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Chapter 227 The Superstar Knicks and the Ordinary Warriors (Two-in-One Chapter)

Two days after the Warriors secured their spot in the NBA Finals, the Knicks didn't keep the defending champions waiting long.

On the evening of the 30th.

The Knicks easily defeated the Heat, led by the Melo-Wade brothers, 114-102 at American Airlines Arena, and won the series 4-2 to emerge from the wild East and secure another ticket to the NBA Finals.

To be fair, LeBron James, who has already lost his King title, deserves the most credit for the Knicks' victory over the Heat in this Eastern Conference Finals series.

Because this Heat team has obvious roster weaknesses, lacking an effective rim protector in the paint, and Pat Riley focused a lot of defensive resources on limiting Durant during the game.
Therefore, James has allowed people to see the James who was second only to the Bobcats in power before he led his team to a upset in the first round last season.

"If there were an MVP award in the conference finals, I would definitely vote for LeBron," said ESPN expert Brian Windhorst. "This was a series that belonged to LeBron; he moved freely within the Heat's defensive system."

In the Eastern Conference Finals, James averaged 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists for the Knicks.

His three main shooting percentages were 58%, 38%, and 70%.

It can be said that, apart from the less-than-ideal free throws,
Despite a significant decrease in his ball possession compared to his time with the Cavaliers, James did deliver an efficient team performance and shaped the Knicks' series.

This allowed James, whose life had been increasingly unsatisfactory lately, to breathe a sigh of relief and also helped restore much of his image on the court after being crushed by Qin Yue in last year's Christmas Day game.

Furthermore, even after delivering his best performance since joining the Knicks, James was not in a hurry to re-discuss Durant's ranking based on his outstanding contributions to the team in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Because after a four-year absence, they made it back to the finals.
Facing the Warriors led by Qin Yue, James knew better than anyone that only a victory could allow him to reclaim the title that had been stripped away by American fans.

James longs to return to the spotlight as he once was, bearing the titles of "The Chosen One" and "King James".

现在，随着尼克斯以异军突起之势趟平狂野东部——首轮4比1轻取鹰队，半决赛4比2力克步行者，分区决赛4比2挑落热火。

James realized that he had his best chance to defeat Qin Yue in this episode.
He certainly wouldn't choose to be the one to disrupt the team's chemistry.

The Knicks, having successfully broken through numerous challenges in the wild East, have fully demonstrated their worth.

To be honest, since Andre Iguodala joined the team, this young team has been improving every night, and even in Qin Yue's eyes, it is a groundbreaking Galactica.

It's no exaggeration to say that if this team hadn't faced the Warriors led by Qin Yue in the Finals, they would definitely have been the only favorite to win the championship this year.

but.
Since the Knicks, who are returning to the Finals after a 12-year absence, are facing Qin Yue, who, according to Marion, is at least 3,000 times better than a prime Jordan, then before the Finals began, the 17 experts from ESPN certainly had reason to blindly favor the Warriors.

"Shawn's statement is obviously exaggerated, but how to deal with Messiah in this Finals series is indeed a major problem that the Knicks need to solve."

In a preview program before the start of the Finals, former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said...

Upon hearing this, A. Smith asked, "Jeff, given the lessons learned from last year's Christmas Day game, do you think Mike D'Antoni will still use LeBron to match up against Messiah?"

“I think Mike will use Andre to match up against Messiah,” Van Gundy analyzed for D’Antoni. “Andre is a top-class wing defender with both speed and strength. If I were Mike, I would definitely choose to use Andre to limit Messiah on the perimeter and have LeBron double-team Messiah when the time is right.”

A. Smith nodded and said, "You make a lot of sense, Jeff, but I'm still curious, does this mean the Knicks can rest easy?"

sit back and relax?

Van Gundy frowned and said, "To be honest, unless Andre can grow 10 centimeters taller while maintaining his current athleticism, in my opinion, Messiah will still be the only unstoppable player in the Finals."

As a defensive expert, perhaps no one understands it better than Van Gundy.
In defense, if you want to effectively contain the opponent's offensive core, you must first establish a strict matchup with them.

Andre Iguodala, who was selected to the All-Defensive First Team this year, is certainly a better defender than the aging Shawn Marion in Van Gundy's eyes, but against Qin Yue...
Iguodala can only be considered as someone who can barely match up against Qin Yue.

What does "barely aligned" mean?
The matchup between Draymond Green and Nikola Jokic is a classic example of this.

As a top defensive center in the small-ball era, wasn't he good enough at defending Jokic when they were matched up against each other?

But what's the use of that?
Because the latter's model is naturally a size larger than Green's, even if Green exerts all his strength in the game, Jokic can still put up impressive stats against Green.

