Chapter 95 Jump Shooting Team (Daily Chapter)

On December 9, 1997, after a small group of New York media redefined the "180 Club", the Knicks were finally poured out of their hands.

In the away game against the Heat, Larry Johnson was injured and left the game after only 6 minutes of play. In the following game, Mourning and P.J. Brown began to wreak havoc under the basket.

A score, a sweep of defense, blossoming inside and outside. In the end, 82:88, the Knicks fought hard for four quarters but still lost the game.

After winning the game, Pat Riley was in a good mood and chatted with his assistant for a long time. Jeff Van Gundy was a little aggrieved, having lost to the person he least wanted to lose.

The winning streak was fixed at 19 games, and New York fans and media were very satisfied with this.

With 19 wins and 1 loss, the Knicks lead the league!

The second-ranked team in the Eastern Conference is the Heat with 14 wins and 5 losses, followed closely by the Bulls with 12 wins and 7 losses.

The Knicks, who quickly got into shape after the start of the game, finally succeeded in widening the winning gap and could breathe a sigh of relief before the Christmas Day game.

After flying overnight from the warm Miami back to the cold Big Apple, everyone was a little unmotivated during the training session the next morning.

Every December, the climate in New York becomes unpleasant, with only five or six degrees Celsius during the day and close to freezing at night.

Compared with Miami, when living in New York, you need to wear warm and cold clothes at this time.

Perhaps because he wore too many clothes, Larry Johnson, who was troubled by his back injury, was in a particularly bad mood.

He has to miss a few games every season, and old injuries crop up from time to time, as if to remind him that he has expired.

"Damn the weather, we should have stayed in Miami one more day!"

After changing into training clothes and receiving a massage from a physical therapist, Larry Johnson complained loudly.

Oakley, who has lived in New York for many years, has long been accustomed to the weather in the Big Apple City, and joked with joy:

"We should be satisfied that at least New York is much better than Chicago!"

Larry Johnson, who was still talking about Miami, sighed helplessly.

Losing is also a way to relieve stress. The New York media in a state of self-reliance is very stressful. If this season ends in failure, a storm of ridicule awaits them in the offseason.

Starks stretched his hips in the Finals, and the famous scene where Gorilla missed an empty basket in the game against the Pacers is still mentioned repeatedly even after several years.

Li You likes the weather in New York very much. What worries him is that the birthday of his little follower is coming, and several girls want to join in the fun before Christmas:

"Titanic" premieres on December 19th.

Expectations for this movie have been completely raised, and the fact that it repeatedly exceeded the budget also reminds movie fans that this is a big production!

Although romance movies are clichéd, they have a wide audience. At least young people will definitely spend money to buy tickets to watch them once.

After replying to the text message, Li You felt that he had to watch the movie again and again.

Jeff Van Gundy looked worried during the morning video session. He had been prepared for "Big Mom's" injury, but coupled with Ewing's injury, the bald young coach was a little overwhelmed.

"We need more help in defense and, when necessary, more defense in front."

"Don't let the opponent's big man squeeze into the paint easily. Once he loses his position, he can only watch the opponent rush for rebounds."

Assistant coach Thibodeau pointed to the round that was cut out. Mourning carried Oakley into the paint area and missed a shot. P.J. Brown finally grabbed consecutive rebounds and stabbed the ball into the basket.

If Larry Johnson is here, "Big Mom" ​​can also defend Mourning, so that Oakley and Buck Williams will work together to protect rebounds and there is a high probability that these problems will not occur.

However, due to injuries, Larry Johnson will continue to miss the remaining two games this week, and new aid Chris Dudley has been mentioned as the starting center position.

Veteran Buck Williams is still too short.

Seeing everyone nodding, Jeff Van Gundy simply added:

"Everyone must actively protect rebounds. This is a difficult period for the team and we cannot waste the lead!"

Ben-Wallace listened attentively and almost took a pen and took notes in a notebook.

He has finally entered the rotation. Whether he can get more playing time depends on the next two games.

Alan Houston hit the ground running in the last game, but the coaching staff didn't make any adjustments. Currently, the offense can only rely on the outside. Even if the team is tough, they have to continue shooting!

At the end of the video class, Li Youye reminded Alan Houston in a low voice:

"The three-point line has been restored this season. It will definitely be affected in the early stage. If you continue to shoot, you will be able to find your form before the All-Star Game."

"I've got some feeling! Thanks, Bro!"

Without the gorilla, Alan Houston's shooting rights have also increased. As long as Li You keeps passing the ball, he has the final say on how he throws the ball on the court.

Seeing the two communicating in low voices, Jeff Van Gundy felt a little helpless.

As a traditional coach, he doesn't like to see the team take too many three-pointers.

