blogombal Chapter 418 Every time I want to punch someone, someone will come over.
Chapter 418 Every time I want to punch someone, someone will come over.
Following the All-Star Game, dubbed "The Last Dance," the season's pace has accelerated once again!
First of all, the trade deadline has arrived, and quite a few teams have started to make sweeping reforms to their teams by this deadline!
First, there's the Bucks. After trading away "Big Dog" Robinson in the offseason, the team's record didn't improve at all. In addition, the obvious rivalry between Ray Allen and Reed in the All-Star Game caused the Bucks to run out of patience with Ray Allen and head coach Karl.
They chose the younger Reed!
The Bucks traded Allen, who had played for the team for seven years, to the SuperSonics in exchange for some draft picks and other assets.
And, almost simultaneously with letting Allen go, they announced the dismissal of head coach George Carr and appointed Terry Porter as interim head coach.
This team, which has been hoping to make a breakthrough in the past few years, has begun to rebuild after years of stagnant performance!
Another team that made a trade before the deadline was the Miami Heat. They sent their leader of the past few years, Payton, to Seattle. With Mourning basically retired, the Heat decided to accelerate their downward push to aim for a higher draft position!
The SuperSonics, on the other hand, have acquired two formidable players, forming a new backcourt trio, and have also welcomed back the team's former soul and Seattle city hero, Payton!
As for whether Lewis, Ray Allen, and Payton can spark a synergy and bring back the glory days of the Supersonics, we'll have to wait and see!
Another team that made a big trade was the Bulls. The Chicago team, which had been at the bottom of the league since Jordan left, chose to buy Jalen Rose from the Spurs this time, finding themselves a true star player on the perimeter.
Krause hopes that Rose can mentor the two high school players on the team and help the team recover quickly, otherwise he will really be kicked out!
After trading Rose, the Spurs are about to embark on a dramatic downturn! Richmond and Rose, acquired during the brief Duncan era, have both left, and Robinson has also announced his retirement. The Spurs' era has come to a complete end before it even began!
Now, Popovich and Buford have their sights set on the June draft, hoping to acquire a truly outstanding super talent and lead the team to rise again!
Then there was another trade that wasn't exactly big: the Magic traded that year's Rookie of the Year, Mike Miller, for the Grizzlies' second-round pick, Gordon Giracek, who averaged 12 points per game, and a future first-round draft pick.
This trade was supposedly made because of Giricek's explosiveness and scoring ability, adding another scorer to the team. But everyone knows that the Magic's management was cutting costs to avoid the luxury tax!
Giricek earns nearly $200 million less than Miller a year, and with the luxury tax included, this trade saves the Magic almost $400 million!
As for Miller's departure, it would infuriate McGrady, because the Magic's management clearly didn't care that the team traded away his best buddy.
If they cared about that, they wouldn't have let O'Neal go back then!
More importantly, the Magic's management seems to be somewhat tanking.
Back in 2000, despite acquiring McGrady, Duncan, Malone, and Hill at the same time, the team's playoff performance was consistently terrible.
With Hill sidelined and Malone gone, the Magic's chances of winning the championship are getting smaller and smaller. What's even more worrying for the Magic's management is that Duncan has refused to extend his contract with the team early!
Back then, Duncan signed a four-year, $46 million contract with the Magic, which would end after the next season, the 2003-04 season.
The Magic were allowed to offer Tim Duncan a contract extension this season, but when they presented the offer to him, the stoic big man refused outright, which undoubtedly made the Magic's management uneasy.
With no improvement in performance, key players may be preparing to leave.
What can they do?
They can only cut back on spending and take it one step at a time.
And the Portland Trail Blazers, whose record has been stagnant for the past two years and who can only reach the second round of the playoffs at best, while spending the most money and paying the most luxury tax, are also getting restless.
Team owner Paul Allen clearly felt that the team was just stuck in this mediocre state, so after much deliberation, he decided to make a trade!
And when they do move, it's a big move!
The Trail Blazers traded their star player Rasheed Wallace and Bonzi Wells, the team's second-best forward, to the Pistons.
They acquired five players from the Pistons: Clifford Robinson, Corliss Williams, Selke Rebrahimovic, Jon Barry, and Chucky Atkins, as well as an unprotected first-round pick from the Grizzlies in 2003 and the Pistons' own first-round pick in 2004!
