allendalepharm Chapter 512 The Phoenix Man's Physical Exhaustion! There was no connection at all.
Chapter 512 The Phoenix Man's Physical Exhaustion! There was no connection at all.
Under Lin Tian's full-force defense, Nash called for two pick-and-rolls but failed to create any comfortable offensive opportunities for himself. With time running out, Nash had no choice but to suddenly turn and accelerate while dribbling with his back to the basket, choosing to forcefully accelerate to one side to break through.
Then once again, Nash stopped in the mid-range and launched his signature backflip shot.
But this time, because Nash only rested for 4 minutes in the first half and played the entire second half, coupled with Lin Tian's sudden increase in intensity, he suddenly felt a lack of leg strength when jumping, and felt weak in waves.
Insufficient leg strength resulted in insufficient jump height and imperfect coordination of the whole body's muscles. The most direct result was that the shot was obviously too short and hit the front edge of the rim.
The rebound was so long and low that it almost fell directly into Lin Tian's arms.
After receiving the ball, Lin Tian turned around and launched another counterattack. He accelerated and sprinted towards the frontcourt, driving all the way to the basket. He then shoved aside the defender, James, and with a quick step, slammed the ball into the basket with one hand.
12 points!
The Suns continued their run, and Nash clearly understood his own body quite well!
He knew he didn't have the stamina or energy to play for 44 or 5 minutes straight. That last shot had already made him realize that it would be difficult to break through Lin Tian's defense. If he wanted to close the gap, he would have to rely on his teammates!
Nash dribbled again, constantly looking for open spaces for his teammates. Under Lin Tian's strong defense, Nash even lost his footing once, his legs buckled, and he knelt on the floor on one knee. But fortunately, Nash is Nash after all.
As he fell to the ground, Nash passed the ball out with one hand!
It was a ball with an arc; when it was released, the basketball flew almost close to the ground, but when it reached the basket, it had already drawn a beautiful arc, landing right in front of Martin's chest, where he caught it in one go.
Unfortunately, Martin has also played for more than 40 minutes tonight. In addition, he needs to keep running back and forth between the basket and the three-point line to defend. He has to take care of Okur outside the three-point line, and also take care of the defense and rebounding under the basket.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Martin was the most exhausted person on the field at this moment.
So even with his superhuman physique, his legs were starting to feel weak.
Normally, when facing Okur's defense, Martin only needs to lean his shoulder against him and then pull up for a powerful two-handed dunk.
But at this moment, facing Okur's defense, Martin could push Okur away by leaning his shoulder, but he himself could no longer jump very high.
Okur quickly returned to his defensive position, spreading his arms to block Martin's shot. Under such interference, Martin, whose shooting skills are not particularly good, naturally found it difficult to seize the opportunity, and the basketball immediately bounced off the rim.
Stoudemire grabbed the rebound and quickly passed the ball to Lin Tian, who then launched another counterattack.
The Suns' entire defense was already on high alert. Marion, Nash, and Johnson all accelerated and retreated rapidly towards their own half of the court to defend against Lin Tian's counterattack.
With his height and long arms, Jason quickly approached Lin Tian, becoming the first line of defense against Lin Tian.
But Lin Tian suddenly stopped abruptly, and at the same time changed direction in front of him, accelerating to one side to break through again.
Jason wanted to keep up with Lin Tian's almost unstoppable and incredibly fast change of direction, but his legs, which had been running for more than forty minutes, were really giving out.
As Jason slid sideways, he felt his legs go weak, and then, incredibly embarrassingly, he collapsed onto the floor, lying there clutching his calves, unable to get up.
Lin Tian, who was fast off the track, ignored everyone else on the Suns team and slammed the ball into the basket with one arm!
141: 127!
The Knicks are now leading by 14 points.
As for D'Antoni, no matter how much he dislikes calling timeouts, he has to signal for a pause in the game at this point.
We need to get the team doctor to check what's wrong with Jason's calf.
As the team's most effective offensive player on the wing and one of the team's few reliable one-on-one defensive specialists, Jason's role in this Suns team is enormous.
