NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 244 Different bosses
On December 2001, 12, after the Christmas game, the sports media started to carnival again.

The injured O'Neal was silent before the game, but after the game, he suddenly gave an interview.

O'Neal, who was recuperating from an injury in Los Angeles, was very concerned about his younger brother. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, he expressed his desire to return to the team as soon as possible:

"It's a shame to see the team lose, but I thought Kobe did a great job and not everyone is good at dealing with double teams."

"After losing, we are still No. [-] in the Western Conference. I will return to the team as soon as possible!"

O'Neal obviously watched last night's Christmas game, but his answer seemed to be mocking his teammates.
At 85:105, the Lakers lost by 20 points in the Christmas game. From the beginning of the first quarter, they were completely defeated.

20中6，三分线外3中0，罚球6中4，16分10篮板6助攻5失误，成为领袖的科比在昨晚交出了一份两双数据。

The title of this morning’s column in the New York Times’ sports section is:

"Ron Artest ended the MVP!"

With his outstanding performance in the first two months, Kobe ranks first on the MVP candidate list.

After a Christmas game, the publicity took a turn for the worse. The Los Angeles media lost their voice. Kobe Bryant, who was interviewed after the game, just kept repeating:
“We just couldn’t make the shots.”

However, the sports commentators are not blind. In addition to failing to make shots, the Lakers are still playing blindly.

In the second half of the game, Kobe stopped passing the ball and frequently forced jump shots against two people.

Compared to the hard-working Kobe, Li You's performance was mediocre.

出场38分钟，22中14，三分线外11中7，罚球10中9，44分5篮板10助攻3抢断3失误。

With a big lead, New York fans chanted Li You's name throughout the game, causing him to play some garbage time in the fourth quarter.

It was the third time this month that he scored 3+ points. Ball commentators were numb after seeing such data, and no one doubted Li You's scoring ability.

Not long ago, the New York media just celebrated Li You's 10000-point achievement in his career. At 23 years and 347 days old, he is the youngest player in NBA history to score [-] points.

This kind of data accumulation is a matter of course, and Li You doesn't care at all. After all, his goal is 4 points, the historical scoring leader.

On the night of the 26th, Kobe, who became the leader of the team, led the Lakers to lose again when they challenged the Warriors away from home.

90:101, Kobe's 39 points did not bring victory to the team.

This kind of losing situation is similar to the previous Knicks team, 24 of 5 from beyond the three-point line, and the Lakers shot another 20.8% from three-point range.

When his teammates were fighting, Kobe did not choose to trust him and took 28 shots in the game. Naturally, he was criticized by the ball commentators after the game.

On Thursday, the 27th, in the TNT program, the trio also did not miss the recent hot spots and discussed the definition of "boss":

"There is no doubt that the Lakers are still Shaq's team. Kobe is an excellent scorer, but he is not a qualified leader."

"When faced with double teams, Kobe's way of handling the ball is so different from Lee's. The worst offensive option is to complete the shot against two defenders."

Charles Barkley is as popular as ever, and the program team always receives text messages from players and agents, but the trio have gotten used to it, and the ratings have indeed gone up a lot compared to before.

Kenny Smith doesn’t want to offend the players, so he continues to fight:
"Different players have different leadership styles. Kobe is not a point guard. He is just completing his tasks."

"It's okay for scorers to want to score more points. If the Lakers' role players can perform better, maybe the situation will be completely different."

One of the two was serious, the other was smiling. Ernie Johnson didn't want to talk too much about the comparison between Kobe and Li You, so he started to change the subject and said:

"The Knicks' ball possession composition is indeed very good. Even after four consecutive losses, Li You returned to his previous rhythm after increasing the number of shots."

"Perhaps this has something to do with the competitive environment in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks are still No. [-] in the Eastern Conference even if they lose. Lee has enough confidence to share the ball."

At this time, Charles Barkley suddenly thought of Michael Jordan and began to deviate from the topic and commented:
"If I were a role player, I would choose to play with Lee. If I were a rookie, I would look forward to joining the Knicks."

"It's not that the Knicks are the defending champions, it's that Lee will give me more opportunities."

"This month, Pau Gasol will undoubtedly win the Rookie of the Month award, but for Kwame Brown, maybe everyone has almost forgotten about him!"

"Kobe is still imitating McQueen. I don't like their arrogance. McQueen's comeback is also a bad choice in my opinion."

This topic was a bit sensitive. Kenny Smith turned over the technical statistics in his hand and did not follow the discussion. Instead, he joked to Ernie Johnson:
"After the show aired, we were inundated with letters and text messages again."

After the Christmas Day game, the Knicks had only two games left to play in 2001.

In addition to the boring shooting training every day, the coaching staff also relaxed and prepared to welcome the arrival of the New Year.