It doesn't matter if you don't know these five people. Of these five, apart from Clifford Robinson, who was once an All-Star and won the Sixth Man of the Year award, and who can be considered to have some level of talent, the rest are really not worth mentioning and are just extras.
In this deal, even Robinson and the other three individuals shared the same name.
Bonus!
Purely an add-on!
The Trail Blazers' trade has only two purposes: to save money and to acquire draft picks from the Grizzlies!
They got rid of Rashid and Wells' nearly $70 million contracts over the next three years, in exchange for expiring contracts and pocket change.
However, given the Grizzlies' current abysmal record, this first-round draft pick is highly likely to be a top-five or even top-three pick! It's even possible they'll get the number one pick!
In such a strong draft year, the Grizzlies' draft pick is enough to help the Trail Blazers quickly complete their rebuild!
Even the Trail Blazers, who are already in the playoff picture, have made a move, so the other teams certainly won't just stand by and watch.
With Carmelo Anthony's performance improving in the NCAA, veterans like Dwyane Wade preparing to enter the draft, and news spreading that LeBron James will dominate high school basketball and likely skip college to go directly to the NBA, the competition for the lottery spots in the league is becoming increasingly fierce!
With only 13 wins and ranking last in the standings, the Nuggets traded away their best players, James Bosh and Chris Whitney, in exchange for several unknown benchwarmers.
In fact, if trading away Juwan Howard hadn't made their salary too low, directly below the poverty line, the Nuggets would most likely have traded away this decent power forward.
With the Nuggets already starting, the Cavaliers, with 14 wins, naturally wouldn't hold back either. They announced that their rookie Wagner, who was full of energy and dunking wildly in the Rising Stars Challenge the day before, was out for the season. Then they traded away veteran Troy Hill for nothing.
Next up is the Knicks, who have already won 17 games but lost the initial advantage in the tanking matchup.
The Knicks traded away their second-in-command, Kurt Thomas, who was good at both offense and defense and averaged 16+8 per game. Then, the team's leader, Allan Houston, suffered a recurrence of his knee injury after the All-Star Game, and Houston announced that he would miss the rest of the season!
The team's newly drafted rookie, Amar'e Stoudemire, has also encountered some ankle problems and needs to rest for 1-2 weeks.
Everyone can see that if he didn't have a very high probability of winning Rookie of the Year, the Knicks would most likely not have given him only 1-2 weeks of rest, but would have directly banned him from the draft.
Come on! Let's do it!
They're just going to put up a show, shameless! Let's see who has a worse record and who's more likely to get the number one draft pick!
The competition in the lottery these days is just as fierce as in the higher-ranked areas!
除了13胜的掘金、14胜的骑士、17胜的尼克斯之外，还有19胜的马刺以及21胜的热火和快船。
Of course, there's also the Grizzlies, who have 20 wins but have no chance of being drafted this year. They're having a tough time!
These teams are playing a very intense game!
Even if some teams can hardly surpass the Nuggets and Cavaliers, these two unparalleled teams, and can't get the highest probability of being the number one draft pick, taking one more step forward is still a step forward!
Every slight increase in probability represents an opportunity!
An opportunity to acquire a top talent and save the team!
In contrast to the bottomless battles between teams on the edge of the playoffs and those top-tier flops, the top teams in the league haven't made any big moves.
Whether it's the Lakers, Mavericks, and Kings in the West or the Pacers and Nets in the East, none of them have made any trades. Obviously, they are all very satisfied with their current rosters and prefer stability to risky trades.
Once the trade deadline passes, there will be less than two months left in the regular season, and each team will have about 20 games remaining.
It's worth mentioning that after the All-Star Game ended until the end of February, Jordan, whether he had contracted some kind of virus that caused him to miss every shot, or was cursed or drugged by someone, somehow managed to maintain the same shooting touch and form he had in the All-Star Game throughout the regular season!
He scored 27 points on 7 of 19 shots.
He scored 33 points on 10 of 24 shots.
He scored 27 points on 9 of 29 shots.
He scored 35 points on 12 of 34 shots.
In short, Jordan's performance throughout February was absolutely terrible!
He just couldn't make the shot; he just couldn't get the basketball into the basket!
