MM Racing Chapter 357 Advancing to the Finals! Perhaps the most in Lin Tian's professional career
Chapter 357 Advancing to the Finals! Perhaps the most in Lin Tian's professional career
After that crucial layup finally broke the team's scoring drought, Iverson's confidence returned, and he felt he could do it!
Then in the next possession, after receiving the ball, he dribbled between his legs and pulled up to shoot a three-pointer!
Even until the moment he released the shot, Iverson felt that this shot was a sure thing, absolutely no problem!
"Snapped!"
But reality is cruel.
Lin Tian, who had been following him, was not shaken off at all. Instead, he pounced from the side and slapped the basketball that Iverson had just shot!
With a crisp sound, Lin Tian slapped the basketball sideways to the 45-degree angle near the wing, where Carter caught the ball and then threw it towards the frontcourt.
It's still Lin Tian!
After the block, his reaction speed was almost exaggerated. He sprinted at full speed and rushed towards the frontcourt!
Before anyone else could react, Lin Tian grabbed the basketball and sprinted all the way to the vicinity of the free throw line before jumping again!
"boom!"
After a long glide, Lin Tian slammed the ball into the basket with one arm!
One-handed dunk from the free-throw line!
This dunking skill, which used to be seen only occasionally in the All-Star Slam Dunk Contest, has become Lin Tian's signature move ever since he participated in the dunk contest two years ago!
As long as Lin Tian is happy, fans can see him dunk from the free-throw line during fast breaks from time to time!
"Allen, do you think you're invincible again?" After his dunk, Lin Tian quickly turned to Iverson and taunted, "Who gave you that confidence? Did you just talk to your grandma on the phone? Didn't she tell you that you'll never reach my knees?"
"Shut up, Lin!" Iverson panted, looking at Lin Tian. "We'll win this game!"
"How do you plan to win?" Lin Tian laughed. "With willpower or fantasy? What makes you think you can win? With your vivid imagination?"
As they were talking, Iverson had already brought the basketball back to the frontcourt. Facing Lin Tian's close defense and provocation, Iverson didn't say anything this time. Instead, he increased his dribbling speed, then made a big crossover to create a little space, and then pulled up for a shot!
His playing style tonight was that simple and direct!
But as I said before, the feel of something is sometimes quite mysterious.
Sometimes he can hit several difficult shots in a row, but other times he can't even capitalize on a wide-open shot that's right in front of him.
Sometimes, the basketball shot doesn't even touch the rim.
"Snapped!"
With another crisp sound, Lin Tian once again seized the opportunity when Iverson jumped to shoot and slapped the basketball!
"Do you want to take a look at your own height? Do you think this move will be effective for the whole game?" After completing another block, Lin Tian saw the ball fall steadily into Ben Wallace's hands, but instead of rushing down the court again, he calmly looked at Iverson.
"Is it possible that all those dribbling and shooting moves you think are so impressive, so sudden and deceptive, are just like child's play to me? That I can easily block your shot when I want to?"
"Who do you think you are? Optimus Prime? You think you can just block my shots whenever you want? What about all those goals I scored before? Did you not want to block them?" Iverson snorted, indicating that Lin Tian was talking nonsense.
"Yeah, you're very smart, Allen." Lin Tian nodded seriously. "It's just that I'm too lazy to block shots. Blocking every single one is tiring."
"Shameless!" Miller, who was passing by Lin Tian, couldn't help but curse.
In my entire life, I have never seen such a shameless person!
"Reggie, what did you say! Explain yourself!" Lin Tian said to Miller as he pushed forward, "You're shameless, your whole family..." Lin Tian's voice stopped abruptly because Iverson suddenly rushed in to steal the ball while Lin Tian and Miller were arguing.
But this was exactly what Lin Tian had been waiting for!
Just as Iverson stepped forward, Lin Tian dribbled behind his back and dodged to the side, getting past Iverson in the blink of an eye. Then he suddenly stopped, glanced at the three-point line, and launched a clean three-pointer!
