hotmtlnovel Chapter 661 It's you again, you unlucky bastard! You dare to lie to me?
Chapter 661 It's you again, you unlucky bastard! You dare to lie to me?
This season, the Bobcats were brimming with confidence during the offseason and preparation! The whole team was full of energy and vitality, from owner Jordan to the players, everyone was united and hoped to lead the team to the playoffs for the first time this year!
After all, since the team was founded in 2004, it has selected three rookies who were ranked extremely high. It's time for them to achieve some results.
Jordan himself was quite pragmatic and changed his goal of building a team in three years and winning a championship in five years to a more pragmatic approach of building the team with the goal of getting it into the playoffs.
During the offseason, the team made two major changes: one was the acquisition of the talented big man LaMarcus Aldridge, and the other was Jordan signing the biggest contract in the team's history, and even in the history of the NBA!
It's not for the players, it's for head coach Larry Brown!
Brown, who had just been fired from the Pistons, was invited to Charlotte by Jordan with a four-year, $40 million annual salary.
This is the first time an NBA coach has been able to earn an annual salary in the $10 million range, which means that coaches, starting with Brown, have finally entered the era of eight-figure salaries!
Of course, it's uncertain how many other coaches besides Brown will be able to secure a contract of this caliber.
There are only a handful of coaches in the league who have the caliber and ability to still be working on the front lines!
After acquiring Brown, the Bobcats finally started to look like a team from top to bottom; at least they got a true core player!
This also means that the team will focus on the trio of Okafor Aldridge and Felton in their efforts to make the playoffs!
At least, that's what Jordan thought at the beginning of the season. He even secretly thought: maybe with good luck, he could go straight to the second round?
After all, the East is really not worth mentioning these days!
Apart from the Knicks and the Celtics, there is no third team that can be considered a top-tier team!
The other teams are not much different in strength. Even a rookie team like the Bobcats, who has no playoff experience, may still have a chance to make a breakthrough in their first year in the playoffs!
But of course, ideals are lofty, while reality is harsh.
Just as Jordan was full of ambition and wanted to prove his team-building ability this year, the regular season began.
Then, bucket after bucket of cold water was poured over Jordan's head.
They really poured it on relentlessly! Without stopping!
The Bobcats were utterly defeated, their collapse was slow and gradual, and they offered absolutely no resistance. The entire team was a disorganized mess, completely broken and in disarray.
The whole team was absolutely terrible.
Brown adheres to a traditional, slow-paced, defense-oriented, and almost brutally strict basketball philosophy.
And what about the Bobcats' young players?
They were all in the early stages of their careers, their minds were still unsettled, and they were all waiting to unleash their dreams, talents, and passions. Suddenly, a coach came along and made them put down their dreams, talents, passions, and creativity, and told them to settle down and play methodically.
It would be a miracle if they could fight well!
Anyway, it was just awkward, the whole team was incredibly awkward, as for the Bobcats' performance?
Needless to say, there's absolutely no need to say anything!
They are last in the Eastern Conference and second to last in the league.
It's absolutely rotten.
So far this season, they have only won 6 and lost 26, which is quite surprising as they broke a team record.
The worst record in the team's history in the past two months!
This year's Bobcats are even worse than they were in their first year!
As a hardline head coach, what does Brown do when his team is performing poorly and struggling to win?
Let the newcomers rest, and give the veterans as much playing time as possible.
Even though the Bobcats' veterans are only so-so and not worth mentioning, Brown is unwilling to give newcomers a chance.
Hmm... I'm talking about Aldridge.
In its first month, this big guy averaged 9 points and 4 rebounds per game, playing about 24 minutes per game, which was quite impressive.
However, in the second month, his playing time plummeted to only 9 minutes, and his average stats dropped drastically to 3 points and 1 rebound.
That was absolutely terrible and awful!
Some fans have even been so eager to label Aldridge as the "worst second overall pick in history" that they've already given him.
Aldridge was helpless. No matter how ambitious he was, Brown wouldn't let him play. What could he do?
Kidnapping Brown's daughter and threatening him to make him play 30 minutes every game?
This method may sound ridiculous, but it might actually be the only way to force Brown to submit.
There's nothing we can do. This old man is stubborn and irritable. He doesn't like to use or like rookies. He thinks that young guys like Aldridge, who are not even 20 years old, shouldn't be on the NBA court. They should play four years of college and then come to the NBA!
Kids these days are so restless! Extremely restless!
Anyway, Brown doesn't like guys like Aldridge who rush to make money through the draft right after their freshman year of college.
Even their styles are completely different; Brown prefers tough, aggressive, and dominant players who can dominate the paint.
Aldridge, however, is a pure technical player, and his style, in this era, is somewhat soft.
Young, lacking technical and mental maturity, disliked by the head coach, and incompatible style...
