dmims Chapter 421 I, Sir Charles, am a Puritan and have never participated in...
Chapter 421 I, Sir Charles, am a Puritan and have never participated in...
This highly anticipated match ended in a way that no one could have imagined. No one cared about the final score, and few people even remembered who won the match.
What everyone remembers is the spectacular scene of Lin Tian and Jordan unleashing their full offensive power in the first half. What everyone remembers is Barkley's domineering performance in the first half, as if he were some kind of mental master, and then his quiet demeanor in the second half, almost without uttering a word.
At the same time, there is a small group of people who can remember something different.
For example, Stern's close aides heard a 10-minute-long series of loud crashing and smashing noises coming from Stern's office at the start of the second half.
Then, the sound stopped briefly, and Stern opened his office door, asking, "Are they both back? How much have the ratings dropped?"
"It didn't recover; it dropped by 67%!"
The assistant knew exactly what Stern wanted and wisely chose to answer the question with the simplest words possible; otherwise, Stern's anger might have been directed at someone else.
"FUXX!"
Stern, who usually maintained a refined and easygoing appearance in front of outsiders, unusually swore and slammed the office door shut. Then, the sound of things being smashed and thrown could be heard from inside.
Stern was furious at Jordan and Lin Tian's willful behavior!
In Philadelphia, Iverson, who had no games to play, watched the game at home, then snorted dismissively, while secretly making a decision.
I will never talk about being the top scorer again, and I will never compete for that title again.
With these two guys doing this, the prestige and importance of the scoring title is definitely going to plummet!
Irritability!
"I'm going to do this sometime!" Kobe muttered, looking at the court without Jordan and Lin Tian. "I'll find a chance to do something big! I'll make sure everyone remembers me!"
In New Jersey, Kidd stared incredulously. "What did you say? Isn't this the first time Lin has done something like this? He took your entire team's Olympic gold medal and then didn't give it back to you for two whole years?"
"Fuck you! Yao, you Chinese people have such good tempers! If anyone dares to steal my gold medal, I'll kill him on the spot!"
"What if this person was Lin? Would you still take action, Jason?" Carter asked with a smile, posing a profound question.
"Then I can only try to reason with him and appeal to his emotions to persuade him to return it to me as soon as possible!"
"It's the second year in a row we're going to face them." New Orleans, Davis, had just finished their last game, in which the Hornets narrowly defeated the Hawks to secure the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
This marks the Hornets' second consecutive year making the playoffs and their second consecutive year facing Lin Tian and his Pacers.
"What are you afraid of? We'll play to whatever level we can! I don't believe we can be more humiliating than Washington!" Mashburn patted his chest, looking fierce, but the words he spoke were incredibly cowardly!
I never thought I could beat the Pacers; I just wanted to avoid a crushing defeat!
"That's right, why are we afraid of them! This is our first year in New Orleans! It's a best-of-seven series, we might still have a chance to win! We have more opportunities than last year!" Veteran Wesley argued from the perspective of the league's new format that the team couldn't possibly be swept!
He's made a little more progress than Mashburn, but not by much!
"Chauncey, if everything goes well, we might face the Indians this year. Are you confident?" Hamilton, who had just finished a game, removed his mask and asked his backcourt partner for the year.
"Yes!" Billups's performance was far more confident than the others next door: "I'm confident against anyone! Besides, we have Rasheed! He can definitely handle Chris!"
"No problem, Chris's in my hands, I'll definitely beat him to a pulp." Rashid, with a huge necklace around his neck, shook his head and said, "Then Lin and Michael..."
"Shut up!" Billups quickly interrupted Rashid before he could say anything.
Don't say it, don't ask it, don't mention it!
Let's not even talk about this kind of topic; let's discuss it during the competition!
The game between the Knicks and the Pacers ended in the most unexpected and disappointing way.
In the second half, the Pacers players lost their will to fight. They all wanted to celebrate with Lin Tian and Jordan, since the two of them had clearly said they would see each other later and left their addresses when they left!
If those two big shots went off to have some fun beforehand, how could the rest of the team possibly be in the mood to continue playing the game?
Therefore, the Pacers played quite poorly in the second half!
Ultimately, they were surprisingly reversed by the Knicks, suffering a crushing defeat in the second half. The Pacers lost to the Knicks by 10 points, 109-99, and failed to win their last regular season game.
However, the Pacers players are clearly not worried about this at all.
Now, it's time to climb the ladder!
