Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 529 A New Round of Alliance Arms Race! Lin Tian Launches Another Attack

After the All-Star Game, each team still has about 35 regular season games to play.

Whether each team continues to strive for better results, settles for the playoffs, or goes all out to tank and achieve an even worse result, depends entirely on the decisions of each team's management.

Regardless of what the teams are thinking, fans don't need to wait until the end of the season to find out. The management's actions before the deadline are enough for fans to understand what their favorite teams are aiming for this season.

Some teams are facing internal strife and must make trades, even drastic ones, to keep their teams aggressive and competitive in the coming period.

For example, the Indiana Pacers, who are currently ranked tenth in the Eastern Conference.

The conflict between Webber and Artest, and even the incompatibility between Artest and the rest of the team, has long been an open secret in the league.

As for Artest himself, he was a troublemaker when he was with the Bulls, and he was a troublemaker after Lin Tian left. The only time he wasn't a troublemaker was during the year he played with Lin Tian.

And with his constant stirring up trouble, his trading value has now essentially plummeted.

Therefore, before any transactions even began, Lin Tian's nickname "Beast Tamer" became even more widely known.

At the same time, another phrase also resonated throughout the league.

"Lin Tian is the only person in the entire league who has the instruction manual for Artest."

The entire league is watching to see if the Knicks will make a move and buy in at a low price.

Walsh: No way!

The team's frontcourt is already overflowing. Anthony, Jackson, Barnes, Smith, and Wallace are all eager for more playing time. If Houston can return next season, the team will give this veteran player at least 20 more minutes.

He directly refused to call and inquire, which Bird was willing to do as a favor, leaving Bird quite frustrated.

Of course, before making the decision, Walsh also went to Lin Tian: "Lin, do you want to team up with Ron? If you do, I can help you anytime."

Walsh himself wouldn't dare to decide who to appoint or dismiss. As I said before, his biggest advantage as a general manager is that he's obedient!

He knew very well how he got his job, and he also knew very well what he should do if he wanted to keep it.

"You can handle the team management yourself." Lin Tian's response was quite simple and clear: I won't interfere, you handle it.

This has always been Lin Tian's habit. If someone asks him for help and it is indeed beneficial to the team, he will lend a hand, just like he did with Ben Wallace and Chris Webber back in the day.

For example, Bird would always sincerely ask him who he wanted to draft.

But at other times, he really couldn't be bothered to care.

If Artest were to call Lin Tian now and say he wanted to come to New York, Lin Tian would help him, since Artest is his own man.

But since Artest didn't say anything, Lin Tian wouldn't interfere.

Players should just focus on their job as players; interfering in the management's work can easily lead to trouble.

For example, Pelinka, who later became a member of the management team, would encounter similar torment.

Not only was he forced to make a deal he didn't want to do, but he also offended his good friend Sacramento's management, leaving him in a lose-lose situation.

That's awful!

Since the Knicks wouldn't take him, Bird had no choice but to continue looking for a new team. He needed to trade Artest as soon as possible. Bird knew very well that if he couldn't trade him before the deadline, Artest's value would only decrease in the offseason!

Although he knew Artest's value and ability, the guy was completely unable to integrate into the team's new system, and the conflict between him and Vogel was equally unresolved.

After Bird made a series of phone calls, the person who finally helped him get rid of this hot potato was his old friend.

Joe Dumas!

The core figure of the original Detroit Pistons' Bad Boys and the guy who created Bad Boys 2.0 has volunteered to add another beast to his new Bad Boys team.

Seeing that someone was willing to take him on, Bird didn't care about the principle of avoiding trades between teams in the same division. After several rounds of negotiations with Dumars, he sent Artest to Detroit. In return, he received the Pistons' first-round draft pick this year and several expiring contracts.

Given the Pistons' current record, as long as Artest's disruptive power isn't that amazing and doesn't directly cause the Pistons' record to collapse, then the Pistons' draft pick will basically be between 29 and 30.

As for the final ranking, it depends on which of the two teams, the Suns and the Pistons, one offensive and one defensive, will become the league's number one team.

The Artest trade ignited the first shot in the league's mid-season arms race! Following them, other teams also began to strengthen their rosters.

For example, the Suns, who were first in the Western Conference, immediately made a trade after seeing the Pistons continue to improve their defense and add Artest, bringing in Jim Jackson, one of the former "Dallas 3Js", to increase their bench firepower.

Then the Cavaliers also secretly strengthened their roster by acquiring Groo Gooden, the fourth overall pick in the 02 draft, from the Grizzlies to increase the team's interior firepower and depth.

Next, the Wizards made a big trade, almost breaking up the team, and acquiring their star point guard Gilbert Arenas from the Warriors, who were in poor form and hadn't made the playoffs for years.

The Wizards have formed a dynamic duo of Arenas and Larry Hughes, and currently ranked ninth in the Eastern Conference, they are full of confidence in returning to the playoffs!

Besides these significant trades, many teams have made minor adjustments to improve their competitiveness.

