stonecrandall Chapter 439 You can't even beat a weakened Jordan, let alone a fully healed one.
Chapter 439 You can't even beat a weakened Jordan, let alone a fully healed one.
This night was destined to be full of entertainment, and the attention of fans and the media was not even much on Jordan's incredibly brilliant game-winning shot.
It's just an open jump shot.
Not worth mentioning, utterly not worth mentioning!
Compared to the open jump shot, everyone was clearly more interested in Lin Tian's hands forming a sharp, pointed shape... cough cough, more!
So exciting!
Some nosy people even started checking if Lin Tian had any unclean stuff on his hands...
Anyway, tonight, Lin Tian witnessed firsthand the creative and entertaining abilities of American netizens and media.
Although Jordan hit the game-winning shot that night, he absolutely never wants to remember anything from that night again!
"Lin, if you do that to me again, I will kill you!" The next morning, Jordan arrived at the locker room early and threw all the newspapers that the staff had placed next to the lockers into the trash can before the rest of the staff arrived.
Then he saw Lin Tian, the second person to enter the locker room.
"What if we're about to lose? We still can't use it?" Lin Tian blinked his pitiful big eyes, looking at Jordan with an innocent expression.
Suppress the fire, suppress the fire, suppress the fire.
Jordan kept repeating it to himself!
With great difficulty, he suppressed the temptation to directly hit Lin Tian on the head with a fire extinguisher.
"If you dare to treat me like this again, I'll have someone shoot you in the head! You're only good at fighting, but your skin isn't bulletproof, is it?" Jordan suppressed his anger and threatened Lin Tian.
"Alright, alright." Lin Tian raised his hands in surrender. "One last question: if you begged me to give you another hit, and I did, would you still hire an assassin to kill me?"
"FUXX! There's no such thing as 'if'! I'd have to be crazy to...FUXX! If you bring this up again, I'll kill you!" Jordan was now completely enraged and unleashed another torrent of abuse at Lin Tian.
What can Lin Tian say about this?
He shrugged and didn't reply.
Instead, he took out a newspaper from his backpack and started reading.
From Jordan's angle, he couldn't see what the front page Lin Tian was looking at was.
But he could see a line of text and a photograph prominently displayed on the last page of the newspaper.
The text read: Michael Jordan's soul was pierced by Lin! The game-winning shot was all thanks to this!
Needless to say, the accompanying picture is that epic scene: Jordan being ambushed by Lin Tian, almost flying through the air.
FUXX!
Jordan glanced at the trash can in the corner. Good grief, I just threw away all the newspapers and this bastard took another one?
"Forest!"
"What's wrong?" Lin Tian poked his head out and looked at Jordan curiously.
"Let me see the newspaper," Jordan said, holding out his hand to indicate that he wanted to read the newspaper too.
He knew very well that if he told Lin Tian directly that he didn't want this newspaper circulating in the locker room, Lin Tian would not only refuse 100%, but he would also immediately buy 100 copies so that the entire team, from top to bottom, would have this newspaper.
Therefore, we must take a roundabout approach!
I'm so damn clever!
"Didn't the uniform department deliver the newspaper today? Those lazy bastards." Lin Tian muttered, handed the newspaper to Jordan, then stretched and started changing his clothes.
As for Jordan, he took advantage of Lin Tian's inattention and quickly tucked the newspaper into his locker.
Over the next 20 minutes, the Pacers players arrived one after another, but none of them were in a hurry to change their clothes and start training.
Because of the poor performance in the last game, everyone spontaneously arrived at the training hall more than an hour early, so there was plenty of time.
"Where's the newspaper? Why wasn't it delivered today? How am I supposed to go to the bathroom? Play that damn Snake game?" Webber's voice came first. He was obviously trying to glance at the newspaper as usual, but he couldn't find anything.
Then Ben Wallace, Christie, Parker, Ginobili, and others discovered that there really were no newspapers on their seats.
What about the newspaper?
The group of people looked at each other in bewilderment. Even those who didn't usually read newspapers were now curious.
Jordan, sitting in his chair, was incredibly smug.
Luckily, I had the foresight, otherwise, wouldn't you bunch of bastards be coming to the locker room to laugh at me?
