NBA: LeBron James wants to team up with me

Guys there is already content on patreon, if anyone wants to become a jonnin, hogake or God Shinobi.

patreon.com/Chuga320 (Have than 50 additional chapters)

—————————————————————————————————————————————

Jeremy Lin continued his offensive with the ball. Having learned from the previous round, Rondo was determined not to show any signs of negligence when facing Jeremy Lin this time. He lowered his center of gravity and focused all his attention on Jeremy Lin.

But even so, Rondo still couldn't stop Jeremy Lin's attack. Defensive players are inherently passive on the court; they need to wait for the offensive player to make a move before they can react. Additionally, Jeremy Lin's speed was simply too fast. Rondo could barely maintain his position, constantly interfering with Lin's progress, making sure Lin couldn't continue accelerating as he moved toward the basket.

Rondo's interference did have some effect. Jeremy Lin couldn't simply drive to the basket for a layup as before, so he decided to take a shot outside the paint. The ball fell gently through the hoop. 4-0.

The Celtics attacked, and this time, Rondo passed the ball to Durant. Durant isolated Wang Chong, and Wang Chong, predicting Durant's signature emergency mid-range jumper, timed his block perfectly. In that moment, Wang Chong's athleticism far surpassed Durant's. He almost touched the basketball, deflecting the shot.

Durant was forced to raise his shot angle, causing the attempt to miss.

Garnett grabbed the defensive rebound and passed it long to Wang Chong, who sprinted down the court, starting a fast break.

Wang Chong's fast breaks were extremely lethal, and no one could ignore them. When the Celtics saw Wang Chong with the ball, they immediately focused their defense, attacking him from all directions.

However, Wang Chong didn't choose to attack the basket himself. Instead, he made a wide pass to Jeremy Lin, who had quickly followed. Lin caught the ball and passed it 45 degrees to the right, beyond the three-point line. He made a jump shot from the corner.

"Aha!"

Basket again!

7-0.

Celtics head coach Doc Rivers couldn't stay calm anymore and quickly called a timeout.

At the start of the game, the Bulls had scored consecutively, while the Celtics' offense had been blocked numerous times. More importantly, the Bulls' 7 points came from an unknown, undrafted player.

"Where did that kid come from?" Rivers wondered.

He knew that Rondo's defense wasn't the problem. When he defended Thomas Jr. earlier, it was an easy task. Rondo had even managed to limit Thomas. But Jeremy Lin was different now. While he was extremely fast, he also had a very soft touch. Lin played with a kind of demonic energy that was hard to understand.

On the other side, Jeremy Lin was sitting on the bench, looking slightly incredulous.

He hadn't even had time to think about the three-point shot he made. His body just reacted on its own. When he thought about it later, even he found it incredible.

"Good job, Lin. Keep up the good work next time."

Wang Chong patted Jeremy Lin on the shoulder with satisfaction.

Indeed, although the situation was different from the original "Linsanity," in terms of personal skill, the current Jeremy Lin was no different from the original one.

The local Bulls fans and journalists were also stunned.

Is this a fluke? If you didn't know, you might have mistakenly thought this was Curry making an early return.

But having better players on the team was a wonderful thing for Bulls fans. The crowd cheered for Jeremy Lin.

After the timeout, the game resumed.

The Celtics made some emergency adjustments, and their offense improved significantly. But on the defensive side, they still couldn't find a way to contain Jeremy Lin for a while.

After all, they couldn't let a single undrafted player disrupt the entire team's defense, could they?

Jeremy Lin even began a pick-and-roll play with Wang Chong. With Wang Chong's pick-and-roll coverage, Lin could easily drive to the paint and cause damage. His speed was faster than Curry's, he had more power, and he was more lethal. He drew defensive fouls from Millsap and Al Jefferson, maintaining composure on the free-throw line.

By the end of the first quarter, the Celtics had scored 24 points, but the Bulls scored 33, leading by 9 points.

Jeremy Lin made 4 of 6 field goals and 3 of 4 free throws, totaling 12 points and 2 assists.

The game entered the second quarter, but things didn't improve for the Celtics. After Jeremy Lin led the Bulls in scoring during the first quarter, Wang Chong took over in the second, making things even more difficult for Boston.

Offensively, Wang Chong was far more lethal than Jeremy Lin.

