Champion Rules

Chapter 415, Section 411: When Lin Qi Decided to Fire (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

The Atlanta Hawks' victory over the Brooklyn Nets to advance to the next round has brought them unprecedented attention.

People are eager to know just how far this resilient team can hold out against the Knicks in the first round.

During the regular season, the Hawks beat the Knicks once.

This is certainly a remarkable achievement, considering that James, who is said to be on par with Lynch, was swept 4-0 by Lynch in the regular season.

In fact, even LeBron James is looking forward to the Atlanta Hawks' performance.

Dishes are distinguished by comparison.

After LeBron James was eliminated by the Hawks in the first round, he was so bad that Under Armour terminated all contract extension negotiations with him.

If the Atlanta team also causes some trouble for the Knicks, James won't seem so bad.

Finally, after many days of waiting, the second round of the series officially began in New York.

Lynch was actually very happy that his opponent in this round was Warcraft.

His personal relationship with Dwight Howard wasn't great, but it was still better than listening to LeBron James make some unpleasant remarks.

This time, at least Lynch can play in a quiet environment.

During the warm-up phase before Game 1 of the second round, Dwight Howard was interviewed by reporters on the sidelines.

Since Warcraft led his team to victory in the first round with a tenacious performance, people have been curious about what happened in the Summit of Salt Lake City last summer that could cause such a huge transformation in Warcraft.

"There's no secret," Warcraft confessed to the camera. "It's just extremely tough training, coupled with playoff-level intensity. In that environment, when you see everyone around you working harder than you, you absolutely don't want to be the weakling who can't finish training. The training there wasn't just about improving skills; I think the most important thing was forging a deep-seated competitive spirit."

At this point, Dwight Howard paused:

"To be honest, after participating in one training session at the Peak Temple, I'm not jealous of Lin Qi's achievements at all. He has such terrifying talent, yet he spends so much time in that godforsaken place every summer. But if it were me, I definitely couldn't do it."

Yes, I want to beat him. But if he wins, I won't be jealous.

He simply couldn't do it. If it were him, he wouldn't even think of gathering other players to train together; he would only gather a bunch of girls for a concentrated rescue effort.

This is only the second time in a short period of time that a former rival of Lynch has paid tribute to him, since his historic hug with Michael Jordan.

A player's greatness may be difficult to quantify, but the evaluation from opponents is undoubtedly the most powerful testament.

Now, aside from LeBron James, a tough guy whose mouth seems to have a built-in hardening effect, there are more and more voices acknowledging Lynch's greatness.

Of course, Warcraft's respect and his desire for victory are not contradictory.

The game had barely begun when Dwight Howard showed his eagerness.

After Joe Johnson missed his first shot, Dwight Howard jumped repeatedly to grab the rebound, ultimately diving out of bounds to bring the ball back onto the court!

Dwight Howard was once considered a superstar, but now he's fighting for rebounds in the same way Dennis Rodman did.

Joe Johnson didn't disappoint Dwight Howard's desperate hustle. After receiving the ball and taking a step back, he calmly sank his second three-point attempt, giving the Hawks the first points.
This is the Atlanta Hawks right now; they fight for every ball, and they are united.

Just one round later, Demarai Carroll proved this once again.

The 3-and-D wing player, who joined the Hawks last summer, was initially chasing Jimmy Butler, but the moment Kyrie Irving passed the ball, he immediately changed direction and cut off the passing lane.

The perfect combination of initiative and keen judgment has forged the Hawks' impenetrable defense.

LeBron James never imagined that one day he would be cheering for DeMarre Carroll.
"Well done! Look at that, that's the Atlanta Hawks! Look at that energetic running, look at that steal! Damn, do those damn media outlets really think I lost to a bunch of nobodys?!"

The fact that James, whose reputation was already ruined, pinned all his hopes on the Atlanta Hawks, who had just eliminated him, fully illustrates that humanity never learns from its mistakes.

During the regular season, Kevin Durant also pinned his hopes on the Hawks, hoping they could stop Lynch's streak of triple-doubles and thus preserve his MVP aspirations.

But Lynch achieved a triple-double in just three quarters, completely dashing Durant's hopes.

At this moment, James is simply treading the same old path that Durant once walked, a path that has long been proven to be a dead end.

In the first half, the Hawks kept the game close with the Knicks thanks to their strong defense, and even led by 3 points at halftime.

LeBron James deliberately posted on social media: "A respectable opponent!"

Nobody remembers the losers unless you pop champagne at halftime.

LeBron James became the loser who popped champagne at halftime.

He never imagined that the situation would change so dramatically in the second half.

