Chapter 68

The game between the Jazz and the New York Knicks was undoubtedly the most difficult one Lin Han had faced since entering the NBA. In many previous games, even if Lin Han performed poorly, his strong teammates could still control the game's momentum. For example, in the last game against the 76ers, Lin Han's performance was terrible, but the team still won with its powerful strength. Lin Han even had the energy to rack up a wave of three-pointers in the second half.

Similarly, in the game before that against the Heat, Lin Han's performance was also poor, with a shooting percentage of 7 out of 29. If this happened on an ordinary team, they would have lost long ago. However, what was the final result? Lin Han still failed to play as a scapegoat, and the Jazz still defeated the Heat.

This was also the biggest reason why Lin Han could resolutely rack up stats. Lin Han was not a fool, and Aili had told him that racking up stats on a bad team was useless. The NBA didn't care how impressive a player's stats were on a bad team. Only when the team won were impressive stats valuable. So Lin Han always understood this. He could rack up stats on the Jazz, win the weekly MVP, and defend the title, not because he averaged over 42 points per game, but because his team had a seven-game winning streak. Therefore, although many media outlets said Lin Han was racking up stats with high shot attempts, no one dared to really criticize him because his team kept winning.

Now, when facing the New York Knicks, Lin Han found for the first time that he couldn't rack up stats anymore because his teammates couldn't fill the gap for him. This was the first time he encountered such a situation since entering the NBA.

If the Jazz's poor offensive performance in the first quarter could be attributed to the discomfort of playing back-to-back away games, when the Jazz only scored 36 points in the first half, it couldn't be blamed on the players' poor form. It was really because the New York Knicks' defense was too outstanding.

Although Lin Han disliked the New York Knicks, he had to admit that this team was definitely a championship-level team, especially in defense. The Sonics' defense was also excellent. In Lin Han's view, Payton's defensive ability was much stronger than Starks', but the Sonics didn't put such pressure on the Jazz.

Because almost every player on the New York Knicks was like a madman. When Stockton advanced to the half-court, Doug-Roberts would immediately apply tight defense, delaying Stockton's ball handling. The other Knicks players would also stare at their opponents like hungry wolves. This team almost always applied half-court pressure, with intense aggression.

Unlike the Sonics, even if Payton was crazy and put immense pressure on Lin Han, it was still just his individual pressure. The Sonics' defensive teamwork was far inferior to the Knicks.

This team, known as the New York Mafia, was still a highly defensive, cohesive, and aggressive team even without the dirty tactics. In such a situation, the Jazz couldn't execute their signature pick-and-roll plays.

It could be said that when the first half ended, it was the first time Lin Han saw the team's head coach Jerry Sloan with a serious expression, unable to give any instructions, and no one said a word. Everyone just sat there for 15 minutes.

According to Jerry Sloan's attitude, was this game really over? Was the gap between the Jazz and the championship-level New York Knicks so insurmountable?

Although Lin Han was unwilling to admit it, the reality was indeed like this. At least many other Jazz players had already given up, even though the halftime score of 36-44 didn't seem too bad.

For NBA players, before the game starts, everyone hopes to win. The Jazz players were no exception. Standing on the stage of Madison Square Garden, they all hoped to leave the Eastern road trip with a four-game winning streak. However, once the game started and the situation completely deviated from the Jazz players' expectations, their determination to win inevitably wavered.

After all, the Jazz players really had no reason to win. Playing the last game of a four-game road trip in five days, even if they lost to the New York Knicks, so what? Even if they lost, the Jazz's recent performance was still excellent, and they were still second in the Western Conference.

Moreover, after the game against the 76ers, playing such a physically demanding away game, not only other Jazz players but even Lin Han himself was extremely uncomfortable, both mentally and physically exhausted.

So, facing Starks, who was clearly 7 centimeters shorter than him, Lin Han could only look for opportunities to turn and jump shoot, rather than pulling back to the three-point line to shoot. Did Lin Han not know that playing a Tracy McGrady-style pull-up shot against Starks was the most effective offensive move?

If Lin Han really did that, he would probably have to be substituted after one quarter. In the second half of the game against the 76ers, just 14 forced three-pointers made Lin Han's hands sore until now. Shooting in a formal game, especially in high-intensity competition, was extremely energy-consuming. Lin Han's endurance attribute was only 10, slightly better than an average person, far from the standard of an NBA professional player.

So, in previous games, to play the full game, Lin Han's offense mainly relied on turn-and-jump shots because this skill ignored personal endurance. As for defense, Lin Han could use eye defense, knowing that a player who only used eye defense was not unacceptable as a starter or a core player, but a player who couldn't last 20 minutes in a normal NBA game could never be a starter or a core player. With Lin Han's current endurance, lasting 20 minutes was already a miracle.

Therefore, when the third quarter began, seeing the Jazz players slowly lose their motivation to catch up, mechanically completing the game, Lin Han could only grit his teeth and hate himself for not having the ability to change the game's momentum.

He really wanted to use his personal ability to lead the Jazz to a big surge and awaken his team, just like Jordan did with the Bulls. But he was not Jordan, and he was not a superstar.

