hotmtlnovel Chapter 252: 11 brand new achievements in one night!
Chapter 252: 11 brand new achievements in one night!
Chapter 252: 11 brand new achievements overnight! A match that everyone looks up to!
In the blink of an eye, Lin Tian made another steal and provided another assist!
He has caught up with Kidd!
If he gets just one more assist, he will become the undisputed assist king of the season!
Lin Tian didn't keep the fans waiting too long!
Or rather, he made the fans wait for 5 seconds!
Hubble reached the baseline and passed the ball to Brent Barry.
Christie immediately rushed over and began an incredibly fierce full-court press on Barry!
Although Barry's father is a top star in the league, Barry himself is just a role player and shooter, and his ball-handling ability is really mediocre!
He was forced into a very awkward position by Christie, and could only turn around to protect the basketball, and then try to pass the ball to Hubble.
But as soon as the basketball left his hand, Barry knew it was all over, because Lin Tian was standing right in front of Hubble, completely blocking Hubble's path to receive the ball!
This pass was less a pass to Hubble and more a pass to Lin Tian!
Lin Tian made two steals in a row less than a minute into the third quarter!
Without hesitation, Lin Tian slammed the basketball hard on the floor, and it bounced up to a very high height!
Just by looking at this height, you can tell who's coming!
Vince Carter!
Carter, who had started charging towards them at some unknown time, arrived at just the right moment. He leaped high into the air, as if he were reaching for the moon, and caught the basketball with one hand in mid-air before slamming it into the hoop!
"boom!"
After a loud bang, Bird got up again and called a timeout!
Of course, the fans knew who Bird called that timeout for.
This pause was called on them!
Let them revel and celebrate!
"Lin! Lin! Lin! Lin!"
"MVP! MVP!"
"Number one in the league!"
"Invincible!"
The enthusiastic fans roared in cheers!
They once again poured all their energy and passion into Lin Tian!
This was Lin Tian's seventeenth assist!
He has officially surpassed Kidd to become the league's assist leader this season!
Just like when Lin Tian got a triple-double in the first half, he raised his hand and waved to the fans in all directions, indicating that he felt their passion!
"Just one steal away! Lin has tied Kendall Geer!" Barkley exclaimed excitedly. "Less than a minute into the third quarter, Lin has already made two steals! He's got nine steals! Nine!"
"Let me watch the Nets play... FUXX!"
Barkley suddenly swore.
Because Kiel, who only had one steal just now, now has three steals!
"Are those Milwaukee scumbags all idiots? They got stolen from twice in three minutes? Why don't they just die? A bunch of trash! Garbage! Trash! Idiots! Stupid..."
"Charles!" Kenny interrupted Barkley's swearing tirade with exasperation. Who knew how much he'd be fined if he kept going? "Lin still has 23 minutes left in the game! If he gets three more steals, he'll become the season's steals leader!"
Marcus sighed with some regret, saying, "Kier truly deserves to be called one of the league's best stealers. Within three minutes, he made consecutive steals from Cassell and Robinson, securing the team's victory and locking in the win!"
"He got 3 steals tonight! Although Lin already has 9 steals, which is already amazing, it's really difficult for him to become the steals leader this season! After all, steals are something that can't be forced."
Su Qun also sighed and said, "It's such a pity. No one could have predicted that Kiel would suddenly explode in the final moments of the game and make a series of steals. But maybe it would have been better if he hadn't been a little short! At least Lin is already the scoring champion this season, and his consecutive triple-doubles have set a record! This game is enough to satisfy the fans."
The Nets' game against the Bucks dampened many people's expectations for Lin Tian to win the steals title; they wanted to focus on watching Lin Tian's scoring performance.
Floyd was incredibly excited during that timeout!
"Well done! Well done! This is how the game should be played! Let them steal, let them score! Then make Lin roll off the court!" Floyd roared excitedly, as if they were now leading by 35 points: "Last possession! Keep letting Lin and the Pacers score! Keep it up!"
"Then, Lin will be leaving the ring. I can even call a timeout for him to get him off! Go! As long as we take Lin out, our mission for tonight will be accomplished!"
Well, I have to say, Freud's method of knocking people down was very creative!