Fortunately, the team doctor quickly signaled to D'Antoni that he wasn't injured, just overworked and had cramps, but it was best for him to avoid playing this game.
If the fighting continues, no one can say for sure whether it will get even worse.
D'Antoni nodded solemnly. Although he was stubborn and lacked adaptability, he was the kind of person who was good at building systems but not good at in-game coaching. However, he was not the kind of person who would expect his players to fight for him or ignore their health for the sake of a victory.
On the contrary, he has always done a pretty good job of protecting his own players.
The question now is... if Jensen is out, who will take his place?
D'Antoni felt he had very few reliable players at his disposal. After looking around several times, he finally said, "Leandro, it's up to you now! With less than 2 minutes and 30 seconds left, hold the pressure and fill the gaps left by Joe!"
Barbosa nodded somewhat mechanically, then walked directly onto the pitch without expressing any determination.
It has to be said that D'Antoni is still too inexperienced.
If he had said those words to Barbosa earlier, during halftime when Barbosa was most confused, they would likely have had a remarkable effect.
But now, after Barbosa spent the entire second half on the bench, it seems that Barbosa is basically letting the words go in one ear and out the other, not taking them to heart at all.
As for the consequences?
The best outcome would be if Barbosa stood still and didn't receive the ball at all, then he would at least be a spectator, not an undercover agent.
Soon, the short timeout called by D'Antoni ended, and both sides only made one substitution, Barbosa, while the remaining 10 players continued to wait for the game to start.
The final 2 minutes and 25 seconds.
Once again, as soon as Nash received the ball, he was tightly guarded by Lin Tian. Lin Tian stuck to Nash closely, and even though Nash asked for two screens in a row, Lin Tian was able to anticipate the direction and timing of the screens and react in advance, preventing Nash from creating opportunities for the team through pick-and-rolls.
With the shot clock ticking away, Nash knew he couldn't afford to waste any more time. He immediately dribbled backward while waving to signal everyone to pull him away.
He has to play one-on-one!
Then, before his teammates had even fully spread out, Nash had already accelerated and sprinted toward the basket.
He couldn't match Lin Tian's speed, so he could only push past Lin Tian to get to the inside and then repeat his old trick, circling around the Knicks' interior.
Nash's original plan was to lead the Knicks around aimlessly, find weaknesses in their defense, and then either take a shot or pass the ball.
After circling around twice, Nash realized that he could only lead Lin Tian in circles, and could only lead Lin Tian to circle around inside the paint. No one else paid any attention to him!
The last 3 seconds!
Even Nash couldn't stay calm at this point, nor could he wait for any real opportunity to shoot.
He could only suddenly stop and turn around, then raise his hand and throw the ball toward the basket.
This was both sudden and deliberate, observing the basketball's flight path and direction...
You can't see anything at all!
Because this was exactly what Lin Tian had been waiting for.
The basketball had barely flown 20 centimeters from Nash's fingertips when Lin Tian, who had been waiting, slapped it back!
Another blood hat!
"Quick attack!"
This time, Lin Tian didn't even need to shout; Jackson had already grabbed the basketball and was sprinting towards the frontcourt.
Then, after encountering the Suns' defense, Jackson passed the ball to Lin Tian, who was following up in the middle. Lin Tian didn't let the ball stay in his hands for even a moment after receiving it. As soon as he got the ball with his left hand, he pushed it towards Anthony on the other side.
After receiving the ball, Anthony confidently launched a three-pointer. If this shot had gone in, even the Suns wouldn't have been able to close the gap by more than 15 points in two minutes.
"Bang!"
Unfortunately, the basketball bounced off the rim and failed to go into the basket.
The Knicks' fast-paced offense and terrifying perimeter shooting caused the Suns significant problems with their defense and rebounding.
At that moment, Nash was the only one standing in the entire three-second zone, ready to grab the rebound.
But how can he possibly grab a rebound by himself?
"Bang!"
Nash felt a tremendous force pressing down on his head, making it impossible for him to lift his head. Then he felt someone turn off the stadium lights.
There was darkness in front of him.
"boom!"
Then came a loud bang, and Nash finally saw the blue number 14 jersey. He finally realized what had just happened.
