Chapter 88

Lin Han was intimidated, Lin Han was intimidated in the game against the Nuggets!

Lin Han was taught a lesson. After the game against the Nuggets, he was harshly criticized by the team's head coach, Jerry Sloan, for the first time, for over an hour!

This made Lin Han very depressed and speechless. He really did not expect that while his coach did not say anything when he was shooting wildly, he would be unhappy with the reduction of his mid-range shots, which had a lower shooting percentage. This left Lin Han very surprised and confused.

Although Sloan scolded him for a long time and talked to him for a long time, he pointed out that if Lin Han did not take shots, then Spencer and Russell would be pure defensive players, and Stockton did not like to take shots. This would leave Malone as the only truly threatening player on the team. When a lineup has only one true offensive strong point, it is very dangerous.

The Jazz won the last game, and Malone's shooting was indeed good. However, what if Malone's shooting was not so good in a game? What would the Jazz do? Who in the starting lineup could score consistently? The Jazz had sacrificed their All-Star player Jeff Malone to put Lin Han, who had almost zero defensive ability, on the court. They added a pure defensive player, Brian Russell, to the starting lineup to make Lin Han and Malone the offensive duo of the Jazz starting lineup.

But now, Lin Han, who had a "change of heart," stopped shooting wildly and instead played like a role player, hiding outside to shoot three-pointers. The mid-range shooting and offensive burden were all left to Malone. What kind of situation was this? If Lin Han really gave up his offensive skills, the Jazz might as well let Jeff Malone replace him.

Jerry Sloan did not want to see a Lin Han who ignored everything and acted like a shooting machine. He could not tolerate a Lin Han who was timid, full of unease and fear. It must be said that Sloan had great expectations for Lin Han.

Originally, in the past one or two seasons, Sloan did not require the team to perform exceptionally well as he was rebuilding the Jazz. He knew the team had too many weaknesses. However, after Lin Han's offensive rise, his thoughts changed. Especially after the team's winning streak reached eleven games, he even thought about the championship for this season. As the most important part of this idea, Lin Han's role was unquestionable. For this, he had even planned to trade half of the Jazz team.

Well, Sloan had already designed a path for Lin Han, and he did not care about Lin Han's poor shooting. He had even elevated Lin Han and Malone to the same tactical level. But now, this guy was telling him that he was not playing anymore, that he was afraid, that he no longer had the confidence to bend the rim, and that he was questioning his own role. Could Sloan tolerate this? Of course not!

Of course, Sloan had many complaints about Lin Han's performance against the Nuggets, and Lin Han could understand these complaints after being scolded. However, no matter what, after the game against the Nuggets, Lin Han was still very depressed when he returned home.

"Chicken, can't you stop thinking so much? Although your status in the team and the NBA has indeed changed, and people's expectations and requirements for you have increased, your playing style and ability determine that you cannot meet everyone's requirements. I think Coach Sloan is right. You only need to be responsible to him. You don't need to care about what others think."

"Yes, I know it's not good, but if I really stick to my old style, I'm afraid that after a few games, Coach Sloan will no longer think this way or support me. Ali, you know how my shooting is. If I play like Kobe with the turnaround jump shot, I'll probably miss 75 out of 100 shots."

It must be said that the character value had an incredible impact on ordinary shooting. If it weren't for the fact that, according to Ali, the Tracy McGrady-style pull-up shot had a destiny-like force that was not much affected by the character value, Lin Han would probably be even more tragic, not even daring to shoot three-pointers. Although the three-point pull-up shot had a low accuracy, a 35% three-point shooting percentage was still better than a 35% two-point shooting percentage.

"You are really selfish."

In response to Lin Han's words, Ali sighed lightly after a moment of silence. Lin Han was indeed incredibly selfish. To maintain his starting position, he could ignore the team's tactical needs. Jerry Sloan did not know that if Lin Han really shot poorly, he could miss for over ten consecutive games. Sloan thought Lin Han just had a bad game, like Jordan did. But if Lin Han really followed Sloan's requirements and missed for over ten consecutive games, and the Jazz lost those games, could Lin Han keep his starting and core positions?

Lin Han could not argue with Ali's accusation of selfishness. He could only sigh.

He really did not want to leave basketball or the NBA now. Perhaps he could sign a few commercial contracts and become a millionaire, living a carefree life. Survival and living were no longer his goals in playing basketball. Even achieving the American dream of buying houses in New York and Los Angeles did not seem so distant to Lin Han.

He really wanted to achieve his dream of facing off against Jordan one-on-one in the NBA, his idol. He wanted to stay in the NBA and wait for Jordan's return. How could he leave if Jordan had not returned? Moreover, he was not just waiting for Jordan. He was also waiting for his best friend, Bowen, who was fighting to enter the NBA abroad.

He also needed to defeat Hardaway, who had always looked at him unfavorably, and stay in the Jazz and the NBA to take care of his younger teammates, Aaron Williams and Brian Russell.

Although Lin Han had not yet realized it, the bond between him, the NBA, and basketball was growing deeper. Before entering the NBA, Lin Han did not love basketball. He could leave without hesitation after a carefree life. No one could stop him. But now, he could not leave so easily. Similarly, Lin Han could no longer say that he had no love for basketball and the NBA; he just had not realized it yet.

On the night of November 27, Lin Han was insomnia. On the morning of November 28, although Lin Han still adhered to his recent schedule and arrived very early for the team training, everyone could see that he was preoccupied.

"Maybe, I really have no choice."

When the team's official training began, in an internal training game, Lin Han was placed in the substitute group for the first time by Jerry Sloan. This was Sloan's warning to him. Lin Han had no choice; he either followed Sloan's ideas or sat on the bench. Lin Han felt the head coach's toughness for the first time.

Now, Lin Han could no longer remain neutral. So, the path he had thought of last night left him with only one option.

"Never thought I would be forced to be a cancer player one day."

At this moment, Lin Han felt like it was karma. Who would have thought that after enjoying his shooting for the past ten games, he would now be forced to shoot poorly.

However, after being forced to make a choice by Jerry Sloan, Lin Han now understood and was no longer so conflicted. He would continue to shoot, and if he missed, he would sit on the bench.

What Lin Han did not expect was that on November 29, the Jazz played against the New Jersey Nets at home, and this Eastern Conference team, which had a poor 4-7 start, actually played a different strategy against him.

This Eastern Conference team, which had a very poor start, actually double-teamed Lin Han on the court!

It seemed that the head coach of this team was very interested in "training" Lin Han, who was now the hot new "second Jordan." When Lin Han learned that the head coach of this team was Chuck Daly, and that Chuck Daly was the famous head coach of the Dream Team, the former head coach of the Pistons, and the inventor of the Jordan Rules, the biggest nemesis Jordan faced in the NBA, Lin Han really wanted to cry.

Sir, are you so obsessed with Jordan that you won't even let a "second Jordan" go?