Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 634 Who says black men can't be sarcastic and start a fight on the spot?

After chatting with the Yang duo for a few more minutes, Lin Tian quickly left the commentary booth to warm up.

However, before he even reached his half of the field, several guys who were on good terms with Lin Tian immediately went to his side and started exchanging pleasantries with him.

"Boss, long time no see, how have you been?" Anthony and Little S walked ahead with smiles, one of them bumping fists with Lin Tian.

"Great, I'm ready to give you two a good beating." Lin Tian said, "If you had asked me before you were selected for the American team, I would have advised you not to come, because you would have gotten a good beating from me."

"We weren't planning to win," Anthony said with a wicked grin. "Our goal this time is to learn, to improve, and to exchange ideas with you guys. It's that simple."

"I can tell," Lin Tian shrugged. "Choosing this lineup of yours is practically surrendering."

"You look down on us so much, be careful not to lose!" Wade, who was following behind them, came over and looked at Lin Tian, ​​saying, "We won't tank just because we don't have any performance requirements! On the contrary, I will definitely go all out tonight."

"You should start first. I remember you didn't start a single game in the preseason. If you don't start, you can't even match up against me, how are you going to make me lose?"

Lin Tian deliberately provoked Wade. Just as he was about to provoke Wade from a different angle, he suddenly noticed that there was someone behind him, so he immediately changed the subject.

"However, I think you should be the leader of this team. You're the only guy on this team with top-level skills and a top-notch desire to win. If I had to choose between captain and leader, I would definitely choose you!"

Lin Tian said this at this moment because he saw James, the team's current apparent leader, coming over.

This guy happened to overhear Lin Tian's words about the leader, and his expression changed visibly, but he immediately put his arm around Wade's shoulder and laughed, "Who said Devin isn't the leader? Devin has always been our big brother."

"He went to university for four years and he's so mature! It's really rare for someone with his talent in German to go to university for four years! If I went to university too, maybe I could become the top student."

"Being the number one draft pick isn't easy," Anthony said immediately. "First, you have to win every award you can in high school, then win every award in your freshman year of college, set a series of records, and you can't join a mature, strong team, because that would reduce your playing time."

"More importantly, you have to win the NCAA championship! That's how I became the number one draft pick!" Anthony emphasized the last part about the number one draft pick.

He seemed to be asking: Who are the top scorers here?

"It would be great to be able to go to college for four years, and it would be good to go to the NBA after only one year of college. Anyway, I regret it. If I could choose again, I would stay in college for at least one year. Otherwise, I wouldn't always be called a high school student. It's so annoying. It's like high school students are inferior."

Stoudemire shrugged, offering his support to his friend Anthony.

"High school players are pretty good too. Only players with exceptional talent and true natural gifts can go straight to the NBA after graduating high school. I think that's a form of recognition. And those guys who are more team-oriented, more willing to cooperate and contribute, will choose to stay in college for a few more years, right?"

"Sometimes promises are important. I promised my coach that I would at least lead Marquette to the Final Four before leaving the team, and I kept my word! I led the school to the Final Four before I left." Wade looked at the others and retorted fiercely.

Good heavens, Lin Tian was speechless.

That's so exciting!

Lin Tian remained silent, listening to the four men, these big black guys, making sarcastic remarks. They were quite formidable!

Who says men can't argue? Who says burly men who are 2 meters tall and weigh nearly 200 pounds can't make veiled attacks?

They swear filthyly when they curse!

One person says that another lacks talent and therefore must spend four years in university; another says that this person doesn't understand the meaning of a commitment; yet another says that high school students are inferior; and then there's the one who immediately declares, "I'm the top scorer!"

Stimulate!

It's a pity I didn't bring a camera, otherwise I could have filmed these grown men arguing and it would have gone viral on YouTube in no time!

He never imagined that these guys getting together could produce such an effect.

They were both unwilling to accept each other's superiority and couldn't stand each other!

Shouldn't these guys be good buddies, brothers, the kind of people who can discuss where to play basketball together years in advance?

Looking at it now, the relationship isn't all that great!

After exchanging a few more words, the group realized that it was inappropriate to talk like that in front of Lin Tian, ​​especially since Lin Tian was excitedly watching the spectacle and even seemed eager to call the reporters over. This made them realize that their behavior was unsuitable.

So the four of them quickly turned around and left to warm up in their own half of the court.

However, Lin Tian's observation of them was not over yet.

He casually took some shots and did some stretching to warm up while watching the situation of the American team on the other side of the court.

He clearly realized that the American team was divided into at least three smaller groups!

The first team was led by James and Paul, surrounded by two big men, Howard and Okafor. It's estimated that these two are good at passing the ball inside, so the two big centers were playing with them.

The second team consisted of Anthony and Stoudemire, along with Deron Williams who had been with them the whole time.

Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire didn't get along with LeBron James, and Deron Williams was determined to get rid of Chris Paul, so the three of them naturally formed an alliance.

The third team surprised Lin Tian the most, as it was actually led by Wade and Bosh!