"Whoosh!"
Another crisp sound, Lin Tian hit another 3-pointer!
The Pacers are starting to extend their lead!
As I said before, the feel of something is like water.
It is fluid, and no one knows in what way or in what direction the water will flow.
Nobody knows when or when that "feel" is present or absent.
Lin Tian, on the other hand, has suddenly become incredibly skilled!
In the next two minutes, Lin Tian found another opportunity, scoring five points in a row with a layup and a three-pointer, once again widening the gap to more than 20 points!
Compared to Lin Tian's dominance, Iverson was once again left isolated and helpless.
Not only was he unable to score again due to Lin Tian's sudden increase in defensive intensity, but he also passed the ball to his teammates several times, allowing McGee, Lynch and others to shoot. However, his teammates missed several shots in a row. Both McGee, Snow and Mutombo lost their form from the first half of the game.
There's no reason why I couldn't make the shot; I just couldn't seize a great opportunity.
In the end, the 76ers could only improve their score by having Iverson fight desperately, charging into the paint like a bomb.
At this point, Iverson's individual efforts were clearly insufficient to counter the Pacers' collective frenzy and were unlikely to save the team.
The moment that truly broke the 76ers' spirits came with 4 minutes and 20 seconds left in the game.
Carter dashed towards the basket from the wing, grabbed the ball with one hand, and leaped high, ready to smash the ball into the hoop with a tomahawk dunk!
But this time Mutombo didn't back down at all. The "African Mountain" leaped high and slapped the basketball out of Carter's hand.
"Snapped!"
With a sharp crack, the basketball in Carter's hands went out of control and was slapped away by Mutombo. Carter also lost his balance and fell awkwardly to the floor.
Even though the team was already down by 20 points, this play was still absolutely spectacular! It will definitely boost the 76ers' morale!
After landing, Mutombo didn't forget his signature move, raising a finger and shaking it arrogantly.
Well, he only shook it once! Because there wasn't time to shake it a second time, the quick-thinking Lin Tian had already grabbed the basketball before everyone else, then slammed it heavily on the floor, and then, as if he had been equipped with a rocket launcher, he soared into the air and flew towards Mutombo again!
At this moment, all Mutombo could do besides stop his pretentious finger-wagging act was raise his hands and barely manage to jump.
But he himself doesn't even know his age, so it's definitely asking too much of him to keep jumping to block the opponent's dunks.
Not to mention that Mutombo was facing the top powerhouse in the backcourt.
After a brief mid-air collision between Lin Tian and Mutombo, Mutombo immediately gave the impression of a complete rout, flying uncontrollably off the court.
"boom!"
Immediately following was a loud bang, as Lin Tian violently slammed the ball into the basket with both hands!
"What the hell are you doing?!" After a powerful slam dunk, Lin Qi landed aggressively, looking down at Mutombo and saying, "The basketball court isn't a place for you to show off!"
After that thunderous dunk, the 76ers' fighting spirit, which had just begun to ignite, crumbled instantly, and this time, it crumbled completely!
Lin Tian's dunk completely extinguished all of the 76ers' opportunities, fighting spirit, and chance of victory.
The 76ers' season is over!
In the following minutes, nothing more happened. The game proceeded quickly, but both sides were no longer focused on the match. As the key players from both sides left the field one after another, the intensity of the game suddenly decreased, and it became less entertaining.
Finally, when the referee blew the final whistle once again, this round of the Eastern Conference Finals came to an end!
100: 124!
The Pacers won Game 5 of the series with a huge 24-point advantage, advancing to the next round with a 4-1 lead for the second consecutive time!
This is their third time reaching the finals in the past four years, and Lin Tian's fifth time reaching the finals in the past six years!
The Pacers' Eastern Conference dynasty is about to take shape!
In this game, Lin Tian scored his highest score in this series: 54 points!
He played his best game of the series!
