radicalducati Chapter 498 The Final Battle Begins! The Ultimate Showdown!
Chapter 498 The Final Battle Begins! The Ultimate Showdown!
Hearing the players' shouts, the Chinese team's translator cleverly whispered in Harris's ear, "They're chanting 'Go! We'll win! Kill the American team!'"
Hearing this, the devout old Harris nodded with satisfaction. He liked these young Chinese men!
Full of passion and boundless energy!
Harris believes the team can win tonight!
He hasn't found a job in five years since he was fired by the Lakers.
People in the league didn't trust him, believing he was wasting the ace duo of Kobe and Shaq.
Harris was quite dismissive of this.
Even if you replaced him with Phil Jackson, he still wouldn't win a championship for five consecutive years, right?
I don't care if I can't beat Lin Tian!
Now, tonight, Harris is going to get back everything he's lost!
He wants to prove that he is still the top head coach!
Amidst the roars of the players, the Chinese team players walked out of the player tunnel and ran towards the stadium.
As they rushed into the stadium, they were immediately overwhelmed by the bright lights and the frenzied shouts and cries!
"USA! USA! USA!"
"China! China! China!"
"We are the Dream Team! The Dream Team will win!"
"Three-peat! We've won three consecutive championships!"
"Kobe! Kobe!"
"Lin! Lin!"
"MVP! MVP! MVP!"
"Kill the Americans!"
"Crush the Chinese!"
The shouts and screams of the fans rose and fell, and countless banners, national flags and jerseys were waved in the stands.
At least for this night, judging from the stands alone, the number of supporters for the Chinese team and the American team was about the same. Before the game started, the two sides' fans were evenly matched!
As for the rest, that depends on the players themselves!
"I told you, we'd see each other soon," Bird, now back in the coaching role, said with a smile as he walked over to Lin Tian and gave him a high five. "Tonight, we'll win the gold medal!"
"You won't have a chance tonight. Maybe the Olympics after that? By then I might have already retired?" Lin Tian said casually. "But tonight is our victory celebration party. If you're interested, you're welcome to come!"
"You're still as annoying as ever," Kobe said, walking over. "The New Yorker Lin is definitely much more annoying than the Indiana version!"
"You must hate everyone you can't handle, that's why you hate me, right, you softie?"
"Lin, long time no see. Ready to get a beating?" O'Neal walked over and joked with Lin Tian with a grin.
"The last time I saw you guys was when Kevin beat you up, while we beat Kevin and his gang to a pulp. There's at least three Kevins between you and me."
"We're going to beat you to death today, Lin! You were just lucky in the finals because we were out of shape! Tonight, I don't have any stamina issues!" Garnett grinned at Lin Tian, just like before.
"Why aren't we the ones lacking stamina? It's because you guys are too weak, you can't even beat the Lakers! We easily crushed the Nets in the Eastern Conference Finals, we just laid our eyes on them and beat them!"
"You mean the Nets and the Lakers are on the same level?" Garnett stared intently at Lin Tian, his eyes wide.
"Yes, they're all top-four teams in the league, so they're definitely in the same league. The Nets even have a more balanced and stronger roster!"
"Shameless!" Garnett cursed again.
"Jason, I said you guys are better than the Lakers, and he called me shameless!" At this point, Lin Tian, of course, didn't hesitate to sell Garnett. He pulled Kidd, who was chatting with Yao Ming, aside and pointed at Garnett, saying, "They think you guys are trash!"
"Hmm?" Yao Ming stepped in to play the straight man, letting out a cold snort before looking at Kidd and saying, "Jason, we can't tolerate this."
"How did you end up following Lin and becoming a bad influence?" Kidd rolled his eyes. His little brother was usually a well-behaved kid when he was with the Nets, and he never went to nightclubs.
How come now that I'm with the Chinese team, I've become one of those shifty-eyed guys like Lin Tian?
Lin Tian's attempt to sow discord was completely ineffective. The American team members were already united in their hatred and just wanted to teach Lin Tian a lesson, to let him know who was in charge. So, besides receiving a neat row of middle fingers, Lin Tian got nothing.
After those guys left, a few more people came over immediately.
"Big Brother!" A unified shout startled Lin Tian, who turned around to see Lewis and Artest, who had once been on his team, and Reed and Wade, who had received some favors from Lin Tian and regarded him as their boss, standing there with smiles.
