NABC Chapter 502 A Surprise Attack! Even Commonly Used Skills Can Stand Out
Chapter 502 A Surprise Attack! Even Commonly Used Skills Can Stand Out
"Whoosh!"
With Lin Tian making another free throw, he officially completed the 2+1 play, and there were 6 seconds left in the third quarter!
76: 66!
China has narrowed the gap to 10 points!
"Defense! Defense! Stay on defense! Let's cut the deficit to single digits and then crush them in the fourth quarter!"
Lin Tian waved his arms and roared, while simultaneously standing in front of Kidd.
Under his command, the entire Chinese team also suddenly increased their defensive intensity.
Honestly, given the current defensive capabilities of Chinese players, their full-court press is really nothing to brag about.
It's completely rotten.
Apart from Kidd being completely marked by Lin Tian and not even thinking about getting the ball, the other four American players treated the Chinese team's full-court press with an attitude that they could break through the press with a mere yawn.
This is exactly the attitude Lin Tian was waiting for!
He spotted Kobe's dribbling path, suddenly abandoned Kidd, and sprinted towards Kobe from the side.
"Kobe!" Kidd and Bird shouted almost simultaneously, but how fast was Lin Tian? By the time they reacted, Lin Tian was already right up against Kobe!
That's too late.
Lin Tian slapped out, hitting the basketball that Kobe was dribbling.
However, Kobe was prepared in advance, and Lin Tian was unable to control the basketball directly this time.
But the basketball did indeed roll out of bounds. Kobe, Lin Tian, and Liu Wei, who was originally defending Kobe, almost simultaneously lunged at the ball, trying to grab it.
Ultimately, after a fierce and grueling battle between Kobe and Lin Tian, Liu Wei seized the opportunity and successfully took control of the basketball between the two.
When he got the ball, there were only 3 seconds left in the third quarter!
After receiving the ball, Liu Wei took about a second to adjust his body and steady himself.
Once he regained his footing, he quickly passed the ball to Lin Tian, who had already pushed Kobe aside and was reaching out for the ball.
Almost as soon as he caught the ball, Lin Tian was already off the ground, and he threw the basketball towards the basket with both hands.
When Lin Tian got the basketball, no one could see clearly how much time was left in the game, nor could anyone immediately tell whether the shot was taken before or after the whistle blew.
But what everyone could see was that Lin Tian had just made a brilliant steal for the team, and then, at the last second, threw the basketball toward the basket from at least two steps away from the three-point line.
"Whoosh!"
With a crisp sound, Lin Tianchao hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer from a distance!
"Valid! Valid!" After scoring, Lin Tian immediately waved to the referee, indicating that the goal was 100% valid.
Lin Tian has absolute confidence!
He had just upgraded his "Quick Gunner" skill, and Lin Tian was confident that his shooting speed was definitely fast enough to complete a shot within 0.4 seconds!
In addition to this basket, the Chinese team's previous points came from Lin Tian's pick-and-roll and mid-range jump shots.
The Walls of Utah!
These two skills that Lin Tian usually considered useless and was too lazy to improve or invest experience in, helped the Chinese team successfully create a climax at the end of the third quarter tonight!
But the referee obviously wouldn't just declare the goal valid based on Lin Tian's two actions and his confident demeanor.
The three referees quickly gathered at the technical table to use the replay to determine whether the ball was valid.
With 1.9 seconds left, Liu Wei regained his footing and passed the ball to Lin Tian.
In 0.4 seconds, Lin Tian got the basketball, but the ball barely touched his palm. It even looked like he jumped up to shoot before receiving the ball!
"Between millimeters! Absolutely between millimeters! This shot was incredibly difficult to judge." Barkley bit his lip and said, "I want it to count, and I want it to be nullified. It's a awful feeling."
"Absolutely valid! My professional instincts tell me this shot counts!" Compared to Barkley's hesitation, Su Qun appeared incredibly determined: "I believe it counts! I think I released the shot just before the whistle blew!"
Let's see it one more time!
For the next few minutes, the whole world watched this ball, analyzing and studying whether it had exceeded the time limit.
