basketball scientist

Chapter 382 Even if Jordan comes

Author: Fan Xian Xiao Xianxian

Chapter 382 Even if Jordan comes

On May 13, the G2 game between the Cavaliers and the Knicks continued at the Quicken Loans Center.

Compared with the first game, which more reflected the gap between Ke Yan and Mike Brown's coaching level, in the G2 game, the Knicks' disadvantage in strength was more obvious. Obviously, Mike Brown was fully prepared for the defeat in the first game.

homework.

The Cavaliers made changes and clearly showed strength in the game. In contrast, the Knicks were "powerless".

O'Neal, who performed well on the offensive end in the last game, was obviously out of shape in this game, and did not even force the Cavaliers to use the "shark-killing tactic";

The team's second leader, Kevin Love, also failed to stand up. If you want to say that his contribution is low, it doesn't matter. At least with Curry's offense, Love can form various combinations with Curry, but...

....That's all. Whether it's interior defense or personal offense, Love's performance is relatively mediocre. The double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds cannot reflect his powerlessness on the court.

Relying solely on outside offense will not be able to penetrate the Cavaliers' defense. After all, the defense led by James is the best defensive team in the league during the regular season. It is really not as good as many people think.

101:86, the Cavaliers won at home, and both James and Mike Brown saved some face.

Suffering from the poor performance of his teammates, Curry was taken care of by the Cavaliers on the offensive end. He shot an inefficient 10 of 23 shots and "only" scored 26 points.

The defeat in this game was expected by Ke Yan. For the Knicks, the G1 game was "all in one game" in order to gain "error tolerance" in the following games.

The Knicks' hard power, health, and home-and-away advantage are far behind the Cavaliers. The only two advantages are that the coaching level of Ke Yan is obviously better than Brown, and the second is that the referee's whistle is normal. Compared with previous seasons, there is no

Brainless knight.

After G2 ended, the two sides moved to Madison. As soon as he returned to New York, Ke Yan couldn't wait to contact the hospital to learn about Jordan's condition.

"It is expected that it will take another 5 to 7 days to recover." Experts who are paying close attention to Jordan's injury gave a reply.

This result means that Jordan will definitely miss the G3 game, and it is unknown whether he can catch up with the G4 game. This result is within Ke Yan's expectations, but it is not an ideal result.

Without DeAndre Jordan, the Knicks lack a strong barrier inside. James can go in and out of the Knicks' penalty area seven times without much trouble.

"Try to let DeAndre come back in the G4 game as long as it doesn't have a big impact on his future." Ke Yan gave the doctor an "instruction" and at the same time made the decision to "step back" and

"Counterattack" was postponed to G4.

Ever since, in the G3 game, Ke Yan almost "rotated" O'Neal, giving Jeffries and Alexander a lot of playing time, and even let Kevin Love swing to the fifth position at one point, assuming the forward position.

Firstly, it is to test the formation and try out the effect of having Love at the fifth position; secondly, it is to hope that O'Neal can recharge his batteries and perform better in the G4 game. As for this

A game, another one of "strategic giving up".

Of course, subjectively, Ke Yan doesn't have much expectations for this game; but to be fair, Curry, Holiday, and Gallinari's performance in this game is not bad. They are different from veterans like O'Neal in their "selective efforts"

, being able to take advantage of this opportunity to accumulate playoff experience is extremely valuable.

However, the strength gap between the two sides is visible to the naked eye. No matter how powerful Curry is, he is still a first-year rookie, and his teammates are also "old and young". It is difficult to compete with the Cavaliers who are aiming to compete for the championship.

The Knicks lost the game at 98:107, but the young people's efforts won applause from the fans.

Including the interview session after the game, Ke Yan also praised the performance of the young people, and even used a classic saying from later generations of James fans: "Looking back on the difficulties we faced at various stages of the season, it can be said that Jordan is here.

It’s hard to do better.”

The fake Jordan used his tricks to delay the Bobcats' rebuilding again and again; the real Jordan stood up when the Knicks were in dire straits.

Before the G4 game, Ke Yan obtained a permission order from the hospital. Jordan could come back in the G4 game without any restrictions on playing time. Ke Yan sacrificed two games in G2 and G3 to win the strongest victory for the team.

A chance for a last ditch effort.

In this game, he finally stopped holding back and directly put Jordan into the starting lineup, partnering with Curry, Holiday, Gallinari, and Love.

If Ke Yan wants to win by surprise and let Curry or Holiday take advantage of their speed to challenge Anthony Parker, he can directly use their speed to defeat him.

On defense, Holiday can handle well, and blocking Anthony Parker's outside output is not a big problem; if Parker sits and plays inside, Jordan will be waiting for him inside.

The Cavaliers have won two games in a row, so naturally nothing will change! The team's offense is still led by James, with Jamison and Mo Buchuan as "secondary attackers". Anthony Parker and O'Neal can still perform their duties well most of the time.

, bringing some "unexpected surprises" to the team from time to time.

In this game, the first person to bring "unexpected joy" to the team was DeAndre Jordan. Compared with Jeffries and O'Neal, DeAndre Jordan is an insider with a completely different style.

As a center who can be invited to participate in the slam dunk contest, Jordan's dynamic talents are almost full; at the same time, as a "newcomer" whose talents have just been developed by Ke Yan, his tactical execution is also excellent.

To put it bluntly, he does whatever Ke Yan asks him to do. However, such a positioning is also suitable for Jordan, who does not have enough brain capacity. Pick-and-roll, eating cakes, fighting for rebounds, and protecting the frame, everything Jordan does is very mechanical.

Even Jeffries did this in the last game, but the effect was different.

