Chapter 48

"Ha ha ha, Lin, your defensive move was really dirty. After jumping, you were almost nose-to-nose with your opponent. Some timid guys would definitely be scared. Even if you don't jump, just a quick jab forward could cause serious damage to the opponent's vital areas."

"Now I finally understand why Peyton seemed to be electrocuted in mid-air during the last game. It turns out you really did something. That's dirty, really dirty, but I like it."

At the Jazz's training ground, the team's star player, John Stockton, was explaining some defensive points in NBA games to Lin Han. After defeating the SuperSonics, the Jazz's head coach, Jerry Sloan, seemed to have made a decision. He no longer expected Lin Han to really understand the tactics he was explaining. For Sloan, the last game against the SuperSonics had made it clear that perhaps having a player who operates outside the team's tactical system wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Although Lin Han no longer needed to study Sloan and the Jazz's complex NBA tactics and had the privilege of playing one-on-one on the court, Sloan still had high expectations for Lin Han in one aspect. Sloan had already determined that Lin Han lacked tactical and team play skills, but he could tolerate this because it was Lin Han's greatest strength. However, in the last game, Sloan also saw that Lin Han seemed to have the potential to improve his defensive skills.

The Jazz's ability to hold the league's highest-scoring team, the SuperSonics, to less than 100 points in the last game was not just the work of one person but the result of the entire team's effort, including Lin Han. Although Lin Han's opponent, Peyton, scored 22 points in the last game, his shooting percentage was only 8 out of 17, which was not particularly impressive. Despite the significant defensive effort, Peyton still managed to score, but he was very uncomfortable with Lin Han's eye-covering defense. In the last game, Lin Han not only performed at a god-like level on offense but also did a decent job on defense.

Although Lin Han, as an Asian, did not have outstanding physical attributes, the team's latest physical test revealed that his wingspan was an astonishing 2.09 meters, almost reaching 2.10 meters. Although his wingspan was still far from Jordan's level, who was the best in the league, Lin Han's wingspan was already very impressive. Upon learning Lin Han's latest physical test results, which included improvements in areas like agility, sprinting, strength, and jumping, Sloan and the other Jazz coaches were almost stunned. While the improvements in other areas could be attributed to Lin Han's hard training, a sudden increase in wingspan was not something that could be achieved through training alone.

Therefore, Sloan and the other Jazz coaches quickly came to a common understanding: this kid had not given his best effort during the physical test at the Chicago talent camp. He was really good at pretending. With such excellent natural attributes, although Lin Han's athletic ability was still poor and did not meet the average NBA standard, he could still enhance his defensive presence.

In the entire NBA, which player had the worst physical attributes but was still one of the best defenders? Undoubtedly, the Jazz's John Stockton could be ranked in the top three. This star player, standing only 1.85 meters tall and weighing less than 80 kilograms, had physical attributes that were only slightly better than Lin Han's. Despite these conditions, Stockton was still a three-time member of the NBA's Second Defensive Team.

Moreover, Stockton's defensive 'tricks' were very suitable for Lin Han. To establish oneself in the NBA's defensive end without natural physical advantages, one had to play dirty, and Stockton was a master at this.

"John, I'm really embarrassed by what you said. And I'm not as dirty as you."

After the game against the SuperSonics, the Jazz had a few days of rest. Lin Han, who had been learning from Stockton for some time, did not give his senior teammate any face. It was clear that Lin Han's status in the team had improved to the point where he could joke with Stockton or Malone. Being called 'dirty' by Stockton was something Lin Han could not easily accept. If he had joked with Stockton like this before, he would have been out of the team.

"Ha ha ha, Lin, don't say that. I think we can further improve your eye-covering technique."

Now, Stockton was not bothered by Lin Han's jokes. In the past, he would have supported Jeff Malone in the position competition due to their friendship. Now, in the face of Lin Han's talent, everything was secondary. To achieve his championship goal, he needed Lin Han. As long as Lin Han did not challenge his territory, he did not care about Lin Han's other matters. Malone felt the same way.

