The competition has officially begun.
Within just the first three rounds, Lin Qi immediately understood why the entire American media was caught up in such a frenzied idol-making movement.
High school level defense was as fragile as a thin sheet of paper in front of LeBron. After grabbing a defensive rebound, the 17-year-old was like a heavy tank in top gear, advancing up the court with terrifying speed that belied his size.
Facing a one-on-two disadvantage in the frontcourt, the entire audience stood up, anticipating a thunderous tomahawk dunk. But LeBron jumped near the free-throw line, then twisted his torso in mid-air. In that instant, drawing all the defensive attention, he flicked the ball with one hand, and the basketball, as if guided by eyes, pierced through the defender's ribs, precisely targeting his teammate on the weak side for an easy bank shot.
"He maintains an extremely calm mind even at high speeds, and his passing vision and instinct for sharing the ball are even better than his scoring instinct," Lin Qi thought to himself, giving his first assessment.
But this praise only lasted for half a quarter of the game.
When opposing coaches, wary of his drives, begin to collapse their defense in the paint, setting up zone defense and leaving the perimeter open, LeBron's biggest weakness, or rather, the point of most concentrated criticism from old-school scouts, is exposed without reservation.
LeBron had more than two meters of shooting space beyond the three-point line.
He pulled up for a jump shot.
"Bang!"
The basketball slammed heavily against the front edge of the rim.
In the next round, he made a sudden stop in the mid-range, but his movements appeared somewhat stiff and hesitant, resulting in another missed shot.
Several scouts wearing old-fashioned glasses sitting in front of Lin Qi immediately began scribbling rapidly in their notebooks and whispering amongst themselves.
"His shooting mechanism is a disaster. His leg power doesn't transfer to his upper body at all, and his jump even involves unnecessary leaning back."
"He relies too much on his physical attributes, which are far superior to his peers. In high school, he could use his strength to overpower opponents and put the ball in the basket, but in the NBA, facing equally strong adult musclemen, without a reliable mid-range or long-range shot, he will be targeted and eliminated in half-court sets."
"And have you noticed?" another scout pointed to the court, "When he doesn't have the ball, he's practically a spectator. He doesn't move, he doesn't screen for his teammates, he just stands outside the three-point line with his hands on his hips and watches. His off-ball movement is practically zero."
Lin Qi heard every whisper of the scouts.
Lin Qi nodded slightly; these criticisms were indeed incisive in this day and age.
In his mind, he unconsciously made a deep comparison between LeBron in front of him and Grant Hill, who had just left Boston.
People like to compare versatile forwards, but in Lin Qi's eyes, there is an insurmountable gap between the two—system compatibility.
Grant Hill's basketball IQ is a "college-style basketball IQ" honed under the rigorous tactics of " Old Coach K " at Duke University for four years. Hill understands how to read extremely complex half-court screens; he knows when to relinquish possession and how to stretch the defense through off-ball movement. Therefore, Hill can perfectly integrate into Boston coach Rick Carlisle's dynamic offensive system, which is driven by multiple key players and emphasizes overall flow. He is willing to play a supporting role for the team.
LeBron's basketball IQ, on the other hand, is pure "game instinct" and a beast-like "desire for control."
In the subconscious of this 17-year-old, only when the ball is in his hands does he know how to influence the game. His passing vision, which is touted by the media, is based on the idea that "I control all offensive initiation techniques."
Lin Qi completely saw through LeBron's ultimate future development; he simply couldn't play in a "conventional" basketball system.
If you put LeBron into the current Boston Celtics and make him run plays, screen for Pierce, or act as a playmaker for Garnett, it would be a huge waste of his historic ball-handling talent, and he would also find it painful and awkward to play.
He's not the kind of player who can fit into a system. He himself has to be a system.
To maximize LeBron's power, the traditional twin Twin Towers in the paint must be dismantled, and he should be paired with four spot-up shooters on the perimeter who don't need the ball and only need to catch and shoot (one star and four shooters). Then, give him 100% of the ball and let him initiate all the offense from the top of the key.
This "self-contained system" style of play has an extremely high floor, capable of dragging a mediocre team into the playoffs. However, precisely because of this all-encompassing approach, it severely diminishes the tactical role of teammates, forcing all the star players around him to make huge sacrifices and be transformed into one-dimensional shooting machines.
This is not only determined by his playing style, but also by his personality, which is characterized by an extreme lack of security and a need to firmly grasp all power (including locker room influence and business dominance).
Lin Qi took a deep breath. Boston is now playing the ultimate team basketball. If he were to move a player like him to the Celtics, it would mean that Lin Qi would have to completely overturn the championship roster he had painstakingly built up over the past few years, trade away those stars who needed the ball, and even overturn Rick Carlisle's entire tactical system, starting from scratch and completely revolving around him.
"Without a doubt, he is a groundbreaking genius capable of changing the league's box office and commercial landscape."
Lin Qi looked at the boy on the field, who was sweating profusely and still looking around for his mother and agent amidst the noise. He took out his notebook and wrote down his final conclusion heavily with a fountain pen.
"Incompatible with existing complex tactics. A self-developed system is necessary. Strategic abandonment."
Lin Qi disliked the feeling of having a team's development strategy hijacked by a single superstar, and of betting the entire team's fate and tactical foundation on a single star player's team. What's more, that huge and greedy group of family and friends would definitely turn the Boston locker room into a mess.
"Let the Cleveland Cavaliers, or any other lousy team that's ready to completely rebuild and even relinquish its general manager position, bear the weight and blessing of being the ' Chosen One '."
Lin Qi stuffed the notepad into his pocket.
Before the final whistle blew, the media, shoe sponsors, and the crazy fans were preparing to flood the field like a tidal wave to lift the 17-year-old prodigy high into the air.
Lin Qi had already stood up, pulled his baseball cap down low, and walked out of the sweltering stadium through the side door without a second thought, completely shutting out the noise and frenzy behind him.
The Ohio sun was still blinding. Lin Qi got into the rented car, rolled down the window, and gave a casual instruction to the driver in the front seat.
"To the airport."