Especially on the defensive end, Jordan has the effect of "one pillar supporting the sky". His existence also proves that "James is afraid of big centers" is definitely not a fallacy. Whether it is his own or the opponent's, he can limit James.

.

In the first quarter, James only scored 5 points, and the Knicks led the Cavaliers by 5 points at 27:22.

But this is the greatest achievement that this "full Knicks" can achieve. Even if the games of G2 and G3 are sacrificed to prepare for G4, even if Jordan's comeback does improve the team's interior defense, it will not be able to achieve anything at all.

There is no way to close the strength gap between the Knicks and Cavaliers.

Reflected in the game, after the Cavaliers increased their defensive intensity, fans could see the "struggle" of the Knicks players on the offensive end. Holiday, Gallinari and even O'Neal were unable to do what they wanted on the offensive end, and the team's offense was almost

Completely dependent on Curry for initiation.

Obviously, Curry's immature shoulders are not enough to carry the entire Knicks' offensive banner. As the game progresses, fatigue, weakness, and difficulty fill Curry; the Cavaliers steadily control the situation of the game. Ke Yan

He tried changing his tactics many times, and even tried putting Love in the center position again, but still couldn't achieve good results.

In order to clean up the legacy left by predecessor Thomas, and to free up huge salary space in the summer, the Knicks' lineup structure is too unbalanced, with old players, young players, and almost no players in their prime. This is really...

Restrict the team's strength!

The Cavaliers itself is also a "last ditch effort" this season. If they lose James in the summer, they will have to rebuild. The lineup they have built is completely aimed at the performance of this season, and the intensity they can play is indeed far better than the Knicks.

Although the strength cannot match the opponent, fortunately, the fighting spirit of the young players is still there. Whether it is 5 points, 10 points, or 15 points behind, the team under Ke Yan has never given up on this game that may be Madison's "swan song" this season.

, the efforts of the players prevented the game from entering "garbage time", which can be regarded as comfort to all the fans...

At the 46th minute of the game, the Knicks trailed by 8 points, 98:106. The distance of 8 points should be a relatively safe distance in the 2 minutes of game time.

However, at this time, Love, who was labeled a "softie", stood up and used half of the eight three-pointers he made throughout the playoffs to help the Knicks regain a glimmer of hope!

Love scored 12 points in a row, helping the team equalize the score with 26 seconds left. The entire Madison went crazy again!

In the excitement, Ke Yan repeatedly cooled down the players, indicating that they must stay calm in the final defensive round of the game. Unexpectedly, there was still a problem with the team's defense.

James pretended to make a jump shot to light up Gallinari, then broke into the basket, used his super staying power to avoid Jordan's defense, and scored on the board!

Due to the superior overall strength of the team, James did not carry the team throughout the game and still had the physical strength to complete difficult attacks at the last moment.

This goal was scored and the Knicks had 10 seconds left to attack. Ke Yan originally wanted the team to start quickly and complete the attack while the Cavaliers were not on a stable footing, but Love misinterpreted Ke Yan's meaning, and Ke Yan had to call a timeout and rearrange the arrangement.

.

This timeout not only allowed him to adjust, but his opponents could also get a chance to breathe. Taking into account the physical conditions of both parties, Ke Yan directly arranged a tactic of Curry looking for opportunities to shoot three-pointers. He could score the best and directly change his passivity.

Take the initiative; if you can't score, commit a foul immediately, bet on the opponent's free throws, and leave it to fate.

Ke Yan's well-designed sideline ball tactics successfully helped Curry catch the ball. After receiving the ball, Curry quickly made space and shot resolutely. Unfortunately!

However, at this time, Jordan showed his own value. He grabbed the rebound from behind O'Neal with a one-for-two. After landing, he was about to make up for the dunk, but was directly grabbed by Varejao's shoulders and fell to the ground.

!

"Foul tactic!"

The choice of the Brazilian actor was very smart! It was absolutely the right decision to send Jordan to the free throw line! But he did not control the intensity of the foul well. This action of lateral hugging may be punished with a physical foul!

If Curry takes the technical foul first, Jordan only needs to make one of two free throws to send the game into overtime; if he makes both free throws, the Knicks will kill the game!

The fans at the scene made a huge noise to put pressure on the referee. Ke Yan also turned his back to the referee, closing his eyes and waiting for the final decision.

"Common foul!"

After repeatedly watching the video, the referee chose to give a lenient sentence! This almost made the Knicks "doomed".

Under pressure, Jordan missed the first free throw! The fans sighed, and Ke Yan immediately made a downward gesture to keep the fans quiet. He could also fight for the last chance of survival by grabbing rebounds!

However, this is just a beautiful fantasy. Jordan "deliberately" missed the second free throw, but O'Neal protected the key rebound and threw it to the frontcourt in time, running out the last time and helping the Cavaliers win.

The final victory, leading the Knicks with a big score of 3:1!

After the game, the entire Knicks "took the initiative to accept responsibility."

Ke Yan said at the press conference that he did not prepare a good defense against James, thinking that James would pass the ball.

Curry said, "The team no longer has the energy to play overtime and can only try to end the battle within 48 minutes."

Love, who was the hero at the last minute, also blamed himself for not standing up at the regular time during the interview.

All members took the blame, which prevented the media from focusing on DeAndre Jordan. Otherwise, the headline "DeAndre Jordan missed a key free throw, the Knicks lost by 2 points" would have made him scolded by New York fans to the point of being autistic.

!

After losing two home games in a row and falling behind 1:3, they were actually at a complete disadvantage. It can be said that if the Knicks want to make a comeback, they can only hope for a miracle!

(End of chapter)