NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

In the following period, although the Pacers did not suffer any bad situations such as 4 consecutive losses, they also played a 6-game winning streak, but the team's overall record was indeed not very good, at least it was far from their previous performance of being firmly in the top three in the Eastern Conference for many years.

And the reasons are still the same reasons.

Apart from Lin Tian, ​​the team lacks a stable attacker. After Lin Tian leaves the court, the team always plays in a chaotic manner. The rotation in the interior is stretched due to Webber's injury. In total, there are only two completely reliable rotation players, Haslem and Miller.

At the end of November, the Pacers had a record of only 11 wins and 9 losses, barely ranking sixth in the Eastern Conference.

And because his teammates were not strong enough, Lin Tian also exerted his energy to the extreme this month, averaging 43.8 minutes per game, averaging 33.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, 10.5 assists, 2.7 steals and 1.4 blocks!
Among them, Lin Tian's scoring ranked first in the league! His assists ranked second in the league, second only to Kidd, and his steals also ranked first in the league!

Apart from Lin Tian, ​​the team's second-highest scorer Artest averaged only 13 points per game, and the third-highest scorer Miller's average score was just over 10 points. Apart from these three people, no one else on the team averaged double digits!
As can be seen from the individual scores, the Pacers played very un-Pacer style this month.

The number of their most signature quick counterattacks in the past few years has decreased significantly, and the proportion of positional battles has increased significantly, but at the same time, the Pacers' defense has also improved significantly.

In the past few years, the Pacers have always been the league's best offensive team, or even the best offensive team in the league. Although their defense is good, it is generally only in the upper ten.

But this season, their offense has dropped to the middle of the league, but their defense has climbed all the way to the top three in the league!

I have to say that Carlisle was quite successful in building this team and teaching the players in accordance with their aptitude!

He did use the existing personnel to play the offensive and defensive system that best suited the team.

However, the Pacers still need some running-in and adaptation before they can truly return to the ranks of top teams.

In December, the Pacers' condition improved slightly, and they once again won five consecutive games in the first five games of the month!

In this winning streak, in addition to Lin Tian's continued performance as the league's scoring champion, the most important reason is that Parker and Ginobili are playing better and better.

Lin Tian’s post-match special training for these two people has finally started to show results!

Ginobili became more and more confident. He began to dare to pass the ball and throw the ball in many opportunities where he would have hesitated before.

Parker is becoming more and more courageous when calling tactics and directing his teammates.

These two people are becoming more and more confident!

Especially during the routine one-on-one duels before each training session, Parker and Ginobili finally dared to resist.

Faced with the trash talk and tricks of Lin Tian and Artest, the two guys began to dare to fight back in the same way, and gradually they were not afraid at all.

"Just by giving them some little tricks and trash talk in the one-on-one match, and letting them yell at the mirror before the game, you can make these two guys transform?" The operation was successful, but Webber, who will be out for at least 6 months, is the most relaxed person on the team and is also most in the mood to observe everyone's situation.

He was the first guy to notice the changes in Parker and Ginobili.

"Of course, it's not just that. I give each of these two guys a disc every week, which usually contains their highlights, including their highlights from the national team, youth team, previous European leagues and NBA games."

"I have classified the top ten passes, top ten dribbles, top ten defenses, top ten scores and so on into different categories and have done a lot for them!"

"Then there will be a collection of trash talk and tricks from those old bastards, which I will let them take home and savor."

"The main focus is to build confidence while actively learning." Lin Tian shrugged, indicating that everything is going as planned.

"Can something like this have such a big effect on these two people?" Webber still looked unconvinced, because Parker and Ginobili's progress in this month was really too obvious.

"If we treat Manu differently, he will be more motivated if we encourage and praise him more. Tony is more reserved and doesn't like to talk, so we need to push him hard and push him to the bottom, and he will naturally bounce back."

Lin Tian continued: "Of course, what's more important is that they both have talent and ability, but in the past few years because the team was too strong and there were too many players, they didn't play well and were not that good."

