NBA: Starting with Jokic template

Chapter 212 How about being named a division MVP?

The whole game is over.

113: 122.

The Thunder beat the Spurs by 9 points!

In the Western Conference Finals, the two teams fought until the very last minute. After seven games, the winner was not decided until the overtime of the seventh game!

Moreover, in overtime, the Thunder scored a total of 14 points, and all these 14 points were scored by Lin Chuan alone!

He also used the points in overtime to push his score of this game up a lot!
这场比赛里，林川打满常规时间加加时赛，一共出战53分钟，全场砍下61分17篮板6助攻6盖帽2抢断！

"Wtf! I just want to ask, are these fucking data typed by humans?"

After seeing Lin Chuan's data column after the game, even Barkley, who had seen many ups and downs, couldn't help but curse.

"This kid played like crazy! I thought he would get about 50 points in this game, but he played for 48 minutes and was still so fierce in overtime. He dominated the last five minutes! He scored 14 points alone! Can I say that this kid is the best center in history!"

Hearing the words "No. 1 center in history", O'Neal immediately pricked up his ears, then shook his head.
"The best center? Not really, but I'm definitely the best among active players. It takes more than just one championship and a few great performances to be the best center in history. The competition for our center position is much more intense than that for the power forward position! Me, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Russell, Chamberlain, and Olajuwon, the five of us centers are all strong contenders for the title of best center, and we occupy half of the top ten in history! This kid still has a long way to go to catch up with us!"

Buckley was speechless.

This is true.

The level difference between the two positions is indeed huge.

Before Duncan emerged as the undisputed No. 1 power forward in history, the players who had been competing for this position were him and Karl Malone.

And the two of them together don't even have a championship.

Even the "soft" Nowitzki and the "hard" Garnett who rose to prominence later, each of them only has one championship and one MVP, and they are still far from the center position.

Even if the undisputed power forward on the field is placed at the center position, he may not be able to compete clearly with the others.

There is nothing wrong in saying that the center position is the most competitive among the five positions and the most difficult to determine the first place.

"But having said that, Lin Chuan's performance today was also quite exaggerated."

Barkley added a few words.

But the next moment, he looked at the information typed by the director on the screen and couldn't help but exclaimed loudly,

"Lin Chuan made 34 of 24 shots, 8 of 5 three-pointers, and 10 of 8 free throws in this game, scoring 61 points. This game's score not only broke his personal and Thunder team's single-game playoff scoring record, but also ranked second in NBA history! Tied for second place with Elgin Baylor! Second only to Jordan's 63 points!"

"What an amazing performance! You know, in the top ten single-game scoring performances in the playoffs, there were only two inside players, Chamberlain and I, and now, Lin Chuan suddenly rushed up and almost broke Jordan's record. And he has never been known as a scorer! He is more of a center who is good at organization!"

At this point, even O'Neal, who thinks highly of himself, couldn't help but praise Lin Chuan for being awesome. After all, even he had never performed so outrageously in the playoffs.

He said in a low voice,

"I want to see if he can match my numbers from the three-peat period in the finals with another top scorer on the team."

Barkley laughed.
"What? If someone else scores well, you will consider Lin Chuan the best center in history?"

"That's not the case, but I will include him in this discussion."

At this time, the carnival in the stadium was still going on. After finally defeating the opponent and winning the longest round of playoffs this season, Lin Chuan also released the pressure that he had been suppressing for a long time. As the final whistle sounded, he threw the basketball under his feet into the air, roared to the sky, and then gathered with his teammates to celebrate.

As the losing side, the Spurs were the only losers in the stadium.

In other words, their loss was the direct reason for everyone's cheers.

Duncan sat down on the ground, right in the center circle.

As the time ran out and the game officially ended, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the result of the game was not what he expected, he felt that he had accomplished a great thing by seeing this long series come to an end.

The pressure that had previously made it almost suffocating my chest disappeared in an instant.

