Chapter 61

The basketball is round, and anything can happen on the NBA court.

Indeed, at this moment, Lin Han very much wanted to say something to his teammates, but looking at the eyes of his teammates on the court, he just couldn't bring himself to say it.

"John, please give me one more chance. You can't pass the ball to everyone else. I believe I will eventually find my rhythm."

When Lin Han spoke to the team's current expressionless point guard, he felt a bit guilty but still forced himself to plead, as if he were a victim who had suffered a heavy blow.

"Lin, this is the fifth time you've said this to me in this game. However, Lin, before you say this, you should first adjust your mindset. Don't you know we have a back-to-back game against the New York Knicks tomorrow? Do you plan to let us lose this game or fall into a rut again?"

"No, John, it's not my fault that the team is in a rut. It's all because of Karl. Karl actually let Warren-Kidd, this year's undrafted rookie, score 12 points in the second quarter with 5 out of 5 shots. John, don't you think when you transfer the ball to Karl, he relaxes his defense? Yes, my shooting is off today, but John, you can't deny that when I shoot, Karl's defensive focus is the most intense, right? At that time, Karl is like a rebounding monster."

Seeing that Stockton was still unmoved, Lin Han gritted his teeth and prepared to shift the blame onto Karl Malone. Surprisingly, after Lin Han finished speaking, it actually had some effect. The previously expressionless Stockton's face showed a hint of anger, and the target of this anger was not Lin Han but Karl Malone.

"John, don't listen to this guy's nonsense. He just wants to pad his stats. I saw through him long ago. He never has good intentions. John, don't believe him."

Malone, who had been watching the commotion, suddenly realized that Lin Han was about to pin the blame on him. He couldn't continue to watch the show. Although Malone is the Jazz's top star, his status in the team is not as high as one might think. The team has a head coach, Jerry Sloan, who keeps him in check, and in front of Stockton, he is often bullied. According to Lin Han's words, Stockton is not only 'black-handed' on the court but also 'black-hearted' off the court. This seemingly loyal and honest point guard is actually a 'manipulative attacker,' while the tall and muscular Malone is a 'natural weak receiver.'

Malone, the team's top forward, is completely dominated by Stockton. If Stockton really blames the problems in this game against the 76ers on him, Malone can already imagine what he will face in the coming days.

"Shut up, Karl. Do you think I'm an idiot?"

Before Malone could finish, Stockton interrupted his explanation. Looking at the angry Stockton, Malone weakly chose to remain silent. At this moment, it was Lin Han's turn to watch the show. Seeing Malone's aggrieved expression, Lin Han almost burst out laughing, but after a fierce glare from Stockton, Lin Han awkwardly coughed and returned to normal.

Brushing up stats during a game is not uncommon in the NBA, but for Lin Han, who is determined to brush up stats in the Jazz, it's not that easy. After all, the Jazz's point guard is Stockton, a rare 'black-hearted and black-handed' player in the NBA. If Lin Han brushes up stats without restraint, he won't last long on the court. Wanting the ball? No way. Moreover, Lin Han is not the only one in the Jazz who brushes up stats. Karl Malone, the team's top player, is a big brusher. So when Lin Han decided to become the Jazz's top brusher, Malone felt threatened. At least in the last two games, Malone seemed to understand something, and in this game, he actually started to brush up stats against Lin Han.

In the minds of Malone and Lin Han, the 76ers are one of the weakest teams in the league, a team that is perfect for brushing up stats. However, what they didn't expect was that because both of them were focused on offense and left the defense to their teammates, the Jazz's usually strong defense collapsed. The Jazz scored 31 points in the first quarter, 37 points in the second quarter, and 68 points in the first half. This is 68 points, almost 70 points in the first half. Especially when an undrafted rookie from the 76ers could score 5 out of 5 shots in a quarter against Malone, it made Stockton furious. So when Lin Han mentioned this, Malone instantly felt betrayed.

However, despite the Jazz's poor defense in the first half, in terms of scoring, as long as Malone wanted to brush up stats, he was indeed very good at it. Although Lin Han's shooting percentage was still not great, it was better than the previous game. So the Jazz managed to score 63 points in the first half, otherwise, the game would have been over.

But even so, trailing 63-68 to the 76ers was not the result the Jazz wanted. So during the halftime break, Sloan roared and left the locker room. After Sloan's departure, the entire locker room trembled under Stockton's 'deep' gaze, including Lin Han and Malone. As Stockton's current apprentice, although Lin Han and Stockton usually joke around during training, he genuinely finds his teacher 'terrifying.'

"Lin, Karl, I don't care what happened in the first half. From the second half onwards, I need to see your contributions, and I mean comprehensive contributions. Hmph."

After giving Lin Han and Malone a deep look, Stockton followed Sloan's steps and left the locker room. The other Jazz players, seeing Stockton leave, also breathed a sigh of relief and followed him out. At this moment, the two 'competitors,' Malone and Lin Han, locked eyes.

"Lin, I didn't expect you to be so experienced."

