Agent Qin Dongmei, who is sitting in the third row on the sidelines, not far from the Timberwolves bench, wore a pale pink sleeveless evening dress tonight, showing off the temperament of a classical oriental beauty.
Looking at Lin Fei sitting on the Timberwolves bench, Qin Dongmei's beautiful eyes were shining with light. She was looking forward to Lin Fei and the Timberwolves winning the championship tonight, and she was filled with emotions in her heart.
Qin Dongmei remembers that the last time she came to the Target Center Arena to watch Lin Fei's game was at the end of December last year, near New Year's Day.
It was a game between the Timberwolves and the Rockets at home. The Chinese side hyped it into a Chinese derby, which attracted the attention of many domestic fans.
The second-year Yao scored 19 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks in that game. His performance was quite impressive. It can be said that he easily defeated Olowokandi in the matchup.
However, Lin Fei only played 3 minutes in the garbage time at the end of that game and got 1 assist and 1 foul.
At that time, Qin Dongmei was almost sitting in the same front row position as she is now. She looked at Lin Fei who was feeling lost on the bench, and was also worried about Lin Fei's future after his rookie season.
But now half a year has passed, and everything seems like a lifetime ago.
From a marginalized player on the bench to the leading scorer on the bench, he turned the tide in the Western Conference Finals and averaged second place on the team in points per game in the finals, second only to Wolf King Kevin Garnett.
He also broke a series of three-point shooting records in the finals...
The undrafted rookie who might be cut by the team at any time and completely abandoned by the NBA at any time,
He has quickly grown into a super rookie that two-thirds of the league's teams are competing for.
In Qin Dongmei's view, Lin Fei is still the same Lin Fei, still the training madman, still the young man who traveled across the ocean alone for his dreams and never gave up when encountering setbacks.
Persistence and hard work have finally paid off today. Lin Fei's success in the NBA has been enough to surpass Ben Wallace and become the league's most inspiring and magical undrafted counterattack story.
Sitting in the fourth row of seats behind Qin Dongmei, Little Swift and her father also flew to Minneapolis from New York tonight, looking forward to witnessing the championship moment of the Timberwolves and Lin Fei.
The thin body that is growing taller is also wearing a large Lin Fei Timberwolves No. 22 jersey tonight. Now the little girl has completely become a Lin Fei fan.
Even before the game started, Qin Dongmei had a friendly chat with Swifty and her father, and left each other's phone numbers.
Little Swift's father, Scott Swift, is a very experienced stock investment agent in New York, and Qin Dongmei, as Lin Fei's agent, will definitely cooperate in investment in the future.
"Sister Qin, which team do you think Lin will sign with during the offseason? The Los Angeles Lakers or the New York Knicks?"
Facing Little Swift's wide-eyed inquiry, Qin Dongmei turned around and smiled mysteriously: "Taylor, this is a secret!"
"When the signing is finalized during the offseason, I will definitely call you and tell you as soon as possible!"
Little Swift nodded happily, then her beautiful eyes kept switching between Qin Dongmei and Lin Fei on the bench, and asked curiously:
"Sister Qin, are you Lin's girlfriend?"
Qin Dongmei looked back and smiled, put a slender and white index finger to her lips, and quickly made a "shh" expression towards little Swifty.
"Hurry up and watch the game!"
On the court, the Timberwolves opened the game with a counterattack and fast break.
Cassel made a sudden stop-and-go change of direction during the march, throwing away Billups and attracting Rasheed Wallace's defense. He assisted the Wolf King who followed up in the middle and went straight into the penalty area and delivered a flying dunk. .
"Boom!"
The Target Center Arena burst into cheers, and the Timberwolves' home fans shouted, "Kill the Detroit Pistons, we are the championship."
Because in the battle of Tianwang Mountain in the finals, Pistons fans at the Palace of Auburn Hills started troubles and arbitrarily insulted and mocked their own players.
This naturally made the fans of the Timberwolves excited and hated the fans of the Pistons. When they returned to the home court tonight, the fans' momentum was greatly improved, putting huge pressure on the five Pistons playing away games.
Throughout the first quarter of the game, the situation was always under the control of the Timberwolves. Even without the "Madman", the effect of Szebiak being the starting small forward was equally good.
Hassell's effect in chasing Hamilton was equally good. Under the influence of a broken finger, Hamilton only took two shots in the first quarter and hit 1 goal.
The Wolf King overwhelmed Rasheed Wallace on both offense and defense, scoring 7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block in a single quarter.
Szebiak also hit two three-pointers in the first quarter, and successfully restricted Prince on the defensive end.