"Michael has a copy," Lin Tian suddenly said. "Chris, you can borrow it from Michael."
"I lost it." Jordan didn't even think before spouting a lie: "Maybe you can play Tetris on my phone when you go to the bathroom later."
Don't even think about it! Not even a single one!
Today's newspapers cannot circulate in locker rooms!
Just as Jordan was feeling smug and thought he was incredibly clever, Lin Tian's next move completely stunned him.
"Lost it? No problem, I have another copy here." Lin Tian opened his backpack, took out another identical newspaper, and handed it to Weber: "Does anyone else need one? I felt sorry for the old lady selling newspapers today, so I bought 20 copies."
"If anyone needs it, everyone will have some!"
As Lin Tian spoke, he magically began taking newspapers out of his backpack and distributing them to everyone without saying a word.
One serving, another, and yet another.
One after another.
Endless!
Jordan even watched as Lin Tian placed a newspaper on the seats of Carlisle, Miller, and other coaching staff members and team doctors.
That bastard, he definitely prepared more than just 20 servings!
Jordan looked at Lin Tian and felt his hands trembling.
Looking at the newspapers in the locker room, each person had a copy of one of their own, showing how Lin Tian had poked their butts so hard they almost jumped up. Jordan felt his blood pressure had already skyrocketed.
When in his life has he ever suffered like this?
But Lin Tian was acting like a philanthropist at the moment, and he even handed a newspaper to Jordan.
"Michael, do you still need this? I think you do. You didn't really look at the other one, did you?"
Looking at Lin Tian's innocent eyes, sunny smile, and handsome face, Jordan wanted to reach for the fire extinguisher next to him for the 1802nd time, and then slap Lin Tian's nose a few times.
We can't win, we can't win, we can't win, we can't win.
Jordan once again gave himself a good mental pep talk to calm himself down.
No, I can't calm down at all!
Taking a step back means you'll suffer a loss and be cheated; enduring it only makes you angrier!
Then Jordan shoved Lin Tian aside, pulled Arenas, who was laughing and reading the newspaper, over, and said, "Let's go, Gilbert, one-on-one! Let's have some fun today!"
Damn it, I'll make you laugh! I'll make you happy!
I hope you'll still be able to laugh later, you bastard.
"I haven't changed my shoes yet, I'm just grabbing them, wait a minute, Michael, wait..." Poor Arenas was dragged away, and the locker room immediately became much quieter.
Lin Tian finally finished distributing the newspapers, stretched, and said, "Let's go take a look, lest Gilbert get beaten to death by Michael."
About an hour later, Arenas, who was so exhausted that he was sprawled on the ground panting heavily, and Jordan, who was only slightly sweaty and chewing gum, formed a stark contrast. Carlisle looked at the two of them curiously, not understanding what was wrong with them.
However, he didn't say much. He believed that these people knew what they were doing and wouldn't go too far. He sat there and began to arrange the team's tactics for the second game.
"After the last game, Michael said he would beat the Russians up. The Lakers will definitely guard Michael closely. They will likely double-team you from the start of the game."
"So, in the second game, Michael, you'll be the feint point! Get the ball in the low post, draw double teams, and then pass it to your teammates!"
"If they don't double-team him, then you should teach that Russian a lesson and show him what you're capable of!"
"Lin, keep an eye on the situation on the court and see what the Los Angeles team is planning. If they get so nervous that they're marking Michael tightly even when he's off the ball, then you're the one to break down their defense!"
"As for the rest, we'll adapt to the situation during the match!"
"Alright guys, seriously, Michael only made 3 of 16 shots in the last game, he couldn't have been worse, and even then, the Lakers still couldn't beat us!"
"In the second game, with Michael's return, they have even less of a chance!"
"Let's go to Los Angeles with a 2-0 lead! Let's sweep them and crush the Los Angeles crowd!"
"Kill the Los Angeles people! Kill the Los Angeles people!"
"2:0!"
"Sweep them away!"
"They couldn't win even with Michael shooting 3-for-16, how could they possibly win?"
"Michael could beat them to a pulp, we've got this in the bag!"
"Michael was eating while defecating, and he still managed to beat them until they urinated blood!"
