I fell in love with Toutiao and became the GOAT.

Despite being the defending champions, the Mavericks had essentially entered a semi-rebuilding phase after winning the title.

Championship center Tyson Chandler was poached by the Knicks for a hefty sum, and Jose Barea, known as "the mountain of Puerto Rico," also failed to stay.

With their star player Dirk Nowitzki having declined significantly compared to last season, the Mavericks are now only on the edge of the Western Conference playoffs.

Brandon Haywood, who was Chan Tyson's backup last year, has been brought back to the starting lineup this year, but he is only a pseudo-starter, playing only 20 minutes per game.

In the first possession, Curry missed a mid-range shot, and Brandon Haywood quickly turned his back to Lin Bei, but Lin Bei rushed out and grabbed the offensive rebound while simultaneously putting it back in for a dunk.

With a loud crash!

Two points and one rebound instantly appeared on Lin Bei's statistics table.

"That's a bit too easy..."

He turned to look at Brandon Haywood, whom he had easily squeezed behind him, and was a little confused.

Haywood's peak performance was not bad; two seasons ago, he was a top role player averaging 9.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game.

During this period, Haywood did not suffer any serious injuries, and judging from his solid muscles, it did not seem like a decline caused by tanking.

Lin Bei, who couldn't figure it out, simply gave up. Anyway, he had already won the first round.

When it was the Mavericks' turn to attack, Haywood crouched inside the paint, and Lin Bei kept a close eye on him, not daring to relax.

The driver received a pass from Kidd on the left side of the midfield and made a mid-range jumper over David Lee, tying the score at 2-2.

Actually, the veteran driver's ability has not declined this season; his decline is mainly due to his form.

This is evidenced by the fact that in the 2013-14 season, he played 80 games and his statistics almost returned to the level of his championship-winning season.

Turning to attack, Lin Bei blocked a shot for Curry at the top of the arc.

Haywood stood near the free-throw line, looking hesitant, as if he wanted to rush out to defend but was also wary of something.

Ultimately, under Lin Bei's powerful three-point threat, he still gritted his teeth and defended out.

As a result, Lin Bei provided a solid screen, blocking Kidd, whose legs were already slow.

Haywood tried to move forward to stop him, but Curry easily bypassed him with a burst of speed.

While blocking Kidd, Lin Bei watched Haywood slowly turn around like a clumsy aircraft carrier. By the time he was fully turned around, Curry had already driven to the basket.

Marion rushed out to help defend, Curry seized the opportunity and threw out a floater, and with a swish, the Warriors took a 4-2 lead.

Lin Bei instantly understood the trick behind that shot.

Heywood's decline is probably related to the changing times.

Although the Warriors' championship win in 2015 is widely considered the starting point of the small-ball era, the small-ball style of play has gradually become the mainstream in the league since then.

But as a LeBron fan, Lin Bei has to stand up and say something about LeBron: long before the Warriors, the Heat's Big Three had already accelerated their counter-attacking style.

The true hallmark of the small-ball era should be LeBron James' fast break.

The league is speeding up, and a bulky, traditional center like Haywood simply can't keep up with the league's new pace, so it's no surprise that his statistics have declined.

Thinking of this, Lin Bei instantly understood the next strategy.

In the second wave of defense in this game, Lin Bei completely ignored Haywood.

The Mavericks' starting shooting guard is Vince Carter, and in this play, Carter drove to the basket and penetrated into the paint.

Lin Bei rushed up to help defend without hesitation, using his long arms to interfere and forcing Carter to only be able to make a weak fadeaway jump shot.

With a loud crash!

Haywood, positioned under the basket, grabbed the rebound before Lin Bei could land.

But when he landed and tried to put the ball back up, Lin Bei quickly returned and suppressed him, forcing him to jump and lay up, but the ball was much shorter than expected.

Lin Bei grabbed the rebound from Haywood's missed putback. In this defensive play, he got a defensive rebound, while Haywood got an offensive rebound. It seemed that everyone had a bright future ahead of them.

But the very next second after grabbing the rebound, Lin Bei showed Haywood with his actions: the future does not belong to you.

He made a mid-range pass, flicking his long arm and accurately delivering the ball to Curry, who had already turned and sprinted.

At the same time, Lin Bei himself rushed to the frontcourt at full speed, leading Curry, Klay, and Dorell Wright to launch a fast counterattack with four players against three in the frontcourt.

The matchups on the court instantly became clear: Kidd guarded Curry, Carter guarded Klay, Marion guarded Wright...

Lin Bei was the only one left unattended.

He strode forward, closely following Curry, and leaped up from a great distance under the basket.

Curry understood perfectly and delivered a high-lob pass.

Lin Bei caught the ball steadily in mid-air and slammed it into the basket!

With a loud crash, the Oracle Bone Script Center erupted in cheers that were deafening.

Lin Bei had 4 points and 2 rebounds, while Curry added 1 assist. The ones who truly have a bright future are Lin Bei and Curry.

As for Haywood, he followed Lin Bei for a couple of steps, but he couldn't even catch a whiff of Lin Bei's exhaust fumes.

Next, another defensive round.

The veteran driver received the ball again and turned to shoot a jump shot from the waist position.

Clang!

This time, Lin Bei didn't go to help defend or help out; instead, he stayed under the basket and directly tried to box out Haywood.

For a heavy center like Haywood, slowness might be a small advantage, but he has no advantage in the physical strength that a heavy center should excel in.

His strength was only at the level of an average seven-foot-tall man.

Lin Bei turned around and blocked Lin Bei's position. Haywood struggled desperately, but he could not shake Lin Bei's position.

Lin Bei easily caught the rebound and then made another accurate long pass.

Curry, who trusted Lin Bei completely, had already turned and sprinted the moment the driver made the move.

The speed was so fast that Lin Bei couldn't help but wonder if Curry would become the number one early-attack player in this life.

After all, at this stage, LeBron James was only good at fast breaks and had not yet mastered the essence of early attacks.

In the frontcourt, Curry received a pass from Lin Bei, shook off Kidd, and hit a three-pointer directly from beyond the three-point line.

With a whoosh!

Amidst the deafening cheers from the Oracle Bone Center, Lin Bei, backstage, gave a thumbs-up from afar: "Great job!"

If Curry had taken one more step, Lin Bei's pass would have just been a play initiating a counterattack, without any direct statistical feedback.

But Curry hit a three-pointer, and Lin Bei's stat sheet gained an extra assist.

Good Thick Rice is Good Thick Rice!

At the start of the game, Lin Bei had 4 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist, showing a very active performance.

Yi Jianlian sat at the end of the bench, watching Lin Bei's performance over this period. He didn't want to admit it, but he had to, that Lin Bei's performance was much better than his peak.

Lin Bei's impact on the game was obvious to the naked eye; none of his 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist were padded.

……

In the following matches, Lin Bei continued to bully Haywood, who was not old but weak.

On the defensive end, he relentlessly grabbed rebounds.

On offense, he positioned himself completely outside, making it impossible for the bulky Haywood to defend him.

In the first quarter, the Warriors led the Mavericks 31-24, a 7-point advantage.

The point difference wasn't huge, but Lin Bei's performance was phenomenal.

After that initial burst of energy, he also had a putback and a three-pointer.

In the first quarter alone, he racked up 9 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and a big block.

"If this keeps up, today's statistics table is going to be overflowing..."

During the holiday break, Lin Bei was frantically reading about the competition again.

With a near double-double in the first quarter, Lin Bei was eager to try his luck. He had finally encountered a center below the league average and was determined to break at least one career high in this game.