My basketball vision is different

"I won't give up!"

While traveling by air, Frank slowly expressed his attitude.

The coaches sat around and discussed, and Lin Shaojie also participated. If it weren't for his slightly younger face, his dark casual clothes looked similar to those of the coaches here.

After Lin Shaojie heard what Frank said, the latter expressed his intention to give up one of the games, but Lin Shaojie did not agree.

"Although we have entered the rotation period, even if we rotate, we are still capable of fighting against these teams. I only need half a game, and I think we have the ability to defeat these two opponents!"

Lin Shaojie is not trying to show off his strength. For him, he is not like Paul George, who has to add more playing time in order to fulfill the rigid terms of the contract.

But in his opinion, even if his playing time is reduced due to rotation, as long as his teammates perform normally, they can defeat their opponents.

They have already competed against each other and know very well what kind of lineup the Kings are.

As for the Nuggets, apart from their geographical location, there is also Brian Shaw who is very familiar with them.

But what if you are familiar with it? If the same recipe is placed in front of you, some people can cook delicious meals, while others can cook poison that is difficult to swallow.

And for Brian Shaw, this season is not considered a success. It is not that difficult for the Nuggets to squeeze into the playoffs.

Facing two teams with winning percentages below 50%, and the Kings' winning percentage hovering around 30%, if the Pacers lose to such an opponent, Lin Shaojie himself will not bypass him.

The reason why a strong team is a strong team is that it can win all the games it needs to win.

After Nash left, the Suns became a weak team in many people's minds. However, the Suns' record this season is not bad, with a winning rate of close to 60%, which is among the top three in the Eastern Conference.

It's understandable that the Pacers would lose to such a team. Even if it were another team, even a strong team like the Spurs, facing a Suns where everyone is crazy, the outcome would be similar.

After all, it would be quite a headache for anyone who scores in double figures when facing the main players, and if there are still people on the bench who can score 20 points.

Frank thought for a moment and looked at Lin Shaojie.

"I respect your opinion, but you only have half a game at most, so you can make your own arrangements!"

"Thank you, sir!"

Lin Shaojie nodded in response.

He knew very well that if the team doctor hadn't said that he was in good condition, Frank wouldn't have nodded in agreement. Just like when he faced the Suns in the last game, he was still capable of fighting.

When Popovich's rotation was at its most exaggerated, he simply sent players off sick. Frank currently lacks the confidence to do so.

Arriving at the Train Arena in Sacramento, Kings coach Mike Malone said a hasty farewell.

Compared with the last parting, Ma Long looked even more bitter at this time.

How can we play a game like this when all the first and second generals under our command are injured?

What's even more uncomfortable is that their home opponent is still the top team in the league like the Pacers.

This was an obvious thing, and Malone had no choice but to field a new lineup.

Thornton and Thomas serve as the back line, and Derrick Williams, Jason Thompson, and Aaron Gray serve as positions 3, 4, and 5.

It can be said that this is the only starting lineup that the Kings can produce when they are about to face the Pacers' starting five.

At first glance, the back line is still reasonable. If they really encounter other opponents, these two defenders are capable of fighting.

But look who are the Pacers' guards?

This season, George Hill has enjoyed the second spring of his career, his defensive strength has greatly increased, and he is an indispensable member of the Pacers' perimeter.

Coupled with his ability to pass and shoot, he is Lin Shaojie's best assistant and is envied by many coaches.

Look at that No. 13 again, even if LeBron is the best player in the league, he still can't hold him back.

His dazzling on-field record is unparalleled.

It would be very difficult for the two Kings to face such a combination.

As for the Kings' forwards, those are numbers that were forced together. Although the overall "altitude" is not low, they still have a slight advantage. But looking at the Pacers' inside line, it goes without saying that the gap is far greater than imagined.

's bigger.

After the game started, it was exactly as Mike Malone expected.

At the beginning of the first quarter, although the Kings successfully seized the ball and Thompson took the lead in the offense, the guard named Thornton actually succeeded in two mid-range shots.

