pertwk Chapter 273 A stroke of incredible luck! The Pacers sweep the preseason!
Chapter 273 A stroke of incredible luck! The Pacers sweep the preseason!
Chapter 273 A stroke of incredible luck! The Pacers sweep the preseason!
"Host has acquired Larry Bird's basketball talent: Bird Spirit!"
No further explanation is needed; this short line of text is enough to excite Lin Tian!
This is absolutely amazing!
Bird's basketball talent!
This is much, much better than any skill or anything like that!
This is much better than those talents in running, boxing, rugby, etc.!
That's basketball talent!
Lin Tian's first basketball talent!
Alternatively, Lin Tian might give it another name: Larry Bird Skill Pack or Larry Bird Skill Encyclopedia!
This encompasses all of Bird's talents! From trash talk to shooting ability to defensive positioning, basketball IQ, court vision, and rebounding and scoring abilities!
Or to put it more bluntly: even if Lin Tian had no other skills, with just this one talent, let alone making him the next Larry Bird or a top ten player in history, he could at least become the league's top all-around guard!
This is the foundation of a top-ten player in history and currently the best small forward in the league!
The boost to Lin Tian is comprehensive.
Now, as long as Lin Tian doesn't recklessly build roads and farm, his professional career is almost guaranteed to be at least at the level of Larry Bird!
The only thing I'm a little hesitant about is the name of this talent.
The spirit of the great bird...
Lin Tian was worried that when he went to the competition tomorrow, he might see a Bird who had been drained of his life force, looking like a dried-up human...
Then Lin Tian couldn't help but think of things like "yin-yang replenishment" and Nie Xiaoqian...
Ugh... I'm shivering! Disgusting! Absolutely disgusting!
Think of something else!
After a chill ran down Lin Tian's spine, he quickly began to study his skills; he was now a true tycoon!
He accumulated about 4000 experience points in the second half of last season, and the season gift pack gave him 1 experience points. From the training camp to the Asian Cup, Lin Tian gained another 15000 experience points. Now Lin Tian has exactly 3 experience points on hand!
After fighting for half a year, it's finally time to relax!
Looking at his dazzling array of skills, Lin Tian's first thought was that he needed to streamline them!
Then, considering that Webber is not good at defense, and Miller, whose defensive ability was only average to begin with, will definitely see his defensive ability decline further in the new season due to his age and injuries.
As for Carter, he was never a good defender; at best, he was above average.
So while the team is focusing on offense this season, they still need to improve their defense. Otherwise, if they field five players and two and a half of them are leaky, the game will definitely become more difficult.
So the first thing he did was to cut off the LV3 glove and fuse it with the LV3 first defense, and then upgrade the fused skill to LV4!
「精钢手套LV3(5311/18000)：增加宿主单防能力15%、抢断能力30%、协防能力15%、盖帽能力10%、护筐能力10%！比赛最后5分钟，若宿主进入兴奋或暴怒状态，提升效果在当前基础上额外增加36%！」
「精钢手套LV4(0/36000)：增加宿主单防能力17%、抢断能力35%、协防能力17%、盖帽能力12%、护筐能力12%！比赛最后5分钟，若宿主进入兴奋或暴怒状态，提升效果在当前基础上额外增加38%！」
After making significant progress in his defense, Lin Tian showed no signs of stopping and upgraded the skill "Flash" he had acquired in the training camp to LV2!
「闪电侠LV2(0/4000)：增加宿主急速运球能力8%，增加宿主破包夹能力8%，增加宿主突破能力8%，宿主空中进行身体接触被严重犯规后，打成2+1的概率额外增加7%。」
Next, Lin Tian fused "The Flash" with "Killer Beetle," a skill that was also a breakthrough type!
