hotmtlnovel Chapter 568 Remembering those old Indiana silver coins!
Chapter 568 Remembering those old Indiana silver coins!
"Can they give me money or some kind of benefit?" At the press conference after the game, Lin Tian, who scored a triple-double in just 28 minutes and won a big victory, was naturally quite relaxed. When he heard the two people's bet about his season statistics, his response was also quite casual.
"As long as the benefits are right, I'll do any position!"
"So you mean, Yao Lin, you can average a triple-double anytime you want?"
"It's not always possible," Lin Tian shrugged. "But they can give it a try."
"So what kind of price do you think would be appropriate?" another reporter asked.
"It definitely can't be those two guys' asses. I'm not interested at all. What kind of person would make a bet like that? It's so boring." Lin Tian waved his hand and said, "Oh, I forgot, Michael and I made a bet."
"Haha, that was a really fun night! Do you guys remember? The bet I made with Michael before the MVP was announced? The whole Bulls team was there."
"And there's my old buddy Will Marcus! He's here too, right? Speaking of him, I haven't seen him in ages. Where's he working these days?"
Because of the Knicks' big win and Barkley's bet, the atmosphere during the interview that night was quite relaxed and comfortable. The reporter asked questions casually, and Lin Tian's answers were also quite relaxed.
It wasn't until the press conference was almost over that a reporter finally remembered that this was a press conference after a regular season game, and they had to ask something related to the game!
So, as the interview was winding down, a reporter finally raised a rather serious question.
"After the big win against the Pistons, what are your goals for this year, Lin? What kind of season do you expect to have this year?"
"An unprecedented season! A season that will shock the entire New York, the entire league, and even the entire world!"
"A season we're absolutely certain will win the championship!"
With Lin Tian once again declaring his intention to win the championship, the Knicks' regular season journey has officially begun!
After defeating the Pistons, they did not return to New York, but instead played a five-game road trip!
As for their opponents, they are the Bulls, Cavaliers, Pacers, and Bucks, all from the same Central Division as the Pistons.
In terms of strength, the Cavaliers and Bulls can barely be considered strong teams, as they both made the playoffs last season but were eliminated in the first round. The Pacers and Bucks, on the other hand, are lottery teams with mediocre strength.
So, although the Knicks started the season with a five-game road trip, their actual schedule wasn't that difficult. Moreover, the Knicks easily won the toughest game, the first game, against the Pistons on the road. What difference could there be between the remaining games?
In his second game against the Bulls, Lin Tian, who returned to the United Center, was once again greeted with overwhelming cheers. He also had a few minutes of back-and-forth with Gordon, the Bulls' new core player.
Ben Gordon, who won the Sixth Man of the Year award as a rookie last year, has always been known for his scoring ability, his skill in scoring, and his astonishing scoring explosiveness.
He played quite well for the Bulls last season.
Having been promoted to the starting lineup this season, he went 4-for-4 at the start of tonight's game, scoring 11 points in a row with three-pointers and free throws!
His madness also allowed the Bulls to go toe-to-toe with the Knicks in the early stages of the game tonight, resulting in a complete stalemate.
But the Knicks responded even more swiftly. Lin Tian made five consecutive shots in less than three minutes! And all of them hit Gordon's head. At the same time, Lin Tian's full-court press made it difficult for Gordon to organize and advance the ball.
This guy, who started as a shooting guard, had mediocre ball-handling skills. Facing Lin Tian's close defense, he not only failed to organize an effective attack, but was also dispossessed by Lin Tian face-to-face, allowing Lin Tian to drive to the basket and complete a dunk.
The intense matchup between the two players and the excitement of the United Center fans came to an end.
第一节比赛打完，戈登7投4中拿到11分2次失误，第二节打完戈登10投4中拿到11分3次失误，第三节比赛打完，戈登16投5中拿到15分5次失误。
Section 4...
In the fourth quarter, neither Lin Tian nor Gordon played again.
The score is now 101-73.
With a lead of nearly 30 points, the Knicks decisively pulled their starters, effectively ending any suspense in the game.
The Knicks have won two consecutive games by a large margin!
As for Lin Tian, he played for no more than 30 minutes in the second consecutive game and once again scored a triple-double.
28 points, 12 rebounds, and 14 assists!
But Lin Tian's madness won't end there!
His madness has only just begun!
After a day of rest, the Knicks traveled to Cleveland and encountered the Cavaliers, who were looking for revenge and had upgraded their roster in the summer.
This season, the Cavaliers, with two excellent combo guards, Wade and Hughes, are full of fighting spirit. They are determined to break through the first round and show everyone their strength.
At the start of the game, Hughes was the first to challenge the team. He was a dominant force in the regular season last year, but his performance in the playoffs was terrible. In fact, he had already proven in the playoffs last season that he couldn't handle any tough battles.
But that was only on the offensive end. On the defensive end, even in the playoffs last season, he did a pretty good job limiting Billups. Now, he wants to see if he can limit Lin Tian!
Of course not!
