I fell in love with Toutiao and became the GOAT.

Chapter 99 He's Not a Blue-Collar Worker

In the game against the Pacers, the Warriors didn't truly secure the victory until the final three minutes of the fourth quarter.

The final buzzer sounded, and the score was 123-108, with the Warriors easily defeating the Pacers on the road.

第四节刚打到一半就已经拿下三双的林北，此役最终砍下17分、18个篮板、11记助攻，外加1次抢断和4个大帽。

A triple-double, the stats are so impressive they're almost unreasonable.

On the TNT commentary desk, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kenny Smith spent the entire night repeatedly analyzing the passes made by Lin Bei during the game.

"Everyone says Best Lin is a pure blue-collar center, but after watching this game, I think that assessment needs to be questioned."

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The first person to utter this statement was none other than Barkley.

Kenny Smith narrowed his eyes and mercilessly exposed his old partner: "You didn't say that at all when the game just started."

At the start of the game, Barkley still remembered how Lin Bei had mercilessly crushed his "Chuck Team" during the All-Star Weekend Rising Stars Challenge, so he naturally didn't say anything nice.

But now—

"Do you think this kid's fighting style is exactly like that of a flying pig, so your opinion has changed?"

Barkley waved his hand: "I'm not that shallow."

Then his expression turned serious, and he said earnestly, "Just look at his passing. Those two or three behind-the-back passes that he didn't even look at, and that unexpected lob pass—could a blue-collar center make those kinds of passes?"

O'Neal, who particularly liked Lin Bei, nodded vigorously: "Charles is right. At least Kelly Irving couldn't make that kind of pass."

To be honest, TNT's three top commentators originally planned to stop Lin Bei after the game and do a sideline interview.

But Lin Bei's rules have always been something that CCTV and domestic fans must never neglect.

So, he once again declined TNT's post-game sideline interview.

This left Barkley with a lot of unanswered questions, such as, "Did you learn your post-up game from me?"

In the locker room after the game, Lin Bei was asked this question by a reporter.

Lin Bei was clearly taken aback. Did he learn his back-to-the-basket move from Barkley?

The correct answer is, of course: No!

His backhand shot, strictly speaking, was learned from Howard. The fundamental logic is—Howard can backhand the ball, so can Lin Beijue…

You can do it yourself!

Some of the tips and tricks were also learned bit by bit from Howard.

As for Barkley?

Jazz's playing career was indeed known for his devastating back-to-the-basket moves, but upon closer examination, those moves are not suitable for Lin Bei to simply copy.

On the one hand, times have changed, and the rules and standards of officiating are no longer the same;

On the other hand—

Lin Bei glanced at his rather perky buttocks. People often joked that he looked like Captain America, and his buttocks did indeed resemble Captain America's, with a slight curve and a perky shape.

But when it comes to lower body strength, he estimated that he was still quite a bit inferior to the peak Flying Pig.

Moreover, Fei Zhu's back-to-the-basket move is mostly done with high post possession, and he often turns around and shoots after driving halfway down the court, but Lin Bei doesn't have a mid-range shot at all.

This path is not viable for him.

But Lin Bei thought again, it would be too shameful to admit in public that he was learning from Howard. What kind of half-baked backfight was Howard?

In addition, he immediately realized that Barkley was a powerful tool for winning over public opinion.

This guy has a proactive personality; he's one of the few commentators who won't be corrupted by Nike. As long as Lin Bei does what he wants, he'll be willing to stand up and speak for Lin Bei.

"That's right, I studied Charles Barkley."

Lin Bei accepted it without changing his expression.

The ESPN reporter raised an eyebrow and followed up with, "So, do you consider yourself a descendant of the Flying Pig?"

Despite the surging embarrassment within him, Lin Bei forced a smile and said, "I guess so?"

In the post-match interviews, the remaining reporters focused on something else entirely: "You made many NoIookpass passes in this game; we've never seen you make similar passes before. Is this a newly developed skill of yours?"

Lin Bei nodded: "I'd say it's a new skill."

"You seem to have been growing all season – from a pure rebounder at the beginning of the season to gradually developing three-pointers, blocks, and passing skills. How did you manage to make such a transformation so quickly?"

As the season progressed to this stage, Lin Bei, who had been growing wildly all along, was eventually noticed by those with ulterior motives.

But he had nothing to worry about. He just shrugged and said frankly, "In fact, my selling point during the draft was my versatility."

I'm just adapting to this league and gradually realizing the talent I've always had.

