This Forward is Not Serious

Before the playoffs officially begin, the league announced the first batch of awards for the season: Best Coach, Most Improved Award and Best Sixth Man.

There is no doubt that the best head coach goes to Cole.

The playbook Kerr was given as a coach was very similar to when he was playing with the Bulls.

If you have the best record in the league, you won't get the best head coach. You have to break the regular season record to get it.

However, it is foreseeable that after playing such a crazy regular season, the Warriors will definitely usher in a wave of honors like the Nets coached by Sloan three years ago.

The Sixth Man of the Year belongs to Jamal Crawford of the Clippers. This is the third time the latter has won this honor, ranking first in NBA history.

The Most Improved Award belongs to Jokic!

Jokic was just a rookie last season, averaging negligible single digits per game, but this season he has grown into an All-Star level player.

Based on his season data, even if he is not selected as the starter, he will not be able to run as a substitute.

This kind of improvement surpasses CJ McCrum of the Trail Blazers.

Then when the awards were announced, the little fat man was sprayed with champagne by his teammates as he entered the door.

Generally speaking, when not winning the championship, the team members would just drink mineral water or something to celebrate, but Jokic was so popular in the team and winning the award was expected, so Lin Ying had already prepared champagne.

The little fat man enjoyed a champagne bath for the first time, ran around the locker room, and finally sat on the bench, gasping for air. When he saw Durant still wanted to come over, he immediately smiled and raised his hands in surrender.

"Most Improved Player, the first round is up to you!"

But when Lin Ying sat down next to him, put his hands on each other and smiled, his smiling face suddenly turned into a bitter one.

If possible, could you just let me lie down and take me flying?

…

2 to 0.

The process was simple and rough, and the Nets basically didn't give the Hornets many chances in the first two home games.

The Hornets have a pretty good lineup this season, with Kemba Walker and Jefferson in the starting lineup, and Jeremy Lin on the bench.

This configuration can make it to the playoffs, and the team's chemistry and fighting spirit are strong.

But the problem lies in this configuration.

To give a simple example, if the Nets' hard power is 95 points, the Hornets' maximum is only 70.

Even if they show 120% of their strength, it will only be 84.

Although a basketball game is not a simple lineup competition, the fact that someone else's lower limit is your upper limit is very cruel.

But thinking on the bright side, the big score is now only 2-0. The Hornets still have the possibility of reversing the series after returning home.

theoretically.

…

Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte.

G3 won't start until tomorrow. Jordan frowned and sat on the sidelines watching the team's training.

Looking at the group of people on the field now, he felt unspeakably uncomfortable.

Well, it’s the feeling of taking off the eyes and finding out it’s Lin Ying and Durant, and putting on the glasses and finding out it’s Stephenson and Lamb.

Of course, he wasn't upset that Lin Ying couldn't come.

He was very proud. He had already lowered his profile to recruit Lin Ying. If Lin Ying didn't come, the matter would naturally be over.

The group of people he felt so uncomfortable were really unsatisfactory.

Originally, in the last game of the regular season, we had a head-to-head dialogue with the Pistons. If we win them, we will be fifth in the Eastern Conference.

The result was good, I lost and dropped directly to eighth place.

Forget it if he falls, he doesn't expect the team to advance against the Nets in the first round, but he has to win a game, right?

As a result, after two games, they lost an average of 20+ points per game.

He is really, even the boss is embarrassed.

damn it!

If he were more than twenty years younger, no, fifteen years old would be enough, and he would definitely teach the Nets a lesson.

At this moment, Jeremy Lin was easily shaken away by Walker and scored. Jordan couldn't stand it anymore, so he took off his clothes and went straight on the court.

The players on the field didn't seem surprised. It was obvious that Jordan was not happy with them for a day or two.

"I don't ask you to be like Lin on the opposite side, but can you do the most basic defense the best?"

Jordan came on the court with a serious face and pointed at his eyes.jpg,

"Focus, use your eyes."

Jeremy Lin felt a huge pressure. Even though the Jordan in front of him was already an old guy in his 50s, the look in his eyes could make you breathless.

Then, Jordan joined the training and the defensive end continuously interfered with Walker's offensive success.

This is Jordan, he doesn't ask others to do what he can't do.

Even though he is now an old guy in his 50s, and he still has a big belly.

