Chapter 99

(Continuing the large chapter, this time it's a 9,000-word chapter. I'm still seeking recommendations and support!)

On December 4, 1993, in the afternoon, in the high-end meeting room of the American Grand Hotel in Salt Lake City, a group of extremely tall and strong men were seated in a room that was usually rarely open. The large screen at the front of the meeting room was playing an NBA game highlight. From the footage, it was clear that this was a compilation of a particular player, or more precisely, a compilation of all the games played by the Jazz's No. 8 player this season.

"From the compilation, we can clearly see that Lin Han is a very raw player. His defense is not outstanding, and his ball handling is not particularly efficient. His scoring methods are mostly mid-range turnaround jump shots or three-pointers from beyond the arc. Such scoring methods are hard to maintain efficiency and accuracy. However, despite this, whether it's his mid-range turnaround jump shots or three-pointers, he has shown an extremely high level. That's why he is currently the league's leading scorer. In the last game, he humiliated you all in New York, at Madison Square Garden."

Pat Riley used the remote control to stop the TV and coldly looked at the New York Knicks players sitting below. After being glanced at by Riley, whether it was Ewing or the New York Knicks' scapegoat from the last game, John Starks, who was humiliated by Lin Han, they all slightly lowered their heads. However, after Riley glanced at them, he did not say anything more but continued, "A player having a single scoring method and a lack of scoring techniques is not a reason for us to underestimate him. In the NBA, no matter how many skills you have, if you can ultimately put the ball in the basket, that's victory. Similarly, no matter how many defensive skills you have or how tough your defense is, if you can't stop the opponent from scoring, you lose. This is a point I have always emphasized to you all. The result is always more important than the process and the methods."

"Moreover, he is not someone you can underestimate. Although most of his scoring this season has been from mid-to-long-range shots, in the last game against the Pacers, you should have seen that his ball-handling, off-ball movement, physical talent, and athleticism were all underestimated. The last time he faced us, he didn't use his full strength. Even in the last game against Reggie Miller, he didn't use his full strength. He was just using Reggie Miller's style to compete against Reggie Miller. John, you shouldn't be unfamiliar with Reggie Miller's style, right?"

After saying this, Pat Riley once again focused his gaze on John Starks, the shooting guard who was matched up against Lin Han. At this moment, the other Knicks players also looked at him, making Starks feel a bit embarrassed and ashamed. Last season was his breakout season. In the NBA playoffs, two players gained national fame: one was Gary Payton from the West, who was nicknamed 'The Glove' for his outstanding performance against the Suns, implying that the Suns' star guard Kevin Johnson was like a baseball stuck in a glove, unable to move. The other was the Knicks' guard John Starks, who made Michael Jordan play what might have been the most embarrassing series of his career. After dunking over Jordan, Starks was nicknamed 'Above the Rim.' Everyone knew Jordan had the nickname 'Air Jordan,' and someone called 'Above the Rim' naturally could soar over the 'Air Jordan.' In that Eastern Conference Finals against the Bulls, Starks became the Knicks' second-in-command and the actual leader of the team's mafia.

However, despite the glory of last season, it couldn't hide the fact that Starks was thoroughly outplayed by Reggie Miller in the first round, allowing Miller to average over 30 points per game with a three-point shooting accuracy of over 50%. It was a complete embarrassment. Therefore, when Lin Han scored three-pointers over him in the last game, it wasn't a coincidence but because he really couldn't defend against these top three-point shooters. His height was much shorter than Lin Han's or Miller's, especially against those who could move well, making it even harder for him to keep up. This led to him being humiliated by both Miller and Lin Han, causing him immense shame.

"In this game, you must pay very close attention to protecting the paint. We all know that the Jazz don't have a player who can penetrate the paint, and their style is more focused on mid-range shooting. However, with Lin Han's emergence, the Jazz are now one of the best three-point shooting teams in the league. Also, don't forget his beastly drive at the start of the last game against the Pacers. Patrick, you need to be ready to block his drives and always be prepared to cap him."

"Coach, even if I have to break his legs, I won't let him get to the paint."

Just as Pat Riley finished speaking to Ewing, the recently humiliated Starks darkly promised. However, when Riley and the other Knicks players heard this blatant 'black talk,' they showed no surprise, as if it was completely normal. Riley even nodded in encouragement. In the current NBA, anyone who is determined to drive to the basket must be prepared for the risk of a broken leg, and even Jordan was not exempt.

