NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 107 Unforgettable decline

On the night of May 1998, 5, fans were somewhat disappointed when the "King of New York" returned.

Patrick Ewing can still guard the basket with his excellent defensive awareness, but the gorilla has lost his offensive state.

In the first game back from injury, Ewing found that it was difficult for him to attack Divac in the low post, so he used more screens in the third quarter and tried to complete the shot in the middle distance.

Simply eating cakes, he finally scored a goal in a sports game.

But for the old New York fans, everyone misses Ewing's low-post attack in the past. Facing a center like Divac, he should have shown his skills, but he played like a pie front.
Since the Knicks had a big lead in the first two quarters, in the third quarter, the Hornets' defensive strength dropped a bit. Therefore, Ewing's score is a bit disgraceful.

From the team's point of view, Ewing's choice is also correct.

After playing, the gorilla worked hard enough, still defending hard, eating cakes on the offensive end, and generally did not add to the chaos.

With the last 3 minutes and 3 seconds left in the third quarter, Divac kept playing with his back in the low position on the right, near the paint area under the basket, and after taking the initiative to exert force, he threw the ball to the basket with his left hand.

The basketball knocked out of the frame, but Divac hit the front rebound again and almost made up the ball. In the end, Oakley struggled to protect the back rebound.

Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines noticed that Ewing was starting to gasp, and he knew the gorilla was tired.

I haven't played a game for a long time, and the first game is the playoffs. After all, Ewing is also a human being, and gradually he can't keep up with the rhythm of the game.

The Hornets did not give up, and David Wesley still led Li You in the audience.

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

The New York fans at the scene continued to cheer loudly, and Li You also took the initiative to slow down the pace, waiting for all his teammates to cross the half-court, and then dribbled across the center line for 8 seconds.

When he came to the left flank, he noticed that Ewing was actively stopping at the top of the arc, and Li You also took advantage of the opportunity to throw the ball to the gorilla.

Without the ball, Li You first pretended to move towards the top of the arc, and then shook his body continuously.

David Wesley subconsciously adjusted his defensive focus on the spot, but at this time Li You suddenly accelerated and moved towards the top of the arc. After handing over to Ewing, he held the ball in his right hand, and Li You had already got rid of the defense.

Due to Ewing's mediocre performance in the first half, Divac took the initiative to switch defenses and was delayed. David Wesley also caught up from behind and attracted two people to defend. Li You took advantage of the opportunity to send a ground pass.

After the rebound, the basketball bounced into Ewing's hands at the free throw line, and there was no defense in front of him. As a result, the gorilla's jump shot hit the iron again!
"Shet!!"

Ewing cursed secretly and clapped his hands in annoyance, and many New York fans at the scene sighed again. There were opportunities, but they couldn't make the shot.
From the low attack in the second quarter to the support in the third quarter, Ewing was playing iron in most rounds.

Oakley was full of energy tonight, and this time he grabbed the rebound in front of Mason at the bottom left of the basket.

Grabbing the rebound, the old guy noticed that the Hornets had begun to shrink the inside line, and immediately threw the ball to Alan Houston outside the three-point line.

The left flank received the ball, and Alan Houston took advantage of the situation and gave the ball to Li You who bounced to the top of the arc to respond.

At the moment of catching the ball, Li You took advantage of the situation to lower his center of gravity, and while putting the ball with his right hand, he suddenly changed direction in front of him.

David Wesley, who was chasing up, adjusted his center of gravity without any preparation, but his feet were stunned, staggered, and almost fell to the floor.

"Oh!!"

It was so beautiful that the New York fans at the scene immediately exclaimed.

Seeing that his teammates lost their defensive position, and noticing that Li You accelerated to break through the three-point line with the ball in his left hand, Phils on the left flank immediately helped defend.

Just as Phils moved, Li You broke through to a position close to the paint area, attracted the defense, and immediately jumped up and threw the ball.

Alan Houston, who was near the sideline on the left wing, received the ball. There was no one in front of him, and he shot an open three-point jumper!

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

49:73，第3节比赛还剩2分04秒，戴夫-考恩斯主教练再次请求暂停。

Madison Square Garden, the cheers continued to sound, the victory is about to come, the Hornets can't stand it anymore!

