping, family fun..." Christie immediately raised her hand, expressing her idea.
"Doug, from now on when we go out, you sit at the kids' table!" Lin Tian gave Christie the middle finger dismissively. "You'd better go home and get some sleep."
Lin Tian felt unworthy to associate with such a humble multi-millionaire.
The next stop in the locker room was filled with excitement and cheers. Everyone kept suggesting places they wanted to go. Well, apart from Christie's suggestion, the other suggestions were clearly not suitable for children.
At that moment, the locker room door opened again, and Miller, whose cast and splints had been removed, walked in. Seeing the crowd cheering wildly, he immediately guessed why they were so happy.
"Are you trying to make me go ahead and reserve girls for you so I don't want to watch the game?"
"That's it!" Half the locker room responded to Miller in unison.
"Dream on!" Miller said, raising his middle finger. "I want to witness Lin's miracle live, don't even think about getting rid of me."
The Pacers' locker room was buzzing with excitement over who would reserve seats, who would stay in the arena to watch the game, and where they would celebrate tonight. Everyone was convinced that they had already won the game!
After all, tonight's game is different from other nights' games.
On other nights, they sometimes underestimated their opponents, and sometimes they were not in good form.
But tonight, Lin Tian is definitely in top form!
Against a lousy team like the Bulls, as long as Lin Tian is in peak form, he alone is enough to drag this already falling apart Bulls team into the abyss!
"We've become a laughing stock!" Bulls' newly appointed rookie head coach, Floyd, slammed his fist on the table in the visiting team's locker room. "The whole world is watching this game, and I think you know better than I do what they're expecting!"
"A stepping stone, a weak team that can be easily crushed, a bunch of useless trash players! Seriously, guys, the whole world just wants to see Lin break records, but has anyone thought about us? Has anyone cared whether we'll put up a fight? No! Absolutely not!"
"By this point in the season, we've lost the entire season; we're last in the East! Tony, Beal, Ron, you were all part of the team's back-to-back championships. Think about last year, our glory! Think about when we won the championship for Chicago!"
"Now think about it! All I can say is, even if it's just once! Even if it's just tonight, on the last day of the season, in our final appearance this season, let the world see our ability! We are not weak! We are just working on our chemistry! Okay? Let the whole world see our ability, okay?"
Floyd delivered what he considered a very good, very inspiring speech that would motivate the players to give it their all and put on a great performance. He poured all his passion into it, hoping to give the Bulls, who were already at rock bottom, some dignity tonight.
"oh!"
"Okay, got it!"
"I'll try my best, I will!"
But when he finished his speech, he was met with inconsistent and listless responses from the players.
Clearly, these guys weren't focused on the court anymore; they were already thinking about where to go on vacation this summer. Besides, Floyd was just a rookie head coach with no experience, and the guys on the team hadn't really taken him seriously anyway.
Although the team has several veterans and a few players from the Bulls' two-peat championship and 70-win era, it still has a strong presence.
But clearly, they either couldn't command the atmosphere, like Wennington, or they had no desire to do so and just wanted to play some easy basketball after Jordan and Pippen left, like Harper and Kukoc.
The team's senior players have little desire to win and don't demand high standards from their players. The head coach is also a rookie. It would be a miracle if such a team had any fighting spirit!
In short, this Bulls team truly collapsed overnight last summer, leaving no trace of a dynasty.
While dynasty teams throughout history have all experienced rises and falls, peaks and troughs, it's truly rare to find another team that has collapsed so quickly and so completely, leaving no trace.
From any perspective, all the suspense in this match rests on Lin Tian, on what kind of statistics he can achieve.
Before the match began, because the match was attracting so much attention and had such high expectations, two reporters, for the first time ever, walked onto the court while Lin Tian was warming up.
These two had obviously communicated with the Pacers beforehand. As soon as they entered the court, Bird waved and called Lin Tian over, asking him to serve their sugar daddy.
One of the reporters is from TNT, and the other is from NBC.
It is clear that the two TV stations discussed it and decided to go in together, conduct only a brief interview, and broadcast the pre-match interview on their respective channels.
Lin Tian alone managed to unite two fiercely competitive television media outlets into a rare and cooperative partnership!
All I can say is that there are just too many people paying attention to this match, and too many people having high expectations!