For an NBA regular season game, it is already quite rare for one team to specifically devise a strategy against another. Given the NBA's schedule, with an average of one game every 1.5 days, teams generally don't have specific strategies for each opponent. After all, they are flying from game to game, and today they might play the Jazz, and tomorrow the Suns. The Jazz and the Suns are completely different teams, and if they had to devise a specific strategy for each opponent, both the coaches and the players would be overwhelmed. In the playoffs, whether it's the Suns or the Jazz, the Knicks might not even face them, so in the NBA, the only standard for evaluating a superstar is the playoffs. Only in the playoffs, when two teams play a series of five or seven games, do they have the time to devise specific strategies, which truly tests a coach's or player's true strength.

However, in this case, just for a regular season game, Pat Riley and the New York Knicks have devised such a detailed strategy against Lin Han. This is not just a strategy against the Jazz but specifically against Lin Han, which is even rarer. Even Michael Jordan might not have received such treatment.

From this, it is clear how much damage Lin Han has done to this team. After losing to the Jazz, the Knicks have performed exceptionally well, with a record of 12 wins and 2 losses, ranking first in the East and fourth in the league, behind only the Rockets, Jazz, and Supersonics. However, because of Lin Han's 13-point 'Miracle Moment' against them, the entire nation's media has not let up on mocking them, even forgetting their excellent record and focusing on this scar, continuously rubbing salt in it. This has made the Knicks players very uncomfortable, and Pat Riley, who is even worse off, has been the target of all the criticism. While the Knicks players can still receive sympathy and support from the local media and fans in New York, Riley, who is not liked by the New York media and fans, has been the target of all the criticism. In this situation, even though Riley is not a narrow-minded person, he has a deep hatred for Lin Han.

To the point that he has devised a strategy for the entire team to gang up on Lin Han in this game, and they have spent hours in the meeting room watching game footage. As one of the greatest coaches in NBA history, Riley naturally knows that some things can be overdone. The Jazz, after all, are not Lin Han's team but Malone and Stockton's. If he focuses too much on Lin Han, such as having Ewing and other Knicks players overly focus on him, other Jazz players like Malone and Stockton will take advantage. This game might end up with unexpected results, but for the Knicks and Riley, it doesn't matter.

As John Starks has been saying within the team, "They wish Lin Han would die right now!"

Of course, while the Knicks are devising strategies to "kill" Lin Han in the hotel meeting room, Lin Han is still being taken advantage of by Stockton. During team practice, the Jazz's star point guard has no intention of immediately addressing Lin Han's suggestions on how to save energy and improve efficiency in games. Instead, he keeps chatting with Malone or Lin Han about other topics, which frustrates Lin Han. This guy is the type who won't act until he sees a clear benefit. Lin Han has already promised this black-hearted guy many benefits, even agreeing to be Stockton's practice partner to help him defend against shooting guards. As a small guard, Stockton, like Starks, struggles against Lin Han's strong offensive and shooting abilities. So, with Lin Han as a teammate, Stockton has often taken advantage of him for practice, but Lin Han has always refused.

It's a joke. While others might not know what Stockton is like on defense, Lin Han certainly does. Lin Han doesn't want to end up with bruises all over his body or risk injury to certain parts of his body. If not necessary, he would never agree to face off against Stockton. However, for his first skill, Lin Han has agreed to this, showing his determination. But Stockton is just too much, and it seems he won't let Lin Han off until he has "played" or "blackmailed" him for a while.

Of course, creating his own endurance or energy skill is still a long way off, but recently, Lin Han's luck has been very good. His strength has increased significantly, and because of the incident with Hakeem Olajuwon, Lin Han has become the enemy of almost all the established stars in the NBA and a target for media ridicule. This has led to a rapid increase in his character value, which had not grown for a long time. It is expected that it will soon return to the normal 25%.

On the evening of December 4, 1993, at 7 PM, the Delta Center in Utah was already packed. The Jazz have been on a home stand recently, and the NBA schedule is designed to minimize travel for teams. Often, after a long road trip, a team will have a long home stand. Whether it's a long road trip or a long home stand, the duration is quite long. So, even strong teams can suffer a losing streak during a long road trip, and ordinary teams can have a long winning streak during a long home stand. This is one of the interesting aspects of the NBA.

Recently, the Jazz have been on a home stand, and despite the many consecutive home games, every game at the Delta Center has been packed, showing the current Jazz fans' support for the team. This game against the Knicks is even more special.

Because one of the greatest moments in Jazz history, Lin Han's 'Miracle Moment,' was against the Knicks. Although it was an away game, which was disappointing, the Knicks are here now. While replicating the 'Miracle Moment' is impossible, the fans still want to vent their frustration over not witnessing it.