That shouldn't be the case. Bosh, aren't you on the same team as James?

How did he end up with Wade? Could he be a spy sent by LeBron James...?

Beside these two were Hinrich and Ben Gordon.

Then there's Battier, the only veteran on the team. He's like a parent taking care of a child, running around here and there, chatting with this person and interacting with that person.

Tired! Lin Tian looks tired!

He felt sorry for Battier.

In this team, the guy has the lowest salary, does the dirtiest and most tiring work, has almost no tactical role, and has to match up against the opponent's absolute core and primary offensive point every game. His stats are definitely not going to look good, but he also has to play the longest minutes in every game.

Then you have to take care of a bunch of kids like a parent, mediate their relationships, prevent them from causing too much trouble, and try to keep them united as much as possible.

too difficult!

Lin Tian thought about it and realized that if it were him, he might have just given up!

At the same time, it would be a miracle if a team that can be divided into three small groups within itself had top-tier fighting power!

At this point, Lin Tian finally understood why Colangelo had brought Battier, who was the most popular and adept at navigating social situations, and why he wanted to reserve a spot for Kobe.

One of them is an absolute leader who has the final say, and the other is a good-natured, all-rounder. Although their styles, playing styles, team status, popularity, and strength are completely different and there is a huge gap between them.

The only similarity between the two is their status and reputation within the league.

Kobe is incredibly strong, everyone acknowledges that, especially when the other veteran players aren't playing, he can absolutely carry the team 100%.

Battier is popular; everyone likes to be friends with him and treats him like a colleague.

With these two leading the team, one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop, there is indeed a great hope that they can quickly mold this team into a perfect team, instead of several small groups fighting their own battles.

Unfortunately, Kobe is injured and can't come this year, so Battier has to do all the dirty work on and off the court.

At the very least, if Kobe had these kids on defense, no one would dare not to.

But when Battier said everyone should work harder on defense, nine times out of ten no one listened.

There's nothing I can do; I'm not strong enough to command respect!

As Lin Tian observed and pondered, the warm-up time soon ended, and the starting players from both sides took to the field!

For the Chinese team, Jonas did not start Da Zhi, but instead put him in charge of the team's second unit. The starting five were Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, Zhu Fangyu, Wang Shipeng and Lin Tian!

This lineup is quite reasonable. Yao Ming and Lin Tian are the two stars leading the way, while Yi Jianlian uses his athleticism to attack and fill in gaps. The two shooters are positioned on the flanks, ready to receive the ball and shoot to create space.

These five players are basically the strongest, most balanced, and most reasonable lineup that the Chinese team can field right now.

The American team, on the other hand, fielded a lineup with one big man and four small men.

Howard plays center, Anthony and James play the 3 and 4 positions, and Battier and Paul pair up in the backcourt!

This lineup can barely be described as star-studded and quite strong.

However, it is quite different from the lineups that the US team used to be able to field, which often included five MVP-level top stars!

After all, among these players, apart from Battier who did the dirty work, the other four only played for a maximum of 3 years in their professional careers, and Paul had just finished his rookie season.

But if Lin Tian were to look at it from God's perspective, he would give Coach K a thumbs up.

This old man definitely has something!

As a team that will represent the United States for the next 5-8 years, Coach K is obviously more concerned with the roster's balance and the players' future development and potential than immediate impact.

The five players he fielded are likely to develop good chemistry and are basically the ones who will achieve the most in their respective positions on this team in the future.

No wonder he signed Colangelo to four major tournaments as head coach. Coach K's ability to dominate college basketball for so many years is truly extraordinary.

Duke University, where he teaches, has always had a tradition of teamwork, unity, egalitarianism, and solidarity.

This team plays as a team and doesn't emphasize individual players.

It seems that Coach K is going to apply this same strategy to Team USA!

Soon, with the referee's whistle, Yao Ming and Dwight Howard jumped at the same time. Howard, relying on his better physical attributes, successfully won the first possession for his team.

Paul dribbled the ball up the court and waved to signal everyone to relax and not rush.

Then he waved, signaling Howard to come up and cover for him.

I ignored him.

Howard didn't come out; instead, he stayed inside, blocking Yao Ming and reaching out for the ball.

This is the drawback of a point guard lacking status and authority; sometimes he can't effectively direct his teammates.

Seeing that Howard wasn't coming out, Paul could only swear and then pass the ball to James.

James got the ball and gestured for everyone to calm down. Zhu Fangyu, who was guarding him, knew James's weakness and took two steps back, giving him plenty of space to shoot from beyond the three-point line.

If you dare to throw it, I dare to release it!

James dribbled in place for quite a while without deciding how to attack.

This time, it wasn't that he wanted to hesitate, but that he had no other choice.

Because under FIBA ​​rules, there is no three-second rule, and the US team's center is Howard, a guy whose offensive ability is almost zero outside the three-second zone.

Therefore, Yao Ming could completely stay in the three-second zone; he could simply stand under the basket and remain motionless.

At 226 centimeters tall, Yao Ming was someone that James was somewhat wary of.

