I'm really strong in basketball

Chapter 139 Knicks vs. Nets
2005 4 Month 23 Day.

Madison Square Garden.

In the square outside the arena, a slightly chubby young woman hurried past wearing sexy black stockings and high heels.

"She" was accompanied by a cameraman, filming all the way.

Just then, Charles Barkley suddenly appeared and greeted "her".

"Isiah, good morning!"

Yes, this "young woman" is Isiah Thomas, who came to fulfill the bet.

Thomas also wanted to save face, and specifically chose a time when there were few people to fulfill his promise.

In order to prove that he had indeed fulfilled his bet, he even brought a cameraman to record the whole process as evidence.

But Thomas never expected that Barkley had already guessed his thoughts, lurked around the arena, and caught him.

If you want to ask why Barkley targeted Thomas so much, you have to ask, which NBA player who played in the 8s and 90s was not bullied by Thomas?Who doesn't hate him?

Thomas was caught in action, feeling shameless and escaping in a hurry.

……

That night, before the game between the Knicks and Nets, Barkley talked about his experience of catching the bad guy with great interest, and also revealed several "sexy" photos of Thomas, which attracted a large number of fans.

Immediately, the two sides of the game came on stage.

The Nets’ starting lineup is:
Position [-]: Jason Collins.

Position [-]: Nenad Kostic.

Number three: Richard Jefferson.

Position [-]: Vince Carter.

Position [-]: Jason Kidd.

Last summer, the Nets failed to keep Kenyon Martin, causing serious damage to their inside strength.

Although they have formed a super luxurious outside lineup such as Kidd, Carter, and Jefferson, the inside strength is too weak, causing the Nets to have fatal problems.

In the past few years, the Nets have been able to reach the finals in a row. Martin's role has been crucial. He has always been the core of the Nets' defense. He can defend and assist in defense, which is indispensable.

But now, the Nets seem to be more luxurious, but the defensive system no longer exists.

It can only be said to be flashy and just a paper tiger.

Subsequently, the Knicks' starting lineup is:
Position [-]: Zaza Pachulia.

Number four: Karl Malone.

Number three: Liu He.

No. [-]: Grant Hill.

Position [-]: Jason Williams.

Nelson's lineup tonight is very targeted.

In terms of immediate combat power, Malone is now inferior to Thomas, but in terms of offensive destructive power, Malone is still better than the "CIC handsome boy" Thomas.

Nelson is targeting the Nets' weakness inside, hoping that Malone can play a role.

Beep!
As the whistle sounded, the game officially began.

Pachulia won the jump ball and the Knicks took the lead.

White Chocolate advanced to the frontcourt and Pachulia pulled Collins out of the penalty area.

Malone mentioned the free throw line and cooperated with White Chocolate in a pick-and-roll.

After unpacking, White Chocolate accelerated to break through Kostic.

Krstic couldn't keep up with White Chocolate's speed, and Kidd was forced to help defend.

White chocolate was in the middle of the crowd, and a delicate ground pass was handed to Malone.

Malone made an open mid-range jumper.

Swish!
2: 0.

Old Malone is getting stronger and still able to shine, which makes Old Nelson smile.

Although it was only one round, it was already stable.

The Nets attack.

Kidd was about to speed up, but found that his opponent retreated very quickly.

Obviously, the Knicks have already made arrangements.

We know that the Nets have three major outsiders and a top point guard like Kidd, who is best at fast breaks.

Nelson has already made arrangements: the Knicks must retreat quickly in every round and must not let their opponents seize the opportunity.

Seeing that the fast break failed, Kidd could only slow down and fall into a positional battle.

In the frontcourt, the remaining four members of the Nets opened up, obviously wanting Kidd to challenge White Chocolate one-on-one.

Because Kidd has extremely outstanding physical fitness and is stronger than most No. [-] positions, there seems to be no problem with this tactic.

but……

NBA rumors: The base can't attack, Na can't defend, Long can't shoot, and everyone can't pass!

It's not that Kidd doesn't attack, it's that his offensive finishing success rate is particularly low.

Kidd's career shooting percentage is only 40%, and this season it is only 39.8%.

The two-point shooting percentage is 40.7%.