This is a forced matchup.

Van Gundy knew very well that in order to truly match up against Qin Yue, a defender not only needed to be similar to Qin Yue in terms of physical appearance, but also needed to have excellent athleticism and defensive awareness.

And even so
Given Qin Yue's current dominance, Van Gundy doesn't believe Qin Yue can be completely shut down.

After all, in the 1990s, Drexler, whose physical attributes were known as the "Western Jordan," was always completely outmaneuvered by the real Jordan whenever they faced him.
"Jeff, so in your opinion, how should the Knicks develop their defensive strategy?" A. Smith asked.

Seeing this, Van Gundy scratched his already thinning hair and said, "If it were me, I would probably focus more on how to limit Messiah's teammates."

At that moment, Van Gundy pointed out the only clear path for D'Antoni:
Since Qin Yue has proven that he cannot be contained, the Knicks must prepare themselves mentally for Qin Yue to go on a scoring spree in the Finals and allocate more defensive resources to limiting Qin Yue's teammates.

This is a very simple math problem.

Even if Qin Yue averages 50 points for the Warriors.

If the Knicks can find a way to score more points than the Warriors in total, or reduce the Warriors' total points in a game by limiting Qin Yue's teammates, then they can beat the Warriors.

Of course, that's the logic.
At the end of the preview program, Van Gundy cast his vote for the Warriors for the $5000 prediction prize.

In contrast, ESPN only boosts the morale of others while diminishing its own.
Led by The New York Times, New York media outlets compared the key players of the two teams and voiced their support for the hopeful and energetic Knicks, saying, "Where miracles happen, nothing is impossible!"

First, let's compare the inside players.

Although Qin Yue is much bigger than James, aren't Mozgov and Big Z better than that Kwame Brown who is all talk and no action?
Next is a comparison of the defensive lines.

With his boundless energy, Westbrook could easily defeat the aging Nash, if not completely by chance.

As for Curry and Harden...
At this point in time, it's difficult to say which of these two 09-born guards is better.

Therefore, after taking all factors into consideration, given that Nash is a two-time MVP, the Knicks should only be considered slightly better in terms of guards.

Finally, let's compare the forward lines.

"'KD' and Andre will be our winning trump cards!"

When Durant was in his prime and Iguodala was at the peak of his career, this forward duo definitely had the potential to dominate the competition.

If you don't understand, just ask. Antawn Jamison, who is about to turn 35, and Gerald Wallace, who has never proven himself before becoming Qin Yue's teammate, are they even worthy of being compared with New York's ace forwards?

Therefore, in conclusion, according to the New York media, this was a final round where "the advantage was in my hands"!
Go for it, Knicks!
Go forth and bravely seize the Larry O'Brien Trophy that will make New York and the Knicks great again!
The Warriors are nothing but a paper tiger led by the evil Satan of destruction. Glory will surely belong to the eternally righteous Knicks after this Finals!
……

2011 6 Month 3 Day.

The first game of the 10/11 NBA Finals was held as scheduled at Oracle Arena.

Before the game, seeing the new nicknames that the New York media gave to the Knicks players to boost morale, Qin Yue immediately felt the sense of adolescent angst that permeated the entire United States.

Spider-Man Iguodala.

"Captain America" ​​Kevin Durant.

"Iron Man" Russell Westbrook.

"Hulk" James.

"Hawk-Eye" Harden.

To be honest, if you only read the reports from the New York media, you might even think that what's about to happen isn't a basketball game, but a cosmic war waged by superheroes to protect Earth.

Well, now comes the problem.

Which boss is this Knicks team, composed of a group of superheroes, going to fight?
Oracle Arena, entrance ceremony.

When Qin Yue appeared on the court, as always, the entire arena was ignited, and the Knicks' superheroes immediately felt an unprecedented sense of pressure.

James, instantly recalling his miserable experience in last year's Christmas Day game, nervously bit his thumb.

Knowing that he would be facing off against Qin Yue in this final round, Iguodala subconsciously glanced at Qin Yue again, and then revealed a look of resignation.

Durant appeared relatively relaxed as he made it to the NBA Finals for the first time in his career.

Harden and Westbrook were closely surrounding Durant.

in fact
Putting aside the exaggerated portrayals by the New York media to boost the Knicks' morale, this Knicks roster is indeed in a class of its own in NBA history.

Three FMVPs in later generations.

Four MVPs for later generations.

Four of the seventy-five members in later generations.

On the court, the Knicks' five starters lined up—Mozgov, James, Iguodala, Durant, and Westbrook.