「闪电杀手LV2(1601/6000)：增加宿主急速运球能力15%，增加宿主破包夹能力9%，增加宿主突破能力15%，宿主空中进行身体接触被严重犯规后，打成2+1的概率额外增加8%，晃倒对手概率增加5%！」
After this skill was fused, Lin Tian gained an additional ability bonus of being knocked down, which can be considered an extra gain!
I wonder whose ankle will get injured next season?
After upgrading two skills, Lin Tian had spent 14500 experience points and still had 15500 points left. Lin Tian glanced at his remaining skills and thought, "Well, although I have a lot of experience left, I don't have many options left."
Lin Tian has always left the skills "Pick and Roll Shot" and "Utah Wall" to their own devices, letting them grow wildly on their own. For Lin Tian, one skill is too weak and provides too little bonus, while the other has little practical use and is too low in cost-effectiveness.
These are all skills that Lin Tian shouldn't waste experience points on.
The rest is basically going all in to boost almost all the experience points for "Flying Divine Pig" or to upgrade the three low-level skills you just got: "Lightning Killer," "Flying Mamba," and "King of Archers."
Tsk tsk tsk... This choice is absolutely unnecessary to consider!
It's obvious which one offers the best value for money!
So Lin Tian used over 3000 experience points to upgrade 'King of Archers', 4400 experience points to upgrade 'Lightning Killer', and over 6000 experience points to upgrade 'Flying Mamba'!
After that round of attacks, Lin Tian's experience points were basically used up again, leaving him with less than 1000!
「射手之王LV3(0/8000)：3分命中率提升5%，中距离命中率提升6%，比赛最后20秒三分命中率额外提升3%，并且若是接球后直接投篮，投篮命中率额外再增加3%！」
「闪电杀手LV3(0/12000)：增加宿主急速运球能力17%，增加宿主破包夹能力11%，增加宿主突破能力17%，宿主空中进行身体接触被严重犯规后，打成2+1的概率额外增加10%，晃倒对手概率增加6%！」
"Flying Mamba LV4 (0/20000): Increases the host's finishing ability under the basket by 16%! Increases the accuracy of reverse layups or baseline layups by 16%, and increases jumping ability by 11%. If the jumping rating reaches A-, the finishing ability and layup ability will be increased by an additional 3% for each subsequent increase in jumping level!"
After this significant upgrade, Lin Tian once again opened his system panel.
Name: Lin Tian
Age: 26
Height: 191 cm
Weight: 88KG
Physical Assessment: Jumping S-, Speed S+, Strength A+, Stamina S+, Explosiveness S-, Coordination S+, Awareness S+
Overall physical assessment: S
Offensive ratings: Shooting S, Dribbling S-, Passing S+, Penetration S-, Low Post B-, Dunk A, Fast Break S+
Overall Offense Rating: S-
Defensive ratings: Rebounds S-, Steals S+, Top defense B+, Blocks B+, Help defense A+, Boxing out A-, One-on-one defense S
Overall defensive rating: S-
Special abilities: All-Seeing Eye, Pretty Boy, Lightning Speed, Human Cannon, Czech Iron Man, Leap of Faith, Great Bird Spirit
技能：挡拆投篮LV4(1972/8000)、犹他城墙LV2(1931/3000)、飞翔曼巴LV3(0/20000)、顶峰时刻LV3(4812/20000)、飞天神猪LV4(911/16000)、快枪手LV2(1321/4000)、攻防一体LV4(672/28000)、射手之王LV3(0/8000)、精钢手套LV4(0/36000)、闪电杀手LV3(0/12000)
物品：肥厚脂肪(3次)、伤病豁免(1次)、谜样年纪(3分钟)、恶意犯规(3次)、89-90赛季派屈克·尤因体验卡(全场)、87-88赛季麦可·乔丹体验卡(单月)、钢铁意志(1次)
XP: 870
Task: None
This upgrade is absolutely massive and comprehensive!
Firstly, both physical coordination and awareness have been significantly improved, reaching the top-tier ceiling level of the S+ league!