Stimulated by the championship, the Timberwolves' starting five are in full swing and share the same hatred, trying their best to win the cup tonight.
Timberwolves (28): (19) Pistons.
After the first quarter, the Timberwolves already led the Pistons by 9 points, and the momentum for winning the championship was excellent.
But "Alien" Cassel insisted on playing the full 12 minutes of the first quarter. Naturally, Flip Saunders wanted him to take more rest in the second quarter and replaced Darrick Martin.
As the backup point guard of the Timberwolves, Darrick Martin's offensive performance is actually not bad. He is a certain threat in terms of organization and mid-to-long-range shooting.
But the disadvantage is that the performance on the defensive end is not very good, and it is almost impossible to guard Chauncey Billups.
It was the same tonight. Billups faced Darrick Martin on the offensive end. With his height and size, he crushed the opponent and hit two goals in a row.
However, Darrick Martin also made up for it by hitting a 45-degree three-pointer from the right side after a pick-and-roll on the offensive end.
In the next defensive round of the Timberwolves, Szebiak took the risk to replace Darik Martin to defend Billups.
Billups, on the other hand, saw the right time, used his calm court judgment and overall view, and accurately gave the ball to Prince, who was withdrawing from the three-point line.
After catching the ball, the "Little Prince" bent his bow and set an arrow, and hit the three-point shot steadily.
"Uh-huh!"
Among the current Pistons' top five, the two who average the highest percentage of three-pointers per game are Billups and Prince. Hamilton focuses more on mid-range and is not good at three-pointers.
In the second quarter, because Cassel was away, the Pistons seized the opportunity and quickly played a 7:3 wave.
The score difference was also caught up to 5 points.
Timberwolves (31): (26) Pistons.
Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders, who was standing on the sidelines, quickly called a long timeout.
In G2 of the Finals, due to Cassel's absence, Darrick Martin was completely beaten by Billups. Flip Saunders had to let "Madman" switch to guard Billups, and then he stopped Lived Mr. Key's outburst.
But tonight "Madman" is suspended, and Cassel, who plays in a closed game, must get enough rest time. The Timberwolves' backcourt defense is full of holes.
Phillip Sanders weighed the pros and cons and decided to send Lin Fei to play early.
"Lin, come on next, replace Darik, and continue to face Hamilton. His finger injury is very serious. He has obviously reduced the number of shots tonight. It shouldn't be difficult to guard against him!"
"Hassell, switch to Billups!"
Lin Fei nodded solemnly, while laughing and high-fiving Hassel. This was the first time the two had partnered in the backcourt in the finals.
It has to be said that Flip Saunders' on-the-spot scheduling and rotation of players in this round of the finals were much bolder than Larry Brown's.
Larry Brown is basically playing with the Pistons' top five. The team's two main players on the bench, Memet Okur and Corris Williams, both average less than 7 minutes per game.
In fact, in the Eastern Conference finals, Larry Brown was relatively open to substitutions. The reason why he did not dare to use substitutes in the finals was naturally due to Lin Fei's superb three-point ability.
Pause back.
Seeing Lin Fei finally go into battle, the cheers and screams in the Target Center Arena instantly increased by several decibels.
"Guess how many three-pointers Lin can hit tonight? A conservative estimate is at least 6, right?"
"Six is too few. Lin had enough playing time in G1, G2 and G5 in the finals. That's an average of 8 three-pointers per game!"
"It doesn't matter how many three-pointers Lin hits. What's important is that we must win this victory tonight to completely end this long season!"
"Timberwolves championship, Timberwolves championship..."
In front of the courtside commentary desk, ESPN's Mike Breen and Chat Ford are responsible for commentating tonight's game, and the commentator is the old assists king Mark Jackson.
This season is the last season of Mark Jackson's career. The 39-year-old Jackson publicly announced his retirement in May, and his next job is likely to be an ESPN commentator.
"As soon as Lin comes on the court, the offensive and defensive rhythm of this finals will definitely speed up. I believe this is definitely what President David Stern would like to see more!"
"The fast-paced game is indeed more exciting. Although the champion of this year's finals has not yet been produced, what is certain is that the excitement of this round of finals is definitely far greater than that of last year's finals when the Spurs played the Nets. !”
"That's right Mike, according to data from ESPN Radio, the number of people in the United States watching the NBA Finals live on TV this year has increased by 35% compared to last year!"
"Lin's off-ball play and precise three-point shooting seem to be subtly changing the NBA game!"
"If Lin can stay healthy, maintain his accurate shooting ability, and continue to improve his defense in the next few seasons, then he is likely to become an epoch-making off-ball genius in the NBA in the new century!"
"Chat, don't you hope Lin can improve his ball-handling ability?"
