Chapter 66

"Damn, we lost again."

After the referee of this NBA focal match threw the basketball into the air to officially start the game, Lin Han and the other Jazz players all cursed inwardly after seeing the result of the jump ball.

The team's starting center Spencer was really useless. Even though he was afraid of facing one of the NBA's top three centers, the "Big Man" Ewing, he should at least jump a little. This guy was almost stunned by Ewing's momentum, standing there for a while, even worse than when he faced Shaquille O'Neal not long ago.

However, fortunately, the New York Knicks' offense was not as fast-paced as the Warriors or the SuperSonics, but rather very slow, which was a normal strategy for a team with a big center. Therefore, the Jazz's retreat defense was not under much pressure.

"Kid, you've been pretty arrogant lately."

After Lin Han and all the Jazz players retreated to defend, New York Knicks' point guard Doug Rivas slowly brought the ball to the front court. Without any hesitation, he directly passed the ball to Ewing, who had already secured his position in the paint, while the other players all spread out.

Lin Han knew that this was one of the Knicks' three main offensive strategies. Although the Knicks had performed well in recent seasons and the arrival of Lakers' coach Pat Riley had greatly helped the team, the team's playing style was not favored by Knicks fans and the media.

The main reason was that the team's offense was too ugly. When they invited Pat Riley, they hoped he could replicate the Lakers' "Showtime" super offensive style. However, after coming to New York, he trained a group of butchers. Although New York fans and media disliked Pat Riley, it had to be admitted that this NBA legendary coach was indeed powerful. Whether in coaching offense or defense, he was among the best in the NBA, and his ability to teach according to individual talents was probably the best in NBA history.

Therefore, for this game, Lin Han knew that his team's head coach Jerry Sloan was very serious, making many key deployments for this regular season game. In the NBA, due to the large number of regular season games, most regular season matches had no pre-game targeted deployments.

Thus, when Lin Han saw Ewing sitting inside and the other players all spreading out, he understood the Knicks' strategy. This tactic of the center positioning in the paint while other players spread out was one of the Knicks' trademarks. Of course, the team that played this strategy best now was the Houston Rockets, who had the league's top center.

For the Jazz, this extremely simple and brutal strategy was the most lethal, especially when executed by Ewing, who was considered the best post-up player among the top three centers. Although Hakeem Olajuwon's post-up ability was also excellent, his strength in post-up play relied on his footwork, especially his ability to use a step and a spin move to outplay most of the league's big men. Therefore, many people viewed Olajuwon and David Robinson as primarily perimeter attackers. Of course, although the three had some differences in their playing styles, as the top three centers in the league, they were all extremely versatile players with outstanding offensive and defensive skills.

So, when Ewing got the ball in the paint, the other Knicks players almost all watched like they were at a show, seeing how their leader bullied the young center behind him. The gap in level was too large.

And as John Starks, who was matched up against Lin Han, was particularly relaxed. Although the Knicks were eliminated by the Chicago Bulls led by Jordan in the playoffs for the past two seasons, Starks' performance was outstanding. This undrafted rookie from the 1990 draft was now a benchmark for all low-drafted players in the NBA. Through his efforts, he transformed from an undrafted rookie in 1990 to the actual leader of the New York mob in just three years. Although Ewing was the team's leader, he was not a member of the mob.

Moreover, this guy was indeed very talented, with aggressive offense and defense. He had once dunked over Jordan and averaged over 15 points per game in the playoffs against Jordan. On defense, his trash talk and various small actions were also representative of the New York mob.

Such a fierce player who had faced Jordan head-on in New York and Chicago naturally looked down on a rookie like Lin Han, especially one labeled as "Jordan II," which made Starks feel like "my big gun is already hard and unbearable." So he immediately targeted Lin Han.

"Hey, don't be so nervous. I won't do anything to you. This game will let you enter the real NBA world."

Looking at the smiling face in front of him, Lin Han became even more alert. If he hadn't joined the Jazz, he would have believed that this player with a kind and innocent smile was a good person.

But after getting to know Stockton, Lin Han was extremely cautious about the cute and honest-looking players in the NBA. These guys were mostly not normal and not good people. In fact, in the current NBA, most of the cute and honest-looking players were not good, and the fierce and domineering ones were also mostly not good. This place was practically a concentration camp of thugs and scoundrels.

The difference among these thugs and scoundrels was that some had been thugs and scoundrels for many years, some were becoming more and more thuggish and scoundrel, and some were preparing to learn to become thugs and scoundrels.

In Lin Han's heart, he should be one of the few pure people in the NBA.

Just as Lin Han was about to retort to Starks, Madison Square Garden suddenly erupted in a huge cheer. When Lin Han turned around, he almost blurted out a national curse.

The team's starting center Spencer had already been pushed to the ground by Ewing and was sitting under the basket, while Ewing had already completed a dunk over him.

"Too damn soft."

Looking at the timid Spencer sitting under the basket and the gorilla hanging on the rim, almost all the Jazz players on the court felt the same as Lin Han.

Before the game, the Jazz's strategy was very detailed, but it was useless if the players executing it were not up to the task.

"If only Mark Eaton hadn't retired," Jerry Sloan on the Jazz bench probably started missing his former starting center.