After comparing various data, the two television stations arrived at a truly alarming figure.
The estimated viewership for this match is very likely to exceed 3500 million!
This is a regular season game!
It's still a match between the second-place team in the East and the last-place team in the East!
Is this the appeal of Lin Tian and historical records?
This estimated figure allowed both television stations to reach an agreement without any hesitation, deciding to cooperate!
Lin Tian wasn't a pretentious person, so he didn't say anything pretentious like he didn't want to be disturbed before the competition. Anyway, it wasn't like he was going to a dinner party to drink with rich women. It was just a few questions. Making the sponsor happy was definitely not a bad thing.
He stood directly between the two reporters, first waving to the camera, and then waiting for the reporters to ask questions.
"Lin, we all know what will happen in this match. How do you feel about it?"
"I am confident, but also nervous."
"Is it because you're so concerned about disappointing your fans that you're nervous?" a reporter asked curiously.
"No, I'm very confident. If I want to, I can break the record tonight without any problem. I don't think the Bulls can stop me, and I don't think any team in this league can stop me. After all, the stats that everyone is expecting me to get tonight aren't that difficult for me."
Lin Tian's calm yet arrogant attitude truly stunned the two reporters.
Do you even know what you're saying?
40 points and 17 assists plus at least 10 rebounds—you call that easy stats, something you can get just by wanting to?
You think... well, this is Lin Tian. Judging from his performance throughout April, getting this data doesn't seem too difficult.
It's just that his performance in the first half of the month was a bit 'bad', otherwise this guy would have given the fans a triple-double average for the whole month!
"So what are you so nervous about?" the older reporter asked again.
"I was worried that my firepower was too strong and the Bulls couldn't stop me, and the game would quickly become garbage time. At that point, I really didn't know whether I should continue playing on the court to satisfy the fans and my own vanity, or go off and sit down as soon as possible."
"That's really all I'm worried about."
The fact that two reporters were sent here and given special permission to interview Lin Tian before the match shows that these two guys must be seasoned and experienced journalists.
Especially the older one, he's TNT's star reporter, who entered the industry in the 70s, from Jerry West to "Dr. J" Irving, then to "Oracle" Malone, the Black and White Duo, and later Jordan, Drexler, and Olajuwon.
He interviewed all of these top superstars and all the league's leading players without missing a single one!
But he had never met anyone like Lin Tian, who was so arrogant and confident, yet also seemed so calm and collected.
So contradictory.
The arrogance in Lin Tian's tone and his calm and composed demeanor were truly contradictory and disjointed.
Moreover, this guy doesn't hide his pursuit of data at all, he doesn't fake it at all, and he doesn't say things like "this is just a regular season game, I will play well and the data will be left to fate" or other such platitudes.
He had never seen a guy like this before.
"So, have you made up your mind now? If the game gets blown out, will you still play?" Fortunately, the two reporters were experienced and, after a very brief moment of distraction, continued to ask questions.
"I've pretty much made up my mind. Tonight, we'll raise the bar a bit. Based on our usual practice with Larry, when we're up by more than 25 points, our starters don't play much. Tonight, let's aim for 35 points!"
"If the point difference exceeds 35, I will immediately leave the court to rest. No matter what stats I get, I will not play again."
"What if you scored 38 points and had 15 assists, which happened to put you second in both categories?"
"If I'm not playing anymore, then it proves that I'm not destined for this honor. I'll try again next season."
"Alright then, let's wait and see! Let's see what happens in the next match! Good luck, Lin!" Both reporters felt that ending the interview at this point was just right.
So the two of them glanced at each other and ended the brief interview.
Lin Tian's brief interview was broadcast live on TNT and NBC, and China Sports was also authorized to broadcast the interview video.
In the NBC studio, Smith and Marcus, who had switched from CBS this year, couldn't help but applaud. As one of the earliest die-hard Lin fans in the United States, Marcus said, "Lin's style will never change! He will always be so arrogant, but he will never make you feel offended by him."
"Yes, he faced his hunger for stats head-on, and even set a garbage time standard." Smith shook his head and laughed, "I'm suddenly really looking forward to the moment when the score difference reaches 35 points, and ideally, Lin will have 38 points and 15 assists at that time! Putting him right behind Jordan and Kidd."
"Then you'll definitely be hunted down by Lin's fans! They'll think it's your bad luck that caused their idol to have such a regret!"
