harleyscars Chapter 688 Please, take a rest, don't go on stage again!
Chapter 688 Please, take a rest, don't go on stage again!
"Alright, stop thinking about those things, it's all in the past! People have to look forward." Stern still looked at Lin Tian with a smile, waiting for him to make a request.
Based on Stern's understanding of Lin Tian, he knew that after suffering a loss, the kid would definitely try to get revenge and would definitely try to get some interest from him.
But to Stern's surprise, Lin Tian didn't make any demands this time, as if nothing had happened. He happily accepted the trophy, held it high, and showed it off to the fans.
Finally, it was time for the usual speeches.
Lin Tian took the microphone and said casually, "Many people say I'm too arrogant, many say I'm too crazy and self-righteous. To that, I say, young people should be spirited! If you're not spirited, are you still a young person?"
As Lin Tian spoke, he turned around and looked at the more than 20 star players behind him, saying, "I would also like to share this message with the young people here and those who couldn't make it to the event."
"As for those who say I'm disrespectful, arrogant, and always put other people's face and dignity to the ground."
"What I'm saying is that respect and face aren't something you beg for, nor are they given to you by others; they're something you earn yourself! In the future, when you encounter those seniors, don't give them any face; beat them to a pulp! Pound them in the ground and beat them! Then they will respect you. That's how I earned respect back then."
"Go ask those older guys who are a generation ahead of me, didn't I beat them all up? I'm talking about on the basketball court, not in private."
"So, young people, charge ahead bravely! Put away your humility, politeness, and respect! These things don't matter at all!"
"Just do it!"
Lin Tian's acceptance speech made Stern's lips twitch.
That's enough! Get down here!
Is this never going to end?!
Lin Tian's words really upset Stern.
That kid, really.
I have gone to great lengths to create a positive, loving, and peaceful image for the league, hoping it can surpass football and baseball to become the most popular sport among the middle class and wealthy.
But with what you've done, you're going to ruin all my efforts in no time.
I don't want the league to go back to the era of constant brawls and negative news.
Stern has now confirmed it.
This is the kid's revenge on himself.
My heart is too dirty!
These psychology students are so corrupt!
A myriad of thoughts surged through Stern's mind!
His mind raced, he thought and thought, and guessed and guessed until he finally sorted out his thoughts.
As for that Mr. Lin who has caused Stern countless brain cells to die right now?
He's having a good time.
I had so much fun at this All-Star game!
Winning the All-Star MVP award successfully sowed the seeds for the Spurs' dismantling.
He once again slapped the face of the Western Conference players who dared to challenge him.
What a happy thing!
Although it seemed like he hadn't gained any benefits, Lin Tian was still happy.
That kind of heartfelt joy is simply inexplicable.
As for Stern's inner thoughts...
Lin Da Guanren said: Old man, you have so many thoughts in your mind, be careful you don't die young.
Well, this time, Lin Tian didn't think much about it at all.
He was simply immersed in happiness.
The All-Star Game has come to an end!
After the All-Star Game, the league had a relatively quiet trade deadline. Teams did not make any major trades at this time, and they made minor adjustments. There were no big trades or earthquake-level swaps that could change the fate of a team.
After all, last summer's five-team trade was shocking and frightening enough. If a trade of that magnitude happens once, the league will need to rest for at least two years before it can have another big one.
Who can blame them when there are only a handful of truly outstanding players available?
Can't they just keep changing places, running around, and constantly nomadic?
What serious player plays like that?!
Although there weren't any major upheavals or big trades at the trade deadline, the Knicks immediately got back on track after the growing pains following the return of Stoudemire and Anthony, and after a period of rest and recovery during the All-Star break!
Before the All-Star Game, they had a 4-4 record in their first eight games in February, but after the All-Star Game, the Knicks went on a winning streak, going 4-1 in the remaining games of February.
By the end of February, their record had reached 45 wins and 16 losses, still firmly holding second place in the Eastern Conference.
And it's still in that state where the lower levels can't catch up, and the upper levels can't catch up.