"Are you four crazy?" Lin Tian said, looking at them. "Don't fight hard tonight. Go easy on them if you need to, and go undercover if you need to! The benefits will be huge when we get back to America!"
After his attempt to sow discord failed, Lin Tian persisted and started trying to bribe his younger brother, since he had nothing better to do anyway.
"You should stay away from my players." Bird appeared out of nowhere again, waving his hand at Lin Tian with a look of disgust, as if he was afraid that his players would be corrupted if they stayed with him for too long.
"Hello everyone! This is China Sports! We are about to broadcast live the final of the 2004 Athens Olympics, the match between China and the United States!" Su Qun's voice came from the television sets of China Sports fans.
"This is TV Asahi Tokyo..."
"This is Busan Sports..."
"This is ABC London Sports..."
"Welcome everyone to France 5..."
"Now we bring you the Olympic finals, this is..."
"It's finally here! The ultimate battle between the Chinese team and the American team! I would call this the greatest battle in history! This is absolutely the pinnacle of basketball!" Barkley's voice came from the American television.
This match attracted television stations from over 100 countries and regions around the world to broadcast it live in more than 70 languages, with at least hundreds of millions of viewers watching it on television!
From every perspective, apart from the FIFA World Cup, you can't find any other sport or competition that can compare to this one in terms of audience and viewership. This is an absolutely insane match!
Barkley said this was the greatest game in basketball history, absolutely no doubt about it!
With the warm-up over and television stations around the world beginning to hype the game, the starting players from both sides finally stepped onto the field amidst great anticipation.
The starting lineup for the Chinese team is: Yao Ming, Da Zhi, Zhu Fangyu, Li Nan, and Lin Tian!
Team USA's starting lineup: O'Neal, Garnett, Battier, Kobe, Kidd!
Neither coach changed their starting lineup that night, nor did they try any fancy moves at the start of the game.
Both sides fielded their strongest lineups!
The decisive battle begins right from the start!
This 40-minute match was destined to be anything but relaxing!
Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming, two giants, stood consciously in the center circle. They didn't exchange a single word with each other, their eyes fixed intently on the basketball, afraid that a single, insignificant trash talk from them might cause their team to lose possession of the first ball on offense.
"Beep beep!"
As soon as the referee blew the whistle, Yao Ming and Shaquille O'Neal jumped at the same time, and commentators from hundreds of television stations around the world said that sentence in dozens of languages at the same time.
"The match begins!"
"Snapped!"
Shaquille O'Neal's physical attributes are definitely superior! This behemoth, who has not won a championship in the past few years, has hardly slacked off and has not neglected to manage his body and weight.
Although the current Shaquille O'Neal is certainly not as good as he was 5 years ago, compared to his counterpart in another timeline at the same stage, this O'Neal could definitely beat the other one!
Shaquille O'Neal won possession for Team USA in the first wave of possession!
Kidd held onto the ball but didn't rush to launch a fast break. Bird's starting lineup wasn't like the previous US teams, which had unparalleled super talent and overwhelming physical advantages against any opponent.
Bird's starting lineup is playing a positional game!
Kidd calmly waited for Garnett and O'Neal to get into their positions before dribbling the ball up the court. Facing Lin Tian who was closing in, Kidd showed no intention of continuing to organize the offense himself and quickly passed the ball to Garnett at the free-throw line.
After receiving the ball, Garnett raised it high, spun around a few times, and then passed it directly to the bottom corner.
Standing there was Battier, the least prominent and least noticed player in the US team's starting lineup.
Battier took a look with the ball, and then calmly launched a three-pointer over Li Nan who was rushing towards him!
"Whoosh!"
The US team played a simple and decisive game on their first offensive possession!
Aside from Kidd dribbling the ball up the court, there was no dribbling or one-on-one play; it was just simple rotation, movement, and catch-and-shoot jump shots!
"Larry has infused this US team with a completely different soul! This is a team that is completely different from the previous US teams!" Barkley gave this US team a very high evaluation without hesitation.
"No rush, calm down, let's take it slow!" After Battier scored a three-pointer, Lin Tian was unmoved. It was just the first goal of the game, and the warm-up wasn't even over yet.