"The Lakers are nothing! Even if Michael plays worse than my grandma, he could still beat them!"
"Michael... why are you all so quiet?" Lin Tian was excitedly shouting slogans when he suddenly realized that everyone else had fallen silent. No one was speaking; everyone was just staring at Lin Tian quietly.
"Lin, do you believe I'll kill you?" Jordan's eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Damn it, you bastard! I told you to shout slogans to boost the team's morale, what are you doing?
Does it boost morale?
Damn it, this is all just a bunch of damn personal grudges!
There's absolutely nothing else, not even a shred of bullshit!
"You think I can't tell you're using this opportunity to insult me?"
Seeing Jordan's displeased expression, Lin Tian didn't hesitate and blurted out, "Michael, you're definitely overthinking it! How could I possibly take this opportunity to scold you?"
"I don't need to look for an opportunity to insult you; I can start anytime!"
"I would never do something like this, using an opportunity to expose myself and embarrass you! We're brothers, you have to trust me!"
Believe it for nothing!
Jordan rolled his eyes and decided not to say another word to Lin Tian. He pulled Miller over and said, "Reggie, come with me to practice shooting. I played terribly in the last game. Can you help me find out what I need to improve?"
"By my standards, your shooting needs to be completely reworked. It's terrible, practically garbage! But we only have two days, so there's no time for a complete overhaul. I'll try my best to help you improve and see if you can reach 70% of my level."
When Miller heard that Jordan had approached him, he wasn't about to let such a good opportunity slip by. He muttered some sarcastic remarks about Jordan while walking toward the court with Jordan with a mischievous grin on his face.
Jordan tolerated Miller's sarcastic remarks!
Who told him to play so badly in the last game?
Who made Lin Tian's mouth so foul?
Compared to Lin Tian, Miller's words were nothing but trash talk; at most, they were just a couple of casual swear words.
It has absolutely no impact on Jordan!
As long as he's not with Lin Tian, Jordan won't be angry; he'll feel that the whole world is wonderful!
I went to practice my shooting.
"Don't push yourself too hard! Remember to rest!" Carlisle quickly instructed Jordan and Miller as they walked away, making sure the two of them didn't get carried away and deplete their stamina.
There's another match tomorrow!
After Jordan and Miller left, the rest of the Pacers players also went their separate ways, some practicing strength training, some practicing shooting, some practicing dribbling, and so on.
This is also Carlisle's training method during the playoffs.
You can each train your own way, just keep in shape and break a sweat.
Saving our energy and spirit for the competition is the most important thing!
……
A day later, the Conceco Arena remained packed, marking their 49th sold-out game of the season with 100% attendance.
That means all their regular season and playoff tickets for this season are sold out!
With this attendance and ticket sales, it's undoubtedly number one in the entire league!
Their average ticket price is only slightly lower than that of teams like New York and Los Angeles, but besides those two teams, it's the Pacers' turn! Their average ticket price is the third highest in the league!
The box office impact brought by the duo of Lin Tian and Jordan was immediate!
In this match, neither coach changed their starting lineup; the same ten players took to the field together.
Game 2 of the series, a crucial match for both sides, has begun!
O'Neal still won the jump ball. He passed the ball to Kobe, then quickly drove to the basket, backed down Ben Wallace, and called for the ball!
The Lakers' first possession is always to pass to O'Neal; this is their usual practice, and it's also the practice of many teams in the league.
On the first offensive possession, let's give the team leader a shot!
Without hesitation, Kobe passed the ball to O'Neal with a bounce pass, then quickly moved to take away the defender, giving O'Neal plenty of space to score inside.
"Bang! Bang!"
After the court was cleared, O'Neal immediately exerted his strength and slammed backward. After two consecutive impacts, no matter how crazy Ben Wallace's strength was, he was now pushed all the way to the basket by O'Neal. Then O'Neal elbowed him, turned around and pulled up to smash the basket with both hands!
But Ben Wallace was really determined tonight. He made up his mind that he had to shut down O'Neal on the very first basket of the game!
So, although Ben Wallace felt a sharp pain from O'Neal's elbow, he withstood the overwhelming force and did not retreat. Instead, he jumped up with incredible strength and stretched out his hand to block O'Neal's path to the dunk.
