After the game against the Spurs, Lin Yu raked in another $360,000, bringing his net worth directly over $1 million.
Lin Yu never dreamed that less than a week ago, he'd been struggling to save every penny, yet now he'd become a bona fide millionaire.
If that happened thirty years ago, Lin Yu would have enough cash on hand to buy an NBA team.
With his wallet full, many things he previously wouldn't have dared do were now on his mind, like buying a decent car. As the team's head coach, it was truly unseemly for him to keep riding that beat-up old bicycle.
After the post-game press conference, Lin Yu immediately led the team to Vancouver overnight. Their next game was a back-to-back against the Grizzlies.
A back-to-back game undoubtedly put a huge strain on the players' physical fitness, but the Bullets' core players were all young powerhouses, and the Grizzlies were a thoroughly underdog team with a worse record than the tanking Spurs. Therefore, Lin Yu wasn't worried about losing this game.
Early the next morning, Lin Yu and his team headed to the hotel, ready to have breakfast and rest in preparation for tonight's game.
"Coach, you're on the news."
"Huh? You offended a Heat player? Why did they yell at you?"
Brother Changshi finished his breakfast, holding up a newspaper and shouting.
His outburst made Lin Yu and the other players jump up. Benben even snatched the newspaper and began to read it carefully.
After a moment, Benben tore it into pieces and threw it into the nearby trash can.
"They say you look like Unseld, and they're right. Others haven't even seen him yet..." Feiche yelled.
"Damn Strickland! If I saw him on the court, I'd strangle him!"
Big Ben's fury was terrifying, his biceps bulging like an enraged silverback gorilla. Feiche was terrified. He was usually the main conversation starter, never saying anything harsh. Why would Big Ben strangle himself?
"It's Mark Strickland, not you," Brother Tuizi reminded him.
Feiche then remembered that there was a guy on the Heat with the same last name as him, a guy called "Little Dunsan." People often mistakenly assumed he was family, and he never explained, which made Feiche extremely upset.
"What's going on, Tim? What did he say about me?" Lin Yu was curious.
He had absolutely no grudge against the Heat; they hadn't even met. There was no reason for a Heat player to come out and criticize him, right?
The key was this Mark Strickland. He sounded like a nobody, the kind who couldn't even be on the stage. Even if the Heat wanted to mock him, it wouldn't be someone like him.
"Well, let me tell you, Big Ben, get over it. You look like you're ready to kill. How can I dare say anything?" Legs took a few steps back, not daring to approach Big Ben.
Big Ben nodded, took a deep breath, and forced himself to calm down.
Even after only spending half an hour with Lin Yu, Lin Yu's importance to him was already second only to his mother.
Seeing someone insulting Lin Yu, Ben felt like murdering someone.
"This Strickland..."
"Okay, Rod, stop glaring at me. I'll just call him Mark."
"What kind of a clown is that coach? He won a few games by luck, and now he's taunting the Heat about a meeting with the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals."
"By the way, he also told you to get back to Gotham City. Batman has promised he'll never hit you again."
Brother Tui Zi recounted the story vividly.
"Puff puff..." You Bo couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Lin Yu wanted to laugh too, but couldn't. After all, the guy was insulting him!
He felt something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Coach, have you ever offended Pat Riley?" Speedy asked, frowning.
Lin Yu shook his head. "How is that possible? I've never even met him. Are you saying Pat Riley ordered Mark?"
Harvey said, "It must have been Riley who ordered it. Mark barely played any game time, so how could he possibly be qualified for the post-game press conference? His presence there must have been Riley's idea."
"It's not surprising, come to think of it. Riley's done this kind of thing a lot in his life. He wants to maintain that Godfather-like, unpredictable demeanor, so he leaves these unspeakable tasks to his players."
Flying Car and Harvey are both veterans with nearly a decade in the league, so they naturally know Riley intimately.
Lin Yu recalled Riley's appearance, and it seemed quite true. He might really be the person in the NBA who best fits the Godfather image.
No wonder Aseld has always been unhappy with Riley; he's actually jealous that Riley is more of a Godfather than him!
Thinking of this, Lin Yu couldn't help but laugh.
"Coach, you're still laughing? It's no good being on Riley's radar," Youbo sighed, shaking his head.
Lin Yu spread his hands. "What's there to be afraid of? If he can find someone to scold me, why can't I find someone to scold him?"
"Lei, my friend, are you willing to help me out?"
"The key is that I really don't have any evidence to accuse him. He's bullying me like this, so I owe him something."
When Ray Jackson heard that Lin Yu had actually entrusted him with such a shameless act, he immediately nodded and agreed.
"Coach, don't worry. If I don't expose every last ounce of Riley's dirty laundry, I'll be talking for nothing."