After taking a few breaths, Duncan stood up from the ground and stood still as he watched Lin Chuan walking towards him.

"You are really strong, Lin Chuan."

Looking at Duncan's sincere eyes, Lin Chuan laughed, then put away his smile and said,

"Of course, but you guys are really resilient. In the first game, I thought this series would be the same as the previous two rounds, so it shouldn't be too difficult. At first, I was hoping to have a 16:0 historical playoff record, which would be worthy of our regular season record. I didn't expect that we would play seven games with you guys, and we were almost overturned."

"To be honest, by that time, I was really sweating."

Hearing this, Duncan also showed a rare smile and shook his head.

"That's true, but no matter what, in the end, it was still a step behind."

"Also, your elbows are really strong."

Duncan touched his chest, still feeling a bit frightened.
"If you had played more accurately, I would have left the court early to rest."

Lin Chuan sneered twice.

"You're still talking about me. I thought you would fight me cleanly, but I didn't expect you to be so sneaky. You hit me in the nose right at the start. If I hadn't reacted in time, I would have broken my bones more severely and I wouldn't have to fight."

At this point, Duncan couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. He touched his nose and his voice became much quieter.

"Hey, isn't this all for the team's victory? We can't always let our teammates take the lead and be the bad guy. As the team leader, I should also stand up at this moment."

Stand up? Lin Chuan wanted to laugh when he heard it.

There is no such method of standing up. If you want to stand up, you have to use your skills and score points. How can you use your elbows?
Speaking of this abstract thing, Duncan was embarrassed and quickly changed the subject.

"In fact, after the game went into overtime, I knew we were going to lose. We old guys had almost exhausted our energy and were playing at full strength. Before I went on the court, I observed you and found that you and Durant were in great shape. At that moment, I knew it was going to be difficult."

Lin Chuan looked at the player in front of him with gray hair, and a few words suddenly emerged in his mind.

"A worthy opponent."

Duncan sighed and smiled bitterly.

"Well, I can only say that the era of us old guys has passed. We have reached our limit. Now it is your time as young people. I look forward to the day when you create the Thunder Dynasty."

Duncan patted Lin Chuan on the shoulder and said solemnly,

"Young man, the future is yours!" Lin Chuan laughed and patted Duncan's hand on his shoulder.
"The future? No, it's mine now!"

"Dynasty, three consecutive championships have never been my limit!"

"And you guys haven't stopped there. The strength you've shown in these few games is definitely the best in the entire league."

"We also need opponents to spur ourselves on to win the championship and build a dynasty, so as to prevent the players from slacking off. So, I hope you can continue to maintain this competitiveness and extend it to the next few seasons."

"Let us always be rivals in the West and keep competing!"

Lin Chuan looked at Duncan sincerely, but the words he spoke were extremely arrogant.
"You used to be the kings of the league, but now you are the challengers. Tim Duncan, I will always sit on the throne and accept your challenges!"

"Don't give up and retire too soon. I welcome you to fight me in the Western Conference Finals anytime!"

Duncan didn't expect Lin Chuan to be so ambitious. After being provoked by his words, his fighting spirit that had just been extinguished surged up again. He held Lin Chuan's hand tightly with his backhand and stared into his eyes.

"Just wait until next season! Of course, don't let your team fail in advance and not even make it to the Western Conference Finals!"

"What a joke! I have no rival in the entire league!"

Before leaving, Duncan called Lin Chuan again and said to him in the face of his puzzled gaze,

"How about changing to a jersey as a souvenir?"

"of course."

Exchanging jerseys with Duncan is also a very memorable thing for Lin Chuan.

After all, Duncan plays fewer and fewer games, and maybe he will retire in two years, and by then it will be impossible to replace him.

Duncan returned to the bench, full of fighting spirit, and looked completely different from everyone else.

Even Popovich found it strange.