Alan Houston smiled and bumped fists with Li You, throwing more and more accurately tonight, completely comfortable.

About to reap the victory, the commentator Mike Breen smiled and praised the performance of the Knicks:
"It's really beautiful, Lee can always seize the fleeting opportunity, and then easily score or complete an assist."

"Pat didn't feel good tonight, but this is his first game back from injury, I believe he will find his shooting touch!"

Walter Fraser also feels that the current team play is very reasonable:
"The offense is not a problem. We have a lot of scorers. Pat's return frees Oakley, which is very important."

The two analyzed together in the commentary booth, and finally came to a conclusion:
"Ewing returns, the Knicks make up for their shortcomings, and the championship is beckoning to New York!"

Sitting on the bench again, Ewing was replaced, and the gorilla was still a little depressed.

出场27分钟，11中4，罚球5中4，12分10篮板1盖帽2失误。

Surrendering double-double numbers did not make Ewing happy. He knew better than anyone else about his physical condition, and he lost a lot of his shooting touch.
In the last 3 minutes of the third quarter, the two sides scored consecutive points, and the time ran out quickly.

At 54:78, the game will enter garbage time in the fourth quarter.

On the Hornets' bench, Glenn Rice looked ugly, 8 of 1 in the half, and finally found the touch in the third quarter, and the score difference widened and widened.

After shooting 21 of 7 in the last game, he scored 13 of 4 tonight. Glenn Rice found himself completely ignored by the New York media, and no one paid attention to his performance.

Everyone on the bench is not in a high mood. Although the next two games will return to Charlotte, the consecutive big losses seem to have explained the strength gap between the two sides.

The game time in the fourth quarter passed quickly, the Hornets just wanted to get back to the home court quickly, and the Knicks' atmosphere team performed hard.

In the end, 80:102, the Knicks beat the Hornets again, and the series came to 2:0!

Although the game was crushing, the atmosphere on the scene was still hot, and New York fans began to imagine the Eastern Conference Finals!
As reported in newspaper columns, this year may be the best time for the Knicks to win the championship!

出场29分钟，12中7，三分线外4中2，罚球4中4，李佑高效砍下20分4篮板11助攻抢断1失误。

20 points is also the highest score in this game. After the game, MSG interviewed Li You for the first time:
"Lee, the big score in the series is 2:0. Let's talk about the next two away games. After Pat returns, will the team make any adjustments?"

The commentator Mike Breen was not polite and asked the fans most concerned questions.

Having changed into training uniforms a long time ago, Li You also chatted at this time, and said confidently:
"The game plan is to end the series early so you can get more rest time!"

"The team will not be the first to make adjustments. We are the leading side. In the next two games, we can still beat our opponents."

"Pat's return has also raised the defense to another level. In this round of the series, we will not give our opponents any chance!"

Walter Fraser on the side also smiled and nodded in agreement. The three of them bragged fiercely on the sidelines, and no one raised the issue of Ewing's offense. It was a little bit of face for the gorilla.

In the Western Conference semifinals that night, the Jazz narrowly beat the Spurs in overtime.

斯托克顿全场13中8，三分线外2中1，罚球3中1，拿到18分1篮板12助攻1抢断2失误的数据。

The major sports media began to compare Li You and Stockton, and the "No. [-] point guard" that the New York media dubbed before seems to be really coming true!
On the morning of May 5, the sports section of the New York Post detailed the performance of Li You and Stockton in this year's playoffs:

"The old and the new alternate, the No. 1 position in the new era!"

Instead of reporting the news of the Hornets, he provoked the veteran point guard from the air.

In the afternoon, everyone in the Knicks team departed for Charlotte. After boarding the plane, Ewing read the column articles in the newspaper and always felt that the New York media was mirroring him.
Two consecutive games against the opponent, but also let the Knicks everyone began to pay attention to another group of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Alan Houston looked at the technical statistics of the previous two teams and said with emotion:
"The Pacers still have a chance to defend the home court. If they can drag the series to tie-break 7, they may be able to eliminate the Bulls."

"The intensive schedule is a test for physical fitness."

In last year's playoffs, Alan Houston was crushed by Mike's monster physicality, which left a deep impression on him.

Larry Johnson was inflated again at this time, and without looking at technical statistics, he commented casually:
"The Bulls are the oldest team in the league. They really hit 7 games. I think the Pacers have a chance to kill their opponents!"