During the rare rest time, Li You was busy walking his dog every day and completing the sponsor's instructions.

After all, the dog food ads have to be updated before the All-Star Game. Happy eats functional dog food for weight loss, so he can’t suddenly gain weight.
The Knicks players also feel that they have a fulfilling life every day. Although the boss does not mingle with everyone, he can still get playing time as long as he performs well in training.

After Brevin Knight was injured, his recent form has been average. After Christmas, Jeff Van Gundy failed to introduce his favorite Charlie Ward again, and he was always absent-minded in training sessions.

On the plane flying to Cleveland on the 28th, assistant coach Don Chaney saw the bald young coach starting to feel dazed again, and couldn't help but poke Thibodeau next to him:

"Jeff is not doing well lately. Is there something wrong at home?"

Of course, Thibodeau couldn't tell the truth. Looking at his "competitor", he could only follow the blind saying:
"You should be thinking about the team's rotation. You know, the schedule is getting tighter and tighter. Once injuries occur, the record will definitely be affected."

Once Jeff Van Gundy leaves, Don Chaney, who won the Coach of the Year award, will most likely take over as head coach.

The reason why Thibodeau is entangled is because his resume is not as good as his opponent.

More importantly, he felt that the bald young coach had no say in the management. Even if he appointed the next head coach, it would most likely be of no use.
Don Chaney looked at the bald young coach again, and then shook his head at the rest of the coaching staff.

No one could have guessed that Jeff Van Gundy wanted to leave. In everyone's opinion, the position of head coach of the Knicks is to gain both fame and fortune.

On the night of the 28th, the Knicks continued their recent hot state. At the end of the first quarter, the score reached 28:16.

The Cavaliers' home attendance tonight was very good, and the on-site director frequently pointed the camera at LeBron James, who was sitting in the front row. The Akron high school student has already become quite famous in the local area.

With 11 wins and 17 losses, the Cavaliers' record was poor, and the home commentator didn't care. Looking at the young LeBron James, he even started to say:
"In two years at most, Cleveland will have our own Clay-Lee!"

"Anyone who has watched LeBron James play will never doubt his ability."

There are many talented high school students, but LeBron James's popularity has risen sharply recently and has attracted a large number of scouts.

Andre Miller of the Cavaliers was not in a good mood, especially during the rotation in the second quarter. Seeing that Li You was still on the court, he felt even more uncomfortable.

In the first quarter of the game, he made 5 of 1, scored 2 points, and was intercepted 2 times. It was rare for so many fans to buy tickets to watch the game. Andre Miller wanted to perform well, but it backfired.
Perhaps because they didn't have too many requirements for record, the Cavaliers played more casually, neither strengthening their defense nor playing a strong offense.

100:87, there was no fluctuation in the whole game, the point difference was now 12 points, and the Knicks continued their winning streak!

Unlike ordinary fans, young LeBron James did not ask for an autograph, but looked at Li You who was surrounded by reporters with envious eyes.

Artest, who has been a little swollen recently, has long noticed James on the sidelines. Seeing high school students asking for autographs, he felt sad for a while.

Walking to the tunnel, Artest hugged his good brother Stephen Jackson and complained:

"When that kid enters the league, I'm going to show him some color!" "I like to play against high school students!"

On December 12, the Knicks played their last game of 30.

When Alan Houston appeared in Madison Square Garden in a formal suit, New York fans did not forget to applaud the champion defender.

Like last season, Alan Houston suffered some injuries at the beginning of the season.

The large number of games in the past few years has still taken a heavy toll on his body.

The championship guard exchanges draft picks. According to the current trend of the Suns, the Knicks have a high possibility of receiving a high pick.

In this case, New York fans sincerely welcomed Alan Houston, and the highlight of the goals was also played on the big screen in the center of the field.

Many fans also spontaneously held up whiteboards to express their gratitude:

"Thank you! Allan!"

Ewing has been in trouble recently due to the complete closure of the Gold Club, but his old teammates were present, and the gorilla naturally appeared in the arena.

Together with the retired Larry Johnson, before the game started, Li You and the three of them took a group photo in the center of the field to take pictures.

During the warm-up, Li You looked at the tired Magic players and joked about Alan Houston in a low voice:
"The Magic seem to have encountered some difficulties, but you will definitely make the playoffs this year."

In back-to-back away games, the Magic have been losing recently. Alan Houston didn't care about the record issue. Instead, he said in a tone of enjoying the game:

"This season has been easier than I expected, which is a good thing for me. I really like this competitive environment."

After signing the last big contract, Alan Houston has no desires and desires, and there is a tendency to fish after the start of the new season.

However, with the blessing of good professionalism, Alan Houston can still contribute 20 points per game, but his efficiency has dropped a bit.