Despite Kidd's full-court defense, Lin Tian easily dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and immediately passed it to Yao Ming in the paint, letting him attack O'Neal!
At this time, Yao Ming had already played in the NBA for 3 years. If it weren't for playing on the same team as Gasol, which caused his stats to be spread out, he could definitely have gotten 20+10.
He is definitely not as good as Shaq now, but apart from Shaq, there is no one else in the league who can be compared to Yao Ming!
Lin Tian fed Yao Ming a very comfortable shot. After receiving the ball, Yao Ming didn't even need to dribble. He simply turned around and pulled up for his signature side-step hook shot to score!
"You saw Jason? I told you you were holding my little brother back!" Lin Tian yelled at Kidd, "If Yao Ming were on my team, he'd be a 25+15 level super center by now!"
"Stop talking nonsense! This league hasn't had a 25+15 super center in 20 years." Kidd retorted to Lin Tian with disdain as he dribbled the ball.
"Yao Ming, your older brother looks down on you. If I were you, I would request a trade immediately during the offseason." Lin Tian turned to look at Yao Ming and continued to talk nonsense on the court. He hoped to use these trash words to gain some advantages and opportunities for the team.
After all, this is the strongest American team in history!
Lin Tian must use all his energy and methods to find a way to destroy this American team.
"Actually, I don't think I can get 25+15 either." Yao Ming scratched his forehead sheepishly and said modestly, "At most 26+10! I'm not that good at rebounding! But Jason really dragged me down. If he were more accurate, I wouldn't have been double-teamed so many times."
"Fuck you! You've gone too far!" Kidd cursed, too lazy to say anything more to this shameless duo, and instead passed the ball to Garnett once again in the frontcourt.
This time, Garnett received the ball and set a handoff with Kobe. Kobe then dribbled in one step and immediately stopped and shot.
"Whoosh!"
"This is the current US team!" Kenny said to Barkley. "Simple, efficient, balanced, and completely unpretentious. They don't have as many soaring dunks or fluid, seamless plays, but that makes them even more terrifying!"
For the Chinese team, Lin Tian once again passed the ball to Yao Ming, who had gotten into a good position, and assisted him to score 2 points with a high post shot!
"Beautiful!" McHale, sitting on the American team's bench, couldn't help but pump his fist in celebration. Only when he felt the gazes of Bird and the others waiting for him did he finally say, "I had nothing to do last summer, so I worked part-time in New Jersey for a few days. I taught him these two moves."
"High-post, no dribbling, no beating around the bush, just a spin move and layup—that's definitely your style. Good coaching." Bird, who knew his old buddy best, nodded. "No more of this kind of side hustle! FUXX!"
As soon as Bird finished speaking, the US team executed another brilliant play. Garnett and O'Neal executed a high-low post pass, with O'Neal tossing the ball to Garnett, who then made a high-post jump shot!
It was Yao Ming again, but this time Yao Ming was unable to get position under the basket after O'Neal was prepared.
But Yao Ming's strength isn't just because he can only play one-on-one under the basket. Compared to traditional centers, he also has a mid-range turnaround jump shot!
"Whoosh!"
Before he finished speaking, Yao Ming scored another 2 points, bringing the team's total to 2.
Then, the US team attacked, this time Kobe Bryant drove hard to Zhu Fangyu. He dribbled all the way to the basket, and after attracting three Chinese players to double-team him, he suddenly made a low pass and put the ball to O'Neal, who was completely left open on the other side.
The "Great White Shark" caught the ball, jumped, and unleashed a burst of power, slamming the ball into the basket!
"boom!"
After a loud bang, the entire basketball hoop was shaken and wobbled precariously by O'Neal's dunk, looking rather eerie.
On the Chinese team's side, Lin Tian and Yao Ming ran a pick-and-roll. Lin Tian then made a fast break down the court, while Yao Ming followed slowly behind him. As Lin Tian drove all the way to the basket, he attracted multiple double teams before suddenly making a behind-the-back pass without looking.
The basketball broke through the encirclement and came right into Yao Ming's hands. Yao Ming took the ball and immediately dunked it, slamming the ball into the basket with both hands once again!
"boom!"