Needless to say, this is the improvement that the "Great Bird Spirit" brought to Lin Tian. Bird's signature move is the coordination of consciousness and body.
It was precisely these qualities that allowed him to fight against those black monsters without being at a disadvantage, despite his mediocre physical abilities.
Then, due to the breakthrough attribute of "Lightning Killer", Lin Tian's explosive power was greatly improved, and "Flying Mamba" improved Lin Tian's jumping ability. The ratings of these two abilities directly reached the S- level.
Furthermore, the improvements in abilities such as shooting, rebounding, help defense, blocking, and positioning are also attributed to the "Bird Spirit," which are all things Bird excels at!
Lin Tian could only say that this talent that matches one's major is truly amazing!
With multiple abilities improving by leaps and bounds, even reaching the league's ceiling, Bird's level truly lives up to its reputation!
He truly deserves to be called a monster among the top ten in NBA history!
Compared to the comprehensive and significant improvement that Bird brought to Lin Tian, the level increases of Lin Tian's few skills seemed rather unremarkable.
These skills mainly improve Lin Tian's shooting, driving, finishing under the basket, and defense abilities. They are quite comprehensive, covering almost all the most basic abilities on the court, and the improvement is quite significant!
Lin Tian today is absolutely a nightmare for every point guard, and even every guard in the league!
Able to attack and defend, able to drive and shoot, able to pass and fire!
Although his back-to-the-basket skills aren't outstanding, he has a size advantage against all point guards in the league, and can overpower almost any point guard with his physical strength!
If we had to pinpoint Lin Tian's weaknesses, it would probably be that he struggles to defend against post-up moves by players at positions 3-5. If he were to face top defensive masters in the league, such as Kidd, Pippen, and Payton, his post-up skills would likely fall short.
Well, that's about it. I really can't find any other flaws.
After all, Lin Tian is a guard, you can't criticize his shot-blocking ability as average, right?
In short, Lin Tian is truly full of confidence for the upcoming new season!
Unprecedented confidence!
He believes that unless the team suffers another wave of injuries like last season, they have no chance of losing the championship!
With this confidence, Lin Tian and the Pacers players ushered in the preseason!
On October 23, the Pacers played their first game of the season at their brand-new home arena, Conseco Center!
The new arena can accommodate 19000 spectators, which is significantly larger than the old arena's capacity of less than 18000.
And all the facilities are brand new, looking incredibly high-tech! Conseco Arena is now definitely one of the most luxurious arenas in the entire league. Even though the new arena can seat nearly 2 people, the passionate Indiana fans did not disappoint the team. They once again packed the arena to capacity, achieving 100% attendance!
The atmosphere during the preseason is amazing; Indiana's basketball market is something that more than 70% of the teams in the league would envy!
As for the Pacers' opponent tonight, it's last season's champion: the New York Knicks!
This season has been a turbulent and unlucky one for the Knicks!
After Jordan announced his retirement on the night of the Finals, veteran John Starks was clearly also stirred up by the idea and announced his retirement in August!
While Patrick Ewing, the team's remaining key player, did not retire, his wrist injury recurred in the summer for unknown reasons. As a result, Ewing had to undergo another surgery. After this surgery, Ewing will need to rest for 4-6 months, which means that he will not be able to return to the court before Christmas.
With key players from last season's championship team either retiring or getting injured, the Knicks, missing three major players, are widely considered to be in a losing position. Not only do almost no one believe they can defend their title, but many also think the Knicks will fall out of the playoffs altogether!
After all, the way they are now, they really resemble the kind of team that has a great year and then disbands.
For example, in this preseason game, even though the Knicks fielded their best players, two of their starting five players, besides Oakley, Houston, and Ward, were Marcus Camby and John Wallace.
Compared to last year's lineup of Jordan and Ewing, with Starks on the bench, it's really far inferior!
On the Pacers' side, Bird didn't experiment with any lineups or try out different strategies before going all in. Instead, he brought out the team's strongest starting five!