"But now if we give them some opportunities and trust, they will immediately show their strength. Both of them will definitely be able to enter the All-Stars in the future!"

……

After this wave of 5 consecutive wins, the Pacers are back on track. They have achieved 9 wins and 6 losses in the next 3 games, and their overall record has reached 20 wins and 10 losses. They have also returned to fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Their record is only slightly worse than that of the Pistons, Magic and Nets.

Next, the most anticipated game day of the NBA regular season is coming!

Christmas war!

The Pacers will undoubtedly continue to play in this year's Christmas game, and this time they will travel to the Target Center in Minnesota, where they will have a Christmas game with the Timberwolves, who have made a last-ditch effort to form an ace lineup during the offseason!
So far this season, the Timberwolves, who acquired Iverson without paying too much for rotation players, have been playing smoothly!

Their starting five is one of the strongest in the league, and the team's configuration is also quite reasonable. They are now ranked second in the Western Conference, second only to the Lakers who have failed to win the championship in the past few years.

The Timberwolves had a record of 23 wins and 7 losses in the first games, which is also the best record in the first games in the history of the team. Everything shows that the Timberwolves' gamble was successful. This time they are no longer Huskies, but are about to transform into real wild wolves.

So far this season, the Timberwolves' most commonly used starting lineup is Cassell, Iverson, Sprewell, Garnett and Ogwokandi, with Szczerbiak, a shooter who once made the All-Star team, on the bench.

The team's leading scorer is Iverson. Although his average points per game this season has dropped to 25.5 points, which is the lowest in recent years, his efficiency has created a career high: 45%+37%+82%, and all three shooting percentages are career highs!
The most important reason is that he finally waited for a truly top teammate.

Kevin Garnett!
加内特本赛季场均20.1分13.5篮板5.5助攻1.5抢断2.2盖帽，他仍旧无比全面。

The best match between him and Iverson is that he is good at assisting, screening, passing and defending, which happen to be the abilities that Iverson most needs his teammates to have.

The pick-and-roll and hand-off between Iverson and Garnett have become a tactic that causes headaches for many teams in the league today.

There is no way to defend it!
In addition, Sprewell continued his performance. Although his average points per game dropped to only 14 points, his defense and experience, as well as his ability to hold the ball and score at critical moments, are all indispensable magic weapons for the Timberwolves.

The old goblin Cassell averaged 13 points and 7 assists per game, the player with the most assists on the team. His experience, vision and balanced offensive and defensive abilities can make up for his shortcomings as Iverson's partner.

球队的最后一名首发中锋奥格沃坎迪的表现虽然比起前一年场均12分9篮板2盖帽要差的多，他场均贡献甚至只有去年的一半：6分5篮板！

But the good thing is that although this guy started to slack off after getting a big contract, his defense and tonnage are still there. As long as he is under the basket, the Timberwolves' air defense and rim protection capabilities are guaranteed.

In addition, the team has All-Star shooter Szczerbiak on the bench to provide firepower support. This season's Timberwolves are definitely a top team that no one can ignore!

On the evening of December 12th, at the Target Center in Minnesota.

Because the team introduced Iverson, a top-notch star with both strength and popularity, Minnesota's basketball market and box office are also steadily increasing. Tonight their stadium is once again packed with fans!
"Lin, we will definitely teach you a lesson tonight! I will give you a failure as your Christmas gift, not bad, right?" When Iverson saw Lin Tian, ​​he couldn't wait to step forward and provoke him. He was really in high spirits this year. He had never played in such a comfortable environment and had never had such strong teammates!
"Do you know the meaning of the tattoo on your neck?" Lin Tian would not indulge Iverson, and continued his habit of only hitting people in the face: "Loyalty! Where is your loyalty? I heard that in order to leave Philadelphia, you knelt on the ground and begged your management to let you go?"

"Shut up! This is a business alliance! Business is business!" Iverson was hit by Lin Tian's words and was shaking with anger.

