aircannonsinc Chapter 326 Let's go, guys! Let's team up and go to Sydney to see Lin get beaten up.
Chapter 326 Let's go, guys! Let's team up and go to Sydney to see Lin get beaten up.
Chapter 326 Let's go, guys! Let's team up and go to Sydney to see Lin get beaten up!
For example, TNT, which always likes to stir things up, immediately noticed Lin Tian's three consecutive knockouts in the Olympic qualifiers, which made him a force to be reckoned with.
Their approach is surprisingly similar to that of China Sports Channel.
While playing highlights of Lin Tian knocking out his opponent in the qualifying rounds, the game also replayed footage of Lin Tian facing off against players like Malone and Kemp in the NBA.
Hmm... We've been hurt again!
This time, it was in front of my hometown folks again!
I'm so frustrated! Extremely frustrated!
The most frustrated person right now is probably Malone, who is on vacation in Los Angeles.
These past two years have really been unlucky for him!
When the season just ended, Mourning felt a little unwell and, at Payton's urging, decided to get himself a full physical examination.
And then?
That was the end of it.
It seems unlikely that Alonzo Mourning will ever be seen on the NBA court again!
This former NBA legend of the 90s was diagnosed with a serious kidney disease and will require extensive treatment to recover.
In the years that followed, let alone playing basketball, even living a long and healthy life became a luxury for him!
Mourning's next season, and even his entire career, are basically over!
Lin Tian is unaware of this matter for the time being. If he did know, well, there's nothing he can do about it.
After all, he was just reborn, not Trunks with a magic drug to give Mourning a cure for his kidney disease.
But if Lin Tian knew, he would definitely lament that the gears of fate were turning more and more chaotically.
In Lin Tian's memory, Mo Ning's kidney disease was diagnosed in October, but now it has been diagnosed almost four months earlier.
After being diagnosed, Mourning was in great pain. Of course, someone like him was unwilling to retire or leave the professional arena! He vowed to return to the court and win the championship!
But no matter how much he swears and vows, kidney disease takes a long time to recover. For example, he originally promised to join the Dream Team IV this year to play in the Olympics, but now, he obviously cannot participate!
For Malone, without Mourning, there was no point in him staying in Miami any longer.
Malone is currently in a dilemma; he doesn't know what choice he should make.
Should he sign another year's contract in another location to continue his pursuit of the championship, or simply return to Salt Lake City and become his own local tyrant?
While Malone is racking his brains about what choices to make this summer, Rudy Tomjanovich, the head coach of this year's Dream Team IV, is having an even bigger headache!
This year's Dream Team roster is really too difficult to handle!
First, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, two guys he highly regarded and good partners, both declined the Dream Team. O'Neal said he wanted to practice free throws, while Kobe said he wanted to practice defense. They both clearly felt that the progress they made by training at home was far greater than what they would make by participating in the Olympics.
Then, although Mourning promised that Tomjanovich would join the team, the guy was diagnosed with kidney disease and naturally couldn't play in the Olympics.
With both O'Neal and Mourning out, Tomjanovich's plans were immediately disrupted. He had no choice but to find replacements. He first approached the Spurs' twin towers, but Duncan's injury hadn't fully healed, and this summer was his contract year, so he declined.
As for David Robinson, he said he was exhausted and his back injury had flared up again, so he also turned down Tomjanovich.
When Tomjanovich's top four picks were all unable to play in the Olympics, he had no choice but to take a step back and look for younger players or those past their prime to compete in the Olympics.
He tried contacting several people, but all of them failed.
The only player who can be considered a top-tier center and is willing to join the Dream Team is Kevin Garnett!
The remaining All-Star caliber centers were either too old, too retired, or too injured, and all declined the offer.
Tomjanovich can only lower his standards again and find players who no longer have All-Star level or have huge flaws to play in the games.
Finally, the Dream Team's frontcourt was led by Garnett, supported by Vin Baker, who was past his prime and overweight, Sharif Abdul-Rahim, a scoring talent from the Grizzlies, and Antonio McDyess from the Nuggets.
