novelhk Chapter 643 The Lone Warrior, Iverson!
Chapter 643 The Lone Warrior, Iverson!
Chapter 643 The Lone Warrior, Iverson!
"I'll be here sooner or later." After all the championship ceremonies and events were over, all ten starting players from both sides took to the field.
This was the first thing Iverson said to Lin Tian after he saw him.
"If you'd like, you can come work for us when your contract expires in three years," Lin Tian said casually. "I'll reserve the best sixth man position for you."
"I'd rather die than accept that." Iverson rejected Lin Tian without even thinking.
"If you don't come here, how can you win the championship? Win the championship in Orlando?" Lin Tian couldn't help but taunt, "Let's be honest, with the current roster in Orlando, can you even beat Florida?"
It's no wonder Lin Tian was so sharp-tongued; the Magic's lineup was just too terrible!
Besides Allen Iverson, their second-in-command is Hedo Turkoglu. Objectively speaking, Turkoglu is definitely capable of carrying a strong team as the second-in-command.
However, besides these two, the team's third-ranked player is DeShawn Stevenson, and then Tony Battie.
Count down?
I can't count them all.
Lin Tianzhen doesn't recognize him!
Oh, wait, there's another one I know.
Kevin Cato.
This guy has been Yao Ming's substitute, but his level is quite worrying. He played for 5 minutes in a game and was criticized by Yao Ming's fans: How could this guy be so bad?
With just this one Magic team, they won the championship?
Go to sleep.
Lin Tian wasn't exaggerating when he said they couldn't beat Florida.
Florida is the champion of this year's Triad Madness, and with all its key players retained, their goal is to win back-to-back championships!
In the NCAA, a place where every game is decided and upsets are more likely to happen than breathing, what does winning two consecutive championships mean?
This means that this team has absolute strength and terrifying consistency!
Looking across the entire NCAA league, apart from teams like UCLA in the early days, no team has been able to defend its title in the last 30 years!
This shows just how difficult it is to defend a title in the NCAA.
But despite the immense uncertainty and unpredictable nature of the competition and the league, the current Florida team was able to successfully defend their title, becoming the first college team since UCLA to do so!
Their five starters will also participate in the 2007 NBA draft, with three of them being selected in the lottery: El Horford, Joakim Noah, and Corey Brewer, and two others being selected in the second round.
Honestly, it's really hard to predict the outcome if this team were to play against the Magic!
They may not have a superstar like Allen Iverson, but their teamwork is top-notch, their roster is well-balanced with almost no weaknesses, and the players are united. You know, these five players were lottery picks last year!
Even players like Noah and Horford, if they had entered the draft a year earlier, many people would have considered them to be the top picks!
The reason why 06 was called a "super weak year" was largely due to the fact that the Florida Lotto trio did not participate in the draft!
As for whether the Magic or the Florida team is stronger, and what the odds are in a series, Lin Tian wasn't really sure.
But when an NBA team has to compare itself to an NCAA team and it's actually worth discussing, it's enough to show how bad that team is right now.
What's worse, the Magic didn't actually have any intention of building a team, developing a team culture, creating a winning atmosphere, or focusing on winning.
Their head coach, Brian Hill, didn't practice much useful stuff during training camp; his offensive tactics can be summarized into two points.
When Iverson had the ball, the whole team would screen for him, creating opportunities for him to shoot.
When Turkoglu had the ball, the whole team would screen for Iverson, who was moving off the ball, to create opportunities for him to shoot.
Basically, that's all there is to it.
Brian Hill made these arrangements because it was a task assigned from above.
"We don't care about winning percentage or results, but you have to make the team play attractively and give the fans something to look forward to."
So how can the Magic team play in a way that gives fans something to look forward to and makes them want to come watch the games?
Iverson, keep racking up points!
Nothing could be more appealing.
This situation actually illustrates two things.
1. The Magic are very self-aware; they know the level of their current roster and have simply chosen to play it safe.
2. In this place, let alone winning a championship, Iverson would be considered to be still going strong and unparalleled if he could even make the playoffs.
