NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 129 The Tail of the Peak

Chapter 129 The Tail of the Peak

On March 1999, 3, many sports media were still recalling the Knicks' "shark-killing" battle the day before yesterday.

出场38分钟,16中7,罚球15中5,19分7篮板1盖帽4失误,奥尼尔被“砍”得进攻节奏全无,最后6犯离场。

尤因13中6,罚球8中6,18分12篮板2助攻2盖帽2失误,大猩猩虽然数据“平平无奇”,却打出了3月份最佳的场上表现。

101:91, the Knicks won their second victory in the Western Conference.

The content of the game played by the two teams in March is very interesting:

The Lakers are very motivated, but the lineup still needs to be adjusted after the trade.

The Knicks often lack motivation for games. As long as they experience five games a week, the old guys will definitely be flat.
However, the real protagonist of this game was Li You. Unlike the Jazz's pick-and-roll offense, the Knicks almost relied on Li You alone to defeat the Sharks.

In TNT's pregame show on Sunday, McHale analyzed several Knicks' offensive rounds in the studio:

"Shaq and his teammates lack a tacit understanding, and there is always a lack of continuity when defending pick-and-rolls!"

"With Lee holding the ball on the left wing, Ewing's first screen was fake and he just created a chance for Lee to simply get away from Derek Harper."

"When Ewing really stood outside the three-point line, Shaq returned to the three-point line. This was definitely a wrong choice!"

"In the end, Li easily hit a three-pointer. Note, this is a wide-open three-pointer."

A very simple high-post pick-and-roll tactic. Gorilla first feigned a screen and replaced O'Neal. After moving laterally, he twisted again and stood at the three-point line.

It was a test of O'Neal's defensive continuity. As a result, the Sharks didn't really try their best to pursue and delay the entire game, and were shot by Li You.
McHale has drawn a lot on the tactical board. The legendary star reviewed several tactical coordinations of the Knicks in detail.

The show began to repeatedly play the Knicks mocking O'Neal for his free throws. Several people on the bench threw towels wildly, while Li You and Oakley chattered endlessly.

As long as he stood on the free throw line, O'Neal had to start a verbal battle.

The Knicks have multiple outputs, and Rodman of the Lakers is a fun-loving guy. Instead of helping, he just joins in the fun.
This situation made Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson laugh happily.

"Shaq's defense does have problems, Lee is not Stockton."

"This season, most teams in the Eastern Conference will choose strong delay defense. Maybe head coach Rambis also arranged it before the game, but the players did not implement it."

As soon as Kenny Smith finished speaking, McHale shook his head again and then gave his own opinion:

"Shaq has a problem, but the Lakers' guards also have a problem. Derek Harper and Fisher are slow on the screen and the other is short of height."

"My suggestion is that Shaq needs a guard who can defend the pick-and-roll, and Kobe Bryant is a better choice."

20中8,罚球8中5,21分5篮板3助攻2失误,这场比赛科比-布莱恩特交出了一份常规数据。

Kobe, who is gradually making a name for himself, also chose to gain muscle this season and has now become the Lakers' outside scorer.

Ernie Johnson did not participate in the tactical discussion in depth, but changed the topic and said:
"No matter who is defending, Lee always finds a way to help the team score points."

"The Knicks' rotation also performed very well. Sprewell made 12 of 6 shots and efficiently scored 16 points, while the Lakers only scored 15 points off the bench."

"The team is in great shape. Do you think Lee will win the MVP this season?"

Kenny Smith immediately gave an affirmative answer and said seriously:
"Although the Knicks have lost three games in March, Lee has maintained a very high level."

"Whether it's record or data, I will vote for him!"

McHale, who prefers big men, did not hesitate to support Duncan:
"This month, the Spurs are the better team. They have only lost 2 games so far. Tim Duncan has shown great influence on both offense and defense."

"As long as the Spurs can keep this trend going, I'll give Tim Duncan a vote!"

MVP直接对话,李佑出场40分钟,20中12,三分线外11中6,罚球8中8,砍下38分5篮板12助攻2抢断2失误的数据。

Such a performance almost destroyed O'Neal's MVP impression. After all, his free throw shooting rate in the early [-]s is really eye-catching.