For various reasons, but the result is quite clear: it was a flop.
Lin Tian even suspected that Brown might have come with some kind of mission.
You have to ruin a super-talented second overall pick in your life, and he has to be a tall, technically skilled guy, right?
Otherwise, how can this be explained?
But anyway, regardless of whether Brown had any passive buffs, Aldridge was sullen.
During the pre-game warm-up, the young man had a dejected look on his face and seemed listless, lacking energy in his shooting and running.
Who knows how much torture and mental abuse Brown subjected him to during his daily training? In any case, this young man who entered the league with great ambition has now completely lost the edge and vigor he had in the draft.
Confidence?
These things have disappeared anyway.
"You liar!" Lin Tian heard a clear curse as he passed by the sidelines.
Jordan tilted his head and looked at Lin Tian, saying, "This is the super genius you recommended?"
"What do I care if you guys don't know how to use them!" Lin Tian rolled his eyes and said, "What's the difference between having a coach who hates using rookies train newbies and sending gay men to strip clubs? It's a miracle if it works! If you have any sense, just trade Aldridge already, don't waste his time!"
"Hmph, I was just about to sell," Jordan said, scoffing. "I'm going to draft a real, incredibly talented rookie!"
"Who have you taken a fancy to? Tell me, let me see who you're planning to ruin this time." Lin Tian immediately perked up when he heard this.
"Then you don't need to worry about it! In short, I won't fall for your tricks again!" Jordan looked confident and in complete control.
"Adam Morrison?" Lin Tian thought for a moment and gave a name. This guy, nicknamed "Little Bird," played under the real Bird and seemed to be doing alright.
Jordan was stunned.
He stared at Lin Tian with wide eyes, now wondering if there really were spies and moles sent by Lin Tian in his team.
This is outrageous!
I only had a couple of words with that old bastard Bird, and Lin Tian already knew?
Outrageous!
"He really has his eye on him!" Lin Tian was really just guessing this time. The reason he guessed Morrison was because last time, Jordan chose Morrison as the third pick. This time, Lin Tian was blindly guessing that Jordan wanted to choose him again!
You guessed right.
It's all entanglement from past lives.
"Hmph, I wouldn't even look at the person that idiot country bumpkin has his eye on." Even though Lin Tian saw right through him, Jordan managed to salvage his composure after a brief moment of stunned silence, arrogantly declaring that he wouldn't even glance at Morrison.
But whether Jordan admits it or not, Lin Tian has figured out one thing.
That means Aldridge's tough times might really be coming to an end.
Brown really didn't want to use him; he didn't have the patience.
Jordan really didn't want to develop him; he didn't think much of him.
These two are truly exceptional when it comes to scouting and nurturing new talent.
People who aren't family don't enter the same door.
It was just a little incident before the game, nothing more. Maybe we could add Lin Tian yelling at Brown, "The Detroit people don't want you anymore?"
"You got scattered again?"
"I really have to apologize to you for breaking up your team twice. Every time you were laid off, it was because of me, Larry."
"But you got paid more, so we're even! Hopefully, this time I won't beat you up and then fire you again."
"But since Michael can tolerate being last, losing another game doesn't seem like a big deal, right?"
As the most shameless person in the league, who even beat up the coach when he fights, it's quite reasonable for Lin Tian to vent his anger by yelling at the opposing coach before the game starts, isn't it?
After Lin Tian had vented his anger, he didn't continue to provoke the old man. If something really happened to him, Lin Tian wouldn't be able to escape responsibility either.
So he turned and left, leaving Brown, whose face had turned purple, standing there fuming.
It's easy to imagine that the team's young players will be the next to bear the brunt of his anger.
With five players suspended, the Knicks' coach Don Nelson had to make significant changes to their starting lineup.
Besides Lin Tian and Okur, Houston, Ariza, and Smith were promoted to the starting lineup.
Compared to the previous starting five, the average ability of these five players has definitely declined significantly. Neither Smith nor Ariza can be compared to Stoudemire and Anthony.
In other words, Houston and Barnes today can be considered to have their own unique characteristics, and it's difficult to distinguish which is better or worse.
However, the average strength of this lineup is clearly not up to par.
Or to put it more bluntly: if Lin Tian is removed, this lineup can't even beat the Bobcats' lineup of Felton, Carroll, Anderson, Sean May, and Okafor.
Definitely at the bottom.
But with Lin Tian, anything is possible now!
"To be honest, there's nothing to look forward to in this game, nothing particularly noteworthy. The only interesting thing about this game is Lin!" Barkley began his commentary as the starting players from both sides walked onto the court.
"In fact, this match was not originally in our broadcast plan at all. If it weren't for that Christmas battle, I mean that Christmas fighting match, this match would not have been broadcast live."