It's safe to say that the Knicks can practically give up now.
In the following season, they had virtually no pressure to achieve results.
At most, they can check the Western Conference standings from afar, calculate who might be their opponent in the Finals, and then consider whether they should win a few more games to maintain home-court advantage in the Finals.
Aside from these issues, the Knicks really don't have much else to do in the remaining games.
Hmm, no, that's not right either, there are still some!
Lin Tian's data!
在经过12月和1月的疯狂之后，林天的场均数据一度达到过43.2分9.4助攻11.5篮板。
A statistic so exaggerated it looks like it was played in an NBA live game.
Throughout February, especially in the eight games before the All-Star Game, Don Nelson significantly reduced Lin Tian's playing time to around 30 minutes. In the latter half of the month, although he increased Lin Tian's playing time again, it was still completely different from the situation in the previous two months when he would play 44-45 minutes at a time!
His playing time almost never exceeds 40 minutes, usually hovering around 36-7 minutes.
Don Nelson is already thinking about his playoff opponents!
The significant reduction in playing time naturally led to a substantial decrease in Lin Tian's statistics.
After February, his average stats have dropped to 40.3 points, 8.8 assists, and 11.1 steals per game!
Although he still delivers a monstrous performance, Lin Tian's fans have already sensed something quite wrong.
If they continue playing like this, although our Lord Lin will still be the top scorer, his epic 40-point average per game may not be able to be maintained any longer!
Sooner or later, he'll drop to a mediocre average of around 30 points per game.
Unacceptable!
Absolutely unacceptable!
So, starting in March, the entire city of New York was filled with marching fans, all wearing T-shirts with that one sentence.
"Don't commit a crime, let Lin take the field!"
Or other similar slogans.
For example, "Old Nelson should be sentenced to life imprisonment."
"Let us tell old Nelson what 40 points per game means."
"Score a few more points, Lin!"
The fans came one after another, as if afraid that Lin Tian would not see their requests and hopes, and that he would be like Don Nelson, ignoring such epic super data and failing to challenge and break it.
In fact, the fans misunderstood Don Nelson.
The old man was much more excited about this 40-point average than Lin Tian was!
Although he limited Lin Tian's playing time, he would give him a heartwarming message almost every time Lin Tian came on the court.
"Lin, keep playing well, be more individualistic, the more individualistic the better, ideally so individualistic that your teammates all hate you! You only have one goal for the regular season this year—"
"40 points per game!"
Lin Tian chose to completely ignore Old Nelson's request and didn't take it to heart at all.
He continued to pass the ball selflessly, executing brilliant tactics time and time again, constantly showcasing his multifaceted qualities!
3月17日，林天在一场比赛之中只登场29分钟，出手8次，拿到11分21篮板14助攻的大号三双。
This triple-double, however, is nothing to make fans happy.
Because it was after this game that Lin Tian's average stats dropped again, and his average stats became 39.9 points, 9.3 assists and 11.3 rebounds.
Below 40 points!
Lin Tian and the Knicks fans wailed in despair, heartbroken and devastated.
What a great season, such a perfect season, how did it turn out like this?
How come he's not even averaging 40 points per game anymore?
Why haven't you scored 50 points in any of your recent games, Lin Tian?
If it were because Lin Tian's own form had declined, and he was able to maintain his output despite his frantic attempts, then the fans would have let it go and could tolerate it.
After all, everyone experiences ups and downs in their performance, and everyone has periods of slump where they are in a terrible state.
It doesn't matter if I can't get it.
But that's not how you, Mr. Lin, are!
Lin, you're not feeling well, are you?
Throughout the 40-plus days of games in February and March, his average field goal percentage reached the best level of his career.
With an average of 54%, 46%, and 98% shooting percentages, his efficiency is off the charts! He's almost in the 200+ club, and he's still saying he's not in good form?
It's purely Lin Tian slacking off, and then Old Nelson let him slack off. These two, master and apprentice, are wicked, neither of them is a good person!