"Snapped!"
A muffled thud echoed through the arena, and the veins on Ben Wallace's already thick arms bulged, clearly indicating that he had used all his strength!
His powerful slap almost deformed the basketball!
Even O'Neal couldn't control the ball when faced with such a heavy blow. The basketball slipped from his hand, and after the two forces collided head-on, it flew towards the three-point line.
Several perimeter players had already positioned themselves to watch the ball's trajectory and were preparing to jump and grab it.
Jordan, Christie, Kobe, and Kirilenko huddled together in the blink of an eye.
Lin Tian didn't join in the fun, but instead quietly walked up to Kirilenko.
Lin Tian felt that this monster, who was 206 cm tall and had a wingspan of 225 cm, had the best chance of catching the ball!
Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, Kirilenko, with his huge height advantage, grabbed the basketball and put it in his arms.
But before he could even land, while he was still in mid-air, Kirilenko felt his hand go empty, and the basketball flew away again!
Who else could it be but Lin Tian, the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind?
With a slap, Lin Tian knocked the ball out of Kirilenko's arms, turned around, and circled behind Kirilenko. The basketball then drew a rainbow arc and landed right in Lin Tian's arms.
Quick attack!
Lin Tian didn't even need to shout those words!
Jordan and Christie launched a furious charge from the left and right, surging towards the frontcourt!
Kobe, Fisher, and Kirilenko were already fast enough, but they could only keep up.
To contain or interrupt a fast break?
Don't even think about it!
Lin Tian, dribbling in the middle, saw Jordan and Christie moving towards the three-point lines on both sides with perfect coordination to create enough space for him. So he kept dribbling towards the inside, trying to completely flatten the Lakers' defense!
Just as Lin Tian was about to successfully bully Fisher again and dunk on him, Kirilenko hesitated for a moment before choosing to collapse and protect the rim!
Lin Tian's dunking success rate is definitely much higher than Jordan's success rate in shooting three-pointers or long-range two-pointers!
But just as Kirilenko made the 'correct choice,' Lin Tian had already passed the ball.
Jordan received the ball outside the three-point line, glanced at it briefly, and then immediately shot from beyond the three-point line!
He probably hasn't made many of those kinds of pull-up three-pointers in his entire career.
But tonight, on his first touch of the ball at the start of the game, despite his disastrous performance in the previous game, Jordan still took the shot without hesitation.
"Whoosh!"
With a crisp sound, Jordan hit a three-pointer, giving the Pacers the lead!
"I knew it! Michael can do it!" Barkley roared excitedly. "He won't play terribly two games in a row! He's Michael Jordan! He's the greatest, one of the greatest players on this planet!"
"The worse he played in the last game, the tighter the Lakers' defense should be against him in this game! This has nothing to do with tactics, theories, or whether they're reasonable or not; it's simply because this guy is Michael Jordan!"
"We all know he'll bounce back! If I were the coach, I'd have my players guard Jordan on the three-point line instead of helping defend the basket! What's wrong with letting the Pacers dunk on him?"
"If Michael gets going, the Lakers are going to get a beating in this game!"
"Don't help defend, Andre! Your only task tonight is to stick to Michael! Stick to him!" Jackson stood up again on the sidelines. In his coaching career, the number of times he stood up on the sidelines was extremely rare, but every time he did, it meant that the team had a big problem.
Either the opponent gets on a scoring run, or it's a crucial moment in the game.
But a situation like tonight, where Jackson stood up right in the very first round, is absolutely unprecedented!
As Barkley said, Jackson understood Jordan better than anyone else!
I know better than anyone what Jordan is capable of!
We must guard against him closely, at all times!
Otherwise, this guy could tear you apart at any moment!
"Snapped!"
As Jordan was on his way back on defense, he happened to pass by Jackson and slapped Jackson on the backside: "Phil, you know me. This level of defense is useless against me."
"Snapped!"
Then came another slap, and Lin Tian followed up by giving Jackson a slap on the buttocks.
"Phil, you know me. This level of defense might work against Michael, but I'm still there!"