The Bulls players also carried out Floyd's instructions very promptly and intelligently!
This time it was Kukoc who collided with Davis during his breakthrough. Then Lin Tian appeared out of nowhere, stole the ball, and sprinted towards the frontcourt!
Lin Tian then didn't even bother to dunk. There were just too many fast break 1-on-0 situations like this today, and Lin Tian was too lazy to show off. He ended the attack with a layup!
48: 85!
37 points!
Freud let out a satisfied roar! Finally here!
Over 35!
I'm not even going to limit myself to 35, I'm going to go over 35!
Lin Tian had nothing to say, so he had to go down and rest early!
Hehe, so what if I had 35 points, 17 assists, 13 rebounds, and 10 steals?
So what if he's the second player in NBA history to record a quadruple-double with steals?
You still can't beat me to win the scoring title, can you?
So what if I let you get 4 doubles in 2.5 quarters? I'll let you have your way! Just giving you a little treat!
40 point?
Stop dreaming!
Floyd's excitement at this moment is just like when he won four doubles!
I'm so happy! Just so happy!
"Here it comes! That was fast! A quadruple-double! Lin got a quadruple-double! A steals quadruple-double! The second steals quadruple-double in the league since Drexler! The second time in NBA history!" Barkley roared excitedly.
"I think even the Bulls wanted to celebrate with Lin. Their head coach called a timeout, which was just to let Lin receive the cheers and enjoy the applause from the audience, right?" Kenny was also a little curious about Floyd's choice. This rookie coach was actually so particular.
"Congratulations to Lin! A quadruple-double! He got a quadruple-double! And of course, it's the fastest quadruple-double in NBA history!" Marcus exclaimed happily. "Lin only played less than 26 minutes to achieve this incredible feat!"
"I think that in the future, someone might be able to get a triple-double in a shorter time, but no one will ever be able to get a quadruple-double in a shorter time! Lin's record will most likely be permanently shelved along with Chamberlain's 50 points per game, and no one will be able to touch it!"
Su Qun also cheered, "Another record belonging to the Chinese people! Let's see what happens in the next 20 minutes of the match!"
Floyd was equally happy: "Lin won't be playing anymore! He said he wouldn't play if the point difference reached or exceeded 35 points! His time is over! Now, let's relax and finish this game!"
On the Pacers' side, Bird looked at Lin Tian with a half-smile and said, "So, want to keep playing? Or just take a break?"
"Go for it! Why don't you go for it?" Lin Tian glanced at Bird and said, "You've already got four doubles. This kind of opportunity might not come twice in your life, so why don't you go for it?"
"Didn't you say before the match..." Honest Ben looked at Lin Tian, wanting to remind his boss of what he had said before the match.
"I forgot to check the score, and none of you reminded me."
Lin Tian shrugged and said, "So I played for another 3 minutes, is that not allowed?"
"But we reminded you, Lin, the current point difference is..." Before Ben could finish speaking, Mullin grabbed his neck and covered his mouth with a hand, saying, "We said no one reminded us, so no one reminded us! Larry, let's plan the tactics!"
Mullin's words drew laughter from the Pacers' bench. As for tactics?
At this point, what tactics can we possibly devise?
Just let Lin Tian score as many points and make as many steals as possible, that's all!
So, the timeout ended, and the Pacers' starting five returned to the court.
Floyd, who had just been smug, was stunned when he glanced at the Pacers' lineup on the court.
Then he immediately started cursing!
"Fuck! He broke his promise! Lin, that damn bastard! He broke his promise! Didn't he say he wasn't going to play anymore? Why is he still on the court? Why is he still on the court? This isn't fair! Damn it, this isn't fair! You three idiot referees, are you just going to watch this bastard play on the court and do nothing about it?"
The referee closest to Floyd turned his head and glanced at him, then gave him an expression that seemed to show pity for someone with intellectual disabilities.
Then he shook his head and didn't give Floyd a T.
The Bulls are already in a bad situation; let's not make things worse for them.
Our referee team is humane too, you know!
"Don't pretend you didn't see me! You stupid idiot!" Unfortunately, Floyd was already out of control, blinded by rage and somewhat dazed: "I'm going to complain about you bunch of idiots! You bunch of stupid fools who only know about those damn ratings! You'll ruin the league! You'll ruin the game!"