Lin Tian, perched atop his own head, completed a bloody strike with either one or both arms.
Nash couldn't see exactly how the penalty was deducted; he only knew that the point difference had widened to 16 points.
The final 1 minutes and 56 seconds.
pause!
D'Antoni called another timeout.
"That was amazing! The game between these two teams was like it was on double speed, at least a level faster than any other team!" Barkley exclaimed after Lin Tian's putback dunk, "In just over a minute, these two teams have played so many rounds."
"However, the Suns were clearly having a bad night and were completely dominated by the Knicks! After Lin's putback dunk, I think the Suns' chances are pretty much gone."
"No matter how strong their offense is, it's a pipe dream to close a 16-point gap in two minutes!"
Kenny continued, "Lin deserves even more praise. He's already dished out 25 assists tonight! This is only the second time in his career that he's dished out so many assists, and he's just a little bit away from continuing to chase or even setting a higher record."
"How did Collin do it? In just one minute, he first made two consecutive, decisive personal attacks to widen the score to 14 points, and then he used his vision advantage to pass the ball to Anthony."
"All I can say is that Lin truly doesn't care about statistics, records, or anything like that! He's a real basketball player, someone who plays only to win!"
"But while he gave up on chasing his career-high assists, Lin accomplished other things too," Barkley said with a smile. "With those 6 points and 1 rebound just now, Lin has achieved a triple-double once again!"
"40 points, 25 assists, and 10 rebounds!"
「他是NBA历史上第一个打出这个数据的人！他是NBA历史上第一个能做到40+25+10的人！同时也是历史上第一个40+25的人！值得一提的是，上一个打出35+25的人，也是林！」
"He's the only person in NBA history to have done this twice!"
"The closest person to him is Magic Johnson, who once put up an incredible stat line of 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 20 assists! But clearly, even Magic's stats back then don't compare to Lin's performance tonight!"
"Even disregarding triple-doubles or 35+25, if we only consider 30+20, Lin is only the fifth player in NBA history to achieve this! Before Lin, only Kevin Johnson, Magic Johnson, Isaiah Thomas, and Mahmoud Rauf had done it."
"But if it's 35 points and 20 assists, then Lin is the second person who can do it. My old buddy Kevin once had 37 points and 20 assists!"
"As for 35+25 and 40+25, they are both unique in history!"
"Tonight, Lin once again pushed the seemingly contradictory combination of scoring and assists to its limits! He has once again created unprecedented and unparalleled statistics, setting a new record that future generations will look up to for a long time to come!"
Kenny added, "More importantly, there are still about two minutes left in the game! Will Lin continue to break records? Will he make his records even more insane?"
"I'm really looking forward to it!"
"Double him! Double him all over the court! Two people, three if necessary! Don't let him receive the ball, no matter what!" D'Antoni was getting a little exasperated. The point difference had widened to an almost impossible level, and Lin Tian had put up such epic stats.
He's no longer thinking about winning the game; all he's thinking about now is stopping Lin Tian from breaking the record!
He wanted to freeze Lin Tian's data right there!
Otherwise, if Lin Tian were to put up some kind of 45+20 or 40+30 stats, even if D'Antoni doesn't care about defense or the opponent's scoring, he wouldn't be able to show his face in public.
I can't bear the shame!
Who isn't a superstar or the greatest point guard of all time? Even though D'Antoni is the greatest point guard in Italian history, he's still the greatest of all time, isn't he?
Are you looking forward to Lin Tian breaking the record? Are you worried about Lin Tian breaking the record? Are you afraid that Lin Tian will break the record and you will embarrass yourself?
Various thoughts and feelings arose in the minds of different people. Different people had different thoughts, but only the die-hard fans who knew Lin Tian best would have a completely different idea at this time.
That inexplicable, yet very uncomfortable premonition.
After the timeout ended, these fans finally understood why they had that premonition.
Lin Tian went to rest!
He didn't return to the field!
With just over 1 minute and 50 seconds remaining, they led by 16 points.
Old Nelson thought it was garbage time, so he substituted Lin Tian out!
What bullshit record and bullshit career night? Just sit there and rest!