The Magic have two goals this season: to get Allen Iverson to win the scoring title and to get fans to buy season tickets.
It's that simple!
In response to Lin Tian's doubts and taunts, Iverson unusually refrained from using trash talk or saying anything like "we'll see" or "I can beat those college students to death."
Because Iverson also knew very well that when his team was being compared to a college team, there was really no need to continue the conversation.
What can we continue?
Did he bring shame upon himself?
"Beep beep!"
What helped ease Iverson's embarrassment was the referee's whistle; the game began with the referee's whistle!
Okur easily defeated that guy, giving the Knicks their first offensive opportunity of the night.
Lin Tian grabbed the basketball, then couldn't help but purse his lips.
He felt a surge of relief.
This season, the title of worst defensive team may very well change hands!
It's highly unlikely that our Knicks will be the worst defensive team this season!
He didn't defend the Magic at all!
At least the Knicks can put up some intensity with man-to-man defense, but the Magic have nobody guarding them at all.
The moment Lin Tian got the ball, he spotted three open spaces!
Anthony, Stoudemire, and Barnes, who successfully made it into the starting lineup this year, all got an open shot.
There was no one defending them.
But how should I put it?
Faced with this happy dilemma, Lin Tian was momentarily stunned, and this moment of distraction caused him to miss his chance.
After all, they are an NBA team. Even if they are bad, they shouldn't have three or four open shots on the court at the same time, and for several seconds at a time.
That's outrageous.
What's even more outrageous is that when Lin Tian didn't pass the ball and dribbled quickly forward, he found that he not only easily got past Iverson with one step, but also easily broke into the Magic's paint in the blink of an eye.
Who was that person in front of him?
right!
Kevin Cato didn't even turn around; he was facing Lin Tian sideways, because he was too slow!
"Bang!"
Faced with an absolutely open layup opportunity and defense even looser than that of a Queens streetwalker, Lin Tian was careless, and his layup missed.
This shot was so easy that Lin Tian couldn't even keep up.
He even glanced back before making his move.
He's doing this so easily, he must be up to something!
Of course there's no such thing as a scam; the Magic team these days wouldn't have the resources to pull off such a high-level stunt as a bluff.
Their defense is really bad.
But despite their terrible defense, this team isn't entirely without merit!
For example, Turkoglu grabbed the rebound and then used his superior basketball IQ to make a long one-handed pass to Iverson, who was already fast-running down the court. Judging from the position of the bastard when he received the ball, Lin Tian suspected that this guy had already started fast-running down the court when Lin Tian broke through.
This kind of fast break reminded Lin Tian of an old friend. This kind of playing style is really shameless!
Once Iverson got the ball, no one could catch him. He easily drove to the frontcourt and then made a layup to open the scoring for the team!
The Magic are leading by 2 points!
"Have you no shame?" Lin Tian couldn't help but complain during the second push. "You used to be bad at defense, but at least you looked like you were playing hard. Now you don't even bother to look like you're fighting?"
"Does it make any sense?" Iverson remained unmoved, his expression towards Lin Tian even carrying a hint of utter despair.
No, wasn't this guy just now full of confidence, shouting that he was going to win the championship?
It's only been one round, how come it looks like his wife has died?
No, given the relationship between that scumbag Iverson and his wife, if his wife died, he'd probably be popping champagne right now.
But anyway, Iverson's attitude at this moment says it all.
This guy has already given in, at least for this season.
He's determined to "brush" this year!
Whether it's for the scoring title, team season ticket sales, or to let those strong teams see their talent and see if they can still play, they should quickly buy them.
Anyway, Iverson is definitely planning to go all out on offense this season and completely abandon defense!
The subsequent matches basically proved that Lin Tian's ideas were all correct!
Although Iverson couldn't stop Lin Tian, he was always very fierce when he went up against him, and he never knew what it meant to give in or surrender.
But tonight, Iverson played with incredible cunning.
On the defensive end, they were practically just standing there with their hands on their hips, watching the show without moving.