The US team's offense this time featured a completely new offensive strategy. O'Neal received the ball in the low post, then drew a double team and passed it to Battier. Battier then passed it to Kobe, who then passed it to Garnett at the free-throw line. Garnett then made a behind-the-back pass to Kidd at the top of the key.
Then Garnett moved aside to block Lin Tian, who was trying to rush over to defend Kidd, giving Kidd a huge shooting opportunity.
"Whoosh!"
After another crisp sound, the US men's basketball team scored 5 consecutive baskets to start the game!
Moreover, five different players scored, each using a completely different set of tactics!
Compared to the US team's endless offensive tactics, showcasing one after another like they're demonstrating their full range of skills, the Chinese team continues to rely on their one trick to win every battle!
It's Yao Ming again!
It's still a one-on-one matchup against O'Neal!
During Yao Ming's turn, he was almost stolen by Battier, who was double-teaming him. However, he suddenly used his "Shanghai Dance" that he had practiced for a long time. He changed his position by moving his feet back and forth, then raised the ball with both hands, shook off O'Neal again, and then took a step forward and easily made a layup for 2 points!
Like the US team, the Chinese team also scored 5 goals in a row!
The difference is that the Chinese team only uses the Lin Tian-Yao Ming connection as their tactic, focusing their attack on Yao Ming. They want to take advantage of Yao Ming's full energy and relentlessly attack the American team's inside game!
Yao Ming really lived up to expectations tonight. Facing Shaquille O'Neal, the league's dominant center, he showed no fear or apprehension whatsoever. After making five consecutive shots, he displayed the prowess of a top center in the league!
"Shaq! I'm not afraid of you! I'm not afraid of you!" After scoring, Yao Ming excitedly pounded his chest and roared, expressing his excitement and joy.
He was really into it tonight!
This is also the first phase of Harris's tactics: focus on Yao Ming!
There's no way around it; everyone knows that Yao Ming's weakness is his lack of stamina and his tendency to run into physical exhaustion.
Harris is now showing a determination to win this game from the start. He wants to take advantage of Yao Ming's full energy and focus on this point to maximize Yao Ming's advantage and make the most of his energy and attacking power!
12: 10!
The US team is currently leading the Chinese team by 2 points thanks to 2 three-pointers!
The match had only been going for 3 minutes!
"Jason!" Seeing that the two sides were evenly matched on the court, Bird stood up first and waved to Kidd on the court, signaling him to change his playing style.
Kidd nodded quickly, went to the frontcourt, passed the ball to Kobe, and immediately directed the others to spread out.
They cleared one side for O'Neal and Kobe, letting them play two-on-two in that half of the court!
"Triangle offense?" Harris frowned. He knew all too well about it and hated it all too much!
If it weren't for that charlatan Phil Jackson bringing this stuff to Buss, I wouldn't be unemployed, and I wouldn't have been unable to find a job in the league for so many years.
What I hate most is the triangle offense!
It's hard to explain exactly what the triangle offense is. Some say it's the most complex and difficult-to-understand tactic in the world. For example, Ron Artest played for the Lakers for so many years, and when Jackson left, he said, "I still don't understand what the triangle offense is."
But the triangle offense is also very simple. It is essentially an absolute star player tactic. All the tactical systems serve the star player, and the first key point of the triangle offense is contrary to all other tactics.
Because with any other tactic, no matter how you run, how you play, or how you pass, his goal is always to create open 1-on-0 opportunities to attack.
The triangle offense is the opposite; they don't look for open opportunities at all. What they seek and need are one-on-one opportunities!
The simplest way to understand the triangle offense is to have everyone spread out and let the star player handle the game one-on-one.
This is why teams that use the triangle offense in the league inevitably have one or two of the league's top scorers.
If your star player doesn't have the ability to consistently deliver strong one-on-one attacks and break through defenses, then don't even think about playing the triangle offense.
That's not embarrassing enough!
But now, the US team has the best singles resources in the world.
Kobe and Shaq spread out to one side, and the ball was passed to Shaq, who then posted up Yao Ming!
This was the first time tonight that O'Neal had a strong attack on Yao Ming under the basket.
"Shaq got the ball! Let's see if Shaq can get his revenge! He just got thrashed five times in a row by Yao Ming, he was absolutely humiliated! I think Shaq will definitely take this shot himself to get back into form and save face!"