Veteran fan: Yes! That's the taste! Absolutely right! Whenever Lin Tian gets close to a new record, he chooses to go down and rest, which makes thousands of fans sigh.
From this perspective, Lin Tian is the most disappointing player in history!
none of them!
New fan: What's this?
D'Antoni: He's off the field? Hooray!
Suns player: Should we still use our previous strategy? Should we double-team Charlie Ward?
Barkley: "I fucking knew Lin would disappoint us just when we were full of expectations!"
"When it comes to breaking records, Lin never satisfies his fans! Compared to the statistics, he prefers an extra 1-2 minutes of rest. This habit of his is really terrible!"
Kenny: "Now Lin has run into Don Nelson, another player who doesn't care about stats at all, and who's willing to argue with the team owner and lose his job just to protect his players from playing injured!"
"Pessimistically speaking, Lin might never break any major records in his lifetime, unless he plays exceptionally well, his teammates also perform well, and the opponents can hold on and keep the game close until the very end!"
"But honestly, the frequency of this kind of competition is probably lower than the probability of Charles not eating meat for a week!"
"It's the kind of thing that's very likely to happen, could happen at any time, and would be perfectly reasonable if it did happen, but you might never see it in your entire life."
"I hate your lousy analogy," Barkley said, frowning. "I don't like it! But I have to say, Lin plus Don Nelson is absolutely terrible news for fans who love watching Lin break records."
"The two of them together are, in a sense, absolutely terrible!"
The last two minutes of the game on the court did not cause any further waves, although the Suns scored continuously, and Richardson even threw in two three-pointers in a row.
However, the point difference between the two sides was too large and the time was too short. At the same time, Ward was very steady. In every offensive possession, regardless of whether he could score or not, he could exhaust the offensive time to the extreme, making the Suns unable to exert their strength!
In the end, when the final whistle blew, the Knicks easily secured their victory, winning the game by 8 points!
147: 139!
This night was destined to be a crazy record-breaking night, with both teams putting up some pretty impressive stats and performances. It was one of the most intense and exciting offensive battles in the league today!
For the Suns, Nash put up a top-tier stat line of 33 points, 17 assists, and 7 rebounds, but he was still outshone by Lin Tian. Marion recorded a double-double with 25 points and 14 rebounds, Jason scored 23 points, Richardson hit 7 three-pointers for 28 points, and Martin also contributed 19 points and 13 rebounds.
All five starters scored in double figures, with four of them scoring over 20 points. However, the bench players only managed a total of 11 points. In addition, Jason collapsed due to exhaustion in the final moments, highlighting once again the Suns' problem of insufficient bench strength and over-reliance on the five starters.
For the Knicks, Stoudemire scored a career-high 43 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, making it arguably the most exciting and brilliant night of his career so far!
Carmelo Anthony also contributed 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists!
And of course, it's Lin Tian who had the best performance tonight, delivering a perfect play!
In addition to scoring 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 25 assists tonight, he also added 3 steals and 4 blocks. He locked down Nash in the final moments and neutralized Barbosa early in the second quarter, once again demonstrating his all-around performance on both offense and defense.
Lin Tian has once again proven that even on a team like the Knicks that doesn't play defense at all, he can still change the team and kill the game with his defense!
With their three star players combining for over 100 points, the Knicks have virtually no chance of losing!
Once their offense is fully unleashed, firstly, no one can defend against them, and secondly, no one can surpass them in firepower!
Their firepower is absolutely at the highest level in history!
The only team that could possibly rival them is probably the Pacers, who were also led by Lin Tian and were at their peak a few years ago!
An epic offensive battle! Lin and the Knicks emerge victorious once again!
Nash vs. Lin! A head-to-head battle between two of the most offensively potent point guards in the league!
"Extreme offensive duels! Stylish basketball is what fans love to watch!"
Beautiful! Smooth and fluid! Full of passion! Who says you can't play beautiful basketball without defense?
Who says a high-scoring game is just an exhibition and lacks intensity? One player cramped up, and many others were panting heavily afterward—the Suns vs. Knicks game was far more intense than a defensive battle!
Attack! Attack! Attack! Looking forward to the next match between these two teams!