Ben Wallace, Chris Webber, Doug Christie, Reggie Miller, Lin Tian!
With the referee's whistle, Ben Wallace, whose height is probably no more than 2 meters, was completely outmatched by Camby, who was 10 centimeters taller than him.
The Knicks have gained possession of the ball!
Ward remains as mature and steady as ever. He may not produce any particularly brilliant moments or impressive stats, but he's the kind of person who can provide a safety net for the team and keep it stable.
"Long time no see, Lin." Ward and Lin Tian are old rivals. They have faced off countless times from the Bulls to the Pacers. Although Ward admits that he is no match for Lin Tian, he knows Lin Tian very well!
For example, in this dribble, although Lin Tian was the steals king last season, based on his past abilities, he absolutely could not have stolen the ball from his hands!
Ward knew exactly when Lin Tian would make his move, when he would increase the pressure, and when he would launch a surprise attack!
"Snapped!"
Before Ward could even process Lin Tian's habits in his mind, he suddenly felt his hand go light, and then the basketball in his hand disappeared. Lin Tian also disappeared from his sight at almost the same time!
"Boom!" A few seconds later, a loud explosion was heard. Lin Tian had completed a steal and slammed the ball down with both hands!
The entire Conseco Arena erupted in a huge, wild cheer!
This was the first ball on the court, and for Lin Tian to complete it with a signature steal and dunk was absolutely perfect!
Amid the frenzied noise of the fans, Ward stared at Lin Tian in disbelief. Based on his understanding of Lin Tian and his years of experience playing against him, there was no way Lin Tian could have intercepted the ball!
Lin Tian should have been completely out of reach!
But just in the blink of an eye, Lin Tian made the steal!
If it could be this fast, so fast that Ward couldn't even react, there's only one possibility!
Lin Tian has become stronger again! And by a significant and obvious margin!
Watching Lin Tian gracefully finish his dunk and turn back to defend, Ward inexplicably swallowed.
He suddenly remembered that when the two first met, although he was no match for Lin Tian, he was not so badly defeated. At that time, it was mainly Jordan who defeated Houston and Jason, and neither he nor Lin Tian were the main players.
Ward even fantasized that if he were on a team without a dominant center, on a team that played fast offense and had an open coach instead of the stubborn Van Gundy, maybe he wouldn't be any worse than Lin Tian.
But now...
In less than five years, Lin Tian had already left him so far behind.
Ward's mind was racing. He dribbled the ball up the court again. This time, instead of forcing a shot himself, he quickly passed the ball to Houston, who was circling out from the baseline. However, Houston had no chance to shoot. Although Miller's defense was average, his only strength was defending against off-ball shooters!
Miller, the grandfather of the ball-handling world, who the hell are you?
Left with no other option, Houston could only pass the ball back to Camby in the paint, but Camby was up against Ben Wallace, one of the best defenders among the younger generation in the league. With his two moves, Camby couldn't even get into the paint, let alone force a shot.
He could only pass the ball to Oakley again, and Webber immediately got excited when he saw Oakley get the ball!
I'm Chris, I'll shut you down, you old man!
If Miller is good at defending off-ball shooters, then Webber, who can't defend, is best at defending pure role players who can't score! With his height and wingspan, he still has a certain intimidating presence when he stands still with his hands raised.
Oakley didn't dare to challenge Webber one-on-one, so he turned around and tried to pass the ball back to the outside, but as soon as he turned around, the basketball in his hand was snatched away!
Lin Tian!
Once again, he had somehow wandered up behind Oakley and, in the instant Oakley turned around, snatched the basketball from his hands!
Another fast break!
This time, Miller was on the left, Christie on the right, and Lin Tian dribbled in the middle, attracting the Knicks' defense while observing the situation on the court. Then, as he rushed into the three-point line, he turned his head to the left to look at Miller, but the basketball flew directly to the right side of the basket!
