Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 758 Keep it up, little bro! Don't let the home fans...

With the timeout over, Scott made a rather bold tactical change.

He removed Chandler, put Yi Jianlian at center, Wells and Mason at power forward and shooting guard respectively, and then brought in Bobby Jackson, putting him and Deron Williams in a two-guard lineup.

With this lineup, the Hornets' interior defense has declined significantly. Relying solely on Yi Jianlian, a rookie, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that their interior defense is completely undefended.

At the same time, the team's height has been significantly reduced, resulting in a marked weakening of their rebounding ability.

The advantage is that the team can run more freely, its offensive capabilities have improved significantly, and it can try to go toe-to-toe with the Knicks.

After all, the team's current five players are all incredibly fast runners!

For the Knicks, only one player was substituted during the timeout: Nate went to rest, and Lin Tian returned to the court to play the last 6 minutes of the first half and the closing stages of the game.

"20 points! I know Scott very well; he'll definitely change the rotation, he'll definitely bring in an offensive lineup, trying to compete with us offensively!"

"So, 20 points! Get a 20-point lead before halftime! I'm going to crush them! Then, we'll get some rest in the second half, get back to New York early, and still have time to have Christmas dinner with our families!"

Don Nelson's instructions were simple and direct, and the Knicks players naturally clapped and walked onto the court with full confidence.

Deron received the inbound pass from his teammate, lowered his center of gravity, and was about to dribble when he suddenly felt Lin Tian's defense intensify.

Because Lin Tian attacked so fiercely, Deron almost lost his footing and staggered before regaining his balance on the court.

It's only because the guy was strong enough, otherwise, Lin Tian's sudden move would have embarrassed Delong on the spot.

With his exceptional basketball IQ, Deron Williams immediately guessed Lin Tian and the Knicks' strategy. He knew that the next few minutes would likely be the most difficult for the Hornets tonight!

Thinking of this, Deron dared not be careless. He quickly waved his hand to call for tactics, instructing his teammates to make quick runs and at the same time, asking Yi Jianlian to step forward and cover for him.

But just as Yi Jianlian had regained his footing, Lin Tian suddenly planted one foot next to him, forcibly squeezing himself between Yi Jianlian and Delon.

Forced screen! Lin Tian's move completely nullified the Hornets' play, rendering it a waste of time and space, and also greatly reduced Deron Williams' dribbling space, making it impossible for him to continue the attack.

Just as Deron was about to change direction or retreat to regroup and launch another attack, Lin Tian didn't give him that chance again. Wallace quickly rushed in from the side and formed a double-team defense with Lin Tian!

The sudden double-team made Deron Williams even more flustered, but fortunately, he is one of the best point guards of the younger generation. At the critical moment, he jumped up and slammed the ball towards the basket with both hands!

There was Mason, who had just run past, ready to catch the ball and dunk at any moment.

As long as the basketball can be passed!

But now that we've come this far, it's clear that the ball can't be passed to them!

As if he could see all of Deron's thoughts, Lin Tian jumped up at the same time Deron jumped to pass the ball!

He and Deron jumped at the same time, his hands raised high, precisely blocking Deron's passing path. Under these circumstances, Deron had no way to forcefully change his choice.

Firstly, he couldn't react in time, and secondly, he had already tensed his whole body and exerted his strength. Unless he knew the Wudang Cloud Leap, it would be impossible for him to exert his strength a second time in the air to change the passing route.

"Snapped!"

A loud, crisp sound rang out.

Lin Tian used a posture and movement similar to a volleyball block to perfectly block Deron's ball!

The scene looked as if Deron Williams had deliberately passed the ball to Lin Tian!

Lin Tian caught the basketball in mid-air with both hands, and after making a direct interception, he did not land. Instead, he used all his strength to throw the ball back towards the frontcourt.

"Gerald!"

With Lin Tian's roar, Wallace accelerated wildly, speeding like lightning.

He successfully overtook everyone, grabbed the basketball first, then took off quickly and slammed it down with a two-handed windmill dunk!

"boom!"

After a loud bang, the Knicks' lead continued to widen!