"A bunch of damn sons of bitches!"
"Technical foul! Ejection!" At this point, the linesman really couldn't take it anymore.
How can someone be so ungrateful?
That last bit of sympathy for the bull vanished.
He turned around and gave Floyd a T, then walked to the scorer's table without even looking at him.
The good news is that this is Floyd's second T, meaning he can leave early and not have to suffer on the scene anymore.
Floyd originally wanted to say a few more things.
But two assistant coaches grabbed him and dragged him into the players' tunnel.
Just kidding, right now it's just expulsion.
If they don't tow it away soon, they'll face a fine and a suspension!
No need, really no need!
Lin Tian then stepped to the free-throw line, ready to take the free throw!
"I think I finally know who wanted Lin to break the record the most tonight!" Barkley laughed loudly. "Floyd! It was definitely him! That guy didn't target Lin tactically at all, didn't make any special tactical adjustments, and just let Lin do whatever he wanted."
"Then, he deliberately drew two technical fouls, giving Lin the crucial two points! I'm really looking forward to seeing Lin score 40 points tonight and thank Floyd for those two points after the game! I know Lin, he'll definitely say that!"
In the next game, Lin Tian played for about 3 more minutes, and then Bird called another timeout for him. This time, it was a long timeout!
Bird allowed Lin Tian to fully enjoy the cheers and shouts of the fans on the court, giving him ample time to take his bow and greet all the fans.
This long pause is the last one tonight, allowing Lin Tian to greet the audience!
By this time, Lin Tian had completed all the main and side quests for the night!
He did everything he could tonight!
When Lin Tian entered the game, the score difference between the two sides was 43 points!
而林天的数据，则定格在了40分17次助攻15次篮板12次抢断和1次盖帽！
A statistic that is absolutely worthy of being recorded in history and worshipped by countless people as a miracle time and time again!
An incredibly impressive dataset, completed in less than 30 minutes!
A statistic that completely crushed the opposing team and conquered the entire league!
That night, Lin Tian accomplished a total of 11 achievements, both large and small.
He won the scoring title, the assist title, and the steals title, becoming the first player in NBA history to monopolize all three individual titles in the same year. He is also only the second player in NBA history to win both the scoring and assist titles! He recorded 10 consecutive triple-doubles, the fastest time among all players to achieve this feat!
以及破了NBA历史记录的12次抢断，和NBA历史第二个抢断4双，还有NBA历史用时最短的4双，也是nba历史上第一个40+15+15的四双！
After this game, Lin Tian's MVP award for this season is a foregone conclusion!
Absolutely a done deal!
Barkley commented after Lin's game: "If Lin doesn't win MVP this year, there's only one reason: the people who voted for MVP are racist!"
"No one can take this MVP from Lin this year! No one can! I'm telling you!"
That night, Lin Tian truly did everything he set out to do!
As for the score of this match?
Who cares? Who cares if the Bulls lose by 40 or 50 points!
They've already lost a whole season!
As for Lin Tian's pre-game comments about leaving the game after 35 minutes?
Some people care, but such people are extremely rare. After all, Lin Tian only played for less than 30 minutes in total, and his efficiency was already terrifying!
Not to mention that he has accomplished so much, it would be perfectly normal for him to play for a few more minutes!
After all, as Lin Tian said: tonight's opportunity and condition, this kind of opportunity where the timing, location, and people are all in place, who knows if there will be another one like this in this lifetime!
Now that we have this opportunity, we must seize it!
As for those boasts and promises before the match, Lin Tian has a thick skin and doesn't care what others say at all!
The celebrations for the game began as soon as Lin Tian entered the arena, with cheers erupting throughout the city square. Fans even sang some really bad self-composed songs to cheer him on.
It seems to be called something like "The Song of the Forest".
"Lin, Lin, Lin, wow, he's amazing! Our Lin is so awesome!"
"Oh my, our Lin is better than anyone else! Our Lin is the strongest!"
"Alright, Lin beats Jordan and kicks Shaq, he's number one!"
That's about it. Anyway, Lin Tian felt that... this thing couldn't be called a song, it was far inferior to the Yao Song that the Houstonians would sing for Yao Ming in the future.
