NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 132 The gap between "four guarantees and one"
On the night of May 1999, 5, at Madison Square Garden, New York fans saw Larry Brown's ability to adjust tactics.

The defensive system created by Jeff Van Gundy for the Knicks is all about localized pressure and rapid rotation on the weak side.

At the same time, he inherited Pat Riley's defensive philosophy. In the playoffs, the bald young coach also likes to use defenders to lead the defense and pressure the opponent's offensive rhythm.

This defensive system once forced the aging Bulls to rely on dunks alone. No matter whether it was Pippen who was connecting or Harper on the weak side, they could not respond.

In this year's playoffs, Larry Brown relied on Iverson's off-ball ability to continuously transfer the ball to the weak side at the beginning, continuously mobilizing the Knicks' defense.

With 1 minutes and 6 seconds left in the first quarter, the 44ers attacked, and Eric Snow was defended by Li You before halftime.

Forced to slow down, he moved sideways to protect the ball and reached the top of the arc. Matt Geiger and Theo Ratliff in the paint covered each other and stood up and down. Eric Snow saw Iverson. Draw an arc and immediately complete the cross pass.

Starting from a position near the baseline on the right, Iverson cut in again and came to the left wing to catch the ball. He noticed that Alan Houston, who was chasing him, still released his left hand. After a feint, he released the ball with his left hand and broke through with a cross step.

Extremely fast, Iverson cut in at a 45-degree angle from the left, and Alan Houston on his side kept sliding. At the same time, the Knicks' defense began to shrink inside.

Ewing almost let go of Matt Geiger beside him and quickly slid to the lower left side of the basket.

Oakley also followed this time and defended into the paint area. At the same time, he blocked Theo Ratliff behind him and prepared to protect the rebound.

Li You at the top of the arc was also paying attention to the position of Eric Snow beside him, and Larry Johnson was also preparing to squeeze into the inside at this time, letting go of George Lynch beside him.

In an instant, the Knicks completed partial pressure defense. The short Iverson almost couldn't see the basket, but he knew that his teammates were open at this time.

When he came to the basket, Iverson did not panic, but followed the tactical requirements and quickly threw the ball to the right corner.

George Lynch had already started moving without the ball. After receiving a pass from Iverson, he did not hesitate and immediately shot a jump shot from outside the three-point line!

"Shua!" The three-pointer hit the net hollowly!

On the bench of the 76ers, the atmosphere team cheered loudly. After being suppressed for half the game, they finally made a three-pointer.

At 12:16, the point difference was narrowed to 4 point.

"Let's go Knicks! Let's go Knicks! Let's go Knicks!"

The DJ at the scene did not care about the 76ers' goal and continued to cheer loudly. Soon, Madison Square Garden heard another huge cheer.

When Iverson retreated, he only felt that the game was becoming more and more boring. The Knicks' pressing defense made it difficult for them to score. There were people inside. Once the jumper hit the iron, he was immediately hit by a counterattack.
Eric Snow also led the defense on Li You at the beginning, but just like the regular season, the Knicks did not pursue speed when they fell into position.

Pushing forward steadily, Li You simply circled the ball behind his back and reached the top of the arc against the opponent's defense.

Ewing stood still at the three-point line. After Li You completed the crotch change, Eric Snow stayed close to the defense and struggled to squeeze through the screen.

At the same time, Matt Geiger, who was following the defense, immediately slid to the left, cooperated with his teammates, and broke through to Li You on the right side with a big delay.

As the opponent's big man moved, Ewing quickly moved down the court. Li You also suddenly accelerated. Before the opponent could completely double-team him, he came to the right wing, jumped up immediately, and swung the ball behind his head.

The basketball instantly flew over the fingertips of Matt Geiger, who jumped to intercept.

"Oh!"

The stadium cheered again. Ewing went down to the paint area to catch the ball. Facing Theo Ratliff's help, he used his height advantage to get close to the basket and easily completed the throw!
"Shua!" The two-pointer went into the net hollowly.

Eric Snow and Matt Geiger looked at each other and felt that they were playing according to the coach's instructions.
Larry Brown on the sidelines kept yelling, reminding the two to double-team faster.

"What a wonderful assist. Lee's rhythm is getting better and better. Compared with the previous two seasons, he has obviously slowed down this year and seems to be more confident."

Looking at Li You who continued to lead the defense, Bob Costas couldn't help admiring in the commentary seat of NBC.

Doug Collins also seemed to think of the rookie Li You he met when he was coaching the Pistons:

"It's absolute confidence. Lee knows he can get past the 76ers defense, and he's in total control of the game right now."

While the two were still discussing the 76ers' defensive strategy, on the right wing, after Iverson received the ball, he immediately accelerated the breakthrough with the ball in his right hand.

In the right block, he suddenly stopped and dribbled the ball quickly from his hip. After switching to his left hand, he immediately joined the ball. With Alan Houston blocking the shot, he shot a mid-range jumper!
"state!"