At TNT, Barkley slammed his fist on the table and laughed loudly, "This is the Lin I know! He's been like this with us all last year! He has the utmost confidence; he always manages to accomplish incredible things with such ease!"
"Charles, do you think Lin can break the record tonight?" Kenny asked Barkley curiously.
"I have 100% confidence that he can get the data we want! But to be honest, before this interview, although I also had 100% confidence in him, I wasn't really sure. But now, after watching this interview, I believe Lin is well-prepared!"
"He won't let anyone down! He's not telling the fans he'll leave the court after the score reaches 35 points; he's telling them he'll accomplish his mission before the score reaches 35 points! Let's wait and see!"
After translating Lin Tian's Q&A with the two reporters almost in real time, Su Qun shook his head and said to the camera, "To be honest, if I didn't know Lin Tian and knew that he grew up in the capital, I would have thought..."
"I seriously doubt he's a genuine American! His personality, behavior, and tone of voice are nothing like a Chinese person!"
"Outspoken, confident, oblivious to humility and modesty, and never backing down or showing fear!"
Sun Zhengping said, "But I think this is precisely the quality that our Chinese athletes lack most! Sometimes our athletes are too reserved and too easy to talk to. I really hope that our talented players can show their personality and attitude like Lin Tian!"
"Humility, prudence, moderation, and friendliness are important; they are our traditional virtues. However, in competitive sports, these qualities are indeed less effective!"
"I hope Lin Tian can set an example for young athletes, encouraging them to dare to showcase themselves, prove themselves, and tell everyone: I can do it! I'm capable! I'm fine!"
Lin Tian had no idea how much controversy his interview had caused or how much confidence it had given to people. He simply greeted and chatted with Wennington and Harper as usual, cracked jokes, and then warmed up and greeted the Pacers' home fans as he always did.
And of course, there's Miller sitting in the very front row!
When the Indiana legend, who has been recovering from injury and hasn't appeared in front of fans for a long time, appeared on the sidelines, he caused a huge cheer in the entire arena!
This is Miller's hero! They're eagerly awaiting his return!
This match, which was both extremely important and quite ordinary, saw both teams' starting players take to the field after warm-ups and a celebration from the fans.
For the Pacers, Bird didn't change his starting lineup, which remained Lin Tian, Carter, Christie, Davis, and Schmitz!
As for the Bulls' starting lineup, to be honest, Lin Tian was completely unfamiliar with it!
Mark Bryant, Dick Simpkins, Tony Kukoc, Brent Barry, Ron Harper.
Lin Tian recognized three of the five people.
Kukoc, Harper, and Simpkins, the perennial benchwarmer during the Bulls' two-peat era.
As for the remaining two, Barry's father was a superstar in the league, and Bryant and Kobe share the same last name.
Other?
That's all, not worth mentioning!
The Bulls' starting lineup is truly terrible. At least two of them wouldn't even make the rotation on other teams, let alone start, but they've been the starters for the Bulls all season!
It can only be said that the departure of Jordan, Pippen, and others was a huge blow to the Bulls!
In the past two years, they have been losing games to let other teams in the league get revenge and vent their anger, as if they were paying off a debt to Jordan!
After the 10 starting players from both sides took to the court, the referee blew his whistle and tossed the basketball into the air. Schmitz won the jump ball, a rare occurrence for him, easily giving his team the first possession!
The moment Lin Tian got the ball, he didn't care about his opponents or teammates at all. Hubble didn't even have time to come over and match up against Lin Tian before the basketball flew towards the frontcourt.
"boom!"
Immediately following was a crisp, loud crack!
Carter had already completed a fast break and received the ball from Lin Tian, finishing with a powerful and incredibly fierce dunk!
2: 0!
"Hehe! The game started with the Pacers' signature fast break! I'm curious, didn't the Bulls do any research or tactical planning on the Pacers at all? In a game like this, they can't possibly have no specific strategies against them, can they?" Barkley watched Carter easily complete his dunk and start riding his beloved little motorcycle, unable to contain his curiosity.
"Judging from the first round at least, they were either unprepared or didn't have time," Kenny shrugged. "If they continue like this, it'll be really exciting to see what kind of stats Lin can put up today!"