Gone!
There are only four true big men in total. And this is the lineup that Tomjanovich managed to put together after going through the entire roster!
This roster also reveals that the US team's interior defense is beginning to decline!
Because apart from Garnett, the other three players were either too old, too young, or purely stat-padding, none of them made it to last season's All-Star Game!
With a shortage of inside players, Tomjanovich's efforts to recruit outside players to join the team have also been very unsuccessful!
He originally wanted to invite Carter, who had just won the championship, but Carter told him that he had suffered a minor injury in the Finals and needed to rest, so he couldn't participate.
Then Tomjanovich tried to find Iverson, but couldn't! Who knows where that arrogant kid on the court went? Then Marbury also said he had no interest in this year's Olympics, rejecting him outright.
Finally, Kobe Bryant, along with Shaquille O'Neal, directly rejected him.
Several of the most powerful attackers, the ones Tomjanovich favored most, are not coming!
Tomjanovich was really swearing this time! He even wanted to break his championship heart into pieces and give them to these guys so they could represent the country!
He felt that he was truly the most impoverished, pitiful, and least selective coach in the history of the Dream Team.
What a shame!
This year is unlucky!
After a painful series of rejections, Tomjanovich finally assembled a roster that he was somewhat satisfied with.
The Trail Blazers' tall guard Steve Smith, sharpshooter Ray Allen, "Mid-Range King" Allan Houston, "Beetle" Tim Hardaway, "Glove" Gary Payton, Jason Kidd, "Scalpel" Doug Christie, and Eddie Jones!
With the addition of the four centers from before, these twelve players form a brand new dream team!
After the 12-man roster for the Dream Team IV was announced, both the media and fans raised the same questions.
Has our dream team really gotten this bad?
There isn't a single true superstar in this group! Many people have looked through the team roster and still don't know who the team's star player is.
Is it the young Garnett? Or the most established but past-his-peak Payton? Or perhaps Jason Kidd?
But clearly, these people don't look quite right!
In a sense, this is only the second time in the history of the Dream Team that there is no clear star player.
The first time was Barcelona's Dream Team in 1992. Everyone on that team was equally strong, and each one was a star player. There was no clear core or leader, so it was fine. They just played a straightforward game and easily won the championship.
But what about this time?
This time, everyone was terrible; there wasn't a single superstar who could truly anchor the team!
This year's Dream Team is all about being rotten!
The worst Dream Team in history, a Dream Team that doesn't deserve to be called a Dream Team, a third-rate team made up of ordinary players.
The Olympics haven't even started yet, and all sorts of doubts and criticisms have already swept through the entire public opinion circle. Everyone is unanimously very pessimistic about the prospects of this Dream Team!
After all, the level of world basketball has become increasingly higher, and the days when you could just send out 12 players and dominate the world are gradually fading away!
People are genuinely a little worried about this dream team!
"Carl, my boss said he'd like to invite you to his private room." Just as Malone was sitting alone in a bar in Los Angeles, relaxing with a drink, a guy walked up behind him and extended an invitation.
"No interest, get out!" At this moment, Malone was thinking about what to do in the summer, so he had no mood to see any boss. He directly issued an order to leave.
"Karl, my boss is Michael, Michael Jordan! He'd like you to sit in the private room." The bodyguard who delivered the message hesitated for a moment before continuing to extend the invitation to Malone.
"Michael? That bastard is here too?" Malone looked back warily, but didn't find Jordan. After thinking about it, he felt there was no danger. Although he and Jordan were not close, they didn't have any deep-seated hatred. It wouldn't be so bad to go into the private room and get a beating with a sack over his head. So, it wouldn't hurt to go see him.
After following the bodyguards to Jordan's private room, Malone pushed open the door and witnessed an unforgivable scene!
The first thing he saw was Barkley and Jordan, those two bastards, and then he noticed that each of them was wearing a ring—a championship ring!
The two bastards were grinning wickedly and waving the rings around in the light, making Malone incredibly annoyed and disgusted by the shimmering reflections on the rings.