A long rebound popped up, Li You retracted in time, collected the rebound at the elbow on the left side of the free throw line, and rushed after getting the ball!

Larry Johnson rushed forward in the middle, and Alan Houston noticed Iverson rushing towards Li You and quickly ran to the left corner.

When the Knicks were speeding up to cross the half court, Eric Snow had just delayed Li You on the right wing. When he saw Iverson pounce on him at this time, he immediately felt like he was about to suffer.

There was no time to communicate, and the two saw Li You on the right wing jump up and throw the ball again, and the basketball flew straight to the left corner.

Transferring the ball in a wide range, Alan Houston received the ball in the corner. There was no one in front of him to defend him. He adjusted and made an easy jump shot!

"Shua!" The three-pointer hit the net hollowly!

At 12:21, the score difference instantly reached 9 points, and head coach Larry Brown immediately requested a timeout.

"Wow!"

The New York fans at the scene started cheering loudly, and the game was as easy as expected.

In the first half of the game, Li You sent out four assists. The 76ers' defense was penetrated. Larry Brown looked ugly. He could not accept that the players did not play according to plan.

Larry Brown made a face, drew twice on the tactical board, stared at Iverson and said loudly:
"Retreat and counterattack in time! Don't forget your defender, I don't want to see the opponent counterattack easily again!"

Knowing that he had made a mistake, Iverson nodded depressedly, and the atmosphere team remained silent. The gap was wider than they imagined.
After the timeout, Eric Snow continued to act as the dealer. Iverson flanked the left wing and released the ball with his left hand to break through. Finally, he succeeded in a floating jumper in the left block.

After scoring the goal, Iverson beat his chest, but found no response from the Knicks. Li You caught the ball from the baseline and used the same tactical gesture again.

When Ewing moved to the frontcourt, he simply stopped outside the three-point line. Matt Geiger saw that most of the Knicks were concentrated in the left half, and immediately loudly reminded Eric Snow, who was leading the defense:

"Eric, squeeze through the cover!"

Eric Snow, who didn't observe the situation on the court at all, heard the warning from his teammates too late. Li You quickly pushed the ball to change direction, scooped the ball with his left hand, and immediately broke through with shoulder pressure.

Sliding to the right, Eric Snow bumped into Ewing and instantly lost his defensive position.

Matt Geiger was forced to delay greatly. Before he could lower his center of gravity, he was staggered by Li You's push of the ball again.

Li You passed between the two, grabbed the ball with his right hand, and went straight to the basket from the middle. During the march, he noticed Theo Ratliff, who was on the left near the baseline, wanted to move to help defend, and immediately pretended to pass the ball.

Stopping subconsciously, Theo Ratliff finally watched Li You break through to the basket and easily complete a one-handed dunk!
The breakthrough dunk instantly ignited the atmosphere at the scene. Spike Lee stood up and cheered along with the fans on the sidelines!
"With continuous changes of direction in front of the body, Lee's combination ball is so good! Maybe Iverson can also play more pick-and-rolls."

In the commentary box, Doug Collins felt that the game was getting colder and began to analyze the 76ers' strengths.
As the game progressed, the dealer Eric Snow gradually lost his role, and Iverson began to hold the ball a lot, constantly playing pick-and-rolls at the 5th position.Unlike the 76ers' defensive strategy, Ewing quickly retreated to the basket and squatted to defend when encountering a pick-and-roll, completely letting go of Iverson's three-pointer and long two-pointer.

Whenever the 76ers attack, Li You follows Eric Snow and smokes on the sidelines. There is no need to defend, he can just be ready to help defend at any time.

Thanks to the Knicks' defensive system, Li You's consumption on the defensive end has always been very small.

Seeing Iverson once again break through Alan Houston and hit a mid-range jumper from the free throw line, Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines only made a gesture to adhere to the defensive strategy.

After the opening, the 76ers' ball transfer gradually disappeared. Larry Brown was a little anxious and shouted to the players to play tactics.
In the last round, Alan Houston just broke through the blockade on the left wing and was shot in the face. It seemed that he heard the coach's call. On the right wing, Iverson used Matt Geiger's pick and roll to get rid of Alan Houston's pursuit. Stop outside the three-point line and immediately take a jump shot!
"state!"

After hitting consecutive shots, he hit the iron again, and the long rebound was accepted by Li You in the paint.

Holding the ball with his left hand, Li You accelerated and the 76ers retreated quickly.

Eric Snow did not choose to stick to the defense this time. Instead, he quickly returned to the half court and shouted to his teammates to complete the defensive matchup.

After Li You advanced to the top of the arc, he stepped forward to lead the defense. Ewing and Oakley were both trailing behind, and Li You went straight to the basket against the defense.

In the paint area, Eric Snow was giving physical confrontation while constantly moving his hands. At this time, Li You, who was holding the ball in his right hand, suddenly circled the ball with one hand under his hip, instantly changing the rhythm of the breakthrough.

He picked up the ball with his right hand again and leaned against the opponent to get to the basket. Eric Snow jumped up to block the shot. Li You took advantage of the situation and threw the ball on the backboard, and then the two fell to the ground together.
"squeak!"