Well, of course, in a sense, perhaps the first game, where he clearly coasted and spent half the time delivering a crazy performance and the other half sitting and watching, was his best game.
但总之，这一整轮系列赛，林天没有一场得分低于30分， 5场比赛场均能够轰下40.4分7.4篮板10助攻3抢断！三项命中率更是高达夸张的57%，44%和92%！
Let alone the 180 Club, Lin Tian has almost entered the 200 Club!
As for Iverson, who was matched up against him, he also had some good performances. For example, tonight Iverson scored 25 points in the first half and 46 points in the whole game!
But compared to Lin Tian, Iverson is far inferior.
Averaging 33 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists per game in the series, Iverson's shooting percentage was far inferior to Lin Tian's.
37%, 31%, and 84%!
In this series, Lin Tian absolutely dominated Iverson! He proved once again that he is better than Iverson! I am the MVP!
It's fair to say that Iverson's shooting percentages in all areas were ridiculously low. His stats were achieved by piling up a huge number of possessions, shot attempts, and reckless offense.
Of course, Iverson can't be entirely blamed. After all, when the team was full of role players like McGee, Snow, and Lynch, he really didn't have any better options than taking a lot of shots himself.
As the team's head coach, Westphal inevitably began to think about the future of the team and himself after witnessing the 76ers' crushing defeat.
Perhaps if the 76ers want to go further, their best, or even only, option is to find another All-Star caliber scorer for Iverson to share the pressure on him in terms of playmaking, ball handling, and scoring, so that he is no longer as isolated and helpless as he has been this year!
Can.
If someone were to be found to take away Iverson's ball possession, would he be willing to accept it?
Would he willingly relinquish his power?
Based on Westphal's understanding of Iverson, he felt it wouldn't work!
At the very least, Iverson certainly wouldn't want that now.
He felt that it would take at least a few more years of experience and losses for Iverson to mature and accept the idea of the team finding him another ball-handler.
Allen Iverson is clearly still in a phase where he is obsessed with statistics and personal honors.
He absolutely cannot accept sacrificing personal statistics for the sake of the team's victory right now.
Well, everything depends on the offseason!
The only thing Westphal is certain of is that if the 76ers have the same roster next year, they probably won't go as far as they did this year!
The Magic don't get swept 1-3 every year. I heard Mourning is coming back for the Heat, and the Bucks' three sharpshooters are also incredibly powerful.
Not to mention the highest mountain in the entire East and the insurmountable monster: the Walkers.
The future of the 76ers is indeed somewhat bleak.
Ah, the task ahead is arduous and the road is long!
After the 76ers were thoroughly outplayed by the Pacers, the entire team was somewhat disheartened. After exchanging a few words with the Pacers players, hugging and waving to each other in good spirits, all the Philadelphia players left the court.
They certainly didn't want to watch the pointless Eastern Conference championship award ceremony that was about to take place.
What decent person would want to watch that kind of stuff?
But Philadelphians didn't like watching it, while Indiana fans were having a blast!
They love this!
The entire Conseco Arena erupted in celebration once again, with fans chanting the names of every player on the team and celebrating their third appearance in the Finals in four years.
This is the most glorious and proudest era in the Pacers' more than 30-year history!
Nobody cared about the award ceremony for a mere Eastern Conference champion, nor did anyone care what the league officials said at this meaningless ceremony.
What the Indians cared about was what Lin Tian said after lifting the Eastern Conference championship trophy and holding the microphone.
"Only the Los Angelesers are left! Let's dry them out for the second year in a row!"
"They'll be left scratching their teeth on the ground!"
"Take them down!"
"Crush them completely!"
"Champions! We are the champions!"
"A dynasty! Let's create a dynasty of our own!"
"Crush everything!"
"Indiana will win!"
All those words, in the end, came down to just one sentence.
"BEAT LA!"
"BEAT LA!"
"BEAT LA!"
Kill the Los Angeles residents!
Yes, take them down!
The Lakers advanced to the NBA Finals a few days ago, ahead of the Pacers!