"boom!"
After a loud bang, Christie slammed the ball in with both hands and scored another 2 points!
The Knicks' offense still couldn't find a reliable offensive option. Of the team's current starting five, only Houston is known for his offense, but he was tightly marked by Miller and had no chance to shoot. In the end, Camby could only take a shaky mid-range shot, and the basketball slammed through the rim with a 'bang'.
Webber elbowed Oakley aside, grabbed the rebound, and then, after turning around and glancing at it once, tossed the basketball into the frontcourt with one hand!
After receiving the ball, Lin Tian smoothly spun past Ward, then took three steps and jumped up to deliver another of his signature gliding dunks!
"boom!"
In the first three possessions, the Knicks were completely outmatched. Their best-practice half-court defense and physical battles were not even used. The Pacers simply didn't give the Knicks a chance to set up a half-court game!
It wasn't until 2 minutes and 20 seconds into the game that the Knicks finally broke their scoring drought with a hard-hitting shot by Houston, and the Pacers' offense finally fell into a half-court game in the next possession.
But for the Knicks now, half-court sets are not their safe haven, but rather the perfect opportunity for the Pacers to unleash another storm!
Just as Ward and Houston were trying to keep Lin Tian occupied and prevent him from organizing an attack, Lin Tian had already passed the ball to Webber near the free-throw line. Then, Lin Tian quickly circled around Webber, leaving the Knicks' defense completely disoriented.
Then Lin Tian pretended to do a handoff with Webber, while walking towards the three-point line. Just as the Knicks' entire defensive focus was on him and the line was widening, Webber suddenly made a behind-the-back pass, and the basketball flew directly to Christie, who was cutting to the basket!
"boom!"
After another loud bang, Christie slammed home another one-handed dunk! And not a single Knicks player even saw him!
Far away in Sacramento, Adelman, bored and turning on the TV to see how Chris Webber, whom he'd always wanted, was doing with his new team, immediately cursed after seeing this play: "Fuck! This is my Princeton!"
Yes, Princeton!
The Pacers used only one half-court set play to make their tactics clear to countless experts.
The inside players facilitate from the high post, the guards run around, the forwards cut off the ball, the center sets screens, and the ball handler in the high post passes the ball behind the defense to exploit the opponent's weakness.
A flexible, elegant, and effortless offensive system! In an era when defensive tactics and systems were not yet fully developed, a brilliant passing and cutting system immediately emerged by cutting back at the back door, making runs along the baseline, and then distributing the ball between two top passers!
The Pacers then unleashed a dazzling offensive display that shocked the entire league. Every player on the court was on the move, and opportunities always seemed to appear in unexpected places. Webber and Lin Tian were also able to pass the ball to those fleeting chances in unbelievable ways.
The Knicks' prized defensive system was rendered useless by the combined efforts of these two players and the frantic running of other players.
It fell apart and was completely destroyed!
In the first quarter, the Knicks, completely out of sorts and seemingly unsure of what was happening, lost by 13 points!
Then, at the end of the first half, they were down by 25 points!
The second half?
They did narrow the gap a bit in the second half, but that was because Lin Tian, Webber, and others all left the court early!
这一场比赛，林天打了24分钟，拿下14分7助攻4篮板，韦伯打了22分钟，拿下12分8篮板5助攻，克里斯蒂登场 17分钟，拿下8分5篮板3助攻。
The player who played the most enthusiastically throughout the game was Vince Carter!
卡特今晚出战全队最高的31分钟，拿下22分5篮板2助攻！再加上4次让人血脉喷张的狂野暴扣，让整个康塞科中心的球迷都疯狂的欢呼吶喊！
This Pacers team is so entertaining to watch!
Meanwhile, in Sacramento, Adelman watched as the Pacers executed the tactics he had meticulously planned countless times with such ease, and he felt a surge of resentment!