The fans were singing and the players were celebrating and playing around, while the commentators from various TV stations were still emphasizing how many achievements Lin had made and how many records he had broken in this game!
Crazy!
The entire basketball world is going crazy for Lin Tian!
His performance tonight was truly unbelievable.
How can anyone produce such a crazy output and deliver such an explosive performance in such a short period of time?
The post-game press conference, the next day's newspapers, rumors circulating, league and television executives—everyone was talking about this game!
3900 million!
The game ultimately failed to reach 40 million viewers, failing to break the record set by last year's Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, but it did break the NBA record for the highest viewership for a single regular season game!
We were just one step away from reaching 4000 million!
In particular, the disparity in strength between the two sides in this game was so great that the Bulls' resistance was nonexistent from the very first second! They were beaten from start to finish by the Pacers, or rather, by Lin Tian alone!
Although the Bulls only lost by about 30 points in the end, the game was no different from an NBA team beating up a high school student! They were completely crushed!
But that's not important. What's important is that both the alliance and the TV station's top management have discovered Lin Tian's terrifying appeal!
Of the 3900 million people in this competition, at least 3850 million came to see Lin Tian!
It's terrifying that one person can generate this much buzz during the regular season!
Then, Stern and the league held an emergency meeting overnight, and the Pacers and Knicks had to meet in the Eastern Conference Finals!
These two teams could probably deliver another show, or even a ratings frenzy of 4000 million viewers!
Even after the meeting, Stern called Bird again to ask when Miller would be able to return to the court.
Well, Bird told him: Let's go to the Finals.
Stern was so angry that he hung up the phone immediately. He couldn't be bothered to argue with Bird anymore. Stern didn't believe that Bird would prevent Miller from playing just to make him unhappy!
In short, Lin Tian's game really excited the entire basketball world for several days. Everyone was talking about Lin Tian, what kind of statistics he could achieve if he played the whole game, and countless people were predicting whether Lin Tian could win the first unanimous MVP in NBA history this year!
Then, three days passed in the blink of an eye, and only then did all the fans realize something.
There have been no NBA games for three whole days!
Then they remembered something else—
It turns out that this game was the final game of the NBA regular season!
After a three-day break, the playoffs began. Only then did many fans remember to check the specific standings of the East and West conferences, and TNT and NBC realized they couldn't just keep talking about Lin Tian! They also needed to do some playoff previews!
So, on the afternoon of the day the NBA playoffs began, major TV stations suddenly started a series of playoff preview programs, and fans began to study the matchups and rankings, predicting who would make it to the NBA Finals and win the championship!
Las Vegas, which never misses an opportunity like this, released the first set of odds for the overall champion at this time!
With Lin Tian's strong performance and two regular-season victories against the Knicks and Spurs, the top teams in the East and West respectively, the Pacers have become the team with the best odds to win the championship!
The Knicks and Spurs followed in second and third place, the Lakers and Heat in fourth and fifth place respectively, the Trail Blazers in sixth, the Magic in seventh, and the Jazz, Pistons and Rockets in eighth, ninth and tenth.
Based on this prediction, the distribution of top teams in the East and West this year is quite even! Both sides have five teams in the top 10. Although the Pacers and Knicks occupy the top two spots, the overall gap is not that big.
The specific rankings for the East and West are as follows.
east:
1. The New York Knicks have a record of 38 wins and 12 losses.
2. Indiana Pacers 37 wins, 13 losses
3. Miami Heat 36 wins, 14 losses
4. Orlando Magic: 36 wins, 14 losses
5. Atlanta Hawks 31 wins, 19 losses
6. Detroit Pistons: 29 wins, 21 losses
7. Philadelphia 76ers: 28 wins, 22 losses
8. Milwaukee Bucks: 28 wins, 22 losses
This ranking is not much different from the one Lin Tian remembers. Even the eight playoff teams have not changed; only the rankings have changed! For example, the Knicks, who were originally eighth and completed the upset, went directly to first place in the East after acquiring Jordan!
According to this matchup, the Pacers will face the Philadelphia team led by Iverson in the first round. If they can advance, they will face the winner between the Heat and the Pistons in the second round.
