Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 930 Another guy I don't really know has entered the scene!

"Under the basket! Cut! Cut!" Odom dribbled with his right hand while waving his left hand impatiently, clearly dissatisfied with his teammates' positioning.

Then this guy suddenly changed speed one by one at incredible speed, slamming the basketball from his right hand to his left. At the same time, he used his weight and size advantage to quickly take a step to get into position, and then used his body to push away Jackson, who was guarding him, before accelerating again!

Jackson lost all defensive positions and couldn't keep up with Odom's pace at all, so he could only chase after him step by step, constantly putting pressure on him.

But Odom didn't even look at Jackson behind him. Instead, he drove straight to the basket and jumped up to face Duncan and Howard under the basket.

This guy's really gone crazy!

We're ready to push our limits!

But with two of the best defenders, Duncan and Howard, battling it out, it's not so easy to succeed.

"Snapped!"

With a crisp sound, Odom, who had rushed over, fell back to the ground just as he had, and the basketball was slammed to the floor by Duncan and O'Neal together.

Jackson, who was following Odom, immediately grabbed the basketball, but before he could even get a firm grip on it, Fields, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, suddenly pulled it out and hit the basketball right into Jackson's hand.

Jackson reacted incredibly quickly, rushing towards the basketball to regain control, but he was too late and failed to catch it again.

Rose grabbed the basketball behind him, slammed it to the ground, took a step to shake off Parker, and drove into the basket again.

Duncan and Howard raised their hands high, like two gatekeepers, firmly guarding the area under the basket.

Rose didn't hold onto the ball greedily at all; with a crossover, the basketball flew out of the three-point line again.

Outside the three-point line at the right corner, Yao Ming calmly caught the basketball, aimed, and released!

At this moment, there was almost no one in front of him. Parker was left behind by Rose, Duncan and Howard were standing under the basket, and Jackson was blocked by Odom and could not get past him.

Ginobili was the only Celtics player standing outside the three-point line, but unfortunately, he was at least 800 meters away from Yao Ming. Even if he were fast enough to flash over and interfere, given his height, it would be difficult for him to interfere with Yao Ming, who had already received the ball and jumped.

"Whoosh!"

A moment later, a crisp sound that silenced the North Shore Garden came as Yao Ming hit a crucial three-pointer!

90: 86!

The last 40 seconds!

The Bobcats have taken a dominant position in this game!

Rivers reluctantly reached out and called his final timeout of the game.

Success or failure hinges on this moment!

"Fantastic! A crucial three-pointer!" Miller shouted. "I told you, three-pointers can change the game, they can change this league!"

"Time is running out for the Celtics! Yao Ming hit a crucial three-pointer! The Bobcats' three-point shooting percentage is less than 20% so far tonight! Apart from Stephenson, no one else has made any impressive three-pointers!"

"But it's precisely at times like these that Yao Ming dares to shoot, and Rose dares to pass! The Bobcats have completely turned the tide. They have a 4-point lead, and as long as they don't make any stupid mistakes, the Celtics will have to score twice in a row and defend the next one if they want to come back!"

Jackson said, "With 40 seconds left in the game, theoretically the Celtics don't necessarily have to go for a three-pointer. They can go for a quick two-pointer, let their players score quickly, and then defend for 24 seconds."

"Given the Celtics' defensive capabilities, they can absolutely trust their defense! They can easily score two solid two-pointers instead of rushing to gamble on three-pointers."

"As for the Bobcats, they will likely selectively let the Celtics score 2 points and go all out to fight for 3 points, but they can also go all out on defense."

"For the Bobcats, if they don't allow the Celtics to score a 3+1, or if they can get the ball in 15 seconds or more to complete their attack, then they've succeeded!"

"In short, the Bobcats now have at least an 80% chance of winning!"

"Defense! Don't give them three points! Remember, don't give them three points!" Lin Tian shouted. "Not only don't give them three points, but don't give them two points either! We'll just defend normally, without any pressure. As long as we don't foul, that's good defense!"

"Everyone remembers, we were leading by 4 points, the opportunity was in our hands! We had basically won!"

"Relax and play normal defense."

"Their offense is spread out, and they can pick up a lot of guys who can score on their own."

"Parker, Ginobili, Jackson, Duncan—these four guys are all pretty good scorers! We're going to go one-on-one from now on, understand? We're going to go one-on-one!"

"Give them mid-range shots! Especially those long two-pointers! If they want to shoot, let them shoot, just keep your defense in place!"

"Lock up both the paint and the three-point line!"

"Don't switch when you encounter a pick-and-roll! We'll squeeze through, we won't give them an easy chance to exploit a mismatch."

"Everyone, if you encounter an off-ball screen, immediately remind your teammates, immediately tell your teammates, everyone shout it out! Raise your voices and remind your teammates! If there's a problem, ask your teammates for help!"

"Do you understand?"

"clear!"

"Alright, Yao, Yitang, Marvin, Landry, and Derek, the five of you go up!"

