Chapter 42

"Jerry, 2 plus 1, no, it's 2 plus 2, this kid's offensive play was just too brilliant, too brilliant."

When Lin Han patted the dust off his jersey and stood up from the ground, the atmosphere on the court was extremely strange. Apart from Brian Russell, who came over to help Lin Han up, the other Jazz players stood by with stunned expressions, seemingly still in shock from Lin Han's impact.

The players on the SuperSonics' side were even more so. Gary Payton, who had always been the most stable and best defensive guard on the team, had such a significant lapse in both offense and defense. Even in last season's Western Conference Finals against MVP-level player Kevin Johnson, Payton had never been as embarrassed as he was just now. So, the SuperSonics players also found it hard to accept the situation.

However, regardless of how the players on both sides felt, the Jazz assistant coach Phil Johnson was already excitedly shouting in front of head coach Jerry Sloan. Lin Han's offensive play just now was truly spectacular, with continuous spins, a fake move, and a real jump shot, almost flawlessly executed. He had never seen Lin Han use such a move in training, indicating that this kid had been hiding his skills very well.

Of course, although Phil Johnson was a bit out of control, head coach Sloan remained calm. After all, the team had not yet established an advantage, and the gap between the two teams was too small. Although Lin Han had embarrassed Payton once, everyone knew that Payton would be even stronger next time, and the situation for Lin Han and the Jazz was still not very optimistic.

However, Lin Han's performance just now was indeed commendable. Taking Jeff Malone out of the starting lineup for this game was a significant decision, and although his reputation within the team was already high, Jeff Malone's status was no less. If Lin Han performed poorly in this game, his reputation would suffer a significant blow, and the team's veterans might not respect his decisions in the future. Now, so far, Sloan was very satisfied.

Just as Sloan was thinking that Lin Han had not let him down, Lin Han, who was about to take a free throw, dealt another heavy blow to Jerry Sloan.

"What is this guy doing? What is this guy doing? Squatting to take a free throw? When did this guy learn this kind of free throw? His previous games were not like this."

Sloan, who had been maintaining a composed demeanor, could no longer remain calm. At this point, Lin Han was actually learning the squat-style free throw from Barry or Wilt Chamberlain. What was this guy trying to do? Although Lin Han's free throw was not very good, it was better than suddenly changing his stance during the game.

"Jerry, calm down. I think he might have known this before, and his free throw percentage might have been good. I believe Lin is not someone who easily gets carried away."

Seeing his boss about to lose his temper, Phil Johnson, who had just been very excited, quickly tried to calm him down. Perhaps because Lin Han had always kept some things hidden, Phil Johnson had a lot of trust in him.

"Ha ha ha, a very familiar free throw stance. I think Chamberlain and Barry will have successors. I remember the free throw in the previous few games was not like this. Maybe the low free throw percentage in the first two games made this kid want to change his style."

"This is a very good free throw style, but it's only good for Barry. For Lin, this might be his first time using it, so it could be very dangerous, maybe even more dangerous than the first two games."

Just as Jack Sikma finished laughing, Lin Han, amidst the shock of the SuperSonics fans, made both of his free throws, throwing the ball into the basket. The SuperSonics fans were once again in an uproar, and the commentator Jack Sikma was left speechless by Lin Han.

Sloan, who had been on the verge of losing his temper, quickly calmed down after Lin Han made both free throws. However, he was also thinking, when did this kid learn this move? He didn't believe that Lin Han had never practiced it.

"Jack, I think you must be a reincarnated wizard. Today, your predictions have all failed. I finally understand why you said God guided you to leave the NBA and start a new career when you retired two years ago. Now I think the one who guided you to leave was not God but Satan. Come back before your golf shop goes bankrupt. The NBA welcomes you, and ABC welcomes you."

"Please don't mention my golf shop. It's only been open for two years. Please let it go. And I'm not a wizard."

Now, this legendary SuperSonics forward was very frustrated and depressed. Similarly, the SuperSonics fans at the scene were also very depressed. Lin Han's sudden change was like a rollercoaster, torturing their nerves. They had started the game with high spirits, but now they were on edge.

Lin Han's four-point play made the game, which had been evenly matched at the start, become unbalanced. The Jazz achieved their largest lead since the start of the game.