Without going into much detail, Wang Chong hit 3 three-pointers in the second quarter, added 3 of 4 mid-range jumpers, and 2 of 2 free throws, finishing with 17 points in the quarter.

By halftime, the Bulls' lead had stretched to 20 points.

It was unimaginable that the Bulls, with their makeshift lineup, could lead the Celtics by 20 points at the break. No one had expected this before the game. After all, this wasn't a fully-healthy Bulls team. Yet, they were dominating the famous players of the Eastern Conference. Even the home crowd at the Bulls' arena was having trouble accepting it.

With a huge lead, the Celtics couldn't resist and ultimately lost to the Bulls, 115-109.

In the second half, the Celtics tried to counterattack. Under Durant's leadership, they launched several effective fast breaks to close the gap.

But every time they did, Wang Chong and Jeremy Lin would step up at crucial moments, silencing the Celtics' scoring efforts.

Throughout the game, Wang Chong played as usual, finishing with 39 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. But impressively, Jeremy Lin also put up 31 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists in his second game with the Bulls. His field goal percentage even surpassed Wang Chong's at 62%.

Together, they scored 70 points, accounting for 60% of the team's total score, which was absolutely remarkable.

By the time the game ended, the stadium was already chanting Jeremy Lin's name.

Jeremy Lin stood on the court, feeling like he was in a dream.

Is this real?

Just a few days ago, he was traveling across the country, desperately looking for a job, trying to sell himself.

But just days later, he was on an NBA court, facing an All-Star point guard like Rajon Rondo, scoring 31+4+6!

Jeremy Lin knew that once he put up these kinds of numbers, his status on the team would undoubtedly improve, and he would benefit greatly in the future.

But more than feeling excited, he was deeply grateful to Wang Chong.

Never forget the one who gave you the chance. Jeremy Lin knew exactly who gave him the opportunity to succeed.

If Wang Chong hadn't requested the Bulls to sign him, if Wang Chong hadn't named him the starter, and if Wang Chong hadn't taken responsibility for the Bulls' main offense before the game, none of this would have happened.

So, in the post-game press conference, Jeremy Lin repeatedly thanked Wang Chong for giving him this precious opportunity and stated that Wang Chong had always been his goal and idol in the NBA. He also firmly believed that Wang Chong was the best person in the world—the best basketball player.

As Jeremy Lin transformed into the king of gratitude, the league was still stunned by his 31-point performance.

What's happening? Why is he here again? Haven't the Bulls already discovered enough potential players over the years? Are they really producing undrafted players who won't let anyone else live?

Of course, some people believed Jeremy Lin's breakout was just a fluke. They thought the next game would expose his true nature and that it would be impossible for him to continue performing at such an explosive level.

But Wang Chong knew this was just the beginning.

On February 18, the Bulls defeated the Brooklyn Nets 97-85 at home.

In that game, Jeremy Lin faced All-Star Deron Williams, and the two exchanged blows. Williams scored 29 points and 8 assists, while Jeremy Lin kept up, scoring 27 points and 5 assists. His score was slightly lower than Williams', but he had the advantage in shooting percentage and efficiency.

On February 20, the Bulls defeated the Atlanta Hawks 102-89 at home. Jeremy Lin made 8 of 18 shots, scoring 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Fans and teams around the league were shocked.

Since joining the Bulls, Jeremy Lin had played 4 games as a starter, averaging 24.8 points per game. He had become the second-leading scorer on the Bulls, even outscoring Curry before his injury.

On February 22, the Bulls defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 110-91 at home. Jeremy Lin faced Brandon Jennings and completely dominated the young point guard considered the future of the Bucks, scoring a career-high 38 points with 8 assists.

38 points set a personal best for Jeremy Lin, and with it, he set a new record for most points scored in the first five games of his career, with 137 points. This was a new record for points scored in the first five games since the NBA merger.

Jeremy Lin was now fully popular. The entire Internet was filled with reports about this miraculous player. Once again, he was given the title of "Linsanity." Major media outlets rushed to report on his legendary feats and called him the most famous player of the month.

Thanks to Jeremy Lin's outstanding performance, the Bulls achieved five consecutive victories, with a record of 30 wins and 5 losses, maintaining their position at the top of the league with a winning percentage of 85.7%.

After Billups and Curry were sidelined for the season, the league collectively underestimated the Bulls. Even though the Heat and Celtics were hot on their trail, the Bulls were unable to keep their first-place positions in the Eastern Conference.