He wasn't exaggerating when he said that; Lin Bei's selling point during the talent show was indeed his versatility.

However, in the cruel world of the NBA, most rookies who are touted as all-around talents during the draft turn out to be all-around incompetent once they enter the league.

For example, Derek Williams, who was also selected second overall in the 2011 NBA draft.

The selling point during the draft was that he was a versatile forward who could play both the three and four positions. However, after half a season, he became an awkward player who was neither a three nor a four and could not play any position.

As the saying goes, one of the top two picks in the NBA draft is bound to be a flop—and it seems that the 2011 draft class is destined to be a flop for Derek Williams.

「17分18个篮板11次助攻1次抢断4记盖帽————全明星周末之后，贝斯特·林再出力作，这是2011届选秀诞生的第二个三双！」

"Fancy passing, 11 assists in a single game, and a solid low-post back-to-the-basket move—Best Lin calls himself the successor of the Flying Pig—"

—”

"With his scoring steadily improving and assists skyrocketing, Best Lin is closing in on Kyrie Irving."

'

After playing the game against the Pacers, the Warriors left Indianapolis overnight.

The stretch following the All-Star Weekend is a long and grueling road trip.

Following the Pacers, there's a back-to-back game against the Hawks.

Although Lin Bei, who scored his first career triple-double, did not top the headlines of major media outlets after yesterday's game, reports about him still filled the pages.

The first Yahoo Sports report was fairly comprehensive, specifically highlighting: Kemba Walker of the Bobcats was the first player in the 2011 draft to record a triple-double.

那是1月29日山猫对奇才的比赛，肯巴·沃克面对沃尔，轰下20分10篮板11助攻的三双。

Lin Bei regrets that he couldn't win the triple-double title that year.

Then came BR's report, which focused entirely on mocking Lin Bei's nickname "Successor of the Flying Pig".

Finally, there's ESPN's report. ESPN is arguably the media outlet most corrupted by Nike, even though their data expert, Zach Lowe, is one of the most vocal supporters of Lin Bei in the industry.

But look at their post-game headlines, what does "Lin Bei frantically chases Irving" even mean?

"It's not me who's falling behind now!"

In this back-to-back game against the Hawks, the Warriors' performance dropped significantly.

Ultimately, it comes down to a lack of bench depth.

Playing consecutive away games has taken a heavy toll on the key players.

Even Lin Bei, in terms of physical fitness, is not a monster.

Curry's shooting touch went cold from the start of the game, missing several shots in a row.

The Hawks focused almost entirely on Curry's defense, which ironically gave Lin Bei two opportunities to steal two three-pointers.

With some putbacks and easy baskets, Lin Bei still managed to score 15 points, along with 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks in this game.

Judging solely from the data panel, it's still not bad.

Unfortunately, the Warriors ultimately lost to the Hawks in a back-to-back game.

After winning that crucial game against the Knicks, their seven-game winning streak came to an end that night.

But even after losing this game, the Warriors' record of 20 wins and 12 losses is still excellent.

They could easily crush Kelly Irving's Cavaliers.

Lin Bei's act of claiming to be a descendant of Flying Pig the day before finally earned him a significant voice in the public opinion.

After the game, Barkley publicly declared: "Best Lin not only has a superior team record, but his statistics are also on par with Kyrie Irving's. It seems that his Rookie of the Year competition with Kyrie Irving is somewhat similar to the 2004 matchup between LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony —"

"I think the player with the better record should be the one to make the same mistake as Rookie of the Year in 2004, and it shouldn't be repeated."

As a result, Charles Barkley's outspoken remarks first provoked a backlash from LeBron James' camp.

"The 2004 Rookie of the Year award was correct —"

Meanwhile, Lin Bei continued to travel with the team to away games.

They flew to Philadelphia overnight, and their next away game was against the 76ers.

At the beginning of the season, the Warriors played a game against the 76ers.

That game can be considered the starting point of Lin Bei's breakout career. Facing the soft center Spencer Hawes, Lin Bei directly scored 15 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, setting a new high for scoring at the time.

In this match, Lin Bei plans to officially showcase his low-post singles skills.

Against a heavy center like Roy Hibbert, his low-post game is still not up to par;

Against the experienced Zaza Pachulia, his low-post offense struggled to find its rhythm.

But even though his opponent was now Hawes, whom he had beaten up at the beginning of the season, Lin Bei was still full of confidence.