"Damn!"

When the third quarter ended, the Jazz were trailing 57-68. Lin Han looked at Starks, who had been taunting him, and cursed in his heart.

"Ha ha ha, finally got rid of the frustration from the first half, it feels so good. I really don't like this kid."

At this moment, Lin Han was very unhappy, but Starks was very pleased. This special rookie made him feel extremely frustrated in the first half. Although Lin Han's performance in this game was not outstanding, with a shooting percentage of 5 out of 16 after three quarters, scoring 12 points, this was already a very poor performance. However, after Lin Han scored 6 points in the first quarter, Starks was very afraid of what would happen if Lin Han scored 15 points in the game.

So, for this rookie who remained strong even after being intimidated, Starks felt a lot of unease. In the following game, it was proven that a rookie was still a rookie. In two quarters, he only scored 6 points. Although his height couldn't really block Lin Han, Lin Han was almost completely sealed off by Starks. Starks even thought he could shut out Lin Han in the fourth quarter.

"John, it's just a rookie, why are you so happy? People might think you beat Jordan."

Like John Starks, the other Jazz players were also very happy. Ending the Jazz's seven-game winning streak was definitely a headline-worthy event. If they won this game, Ewing would surely surpass Lin Han and top the MVP rankings. In such rankings, unless Olajuwon had a superhuman performance, it would be hard for him to surpass Ewing with similar records and stats.

So, for the New York Knicks players, although the game wasn't over, they were already looking forward to a bright future.

"Ha ha ha, you can't say that. This Jazz rookie is really strange. I've been in the league for so long, and I've never seen a rookie with such courage. You don't know, after scoring 6 points in the first quarter, John was really scared. Ha ha ha."

"True, John said that if Lin Han scored over 15 points in this game, he would lick the rookie's ass. Now it's not far off, is it?"

After Oakley joked, he deliberately provoked Starks.

"Charles, don't worry, I won't lose. That kid will only score so much in this game."

Seeing his teammates' malicious gazes, Starks glanced at the Jazz bench and said disdainfully. For him, allowing Lin Han to score 12 points in this game was already merciful. If Lin Han didn't know his place, he wouldn't mind using some unconventional weapons, like injuring him. Although the consequences would be severe, he didn't care.

......

"It seems this game is over."

To be honest, at this moment, Jerry West's mood was very complex. Lin Han's poor performance in this game should have made him sad, as Lin Han was always the player he wanted and he hadn't given up on trying to recruit him. But seeing Lin Han stifled by Starks and the Knicks' overall defense, he felt a perverse pleasure, a special kind of satisfaction from revenge and gloating.

"The New York Knicks are even stronger this year. It looks like they are determined to win the NBA championship this year."

After Jerry West said this, Jordan's brows furrowed. Last year, he did lead the team to defeat the New York Knicks, but the real MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals wasn't entirely him. Last season, he was embroiled in a gambling scandal, and if not for Pippen's efforts, the Bulls might have been swept 2-0 by the Knicks.

Although Jordan's form wasn't great at the time, the Eastern Conference Finals were a high-stakes game. Even if he was affected by external factors, he couldn't say his form was bad. As a two-time champion, Jordan was an experienced player, and his form usually improved as the playoffs progressed. In the first two games against the Knicks, he shot 27 for 10 and 32 for 12. In the third game, which the Bulls won, Jordan shot 18 for 3. If not for Pippen's performance, the Bulls might have been 0-3, and it's uncertain if Jordan would have scored 54 points in the fourth game to lead the Bulls to a comeback.

So, although Jordan couldn't like this team of butchers, he had a deep respect for them. Even he, the best player in the league, only shot 25 for 75 in the first three games against the Knicks. Now, which other superstar in the league could withstand the Knicks' defense?

"Perhaps the only one who can stop the New York Knicks is Olajuwon."

In the end, Jordan thought to himself, showing little hope for his teammates leading the Bulls.

......

"Alright, Lin, don't think too much. Your performance has been excellent."

In the fourth quarter, since Lin Han sat on the bench, he had been silently staring at the court, his fists clenched tightly. Everyone could see that he was extremely unwilling to accept the situation. Even his usual supporters, Russell and Williams, didn't dare to speak to him.

The assistant coach, Phil Johnson, who had always taken care of Lin Han, saw the strange atmosphere around him and sighed, patting Lin Han's shoulder.

Although Lin Han's shooting was still cold, he wasn't the reason for the team's loss. The other Jazz players performed even worse under the championship-level team's scrutiny. Lin Han was already one of the better ones, and his bravery and toughness were evident to everyone.

"I want to win this game!"

"What?"

Phil Johnson was stunned, unsure if he had heard correctly.

You want to win this game? Although such determination is good, why? Even the head coach, Jerry Sloan, couldn't find a way to break the Knicks' defense. Malone was completely dominated by Ewing, and Stockton's weaknesses were fully exposed by the Knicks' aggressive defense.

In such a situation, how could the team win?

Phil Johnson was taken aback, but Lin Han's eyes were burning with determination.