Since the Knicks and Lakers will only play each other once this season, O'Neal doesn't even have a chance to play again.

The Shark, who broke through the defense, simply prevented his teammates from contacting the Knicks.

Travis Knight, who returned to the Lakers again this season, could only send text messages to Li You to apologize in the past two days.

In the third game of the Western Conference trip, the league finally allowed the Knicks to enjoy a benefit in terms of schedule. It was still in Los Angeles and challenged the Clippers away from home.

Although the Clippers won the No. [-] pick in last year's draft, their record this season has not improved and is even worse than last year!

With 3 wins and 24 losses, meeting the Clippers is a welfare situation. The opponent can be called the belly of the fish.
It was still the Great Western Forum Arena. Before the game, a large number of media gathered around Li You, playing the role of a sounding board again:

"Lee, Shaq said that next time we meet, he will beat the Knicks with his own hands!"

Regardless of whether the news was true or not, Li You grinned widely:

"Next time we meet? Then we have to wait until next season. I don't think the Lakers can break out of the Western Conference."

"As for O'Neal, maybe he should lose weight and practice more free throws."

"He is destined to be unable to put the ball into the basket with his eyes closed like me, but it shouldn't be difficult to stabilize the free throw percentage at 6%, right?"

The Knicks reporter and the media on the side laughed loudly. So far, Shark's career free throw shooting percentage has not exceeded [-]%.
On the other side of the locker room, Oakley was still making sarcastic remarks:
"I don't want to see him calling himself "the strongest center in the league" again. Has he ever won a championship?"

The Knicks atmosphere team also started to cheer loudly, saying that the gorilla is the number one center in the league!

"."

Ridicule makes people unable to fight back. The championship is very important these days!
Considering O'Neal's past playoff record, the Los Angeles media was quickly ridiculed.
The Lakers' record was surpassed by the Spurs and Jazz, and their star player was suppressed by newcomer Duncan in the MVP rankings.

The media in Los Angeles have done their best.
In the Welfare Bureau game that night, Li You's condition fluctuated again, and his shooting was a bit stretched.

But Alan Houston, who was limited by Kobe Bryant to perform inefficiently in the last game, broke out again.

At 113:86, the Knicks defeated the Clippers, ending their short trip to the West.

After surviving five consecutive games a week in mid-March, the Knicks finally regained some vitality at the end of the month.

In the last game in March, the Knicks continued to fly away and eventually lost to the Pacers.

With 25 wins and 6 losses, halfway through the schedule, New York was naturally ecstatic when they saw this record, and the media shouted: "The Knicks are champions!"

Fans can be happy, but Jeff Van Gundy is a little worried.

Throughout April, the Knicks played a total of 4 games. Although they no longer had five games a week, their opponents were the same Eastern Conference teams.

How to mobilize players' emotions and how to get them to actively participate in the game has become a big problem for the bald young coach.

On April 4, the NBA announced its Player of the Month for March, and Tim Duncan of the Spurs successfully won the award.

In March, the Spurs posted a record of 3 wins and 14 losses. After a bad start, they successfully completed a counterattack and Popovich also retained his position as head coach.

场均出场39.0分钟,场均拿到23.5分10.9篮板1.8助攻1.3抢断2.9盖帽2.6失误;

He averaged 17.9 shots per game, shooting 52.1% from the field, averaging 6.7 free throws per game, and shooting 72% from the field.

Tim Duncan's efficient double-double has won unanimous praise from many media!
The Spurs have 20 wins and 10 losses, ranking second in the Western Conference. The No. 1 Jazz is 22 wins and 8 losses. Karl Malone and Stockton are still efficient.

In the MVP rankings, Karl Malone has rushed to second place, just overtaking Duncan.

4月份的第1场比赛,尤因打出了12中2的表现,靠着罚球拿到了13分。

Fortunately, the opposing Cavaliers' offense stretched out, and Sprewell brought the substitute lineup to help the team complete a comeback early in the last quarter.

At 74:88, the Knicks played an ugly game.

Oakley scored 8 of 2 and scored 4 points. The old guy has entered a downturn on the offensive end since the end of March.

After the game, the atmosphere in Madison Square Garden was still hot. For New York fans, as long as they can win, they can accept the ugly process.

