Three days later. Georgia, Atlanta, Turner Broadcasting System (TNT) headquarters.
After the league released its solemn official statement, expectations across the United States not only did not decline, but were instead pushed to an unprecedented peak due to the taboo of "dancing in shackles".
In the control room of the studio, two expressionless NBA compliance officers sat next to the director. Their fingers were on the edge of the signal cut-off button; if Lin Qi showed any sign of overstepping the boundaries on camera, the broadcast signal would be immediately cut off and the hamburger commercial would be inserted.
Inside the studio, the spotlights shone brightly.
Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith sat upright in front of the iconic semi-circular commentary booth. Seated between them was Lin Qi, dressed in a minimalist black suit without a tie.
He leaned back in his large swivel chair, looking completely at ease, showing neither the awkwardness of someone under criminal charges nor the deliberate attempt to keep a low profile.
As the countdown red light went out, the "ON AIR" red warning light suddenly lit up.
Under the watchful eyes of tens of millions of viewers across the United States, the main camera slowly zoomed in on the center of the commentary booth.
"Good evening, fans across America. Welcome to TNT's mid-season special. Tonight, we have a very special guest in our studio," Ernie Johnson began with a smile. "Lin, I heard you've been in Europe lately. It seems the league's suspension has finally given you a long break from basketball."
"Yes, Ernie." Lin Qi nodded slightly to the camera, his deep, calm voice instantly resonating throughout the world, "The weather in Europe is very pleasant, perfect for clearing your head."
"Then let's start with the hottest topic," Kenny Smith began, his voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement. "Lin, let's talk about the Western Conference first. The Los Angeles Lakers."
The big screen immediately displayed a list that could be considered an All-Star Hall of Fame: Jason Kidd, Michael Jordan, Sean Marion, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal O'Neal, Derrick Fisher, Quentin Richardson, Charles Patrick Ewing Lamar, Odom Patrick Charles Oakley, Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, Brian Shaw, Ron Harper, and Danny Manning.
"What's your assessment of the current Lakers?" Kenny Smith turned to look at Lin Qi.
Lin Qi looked at the names on the screen, a mixture of admiration and absurdity in his eyes.
"If you had a time machine and put these people in 1993, they could go 82-0 in the regular season, sweep the playoffs, and even dismantle all their opponents' rims along the way."
A burst of laughter erupted in the studio, and even Ernie Johnson couldn't help but rub his forehead.
"But this is 2003," Lin Qi added unhurriedly, "This is a nursing home with a nuclear reactor."
"Haha! A retirement home! I knew you'd say that!" Kenny Smith slammed his fist on the table, laughing hysterically. The former Rockets championship guard knew Charles Barkley all too well and immediately launched into a bombshell revelation. "But Lin, you can't underestimate Michael's methods. My friends in Los Angeles said that last summer, the entire Staples Center was like a concentration camp! Michael literally moved his old ' Breakfast Club ' from Chicago to Beverly Hills."
Kenny gestured wildly, "Can you believe it? At 5:30 in the morning! Michael personally took Charles Oakley to bang on Barkley's door! Michael threw all the donuts and cigars Charles had hidden in his locker into the trash, and forced him to do two hours of cardio on an empty stomach every day! Charles was crying and wailing in the locker room, saying that he played basketball before he retired to get a ring, not to be tortured in the Marine Corps."
" Shaq wasn't much better off," Ernie Johnson added with a laugh, flipping through a note in his hand. "You all know Shaq's famous quote, 'I got injured on the job, so I'll recover on the job.' Then Michael pointed his finger at Shaq in the gym and said, 'If you dare delay your toe surgery until training camp, I'll have Charles Oakley commit six flagrant fouls against you every day in practice.' And Shaq, incredibly, managed to get his weight below 330 pounds by August!"
"I heard Phil Jackson's Zen philosophy has completely failed in the locker room." Kenny laughed until tears streamed down his face. " Phil gave every player a philosophy book. He gave Barkley a copy of the Tao Te Ching, which Barkley used to line his pizza box. He gave Charles Oakley a book, Charles Oakley directly asked Phil, 'After reading this stuff, will it allow me to punch Pat Riley one more time on the court?' The only people in the entire locker room who seem to listen to Phil's ideas are probably Jason Kidd and that group of young guys."
Lin Qi chuckled as he listened to the locker room anecdotes Kenny and Ernie shared. But his expression turned serious again when the director showed Kidd's stats.
The big screen prominently displayed: Jason Kidd, 37.2% three-point shooting percentage, 4.8 attempts per game.