Playback from different angles, playback from different directions.
The three referees would lie face down in front of the monitor for at least 3-4 minutes at a time.
Even so, even though tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of eyes around the world are watching this ball, including professionals and experienced referees, players, coaches and others, are watching this ball.
But they really couldn't be sure whether the shot had exceeded the time limit.
After reviewing all the available surveillance footage, the three referees gathered together once again.
"I can't tell if this ball went in or not. It's open to debate, boss. What do you think we should call this ball?" An assistant referee genuinely couldn't see the difference between the two goals and asked directly.
"Valid." The experienced referee, who had officiated many top-level matches, answered without hesitation: "China is behind, and they need these 3 points more than the USA!"
"More importantly, I think this shot was actually effective!"
"But is it possible to have only 0.4 seconds between receiving the ball and releasing it?"
"A 9.47 sprint time in the 100 meters, is that even possible?" the referee retorted. "How can someone play basketball and simultaneously achieve top-level skills in both combat and running?"
"Let me put it this way, I think anything Lin does right now is possible!"
With the referee's words, the verdict on this goal could be definitively decided.
Goal stands!
This also means the case has been solved.
This referee is most likely a big fan of Lin Tian.
Unfortunately, Lin Tian didn't know this, otherwise, if he had, he would have made the court rain down in no time!
Amidst great anticipation, the three referees finally reached an agreement. The head referee raised three fingers toward the technical table and then suddenly swung them down.
3 points are valid!
76: 69!
"It's valid! Three points! Lin Tian! Brilliant! Brilliant performance! I told you this goal was valid!" Su Qun shouted excitedly, "Lin Tian, and all the boys of the Chinese team, have once again turned the game around!"
"We still have a chance to win! We've held on to our hopes! With 10 minutes left in the game, we're only down by 7 points! The outcome is still uncertain!"
Yang Jian said, "I really didn't expect that Lin Tian would break through the American team's 'box defense' in such a way. A method that sounds effective, but is particularly outrageous."
"The reason why the Chinese team couldn't break through the American team's defense in the previous few minutes was not because Lin Tian lacked offensive desire, nor because the Chinese team players performed poorly, but because the American team moved too fast."
"Lin Tian's passing was very accurate, but the American team's help defense speed, rotation coordination and their talent were just too exaggerated. They had the ability to turn every opportunity into a non-opportunity and every open shot into a contested shot."
"Lin Tian's solution was to fight fire with fire!"
"Your American team is known for its speed, athleticism, defensive flexibility, and unparalleled defensive collapse, right? Fine! Then I'll test your defensive flexibility and collapse to see where your limits are. I'm going to bet on where your American team's defensive limits are!"
Su Qun nodded in agreement, "That's right! That's exactly it. After Lin realized that although his passes were accurate, they were not as fast as the American team's defense, he changed his strategy."
"His drives went deeper and his passes came later. In the last 90 seconds, he almost always waited until the opponents double-teamed him and had already closed in before passing the ball out through a gap or a smaller space to assist his teammates in scoring."
"Whether it's Yi Jianlian's 2+1 dunk or Liu Wei's redemption 3-pointer, they are all similar situations. To be honest, if it were someone else, it would be too much ball-holding, too slow, or too dangerous passing choices."
"But Lin Tian can make this kind of thing seem reasonable and justifiable! To give an example, Lin Tian's fighting style is to use himself as bait to attract the opponent's firepower, and then let his partners surround and annihilate the opponent from the outside."
"What else can we say besides 'unbelievable'?"
"Even more incredible is that Lin Tian set screens for Liu Wei twice in a row, resulting in two successful pick-and-roll plays!"
"A team leader, a point guard, willing to screen and coordinate for a teammate who has just made a mistake—it just goes to show that Lin Tian is truly a perfect player!"
Kenny, watching the replay of the final shot on TV, couldn't help but say, "Maybe this is fate! The Chinese team is truly blessed tonight. They always manage to get opportunities at the most crucial moments and seize them. They always find that one and only way out when life and death hang in the balance!"
"The US team did absolutely nothing wrong tonight. Their tactics, strategy, personnel arrangements, rotations, player form, and everything else were flawless. But they just couldn't kill the game."