He hated that Webber didn't understand him and refused to come to Sacramento no matter what. He hated even more that the King's bosses, the Maloof brothers, were too soft and cowardly, unwilling to believe in him and afraid to go all in on Webber!
They brought it all on themselves!
This team deserves to never see the day they rise again!
Live it!
Besides Adelman, many people watched the game because the Pacers are the top favorite to win the championship in the new season. Of course, they didn't actually sit in front of the TV to watch the whole game; they didn't have that much free time.
Many people, after the game, have their editing team and analysts create a highlight reel of the Pacers game for them to analyze and study.
then……
The Pacers' full-strength lineup played for just over 20 minutes, leaving many of the league's most experienced head coaches somewhat bewildered!
The Pacers' offensive system is simply unsolvable!
Two top-notch ball handlers and a guy with incredibly comprehensive vision handle the ball, while the remaining three cover for each other and run around looking for opportunities.
What's even more frightening is that among the Pacers' starting players, only Ben Wallace has no offensive ability, but Christie and Miller are not only accurate shooters and fast runners, but also have good vision and passing ability.
This is a set of mobile offensive tactics that involve the entire population as soldiers.
This is difficult...
This season's Pacers might be much stronger than the previous two seasons!
We need to start making preparations and researching strategies to deal with them in advance!
Most coaches have already completed their initial research on the Pacers. Next, they still need to prepare for their own games. At most, they can ask their analysts to edit more Pacers games, accumulate them, and then watch and study them. After all, only half a game has been played, so the sample size is still too small.
Except for one person.
In Los Angeles, although it was late at night, Jackson did not go to comfort the sleeping Jeanie Buss. Instead, shirtless, he studied the Pacers' game footage once again.
After watching it countless times, Jackson finally turned off the TV, then leaned back on the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.
"Lin has actually improved compared to last season... What kind of monster is this guy? He's already won the MVP, scoring title, and assist title, and he can still improve? Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable."
Then Jackson suddenly remembered two years ago, the summer when Lin Tian was preparing to leave the Bulls, when Krause had unusually approached him to discuss offseason strategies.
Klaus came up with a crazy idea that Jackson wouldn't even dare to think of.
Promote Lin Tian, trade Pippen, and let Jordan go!
This crazy idea was considered an idiotic moment by Jackson at the time.
But now that I think about it, maybe that annoying fatso was right!
While half the league was stunned by the Pacers' performance in a preseason game and began to scrutinize them closely, the Pacers did not stop their progress.
The league has prepared seven preseason games for the Pacers this year, all against teams in the Pacers' vicinity. Preseason games are just for getting the players in the game, letting the fans warm up, and for the coaches to try out different lineups and strategies. The most important thing here is never winning or losing, but reducing travel expenses.
All matches are played in the nearest location.
So, apart from the first game against the Knicks, the Pacers played against divisional opponents in all six of their games: the Bulls, Bucks, Pistons, and Cavaliers.
Of these four teams, only the Bulls fared particularly badly, losing two games in a row to the Pacers, once at home and once away. The other teams were completely powerless against the Pacers, losing cleanly and decisively.
Of these four teams, the Bulls, despite having just acquired the number one draft pick Brand, are clearly still in the process of rebuilding. They will likely remain in a slump for at least another 2-3 years before they have any chance of recovery. The Cavaliers, on the other hand, just dismantled their team this summer.
As for the Bucks and Pistons, they are certainly not bad teams. They both made the playoffs last season. The Pistons' Hill and the Bucks' three sharpshooters are well-known offensive combinations in the league today.
However, the Bucks and Pistons did not show anything special when facing the Pacers. They did not appear much better than the Cavaliers and Bulls. They lost by 10 points in the first quarter, another 7-8 points in the second quarter, and the point difference would quickly widen to more than 20 points in the second half.
Then the Pacers' starters were about to clock out.
Regardless of whether the Pacers won by 30 or 10 points in the end, the reactions and rhythms of these four teams when facing the Pacers were remarkably consistent!
