Chapter 58

"Ha ha ha, Lin, did you not sleep well last night? You don't look very energetic."

On November 17, 1993, the day after the Jazz defeated the Orlando Magic away, the team was generally in high spirits. Although they were still on an eastern road trip, and the schedule for this eastern trip was not easy—four games in five days, including the Magic on the 16th, the Heat on the 17th, the 76ers on the 19th, and the New York Knicks on the 20th—both the Magic and the Knicks were among the strongest teams in the league this season. However, after overcoming the Magic, the Jazz seemed to have shed some of their burden. Even if they lost to the Knicks in the final game, it wouldn't mean their eastern trip was a failure. As for the Heat and the 76ers, the Jazz didn't really take them seriously.

If the 76ers still had Charles Barkley, they would indeed be a tough opponent for the Jazz. But Barkley had long since moved to the Suns, and the current 76ers were in a dire state, with internal issues and no coherent strategy. Although many players like Jeff Hornacek were very capable, they couldn't come together as a team, and their record was already 1-5.

As for the Heat, this team was different from the 76ers. This Florida team, like the Magic, was a new team with big ambitions. In the previous season, they made their first appearance in the Eastern Conference playoffs, but were eliminated in the first round by the Bulls. Despite being a new team, the Heat had won at least 35 games in the past few seasons. Players like Glen Rice, Steve Smith, and Rony Seikaly were also very capable. The team's total salary was $18 million, which, while not as high as the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Portland Trail Blazers, was still higher than the Jazz's $17 million and the Rockets' $16 million. This indicated that the Heat had a strong roster.

However, why, despite having a high salary cap and capable players, did the Heat not receive much attention and were not considered a strong team? The owner of the Heat had ambition and was willing to spend money, but without a superstar joining, the money had to be spread out. As a result, the Heat had a large number of capable players like Glen Rice, Seikaly, Harold Miner, Steve Smith, and even Brian Shaw, Willie Burton, and John Salley. These players were indeed very capable, but in the NBA, a competitive team is not built by stacking many capable players; it is built around a few superstars, who then bring in some capable role players. Neither Glen Rice, Steve Smith, nor Seikaly were superstars, so despite the high salary cap and capable players, the Heat's performance was not good, lacking a leader.

For the Jazz, facing such an opponent in the NBA was not a major concern. As long as their own state was not too poor, the Heat would find it very difficult to defeat the Jazz. Of course, a team like the Heat, when on a hot streak, could be very dangerous. While they might not win a series against the Jazz, a single game was not a guarantee of a Jazz victory. It all depended on the Jazz's luck.

"Karl, I think this kid must have been too excited by last night's game and couldn't sleep. I think we should let the coach give him a day off to rest. I think Jeff or Joey can start."

When Lin Han dragged his heavy steps into the hotel restaurant early in the morning, he was immediately teased by the Jazz's two star players. Even Jeff Malone, who had been somewhat gloomy recently, laughed after Stockton's comment.

At that moment, Lin Han was indeed very helpless and frustrated, and did not 'retaliate' against Stockton and Malone. This made the two star players very satisfied, as it seemed the kid had not become arrogant after last night's game and was still on the right path.

What they didn't know was that Lin Han was still thinking about the lottery from last night. Originally, Lin Han wanted to draw Nash's personal defensive skill card, but what he drew was a 'Tracy McGrady-style pull-up jump shot skill card.' Although this card was also a purple-gold skill, on par with Kobe's spin move, how could McGrady compare to Nash? From the information he got from Alice, Nash had won two regular-season MVPs, while McGrady had only won two scoring titles. Although a scoring title was impressive, it couldn't compare to an MVP. Moreover, McGrady's card only gave Lin Han one skill, while Nash's card not only gave him attribute points but also many defensive skills. Nash had 25 skills, and if Lin Han could get all of them, it would be far more valuable than McGrady's card.

Lin Han still had a chance to get Nash's card. Nash's card was in the sixth slot, while McGrady's was in the seventh. If he had just missed by a little, he would have gotten Nash's card. This small difference kept him up all night.

Moreover, Lin Han couldn't learn the McGrady pull-up jump shot skill card yet. The first requirement was that his arm span must be 10 cm longer than his height, which Lin Han met. His arm span was 2.09 meters, and his height was 1.98 meters, a difference of 11 cm. The second requirement was that his jumping, shooting, balance, ball handling, and long-range shooting must all be at least 15. While Lin Han's shooting, balance, jumping, and ball handling met the standards, his long-range shooting was only at 9, 6 points short.

Lin Han currently had 0 attribute points. In the system's store, one attribute point cost 500 points, which was not expensive. Lin Han had recently recharged 200,000 dollars, which was the last of his money. The 200,000 dollars gave him 5,000 points, which could normally buy 10 attribute points. However, in addition to points, buying an attribute point also required one victory point, and Lin Han only had 5 victory points, one short of the requirement.