Fortunately, the Pacers today are neither the Bulls of yesteryear nor the Wizards of last season. Jordan is important to this team, but not so important that he can't win if he plays badly.
Even though Jordan played terribly, they still managed to win 8 and lose 2 in the 10 games after the All-Star Game!
The reason why they were able to achieve such a remarkable record with Jordan as an undercover agent is undoubtedly Lin Tian! He wasn't infected by Jordan; instead, he delivered an incredibly brilliant performance in the past two weeks of competition!
33.3分8.1篮板9.4助攻2.3抢断1.1盖帽！
At the same time, the hit rates reached 49%, 41% and 89%!
In the latter half of February, Lin Tian delivered one of the league's best performances and won the Player of the Month award for February. This time, Jordan was not there to share the honor!
In contrast to Lin Tian's impressive performance, Jordan's performance over the past two weeks has been absolutely terrible.
Their average stats were also far behind Lin Tian's!
乔丹在这半个月中场均数据只有29.4分4.6篮板和2.8助助攻，三项命中率也暴跌到了41%，27%和80%
在这十多场比赛过后，常规赛仅剩下最后45天左右的时候，林天本赛季的数据变成了31.5分9.4助攻7.2篮板2.9抢断！
Jordan's stats, however, dropped to 31.9 points, 3.0 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.2 steals!
The gap between these two players in average points per game has rapidly narrowed to 0.4 points!
With the Pacers having played 58 games this season, Lin Tian and Jordan's total season points are actually only 23 points apart!
In other words, if Lin Tian scores 24 more points than Jordan in the next game, he will become the league's scoring champion this year!
The competition and suspense for the scoring title reached their peak in March!
And as I said before, this year marks the first time in NBA history that the top two scorers are from the same team, and the difference between them is so small, almost negligible!
Given their scoring abilities, they might be able to close the gap or even overtake each other in just one game!
Jordan or Lin Tian? Who will become the scoring champion?
This has become a major suspense in the regular season!
It's worth mentioning that McGrady's scoring average this season has been surpassed by Kobe, who is currently averaging 29.7 points per game. Meanwhile, Kobe, thanks to Shaq's absence due to injury in February, went on a nine-game winning streak of 40+ points, bringing his current scoring average to 30.6 points per game!
Although Shaquille O'Neal has announced his official return on March 1, and Kobe's scoring average will likely begin to decline, this year will definitely be a year of different significance for him.
This is the first time in Kobe's career that he has averaged more points per game than Shaq!
Although it was just the regular season, it still exceeded expectations!
Many people are starting to speculate whether this will cause the Lakers' dominance to shift.
However, it's still uncertain whether the Lakers' dominance will change, as the Pacers will face a familiar opponent in their first game in March.
Washington Wizards!
See how coincidental this is!
Jordan was feeling down because he was in poor form and his shooting touch was fading.
The Wizards are here!
Otherwise, what about family? What about fate?
This is the third meeting between the Wizards and the Pacers this season. In the previous two meetings, the Wizards suffered the largest and second-largest point differentials in history, leaving them firmly humiliated by the Pacers.
What about today?
Judging from the opening situation, the Wizards might have an even worse time today.
Because Jordan is going to kill someone!
Less than three minutes into the game, Jordan repeatedly attacked the paint, drawing fouls and getting Kwame Brown into two fouls early on, taking him out of the game.
Of course, given Brown's personality and attitude, he might actually be happy that Jordan knocked him out!
Sitting on the sidelines is much more enjoyable than getting thrashed on the field!
In just 3 minutes, Jordan not only knocked Brown out of the game, but also went to the free-throw line 7 times and made 6 of them. In addition, he made 2 more shots, and Jordan scored 10 points in 3 minutes!
His attitude tonight couldn't be clearer!
I've had enough of this so-called low period. I don't want to keep dragging everyone down anymore!
It's you! You're out of luck! Today, I'll use you Washingtonians as a sacrificial offering!
And then, just like that, his condition suddenly returned to normal!
In the first quarter, Jordan hardly took any shots; he just kept attacking the basket and assaulting the Wizards' three-second zone!
He seemed to have returned to 10 years ago, throwing himself into the air again and again, and then trying to figure out how to make a move!
Jordan displayed a level of energy and spirit that is absolutely beyond what someone his age should be showing in this game!