At the start, Lin Tian easily broke through Hughes' defense three times in a row. Hughes' famous stealing speed was a joke in the face of Lin Tian's speed and dribbling. Not only was he completely unable to interfere with Lin Tian's dribbling, but he was also fooled by Lin Tian's fake move once. When he made a rash move, Lin Tian seized the opportunity and pulled him up directly.
This resulted in a foul by Hughes!
On the offensive end, even though the Knicks' defense was terrible, Hughes found himself completely unable to break through Lin Tian, who was the first or only line of defense!
He tried several times but failed to break through Lin Tian's defense. He either forced a shot that missed or was forced to stop the ball and then awkwardly passed it out.
In other words, he has more experience than Gordon did the previous two days, and his dribbling is more stable, which is why he didn't get the ball stolen directly.
And everyone knows that when you face the Knicks, if Lin Tian explodes again, you're likely to lose!
Less than five minutes into the game, the score was 15-5, with the Knicks leading by 10 points.
"I'll do it!"
At this point, Wade once again took on the responsibility of leadership, regardless of how he expressed during the offseason that Hughes was a senior player and that he should be the leader, or that Hughes was stronger than him and that he was the core of the team, and so on, to make humble statements.
But at this moment, when the team needs him, he will definitely step up!
Wade has high emotional intelligence; he knows how to say the right things, but he also never shirks responsibility when it comes to taking on it!
"Not bad, that's interesting." Lin Tian couldn't help but praise Wade, who was clearly playing a much stronger defense, faster, and with better lateral movement than Hughes. "You must have practiced a lot this summer."
"I've barely rested." Wade focused intently, lowering his center of gravity and using his lateral quickness and long wingspan to slow down Lin Tian's dribbling. "Losing to you guys last season felt awful! I hate that version of myself."
"I will defeat you!"
"I told you, the future belongs to you." Facing Wade's pressure, Lin Tian easily turned and created distance. "But now, it belongs to me!"
After saying that, he suddenly accelerated, driving into the three-point line in one step. Then, he used his shoulder to push Wade, who was trying to catch up, aside, and accelerated again, rushing to the basket in the blink of an eye.
Big Z had to take half a step forward to interfere with Lin Tian, since everyone knew that his throwing technique was now superb.
Lin Tian ignored Big Z's tall stature and super long arms. The basketball still flew high and jumped over Big Z's fingertips. Then, Big Z heard a loud bang behind him.
Stoudemire arrived in a flash, and while still in mid-air, he slammed the ball into the basket with one hand!
Following the Cavaliers' offense, after Wade switched onto Lin Tian, Lin Tian did not disappoint the fans, switching onto Wade as well.
"Come on, let's see what you've been training this summer. If you're not improving fast enough, your time will end before it even begins."
Faced with Lin Tian's provocation, Wade did not speak, but quickly dribbled to the frontcourt. Then he called for a screen again, and with the help of Zydrunas Ilgauskas's screen, he rushed into the paint.
His footwork during breakthroughs was still very large, but compared to last season's playoffs, Lin Tian could clearly feel the guy's improvement.
With little change in speed, Wade lowered his center of gravity and became more aggressive in his physical confrontations.
More importantly, as he approached the basket, Wade suddenly changed his rhythm. He first took a big step forward with his left foot, then suddenly gathered the ball with a high touch, pulling it through the air to his right. After that, he took a big step to the right with his right leg before suddenly jumping.
Even Lin Tian was stunned for a moment when faced with Wade's "mystery step" that would later become his signature move, and failed to keep up immediately.
"Whoosh!"
After a crisp sound, Wade made a layup with his right hand.
"How is it?" Wade looked at Lin Tian with an excited expression, which made Lin Tian feel helpless.
He'd much rather Wade shout out, "Old man, do you recognize the Flash from Cleveland?"
That way, Lin Tian could pin him to the ground and beat him up.
But the look on his face, as if he was waiting for Lin Tian to pat him on the head and praise him, made Lin Tian feel a little helpless.
You can't hit someone who's smiling at you, can you?
"That's interesting," Lin Tian said as he dribbled the ball toward the frontcourt.
At the same time, he was already thinking about how to respond.
The younger guys are all bringing out their best skills to challenge me, so it would be too boring if I just casually shoot a basket or something, right?
Of course not!
"Whoosh!"
With a crisp sound, Lin Tian dribbled to the frontcourt, performed two crossover dribbles and a fake attack step, and then pulled up for a jump shot, scoring the point.
"Shooting is the most effective weapon on this court! If your shooting isn't accurate or consistent enough, you'll always have weaknesses! And weaknesses will be exploited!"
Lin Tian, with the air of a grandmaster, held his chin high as he instructed Wade.
You've reached this age!
It feels great to mentor younger colleagues.
"As long as I break through hard enough, that's fine!" Unfortunately, the usually humble Wade did not heed Lin Tian's advice this time. Instead, he once again broke through using a screen after coming to the frontcourt. After pushing past Lin Tian to the inside, Wade took a big step with his left foot, then suddenly gathered the ball and made a quick turn.
Finally, he used his left elbow to push Lin Tian aside, and then shot the ball again with his right hand, making a smooth and effortless layup.