"But after that game, Lin made a bold statement, saying he would keep the team in the standings, so I think everyone who knows Lin, like me, is incredibly excited to see what he'll do next!"
Kenny added, "After all, Lin has accomplished so many miracles! Throughout his career, he has single-handedly saved the world when his teammates suffered accidents, and we can all guess how Lin will rewrite the team's current predicament."
"It's going to be a scoring frenzy! For the next month or so, Lin will definitely ignite the league and the entire basketball world! We all believe he can do it!"
"Furthermore, I believe everyone has seen the Knicks' suspension results. Besides Lin, the team's two most important players—Stoudemire and Anthony—are both suspended for 20 games!"
"This means that starting tonight, December 27, 2006, the Knicks will be missing two top scorers who average 20 points per game for a total of 20 games: 3 games in December, 16 games in January, and 1 game in February!"
"Who can fill this void? Will it be veterans like Houston and Hill, or young talent like Smith, Nate, and Ariza? But regardless of who steps up, I believe most people can agree on one thing: a large portion of this 45-point gap will fall on Lin's shoulders!"
"Not to mention that Lin is currently in his hottest and most insane phase. Since December, he has been able to score more than 47 points per game! His average points per game have soared to second in the league, second only to Allen Iverson of the Magic."
At this point, Barkley couldn't hide his excitement, adding, "That's why I suggested yesterday: broadcast every single Knicks game from now on! Because every game could be a new record, every game could be a new kind of madness!"
"But of course, we don't need to look that far ahead right now. We can focus on the Knicks' remaining three games in December. Kenny, what kind of stats do you think the Knicks, or rather Lin, can put up in the next three games?"
"I think it will be difficult for Lin to get a triple-double. His teammates' abilities have dropped drastically. Of the four players who are suspended, two are the core players of the team and two are the most important rotation players. Lin's assists will probably see a significant decline."
After thinking for a moment, Kenny said, "So I think Lin will score at least 50 points in one of the three games in December, and it's unlikely that he'll score less than 40 or even 45 points in the other two games! He can score at least 140 points or even more in these three games, that's about it."
Kenny's prediction was quite bold.
No normal person would dare to predict three matches at once!
But it was clear from Barkley's disdainful look that he looked down on Kenny's prediction.
That's too conservative!
That's so pathetic!
140 points in 3 games and you call that a prediction? You claim to have played basketball for 30 years, but it seems you've wasted your time on nothing!
"He'll score at least 70+ in one game, and his total score across the three games will definitely exceed 160, especially tonight! I think on the first night after the fight, Lin will absolutely deliver an unparalleled performance to prove he's strong enough! He'll give it his all and crush the Bobcats!"
"He's going to play the craziest game of his career! The craziest! Bar none! If you don't believe me, we'll wait and see!"
Barkley's words truly stirred the blood of many who supported Lin Tian and were looking forward to his performance.
The craziest, bar none!
What kind of performance will Lin deliver tonight?
Everyone who turned on their TV to watch the game was filled with anticipation!
"Beep beep!"
"Snapped!"
Then, just as the two commentators were analyzing what kind of performance Lin Tian could deliver tonight, the referee blew the whistle to start the game. The basketball was thrown into the air, and Okafor slapped it to the team's starting guard, Felton.
Felton easily dribbled to the frontcourt. Facing Lin Tian's defense, he didn't say anything, but called for Sean May to set a screen, then created distance and pulled up for a three-pointer!
A classic Billups shot!
If there's been any surprise for the Bobcats this season, it's undoubtedly Felton!
He is the player who has benefited the most from Brown's system. Brown almost treated him as a replacement for Billups, giving him considerable tactical and shooting autonomy.
Although Felton's shooting percentages this season are only 41% and 32%, which is quite poor by any measure, he is still able to contribute 17 points and 7 assists per game, which are still quite impressive basic statistics.
He is also the only player on the team who can play however he wants and fully unleash his potential.
After all, every team needs a few people who dare to step up and take charge!
After Felton hit a three-pointer off a screen, he clenched his fist excitedly. He had a good start to the game!
Tonight, I might get to fight Lin Tian!
However, Felton wasn't foolish enough to provoke after scoring a three-pointer.
He hasn't lived enough!
He knew very well that the best way to deal with Lin Tian was to quietly make a fortune in silence, regardless of his form or whether he scored or not. Keeping a low profile was the best way to protect himself!
After Felton made that shot, the Knicks' offense became quite fast. Okur immediately inbounded the ball from the baseline, and Lin Tian dribbled the ball up the court at lightning speed.
However, the Bobcats' defensive transition was quite impressive; all five players quickly returned to their defensive positions. Brown's impact on this team is undeniable; at the very least, everyone is quite obedient and willing to put in the effort. (End of Chapter)