"Oh no, I still prefer the current Lin. He has a distinctive label and unique charm that no NBA defender has!"
On the court, the Timberwolves attack.
The Wolf King held the ball high at the top of the arc and provided Lin Fei with a customary ball screen.
"Whoosh!"
Lin Fei came up with a lot of physical energy, coupled with the continuous improvement of his absolute speed, this time he used the screen to run from the right side of the top of the arc to the left side, which was quite sharp and fast.
Perhaps Hamilton was still worried about his broken finger, so he subconsciously took precautions when chasing Lin Fei and did not use full speed.
Rasheed Wallace's defense change was also delayed by half a beat. Lin Fei received a pass from the Wolf King at the 45-degree three-point line on the left, bent his bow and shot decisively.
The basketball flew past Wallace's fingertips, turned into Buddha's light, and hit the net.
"Uh-huh!"
Lin Fei quickly hit a three-pointer, and the Target Center Arena burst into cheers.
Timberwolves fans chanted: "First, first, first..."
Flip Saunders, who was standing on the sidelines, smiled and nodded. Lin and the Wolf King's high pick-and-roll must be a big weapon for the Timberwolves tonight.
Because both Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace, who are facing each other, are injured, it is difficult to exert their full strength whether chasing defense or switching defense.
"Lin, come on, you are the best!"
Swift, who was sitting on the sidelines, saw Lin Fei come up and hit a three-pointer. She stood up and cheered excitedly, cheering for her new idol.
Qin Dongmei had a thoughtful smile on her face. At the moment when Lin Fei hit the three-pointer, her memories seemed to fly to the CUBA league a year and a half ago.
At that time, Lin Fei was also omnipotent on the court. As Qingbei's cheerleader, Qin Dongmei and her sisters would always cheer for Lin Fei and the team with their loudest voices.
And it all seems like it happened yesterday.
The opponents and teammates around Lin Fei have all changed. From ordinary college students in China's CUBA, they have transformed into contenders for the NBA championship, including MVPs, DPOYs, and many All-Star players.
But Lin Fei has not changed, he is still the protagonist on the court.
Returning to the defensive end, Hamilton gritted his teeth this time, held up Lin Fei with his back, and took the initiative to ask Billups for the ball.
Although Billups was a little worried, he still chose to give the ball to Hamilton.
Before the start of the game, Lin Fei had already added the 280 free attribute points gained from winning the last game and the 45 free attribute points from three days of training to defense.
This time the defensive attribute has been increased from 53 points to 56 points, and the steal attribute among the five items is still the highest, reaching 69 points.
With Hamilton firmly behind him, Lin Fei's strength was as good as the masked man's, and his defensive attention was also highly concentrated.
"Whoosh!"
Hamilton dribbled with his left hand and turned to the right, but Lin Fei had successfully predicted the opponent's choice long ago, slid quickly, and blocked Hamilton's breakthrough trajectory in advance.
Hamilton took advantage of the opportunity and used a hip dribble change to shake Lin Fei away, but he was not good at breaking through with the ball. Coupled with the injury to his right hand, this change of direction was a bit abrupt.
Lin Fei's 69-point steal finally came in handy. His long arm was like a snake, and he poked the basketball off Hamilton's crotch.
"Whoosh!"
While reaching out to poke the ball, Lin Fei also gathered strength in his ankle, quickly rushed over from one side, and reached out to completely control the ball.
This is a beautiful and complete steal, and it is also the first time Lin Fei has completed a steal in this round of the finals, and even in the entire NBA rookie season.
Lin Fei caught the basketball and accelerated the ball, but he just dribbled the ball awkwardly for the first time and felt that he was going to make a mistake, so he didn't hesitate and quickly gave the ball to Hassell who was on the left side.
But the quality of Lin Fei's pass was also very poor. Billups, who was following up, flew back and grabbed it.
"Snapped!"
Three black lines suddenly floated down Lin Fei's forehead. These days without dribbling and passing are really difficult!
However, in the next moment, the situation on the court suddenly changed again. Before Billups could hold the ball he had just snatched back, he was slapped to the ground by Szebiak who rushed up quickly from his side.
"Snapped!"
Lin Fei's eyes lit up, and without any hesitation, he accelerated towards the frontcourt.
"Whoosh!"
Szebiak's assist also came from the man and the ball. This time, there was no big pass. Lin Fei took two steps outside at a 45-degree angle on the right side and took the ball in one go.
"Uh-huh!"
I didn't get home until ten o'clock in the evening because I had something to do today. I'll do one update first, and I'll make up for at least three updates tomorrow. Thank you for your understanding!
(End of chapter)
