Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 686 The Scheming Frog 1 Touching Your Stomach! You guys just...

When the second half began, the West team players still didn't have any smiles on their faces, and everyone looked rather grim.

After all, regardless of whether it has anything to do with them or not, and regardless of their relationship with the two people who caused the trouble, no one could possibly be happy after witnessing such a conflict in the locker room.

Meanwhile, the players from the East were full of confidence, their faces burning with anger and a desire to fight!

They were clearly prepared; they were all ready to inflict a crushing defeat on the Western forces!

"What's wrong, Steve? Did you guys fight during halftime?" Lin Tian could tell at a glance that the expressions on the Western team's faces were definitely not something that could be caused by being down by 20 points.

There can only be two reasons why someone's complexion looks even worse after a 20-minute rest.

1. Someone farted in the locker room and the locker room's ventilation system was broken.

2. There was an argument and even a fight in the locker room.

Given Lin Tian's character, he would definitely guess 2!

"No, don't talk nonsense!" Nash looked slightly flustered, then somewhat impatiently said, "You're talking nonsense."

"They're really fighting!" Lin Tian exclaimed excitedly when he saw Nash's expression! Who is this Lin Da Guan Ren?

Psychology expert!

He hadn't forgotten that setting. Lin Tian immediately sensed the problem from Nash's uneasy and darting eyes, his rather unnatural hand gestures, and his impatient tone.

There's definitely something fishy going on!

"No, don't make wild guesses! Everything's fine in our locker room!" Nash continued to shake his head, indicating that there was no such thing.

"Boring guy." Lin Tian curled his lip, no longer bothering with Nash, and instead shouted at Iverson, "Allen, switch defense!"

"What's there to trade?" Iverson scoffed. "Besides, we had the ball in the first possession!"

"You take a break, Steve is easier to defend. Also, the task of pushing the ball is yours!" Without further ado, Lin Tian assigned Iverson to Nash's side, letting him guard Nash, while he himself didn't even look at the ball and ran to Kobe's side.

Gossip, gossip!

The spirit of gossip is burning wildly.

"Kobe, did you guys get into a fight during halftime?"

"No." Kobe's face was ashen as he directly stated that there was no such thing.

"Steve told me everything, I know it all! Tell me the details, okay?"

"He told you, so go ask him. Why are you asking me?"

"If you ask me, you and Shaq have been old partners for so long. Even if you don't like each other, even if he's a complete idiot, you shouldn't be fighting in the locker room. Why not part ways amicably? If you can tolerate it, you should!"

"Shaq isn't an idiot!" Kobe looked at Lin Tian and actually defended O'Neal: "Although he is indeed lazy, unambitious, and always slacking off, and his personality is as bad as a child's, I won't fight with him."

"So you got into a fight with LeBron? You two fought over Shaq?"

"I already said we didn't fight!" Kobe said to Lin Tian, ​​sounding a little impatient. "We just exchanged a few words!"

Oh!

Case solved!

It's Kobe and LeBron!

Lin Tian's eyes lit up, and he said to Carter, "Vince, switch on defense next round!"

"Another change?" Carter had no idea what his boss was up to.

They've already changed three players. If they keep changing them, are they going to start guarding Shaq later?

In the end, it was Iverson who successfully scored 2 points in a one-on-one attack during the Eastern offensive. When the Eastern offensive team turned around, Lin Tian clung to James from the backcourt!

"It's starting! The East is kicking in the intensity! Lin's gone into full-court press mode against James!" Barkley yelled. "Record breaking, they're serious! They're really going to break the record!"

"Great! If you want to break a record, you have to start with defense! Now Lin is setting an example once again and starting to play defense!" Kenny shouted along with Barkley.

After all, this is the All-Star Game! In the Finals, it's perfectly normal to break someone's bones or smash their head.

After all, those are life-or-death competitions, real battles.

But it's extremely rare to see a group of top stars fighting so fiercely in an All-Star game!

Especially now that both sides are acting like they've completely broken ties and are determined to beat each other to a pulp, it's a scene that hasn't been seen in the NBA All-Star Weekend in recent decades!

Exciting! Extremely exciting!

This scene was thrilling, not to mention the fans and Stern, even former stars like Barkley and Kenny!

"LeBron, why did you fight Kobe?" Lin Tian didn't escalate the fight after sticking close to James, but instead asked the question as soon as he opened his mouth.

"We didn't fight! Who told you that nonsense!" James's reaction was much more serious than Nash and Kobe's. He didn't flinch and directly stated that nothing of the sort happened.

"Didn't fight? I heard Kobe pinned you to the ground and beat you to a pulp. If Shaq hadn't pulled you away, you two would probably have been bleeding!"

"That bastard Shaq! He's definitely siding with outsiders! But Kobe and I are fine! We didn't fight." James muttered, looking at Lin Tian, ​​"Can you just focus on playing basketball? Stop gossiping about this stuff!"

"Let me guess, let me think." Lin Tian ignored James's disdain and pretended that James hadn't said anything, instead focusing on his own thoughts.

