Chapter 34

Feeling depressed, Lin Han, who was sitting in the stands, was extremely depressed, especially when he watched his teammates on the court fiercely beating the Mavericks.

The Mavericks were a very weak team. Although it seemed that the arrival of a super rookie like Mashburn this year had strengthened their team, it was clear that Mashburn had been directly beaten by Lin Han in this game, losing confidence. In terms of strength, the Mavericks in this game were even weaker than last season.

How much trouble could such a worst team in the league bring to the Jazz? It was obvious. The score of the first quarter was 44-26, and after just the first quarter, the Mavericks were already 18 points behind. This kind of point difference was basically the result of Lin Han and Mashburn's one-on-one.

Lin Han scored a terrifying 33 points in the first quarter, while Mashburn made 9 out of 22 shots, scoring only 20 points. Although it seemed that a rookie scoring 20 points in a single quarter was already impressive, this 20 points would likely be his final score in the game. No one would believe that the Mavericks' coach would still send him onto the court in this game.

Indeed, the Mavericks' coach, Buckner, did not send Mashburn back onto the court for the rest of the game. What was unexpected was that the Jazz's coach, Jerry Sloan, also did not send Lin Han back onto the court. Of course, many people knew that Sloan was deliberately protecting Lin Han. Lin Han's performance in the first quarter was already outstanding, and there was no need for him to show off further, which would not be good for his future.

However, although everyone in the Jazz organization knew this was to protect Lin Han, Lin Han still felt very angry and depressed.

He had spent a lot of effort to retaliate against the unfair treatment he had received over the past few months and to take the place of Jordan. He had used up 75% of his "personality points" accumulated over the past few months. According to Alice, the more personality points he used, the better his performance in the NBA would be, but this effect had a duration. Generally, the effect of using personality points lasted for a week, which was about three to four games. The first game had the best effect, and the effect would gradually weaken, with a significant decrease.

In this situation, Lin Han really went all out for this game. Although the effect of using 75% of his personality points would last for the next three games, no one knew how the next three games would go. If he didn't establish his position in this game, he might lose his starting position. Over the past period, he had learned that Sloan was a coach who emphasized defense. If Lin Han couldn't prove that he scored more points than he lost, he would definitely be a substitute in the next game.

Therefore, even though he knew Sloan was protecting him, he was not very happy. Of course, besides Lin Han, the Jazz fans at the scene were also unhappy. After the first quarter, the game was already a foregone conclusion. In this situation, these fans preferred to watch Lin Han's scoring performance rather than the veterans like Malone and Stockton dominating the game. Lin Han's scoring style was indeed beautiful and captivating, and the one-on-one dominance was truly exhilarating.

Therefore, when Lin Han sat on the bench for the entire second quarter, and when the second half of the game started, almost all the Jazz fans were shouting "Put Lin Han in!" The louder the game progressed, the more the fans shouted. Clearly, these Jazz fans were dissatisfied with Coach Sloan's plan and were forcing the stubborn coach to change his mind. They wanted to see Lin Han play.

Being able to change the minds of all the Jazz fans in just one quarter, Lin Han was not too much at a loss.

However, facing such enormous pressure from the fans, Sloan remained unmoved and did not put Lin Han back on the court in the third quarter. At this point, Sloan was also very hesitant because he knew that not letting Lin Han play would make Lin Han very upset and might create a rift between them. However, he had to suppress Lin Han for a while. If before he only saw Lin Han as a piece of the puzzle for the Jazz's future championship aspirations and one of the best helpers for the Utah duo, after the first quarter, Lin Han's status in his mind was far more than just a helper.

Any NBA coach who saw Lin Han's dominance over Mashburn in the first quarter would know that this rookie had a bright future. Sloan was now looking forward to Lin Han becoming the Jazz's leading player and the team's third superstar after Malone and Stockton. He would not let such a player be destroyed under his watch.

Therefore, when the entire Jazz crowd was shouting Lin Han's name, Sloan was still watching the game clock. After the third quarter, the fourth quarter began, and both teams had already taken out their starters, making the game a garbage time. At this point, Lin Han was still sitting on the bench.

Lin Han himself thought he would not get any playing time in this game, but to his surprise, after the official timeout in the fourth quarter, with 9 minutes left, Sloan actually put Lin Han back on the court.

"The Delta Center is boiling again. That little guy is back on the court. This is Sloan's move to mend their relationship. This is the best time to make a substitution, as it won't make Lin Han too upset and won't let his performance be too astonishing. I believe Lin Han's shooting will not be as good after such a long rest. Sloan made a good choice."

When Lin Han entered the court amidst the wild cheers of the Jazz fans, as the ABC commentator and former Mavericks coach, Rick Adubato, really appreciated Sloan's coaching skills.

"Sloan indeed made a very good in-game adjustment, but I hate him. I was already seeing the ratings for this ABC national broadcast soar because of Lin Han, but he ruined everything. I hate him."

