Different point guards will bring different rhythms of the game. On the Knicks bench, the toady Charlie Ward watched everyone running back and forth on the court, feeling depressed and not wanting to speak.
In less than 3 minutes, the Knicks' style suddenly changed!
Patrick Ewing caught the ball at the top of the arc. Li You, who had just handed over the ball, was pulling with Damon Stoudemire outside the three-point line. He suddenly pushed the opponent covertly and quickly stepped forward to take the hand. Pass the ball.
Ewing screened sideways, preventing Damon Stoudemire from pursuing him in time.
The moment Li You caught the ball, he noticed that Raptors center Tabak came up without delay. He took a step laterally, connected the ball at the top of the arc, and made a quick jump shot from outside the three-point line!
"Whoa!" The three-pointer hit the net!
At 19:17, the Knicks easily took the lead.
Everyone in the Raptors team was a little dumbfounded. Isn't this a blind move?
In the Skydome Stadium, the fans ignored this and continued to cheer. Compared with the previous fouls committed when they were in position, it was obviously much better to watch now.
"It seems that Lee has continued his playing style in the preseason. Maybe we can see him again on the Sport Center program tonight."
"Coach Walker seems ill-prepared. Of course, I believe the Raptors boys will respond!"
Home commentator John Sanders briefly praised Li You's performance, and then started to criticize the Raptors.
How to defend a small point guard, Li You also has his own defensive experience.
Try to cover the opponent with your body, and at the same time, from an angle that the referee cannot see, use your other hand to pull from time to time to disrupt the opponent's dribbling rhythm.
Damon Stoudemire was a little uncomfortable being disturbed. Every time he accelerated and stopped suddenly, and when he crossed and pulled back, Li You would move in time to leave him some room to break through.
After halftime, the two struggled to the top of the arc, and then stopped again. Damon Stoudemire no longer hesitated and accelerated the breakthrough with the ball in his right hand.
Li You quickly slid to the left rear. He did not completely lose his defensive position, but tried his best to drive the opponent inside.
Breaking into the paint area, Damon Stoudemire realized something was wrong. There were people inside. As a small man, he couldn't find any space to shoot for a while.
While walking, he subconsciously passed the ball to Doug Christie in the left corner. Before the ball could fly to his teammates, Alan Houston easily intercepted it.
Head coach Darnay Walker on the sidelines saw Li You receiving the pass again, rushed quickly, and shouted to the players:
"Hold, retreat, and catch up!"
On the other side, Walter Williams heard the coach's loud reminder and immediately rushed to Li You's side to delay.
Li You, who kept accelerating with the ball in his left hand, had no intention of slowing down. The two kept entangled and rushed into the paint area.
Approaching the basket, Williams, who had been giving physical confrontation on the right side, realized that the ball in Li You's left hand was gone...
With a flick of his wrist, Li You in the paint area swung the ball behind him. Alan Houston, who quickly followed up, caught the ball and easily put it up!
On the Knicks' bench, the atmosphere team cheered and threw up towels. After Li You came on the stage, he hit a wave of 9:2.
At 21:17, the rhythm of the game has been completely controlled by the Knicks.
"When Lee comes on, everyone is more willing to run. That's his role. Of course, we also have to accept some of his offensive options."
Assistant coach Qian Downey whispered to Jeff Van Gundy, who was hanging up next to him, that he really preferred to see the Knicks team with a smooth offense.
Van Gundy, who had returned to the bench, was speechless. Of course he could see the reaction of his players.
When Li You came on the court, everyone knew that if he ran out of opportunities, he would be able to catch the ball. His tactics became clearer, and the knock-on effect was that the offensive pace accelerated.
"The Raptors are not strong, and Lee still needs time to adapt to high-intensity games."
Jeff Van Gundy still chose to make peace with the situation because he knew that veterans didn't like to turn back and run...
Patrick Ewing didn't touch the ball in several rounds. This time the offense fell to the low post on the left side and turned around to ask for the ball.