"Reggie Miller is not a good defensive player, he will rebound, the Eastern Conference finals, maybe we will not see the Bulls."

The atmosphere group also nodded and said yes, and they all comforted themselves that the Bulls were no longer able to do it.
Seeing everyone using the mental victory method one after another, Li You shook his head secretly. After all, he was still worried about meeting the Bulls:
"Michael Jordan is also a human being. He has played no less than 40+ minutes, and he will be tired after playing!"

"Both teams are the same, and that's our chance."

Ben Davis of the atmosphere group immediately became a sycophant when he heard Li You's words:

"Lee is right! We will reach the finals, win the championship, and my career will be considered complete!"

Soon the topic was turned to what should the Knicks' championship ring be designed by the atmosphere group.
Ewing didn't make a sound from the sidelines. His past experience of consecutive losses to the Bulls made it difficult for him to brag confidently.

That night, Jeff Van Gundy and the coaching staff watched another group of G3 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

At 103:106, the Pacers defended their home court and successfully pulled back a victory.

Both Jeff Van Gundy and Thibodeau looked thoughtfully, and soon the bald young marshal said:

"40:29, the Pacers lost the rebound, but still won the game, the Bulls did slip."

Assistant coach Thibodeau seems to have gained confidence from this game, and said quite confidently:
"With Pat here, our rebounding is not necessarily at a disadvantage. Lee and Houston can also play like Reggie Miller. To change our thinking, we can also learn from the Pacers' style of play."

Hearing the discussion of several people, assistant coach Don Chaney prayed in his heart:
"May the Pacers knock out the Bulls."

On the morning of the 9th, Li You saw the news in the newspaper, and the memory in his mind became clearer again.

This year he pays little attention to the performance of other teams. Compared with last season, the lineups of several teams that made it to the playoffs have not changed much. They are one year older and their strength has even declined.

Under such circumstances, Li You went to bed early and woke up early every day to ensure his physical condition. No matter who the final opponent was, if he wanted to win, he still had to be strong enough.

In the training session in the morning, Ewing was very devoted, but the shooting state was the same as before.
He is about to turn 36 years old. It is very difficult for the gorilla to return to his previous state after suffering such an injury.

That night, Hornets fans came to the Charlotte Stadium early to cheer for the home team.

Glenn Rice, who had been in a downturn for two games, finally broke out after returning to the home court. After the game started, he quickly entered the state and helped the Hornets keep scoring points.

Throughout the first quarter of the game, coach Dave Cowens did not perform any personnel rotation, and all five starters played the first quarter.

At 26:24, the opponent smashed the main force, and the Knicks still led by 2 points.

As if punching Cotton, the Knicks just ran tactics step by step and counterattacked. All five players in the starting lineup scored. Li You sent out 5 assists again in a single quarter.

In the second quarter of the game, both sides took the rotation lineup. After less than 2 minutes of the game, Glenn Rice appeared again.

It's just that this rotation didn't play much role at all, and the Hornets fell into a scoring drought again.

Although Ewing's finishing ability has declined, his defensive state is even better than in the previous game.

Instead of choosing to speed up, but relying on better offensive efficiency, the Knicks gradually opened up the point difference.

After the return of Li You and the others, the offensive firepower remained undiminished, and they still took turns scoring points.

Seeing such a scene, the Hornets fans present gradually silenced. When the team needed to score the most, Glenn Rice misfired.

At 28:17 in a single quarter, at the end of the half, at 54:41, the Knicks entered the second half with a 13-point lead.

During the halftime break, everyone in the Knicks locker room looked relaxed, which seemed to be no different from the regular season.

In the second half, there is a high probability that Glenn Rice will explode again and the Hornets will lose.

Everyone has seen this situation many times. Jeff Van Gundy is also full of confidence. He didn't talk about chicken soup anymore, but simply said:

"Play good defense, reduce turnovers, and we're going to get match point in Charlotte tonight."

Ewing performed well in the half game, 7 of 3, 4 of 4 free throws, and 10 points.

It's just that for the Knicks, Alan Houston was in top form, 10 of 6, 2 of 2 from beyond the three-point line, 4 of 4 free throws, and scored 18 points in the half.