That night, apart from the Pacers, the league scheduled a total of 12 matchups. Most of the league's teams played today and finished their last regular season game!
After this game, the rankings of the East and West were naturally finalized!
west:
1. The Los Angeles Lakers have a record of 61 wins and 21 losses.
2. Dallas Mavericks: 57 wins, 25 losses.
3. Sacramento Kings: 56 wins, 26 losses.
4. Minnesota Timberwolves: 53 wins, 29 losses.
5. Seattle SuperSonics: 47 wins, 35 losses.
6. Utah Jazz: 46 wins, 36 losses.
7. Portland Trail Blazers: 45 wins, 37 losses.
8. Phoenix Suns: 44 wins, 38 losses.
The rankings in the Western Conference are very stable. Their top four teams are exactly the same as last year, and these four teams basically represent the strongest force in the West right now! There is a very obvious and insurmountable gap in strength between them and the teams below them!
Well, maybe excluding the fifth-placed SuperSonics! Although they only have 47 wins, they are one of the two best teams in the Western Conference in the second half of the season! After the All-Star break, their record is second only to the Lakers in the West!
Their matchup against the Timberwolves could very well be the most interesting and exciting game of the first round!
east:
1. Indiana Pacers: 64 wins, 18 losses.
2. The New Jersey Nets have a record of 58 wins and 24 losses.
3. Orlando Magic: 57 wins, 25 losses.
4. Boston Celtics: 50 wins, 32 losses.
5. Philadelphia 76ers: 47 wins, 35 losses.
6. Detroit Pistons: 45 wins, 37 losses.
7. Milwaukee Bucks: 43 wins, 39 losses.
8. New Orleans Hornets: 42 wins, 40 losses.
The situation in the East is very similar to that in the West, with the top three rankings remaining unchanged, still a three-way battle between the Nets, Magic, and Pacers.
Of course, there are clear differences between these three teams. The Pacers are in a league of their own, followed by the Nets and Magic, whose records are almost identical.
Aside from these three teams, the teams further down the East have seen their fighting strength, at least on the surface, plummet!
At the very least, in the minds of fans, commentators, media, and bookmakers, apart from these three teams, the rest of the teams in the East are just there to make up the numbers, with no room for imagination, let alone the possibility of winning the championship!
The barrier between strong and weak teams is incredibly clear!
Especially after the first round changed from best of 5 to best of 7, the probability of an upset is actually even smaller!
The longer the series, the greater the margin for error, which is more advantageous for strong teams, making it more likely for them to advance easily.
But theory is one thing, but in actual combat, it's a completely different story!
At the very least, the fans of the teams outside the top three in the East have no intention of giving up so easily! They are hoping that their teams can teach those strong teams a lesson and let them know: our team's strength is not to be underestimated!
Besides the fact that the rankings of these 16 teams are completely set, the bottom-ranked teams in the lottery who were lurking in the top pick have also secured their positions through a whole season of hard work!
The Nuggets and Cavaliers, who were terrible from the beginning to the end of the season, ended up in last place and second to last place respectively. Both teams had a record of 17 wins and 65 losses, but the Cavaliers swept the Nuggets by winning two consecutive games in their head-to-head matchups!
Therefore, the Nuggets got their wish and became the last team, securing the position with the highest probability of drawing the number one draft pick, while the Cavaliers could only come in second!
The Spurs, with 22 wins, are third from the bottom, and the Knicks, with 24 wins, are fourth from the bottom. Together with the Heat, with 25 wins, the Clippers, with 26 wins, and the Grizzlies, with 27 wins, these teams have become some of the worst teams in the league today!
Of course, the worst team among them is definitely the Grizzlies, because the other teams are tanking, throwing the game, and genuinely want to lose. As the only team among these that doesn't have any draft picks of their own, the Grizzlies genuinely want to win, but they really can't win.
They really gave it their all, and that's how they managed to get 27 wins.
As for who will ultimately get the number one pick and who will select their ideal player, it all depends on their luck during the draft lottery in May!
In addition, since the competition has already ended, although the league has not yet announced the regular season awards, the results of various individual data champions are already very clear!
Allen Iverson led the league in steals this year with an average of 2.7 steals per game, followed closely by Lin Tian with 2.6 steals, while Jordan ranked fifth with 2.2 steals. It is also worth mentioning that Christie also had 2.1 steals per game!