"Okay, then let's not talk about business." Lin Tian shrugged and said, "After being beaten to a pulp by me, you were so scared that you didn't dare to stay in the East any longer. How does it feel to run to the West to hug someone else's thigh? I heard that in order to leave the East, you knelt on the ground and begged your management to let you go?"

"I won't kneel down and beg anyone!"

"So, except for the kneeling part, everything else is real?"

"FUXX! Lin, FUXX! You're a damn asshole!"

"What's wrong with Allen?" Garnett saw from afar that his new friend seemed to be bullied by Lin Tian, ​​and immediately walked over with a threatening look.

"We were talking about the one that Allen just got recently. It can't be called thick at all. It looks like it's only as thick as an ankle. It's your thigh that has never been to the second round in your life. I was wondering if you two usually cry together or back to back when you lose a game?"

When Lin Tian saw that both of them were coming over, he didn't hesitate at all and started scolding them both!

If you want to criticize, criticize both of them; if you want to scold, scold both of them!
"What's wrong, Lin? Are you in trouble?" Seeing that Lin Tian seemed to be bullied by the two men, Artest and Haslem, two black guys who had a good relationship with Lin Tian recently, came side by side and stood on both sides of Lin Tian, ​​looking like they were ready to take action at any time.

"Kevin, Allen, do you need help?" Sprewell and Cassell came over here immediately.

"What happened?" Then Miller and Christie came over.

"What are you doing? The game hasn't even started yet, and you're setting up your formation here? What? Let's have a fighting contest first, let me get a few free throws, and then we can play ball?"

At this time, the referee tonight came over and stared at this group of people.

It’s the fucking Christmas game, and you guys are standing in a line in the midfield. What are you doing?

Ruining my career with a gang fight?

"What are you talking about? There's no way we can fight." Lin Tian was the first to smile and shrug his shoulders: "I'll give it a try."

"Wow!"

After Lin Tian finished speaking, he suddenly jumped forward, raised his hands, and shouted Bruce Lee's signature roar.

Then a group of people from the Timberwolves team took a step back almost at the same time, distancing themselves from Lin Tian.

"You see, there's no chance of a fight." Lin Tian immediately stopped his stance, shrugged his shoulders with a smile, then turned around and left.

What he left behind were Artest and Haslem, who laughed so hard that their stomachs hurt and even sat on the ground, and Miller and Christie, who kept their mouths tightly shut and tried not to laugh in order to show off their professionalism.

"I'm going to kill him!" Iverson's eyes were about to burst into flames. When had he ever been played like this before in his entire life?

"Let the ball speak!" Garnett looked at Lin Tian's back fiercely and said, "After this game, I want Lin to walk with his head down whenever he sees us!"

"Kill them!" 'Madman' Sprewell was the league's number one psychopath before Artest, a psychopath who dared to strangle the head coach and almost killed him. When had he ever been scared like this?

Before the game even started, the Timberwolves were united in their hatred of the enemy and were determined to give the Pacers a hard time!

"The atmosphere is quite tense!" Barkley looked at the players who were already arguing with each other before the game even started and wanted to kick Lin Tian out first and then have a fight. He said expectantly, "I have a feeling that this game tonight will be very exciting!"

"I think what Charles said is nonsense." Kenny sang the opposite tune without hesitation: "With such a group of people, the probability of them playing a bad game is smaller than the probability of Charles losing weight successfully!"

"That's because I don't need to lose weight. My current weight makes me look the best in my life!"

"Because your face is so big that the mirror can't fit you? So every time you look in the mirror you can only see half of your ugly face, so every time you look in the mirror you can see half less of your ugly face, right?"

The two commentators were bickering with each other in the studio as usual, while the ten starting players from both teams on the court were already in their positions, ready for the game.

"Come on, Lin, I'll let you know how powerful I am!" Iverson stood beside Lin Tian and threatened.

"Are you sure you want to play against me? Then I won't leave the low post tonight. Let's fight inside! Let's see who's better!" As soon as Lin Tian finished speaking, Cassell, who was taller and had better defensive ability, came over and stood beside Lin Tian instead of Iverson. "You are mine tonight."