"If this continues, it will actually be very disadvantageous for us. The morale of the Chinese team will become stronger and stronger, while Bird will have less and less to offer."
"If this situation continues until the last few minutes, I'm worried that Lin's individual abilities will be fully unleashed."
"After watching Lin's performance over the years, I am increasingly convinced of one thing."
"When the game is close, Aribayashi's team almost always wins! He's practically invincible in crucial moments."
Although the analyses presented by both sides are from different angles and in different ways, they are actually talking about the same thing.
That's because the Chinese team is incredibly resilient. Even when the American team was leading, everyone felt that the Chinese team would catch up...
It can only be said that Lin Tian has been competing for so many years, and his strength and level are indeed widely recognized.
Everyone who has seen it says it's good.
For example, at the end of the third quarter, they were already down by 17 points, and the game was on the verge of being completely blown out.
But the Chinese team relied on the cooperation and frenzy of Lin Tian and his teammates to launch another crazy counterattack in the last minute and 30 seconds. Lin Tian's consecutive mid-range shots, Liu Wei's three-pointers and passes, and of course Yi Jianlian's crazy 2+1 dunk!
In just 1 minute and 30 seconds, they turned the game around from a 17-point deficit!
14: 4!
In the final 1 minute and 30 seconds, the Chinese team launched a crazy offensive wave, winning by 10 points!
Bird's mouth was practically sticking out to the ceiling.
He pushed himself to the limit in terms of tactics and strategy tonight, and the US team was able to maintain its advantage and lead for most of the time.
Even at the end of the second and third quarters, the American team held an absolute advantage. If they had just put in a little more effort, or even just held on a little longer, they could have easily defeated the Chinese team.
Unfortunately, both times unexpected events occurred, and both times the Chinese team escaped defeat by launching an offensive frenzy, keeping the score close and clinging to the hope of victory.
By this point, Bird finally understood.
It's impossible to defeat the Chinese team in one fell swoop.
Tonight, it's highly likely the game will go down to the wire.
"Yao!" Harris looked at Yao Ming during the break.
Yao Ming immediately stood up and said, "I'm fine! I even feel like I have more energy now than in the first half! From now on, whether it's O'Neal or Garnett, I'll beat them to a pulp!"
"I'll feed you the ball. Try to stand inside as much as possible. As long as you have a spot, the ball will definitely come to you!" Lin Tian stood next to Yao Ming. He knew very well that the final showdown tonight was about to officially begin.
"Yi, Zhu, and Liu, the three of you will come out with Lin and Yao! Go ahead, play as we practiced before! Create space for Yao and Lin, give them opportunities, let them fight 2-on-2 against the opponents!"
"Then be ready at any time, ready to catch the ball and shoot!"
"Go! Go and take down Team America! Go and win! Go and turn the game around!"
In addition to Lin Tian and Yao Ming, Harris also fielded Liu Wei and Yi Jianlian, who played their best at the end of the third quarter, as well as Zhu Fangyu, who had been resting for a long time and was full of energy.
"yes!"
Thanks to a scoring surge at the end of the third quarter, the morale of the Chinese team players was significantly higher than before, and they have truly rediscovered their hope for victory!
"They'll focus on Yao! They'll definitely focus on the paint!" Bird clapped his hands and said to his players, "Yao has already scored 21 points tonight! Shaq, 21 points! He got 21 points in less than 25 minutes! Shaq, you know what I'm going to say to you right now?"
"If it were Patrick, Hakim, or even Alonzo and David, whom you've always looked down on, they wouldn't have let Yao score 21 points in 25 minutes! They would have shut him down."
"As for you, if you can't do it, you can tell me and I'll let Jermaine go up and give it a try, or let Ameka go up and experience the atmosphere of the game, let him try it out."
"Now, tell me if you can do it!"
"I can do it!" O'Neal said with a gloomy face. He was often provoked by Jackson with this tactic while on the Lakers, and it always worked wonders. O'Neal always fell for this trick.
Tonight was no exception; Shaquille O'Neal fell for this trick tonight too!