When the game just ended, I was sadder than anyone else when I saw him staying on the field for a long time and not wanting to leave. How come he is so motivated now?

"Next season, we'll start all over again!"

Duncan's eyes were shining as he cheered up the frustrated crowd.

"At our age, we can push last season's champions and this season's regular season winningest team into this desperate situation. We still have a great chance of winning the championship next season!"

"But we're all very old, Duncan."

Ginobili said frustratedly,
"Next year, you will be 38, I will be 37, and Parker will be 32. How can we play against the Thunder team at such an old age? Should we sign Lin Chuan?"

"Oh, that's not the case."

Duncan said confidently,
"Look at our Leonard. He is still so green this season, but he can push Durant like this. If he grows a little bit more next year, won't he be able to become an All-Star?"

Duncan's speech also cheered up several people, and Popovich also stood up and said,

"That's right. I'm over 60 and I don't think I'm old. You guys are only in your s, so you definitely have a chance! Study the Thunder carefully during the offseason and get revenge next season! It's time for us to win the championship!"

"rush!"

"rush!"

Suddenly, the Spurs' locker room was no longer as gloomy as before, but became lively.

On the other side, the Thunder, who had won the game with difficulty, were having fun in the locker room.

Seeing that we had made it to the finals again, I looked at the two opponents in the East who were still fighting.

Knicks and Heat.

They look much weaker than the Spurs.

The second championship seemed to be just around the corner, and Durant was overjoyed.

Lin Chuan was in the media room at this time, attending the post-match press conference.

As the undisputed core and absolute protagonist of this game, the media will naturally not let him go.

These reporters seemed so smart, and the questions they asked were nothing more than their opinions on the game, their own performance, and their opponents.

Didn't he just lead the team in the Game 7 life-and-death battle of the Western Conference Finals, scoring 14 consecutive points in overtime and 61 points in the entire game, the second-highest score in NBA playoff history, and led the team to win the game and advance to the finals? Why are these reporters so excited!

After answering the above irrelevant questions, Lin Chuan couldn't help but yawn a few times.

Each subsequent question from the reporter aroused Lin Chuan's interest.

"Mr. Lin Chuan, there are countless individual awards in the regular season, but in the playoffs, there is only one Finals MVP. As a result, except for the finals, the players' hard work does not seem to play any role in their individual awards. I wonder if you have any opinion on this."

At this point, Lin Chuan sat up and took the microphone.
"Your question is quite interesting. Yes, the league does seem to lack some gimmicks in the playoffs now. Although the championship is the biggest gimmick in the NBA and the award that all teams desire most, this one is too scarce for the 16 teams that enter the playoffs. In my opinion, it would be better to add a division MVP, which will be selected after the division finals, which can give the teams in both divisions more hope. Even if they don't win the championship, they can still have some awards as consolation."

The reporter reacted immediately and said,
"Is it because you played so well in this Western Conference Finals, even scoring 60 points and getting nothing?"

"Shh!"

Lin Chuan put his finger to his mouth, which amused the reporters in the audience.

"Don't say that! It makes me seem like I care about these awards! What I want most when playing basketball is always the championship!"

The reporters burst into laughter.

But some people began to think about the necessity.

毕竟西决七场比赛，林川打了六场，场均42分17.3篮板6助攻5盖帽1.5抢断.
With such explosive data, these journalists would feel a bit disappointed if they didn’t give out an award.

"Shaq, look at Lin Chuan's averages!"

The live broadcast had ended, but Barkley still came to O'Neal, who was about to get off work, and showed him the freshly released data.

"Fuck... these numbers are indeed better than the year when I won the three consecutive championships... This kid has a bright future!"

奥尼尔自己在当年最猛的时候决赛不过38+16.7+2.3+2.7+1，依旧比林川逊色一点。

His opponent at that time was the Pacers in the Eastern Conference.

In terms of strength, they are not as good as the Spurs!
(End of this chapter)