Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 565 Lin Tian Makes Another Bold Statement Before the Match! His First Goal of the New Season

Rivers' early substitutions allowed the team to retain some face and morale, even though they were still losing by a large margin, preventing the players from despairing over the Knicks' strength.

After all, Rivers is quite knowledgeable; he can definitely see how strong the Knicks are tonight!

Submitting the main force early is definitely a good idea!

In this way, no matter what others say, Rivers will have an excuse!

As I always say: it's the preseason!

The game against the Celtics really brought the Knicks into the spotlight of the entire league. Even in the preseason, it was impossible for two teams that had faced off in last year's playoffs to play too casually. People have to save face.

They eliminated you last year, and you're still shamelessly playing around in the preseason this year? What kind of behavior is that?

Yes, Rivers actually had the same idea before.

What kind of system?

So before the game, apart from Pierce being unable to play due to injury, Rivers gave everyone else a good pep talk, with the aim of boosting the team's morale and successfully avenging their previous loss this season!

But once the game started, Rivers quickly realized something was wrong.

No match for them! Absolutely no match for them!

And this information spread rapidly throughout the league the night after the game.

"What do you mean?" West asked Phil Jackson beside him after watching the first half of the Knicks vs. Celtics game.

"To be honest," Jackson said, his expression quite smug. After wiping his glasses, he added, "I'm 80% confident I can beat them in this series!"

"You're crazy." West rolled his eyes, then slammed the office door shut and said to Jackson, "There are no recording devices here, no third person, no one listening in, and I won't relay our conversation to anyone, absolutely no one!"

"So I want to hear the truth, the truth from a top coach."

"At most 30%," Jackson sighed. "That's assuming Kobe and Shaq both play exceptionally well and are at their best."

"Their offensive system is so sophisticated that it's impossible to defend against them! You can't win against them by playing defense; you have to go all out on offense!"

"Anyway, this year, barring injuries, neither the Pistons nor the Celtics will have a chance against them! The team most likely to beat them in this league might just be the Suns!"

"Anyway, it's all about scoring points!"

Jackson's candid words made West sigh, and then he looked at Jackson and said, "Well then, let's change our strategy this season."

"Can I pack my things and go home now?" Jackson nodded and said, "I understand. Let's part on good terms. I'm sorry I haven't led the team to a championship in all these years."

"Shut up! You're so old, why are you copying that bastard Lin?" West said irritably. "What I mean is, we need to conserve our strength and energy for the playoffs, and go all out for the playoffs!"

"As for the regular season, that's good enough! I'll do everything I can to keep your job, and all you have to do is lead the team to the playoffs and then shock everyone! Any questions?"

"I see."

"But the record can't be too bad! It has to be at least 50 wins!" West said, then added with a worried look. Otherwise, if this old guy were to do whatever he wanted, he might end up with a record of 42 wins, barely enough to make the playoffs.

After watching the game replay in Indiana, Bird was surprisingly not angry or complaining about how the Celtics had embarrassed themselves. Instead, he sighed deeply and said to Carlisle beside him, "I know Lin will definitely return to the top of the league."

"But I didn't expect it to happen so quickly, or so wildly and violently. He and that old madman are truly a match made in heaven!"

In Detroit, Brown turned off the television with a gloomy face and silently closed his eyes.

He rapidly went through the Knicks' games and each player's characteristics in his mind, and even imagined a game between the Pistons and the Knicks in his head.

Then, he found that he, who had been so confident in defending his title, suddenly lost his confidence.

Let's not let our team members see this for now.

It affects morale.

"Are you confident, Steve?" D'Antoni looked at Nash, the Knicks' game highlights still playing on repeat on the TV.

"I'm not as good as Lin," Nash said frankly. "If it's a one-game series, I'm confident I can compete with Lin. But if it's a series, I can only say: it's best to avoid them."

"We can't get past them!"

"But we can't just give up on our championship dream like this," D'Antoni said, spreading his hands and sighing. "We need help! Stronger and better help."

.....................

Similar scenarios are playing out among many teams in the league. Of course, it's mainly the teams that directly compete with the Knicks who are watching these videos and games. For teams whose goal is to tank or make the playoffs, they don't need to worry about this.

Before the regular season even started, Lin Tian and his Knicks team gave the entire league a huge surprise!

Next, the Knicks flew to Europe as arranged by the league, where they played two preseason games, followed by two easy massacres.

After these two massacres, the Knicks have essentially ended their preseason journey, warming up for the regular season with a six-game winning streak.

After returning to New York, the team rested and relaxed for a week before regrouping and taking off for Detroit.

It's time for revenge!

The entire Knicks team is itching for a fight!

They were filled with excitement and anticipation about teaching the Pistons a lesson!

