On January 21, 1997, at the United Center, DJ Ray Clay introduced the Knicks to the Bulls.
The melody familiar to Chicago fans began to sound. With the blessing of "Sirius", Li You also heard the classic line:
"Let's welcome the 6-foot-6 guard from the University of North Carolina—"
"Maikou-Jiao Dan!!"
The United Center erupted into the loudest cheers after the opening. Michael Jordan, wearing a red and white Bulls training uniform, ran out of the tunnel with a serious expression.
Classic BGM, huge cheers, four championship flags above the arena, and with various conditions, Li You also had a lemon on the Knicks side:
"I can only give 9 points for this X pretense!"
For new players, coming to Chicago to play can be regarded as meeting their idols. John Wallace kept looking at Michael Jordan from the sidelines.
If Ewing, Oakley, and Starks hadn't looked so serious, the newbie would have even wanted to get familiar with Jordan...
Li You, who was just a lemon, didn't have any fanatic pursuit of stars. In the final warm-up stage before the game, he completed the shooting warm-up step by step.
Meeting an old friend made Michael Jordan feel better. While he was warming up, he chatted with Oakley and Ewing, and all three of them had smiles on their faces.
Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines was furious when he realized that Michael Jordan didn't even have to look at him.
The vindictive Luo Dan has not forgotten the fact that Jeff Van Gundy called him a hypocritical bastard in last year's playoffs. There is no possibility of reconciliation between the two.
The Chicago fans at the scene were particularly enthusiastic. With 34 wins and 5 losses, the Bulls still lead the league.
Phil Jackson on the sidelines was not as serious as Jeff Van Gundy. When the players from both sides came to the center circle to prepare for the jump ball, he smiled and sat on the bench.
In this game, the Bulls' Ron Harper was sidelined due to injury, and backup point guard Randy Brown got the chance to start, partnering with Michael Jordan in the backcourt;
The forwards are Scottie Pippen and Jason Caffey, and the center is Luke Longley.
Rodman was suspended for 11 games for kicking a photographer in the crotch during the game against the Timberwolves and will not be able to play tonight...
For the Knicks, Li You started again tonight, and the Bulls' home commentator Jim Durham was joking at this time:
"It has been a long time since a rookie player challenged Michael. Lee doesn't know what he will face yet. Michael will completely destroy the Knicks!"
When Li You faced the media, he didn't have much explanation. Obviously, Michael Jordan, who was in a bad mood, was making excuses for himself and wanted to use tonight's game to vent his depressed emotions...
Before the jump ball, Michael Jordan, who was in a better mood, smiled and fist-bumped with everyone on the Knicks team. As Ewing succeeded in the jump ball, the United Center immediately erupted into defensive shouts:
"Defense! Defense! Defense!"
Li You controlled the ball and quickly made tactical gestures. Randy Brown did not choose to lead the defense.
The schedule is about to pass halfway, and players in the league also know that pressing defense is useless against Li You.
A simple low post tactic. Ewing received the ball in the low post on the left. Facing Longley's top defense, he released the ball with his right hand, leaned back and hit the paint area. He immediately turned towards the baseline, switched to his left hand after joining the ball, and completed the move smoothly. Pick a basket.
Under the interference, the ball hit the basket, and the United Center Arena immediately erupted in cheers.
Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines shouted for the players to retreat, but the Bulls were not in a hurry to complete the transition attack. Pippen slowly passed the half court after receiving the ball.
In the first offensive round, the Bulls played very simply. After Michael Jordan caught the ball at the left elbow of the free throw line, everyone opened up the offensive space.
The two inside big men stood near the baseline on the left and right, Pippen stayed at the top of the arc, and Li You followed Randy Brown on the right wing outside the three-point line.
Michael Jordan just maintained a triple-threat posture and quickly took a tentative step with his right foot. Alan Houston subconsciously took a small step back, and then saw Michael Jordan take a pull-up jumper.
"state!"
The basketball hit the back edge of the basket, and Oakley in the paint struggled to protect the backboard. Li You immediately went over to catch the ball, and then changed direction along the right side and continued to accelerate.
Everyone on the Bulls didn't care about Li You's rapid advance, because Michael Jordan was already in front of Li You.
The confident Michael Jordan did not choose to defend and press. Instead, he stopped on the right wing inside the three-point line, lowered his center of gravity, and watched Li You slow down.
"oh!!"
The fun-loving Chicago fans immediately started cheering. They really wanted to see the rookie defeated.
Li You, who was approaching the three-point line, only slowed down slightly and turned his head to look at the top of the arc. Then he leaned forward and suddenly sent the ball forward with his right hand.
Michael Jordan subconsciously moved forward, and Li You immediately lowered his center of gravity and pulled the ball with his left hand.
"OH—! ClayGod!"
Seeing Michael Jordan instantly lose his defensive position, home commentator Jim Durham subconsciously exclaimed.
Li You grabbed the ball with his left hand, took advantage of Jordan's defensive position, and went directly to the paint area. At this time, everyone on the Bulls had just retreated to the three-point line, and there was no one inside.