The Jazz continued their attack, and this time the ball was passed to Jackson. Deron Williams came to the wing empty-handed, giving Jackson a lot of space and signaling that Jackson would be in charge of the attack and call out the play.

"Give up after just one round?" Lin Tian snorted, looking at Deron Williams. "You'll never be the future number one defender if you keep acting like this!"

"It's not time yet!" Deron was in no hurry, his eyes darting around as he observed the situation on the court.

Then, just as Jackson suddenly accelerated and began his charge, Deron Williams also started moving!

He charged toward the basket, then suddenly turned around and ran in the opposite direction beyond the three-point line after reaching the free-throw line area.

This counter-run was perfect in terms of both timing and suddenness, and even Lin Tian couldn't catch up immediately.

Deron's agility, speed, and awareness are indeed top-notch!

Jackson's pass was perfectly timed, accurately finding Deron Williams. If he had chosen to shoot a three-pointer directly, Lin Tian wouldn't have been able to interfere with the shot.

But obviously, this guy was too heavy. When he made a run to get past his opponent, he had already pushed his speed to the limit. Although he managed to get the ball in space, he couldn't stand steadily and lurched forward, almost falling over.

It's only because Deron has strong body control that he didn't embarrass himself, but if he wanted to pull it up and throw it immediately, his rhythm was obviously off.

Instead of shooting, this guy used the momentum to accelerate and charge towards the basket again!

"Bang!"

But after only one step, Delong ran head-on into Lin Tian, ​​who had already caught up with him!

The two people collided face-to-face with a solid impact.

Then Lin Tian quickly leaned back and glided all the way from the edge of the three-point line to the outer edge of the three-second zone.

The distance he glided made one wonder if he had some kind of roller or something underneath him.

It's so smooth!

Everyone could see that at least 70% of the force Lin Tian used to slip was added by himself; it was genuine acting.

But acting aside, this was definitely an offensive foul!

Lin Tian's positioning and timing were perfect, and his feet were firmly planted on the floor before the collision even occurred, as if he already knew that Deron would not shoot directly but would choose to drive to the basket.

"Offensive foul!"

The referees didn't hesitate; such an obvious foul didn't require any hesitation, they just had to call it.

"Deron, next time you can just shoot directly, I can't catch you." Lin Tian, ​​who quickly stood up from the floor and started pushing the ball up the court again, looked at Deron and said casually, "If you have an open shot and don't shoot, isn't that stupid?"

Do you think I don't want to vote?

Deron ignored Lin Tian. He knew all too well that if he had forced the shot just now, he would have been lucky to not even make a three-pointer, let alone hit it. If he couldn't control his body balance when shooting, it would be a miracle if he could be consistent!

More importantly, he didn't expect Lin Tian to choose to draw an offensive foul instead of rushing forward.

If he had known Lin Tian was standing still, he would have made adjustments and then attacked immediately.

Next time, next time for sure!

"Bang!"

While Delong was still figuring out how to respond to Lin Tian, ​​Lin Tian had already confronted him!

This retort almost made Deron gasp for breath; it felt like he'd been hit in the chest with a hammer!

Although it hurt, Deron's size was such that he couldn't even push him back half a step.

Lin Tian was thrilled!

This kid's strength has improved quite a bit!

Last season when we challenged him, this chubby guy was all looks and no substance, and we knocked him far away. This year, he's actually been able to hold his own!

Throughout his career, Lin Da Guan Ren has bullied many opponents who were shorter and weaker than him in the first and second positions. He likes to bully people by taking advantage of his height and strength.

99% of his opponents are far inferior to him in terms of weight and strength.

Throughout his career, only a handful of players, such as Payton, Kidd, Davis, and Andre Miller, could withstand Lin Tian's physique; the rest were like bean sprouts.

How can I put it, this overwhelming dominance and bullying of the weaklings?

It was fun, but not enough.

It could only satisfy Lin Tian's mental pleasure, but his body could not be fully satisfied.

Especially as Payton, Kidd, and their teammates got older and retired or declined, Lin Tian found it increasingly unsatisfying.