They'll most likely face the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals!
For the Pacers right now, their biggest uncertainty is when Miller will return!
If Miller can return in the second round and regain his form in 2-3 games, and play at 100% in the Eastern Conference Finals, then the Pacers will be fearless. But if Miller can't regain his form or his recovery is not as expected, then it depends on how long Lin Tian's top form can be maintained!
In short: The Pacers have now become a one-man team with Lin Tian as their core player. Apart from him, the rest of the team is either too old or too young, making it hard to believe that they can put on any amazing performance in the playoffs.
The good news is that at least the 76ers in the first round were also a team with only one star player. And compared to a single star player?
Hehe, in today's league, is there any single core player stronger than Lin Tian?
In pre-game predictions, over 98% of fans believed the Pacers would easily advance to the Eastern Conference second round!
This number ranks first among all matches!
It was even more one-sided than the Knicks vs. Bucks series!
There's no way around it, that's just attribute advantage! We're both single-core teams, but my core player is bigger and tougher than yours, and my role players are stronger too. I completely overwhelm you in every way, and that's the result!
The least favored team in the top four in the East is undoubtedly the fourth-placed Orlando Magic. This season, they brought in Chuck Daly, the helmsman of the "Bad Boys" era. Under the skillful hands of this renowned coach, even though Hardaway has been sidelined by a series of injuries and is no longer at his peak, the Magic have still managed to come back to life.
They were in the top group in the East for most of the regular season, and even on the last day, they had a chance to make a comeback and move up to second place in the East!
However, while they can perform well in the regular season thanks to teamwork, the playoffs are the stage to test the true quality and ability of individual stars! Teamwork is important, but it's not the most important thing!
Two years ago, Penny Hardaway of the Orlando Magic could be considered one of the league's top superstars, but now Hardaway is clearly no longer the star he once was, and 55% of fans believe they will be eliminated in the first round.
As for the Knicks and Heat, they both received overwhelming votes, with 91% and 88% of fans respectively believing that these two teams could easily advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals!
west:
1. San Antonio Spurs: 37 wins, 13 losses
2. Portland Trail Blazers 35 wins, 15 losses
3. Los Angeles Lakers: 33 wins, 17 losses
4. Houston Rockets: 31 wins, 19 losses
5. Utah Jazz 30 wins, 20 losses
6. Phoenix Suns: 28 wins, 22 losses
7. Seattle SuperSonics 26 wins, 24 losses
8. Minnesota Timberwolves: 25 wins, 25 losses
Compared to the East, which wasn't much different from what Lin Tian remembered, and didn't produce any major butterfly effect, the butterfly effect in the West was so strong that even the butterfly's wings could generate sparks!
First up is the Jazz. Due to Stockton's injury, Sloan's disheartened state, and Malone's mediocre performance, the team, which had been the dominant force in the West for the past few years, failed to even make it into the top half of the Western Conference and could only rank fifth!
Many people say that the era of the Jazz ended before it even began! Their loss last year was just too devastating!
Then there's the Sacramento Kings. Originally, the Kings were supposed to get Chris Webber, their core player for the next five years, this season, but because of Lin Tian's arrival, Webber didn't come to Sacramento, but went to Cleveland instead.
This has resulted in the Kings' record remaining stagnant this season. Not only have they failed to make the playoffs, but they will likely continue to perform poorly until the right person comes along!
Next up is the Timberwolves, who originally failed to make the playoffs, but because of the Kings' declining record, they successfully replaced the Kings and made it to the playoffs at the last minute!
It's also worth mentioning that because they acquired Jordan, the Knicks didn't get Sprewell, but his past record of assaulting a coach significantly reduced his trade value.
Finally, the Timberwolves made a move and acquired this former All-NBA First Team guard for almost nothing!
However, half a season is clearly not enough time for them to gel. Sprewell and Garnett have not yet developed a good chemistry, and they still need a true point guard to help them rise to prominence!
In addition, although the Rockets did not form a Big Three, the combination of Pippen and Olajuwon seemed to be thriving. Both of them recovered their health this year and performed well. Despite the decline of role players, they still led the team to the top half of the Western Conference!
