Chapter 14

"Truly a player with equally prominent strengths and weaknesses. It seems the fate of this team has come to an end. Although they unexpectedly made it to the finals, the gap in strength between the two sides is too obvious."

"Especially when Aaron Williams and Antonio Harvey, the two big men, face Chris Webber and Rodney Rogers, who are relatively shorter but extremely agile and aggressive. It's almost a disaster."

"I heard that in last year's NCAA team's victory over the Dream Team, Chris Webber and Rodney Rogers' frontcourt combination even outplayed the big-buttocked Barkley. After the game, Barkley was scolded by Jordan. These two guys, though not from the same college team, have a very good chemistry."

"Yes, the frontcourt can't hold up, and the backcourt is being heavily pressured by Allan Houston and Sam Cassell. Hardaway's team is really in danger now. Although Hardaway can still rely on his personal offense to maintain the situation, without the effective help of Lin Han and Van Exel, he is struggling alone."

On June 3, 1993, the final day of the morning session at the Chicago United Rookie Camp, the final of the rookie scrimmage was officially held between Lin Han's team and Chris Webber's team. This game was the first time Lin Han felt the pressure of facing a team with NBA third-tier strength. From the start of the game, the players who had performed exceptionally well in the previous two games, including Lin Han and Van Exel, no longer had their usual grace and composure.

Especially Lin Han, who now faced Allan Houston, a player who put as much pressure on him offensively as Laddie did in the first game. However, when facing Laddie last time, Lin Han didn't feel much pressure because the team's leader, Hardaway, eventually cleaned up the mess. In the end, Lin Han completely ignored Laddie's offense and focused all his energy on his own offense.

But now, in this game, Hardaway couldn't spare any attention for him. Lin Han's team's frontcourt was being completely dominated, and Hardaway had to step in to save the situation. The current Chris Webber and Rodney Rogers were not the same as the so-called Wen Beck. Aaron Williams and Antonio Harvey couldn't withstand their impact. As for Van Exel, who had been very impressive in the previous games, he seemed to be suppressed by Sam Cassell.

Given Van Exel's characteristics, as long as he got into his offensive rhythm, he could dominate any opponent. But this time, his opponent seemed to have a similar streak of unpredictability. In their back-and-forth, Lin Han was surprised to see that Van Exel seemed to be losing.

From the start, Lin Han's team was completely dominated by Webber's team. Apart from Hardaway, who still performed normally or even exceptionally, everyone else underperformed compared to previous games. As for Lin Han, he had to focus a lot of his energy on defense. Lin Han even doubted whether he could maintain his performance throughout the game given the current pace.

Although Lin Han's spin move and fadeaway jump shot didn't consume much energy, other aspects were very draining, especially the constant sprinting in such a fast-paced game, which made Lin Han feel extremely desperate.

This was the biggest disadvantage of not controlling the game's rhythm. In the previous two games, the rhythm was always in Hardaway's control, and Lin Han didn't feel the need to exert much energy. Now, it was completely different.

"Truly an infuriating grouping, and an unpleasant opponent."

Struggling with his almost exhausted legs, Lin Han faced Allan Houston's tight defense and forced another shot. As the game progressed, Lin Han felt that his almost invincible spin move and fadeaway jump shot might be at risk of being blocked by Allan Houston. It seemed that even at the LV1 level, the move wasn't as safe in the NBA. Who knew what kind of defensive powerhouse he might face.

"This guy's shooting is really unique. Despite his short arms and not-so-high jump, his spin and hang time are excellent, making it very hard to block his shots."

Although Lin Han hated his opponent at this moment, Allan Houston was also surprised by Lin Han. This Asian kid, despite his poor physical attributes and defensive positioning, had a very unique offensive style, especially in shooting.

Although Allan Houston was a versatile player, excelling in both ball-handling and shooting, his strongest point was his shooting ability. In his four years of college, he averaged 22 points per game with a 46% shooting percentage and a 43% three-point shooting percentage, making him one of the best shooters in the NCAA. As such an excellent shooter, his spin move and fadeaway jump shot were naturally not bad. However, in Allan Houston's view, even his spin move and fadeaway jump shot were inferior to Lin Han's. At least, if facing a defender with a ten-centimeter longer wingspan, he would struggle to get a clean shot off without a fake move, and even if he forced it, he would likely be blocked. Lin Han, however, had no such problem. According to the rumors among the rookies, Lin Han seemed to have received true training from Jordan, and this Asian kid might have some connection with Jordan, possibly even being his disciple.

"Indeed, my mid-range shooting is still far from Jordan's level?"

Finally, Allan Houston looked at Lin Han's back and shook his head helplessly. Last year, during the Dream Team training, they did beat the Dream Team in the first game, but in the second game, he and the others, including Hardaway and Grant Hill, were thoroughly taught a lesson by Jordan. Therefore, whether it was Hardaway, Hill, or himself, they all took Jordan as their target, determined to beat him in the NBA to avenge last year's defeat.

Now, although his team was leading, in the shooting department, Allan Houston still felt he hadn't outperformed Lin Han, despite making him look very flustered.

"If only his physical attributes were better. I don't need him to reach Jordan's level; just reaching the NBA average would be good. Like Larry Bird, who, despite his lack of physical attributes, could compensate in other areas. But this guy is far from even Larry Bird's level."

Jerry West, the Lakers' patriarch, watching Lin Han from the sidelines, sighed regretfully. Seeing Lin Han's shooting style that resembled Jordan's, he truly had a fondness for talent, but thinking of Lin Han's 3.9-second three-quarter court sprint and over 13-second full-court shuttle run, the Lakers' patriarch felt a deep pain.

One could say that both Hardaway and Lin Han were very regrettable to him. One was a player he couldn't draft, and the other was a player who was neither useful nor dispensable, a bit like a chicken rib. Perhaps many scouts from other teams felt the same way as Jerry West.

"Ha ha, yes, indeed a chicken rib of a player."

Jerry Sloan, standing next to West, smiled after West spoke. Although it seemed Sloan agreed with West, he didn't actually think so.

Jerry West was evaluating Lin Han as a core player, and naturally, Lin Han couldn't meet that standard. However, while Lin Han might not be a core player, he could still be a key role player for a team.

For Jerry West, Lin Han was a chicken rib of a player, but for the Jazz, Lin Han was not a chicken rib.

Although Lin Han's core player style would indeed cause problems if he wasn't a team's core player and could potentially become a cancer, Jerry Sloan was very confident that this guy could survive in the Jazz without becoming a cancer.

At this moment, Jerry West and Jerry Sloan were each calculating their own plans, while the game on the court was gradually coming to an end. In the end, the seemingly unbeatable Webber's team defeated Hardaway's team 90-82. The best player in this game was Hardaway, who scored 33 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. Lin Han, on the other hand, only made 10 out of 22 shots, scoring a 'pitiful' 24 points. The worst was Van Exel, who only scored 18 points. In this game, both Lin Han and Van Exel, the team's main scorers, were off their game.

After losing this game, Lin Han and his team concluded their rookie camp training for the year. The camp's MVP was awarded to Hardaway, the most highly regarded player in the nation.