"You two bastards, stay away from me, or next time I'll be lying on the ground! I guarantee the referee will give you both a technical foul!"
Jackson was quite helpless regarding his two former disciples.
What could he say?
Does he really intend to lie on the ground and stage an accident to extort money?
Hmm... You know what, it actually seems like there's potential!
"That old fox, he might actually be planning to lie down on the ground." Lin Tian returned to his defensive position and, as he turned to defend, met Jackson's rather shrewd gaze. He immediately told Jordan, "Stop hitting his butt!"
"The feel is alright, but if you keep going, this guy is definitely going to be lying down right now!"
"That's the kind of thing that old fox would do!" Jordan agreed wholeheartedly, nodding along with Lin Tian.
Then, Jordan suddenly stepped forward and stood right next to Kobe!
This is one of his tasks in this series.
He's going to lock down Kobe!
As for Lin Tian, his defensive task remains very easy; he only needs to keep an eye on Fisher.
Despite being closely guarded by Jordan, Kobe still didn't choose to force a shot. In this Finals series, he showed great restraint and rationality, and every shot and ball handling was done with remarkable composure.
The young man who once told Malone to get out of the way and not to stop him from going one-on-one with Jordan has matured.
"Karl!"
Kobe yelled, and Malone immediately stepped forward. Using Malone's wall-like body, Kobe bypassed Jordan, then accelerated quickly and stopped abruptly at the free-throw line, giving Webber no chance to get close, before launching a jump shot.
"Whoosh!"
After a crisp sound, the Lakers also opened the scoring!
Then, on the Pacers' next possession, Jordan went straight to the low post, boxed out Kirilenko, and reached out for the ball.
After receiving the ball from Lin Tian, Jordan was just about to make a move when he noticed that Fisher had already let Christie go and quickly moved in to double-team him.
Jackson was indeed determined to give up a key player on the Pacers rather than give Jordan a chance to regain his form and collapse the game!
If the Pacers' outside shooting is off, or if they don't have another top-tier scorer on the perimeter, then Jackson's move might work.
But now?
Jordan suddenly made a no-look behind-the-head pass, throwing the basketball over his own head.
The basketball grazed over the heads of both him and Kirilenko, flying straight towards the middle.
Then, with a reverse run and Webber's screen, Lin Tian, who had completely blocked Kobe behind him, accelerated and rushed over, grabbed the basketball and jumped.
Facing O'Neal, Lin Tian placed the basketball behind his head with both hands, then let out a roar, and with immense force, he slammed the basketball toward the basket!
Although O'Neal jumped up with all his might to block the shot, his broad body and powerful strength were enough to eliminate 99% of the springy men who wanted to dunk on him head-on, but Lin Tian was clearly in the 1%!
"boom!"
After a loud bang, Lin Tian slammed the basketball into the hoop over O'Neal's head with both hands. Then, the entire Conseco Center erupted in cheers and applause once again!
Fans know that after the boring and dull shooting battle in the last game, their Pacers are back tonight!
Especially Lin Tian and Jordan, those two scoring machines, were clearly in top form tonight!
They all showed the determination and resolve to fight to the death!
However, the Lakers are also a battle-hardened, experienced top team. Their current roster and hunger for the championship mean that they would absolutely crush any team in the league except the Pacers.
But then, they encountered the most terrifying pedestrians.
Despite their unity and hunger, the Lakers were completely outmatched by the Pacers.
In this possession, the Lakers' ball, after multiple passes and runs, reached Kirilenko in the mid-range. The Russian, who had become famous the night before for his defense against Jordan, did not hesitate and pulled up for a shot.
But tonight, he obviously won't have as good a chance as he did in the previous game!
"Snapped!"
Christie seized the moment before Kirilenko exposed the basketball before he could shoot, and slapped it away from Kirilenko's hand!
"Quick attack!"
Christie then grabbed the basketball and immediately passed it to Lin Tian, who had already started his fast break.
Lin Tian and Jordan, one on the left and one on the right, were like two curved blades, heading straight for the heart of the Lakers' territory!
At this point, only Kobe Bryant on the Lakers team had time to get back on defense!
Well... there's Fisher, but his defense is practically nonexistent.