But when Lin Shaojie put more pressure on him, Thornton was instantly unable to score. Lin Shaojie and Paul George took shots one after another and successfully hit.

Since then, Lin Shaojie has focused on the inside, and he is very clear about the Pacers' advantages.

Sure enough, Hibbert and West had too much advantage in the paint. They found opportunities in the low post and successfully hit. Before the rotation came, the Pacers led their opponents with an absolute advantage of 21 to 12.

When Lin Shaojie was substituted after half a quarter, Kings coach Malone was stunned at first, but soon became overjoyed.

"It seems that the back-to-back games still put a certain amount of pressure on the Pacers, and Lin was once again pushed off the court."

The host said with a smile in front of the commentary box.

"I think for all Lynn fans, Frank is their biggest enemy. How many times did Lynn get a quadruple-double, or even score over 60 or even 70, but he was the one who stopped him.

of.

We have discussed Lynn's physical fitness for a long time. Lynn's physical fitness is very outstanding. We can see this from last season's playoff games. He has the ability to fight for two overtimes in a row. It's a pity that it's too late.

Being too young, Frank didn't want to take risks.

Although this is a powerful protection measure for young players, I think Lynn is not a child, he can already reach the moment of winning the court."

Lin Shaojie was replaced by Stephenson.

Larry Bird did not go on the road trip, but sat at home to watch the game.

The team has won its first championship in history. What awaits the Pacers is how to stabilize their record and take further steps.

It is said that it is easier to conquer a country than to defend it, and this is also true.

There are many reasons why it is so difficult for wealthy teams and even defending champions.

There are really too many teams that have been split up after winning the championship. It is even more rare that the players have fallen apart because of the relaxation of their mentality after winning the championship. The Pacers still can't see it yet. At least under the stimulation of the winning streak, the Pacers will be different this season.

Maybe they can set a record of winning games again, and the players will still have some energy in their hearts.

But what about next season?

Regardless of the results of this season, what about next season?

Stephenson's contract has expired and he wants a satisfactory contract. Taking a contract of less than one million now is the biggest insult to him.

Lynn's three-year contract will also enter a long journey of renewal negotiations next season.

For these players, if Larry Bird were the owner, it goes without saying that the luxury tax would be paid for that honor.

But for Larry Bird, he understands the bosses' thoughts better than anyone else.

Once the money goes into their pocket, it belongs to them. It is not that simple to take it out.

Since Lin Shaojie joined the team, the Pacers' market value has continued to rise, the largest increase in the small ball market. Larry Bird has never worried about his salary.

But for a player like Stephenson who has solid foundation but lacks market appeal, the bosses are not so generous, and Larry Bird knows this very well.

Looking at the TV screen, Stephenson missed someone in the defense and allowed Thornton to hit a ball in front of him. After the Pacers failed to counterattack, Thornton hit again.

Four times in a row, Stephenson was unable to guard against Thornton. On the fifth time, if George Hill's assisting defense hadn't caused Thornton to make a mistake, Stephenson would have made a mistake.

Finsen's performance during this period was truly unsightly.

Of course, Stephenson can also cause damage to his opponents during counterattacks.

Seeing this, Larry Bird's brows knitted together unconsciously.

"Big Bird" knows very well that the boss at this time is also watching the game. Stephenson is the indispensable "Best Sixth Man" in the media's mouth for the Pacers. No matter who said this title, that guy on the court

But seriously.

For other teams, Stephenson has the ability to be the main defender. After all, his talent has been demonstrated.

But through these bits and pieces of the game, Larry Bird also saw Stephenson's instability.

When it comes to talent, this player can be said to have a higher ceiling than George Hill.

But in fact, George Hill is very stable on the Pacers' defense, and has been steadily improving for many years.

On the contrary, Stephenson's character is much "stronger" than George Hill, but he also has a lot of problems off the court. Even because of this "strongness", the whole person is too excited, which is reflected on the court, and he is a little nervous.

Average performance.

If the opponent is a smart person, he can take advantage of this and make this "active" element suffer.

Now that's it, Thornton has caught Stephenson's loophole and started targeting it.