He could tell at a glance that both of those bastards were wearing championship rings!
That's insane! What kind of decent person goes out to a nightclub wearing a championship ring?
"Fuck you! You two damn bastards, go to hell!" Malone cursed, then turned around and tried to leave! He had no interest in having fun while being dragged around and gloated by these bastards!
So what? So what if he has a few championship rings? What's there to brag about? I don't care at all!
But as soon as Malone turned around, he bumped into a huge figure.
"Hey Karl, what are you doing here? Why don't you go inside? Is your championship ring dirty too? I just went to the bathroom to wash my championship ring." Ewing's voice came, full of schadenfreude and boasting.
Hey, I have a ring, you don't!
"Are you fucking done yet? I just wanted to have a couple of drinks! Can you all get lost?" Ma Long was completely enraged at this point, glaring at the group with annoyance, looking ready to fight at any moment.
After all, he wasn't friends with these people!
Well, besides Stockton, he doesn't really have many friends in the league.
"I advise you not to mess with Karl. There's someone here you can't afford to offend," Jordan said with a smile. "Come on, meet the legend of Los Angeles, the king of the boxing ring, Mike! Mike Tyson!"
When Jordan said this, Malone noticed that the guy sitting next to Jordan who hadn't said a word was actually Tyson!
How did these bastards end up together?
"Come on, Karl, have a seat!" Jordan chuckled and patted the seat next to him. "We're working on something really interesting."
"Something interesting?" Malone remained standing still, but Ewing behind him grew impatient and grabbed Malone by the neck without saying a word, pulling him inside.
"If you're not going in, then don't block the way! I'm still going in!"
When Ewing squeezed him, Malone stopped being arrogant and sat down, saying, "I'll only give you three minutes."
"Karl," Jordan said with a smile and a shake of his head, but he wasn't angry at all. "I called you here because I really have some good news to tell you: Lin is going to play in the Olympics."
"Do you need to tell me this kind of trivial matter?" Malone rolled his eyes, full of impatience.
"I'm talking about Olympic boxing, not basketball!" Jordan said. "This guy actually wants to fight in the super heavyweight division, over 91 kilograms! Do you know what that means?"
"Does that mean there will be plenty of bastards who can beat him up for us?" Malone snorted.
"Great! And it'll be fair and square, a real beating to Lin in the ring!" Jordan laughed. "Opportunities like this are rare! There's not a single person in the league who can beat Lin! But now someone's willing to beat him for us. Are you sure you don't want to go and see it for yourself?"
Jordan spoke slowly and deliberately, his words carrying a seductive quality.
This is how she seduced Malone!
Seduce Ma Long so he can watch Lin Tian get beaten up!
"Are you going to go see it?"
"I'll go!" Jordan nodded without hesitation. "But I felt it would be no fun if I went alone, so I gathered the guys together. We can go together! Let's go see Lin get beaten up!"
"Then, we'll sit on the sidelines and watch him get beaten up and knocked out. We'll also get our DV cameras ready and film his most pathetic moments! Hahaha, how about that, Carl? Am I a good friend?"
"Well, even though we're not friends, I'm sure you'd be interested in my suggestion!"
"Interested!" Malone nodded quickly, then looked at the group and said, "But have you considered that Lin is such a formidable fighter? He might not be there to get beaten up, but rather to beat up others? If no one can match him at the Olympics, then we'll be walking right into his hands and being mocked by him!"
"I've thought about it, so I brought Mike over! Mike, what do you think?" Jordan chuckled and patted Tyson beside him. Malone then realized that Tyson was there to be a combat sports consultant, analyzing the prospects for the Olympic Games for them.
"I must say, Lin is a super fighting genius. His style, punches, defense, and footwork are all practically perfect! And that's with basketball as his main job and boxing as a side job." Tyson first gave Lin Tian a very high evaluation before continuing, "But in my opinion, he's full of flaws!"
