The Pope of Basketball Community

"He is very rigid and inflexible in tactics. Once the game goes out of expectation, he will become at a loss." John Starks commented on Van Gundy in an interview. The two spent 8 seasons in the Knicks together Season, know the roots and know the bottom line.

Van Gundy is indeed such a person, with extremely poor on-the-spot adaptability. He replaced Ben Wallace after 6 minutes and replaced him with Houston to strengthen the offense. Big Ben played soy sauce for a few minutes on the court, which relieved the pressure on the Raptors' defensive end.

Bowen is responsible for defending Carter, Sprewell is a guest guard, and Johnson and Ewing continue to play.

The Knicks lineup is really strong in offense, and there are problems in defending pick-and-rolls. Ewing can't go out to the outside of the Raptors to catch the ball and shoot, defending against Carter and Tracy McGrady. s.

Willis is very selfless. Yang Rui arranged for him to be a blue-collar worker, so he defended honestly and arranged for him to attack. He could really score. He averaged 16 points in 31 minutes per game for the Rockets last season, and his 51% shooting percentage was not enough. Low.

The Raptors led 5o to 35 at halftime.

In the second half, Van Gundy found that Ewing lacked physical strength and asked him to rest.

The Raptors began to double-team the outside star, cutting Ben Wallace in the penalty area and sending him to free throws. Big Ben made 1 of 6 shots and went undercover again.

In Yang Rui's previous life, Daben's free throws were the worst in the league. He never averaged 50% of his free throws in any season, and the most outrageous 27.3% in the playoffs. Even last season, Omoto only allowed one game, and his overall shooting percentage in the playoffs was 44.6%.

Van Gundy entered the "bewildered" mode, hurriedly replaced Ben, and arranged an alternative small ball tactic.

He paired Oakley and Johnson inside, with Oakley pulling out to screen and create space on the perimeter, allowing Sprewell to go low and single.

"Madman" has a terrifying first step, facing the frame to attack, and it is difficult for the inside line to keep up with him after the pick-and-roll. This style of play is very similar to the two outside cores of the Raptors. Yang Rui asked Christie to defend, and Sprewell went to the low post to show his back. He turned around and shot near the penalty area or made a strong layup, scoring 12 points in a single quarter.

The Raptors' offense was not bad either. Jr. O'Neal and Carter made an air cut after a pick-and-roll in the middle, received the ball close to the basket, used their height advantage to hit Johnson, and scored consecutively.

Against big, muscular insiders, Jermaine O'Neal is often soft, and against Johnson, Jermaine O'Neal has all his strengths. He is tall and has long arms, and his shooting touch is soft. People under 205cm in height cannot block him.

In the final quarter, the Knicks couldn't stand it anymore.

After the two point guards, Ward and Childs, entered the playoffs, their shooting percentages were 35.6% and 36.4% respectively. They were stable without scoring and their organizational skills were average. Today, the Raptors played inside and handed over to Willis and O'Neal to attack the basket. The two guards didn't have much effect on the defensive end.

As a result, Van Gundy reduced their playing time and believed in the words "substitutes are not enough". Stephen Jackson's playing time is also shorter, and Van Gundy reuses defense desperately, single-handedly defending the excellent Bowen.

In the last 5 minutes, the team fell behind and the four stars were already tired. Bowen played soy sauce on the offensive end, and the Knicks' offensive efficiency dropped sharply.

Ewing scored only two points on 1 of 6 shots in the final quarter, no free throws, poor shooting feel, and misplacement did not show an advantage. Van Gundy still doesn't let him rest, even if the substitution is Johnson, he will be replaced by Oakley.

Johnson played even worse. He played 6 minutes in the final quarter, made two turnovers, missed two shots, and the only statistic was grabbing a backcourt rebound.

Many people know that Johnson is strong, but his strength is in his upper body. Facing Carter, he has little advantage when breaking through, and he can only use it when fighting.

The Knicks have no low-post attack problem, the touch is gone, and no amount of experience in the playoffs is useless.

The Raptors relied on McGrady, Willis, and O'Neal to widen the point difference. In the end, they won 104 to 77 by 27 points and tied the total score at 3-3.

The four Knicks scored in double figures, and their shooting percentages were not high. Houston scored the most with 17 points and 2 assists.

On the side of the Raptors, veteran insider Willis exploded again, scoring a double-double of 18 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. Jermaine O'Neal also had 18 points and 6 rebounds.

Outside McGrady scored 20 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists. Carter and Billups scored 13 points and 15 points respectively.

The Raptors not only won the game, but the players also showed their confidence, and the Knicks were suppressed throughout the game.

Back in the locker room, Yang Rui said to the players who were going to participate in the press conference: "We won a big victory this time, and we will definitely win the next game. When interviewed, we said that we must win the tie-break. We must have this kind of confidence."

At this point, there is no need to decompress. No one will be willing to lose in the tiebreaker. Saying that it doesn't matter if you lose is self-deception.

Since there is no way out, what are you afraid of if you say a few crazy words?

Doing so can also improve the morale of the Raptors, because Van Gundy will never speak crazy words. If one thing is not sure, Van Gundy will not say it. This is the difference between him and Yang Rui.

At the press conference, the two teams showed two extremes. No one from the Knicks said they would win, and they seemed to have no confidence.

Van Gundy just found the reason for the loss, saying that the team lost its defense.

The reporter asked: "Jerry Yang said before that he found the weakness of the Knicks. This game really won a big victory. Will you make adjustments to the lineup in the next game?"

"Secretary, the players are just not in good shape, and they will get back to the feeling next game." Van Gundy replied.

In fact, he has exposed his guilty conscience and hopes that the players' condition will recover, rather than changing the style of play, let alone reusing the bench to fight the Raptors, and rationally allocate the veteran's playing time. The energetic Atkins and Jackson are destined to be abandoned.

Yang Rui was interviewed and said relaxedly: "We will definitely win in the next game. The reason has been mentioned before. I found the weakness of the Knicks. There is a big gap between them and the substitutes. Time counts. And the Raptors have more players, and everyone can make a difference."

The reporter asked: "What do you think is the key to the Raptors' victory?"

"Free throws are accurate, maybe this is it? Anyway, as long as Ben Wallace plays, I will definitely arrange someone to cut him. Others want to break through to the basket for a layup. I will also tell the players to make bold fouls, so that their free throws will be reduced. Offensive efficiency."

Yang Rui continued to set off "smoke bombs", and what he said was false and true, half true and half false.

It's true that Ben Wallace was cut, because this guy is so bad at free throws that he doesn't cut it for nothing. It is false to say that allowing others to make free throws reduces offensive efficiency. This is to make Knicks players less decisive when attacking the basket.

The Raptors are on the offensive lineup, they are poor at defending the restricted area, and they are good at defending against breakthroughs and outside shots. If Ewing, Johnson, and Oakley keep hitting the basket, the Raptors will feel uncomfortable, even if the Knicks' overall free throw percentage in the playoffs Only 71%.

He reiterated what he said last time, Van Gundy would be more hesitant to use the substitutes, and he would be more demanding on the performance of the substitutes. The veteran only has one day to rest, and his physical strength cannot be recovered.

In the next game, Yang Rui firmly believed that the Raptors would win. 8