In the early stages of his career, Kidd's three-point shooting percentage was even worse.

However, since the beginning of this season, Kidd's three-pointers have become more and more accurate, reaching 36% this season, averaging 5.4 shots per game and hitting 2.

2 times 40.7% equals 0.814.

3 times 36% equals 1.08.

It can be concluded from this that Kidd's efficiency outside the three-point line is much higher than inside the three-point line.

So before the game, the Knicks' defensive strategy against Kidd was... to defend Kidd from three-pointers and force Kidd into the mid-range.

Try to get Kidd to take shots from mid-range.

White Chocolate deliberately stayed close to Kidd, preventing Kidd from shooting and forcing Kidd to break through.

Sure enough, Kidd seized the opportunity and broke into the paint area.

White Chocolate didn't stop him, he just followed Kidd closely and kept harassing Kidd.

At this moment, the other four Nets players, led by Carter and Jefferson, were all ready to catch the ball.

As long as the Knicks double-team, Kidd, as a top point guard, will definitely be able to pass the ball, and then there will be a good opportunity to get open.

However, the Knicks only slightly shrunk their defensive formation, but did not use double-teams, allowing Kidd to continue running into the penalty area.

Among the five players on the Nets, Kidd has the lowest shooting percentage.

(Kidd 39.8%, Carter 46.2%, Jefferson 42.2%, Kostic 49.3%, Collins 41.2%)

So the Knicks had a plan... If Kidd wants to play, he can play whatever he wants.

The more you Kidd plays, the greater our hope of winning.

Soon, Kidd rushed to the penalty area.

Facing Pachulia's defense, Kidd moved around in the air and pulled the lever for a layup.

Bang!

Sure enough, I didn't go in.

However, Collins took the opportunity to grab the rebound and made a second shot.

Snapped!
Liu He rushed over and hit the target with a big shot.

Pachulia protected the basketball and found the white chocolate immediately.

The Knicks launched a defensive counterattack, White Chocolate hit the ground to assist Hill, and Hill bombed from the air.

boom!
4: 0.

After the goal, Hill did not celebrate. He strictly followed Coach Nelson's tactics and returned to defense immediately.

The Nets have no choice but to continue to stay in position and slowly grind against the Knicks.

Kidd continued to play singles with the ball.

Even though Kidd's shooting percentage is low, coach Lawrence Frank just trusts him and insists on letting him be a traditional point guard to do the work of a combo guard.

Carter happened to be a Buddhist type of person. He didn't fight or grab, and didn't complain at all. He just stood outside the three-point line and watched Kidd do it alone.

Kidd easily broke into the three-point line and deliberately observed the opponent's movements.

He found that the Knicks just didn't double-team him and even let him shoot casually from mid-range.

"Are you afraid of my passing and looking down on my shooting?"

Thinking of this, Kidd pulled it up and threw it.

Bang!

Kidd lived up to expectations and gave him a board angrily.

But this time, the Nets retreated quickly and did not allow the Knicks to launch a defensive counterattack.

White Chocolate suppresses the rhythm and fights on the defensive.

In the frontcourt, White Chocolate continued to cooperate with Malone in pick-and-rolls.

However, Kidd was prepared this time and squeezed past Malone very resolutely, continuing to follow White Chocolate.

I have to say that Kidd's offense is indeed stretched, but his defensive ability is extremely outstanding.

Looking at the defensive abilities of the number one position in NBA history, only Payton can compete with Kidd.

After all, he is a 38-year-old guy who can still defend the goat (self-proclaimed).

After following White Chocolate, Kidd used his strong body and rich experience to defend aggressively, not even giving White Chocolate and Malone a chance to pass the ball.

White Chocolate could only pass the ball to Liu He.

Liu He held the basketball high and observed the situation.

Seeing Malone using his big arms, which are thicker than ordinary people's waists, to push away Kostic, a young rookie, Liu He immediately passed the ball.

Malone caught the ball and scored a layup.

Swish!
6: 0.

Your uncle is still your uncle, and the 42-year-old Malone can still play.

The Knicks returned to defense, Malone caught up with Liu He, and the two high-fived in celebration.

For the Nets, Kidd realized that his touch was not good tonight, so he stopped taking shots and distributed the ball to Carter.

