NBA: Back to 97, to be the Jagged Bishop

Chapter 112 Sweeping the Knicks to Advance

Two days later, the Raptors' home court.

The first round of the playoffs started, and the Raptors played against the New York Knicks in the first round.

The two teams are not considered old enemies, but they have had two super scuffles this season that are enough to rank the top two in history, making the two sides even more old enemies than old enemies.

The Knicks and the gang of old ghosts admitted their counsel before and pushed out Starks to apologize.

However, many fans still believe that it is impossible for the old New York ghost to suffer from being dumb like this. Maybe this round of the series will teach the Raptors some lessons.

Combe is now worrying about this too.

"Boss, what should we do if something really happens in the field?"

"That's right, if those old ghosts make a move, we must fight back, right?"

"Do they dare? If you really dare to do it, you might as well fight them."

"Boss, we will do whatever you say."

Before the start of the game, the Raptors in the locker room of the home team surrounded Kong Bu, discussing each other with each other.

Kong Bu's head was so big that he really didn't know what to do.

Do it?In case of being suspended for seven or eight games, the Raptors' playoff journey is over. There is a high probability of meeting the Heat in the second round, which is equivalent to letting that old boy Pat Riley steal the peach.

Don't do it?Is it possible to stand on the field and be beaten?That's definitely not the Raptors' style.

"Let's talk about the situation on the field."

"They shouldn't be that crazy."

Kongbu can only comfort himself, he doesn't know what will happen on the field.

Just in case, he also made some arrangements tonight, such as putting Big Zhi in the starting lineup.

Big Zhi has a lot of weight in Stern's heart. I believe that Van Gundy Jr. in New York is very clear about this. If he doesn't want to become a thorn in Stern's side, he will definitely restrain his players.

Although his restraint may not be effective, it is better than nothing.

Half an hour later, Combe led the Raptors into the arena.

The fans at the scene wildly shouted the name of Kumbu. This is the first time in the history of the Raptors to enter the playoffs. Under the leadership of Kumbu, the Raptors created countless firsts in team history this season.

"Kong, your coaching staff is really interesting."

Before the game, Van Gundy Jr. made fun of Comb's Boy Scout coaching staff.

"Jeff, I heard that the Knicks haven't renewed your contract yet. You should formally consider whether you want to come to my coaching staff."

Kumbu immediately fought back, and his words immediately made Van Gundy nervous.

It stands to reason that the team will generally discuss contract renewal with the coach before the end of the regular season, which is what Bitov did for the Raptors.

But the Knicks neither said that they would not renew Van Gundy Jr., nor did they mention the renewal of the contract, and kept procrastinating, making Van Gundy Jr. suffer.

He has been suspecting now that the Knicks didn't talk about renewing their contract with him, maybe they were waiting for Combe to confirm his next home.

If Comb leaves the Raptors, the Knicks will have the opportunity to invite him to New York, so how could the Knicks renew their contract.

In addition, general manager Ernie put pressure on the team's core players to apologize to the Raptors, which also confirmed his suspicion that Ernie must have a connection with Comb.

Just as he was about to click on the side to ask whether Kongbu had any intention of coming to New York to coach, he only saw Kongbu's back, and he had already returned to his bench.

"Damn guy."

Little Van Gundy cursed secretly.

The combat power of the two teams is not at the same level at all, not to mention the old orangutan Ewing, even Ewing in his prime, he can't stand the four-tower battle of the Raptors.

Ewing is the weakest of the four major centers, and even many fans feel that his peak combat power is not even as good as the fifth center Mourning.

This evaluation may not be correct, but Ewing is indeed not very good among the four major centers.

The main reason is that there are no characteristics, the dominance at the basket is far inferior to O'Neal and Dameng, the athletic ability and shooting ability are far inferior to the general, and the footsteps at the basket may not be as good as O'Neal.

The rebounding is average, very average, with a rebound rate of 16% and 17% all year round. His contemporaries in the league have better rebounds than him, and at least ten can be counted.

What really shines is the defensive ability. In the peak season, he maintained an average of more than 3 blocks per game.

But even in defense, there are many people who are better than him at the same time, such as Big Dream, Mammoth, Uncle Mu, Larry Nance and the general. Array strong.

This is only the center position, if you count the power forward position, there will be more, Rodman, AC Green, Bucks, Cobra, McHale.

Therefore, among the four major centers, Ewing is really a bit of a sham. Of course, he is strong enough, but he is not strong enough to make people awe-inspiring.