Furthermore, they will also face their old rivals, the Jazz, in the first round, setting up an early showdown!
In the past few years, this would have been a regional finals-level competition, but this year it has already taken place in the first round, which is quite remarkable.
If we add the SuperSonics, whose record plummeted to seventh place due to Vin Baker's self-destructive behavior, then all the teams that represented the West in the Finals over the past five years have lost their former glory.
The era when these teams dominated the West is truly over. The West now belongs to the emerging forces!
As for the other matchups, Duncan and Garnett, the greatest number 21 rivals, will face off in the first round of the Western Conference, kicking off their decade-long battle for the title of best power forward.
The emerging Portland Trail Blazers have quietly completed their rebuild. They have assembled a large group of exceptionally talented players and, with their aggressive and tough style and the structure of numerous gang members within the team, have become the most feared gang in the entire Western Conference.
The most notorious feature of this team is that half of the players have some kind of criminal record!
Speeding, hiding drugs, carrying firearms, fighting, animal abuse, arguing with fans, and drunk driving.
In comparison, Rasheed Wallace only liked to trash talk with the referees and then get a few technical fouls. Compared to his teammates, he was practically a good boy!
The name "Portland Prison" has been used without people even realizing it.
This title directly expresses the fans' expectations for this team: everyone on this team should go to jail!
As for the Lakers, although they are currently only ranked third and are still using an interim head coach, the relationship between owner's daughter Jeanie Buss and former Bulls head coach Phil Jackson has long been exposed! The two are currently very much in love and have even come to the Atlantic City Arena to watch games together several times!
Even Phil Jackson, who initially repeatedly stated that he had no intention of taking up coaching again in the near future and wanted to enjoy life, finally relented in a recent interview.
"The Lakers are one of the two teams with the richest history in the NBA. Joining them and becoming a part of them is every player's and coach's dream. Who could refuse Los Angeles and the Lakers?"
"Especially with such exceptional talent on their team, with geniuses at every position! I believe they can become a super team no less capable than the Bulls!"
Jackson's statement was interpreted by many as a signal that he would take over the Lakers next season, which excited fans all over Los Angeles!
What, Kurt Rambis? Can he even compare to a hair on Jackson's foot? This is the man who won 5 championships and led Jordan and Pippen to the top!
He will definitely be able to lead O'Neal and his little brother Kobe to the top!
The excitement of the Los Angeles fans even made them forget that their team still had to play in the playoffs!
They even had a strong desire for the team to be eliminated in the first round!
They were worried that if the team made it to the Western Conference Finals or even the NBA Finals, what would happen if Bass felt embarrassed to make a substitution?
What should we do if we just let Lambis continue to lead the team?
We Los Angeles people really look down on Lambis!
We need the best players, and of course, the best head coach too!
Los Angeles fans went so far as to chant "Give us Phil! Give us Phil!" during their final two home games of the regular season.
They couldn't wait!
Meanwhile, countless people believe that the West will officially enter the Warring States period in the next few years!
The Lakers, Spurs, and Trail Blazers are about to engage in an incredibly exciting head-to-head battle!
As for who will ultimately win more championships and who will be more successful?
Then nobody knows, we can only leave everything to fate!
Of course, with the teams that have secured their spots in the Round of 16 in the East and West, those lousy teams in the lottery are equally excited!
They can wait for the lottery, wait to get the top scorer's pick!
In this shortened season, two teams were particularly ridiculous, failing to win 10 games!
They are the Los Angeles Clippers, who won 9 games, and the Vancouver Grizzlies, who won 8 games!
The third-to-last place goes to the Chicago Bulls, the league's dominant force for the past few years, with 13 wins!
Next up are the Denver Nuggets, who made great strides with 14 wins; the New Jersey Nets, who won 16 wins; the Washington Wizards, who won 18 wins; and the Dallas Mavericks, who won 19 wins!
These teams will be engaged in a crucial battle that will determine their future in about a month!
Lotto draw!
99 was widely recognized as a banner year for talent shows!
Some even believe this is a draft year that rivals the 84 Diamond Generation!
Elton Brand from Duke is known for his incredibly mature skills, and many believe he can average 20+10 as soon as he enters the league!