He will lock down Yao Ming in the fourth quarter.
"Michael, Rashad, Sean, and Devin, the four of you join Shaq in!"
"Spread out completely on offense, be ready to receive Shaq's pass and shoot! Devin, you're the fastest runner on our team, you need to stick to Lin and not let him launch a fast break easily. I need you to keep your eyes on him at all times! You don't have to watch the ball, but you have to mark Lin to death!"
"Alright, now for the first phase of the fourth quarter, we'll focus on Shaq! Shaq, if they double-team you, I believe in you. Pass or shoot, it's up to you! You now have the chance to prove you're the best center in the world."
"Not just in individual offense, but also in team offense, you're the best! Forget Sabonis, forget Divac, let the world see, they can only play support! But you, it's just a matter of whether you want to or not!"
"Alright, everyone, go! Go and win the game!"
After Bird finished his pep talk, the five players selected for the US team took to the court.
"The US team has fielded a lineup entirely centered around O'Neal, supported by three top shooters and the team's best and fastest cutter," Yang Jian said, looking at the US five on the court. "Now it's time to test Yao Ming!"
"If Yao Ming can hold off Shaquille O'Neal single-handedly, then we will gain absolute control at this stage!"
"That's right!" Su Qun followed up, "Because the US team's lineup has a terrible defense! If O'Neal can't perform, they can't score on offense, and their lineup simply can't score anything on defense!"
"The Chinese team is going straight for the final battle!" Barkley analyzed the Chinese team's lineup: "As long as Lin and Yao are on the court, they have a final battle lineup! Lin is definitely going to play the full 40 minutes again!"
"But can Yao hold on? If he goes on at this point, he'll most likely have to play the last 10 minutes. Can he hold on and maintain his stamina in the final moments of the game?"
"I don't think that's a good idea," Kenny shook his head. "Yao Ming's stamina is only around 30 minutes. After that, his impact on both offense and defense will drop significantly. Putting him on the court early now isn't a good choice for the Chinese team!"
"Larry must have thought of this too, which is why he fielded a lineup centered around Shaq! He wants to wear Yao down!"
The commentators on both sides were doing their jobs, analyzing the lineups and tactics of both teams.
Their analysis was actually correct, but they overlooked one very important point.
When a general is in the field, he may disobey some of the emperor's orders!
With Lin Tian as the absolute core of the Chinese team, he is the kind of person who can change the team's tactics based on the opponent's lineup, style of play, and strategy.
But the current US team doesn't have that one person; Kidd, Kobe, Garnett, and others are all absent.
Wade, who controls the ball, and Reed, who plays the shooting guard position, are both relatively inexperienced. They lack the confidence and authority to give orders in this kind of game. Battier is simply a role player. As for Lewis, although he debuted early, he has never been a leader-type player.
Adding all these factors together means that their progress will definitely be slower than that of the Chinese team, perhaps even much slower.
In the first offensive play of the game, Wade quickly dribbled the ball to the frontcourt. Lin Tian could feel that his ability was much stronger than when the two met in the regular season. Obviously, this guy had never stopped training hard and was getting stronger every moment.
But clearly, this increase in strength was far from enough for Lin Tian!
He held his position firmly, preventing Wade from accelerating and breaking through. If this were the Cavaliers, Wade could call for a screen, but the US team's interior is O'Neal.
Shaquille O'Neal screens for a rookie?
If Wade dares to call out this tactic, O'Neal would dare to bite Wade's meniscus to pieces.
Left with no other option, Wade, who was completely unable to break through Lin Tian's defense, had no choice but to pass the ball!
This is the first weakness of Bird's lineup.
If Wade plays point guard, their point guard position becomes practically useless!
It's not a problem of ability; the problem lies in everything else besides ability!
After receiving the ball, Battier didn't seem too badly guarded by Zhu Fangyu, but he didn't have much ability or desire to attack with the ball. After swinging the ball around a few times without finding a direct route to pass it to O'Neal, he passed the ball to Reed next to him.
After Reed got the ball, he was finally able to pass it to O'Neal in the paint immediately, but at this point there were only 7 seconds left before the end of the offensive play.
