On November 14, 1996, after two days of fermentation, the popularity of Li You, who frequently appeared on TV, skyrocketed...
New York's newspaper media once again dug into Li You's story. 1996 was also an era where looks were valued. "The standard childhood for a superstar" plus a handsome face, Gorilla Ewing was left behind by the New York fans who liked the new and disliked the old.
Li You did catch up with a good time. In early April 1996, Yahoo was listed on Nasdaq. On that day, Yahoo's stock price of US$13 climbed to US$33!
"Chief" Jerry Yang suddenly entered the ranks of Wall Street billionaires.
Li You, who is also young, received an American education and has excellent academic performance, and has made some achievements in the NBA, barely caught up with this wave of popularity, and was also labeled as a genius...
After Li You woke up with a hangover, he felt bored reading the large articles praising the system in mainstream newspapers.
ABC may think this place is paradise, but for Li You, his difficult experience in Albuquerque as a child always reminded him that this is a cannibalistic society.
Near noon, agent Mark Bartelstein treated a guest to dinner, and the two chatted while eating at a nearby French restaurant:
"This is New York. As long as you perform well, you can become the target of the media!"
"With these records, New York fans will never forget you even if you are a substitute, so don't stress, we have succeeded!"
Mark Bartelstein was worried that Li You would be coerced by the media and act out under pressure, so he flew to New York specially to give him psychological massage.
Li Youzheng was showing off the French beef and spinach in front of him. He drank at the party last night. He was hungry all morning and only after eating a few mouthfuls did he finally feel relieved:
"I don't care at all what the media reports. These articles are quite boring. What's more, the regular season has just begun, and these records and data can't explain too many problems."
Seeing that Li You really seemed unaffected, Mark Bartelstein also breathed a sigh of relief.
The Bucks have also performed well since the start of the season and currently have a record of 5 wins and 1 loss, but the team has received a lot less attention.
In the game against the Suns two days ago, Ray Allen made 9 of 19 shots, 1 of 5 from behind the three-point line, and scored 23 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 turnovers. The data was very good, but he did not receive much appreciation.
"Why not choose to sign a shoe contract at this time, the offer I received is not bad!"
After hearing Mark Bartelstein's words, Li You responded briskly:
"The term is too long and the price is too low. I have more opportunities for exposure. I also know my abilities. In less than a year, these sneaker manufacturers will re-offer their offers."
At $12 million over six years, Mark Bartelstein feels that Adidas’ offer is sincere, but he also agrees with Li You’s point of view:
"Play with peace of mind and don't care about Jeff Van Gundy's attitude. He is not Pat Riley and will compromise with the media sooner or later."
Mark Bartelstein didn't explain his words, but Li You knew that this guy was about to make an effort. The beauty of the knife can sometimes determine the trend of public opinion.
Thinking about the attributes of New York fans and media, Li You feels that Jeff Van Gundy will go bald sooner or later!
Not only do you have good results, you also have to play well. The New York audience may be the most picky fans in the league...
The Knicks only have three games this week, and they're at home for the third time in a row.
On the night of the 14th, the Raptors visited Madison Square Garden Arena and the two sides played again.
After a few games, the new rookie Marcus Camby also secured his starting position. His performance that night was very good, making 9 of 14 shots and scoring a team-high 29 points!
Although the Knicks won, the fans watching the game felt like they had eaten a piece of Xiang-flavored chocolate...
The pace was too slow and there were too many turnovers. Patrick Ewing made 9 of 16 shots and scored 25 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks and 6 turnovers.
Gorilla wanted to teach the newbie on the opposite side how to behave, but the state of the game that night was really mediocre.
At 96:102, the Knicks stumbled and won the game.
After more than a day of rest, the Minnesota Timberwolves game came again on the night of the 16th.
In this game, facing the tall inside line of the Timberwolves, Jeff Van Gundy continued to insist on low-post tactics. This time Ewing lived up to his coach's trust and once again played dominance.
Playing 44 minutes, 9 of 17, 26 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 3 turnovers, Ewing destroyed the Timberwolves' inside line.
Kevin Garnett lost all touch after being knocked to the floor by Charles Oakley. He played honestly throughout the whole process, not daring to say a word of trash, showing a cute attitude:
"Just call me Xiaojia..."
In 40 minutes of playing time, Garnett made 4 of 17 shots, with a shooting percentage of less than 30%. He only scored 12 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists.
80:86, in this physical battle, the Knicks finally won the game.
Despite achieving a record of 8 wins and 1 loss, the New York media still did not give Jeff Van Gundy a good look. At the post-game press conference, Patrick Ewing was also questioned:
"Pat, we have better guards now, why don't we play more pick-and-roll offense?"
The New York Post reporter did not give Ewing face and directly pointed the finger at the "King of New York."
Patrick Ewing didn't like the media who often belittled him at all. He had an impatient expression on his face and said in an unfriendly tone:
"Victory is what the team pursues. We win the game. This is the most important thing!"
"I don't want to explain to you how to play basketball. I'm sure you all saw that I dominated the paint tonight."
"..."
Jeff Van Gundy did compromise with the media, increasing Li You's playing time and no longer cutting the time into small pieces.
This is indeed what New York fans want to see, but as Ewing's playing time also increases, Li You, who can play freely on the bench, is also restricted.
Some rounds were forced to slow down, giving the ball more to the inside, and taking more open shots.
When the opponent strengthened its defense against Li You, the score remained stable, the number of assists also increased slightly, and the data was impeccable.
New York fans saw this, and after these two games, they pointed the finger at Jeff Van Gundy and Ewing...
Fortunately, the Knicks have three more away games, and Jeff Van Gundy, who has begun to lose his hair, is relieved and finally gets rid of the difficult New York media.
On the night of the 19th, at 96:88, the Knicks defeated the Magic without Finney Hardaway. After the game, they flew to Charlotte and then lost back-to-back to the Hornets.
After losing the game, Larry Johnson returned to the locker room with an ugly face.
"Auntie" scored 4 out of 5 tonight and only scored 9 points...
"Damn the pace of the game, can we go any slower? Damn it, Fuck, I've had enough of this game!"
Larry Johnson kicked down the ice bucket, and Farke continued. The number of rounds in several consecutive games was 68. After venting his emotions, "Auntie" returned to his seat and glared at Charlie Ward.
The rookie was so frightened that he didn't dare to make a sound in his seat. He just played according to the coach's instructions.
Alan Houston took the initiative to take the blame at this time, and said loudly with a serious expression:
"It's my problem. I made too many mistakes and was beaten into counterattacks by the opponent."
New aid Chris Childs, who had returned from injury, did not dare to look at Larry Johnson when he heard about the turnovers. The player contributed 3 turnovers since his debut...
Charles Oakley said nothing, but looked straight at Larry Johnson with a sullen face.
After Li You entered the locker room, he didn't care about the tense atmosphere. He returned to his seat and said with a smile:
"Don't worry, Larry, I promise I will pass the ball to you more next time we play against the Hornets, but you have to convince the coaching staff to change the tactics first."
"It's so tiring to cut down trees! Don't get angry at your family!"
After hearing Li You's words, Larry Johnson stopped glaring at everyone and cursed a few words:
"Shet! I knew the rookie coach was unreliable!"