Fortunately! Today, I've found a worthy opponent!

Deron Williams has clearly been training hard this summer, putting in a lot of sweat and effort in the weight room.

Tonight is the time to reap the rewards of all that hard work!

Lin Tian turned around, used his shoulder to block Delong, and then waved for everyone to pull him away.

Dude, we're going to have a blast tonight!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Immediately following were three muffled thuds that made people frown. Lin Tian hadn't held back any strength in these blows; he had delivered them head-on to Delong.

As for Delon, that guy's strength is indeed extraordinary!

If it were any other point guard, Lin Tian would have already pushed his opponent to the basket and easily turned to shoot off the backboard by now, given his full effort. But thanks to Deron Williams' efforts, Lin Tian has only just reached the vicinity of the three-second zone.

Fun!

"Bang!"

Then Lin Tian suddenly exerted force again, causing Deron to take another step back, his upper body uncontrollably leaning backward. Lin Tian stopped his relentless attack on the inside, quickly turned around, and pulled up for a mid-range step-back jump shot.

"Whoosh!"

With a crisp crack, the score gap between the two sides continued to widen.

"You've worked out your strength well!" After scoring, Lin Tian gave Deron a thumbs up.

God is my witness, Lin Tian wasn't just spouting nonsense; he was genuinely praising Delong.

But clearly, Deron doesn't think so.

That ugly face, which was full of the style of a school bully, became even colder and fiercer. This little brother is angry!

He had used all his strength in those few blows, but not only was his chest painfully pounded, he was also completely powerless to fight back. Lin Tian pinned him down, beat him up, and even scored a goal.

So, in the next round, Deron turned around and used his shoulder to block Lin Tian.

It's his turn!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Delong went all out, using no skill whatsoever, just relentlessly attacking Lin Tian.

He needs to vent!

I trained hard this summer to beat up Paul, not to be your target!

After a series of collisions, Deron Williams was surprised to find that he had started to collide with the three-point line from one step inside. After three consecutive attempts to exert force, he was now about 1.7 steps inside the three-point line.

It's almost completely still!

"Keep it up, buddy! Don't embarrass yourself in front of the home fans!"

Lin Tian's sarcasm came at just the right time.

Delong's eyes instantly turned red with blood, and he immediately exerted his strength again, charging at Lin Tian!

"Whoosh!"

There was no collision, nothing happened.

Delong only hit air; Lin Tian suddenly withdrew the moment Delong exerted his strength.

Lin Tian pulled out the chair again!

Unable to find any leverage, Delong lost his balance in an instant, staggered forward a few steps, and then collapsed to the ground in a very sorry state.

"Traveling violation!" The referee didn't hesitate and immediately issued the penalty!

Why aren't you walking?

Even if James had played that ball, it would have been a traveling violation!

"FUXX!" Deron Williams, who had been tricked again, stood up and slammed the ball heavily onto the floor with both hands. The basketball bounced off the floor and hit Deron Williams in the face, who was caught off guard and did not dodge in time.

With a muffled thud, Deron's upper body was thrown backward, and blood gushed from his nose.

"Beep beep beep!"

The referee, who was just about to cross his arms and give Deron Williams a technical foul for throwing the ball, suddenly felt too embarrassed to do so.

The young man has already had enough bad luck and embarrassment. If you give him a T at this time, wouldn't that be kicking him when he's down?

So the technical foul became an emergency stop of the game, allowing Deron Williams to go off the court to stop the bleeding and receive treatment.

"Don't throw the ball like that again. If you hadn't been unlucky, you would have definitely gotten a technical foul!" Although he showed leniency and didn't give a technical foul, the necessary warning still had to be given.

"I won't..." Upon hearing this, Deron's temper flared up. He had already suffered a series of humiliations and was already very short-tempered. Now, he was being provoked by the referee.

When have I ever needed your sympathy, referees?

Come on, give me one! Give me a T! Blow me right off the bat!

Fortunately, although Deron Williams' mentality was a bit broken due to the series of setbacks, his head coach Scott was still very experienced!