Lin Yu chose Ray Jackson for no other reason than to take advantage of the fact that Riley had used a marginal player to humiliate me, Lin Yu. Of course, I, Lin Yu, would reciprocate by using the even more marginal Ray Jackson to humiliate him.
Until this moment, Lin Yu still hadn't realized he'd offended Riley, though not on his own initiative. Unseld had probably thoroughly offended Mashburn during yesterday's trade with the Mavericks. Unseld had repeatedly emphasized to Nelson that it was Lin Yu's trade request, even fabricating a plot that Lin Yu would resign if the trade wasn't done.
Then Nelson called Riley again. After all, the Mavericks and the Heat were in negotiations, and since they'd already sold the players, they should have let the Heat know.
Riley asked why the trade was canceled, and Nelson, honestly, said Lin Yu had offered too much.
This infuriated Riley. "You guys on the Bullets, you guys are no longer human, are you?"
If I, Riley, couldn't handle Unseld, could I possibly handle a completely undeveloped Lin Yu? At the post-game press conference that night, he brought along the unknown Mark Strickland and berated Lin Yu.
If Lin Yu knew the whole story, he'd probably sigh, "Misfortune befalls you while you're still at home."
Riley let out a deep sigh of relief. He thought the matter was over. Lin Yu had ruined his deal, and he'd simply humiliated him. Lin Yu should be secretly happy.
He never expected that the lunatic Lin Yu had already found someone to give Riley a good beating at tonight's post-match press conference.
...
Everyone returned to their hotel rooms to rest.
By the time the evening game started, the Grizzlies players were in for a rough patch.
Wallace Ben Wallace also wanted to help Lin Yu, wanting to "play" in place of Ray Jackson. Unfortunately, he knew he wasn't good with words and couldn't handle such delicate tasks.
With nowhere to vent his anger, he poured it all out in the Grizzlies' restricted area.
Grizzlies center Bryant Levis, known as the "Big Redneck," was nearly driven to collapse by Ben Wallace's rampage.
Levis's averages of 16 points and 8 rebounds per game this season appear comparable to Muresan's, but his true skill is far inferior. He only has the opportunity to post impressive stats on a poor team like the Grizzlies.
If he were on a strong team, it's unclear whether he would even start.
Tonight, Big Redneck completely destroyed Ben Wallace. He was blocked four times offensively and even allowed Ben Wallace to score 16 points on defense. He was completely outrebounded. By the end of the game, Ben Wallace had 16 points, 23 rebounds, and 6 blocks, while Big Ball had only 8 points and 5 rebounds.
The only player of any value on this Grizzlies team is Abdur-Rahim, the third overall pick from the 1996 Golden Generation. He's considered a second Webber, possessing Webber's height and wingspan. He's a versatile forward who can drive, shoot, dribble, and pass, and can play both the three and four positions.
In his prime, B was a top-tier forward averaging around 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 30 assists per game. Unfortunately, he faced a double team of Chris Bosh and Harvey tonight. Although he managed 15 points, his offensive efficiency was extremely low, and he was effectively outplayed.
The Celtics in the East and the Spurs in the West were deliberately playing badly, but the Grizzlies were the only true underdogs.
At the start of the fourth quarter, seeing the score difference had even surpassed 30 points, Lin Yu simply put the Michigan Five back on the court. This time, he didn't target Webber for a combined play, but Ray Jackson.
Before taking the court, Lin Yu specifically instructed Ray Jackson to shoot, telling him to take his chances, as the game was inevitable.
As a point guard, Ray had a lot of ball control, and since the head coach had given the go-ahead, he didn't hold back. He took a frenzied 16 shots in the fourth quarter, while the other four players combined took less than half as many.
The Grizzlies' point guard was Greg Anthony, a player acquired from the Knicks in the 1995 expansion draft. His skill level was undeniable. Even if the combined Ray and Jackson weren't necessarily that strong, 16 shots still yielded 18 points.
A month ago, Ray Jackson probably never dreamed he would score 18 points in a single quarter in the NBA.
"Ding! Ray Jackson's favorability has increased. The current maximum favorability is 100 points."
"Host successfully and perfectly recruited a player, rewarded with 1 Charisma point. Current Charisma is 8."
Seeing his Charisma increase by another point, Lin Yu began to fantasize. If he could continue recruiting players, his Charisma would eventually reach hundreds or even thousands of points. If he could travel around Hollywood, he'd instantly win the hearts of every Hollywood actress, and they'd all be willing to marry him.
"Hmm, it seems I still have to work hard recruiting players. It's not like I have any ill intentions towards Hollywood actresses, I simply enjoy recruiting players," Lin Yu thought seriously.