The Rest, Only Noise

Chapter 542 F…U…C…KY…O…UThomas

May 22, 1988

Last night, after Game 2 of the Western Conference finals, the Trail Blazers led the Lakers 2-0.

For the first time in four years, the Blazers are 2-0 in the playoffs. Moreover, in order to defeat Magician in the "all-round" field, Jordan deliberately went to play point guard and scored triple-doubles in two consecutive games. Currently, he is averaging 33+11+11 per game. Comparing the data with Magician, he only has a difference in assists. a little.

There are also rumors that Jordan would ask the technical desk during the game which stats he has not reached double figures - a strong smell of brush.

Louie believes the story is true, Jordan was in a period of rebellion, everyone said he wasn't as good as Bird and Magic because he couldn't improve his teammates like those two, and he was a selfish scorer.

On the surface, Jordan is dismissive, but in the game, he will find a way to play like Magic and Bird, proving his comprehensiveness with double figures in rebounds, and proving that he can play like Westbrook with double figures in assists.

Louie loves this version of Jordan.

Because if they meet this version of Jordan in the Finals, they're going to win big.

Now is not the time to think about Jordan.

Tonight is the Knicks' first home game in the Eastern Conference finals.

They won the game in Boston and stole the Celtics' home-court advantage.

That leaves Boston looking for ways to win at Madison Square Garden.

After 1973, the Knicks were the closest to the Finals in 15 years, and many celebrities with Garden tickets expressed their desire to support the team on the spot.

They include Eddie Murphy, the first comedy star of the 1980s, who was originally a Lakers fan, and now the Lakers are clearly not the opponents of the Celtics. He remembered that he was a New Yorker and came back to support his hometown team.

When the Knicks have a bad record, only true star fans are there to support the team.

Now, everyone wants to take a peek.

The garden also invited old Nick from the previous generation to the scene.

Willis Reid and Debusschere are among them.

The battle was so big it was as if the Knicks were going to win.

Louie never thought about killing the Celtics directly.

Not now, not in the future.

Game2's big victory was called the "Mori Massacre" by the media in the New York area.

Because it happened to be World Stranger Day.

The American media always likes to use this way to remember an unforgettable day.

On Game 3 night, Knicks fans filled Madison Square Garden.

Both starters are routine.

The Knicks started with Stockton, Ellis, Wilson, McHale and Ewing.

The Celtics started with Thomas, Harper, Bird, Sampson, and Laimbeer.

There is no evolution, no reorganization, and upright.

Even today's referee is Joe Crawford, who is very optimistic in the industry.

In the future he'll be "famous" by expelling Duncan out of anger for his fanciful smile, but until then, he's convincing as a referee.

Louie believes that the Celtics will find a way to return the grievances of the past few days tonight.

He didn't expect it to be so fast.

The first surprise was Thomas' long-range feel.

Stockton stretched as usual to let him shoot.

As a result, Thomas opened his hand.

This ball gave the Knicks considerable intimidation, and then Ellis ran out of the opportunity, the ball was passed, but the shot missed.

The Knicks retreated fast enough, and no matter how fast the Celtics' offensive was, they couldn't launch a counterattack.

However, it doesn't matter to them, the Celtics are already the team that ranks first in effective field goal percentage.

Their positional scoring efficiency ranks first in the league.

A notch off the second-placed Denver Nuggets in the league.

The Knicks continued to let Thomas shoot.

"F...U...C...KY...O...U!! Thomas!!"

Knicks fans turned into Zaun, because Thomas was the only Celtics player who publicly complained about the referee. If the media guides public opinion, fans will naturally think that he can’t afford to lose.

To treat such a person who can't afford to lose, he has to enjoy the "grass and mud horse" package of the fans.

It would be nice if it was useful...

The abuse from the fans seemed to make him even more excited.

His second attempt from a long shot was farther than the last.

Stockton had already released him by more than a meter, and he chose to shoot at a position half a meter away from the three-point line.

"Shhh!!"

"Thomas is throwing crazy!" shouted Marv Albert. "John needs to change his defensive strategy!"

Stockton looked at Louis, who nodded and said no more.

If Thomas is not left open, Stockton will have to choose a more body-closer defense. In this case, Thomas had an easier time crossing him than crossing the road early in the morning.

Wilson returned with color.

2 to 6

After Stockton defended close, Sampson stepped forward to cover, blocked Stockton and then dismantled.

Ewing can only go to defend Thomas, Sampson did not pull away to catch the ball and shoot, but to cover Bird according to the tactics.

Bird ran for a shot, but Thomas beat Ewing to 2+1 on his own.

