r18novel Chapter 689 The wailing Knicks fans! At a time like this, you
Chapter 689 The wailing Knicks fans! At a time like this, you
What made Knicks fans even more desperate than the Knicks' away loss was Lin Tian's continued lackluster performance.
After these two games, Lin Tian's average stats have dropped further, now only 40.3 points, almost reaching the critical point of 40 points per game.
Then, Lin Tian scored 29 points and 31 points in the next two games for the Knicks!
Everything seemed to have been planned out.
After this match, Lin Tian's total score reached 3164 points.
His average points per game dropped to 40.05!
This means that if Lin Tian scores less than 35 points in the next game, his average score will fall below 40 points again!
Finished!
Everyone thought it was all over.
That bastard Lin Tian is starting to mess with us!
New York fans are in despair.
They even wanted to switch sides and support another team, so that they could teach Lin Tian and Don Nelson a lesson and make them play properly instead of messing around!
Then, the Knicks officially updated their injury report.
A perfect injury report that put the entire city of New York at ease and allowed everyone to breathe a sigh of relief!
The core content of this report can actually be summarized in one sentence.
Lin Tian, damn it, is finally injured!
After waiting for so many days and enduring so much torment, that bastard has finally gotten hurt!
As for the injuries of other players like Okur and Barnes, they were completely ignored in the injury report!
It's all about rotating shifts anyway, so who cares who gets a break and who keeps playing?
As long as Lin Tian stops fighting, that's fine! Then everything is settled!
Let's just rest like this until the playoffs!
Well, that won't work either.
When it's time to tighten up, then it's time to tighten up!
Especially in the case of the Knicks.
They were in good form after the All-Star game and won many games.
Overall, the team has been in a semi-vacation, semi-health mode since February.
They entered a rather lazy state, with the whole team playing and resting at the same time.
This condition allows the Knicks players to maintain peak physical condition and be free of any injuries when the playoffs begin.
But it will also make them lose their sense of urgency and make them lose the feeling of competition, especially the feeling of the playoffs!
So, after a large portion of the team rested for two games and suffered two consecutive losses, the Knicks faced their final game of the season.
At the same time, this is also a preview of their first round of the playoffs!
Their final opponent is the Chicago Bulls!
Just like the Knicks securing the second seed, the Bulls have also secured the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, and they will face off against the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs!
And what Old Nelson meant was to kill them!
They gave them no hope and shattered all the morale and confidence of this young Chicago team in the final game of the regular season!
So that night, Old Nelson chose to launch a full-scale attack!
In the final game of the regular season, he finally fielded his strongest lineup and starting eleven!
The entire Knicks team appeared quite confident and aggressive at this time!
They want to give the Bulls a taste of their own medicine by finishing the regular season!
Meanwhile, Knicks fans expressed that they didn't want to see this, they didn't want to see the team intimidate the Bulls, they just wanted to see Lin Tian rest.
They want Lin Tian to rest!
From the bottom of my heart.
So when the fans at the stadium saw Lin Tian start tonight on the big screen, a huge chorus of boos erupted throughout Madison Square Garden!
It's been a long time since the Heat and Riley began their rebuild and have faced the Knicks in the playoffs, and for many years no one has received this level of boos at Madison Square Garden.
No one could have imagined that after Mourning and Riley, the two people who were booed the most at Madison Square Garden would be Lin Tian and Nelson!
The fans are furious!
Of course, the main reason was fear.
Their main concern was that if Lin Tian continued to play casually today, he might fall behind and his average score would drop below 40 points per game.
What should we do then?
Should we really kill him to vent our anger?
Or should I just casually kill old Nelson to vent my anger?
Anyway, Knicks fans were extremely anxious.
They arrived at Madison Square Garden with incredibly mixed emotions.
Confusion, anxiety, hesitation, fear, anticipation, tension, worry, excitement...
Even when the Knicks battled the Rockets to a decisive Game 7 in the Finals, Knicks fans didn't have such mixed feelings.
That damned Lin Tian!
