I fell in love with Toutiao and became the GOAT.

Chapter 100 A Major Outbreak at a Low Level

Before playing the 76ers, Lin Bei was already touted by Bill Simmons as the best center in the world.

Here, we must mention Bill Simmons' current status. His basketball book, "The History of Basketball," was published in 2009 and topped the New York Times bestseller list last year.

He also writes columns for platforms such as ESPN, which have a very wide audience.

Putting everything else aside, as a football fan in his previous life, Lin Bei had read quite a few of Bill Simmons' column articles.

Of course, it's a translated version.

Calling him the number one basketball expert in North America might be an exaggeration.

But it's almost accurate to say that his articles have the largest readership in North America.

In short, the discussion about whether Lin Bei is the best center in the world became quite heated after Bill Simmons published this column.

Some agree, given that Howard's performance this season has been inconsistent, marked by back injuries, trade rumors, and the early-season racial incident.

Some people in the past believed that Andrew Bynum was the best center this season.

An Zhu's performance this season, averaging 18.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.9 blocks per game, is within the scope of discussion for the best center, and Lin Bei certainly can too.

Apart from these three, the remaining centers in the world either have a record so bad that they are deep in the lottery (DeMarcus Cousins) or they don't even average 15 points per game (Marc Gasol, etc.), so they are naturally not within the scope of this discussion.

Some people disagree, because Lin Bei's current scoring data is still a bit lacking.

"Isn't it a bit too hasty to compete with Andrew Bynum, who averages over 18 points, and Dwight Howard, who averages 20 points, when he only averages 16.1 points per game?"

However, this type of dissenting voice is still relatively uncommon.

After all, Bill Simmons said that Lin Bei averaged 18.4 points per game in February, and in terms of monthly scoring, he was no worse than An Zhu.

The prevailing criticism remains: "Without face-up offense and a sufficient number of low-post attacks, can this center really be called the best center?"

Although strictly speaking, Howard didn't have either of these two aspects, peak Howard had a very high frequency of low-post back-to-the-basket moves.

According to statistics, from 2007 to 2011, his low-post back-to-the-basket scoring accounted for 50% to 60% of his total points, making him one of the starting centers in the league who relied most heavily on low-post back-to-the-basket scoring.

Although Howard's low-post back-to-the-basket game is terrible, he plays it so often that few people would question whether he has any back-to-the-basket skills.

As for Andrew Wiggins, he truly has the ability to back down his opponent in the low post. In terms of low post skills alone, he is much better than Dwight Howard.

The downsides are the lack of footwork variation and the low frequency of use before this season.

But it's true that even though Antetokounmpo's stats are all behind Howard's, he can still be discussed as the best center because of his superior low-post back-to-the-basket game.

As for face-up offense, neither of them possesses it.

Using Howard's low-post back-to-the-basket moves to pressure Lin Bei is currently the only way for Nike-affiliated forces to suppress Lin Bei.

Even Barkley, who had been speaking up for Lin Bei these past few days, couldn't retort.

The reason is that, although Lin Bei is known as the "successor of the Flying Pig", he does not hit back attacks very often.

Lin Bei's low-post back-to-the-basket move originated from the All-Star Weekend game; he made a difficult back-to-the-basket move against Howard and scored a basket.

After the All-Star break, against the Pacers, he struggled to post up Roy Hibbert in the low post.

Then, against the Hawks, facing Zaza Pachulia, Lin Bei had three or four low-post back-to-the-basket plays in back-to-back games.

Overall, however, he still doesn't post up very often, and his scoring percentage is not high enough.

"It's just a low-post back-to-the-basket move, bro, we'll show them that in this game!"

Lin Bei had been paying close attention to the changes in public opinion after Bill Simmons' column was published, and he saw the discussions at the TNT Roundtable.

Brian Windhorst has consistently pointed out that Lin Bei, aside from defense and high-post playmaking, lacks a true center position weapon.

Lin Bei thought of his low-post back-to-the-basket moves and also of this away game against the 76ers, and his opponent, Hawes.

It was just a coincidence. He needed to prove that he also had a good low-post back-to-the-basket game, and then he ran into Spencer Hawes, who was an easy target.

The game took place that night at the Wells Fargo Center, the home arena of the 76ers.

Philadelphia's basketball market is rather weak, home attendance is rather low, and the atmosphere is somewhat subdued.