As the two were talking, the basketball that Hubble had just dribbled to the frontcourt was stolen by Lin Tian. Lin Tian then launched a counterattack on the spot, finding Christie who was following up on the fast break. Christie received the ball and started running, and then slammed it in again!
4: 0!
"Two assists in a row to start the game, looks like Lin's determined to reach his assist goal tonight?" Marcus said with a smile. "Let's see how long it takes Lin to reach his 17th assist!"
On the court, the Bulls' offense still couldn't find the net. Facing Simpkins' strong attack under the basket, Schmitz was as tough as Shaquille O'Neal! Under his defense, Simpkins almost missed a three-pointer!
Davis, very sensibly, sidestepped and pinned Kukoc behind him, shouting, "Lin!"
Lin Tian certainly wouldn't let him down. He grabbed the rebound and launched another fast break!
This time, the Bulls' retreat was quick enough. They returned to the three-point line early, arms outstretched, ready for action. But Lin Tian observed his teammates outside the three-point line and, finding no one had a good opportunity, didn't hesitate and pulled up for a three-pointer!
"Whoosh!"
After another crisp sound, it's 7-0!
Floyd, who was off the court, had already stood up from his seat. He had thought the game would be very difficult, but he never expected it to start with a 7-0 run!
But Floyd didn't call for a pause.
He knew exactly what he was capable of, but even if he called a pause, he couldn't get anything out of it!
He was just a rookie head coach that Krause temporarily brought in to fill in!
In the next possession, the ball finally came to the hands of the team's nominal star player, Kukoc. Kukoc raised his hand in a fake move, then dribbled towards the inside, but he had only gone halfway when he saw Davis rushing over to double-team him with Christie. Kukoc immediately shot the ball, trying to pass it to Barry on the far side.
It has to be said that Kukoc's vision is really good! Barry was indeed in an open position.
However, his passing route was really too long; the basketball had to fly almost halfway across the court before it reached Barry's hands.
That kind of pass is too easy to intercept!
Lin Tian, who had been lurking nearby and looking for an opportunity, suddenly leaped high into the air and intercepted the enemy!
With his long arm outstretched high, he executed a volleyball blocking motion in the air, first arching his body backward, then suddenly exerting force to smash the basketball directly towards the front court with one hand!
"Snapped!"
The crisp sound was audible to everyone in the front row, demonstrating the immense force Lin Tian had used! The basketball transformed into an orange lightning bolt in the blink of an eye, whizzing past the ears of several Bulls players before hurtling towards the frontcourt!
The reason Lin Tian dared to smash it like that was because he had already spotted Carter, who was positioned on the outside!
Carter didn't disappoint Lin Tian either. He was the first to sprint towards the frontcourt and grabbed the basketball before everyone else. Then, Carter only dribbled twice before taking off and completing another one-handed dunk with a very long gliding distance!
"Another one! Another assist!" Barkley exclaimed excitedly, raising both hands as if he had delivered the assist himself.
"And don't forget Lin's steal! That's his second steal! And the game's only been going for two minutes!" Kenny said. "Now, we really should be worried about the Bulls! They give me the impression that they can lose by 35 points in a single quarter!"
No sooner had Kenny finished speaking than the Bulls finally cheered, with Kukoc hitting a mid-range jumper to end the team's scoring drought.
But this was clearly not the start of the Bulls' counterattack; instead, it marked the beginning of another offensive wave for the Pacers!
Lin Tian brought the ball to the frontcourt, made another breakthrough, drove to the basket and forced a shot that went in, while also drawing a foul from Simpkins!
Then, Lin Tian's extra penalty missed!
With a loud thud, Lin Tian's free throw bounced off the rim.
Before Simpkins and Bryant could even calculate where the rebound would land, a huge force suddenly came from behind them, preventing them from even jumping!
"boom!"
Immediately following was a loud bang, accompanied by cheers from the entire city square stadium!
The only person who could elicit such cheers in the stadium is Lin Tian!
After Lin Tian threw the ball, he felt that the shot was a bit too powerful. So the moment the ball touched the rim, he rushed towards the basket, jumped high, and overpowered the two Bulls' inside players to complete a one-handed putback dunk!
"Domineering and unrestrained!" Sun Zhengping gave a four-word evaluation!
"Unbridled and unrestrained!" Su Qun quickly followed up with his own assessment, not wanting to be outdone!
