On April 26, 1998, that night, G2 between the Nets and the Knicks turned into a crushing game.
After the end of G1, head coach Calipari was still praying that the main point guard could return to the series.
But as the team doctor confirmed that Cassel had a calf muscle strain, the coaching staff felt cold. The absence of the champion point guard had a huge impact on the Nets.
Cassell can not only sort out the offense, but also help the Nets score a response with his post-up mid-range jump shot on the offensive end.
"Defense! Defense! Defense!"
The game entered the third quarter, and at Madison Square Garden Arena, the defensive shouts became louder and louder.
Since the Nets trailed by 18 points at 36:54 at halftime, the Knicks also relaxed a little in the third quarter and allowed the opponent to score consecutively.
Small guard Sherman Douglas got a chance to start tonight. During his time on the court, his performance was average.
It's just that with a height of 183cm, when facing Li You, he was a little weak in certain rounds.
This time, after passing half the court, Ben Douglas wanted to rely on his low center of gravity and explosive power to get rid of the defense. However, after two sudden stops and quick starts, Li You was still beside him.
The 30-year-old "veteran" felt really old at this moment, but Li You was not polite. While covering the opponent, he quickly started to cut the ball.
Unable to get rid of the defense, Douglas could only protect the ball on the left wing with his back, and did not dare to cross the ball easily. He had been intercepted twice.
Li You's successful defense made the fans cheer again. As the defensive intensity continued to increase, the Nets became a little misfired again.
Jason Williams, who started tonight, quickly stepped forward to cover the pick-and-roll, and Knicks veteran Buck Williams immediately followed up.
The quality of the pick-and-roll on the left wing was average, and Li You helped him squeeze past him. Coupled with Buck Williams' block, Douglas was surrounded by the two before he could release the ball.
Jason Williams, who followed the pass, did not receive the pass. Under the siege, Douglas could only throw the ball to Kidders who connected outside the three-point line.
After more than half of the attack time, the Nets were forced to reorganize. Van Horn quickly raised the screen. At the top of the arc, Kidders got rid of Alan Houston's defense. Faced with Oakley who chose to retreat, he quickly scored two points. Jump shot!
"state!"
The basketball hit the basket and bounced straight into Oakley's hands near the free throw line. The old guy turned around and immediately threw the ball to Li You on the right wing.
Everyone in the Knicks team began to speed up and quickly rushed towards the opponent's half. Li You quickly rushed through the center line against Douglas's defense.
The Nets completed the defensive matchup in time and there was no chance for a fast break. Oakley immediately came to the three-point line on the left wing and set a high screen for Li You.
There is no need for high quality cover. While the old guy is standing still, Li You, who holds the ball in his right hand, first lowers his center of gravity, pretends to break through and then quickly changes direction in front of his body.
"oh!"
Douglas made a wrong defensive prediction and was shaken to the left, instantly losing his defensive position.
Van Horn hurriedly came up, saw Li You suddenly sending the ball forward with his left hand, and subconsciously jumped up to defend.
In the blink of an eye, Van Horn saw Li You pulling the ball with his right hand, and it was too late to adjust his body's center of gravity. He watched Li You change his back and drive straight into the paint.
In the semi-transition offense, after Li You passed two people, veteran Buck Williams was still stuck with Jason Williams in the paint area.
Before the Nets' interior defense could react, Li You, holding the ball in his right hand, easily broke through to the basket.
Avoiding the two people stuck in the lower right corner of the basket, after taking three long steps to rush forward, Li You twisted his body to the lower left corner of the basket, grabbed the ball with one hand with his right hand, and turned around to pick up the basket!
The New York fans at the scene were cheering loudly, and commentator Mike Breen also raised his volume:
"Claygod!"
"Lee's signature move, this attack is really exciting!"
At 52:70, with 3 minutes and 50 seconds left in the third quarter, the point difference returned to 18 points.
The Nets immediately let out a sigh of relief, chasing a 12-point deficit, and within a few minutes, lost it again.
After struggling like this, frustration began to fill my heart.
Li You still looked calm. The huge point difference meant that he only needed to respond to the ball and not make mistakes.
Fighting in individual rounds will not change the Knicks' offensive strategy.
Speeding up the offensive tempo again, Douglas spent half the court, and before reaching the top of the arc, he immediately bounced the ball to Kendall Gill on the left wing.
The latter caught the ball, put the ball in his right hand and crossed to break through. Kendall Gill switched to his left hand and passed Larry Johnson, trying to complete the breakthrough by relying on defense.