Its main focus is on a relaxed and carefree lifestyle!
Webber and this team are such a perfect match! They are truly a match made in heaven. Putting them together is like a spark igniting a fire, a perfect fit, and their teamwork is seamless!
Although the preseason is never a true test of a team's strength, for example, the Spurs only won 2 and lost 4 of their 6 preseason games, and the Lakers only won 1 game.
But the Pacers are clearly not a 'preseason team'; they're just too eager to show their fierce and sharp fangs ahead of time!
Last season's loss was too painful for the Pacers! Nobody wanted it to happen again.
This season, the Pacers have only one goal: to take back everything that belongs to them!
The Pacers' united spirit has not only intimidated many head coaches and general managers in the league, but their terror can also be seen in the preseason rankings, previews, and odds!
In the MVP prediction lists for the new season from the largest and most professional media outlets in the United States, including ESPN, NBC, ABC, TNT, Bleacher Report, and CBS, all media outlets have chosen Lin Tian as their number one pick, regardless of who is ranked 2nd to 5th!
In Las Vegas, the odds for Lin Tian to retain his MVP title are extremely low! Clearly, the actuaries there are very optimistic about Lin Tian's ability to defend his MVP championship!
The odds of Lin Tian winning MVP are only 100:125!
If you can get MVP by spending 100 RMB on Lin Tian at the beginning of the season, then you will only get 125 RMB by the end of the season!
To put it another way, even if Real Madrid played a season in the Chinese football league, their odds of winning the championship would be higher than this.
And what about Shaquille O'Neal, who's ranked second? 100:750!
If you buy Shaq for $100 at the beginning of the season and he wins the MVP award, then when he actually wins it at the end of the season, you will get $750!
How do you describe the difference between these two people?
It basically means that Lin Tian can be awarded the prize directly.
Furthermore, these same media outlets also unanimously selected the Pacers as their first pick in their first team power rankings and final championship predictions for the new season!
Of course, the actuaries in Las Vegas once again said: You're right!
They also placed the Pacers at the top of the odds list, giving them a very attractive odds of 100:400!
While this looks very promising, keep in mind that these are the odds for the NBA championship! At this time of year, the odds for the top favorite to win the title in Las Vegas are usually far higher than this!
The only team that could rival this year's Pacers in terms of early-season odds was the 95-96 Chicago Bulls!
No other team can compare to this year's Pacers!
In other words, the Pacers are absolutely the number one, top-tier super favorite to win the championship this year!
Even before the season started, many people had already given them a mission: failure means not winning the championship!
As for the reasons, besides Webber's addition, it's also because the way this team was eliminated last year left such a deep impression! Everyone believes they will definitely come back!
Another thing is that this team's performance in the preseason was simply amazing and beautiful!
Who could resist such a dazzling, frenetic team that delivers the ultimate audio-visual experience to fans every moment?
"Six games, a total of 127 points – just how terrifying are the Indianapolis this year?"
Last year, despite being shorthanded, the Pacers pushed the Heat to the brink of defeat; this year, with an all-out attack, their only goal is the championship!
The Pacers are already the top favorite to win the championship even before the season has started! How sure are they of winning the title?
"Is overheating a recipe for disaster? The Pacers won't agree! The only obstacle in their way is injury!"
Even acquiring Malone might not be enough for the Heat; they could be powerless against a fully-strength Pacers team!
Can the Lakers' Big Three plus Phil Jackson stop the Pacers? Can the Spurs' Twin Towers reach the NBA Finals again?
The four-way battle for the championship between the Heat, Spurs, Lakers, and Pacers has taken shape; who will ultimately claim the title?
Amidst the chaos, could the Trail Blazers find a way to survive? With everyone on the team, can they make it to the finals?
Aiming for 70 wins? Can the Pacers break the Bulls' single-season win record this year?