Then came the most explosive trade of the year, which occurred on the trading deadline day.

The Orlando Magic, who were ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference, have disbanded!

Ultimately, they couldn't persuade McGrady, who is currently ranked first in the scoring list, to stay with the team. With McGrady consistently refusing to agree to an early contract extension and repeatedly stating that he would definitely leave after his contract expired, the Magic finally put him on the trading block and quickly made a deal with him.

After ruling out all trade requests from the Eastern Conference, the Magic, after much deliberation, sent him to San Antonio.

As for what the Magic got, firstly, it was to balance contracts, including "Little Mouse" Stoudemire, who had a poor season but was on a big contract and only averaged 9 points and 5 assists per game, and then several draft picks.

Then there are the massive draft picks: the draft pick the Spurs acquired last year from Portland, four future draft picks from the Spurs, plus Udrih, the 2004 first-round pick, and Devin Brown, a young forward who has performed well for the team in the last two years.

Five draft picks and two promising young rookies.

This trade by the Magic was certainly not about promoting Grant Hill; their goal was to rebuild! A complete rebuild!

They actually wanted to trade Hill, but other teams, considering that Hill's big contract still had a year left and his alarming injury history, simply didn't dare to make an offer to acquire him.

Instead of acquiring Hill now, it would be better to wait for his contract to expire and then easily sign him without any issues!

The only pity is that the team started rebuilding too late. Now ranked eighth in the East, even if they lose a lot of games in the future, it will be difficult for them to get a top-three draft pick.

In short, the Magic's current rebuilding phase has officially come to an end, and they will begin accumulating talent again for the next round of rebuilding.

While the Spurs lost several key rotation players and a huge number of draft picks, they finally found the best partner for James.

The Spurs now have the ability to field a starting lineup of James, McGrady, Finley, and Bosh, which at least looks quite competitive! As for how far they can go in the playoffs this year, that depends on Popovich's magic and how well McGrady can integrate with the team. It is also worth mentioning that McGrady became the second player in NBA history to be traded by his team when he was still ranked first in scoring halfway through the season.

As for his previous one?

In the 1965 season, Chamberlain was traded from the Warriors to the 76ers halfway through the season, and two years later he led the 76ers to their first championship in franchise history!

Whether McGrady can replicate Chamberlain's success in Philadelphia has become something many people are eagerly anticipating.

After the earth-shattering trade of McGrady, the remaining trades seem rather uninteresting. In the words of fans: a bunch of Tom, Dick, and Harry were traded around, which is not worth mentioning at all!

The trade deadline for this season has essentially come to an end!

Some people build tall buildings, some hold grand banquets, and some have their buildings collapse.

But the season must go on regardless!

The Knicks did not make any trades before the deadline, maintaining the team's stability. The players did not disappoint Walsh's decision to remain inactive, and they played exceptionally well in the games after February!

In the seven games following the All-Star Game, they achieved a remarkable seven-game winning streak, and Lin Tian himself displayed unparalleled form in these seven games!

His scoring average of 25.1 points per game is roughly the same as his average this season, but he has delivered a total of 120 assists in these 7 games, averaging more than 17 per game!

Two of them even had more than 20 assists in a single game!

In terms of single-game assists of 20+, he only has 5 games left to match Magic Johnson's record.

If he can do it 6 more times, he will surpass Magic Johnson and become the second player in NBA history to have 20+ assists in a single game!

Lin Tian had previously said that averaging 15.5 assists per game in the second half of the season was too difficult, that he couldn't do it, and that it would be difficult for him to surpass Stockton to become the player with the most assists per game in a single season in NBA history.

But now he has proven with his actions that he is quite interested in this title and has already launched an attack!

At the end of February, the Knicks had a 9-2 record for the month thanks to their 7-game winning streak at the end of the month, ranking first in the league for the same period!

Their overall record is currently set at 39 wins and 18 losses.

In March, the Knicks continued their strong performance. Although they lost their first game in March, they continued their tough offensive play in the following games. After another five-game winning streak, they surpassed the Celtics and moved into second place in the Eastern Conference.

Then, in the latter half of March, it became a battle for position between the Celtics and the Knicks. The two teams went back and forth, neither willing to give an inch, and neither could hold onto the second place in the East.

In the last five days of March, the two teams finally faced off!

In this game, Lin Tian dominated, scoring continuously with drives to the basket and shots from outside. He also took advantage of the Celtics' twin towers' inability to defend, constantly working on the perimeter. He made 9 of 16 three-point attempts, racking up 47 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 4 blocks in total!

Thanks to Lin Tian's phenomenal performance, the Knicks defeated the Celtics, extending their lead over the Celtics to two games!

Then they pressed on, winning all three of their remaining games in March! The Celtics, on the other hand, seemed to suffer from the aftereffects of that loss, winning only one of their next three games!

With this shift in momentum, the gap between the two sides has widened to 4 games!

With only 8-9 games left in the regular season, the Celtics have essentially lost any chance of overtaking the Knicks again to become the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

Throughout March, the Knicks achieved an impressive 11-5 record, continuing their strong offensive output as the league's top offensive team.