There are also the dazzling playing style, explosive athleticism, and the hope for the future of the league's powerful point guard position, as well as their lifelong rivals: Steve Francis and Baron Davis!
There's also the super genius known as the "Left-Handed Magician," Lamar Odom!
Three top sharpshooters: Wally Szczerbiak, Mike Miller, and Richard Hamilton!
Jason Terry, Corey Maggette, and Jonathan Bender are considered to be elite scorers capable of averaging over 20 points per game.
Of course, there are also traditional guards like Andre Miller, the springy Shawn Marion, and top-tier 3D player James Posey, among other formidable players.
Well, for Lin Tian, he may also welcome his compatriot this year, another Asian on the NBA court: Zhi Da!
Of course, if you ask Lin Tian who he still favors this year, he will tell you: Andrei Kirilenko from Russia and Manu Ginobili from Argentina!
In short, this year's talent show can definitely be called a big year, both in terms of the pre-selection hype and the success rate after the selection!
From the top three to the Lotto, to the middle and late stages of the first round, and even into the second round, there have been many outstanding players!
This is definitely a draft extravaganza that will make the management of every team extremely happy!
As for this year's draft, it has little to do with the Pacers. They only have their own 28th overall pick in the first round, which is the second to last pick in the first round. Of course, they also have the Raptors' two first-round picks from next year and three years later, namely 2000 and 2002.
Unfortunately, when Bird was negotiating the trade, he didn't try to extort a first-round pick from the Raptors in 03. Otherwise, given the Raptors' record and team-building ability, even if they couldn't get LeBron James in 03, getting Wade or Anthony would have been a piece of cake.
In addition to their own first-round draft pick, the Pacers also have their own second-round pick (57th overall) and a second-round pick acquired from the Raptors last year in order to free up salary cap space. This second-round pick is the 8th overall pick and the 37th overall pick.
Well... to put it simply, the Pacers are unlikely to make much of a splash in this year's draft and are unlikely to select any outstanding players.
However, that's not something Bird and Lin Tian need to worry about right now!
The Pacers only have one thing to consider right now!
That's the first round of the playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers!
As a former powerhouse in the Eastern Conference, the 76ers have a fairly glorious history! They won the NBA championship twice, in the 1967 and 1983 seasons, making them one of the earliest teams in NBA history to achieve this feat.
They once boasted MVP-caliber superstars such as Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Moses Malone, and Charles Barkley, as well as formidable players like Maurice Cheeks, Dolph Schayes, and Hall Greer.
However, since Charles Barkley fell out with the Philadelphia media in the 1990-91 season, and the media, who were jealous of Philadelphia, preferred to vote for Ewing rather than for him, and went to Phoenix, the 76ers have not made the playoffs for seven seasons!
Over the course of seven years, they drafted one high draft pick after another, and the players changed batch after batch, but none of them could lead the team to the playoffs!
Until the 1996 NBA Draft, the 76ers surprised everyone by passing up two top picks, Rasheed Wallace and Marcus Camby, and instead selected a 183cm tall but energetic and competitive little guy: Allen Iverson!
From then on, their path to revival finally got on the right track!
After two years of honing his skills, this year, Iverson averaged 26.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 2.3 steals per game, ranking third in scoring and finally leading his team into the playoffs!
From this moment forward, the name "The Answer" will resound throughout the league, and the Son of Philadelphia will officially lead the Philadelphia elites on the road to revival!
This season, Iverson and renowned coach Larry Brown have developed an increasingly harmonious relationship, currently enjoying a golden honeymoon period.
In addition, with Allen Iverson as the absolute core, the team equipped him with a tough blue-collar center Matt Geiger, shot-blocking machine Theo Ratliff, and a strong guard Eric Snow. The team's lottery pick in 98, Larry Hughes, was also quite capable.
With players like George Lynch, Troy Hill, and Aaron McGee, who are all quite capable, this 76ers team offers Philadelphia fans a lot of hope.
Of course, 99% of this hope comes from their love for Iverson!
Phillies, and even football fans around the world, are filled with curiosity about this arrogant, flamboyant, fearless, and exceptionally talented little guy!
They hate Iverson, but almost everyone also longs to be Iverson!
(End of this chapter)