Coincidentally, the controversy surrounding the Rookie of the Year award, sparked by Charles Barkley, was still gaining momentum before this game.

First, James' side countered: "There was no mistake in the 2004 Rookie of the Year award."

Following this, Cleveland, taking advantage of the momentum of James's camp, also launched a fierce rebuttal.

"The Warriors' leader is David Lee, or at the very least, Stephen Curry."

Best Lin is just a role player; his team's better record doesn't prove anything.

"Although Kyrie Irving's record is poor, every win he has won is the result of his grit and determination."

Ultimately, this is just a rehash of the old argument about blue-collar workers.

And they continued to use various methods to suppress Lin Bei, arguing that "Irving needs to solve more problems, while Lin Bei only needs to play his own role."

On the Warriors' first day in Philadelphia, Lin Bei put his arm around Curry's shoulder and whispered, "In this game, I'll be in the low post..."

"Make room for me, and remember to pass the ball to me."

Curry rolled his eyes: "You said the same thing in the game before last, and what happened? You just kept dribblering the ball around in the high post."

Lin Bei blushed and retorted, "Wasn't it because Roy Hibbert was too tough? This match is different."

Even so, Curry nodded: "I'll pass it to you, don't worry."

After a full day of rest on the road, the Warriors' form has clearly recovered considerably.

March 2nd, the day of the competition.

The league announced the Rookie of the Month for February.

In the East, it's still Kyrie Irving, averaging 18.5 points and 5.9 assists per game, winning the award for the second consecutive month.

西部，自然也还是林北，出战13场比赛，场均18.4分15.3个篮板4.7个助攻1.2次抢断3.2个盖帽。

The announcement of this round of Rookie of the Month awards is nothing short of another resounding slap in the face to Kyrie Irving's camp.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe wrote on his personal page: “In terms of monthly stats, Best Lin’s only disadvantages over Kyrie Irving are points and assists, with a difference of only 0.1 points and 1.2 assists.”

In contrast, his rebounding and shot-blocking abilities were overwhelmingly superior.

"Add to that his overwhelming lead in advanced statistics, and the 2011 Rookie of the Year award should undoubtedly be Best Lin!"

In addition, Ben Greave, an expert from Sports Illustrated, stepped forward and directly refuted the blue-collar argument: "Blue-collar? What blue-collar player can average 18.4 points and 4.7 assists per game in a single month?!"

Even Bill Simmons, a well-known commentator who frequently writes columns for ESPN and The New York Times, wrote a long article specifically for Lin Bei.

He didn't mention the Rookie of the Year race much; he just wanted to praise Lin Bei.

"While everyone is busy declaring the decline of centers and the death of traditional big men, I want to praise Best Lin."

With Shaq retired, Dwight Howard plagued by injuries and off-court troubles, and rising stars like Andrew Bynum failing to live up to expectations, Best Lin has risen to prominence!

"Throughout his rookie season, he improved by a step almost every month."

Last December, he seemed to be just a pure rebounding machine, with at most an unreliable three-point shot:

In January of this year, after returning from suspension due to a racial discrimination incident, he immediately pulled out a passing move;

By February, his defense had become even more suffocating, and his finishing around the basket had become extremely consistent.

「2月他场均18.4分、15.3个篮板、4.7个助攻、1.2次抢断、3.2个盖帽这是一个什幺级别的数据？得分、篮板和防守，他已然完全是德怀特·霍华德级别的存在，再算上他那一手策应传球————」

"After much thought, I finally found a suitable model to describe him: Bill Walton!"

Indeed, in Bill Simmons' view, Lin Bei is like a smaller version of Bill Walton.

1976—77赛季，开拓者夺冠那一年，沃顿场均18.6分、14.4个篮板、3.8次助攻、1.0

The 3.2 steals and 2 blocks are indeed highly similar to Lin Bei's stats from February, and their playing styles are also very similar.

A top-tier defensive anchor, a high-post playmaker on offense, and capable of initiating fast breaks —

虽然林北赛季至今的场均数据仍停留在16.1分、15.0个篮板、3.6个助攻、0.9次抢断和2.1个盖帽，但他的各项数据仍在以肉眼可见的速度疯狂上涨，这一点同样显而易见。

Bill Simmons directly elevated Lin Bei's role model to the level of Bill Walton, which is equivalent to using the most authoritative method to completely shatter the clichés of the Cleveland side: Lin Bei is by no means a blue-collar worker.

"Based on his record and performance statistics, Lin Bei is truly the best center in the world!"

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