In the ninth game of the regular season for the New York Knicks, they headed to Philadelphia to challenge the 76ers away from home.
One is a super strong team that just defeated the Lakers and won 8 consecutive games, and the other is a team that just lost to a weak team and has 4 wins and 4 losses this season. No matter how you look at it, the Knicks have a great chance of winning.
Before the game officially started, outside predictions about the outcome of the game were also biased towards the Knicks. Many people believe that the Knicks will win Game 9.
In the early evening, the Knicks entered the locker room to prepare.
The team atmosphere is very good, and there is an atmosphere of pride from top to bottom. Even Zhao Feiyang had some thoughts of relaxing after the team achieved such a good record.
"Guys, we are No. 1 in the Eastern Conference now! It's not a problem to kill the 76ers in our current state..."
"That's right! We have a high probability of winning the championship this season! Everyone outside thinks so... It seems we have to plan in advance how to spend our bonuses..."
"This feels really good! Let's relax after we win tonight!"
The players chatted away.
The most excited one is Dwight Howard.
At the end of his career, he not only successfully won a championship, but now he has the opportunity to win a second one. By then, he will not only get honors, but also get more money!
No matter how you look at it, signing with the Knicks is an extremely cost-effective deal.
In stark contrast to Howard is DeMarcus Cousins.
Cousins has become silent since the end of the previous game, and communicates with his teammates less and less. Even when his teammates take the initiative to ask him, his attitude is a bit indifferent.
For this subtle change, the teammates who were in a state of excitement did not notice it. Even the always sensitive head coach Norman Thomas was not aware of this problem.
Beep.
The match between the two sides started soon.
After the timer sounded, Coach Thomas quickly sent in the starting lineup.
After the last game, Porzingis had a minor issue with his ankle. He accidentally twisted the ball while blocking an opponent's player. Although the problem was not serious, Coach Thomas sent the team doctor to check it immediately after learning the news.
The results of the examination were reassuring and there was no major problem with Porzingis' ankle.
However, considering that the team is going to compete for the championship this season, and the physical health of the players will undoubtedly become the biggest obstacle to winning the championship in the playoffs, Coach Thomas decided to let Porzingis take a truce and take advantage of these few days. Time for his ankles to relax and relax.
With Porzingis absent, someone else needs to take his place at the center position. Both Howard and Cousins are undoubtedly suitable choices.
In order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the second team, coach Thomas decided to let Cousins replace Porzingis.
After the Knicks' starting lineup came on the court, the 76ers also quickly sent out their starting lineup.
If it were in the past, the team would have given the No. 1 position to Ben Simmons, the No. 2 position to JJ Redick, the No. 3 position to Jimmy Butler, and the No. 4 position to Tobias Harris. , the fifth position belongs exclusively to Joel Embiid.
But I don’t know what happened today. Before the game, Embiid and Simmons went to head coach Brett Brown to chat for a while. Afterwards, when choosing the starting lineup, coach Brown did not let Butler serve as the starting three position. Instead, he was put on the bench and Robert Covington replaced him.
Butler, who lost his starting position, did not go to the head coach to argue. He just sat on the team bench and remained silent for a while.
Snapped.
When the game started, the referee threw the ball up. Embiid reacted faster than Jordan, jumped up and slapped the ball into the hands of his teammate Redick.
Redick immediately handed the ball to Simmons, and Simmons advanced towards the half court with the ball.
He soon encountered Zhao Feiyang's guard.
Perhaps it's because Zhao Feiyang's reputation is so great that Simmons wants to play against Zhao Feiyang. Therefore, even if his wing teammates tried to catch the ball in the running position, Simmons did not pass the ball.
One on one.
Facing Zhao Feiyang's interference, Simmons held the ball in singles.
It has to be said that Simmons' height of 2.08 meters does have certain advantages when playing point guard. But similarly, being too tall will also make his center of gravity higher, which will of course be reflected in dribbling.
Snapped.
As soon as Simmons completed a change of direction, Zhao Feiyang saw the right opportunity and slapped away his dribble. Amidst the exclamations of countless 76ers fans at the scene, the basketball fell out, and Simmons was also horrified. When he wanted to pounce on it, Zhao Feiyang, who was faster and more agile, had already seized the ball first.
Quick attack counterattack.
Zhao Feiyang took the ball across the half court, and Simmons was chasing after him. It seemed that he was going to chase Zhao Feiyang and retaliate.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Feiyang did not give him such a chance.
When he was approaching the basket, Zhao Feiyang deliberately pushed him away with his body and threw the ball underhand with one arm. Bang, the basketball board fell steadily into the basket.
Just a simple confrontation between the two sides made Simmons feel the power of Zhao Feiyang!
Butler, who was sitting on the bench, shook his head in dissatisfaction when he saw the goal scored.
"God! What is this guy doing?"
"His advantage is his physical fitness... Why should he dribble in front of a defender who is a head shorter than him? Are his basic skills very good?"
It was the 76ers' turn to serve.
Simmons once again brought the ball across the half court, but he was much more cautious than before and did not choose to open up a singles stance with Zhao Feiyang.
After getting the ball, he directly pushed Zhao Feiyang away with his body this time and entered the two zones. Unfortunately, as soon as he entered, Adrian from the wing position came up to fill in.
Simmons had no choice but to pass the ball to Embiid, who was standing on the left side of the basket.
After getting the ball, Embiid tried to hit Cousins's defender, but he hit it twice and found that Cousins had no reaction.
Snapped.
Embiid decisively threw the ball to Redick outside the three-point line.
Even before Redick received the ball, he found that Embiid had already run to the three-point line in the left corner and waved to him for the ball.
Redick had to pass the ball again.
Cousins, who was guarding him, was also surprised by this situation.
Cousins had heard that Embiid loved to shoot from outside the three-point line, but he didn't expect that this guy was even more exaggerated than he imagined!
After hesitation, Cousins did not rush to cover up the defense. Embiid received the basketball and threw a three-pointer without interference.
boom.
The basketball bounced out of the basket.
It seems that Embiid's touch is not very good!
Cousins, who was standing under the basket without going out to defend, happened to hit the rebound that bounced out. He didn't even jump up, and the basketball happened to fall into his hands.