Michael Jordan, who reacted quickly, immediately chased after Li You. When he saw Li You sprinting in three strides in the paint area, he jumped up and quickly blocked the shot.
After the aerial confrontation, Li You was helpless to find that Michael Jordan made up for the previous loss of position by relying on the speed of the bullet. Finally, he grabbed the ball with his left hand, tilted his body, and reluctantly shot!
After deliberately adjusting the arc, the basketball just passed Michael Jordan's fingertips.
"squeak!!"
The buzzer sounded and the ball went in. The basketball knocked on the basket twice and finally fell into the basket.
"oh!!"
At the United Center, all the Chicago fans exclaimed, and then there was a burst of yelling. The beautiful goal even made many spectators cheer.
On the Knicks bench, the atmosphere team went crazy with joy. Everyone shook their towels wildly, stood and jumped around, hugged their teammates, and cheered and celebrated.
The "Sam God" style was extraordinary, and the provocative effect was explosive. After landing, Michael Jordan felt that he was being shown off...
Seeing Li You just calmly high-fiving his teammates and walking to the free throw line in celebration, the smile on Jordan's face after the game completely disappeared.
"Very good, a good passing move!"
Taking advantage of Li You's free throw, a sullen Michael Jordan tilted his head in praise beside the paint area. The surrounding Bulls players noticed the boss's mood change and their expressions became serious.
"It's a pity that you almost completed the block!"
Li Youjia made a free throw, responded with a chuckle, then shrugged his shoulders and turned around to retreat, without looking at Jordan's cannibalistic expression...
Naturally, the fans at the scene could not hear the conversation between the two, but when everyone saw this scene, they started to cheer loudly.
Everyone on the Knicks was in a good mood, and Charles Oakley was even grinning, but soon the game went wrong.
The first to suffer was Alan Houston, who was facing off against Jordan. Michael Jordan turned on his back-up mode, attacking from left to right. In addition to jump shots, he also began to attack the basket crazily...
On the defensive end, Randy Brown seemed to have been instructed not to skimp on physical fitness, and led the entire defense to pester Li You crazily.
The Knicks' offense was not affected too much. Li You made no mistakes, Ewing was in good form and frequently succeeded in the low post.
But Jeff Van Gundy found that the rhythm of the game was slipping towards the Bulls, and Michael Jordan even shot a three-pointer.
By the time the first quarter ended, Michael Jordan, who had played the entire first quarter, felt that he was still unsatisfied, and Alan Houston's eyes were already wide-eyed when he walked to the bench.
At 26:33, the Knicks had good offensive efficiency, but were still 7 points behind.
5 of 9 in a single quarter, 2 of 2 from beyond the three-point line, and 6 of 7 free throws. Michael Jordan's technical statistics in the first quarter were only 18 points...
Jeff Van Gundy was very satisfied with his performance in the first quarter. He squatted in front of his players and loudly encouraged:
"Hang in there, defend well, we played very well, be patient on both ends of the floor!"
Li You played the entire first quarter, scoring 2 of 3, 1 of 2 from beyond the three-point line, 1 of 1 free throw, and scored 6 points, 1 rebound, and 3 assists.
Ewing made 4 of 6 shots in the first quarter, efficiently scoring 8 points and 2 rebounds. Throughout the first quarter, the Knicks' offensive pace was slow, but they only made two mistakes, perfectly executing their pre-game game plan.
Strengthen the defense, try to make the Bulls' shooting percentage drop, and drag the game into the Knicks' rhythm.
Jeff Van Gundy had a good idea, but his plan couldn't keep up with the changes, and Michael Jordan started an unreasonable singles mode.
With the support of multiple Buffs, Braised Egg, who was in a bad mood, went crazy, roaring, sticking out his tongue, and pumping his fists in celebration.
The pace of the game was indeed slowed down, but Jordan's scoring pace was not slow. He made 3 of 6 in the second quarter and scored 9 points.
After entering the third quarter, he scored 5 of 7 and 2 of 2 from beyond the three-point line, scoring 12 points.
The turning point of the game was in the last quarter. Ewing's offense was out of power again. He made 1 of 6 in a single quarter and scored 2 points, but Jordan made 5 of 8 and scored another 12 points...
The Knicks never climbed out of the hole dug in the first quarter. 84:88, the Bulls suppressed the whole game and successfully won the game.
Michael Jordan played 44 minutes, 18 of 30, 5 of 8 from beyond the arc, 10 of 11, scoring 51 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 turnovers...
The United Center was already buzzing with excitement. Chicago fans were cheering for Jordan, who scored 51 points, a season high!
At this time, Jeff Van Gundy had a long face. He looked at Phil Jackson, who was hanging up with a relaxed smile on his face, and barely maintained his demeanor:
"Congratulations, 35 wins!"
Phil Jackson just shook hands, ignored Jeff Van Gundy, and turned away.
"Shet!!"
His ears were filled with the jeers of the Chicago fans. After returning to the locker room, Jeff Van Gundy cursed in anger. After seeing the depressed expressions of his players, he calmed down his emotions.
Li You listened to Van Gundy's thick chicken soup, but secretly cried out that it was a pity. Without Rodman, they had the advantage in rebounding tonight, but they were killed by a stewed egg shot...