"That's what surprised me the most," Ernie said, pointing to the stats. "Previously, the whole league mocked him as 'Ason Kidd' because he didn't have a 'J' (jump shot). But this season, Kidd's three-point shooting percentage is approaching 40%! And Phil Jackson gave him unprecedented privileges during the regular season, allowing him to lead Fisher, Quentin Richardson, Marion, and Odom in transition offense. This lineup is playing incredibly well."
Looking at the data, Lin Qi was far more shocked than he appeared calm.
The butterfly flapped its wings too vigorously. In the original historical trajectory, Kidd only developed a consistent three-point shot under the tutelage of a shooting coach after joining the Dallas Mavericks late in his career and experiencing physical decline. But in this timeline, due to Michael Jordan's obsessive supervision and humiliation, and the Lakers' extreme hunger for shooting in their crowded starting lineup, Kidd essentially accelerated the development of this late-stage skill by almost eight years!
"That's precisely what makes Michael Jordan so terrifying." Lin Qi's tone was less playful and more filled with genuine awe. " Michael, with his obsession, forced Jason to become a more perfect guard. Jason's presence on the court now is a whole level above what it was two years ago with the Suns."
" Kidd has developed a spot-up three-point shot, which is good news. But it doesn't change the fact that the starting five's spacing is mutually exclusive in half-court sets."
" Shaq needs to occupy the deep post. Charles's face-up explosiveness is long gone, and he can only rely on his big butt to hard-hit in the waist area. Even now, Michael's most lethal move is still the back-to-the-basket fake and fadeaway mid-range jumper in the elbow area. These three historical superstars all have their offensive finishing points crammed into a narrow area within fifteen feet of the basket."
Lin Qi looked up at the camera. " The Lakers ' half-court offense was as crowded as the New York subway during rush hour."
"But Lin, you can't deny that these veterans still have gas left in the tank." Kenny Smith flipped through the stats in his hand, trying to defend his old buddies. "Look at Charles, he's only averaging 11 points and 7 rebounds now, but his crucial rebounds in the fourth quarter are always deadly. And Patrick Ewing, he's coming off the bench for 12 minutes every night and still averaging 6 points, occasionally even contributing a dunk."
"It's not just Patrick Ewing," Ernie Johnson joined the discussion, " Mitch Richmond's corner three-point percentage is also pretty good. Michael's high-pressure training seems to have given these old guys a second spring?"
Lin Qi shook his head. "No, Kenny, Ernie. This isn't a second spring, it's just a final burst of energy after shedding the burden of being a superstar."
"In New York, Patrick Ewing had to play nearly 40 minutes a day with his worn-out knees, shouldering the responsibility of being the primary scorer and the only rim protector, which would have been exhausting for him. But with the Lakers, he doesn't need to carry the team. He just needs to go up and play against the opposing team's backup center when Shaq is resting. Having a Hall of Fame veteran play against the opposing team's backup, even if he can't jump high anymore, his silky bunny hop mid-range jumper can still make the young players despair."
"They are no longer game-changing superstars; they have become super role players who are intimidating in specific situations."
"What about that young bench? Can't Kidd lead the team in a run-and-gun offense and solve the stamina problem?" Kenny Smith pressed.
"They can do it in the regular season, even win a lot of games against weaker teams," Lin Qi bluntly pointed out. "But this is the Western Conference. In the playoffs, the pace of the game drops drastically, and the rotation shrinks to seven or eight players. In the final three minutes, when it's a do-or-die situation, would Phil Jackson dare to bench Michael, Charles, and Shaq to watch the young players play? He wouldn't."
"I must admit, if we're talking about sheer one-on-one toughness in the final two minutes of a game, no team in the entire league can guarantee they'll leave Staples Center alive. Michael and Shaq's dominance is an unrepeatable miracle. But if the game is blown out early on, they'll struggle."
Kenny Smith nodded repeatedly, then smiled and concluded, "So you mean they're a team that can beat God in the last two minutes, but only if they can hold on until the last two minutes?"
"That's exactly right," Lin Qi smiled.
"Fantastic! This is the in-depth analysis we've been waiting for!" Ernie Johnson glanced at the director's excited announcement in his headset; the ratings had completely broken TNT's all-time record for the same period.
He quickly turned the microphone to the next focus on the big screen. "Now that we've finished talking about the veterans of Los Angeles, it's time to look at that young man who left Hollywood for the Windy City... Chicago Bulls, Kobe Brian."