Chapter 77 The Inefficient Core (8500 words chapter)

Whenever encountering a key match, most coaches will stick to their own tactical concepts unwaveringly. On this basis, reducing personnel rotation and locking down the main force are routine operations.

This may be a habit developed in the NCAA tournament. In a game where the outcome is determined, the coach prefers to let the main lineup hold on a little longer.

Jeff Van Gundy can change his stingy habits, put on a crisp suit, and pay more attention to his image in order to win the league's best coach award;

But when the bald young coach reached the Eastern Conference semifinals, he did not adjust his tactics. Instead, he emphasized more on defense and rebounding, and insisted on low-post offense close to the basket.

The same is true for Pat Riley on the opposite side. Even if Tim Hardaway is at his peak this season and has rushed to 4th in the MVP rankings, he still has to pass the ball honestly in the first quarter.

During the rotation of the second quarter, the two teams fed the New York fans a piece of Xiang flavor chocolate.

In the second quarter, the Heat replaced center Isaac Austin, who won the Most Improved Player Award, and replaced Mourning, who played the entire first quarter.

John Crotty replaced Tim Hardaway. On the forward line, Jamal Mashburn continued to play, Dan Marley also played in rotation, and PJ Brown also continued to play.

Small and four big, despite the lineup rotation, the height has not dropped.

In order to protect rebounds, Jeff Van Gundy paired Oakley with veteran Buck Williams on the inside, and the three outside players were Chris Childs, Starks, and Larry Johnson.

He lacks height, but Oakley can grab the ball, which makes up for the shortcomings of the lineup.

But the game lasted three minutes in the second quarter, with both teams scoring 2 points each. The New York fans at the scene were not in a good mood.

"John! Missed a jump shot from beyond the three-point line!"

Starks hit the iron, and the commentator Marv Albert screamed regretfully. Neither side scored, and the game was completely deadlocked.

"Defense!Defense!Defense!"

The New York fans at the scene once again shouted for the home team's defense. Soon, the Heat's P.J. Brown missed a low shot on the left near the paint.

After wasting a beautiful breakthrough pass from his teammate, PJ Brown clapped his hands and retreated in frustration.

The Knicks attacked, and Chris Childs' breakthrough pass from the top of the key found Starks on the right wing outside the three-point line.

After catching the ball, he feinted with the ball, quickly released the ball with his right hand, and broke through smoothly to the basket. Starks' cut was very decisive, but PJ Brown's sweep and defense under the basket was also very good.

Under the interference, the basketball knocked out of the basket!

"The flexible power forward completed the sweep defense. The Heat basically continued the defensive strategy of the first quarter. So far, they have succeeded!"

Commentator John Andaris reluctantly commented on the game. The two sides played lively, and the score was 21:23, still scoreless.

In the next round, the Heat continued to pass the ball from the outside, and then Dan Marley drove to the basket and stood on the free throw line. Madison Square Garden was booed.

It seems that in every key game, Starks will pull up. Jeff Van Gundy took advantage of this opportunity and quickly replaced Ewing. The tactical intention was very obvious, giving the ball to the inside!

On both sides of the bench, everyone was a little silent. This is so ironic!

Li You originally planned to wave the towel, but he couldn't find the opportunity and could only sit in his seat obediently.

Oakley was substituted. The old guy was not in a good mood. He had not played such a game for a long time.

"Hell, I knew the game would be like this, beating myself up!"

Returning to his seat, Oakley complained that the tactics he had prepared in the past few days had not matched up. In the end, he was playing with passion again.

Li You was speechless for a moment when he saw that the Heat didn't make any free throws. The massive physical confrontation made the players' hands stiff.

After Ewing came on the court, Chris Childs, in addition to leading the entire court defense, was also responsible for passing the ball to the gorilla, making pick-and-roll jumpers, and began to conduct more low-post attacks.

I thought I could dominate the inside and beat Isaac Austin on the opposite side, but P.J. Brown's defense played a key role.

When Ewing faced a double-team inside, he failed to distribute the ball in time and found veteran Buck Williams.

Several low-post attacks ended in a blackout. Fortunately, Larry Johnson's breakthrough drew a foul, and the two sides started a free throw shootout.

"Pat was completely guarded in the low post, and all the shots in front of the basket were shot. Pat Riley completely restricted our inside attack."

Commentator Marv Albert looked at this somewhat boring game, glanced at the technical statistics, and briefly summarized the situation in the second quarter.

"PJ Brown did play a key role. His flexible defense made our inside offense misfire. The big delay also interfered with our outside offense."

"He has a high probability of being selected for the All-Defensive Team this year. The Heat team built by Pat Riley has succeeded."

Commentator John Andaris also made a sour comment at this time. Compared with the bald young coach, Pat Riley is more sophisticated.

With 6 minutes and 32 seconds left in the second quarter, the score between the two sides was fixed at 29:29. The Heat relied on substitutes to equalize the score, and by the way, Mourning was given sufficient rest time.

Ewing's efficiency was so low that Jeff Van Gundy was forced to request a timeout.

In the field of "iron-blooded" defense, the Heat are no worse than the Knicks, and the opponent likes this kind of game rhythm very much.

Jeff Van Gundy, who was fully immersed in the game, realized at this time that these things he had were all leftover from Pat Riley's play. All his systems were learned from the other party:

"Create more screens for Lee and Houston. We don't play pick-and-rolls. We go one-on-one on the outside. We shoot the ball. If we can't, we rush for rebounds!"