This is a smart point guard who knows when to play himself and when to pass the ball.

Facing Hill's defense, Carter dribbled the ball continuously with his hips, then directly pulled up and forced a shot against Hill.

The basketball passed Hill's fingertips and hit it.

Swish!
6: 3.

This is a pure ball game that relies on personal ability. It is completely unreasonable and no one can guard against it.

Carter is still the league's top scorer this year, and his ability is still there.

This skill shocked everyone, and Madison Square Garden was filled with exclamations of surprise.

New York fans couldn't help but worry. If Carter keeps playing like this, can his team be able to withstand it?

The Knicks attack.

White chocolate holds the ball forward.

Kidd suddenly strengthened his defense and pressed White Chocolate.

White Chocolate was caught off guard and stumbled, but Kidd took the opportunity to steal it.

After grabbing the ball, Kidd immediately launched a counterattack, threw the ball high in the frontcourt, and assisted Carter to complete an actual windmill dunk.

boom!
6: 5.

Unknowingly, White Chocolate's advancement speed became faster, which was led by Kidd.

In the frontcourt, White Chocolate drove into the paint and got up for a layup.

Jefferson arrived in stride, leaped high, and slapped the basketball onto the backboard.

Nail board big hat!

Kidd took the opportunity to collect the rebound, immediately launched a fast break, passed Jefferson in the chaos, and dunked successfully.

boom!
6: 7.

The Nets scored 7 points in a row and took the lead in one fell swoop.

What New York fans feared happened.

Although this Nets team is unbalanced internally and externally, its perimeter lineup is so luxurious that it is not an exaggeration to say it is the best perimeter lineup in the league.

Especially for this guy Kidd, if you show a slight flaw, this "old monster" will strangle you by the neck.

The Knicks attack.

Kidd continued to press White Chocolate full court.

Liu He immediately came up to meet White Chocolate, caught the ball from White Chocolate, and pushed forward himself.

Seeing Liu He get the ball, Kidd had no choice but to give up and quickly retreated to the backcourt.

Liu He pushed forward slowly while urging White Chocolate: "Jason, don't be disturbed by your opponents, play at our own pace, and do everything according to the pre-game arrangements, and we will win!"

White Chocolate nodded.

Liu He advanced to the frontcourt, his eyes signaling Malone to come out for a pick-and-roll.

Malone firmly blocked Jefferson, forcing Kostic to switch defenses.

Kostic is a very smart European big man. He knew that he could not keep up with Liu He's pace, so he deliberately took a step back to defend Liu He's breakthrough.

however……

Upon seeing this, Liu He took a step back, came outside the three-point line, and immediately fired.Krstic wanted to pounce and interfere again, but naturally it was too late and he could only watch Liu He take action.

Swish!
9: 7.

"Be smart!"

Liu He sneered in his heart and immediately took the lead in returning to defense, not giving the Nets a chance to play a fast break.

"Defense!"

Liu He, who was the first to rush back to the backcourt, lowered his center of gravity, assumed a defensive posture, and reminded his teammates.

The DJ at the scene reacted and immediately organized the fans in the audience to shout in unison:

"Knicks, defense!"

"Defense, Knicks!"

"Knicks, defense!"

……

Encouraged by the New York fans, everyone on the Knicks team took the lead, widening their eyes and looking at their opponents fiercely.

Kidd advanced to the frontcourt and calmly distributed the ball to Carter, who was in excellent condition.

Carter dribbled continuously, suddenly exploded the ball, and broke through quickly.

Hill failed to block Carter, allowing Carter to break into the paint.

Liu He immediately made up the defense and cooperated with Hill to attack Carter.

Faced with the flanking attack of two two-meter-long men, Carter couldn't take action easily, so he chose to split the ball.

Jefferson catches and shoots.

However, Malone's defense was very timely, and he stretched his long arms to interfere.

Bang!

Jefferson also joined the blacksmith in giving away a plate.

Pachulia collected the rebound unceremoniously and found Liu He immediately.

Liu He advanced with the ball.

The Nets retreated quickly, with Kidd and Carter retreating to the backcourt early to prepare.