"I watched the tapes of his three games. Lin's offense is very aggressive, but too aggressive. If he faced even a slightly stronger opponent, the result would be completely different!"
"After Lin finishes his all-out attack, if he can't finish off his opponent, his stamina will rapidly decline, he'll hit a bottleneck, and his opponent will seize the opportunity to beat him up!"
"But at the Olympics, they're all amateur boxers, Mike. Do you think anyone can stop him in the Olympics? They won't all be as easily defeated as those opponents in the qualifiers, will they?"
"Someone will be able to stop him." Tyson nodded without hesitation. "It's true that professional boxers aren't allowed to participate in the Olympics, but don't forget, many top boxing champions have competed in the Olympics!"
"Lewis, Harrison, Riddick, Muhammad, Müller—these guys are all Olympic veterans. They turned professional after the Olympics and played exceptionally well!"
"The top athletes at the Olympics are no less numerous than those in the US or other leagues! They just chose a different path with less media exposure."
"So you mean there's a high chance Lin will get beaten up?" Poor Ma Long, now he's always on edge whenever Lin Tian is involved, clearly terrified of being tricked by Lin Tian!
"Almost 100%!" Tyson said decisively. "He'll run into obstacles and get beaten! Unless this kid switches to a more conservative fighting style, or the level of competition at the Olympics drops drastically and everyone participating is useless, he's definitely going to get eliminated!"
"If this kid were fighting in the 91kg heavyweight class instead of the super heavyweight class, I wouldn't be so sure, but is he going to challenge those 120kg behemoths with a weight of just over 90kg?"
"He's asking for it!"
At this point in Tyson's speech, Jordan clapped his hands excitedly and said, "How about that? Mike has already promised us. Now, who wants to come with me to Sydney to watch Lin make a fool of himself and get beaten up?"
"I'm definitely going!" Barkley said with a wicked grin. "We can even meet Lin Tian after we get to the boxing ring and give him a big surprise!"
"I'll go too." Ewing always loved joining in the fun, and he would never miss such an opportunity.
"Then I'll go too!" After thinking for a moment, Ma Long felt that staying here alone was just a headache and annoyance, so he might as well go out with a group of people to watch Lin Tian get beaten up and have some fun.
"But I want to bring John with me, what about you?"
"I'll contact Dennis and Scott; they're definitely eager to see Lin make a fool of himself!" Jordan took a puff of his cigar and said smugly, "This time, let's enjoy watching Lin get thrashed, and gather some material so we can roast him every time we see him!"
"I'll contact Reggie and Vince; those two will definitely be there for the fun!" Barkley said with a laugh. "Leave Shaq to me too. I heard he's been training like crazy all summer long. Since he's been training so hard, he needs a few days of rest!"
"I'll go tell Alan," Ewing said smugly. "Have him bring the whole team! Then we'll sit together and watch Lin make a fool of himself!"
Even Tyson got a little excited this time: "I'm going too! I'll go see what this kid's got to offer, I'll be your commentator! Humph, this kid thinks he's so talented that he dares to compete in the Olympics?"
"Those heavyweight guys at the Olympics will show him: boxing isn't that simple!"
And so, this group of guys quickly reached an agreement!
The Avengers, or rather, the Lin Chu Chu Embarrassing Avengers, are officially formed!
As for how many bored people will ultimately choose to go to Sydney to watch Lin Tian box, that remains to be seen.
That night, Jordan and his friends were happy and overjoyed. They felt that they could finally see Lin Tian make a fool of himself, and that they had finally found a reason to laugh at Lin Tian!
This group of people are genuinely excited from the bottom of their hearts!
God knows what they've been through over the past few years!
He can't beat them in a fight, he can't out-trade them, and he can't even pick up girls as well.
How frustrating! It's so frustrating!
That night, the NBA stars went absolutely wild and had a blast. They were so happy, just how happy?
Nicknamed the Los Angeles nightclub trendsetter, the king of nightlife, the number one entertainment king, and the nightlife compass, Tyson yelled at 3 a.m.: "Damn it! A bunch of desperados, drinking red wine, then beer, and then this damn baijiu?"