He is the worst Celtics player in the past two days, and he is also the one with the worst public opinion of the Celtics Big Three.

Sampson was equally responsible for the success or failure of the second game, but the media in Boston was too biased. They couldn't bear to blame "Mr. Only". They could only blame Thomas for not taking on enough responsibility.

If Sampson were white, Thomas could still complain that the media in Boston chose people based on their skin color. Unfortunately, Sampson does not have a trace of white blood. And the perfect off-court image earned just as much love as Bird.

All the while, Thomas was the one that was ignored.

When he made the free throw, Louie replaced Stockton, and the game was no longer on their offense.

Defense is the key. If you don't hold Thomas, they will be more fortunate than others.

Hornacek was replaced because of this. His autonomous attack ability is stronger and his defensive habits are a little better than Stockton. Although Stockton's steals are the best in the team, there are too many small moves.

At this time, his small moves will be magnified by the referee. Because of Thomas' complaints, Crawford's focus is now on the perimeter matchup.

9 to 2 start, the Knicks response is no less.

McHale hit Sampson with his back, his signature step up and down shook Sampson away, and then he used his long arm to avoid Laimbeer's block and put a basket to score.

The Celtics counterattacked extremely quickly, and Thomas rushed into the frontcourt fiercely.

They definitely wanted to play fast counter-attacks, but luckily the Knicks were disciplined on defense and didn't get overwhelmed by Thomas alone, maintaining a basic defensive lineup.

Thomas made an emergency stop, with Hornacek in front of him, and he returned the ball to Bird.

Bird was dribbling the ball, and Wilson, who was in front of him, lowered his center of gravity and put his hand on him. This defensive method made it difficult for people with weak explosiveness to break through with the ball smoothly.

As a result, Bird didn't break through. He seemed to have eyes on the side of his head, and he could actually see Sampson's cut.

So just throw the ball high.

Sampson dunked in the air...

The three giants of the Celtics are connected to each other, and there is no complex tactical attack, but more of a display of personal ability and talent.

16 to 7

The Celtics led by 9 points, and the Knicks requested a timeout.

Tonight, the Greens focused their defense on the perimeter.

The interior basically relies on the single defense of Sampson and Laimbeer.

They forced Wilson to play singles with the ball and gave Ellis a lot of physical contact. The Knicks' No. 1 Stockton or Hornacek were all half-abandoned.

Louie replaced McHale and Rodman. Since the Celtics wanted to focus their firepower on the perimeter, Ewing let go of his hands and feet to attack a lot, and Rodman was responsible for pick-and-roll runs and screen cuts.

"Honey, as long as you have the opportunity, make a bold shot, don't be afraid!" Louie shouted, "It doesn't matter if you don't make the shot, our defense is stronger than them!"

Louie's adjustment had immediate effect.

Rodman's defense added to the Celtics' offense, giving Thomas his first turnover of the night.

Hornacek attacked decisively, and Ewing made a lot of 1-4 pick-and-rolls.

Either Ewing ended or Hornacek shot, and the Knicks chased after them, catching up to 25-30 before the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the exact same script appeared.

The Celtics replaced Bird, Thomas and Sampson with the second team.

The Knicks, led by Wilson, McHale and Stockton, once again pressed the Celtics 2-2-1.

Under normal circumstances, 221 full-court pressing can often play an unexpected role when the score is behind.

Because of the extremely high requirements for the player's personal defense ability and physical strength, it can only be used as a secret weapon and cannot be used as a conventional method.

The usual stance is that the two defenders are at the front, forming the first line of defense, forcing mistakes or passing the ball from the opponent’s defenders, and the two strikers form a second line of defense near the center line to wait for the ball to steal and form a double-team opportunity. Double-teaming~www.readwn.com~ The center shrinks to the basket and waits for a block. This is the basic position of the 221 tactic.

The Celtics have lavish wing reserves, and Wilson always leads the pack, so he and Stockton block the front line, Rodman and Cooper build a second line of defense, and McHale sits in the backcourt.

Although the Celtics also used Thomas and Sampson as the backbone to crack the pressing, but by their side, there were three special players in ambush.

Danny Ainge, Harper and veteran Scott Weidman.

Unlike the previous game, the Celtics changed the order of receiving the ball.

Thomas serves to Sampson, who hands over to Thomas before the pressure is placed on him.

Thomas accelerated the defense and went straight to Weidman in the frontcourt.

Weidman did not give McHale a chance to go forward to defend, and the three-pointer fell straight to the center of the basket.

The Celtics cracked the 2-2-1 full court press like a textbook.