Of course, Lin Han could also gain attribute points without buying them from the system store, such as by training with superstars. Generally, if a superstar like Kobe trained with him for 10 hours and he didn't learn a skill, he would still receive 1-5 attribute points. However, these were not free attribute points and could be added to any attribute, such as shooting or long-range shooting. To train with a superstar like Kobe for 10 hours required 1,000 points, which Lin Han couldn't afford.

Fortunately, the requirement for 6 victory points was not far off, just one more victory. The opponent tonight, the Miami Heat, didn't seem very strong, which gave Lin Han motivation.

On the evening of November 17, 1993, at the Miami Arena, which could hold over 15,000 people, the seats were almost full. Although Miami's basketball market couldn't compare to the neighboring Orlando Magic, Miami fans were different from Magic fans. Miami fans were not as loyal to their team, while Magic fans, though harsh and nouveau riche, had a high love for their team. For Miami fans, basketball and the NBA were just entertainment. They wouldn't be obsessed with them.

These fans could be seen as indifferent or generous. They were there for the show, just like how Jordan's annual visits to Miami caused a viewing frenzy. Lin Han, the hottest young player in the NBA recently, also caused a viewing frenzy in Miami. For these Miami fans, they didn't care if the team won, as the team wouldn't make the playoffs anyway, and if they did, they would be eliminated in the first round. They just wanted to see if this young player, mocked by American media experts, was really a cancer.

"His moves are really beautiful, just like Michael. Maybe I've become his fan now."

"Amazing, he really is like the newspapers say. Once the ball is in his hands, it doesn't come out. His shooting desire is so strong, but his accuracy isn't great. Ha ha ha."

"Of course, no one can score 60 points in one game and then score 60 again in the next. It's inevitable. You're a fake fan."

"You're the fake fan, Karl. I remember you haven't been watching basketball for long. You can just name a few NBA superstars. Can you name the Heat's starting lineup today?"

The cheers from the Miami Heat fans made Lin Han very uncomfortable, and his performance in the game was also very uncomfortable. It was really a disaster.

Although he knew that his 20% luck burst had reduced his luck to 1%, which was very dangerous, Lin Han never expected it to be this dangerous. From the start of the game, he became the most iron player on the court, and even the "one of" could be removed. A luck burst could last a week, and although his luck was 1%, he was still under a lucky spell. Even under a lucky spell, he still had such a poor shooting percentage.

"This guy is really persistent."

Watching Lin Han on the court, facing Glen Rice's defense and shooting wildly, Heat coach Kevin Loughery kept wiping the sweat from his forehead. He saw the shadow of a young Jordan in Lin Han. Loughery was not an ordinary coach. Although his achievements in the NBA were not great, he was the coach of the Bulls during Jordan's rookie season. At that time, Jordan, though new to the NBA, was already capable of being a team's lone hero.

Now, Lin Han was playing like a lone hero, but he couldn't be one in this game.

"If it weren't for this kid, we wouldn't have lasted this long."

Loughery was shocked by Lin Han's persistence but also thought to himself that the Heat were completely outmatched by the Jazz. The Heat players were not in good form, but what surprised Loughery was that Lin Han, who had a great game last time, was so iron this time.

After all, he had prepared a double-team strategy for Lin Han, but it wasn't needed. If they had double-teamed him, the Heat would have lost early. Lin Han was completely a spy for the Heat.

"Jerry, are you really not going to take Lin out?"

When the game reached the fourth quarter, Heat coach Loughery was wiping the sweat from his forehead, shocked by Lin Han's play. Similarly, on the Jazz bench, assistant coach Phil Johnson was sweating profusely. A game they were supposed to win easily had turned into this.

Phil Johnson knew that with Jerry Sloan's strict nature, he would have benched Lin Han long ago, but although Sloan's face was not good, he had no intention of taking Lin Han out in the crucial moments.

After all, for a young player who was to be the core of the team, taking him out would be a clear sign of distrust. Lin Han had performed exceptionally well in the first five games, and the team wouldn't have had a five-game winning streak without him.

"Let him have his fun."

In the end, Jerry Sloan sighed in his heart.

"Finally 20 points, finally no more shooting."

When Lin Han, with 2 minutes left in the game, made his 29th shot, he felt like he was about to collapse.

Playing with such poor luck and shooting so much required immense pressure. Lin Han could have stopped shooting, but he believed that if he didn't score at least 20 points in a game, he would struggle to keep his starting position. After all, Jeff Malone was a 20-point-per-game player.

In this situation, Lin Han couldn't just stand on the court and do nothing. How could he show his value on the court?

However, Lin Han's 29-for-7 shooting, with 8-for-7 free throws, for a total of 21 points, greatly hindered the team's performance in what should have been an easy game.

Fortunately, after scoring 21 points, Lin Han didn't shoot again and let his teammates finish the game. The Jazz eventually won the game against the Heat 107-104.

The best performer in the game was Karl Malone, who, besides scoring 41 points on 21-for-15 shooting, also grabbed 21 rebounds, 12 of which were offensive.

It was clear that playing with Lin Han this season, Malone's rebounding, especially offensive rebounding, had improved significantly compared to last season.