"I'm not fighting you guys, I'm leaving!"
Yes, they drank the king of Los Angeles nightlife out of the city.
However, Tyson, who was just drunk and unsteady on his feet, opened his eyes immediately after leaving the nightclub and getting into his car. His unsteady state disappeared, and he became much more sober in an instant.
His bodyguard and driver were clearly used to all of this, showing no curiosity and simply driving diligently.
When the car was halfway there, the bodyguard finally couldn't hold back any longer and said, "Boss."
"I did it on purpose." Tyson leaned back in his chair and said, "Of course I could see that Lin's fighting level was at least a level above everyone else in the Olympics. I could also see that if Lin were to go pro, he could absolutely sweep the professional boxing world and become the new generation's super heavyweight legend."
"Then why?" This bodyguard had been with Tyson for many years and was also a former boxer, but his record wasn't great, so he retired early.
He had been wondering why, despite Lin Tian's obvious dominance in the game, and knowing the level of the other Olympic athletes, his boss had said something like that, encouraging those NBA stars to watch Lin Tian's game.
"Don't you think it's hilarious?" Tyson grinned mischievously, revealing a side of the boxing champion he had never shown before. "They went to see Lin make a fool of himself, but instead they saw him dominating the battlefield. The thought of that...tsk tsk tsk, it's exciting just to imagine!"
"Boss, what about us?"
"Let's go to Sydney! Book flights, find game tickets, we're going too!"
Lin Tian is completely unaware of Tyson's perverse sense of humor in setting traps for Jordan and his teammates, as well as the NBA stars' alliance of watching others make fools of themselves.
If he knew, he might even cross his own line and kiss Tyson's bald head as a way of expressing his gratitude.
He has now returned to the Summer Palace to continue training with the basketball team. No matter how fun or satisfying it is to beat people up, that's just a side job. His main job, basketball, can't be neglected at all!
But the commotion caused by Lin Tian going to the boxing ring this time is far more than just this!
He not only became a rising star in the boxing world, but also gained a lot of extra attention because of his status as a basketball superstar. He also sparked a new wave of kung fu craze in China, with many teenagers expressing their desire to learn boxing!
AND1, which has always had a keen sense of trends, did not directly enter the boxing equipment industry, but instead returned to their old profession and designed several related T-shirts to enrich their product line. At the same time, after communicating with Lin Tian, they added several Olympic and boxing-themed color schemes to his sneakers!
From the time AND1 learned about Lin Tian's boxing skills to the launch of their first batch of related merchandise, less than a week had passed, which is an astonishingly fast pace!
The new T-shirts and sneakers, once launched, certainly did not disappoint or waste their efforts; each product immediately became a bestseller! Almost all AND1 stores in various countries sold out of related products. The trend started by Lin Tian made him and AND1 a fortune!
Of course, Lin Tian doesn't pay much attention to these things right now, because as time goes by and the Olympics approach, the team's training is becoming more and more intensive and rigorous!
Meanwhile, with only one month left until the Olympics, Jiang Xingquan announced the final 12-man roster for the team! Those guys, who were essentially sparring partners or Olympic reserve players, left the training base at the Summer Palace with a heavy heart.
After Jiang Xingquan announced the roster, only the last 12 players remained at the Chinese team's training base.
Centers: Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi, and Yao Ming
Power Forward: Liu Yudong
Small forwards: Sun Jun, Zheng Wu
Shooting Guards: Hu Weidong, Zhang Jinsong, Li Nan
Point guards: Lin Tian, Li Xiaoyong, Guo Shiqiang
This lineup can basically be considered the strongest lineup of the Chinese team right now!
The controversial point is that, with Lin Tian already on the team, Jiang Xingquan brought three point guards, which everyone felt was too extravagant and unnecessary!
Another point of contention is that, with Liu Yudong being the only true second center on the team, Gong Xiaobin, another top domestic second center nicknamed "The Carefree King," was not selected.
In particular, almost everyone knows that Gong Xiaobin was not selected because of personal grudges.