At present, keeping the No.1 position is the most important!
In the MSG commentary box, Walter Fraser saw the technical statistics and could only sigh in a low voice:

"Pat is about to be 37 years old, and it is inevitable that his athletic ability will decline. Charles is about to be 36 years old. We should be considerate of the two veterans."

Most of the New York media deliberately ignored the performance of the starting inside line. After all, the two have played for the team for many years and their physical condition has declined. They just need to be more considerate.

However, in order to gain attention, a small group of media began to frequently call for Ewing and Oakley to give up their starting positions.

The inside combination of Kurt and Ben is younger and more active. They have performed very well in the past two months.

Kurt has a good mid-range jump shot and is also very good at defending the opponent's big man's low attack;

Ben Wallace is very efficient in finishing at the basket, and his offensive rebounding is also very fierce!

Halfway through the season, Ben Wallace is averaging 2.8 offensive rebounds per game.

Although he is tall and hydrated, with the help of his afro and his tendons, Ben Wallace's defensive deterrent has also improved a lot compared to last season!

Considering that his playing time was only 27.3 minutes, this performance really deserves encouragement from the starting lineup.

Commentator Mike Breen also paid attention to the internal situation of the Knicks, but as the home commentator, he did not say much:

"I think Coach Van Gundy can add some more playing time in the rotation."

"In some back-to-back games, young players are more energetic. Of course, this is just my personal suggestion. The Knicks lead the league and we once again played a perfect season."

"."

The two veterans who are at the tail end of their peak will naturally not give up their position. For the gorilla, they cannot afford the ball, but the game time cannot be less!
By relying on the pie, Ewing can still get 18+10 this season. Even if he lacks energy in individual games and is blown away by his opponents, the Gorilla doesn't take it to heart.

Back in the locker room, Ewing, who had not performed well, still kept a smile on his face. The team's record was first in the league, which made him a little inflated:

"We have a high chance of defending our title this year, and maybe three consecutive titles won't be difficult. No one is our opponent!"

After hearing what Big Brother said, the atmosphere team followed suit again.
After defeating the Lakers, the New York media once again touted Ewing as the "league's best center."
Li You is used to Ewing's sluggish performance in two games after a good game. In terms of defensive experience, Gorilla is still much better than the two substitutes.

Entering mid-March, Li You began to play a nanny style, gradually eating away at the ball, while also having to take care of the data of Ewing and Oakley.

"Kurt, keep it up like this, Ben, your offensive rebounding in these games has been very good!"

Hearing Li You's encouragement, Ben Wallace grinned. "Little Ben" just made it through, ousting Chris Dudley.

Kurt also smiled and patted his chest to show that he received it.

Sprewell looked at Ewing and Oakley on the other side and they were still saying "X". Li You smiled and communicated with the bench. He couldn't help but curled his lips and secretly complained in his heart:

"The leaders have changed hands."

The games in April are a torment for every team. With a dense schedule and repeated opponents, it is inevitable that the enthusiasm for the game will decrease.

On the 20th, a campus incident occurred that shocked the United States!

The Knicks did not have a game that day, and Li You also joined his teammates in donating money to protest.

Twelve students and one teacher died and 12 were injured. When he returned home to Tarrytown Town at night and watched the news on TV, Li You could only sigh:

"The Price of Freedom"

By the end of April, the Knicks' schedule suddenly became tight again, almost 4 games a week again.

Jeff Van Gundy made chicken soup every day, but ended up losing two back-to-back games.

Throughout April, the Knicks ended up with a record of 4 wins and 12 losses.

With 37 wins and 10 losses, the coaching staff and the New York media all breathed a sigh of relief. The Knicks locked in the first place in the Eastern Conference in advance!
On the morning of April 4, Jeff Van Gundy finally showed a smile when he was interviewed by the New York media:

"Keeping the number one position, we have survived a difficult April, and now we can think about the playoffs!"

"No matter who our opponent is in the first round, we are ready."

"Li is in good condition, Pat is fine, and everyone on the team is healthy. We will increase the rotation in the three games in May!"

"The team doesn't care about the specific record, our goal is to get the home court advantage!"

 Thank you book friends for your subscription support  ̄﹣ ̄
  There is another chapter tonight~
  
 
(End of this chapter)

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like