Although he lost his defensive position for a moment, after coming to the basket for an aerial confrontation, Larry Johnson once again gave a physical confrontation.
The layup that was close at hand missed the basket. After landing, Kendall Gill clapped his hands in annoyance, and the Knicks charged again.
After "Auntie" collected the rebound, she accelerated with the ball and rushed through the half court immediately. Coach Calipari on the sidelines shouted loudly to remind his players to retreat.
Once again showing defensive toughness, the Nets stopped the Knicks in transition.
Without a chance, Larry Johnson immediately gave the ball to Li You on the left wing. Noticing the tactical gesture, "Auntie" immediately quickened his pace and cut in diagonally.
As soon as Larry Johnson ran to the left blocking area, Li You sent a semi-lob pass.
Given the advance, Larry Johnson, who pretended to be asking for the ball with his back, twisted around and caught Kendall Gil, who was retreating, behind him.
After receiving the ball, he jumped and pushed away the defense. Larry Johnson came to the lower left side of the basket and easily put the basket up!
Coach Calipari on the sidelines saw the Knicks scoring so easily, and asked for a timeout again with an ugly face.
"We were in complete control of the game tonight! Cassel's injury really had a huge impact on the Nets."
In the commentary box, Walter Frazier made another strong call, automatically ignoring the Knicks' relaxing moment in the third quarter.
About to get the match point, commentator Mike Breen was also in a good mood and began to think about the future:
"The Hornets won G1, which is also good news for us."
"Of course the series is not over yet. With the Knicks' current state, they are not afraid of any opponent!"
On the Knicks bench, the atmosphere team was eagerly waiting for the other team to make a substitution. With a score difference of 20 points, there was no suspense in the game. Everyone wanted to play early.
Jeff Van Gundy, who had been hanging up, was in a very comfortable mood. Even when the Nets were chasing points, he did not request a timeout.
The bet turned out to be right again. Under the leadership of Li You, the whole team strengthened their defense, and then the game returned to a familiar rhythm.
"Don't relax, don't give the opponent any chance! We are going to get the match point tonight."
"Keep guarding the basket and we have to control the rebounds."
Jeff Van Gundy sat in front of everyone, holding the tactical board and said a few words briefly. The bald young coach also knew that his opponent would speed up. There was no need to say too much at this time, everyone knew what to do.
Li You simply replenished his fluids and nodded secretly after hearing the words of the bald young commander. This man had completely adapted to the idle mode and did not mention attacking at all.
In the final minutes of the third quarter, the Nets were forced to speed up again and also strengthened some defense.
But the Knicks made a fool of themselves, the two teams rushed wildly, and the third quarter ended quickly.
At 60:82, the Knicks seemed to relax, but scored 28 points in a single quarter.
Coach Calipari on the sidelines knew that the game was completely hopeless. Once he followed his opponent and ran around, the Knicks would score points.
In the fourth quarter of the game, the Nets did not make any early substitutions. They took the atmosphere team too early in the last game, and the New Jersey media went crazy. The main lineup has to continue to play tonight.
In the first round of the fourth quarter, Alan Houston actively ran, got rid of the defense, and hit a three-pointer from the right wing.
The Nets' Jason Williams missed a strong attack under the basket and made a semi-conversion attack. Li You simply signaled his teammates to pull away. Alan Houston received the ball in the left block and played a post-up single, causing Kidders's thug to foul.
On the bench, Ewing had mixed emotions. He personally called Alan Houston to recruit him!
The little brother who was assisting him ran away with someone. The gorilla has noticed the changes in the Knicks. He is no longer the core of the tactics.
The game lasted 5 minutes and 46 seconds in the fourth quarter, and the point difference remained unchanged. The Nets no longer persisted, actively requested a timeout, and won the atmosphere group.
Subsequently, Jeff Van Gundy also took advantage of Li You's free throw and began to rotate the lineup, and the game officially entered garbage time.
Seeing Li You walking towards the bench, the New York fans at the scene cheered again. Commentator Mike Breen took a look at the technical statistics and said happily:
"23 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals and 2 turnovers. The Nets' targeted defense did not have much impact on Li."
"The Knicks will challenge the Nets away from home in the next game. The boys have two days to rest. I hope we won't give our opponents too many chances!"
The competition in the playoffs is often about physical fitness. Naturally, the less consumption, the better. Walter Frazier, who was in a good mood, also added:
"As we reach the playoffs, it becomes more and more important that Lee scored 40+10 to win the Bulls in the last game of the regular season."