Of course, this four-point play not only gave the Jazz a significant lead but also put immense pressure on Lin Han. Although Lin Han was unwilling to admit it, before this, Payton had not taken him seriously and had been underestimating him. After the four-point play, Lin Han suddenly found the pressure much greater.

However, thanks to Lin Han's burst, Stockton and Malone could no longer ignore him. Moreover, Malone's strong offensive play at the start of the game had drained his energy, so after the first third of the first quarter, the Jazz's offense began to focus more on Lin Han.

In this game, Lin Han's success rate was much lower compared to the previous two games.

"Too strong, this guy's defense is really too strong."

Lin Han had thought that after his Kobe-style spin and fadeaway jump shot reached level 2, he could easily use fake moves to get past Payton's defense. However, the reality was that after the four-point play, the fully focused Lin Han was not easily fooled by his fake moves. This left Lin Han with only the option of a strong, fadeaway jump shot under Payton's close defense, but without the strength advantage, he couldn't jump high enough.

Although Ali said that Payton had not yet reached his peak, and the peak Payton was one of the top three defensive guards in NBA history, even this Payton was already very strong. Lin Han experienced the power of a top defensive player for the first time since entering the NBA.

Of course, although Payton's defense was indeed very strong, it required a lot of energy from Lin Han for each offensive play. Although the spin and fadeaway jump shot did not consume much energy, the effort required to execute it was significant, much more than in the previous two games.

So, in this situation, after just 10 minutes of the first quarter, Lin Han was drenched in sweat from Payton's defense, feeling as if he had just completed a whole game. Fortunately, after that, Payton did not focus too much on scoring and instead devoted all his energy to defending Lin Han, or Lin Han would have been even more miserable.

When there were 2 minutes left in the first quarter, and Sloan substituted Lin Han out, Lin Han sat on the bench, looking as if he had just collapsed.

"Lin, good job."

After Lin Han sat down, Sloan, who rarely praised, patted him on the back. Lin Han was panting heavily with a towel over his head.

Sloan was very satisfied with the first quarter. The sudden change in the starting lineup meant that the Jazz had only three players with offensive capabilities, and Stockton was not the primary scorer. So, the tasks for Lin Han and Malone were very heavy. After Malone's strong start, Lin Han also performed well.

When Lin Han and the other starters were substituted out, the score was 26-24, with the Jazz leading, which was not easy. Although Lin Han only made 4 out of 9 shots and 4 out of 4 free throws for a total of 12 points, which was much lower than in the previous two games, scoring 12 points in a single quarter against Payton's intense defense and causing him to foul twice in the first quarter was already very impressive.

In Sloan's view, Lin Han's performance in the first quarter was even better than his 33-point quarter in the first game.

However, what Sloan did not know was that although Lin Han was satisfied with his stats, he was not at all satisfied with his performance. A 4 out of 9 shooting percentage was indeed good, but Lin Han knew that his actual shooting percentage was not that high. Although this game was the last one where his luck was effective, it was not as effective as the previous two games. In just the first quarter, Lin Han made two lucky shots. If these two lucky shots were not counted, with his level 2 Kobe-style spin and fadeaway jump shot, Lin Han only made 2 out of 9 shots, and one of these was the four-point play at the start of the game. This showed how badly Lin Han was played by Payton in the subsequent game.

"Is my strength really only this much now?"

At this moment, Lin Han, who did not feel Sloan's comfort, was deeply self-reproaching.

While Lin Han was blaming himself for not being strong enough, Payton, sitting on the bench, was also not having a good time.

Being fouled twice and giving up 12 points in a single quarter, even against superstars like Kevin Johnson and Stockton, he had never been as embarrassed as he was today.

"Damn, damn, damn!"

Payton, sitting on the SuperSonics bench, was also clenching his fists tightly, with a towel listlessly draped over his head and his teeth grinding. The SuperSonics head coach George Karl, seeing his star player in such a state, also shook his head helplessly, just like Sloan.

Perhaps this was a growing experience. Last season's playoff success had brought too much praise, and overconfidence is the greatest enemy of all young people.

George Karl looked at the Jazz bench and felt somewhat grateful to Lin Han. He had never seen Payton suffer such a blow before.