Taking advantage of center Tabak behind him to go around to defend, Ewing suddenly turned around and ran directly to the basket.
Just as he imagined, the ball flew to the upper left side of the basket as soon as he jumped up. Li You's pass was just right. Ewing grabbed the ball and slammed the basket with both hands!
"Boom!" Alley-oop dunk succeeded!
After landing, Ewing first beat his chest and roared, and then pointed at Li You on the left flank:
"Li, beautiful pass!"
Within 2 minutes at the end of the first quarter, as newbie Marcus Camby came on the scene, Ewing began to frequently ask for the ball in the low post.
Li You and the others on the court didn't have much chance to perform at this time, and both sides began to attack lowly.
The Raptors, who put up the twin towers, also began to hit the ball inside, and at the same time strengthened their rebounding efforts to curb the Knicks' transition attack.
When Larry Johnson saw that Jeff Van Gundy hadn't replaced Ewing yet, he cursed in his heart. The first quarter was almost over, and he only took two shots, relying on free throws to score 4 points.
The staggered travel plan was very unsuccessful. What Larry Johnson didn't expect was that Jeff Van Gundy replaced him in advance...
At 28:24, the first quarter ended, and the Knicks led by 4 points.
2 of 2, 5 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists. The data seemed good, but Li You played uncomfortable.
Ewing played 11 minutes and 32 seconds in the first quarter. At the end of the first quarter, the Gorilla even beat the rookie Marcus Camby.
In the second quarter of the game, Starks partnered with Li You in the backcourt.
Larry Johnson is also in the rotation lineup. The two "good big brothers" have allowed Li You's assists to rise steadily, but the fast break job has been taken away.
Raptors' big center Carlos Rogers, who came on as a substitute, missed a layup from the basket. Veteran Herb Williams collected the rebound and threw the ball to Li You immediately.
Larry Johnson rushed forward desperately, but Li You didn't stick to the ball. He passed the ball from a long distance, penetrated the opponent's defense, and assisted "Auntie" for a two-handed dunk!
"Quick attack is as fierce as a tiger..."
Li You couldn't complain anymore, Larry Johnson definitely sprinted ahead of time.
It was a pretty dunk, and the fans at the scene burst into cheers.
Head coach Darnell Walker on the sidelines looked at the Twin Towers that couldn't keep up with the rhythm at all, and waved his hand to the substitute defender Hubert Davis to continue passing the ball to the inside.
The Raptors' offense was mediocre, but for the Knicks, Larry Johnson was completely relieved and took the initiative to pick and roll Li You in several rounds.
Li You made a ground pass to assist the opponent in an open mid-range shot, made a pick-and-roll breakthrough, and assisted "Aunt" who cut in and scored another 2 points.
The Knicks' offensive rhythm accelerated, and the Raptors continued to press the rhythm. Huber Davis hit the iron from the free throw line with 24 seconds left.
Li You collected the rebound before he could start. On the other side, Starks had already passed the half court and passed the ball to the opponent. After receiving the ball from the left wing, Starks, who was crazy, passed the ball directly from outside the three-point line. threw!
"Whoa!" The three-pointer hit the net!
The excited Starks didn't care about Jeff Van Gundy, who looked ugly, and happily high-fived Li You in celebration.
Under the leadership of Li You, in the early part of the second quarter, the Knicks did not have a single post...
Head coach Darnell Walker saw Li You making a single screen at the top of the arc and throwing the ball away. He couldn't help but cursed:
"What a damn game!"
The ball went hollow into the net, and the Knicks bench was completely boiling. It was 12:6 in a single quarter, and the point difference was just double digits.
Jeff Van Gundy didn't look good either. He found that he had lost control of the team. This kind of game was completely different from what he had planned...
The Raptors requested a timeout and Li You walked to the bench with a smile on his face and high-fived his teammates in celebration.
Li You did not play according to plan, but so far, the team is leading, and he also sent 7 assists:
“If you want to make a change, someone has to push it!”
