thefictionvixens Chapter 52 Carter is a good man!
Chapter 52 Carter is a good man!
"Lin!" Kobe called out to Lin Ze after he hit a three-pointer.
"I understand." Lin Ze nodded, and didn't say much more.
Talking to Kobe too much is just asking for trouble.
In the next possession, when Carter was also holding the ball at the top of the arc and was just accelerating to try and shake off Kobe, Lin Ze suddenly burst out from under the basket!
With two steps, he directly blocked Carter's most comfortable and convenient breakthrough route.
Carter's drives have always lacked continuous starts and stops and changes of direction while moving.
He relies on his strong physique and super long strides to break through defenses. His physical attributes and long legs allow him to force his way past defenders and squeeze behind them in the first step. Then, when he sprints at full speed towards the basket, it becomes extremely difficult to stop him.
In addition, before he starts, he will make a lot of beautiful and imaginative feints, and he can occasionally make some top-ten play dribbling moves.
For example, his classic moments: dunking over Mourning twice in a single game, all of which were brilliant dribbling moves that created a lot of space for him to break through.
However, his weakness is that he can only charge forward and cannot stop. Once he accelerates, he lacks variety. This kind of breakthrough is most vulnerable to the opponent's help defense and double-team.
For example, when Lin Ze blocked Carter's path, Carter was immediately in trouble. He could only slow down and then turn his head to look for a teammate to see if he could pass the ball out.
But Kobe and Lin Ze wouldn't give him that chance. The two surrounded Carter from both sides, and then Lin Ze tried to steal the ball. Kobe blocked the referee's view to prevent Lin Ze from hitting his hand.
After successfully stealing the ball, Lin Ze silently stepped forward, blocking Carter's path to chase and steal the ball. Carter could only watch as Kobe dribbled down the court, sprinted to the frontcourt, and then slammed home a dunk, scoring 2 points.
"Good defense!" Lin Ze said, extending his hand after Kobe returned from his dunk. "Keep it up!"
Kobe hesitated for a moment, but still reluctantly reached out and touched hands with Lin Ze.
He disliked Lin Ze's indifferent attitude and his statement, "It's normal to lose when Shaq isn't here."
But during the game, Kobe genuinely felt that Lin Ze was a good fit for him.
His help defense choices and double-teaming timing were a perfect match for me. When I drove to the basket, whether he was creating space or cutting to the basket, he could always find the most comfortable moment for me to pass the ball comfortably.
For example, when Kobe was double-teaming Carter, he only had to call out to Lin Ze once, and Lin Ze knew what to do. Or, for that three-pointer that Kobe just passed to Lin Ze, he knew that Lin Ze would definitely get into position and get an open shot.
Although he didn't want to admit it, Kobe felt that he and Lin Ze were really comfortable playing together!
As for Lin Ze?
Lin Ze didn't have that kind of thought.
He simply treated Kobe like a rebellious teenager.
When it's time to give a child candy, give them candy; when it's time to scare them, scare them.
Jordan and Lin Ze, who were even worse than Kobe, played together for two years!
If Kobe really dares to bare his teeth and really dares to learn everything from Jordan, then Lin Ze wouldn't mind pinning Kobe down and beating him up again.
Even when Lin Ze was playing against Kobe, he didn't need anyone to take his side.
Kobe is just one guy, but in the entire NBA, there's a damn hard-to-find guy who can't beat Kobe in a fight!
If Carter had any strengths, it was that he was a very optimistic person.
This guy hasn't been an All-Star since 07, but he calmly accepted his rapid decline, from a superstar to an ordinary starter, then to a strong team's sixth man, a bench scorer, and finally to the eighth or ninth man on a lottery team.
Looking at the entire history of the NBA, among all the stars who have reached the league's top level, there is no other player who is so willing to accept his mediocrity, to accept that he can only play on the bench of a bad team, and for 5-6 years.
But it was precisely this mentality that made him the one who dragged down the team among the four great shooting guards, making his career accolades even less than those of Ray Allen, Sprewell, and Hill.
Carter was a good man, but he was definitely not a qualified leader.
For example, tonight, after being double-teamed by Kobe and Lin Ze for the second time in a row, and this time Lin Ze drew an offensive foul, Carter chose to run away.
During the Raptors' offensive possession, Carter opted to pass the ball directly, refusing to attempt any further offense. He positioned himself at the top of the key and began directing traffic, passing the offensive opportunities to his teammates.
But with the Raptors' current roster, if Carter doesn't attack, who will?
Is it the versatile Christie or McGrady who isn't even on the court right now?
Kobe was quite disappointed by Carter's show of weakness, and he began to try to provoke and anger Carter with bigger moves and more aggressive confrontations.
Unfortunately, Carter disappointed him. For most of the remainder of the third quarter, Carter didn't attempt many shots or have much ball-handling, which left Kobe feeling quite uncomfortable, stuck in a rut.
Then he lost interest.
So in the following games, Kobe started helping out on defense everywhere and running around aimlessly, no longer willing to devote too much energy to Carter.
Then, in the last minute of the third quarter, Carter found himself frequently open. As one of the few ball-handling masters of this era with a 40% three-point shooting percentage, Carter seized the opportunity and hit two consecutive three-pointers from the top of the arc!
He's back to life!
After hitting two consecutive three-pointers, Carter excitedly looked up to the sky and roared continuously. These two shots restored his confidence and allowed the Raptors to successfully narrow the gap.
70: 63!
At the end of the third quarter, the Raptors narrowed the gap to 7 points thanks to two three-pointers from Carter.
During the break, Jackson didn't rush to speak, but instead looked up at Lin Ze and gestured.
Time to get to work!
Lin Ze shook his head quickly.
This old man always wants me to work for free, always making me do this. Why don't you at least give me the salary of an assistant coach!
Jackson could only continue to wink and signal to Lin Ze. Rice noticed the subtle hints and even nudged Lin Ze, urging him to look at Jackson.
He thought Lin Ze hadn't seen it!
Lin Ze could only sigh.
Who can blame me for being a player?
Then he switched places with Rice and sat next to Kobe.
"I'll guard Carter later, you can find anyone to match up against."
"What?" Kobe looked at Lin Ze and said, "No need!"
"You can't stop him!" Lin Ze said, "He's almost got it..."
At this point, Lin Ze glanced at the statistics on the stadium's big screen out of the corner of his eye.
15投5中，15分3篮板2助攻。
That Carter, what a piece of trash! So incompetent!