Even considering that some of their young players still need time to develop, it's hard not to call such a team a super team.

On the other hand, the Warriors have Brown, Qin Yue, Wallace, Bell, and Nash.

Before the game, Barkley, known for his audacity, posed three hypothetical questions on TNT: "Last summer, when LeBron chose to join the Knicks, he said he envied Messiah for having teammates like Ron Artest and Baron Davis right after entering the league."

Now, let's make three assumptions.

The first hypothetical scenario is: if LeBron and Messiah had swapped teams early in their careers, could he have led the Warriors to a championship?

The second hypothesis is whether Messiah can save Cleveland, the city of defeat, during his knightly career.

The third hypothetical scenario: given the current rosters of the Warriors and Knicks, if Messiah and LeBron were to swap teammates, would LeBron be willing?

At this moment, fortunately, James, busy "assisting" Durant in achieving his goals, couldn't hear Barkley's commentary. Otherwise, these are three hypothetical scenarios that would have inevitably caused James to break down.

Meanwhile, Brown, who had been frustrated for two consecutive series, appeared particularly excited as he prepared to tip the ball for the Warriors in the center of the court.

Why is Brown excited?

As Qin Yue said, this is a final round where he can perfectly showcase his strengths.

In fact, contrary to what Ben Wallace and Jefferson imagined, Brown has always been very self-aware.

However, such self-awareness did not help Brown improve his historical status.

Just like how LeBron James has to rely on "teammates who are like CBA players" to demonstrate his dominance.

Brown, who has become increasingly shrewd with experience, has long seen through the true nature of this business alliance.

"Who says that fame gained through marketing isn't a part of one's ability?"

At this moment, Brown seemed ready to devour Mozgov whole, which even reminded Qin Yue, who was standing to the side, of the legendary Thanos James.

And the Warriors' bench
If Brown was excited because he could prove himself again, then Jamison was genuinely happy about his long-awaited reunion with James.

Since we parted ways in Cleveland.
No one knows exactly how much Jamison wanted to say to James.

Therefore, how could Jamison not be delighted when such an opportunity was right in front of him?
Brown, who had already planned to tell the world after this series that his poor performance in the previous two series was due to a groin injury and that he could only play full games in the Finals, unsurprisingly won possession for the Warriors at the tip-off.

Nash dribbled the ball across half-court, and Brown, unusually proactive, set a screen for Nash and then backed down Iguodala near the free-throw line.

And the next second, because the Knicks' defense was completely drawn to Qin Yue, Brown instantly got a direct opportunity to attack the basket under the rim.

Seeing this, Qin Yue, who received the pass from Nash, did not hesitate and quickly passed the ball to Brown.

Under the Knicks' basket, Mozgov's turn while defending looked like a slow-motion replay in a movie to Qin Yue.

As a result, under Mozgov's defense, Brown not only finished the basket but also drew a foul, gaining an AND-ONE opportunity right from the start.

In addition, after scoring the goal, Brown raised his thick arms high and walked around the field for a short distance, like Popeye.

On the sidelines, witnessing this scene, Ben Wallace remarked, "Although I've never liked this guy, I have to say he knows better than many of us how to put on a show on the field."

The only downside was that Brown, who got the extra penalty, turned the "2+1" into a "2+0".

James grabbed the rebound as Mozgov boxed out.

If James were still the heart and soul of Cleveland at this moment, he would definitely dribble the ball across half-court and launch a transition attack.

But now that the Cleveland legend has brought his talent to the Knicks, James naturally has to obediently hand the ball to Westbrook.

In the Warriors' halftime, after the Knicks set up their half-court offense, Iguodala was responsible for issuing cards from the high post.

In the NBA, if organizing a team's offense is viewed as cutting a cake, then the players responsible for organizing the offense can generally be divided into two types.

The first type is eating cake by dividing it.

Qin Yue and James, as well as Westbrook and Harden in later generations, all belong to this type.

The only difference is that, while dividing and eating, Qin Yue and Harden also have the ability to make the pie bigger.

The second type involves ensuring the team's tactics function properly by allocating resources reasonably within the team.

Iguodala is exactly this type.

Therefore, since Iguodala joined the team, D'Antoni has not hesitated to make this star forward the primary playmaker in the Knicks' starting lineup.

Because no matter how many superstars the Knicks have, there will always only be one basketball on the court.

Therefore, Iguodala's presence not only perfectly solved the Knicks' ball possession problem, but also gave D'Antoni a way to keep Westbrook in check.

This gave the Knicks amazing chemistry in the second half of the season, transforming them into a team that could truly challenge the Warriors.

Of course, the Knicks' current chemistry is also based on the premise that James is willing to sacrifice his personal statistics for the team.