But no matter how nervous or conflicted the fans were, Madison Square Garden's 19000 seats were packed to capacity, with them ready to switch sides or even cheer for the Bulls at any moment.
If all else fails, just keep booing Lin Tian until he can't take it anymore, until he can't even get an erection!
Let's see who has the thicker skin and who's more ruthless!
"With this game in mind, we will play the Bulls for the next three games at home, and then we will play the Bulls for the next five games."
Before the game started, Don Nelson casually said, "I think everyone knows the level of this Bulls team; they're just so-so."
"I don't know what you guys think, but I believe we should easily sweep them aside and utterly defeat them!"
"We've crushed them in five straight matches! Now let's see who our opponent is in the second round."
What do you think?
"Dry them to death!"
"Five games! Just five! Not a single more!"
"Tonight, we'll completely shatter those Bulls bastards' confidence! Tonight, we'll beat them so badly they'll have to book their tickets to Hawaii ahead of schedule!"
"Can their IQ support them going to Hawaii? At most, Miami! They'd get lost anywhere further than Miami."
Inside the Knicks' locker room, everyone was spouting nonsense and yelling wildly.
Clearly, the guys were fully prepared and knew exactly what to do tonight.
They need to get serious tonight, they need to get into playoff mode tonight, and they need to completely crush the Bulls tonight!
Then, filled with fighting spirit, brimming with anger and a desire to win.
The Knicks took to the court.
Then, the Knicks players, including Don Nelson, felt a twitch at the corner of their mouths and wanted to punch someone.
The Bulls have run away!
Of course, it wasn't that they didn't come to Madison Square Garden, but rather that none of their starters changed their clothes and all sat in the stands in suits.
They're on leave.
The Bulls rested players in their final game of the season!
Taking a rest at this point is a perfectly normal choice. It's the last game of the season, and the rankings are already completely determined. If you don't take a rest now, when will you get a break?
Generally speaking, if a team encounters an opponent they will face in the playoffs at this time, they will try their best to show their energy and confidence.
But the Bulls simply rested all their key players!
Center Ben Wallace, power forward Jaylen Brown, small forward Luol Deng, shooting guard Ben Gordon, sixth man Nocioni...
All five key players have withdrawn from the game.
Only starting point guard Chris Duhon appeared on the court.
Clearly, head coach Skiles was worried that the team would be completely overwhelmed and that this would affect the players' mental and physical health, so he left a point guard on the court to prevent any disastrous outcome.
But clearly, Skiles was prepared and had anticipated what would happen, but he didn't think far enough.
"Let them take their rest days, it doesn't matter to us," Lin Tian said to his teammates before going on the court. "We'll just continue to implement our pre-match goals and battle plan."
"Beat them! Beat them hard!"
"clear!"
"If I remember correctly, I hold the record for the biggest point differential in NBA history, right? Back then, I beat the Wizards and created the biggest point differential in history. How many points was it again?"
"70!"
"No, I remember it was 73!"
"Don't talk nonsense, we're just one ball away from 80, it's 78!"
A group of Knicks players were guessing at each other's answers, but who among them was right?
Lin Tian wasn't sure either; how could he possibly remember this thing?
But Lin Tian confirmed one thing through his teammates' guesses.
That's the record for the largest point difference, it definitely didn't exceed 80!
Who cares about 70 points? If we win by 80 points, everything will fall into place, right?
"80 points!" Lin Tian clapped his hands, stopping his teammates' argument, and said easily and confidently, "Winning by 80 points, how could that not be a new historical record?"
"That makes sense!"
"Brilliant, boss!"
"As expected of our boss!"
"So clever!"
"This logic is absolutely flawless!"
"The NBA's number one strategist! Riley can only be your shoe-shiner."
"Jackson is nothing, at best he's a trainee priest, you're the real master!"
"Alright, alright, alright!" Lin Tian quickly waved his hand to indicate that this was enough.
These people are exaggerating more and more.
Although Lin Tian also felt that he was indeed incredibly cool and awesome, there was no need to brag about it just because of this.
