Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 602 You Take the Opening Move, I Take the Opening Move Too! Completely Different Balls

Anthony was quite sensible; instead of letting his older brother Lin Tian do it himself, he grabbed Billups the moment the Pistons inbounded the ball, putting the game into a dead ball situation. At the same time, Don Nelson made the substitutions on time.

Five up, five down!

Five key players were sitting on the bench at the same time.

Two minutes in, a 15-point lead—unless the Pistons suddenly develop offensive firepower on par with the Knicks, they have no chance of turning the tide!

On the other side, Brown clearly didn't think the game could be turned around, and he and Don Nelson took advantage of the dead ball to substitute all their starters.

The last two minutes of the game officially became garbage time!

"The Knicks displayed their unparalleled offensive firepower tonight! They were truly shut down by the Pistons for the vast majority of the game! They failed to control the rhythm of the game for most of the time."

With the game entering garbage time, Barkley began his analysis of the match ahead of schedule.

"But they always manage to seize an opportunity and unleash an offensive surge! For one or two minutes every quarter, they're unstoppable; for a period every quarter, they exploit the Pistons' weaknesses to widen the gap!"

"Honestly, the Pistons were just as great! Their resilience and defense deserve an A+ from everyone. They gave it their all! I even believe that if the game had a fifth quarter, the Pistons could have come back to win!"

Kenny added, "This is the best defensive team in the league, but they still couldn't completely stop the Knicks. It just goes to show how terrifying the Knicks' offense is!"

Even I, someone who firmly believes in the supremacy of defense, have to admit: relying solely on defense is absolutely not enough to beat the Knicks!

"To beat them, to beat them in a series, you need not only Piston-level defense, but also excellent offense! Otherwise, you'll end up like the Pistons, fighting tooth and nail to catch up, only to be easily pulled away."

"So, Kenny," Barkley said with a smile, looking at Kenny, "if it were you, how would you adjust for Game 2 to beat the Knicks?"

"I don't know," Kenny said, spreading his hands. "Maybe we could trade Kobe to replace Artest? That might work! But with this roster, I really don't see any hope."

"Of course, I believe the Pistons could completely shut down the Knicks' offense in a game, preventing them from mounting any offensive runs throughout the entire game, but that's incredibly difficult! Really incredibly difficult!"

"They might be able to do that in one or two games, but four? That's too difficult."

With the two commentators rambling on, the final two minutes of the match quickly came to an end.

The Knicks ultimately defeated the Pistons 96-110, securing their first victory in the Eastern Conference Finals!

It's worth mentioning that in the final four minutes of this game, the Knicks scored a whopping 19 points while holding the Pistons to just 8.

It was this offensive surge that gave the Knicks an 11-point lead that sealed the victory!

Although the Knicks seemed to have a big win over the Pistons and played quite easily, they actually gave it their all tonight!

Lin Tian, ​​Stoudemire, and Anthony all played more than 40 minutes! Looking back at their entire playoff journey this year, there was only one game before this where all three of them played more than 40 minutes at the same time.

That was the third game against the Wizards.

Interestingly, although that game went into overtime, if you only look at the score, the Knicks still won by a large margin!

Apart from that one game, the Knicks did not face any major challenges or troubles in the first two rounds of eight games, and almost every game was quickly turned into garbage time.

The Knicks have demonstrated absolute dominance!

That night, Lin Tian scored 38 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists, achieving his ninth consecutive triple-double in the playoffs—a feat no one in NBA history has ever accomplished!

Countless fans are now hoping that Lin Tian can end this series by achieving triple-doubles in every game!

His triple-double ability has once again become one of the most discussed topics among fans across the United States.

Even Oscar Robertson, who had been out of the public eye for a long time since retiring, stepped forward this time: "Lin is better than me! I never thought anyone could perform like this in the playoffs!"

"He's so crazy and captivating!"

Robertson's statement undoubtedly elevates the value of Lin Tian's data to a new level!

What kind of affirmation could be more gratifying than the recognition from a senior figure?

That night, apart from Lin Tian, ​​the rest of the Knicks played rather unremarkable roles. Anthony scored 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting, and Stoudemire scored 17 points and 7 rebounds on 6-of-15 shooting. Both of them were clearly still being contained by the Pistons' terrifying defense.

But compared to last year when they were completely helpless against the Pistons, constantly missing shots and making mistakes, unable to match the Pistons' intensity and unable to help Lin Tian at all, their progress this year is really quite obvious!

The Pistons can still shut them down and limit them.

But they are no longer afraid of the Pistons!

They have already developed the strength that matches their talents!

They dared to go head-to-head with the Pistons!

This is also a major reason why the Knicks were able to win tonight!

Lin Tian is no longer fighting alone!