The Pacers' three perimeter players are averaging close to 7 steals per game! Their perimeter defense and aggressiveness are absolutely the best in the league!
It is precisely because of their nearly 7 steals per game that the Pacers rank first in the league in fast break points per game! And by a huge margin, they lead all other teams!
The leader in blocks is Ratliff, who averages 3.3 blocks per game this season, followed by Ben Wallace with 3.2 blocks per game!
Although Ben Wallace was of average height and not very effective at defending top centers like Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan, his strength was that, apart from not being able to defend those few true monsters, he excelled in all aspects of defense, including help defense, top defense, rotation defense, and outfield defense against opposing small guards!
This is why he is called the best blue-collar center in the league today!
On the assist leaderboard, Kidd averaged 10.1 assists per game, becoming the assist leader for the first time in his career, while Lin Tian ranked second with 9.4 assists per game.
After Lin Tian dominated the assist title for five consecutive years, he finally relinquished his assist title this year due to Jordan's addition, changes in team tactics, more one-on-one plays, and his own improved offensive capabilities.
However, although he lost the assist title, Lin Tian became the scoring title this season!
Well... even though there are two people in charge, the top scorer is still the top scorer!
Lin Tian and Jordan both played 80 games this season, scoring a total of 2502 points, with an average score of 31.27 points per game!
Exactly the same! Absolutely identical!
For the first time in league history, the scoring title has been tied!
It's important to understand that during a long season, it's incredibly difficult and unpredictable for two players to have the exact same score and both be the league's highest!
An unprecedented first time!
It will almost certainly be the last time in the league's history!
In terms of rebounds per game, Garnett became the league's rebounding leader this season with an average of 13.4 rebounds per game, while Ben Wallace ranked seventh with an average of 10.4 rebounds per game, and Webber ranked tenth in the league with an average of 9.8 rebounds per game!
The 20 rebounds these two guys averaged per game were another important reason why the Pacers led the league in fast break scoring!
With rebounding inside, steals outside, and Lin Tian, arguably the best fast-break engine in history, it would be a miracle if the Pacers couldn't get their fast breaks going!
During this season, because Lin Tian and Jordan were too dazzling and crazy, the statistics of everyone else have declined significantly.
Webber averaged 14.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. After he willingly stepped down to become the team's third option, his average points per game declined once again!
Christie is only averaging 8.3 points per game this season. He really gives up a lot of shot attempts to his teammates. This season, Christie is focused on defense!
In addition, the trio of Arenas, Ginobili, and Parker off the bench have combined for 28.9 points this season. Their combined firepower is higher than any other trio of bench players on any other team in the league!
The Pacers have the strongest starting lineup, and they also have an unparalleled bench!
This season's Pacers are strong! And well-balanced!
Their goal is to win four consecutive championships for the first time since the Celtics' eight-year winning streak!
The Pacers' goal is to do something that no one has ever done or even come close to!
They're ready! They can't wait to give their first-round opponent, the Hornets, a good beating and show their form and determination!
For the second year in a row, I'll beat you up again!
This year, we might even get another fight!
"I think the Hornets will pull off an upset tonight!" Twenty minutes before Game 20 of the first round of the playoffs, Barkley, looking utterly dejected, declared in the TNT studio, "The Hornets will win!"
He was in pain! He was suffering! He felt so frustrated!
His face was swollen from being slapped, and he felt that his whole life was incredibly bad!
How could those two bastards be so shameless? How could they do such a thing?
I wonder if your brothers are now in deep trouble because of your choices?
Didn't you know that because you two left early, I was ridiculed by the whole world?
Three days!
Do you know how I spent those three days between the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs?
Lin Tian and Jordan: We don't know! We don't know what you said on TV either!
Sir Charles, you're babbling on and on in front of the camera, but you didn't contact us beforehand, did you?
Whose fault is it? It's definitely not ours!
Furthermore, if we knew that Barkley had consulted with us and said he wanted to explain things this way...
Then my brother and I will definitely stop playing in the first half!
I might even call Kenny and have a good chat with him about this incredibly joyful thing!
When there's something fun to be had, let's enjoy it together!
"Charles, do you even want to listen to what you're saying? This is work. Don't bring your personal emotions into your work, understand? We're commentators! We have our responsibilities! You can't keep making this stupid mistake!"
Kenny has also been going through the most difficult time of his life these past few days. He has been in immense pain, especially when he is on TV.
Holding back laughter while doing a TV show is incredibly difficult! It's like trying to climb to the sky!