Clearly, Jordan had given himself plenty of mental encouragement!
He wouldn't allow himself to rot any further!
Since I'm having a bad shooting night and I can't make any shots, then I'm not shooting at all today!
Charge! Drive to the basket! Even if it means free throws, get your touch back!
Throughout the first quarter, Jordan relentlessly attacked the paint, battling with his opponents time and time again. In the first quarter alone, he went to the free-throw line 11 times and made 10 of them. In addition, he scored multiple times from the low post and near the basket.
Jordan scored 26 points in the first quarter alone tonight!
Let alone three-pointers, Jordan only took two mid-range and outside shots in the paint in the first quarter!
We're determined to fight our way in!
All 26 points, except for free throws, came from the paint!
The entire Wizards team was completely numb from Jordan's dominance.
Resist? Who would dare to resist?! I just hope Jordan will give us a quick and decisive victory!
What deep grudge do you hold against me, brother?
You have a huge grudge against us. You won by a total of 140 points in the first two games. Aren't you satisfied yet?
If you're still not satisfied, go find the boss! Go find Pauline! Why are you making things difficult for us?
Jordan: No way!
I'm just bullying you!
Who told you to run into us at this time?
You guys are just unlucky!
Yes, Lin Tian believes that.
He believes Jordan isn't targeting the Wizards, at least not tonight!
Given Jordan's personality, he must have already decided to wash away his poor form and performance in the first game of March, and to face the game with a completely new state!
Let alone the Wizards today, even if it were the Lakers, Nets, Mavericks, or even the Mars team he played against back then, Jordan wouldn't have said anything. He would have charged in like crazy!
Tonight, we must regain our momentum!
Under Jordan's madness, the Pacers naturally displayed unparalleled dominance on both ends of the court in the first quarter!
36: 18!
In the first quarter, the Pacers led by as many as 18 points!
Of course, Jordan's style of play also had some problems.
That means it consumes a lot of energy. This kind of playing style requires you to save your strength and charge into the paint every round, fighting and risking your life. Even though Jordan has the "bond aura" and is not an ordinary 40-year-old, he is still extremely tired when he plays like this!
Jordan did not play for the first six minutes of the second quarter; he remained on the bench.
During those six minutes, the Pacers slowed down and did not widen the gap with the Wizards.
The score difference between the two sides has even narrowed!
As for the reason, it's not that the Wizards played exceptionally well and suppressed the Pacers, but rather that Lin Tian wasn't in a hurry!
Since Jordan wants to regain his momentum and rhythm tonight, Lin Tian has to help him out and get his guy back in form.
As for Lin Tian's way of helping out, it's simply to coast along!
He didn't push for fast breaks much, nor did he take the initiative to attack; his main strategy was to kill time!
After all, Jordan played like that in the first quarter, and if Lin Tian played like that in the second quarter, then there would be no point in playing the second half of the game.
If they can build a 40-point lead in the first half, how will Jordan find his form in the second half?
So, with 6 minutes left in the second quarter, the score became 39-47, and the Wizards had narrowed the gap to 8 points.
Then, Jordan took the stage!
"Without me, you can't even beat this pushover?" Jordan swung his arms and stretched his limbs as he walked onto the court.
"The court is yours tonight." Lin Tian didn't say much more. He quickly passed the ball to Jordan, indicating that he was in charge tonight!
I'll do it!
Jordan grunted and didn't say anything. After dribbling to the frontcourt, he faced Stackhouse, who was huddled two steps inside the three-point line. Suddenly, Jordan pulled up and shot!
Jordan, who hadn't taken many shots outside the paint throughout the first quarter, suddenly pulled up a three-pointer!
Stackhouse had no time to defend; he could only watch helplessly as the basketball flew over his head and then towards the basket behind him.
"Whoosh!"
Then, a crisp sound rang out!
Jordan hit a three-pointer, and the gap between the two sides widened to more than 10 points again!
"Not bad." Lin Tian reached out and bumped hands with Jordan, saying, "How's it going after a month undercover?"
"I feel like I'm bursting with energy!" Jordan stared intently at Stackhouse in front of him. The second quarter began, and the killing began!
For the next six minutes, Jordan fully demonstrated to Lin Tian and everyone else what it meant to be "full of strength".
