Jiang Lin sat at the far end of the bench, grabbing a towel to wipe off his sweat, feeling somewhat relieved that he had only signed a 10-day short contract. The management clearly had no long-term plans for him. In the NBA, every player usually has tasks and plans for a single season, but it seemed he was just a temporary worker, much like a practice player.
He knew the situation with the Lakers well enough. Even a player like Dwight Howard had conflicts with the team. Jiang Lin's style, which required long periods of ball control, would definitely become an eyesore for Kobe. On the court, Steve Blake was playing well—steady and with a precise shot, making him a better fit alongside Kobe.
So the Lakers wouldn't keep him for long, and he certainly didn't want to sacrifice himself for this season's Lakers.
Jiang Lin understood Kobe and knew his own playing style very well. He was a combo guard in the small-ball era. The Black Mamba was the absolute leader on the court and would never be a role player. That's why he retired while still able to score 60 points in a game—Kobe's spirit.
Therefore, unless he could replace Kobe, which was obviously impossible, he would never settle down with the Lakers.
If he remembered correctly, the Lakers had mortgaged their future draft picks and were swept by the Spurs in the first round this season, losing all competitiveness afterward. They didn't recover until LeBron James joined and brought the Lakers back to championship contention...
It's not to criticize, but Kobe's final years really hindered a lot of young players. Jordan Clarkson, Jordan Hill, D'Angelo Russell, and Julius Randle all lost opportunities for development due to Kobe's playing style. Especially Russell, who significantly improved in stats and skills after leaving the Lakers and gaining ball control.
Maybe it was also due to the city itself—Los Angeles, the pressure from the media, the team's historical pressure, and so on. But none of this mattered to Jiang Lin. Kobe's retirement was far away, so he wouldn't consider the Lakers before that.
Not to mention, he knew which new players were impressive in recent years. When the time came, he'd find some promising rookies to team up with, wouldn't that be great?
After these two plays, he was completely confident in his skills. Playing in the NBA was no problem. If he could showcase against peak LeBron, he could do the same against any player!
After refining other skills, he could definitely make a name for himself.
The first half ended, and Jiang Lin listened to the second-half strategy in the locker room. As they left the locker room, Coach D'Antoni pulled him aside, his attitude slightly changed. He earnestly told Jiang Lin not to rush, to take it slow, and to follow the team's arrangements. If he was talented, he would eventually shine.
Jiang Lin nodded. While the words were nice, D'Antoni himself had an uneventful coaching career with the Lakers. He was a good coach but coaching the Lakers was beyond his control.
If it were any other mediocre team, D'Antoni would have boldly tried to use Jiang Lin to orchestrate the offense. But this was the Lakers; he couldn't and wouldn't dare to change things.
Jiang Lin only got a chance to play in the last 3 minutes of the fourth quarter.
Just as he received a system notification about completing an achievement, the assistant coach called him to the scorer's table.
The score was 124-95, with the Lakers trailing by 29 points. It was garbage time. D'Antoni waved the white flag, sending in Jiang Lin and other third-string players like Robert Sacre.
Losing to the Heat was within the team's expectations. They would review and improve gradually.
The Heat also sent in bench players like Norris Cole, Mike Miller, and Joel Anthony.
The assistant coach told the Lakers' five players on the court to play man-to-man defense and let the guards organize the offense, take the opportunity if available.
"OK." Jiang Lin, always direct and to the point, glanced at the VIP black box at the top of Staples Center. Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak and the Buss family members must be watching. They hadn't included him in their plans from the start, so the coaching staff couldn't suddenly give him heavy responsibility.
Since he decided to leave, he might as well make them regret it!
Jiang Lin, just subbed in, immediately did a quick between-the-legs dribble, passing the ball through Norris Cole's legs.
The ball flashed through Cole's legs with the speed of Hot Sauce's streetball moves!
Ball and man split!
While the front-row spectators gasped, Jiang Lin shrugged and quickly dribbled inside the three-point line. As Cole caught up, Jiang Lin used Alston's Soul-Jump step to stutter-step, confusing Cole, and then drove into the paint.
Cole was dazed, and Jiang Lin, with a soft touch, threw a high floater off the backboard and into the basket!
On the next possession, Cole, as tough as his hairstyle, attempted a crossover and pull-up jumper, but Jiang Lin saw through it. As Cole prepared to dribble down, Jiang Lin sprang into action, his energy bar almost full, and snatched the ball away.
At the moment Cole lunged for the ball, Jiang Lin flicked his wrist...
The ball seemed to disappear but was actually hooked behind Jiang Lin's back and flicked into the blind spot of Cole's vision!
The Deceiver!
Fans who understood streetball howled!
Even the camera was deceived!
The next moment, the nimble Jiang Lin performed a smooth off-ball Eurostep, rushing to the frontcourt to grab the ball. Facing the bald-headed Joel Anthony's defense, he raised his hand and executed a between-the-legs Egyptian dribble, faking a pass before driving past his opponent!
Facing an open basket, after continuous anaerobic movements, Jiang Lin chose not to dunk but to perform an equally spectacular jelly layup, spinning the ball gently off the backboard and into the net!
Back-to-back scores!
Instant impact!
Fans lining up to leave were stunned.
What's happening?
Why does this guy play with so much swagger???
It was impossible to ignore him!
Even the main players from both teams, still in their warm-up suits, watched in disbelief…WTF?? Did he turn the NBA into a streetball court? It felt like the whole floor was his stage!
"Cool…" Everyone who saw the end-to-end steal and layup couldn't help but praise.
"Shaq, who the hell is this guy? He's on track to be the MVP of garbage time??"