The other four players are doing well; Yao Ming and Derrick Rose are the team's absolute core players, and Fields has just made several outstanding contributions.

Although Marvin Williams doesn't play much, he's a tall guy with an exceptionally long wingspan, making him a very well-rounded defensive player. He often comes on in the final moments of a game to take charge of defense in crucial possessions.

But when Itham Thomas's name was called, the entire team was genuinely taken aback.

Although Thomas is nominally the team's second center, his playing style is only suitable for the center position, and he basically has no ability to play the power forward position.

Therefore, with Yao Ming, who also couldn't play the power forward position, occupying the vast majority of the center position time, and Odom and Boozer occasionally playing center in small lineups, Thomas's playing time per game was only around 10 minutes.

In the playoffs, his playing time was even less.

For example, tonight, he only played for 6 minutes in the first half, and apart from one rebound, he didn't have any other statistics.

Thomas's individual ability does justify his playing time. His defining characteristics are his size, weight, strength, slow movement, pure role player, and mediocrity.

Standing at 210 cm tall and weighing nearly 130 kg, this guy was still quite marketable 5-6 years ago when the league still had traditional big men like Yao Ming, Tim Duncan, and Shaquille O'Neal. That's why, even though his best year only had 8 points and 6 rebounds, he was still able to stay in the league for over a decade and always find a job.

However, in recent years, as teams have sped up their pace and there are fewer and fewer dominant big men in the paint, Thomas's career has been declining, with less and less playing time and opportunities.

Even during regular playing time, they can't guarantee consistent playing time, let alone in the life-or-death moments of the playoffs.

So Thomas was completely stunned when he was called on.

"Like I said, are you ready?" Lin Tian saw the shock in Thomas's eyes and asked again, "If you feel you can't handle the job on the court, I can offer another approach, no problem."

"Coach, I'm fine with it too! Tell me, what do you want me to do!" After his initial surprise, Thomas, like Fields and the others, patted his chest and said he was fine.

"Although the Celtics have creative players like Parker and Ginobili, their coach is a terrible coach, so I'm 90% sure they'll attack the paint this time and let either Duncan or Howard go one-on-one."

"Because Carlos isn't here, they'll definitely think their interior defense is overwhelmingly superior to ours, and they'll try to take on us one-on-one in the paint! And I'm almost certain that, besides the one Yao is facing, their other interior player will initiate that attack!"

"So, Itang, I need someone to hold off the other one. I need someone to protect our victory. I hope someone can step up at this moment and stop their final attack!"

"If I put you on the court, you'll definitely become their offensive focal point and breakthrough point. So, like I said, are you ready to shoulder everything? Or rather, are you ready to become the hero of all of Charlotte?"

"I'm ready!" Thomas thumped his chest again to show his determination.

"Then you choose one," Lin Tian said directly. "Howard or Duncan, choose one you think you can defend, and leave the rest to Yao! I have 100% faith in you, Yitang, just like I have 100% faith in everyone else."

"I choose Duncan!" After hesitating for less than a second, Thomas declared firmly, "I can beat Duncan!"

"Then it's Duncan!" Lin Tian punched him in the chest and said, "Like I said, I believe in you 100%! Go, become a hero!"

After Lin Tian finished speaking, the timeout finally ended, and the players from both sides walked onto the court side by side.

"Ittan Thomas?" Miller looked at the big man walking onto the court and couldn't help but say, "Lin is a gambler! An absolute gambler! He actually picked up another fringe player at this time!"

"Of course, Thomas is better than Fields and Stephenson. He's part of the team's rotation and not a complete benchwarmer, but this is just too much! At this point, suddenly bringing on a player who only played 6 minutes tonight and only got one rebound."

"I can understand Lin's desire to strengthen their interior defense, and I can also understand his concern that the Celtics will focus on attacking their twin towers," Jackson added. "But it's still too crazy."

"With Odom, a very reliable center, already on the team, choosing to play Thomas is something I doubt any other coach in the entire league would do!"

Miller, however, expressed some concern: "I'm worried that Lin is getting carried away with using these unconventional players, leading him to pursue extreme strategies. But going too far off-target can easily backfire! Thomas is already the third fringe player Lin has used tonight!"

"Stephenson and Fields both gave Lin a satisfactory performance, and they both repaid Lin's trust. Now, it's Thomas's turn. Can he repay Lin's trust and deliver a great game?"

While the two commentators were analyzing the game, the players from both sides had already returned to the court. The experienced Jackson stood on the sideline, ready to inbound the ball, while the tall, long-armed, and athletic Williams spread his arms on the sideline, jumping up and down to disrupt the Celtics' passing.

The rest of the team followed Rivers' instructions and began to scatter, looking for opportunities to receive the ball.

Parker and Ginobili quickly screened each other at the top of the key and then ran to the sides.

After these two players, both with exceptional ball-handling skills, made their run, the Bobcats' defense immediately showed a weakness. Parker turned around, received the ball, and waved to signal everyone not to rush and to run a tactic steadily.

Of course, at this point in the game, the most effective tactic is always star player one-on-one play!