For the Pistons, Billups played like an undercover agent tonight, shooting 5-for-17 for only 14 points and 6 assists, while also committing 5 turnovers. He was completely outmatched by Lin Tian!

Hamilton, on the other hand, played exceptionally well, scoring a team-high 33 points on 13-of-25 shooting, including 2-of-5 from three-point range and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. It was Hamilton's incredibly accurate shooting that allowed the Pistons to repeatedly turn the tide of the game and stay close to the basket.

But clearly, Hamilton's individual outburst was not enough for the Pistons to secure a victory!

Just like the second game of the series.

In Game 2 of the series, Hamilton's form and touch clearly declined. Although he still took 22 shots, he only made 8, scoring only 24 points that night.

In the second game, Rasheed became the player who broke out. That night, Rasheed transformed into a war god, scoring a massive double-double of 37 points and 14 rebounds!

But the Pistons still lost.

他们输球的原因有很多，林天仍旧稳定发挥拿下29分16篮板12助攻是他们输球的原因，比卢普斯再次被打爆，14投4中，只拿到12分5篮板5助攻5失误的数据也是他们失败的原因。

But the biggest reason they lost was that Anthony exploded!

Anthony made his first 7 shots that night, scoring 17 points in the first quarter!

Although his shooting percentage dropped significantly afterward, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, when Lin Tian and Stoudemire were resting, Anthony completely dominated Artest one-on-one!

He hit two consecutive three-pointers at the beginning of the fourth quarter and twice blew past Artest to score at the basket!

In just four minutes, he scored 10 points in quick succession, both inside and outside! It was thanks to his incredible 10 consecutive points that the Knicks completely dominated the game and never allowed the Pistons to close the gap again.

In the end, Anthony scored a team-high 33 points, and Lin Tian recorded his tenth consecutive triple-double, leading the Knicks to a 91-103 victory at home!

2: 0!

They had a dream start at home!

Next, they will travel to Detroit for Games 3 and 4 of the series!

If the Knicks can win one of these two games, the suspense in this series will basically be gone.

The Pistons, on the other hand, are on the brink of elimination. They must win these two games and defend their home court, or their dream of defending their title will be shattered.

We must defend Auburn Hills!

"This is our last chance," Brown said, sitting in the Pistons' tactics room, looking at his players. "They're stronger than last year, they're more balanced! Every single one of them is more formidable than last year!"

"But are we weaker than last year? We're the defending champions! Shouldn't we show that damn defending champion spirit and make those Knicks bastards run away with their tails between their legs?"

"should!!!"

The Pistons players roared simultaneously.

"Take them down, crush them, use what we do best! I want you to raise the intensity of the game to the highest level from the very beginning! I want you to be fully committed from the very first second! Bring out everything you have!"

"Lin is strong? Yes! He's strong! He's stronger than any of you! We can't deny that! But what you need to do tomorrow night is let Lin know that they are not as strong as us!"

"We, our team, are the best!"

"If Lin wants to break through? Very well! Ben, I don't care what your relationship with Lin is, or how close you are. If he charges in, I want him to bleed! Understand?! The same goes for everyone else! I want you to show the fighting spirit of a battlefield; I want you to treat this place as a battlefield!"

"Give everything! And remember who you are, remember where you are!"

"This is Detroit, we are the Pistons! We are the villains of the league! We are the most hated bad guys! We are the graveyard of the league's superstars!"

"We could take them down last year, and we can do it again this year!"

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

……

Larry Brown's speech ignited the passion of all the Pistons players, filling them with fighting spirit as they set out to win Game 3 of the series!

This time, even Ben Wallace, Ron Artest, and others stopped fooling around. They shouted louder than anyone else, and their determination was more thorough than anyone else's.

Win! Defend the title!

Seeing the players' spirit, Brown nodded in satisfaction, then took out a disc and put it into the machine behind him: "Tonight, we won't watch our game or the Knicks' highlights. There's no need. We know each other well enough."

"So the game I've prepared for you today is a compilation of the Eastern Conference Finals from 89 and 90."

As Brown spoke, the game footage appeared on the television.

Jordan, Pippen, Dumars, Thomas, Chuck Daly...

These familiar faces appeared one by one.

Clearly, this is Brown's secret weapon for boosting morale.

This is also his way of telling his players: your predecessors could shut down Jordan three times, so you can shut down Lin Tian three times too!

Go do it!

"The Pistons don't have any hidden tricks up their sleeves anymore." Don Nelson was also giving his players a final pre-game pep talk: "They only have three tricks up their sleeve, and they've already used them in the first two games. They can only come up with one more trick for the third game."

"They increase the intensity, escalate the intensity, and use almost criminal moves to stop your shots and offense. They gain an advantage by repeatedly taking you down. They have no other tricks up their sleeve."

"The question now is, are you afraid of this?"