"The advantages in the playoffs are accumulated since the regular season. Getting an easy schedule will allow us to prepare for subsequent games calmly!"
Playing 33 minutes, he made 8 of 17 shots, 3 of 7 from beyond the arc, and 4 of 4 free throws. Most of the scoring was concentrated in the first half. Li You scored a double-double tonight "unremarkably."
Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines smiled and patted Li You on the shoulder, and the New York fans at the scene also began to celebrate the victory of the series.
After getting the match point, everyone couldn't wait to see the semi-finals.
"As much as I would love to go to Miami and play on the road, it would be nice to meet the Hornets in the semifinals."
On the bench, after changing into training clothes, Larry Johnson started bragging that he was going to beat up his old club.
Li You has been busy practicing these two days and has no time to watch the game. In addition, there are not many changes in the teams during the offseason. In this year's playoffs, he only pays attention to his opponents:
"It's the same for every team, the Heat also have injuries."
Mourning missed 26 games, but the Kidney Warrior returned in good form.
Li You's words gave everyone a psychological comfort. Compared with the Hornets, the Heat are indeed more difficult to deal with!
The game time ran out quickly, and at 86:106, the Knicks easily got the match point, and the series score reached 2:0.
After the loss, everyone in the Nets team was a little frustrated. Although there were two home games behind them, they lost two consecutive games by a large margin, which already illustrates the strength gap between the two sides.
After the game, head coach Calipari and Jeff Van Gundy shook hands briefly in front of the technical stage:
"The Knicks are definitely the better team."
Hearing the compliment, the bald young marshal felt more and more proud, but on the surface he smiled and comforted him.
After getting the match point, the coaching staff also has to consider the opponents in the next round!
The inflated New York media automatically eliminated the Nets after the game, opening a new round of loan deals.
G3 will start on the 29th, and the Knicks have another two days of rest.
On the morning of the 27th, Li You looked at the newspaper in his hand and noticed that the Eagles had lost again.
Allen Henderson just won the Most Improved Player Award, but like Mutombo, he lost on the day he won the award.
Wilkens, the coach of Qiansheng, was at a disadvantage when he met rookie coach Larry Bird. This caused many media to follow the trend and praise "Big Bird".
Seeing these columnists praising Larry Bird, Li You curled his lips. NBA coaches are important, but players are more important. Building a suitable system around star players is the secret to winning.
Mark Bartelstein sent Li You a lot of resumes early in the morning:
"This is what I have screened. It is not an easy task to gain muscle. You may also need some medication."
"However, it is used to break the physical bottleneck. You should not need it yet."
Li You was not in a hurry to read his resume. After learning that the labor agreement was no different from what he remembered, he started preparing for the long offseason:
"I'm not interested in relying on drugs now. That's something only old guys should consider."
Saying no to drugs, Li You doesn't know the current level of sports science development. He just wants to deeply explore his talent.
Mark Bartelstein nodded happily. In his opinion, maintaining 20+10 is enough. With this data, he can ask the Knicks for a big contract!
After the regular season, Li Youcai noticed that [Ray Allen's excellent explosive power] had disappeared on the talent panel.
This is the same as when I was a child, indicating that my body has completely digested the talent.
Although it is a pity that this talent was only adapted to the silver stage, overall, Li You is still very satisfied, at least his explosive power has indeed been improved.
On April 29, after two days of simple rest, the G3 game between the Knicks and Nets officially started that night.
The attention of this game is very low, and most fans will choose to watch the Jazz and Rockets game.
Compared to the Knicks' easy schedule, the Jazz encountered difficulties in the first round.
Jeff Van Gundy didn't pay attention to these either, and loudly reminded the players to stay focused after the start.
As the game progressed, the bald young coach finally slowly walked back to the bench with a smile.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was fixed at 35:23, and the Knicks had a double-digit lead.
Before coming on as a substitute in the second quarter, Starks said confidently:
"This is the easiest first round game I have ever played. We will advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals tonight!"
Starks in the downwind game is indeed worthy of trust. The atmosphere team is ready to wave the towel. Li You, who is sitting on the bench, smiles and fist bumps with the opponent:
"Come on, Bro! Try to end the suspense in half the game!"
Thank you book friends for your subscription support￣﹁￣
There is still time at 22:00 in the evening, so I won’t write more about the first round~
(End of chapter)