So, when the Knicks players entered the court, all the Jazz fans in the arena were shouting Lin Han's name. For the Knicks, who had already declared their intention to make Lin Han look bad in this game, this was a blatant humiliation.

The expressions on the faces of the Knicks players and coaches, facing the nearly 20,000 fans, can be imagined. They were clenching their teeth and fists, filled with anger.

"In this game, I will make all these Utah fans shut up. I swear!"

Looking around at the excited Jazz fans, Starks thought to himself, determined to crush the person these fans were talking about. Not just beat him, but crush him!

Of course, Starks wanted to crush Lin Han, and when Lin Han, as the third-to-last home player, entered the court, the huge cheers of "Lin Han, Lin Han, Lin Han!" from the Jazz fans almost shook the sky. This surprised even Lin Han, as the fans seemed even more excited than usual.

"Ha ha ha, Lin, how does it feel to be surrounded by 20,000 fans?"

Stockton, who came out after Lin Han, patted him on the back and teased him, looking a bit envious.

"Awesome, really awesome, and very exciting. I don't know why, but I feel a sense of fulfillment."

Lin Han didn't pay much attention to Stockton's tone, looking around at the fans who were wildly supporting him and smiling at Stockton. For some reason, every time he saw so many people supporting him, the barriers in his heart would melt a bit. Because of his childhood experiences, Lin Han had always had a strong barrier in his heart. He trusted no one except his family and had a very selfish worldview and values. Such a Lin Han was not a likable person. In fact, he was very annoying. His classmates and teammates at Utah Valley Community College hated him. Perhaps because he was hated so much, he no longer cared about it and eventually became a shameless person.

However, after entering the NBA, he slowly had different goals. For the first time, he changed himself to make friends with Penny Hardaway. Now, when he saw how many people were so excited because of his performance, the endless void in his heart slowly filled up, giving him another reason to stay in the NBA.

He didn't want to disappoint those who believed in him or those who had expectations of him. Perhaps he didn't care about others' opinions before, but maybe because he cared too much, he wrapped himself tightly to avoid being hurt again.

"Hmm?" Seeing the smile on Lin Han's face, Stockton was a bit surprised, then looked deeply at Lin Han and smiled, "I didn't expect you to be such a simple and cute person, just like Karl used to be."

"Like Karl, simple and cute? Are you talking about me?" Looking at the meaningful expression on Stockton's face and the silly grin on Karl Malone's face as he walked over, Lin Han felt that Stockton might have some ulterior motives.

Is this guy interested in me? Looking at the Malone who was obediently trained by Stockton, a chill ran down his spine.

...

In this game between the Jazz and the New York Knicks, the Jazz were not as nervous as they were in the last game against the Knicks. At that time, the weak Jazz were indeed afraid of teams led by the three dominant centers. However, after Lin Han's 'Miracle Moment,' they managed to turn the tide even in such a difficult situation. Now, facing the Knicks, there was nothing to fear. So, from the start of the game, the Jazz were full of energy.

Even Spencer, the Jazz's starting center, who was usually afraid of dominant centers, was not intimidated this time. Although he still couldn't match Ewing, he didn't collapse early, forcing Malone to play center.

Moreover, the Knicks did not fully focus on the game. As a result, the weaker Jazz actually took the lead.

"Hmm?"

When Lin Han got the ball and was again knocked down by John Starks, who was defending him, the Jazz coach Jerry Sloan frowned. Looking at Pat Riley, who showed no signs of abnormality, Sloan's confusion deepened.

"Kid, you're too soft. You fall at the slightest touch? Trying to draw a foul? This is the NBA, not a track and field event!"

Starks, looking at Lin Han, who was again maliciously tripped, said with disdain. Even the referee, who was nearby, looked at Lin Han with distrust, as he saw no foul.

In fact, Starks did not commit any obvious foul. He used subtle fouls. Whenever Lin Han prepared to start, this shorter player would deliberately stick and hook, tripping Lin Han. Even if he couldn't trip Lin Han, he would pretend to stumble and block Lin Han. Lin Han wanted to play like Reggie Miller, but he found that he was not Reggie Miller. In the face of thug defense, his experience was far less than Miller's.

"You can handle the ball, right? Go out to the perimeter and try to drive. I won't stop you from getting the ball this time."

In the last game against the Jazz, Lin Han was defended like a dead dog by Starks for almost the entire game. Only in the last 30 seconds did he suddenly burst. Now, with preparation, Starks would not let Lin Han succeed. In his view, as long as he didn't make mistakes, Lin Han was a dead dog, a dog that could never turn over. And he was neither Jordan nor Miller!

"Damn, you're forcing me