…

The next day, the Time Warner Cable Arena was fully occupied.

The Hornets' market is not that big, after all, Jordan is just the owner.

However, because the opponent is the Nets led by the Texas Twins, local fans will naturally not miss such a game.

Jordan showed up at the arena.

He didn't go to the previous two away games, but he came to the home games.

During the warm-up before the game, Jordan came to the Nets to chat with Lin Ying.

Then Durant was left alone.

That year, I was twenty-seven, and I stood like a slave.

Jordan's vision is really high, and now he only likes Lin Ying in the field.

When he was finally leaving, Jordan glanced at Durant, said hello politely, and then went back to the audience.

Durant looked excited.

Iverson said Jordan was his idol in a speech before, and it feels unreal every time he sees Jordan.

So why not Durant!

"Do you play golf?"

Lin Ying saw Durant's eyes and said.

"Do not hit."

Durant shook his head. At that time, he still preferred to check social media.

"It's a pity. I originally said I would play golf with Michael in the summer. If you know how to play, you can go with us."

"I can learn."

Durant immediately changed his tune.

"Then it's settled."

After Lin Ying heard this, he reached out and patted Durant on the shoulder.

The pre-match warm-up is over, and the starting players from both sides come on stage one after another.

Nets: Bradley, Ariza, Durant, Lin Ying, Jokic;

Hornets: Kemba Walker, Jeremy Lamb, McGeege, Marvin Williams, Jefferson;

*In the summer of 2015, McGeege was spotted by Jordan and poached from the Thunder with a four-year, $52 million contract.

Amid the cheers of the fans, Jefferson jumped up and moved the ball back to the Hornets half, kicking off G3.

Walker started a pick-and-roll with Jefferson, and then made a double change to pass Jokic and score.

Walker is not well-known, and his strength is only at the quasi-All-Star level, but his frequency of changes of direction is very fast, and this double change of direction is his unique skill.

And judging from his offensive resoluteness at the beginning, the Hornets did a good job in "psychological adjustment" during the two days of rest.

No, it's not just a psychological adjustment. The Nets advanced to the frontcourt. When Jokic was playing in the low post, Jefferson used all his strength to suck milk.

Moreover, Marvin Williams' timing of assisting defense was also very good, and Jokic's shot finally missed the basket.

This also triggered a burst of cheers from the Hornets fans at the scene.

Their thinking is actually similar to Jordan's. They don't expect the team to win the series, but they must at least win one game, or at least build momentum.

The first two rounds were more in line with their expectations.

However, their offense failed to connect. McGehee's three-point shot from the outside missed and the rebound was picked off by Jokic.

The Nets did not adjust their tactics, and Jokic continued to catch the ball and drive inside.

The Hornets double-attacked again, and Jokic passed the ball in advance.

"Snapped!"

Lamb was shot from the side and cut off!

Jordan in the stands frowned a little when he saw this scene.

On the court, the Hornets played a fast break. Walker made a flying layup in the fast break and scored two more points. The Hornets started with a 4-0 victory over the Nets!

This also set the tone of the first quarter.

With their aggressive defense, the Hornets scored 25-20 in the first quarter.

This result makes Hornets fans a little unbelievable.

Are the Hornets just not good at playing on the road?

At this time, Jordan finally showed a grandfather-like smile of relief.

It is unrealistic to expect this group of people to suddenly shine and perform on the offensive end. That requires talent, and the Nets' defensive strength is also there.

But defense can be improved, and defense depends more on motivation.

It is not impossible to win a game against the Nets relying on defense.

At least his performance in the first quarter basically reached the minimum limit he required.

Come up in the second quarter, the lineups on both sides of the court.

Hornets: Jeremy Lin, Lamb, Lance Stephenson, Cody Zeller, Kaminsky.

Nets: Joseph, JR, Covington, Lin Ying, West.

The Hornets' performance in the first quarter was indeed somewhat unexpected.

And it wasn't that Karl was slow to react. After trying a few rounds with Jokic in the low post to no avail, he had already adjusted to let the Gemini play.

But defense is something. The more you fight, the more excited you become, especially when the weak fight against the strong, so it doesn't have much effect.

But Karl doesn't want to take it lightly. He is preparing to regain his advantage in this substitute transition period.