For example, right now, after hearing Barkley say that the Hornets would suffer an upset in their first game, he had to poke himself hard in the back just to be able to speak normally.
Well, only in this way could he barely suppress his gloating and mocking expression and tone.
"I know what I'm talking about!" Barkley continued firmly, "The New Orleans are ready! This is their first playoff game in franchise history, and they won't give up! They'll show their attitude and their strength!"
"Barron is the most likely player in this league to guard Lin; he's not at a disadvantage in terms of size or speed! Mashburn can also use his youth, weight, energy, and size to deal with Michael, and then there's PJ, that old bastard is really cunning."
"He'll make Chris pay. And with Wesley's experience and Magloire's height, this Hornets team is much stronger than last year! Especially, I have to say..."
"How about we bet something, Charles?" Kenny couldn't stand Barkley's rambling any longer and interrupted his useless analysis.
"As everyone knows, I am a devout believer, and I hate all bad things, such as gambling! I swore before God long ago that I would never participate in any form, in any way, or with any stakes in my life!"
"Don't you want to listen to what you're saying?" Kenny snorted. "Could you repeat what you just said?"
"Of course!" Barkley said smugly. "I don't gamble! This is for God!"
"What if I bet on the Hornets to win?" Kenny pressed on.
"So what do you want to bet?" Barkley immediately blinked at Kenny, looking like he wanted to put the property deed right there and go all in tonight.
confidence!
I believe the Pacers will win!
"Fuck you! Go to hell! You fat bastard!" Kenny couldn't hold back any longer. He secretly gave the middle finger under the table and then cursed out loud.
He knew Barkley was thick-skinned and shameless, but he never expected him to be this shameless!
You really just talk nonsense!
Inside the Conseco Center, as the first playoff game of the season, the center was naturally packed with enthusiastic fans, with jubilant fans everywhere and excited fans shouting and yelling!
They had a feeling that a four-peat, something no one had done since the 1960s, was about to happen this year!
Our team will definitely make this dynasty even more incredible and unrepeatable this year!
Amidst the frenzied cheers of the fans, the Pacers' starting lineup once again stepped onto the court. Facing the Hornets, the Pacers, of course, did not need any adjustments or changes; they used their most frequently used starting lineup.
The Hornets on the other side also fielded their strongest lineup!
Baron Davis, David Wesley, Jamal Mashburn, PJ Brown, Jamal Magloire!
The Hornets' roster looks strong and well-equipped, with each player being a well-known figure in the league.
However, compared to the Pacers on the other side, they are really not worth mentioning!
On one side are two MVP-caliber perimeter players, two All-Star caliber interior players, and a versatile 3-and-D player.
On the other side are two All-Star fringe players with three quality rotation players.
In terms of star power and player ability alone, these two teams are worlds apart! And the difference of more than 20 wins in their regular season games really speaks volumes.
They are definitely not a team of the same caliber!
Of course, the Hornets aren't entirely without advantages!
Their biggest advantage in this series is their height in the paint!
"Snapped!"
In the opening tip-off, Magloire, who is known as the worst All-Star in history, easily tipped the ball to Davis from in front of Ben Wallace, taking advantage of his 215cm height and over 230cm wingspan.
Davis was not intimidated by Lin Tian after receiving the ball. He lowered his head, accelerated, dribbled and broke through, and immediately brought the ball to the frontcourt. After two consecutive crossovers outside the three-point line, he suddenly accelerated and rushed into the paint!
Lin Tian, of course, did not let Davis shake him off. He held on tightly, keeping himself in front of Davis at all times.
Davis's powerful, bull-like impact against other point guards in the league was utterly insignificant when facing Lin Tian!
He tried his best, but he couldn't shake off Lin Tian at all. On the contrary, Lin Tian maintained a defensive position the whole time!
After driving all the way to the basket, Davis suddenly pulled up without any regard for the fact that Lin Tian had spread his arms in front of him and forced a jump shot!
Just by looking at his contorted body and awkward shooting posture, it's easy to tell that this guy is likely to miss this shot.
Can you forge iron?
There's no such thing as a free lunch!
"Snapped!"
Davis felt like he hadn't even released the ball when a large hand suddenly appeared and pressed it down in front of him.
"run!"
Lin Tian let out a loud roar and dribbled the ball as he sprinted towards the frontcourt!
Christie was on his left front side, while Jordan followed behind Lin Tian. The Pacers' three-line fast break appeared again!