In a friendly atmosphere between the two parties, McGrady took his friend Mike Miller to strike iron.

The former made 8 of 2 in the first half, and the latter shot 9 of 1. Affected by back-to-back games, the two directly led the team to collapse.

At 41:52 of the half, the Knicks played step by step and led by 11 points.

Coach Rivers' chicken soup in the midfield did not have much effect, and his hoarse voice shouting "Let's go" on the sidelines did not awaken the players' fighting spirit.

The third quarter was 3:20, and the last quarter was almost garbage time again.

McGrady, who was 8 for 1 in the third quarter, finally found his touch at the last minute.

In the end, 87:102, the Knicks bid farewell to 2001 with a victory.

全场比赛23中7，麦克格雷迪最终贡献了29分10篮板3助攻3失误的两双数据。

The only highlight of the entire game was the massive damage to the Knicks' inside line. Gasol almost fouled out six times and left the game.

Although his opponent showed off his performance, Li You still started the commercial exchange mode after the game:

"Tracy's talent is so outstanding. He can shoot from the outside and break into the penalty area to score easily."

"With such height and agility, I think he's the hardest player to guard in the league."

"."

With 14 wins and 18 losses, after losing this game, the Magic have fallen out of the top 8 in the Eastern Conference.

With 23 wins and 7 losses, and nearly half of the schedule, the Knicks are firmly sitting in the first place in the Eastern Conference.

Next in line is the 19-9 Nets. Although Kidd often stretches his hips offensively, his ability to lead the team is very good.

On the 31st, Li You also celebrated his 24th birthday.

In addition to accepting blessings from New York fans, Li You also held a birthday party.

During the New Year's Eve, Times Square was still crowded with people, activities could go on as usual, and New York seemed to be completely free of grief.
At home on 82nd Street, the girls did not fall asleep. Ivana, who had returned to New York during the Christmas vacation, listened to Jin's introduction to Enron, blinking and silently calculating Li You's income.

"In January, the stock price will probably drop below a dollar, which is crazy!"

"Andersen actually cooperated with financial fraud. The case will definitely go to the Supreme Court. However, with Kenneth Lay's relationship, the punishment is bound to not be too serious."

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has many financial cases. King has worked for two years and has witnessed a lot, but this is the first time he has witnessed the collapse of a giant of Enron's scale.

Milinda noticed that Ivana was listening with rapt attention, and immediately came to her side, blinking and asked in a low voice:
"When you go to the UK, which club has the intention of being acquired?"

Having met some players’ wives, Ivana also had a brief understanding of the British football environment. Coupled with the information she collected, she frowned slightly and said:

"Unlike the sports environment in the United States, British football does not seem to welcome capital investment."

Kristen Little came to a few people laughing and holding the birthday cake. After putting in the candles, she said happily:
"Taste my skills! I tried many recipes for this cake."

Their birthdays are very close, and this year the girl chose to celebrate her birthday with Li You.

Although it was almost 0 o'clock, Li You saw the girl's happy face and sat down in front of the cake, closing her eyes and making a wish together.

Seeing the girl closing her eyes and mumbling non-stop, Li You opened his eyes and looked at her with a bad smile, and soon several people gathered around her.

Christen-Litte opened her eyes again and was startled by the three people in front of her. Milinda threw the other person on the sofa with bad intentions, and soon everyone was in a fuss:
"OH! Eat the cake first!"

2002年1月1号，新年的第1天， NBA联盟也公布了12月的月最佳球员：
Li You of the Eastern Conference and Tim Duncan of the Western Conference successfully won the award.

The Knicks went 12-10 in December;

李佑场均出场37.7分钟，场均拿到34.8分5.2篮板10.6助攻2.8抢断2.8失误；

He averaged 21.5 shots per game, shooting 51.9% from the field, 8.7 shots from outside the three-point line, 42.7% from three-point range, 8.8 free throws per game, and 90.5% from the field.

The significant change is that the number of three-pointers attempted has begun to rise. With this data, it is undisputed to win the Eastern Conference Player of the Month.

The Spurs went 12-11 in December;

蒂姆-邓肯场均砍下26.7分13.1篮板3.6助攻3.1盖帽3.8失误；

He averaged 18.9 shots per game, shooting 51.7% from the field, and averaged 8.9 free throws per game, shooting 80.0% from the field.

On the first day of the new year, the New York media once again cheered for Li You, the best player in two months, and the MVP rankings rushed to the first place!

Before Tim Duncan could say anything, Popovich took the initiative to help his thighs:
"Tim is the best player in the league. He doesn't play for statistics. He is a true leader."

"I hope the media can pay more attention to him. Tim deserves an MVP!"

"."

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(End of this chapter)