Kenny quickly analyzed the situation on the court, and just as he was about to subconsciously praise O'Neal, reality slapped him in the face.
Fortunately, he wasn't as quick-witted as Barkley, which saved him from embarrassing himself in front of everyone.
"Snapped!"
With a muffled thud, Yao Ming seized the opportunity when O'Neal jumped and delivered a block to him. The guy stumbled back several steps and landed hard on his backside.
Zhu Fangyu got the basketball and immediately passed it to Lin Tian. Lin Tian dribbled the ball and quickly advanced, then immediately found Li Nan, who was running down the other side, and passed the ball to him.
Upon receiving the ball, Li Nan immediately took three steps and then made a one-handed layup, hoping to tie the score for his team.
"Snapped!"
But then came a muffled thud, and Li Nan's layup was blocked!
Kobe!
This guy rushed over from behind Li Nan, leaped into the air, and slammed the basketball into the backboard, denying Li Nan's layup and maintaining the team's 2-point lead.
Then Kobe dribbled and found O'Neal again. O'Neal took the ball again, turned around along the baseline, dribbled once, and then tried to shoot.
"Snapped!"
But this time, his shot was rejected again!
It's Yao Ming again!
This guy blocked O'Neal's shot once again.
"Come on, Shaq! Come on again! Let's see who's the boss! Let's see who's the best center in the league!" Yao Ming was unusually fierce tonight, trash-talking O'Neal.
"You little brat! Just wait to die!" O'Neal threatened Yao Ming fiercely. Then, on the defensive end, Yao Ming tried to attack O'Neal again. This time, O'Neal's defensive intensity and pressure were obviously increased. No matter how many times Yao Ming changed his offensive route, he could not get rid of O'Neal's defense.
He could only glance at the outside line before barely managing to pass the ball out.
This time, however, the basketball didn't reach Lin Tian's hands. Instead, Battier stole it, then dribbled forward himself. Finally, when facing two defenders, Battier turned and passed the ball to Kobe, who was following behind.
After receiving the ball, Kobe immediately pulled it up, raised it high with both hands, and then slammed it towards the basket!
Kobe knew he was in trouble the moment he jumped, because Lin Tian moved his feet quickly and stood firmly outside the three-second zone, waiting for Kobe.
Kobe tried to dodge, but it was clearly too late!
"Bang!"
With a muffled thud, Kobe collided directly with Lin Tian, and the two of them fell backward together, tumbling to the ground like tumbleweeds.
"Offensive foul!" The referee blew his whistle quickly, giving Kobe an offensive foul!
"Beautiful!" Su Qun and Yang Jian from Huaxia Sports cheered in unison!
"Lin Tian's act of blocking the gun was incredibly brave and worthy of respect!" Yang Jian continued, "You rarely see a player of Lin Tian's caliber draw an offensive foul! Because it's dangerous and really painful! Only players who struggle on the fringes of the league, relying on hard work and a fearless attitude to make a living, would do something like that."
Su Qun echoed, "Lin Tian is leading by example, setting a great example for the entire team. That's what makes Lin Tian great, and that's why he can unite everyone around him!"
"He's a perfect leader! He always manages to elevate his teammates to a level beyond their own abilities!"
It's still China's ball.
"Let's stay calm, be careful, and score this basket!" Lin Tian continued to direct his teammates' positioning, while calmly dodging Kidd's close pressure, and then once again, passed the ball to Yao Ming in the paint.
Seeing Yao Ming get the ball again, Barkley couldn't help but frown and say, "Isn't Lin being a little too persistent tonight? Yao is great, he's made five in a row, but O'Neal has clearly figured out Yao's tactics..."
Before he could even finish speaking, Yao Ming had already passed the ball out with one hand!
This time, Yao Ming made the pass, and he passed the ball when Kobe Bryant, who was defending Li Nan, was trying to help defend.
This time, Li Nan finally got the ball.
Then, Li Nan caught the ball and shot from beyond the three-point line, once again unleashing the legendary "Little Li Flying Dagger" that is famous throughout China!
"Bang!"
Unfortunately, Li Nan was met with another thud. Although the ball was wide open, he still failed to capitalize on the opportunity.
After scoring five consecutive points at the start, the Chinese team lost their touch and missed several consecutive attacks.