O'Neal gets the ball, probes, and then goes all out to attack!
"Bang! Bang!"
Although O'Neal's two consecutive attempts to push himself into the paint did not create much space for him to attack, Yao Ming was fully recovered. Although he was not as strong as O'Neal, he was tall enough!
Yao Ming retreated while raising his hands, making it difficult for O'Neal to find an opportunity to shoot.
Then, when O'Neal tried to spin around to create some space for his shot, he had already missed his chance.
Lin Tian's support has arrived!
Lin Tian rushed to O'Neal's side and spread his arms as if to steal the ball. O'Neal, who had been robbed of the ball by Lin Tian countless times, dared not risk dribbling the ball any longer this time. He quickly gathered the ball and threw it towards Reed in the distance.
Reed is indeed in open space right now, but there's not enough time!
When O'Neal got the ball, there was already very little time left on the shot clock. This time, Reed didn't even get the ball before the 24-second shot clock expired!
"Beautiful! A successful defensive play! Forcing the American team to commit a 24-second violation is a huge boost to the Chinese team's confidence!" Su Qun exclaimed happily. "This is the American team! Making them commit a 24-second violation is much harder than a block or a steal!"
"I feel like the Chinese team is about to gain momentum!"
As Su Qun spoke, the Chinese team's attack had already advanced to the frontcourt once again. At this moment, the American team's lineup did not have many players who were good at defense. Although Wade was putting in his best effort to match up against Lin Tian, in the end, he was still too inexperienced!
Lin Tian was completely at ease against Wade's defense.
More importantly, at this stage, Lin Tian has no reason to insist on attacking himself!
After arriving at the frontcourt and waiting for his teammates to get into position, Lin Tian immediately passed the ball to Yao Ming, and then started cutting to the other side, attracting a lot of defensive attention from the American team and preventing them from double-teaming Yao Ming.
Facing O'Neal, Yao Ming knew exactly where his advantages lay. He received the ball, turned around, and immediately took a turnaround jump shot!
He didn't compete with O'Neal on anything like strength, skill, or footwork.
I'll just use my height and shooting touch to get you!
Even Shaquille O'Neal had few options against Yao Ming's style of play. He could only try to disrupt Yao Ming's shot and pray that Yao Ming missed. That was all he could do.
"Whoosh!"
Yao Ming's shot was another precise hit.
Following the US team's attack, Lin Tian took the initiative to entangle Wade, preventing the rookie from utilizing his strengths and organizing an attack.
Everything seemed like a replay of the previous round. The American team couldn't organize an attack and only managed to get the ball to O'Neal at the last moment. O'Neal had an advantage against Yao Ming, but he was wary of the Chinese team's help defense. In the end, he could only finish the attack with a somewhat hasty turnaround jump hook before Lin Tian arrived.
"Bang!"
Unfortunately, O'Neal had a bad shooting night, and his usually sure shot failed to go in.
After Yao Ming grabbed the rebound, he immediately passed it to Lin Tian, who then accelerated rapidly, setting the pace of the game!
He dribbled the ball all the way to the left at a 45-degree angle and then suddenly stopped.
Then, Wade, who used a double crossover dribble in front of his body, was completely disoriented and lost all trace of Lin Tian.
As Lin Tian quickly drove into the paint, facing the American team's amateurish defensive formation of three players clustered together in the paint out of fear of Lin Tian, Lin Tian made a no-look pass with one hand behind his back without even looking.
Lin Tian tossed the basketball to Yi Jianlian, who was rapidly advancing in the middle. Yi Jianlian picked up the ball with great confidence and, without hesitation, pulled up for a dunk!
Lewis and Battier under the basket didn't have time to turn around or defend. They could only try to avoid him to prevent giving him a free throw while he was dunking, which would be a real loss.
"boom!"
After another loud bang, the Chinese team scored 4 points in a row at the start of the fourth quarter!
76: 73!
The Chinese team has narrowed the gap to the point where they can catch up in just one possession!
After being repeatedly outmaneuvered by the Chinese team, Bird's lineup at the beginning of the fourth quarter was a complete failure!