This might explain why, in their past lives, the 76ers, despite their all-around offensive style, managed to reach the playoffs but still had to tank and rebuild.

Without outstanding star players, it's indeed difficult for the football market to heat up.

There wasn't much pre-match hype surrounding this game, which may be one of the reasons for the dismal attendance.

In short, amidst a sparse round of applause, the two teams made their first appearances.

76ers: Jrue Holiday, Jody Meeks, Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand, Spencer Hawes

Warriors: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Dorell Wright, David Lee, Lin Bei. Since this wasn't their first time facing each other, Hawes was very wary of Lin Bei from the start, knowing that Lin Bei was a center with excellent athleticism.

But with a whistle, referee Tony Brazes blew his whistle, and Lin Bei still leaped up and easily defeated Hawes.

Curry controlled the basketball and quickly pushed it across half-court.

At the top of the arc, not seeing Lin Bei's screen, he quickly looked towards the basket.

Sure enough, he spotted Lin Bei, who was already in a good position under the basket.

The atmosphere on the Warriors team isn't exactly outstanding, but at least there aren't that many backstabbing and infighting among the players.

When Lin Bei needed the ball in the low post, David Lee, the nominal leader of the Warriors, immediately stepped back, clearing space in the low post.

Next, Lin Bei easily took a prominent position and sat down with Spencer Hawes.

Then he received a pass from Curry.

Lin Bei's opponent, Spencer Hawes

A white center, technically skilled, with a face-up offense and high-post playmaking ability; after the small-ball era developed for a while, he could even shoot three-pointers.

In fact, this guy's characteristics are quite similar to Lin Bei's, who is about to officially begin this low-post back-to-the-basket game.

But after Lin Bei started pushing forward with his back to the basket, the two were no longer players of the same style.

Hawes' physicality has always been his weakness. At the beginning of the season, Lin Bei had to rely on his ability to grab rebounds to win the rebounding battle against other opponents.

But against Hawes, Lin Bei could even awkwardly box out for a rebound.

At this moment, Lin Bei, who already possessed the [Talent: Wall] and had made some progress in building up his strength, easily pushed forward twice and crushed Hoyce.

Under the basket, Lin Bei executed a smooth spin layup.

With a whoosh!

The basketball flew quickly through the net. Just 16 seconds into the game, Lin Bei scored a basket with a low post back-to-the-basket move and a turnaround layup.

In the otherwise quiet Wells Fargo Center, a cheer erupted immediately after the basket, coming from a corner – the Warriors' bench was in a frenzy.

"A low-post back-to-the-basket move, followed by a spin move for a score—is Best Lin responding to the media frenzy of the past two days?"

The commentators for this match changed again, with Bill Walton and Ernie Jensen now providing commentary on Lin Bei's matches more often.

So Ernie Jensen noticed something was wrong immediately.

When they were commentating on Lin Bei's last game, Lin Bei hadn't yet used a low post back-to-the-basket move. But in this game, he started with a low post back-to-the-basket move right away. Isn't that a clear response?

"What do you think of his low-post back-to-the-basket move, Beal?"

Ernie Jensen quickly posed a question, to which Bill Walton shook his head: "Honestly, Spencer Hawes was too far behind him in terms of physicality. I didn't see any low-post back-to-the-basket skills in that play."

"So, Bill Simmons thinks you're the model for Best Lin. What's your opinion on that?"

This time, Bill Walton didn't hesitate at all, and smiled: "I've actually thought about this issue these past couple of days, and my conclusion is that this kid is indeed very much like me—excellent defense, great long passes, and an extremely strong ability to read the game —"

As he spoke, Ernie Jensen burst into laughter: "Why do I feel like you're bragging, Bill?"

Bill Walton actually chimed in, "Using me as a template for this kid is really praising me. I think, regardless of anything else, this kid's passing and three-point shooting are better than mine, and his defense is no worse than mine. I think, given a little more time, he will definitely be an upgraded version of Bill Walton."

Bill Walton's high praise for Lin Bei surprised Ernie Jensen.

"But he doesn't have your excellent low-post skills—"

"That's why I said we need to give him a little more time."

On the court, Lin Bei quickly got into the game after scoring with a low post back-to-the-basket move right from the start.

In the turn of the 76ers' possession, their main strategy was to create chaos. Holiday controlled the top of the key for a while, then used a screen from Hawes to move inside.