Right now, it is just an old orangutan facing the Raptors, and there is nothing wrong with it.

"Shh!"

Big Zhi, who started the game, almost ignored Old Oak's defense and scored consecutive mid-range shots.

Old Oak really has nothing to do with the big Zhi. Facing a player who is 13 centimeters taller than him, has a lot more athletic ability than him, and has a good shooting ability, he is definitely a short tank four. No. Nightmare.

The Knicks played well from the outside tonight, Houston's mid-range shooting rate is very high, and the madman Sprewell also has a good scoring performance.

It's a pity that the Raptors are not vegetarians outside. Even if the opponent plays well, McGrady and others will not fall behind.

When the referee blew the whistle to end the game, the Raptors won by 11 points at home.

The wins were neither too much nor too little. Kumbu was satisfied that there were no accidents on the court, and Ewing seemed quite restrained.

I don't know if he still has extravagant hopes for the championship, doesn't want to be suspended, wants to beat the Raptors, or is afraid of being beaten by Big Ben, anyway, he played very gentlemanly tonight.

In fact, the Waterloo of Ewing's career happened to be this season.

Under normal circumstances, he was reimbursed for most of the season due to injuries and failed to return in the first round of the playoffs.

As a result, the Knicks, without Ewing, won the third-ranked Heat in the regular season with a gram. Ewing saw this posture and hurriedly returned to play in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

However, an embarrassing thing happened. After Ewing came back, they were beaten by the Pacers with a 1:4 record.

Knicks fans scolded Ewing bloody at the time.

But now the appearance of Kumbu has brought about some changes in history. Ewing has not been reimbursed this season.

It may be that he has been suspended more, and he has had enough rest time, or that all the games that should have been injured have been suspended. Anyway, Ewing is quite healthy now.

The first round of the first round was won, and the second game was still the home of the Raptors. There were no accidents in this game, and the Knicks lost again.

The first round of the playoffs in the 2001-2002 season began to adopt a seven-game four-win system, and now it is a five-game three-win system, so the Raptors only need to win one more game to get tickets to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The third game came to the New York home court. Knicks fans booed the Raptors in the first half, and booed the home team Knicks in the second half.

In the end, the Raptors easily swept the Knicks with 106:97 and advanced smoothly.

Kumbu breathed a sigh of relief, the game went much smoother than he expected.

He knew that the Knicks were far from being the opponent of the Raptors. If the two sides faced off in ten games, it would be good for the Knicks to win one game.

If it weren't for worrying about the troubles caused by old ghosts in New York, Comb wouldn't have put his mind on this round of the series at all.

In any case, the promotion was successful, and the Knicks and the old ghosts still did their business and didn't pull the Raptors into the water.

"Kong, can you tell me the truth."

"Do you have any intention of taking control of New York?"

Little Van Gundy, who had been holding back for a long time, finally asked Kumbu during the handshake after the game when he was eliminated.

"Why should I tell you?"

Combe didn't even know the answer himself.

"You stole $[-] from me?" Little Van Gundy replied in an uncertain tone.

"Well, it seems that it is indeed necessary to tell you."

"Don't worry, I'm not very interested in New York, but there are no absolutes in everything. If they give too much, I may not be able to resist the temptation."

Combe replied with a smirk.

Because the Knicks didn't do anything, Combe's dislike for Van Gundy Jr. was less intense.

Little Van Gundy was stunned, what's the difference between this answer and no answer?
What do the Knicks have left but money?How much can they give?

Thinking that Kombrian would blackmail someone for as little as [-] U.S. dollars, Van Gundy Jr. felt that his position as coach was not guaranteed. This guy would definitely come to New York to coach for money.

He even began to think about where to find his next home.

But the coaching position in the league is one carrot and one pit, and it is not so easy to find another coaching position in the short term.

"Are you really going to the coaching staff of Kumbu?"

"Then I might as well jump off a building!"

……

After easily sweeping the Knicks, the Raptors began to recharge their batteries, waiting for the Heat and the Hornets to decide the outcome.

The difference in combat power between the two teams is actually not that big. The situation was extremely tormented. In the end, the Heat were slightly better. Relying on a three-pointer at the last moment of Speed, they successfully eliminated the Hornets and joined the Raptors in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

It's not that friends don't get together, this is just right for the Heat and the Raptors.

The game between the two sides has not yet started, and it is already full of gunpowder.

The press conference before the game became the main battleground for the two teams to criticize each other.

(End of this chapter)