With little time left on the shot clock, James dribbled two steps inside before suddenly pulling up for a mid-range jump shot.

"Bang!"

After a muffled thud, the basketball bounced off the rim and missed. Yao Ming protected the backboard, swinging his elbows back and forth several times to scare Howard away completely before calmly passing the ball to Lin Tian.

Given the current personnel and talent of the Chinese team, the most suitable playing style for them is positional attack and defense! It's about slowing down the pace and grinding the ball down one by one.

Once you lose your rhythm and start running, it's hard to say who will win or lose!

Who can blame them when the American team possesses such overwhelming physical superiority?

After Lin Tian calmly arrived at the frontcourt, he watched as his teammates spread out completely, and without thinking, he fed the ball to Yao Ming in the paint.

There are many big men that Yao Ming couldn't beat or was very bad at dealing with throughout his career, such as Al Jefferson, Boozer, Okur, Shaq in his prime, and so on...

But there was one super center, and Yao Ming could beat him as easily as eating a meal.

Howard!

With his back to Howard, Yao Ming suddenly exerted force, and Howard couldn't withstand Yao Ming's exaggerated lower body strength at all, retreating towards the basket. As soon as he retreated, Yao Ming immediately turned around, and with an easy matchbox-like bounce and a side hook shot, he opened the scoring for the Chinese team!

Looking back, the US team's offense finally flowed a bit more smoothly this time. Instead of waiting for his teammates to set screens, Paul chose to drive to the basket himself. Although he was completely covered by Lin Tian, ​​his speed, which he relied on, was of no advantage in front of Lin Tian, ​​and his size was two sizes smaller than Lin Tian's. But Paul was still a top-tier guard in the making.

Even with no space at all, even when he was completely covered, he still found Anthony on the wing amidst the chaos and delivered a one-handed pass to him.

Facing Yi Jianlian's defense, Anthony ignored it, pulled up and shot as soon as he got the ball!

That's his signature jump shot!

"Whoosh!"

With a crisp sound, Anthony's shot went in cleanly!

While Paul and James hadn't yet developed their shooting skills, he was the only player in the current starting lineup of Team USA who could catch and shoot and pull up for a jump shot.

As for the team's other consistent shooter, it is Battier, a pure catch-and-shoot specialist.

As a result, the US team's lineup played rather awkwardly for the next few minutes.

There's not enough space, the speed isn't enough, the drive to the basket is ineffective, and the shooting isn't consistent enough.

Four weaknesses completely overwhelmed the US team's starting lineup in their first clash!

There's nothing we can do about it; Paul isn't the mid-range and long-range shooting master he is today.

The current Paul is a penetrator whose three-point shooting percentage is less than 3%, and his mid-range shooting is inconsistent. He relies entirely on his talent and speed to make breakthroughs.

James' mid-range and long-range shooting, especially his pull-up jump shot and dribble shot, is completely lacking; he doesn't seem to have any related skills.

As for Battier, his open shots are indeed very accurate; he definitely has a knack for it.

But the prerequisite for an open shot is that you first need to be open, right?

With Yao Ming anchoring the paint, the Chinese team is unstoppable. No matter how many shots other players take from the outside, he simply ignores them.

Yi Jianlian went all out against Anthony. Although his current level is still far behind Anthony's, as the saying goes, with Yao Ming in the paint, he can fight more aggressively!

Yi Jianlian's defense was extremely aggressive; he was glued to Anthony's defense on almost every play.

This kind of defense makes it difficult for Anthony to get comfortable shots, but if he wants to break through, getting past Yi Jianlian is quite easy; a single acceleration can leave Yi Jianlian behind.

But inside the three-second zone is the incredibly fierce Yao Ming. Even if he gets past Yi Jianlian, he can only choose a difficult long two-point shot.

Therefore, even though Anthony has the best basketball skills among the starting lineup, it is difficult for him to maintain high efficiency all the time.

As for Paul and James, both of them are now completely devoid of off-ball skills. After they pass the ball out, they can basically only stand there and watch, waiting to see if the basketball will return to their hands.

But even if the basketball is back in their hands, these two guys don't have many options.

They were completely covered by Lin Tian, ​​and there was no chance to break through or score.

As for James, Zhu Fangyu simply gave him two steps. If he wanted to shoot, so be it; if he wanted to drive, Zhu Fangyu would just follow him and drive James toward Yao Ming!

China's targeted defense proved quite effective in the first six minutes of the first quarter.

They outscored the US team 13-5 in just 6 minutes!

They led the US team by 8 points for most of the game!

Although this score may not seem like much, considering that this is a FIBA ​​game with a quarter of only 10 minutes, and that the Chinese team played a rather slow and dull positional game, an 8-point lead at this point is already quite good!

As for Coach K, he clearly wasn't really aiming to win the game. He didn't make any adjustments until the first official timeout, when this top shrewd veteran of college basketball finally said, "How's it going? Feeling the completely different FIBA ​​style of play, huh?" (End of Chapter)