“Stay away from me.” Lin Tian immediately closed his eyes: “It’s bad enough to come to an away game for Christmas, why do I have to see your ugly face? This is the worst Christmas of my life!”

"I'm obviously very sexy! Girls all like my buck teeth!" Cassell proudly revealed his signature 'alien' smile. Obviously, at his age, he was very excited to use his looks to cause trouble to his opponents.

"Sexy? I'll show you something even sexier!" Lin Tian turned around and looked at the Pacers' bench not far away and shouted, "Josh, stand up and show him your most confident smile!"

"Hehe." When Howard heard this, he immediately stood up from the bench, flexing his muscles and grinning in this direction.

"FUXX!" Cassel cursed, "Where did you find this treasure? Take him back now! Don't let him laugh again! I have a party tonight, you can't make him the only thing on my mind when I close my eyes!"

"Josh, increase the amount and wink! Towards Sam, yes, just like that, keep on winking!" Lin Tian cleverly closed his eyes while continuing to let Howard attack Cassell's appearance.

come on!

You have Crouching Dragon, and I have Phoenix Chick!
I'm not afraid of you, Cassel, anymore!

Come on, hurt each other.

"Let him sit down!" Cassel showed an unprecedented expression and tone of fear, anger and despair, and shouted at Lin Tian in a tone of command and pleading.

"Let him sit down!" The referee also came over.

His psychological trauma is much greater than Cassell's!
Because he had to watch Howard making faces and winking continuously, and also had to watch Cassell's ugly face with his mouth wide open in shock.

Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick simultaneously delivered a critical hit to the referee. Even if Lu Bu was reborn, he would have to flee in fear!

Lin Tian didn't respond, but waved his hand proudly, indicating that Howard had completed the task and could go back and rest.

Cassel is still frightened: "I swear, I will never scare people with my face again."

Look! Look!
Only after you have been in the rain yourself will you hold an umbrella for others.

What does it mean to put yourself in someone else's shoes and think from their perspective?

That’s it!

I, Mr. Lin, am indeed a good man who spreads love and peace to the world!

The referee obviously couldn't stand the horrifying scene of the two monsters comparing their ugliness to each other, so he quickly walked to the center circle, and without even making his signature pre-match threat, he blew the whistle and threw the ball into the air.

"Snapped!"

Although Ogwokandi is past his contract year, his form and motivation have been greatly reduced, and his statistics have been halved, but his physical fitness and size are still there. He passed the ball directly to Cassell, allowing Cassell to organize the Timberwolves' first attack!
"Go, go, go!" Cassell waved his hand to signal his teammates to hurry up, while he himself advanced slowly and calmly.

Cassell, who just turned 34, is still at the tail end of his career peak.

His back-to-the-basket play, organization and mid-range shots still rank number one in the entire league.

More importantly, he is a guard who has a very good connection with Iverson!

In other words, the entire Timberwolves' current lineup is quite compatible with Iverson.

For example, in the Timberwolves' first round, they showed why this year's new lineup can be successful.

Cassell dribbled the ball at the top of the arc, and Iverson ran inside the three-point line. He used the two screens of Ogwokandi and Garnett, and then suddenly went up to the area above the free throw line to get the ball. Then he turned around but did not rush to shoot. Instead, he hit the ground and gave the ball to Garnett.

Then Iverson circled around Garnett again, disrupting the Pacers' defense. Then Garnett suddenly gave the ball to Sprewell who was cutting to the basket. This former forward, with the ball, went straight into the paint, dodged Miller's help defense, and made a successful layup!

"Great teamwork! The Timberwolves' offensive system this year really feels like the Kings' Princeton team next door! Pick-and-roll, hand-offs, cuts, counter-runs, and dribbles. They play unselfishly and beautifully!"

Kenny immediately praised the Timberwolves, saying, "More importantly, when the tactics don't work, they still have two top stars, Garnett and Iverson, who can ignore the tactics and solve the problem. Even the Kings at their peak couldn't compare to them in this regard!"