As soon as he saw the Knicks shoot, he immediately ran towards the frontcourt without looking back. If the pass was to him on the fast break, he would go for it. If not, he would try to catch the ball as soon as possible and then go for it!
To put it simply, Iverson's playing style was: go all out on fast breaks to score, play defense without moving to conserve energy, and in half-court sets, constantly look for teammates to screen for him before taking the shot himself, playing a very selfish style.
I can understand the issue of selfishness on the court; Allen Iverson has been criticized for selfishness his entire life. But Lin Tian is really reminded of an old friend when it comes to his tendency to go on fast breaks without any defense!
It's so similar, so incredibly similar!
Everything is for the sake of data. All decisions and choices made while playing are for the sake of data. No shame is spared.
He would even drive to the basket for a tough 2-pointer when the team was down by 4-5 points with only a dozen seconds left.
It's exactly the same!
cough cough.
Of course, Lin Tian wasn't referring to that old friend; he was talking about his own father.
He had seen his father and his employees compete in the "Employee Cup".
Defense? His own father practically wanted to stand in midfield; even the forwards in a football match positioned themselves further back than him.
Offense? Anyway, as soon as the opponent shoots, his dad runs to the basket.
His opponents were always clever enough to "catch" him, and his teammates were always able to pass the ball to him.
The match Lin Tian watched was quite an eye-opener.
Lin Tian's father launched 50 fast breaks in a row, taking 45 shots, at least 40 of which were wide-open layups, and made 30 of them. And that doesn't even include the few times when the opponents saw that Lin Tian's father was about to miss, they "cleverly" rushed up and fouled him.
In short, Lin Sen's free throw percentage that night seemed to be around 5 out of 15. Although his free throw shooting was off, Lin Tian's father still scored a whopping 65 points in the employee cup final, leading his team to victory and winning the MVP award.
This year's Iverson has basically been playing this style of play.
Lin Tian is willing to call this move "CEO Basketball".
However, it's clear that with the Magic's current roster and this rather outrageous style of play, they can indeed allow Iverson to score a lot of points, but the team itself won't score many points. Against most teams in the league, they probably won't be able to put up much of a fight.
At halftime, the Magic had only scored 46 points against the Knicks' defense!
Iverson himself scored 19 points in the first half.
But the Knicks scored 61 points in the first half, leading the Magic by 15 points, and the whole team played quite relaxed and comfortable.
Their ball movement, passing, and relentless offensive onslaught really opened the eyes of the Magic players.
In the second half, once the Knicks began to adapt to the Magic's outrageous style of play, the Magic's fast breaks stopped working, and Iverson's efficiency and opportunities to receive the ball and drive to the basket decreased.
The Magic's already poor offense became even worse because of Iverson's lapse in concentration.
At the end of the third quarter, the Knicks outscored the Magic by 14 points, and the gap between the two teams quickly reached 30 points!
In the fourth quarter, Don Nelson decisively substituted all his key players, letting them sit on the bench and rest for a while. It was the opening game, so that was enough.
Even Don Nelson was worried that playing against such a terrible team like the Magic would lead to him picking up bad habits like watching TV.
Playing chess with a terrible player will only make you worse!
Replace them immediately.
His substitutions were a five-in-five-out, and he didn't bring on players like Smith, Houston, or Hill; he brought on players like Shannon Brown, Nate Robinson, and Vinicius.
Like I said, I'm afraid of catching bad habits!
But when all the Knicks' key players were sitting on the bench, Lin Tian noticed something was amiss.
"What's that bastard doing?" Lin Tian pointed at Iverson and said, "He really has no shame, he'll do anything to get ahead, huh?"
"Let him pay, what's the harm in it?"
Old Nelson shrugged, too lazy to bother with Lin Tian.
With only one quarter left in the game and trailing by 30 points, how much can Iverson possibly score? Can he possibly rack up 50 points?
Iverson: Okay! Then 50 points it is!
At the start of the fourth quarter, Iverson had only scored 37 points, which wasn't low, but it was just average.