They have absolutely no conscience!
One is to limit playing time and prevent their top disciple from racking up stats.
One of them is complacent and unambitious, and after playing 35 minutes in a game, he just wants to go off to rest, change clothes, and apply ice.
New York fans, we're furious!
While averaging 40 points per game isn't exactly a historical record—the monster Wilt Chamberlain achieved this feat multiple times, and he even had a season averaging 50 points per game—it's not a historical record.
But you, Lord Lin, are so foolish!
In short, for the past month or so, regardless of whether the Knicks won or lost, and regardless of how well they played, one could always hear the fans' lamentations.
This lament usually occurs when there are 5-6 minutes left in the game, and sometimes even earlier.
In fact, even when they were leading, Old Nelson would send Lin Tian off the court early; when they were trailing, he would also send his disciple off to rest early, essentially giving up on a comeback.
All these lamentations stem from only one reason: Is that it? Is that it?
The fans are absolutely furious.
You're not churning your lead in a game? Fine! We accept that!
You're so high and mighty, so amazing, so awesome!
You're not even going to play a game where you're behind? You don't care about winning anymore? You don't care about any dignity at all?
Normally, this situation wouldn't happen, since each team has to work hard for their playoff ranking.
But as I said before: the Knicks' record is too comfortable; they can just sit back and relax.
Their position in the East, second only to the president, is even more secure than that of President Stern.
Who can reason with this?
Even as the season progressed, the situation in the Western Conference became similar.
Because the teams in the Western Conference are so closely matched, internal competition is extremely fierce, and the records and rankings of each team change rapidly. Today you may be number one in the West, but tomorrow you may drop to fifth place after losing a game.
What if they dare to suffer a losing streak?
I'm sorry! They could drop to eighth place or even miss the playoffs altogether!
This back-and-forth, relentless, and fierce battle made things quite comfortable for the Knicks.
The fact that there isn't a clear gap in the Western Conference means that all the teams in the West have good records, but none of them are outstanding.
The teams in the West are fiercely battling it out, engaging in physical battles and constant maneuvering. As a result, the gap between the teams has not only failed to widen, but has actually been narrowing without anyone noticing!
For example, the Suns, who are currently first in the West, are only 1.5 games ahead of the Lakers, who are fourth in the West, only 2.5 games ahead of the Nuggets, who are sixth in the West, and 3.5 games ahead of the Clippers, who are eighth in the West.
This year, the Western Conference is once again being called the year with the smallest gap in history!
All the teams in the Western Conference are now fiercely competitive!
In this situation, the Knicks, who are second in the East, are completely unable to catch up with the Celtics, but what if their record were transferred to the West?
Number one in the West!
They sit comfortably at the top of the Western Conference, leading the Suns by a full two games! And this is all achieved while they're playing without any pressure and in a relaxed state!
It can only be said that the gap between the East and West is simply too great!
Now, many people wish they could kick the Knicks straight to the Western Conference and let them experience that hellish, insane, brutal battle!
I refuse to believe that Lin Tian won't work hard and improve his stats in that kind of environment!
The reporters naturally posed this question to Lin Tian, asking him what he thought of the situation and whether he thought it would be interesting for the Knicks to go to the West.
"Oh, I want to go too. I really want to experience that meat grinder feeling. I haven't felt any tension in a long time. It's always so relaxed. We haven't encountered much resistance or trouble in the past two years."
"So actually I envy that feeling, I crave and miss that intense feeling."
"But unfortunately, I can't go. The rules don't allow it. What a pity! Oh dear, what a shame!"
The reporters below couldn't help but want to punch Lin Tian for his infuriating behavior.
At the very least, I wanted to vent my anger by throwing a few mineral water bottles at him.
What kind of bastard is this, so arrogant and spouting sarcastic remarks?
Lin Tian: My apologies! Looking across the entire alliance, this is the only one of its kind; there are no other branches!