"Whoosh!"
After a crisp crack, Wade scored another 2 points.
"You see, even though you know I'm going to break through, you still can't stop me."
They're getting excited!
After Wade made two consecutive baskets, his confidence was off the charts, and he began to actively provoke Lin Tian.
"So what?" Lin Tian's response was almost exactly the same as the previous one.
A series of crossover dribbles, an easy attack step, followed by another pull-up jumper.
"Whoosh!"
"I can play like this all night without even breaking a sweat, what about you?" Lin Tian chewed his gum casually, looking at Wade and waiting for his further response.
"Me too!" Wade called for a screen again as he spoke, wanting to score again with the screen, but Lin Tian gave him a break this time.
He retreated directly to the vicinity of the free-throw line, giving Wade two steps of space to shoot. This was also the method Lin Tian used to easily lock down Wade in last year's playoffs.
This time, Wade suddenly grinned, then pulled up for a three-pointer and made the shot!
"You fooled me, Lin!" Wade grinned widely, excitedly saying, "I've been practicing my three-point shot a lot this summer too!"
"Although I'm not as accurate as you, and I'm not very good at pull-up jumpers, if you just let me shoot spot-up threes like this, hehe, I'll definitely make you pay the price."
"Are you a Saint Seiya?" Lin Tian received the baseline ball again, but instead of rushing to advance, he chatted with Wade while dribbling the ball easily. It felt great to play with his fans.
What are Saint Seiya?
"You've never had a childhood," Lin Tian shook his head and said, "You actually told your opponent all your moves and weaknesses."
"Let me tell you, I'm not afraid!"
Faced with Wade's confidence, Lin Tian returned to the same spot for the third time, performing two consecutive crossovers and then an attack step, as if he was about to pull up for the third time. This time, Wade finally charged forward!
He spread his arms to try to block Lin Tian's shot, but Lin Tian suddenly ducked and rushed into the paint in the blink of an eye. Then, he glanced at the situation on the court near the basket and suddenly jumped up to make a floater for two points!
"Why aren't you guys moving?" Lin Tian had clearly been looking for his teammates, but unfortunately, after looking around, he found them all standing still. "Are you here to watch the show?"
"I saw you and Devin were going one-on-one, and I felt it would be very impolite for me to make a move," Anthony, a street-smart player, scratched his head sheepishly. "At the very least, we'll wait until you call out the tactics before we move."
Lin Tian rolled his eyes and said, "Don't tell anyone you're with me when we go out."
"What you're saying makes me feel like we've wasted the past year working together. When have I ever talked about martial ethics?"
"Even if I'm playing one-on-one with Devin, you guys can make runs anytime. When I'm defending him, you can come up and double-team him anytime. Ideally, it should be a sneaky, stealthy double-team that no one will notice, and that can immediately steal the ball or force him to make a mistake."
"Anyway, Devin's passing isn't good enough. If we mark him twice, he'll at least make two mistakes!"
"But if you're fighting one-on-one, won't you lose face if we flank you?" Xiao Si said embarrassedly, "It'll be like you're surrendering."
"childish!"
Lin Tian was at a loss for words when it came to criticizing these two childish guys.
This was the first time in over a year since Lin Tian came to the Knicks that he missed the old guys from Indiana.
Those old silver coins really know themselves too well.
When Lin Tian said he wanted to create an isolated island, they knew they should come to cover him.
Lin Tian said to calm down, and they knew they should attack the rebounds. Lin Tian was definitely going to go it alone.
Lin Tian said, "Everyone, spread out for me. Watch me lock down this bastard on the other side all by myself. Then, the next second, someone will come forward to help with a double team."
The main theme is teamwork! The main theme is that everyone is shameless and has no bottom line!
That's what true joyful basketball is all about!
Unlike these two straightforward young guys in front of me...
Sigh... I'll teach him slowly!
Wade, on the other side, has dribbled the ball up the court once again.
He dribbled the ball while looking at Lin Tian, his face full of eagerness. Then Wade followed suit, not feeling embarrassed at all about using the same move repeatedly. He called for a pick and roll again.
This time, however, Lin Tian wouldn't let him win so easily.
Are you kidding me? Don't I have any pride?
It's embarrassing to let you keep using the same tricks!
Before Big Z could get into position, Lin Tian had already stepped forward to block Wade's path to the basket.
Wade, however, remained calm and composed. He made a sharp change of direction and used his signature low-altitude dribble to accelerate, trying to shake off Lin Tian!
Unfortunately, he encountered Lin Tian, who was defending with all his might. Lin Tian completely blocked his steps, and he was not fast enough to squeeze to the inside.
Then, under Lin Tian's strong pressure, Wade's unsteady dribbling skills were exposed, and Lin Tian seized the opportunity to steal the ball from Wade. Then, Lin Tian accelerated and grabbed the out-of-control basketball.
"Quick attack!"
For the first time tonight, Lin Tian shouted out the slogan that the Knicks would strike fear into the hearts of the entire league in the games to come. (End of Chapter)