As a result, now Li You, Alan Houston, and Starks have to shoot 18+ in a game, plus Chris Childs, 20 shots, it has become a basic operation.

Just thinking that the Heat would also shoot a lot of three-pointers in their games, Jeff Van Gundy acquiesced in these shots:

"Although it has become a jump shooting team, you can't go wrong if you follow Pat Riley."

On the night of December 11th, the Knicks faced the Timberwolves at home.

After the start of the new season, the Timberwolves also started slowly and currently have a record of 8 wins and 11 losses.

Although Kevin Garnett is not the boss of the team, he is unique among the team in terms of popularity!

After Shawn Kemp joins the Cavaliers, Garnett will most likely get a starting spot in the All-Star Game this year.

This also made Garnett a little inflated. Before the game, he didn't even look at the old guy from the Knicks and just greeted Li You.

In the last All-Star Game, Garnett got more playing time than Li You, but his performance of 1-for-7 after playing was a bit embarrassing.

"Hey, Bro, you will definitely get the All-Star starting spot this year. Hardaway is injured again. This time no one can limit the performance of young people!"

After the fist bump, Garnett shouted loudly from the sidelines, acting like "I am an All-Star starter"

In 1997, the top 50 superstars gathered together, and there were legends everywhere. Li You and Garnett were so transparent that no one cared about them even if they set the record of being the youngest All-Star player in NBA history.

At that time, the hot news was all about Michael and celebrities.

The atmosphere in Madison Square Garden was hot, which also intensified Garnett's self-entertainment. Li You looked at him funny, and finally simply responded:

"The starting lineup is not important, the important thing is that I want to score more points!"

Li You made a phone gesture, indicating that Garnett could contact him if he came to New York in advance.

Last year, the two of them were very transparent and could only chat awkwardly. This year, the old guy is missing more than half, and he is able to get through it.

Marbury, who was warming up at halftime, felt sour in his heart. The forgetful New York fans had forgotten about the former "Son of New York."

The All-Stars didn't concern him either. As the Lakers' record got better and better, Kobe Bryant's popularity also increased, and Marbury suffered a big loss in Minnesota.

The Timberwolves' starting lineup has enough height. In the MSG commentary box, commentator Mike Breen briefly introduced:

"Stephen Marbury and Chris Kyle team up in the backcourt, Tom Gugliotta and Kevin Garnett are on the forward line, and Stanley Roberts is at center."

“The Timberwolves’ starting lineup is very big!”

With two big men over 2.10 meters tall, Gugliotta can also be regarded as a powerful striker. He was also selected for the All-Star reserve team last year.

The game strategy formulated by Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders is also very simple, start from the inside!

For the Knicks, Chris Mills and Chris Dudley, who got the chance to start tonight, also performed very actively after the start.

The scores of both sides increased alternately, and the Timberwolves, who constantly attacked the basket, played an efficient offense.

The turning point of the game came in the third quarter when the Knicks attacked and Oakley screened Li You at the right elbow of the free throw line.

Li You, holding the ball in his left hand, lowered his center of gravity and broke through on the left side. First, he briefly got rid of Marbury's pursuit and reached the free throw line.

Facing Garnett, who raised his right hand and quickly came up to help defend, Li You quickly in and out, shaking his body, and immediately made Garnett move back.

Taking advantage of Marbury's pursuit, Li You, who was parked at the free throw line, did not wait for the two to attack, and Li You coolly threw the ball behind his back.

"Wow!"

The beautiful pass made the New York fans at the scene cheer. Oakley, who had already moved to the right block, received the ball and went straight to the basket.

It's just that the old guy underestimated Garnett's ability to help defend. He was near the free throw line just now, but in the blink of an eye he shrank to the basket again, and Oakley received a solid block.

"Yes!!"

Fanning the ball out of the baseline, an excited Garnett jumped up and down, beating his chest and roaring at Oakley!

The old guy was already in a bad mood, so he turned around and pushed him, pointed at Garnett and warned loudly:

"Shut your stinky mouth!"

Garnett was pushed to the Knicks bench and noticed Larry Johnson standing up. Ben Wallace also stood up and looked directly at him.

In addition, everyone in the atmosphere team was about to surround him. Garnett subconsciously moved back. When his teammate Roberts came forward, he started to rush forward again.

Just such a move immediately angered everyone on the Knicks team. Before Roberts could react, the two sides got into a fight.

Two fists were hard to beat with four hands. When Garnett saw something was wrong, he kept dodging and moving, and he just moved from the bench to the center line.

The linesman was hit and staggered. When he turned around, he heard Garnett still shouting:

"Come on! I'm right here!"

But such a provocation angered the referee. He made a "T" sign in front of the technical stage, and then kicked out Garnett, Oakley, and Larry Johnson.
To be continued...