"Believe in each other, we have to take the lead in the first half!"

In the noisy Madison Square Garden, Jeff Van Gundy, sitting in front of everyone, yelled these words.

Having just won the title of best coach in the league, he cannot lose tonight's game. Jeff Van Gundy really doesn't want to be ridiculed by the New York media after the game.

Li You, who took off his training clothes and was moving his body, nodded to show that he understood.

After watching half of the game on the bench, Li You also understood the Heat's game strategy. The opponent firmly believed that Ewing couldn't beat them in the low post, so the pick-and-roll was a big delay, allowing the defender to send the ball inside.

Ewing did not respond. The offensive end became inefficient, and there were also problems with the ball in the face of help defense.

Gorilla looked ugly. After coming on the scene in the second quarter, he couldn't even successfully control the opponent's substitute center. He also couldn't find a good way to face PJ Brown's help defense.

After the timeout, the Knicks' main lineup returned, while the Heat only had Tim Hardaway, Mourning was still resting, and Isaac Austin, who was in good form, continued to play.

Two strikers, Jamal Mashburn and Dan Marley, were also present. In the key games, Woshan Leonard's playing time was drastically reduced.

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

The New York fans at the scene shouted loudly again, and Tim Hardaway, who reappeared, still led the entire court defense, trying to slow down the Knicks.

After receiving the baseline ball, Li You made continuous half-turns and steadily dribbled the ball across the half court.

Larry Johnson immediately came to the top of the arc to respond. Li You quickly sent the pass and then moved to the right wing.

Alan Houston used Oakley's cover near the baseline on the left, slid down the baseline, and quickly bounced out to the left block.

Just after receiving the pass, Dan Marley chased him. In terms of game experience, the veteran who was once one of the Suns' trident is naturally better.

With the defense behind him, Alan Houston did not force the attack and returned the ball to the "aunt" at the top of the key again.

Waving his hand, Li You signaled Oakley to lift up. Taking advantage of Alan Houston's slipping baseline again, he immediately moved sideways on the line and made a quick crosscut.

Li You went to the free throw line, and when he caught Tim Hardaway, he went off the line. The Heat were well prepared for this, guarding against Oakley's "tough" screen.

Realizing that Tim Hardaway did not choose to defend closely, Li You accelerated and moved to the left wing outside the three-point line. As soon as he caught the ball sideways, he immediately drifted to the left and took advantage of the situation to complete a jump shot!

Tim Hardaway was running around Oakley, and was naturally a little slow. He didn't even have time to jump to defend, and he saw the ball flying towards the basket.

"Whoa!" The three-pointer hit the net!

"Wow!"

The crisp goal made the New York fans at the scene roar with joy.

At 29:32, the Knicks took the lead in changing their offensive routine.

P.J. Brown looked at Pat Riley on the sidelines and said that he could switch defense, but when he saw the head coach shaking his head, he could only give Tim Hardaway a look of trying to catch up.

After hitting a three-pointer, Li You shook his head and retreated, and Tim Hardaway took the baseline ball with a face.

After watching a lot of game videos before the game, the coaching staff only arranged personal pursuit defense. Tim Hardaway felt that this was inappropriate, but no one believed that pitchers could maintain production under high competition.

"Defense!Defense!Defense!"

The defensive shouts rang out again, and the New York fans at the scene also became emotional.

Without Mourning on the court, Tim Hardaway became the Heat's main attacker.

Dan Marley took advantage of the screen and bounced to the right wing. Alan Houston pursued the defense in place, but the tactic failed. Isaac Austin immediately came to the top of the key to perform a high pick-and-roll.

Li You struggled to squeeze through the screen, and Ewing continued to squat in the paint. The Knicks also adhered to the defensive strategy of the first quarter, not believing that Hardaway could attack efficiently in the mid-range.

After briefly getting rid of the defense and reaching the left elbow of the free throw line, Tim Hardaway immediately stopped and quickly made a jump shot!

"state!"

The basketball hit the basket, but P.J. Brown picked the melon behind his head and grabbed the offensive rebound behind Oakley.

It was just that he received an elbow while passing the ball and his accuracy was a little off. Alan Houston got in front of Dan Marley and completed the steal.

PJ Brown had no time to complain and could only retreat quickly with his teammates. Alan Houston accelerated along the left sideline, and Dan Marley continued to give physical confrontation in an attempt to delay the transition attack.

Amid the cheers of the fans at the scene, the Heat still completed their retreat, and PJ Brown quickly directed his teammates to conduct defensive confrontations.

Unable to convert the offense, Alan Houston quickly gave the ball to Larry Johnson at the top of the arc, and then quickly moved to the right wing.

Li You had already run to the right corner. When he saw Oakley waving his hand at the right elbow of the free throw line, he immediately pushed Tim Hardaway in front of him in a concealed manner.

Pretending to walk along the baseline, he suddenly accelerated and ran back. Tim Hardaway, who was pushed away, had his back to the basket. At this time, he accelerated and moved, saw Oakley at the elbow, and once again chose to quickly go around the baseline to avoid the screen.

Using the same tactic, Li You once again caught the ball on the left wing outside the three-point line, and then immediately released the ball with his left hand to accelerate the breakthrough.

Tim Hardaway originally planned to defend, but when he saw Li You breaking through, he quickly slid to defend.
To be continued...