Chapter 59: Luckily, There’s a Basketball on the Court!

The three of them kept trading trash talk incessantly, their rivalry growing fiercer by the minute. If there hadn’t been a basketball on the court, Jackson might have genuinely thought these three were fighting. Of course, with a ball in play, otherwise Jordan and Pippen might have already been taken down by Lin Tian.

“Alright, you three! Stop it! Don’t cause more trouble. We have a game tomorrow. If you have this much energy, why not save it for the Clippers?” Jackson finally lost patience, unable to tolerate their increasingly unbearable banter.

“I scored 130 points, winning five rounds!” Jordan didn’t insist on continuing but instead looked proudly at Lin Tian. “Scott probably scored about 70 points, winning three rounds. Lin, how about you?”

“I went five rounds with Connolly last night! And I’m planning to sleep with every girl you two ever fancy! How about that?” Lin Tian flipped Jordan the bird. He was truly aching all over—if he took off his shirt, bruises and purple marks would be visible everywhere.

Jordan and Pippen had really gone all out just now.

“Phil, when do we start training? We’ve come up with a new tactic and want to practice it! It’ll definitely come in handy against the Clippers tomorrow night!” Pippen snorted, ignoring Lin Tian as he looked to Jackson.

“No scrimmage today! No such plan!” Jackson rejected them without hesitation. Seriously, if this kept up, would there even be a game? Those three would be exhausted like dead dogs! What game tomorrow evening?

Luckily, other team members began arriving at the training facility. No matter how Jordan and Pippen felt, this somewhat ridiculous 21-point battle finally came to a halt.

But Jackson’s plan to skip the scrimmage was abandoned.

Tonight, Jordan and Pippen had fully transformed into spiteful kids, stubbornly insisting on a scrimmage to test their so-called new defensive tactic for tomorrow’s game against the Clippers.

Unable to resist their persistent requests, Jackson finally agreed to let them demonstrate their “brainstormed” strategy.

And then…

Jackson wanted to curse even though he had long suspected those two couldn’t come up with any real tactics.

He never expected their so-called “new tactic” to be this laughable.

It was just a damn full-court double team on Lin Tian…

That’s no new tactic!

They didn’t even bother acting it out—they just charged in headfirst.

Lin Tian was completely riled up by these two.

During another attack, he hadn’t even crossed his three-point line when the two pounced again. Lin Tian raised his elbow and struck Pippen, who rushed at him first. But before Lin could bring up his other elbow for Jordan, Jordan’s lightning-fast hand already slapped the ball away!

“Boom!”

With a loud smack, Jordan slammed in an easy dunk, wagging his finger at Lin Tian.

“Eighth turnover tonight, Lin. Eighth! Remember that!”

“Don’t you two have any shame?” Lin Tian spat. “I’m a rookie, and you two are established superstars. Yet you’re so proud of ganging up two against one? Like double-teaming, huh? Come on, put the ball down. Let’s settle this in the ring or the octagon. See if I can beat you so badly your own mothers wouldn’t recognize you!”

“We’re not putting down the ball!”

“We’re not going to the ring! We want to settle this on the court!”

“We’re just bullying you today!”

“Rookie? I’m here to beat rookies!”

“Today, you’ll get a taste of the finals early!”

Jordan and Pippen had completely lost all decency.

Their back-and-forth banter was so shameless that even Lin Tian, whose skin was thick enough to endure a lot, was on the verge of cracking.

They truly had no shame at all.

It’s worth noting that these two, the star duo who had won countless honors and three championships over nearly a decade, actually had a terrible private relationship.

Yet today, under Lin Tian’s “charm,” they were united as one.

They had never been this cohesive and in sync in their entire lives.

Fortunately, Jackson could no longer stand it.

With a big wave of his hand, he forcefully called off the game.

“You three, enough playing around! If you keep this up, what’s the difference between this intensity and playing three games in three days? Are you even going to play tomorrow night’s game?”

“The Clippers? Has this lousy team ever made the playoffs since they were founded?” Jordan sneered. “At most, it’ll take two quarters before the game is a blowout! Today, we’re just burning off some unused energy early.”

“Who’s the Clippers’ leader again?” Pippen tilted his head. “Louie Ott or Bison Diller? Never mind, it doesn’t matter. Their whole team combined has as many All-Star appearances as Lin—zero! What’s there to fear? We’ll practice our new tactic properly today and guarantee we’ll crush them tomorrow!”

“If you don’t stop talking and get back to practice, none of you will be playing tomorrow! Like having fun, huh? I’ll let you have all the fun you want!” Jackson was now furious. What were these two crazy guys thinking? He snapped, “Start now! If anyone leaves before 10 PM, don’t even bother coming back to the hotel!”

“Clemens, bring me a sofa. Actually, bring me a bed. I want to see how much energy these two have left to release! I want to see what exactly they’re planning! Start! Keep practicing your new tactic now! Come on, show me what tricks you’ve got!”

“Are you coming? If not, get lost! Go back to the locker room, change, and rest at the hotel!”

Seeing Jackson truly lose his temper, Jordan and Pippen, those fearless brats, finally dared not say another word. They shrugged and hurried toward the locker room.

Lin Tian naturally followed them in. The rest of the Bulls felt as if a great weight had been lifted. After the intensity just displayed by those three, they genuinely feared a fight might break out.

Judging by Lin Tian’s previous combat prowess, there was a high chance he could pin Jordan and Pippen down and beat them.

If that really happened, the Bulls’ season would be over.

Fortunately, Jackson had finally stopped things, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they headed to the locker room.

But just as they reached the locker room door, noises from inside made the players realize they’d been far too naive.