Before Lin Tian reported to the national team, Gong Xiaobin was scolded by Jiang Xingquan for not meeting the training requirements. This stubborn guy got so angry that he kicked a water bottle on the ground and smashed it, which led to an even more intense argument between the two.
Then, Gong Xiaobin left the training base.
As for what happened next, one was rigid and strict, and the other was unruly. Neither of them was willing to back down, and they were completely stuck in a stalemate.
Finally, after coordination between the Basketball Association and local authorities, Jiang Xingquan stated that as long as Gong Xiaobin apologized and acknowledged his mistake, he could return to the team.
Gong Xiaobin, however, stated that he had done nothing wrong. He said it was his duty to return to the team and serve the country, and he was ready to go back at any time. He added that he had not done anything wrong and therefore would not apologize.
So the two of them went head-to-head, each offering the other a way out, but ignoring the ladder offered by the other, each waiting for the other to take the initiative to back down.
result?
As a result, Gong Xiaobin was completely excluded from this year's national team, losing a precious opportunity to serve his country.
But apart from the absence of Gong Xiaobin, Hebei China Fortune has absolutely fielded its best players this time!
All three centers are on the roster, and almost the entire 94 golden generation is present, including emerging forces in their prime such as Zhang Jinsong, Li Nan, and Guo Shiqiang.
Of course, the most important person is Lin Tian!
He is undoubtedly the strongest player and the absolute core of this team. Whether the team can break through, and to what extent, depends entirely on him!
"Come on, let's study our opponents in this match again. I got my hands on a video of the Lithuanian team's recent warm-up game." Jiang Xingquan suddenly walked into the training hall, waving a videotape in his hand. Accompanying him was the assistant coach, who was pushing a small cart with a TV on it.
"Among our group stage opponents, the two strongest teams are Lithuania and Italy!"
As Jiang Xingquan put the videotape into the VCR, he began his analysis.
"Lithuania is a traditional powerhouse in Europe, arguably the country in Europe with the most basketball passion, the most honors, and the best results. In any competition they participate in, they are almost always one of the favorites to win!"
"Furthermore, they are also considered by many to be the second favorite in this Olympics, and are considered the team most likely to challenge the Dream Team's dominance!"
The television was continuously broadcasting the Lithuanian team's most recent warm-up match, but Lin Tian, sitting on the sidelines, was thinking about something else.
That's the group stage draw!
The format of this Olympics is very simple: 12 teams are divided into two groups, each team plays 5 round-robin matches, and the top four teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals, which is a single-elimination tournament.
China is in Group A, along with the 99 European champions Italy, France, Lithuania, the host nation Australia, and the African champions Angola!
Group B is led by the United States, with the other five teams being Spain, New Zealand, Russia, Canada, and Yugoslavia.
How should I put this grouping?
Everything's a mess! It's completely different from the group assignments Lin Tian remembered!
The original groupings should have placed the United States and New Zealand in Group A, and Australia and Angola in Group B.
Needless to say, it was the butterfly effect of Lin Tian's arrival that caused the entire group to change completely.
Perhaps it's because the men's basketball team's international ranking has improved, or perhaps the tournament organizing committee believes that such a high-level showdown between the Chinese team and the United States shouldn't be placed in the group stage.
In short, inexplicably, the American team and the Chinese team separated!
If both teams finish first in their group, their match will be saved for the Olympic finals!
At the same time, this group draw allows the host country Australia to play against the popular Chinese team China in the group stage, and if they are lucky enough to make it to the knockout stage, they can play against the Dream Team!
Putting aside the outcome, the attendance and attention were absolutely phenomenal!
Anyway, Lin Tian only needed to think about it for a moment to sort out the whole thing.
The organizing committee's true intentions are obvious to everyone!
However, Lin Tian didn't care about this at all. He would play the matches as they were supposed to, and he had no problem with who he played first or last.
Just take them down!
For the next three days, the Chinese team temporarily suspended most of their training, spending more time watching videos and analyzing the opponent's tactics and abilities, so that the players could understand the opponent's abilities, technical preferences and playing style.