With a complete roster, the Pacers are already the best team in the league on paper!
From starters to reserves, the Pacers have players capable of contributing! At least three of their reserves could be starters or even key players on other teams!
The Pacers may use a 10-man rotation in the new season! Their roster depth is unmatched in the league!
The new system is a breath of fresh air! Who can withstand the Pacers' relentless offensive onslaught?
With their dual-core offense, the Pacers' offense is unstoppable!
"Non-stop ball handling! A torrent of offense! The Pacers' offense is art!"
Bird's coaching ability is absolutely top-tier in history; no one else could have built such an amazing tactical system in a single offseason!
With a promising start to the regular season, could the Pacers begin with a 14-game winning streak?
Two days before the start of the regular season, during the last rest period before the season began, the media went wild in praising the Pacers. From their system and personnel to season previews and record estimates, the Pacers were favored by everyone and received a lot of praise.
Before the season even started, the Pacers were being praised as if they could easily break the Bulls' 74-win record and win the championship with a perfect playoff record. They were truly being hyped up to the skies by the media, fans, and their peers.
Looking at the news reports praising him so enthusiastically, Bird wasn't happy at all; on the contrary, his brows were furrowed tightly.
This kind of praise, if not handled carefully, can change a player's mentality. It can lead to a fear of losing, being excessively flattered, and an inflated sense of confidence. Then comes arrogance, a disregard for opponents and even teammates, and the belief that one is truly invincible. And then…
It's very likely that the higher you're praised, the harder you'll fall!
Having dealt with the media for nearly 30 years, Bird knows them all too well. No matter how much they praise the Pacers today, when the Pacers actually encounter difficulties, start losing streaks, lose games, or get injured, it is still these same reporters who jump out and criticize the Pacers for being bad, arrogant, and overconfident!
In short, regardless of whether the team wins or loses, the reporters never lose.
On the afternoon before the start of the new season's first game, Bird walked into Conseco Arena with this anxiety and unease. He hoped to sound the alarm for the players before the season began, telling them to stay humble and not to take the praise from the media and fans to heart.
He needs to tell the players that they should take it one game at a time, eat one bite at a time, not panic because of a loss, and not be disturbed by outside voices. Criticism and praise complement each other.
Yes, that's what we'll tell them!
After reaching the locker room door, Bird prepared his words and then pushed open the door.
"We must guard against arrogance and impatience, and not take the praise from the media and fans to heart! We must take it one game at a time! Only if we win in the end will the praise we receive now be valuable! If we lose, the praise we receive now will turn into a barrage of criticism and ridicule!"
"What we need to do is use our strength, use the final championship, to tell them: every word, every punctuation mark they use to praise us is absolutely right!"
When Bird opened the door, he saw Lin Tian standing in the middle of the locker room, giving a speech to all the players. He had already started to sow discord among the players long before Bird even began!
"We can't be undefeated in the regular season! There will definitely be surprises in a long 82-game season. We'll lose, we'll have losing streaks, we'll get upsets! But what I'm saying is, we will be the ultimate winners, we will be number one in the regular season, we will win the championship! And we will win multiple championships in a row! Understand, everyone?"
"clear!"
Led by Webber, the entire Pacers team raised their hands and cheered simultaneously. They were full of fighting spirit, desire, and confidence in winning the game.
But Bird could also see in each of their eyes that this group of people were not arrogant, self-righteous, or thought they had already won everything!
Be confident but not arrogant, proud but not spoiled!
Bird walked into the locker room and stood next to Lin Tian. He had never felt so confident before!
Even though he hadn't played a single regular season game yet, Bird was already absolutely certain of one thing!
The Pacers will definitely win the championship this season!
Seeing his players all staring at him, Bird didn't waste any more words. Instead, he simply raised his arm and said, "Let's go, let's crush the Phillies! Let's turn that 'Son of Philadelphia' into a 'Philadelphia cripple'!"
(End of this chapter)