Then in the fourth quarter, taking advantage of the Knicks' entire bench playing, Iverson immediately took to the court and quickly racked up points.
In less than 6 minutes, he made 5 of 14 field goals, 1 of 3 three-pointers, and 2 of 3 free throws, scoring 13 points and bringing his total to 50 points. Then, Iverson took advantage of a dead ball to leave the court for a rest.
Allen Iverson, who scored 13 points in the first half of the quarter, successfully narrowed the 30-point gap between the two sides to 27 points at the end of the third quarter!
absurd.
Lin Tian simply found it absurd.
It's not like he's never scored 50 points before, it's not like he's missing that achievement in his career, so why is he coming in the fourth quarter to rack up points? Is he desperate and about to start playing recklessly to take revenge on society?
Filled with this incomprehensible sense of absurdity, Lin Tian finally waited until the game ended, and then he quickly found Iverson and started talking to him.
"What are you doing?" Lin Tian asked, extremely curious. "You don't have some terminal illness and are going to retire after this season, so you're working yourself to the bone to accumulate as much data as possible, do you?"
"Get lost," Iverson cursed, apparently not having a terminal illness.
"So what exactly do you want to do?"
"I need stats!" After thinking for a while with his head down, Iverson finally chose to tell the truth: "I want to use the best stats to get more attention. I want to use my explosive stats this year to seek opportunities and trades, to let those strong teams see me!"
"I can still play, I can still contribute to the championship, I hope to get some offers and then leave."
"I'll play here for a maximum of one year. If I'm lucky, I'll leave by the trade deadline. A three-year contract? No way! I can't let myself waste three years of my remaining youth here!"
"But if you keep playing like this, you might not even win 10 games this year." Lin Tian was still a little worried about his good friend's mental state.
"What does it have to do with me? The Magic only brought me in for stats, not wins, so I'll just give them the stats they want! Besides, I've said it before, I'll definitely leave by the end of this offseason at the latest! I'll definitely join a really strong team and go after a championship."
Hearing this, Lin Tian wisely chose to shut up, patted Iverson on the shoulder, and said nothing more.
Everyone has their own ambitions, and that has nothing to do with me.
As for whether Iverson's move will be effective, Lin Tian had no idea.
Then?
Then the major media outlets started to exert their influence!
Allen Iverson's 50-point outburst wasn't enough to save the defending champions!
Allen Iverson scores a career-high 50 points in the opening game!
Even Lin couldn't stop Allen! The basketball court sprite dances once again!
Despite their best efforts, the team suffered a crushing defeat; the relationship between Iverson and Orlando may have been doomed from the start!
No one fought harder than him! Even the indomitable Allen Iverson couldn't overcome Lin Tian!
Allen Iverson: If 50 points aren't enough to win, I'll score 60! I'm still me, and that will never change!
Allen Iverson: I won't give up! I'll do everything I can to lead the team to the playoffs!
Allen Iverson: I will never give up! Whether with the 76ers, Timberwolves, or Magic, I only have victory in my eyes!
"Scoring points or not giving up? A series of missed shots against the Knicks' bench in the fourth quarter – is an inefficient 50 points really something to brag about?"
……
Right after the game ended that night, there was an overwhelming amount of talk and reports about Iverson, and surprisingly, over 90% of them were positive!
Lin Tian simply looked at the reports and the most popular videos on YouTube, all of which were clips of Iverson charging, falling, getting up, and continuing to fight hard that night.
After putting all these things together, Lin Tian felt he had grasped the essence!
He immediately called Pelinka.
"I found you a new assistant, it's a part-time job, but I'm sure you'll be satisfied! So can you please stop calling me in the middle of the night from now on?" Pelinka answered the phone and immediately started wailing.
He was truly desperate.
Who's the kind person who keeps calling people in the middle of the night?
"I'm not letting you do any work this time because I'm curious." Lin Tian ignored Pelinka and went straight to the point: "Is Allen one of your players? Allen Iverson."
"Yes."
"You helped him with this tonight's matter, right?"
"Yes, he paid more, so I'm here to help him sort it out."
(End of this chapter)