This feeling is like... um...
Ke Jie beat an elementary school student in a game of Gomoku, and dozens of people around him applauded and praised him wildly, making him the number one Go player in history.
Regardless of whether he is right or wrong, the angle from which he praised him is quite strange.
Lin Tian felt the same way.
I'll praise you next time!
Now, let's beat up the bull!
Knicks fans let out a collective scream of despair upon seeing the Bulls' roster.
An all-sub lineup!
What the hell is the point of fighting then!
They could sense that our Lin would play for a maximum of 20 minutes, and that 15 minutes might be the time he had to go to the bench to rest.
He never bullies noobs, nor does he like to inflate stats.
It's over! It's all over! We waited and looked forward to it all season, and what did we get in the end?
Oh no, oh no, my 40 points per game average is gone!
Bulls head coach Skiles clearly heard Madison's sigh of despair, and he smiled smugly.
This is exactly what I want!
What I want is for you lot to lament.
Hey.
Skiles' purpose in resting the key players this time was not just to give them a break, nor was it simply to keep them confident so they wouldn't lose confidence if the Knicks beat them in the regular season.
He's going to break Lin Tian's record!
Even if Lin Tian's average of 40 points per game has nothing to do with them, even if the current Chicago Bulls team has been completely changed from top to bottom except for the owner, and there are no former teammates or partners of Lin Tian anymore.
But as a head coach, no one wants their opponents to achieve any immortal records against them.
If it can be destroyed, it's best to destroy it!
Skiles knew that with the limited talent he had, he was confident he could keep Lin Tian at least 60 points, but he had absolutely no idea he could keep Lin Tian at 35 points.
Therefore, after careful study and consideration, he decided to take turns resting!
I'm giving everyone a rest day, I'm not resisting anymore.
What else can you do? At worst, you can beat me by 30 points! I can afford to lose!
Anyway, none of my starters are playing. If you dare to beat me by 30 points, it will be good morale booster for our Bulls team when the playoffs begin!
Hehe, when the time comes, I'll use my magic touch to make a big deal out of how you guys bullied our substitutes during the regular season, and boost the team's morale to the extreme!
Even if we can't use this trick to directly upset the Knicks and win the series, stealing one or two games from you, breaking your 16-game playoff winning streak from last year, and becoming the first team in two years to beat the Knicks in the playoffs, that shouldn't be a problem!
What? I, Skiles, don't believe you New Yorkers can beat me by 80 points? You're really going to traumatize my players?
I don't believe it! It's impossible!
Just as Skiles was brimming with confidence, beaming with pride, arms crossed, and already contemplating his playoff speech, the Knicks launched their relentless barrage of attacks!
That night, the Knicks stuck to their established strategy and beat the Bulls to a pulp!
In particular, if they start, the Knicks only need to instill fear in the players on the court, and they can win by 3-40 points at most.
But now, the difficulty has increased.
Their goal became to instill fear and dread in the Bulls' starters sitting on the bench.
That would have to be a fake effort!
At the very least, if you win by 40 points in a single game, don't even think about scaring anyone away!
As Lin Tian said: We have to make history to demonstrate our attitude!
We're taking this match very seriously!
In the first possession of the game, Lin Tian encountered Du Hong, a role player who was not worth mentioning. Lin Tian made a series of large changes of direction, making Du Hong unable to see him clearly at all.
Then Lin Tian suddenly accelerated and pulled back, using a subtle elbow movement to push out. Poor Du Hong hadn't even entered the game mode before Lin Tian's combo knocked him to the floor.
Then Lin Tian stepped out of the three-point line, glanced at the shot, and decisively took a three-pointer!
"Whoosh!"
After a crisp sound, Lin Tian made a precise three-pointer!
3: 0!
The Knicks kicked off their season finale with a crossover and a step-back three-pointer!
At this point, apart from the Knicks players involved, no one else knew what would happen that night.
Skiles even made Duhon drink sugar water with ease, no.
I'm so happy to let Du Hong relax and stand up without being afraid!