Several unnamed team executives expressed their desire for their teams to play small-ball and fast-paced offense to increase viewership and expand the market!
Following this game, the draft stock of several point guards from the 05 draft class has skyrocketed!
"Genius guard Deron Williams could become the number one pick in the 05 NBA draft due to the rise of these two teams!"
A list of 10 promising young stars about to enter the league: Who can succeed Lin and Nash?
Deron Williams becomes the top pick, Raymond Felton won't fall out of the top three, has the spring for the point guard officially arrived?
Shooting guards dominated the 90s, can point guards dominate the 00s?
Lin Tian: Shooting guards did dominate the 90s? Yes, shooting guards won six championships in the 90s, but two of them were thanks to me, and I practically dismantled them all!
……
The post-game discussion was destined to be incredibly exciting, with countless fans debating whether the Knicks' offense was truly formidable and whether they could defeat some of the most famous offensive teams in history.
Of course, the most talked-about and most intriguing matchup among fans is Lin Tian vs. Lin Tian, which is essentially the Pacers at their peak versus this year's Knicks.
Supporters on both sides have their own ideas, but ultimately, this is an internal battle between Lin Tian and his fans.
Suddenly, Lin Tian's fans and another group of Lin Tian's fans stirred up a huge storm on the Internet.
That is: In which year was Lin Tian at his strongest? Which team did Lin Tian play for at his strongest?
As for the league's executives and scouts, they don't have the time to participate in the discussion. Even when caught by reporters and forced to give answers, they usually just use ambiguous official jargon and nonsense to fob them off.
Well... there's one exception.
Michael Jordan.
This year, Jordan finally achieved his dream of becoming a boss and no longer having to be subservient to others. During an interview, instead of answering questions about the small-ball revolution or the run-and-gun era, he directly and angrily criticized Lin Tian: "Chicago has always been my team. With or without Lin, we could have won the championships in '96 and '97!"
"I was the king of the 90s!"
"So, Mr. Michael, why did you lose the championship after Lin left in '98, and why did you lose it directly to Lin?"
"The interview is over. Today's interview is over. Please leave, reporters!" Jordan's public relations spokesperson and bodyguards immediately blocked the reporters away upon hearing this question.
They knew their boss all too well, and they knew exactly what their boss could and couldn't talk about.
The issue of Lin Tian is something that absolutely cannot be discussed.
After all, the executives of various teams, especially those teams with poor performance, poor market performance, or even losing money, are now studying more important things!
That is: should the team rebuild? If so, should it be built around a point guard, or... should the team speed up its pace?
This is a very important and serious matter!
After all, the results aren't the most important thing; the most important thing is ticket and merchandise sales!
The Knicks and Suns are among the teams that have sold the most tickets, jerseys, shoes and team merchandise this year!
The Knicks are one thing; even if they fielded a bunch of disabled players, their market wouldn't shrink. But Phoenix…
Although Phoenix was a large city, its basketball market was always just so-so, neither particularly good nor bad, only at the mid-level of the league.
But since the acquisition of Nash and D'Antoni this year, and since the team started its run-and-gun offensive, their ticket sales and sales of various merchandise such as jerseys, hats, T-shirts and other items have all seen a surge!
This season, the Suns' revenue and profits have surged from the middle of the league to fourth place!
Second only to the Knicks, Los Angeles, and Chicago!
The speed of this increase and the immediate effect are enough to make those teams envious and salivate.
Those are all green US dollars!
In any case, after this game, or rather after the rise of these two teams, the most direct beneficiaries in the short term, besides the owners of both teams, are the point guards who are about to enter the league or have just entered the league and are waiting for their opportunities.
In particular, the reason why the executives did not replicate and study the Pacers' team-building strategy before was because they believed that there was only one Lin Tian, and there was nothing to imitate or replicate.
It's like in the 90s everyone knew Jordan was invincible, but how could you replicate Jordan? Replicate him? Absolutely not!
But now, even an ordinary Nash can achieve this kind of result!
That would be interesting.
We can't find Lin Tian, let's find Nash...
Well, it's difficult, but no matter how you look at it, it's something that can be replicated.