However, now that the season was at its halfway point, the Bulls' record was still far ahead of the competition, and with Jeremy Lin emerging as a new force, the team's dominance showed no signs of waning.

Not to mention the regular season record, if Jeremy Lin could maintain his form over these five games, the Bulls' fifth championship would be all but guaranteed!

February 24 marked the suspension of the NBA regular season as the annual All-Star Weekend approached.

Even though this shortened season meant all teams had a tight schedule, the league didn't reduce the scale of the All-Star event. The All-Star Weekend remained one of the NBA's most successful commercial ventures, held every year, generating significant revenue for the league. How could they possibly consider stopping it?

In the All-Star voting, Wang Chong, in a rare turn of events, didn't win the most votes.

Although he ranked first in the Eastern Conference, the Lakers' center, Dwight Howard, received slightly more votes than Wang Chong in the Western Conference, finally breaking Wang Chong's monopoly in All-Star voting.

This wasn't surprising. Howard wasn't injured at the time and was playing at his peak. His partnership with Paul had alleviated much of Howard's offensive struggles, and their pick-and-roll cooperation had become the league's most dangerous offensive weapon. Howard was averaging 24 points, 15 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game in the regular season, with both points and rebounds reaching career highs.

Beyond his impressive personal stats, there was a significant contrast between Los Angeles and Orlando. Even though Howard had moved to the Lakers the previous year, the All-Star Game was being hosted in Orlando, and that didn't boost his popularity there. On the other hand, Los Angeles, with its rich tradition of dominant centers, finally had the man who belonged there. How could the fans not turn out in force for the voting?

Additionally, aside from Howard's factors, Wang Chong's support rate had slightly decreased this season. It wasn't due to any issues with his personal stats or the team's record. Wang Chong was averaging 34 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game, with outstanding individual stats and his team always in first place in the league.

The main reason for the slight drop in support was that Wang Chong had played in the All-Star Game in recent years but had never really played seriously.

Although the All-Star Game itself doesn't have much practical importance, the fans who voted still expected the players they supported to perform well in the game, especially for some neutral fans who weren't necessarily Wang Chong's fans. They might have voted for him simply because he was currently the strongest player in the league. There were various reasons that could make people change their voting preferences.

Because of these factors, Howard defeated Wang Chong in the voting and was crowned the 2011-12 All-Star Game voting champion.

Of course, just like Wang Chong didn't care about the All-Star MVP award, he also didn't care about the All-Star voting champion. He didn't need to rely on the number of All-Star votes to establish his historical status. This kind of thing was usually more important to a certain group of fans who treated it as the ultimate benchmark.

To put it bluntly, even if someone won the All-Star voting and had never won an All-Star MVP, that wouldn't change their place in the conversation about the greatest players in history.

Similarly, Wang Chong had no intention of altering his attitude toward the All-Star Game because of this.

The schedule for this shortened season had already been incredibly demanding. Even Wang Chong, who had a physical rating of 99, still felt fatigued halfway through the season. All-Star Weekend, then, was a welcome break.

It's worth mentioning that the Bulls had three players selected for this year's All-Star Game. In addition to Wang Chong, there were also Garnett and Gasol.

Wang Chong was the starting player for the All-Star Game, while Garnett and Gasol were selected as reserves from the Eastern Conference.

Originally, after Howard joined the Lakers in the East, there were few centers as strong as Gasol. However, the Lakers had traded Andrew Bynum to the Sixers for Howard, and while it wasn't a great personal experience for Bynum to be transferred from Los Angeles to Orlando, he was at least able to experience for the first time what it was like to be the focal point of a team's strategy. This was something he had never experienced while playing alongside Kobe.

This shift allowed Bynum's stats to soar, as he averaged 20 points and 12.2 rebounds per game, significantly outperforming the 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds he averaged when he was an All-Star in the 2011-12 season.

Although Gasol had played well for the Bulls, he wasn't the focal point of the offense. He was currently averaging only 15 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, which naturally couldn't compete with Bynum for the starting spot in the All-Star Game.

End of this chapter

Note: Hi if you really like NBA novels, you can support me either in this pg with stones, reviews etc, or in patreon since the niche of sports and specially NBA is very small is Webnovel since people prefer to read Naruto, Pokemon, comics etc.