Although Adubato appreciated Sloan, the ABC commentator probably couldn't appreciate it. The much-hyped national broadcast was ruined by Sloan.

Of course, the other journalists at the scene probably felt the same way. Although they couldn't see Lin Han being beaten by Mashburn, seeing Lin Han beat Mashburn was also good. But now, none of that was happening, leaving them in a very uncomfortable position. They didn't think Lin Han would have any outstanding performance in this game.

Even Jordan would have a cold hand after sitting on the bench for over an hour, let alone Lin Han. Sloan just wanted him to wrap up the game and comfort him a bit.

However, when Lin Han entered the court, what happened next completely surprised everyone.

"Damn, these Jazz players are doing this on purpose. I'm sure these guys are doing this on purpose."

"Ha ha ha, this is too funny. It seems this little guy hasn't been targeted by other teams yet, but he's already being targeted by his own teammates."

"These Jazz players are too cute. They are deliberately passing the ball to Lin Han. If Lin Han's shooting is terrible, they will successfully undermine his influence in the team. If Lin Han's shooting is still hot, he will be doomed by his teammates, and Sloan's protection will be completely ineffective."

"Yeah, I can already imagine the scene where the league's veterans will team up to target this rookie after he scores 50 points in this game. Ha ha ha."

At this point, all the core players of the Jazz had been taken off the court. The lineup on the court was Lin Han and Benoit, the former starting small forward, along with Humphries, John Krodt, and Philton Spencer. The three most important ball-handlers, Krodt, Humphries, and Benoit, were all feeding the ball to Lin Han. For a moment, Lin Han thought these teammates who had issues with him were trying to make amends.

This also made Lin Han very surprised, so he didn't think much about it. After receiving the ball, he started to play aggressively, just like in the first quarter, taking crazy shots. The player he was facing from the Mavericks was Tim Legler, a shorter and thinner guard with much weaker defensive skills compared to Mashburn. Lin Han played very easily.

In this situation, Lin Han quickly found that his scoring speed was increasing, and his shooting was as good as in the first quarter. This made Lin Han even more amazed by the "personality points" in the system. When Lin Han scored another 17 points in the fourth quarter, bringing his total to 50 points, he felt that no one could stop him.

The Mavericks' bench players were not happy. Letting a rookie score 50 points against them was already bad enough. Now, Lin Han didn't know when to stop and continued to play. If he really scored 60 points against them, they would have no face left. So, whenever Lin Han received the ball, two or three Mavericks players would swarm him. At this point, Lin Han, who was already in a killing frenzy, didn't care about the two or three defenders. He would shoot whenever he had a chance, regardless of the situation.

Fortunately, the NBA rules did not allow early double-teaming. This meant that players could only be double-teamed after they had the ball. Otherwise, the Mavericks wouldn't even let Lin Han touch the ball. At this point, the Mavericks were also ignoring the other Jazz players, focusing only on stopping Lin Han.

In this situation, the fourth quarter of the game between the Jazz and the Mavericks became a very bizarre game. All the Mavericks' perimeter players were swarming a rookie, and the rookie was shooting crazily before they could get to him, regardless of whether the shot would go in.

"This is too crazy, too crazy. This is the Jordan Rule. The Mavericks are actually using the Jordan Rule on Lin Han. Am I seeing this right? The Mavericks are completely ignoring their other players and are using every possible defensive tactic on Lin Han!"

At this point, whether it was the Jazz fans in the stands, the journalists, the commentators, or the viewers at home, everyone was stunned.

The Jordan Rule, a familiar yet strange term, reappeared, and it was being used on a rookie. If this rookie's style was more aggressive and not just crazy jump shots, he would be Jordan. If the Mavericks' defenders were dirtier and more ruthless, they would be the Pistons.

While everyone was amazed by the Mavericks' use of the Jordan Rule on Lin Han, the Jazz coach, Jerry Sloan, was stunned, as was his assistant coach, Phil Johnson. They never expected this outcome. Should they take Lin Han out now? No, unless they didn't want Lin Han anymore.

Of course, everyone was stunned by the final craziness of the game. Marshburn, sitting on the bench, was feeling very upset, his face turning red and pale.

And there were many others who were feeling the same way, like the Lakers' general manager, Jerry West, who was watching the game in his office.

Seeing Lin Han's crazy scoring performance, he was unsure how the rookie George Lynch, whom the Lakers had drafted with the 12th pick in the first round, would perform in their next game. But one thing was certain: Lynch would not have such a crazy game against the SuperSonics, and the SuperSonics would not use the Jordan Rule on Lynch.

"If I had been more determined, he would have been a Lakers player. Only a noble team like the Lakers would match his noble style. If I had been more determined, just a little bit, he would have been my player."

At this point, Jerry West was filled with endless regret and frustration.