Although Lin Tian spoke arrogantly and infuriatingly, especially the Western Conference stars who wanted to rush over and give him a good beating after hearing his words, unfortunately, by the end of the season, they had already played almost all of these cross-continental away games.
The last two weeks of the tournament will basically consist of both teams playing in their respective halves of the bracket.
If you want to beat up Lin Tian, you can only do so during the finals.
However, there is also good news for Lin Tian and Knicks fans.
That means Lin Tian's scoring stats have improved again!
In the last week of March, Lin Tian averaged 45 points in four games, bringing his average score to over 40 points again!
By the end of March, Lin Tian's average score had once again increased to 40.8 points!
In April, with the Knicks having seven games left, Lin Tian had already scored 3060 points!
In the remaining 7 games in April, if he plays in all 4 games, he only needs to score at least 31.4 points per game, or more than 220 points, to keep his average score above 40 points per game!
Lin Tian's fans were quite confident and completely relaxed about this.
31 points, too easy!
Judging from Lin Tian's performance this season and even recently, he could score this many points with his eyes closed!
Unless Old Nelson prevents him from accumulating points or gives him playing time, or Lin Tian himself is too lazy to do so.
……
……
silence.
Almost all Knicks and Lin Tian fans fell silent when they thought about this. They looked at each other, their thoughts surging.
They felt uneasy.
Because this "unless" could be completely ignored if it applied to other teams or other players.
But when it comes to Old Nelson and Lin Tian, it feels like those two bastards really would do something like that.
These two people have no morals and no bottom line.
They'll definitely do things like teasing and playing with fans! Absolutely!
Then?
On April 1st, during the Knicks' first home game in April, the entire arena of fans began their roar in perfect unison, with unparalleled unity and perfect coordination.
"Take a break, Lin!"
"Lin! Take a break!"
"Tang, let Lin take a break!"
"Don't go back on the court! We want to make the playoffs!"
"Give young people a chance, I want to see Shannon!"
"Ariza! Give us Ariza!"
"Let the main players go down and rest!"
"Stop letting them play ball!"
"What if you get injured? We can take turns resting!"
The fans' shouts contained an undisguised conspiracy.
As long as Lin Tian stops playing, as long as he doesn't play any of the last 7 games, hey, he can steadily maintain his current average stats!
Since you guys are going to take turns resting anyway, rather than disgusting us fans by losing our stats, you might as well just not play! Just rest until the playoffs!
Besides the unified shouts, there were also various slogans advising Lin Tian to take care of his health.
Some people told him to just take a break and stop playing!
Someone held up a sign saying that a mysterious shamanic force told him that Lin Tian would get injured if he continued fighting.
The most outrageous slogans weren't addressed to Lin Tian at all, but to Hilton.
They had Hilton help "drain" Lin Tian's energy, leaving him without the strength and energy to play the remaining games.
In response, Hilton said: "Even if I were exceptionally gifted, I couldn't do this by myself."
Need help!
In short, this is the first time since the Knicks were founded, or even since the NBA was established, that fans have sincerely begged their star player to stop playing and get some rest.
Regarding the fans' kindness and arrangements, Lin Tian said: "Everyone has supported me so much, so I absolutely cannot let them down. I have to fulfill their dreams!"
Then?
Lin Tian played for 24 minutes before leaving the game to rest when the outcome was already decided. He only scored 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists in this game!
Absolutely slacking off, slacking off without the slightest concealment, and without any hiding whatsoever.
In response to Lin Tian's behavior, some fans in New York have even discussed simply killing him or kidnapping him to prevent him from continuing to do things that drive fans to despair.
Two days later, the Knicks moved to Detroit to face their old rivals from the past two years. The Knicks rested Stoudemire and Anthony, and the team played somewhat listlessly.
Then the Knicks were down by 16 points in the first half!
Then, halfway through the third quarter, when the score difference had widened to 25 points, Lin Tian went to rest.
That's it! We're surrendering 16 minutes early and giving up the game!
Lin Tian only managed 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists that night.
He's still just coasting! (End of Chapter)