Their opponent in the Western Conference Finals is the Dallas Mavericks, who are making their second appearance in the Western Conference Finals in franchise history.
This marks only the second time in Lakers and Mavericks history that they have faced off in the Western Conference Finals.
The outcome this time was no different from the last.
The Lakers easily swept the Dallas Mavericks 4-0, advancing effortlessly to the NBA Finals!
In this series, the Lakers once again demonstrated their unparalleled strength and dominance in the Western Conference. In the four games, they gave the Mavericks no chance or hope. Like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, they easily swept the series with a huge advantage of an average net win of 15.5 points in the four games!
In the four games, Lakers' star Shaquille O'Neal completely dominated the Mavericks' interior defense. Whether it was Bradley and Calvin Booth at the center position, or Nowitzki and Davy at the power forward position, they were all swept aside by O'Neal and suffered greatly!
In 4 games, O'Neal averaged a monster-level stat line of 39.5 points, 15 rebounds, and 4 blocks, with a field goal percentage of 59%!
The Mavericks' group of skinny, skilled big men were utterly helpless against Shaquille O'Neal!
What made Dallas fans even more desperate was that their head coach, Don Nelson, had actually used the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy to counter O'Neal early on.
However, O'Neal's free throw percentage has improved significantly this season. Although it still can't compare to that of guards, it's a rapid improvement compared to his previous performance!
His free throw percentage was over 65% in the regular season, a career high, and in this series it was an incredible 70%!
In the first and second games of the series, when the Mavericks used the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy extensively, O'Neal made 14 of 20 free throws and 13 of 18 free throws respectively!
Although O'Neal's free throw percentage is still negligible compared to those perimeter players, at around 70%, barely passing, when someone with such terrifying destructive power under the basket has this level of free throw percentage, it is absolutely devastating to his opponents!
For example, he completely broke down the Mavericks' defense!
Even in the last two games of the series, the Mavericks didn't dare to foul O'Neal anymore. They would rather let O'Neal score a basket than risk fouling him for a 2+1 play!
In this series, O'Neal has completely transformed into a primal beast, wreaking havoc on Dallas!
Besides O'Neal's dominant performance, Lakers' second-in-command Kobe Bryant also had a very impressive performance in this series, although he only averaged 22 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game, which seemed unremarkable.
Firstly, this was because O'Neal's performance was too dominant, and the Lakers' tactical focus was entirely on O'Neal. Secondly, although Kobe's role on offense was mediocre, he delivered a top-notch performance on defense!
Michael Finley, the Mavericks' leading outside scorer and team leader, has relinquished his position as the team's top scorer in the regular season, becoming only the team's second-leading scorer. However, he still averages 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, making him an absolute top-tier player at the 2-3 position in the league.
In the playoffs, Finley's average stats improved to 22 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Although he can't compare to the league's top scorers and swingmen like Lin Tian, Iverson, Kobe and McGrady, he is definitely top-notch!
However, Finley played terribly in this series against Kobe, with his average stats dropping to 15 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, and his field goal percentage just over 40%. It's fair to say that Kobe dominated him on both offense and defense!
Besides the star duo of Kobe and Shaq, the team's former third option, Rice, continues to perform consistently. Although he only averages 12 points per game, his three-point shooting percentage is as high as 49%! He is the Lakers' number one threat from the outside.
Then there's Jermaine O'Neal, who has emerged as a dark horse this season, securing his starting position at power forward and forming the "Double O'Neal" duo with O'Neal.
Jermaine O'Neal did a great job defending Dirk Nowitzki in this series, preventing Nowitzki from gaining any advantage over him while also averaging an impressive 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game!
His mid-range shooting, turnaround step-back jumper, defensive agility, and superior mobility compared to O'Neal all make him the perfect piece of the Lakers puzzle!
Jermaine O'Neal's rise has made it almost impossible to find any weaknesses in the Lakers' starting lineup!
A near-perfect starting lineup and a very rich and powerful bench have combined to create an incredibly strong Lakers team this season!