After the start of the second half, a very obvious change was that Lynch began to take a lot of shots, and his offensive desire erupted like a volcano.

He dribbled between his legs repeatedly, then pulled up for a three-pointer over Al Horford's head. The basketball cut through the noise of Madison Square Garden and swished through the net.

He broke into the paint, twisted his body under the giant hand of Dwight Howard, and deftly sent the ball into the basket.

Like Dwight Howard, who gave it his all, he repeatedly jumped to grab rebounds under the basket and then scored on second-chance opportunities.

His off-ball movement on offense is as aggressive as Chandler Parsons' last season. He cuts into the paint using screens and then cuts back out.

After assuming a receiving stance, Lynch leaned against Al Horford and made another off-ball spin move, cutting towards the basket again, and finally received a pass from Kyrie Irving for a powerful dunk!
The second half had just begun when Lynch scored 8 points in a row!
“Lincho is about to step up his game,” Mike Breen reminded everyone. “This season, Kevin Durant was the only player to average 30+ points per game in the regular season, not because he was the only one who could do it. At least, Lynch could too. But with Chandler Parsons injured and Lynch needing to take on more playing time and defensive duties, he reduced his offensive frequency. Throughout the regular season, Lynch was very restrained in his shot attempts.”

At this point, Mike Brin emphasized:

"But now that we're in the second round of the playoffs, Lynch has nothing to worry about!"

Lynch's triple-double average was actually the result of sacrificing his personal offense.

During the regular season, Lynch delegated more offensive tasks to Kyrie Irving and DeMar DeRozan. On the offensive end, he primarily acted as a playmaker.

There are pros and cons to doing this.

The advantage was that Lynch had a record-breaking triple-double season, which allowed him to conserve energy during the long season and avoid overexertion.

The downside is that the Knicks will have a tough time against teams that excel at defense, and may even lose games.

Now, Lynch doesn't need to hold back.

When the game gets tough, Lynch can take over at any time and tackle a lot of tough challenges.

He can both ensure the team's floor with passing and ball control like traditional point guards, and he can also do what they can't—raise the team's ceiling with insane firepower.

In the first half, the Hawks proved that their defense was indeed solid.

They deserve a carpet bombing by Lynch.

The game was paused, and the Atlanta Hawks seemed a bit flustered.

They knew perfectly well that their defense had been flawless, with no one making a mistake. But every possession Lynch made was a hard-fought defense, and despite the Hawks' all-out effort, number 20 still seemed to be handling the game with ease.

Mike Budenholzer solemnly told everyone: "Forget LeBron, guys, now, the real tough battle begins!"

Upon hearing this, Dwight Howard volunteered: "I'll guard Lynch one-on-one!"

The biggest advantage of the frontcourt duo of Al Horford and Dwight Howard is that they both possess excellent help defense capabilities.

So even if Dwight Howard goes out to guard Lynch one-on-one, Al Horford can continue to protect the paint, and the Hawks' interior defense won't be wide open.

However, because Dwight Howard is more intimidating in the paint and better at rebounding, he is usually responsible for protecting the paint while Al Horford is responsible for defending.

However, the current situation is special. When Al Horford was defending Lynch, he clearly did not put enough pressure on Lynch.

So Howard decided to switch roles, with him putting pressure on Lynch and Al Horford forming a second line of defense from behind.

He was well aware that personally defending Lynch meant he might come up empty-handed on offense – on this planet, no one could do anything on offense while simultaneously shutting down Lynch’s overwhelming firepower.

This will result in his stats for this series looking very bad.

But he didn't care anymore. Data? Nothing could prove his worth better than personally defeating this "greatest of all time," a figure even Michael Jordan acknowledged!
Mike Budenholzer agreed to the bold proposal: "Go for it, let the world see Atlanta's determination!"

The game restarted, and Dwight Howard's offensive role this time was no different from DeAndre Jordan's. His job was to set off-ball screens and see if there were any opportunities to grab offensive rebounds.

The changes in this guy surprised Lynch.

How much did my arrival actually change?

Carmelo Anthony transformed from a scoring-obsessed player into a versatile forward who excels on both offense and defense.

DeMar DeRozan has transformed from a classic one-on-one player with low playoff efficiency, limited to ball-handling, and an awkward role into a versatile support player capable of both on-ball and off-ball play.

And Dwight Howard was actually willing to be a pure defensive player at the end of his prime.

In this regard, the only person Lynch truly admires is the one and only king in the basketball world.

Only LeBron James remains true to his original aspirations, tirelessly playing the clown in both timelines.