High position on the left wing.

With Iguodala's skillful distribution, Durant was able to completely dominate the veteran Bell who switched onto him.

Faced with Durant's New York big pull-up, all Bell could do was pray to God.

Compared to later generations.
Durant at this stage, who was willing to rely on executing tactics to create scoring opportunities, had a significantly greater impact on the team's offense than the future Durant who increasingly believed that isolation plays could solve everything.

Admittedly, given Durant's abilities, he can take shots at will, whether or not the tactics are executed.

But in later generations...
When Durant stubbornly believes that isolation plays can solve everything, he will find that even on the nights when he can still score 20 or 30 points efficiently for his team, his team still struggles to win.

why?
Because even the strongest basketball star can't play one-on-one all night long.

If Durant's physical limitations prevent him from consistently performing one-on-one plays on the court, he will be relegated to being a spectator.

This is also the main reason why Qin Yue, even with the power to destroy the world, still actively embraces his teammates every night.

Back to the Warriors' offensive possession.

Qin Yue first acted as a wall for Nash in a high position.

Then, after a quick bounce, Qin Yue immediately set a screen for Wallace on the right side of the court.

Wallace was lucky in this final round.

With Iguodala guarding Qin Yue, Wallace was matched up against James, who is not known for his defensive off-ball offense.
If Wallace's post-game statistics panel doesn't look good, it only proves that Qin Yue and Nash are just empty-headed playmaking masters.

Under the Knicks' basket, Wallace made a cut and received a pass from Shrew for a layup.

ESPN's A. Smith, who noted that the Warriors' other players scored in the first two possessions, said, "Jeff, it seems Mike didn't listen to your pre-game advice."

Upon hearing this, Van Gundy frowned and said, "I think the situation might be quite the opposite."

Did D'Antoni really not listen to Van Gundy's advice?
The answer is obviously no.

Because after Van Gundy expressed his views before the game, D'Antoni immediately regarded Van Gundy's advice as gospel.

just
Because Qin Yue also possesses historically great off-the-ball ability in off-the-ball attacks.
How can you cut off his connection with his teammates right now?

James might not believe it if I told him.

The dirty and tiring work that this chosen one has always disliked, as well as his full commitment to defense, are the foundation upon which Qin Yue has been able to get to where he is today.

On the court, under Iguodala's guidance, Westbrook, who was positioned on the left wing and charged straight at Nash's defense, fell into the Warriors' carefully laid trap almost instantly after penetrating deep into the Warriors' territory.

Despite this, Westbrook still managed to create an excellent opportunity to attack the basket thanks to his unparalleled ball-handling and acceleration ability.

But throughout his career, Westbrook had that fatal weakness that allowed him to become a mole for the Warriors in the next instant.

In the Warriors' paint, seeing Westbrook miss an open layup, Brown, surprised, quickly grabbed the rebound for his team and passed the ball to Qin Yue.

Immediately afterwards, Qin Yue quickly passed the ball to the frontcourt, and Wallace, who had stolen the fast break, scored two points on the counterattack.

"You can miss an easy layup?" Brown couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. "I was about to inbound the ball."

Indeed, throughout Westbrook's career, whenever the intensity of the game increased, he would frequently miss even layups that would be a sure thing for professional players.

To reiterate, statistics may not reflect a player's true contribution on the field and the damage they cause to the team.

However, technical statistics can prove during the trial how many crimes Westbrook committed in those large-scale events.

In particular, Westbrook's finishing rate around the basket differed significantly between the regular season and the playoffs.

It's the Knicks' turn to attack.

James's mid-lane cut provided Westbrook with a perfect example.

On the court, even though James, who catches the ball and immediately gets back on the court, clearly took an extra step with his pivot foot when he started moving, James still managed to put the ball in the basket with his historic finishing ability under the rim despite Brown's strong interference.

Putting aside the traveling violation, this was absolutely a textbook finish under the basket.

Yes, even under the new rules, James's layup attempt was a violation.

Since the referee didn't blow the whistle, the Warriors could only accept that it was a good shot.

And just through these few rounds after the opening...
Qin Yue immediately noticed it.

This Knicks team is made up of a group of superheroes.
Indeed, each of them possesses unique skills.

……

P.S.: Here comes the short two-in-one chapter!

①: I've explained the names of the Mavericks' and Heat's home arenas many times. The Mavericks' home arena is American-Airlines-Center, and the Heat's home arena is American-Airlines-Arena. Since both teams' home arenas are sponsored by American Airlines, you can think of the names of these two arenas as "Short and Pretty" and "Short and Pretty".

(End of this chapter)