In just three games, Lin Han had transformed from a rookie who served tea and water to a 'team little giant' who could joke with the team's leaders. This was not an easy feat.

Stockton wanted to further develop Lin Han's eye-covering technique, but Lin Han did not want to participate in this. He could only hope that the players who would face Stockton in the future would have good luck. As for Stockton teaching Lin Han defense, Stockton's amazing steal prediction was something Lin Han could not master due to his poor prediction attribute. In the end, he could only learn some 'dirty' tricks, like the flexible use of 'knees' and 'black hands' in defense. After being taught by Stockton, a defensive master, Lin Han did not dare to call himself 'dirty' in front of him, even though he had sneakily attacked Peyton's private parts in the last game, which was far from what the team's leader could do.

"Looks can be deceiving."

Watching Stockton enthusiastically developing new defensive techniques, Lin Han sighed inwardly.

On November 12, four days after the game against the SuperSonics, the Jazz faced the Atlanta Hawks at home.

The Hawks, led by the legendary coach Lenny Wilkens and the superstar Dominique Wilkins, were always a strong team in the NBA. Although they often failed to make the playoffs or were eliminated in the first round, Wilkins, who competed for the scoring title almost every season, was known as the 'First-Round King.' Despite being a fan favorite, he was not well-liked by NBA experts.

Facing such a formidable opponent, Lin Han had even asked Alice about Wilkins. From Alice, he learned that Wilkins' situation was similar to that of a small forward named Carmelo Anthony twenty years later. Both had won one scoring title and were considered superstars by fans but toxic players by experts. They were always ranked low in NBA rankings.

As a new 'toxic player,' Lin Han knew that Wilkins, an old 'toxic player,' must have had absolute strength to become a 'super toxic player.'

In this situation, without the boost of his character, facing such a superstar in his first game, Lin Han was very nervous.

Fortunately, in this game, Wilkins did not play as a shooting guard and did not intend to humiliate Lin Han. It was clear that Wilkins himself was under immense pressure and had no time to bully a rookie like Lin Han. Therefore, Lin Han's opponent was a young player named Stacy Augmon, known as the 'Plastic Man.' This 1991 ninth overall pick almost shattered Lin Han's defense in the game. Lin Han finally understood why he was called the 'Plastic Man.'

This guy's explosive power and various unimaginable twists in the air were impossible without a body made of flexible plastic.

"This guy is playing with his life."

Facing such an opponent, Lin Han played very poorly. Without the boost of his character, his offensive performance in this game was terrible, and his defense was also overwhelmed by this 'respectable' life player.

If not for the super substitute Jeff Malone, who scored 28 points on 10 out of 18 shots, the Jazz would have lost badly. Lin Han scored 20 points on 7 out of 22 shots, and Malone scored 26 points on 7 out of 25 shots. The two main scorers combined for only 14 out of 47 shots.

Of course, the Jazz played poorly in this game, scoring only 93 points. However, the Hawks also struggled, with only Wilkins scoring over 20 points (21 points on 8 out of 20 shots). Augmon, the 'Plastic Man,' scored 16 points against Lin Han.

Although Malone's shooting percentage was terrible, he also grabbed 25 rebounds, 12 of which were offensive rebounds. The Jazz grabbed 36 offensive rebounds in total, while the Hawks only managed 25 defensive rebounds. The Hawks only had 70 shot attempts in the game, while the Jazz had 101.

With Lin Han and Malone as 'rebound masters,' the Jazz did not have to worry too much about losing the game as long as their opponents' inside game was not too strong, despite their poor shooting percentage.

The Jazz narrowly defeated the Hawks 93-88 at home. The team's offensive performance left Sloan very unsatisfied. However, the day after the game, the Jazz received some good news.

Lin Han, who had led the team to four consecutive wins with outstanding performances, was named the NBA's Player of the Week with averages of 42 points, 0.5 assists, 2 rebounds, and 0.25 steals per game.