Their overall record is now set at 50 wins and 23 losses, far ahead of the Celtics.

Of course, they can't catch up with the Pistons, who are thriving after acquiring Artest, as if they've found the final piece of their puzzle. The Pistons are now 57-16 and may even break their franchise record set in the 88-89 season.

That season, the Pistons achieved a record of 63 wins and 19 losses, and ultimately won the NBA championship!

Can they rediscover the form they had in the late 80s when they consistently shut down Jordan?

By this time of the season, most teams in the league have already determined their relative strengths and weaknesses. Apart from a very few teams still having to fight for position and ranking, the vast majority of teams have already settled their positions.

For example, the Knicks can't catch up with the Pistons, nor can they be overtaken again by the third-placed Celtics.

They're second this season, and they don't have any records or team best performances to break.

So the Knicks had a really relaxed April.

They don't need to care how fiercely teams like the Pacers, Cavaliers, Wizards, and Heat in the lower East are fighting for a better playoff spot, nor do they need to care how brutal the battle between the Celtics and Nets for the third seed is.

They don't need to worry about the Lakers and Timberwolves' battle for second place or the chaotic Western Conference seeding games.

Leisurely, absolutely leisurely!

Especially Lin Tian, ​​after his crazy run in February and March, his average assists per game have now reached 14.6.

He surpassed Stockton's single-season NBA record of 14.5 assists per game set in the 89-90 season.

This means that even if Lin Tian rests for the next few games and doesn't play a single one, he can easily become the man with the most assists per game in a single season in NBA history!

But of course, who is Lin Da Guan Ren? Although many of his fans are even praying that he will stop playing, what if he is not in good form or his teammates miss the shot and lose the record that he has already won? Where can they complain?

But Lin Tian didn't care about such worries at all.

He didn't want to give those who disliked him any opportunity to find fault with him or exploit his weaknesses.

Some people are afraid of losing their record, so they simply call a truce and run away; others are so scared that they dare not even fight in order to become the greatest of all time.

Lin Tian wouldn't give his haters that kind of chance.

My buddy's strategy is to go through every possible path, leaving the haters with nowhere to go.

We'll block you all!

So, on April 1st, Lin Tian played 36 minutes, easily scoring 21 points and 16 assists to lead his team to victory.

接着4月3日，林天更是打出超高效率，只打了25分钟就拿到19分19次助攻的准双20数据，继续刷新着自己的赛季总助攻数字。

On April 4th, Lin Tian and the Knicks, playing back-to-back games, faced the formidable Mavericks. Lin Tian played 41 minutes, racking up a double-double of 31 points and 21 assists. This not only brought his total number of games with 20+ assists to 20, bringing him just two shy of Magic Johnson's record of 22, but also further increased his average assists per game!

After three fierce battles in early April, Lin Tian played four more matches, all of which were 'mediocre'.

这4场比赛尼克斯拿到了3胜1负的成绩，他们整个四月的成绩也来到了6胜1负。

After these 7 games, Lin Tian has played 80 games this season, and his total assists have reached 1184.

He surpassed Stockton's record of 1164 assists in 82 games during the 90-91 season.

同时他的场均助攻数也被自己提升到了14.8次，超越了89-90赛季出战78场，场均拿下14.5次助攻的斯托克顿！

Stockton's two historic records, which were considered "unbreakable," were broken by Lin Tian in just one season!

Meanwhile, considering that Stockton only played 78 games in the 89-90 season, he delivered a total of 1134 assists, averaging 14.538 assists per game.

So even if Lin Tian is in terrible form and plays terribly in the next two games, he only needs to dish out 9 assists to bring his total assists to 1193. His average assists per game will reach 14.548, which will still allow him to surpass Stockton and become the league's all-time leading assist leader for a single season.

Given Lin Tian's form and ability this season, it would be much harder to suppress him to less than 9 assists in two games than to lead the Bobcats, who only have 18 wins this season, into the playoffs!

It's basically an impossible task!

Under these circumstances, regardless of whether Lin Tian plays the remaining two matches, the haters and those who like to question will have no reason to cause trouble.

So, after fulfilling his fans' dreams and wishes, Lin Tian decided to relax and take a break.

He did not play in the last two games.

而他本赛季的最终数据，也定格在了场均24.8分14.8次助攻7.1篮板2.8次抢断和1.1次盖帽上。

No one in NBA history has ever put up, or even come close to, these numbers.

After all, Stockton doesn't have the same level of offensive power as Lin Tian. In his two years with the most assists, he only averaged 17 points per game, which is at least three levels lower than Lin Tian's nearly 25 points.

This also became a regret for Lin Tian's fans and data enthusiasts.

Why don't you just score a few more points and dish out a couple more assists, and set your stats at 25 points and 15 assists? That would sound way cooler and more satisfying!

Lin Tian: I won't!

I'll drive those with OCD crazy, I'll make you itchy all over! (End of Chapter)