Just as Kenny finished speaking, Lin Tian had already dribbled the ball to the front court: "Allen, now you don't even dare to play against me, don't dare to fight me one-on-one, right? To be honest, I still prefer the courageous you."

"Useless Lin! Your trick doesn't work on me! I know how to play and I'm mature!" Iverson's relationship with the Timberwolves is in the honeymoon period, and of course he is not fooled at all at this moment.

"Really? Let me see how mature you are!" Lin Tian said while making a gesture, and then Artest and Christie immediately gave an off-ball screen to hang the opponent.

After the hang-up, Artest grabbed Iverson to prevent him from chasing and defending Christie, then he turned around and blocked the position, opening his hand to ask for the ball!
This is one of the most important strategies for the Pacers tonight: attack Iverson!

The defense of the other four points of the Timberwolves is either top-notch or above average at worst, except for Iverson, who is thin and small, and Carlisle speculated that Saunders would definitely not let Iverson and Lin Tian face off.

So, he used Artest and Christie's off-ball screen strategy, and then looked for opportunities to attack Iverson.

Let the 'beast' ravage the 'answer'!
Lin Tian's passes never disappoint. As soon as Artest got into position, the basketball came into his hands. Then this guy turned around quickly, carrying Iverson on his shoulders like a buffalo carrying a lamb. Relying on the absolute advantages of height, weight and strength, he easily crushed into the inside and made a layup!
This time, there is no skill at all, it's all about the body!

"Mine!" Garnett ran over immediately, pulled up Iverson who was knocked over by Artest, and said to him: "I was slow to assist! Next time I will rush over immediately. If this guy dares to shoot, I will let him know what a hot pot feast is!"

"Thanks Kevin! I know you will support me behind my back!" Iverson nodded, and quickly participated in the offense.

This Timberwolves team is currently in its honeymoon period!

The continuous victories and the fact that everyone can play in the way they like and are comfortable with have brought them unprecedented unity.

More importantly, this is really the first time that Iverson and Garnett have absolutely awesome top teammates.

They both really cherish this.

Therefore, both of them are willing to give up some so-called pride, status and data.

This year, they just have to win!

In the Timberwolves' second attack, Cassell still held the ball, Iverson ran without the ball, and Garnett assisted from the free throw line. This time the opportunity came to Iverson, who had continuously got opportunities through screens. He got the ball from Garnett, jumped up and threw it, and made 2 points.

Then the Pacers' offense ran into problems.

Just as Garnett said, if this guy keeps his eyes on one person and wholeheartedly helps defend and protect the rim, his mobility and rim protection abilities will absolutely be terrifying!

In other words: Apart from his top defense, low-post defense and limited pure inside methods against large-tonnage players, Garnett's abilities in assisting defense, rotation, rim protection, help defense awareness and big-defending-small-player are definitely the best in NBA history, and it is no exaggeration!

This guy's sweeping ability is so strong that it's terrifying!
Artest and Christie then tried to score points against Iverson in singles, but were held back by Garnett's help defense. The Pacers' opening strategy became ineffective!

2: 8!

After 3 minutes of the game, the Pacers only scored 2 points.

At this time, it is undoubtedly time for Lin Tian to take action!
Facing Cassell's close defense, Lin Tian accelerated easily and passed the guy in one step.

After all, Cassell is already 34 years old. In other words, no matter whether he is 34 or 24 years old, he can't catch up with Lin Tian's speed.

The difference in speed between the two people is probably even greater than the difference in their appearance.

After passing Cassell in one step, Lin Tian took only one step forward when he encountered Garnett's help defense. The timing and speed of this guy's help defense were really perfect. If it were an ordinary star, he would have hesitated for a moment, and then he would definitely be double-teamed by Cassell and Garnett who would turn around and catch up!