That night, Michael Jordan, who scored the highest score in a single game this season, once again became the target of the media, and everyone followed suit!
Although the Knicks lost, Li You once again topped the list of the top 10 goals. ESPN's Sports Center program repeatedly played the beautiful 2+1 that passed Jordan.
...
On the morning of January 22, the Knicks flew to Indiana. Jeff Van Gundy did not allow players to hang out with Michael Jordan after the game. Oakley had a quarrel with the coaching staff at the hotel last night.
On the plane, Ewing also made a face, and the card game was cancelled.
"There is no need to blame yourself. The Bulls are waiting for work. I don't think anyone in the league can limit Jordan in 1-on-1 defense."
Li You whispered to comfort Alan Houston beside him. It was really uncomfortable to have his matchup completely destroyed.
Michael Jordan's style of play is very old-school, with few pick-and-rolls. No matter who is defending, it is the same style of play...
"We almost won the game. The team only made 8 turnovers. It is difficult for a game like this to happen. If we defended twice more, the result of the game might be completely different."
Alan Houston still thought it was a defensive problem. Li You didn't say anything. He felt that offense was more important in the game against the Old Man team.
The Bulls obviously lacked firepower and only scored 88 points in total. They frequently fell into position and gave the opponent a chance to breathe.
Played 34 minutes, made 6 of 13, 1 of 3 from beyond the arc, and 3 of 3 free throws. In last night's game, Li You followed the coaching staff's requirements and did not throw too many three-pointers, scoring the team's second-highest 16 points. .
Ewing made 10 of 23, 21 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks and 5 turnovers. The Gorillas also performed very well.
But losing to an old rival in this way was really heartless. Several veterans were not in high spirits. When they arrived in Indiana, they had no intention of engaging in off-court activities.
The loss to the Bulls also made the New York media furious. The next day the newspapers were all criticizing Jeff Van Gundy's tactics, and Ewing also took the blame.
The media who like to take advantage of the situation don’t care about the locker room atmosphere. The New York Post even wrote two articles:
""Patrick Ewing is not a qualified leader""
""Best Rookie - New York's Future""
These trouble-making newspapers put the photos of Ewing and Li You together. It turned out that this is a world where faces are judged, and some New York fans began to agree with some views...
On the morning of the 23rd, the NBA announced the voting results for the 1997 Cleveland All-Star Game:
Michael Jordan of the Bulls received 2.45 million votes and was successfully elected as the 1997 All-Star vote king.
At the same time, Michael Jordan also set a record and became the first player in NBA history to receive more than 2 million All-Star votes.
With 51 points and a record-breaking All-Star vote, all the self-study students from the past few days disappeared, and the situation of flattery reappeared again...
Charles Barkley received 1.87 million votes, ranking second, and Grant Hill ranked third with 1.86 million votes, continuing his previous high popularity.
Gorilla received 1.39 million votes and was undoubtedly elected as the starting center for the Eastern Conference All-Stars.
The All-Star starting lineup has also been officially announced. The five Eastern Conference All-Star starters are:
Michael Jordan, Anfernee Hardaway, Grant Hill, Scottie Pippen, Patrick Ewing;
Western Conference All-Star starting five:
Gary Payton, John Stockton, Charles Barkley, Shawn Kemp, Hakeem Olajuwon.
After the All-Star starting lineup was announced, the New York media once again collectively suffered from amnesia and started singing praises for Ewing.
In the newspaper of the day, in the sports section, Gorilla changed from a scapegoat to NBA 50 superstar Patrick Ewing...
Of course, as a little expert in arrogance, the New York media did not forget about Li You.
In the Eastern Conference guard voting rankings, Li You ranked behind Anfernee Hardaway with 580,000 votes, overwhelming other veteran guards.
The New York media began to build momentum for Li You to be selected as an All-Star, almost touting him as the number one point guard in the Eastern Conference!
In the game on the night of the 23rd, Reggie Miller of the Pacers went crazy for Lemon, and he and his teammates frantically chased Li You throughout the game.
There were many quarrels between the two teams, and Charles Oakley almost got tired of talking trash. In the 4th quarter, when the opponent broke through, he simply knocked Reggie Miller to the floor...
The fans in the front row of the Pacers saw Li You still smiling and applauding, and threw the drinks directly into the field.
"Shut that stinking mouth of yours, or you might end up with a brain!"
Charles Oakley kept shouting in the direction of the Pacers.
Reggie Miller got up from the floor and wanted to rush over and punch the old guy twice, but he was pushed back and staggered by Li You.
Although the referee kept pulling, the two sides finally struggled together...
When the coaching staff of both sides separated everyone, the angry referee turned around and ejected Li You, Charles Oakley, and Reggie Miller.
With only 500,000 votes, they were outnumbered by new players. The Pacers' record was only 19 wins and 20 losses. Reggie Miller, who was ejected, had a bad face and was in an extremely bad mood.
Li You walked towards the players' tunnel, not caring about the shouts and curses of the fans on both sides, and even had the mood to wave to the grumpy old man:
"Is this the Vanity Fair of the NBA..."