It's easy to see how much they value this game: in the last week before the regular season started, the team only scheduled training on the last day to let the players get into shape, and the rest of the time they were completely free to do whatever they wanted.

However, the Knicks players did not go out for fun this time.

Everyone spontaneously rested and recuperated at home, doing some extra private training to keep themselves in shape and excited.

Regardless of what others say, the Knicks are determined to win this game!

This time, it's not a preseason game, and it's not a joke.

Hit them! Beat the entire Pistons team to a pulp, beat them to death!

When the Knicks' plane landed in Detroit, Lin Tian and his team were once again caught by reporters as they walked out of the airport.

As soon as the Knicks players came out, the reporters who had been lying in wait excitedly stretched out their microphones, recorders and other equipment to start asking questions.

Are you confident about this match?

"Does your winning streak in the preseason make you feel like you've got this game in the bag?"

"Is your goal still the championship this year?"

"What does this match mean to you? Does it have any additional significance?"

Reporters relentlessly bombarded the Knicks players with questions, as was their usual practice. But most of the time, the players paid them no attention. 99% of the time, these informal interviews were either completely ignored or dismissed with a few casual, repetitive remarks.

But there's nothing we can do; that's what reporters do, after all. We have to be dedicated!

After all, there will always be that 1% of the time, right? Like today.

Lin Tian walked all the way to the front of the bus and stopped. He then turned around and looked at the reporters, saying, "Don't rush to ask questions. Let me answer the questions you just asked first."

"Our goal has always been the championship! And this year, we are especially confident; we are determined to win! We will definitely win the championship this year!"

"As for this game, it's a revenge match. I don't care what others say, for us, this game is a revenge match! We will start by dominating and defeating the Pistons today, and step by step move towards the final championship and the Larry O'Brien Trophy!"

After his arrogant and boastful declaration, Lin Tian didn't give the reporters a chance to ask further questions. Instead, he turned around and got into his car, which is why he only spoke after walking all the way here.

It makes it easy to escape.

Although they couldn't pursue the matter further and many things hadn't been brought up yet, it was enough for the reporters!

The amount of information in Lin Tian's few words is enough for them to write a lot about!

The living god, Immortal Lin, saves the world once again!

One person can support an entire industry!

.....................

"That's too arrogant!" Before the game started the following night, Billups sat in the locker room and threw a newspaper with the headline "Knicks aim for the championship and will start tearing apart the entire league tonight by tearing the Pistons apart" on the ground.

"Chanchy, why are you so angry?" Hamilton slowly adjusted his mask, chatting casually with Billups beside him.

Seeing his calm demeanor, Billups said, "Richard, aren't you angry? Lin's arrogant provocation has left you unmoved?"

"I knew about it when I went for my run this morning," Hamilton said dismissively. "Do you think everyone's like you, an idiot, who doesn't read the newspaper or only reads the headlines?"

"Haha, Lin sees us as his number one rival!" Big Ben waved his newspaper and rushed into the locker room with great enthusiasm. Then, ignoring the backcourt duo who always seemed to be pouring cold water on their plans, he found Rashid and said, "Rashid, look!"

"Haha, Lin sees us as his number one rival!" Artest waved his newspaper and rushed into the locker room with great enthusiasm. Then, ignoring the backcourt duo who always seemed to be pouring cold water on their plans, he found Ben Wallace and Rasheed and said, "Guys, look at this!"

"I regret calling you an idiot, Chauncey." Hamilton finally adjusted his mask and looked at Billups apologetically, saying, "Compared to the three of them, you're a genius."

"Everyone, focus!" Brown appeared in the locker room at that moment, clapping his hands loudly. "I think everyone knows what day this is! Tonight is the most glorious moment of our lives!"

"Our championship banner will be raised, we will wear a championship ring, and we will be officially crowned!"

"But now, someone wants to ruin our perfect night, someone wants to ruin our evening, someone wants to embarrass us!"

"I won't say anything more." Brown originally wanted to say a few more words to boost morale, but when he saw that Ben Wallace and Ron Artest were eager to argue with him, he decisively ended his speech.

What we just said should be enough to boost the team's morale.

As for Artest and Ben Wallace, although they may seem silly and mentally challenged, Brown has faith in their fighting spirit and dedication to the game.

Once the game starts, they will definitely give it their all and will never let themselves or their teammates down.

After the entire Pistons team stayed in the locker room for a while, Brown glanced at his watch and finally said, "Alright, it's time! It's our turn to step out! Let's experience the passion and madness of Detroit, and claim our glory!"

This championship was also Brown's first in his NBA coaching career, and his excitement and anticipation were no less than that of his players.