This is a veteran who has won three championships with the Lakers and led the Nets to fight against Lin Tian's Pacers in the Eastern Conference for many years!

He could tell at a glance that his disciple was about to collapse, so he had already stood up from the coach's bench.

Scott quickly appeared between Deron Williams and the referee, grabbed Williams and led him toward the bench, while nodding apologetically to the referee and calling a timeout.

Three actions, three tasks, all done in one go—that really shows the style of a top-notch coach.

"That kid's lucky," Lin Tian said, sitting on a bench.

If Deron hadn't accidentally hit his own nose and bled, forcing him to stop and treat the injury, Lin Tian was confident that he could completely break Deron's mentality in the next 2-3 minutes and also make the outcome of the match a foregone conclusion.

Unfortunately, Deron's bad luck turned into his good luck.

He was given a chance to catch his breath and calm down.

However, after just a few moments, Lin Tian understood why Deron Williams' career achievements were so different from Paul's, even though their talents were similar.

Besides health, it's all about mindset.

Deron's mentality is far inferior to Paul's.

Anyway, when Paul faced off against Lin Tian last time, he was beaten so badly by Lin Tian, ​​but his mentality didn't break down much.

On the contrary, Delong, before anything even happened, was already so angry that he looked like this.

If it were another position, an unstable mindset and a tendency to get carried away wouldn't be a fatal flaw.

But if you're a point guard and can't control your emotions, and you're always trying to outwit and challenge others, then you're doomed.

The point guard is the team's brain. If the brain is always thinking about fighting, how can the team compete?

In this respect, Deron is far inferior to Paul.

Another point is that Paul is extremely cautious and regretful in using and expending his body. He avoids jumping if he can, never dunks if he can go for a layup, and never goes one-on-one if he can set a screen.

And what about Delong?

He has a passion for dramatic crossovers, especially double crossovers, and a strong desire to dunk over opposing centers. He even attempted to dunk over Yao Ming several times during the Olympics.

This explains why, despite his height and weight suggesting he could play until 38 or 9, Deron Williams left the NBA early and disappeared from the public eye.

Playing style, personality, playing style, ideas...

All of these factors combined explain why Deron Williams is not as good as Paul.

Fortunately, Delon was not a complete brute or an idiot.

He does possess the strengths that a point guard should have.

For example, during this timeout, after the team doctor immediately stopped the bleeding and bandaged him, Deron Williams was the first to say, "It's my fault! That last stretch where the opponent pulled away was my fault."

"I played too hastily and selfishly. I shouldn't have challenged Lin. In the next game, I will regain my composure and cooperate more with my teammates!"

Hearing Deron's words, Scott knew the kid had completely calmed down. He patted Deron on the shoulder with satisfaction and said to everyone, "Then, let's go catch up! We must reduce the deficit to around 5 points before the end of the first half!"

"We still have plenty of time. Just a few rounds and we can completely close the gap!"

"Leave it to us!" the players shouted in unison, and then the five Jazz players who had been on the court before returned.

Scott wasn't in a hurry to change the lineup. After all, that group of people hadn't even had a chance to prove themselves yet, all of them were delayed by Deron's overconfidence. The next few minutes would be the crucial time to test whether this lineup was effective or not.

Of course, the Knicks had possession of the ball on the first possession.

This time, Lin Tian stood directly near the waist, without even going to the top of the arc to get the ball. Judging from his posture, you could tell that this guy was preparing to use his back to the goal to have another round of fun on Deron Williams!

"Come on, Lin! I'm not afraid of you!" Delong was also on high alert, lowering his center of gravity and blocking Lin Tian from behind.

The Knicks inbounded the ball from the sideline, and after several passes, it finally reached Lin Tian's hands.

Just as Delong lowered his center of gravity, preparing to have a tough confrontation with Lin Tian and prove that his strength was not to be underestimated, Lin Tian suddenly made an incredibly smooth turn, leaving Delong behind.

"Whoosh!"

After another crisp click, Lin Tian turned and made a mid-range jump shot, it was so effortless, so clean and crisp! (End of Chapter)