Then he suddenly reached out and hit James on the shoulder.

Lin Tian's intention was to say, "I've thought of that!"

But the referee caught this moment and quickly blew his whistle, giving Lin Tian a technical foul!

"Don't fight! That's too much!"

"No, we were just kidding!" Lin Tian spread his hands, looking completely innocent. "If you don't believe me, ask LeBron. The two of us..."

"Fuck!" James feigned pain, rubbing the spot where Lin Tian had slapped him. "Ouch!"

What the hell!

Finally, I've met my match.

A person even more shameless than Lao Tzu!

And this acting is fucking over the top.

I've already received a technical foul, and you're clutching your arm and crying in pain?

Do you think you can get a technical foul overturned if you don't yell in pain?

James' acting was alright!

However, Lin Tian gave him a negative score for the timing of this performance.

It was a completely unnecessary and forced addition of scenes.

But regardless of whether there was any added drama, James had to go to the free-throw line, and then he raised his hand but missed the free throw.

Then?

Then, looking annoyed, he lowered his head and pressed his hand against the spot where Lin Tian had slapped him, moving and stretching it repeatedly. Judging from James's expression, he meant that if he hadn't been hit like that, he wouldn't have missed the penalty.

"You beat him up because of this, right, Shaq?" Lin Tian found O'Neal and continued to probe for the truth from him.

"Why would I beat him up?" O'Neal looked at Lin Tian and said, "Are you going to play basketball or not?"

"I'm searching for the truth!" Lin Tian said. "I've just stumbled upon the truth!"

"I'm guessing that during halftime, Popovich instructed you to set screens for LeBron, to build the second half around LeBron, and then Kobe said that wouldn't work. He said you should stay under the basket to maximize your impact. And then you didn't help LeBron, but instead sided with Kobe, right?"

"This is why you had a conflict, right?"

"You planted a camera in our locker room?" O'Neal looked at Lin Tian in disbelief. How the hell did this bastard guess?

O'Neal believed that the Western team had not revealed any details about the locker room to Lin Tian. Neither Nash nor Kobe were the type to talk big; they wouldn't reveal such things to outsiders, at least not while the game was still in progress!

This guy just makes random guesses, and he's actually pretty accurate?

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

But if neither Nash nor Kobe would share their secrets...

O'Neal couldn't help but glance at James, who had missed the free throw and was heading towards the top of the key, wanting to receive the ball and continue the game.

Is this kid reliable?

The two are a whole generation apart. O'Neal could understand what Kobe, Nash and his generation were thinking, but he really couldn't figure out what James' generation was thinking or how they were thinking.

While O'Neal was still speculating about how Lin Tian had guessed this, McGrady received a pass from James and immediately pulled up for a jump shot, helping the team narrow the gap again.

However, the Eastern Army immediately applied for a suspension.

It was applied for by Lin Tian.

"What's wrong, Lin? Are you feeling unwell?" Rivers looked at Lin Tian, ​​wondering why he had called a timeout at this moment.

He was even worried that Lin Tian might have been injured.

If Lin Tian gets injured, that would be bad news! Although Lin Tian is his opponent, Rivers doesn't want to be branded as someone who, as an All-Star head coach, has completely ruined his biggest rival.

If Lin Tian were to miss the entire season in another game, Rivers could happily pop open a champagne box to celebrate.

"It's nothing, I just have some happy news to share!" Lin Tian said, a happy yet sinister smile creeping across his face. "Those idiots in the Western Army have started fighting amongst themselves!"

"The publicly available and confirmed information is: the main characters are Kobe, Shaq, and LeBron! These three guys almost got into a fight during halftime over issues like ball possession and their roles on the team!"

"And I heard that this wasn't just a temporary disagreement among the three; it's been brewing for a long time! There have been problems between the three of them for a long time!"

"And Bosh and Tracy, those two have joined the fray!"

"Then Popovich's attitude was said to be quite strange; it seems he didn't try to mediate the fight."

"Unfortunately, everyone in this group kept quiet; not one of them told me the complete story. I could only guess!"

Lin Tian rambled on and on, but upon closer analysis, it became clear that he hadn't said anything of value; it was all just guessing, his own imagination, or utter nonsense.

Even who was right and who was wrong, who benefited and who suffered losses, who profited and who encountered huge problems, none of it was said, all of it was unknown.

But how should we put it when it comes to being a gossipmonger?

First, the most enjoyable part of watching gossip is guessing, and the sense of accomplishment from piecing together the clues from various strange and mysterious sources to arrive at the final answer.

Secondly, the more ambiguous, the more one only glimpses the whole picture, and the more secretive he is, the more people will be curious and want to know what really happened.

Third, Lin Tian is wicked! He did it on purpose! Considering that if the Spurs really make it to the Finals, and if they really unleash the explosive free throw power they showed when they met in the regular season this year, whether they are easy to deal with or not is another matter, but they are absolutely disgusting.

So Lin Tian deliberately spoke in a cryptic and ambiguous way.