This is also the biggest reason why they won the league's top spot this season and went on to dominate the Western Conference playoffs!
This year's Lakers achieved a franchise-record 69 wins in the regular season, and in the playoffs, they replicated last year's Pacers in the Eastern Conference, achieving a perfect record of 11 wins in the first three rounds of the playoffs!
They also became the second team in NBA history to sweep their opponents in three consecutive rounds of the playoffs in a single year!
The Lakers' strength needs no further explanation!
This year's Lakers team boasts one of the league's top head coaches, two top-five players, and numerous talented players. Their desire for the championship, their roster, their fighting spirit, and all other aspects of their roster are all at their peak!
Many people even say that this Lakers team might already be the strongest Lakers team in franchise history!
A super team that is even stronger than the Lakers of 71 who won 33 consecutive games, defeated their arch-rivals and finally won the championship, and even the Showtime Lakers with Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy!
But of course, no matter how much expectation and praise fans and commentators have for this team, and no matter how many honors and historical records this Lakers team has created in the regular season and playoffs, they still have one last opponent!
Defending champions Indiana Pacers!
If the Lakers can beat the Pacers and win their first championship since Magic Johnson's retirement, then this Lakers team will deserve all the praise!
But if the Lakers can't do that, if they lose to the Pacers, then everything they've done this year will be a joke and not worth mentioning!
Ultimately, there can only ever be one and only one highest honor in the NBA!
champion!
Winning the championship would be the best outcome.
If we don't win the championship, then none of this matters.
This matchup marks the second consecutive year that the two teams have met in the Finals!
Unlike last year, when the Pacers, carrying a series of NBA historical records, dominated the game with an undefeated record and home-court advantage, easily defeating the Lakers.
This year, the situation is somewhat reversed. The Lakers have home-court advantage and a variety of records. In contrast to the Lakers' sweeping victories, the Pacers lost two games in the East, and their regular season record was far less impressive than the Lakers'.
Furthermore, this year's Lakers are visibly much stronger than last year's! Whether it's Kobe, Shaq, or Jermaine O'Neal, they have all shown significant improvement compared to last year!
From all angles, this year's Lakers team is likely to be the strongest opponent Lin Tian has faced since entering the league!
This Lakers team might even be stronger than the 1997-1998 Bulls team!
Lin Tian is about to face the biggest challenge of his career!
Before the finals began, as is customary, various media outlets released their preview programs and made all sorts of predictions. Actuaries in Las Vegas were also eager to release odds and predict this year's champion.
This year's discussions and preview programs are undoubtedly the most intense, exciting, and difficult to judge compared to previous years!
Whether it's ESPN, CBS, TNT, or any other media outlet, their debates on the show are all so heated that it's hard to tell who's right!
Everyone has their own opinion and perspective. More importantly, while both teams have strong rosters, they also have their own irreparable weaknesses!
The Pacers' interior defense, the Lakers' point guard position, the Pacers' overall defense, the Lakers' bench lineup, Carlisle's lack of experience, Lin Tian's thorough understanding of Jackson's tactics, the Lakers' undefeated playoff record, and the Pacers' sweep of the Lakers last year.
Various viewpoints clashed fiercely, and commentators from all walks of life engaged in heated verbal battles, each spitting as they argued their point of view. In the end, almost all the programs devolved into verbal sparring!
Many fans, while watching these programs, even hoped that the commentators on TV would start fighting and actually get a beating.
When it comes to watching a spectacle, the bigger the spectacle, the better!
The TV programs from various media outlets were locked in a fierce battle, and the odds offered by Las Vegas were equally difficult to predict!
The Pacers have odds of 1.9 to win the championship, while the Lakers have odds of 2.1 to win!
The odds for the two teams are almost identical!
Furthermore, the various betting options offered by Las Vegas are a strong indication of how much anticipation and optimism there is for this series.