Three-pointers, mid-range shots, post-up moves, face-up drives, and layups.
Jordan, who was already an offensive kaleidoscope, changed his style from relentlessly attacking the basket in the first quarter. He began to showcase his unparalleled offensive skills and all-around scoring methods in every corner of the half-court.
Jordan could feel it—he was back! His form was completely back!
There's no reason, no cause, just like how people have their ups and downs, and the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. There's no logic to it; every player will experience similar moments.
At certain times, he might suddenly have a hot streak and score high points, or at other times he might suddenly lose all his form, even though he has no injuries, he just can't make shots and his shooting percentage plummets.
Sometimes, this kind of thing has nothing to do with the player's own training, the team's tactics, or the opponent's marking. There's just no reason why he/she just can't perform.
But one day, all that feeling, form, and stuff will inexplicably fly back and return to these players, making them dominate again!
Like Jordan tonight!
He completely went berserk!
第二节6分钟的时间，乔丹9投7中，其中3分球2投2中，罚球3罚全中，轰下了19分！
He scored 45 points in the first half alone!
The best news for the Wizards right now is that in the last six minutes of the first half, not only did Jordan dominate the offense, but the rest of the Pacers also dominated the defense!
23: 5!
In just 6 minutes, the Pacers unleashed a 23-5 offensive surge!
After a valiant effort in the first half of the quarter to narrow the gap to 8 points, the deficit has widened again to 26 points in the blink of an eye!
Well, for the Wizards, this point difference is actually a little too small. If it were 36 points, it would be perfect!
It would be even more perfect if the score difference between the two sides reached 46 points by halftime.
In that case, Jordan would definitely be too embarrassed to beat people to death like he did in the first half, or even to the point of hanging them up and whipping them again after they were dead.
The team lost by 50 points, and then the opposing team's star player scored 7-80 points.
Who could bear such humiliation!
Of course, they've already lost most of their face, but if they can salvage something, they should try their best to salvage it, shouldn't they?
Losing by 5-60 points is one thing, but if we get blown out by 7-80 points, then we really can't play anymore, and the team might as well just disband!
During halftime, the Wizards' head coach really wanted his players to stop playing defense and stop fighting back, especially Jordan. He wanted Jordan to do whatever he wanted and not guard him at all.
Let's bet! Let's bet that Jordan will feel bad playing alone on the court, so at least he won't score so many points for us again, right?
Unfortunately, the coach's pride prevented Doug Collins from saying anything similar. If he had, and another player had blurted it out, he would have been fired from the league.
I'll never find another job!
So even if Collins's only thought right now was to lose as soon as possible and get the Pacers' starters off the court, since they had already lost by 140 points in the first two games, losing by another 50 points today wouldn't be a big deal!
The only bottom line is to stop letting those two monsters on the other side rack up points.
Thanks to Collins' prayers, Jordan actually toned down his game a bit in the third quarter, not launching a barrage of attacks like he did in the first half.
Jordan also found it pointless. He had beaten Stackhouse to a pulp, crushed him, and stomped on him repeatedly, but the guy didn't respond at all. Whether on offense or defense, he just lay there like he didn't care. This attitude made Jordan lose motivation and too lazy to beat him anymore.
Then, the match between the two sides was quite harmonious, with each taking turns and the game progressing very quickly.
Then, with five minutes left in the third quarter, something crazy happened to Collins!
The team's second-year center, Haywood, received the ball under the basket, then spun past Webber, pulled up, and with all his might, slammed the ball into the hoop!
A very powerful two-handed dunk!
If it's just a dunk, it's not a big deal. The Pacers wouldn't beat someone up again just because of a dunk, would they?
The problem is, Haywood got really into it!
After dunking, this guy not only grabbed the rim and shook it hard twice, making the rim wobble.
After landing, the guy wiped his eyes twice with one hand.
The NBA's classic taunting gesture: Where are you? Where's your defense? I can't see you!
Extremely arrogant!
So arrogant that Lin Tian didn't even have time to react!
Lin Tian even quickly looked up at the scoreboard, and sure enough!
84: 50!
The Pacers are leading by 34 points, it's not an illusion! How come this guy is so excited after his dunk, like it could give the Wizards a 30-point boost?!