Without a second thought, Lin Bei switched onto Holiday's defense. Once on the defensive end, he was quick to catch up with Holiday's pace.

Ernie Jensen then compared him to Bill Walton: "How do you think his switching on defense compares to yours?"

Bill Walton: "Pretty much, when I was healthy, I was just as agile as him."

Holiday was tightly marked by Lin Bei's switch defense, and a cross pass found Jody Meeks, who was unable to shake off the defense. The latter still managed to shoot a three-pointer despite Klay's interference.

With a loud crash!

While holding off Holiday, Lin Bei was also able to turn around and grab the rebound.

The moment he grabbed the rebound, Lin Bei turned and drove to the basket.

Since the game against the Pacers, there have been many clips of Lin Bei dribbling and advancing the ball.

Although his opponents had noticed his ball-handling and advancing, the Hawks even targeted that aspect.

But in this game, the 76ers didn't seem to have any intention of targeting him. They just watched as Lin Bei grabbed the rebound and drove at high speed, crossing the mid-court line before passing the ball to Curry, who was moving even faster on the other side.

Curry drove straight to the basket and, facing Holiday who was chasing him, lobbed a shot over the defender and laid it off.

With a whoosh!

4-0, and Lin Bei even scored an assist in this counterattack.

"Two points, one rebound, and one assist—that's Best Lin's stats for these two possessions. Yesterday, TNT's roundtable discussion was still emphasizing that he's a blue-collar center, but he seems determined to shatter those stereotypes right from the start of this game."

Even Ernie Jensen, who didn't quite approve of Lin Bei, thought Lin Bei was a blue-collar worker, based purely on his impressions.

To put it bluntly, what blue-collar center can dribble up the court and make a pass that spans half the court?

Moreover, at the start of the battle, Lin Bei successfully executed a low-post backhand shot.

On the court, the 76ers' offense was once again a chaotic mess.

But this time, it was Iguodala who stepped up and launched a powerful attack against Dorell Wright.

During his time with the 76ers, Iguodala carried the scoring load for a period of time. Although he didn't carry it very well, he still had the ability to score around 18 or 19 points.

With rebounds and assists both exceeding 5, his playing style over the past few seasons is very similar to a smaller version of LeBron James.

He drove to the basket and launched a floater.

Lin Bei was tied down by Hoyce and was unable to provide any defensive support.

So in reality, Lin Bei's defense was actually limited in this game.

This is what is meant by using different tactics against different opponents. Lin Bei's luck was both very good and very bad.

The reason is that he is already able to play various one-on-one games in the low post, just like Howard.

However, due to his opponents in these two games, as well as Roy Hibbert, who will play Howard in the All-Star Game and the Pacers after the All-Star Weekend, he does not have an absolute advantage in strength and physical confrontation, so he naturally cannot play the back-to-the-basket moves he wants.

For Zaza Pachulia of the Hawks, the problem lies in back-to-back games; his stamina cannot withstand the numerous low-post back-to-the-basket plays.

Even Lin Bei at his peak would find it difficult to defeat the experienced Zaza.

Therefore, this period should have been Lin Bei's time to have a breakout performance with his low-post back-to-the-basket game, but it had to be postponed due to the opponent.

In this game, his defense will be severely limited by Hawes, who has a mid-to-long-range shooting ability, making it difficult for him to easily cover the strong side.

Iguodala scored with a floater.

But actually, this is a good thing for Lin Bei.

The score was 2-4, followed by a Warriors offensive run.

Failing to contain their opponent meant the Warriors lost the opportunity to launch a counterattack, but once the game was settled, all that people saw was Lin Bei once again sitting in the low post against Hawes.

David Lee still gave up his low post position, and Curry still found David Lee to run a pick-and-roll, creating an opening, and immediately passed the ball to Lin Bei in the low post.

So, in the low post, Lin Bei made two more drives, getting past the weak-handed Hawes, and then scored with a turnaround layup.

"Dalin's play in this game was very targeted, with consecutive low-post back-to-the-basket moves. After all, we all know that before the game, the Americans questioned Dalin because he lacked low-post skills."

"But look at Da Lin's two low-post back-to-the-basket moves, his technique is really good!"

The CCTV commentator, Coach Zhang, who played as a second center during his playing career, actually knows very well what a true low-post back-to-the-basket technique should be like, and he also knows that Lin Bei's two moves are not a true low-post back-to-the-basket.

But he still shamelessly started bragging—

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