Of course, regardless of how it turned out, the Knicks and Ewing's early warning to the Jazz was indeed effective. The gorilla was showing the world that after Jordan's departure, the strongest player in the NBA was not Barkley or Olajuwon, but him, the King of New York. As for the Jazz and the Jazz duo? Were Malone and Stockton now at his level? Of course not, they were stepping stones, and Lin Han? This guy was even less in his eyes.

"Finally, it's our turn to attack."

Although the Jazz were given a warning at the start of the game, the players were not too panicked, as they probably knew what to expect from Spencer. The game continued normally.

According to the starting lineup, the team's starting center Spencer and starting small forward Brian Russell were purely defensive players, while the pick-and-roll between Malone and Stockton and Lin Han's one-on-one were the core tactics.

"John, pass me the ball."

For the team's first attack, Lin Han wanted to test his shooting. If his first shot went in, he would use the beautiful Kobe Bryant's spin move and fadeaway jump shot to finish off the player behind him.

However, facing Lin Han's aggressive positioning, Stockton was a bit hesitant. He was not a rookie like Lin Han. Even if his teammates reminded him that Starks was not simple, Lin Han probably wouldn't have a deep understanding. So when Starks remained motionless after Lin Han's aggressive positioning, seemingly wanting to let Lin Han receive the ball easily, Stockton, as one of the top players in the NBA's "black heart" rankings, felt something was off.

But Lin Han had to get the ball, so Stockton had to grit his teeth and pass the ball to Lin Han. When Lin Han saw Stockton pass the ball, he was delighted and immediately leaned back against Starks, preparing to adjust his position slightly and attack.

"Good pass." As soon as Lin Han received the pass from Stockton, he secretly admired Stockton's pass. It was just right, not too light or heavy, and not too fast. Such a pass required minimal adjustment from the receiver, and Lin Han could even directly pull up for a spin move and fadeaway jump shot. However, to ensure the first shot went in, Lin Han decided to slightly adjust his position.

Just as Lin Han was about to dribble, he suddenly felt a pain in his right knee. His right leg, which had not yet turned, immediately bent, and the basketball he had just received was directly stolen by a black shadow that suddenly appeared from the side.

"Ref, he fouled, he kneed me from behind."

Even if he were less intelligent, Lin Han would know what Starks had done to steal the ball. This player, who was 7 centimeters shorter than Lin Han, had played a low blow.

However, the referee, Barry, did not even look at Lin Han. A rookie's complaint carried no weight in the eyes of the referee, a common unwritten rule in the NBA.

In the end, Lin Han could only watch as Starks sprinted down the court and completed another spectacular dunk for the Knicks. Such a steal was too fatal.

Although Stockton and the other Jazz players came to comfort Lin Han after his mistake, seeing the 4-0 score on the board, Lin Han was in a bad mood.

"This kid is too careless. He only protects the ball from behind, not from the side. He's still too green," Jerry West said with a slight laugh, and Jordan nodded in agreement.

The New York mob was not only skilled at low blows; their high blows were their bread and butter. However, it seemed difficult for Starks to get Lin Han to wrestle.

Just as Jordan and Jerry West were wondering if Lin Han could force the Knicks to use their wrestling and judo skills, a scene suddenly unfolded on the court.

When Lin Han received the ball for the second time and prepared to attack, this time he learned from his mistake and did not make any extra adjustments. He directly received the pass from Stockton and attempted a spin move and fadeaway jump shot. However, just as Lin Han's feet left the ground and he had not fully turned, he suddenly felt his legs swept from under him, causing him to lose balance and fall. It was a sweep kick!

Lin Han, who almost fell flat on his back, instinctively thought of the sweep kick. At this moment, the Jazz and Knicks players all rushed over, ready to fight.

"You're trying to kill me, this isn't basketball."

"Carl, when you elbowed Thomas, was that basketball? You could hear the sound of Isaiah Thomas's bones breaking on TV. Don't be so naive."

"Do you want to fight, you sons of bitches?"

"I knew it would be like this."

Seeing the sudden chaos on the court, Jerry Sloan shook his head with a bitter smile. At this moment, he only hoped Lin Han was okay, while Pat Riley on the side was unperturbed, having seen many such on-court frictions.

"Coach, can we go help?"

At this moment, Pat Riley, seeing the Knicks' bench players being held back by assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy, was speechless and waved his right hand to make these hormone-charged guys sit down.

"Kid, this is the NBA, this is Madison Square Garden. Welcome to the NBA. I told you, you won't score 15 points in this game."

Lin Han, enduring the pain in his buttocks, gritted his teeth and stood up. The referee finally called a foul. At this moment, Starks, surrounded by Jazz players, showed no fear and smiled innocently at Lin Han, who had just gotten up from the ground.

After saying that, the player with the innocent smile did not even look at the referee who had just called the foul, as if the foul did not exist.

"Lin, are you okay? That bastard just wants to make you submit, to make you afraid."

"I'm fine, don't worry."

Looking at the concerned teammates around him, Lin Han shook his head and said. At this moment, his hands were almost clenched to the limit, the veins on his knuckles almost bursting. He was really angry.

"Is this the NBA? Is this Madison Square Garden?"

Lin Han took a deep look at Starks' back and scanned the stands, feeling very complex.