In a 2-on-1 situation in the frontcourt, Jordan and Lin Tian, one on the left and one on the right, passed the ball back and forth, trying to get Kobe off balance. But as one of the best defenders in the league, Kobe remained unmoved, holding his position firmly!
In a one-on-two situation, all Kobe could do was force both players to shoot from as far away from the basket as possible, and that would count as a successful defense!
Well, from this perspective, Kobe's defense was still effective.
Because Jordan stopped again beyond the three-point line, and the basketball stopped with him!
Another three-pointer in transition, Jordan takes another shot!
"Whoosh!"
Just as Kobe was thinking this, Jordan's three-pointer pierced through his heart once again!
Jordan's touch is back!
He took two shots at the start of the game, both of which were three-pointers and went in!
"I taught him everything!" Reggie Miller leaned back arrogantly in his chair, boasting, "That Hakim guy dared to cheat people with his footwork, but my shooting is the real currency!"
"If he can do it, so can I! I'll open training classes in the summer too!"
"Hey you guys, if you want to learn this summer, I'll give you a discount!"
Miller muttered to himself as he turned his attention to Arenas, Ginobili, and others around him, trying to sell them his shooting lessons.
"Definitely, definitely." Arenas chuckled, very cooperative!
At this moment on the court, Kobe once again used a screen to get past Jordan, and then he drove straight to the basket. With O'Neal blocking Ben Wallace, he easily slammed home a one-handed dunk, helping the Lakers score another 2 points!
But when the Pacers went on offense next, their positioning suddenly changed!
Jordan, who used to focus on offense in the low post, became the playmaker. He started dribbling the ball across half-court and directing his teammates' movements from the top of the arc.
Lin Tian then moved to the low post, backed down Kobe, and reached out for the ball!
This is a tactic that Lin Tian and Jordan just discussed.
Since you, Jordan, will be double-teamed when you go in, and since you're having a good shooting night, then attract their attention from beyond the three-point line.
This low spot, may I, Lord Lin, borrow it for a bit?
After discussing the tactic with Jordan, Lin Tian didn't forget to make another impromptu upgrade.
Master Lin has a cheat code!
You haven't forgotten, have you?
Hmm, Mr. Lin almost forgot!
Forgetting is not a problem, as long as you can remember it, that's fine!
After accumulating experience throughout the season, especially after teaming up with Jordan and taking advantage of his position, Lin Tian has accumulated a total of 26000 experience points this season, with more than 6000 of them coming from the last game when he gave Jordan that kick.
After that, Lin Tian shocked the entire stadium. Both teams' players started giving away experience points, and Jordan himself gained 2000 experience points in one go, making Lin Tian somewhat regretful.
Was I too clean before?
Does this trick have to be used every month or two, just to gain more experience for oneself?
However, we'll talk about that later. Right now, with the remaining 26000 experience points and the experience accumulated from back-to-the-basket moves throughout the season, Lin Tian has finally gathered enough experience to further improve his Godly Back-to-the-Basket move!
"Godly Back-to-the-basket LV5 (MAX): Increases back-to-the-basket ability by 70%. When backing down the ball, the success rate of a fadeaway jump shot increases by an additional 15% if the player dribbles less than or twice. When backing down the ball, the finishing ability under the basket increases by an additional 15% if the player dribbles more than or twice."
Hey!
Jordan's signature skill, that's what makes him different!
Simple and practical, clearly described, with significant and noticeable improvements!
What does "simple, effective, clear, and straightforward" mean?
That's it!
After improving this skill, Lin Tian's only offensive ability that wasn't S+, the 'low post', finally broke through the barrier and reached S+!
On the offensive end, everyone finally got S+, which cured Lin Tian's obsessive-compulsive disorder!
At the same time, Lin Tian's overall offensive rating has finally reached S+!
The only area he can improve now is defense!
Their offensive skills and physical attributes are already impeccable!
"Come on, Lin! I'll show you what I'm made of! I didn't just learn offensive footwork from Hakim this summer! I also learned low-post defense techniques and things to keep in mind!"
"My goal is to take down you and Michael!"
Kobe shouted confidently at Lin Tian, also encouraging himself!
Tonight, he must bring a victory to the Lakers! (End of Chapter)