pertwk Chapter 10 The Divine Move!
Chapter 10 The Divine Move!
"What an amazing first half! Lin! He scored an incredible 15 points in the first half with a 100% field goal percentage!" Chick Hearn's magnetic voice rang out. He is the true soul of the Lakers, having played for the team since their first game in Los Angeles, and is the most famous sideline commentator in the entire NBA.
"Six out of six, three out of three! An impressive debut. If Lin can maintain this level of performance, I think the people of Dallas will be crying all night. James Worthy's debut game when he joined the Lakers was far less exciting."
"Of course, this is just a preseason game against the Clippers. It remains to be seen what changes and help Lin can bring to this team, but there's no denying that Lin's performance tonight deserves a perfect score!"
At the end of the first half, Lin Ze became the team's second-highest scorer, second only to O'Neal, who scored 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 3-of-5 free throws. The two of them combined for a nearly 90% shooting percentage, which allowed the Lakers to take a 19-point lead over the Clippers.
"If Lin scores 20 points, I'll treat everyone to a good time tonight, let's celebrate!" O'Neal said generously during halftime. "If Lin doesn't score 20 points, I'll still treat everyone to a good time tonight, let Lin forget about tonight's game."
"Shaq, not tonight." Lin Ze refused. He knew he was likely to be taken advantage of tonight, and there was no way to avoid it.
After all, this wasn't the first time. Lin Ze had never dodged before, well... he had never even thought of dodging.
"What's that girl's name?" O'Neill immediately understood why Lin Ze was absent from the party: "I bet she's a Hollywood actress!"
"Kate Beckinsale," Lin Ze said, "She is indeed an actress, but she doesn't have many Hollywood works; she mainly works in the UK."
"That's great!" O'Neal said sincerely, "You can develop a relationship with her across the entire Pacific Ocean, and she can't interfere with or meddle in your life at all! That's the perfect love! I've always longed to have eight or ten similar relationships."
Lin Ze didn't comment on O'Neal's bizarre views on love, nor did he correct him that the Pacific Ocean didn't separate the United States and the United Kingdom; he simply gave him the middle finger.
The second half then began, but Lin Ze didn't have many opportunities to perform on the offensive end.
Because the Clippers stopped having Odom double-team O'Neal, giving O'Neal plenty of space to play one-on-one, O'Neal stopped passing the ball much and easily widened the gap to 25 points with a few simple dunks and hook shots. Jackson also simply waved his hand and substituted O'Neal and others, leaving only Lin Ze and Fisher, the two starters, on the court.
Jackson clearly wanted to see Lin Ze's performance on the court, especially when the core players were not there, so he let Lin Ze play the entire quarter and intentionally gave Lin Ze a lot of ball possession after O'Neal and others went to the bench.
But this exposed Lin Ze's weaknesses. After O'Neal, Rice, and others left the court, he had many opportunities to handle the ball, but he was not good at it. Facing Odom, who had explosive physical talent and was jumping around like he had just taken a drug, Lin Ze did not have many options.
After all, during the 200x effort card period, he did not focus on improving his ball-handling ability, so his offensive results were not very good at this time. His 100% shooting percentage was also broken. After his teammates went to the bench, he only made 1 of 3 shots. However, he also took advantage of Odom's impetuousness to draw fouls twice. After making 4 of 4 free throws, Lin Ze still scored 6 points in this quarter.
Now Jackson has a better understanding of Lin Ze's current abilities. Without the core player, the team lacks someone who can draw the defense and create space for teammates, which greatly reduces Lin Ze's threat.
However, if his teammates can create space and break down the opponent's defense, then his threat is immense. As long as he maintains his shooting touch and his teammates pass the ball accurately, he can seize scoring opportunities.
Jackson also began to have new ideas about how to use Lin Ze.
First and foremost, he needs to play alongside Kobe or Shaq!
Of course, this is on the premise that he can maintain his current form.
Another thing Jackson didn't expect was Lin Ze's defense.
Whether it's one-on-one defense or the timing, rhythm, and positioning of help defense when the opponent breaks through to the basket, this guy impressed Jackson. Jackson even saw a bit of Garnett in him.
Lin Ze: Of course! That day, I watched all of Garnett's game videos!
If this guy can really maintain this pace... Jackson suddenly felt that he might have orchestrated a magical move similar to the Bulls' trade for "Cobra" Grant back in the day.
The only difference is that back then, Jordan wanted nothing less than to skin Grant alive when he first arrived, while Lin Ze...
Jackson glanced at Lin Ze, who was currently yelling and dancing awkwardly with O'Neal on the sidelines, and then thought of Kobe, who had secretly worked hard after training with him and almost ruined himself...
Okay, this guy definitely won't repeat the bad past between Grant and Jordan.
On the contrary, Kobe and Shaq, although they had almost no public conflicts, their animosity was completely out in the open.
On the road to the championship, the team's top two players absolutely cannot have any conflicts.
Although Jordan and Pippen had a long history of conflict, they eventually ceased to be friends.
But Pippen was a softie; he never really put up a fight against Jordan.
Kobe?
This rookie, who threw four consecutive "air balls" in a do-or-die playoff game, and who dared to tell Malone to "put away your screens, I want to go one-on-one with Michael" in his second year, wouldn't he dare to fight back? He just hasn't found the right time to fight back, and his skills aren't quite there yet.
But can Jackson guarantee that as the gap in skill between the two narrows, Kobe will be able to tolerate Shaq's casual and lazy attitude? Will Shaq be able to tolerate Kobe's meticulousness? It's simply impossible.
By that time...
Jackson couldn't help but look at Lin Ze again. This guy said something to O'Neal, which made O'Neal laugh out loud. At the same time, O'Neal jumped up from the bench and did 20 push-ups in a row in front of the bench.
If internal strife is an inevitable problem for the Lakers in the next few years, then Lin Ze might just become the metronome and lubricant that brings the team back to harmony.
I'm a fucking genius!
Thinking about this, Jackson once again felt incredibly awesome.
"FUXX! FUXX! What is that?!"
Before Jackson's smug satisfaction was over, he felt a piece of ice being stuffed into his shirt.
"Sorry, Coach, Lin made me do it! He insisted I play some kind of dare." O'Neal smiled broadly, showing no sign of embarrassment whatsoever.
Jackson: "..."