He was hit repeatedly and defended terribly.
"Kobe, Jason, and Kevin, go! Replace Devin, Michael, and Rashard!"
Bird didn't wait or experiment any further. Tonight's game didn't offer much room for error or compromise, allowing him to try different lineups.
Since it's ineffective, let's get down quickly!
With the three returning to the court, along with O'Neal and Battier, Team USA once again formed their starting lineup!
"The US team is going to have to decide the outcome early! It seems Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian's two points just now made Bird uneasy!" Yang Jian said with some regret, "What a pity! If Bird could have been a little more composed, we could have scored a few more points!"
"Because I think this lineup is pretty easy to bully!"
"Larry's reaction was okay, but still not fast enough." Yang Jian lamented, while Barkley criticized, "He shouldn't have fielded this lineup of shooters and O'Neal; he should have used the full starting lineup from the start!"
"The point difference is only 3 points now, and we could lose our lead at any time. I don't know what Larry is thinking. I would give him 95 points for his coaching in the first three quarters. I deducted those 5 points simply because I think he's an idiot."
"But in that one minute of the fourth quarter, I can only give him 60 points! All 60 points come from the fact that he only played two possessions before being substituted. If he had been two possessions slower, I could only give him 40 points."
Barkley had a lot of complaints about Bird. After all, if Bird hadn't been showing off and not fielding his strongest lineup, which led to the Chinese team going on a scoring run, they wouldn't be trailing by only 3 points now.
It's all that old show-off's fault!
On the court, the US team, after making substitutions, quickly stabilized the situation. Kobe broke through and passed the ball to Garnett, who made a high-post jump shot, scoring two crucial points for the team.
The score difference between the two sides remains at 5 point!
In the ensuing game, the two sides once again engaged in a close and evenly matched battle, with the American team unable to extend their lead and regain the advantage they had in the third quarter.
The Chinese team always seemed to fall short, unable to turn the score around.
Both sides gave their all on the field, employing various strategies!
At first, Lin Tian of the Chinese team wanted to continue to focus on Yao Ming and wear down O'Neal, but O'Neal suddenly unleashed a powerful attack. He blocked Yao Ming's attack twice on the defensive end and scored repeatedly under the basket on the offensive end.
The most difficult period for the Chinese team in the fourth quarter was when Yao Ming couldn't score and O'Neal scored on consecutive possessions.
They were down by as many as 9 points at one point.
At this moment, the one who can save the team is none other than Lin Tian!
He took over the team's offensive command, first hitting two consecutive three-pointers to narrow the gap, and then assisting Yi Jianlian and Zhu Fangyu to make shots.
Then, after the US team had to divert their defensive attention and stop double-teaming him, Lin Tian once again broke through to the basket and successfully challenged O'Neal.
Fortunately, the American team's shooters also stepped up during this period, with Kidd and Battier both scoring 3 points, and Kobe also adding points for the team with a drive and a mid-range shot.
92: 87!
With five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the score difference between the two teams was still five points!
The American team still holds a slight advantage on the field.
Both sides entered a timeout period after a dead ball situation.
"Yao! We need you!" Harris said, looking at Yao, who was in good form. "We need you to score! The team has already made several consecutive shots from beyond the arc, and Lin has also scored on several drives. Their defense on you will definitely weaken from now on!"
"Charge in! Take down two more Shaqs! Any problems?"
"No problem!" Yao Ming still looked confident. Although he didn't score during that period, he helped the team in other ways, such as rebounding, blocking, and setting screens.
He is someone who is willing to make sacrifices for the team and do all the work the team needs him to do.
He was needed to assist and defend, so he did it!
Now that he needs to attack, he will do it anyway!
"They will focus their attack on the paint! Yao will definitely be their core player in the coming period! So, from now on, our focus will be on defending the paint! At the same time, we will also prioritize attacking the paint on offense!"
At this point, Bird looked at O'Neal and said, "Shaq, they all think Yao can beat you, can dominate you. I think they're either drunk or half-asleep, that's why they think that way! I hope you can prove me right!"
"So in the last five minutes, you only have one task: kill him!" (End of Chapter)