"Dwight, get out of the way!" When Duncan saw that it was Thomas, this unknown guy, who was guarding him, he finally put away the smile that he always used to coax Howard and let him have his fun, and immediately told Howard to get out of the way.

He's going to do it himself.

His success rate against Thomas seems much higher than Howard's against Yao Ming!

This is basically the tactic Rivers devised!

Attack the paint!

Rivers believes that Lin Tian's frontcourt pairing at this point should definitely be Odom and Yao Ming. Yao Ming is a given, and while Odom is agile, his size and low-post defense are at best below average.

Rivers' plan was to have Yao Ming pull one player away so that another could target Odom.

But he really didn't expect that Lin Tian would dare to bring on a purely fringe player like Thomas at this time.

Rivers, with his uncreative mind, naturally couldn't understand why Lin Tian would be so bold and crazy, no matter how hard he tried.

But it's obviously too late to rearrange tactics now; Rivers doesn't have any timeouts left to call.

He could only hope that his players could adapt to the situation and perform better.

Howard, on the other hand, knew how to prioritize. He didn't even need Duncan to say anything; he had already pushed Yao Ming aside and moved to the other side.

Parker immediately passed the ball to Jackson, who had just returned to the court, and Jackson then bounced the ball to Duncan.

Duncan received the ball, backed down, and tested the defense before quickly scanning the entire court out of the corner of his eye.

No one's double-teaming us!

Then there's no need for any hesitation.

Duncan raised the ball high with both hands, then suddenly exerted force, turning sideways and crashing into Thomas.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two muffled thuds followed, and Thomas's chest was almost caved in by Duncan's impact, but he gritted his teeth and refused to back down.

After two consecutive impacts, Duncan suddenly spun quickly toward the baseline, and after the basketball bounced on the floor, he suddenly spun in the opposite direction again, heading toward the baseline.

This double spin move, like the bank shot, is one of Duncan's signature moves. Because of his long strides and good physical strength, this move, although not particularly fast, always helps him create the shooting space he needs.

This time, Thomas clearly withstood Duncan's test and successfully repaid Lin Tian's trust. He moved sideways and blocked Duncan again, spreading his arms to maintain an almost perfect defensive posture and movement.

No matter how hairy a player is, he shouldn't expect to find a chance to be called for a foul under Thomas's defense.

After Thomas blocked his path, Duncan quickly exerted force again, hitting Thomas once more. Then he turned around and took a big step towards the baseline, suddenly raising his hands to catch the ball and making a very realistic shooting fake.

But whether Thomas was too slow to react or his defense was just too good, he barely moved, his hands still raised high, firmly holding his defensive position, not giving Duncan a comfortable chance to shoot.

Duncan knew this offensive play couldn't drag on for too long; there wasn't enough time for him to pass the ball out again and reorganize the play, especially since the team was down by 4 points.

So this guy could only do two more moves on the spot that completely failed to fool Thomas, and then forcefully pull up and throw the ball toward the basket with one hand.

"Perfect defense! Thomas absolutely pushed himself to the limit this time! His positioning, movement, and touch were all impeccable! If Duncan had made that shot, it would have been Duncan's achievement, but Thomas did his best! You couldn't have done better with anyone else in the league!"

Just as Duncan made his move, Miller couldn't help but give Thomas a very high evaluation!

From the audience's perspective, this defense was completely unexciting, with no game-winning steals or humiliating blocks.

However, industry insiders believe that Thomas's defense was almost flawless.

He did a very good job of what a defender should do.

"Bang!"

Then there was a muffled thud, and Duncan's floater bounced off the rim, failing to make the shot.

Thomas had already turned around quickly the moment Duncan shot, then stuck his butt out and pinned Duncan behind him, preventing Duncan from fighting for the rebound.

On the other side, Yao Ming naturally did the same thing, kicking Howard so hard that he was thrown far away, preventing Howard from grabbing the rebound.

Both big men chose a selfless approach to grabbing the rebound; neither of them tried to grab it themselves, but instead focused on positioning themselves to let their teammates have the ball.

Fields didn't let their efforts go to waste, rushing out quickly and grabbing the rebound.

Then he showed no intention of dribbling himself, and didn't even pass the ball to Rose. Instead, he immediately passed the ball to Yao Ming, who was the most accurate and reliable free throw shooter on the team.

Let's see if the Celtics need to foul first, and then we'll see.

Anyway, for the Lynx, time has now become their friend, and they don't need to rush at all.

There are 30 seconds left in the game!

Yao Ming held the ball high in place, observing the situation on the court. The Celtics players wanted to foul him, but firstly, Rivers hadn't ordered them to foul, and secondly, Yao Ming's free throw percentage was too high, so the Celtics hesitated for a long time before making a move.

In the end, Duncan couldn't stand it anymore. This guy, who had already returned to defense, actually ran back again, grabbed Yao Ming, and sent him to the free-throw line.

However, by this time, nearly 5 seconds of the match time had been inexplicably wasted. (End of Chapter)