Liu He faced one against two, and did not back down. Instead, he moved forward bravely, soared directly into the air, pushed past the defense in the air, and completed a dunk.

Although Kidd's body is outstanding, he is at the No. [-] position.

Facing Liu He, he had no physical advantage at all.

As for Carter, he has never been an active defensive guy.

boom!
Beep!
2+1.

Liu He not only smashed the basketball into the basket, but also caused Kidd to foul.

"Roar!"

Liu He, who landed from the basket, pumped his fist and roared, which aroused the excitement of the New York fans in the audience.

Immediately, Liu He stepped to the free throw line and made a steady free throw.

Swish!
12: 7.

Relying on Liu He's 6 points in a row, the Knicks re-established their lead, and New York fans instantly felt at ease.

At the critical moment, you have to rely on Liu He!
The Nets attack.

Kidd stabilized the rhythm and dealt the cards at the top of the arc.

Carter used Krstic's screen to run out of position, received Kidd's pass, and shot.

Swish!
12: 10.

Carter made his second consecutive three-pointer.

He was extremely accurate from beyond the arc tonight.

But looking back, Liu He continued to play pick-and-roll tactics with Malone, and then coached Kostic, broke into the penalty area, and scored 2 points for a layup.

14: 10.

Liu He scored 8 points in a row.

For the Nets, Carter has also scored 8 points.

During this period, it became a fierce battle between Liu He and Carter, which was particularly exciting.

The two of you come and go, not giving in to each other.

The first quarter lasted 8 minutes, 22:17.

The Knicks led by 5 points, and both sides made changes at the same time.

Knicks:

Chandler, Thomas, Liu He, Crawford, Payton.

Nets:
Collins, Clifford Robinson, Scalabrine, Jefferson, Kidd.

As soon as Crawford came up, he relied on his abundant physical strength to shoot Jefferson in the face, scoring 3 points for the Knicks.

Swish!
25: 17.

The Nets attack.

Although the Nets have also adjusted their personnel, the only people in the Nets who can attack with the ball are the Trident (Kidd, Carter, Jefferson). Changing the soup does not change the medicine.

Jefferson broke through with the ball and was flanked by Liu He and Crawford as soon as he entered the paint area.

Compared to Kidd and Carter, Jefferson's passing ability is much worse.

Once you encounter a double team, it is not so easy to separate the ball.

This is also the reason why the Knicks dare to double-team Jefferson.

Jefferson hugged the basketball and looked behind him for Kidd to connect.

However, the experienced Payton had already seen through Jefferson's thoughts, blocked Kidd's position, and completed the steal halfway.

The Knicks took advantage of the situation and launched a fast break. Each of the four substitutes who had just come on were full of energy, ran very fast, and poured into the frontcourt like a tide.

Payton assisted Thomas in the frontcourt and dunked successfully.

boom!
27: 17.

Unconsciously, the point difference reached double digits.

"I have to say that the Knicks' bench is so solid, it is among the best among the 30 teams in the league."

Barkley explained.

Cole nodded and counted on his fingers: "Crawford, Chandler, Thomas, Payton, Ariza... there are 5 substitute players that Old Neil often uses, and a total of 10 people are rotated."

This is one of the reasons why the Knicks' lineup looks weak, but they can win 61 games.

The Knicks may not have much of an advantage over the starters.But compared to the bench, the Knicks can take advantage.

The Nets attack.

In the anti-aircraft turret, 208cm veteran Clifford Robinson hit a three-pointer and gave the Nets a life-saving blood transfusion.

Swish!
27: 20.

The Nets breathed a sigh of relief.

But then, Crawford rushed into the penalty area with the ball, causing a foul on Robinson, a 39-year-old veteran.

Crawford went to the free throw line and made 2 of 2 free throws.

29: 20.

The Nets attack.

Thomas followed Robinson closely this time and did not give him a chance to run out of space.

Kidd chose to do it himself, deceiving the defender with a fake pass, and then entered the penalty area.

Chandler, who was guarding the penalty area, jumped high and his long arms provided enough interference.

Kidd, who has a low success rate in finishing, met a penalty area defensive expert like Chandler and directly gave Chandler a rebound.