It's just a point guard who can pass and run, along with a bunch of athletic guys who can shoot, run, and jump!
Give it a try! You absolutely have to try it!
In short, those young people who are about to enter or have just entered the league will inevitably receive more attention and more opportunities!
They have been given a life-changing opportunity!
Of course, no matter how much the fans argue, or what kind of ideas those executives are currently using to study the team's new team-building strategy, or what tasks they have given to their respective coaching staff and scouts, it has nothing to do with the vast majority of active players.
Players, you still need to focus on playing basketball!
The season has only just begun!
For example, after defeating the Suns, the Knicks seemed to have a period of relaxation after such an exhilarating offensive battle. They lost their touch in the next two games and subsequently lost to the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers.
Losing to the Lakers isn't unacceptable; they're a top team, so losing isn't a big deal. But losing to the Clippers, who are at the bottom of the league and rely solely on Brand, really exposes the Knicks' weakness in the paint.
Brand racked up a massive double-double of 41 points and 17 rebounds in this game, single-handedly tearing apart the Knicks' defense.
Of course, these stats are nothing compared to Shaquille O'Neal's 47 points and 18 rebounds against the Knicks the night before.
After suffering two consecutive losses in Los Angeles and being ridiculed by Los Angeles fans, the Knicks set sail again to continue their long journey in the West.
The good news is that after two consecutive losses in Los Angeles, the Knicks have finally gotten back into form, and the entire team has shown their best in the upcoming away games!
Against the Kings, the Knicks scored a total of 141 points, with Carmelo Anthony regaining his form after being shut down by Kirilenko for only 14 points in the previous two days, scoring a career-high 44 points and becoming the biggest contributor to ending the team's two-game losing streak.
Next, the Knicks faced the Warriors, the last team in the Pacific Division, and scored a super high score of 133 points. This time, the player who broke out was Lin Tian, who scored a season-high 51 points, along with 5 rebounds, 10 assists and 3 steals, leading the team to a 2-game winning streak!
The Knicks' five-game road trip in the Pacific Division resulted in a 3-2 record, which is decent and not disappointing.
After finishing their five-game road trip in the West, the Knicks were finally able to return to New York, back to their sweet and comfortable beds, and relax with their friends.
Meanwhile, the team's consecutive victories against the Kings and Warriors helped the Knicks regain a lot of confidence and find their form. They didn't lose a single game until the end of December.
22 wins and 9 losses!
At the end of 2004, the Knicks had their best first 30-game winning percentage since the 96-97 season.
In addition, thanks to their outstanding performance in December and their top-notch performance of 24.7 points and 15.3 assists per game in a single month, Lin Tian won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for December, and Don Nelson also won the Coach of the Month for December.
And as January arrived, another match that many fans were eager to watch began!
In terms of strength, this game was insignificant. It was a match between a top team in the league and a contender for the number one draft pick. Logically speaking, it should have been a game with no suspense and nothing to watch.
The problem is that the main characters of these two teams have such a long history, so even though the outcome of the match is not very suspenseful, fans from all walks of life are really looking forward to this game!
The second-ranked team in the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks, will face off against the second-to-last team in the Eastern Conference, the Charlotte Bobcats!
In other words, it's another Lin Tian vs. Jordan scenario!
These are the two people who have generated the most buzz and attracted the most attention in the league over the past few years.
Whenever the two of them clash, it's bound to be a bloody battle!
However, from teammates to opponents and back to teammates, now one is a player and the other is a boss. The only similarity is that both of them are still the guarantee of the market for their respective teams.
Well, it's perfectly normal for Lin Tian to become a market guarantee for the Knicks.
As for Jordan's current Bobcats, if he doesn't show up in the front row to watch the game, the attendance rate is the worst in the league. People don't have any revolutionary camaraderie with this new team that is destined to be at the bottom.
They weren't particularly interested in watching their team get thrashed by others.
But if you can see Jordan sitting in the front row looking worried when the team loses, and you're lucky enough to get an autograph, then you've definitely made a profit!
At least one-fifth of the fans came to Charlotte, to the Charlotte Spectrum Center, with this mindset! (End of Chapter)