Thornton, who didn't have much performance in front of Lin Shaojie, frequently attacked Stephenson.

Although George Hill made up for his mistakes from time to time, the Thomas in front of him was not an unknown person.

During the period when Lin Shaojie was dismissed, the two sides had some interactions.

The Kings used the offensive power of the two defenders to score consecutively, and the Pacers also relied on their balanced offensive strength to not fall behind.

Stephenson and Thornton were at odds with each other.

But after seeing Lin Shaojie's presence and comparing it to the comings and goings at this time, Pacers fans were a little unhappy.

The point difference was really close to double digits, and during the rotation, the Kings were gradually catching up.

In the second half of the second quarter, Lin Shaojie was replaced by Frank. The latter had already seen that Thornton and Thomas, who were showing confidence, wanted to repeat their tricks. However, it was a pity that even if Lin Shaojie sat on the court for a long time, he could not play.

Although Xian was in a hurry, it was still not something that the two of them could challenge.

The scene was just like the beginning. The Kings' offense seemed to be stuck in a quagmire, while the Pacers' offense and defense were sorted out in order.

Larry Bird saw this and nodded with satisfaction.

As for Stephenson, who was sitting under the court, quietly joking with other players as if no one else was around.

"Brothers, my performance is good, right?"

Before anyone else could answer, Stephenson began to answer on his own.

"Today's game was great. That guy was very capable. He actually fought back and forth with me. I almost killed him."

The teammates didn't know what to say. Stephenson was Lin Shaojie's No. 1 pony. He had some strength, but it wasn't obvious on the scene that he didn't have any self-awareness.

Frank couldn't help but frown after hearing this.

Lin Shaojie's appearance was an immediate success. It was like a large-displacement engine matched with a gearbox suitable for him. The speed up and downshifts were natural. The offense and defense were like a well-tuned chassis. The whole thing had a "man-car" compatibility.

The feeling of oneness.

Thinking back to the two sides that played against each other when Stephenson was there, it was like a state-of-the-art engine matched with an old 4at. It worked, but the gear shifting was severely delayed.

Frank saw several opportunities to launch a fast break, but there were problems with the coordination between George Hill and Stephenson, and they could only attack slowly.

Look at the current Pacers, who are fast breakers and can resolve battles within ten seconds. Old guys like West can run if they want. If they can't run, Hibbert will come.

Not to mention that there is a talented guy like Paul George in the team. Under Lin Shaojie's command, that guy "flyed" in the air three times in a row and tried to smash the opponent's basket every time.

Wait until the first half

At the end of the game, the Pacers once again confirmed their lead.

53 to 40.

12 points is not an exaggerated statistic, but the Pacers still seemed very happy playing away games.

When the game changed sides in the second half, Lin Shaojie did not end the game.

Frank only had half a half of time left for him, and he wanted to finish off his opponent in one go in the third quarter.

In the rematch between sides, Lin Shaojie faced the double-teaming of Thornton and Thomas. He passed the ball calmly and unhurriedly. The basketball flew over the heads of the two defenders and fell into West's hands.

West successfully turned around following Gray and hit the mid-range shot.

When Thornton was intercepted by Lin Shaojie during the offense, it was George Hill who took the lead this time. He had already calculated Lin Shaojie's court time and knew that the third quarter was the last moment for the Chinese and would allow them to play easily.

So as long as he saw Lin Shaojie taking the initiative to defend, he would be ready to counterattack.

Sure enough, Lin Shaojie will not disappoint.

George Hill, who was running at full speed, took the lead and received Lin Shaojie's pass with no one around him.

The easy three-step layup left the fans at the Train Arena helpless. The gap between the back lines was so big.

Thornton and Thomas are not newbies, especially the former, who has three more years of experience than Lin Shaojie. He was snatched from the Hornets by the Kings during his rookie period and has now become a heavyweight in the Kings' defense.

But it is a pity that Thornton is also a player with strong offensive ability and weak assist ability. Under Lin Shaojie's defense, this is the inevitable result when the ball comes into his hands.