Lin Ying also knew this, so when the second quarter came up, he entered the white-hot space directly.

When the Nets had the ball, Lin Ying held the ball in the high post, glanced at Zeller, and made a pull-up jumper after changing direction.

His style of play is simple because he doesn't want to give the Hornets a chance to double attack.

Jeremy Lin hit a pick-and-roll breakaway in the frontcourt.

Jeremy Lin went to the Rockets and played well before, but the Rockets never made it to the playoffs.

When Rockets general manager Mosaic saw that it didn't work, he replaced Lawson with Lawson, whom he liked better. Jeremy Lin was given up and then came to the Hornets.

Although he is still not very good at defense, his experience in the past few years has greatly improved his offensive skills, and he is now playing well in the Hornets.

Lin Ying continued to catch the ball in the frontcourt.

This time the Hornets were immediately flanked, and Lin Ying turned directly to the baseline and shot backward.

These two rounds mainly highlight two words: easy.

After entering the white-hot space, normal defense is ineffective against him.

Jeremy Lin's frontcourt breakthrough layup was blocked by Lin Ying, and the rebound was also picked off by Lin Ying.

The Nets played a fast break, and JR dunked on the fast break after receiving the ball.

27 to 26.

In the blink of an eye, the difference between the two sides was only 1 point.

Seeing this, Jordan's expression changed from relaxed to a little serious.

This little guy can't let him have fun!

Kaminsky's single in the low post was blocked by West.

The Nets then advanced to the frontcourt.

Lin Ying was flanked this time as soon as he took up his position. He was not even allowed to catch the ball.

However, this was still not enough. Lin Ying made a fake move outside and turned around to directly deceive the two of them and cut to the basket.

When Joseph saw it, he threw the ball directly over the basket.

Lin Ying jumped up.

"Bang!"

A direct one-handed alley dunk!

The Nets overtook the score!

Jordan couldn't sit still and moved his body left and right.

The Hornets worked so hard in the first quarter and finally got a little lead.

Less than three minutes into the second quarter, Lin Ying easily overtook the score.

And at this time, Jordan did not show the same expression as before that felt that his players were not living up to expectations.

Because he knew very well that the same thing happened to his opponents when they faced him back then.

Defense is greatly improved by active performance, but some people cannot be guarded.

Just when he was thinking about it, the Nets completed another wave of successful defense, and then Lin Ying caught the ball in the frontcourt and passed three people in a row, then dodged Kaminsky with a lever in the air and scored 2+1.

Kaminsky's expression was one of despair.

The Hornets were also forced to call a timeout.

Jordan was already shaking his head.

Just now he unknowingly led himself into Lin Ying again.

But now Lin Ying is the opponent of his own team, this feeling is very distressing!

After the timeout, Lin Ying's scoring performance continued.

The Hornets can't stop him at all, and with their defensive configuration, they really can't stop him.

And as he was beating, "Lin Ying's attraction" began to appear, and the whole team became chasing Lin Ying.

Lin Ying also started to send various passes at this time.

Assisted West's two-handed dunk under the basket, assisted Covington's three-point long shot from outside, and assisted JR's alley-oop dunk.

Then after finally holding on until the main force came back, Lin Ying came off the court to rest, and the Nets began to attack Durant again.

At this time, after the Hornets experienced a depletion of enthusiasm in the first quarter and were forced to deplete in the second quarter, they were already exhausted against Durant.

The score difference is widening at a speed visible to the naked eye.

From a certain perspective, the Hornets performed better tonight than in the previous two games.

Because they at least forced the Nets to let the Geminis exert their strength in the first half.

With their team configuration, this can be considered a success.

At halftime, the Nets led the Hornets by 15 points, 62-47.

In the first quarter, they were beaten 25-20 by the Hornets, and then in the second quarter, the Nets directly defeated the Hornets 42-22.

You can't say how poorly the Hornets played, after all, their scores in the first and second quarters were not much different.

In the stands, Jordan had already stood up and left.

Is it really that hard to win?

He thought about this question before getting up.

Because he really couldn't understand what it was like to be in a situation where it was difficult to win even one game.

Then he remembered the content of his previous conversation with Lin Ying.

They have discussed this issue more than once, and Lin Ying's answer every time is:

"Well, it's not difficult."

Thanks to Ai Hanhan for the tip!