Fortunately, the situation was similar for the American team. The Chinese team missed several attacks in a row, and their own offense was also a mess, with a lot of fancy shots missing.
在双方前2-3分钟的比赛中，双方是10投全中，超高效的状态下打出12：10的对攻。
But after that, both sides started making fancy shots and various mistakes.
Both sides had some opportunities, but neither seized them.
There were some accidental attacks, but actually not many.
In short, for a long period in the first quarter, both teams had extremely low scoring efficiency, or rather, no scoring efficiency at all.
All the players on both sides, including the OK duo, Lin Tian and Yao Ming, were unable to score and all their shots missed.
For a full three minutes, the score remained 0-0!
With four minutes left in the first quarter, both coaches could no longer stand the appalling offense, and Bird called a timeout to begin his rotation.
Bird didn't make any moves, but when he did, he made some big moves, replacing Kidd, Battier, and O'Neal with Davis, Lewis, and Jermaine O'Neal.
While this roster lacks Shaquille O'Neal as an absolute powerhouse in the paint, the average height is higher! At the same time, the team's offensive power and explosiveness have also increased significantly. Clearly, Team USA is about to change its playing style!
Harris also needed to make adjustments, but he didn't have as many options as Bird. After much hesitation, he brought in Yi Jianlian and Liu Wei, replacing Li Nan and Dazhi.
This lineup essentially moved Lin Tian to the shooting guard position, added Liu Wei, a guard with excellent chemistry with Yao Ming, and improved the team's athleticism and speed.
Although Yi Jianlian is still quite inexperienced in many aspects and is not as good as Wang Zhizhi at all, his physical fitness and running and jumping ability are absolutely outstanding!
Aside from Lin Tian, he is the person with the best physical qualities in the Chinese team!
By putting him and Liu Wei on the court, Harris clearly wanted to relieve Lin Tian of the playmaking pressure, allowing him to attack and increase the team's offensive power, while letting Yi Jianlian use his energy and physical attributes to try his luck!
The timeout ended, and Davis, the "Big Beard," who had surpassed Lin Tian to become the league's number one point guard due to Lin Tian's weight loss, dribbled the ball quickly to the frontcourt. This guy, who only had offense on his mind, dribbled with his back to Lin Tian while waving for Jermaine O'Neal to come up and screen for him.
Then, after a screen from Jermaine O'Neal, Davis turned and drove straight into the paint. After a lightning-fast drive, this showman took off, pulled the ball behind his head with one hand, and used his body to block Yi Jianlian who came to help defend.
"Get lost!"
Then Davis let out a loud shout and slammed his body out, knocking Yi Jianlian off balance in mid-air.
"boom!"
Then came a loud bang as Davis slammed the basketball into the basket over Yi Jianlian's head!
"You can't stop me, kid! You can't stop me!" Davis was so excited after scoring that he was spitting as he shouted with a wide grin.
The reserved Yi Jianlian lowered his head, not daring to even glance at Davis, and turned his head towards the baseline, wanting to retrieve the ball and serve.
"What are you doing?" Unexpectedly, Lin Tian snatched the basketball away.
"Brother Lin, I...I'll serve." Yi Jianlian lowered his head, his words somewhat incoherent.
This guy's early personality was really too quiet and honest, no wonder he couldn't make it in the NBA.
On the contrary, after Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi retired, and after he had to take on the responsibility of leadership, Yi Jianlian finally found his own path after repeated failures and doubts, and became the last gatekeeper of Chinese basketball.
But right now, this kid is indeed too green and somewhat soft.
"What the hell are you talking about! You're afraid of him?" Lin Tian looked at A-Lian and said, "He's just a muscle-bound deadbeat, you're afraid of him?"
"If you want to get into the NBA, if you want to establish yourself in the best basketball league in the world, then let me tell you, you can't do it this way, you simply can't!"
"You can get dunked on, that's normal, it's nothing."
"But if the person who detains you yells at you afterward, then you should hit their ass!"
"You understand? Hit him!"
"If you beat him so badly that his legs tremble at the sight of you, and he only dares to shoot from a distance when he sees you, then you've met the most basic requirements for establishing yourself in the NBA."
"Now, tell me, do you understand? What will you do next time you're detained?" (End of Chapter)