The commentators' explanations were absolutely the best interpretation of Lin Tian's shot!
At least the two Bulls' big men were stunned, their faces filled with disbelief.
Shouldn't this guy be taking the free throws from the free throw line?
Why did he rush into the paint?
How could he be so fast? And jump so high?
Whether they believe it or not, Lin Tian has completed this 2+2 round, continuing to widen the gap with a layup and a dunk!
Lin Tian's 2+2 play further dampened the already low morale of the Bulls. In the following minutes, the Pacers launched wave after wave of attacks on the Bulls' defense, giving them no chance to fight back, no opportunity, and no hope.
21: 7!
Six minutes into the first quarter, when the first official timeout was held, the Pacers already had a 14-point lead!
If they continue playing at this pace, the Bulls will be down by 25 points or more in the first quarter!
During this period, Lin Tian has already achieved impressive statistics of 9 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals!
Every point the Pacers score is related to Lin Tian! He either scores himself or provides an assist! The speed at which Lin Tian accumulates his stats is absolutely astonishing!
"He's only played for 6 minutes!" Barkley couldn't help but exclaim. "Only 6 minutes and Lin has already put up such incredible numbers. His 9+5+3+2, taken individually, would be considered a great performance for any other player!"
"Ke Lin did it all at once! He did four things at once! He's incredibly well-rounded, truly amazing!"
"Chris, you're replacing Dell. Remember our objective tonight: if Lin passes you the ball and you're open, shoot immediately! Shoot right away! Let Lin break the record!" Bird clapped his hands and said, "Lin said before the game that he'd be benched if the score difference reached 35 points. Until that's the difference, everyone attack! Attack like crazy!"
It has to be said that Bird really seemed determined to help Lin Tian complete the record no matter what.
He replaced Davis, who was good at defense but not at scoring, with Mullin, who was nearing retirement but could score as soon as he received the ball and help Lin Tian rack up assists. His meaning couldn't be clearer!
Lower the defensive intensity, let the Bulls score a few points so the point difference becomes too large, and add another receiving point to make it easier for Lin Tian's passes to turn into assists!
Stern, who was also watching the game, nodded in satisfaction after seeing Bird's substitution!
Larry Bird may be annoying, but at least he's decent! He always keeps his promises.
On the field, the players from both sides have returned to the pitch.
The Bulls made no personnel changes, while the Pacers only made one change.
Keep the attack going!
On the Bulls' side, there was still Kukoc, a near-All-Star player above league level. He immediately noticed the Bulls' weakness in the paint, so he quickly drove into the paint with the ball, and scored a layup over Schmitz, helping the Bulls get a hard-fought 2 points!
But as soon as the Bulls landed on their ground, Lin Tian passed the ball to Mullin, who had just come on, and flicked it to him.
"Bang!"
Mullin, who had just come on, was clearly not warmed up yet, and the ball bounced off the rim!
Lin Tian had already rushed into the paint when Mullin took the shot. After a series of quick maneuvers, he managed to block Simpkins, who was originally in the best position, behind him. Then, he jumped high and slapped the basketball back into Mullin's position.
"Chris, one more!"
Lin Tian grabbed the backboard and shouted excitedly!
After all, this Bulls team is really terrible!
He felt that if Ben Wallace and Anthony Davis, those two rebounding fanatics, were allowed to grab rebounds freely, the two of them combined could probably grab 45 rebounds in one night!
If it were any normal team, a mid-to-lower tier team in the league, Lin Tian wouldn't be able to grab rebounds so easily!
Facing the Bulls' interior defense, Lin Tian grabs offensive rebounds as easily as catching his own dog in his backyard! He practically shouts, and the rebounds just run straight into his arms!
"Bang!"
But Mullin seemed to be in really bad shape tonight; his second shot was another smash.
"Rebounds! Rebounds, you bunch of trash!" Floyd on the sidelines was almost going crazy! Halfway through the first quarter, the opposing guard had snatched two offensive rebounds. Even if that guy was the number one MVP candidate, it was still a bit too outrageous to grab them like that.
Freud's shouting did have some effect.
For example, Bryant blocked the ball in this instance, preventing anyone from running past him, and caught the basketball in his arms!
Well... but Freud's statement obviously didn't have that much impact.
(End of this chapter)