"Hehe, Karl, same to you."

Lin Han had received a lot of advice from Ali, and the most important point was to shift the blame and create the illusion that 'I did my best, but my teammates are the problem.'

Although Lin Han is a newcomer in the world of brushing up stats, he is not lacking in experience compared to Malone, who has been doing it for years.

"Fvck, you little bastard."

Watching Lin Han leave with a cool demeanor, Malone really felt like crying. How did he end up with such a 'unique' rookie?

Of course, after being scolded by Sloan and Stockton, the Jazz's spirit in the second half was completely renewed, especially Malone, who no longer dared to openly brush up stats against Lin Han and started to focus more on defense.

Seeing Malone back down, Lin Han secretly mocked him. "You think you can play with me? Can't handle the pressure now, can you? The three key points of brushing up stats are not only shifting the blame but also having a big heart and the determination to 'stand firm against a thousand critics and be as solid as iron.'"

So when Malone started to focus on defense, Lin Han continued to play as he did. What made Malone even more frustrated was that this rookie was too damn crazy. In the first half, Lin Han used his signature back-to-the-basket jump shots, which, although had a low shooting percentage, were always smooth and beautiful, and seemed like good opportunities. Even if they missed, his teammates could understand.

But in the second half, after receiving the ball from Stockton, Lin Han no longer used the back-to-the-basket jump shots but started to take pull-up shots. What is a pull-up shot? It's a forced jump shot taken under close defense, a desperate attempt to score using height and jumping ability. Such shots are generally not allowed in the NBA, even by players like Jordan.

However, what left Malone speechless was that Lin Han's pull-up shooting percentage in this game was actually quite good, especially from beyond the three-point line.

"Huh? This kid's three-point shooting is so good?"

Lin Han shamelessly threw three-pointers on the court, which was Malone's thought. Lin Han was too shameless, but after being intimidated by Stockton, he became the most aggressive player on the court, and Stockton had to pass him the ball. Moreover, Lin Han's three-point shooting percentage looked quite good, which surprised Stockton.

It's worth noting that the Jazz's three-point shooting was abysmal last season, with no dedicated three-point shooters. The team averaged 84 shots per game, of which only 5 were three-point attempts, and half of those were made by Stockton. So, apart from Stockton, the team had no three-point shooters.

So it wasn't that Lin Han's three-point shooting was exceptionally good, but his pull-up shots were calm and composed, giving a sense of ease and confidence. It made his three-point shooting look good, even though he was often defended. Although the purple-gold skill has the characteristic of ignoring defense, the shooting percentage wasn't that high.

"Lin's three-point shooting form is completely different from his mid-range jump shots? That's incredible. Jerry, maybe we can change Lin's role. His three-point shooting can become a fixed tactic for our team."

If Lin Han had continued to brush up stats with his back-to-the-basket jump shots in the second half, Sloan would have definitely benched him. However, when he saw Lin Han brushing up stats with three-pointers, Sloan didn't take action against him.

Although three-point shooting is relatively new in the league, its importance has been increasing. Sloan, a traditional coach, still relies heavily on the inside game, but he is not rigid. After the Suns and Bulls' battle in the finals last season, the power of three-point shooting was fully demonstrated.

In this context, Sloan had also looked for three-point shooters during the off-season, but most teams in the league didn't have true three-point shooters, and if they did, they were treasured. In this situation, Lin Han's three-point shooting in this game was a pleasant surprise for Sloan, so he didn't consider whether Lin Han was brushing up stats.

In this atmosphere where the coach on the court didn't mind and the coach off the court was hopeful, Lin Han had a very satisfying game against the 76ers. Of course, when Malone truly focused on both offense and defense, the 76ers were no match for the Jazz. The Jazz quickly dominated the 76ers, and even though Hornacek and Witherspoon were unwilling to lose, they were powerless.

When the game ended, the score was 125-114, with the Jazz winning by 11 points. The 76ers scored 46 points in the second half, and Lin Han's performance was still very controversial. He shot 31 times, making 12, for a total of 34 points, including 14 three-point attempts in the second half, making 6 of them. Although the shooting percentage wasn't high, for the Jazz, a player making 6 three-pointers in a game was almost godlike, as the team averaged only 5 three-point attempts per game last season.

So, although Lin Han took 31 shots with a poor shooting percentage, when he came off the court, neither the team leader Stockton nor the head coach Sloan criticized him as they did after the game against the Heat.

"Lin, good job. Keep it up in the future."

When Lin Han felt Sloan's sincere encouragement, he almost felt like crying. If he had known he could reasonably brush up stats with three-pointers, he wouldn't have brushed up stats with Malone in the first half. He could have just started with pull-up three-pointers.

However, after taking 14 three-pointers in the second half, Lin Han felt his hands were a bit sore from shooting.

"If only the pull-up three-pointers had the attribute of ignoring personal stamina."

As he left the court, Lin Han thought with a hint of regret. Ali was right; every purple-gold skill is not invincible.