The coaching staff, meanwhile, went all out at this time to study strategies for dealing with these teams.
Lin Tian did not slack off in his training these days. On the contrary, he spent more time and energy in the weight room to increase his strength. He wanted to turn the extra 2KG of fat into effective strength!
At the same time, Lin Tian did not forget to continue to change his diet. He wanted to make his body stronger while maintaining his weight of over 91KG!
He still has to go into the boxing ring!
Then, in mid-August, the entire Chinese team packed their bags and prepared to leave the training base!
Over the next 20 days, they will travel to Europe for a high-intensity series of nine warm-up matches! Their opponents range from well-known powerhouses like Yugoslavia and Russia to slightly weaker teams like Germany and Greece, as well as several third-rate teams to help them regain their confidence.
Nine matches in 20 days will allow the Chinese team to get into top form and fully enter the high-intensity, high-density competition mode of the Olympics, allowing everyone to make final preparations!
After these nine warm-up matches, the Chinese team will travel to Sydney about ten days in advance to rest for a few days, and take the opportunity to travel and adjust their physical and mental state.
Then, when the Olympics officially begin, Jiang Xingquan wants the entire Chinese team to perform at their best and be in top form!
On the plane to Europe, Dazhao, who was closest to Lin Tian and had become more cheerful than before, looked at the newspaper and said, "The Dream Team's lineup this year is making no attempt to hide anything; it's completely aimed at you, Brother Lin!"
"What Dream Team?" Lin Tian curled his lip and said, "Team USA!"
"There's only one Dream Team for this Olympics, and that's us!"
"That's right! We are the dream team!"
"Dream Team!"
"China's Dream Team! Crush those American devils!"
The Chinese team, a large group of passionate men, is currently at the peak of their confidence. With Lin Tian joining them, they are now truly confident that they can compete with any team in the world!
After making a good fuss for a while, Lin Tian casually took the "Basketball Pioneer" newspaper that was handed to him. It was a so-called preview of the top 12 teams in the Olympics. Each issue of the newspaper would introduce a team's roster, historical performance, strength prediction and the probability of winning or losing against the Chinese team.
This time, it's Team USA's turn!
Lin Tian had no interest in the Dream Team's past history or achievements. He flipped directly to the roster section, and after just one glance at the lineup, he understood why it was generally said that this year's Dream Team was targeting him.
Tomjanovich brought three point guards this time. Apart from Tim Hardaway, who is an offense-oriented player, Payton and Kidd are the two best point guards in the NBA today, besides Lin Tian himself!
For the shooting guard position, they selected Eddie Jones and Steve Smith, two tall, strong players known for their excellent defensive abilities, and then added sharpshooter Ray Allen and mid-range king Allan Houston.
Tomjanovich brought six players just for positions 1 and 2, four of whom are very good at defense. With this lineup, if he's not targeting Lin Tian, then who is he targeting?
Is it France's Ricardo or Lithuania's Gaskovicius?
Then, at the small forward position, there's Lin Tian's old partner, the elite defender Christie, while in the paint there's the league's best help defender and sweeping monster Garnett, and the solid, hardworking, and fundamentally perfect version of Duncan, Antonio McDyess.
In addition, there's Vin Baker, whose performance declined significantly after gaining weight, but whose size is absolutely top-notch, and Rasheed Wallace, a versatile scorer who can play both the 3 and 4 positions.
This lineup is completely different from, and even diametrically opposed to, the previous team-building model and philosophy of the US team!
In the past, the Dream Team valued players' reputation and experience the most. If you weren't a top star in the league or a highly anticipated college prodigy, you couldn't even dream of making it into the Dream Team!
Superstars, top-level players, and immense popularity were the selection criteria for the previous three Dream Teams.
But this year? Half of them have never been an All-Star, some have never even been in the top ten of the MVP rankings, and apart from Payton who came close to the MVP, and Garnett and Kidd who had a chance to win the MVP, the remaining nine have never been associated with the MVP!