Thomas has better assist ability and strong scoring ability, but there is a static talent problem, that is, he is less than six feet tall.

A small player who is over 1.7 meters tall, facing a big man like George Hill who is 6 feet 3 inches, he has no other advantages except his so-called flexibility.

And the most important thing is that Lin Shaojie and George Hill have a tacit understanding of cooperation. The two people's defense switching and assisting defense abilities are outstanding. In this game, the Kings' defense line was unable to cooperate effectively when facing these two people.

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So far, under Lin Shaojie's defense, Thornton's assist data is 0 and Thomas's assist data is 3. They almost all work alone.

On the other hand, for the Pacers, Lin Shaojie alone got 7 assists, which was as good as the entire Kings team.

So when they saw Lin Shaojie playing, everyone including the coach and the fans were a little numb.

Then the group of people watched quietly, watching how No. 13 ran across the court and struck decisively.

What's wrong with taking off one's hat in the air?

A big man like Lin Shaojie, who is 6 feet 4 inches tall, could reach out and grab Thomas who was less than six feet tall. Being able to jump in the air and grab the hat was already a face to the opponent.

Steal?

Marcus Thornton was also robbed of his psychological shadow. Ever since he met this defender named "Lynn" in the league, he has never been able to perform well in a game. Last season, he was almost mentally scarred.

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Last season's scoring ability, which averaged close to 20 points per game, was almost at the single-digit level under Lin Shaojie's defense. It has seriously declined. In this game, there was not a single assist.

Now I feel that being intercepted is normal.

The Kings' post players couldn't explain how they felt when they were there.

There are obviously three tall men with a height of more than two meters, but under the internal and external defense of the Pacers, they seem to be isolated from this basketball court.

Can't catch the ball, can't make a shot, the average score of the three inside players is hovering around 5 points, and the total is less than 15 points. This is already the third quarter of the game. At this level, if it were not for a team like the Kings

, if it had been anyone else, he would have been eliminated long ago.

Is there anything worse than this?

When the referee blew the whistle to end the third quarter, the Kings players breathed a sigh of relief.

How many timeouts were called in a game? Every time I came back from a timeout, it was like walking into hell. The one on the opposite side

No. 13 is like a child with ADHD, he is everywhere.

Now that the game is finally over, I heard from the coach that that guy might not play in the fourth quarter. I feel a little happy when I think of such a thing.

But look up and look at the scores between the two sides.

"puff!"

Several people who were replenishing water almost spilled the water and finally swallowed it hard.

80 to 52.

The score difference of 28 points is about to break 30 points. Is the Pacers' lead so big?

Throughout the fourth quarter of the game, the Pacers used their entire bench to face the enemy, including Stephenson, C.J. Watson, Scola, Gobert...

Such a lineup is not weak at all. On the Kings side, with the encouragement of the coach, the players have regrouped and at least want to recover some points.

Thornton and Thomas on the outside are okay, and they have plenty of offensive capabilities, but the Kings' inside players are sad. They can't get favors from newcomers like Gobert, let alone old monsters like Scola.

It was a standard back-and-forth between the two sides. If Stephenson hadn't played a little too unrestrainedly, resulting in an extremely heated scene between the two sides, if the Pacers had only put a little pressure on the outside, the Kings would never have had room to chase points.

But with this lineup, the Pacers still easily won in the Train Arena.

Stephenson looked cheerful until the referee blew the whistle to end the game.

"Brothers, I got 21 points, how about it, my performance was great!"

Even in front of reporters, Stephenson said this.

The media can't find fault with Stephenson. After all, he is just a substitute. He can score 21 points in about 20 minutes of playing time. It is reasonable to say that efficiency is the priority.

But after watching the game, they couldn't explain why, they always felt a little strange!

Let’s look at the data on No. 13 again.

All right!

Maybe Stephenson is the normal person, but there are really too many abnormalities about No. 13, just like this 4-double data. Each of them is not outstanding individually, but together they are a bit scary.

This is just the guy's half time, most of the data comes from the first and third quarters of the game.