"Someone actually dares to go too far with us." Anthony paused, then looked at Lin Tian and said, "Haven't they seen Lin's games from a few years ago?"

"Charlie, why don't you give us an introduction?" Houston patted Ward on the shoulder with a wicked grin and said, "You know this best; you got beaten up by Lin back in the day."

"If they dare to make a move, we'll beat them to death! Isn't that what Lin taught? If we're going to get suspended for five games, then we'll beat our opponents into bed for ten! It's a sure win." Little Si chimed in.

"If I wanted you guys to fight, there would be no need for today's meeting," Nelson said to his players. "If we fight the Pistons, the only teams that will benefit in the end will be the Lakers or the Suns. They will face a crippled opponent."

"Don't forget, our ultimate goal is to win the championship!! To take the overall championship!!!"

Old Nelson cleared his throat and said, "So, even if you can't help it, even if you get hurt by the excessive movements, you have to hold back. If you really can't hold back anymore, you have to hold back a little longer."

"Coach, are we just going to keep putting up with this? What's the point of playing basketball then!" Carmelo Anthony, a street urchin, couldn't help but protest with his arms outstretched.

"I haven't finished speaking yet, who gave you the right to interrupt?" Old Nelson cursed, then looked at everyone and said, "I already said, I'm just going to hold back for now. I'll be watching the game, and if I find that the Pistons' actions cross my line..."

"I'll call a timeout immediately, and then..."

"Matt, Terver, Josh, Gerrard, the four of you go on the court at that time. Ignore what they're doing, what they're saying, what they're doing, just beat them! Beat them to a pulp!"

"And forget about those trash players they've brought on, just beat their five starters! Beat them all so they can't even get on the field! Trying to play dirty with me? I never play dirty, I always play straight!"

"Oh, and you, Alonzo, too. I need you to take the lead now, directing the battle strategy, arranging tactics, and overseeing the overall situation. You can tell them who to attack, how to advance and retreat, and how to maintain formation. No problem, right?"

"This is a huge problem!" Mo Ning, who had been quiet all along, couldn't help but curse, "I'm not some damn professional assassin! You put me on the field to fight?"

"Of course not! I just need your extensive experience to command the battle."

"What the hell is the difference?!" Mo Ning rolled his eyes, but then couldn't help but say, "It's not that it's impossible."

Mourning's sudden change of topic caused the entire office to burst into laughter. Everyone thought Mourning and Nelson's show was great and successfully dispelled all the tension.

"Alright, we can put those backup plans aside for now. Fighting is just a last resort. Now, I'm going to tell you my real plan!"

Upon hearing Old Nelson's words, everyone knew that the meeting was about to officially begin, and the room immediately fell completely silent.

"They will definitely try to seize the early game. They will raise the intensity to the highest level from the very beginning of the match. They will do everything they can to overwhelm us in the early stages of the match, then widen the score gap and take control of the game."

"So our approach is simple, and it's my favorite: we also focus on the start! But the difference is that we pick up the pace of the game and establish our scoring rhythm right from the beginning!"

"I'm going to cripple them right from the start of the match!"

"Everyone remember, the most important thing in the opening stages is speed and rebounding! No matter who it is, hold your positions and fight for rebounds! Same rules as before, leaving your man open is fine, and getting open shots is fine too."

"But not a single rebound! Keep a tight grip on the defensive rebounds! I want the Pistons to not get a single offensive rebound!"

"Secondly, whether they score or not, no matter where the ball is, as soon as their offensive possession ends, everyone get up to the frontcourt! Charge! Run!"

"I have never said anything like 7 seconds or less, 9 seconds or less, I have never made such a demand, but in this game, I am making a demand on you."

"First, it's 3 seconds or less! Within 3 seconds of their attack ending, I require everyone to rush across half-court!"

"Secondly, it's 5 seconds or less! I demand that there be a first shooting opportunity within 5 seconds! Whether it's a forced shot or an open one, you have to do it for me."

"Thirdly, there's no third. The third thing is to run them until their lungs burst! Run them until their livers are ruined!"

"Do you understand?"

"clear!"

"Very good, then Lin, you should be able to tell how important your task is, right? In tomorrow's match, put away your trash talk and lazy opening strategy. From the very first second, I want you to unleash your full firepower."

"The first phase is your offensive! You're in charge of the attack, completely destroy their positions, force them to retreat, encircle, and coordinate their defenses, and intensify their rotations! After that, you know what I mean, right?"

"And then there's what I do in every game," Lin Tian said casually, "After the next game, the score will definitely be 3-0!"

"Great! Sweep them away!" Anthony shouted, raising his arms in triumph.

"Revenge! Kill them all!" Little Si followed closely behind.

Then, the entire meeting room erupted in wild cheers from all the players.

They, like the pistons, are ready! (End of Chapter)