But Lin Tian is obviously not an ordinary star. Facing Garnett's Spider-Man-like long arms, Lin Tian suddenly blasted the ball with his left hand, then turned around and flashed past Garnett in the blink of an eye, and continued to dribble and rush into the inside!

Ogwokandi's speed and awareness were not as good as Garnett's. He was obviously half a beat slower. When he came in front of Lin Tian to assist in defense, Lin Tian had already completed the shot. The basketball slipped out of his hand, bounced on the backboard, and fell accurately into the basket.

"Beautiful! Beautiful 1v3!" Barkley immediately shouted: "It may be hard to say who is the strongest 1v1 player in the league today, but at least O'Neal, Kobe, Iverson and others can compete with Lin."

"But who is the best 1-on-N player in the league? I think everyone will only think of the same person as me!"

"Lin! His skills, speed, and feel for the shot are all perfect! After he passes the first player, he always finds space and opportunities when facing help defense, and then shows us wonderful moments!"

Kenny did not contradict Barkley this time, but followed up: "There is one thing none of us should forget, which series made Lin establish his status as a top star in the league and made everyone recognize him as a top five or even top three player in the league?"

"The Eastern Conference Finals in the 97-98 season! In that series, Lin faced the double-team of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen with ease, completely destroying the Bulls dynasty that he had built with his own hands!"

“It was at the beginning of that series that everyone first discovered and confirmed that Lin was unstoppable!”

After making this forced layup in a one-on-three situation, Lin Tian temporarily gave up cooperating with his teammates. Even though he did not believe in God, he was forced to go on a business trip and work overtime on a legal holiday like Christmas, and he did not want to make himself feel worse because of a failure.

Since your teammates can't hit the target and you, Garnett, can defend, just attack head-on!

From this ball on, Lin Tian’s firepower was completely unstoppable!
A fast break dunk after stealing the ball, a shot after a pick-and-roll, a 3-pointer from outside the 3-point line, a 2+1 layup after rushing to the basket...

After a series of scores, the first quarter of the game came to a temporary end.

Lin Tian was simply unstoppable in this quarter, he made shots inside and outside, and scored as many as 23 points!
But the Pacers as a whole only scored 27 points. Except for Lin Tian, ​​the Pacers only scored 4 points in total!
Tonight, except for Lin Tian, ​​the entire Pacers team was not in good shape.

The Pacers are not in good shape, but the Timberwolves are playing better and better and more aggressively!

In the first quarter, the Timberwolves team was in great form. Except for Iverson who was entangled by Lin Tian and did not perform very well, making only 4 of 1 shots and scoring only 2 points, the performances of the rest of the players were very good.

Garnett relied on his absolute height advantage to launch a dimensionality reduction attack on Haslem. He made high-post jump shots again and again, but Haslem couldn't interfere with him at all. In this quarter, Garnett scored 9 points with 6 of 12 shots. Sprewell played to his advantage in mobility against Artest.

He cut to the basket many times, either scoring directly or causing fouls. In this quarter, he made 4 of 2 shots and all 4 free throws to score 8 points. Cassell made a 1-pointer and a mid-range shot to score 3 points. Even Ogwokandi made a breakthrough, with the help of his teammates' attraction and restraint, he made two dunks to get 5 points.

That’s not all. After both sides entered the rotation lineup, the Timberwolves’ ace shooter Szczerbiak came on the court. This guy had the same explosive touch tonight. After coming on, he made two consecutive 3-pointers from the left and right!
After Szczerbiak's two three-pointers, the Timberwolves scored a full 2 points in the first quarter! They led the Pacers by 37 points.

And that’s not all.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Lin Tian had to rest on the bench for a while because he played the entire first quarter. The Timberwolves let Iverson, who had rested for a while at the end of the first quarter, come on the court to bully Parker.

In less than 3 minutes, Iverson successfully singled out Parker 3 times, scored directly twice and caused a foul and went to the free throw line once.

After Iverson's 6 consecutive points, the Timberwolves beat the Pacers 6:2 in the second quarter, and the difference between the two sides was about to reach 15 points. (End of this chapter)