Amid cheers, the Pistons left the locker room in high spirits and headed to the Palace of Auburn Hills arena.

"They're really crazy tonight!" Lin Tian, ​​who has seen countless big events, was still somewhat taken aback by the Detroit fans' frenzy. He reached up and picked at his ears, finding the cheers and shouts of the fans somewhat jarring.

Tonight's Detroit is indeed completely different from before.

The fans were so excited that they stopped cursing the visiting team players. Lin Tian had visited this place dozens of times throughout his career, but this was the first time he hadn't encountered any insults or boos.

The first time he came here, he was a backup guard for the Bulls. Back then, he was just a young, innocent version of Lin Tian, ​​and even when he was sitting on the bench picking his fingers, many Pistons fans would swear at him!

But today, there aren't any left, not a single one!

All the fans were cheering and shouting, celebrating their championship from last season!

This is the glory of the city!

This is enough to make them temporarily put aside their hatred and profanity, and properly enjoy the team's coronation ceremony.

"Boring." Stoudemire snorted and turned his head away, not wanting to watch the Pistons' championship banner being raised.

"You have to see this, Amaree," Lin Tian said, turning his head towards him. "You have to remember this. Remember that they only had the chance to raise this flag after defeating us. They won the championship by stepping on our bodies! Hate them!"

"And now you can imagine what it will be like this time next year, at Madison Square Garden, when we raise the championship banner! Imagine how wonderful that will be, and keep yourself hungry!"

"The same goes for everyone else. Remember this moment, imprint it in your minds, and never forget it until this time next year, before we raise the championship banner!"

"Remember our goals for this year—"

"Become the champion!"

"Championship!"

"Remember our goal for tonight!"

"Smash Detroit!"

The Knicks players watched as the Pistons raised their flags and presented their rings, their teeth itching with rage. They wished the game would start immediately so they could teach those arrogant Detroit bastards a lesson.

Lin Tian's way of boosting morale deserves full marks!

A few minutes later, when all the activities were over, when both sides finished warming up, when the lights came on again, and when the players from both teams walked onto the court at the same time, every Knicks player had eyes full of fighting spirit.

I'm going to beat you all to death today!

The Pistons' starting five is still the same five that swept the league last season and is known as the most balanced five in the league. On the Knicks' side, apart from Houston returning from injury to replace Jackson who left the team, the other four are exactly the same as last season's starting lineup.

Tonight, or rather this season, the main rotation lineups for both sides have hardly changed; it's still the same group of people from last season, and the grudges from last season are still there.

This kind of revenge and rematch drama couldn't be better!

"Beep beep!!"

With a whistle from the referee, Okur, who had a clear height advantage, slapped the ball to Lin Tian.

After receiving the ball, Lin Tian showed no intention of standing still and waiting. He started accelerating as soon as he received the ball, passing Billups in one step and charging towards the Pistons' half of the court!

The Knicks team already had perfect teamwork, and at this moment they didn't need any words to communicate. When Lin Tian made a rapid breakthrough, everyone also came to their most familiar positions.

Okur's target was the three-point line at the top of the arc, while Stoudemire followed behind Lin Tian, ​​ready to receive the ball and take off at any time. Anthony and Houston each occupied one side, standing guard on the wings of the court.

All four of them immediately took their positions in their favorite and most proficient areas, ready to attack!

But this time, Lin Tian neither passed the ball nor looked for his teammates.

He has to take the first shot of the new season!

As Lin dribbled rapidly towards the Pistons' free-throw line area, he was finally caught up by Billups, who was gritting his teeth and chasing back.

Seeing Billups approaching aggressively, Lin Tian suddenly stopped, effortlessly dribbled the ball between his legs, and took a half-step back to trick Billups, who had just regained his balance, into shifting his weight forward. Then, Lin Tian suddenly accelerated again!

This time, Lin Tian's speed was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, he unleashed his speed to the limit and then completely overtook Billups in one step!

That's not all. Lin Tian's seemingly simple start-stop and change-of-speed dribble was so sudden, with such a fast pace and speed, that even Billups, with his high basketball IQ and excellent defense, simply couldn't react in time.

He completely lost his balance, and his body and mind became disconnected. As Lin Tian passed him, Billups' legs went weak and he collapsed to the floor!

"Snapped!"

Billups fell to the ground in a sorry state.

"boom!!"

Almost simultaneously, Lin Tian leaped high into the air, placed the ball behind his head with both hands, and then slammed the ball toward the basket.

He didn't hold back at all this time, but instead used all his strength, with every muscle and joint in his body that could cooperate in exerting force unleashing its full potential in an instant.

"Clang!"

After Lin Tian's dunk, the entire basketball hoop shook back and forth several times as if it were about to fall apart! (End of Chapter)