"Boom!"

The ball went in when the buzzer sounded, and the basketball hit the board and fell into the basket.

"Wow!!"

After Li You was pulled up by Alan Houston and Larry Johnson, the New York fans stood up and cheered, while Iverson was pulled aside by Larry Brown and kept whispering.

At this time, there were 1 minutes and 2 seconds left in the first quarter. As Li You stood on the free throw line, the 02ers replaced Larry Hughes and replaced dealer Eric Snow.

Jeff Van Gundy waved, and Sprewell, Kurt Thomas, and Ben Wallace also took turns.

Seeing Li Youjia's free throw and the score reaching 20:30, Bob Costas said helplessly in the commentary box:

"It seems that Iverson's pick-and-roll offense did not change the Knicks' defensive strategy."

Doug Collins on the side smiled awkwardly. The 76ers averaged 7.4 shots per game from beyond the three-point line during the regular season and averaged 2.0 goals per game, ranking last in the league.

This kind of three-point shooting output is simply not enough to change the defense.
Larry Brown's instructions worked, and Iverson started passing the ball again.

When Li You defended, he just put in shots to prevent breakthroughs and let go of Iverson's left hand.

In the last 2 minutes, the 76ers, who had become more reasonable in their play style, fell into a scoring drought. Matt Geiger spit out cake under the basket and Larry Hughes bombed.

By the end of the first quarter, the score was fixed at 1:22, and the Knicks led by 33 points.

Fans at Madison Square Garden began to celebrate the victory in advance.

Sprewell, who returned to the bench, was a little embarrassed. After coming on, he served as the main attacker. As a result, he went 3-for-0 and finally relied on Ben Wallace's second attack to score the points.
"There is no need to care about the hit rate. Anyway, we are leading by double digits, so we can continue to shoot."

Li You, who played the first quarter, returned to the bench, replenished his water, and comforted Sprewell, who was nervous.

Jeff Van Gundy didn't care about shooting and limited the opponent's score to 22 points, achieving the expected goal:

"Continue to rush for offensive rebounds and don't give them easy scoring opportunities. Ben, pay attention to your defensive position and don't over-defend!"

The bald young marshal drew a picture on the tactical board, indicating that Ben Wallace should also retreat to the defense.

Li You had already changed into training clothes at this time. The 76ers had no three-pointers. As long as the team did not make mistakes, the double-digit lead could be easily maintained until halftime.

首节比赛李佑4中2，罚球3中3，砍下7分2篮板5助攻，对面的艾弗森7中4，罚球2中2，拿到10分1篮板1助攻。

Looking at the technical statistics, Doug Collins in the commentary box sighed:

"Lee and Iverson chose different development paths after entering the league."

"It's hard to evaluate whether Iverson's changes were correct, but head coach Larry Brown did build a system for Iverson this season that suits him."

Bob Costas saw that Larry Johnson was still there on the Knicks, and Iverson didn't take a break, and suddenly sighed:

"The two teams play somewhat similarly, but the difference is that Lee's offensive efficiency is higher."

The 76ers chose a short rotation and continued the "four guarantees and one" tactic, while the Knicks continued the regular season rotation, with Sprewell still being the main attacker.

"Madman" had a mediocre shooting touch in this game. Facing Larry Hughes, a first-year rookie, he started to rush to the basket and the whistle kept sounding.

Larry Brown was so anxious that he kept complaining to the referee, but to no avail.

Iverson's shooting feel declined and he also rushed to the basket. The 76ers' opening tactics completely collapsed.

As in the regular season, Li Youcai came on as a substitute with 2 minutes and 46 seconds left in the half.

Larry Brown no longer walked around the sidelines. He looked serious and sat quietly on the bench.

The first half ended quickly. At 42:56, the Knicks had led by 14 points.

In the NBC commentary box, both of them knew that the game was basically over. Doug Collins could only encourage him at this time:
"The 76ers have made it to the playoffs for the first time since they were rebuilt. With such a performance, I believe the fans in Philadelphia can accept it."

Bob Costas glanced at the technical statistics and noticed that Sprewell made 9 of 2 free throws and 6 of 6 free throws, scoring 10 points. He immediately said jokingly:

"The All-Star guard plays the sixth man. Only the Knicks in the league have such a luxury lineup."

"I think general manager Grunfeld deserves the league's best manager award."

"."

In the Knicks locker room, everyone was talking and laughing. Although Sprewell was not satisfied with his performance, he also showed a smile at this time.

Li You was encouraging Ben Wallace with a smile. "Little Ben" received three fouls in the half:
"Don't care about the number of fouls, the defense must be deterrent, just like Charles, be more fierce!"

Ben Wallace couldn't help but nod. Since his hair was longer, he was already wearing a headband:
"I know, in the next game, they don't want to get to the basket easily!"

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　　I have modified some content and will restore the big chapter at noon tomorrow~
　　I won’t go into too much detail in the first round~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)