An absolute dream team for ordinary people, this lineup is truly unremarkable!
Even in this year's Dream Team, there aren't many players who are good at scoring.
Half of the players are defensive specialists, and the only ones who truly rely on scoring are Houston, Rasheed Wallace, and Ray Allen. Yet, these three are the most likely to be relegated to the end of the bench in this Dream Team.
In short, Tomjanovich's lineup announcement immediately caused a stir and sparked huge discussions across the United States.
Countless people questioned Tomjanovich's selection strategy and roster composition, asking why he would choose a roster with such poor star power and such an unremarkable appearance.
Do we not have any truly top-tier football stars in our country for you to choose from?
Tomjanovich: That's it, you bastards! That's it! Do you think I don't want to build a superstar lineup? Do you think I don't want to have Shaq, Mourning, Duncan, Kobe, and Iverson?
Damn it, why aren't these guys showing up?!
What can I do? Tie them up and forcibly drag them to Sydney to compete?
Tomjanovich was cursing under his breath, but no matter how upset he was, he couldn't tell the media about it.
What's the difference between him saying this now and criticizing the players on the team? It will affect team unity! He has to support his own people, so he can only swallow his anger and resentment.
"We're here to win! We're here to beat the game! We're not here to play in the All-Star Game or to put on a show. World basketball has developed by leaps and bounds, and the strength of many teams around the world has improved significantly."
"World basketball has entered a completely new era. If we continue to select an All-Star roster based on past ideas, we will definitely suffer a great loss! Pragmatism! This is the path we should take next, and it is also the direction for the development of Team USA!"
"Continuing to pile on big-name players won't increase our fighting power. What we need are players who truly want to win, who are truly proud to represent their country, and who are willing to give everything!"
"We're here to compete, to win, to fight! Not to sightsee or put on a show! That's the real reason I formed this team!"
When facing the media, Tomjanovich displayed his renowned oratory skills, delivering a speech he believed was no less impressive than "Never underestimate the heart of a champion."
He believes that this speech will silence the media and fans, boost team cohesion, and greatly enhance the team's fighting spirit!
At the same time, it can also be seen as Tomjanovich encouraging himself and giving himself more confidence to come to the world stage and face the world's strongest teams!
Then, Tomjanovich's mentality completely collapsed!
He almost grabbed a C4 explosive and blew the whole plane up!
Because he saw Jordan!
Not only did we see Jordan, but we also saw Barkley, O'Neal, Malone, Kobe, Carter, Stockton, Miller, and Ewing boarding the plane with him, chatting and laughing.
A super team, almost a collection of All-Stars from both the East and West, appeared before Tomjanovich, boarding the same plane as Team USA.
If this were a train, Tomjanovich could convince himself that it was just a coincidence, that these guys just happened to be going the same way and would get off early when they reached their stop.
Even if he saw famous coaches he disliked like Jackson, Riley, or Sloan right now, he could convince himself that it was the US second team, also going to the Olympics.
But this is an airplane, and there's no instructor with us.
Okay, sure, yes.
That bastard Bird even greeted Tomjanovich in such a flamboyant way!
Unless these bastards are here to experience freefall without ropes or umbrellas, their destination is only one thing: Sydney!
A bunch of bastards!
When you join the national team, one or two of you suffer from back pain, buttock pain, groin strain, or Achilles tendon problems.
Oh, damn it, the American team is all assembled. Are you guys going to Sydney as a team?
go for what?
Team building activities?
Want to go see Kangaroo vs. Koala?
Tomjanovich was furious and extremely annoyed. He felt that these people were just there to make a fool of him and try to give him a heart attack!
Otherwise, why would this group of jerks, who are almost as good as the Dream Team, go to Sydney? Why do they have to take the same plane as the national team?
I'm feeling really down! Everything's going wrong!
No, where's my C4? Where's the Blue Flame Gatling gun? Where's the man-portable rocket launcher?
Give it to me, I'm going to blow up the plane!
(End of this chapter)