Haywood's actions surprised and bewildered the Pacers players, but they weren't exactly angry.
For example, Lin Tian's reaction was: "Want to play? Then let's play and see what level you're really at. You're so happy about a dunk!"
The Pacers are preparing to increase the intensity and let Haywood have some fun, but the Wizards are not so relaxed.
Simply put, everyone's feelings right now can be expressed in one sentence.
"Xie Baoqing, Xie Baoqing, why did you have to mess with that damn Li Yunlong?"
What? Lin Tian didn't know what Haywood wanted to do, and he didn't care.
But he'll let Heywood have a good taste of his Italian cannon!
In the first possession after Haywood's dunk, Lin Tian drove straight into the paint from the wing, leaping up to face Haywood. After a collision in the air, Lin Tian unleashed a second burst of power, letting out a roar as he slammed the ball over Haywood into the basket!
"boom!"
After the loud bang, Lin Tian responded perfectly to Haywood with an incredibly powerful dunk!
Then, Lin Tian stretched out a hand and waved it in front of his eyes a few times, making the same gesture as before.
If the Pacers' retaliation had ended there, Haywood's action wouldn't have angered and puzzled the rest of the Wizards so much.
Everyone knows how petty those two Pacers guards are! They never hold grudges!
All grudges are always settled on the spot!
If you, Heywood, provoke me like this, won't the other side kill you?
This is perhaps why Collins didn't substitute Haywood.
What if Haywood leaves the game and the opposing team can't find anyone to retaliate against, so they openly target the entire Wizards team for revenge?
And, Heywood made a mistake, so he has to take the blame himself. What's the point of replacing him with someone else now?
Making a substitution at this point would clearly be letting the new player bear the brunt of the Pacers' anger and retaliation.
If Collins really dares to do that, he's not protecting Haywood, he's forcing the next center to his death!
No, no, I can't do this!
When I, Collins, am the coach, my main principle is fairness and impartiality. Whoever starts a fire is responsible for putting it out!
Moreover, the other side is already furious, so they definitely need to vent their anger!
Then let it all out! Take it out on our clueless center! Let it all out!
Strik him dead!
As long as Jordan doesn't score 6 or 70 points in a single game again, and as long as he doesn't break the NBA's record for the biggest point loss tonight, that's fine!
The Pacers' revenge certainly won't stop there!
They raised their defensive intensity again after it had been lowered. Stackhouse's pass to the paint was blocked by Ben Wallace, and then the Pacers advanced to the frontcourt once more.
This time, it's Jordan's turn!
Still receiving the ball in the low post, after a series of probing feints, Jordan suddenly made a quick turn and brushed past Stackhouse in the blink of an eye. The speed of this turn was so fast that Jordan himself almost lost his balance.
He spun too fast, and just as he was about to lose his balance, Jordan reached out and braced himself on the floor. Then, he took a quick step to regain his balance and, without even pausing to catch his breath, he jumped up again!
"Bang!"
After a muffled thud, Jordan unleashed incredible power in an instant, leaping off the floor and colliding with Haywood in mid-air. His long arms rose high and then fell heavily, once again slamming the basketball over Haywood's head and smashing it towards the back of his head.
"boom!"
After a loud bang, Haywood was dunked on in two consecutive possessions!
"Regret it?" Jordan asked Haywood after landing. "Dunking is dunking, why the provocation? Who gave you that confidence?"
"It's too late for regrets, just wait to die!" Jordan hurled insults at Haywood.
At this moment, this second-grade rookie is really starting to get nervous! This is Lin Tian and Jordan, after all!
Offend both of them at the same time?
Am I crazy?
Why did I do that?
It's unclear why Haywood was so arrogant, and Lin Tian and Jordan didn't seem to care at all.
In their eyes, Heywood's action just now had only one meaning.
Come on, kill me!
Then grant his request!
In the remainder of the third quarter, both Lin Tian and Jordan had explosive performances!
The two of them, one after the other, began to launch wave after wave of bombardment at the Wizards' position!
110: 59!
By the end of the third quarter, the point difference between the two teams had once again widened to over 50 points!
As for Haywood?
Collins hated that this guy was always looking for trouble, always trying to provoke people and make the whole team suffer. So even though Haywood had five fouls, Collins just wouldn't take him off the court.
Stay put! (End of Chapter)