Crawford attacked with the ball, quickly passed Robinson, caused a foul on Collins, and got two free throws again.

After Kenyon Martin left, none of the Nets' insiders could hold up the penalty area. There were holes everywhere under the basket, which were riddled with holes by Crawford.

Crawford went to the free throw line and hit 2 free throws again.

31: 20.

Soon, the first quarter is over.

34: 23.

The Knicks led by 11 points entering the second quarter.

Coach Lawrence Frank looked at the 11-point difference and did not dare to be careless. He decided to "give Carter a hard time and bear the blame himself."

At the beginning of the second quarter, he let Carter, who had not rested for a few minutes, return to the field and play with the substitute lineup.

Upon seeing this, Nelson sent Ariza to pester Carter throughout the game.

I don't expect Ariza to be able to guard Carter. As long as he can use up a little more of Carter's energy, it's worth it.

The Knicks’ on-court lineup is:

Chandler, Thomas, Ariza, Crawford, Payton.

Except for Crawford, the other four are very good at defense.

Under Nelson's deliberate targeting, Carter felt very uncomfortable.

However, Carter's touch was really good tonight. He was able to withstand the Knicks' iron-clad defense and narrow the point difference bit by bit.

Carter first rushed into the penalty area, dodged around two defenders, and made a difficult layup.

Then he catches the ball while moving and takes a floating shot.

Seeing the point difference narrowing, Nelson didn't care and allowed Carter to lose air every second.

Faced with Hardaway's doubts, Nelson explained: "The harder Vince plays now, the sluggish he will be later."

Halfway through the second quarter, the two sides lined up again and put on their starting lineups.

Hill sensed that Carter was starting to have problems defensively, occasionally losing position.

It should be that I played too hard in the previous quarter and a half and consumed too much physical energy.

Hill seized the opportunity, targeted Carter, scored repeatedly, and soon widened the point difference.

The end of the first half, 60:51.

The Knicks maintained a 9-point lead.

In the third quarter of the game, Nelson played more targeted. He directed Hill, Liu He, and Malone to frequently attack the Nets' weak inside line.

The inside line composed of Collins and Kostic cannot be said to be too weak in defense, it can only be said to have no defense at all.

Not long after, Collins accumulated 4 fouls and fell into foul trouble.

At this point, the Nets' inside line is even worse.

The Knicks quickly opened up the point difference.

At most, the Knicks led by 21 points.

Fortunately, in the last minute, Carter and Robinson hit consecutive three-pointers, which prevented the game from entering garbage time at the end of the third quarter.

91: 76.

Despite this, the Knicks maintained a 15-point lead.

In the crucial fourth quarter, Carter, who had been hot for three quarters, finally declined.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Carter received a pass from Kidd and hit an open three-pointer.

Looking back, Liu He and Pachulia passed the ball hand in hand at the top of the key, and Liu He caught the ball and shot.

Swish!
94: 76.

Later, Carter made an emergency jump shot from mid-range, which bounced out due to interference from Hill.

Liu He launched a counterattack and hit a chasing three-pointer to send the Nets to the bottom.

Swish!
97: 76.

The point difference came to 21 points again.

And as Carter's condition declines, the Nets can no longer launch an effective point-chasing offensive.

In the end, 122:105, the Knicks defeated the Nets and got a good start in the series.

刘河砍下全场最高的32分9篮板5助攻2抢断2盖帽。

Malone served as a surprise player and scored 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block.

Crawford had 16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.

希尔今晚的主要任务是防守卡特，进攻端的戏份不多，拿下12分5篮板3助攻1抢断1盖帽。

White Chocolate had 11 points, 1 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal.

Thomas had 11 points and 8 rebounds.

Pachulia had 10 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal.

Seven Knicks players scored in double figures and easily won their first victory.

For the Nets:
Carter finished with 30 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal.

杰弗森23分7篮板2助攻1抢断1盖帽。

基德13分9篮板11助攻3抢断1盖帽。

Robinson had 12 points and 4 rebounds.

Kostic had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.

At the post-game press conference, Frank Lawrence said: Although the Nets lost the first game, they will make a comeback in the next game and return to New Jersey with a 1-1 record.He already has a way to beat the Knicks.

(End of this chapter)