For example, 43% of people believe this series will go to a Game 7, 50% believe it will go to 6 games, only 5% believe it will be decided in 5 games, and less than 2% believe it will be a sweep!
Sports Illustrated, one of the oldest sports magazines in the United States, released the results of an anonymous vote by more than 280 current and retired players, team executives, staff, coaches and others.
In this poll, which best reflects the opinions of NBA insiders on this series, 49.4% believe the Lakers will win the series, while 50.6% believe the Pacers will win the championship.
How to describe this series?
Evenly matched! A close contest! Absolutely intense! The outcome is unpredictable! A clash of titans! A thunderbolt from the blue! Like the Monkey King versus Li Kui, Jinlian tempting Baoyu, and Lu Zhishen battling Cao Cao!
Zhao Zilong of Huaguo Mountain entered and exited Hogwarts seven times, scaring Tony Stark so much that he cut off his beard and abandoned his robe, shouting for Zeus, the ancestor of Norse mythology, to come to his rescue.
That's all there is to it.
It's a complete mess.
A series so evenly matched and full of highlights, a series involving various elements such as the establishment of a dynasty, team revenge, MVP competition, and the battle for the best player in the league, a series that is a head-on collision between two completely different basketball philosophies: whether the inside is the best or the outside leads the team!
There are so many highlights in this round of the finals that it's hard to know which one to focus on or study in detail.
But amidst so many clashes of opinions and countless verbal battles, there is actually only one thing that everyone agrees on.
That means this is absolutely a series that represents the highest level, the most exciting, the most intense, and the most unpredictable in the league!
Some even said that this final round might become the most exciting final round in history!
Because the Lakers had a better regular season record, this round of the Finals started in Los Angeles.
As the world's entertainment capital, it boasts the most celebrities, cinemas, luxury goods sales centers, socialites, and media outlets and paparazzi in the world!
Before this round of the finals began, the enthusiastic reporters certainly wouldn't let the players from both teams off the hook.
As soon as the Pacers players stepped out of the airport terminal, they were surrounded by countless reporters, who bombarded each player with a barrage of questions.
The whole scene was chaotic, like a war was taking place, incredibly noisy.
"Fuck! Have all the reporters in the world come to Los Angeles? I almost thought we were going to fight the Martians on behalf of humanity!" Even Miller, who was used to big scenes and was known for his composure, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise after seeing this scene.
This scene is no smaller than the All-Star Game!
"Shall we charge out?" Ben was eager to try, stretching himself as if he would immediately become the vanguard and risk his life to break through at the first command.
"What the hell are you yelling about?!" Bird, who had come to Los Angeles with the team, rolled his eyes and said, "How many people are you planning to kill? Or are you planning to turn the scene into some kind of massacre or something?"
"Come here, all of you! I have a way to get you out of here! That's why I came with you!"
Having played countless games and Finals appearances in Los Angeles, Bird was incredibly experienced. He waved for everyone to come closer, then suddenly shouted to the reporters, "Lin's over there! He'll be there soon!"
The reporters' eyes followed Bird's pointing finger and saw Lin Tian, who had arrived late and was pushing two large boxes out of the passage. The group's attention was immediately diverted, and they ran towards Lin Tian!
"Run!" Bird, that old schemer, waved his hand and commanded his players to become the most beautiful heroes, rushing towards the team bus!
Aside from Ben trying to call out to Lin Tian but being grabbed by the neck by Webber and dragged towards the bus by Carter, the rest of the group didn't hesitate at all and charged towards the bus.
As for Lin Tian?
He had just gone to the restroom, which is why he came out 5-6 minutes later than his teammates.
Then, he saw at least a hundred people rushing towards him like a zombie apocalypse.
It's only because Lin Tian is experienced and has a strong heart that he's able to turn around and ask the plane to send him back to Indiana. Anyone else would probably have turned around and asked the plane to send them back to Indiana right now.
That's terrifying!
But who is Master Lin?