Howard's sacrifice is admirable, but under Jimmy Butler's aggressive defense, Joe's shot after getting past Howard's screen in this possession failed to score.

The Hawks were still down by 5 points. Kyrie Irving controlled the ball up to half-court and looked for Lynch.

But Lynch was found to be completely entangled by Dwight Howard!
Mike Breen shook his head in disbelief: "My God, Dwight was battling Lynch off the ball. I have to say, he was like a shadow of Dennis tonight, his defensive intensity was insane!"

Lynch tried to shake off Warcraft by running backwards, but Warcraft, nearing the end of his prime, was still incredibly agile and easily kept up with Lynch's pace.

A few weeks ago, Shaquille O'Neal and the Jazz discussed a question on "NBA Insider": "If those top rim protectors who dominated the Dark Ages of defense were to come to the present day, would they be completely destroyed by point guards?"

The final conclusion of the discussion was that having two centers would not only prevent them from being overwhelmed, but would also make every defender who dared to challenge them pay a heavy price.

These two people are Ben Wallace and Dwight Howard.

Their top-notch defensive instincts and incredible athleticism ensure they can keep up with any player.

At this moment, Dwight Howard perfectly demonstrated this timeless defensive value.
Although Lynch is not an outside player, his mobility is still amazing.

Even so, he was unable to shake off the monster's entanglement.

Finally, Lynch had to run out to the three-point line, lean against Howard, and reach out for the ball.

Immediately afterwards, Lin Qi waved his hand, signaling everyone to pull away.

He was determined to break free from Dwight Howard's frantic bite!

"Ha," James said, his eyes glued to the TV, "Go, Dwight, show them what kind of player you really are!"

In the previous series, James suffered many setbacks against Howard.

He certainly hoped that everything that happened to him could happen to Lynch.

Lynch knew that breaking through this defense wouldn't be easy.

Warcraft's defensive pressure is unmatched by Al Horford.

However, Al Horford, as the second line of defense behind the monsters, is extremely threatening.

Lynch took a step back to create space and began dribbling.

Dwight Howard continued his pressure, staying close by every inch of Lynch's space. He had absolute confidence in his athleticism and physicality. Even without giving Lynch any space, he was certain he could keep up with Lynch's drives immediately.

Lynch accelerated to the left, drawing Howard to move sideways. Just as their bodies were about to collide, Lynch used his left foot as a pivot, unleashing terrifying power from his core to twist his body to the right and complete the turn!

Lynch's classic breakthrough combination, with his extremely high arc, can get past most players as long as the rhythm is right.

But Dwight Howard immediately stopped, adjusted his center of gravity, and started again, continuing to stick close to Lynch!

Left with no other choice, Lin Qi could only perform a second, more exaggerated and faster crossover, this time creating a half-body distance between himself and the opponent.

The crowd gasped in astonishment. It was unbelievable that Lynch, with his height, hadn't lost the ball after making such a series of changes of direction.

But Al Horford had already pounced on him, ready to shut down Lynch at any moment, or even steal the ball.

Lynch is very strong, but he seems to be helpless against the combined defense of Dwight Howard and Al Horford.

Just as Warcraft and Al Horford were about to complete their pincer attack, Lynch surprisingly made a third consecutive change of direction! And this change of direction was almost instantaneous! His center of gravity shifted again at an incredible angle while moving at high speed!
Mike Brin got goosebumps: "He's practically a 208cm tall Deron Williams!"

The series of moves just now was a brilliant display of Lynch's experience, insight, ball control, physical attributes, and coordination, all combined under high pressure!
Even Lynch himself could not guarantee that he could perfectly replicate this masterpiece of inspiration.

In fact, many classic moments of star players were born under such circumstances, and they are difficult to replicate.

But some miracles, once they shine, are enough to last forever!
Having gotten past Al Horford, the path ahead was clear. Like a beast freed from its cage, Lynch took two long strides to the basket, and with a powerful, sweeping dunk, slammed the ball into the hoop!

"boom!"

A seemingly perfect defensive play was once again broken by Lynch!

When Lynch decides to fire, this is what you have to endure.

On the television screen, the loud thud of the basketball being slammed into the hoop exploded in LeBron James' ears like a thunderclap.

His body, which had been tense with anticipation just a moment ago, suddenly seemed to have all its strength drained away, and he slumped backward into the expensive sofa, his hands uncontrollably covering his head.

“No, no way,” he stammered, repeating broken syllables unconsciously.

The helplessness Kevin Durant felt when he smashed the TV back then was now perfectly replicated in LeBron James.

(End of this chapter)