Mashburn is considered one of the league's top-tier physical monsters. He sprinted all the way back to the basket, then turned around to face Lin Tian one-on-one.
But to his surprise, Lin Tian had already shot the ball before he even turned his head!
"Too slow, Jamal!" Lin Tian roared, already pressed against Mashburn.
Mashburn had only just turned around when the ball came up; how could he possibly jump and defend?
He hadn't even gotten his footing before Lin Tian knocked him out of bounds!
"boom!"
Then came a loud bang. Lin Tian grabbed the rim with one hand, swung it around a bit, and then got off. He said to Mashburn, "Change your nickname, Jamal. Don't call you 'Monster,' 'Little Cutie' would suit you better!"
Mashburn remained very restrained and calm in the face of Lin Tian's provocation, quickly turning around and returning to the baseline to prepare to serve.
"Nobody's going to argue with me anymore." Lin Tian turned his head regretfully and happened to see Jordan, who had just run to his position and was now preparing to turn around and defend. "Michael, how about we have a fight?"
"Young people these days are such cowards! What, do you think I could beat them up?"
"Yeah, you can beat them." Jordan spat, pulling his hand back from the high-five he'd just extended to Lin Tian. "Not only can you beat them, you can beat their coach! You think they don't want to argue with you? Their coach won't allow it!"
"Baron, is that true? Your coach forbids you from trash-talking me?" The saying goes, "Make bold assumptions, then verify them carefully." Now that Jordan has made a bold assumption, Lin Tian must verify it carefully.
"What the hell?" Davis took the basketball, looking at Lin Tian with a bewildered expression. "What coach would be so cowardly? We've never received that kind of instruction or demands!"
"I understand now!" Lin Tian clapped his hands and looked at Mashburn, saying, "Jamal, so it's simply that you're a coward, right? It has nothing to do with your teammates, coaches, or anyone else; it's just that you're a coward, right?"
"Shut up!" Mashburn cursed, then quickly walked away.
The number one rule in the NBA today: Don't trash talk with Lin.
You can't out-argue him, and once you get worked up, you can't beat him in a fight.
Then don't waste your breath arguing with him. You'll only suffer and gain nothing!
"Lin! You think you can bully people like this? You think you're so great just because you can fight? You think we're afraid of you just because you can beat Tyson?" Davis yelled at Lin Tian while dribbling the ball, clearly trying to get revenge for his friend.
"Yeah, being able to fight is amazing. Beating Tyson, isn't it understandable that you're afraid of me?" Lin Tian innocently asked, "Aren't you afraid?"
"Afraid? Bah! I'm not afraid!" After saying that, Davis suddenly bent down and accelerated again, launching another powerful attack towards the inside!
This is his signature offensive move throughout his entire basketball career, the secret weapon that allowed him to rise from the slums of Los Angeles to the NBA All-Star team!
Unfortunately, this guy has clearly forgotten how Lin Tian taught him a lesson in last season's playoffs.
"Snapped!"
This time, Davis charged into the paint again and once again forced a jump shot over Lin Tian.
This time, Lin Tian didn't even need Ben Wallace's help. He positioned himself perfectly, timed it perfectly, jumped up in advance, and slapped the basketball in Davis's hand!
Another blood hat!
This time the basketball fell into Christie's hands, and he immediately dribbled forward and launched a counterattack.
"I'll follow Lin!" Davis shouted, accelerating in place to catch up with Lin Tian.
But he was clearly overthinking it. Lin Tian was incredibly fast when he had the ball, making him a nightmare for defenders throughout the league.
And when he doesn't have the ball, he's even faster!
Before he even crossed the three-point line, Davis had already been left behind by Lin Tian. By the time Lin Tian crossed the mid-court line, Davis was already more than a meter behind him!
In just a few steps, Lin Tian left Davis, a guy known for his explosive power, so far behind that he couldn't even see Davis's taillights!
"Doug!" Lin Tian shouted. Christie's pass arrived immediately. Lin Tian received the ball and was already inside the three-point line. Then he suddenly pushed the ball towards the middle with both hands. Mashburn immediately turned around to defend Jordan who was following up in the middle.
But the basketball didn't fly towards Jordan; it remained in Lin Tian's hands.
"boom!"
By the time Mashburn realized what was happening, all he could see was Lin Tian hanging on the rim.
Mashburn didn't even see how Lin Tian dunked! He was just too fast! (End of Chapter)