Li You played for Houston frequently. The Knicks' offense was simple and efficient. Even if Ewing was depressed, he had nothing to say. The efficiency exploded!
This game is very critical. As long as they get the match point, the Knicks will basically lock the place in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Ewing had no choice but to become a tool man passively again.
In the third quarter of the game, the head coach Dave Cowens began to change players frequently, trying to find the player with the best touch and open the situation on the outside.

But as the game progressed, it eventually evolved into Glenn Rice's repeated singles. After taking a breath in the middle, Anthony Mason Jr. took over the heavy responsibility of singles.

Divac can only be a tool man. After coming to the line to support, the offense is nothing for him.

Glenn Rice scored 9 of 5 in a single quarter and scored 13 points. As a result, at the end of the third quarter, the score was fixed at 3:79, and the point difference was widened by 62 points.

After the start of the fourth quarter, the point difference did not narrow, and no Hornets fans left the field early.

Li You appeared again with 8 minutes and 08 seconds left in the game. The opponent's main lineup will continue to play tonight, and the Knicks can no longer fish.

Ewing thought he would gradually find his hand, but after missing two low-post attacks in the fourth quarter, the gorilla had no choice but to simply eat cakes.

"Defense! Defense! Defense!"

Despite being behind by a big score, Hornets fans were still cheering for the home team's defense at the last moment.

Ewing walked to the right side of the free throw line to catch the ball. Instead of singles, he protected the ball sideways and prepared to hand it to Alan Houston.

Phils, who was chasing and defending, saw through this tactic, and after relentless pursuit, Alan Houston simply dropped the left wing and stopped catching the ball.

The first set of tactics failed, so Li You quickly ran to the left to enter the baseline position, and then left a baseline from left to right.

At the bottom line on the right, Li You uses Oakley's cover to quickly bounce out!
Came to the elbow area on the right side of the free throw line, briefly got rid of David Wesley's follow-up, Li You took the hand-off pass, and then used Ewing to cover and came to the free throw line.

After the gorilla passed the ball, he immediately moved to the right block on the side.

Li You at the free throw line noticed that David Wesley was chasing up from behind again, and Divac was also preparing to delay the defense. When the two were about to close, Li You, who had just dribbled the free throw line, immediately threw back ball.

The basketball flew straight to Ewing, who was in the block on the right. After receiving the ball, the latter cut to the basket and easily put the basket with his right hand!
"Shhh!!"

The Hornets fans at the scene booed wildly, and Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines laughed but clapped his hands, indicating that this offense was played beautifully, and at the same time reminded loudly:

"Retreat! Don't give the opponent any chance!"

Being able to eat cakes efficiently is also a technical task. Ewing did a good job this time. By the way, Li You added an assist.

Although Glenn Rice was sluggish again in the last quarter, Divas recovered, attacking from the low post and making consecutive free throws, helping the Hornets keep scoring points.

But as the game passed most of the quarter, the sound became smaller and smaller. When the final buzz sounded, there was only some noise left on the scene.

At 103:90, the Knicks crushed their opponents again, the big score came to 3:0, and the series seemed to have no more suspense!

"Shhh!!"

In the Charlotte Stadium, after the noise, there were huge boos again.

In the commentary seat of TNT, Dick Stockton glanced at the technical statistics, and immediately praised:
"Although the Hornets readjusted their defensive strategy to delay Lee more, it did not achieve a significant game effect."

“21分4篮板11助攻2抢断2次失误，出场35分钟，李再次打出了完美表现！”

16 of 7, 7 of 3 from beyond the three-point line, and 5 of 4 free throws. Although Li You's efficiency declined, Hubie Brown didn't care. Instead, he continued to praise:

"Ewing's offensive status has not yet recovered. Lee and Houston carried the team's offense tonight."

"Leading 3:0 with a big score, the Knicks will not waste such an opportunity. I believe they will reach the Eastern Conference Finals again."

In the locker room of the visiting team, the atmosphere group of the Knicks team was still cheering loudly, celebrating the team's two consecutive years of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals.

Ewing sat in his seat and also made a smiling face, but the gorilla felt a little uncomfortable after reading the technical statistics:

"A wrist injury, does the body slide down?"

　Thank you book friends for your subscription support (﹃)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)