He believed that once those people from the East went down there, they would definitely inquire everywhere, share their stories, and ask their friends to analyze the matter!

Then Lin Tian's goal has been achieved, hasn't it?

What we want is for us brothers to openly guess, ask, and inquire!

Hehe, in the end, if the atmosphere within your Spurs team doesn't suffer, and if you, James and O'Neal, don't become disloyal and can still cooperate sincerely, then I, Lin, will write my surname backwards!

Hehe, Team Demolition Xiao Lin, online with high efficiency!

At this moment, filled with curiosity, the first timeout in the East ended.

There were no personnel changes, and Rivers didn't even give any tactical instructions; he was simply listening to Lin Tian tell a story.

From a game perspective, a timeout was wasted.

But judging from the players' mood, they were extremely happy!

"What exactly did the East team do during this timeout, and why did they call a timeout?" Barkley couldn't hear the gossip on the bench; he genuinely didn't understand.

"At first I thought it was some kind of strain on the Eastern Conference team, but now it seems they're perfectly fine." Ken added, "Because they didn't substitute any of them, and the team doctor didn't check on the players during the timeout."

"Maybe Rivers suddenly remembered some new tactic that needs to be urgently deployed?" Barkley started to speculate.

"But Lin called the timeout himself, suddenly," Kenny shook his head and said, "But whatever the reason for the timeout, the game has resumed! I think they'll give us their answers soon!"

Lin Tian said: I can't give you the answer tonight, but hopefully as time goes by, you can guess what this pause is for based on all the rumors in the second half of the season!

But now, the competition must continue! Master Lin, it's time to start packing up the game!

At this moment, Lin Tian became inexplicably excited.

After all, compared to playing basketball, this kind of despicable behavior—sowing discord, stirring up trouble, distorting facts, talking nonsense, and tearing apart teams—is much more enjoyable!

Lin Tian has dismantled countless teams throughout his career, from casually taking apart O'Neal and Hardaway of the Magic in his first playoff game to now dismantling James and O'Neal on the court.

Tsk tsk tsk... Interesting!

It started with O'Neal, and now it's O'Neal again.

This is fate!

Wait a minute, when Shaq was with the Lakers, even though Lin didn't actively break up the team, the OK duo broke up because they couldn't beat me!

I dismantled all three teams?

I wonder if O'Neal will be angry.

Lin Tian felt that he wouldn't!

While lost in thought, Lin Tian received the ball from Iverson, then used a crossover step to get past Nash, drove into the paint, and drove over O'Neal for a layup, scoring another 2 points!

Effortless mastery, free and unrestrained!

Lin Tian, ​​whose mind wasn't even half on the game at the moment, actually played this shot with the ultimate flair!

It was so subtle, without any trace, and without any discernible pattern!

For the next few rounds, Lin Tian was in roughly the same state.

He seemed completely relaxed, as if he were dancing on the court, constantly breaking through, backing down, shooting, and dunking.

Every move he makes captivates fans both in the arena and watching on television; the energy he displays in every possession is enough to turn even those who have never seen him play into his fans.

"Bang!"

It wasn't until six minutes into the third quarter that Lin Tiancai finally missed his first shot of the game!

The sound of striking the iron brought Lin Tian back to his senses, jolting him out of his previously mysterious and indescribable state.

What just happened?

This was Lin Tian's first reaction.

Then he looked up at the scoreboard and was astonished to find that the gap between the two sides had reached 32 points!

When did such a big difference appear? Who were scoring just now? And who was I matched up against?

A look of confusion appeared on Lin Tian's face at this moment.

If this were a world of cultivation, Lin Tian would at least be able to break through from the Golden Core stage to the Nascent Soul stage at this moment.

If this were a martial arts world, Lin Tian would have reached a state where nothing else existed besides the ball, or where he and the ball were one.

If this were a fantasy world, Lin Tian's sudden enlightenment at this moment would allow him to fight a big boss at least three levels higher.

Unfortunately, this was just an ordinary real world, so all Lin Tian noticed was a hint of fear and disbelief in Kobe's eyes as he defended him.

Lin Tian just now was so strong that it was incomprehensible!

Although Lin Tian has been unstoppable in previous games, and although he has averaged 50+ points per game for two consecutive months this season, making him a monster among monsters.

Kobe, who had watched countless game videos to study how to defend Lin Tian, ​​had never seen Lin Tian in those few minutes.

That's a feeling of truly becoming one with the basketball court, with basketball, and with the sport!

The God of Basketball!

This is the only adjective Kobe could think of at this moment. Lin Tian just now was like a basketball god, unbelievable, crazy, and impossible to defend against or compete with.

For the first time in his life, Kobe experienced an indescribable sense of powerlessness, a feeling that almost made him want to take off his jersey and retire on the spot.

Too scary!

Kobe even felt that Lin Tian hadn't exerted any effort at all; he had been smiling the whole time and seemed quite relaxed.

As if strolling through an amusement park, they smashed through the entire western defense line! (End of Chapter)