This was exactly the kind of scene he liked best, so Lin Tian simply put the box aside, stood there casually, stretched out his hands to signal everyone to calm down, and then said with utmost composure, "Stay calm, everyone stay calm! It's just an interview, I'll cooperate."
"Five questions! Good for you and me, come on, who wants to ask?"
Lin Tian's attitude of "I'll cooperate completely, you can all come one by one" actually made the group of reporters a little embarrassed.
They'd never seen such a coordinated team of superstars before!
Lin Tian's cooperation caused the group of reporters, who had just been preparing to besiege the city like zombies, to fall completely silent. After a full ten seconds of stunned silence, a bold young reporter spoke first: "Do you think you're a better player than Shaq? Do you think your team is better than the Lakers?"
"That's two questions." Lin Tian smiled and held up a "2," then said, "Yes, I'm the better one, and we're the better team. We're here to win the championship!"
"There are three more questions."
The young reporter wasted two questions and got a bunch of nonsense, which made many people glare at the poor guy. The young man, who had just entered the industry, trembled all over and then obediently backed away.
Then a serious voice rang out. The speaker was an old acquaintance of Lin Tian's. Although he couldn't remember his name, Lin Tian knew that this guy was a senior reporter for the Los Angeles Times who had decades of experience covering the NBA.
"Lin, many people think Shaq deserves this year's MVP more than you. They won 69 games, and Shaq had the best year of his career. Even his free throw percentage improved significantly. So what do you think? Do you think Shaq deserves the MVP?"
That's why he's a seasoned veteran. If it were a young guy, he would definitely ask who deserves this year's MVP, Shaq or him. With Lin Tian's style, he would definitely say without hesitation: I deserve it.
But now the senior is asking whether Shaq deserves the MVP award, so Lin Tian has to answer carefully.
If you're not careful, these reporters, who are masters of subtle writing, could create a whole bunch of big news stories!
For example, if Lin Tian said Shaq certainly deserved the MVP award, then the next day's front page would definitely be "Lin Tian bluntly states that O'Neal deserves this year's MVP honor more than him!"
If Lin Tian says he's not worthy, then tomorrow's front page will be "Lin Tian bluntly states Shaq was never an MVP contender, he's never even reached that level!"
Why is journalism considered the most morally corrupt profession in the world, full of filth and with a mind more wicked and malicious than lotus seeds?
That's why!
The pen is in their hands; they can write whatever they want and stir up trouble as they please, all depending on their mood.
But Lin Tian was clearly not someone to be trifled with. He said casually, "This year's MVP is me. I deserve this year's MVP more than anyone else. Allen is not convinced? I've already crushed him! If Shaq is not convinced either, then let him try."
"This series will show everyone who the best player this year is!"
"As for whether Shaq deserves the MVP award, I don't think that's an issue. Without me, he might have already won three MVPs, but with me around, he might never win even one in his lifetime!"
Trying to stir up trouble, huh?
No problem! Master Lin will cooperate with you in choosing!
Let's get this hype going before the competition even starts!
"Many people say this series will be the most exciting and best-watched series in NBA history, while others say it will be the biggest challenge and strongest opponent you've ever faced in your career! What do you think, Lin? Do you think this year's Lakers are the strongest opponent you've ever encountered?"
One experienced driver stepped down, and another experienced driver stepped forward to ask a question.
This is another question fraught with pitfalls. If Lin Tian doesn't answer it well, reporters will bring up all the teams he has played against in the past and compare them one by one, which will generate a lot of traffic and controversy!
"I don't think so." Lin Tian has always been open to this kind of question and never beats around the bush. He said directly, "If I were to rank the strongest opponents of my career, I would put the 98 Bulls first. They had Michael."
"Then I might pick the '96 SuperSonics, they were great, and then the Knicks from '99 that I didn't get to play against. I really wanted to play a series against that team! But unfortunately we didn't get to play against them because of injuries."
"Next up, maybe it'll be this year's Lakers. I think they might be pretty good; I hope they won't disappoint me!" (End of Chapter)