The Knicks fans, however, paid no attention to the score; the first thing they did after Lin Tian scored was to look at Don Nelson.
Oh, they weren't planning to change players, that's great.
Then, a 3 was subtracted from the number 35.
32 points left!
As the game progressed and intensified, neither the Knicks fans nor Skiles could remain calm.
Skiles' back began to be soaked with cold sweat; he realized something was wrong.
The Knicks are actually playing defense! They're playing with all their might on defense!
Seeing this on the Knicks is enough to show how hard they played tonight.
Although their overall defense was a mess, and their individual defense was utterly incompetent.
But that depends on who you're talking to.
Against the Bulls, a mid-tier team in the league with an all-bench bench, the Knicks' defense was incredibly aggressive!
It could even be described as a form of dimensional reduction attack!
In comparison, none of your team's top four scorers are on the court, and apart from Duhon, no one else on the court averages more than 8 points per game.
This scoring ability clashed with the Knicks' overwhelming physical gifts.
Score?
That's bullshit!
In the first three minutes, the Bulls were completely shut down by the Knicks' defense and didn't score a single point!
Meanwhile, the Knicks have already scored 12 points!
A dream start with a 12-0 run!
The Knicks are 68 points away from their 80-point goal!
As Skiles grew increasingly uneasy, and as he kept breaking out in a cold sweat and swallowing hard, the Madison Square Garden fans started to go wild!
Lin Tian scored 8 points in 3 minutes, accounting for 2/3 of the team's points. Clearly, this guy's touch and desire tonight are quite good!
Meanwhile, fans noticed that Don Nelson just sat there calmly, not directing the game, and showed no intention of substituting Lin Tian early.
It's in the bag! This game is in the bag!
It's only 35 points; they might even get it in the first quarter!
The Bulls finally scored after 3 minutes and 20 seconds in the first quarter.
Shooting guard Sefolosha hit a three-pointer from beyond the arc, giving his team the first win of the game!
Unfortunately, this guy doesn't have much independent offensive capability right now, and he hasn't even earned the nickname "Swiss Army Knife" yet.
He can score on the spur of the moment, but expecting him to save the team and narrow the gap? That's obviously asking the impossible!
Especially now that the team's starting point guard, Duhon, is completely dominated by Lin Tian, being overwhelmed on both offense and defense and unable to contribute anything to the team, the Bulls' offense is in complete chaos, basically just each player acting independently, with whoever gets the ball throwing it away!
Honestly, if you can execute plays, run some nice off-ball runs, pick-and-roll plays, and the Knicks' players are just too much for them to handle. They'll get bored after a few plays and immediately relax on defense, no longer putting in any effort.
Their defense is completely reactive; they only try to defend when they feel like it, and they play like crazy for a few minutes when they're in a good mood.
Their defensive consistency relies on just one thing.
Feeling!
If the defense is effective and the team is in a good mood, they'll praise the team for their strong defense. But if they fail to defend two possessions and the opponent scores, the Knicks will focus on their offense and try to score two points back.
This is the team philosophy and winning habits of the team.
But now, with the Bulls completely unable to score and being completely suppressed by the Knicks, the Knicks' confidence is skyrocketing, and their morale and defensive effort are also skyrocketing!
In the entire first quarter, the Knicks held the Bulls to just 4 of 20 shots! Their shooting percentage barely reached 20%! And they only managed to score 13 points.
The Knicks, on the other hand, went on a scoring spree, driving inside and shooting from the outside, racking up 38 points in a single quarter!
They led by a whopping 25 points in the first quarter!
To be honest, losing to the Knicks by 20 points in a quarter is perfectly normal. With their firepower, once they get into a rhythm and get excited, scoring 40 points in a quarter is commonplace.
But that's achieved through offense.
But tonight the Knicks relied on their defense, their focus and tenacity on defense, to hold their opponents to just 13 points in a quarter. This is something that is unheard of and unprecedented.
But you definitely won't see many games like that in a season.
As I said before: this team doesn't play defense at all! (End of Chapter)