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On the 30th, the Knicks defeated the Orlando Magic coached by the famous coach Chuck Daly 104 to 97 away.

Ewing played 38 minutes, scored 38 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists, and his statistics soared.

After "Shark" O'Neal left the Lakers, the Magic's inside line could only rely on "Cobra" Horace Grant to support them hard, changing from the strongest in the league to a short board. Ewing dominated the penalty area, cut to the basket several times after the screen, grabbed 7 offensive rebounds, and made 8 of 9 free throws.

On January 2, the Knicks beat the Nets 107-102 away.

Ewing scored another double-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.

Even if Van Horn is absent, the Nets lineup is not vegetarian. It was not until the end that the two sides decided the winner. Ward ran to catch the ball and made a key three-pointer.

The Knicks played back-to-back home games against the Magic and won easily.

On January 5, the Knicks lost their fifth game of the season to the Wizards at home.

The performance of the Knicks rookie was very unstable, and Jackson was completely blown away. In the future, Juwan Howard, one of the Rockets' "Second Elders", is now at his peak. He has comprehensive offensive skills, various scoring methods, and can play small forward. Jackson is not an opponent.

Ewing also failed to suppress Chris Webber, the data of the two exploded, and the healthy Webber was not inferior to Garnett and Duncan.

The biggest factor for the Wizards to win is the outside line. Point guard Rod Strickland beat Charlie Ward and scored 21 points and 11 assists.

This season, Strickland's statistics have reached the peak of his career, averaging 17.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 10.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Absolute star data, he is likely to become the assist leader this season.

Yang Rui was very impressed with this person. He is a rare person with outstanding strength and gorgeous style of play, but he has never been selected as an All-Star in his life. He is also the godfather of future Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving.

In his heyday, Strickland was one of the best point guards in the league and the most troublesome troublemaker. He drove drunk, beat up teammates in Washington, missed training for no reason, defied coaches in Portland, hung out at nightclubs and hit and run in Minnesota.

In short, it is also difficult to become a superstar if the character is too bad, unless he has the strength to rule the alliance or is full of gimmicks. Strickland was not yet that strong.

At the press conference, Van Gundy said he was not worried about the Knicks losing streak. On January 7, Larry Johnson announced his comeback, and the Knicks' strength increased greatly.

Stephen Jackson returned to being a fringe man again, Mickey Moore was even worse, and he lost his place in the 12-man roster. He is the worst performer among the rookies recruited by Yang Rui, and he will not have a chance to prove himself this season.

The Knicks defeated the Nets 99-88 at home. Johnson was in a mediocre state after his comeback and only scored 8 points.

The New York media commented that this is the Knicks warming up for the Bulls. On January 9th, the two Eastern Conference powers will face off, and the focus of the game will be broadcast live across the United States.

Many people regard the two teams as the favorite opponents in the Eastern Conference finals of the playoffs. Jordan often performed brilliantly at Madison Square Garden, which is a highlight.

During training in the morning, Yang Rui and Van Gundy sat on the sidelines and chatted.

He thought for a while, then smiled and said, "Jeff, when you boosted your morale today, can you be a little more generous and say that the Bulls are nothing special? We are now number one in the league and shouldn't be placed in the challenger position."

"Isn't this underestimating the enemy?" Van Gundy snorted.

"Tell them that the Bulls are vulnerable, do you think anyone will believe it? Just because they don't underestimate the enemy, they should be relieved. Too much pressure will affect the mentality of the players and affect their performance." Yang Rui said in a low voice.

Van Gundy didn't talk, feeling a little upset.

Why does this kid like to criticize everything? Doesn't Riley boost morale like this?

Riley's mind has actually been out of order. When this guy led the Lakers, he swept three rounds and advanced to the finals in 1989.

During the offseason, he engaged in devil training, injured the magician and Scott, and was finally swept by the Pistons in the finals.

Van Gundy learned from Riley, which is a test for the star, and the training intensity is not low. The stars under Riley and Van Gundy all have premature aging, which should have something to do with the devil's training.

The only counterexample is "Skyhook" Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who also played under Riley, but he stood still for many years, until he retired in 1989 at the age of 42. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is Bruce Lee's apprentice after all, maybe there is a mysterious power from the east to protect his body...

Van Gundy didn't want to listen to Yang Rui, and said coldly, "I know better than you how to boost morale. You don't need to teach me this little thing."

"It's just a suggestion, you can do whatever you want." Yang Rui complained in his heart: If you don't get rid of your stubbornness, you won't become a famous coach.

Yang Rui is indeed inexperienced, but he is more daring to try and innovate than Van Gundy. He has his own style, and Van Gundy is just continuing the old path of his predecessors.

If the Knicks have the best record, the best coach is awarded to Van Gundy, who does not seek merit, but seeks no faults, that would be too watery.

Thibodeau and Salman are accustomed to listening to the two chatting on the sidelines. In the coaching staff, in fact, only two people discuss tactics. They just "stand in line" to vote, and the proposal is almost never adopted.

If Van Gundy had the final say, it would be hell if Yang Rui didn't raise his voice.

Compared with the many contradictions of the Bulls, the differences between Yang Rui and Van Gundy of the Knicks are just pediatrics. Coach Phil Jackson and manager Jerry Krause have long been at odds, and the relationship between management personnel is so bad that they don't speak, which is really weird.

"Zen Master" Jackson has an agent. In order to squeeze him out in the summer, Klaus made it clear that he would not use a coach with an agent in the future. In the end, because Jordan was forced to renew Jackson's contract, he also said that even if he won 82 next season, Jackson would have to leave.

What's more troublesome is Pippen. There were rumors that the Bulls wanted to trade Pippen for the Nets' No. 2 pick Keith Van Horn; some people also broke the news that Pippen once scolded Jerry Krause on the plane.

It can be said that Jordan deserved his name when he won the championship in 1998. This year's Bulls starting lineup is much older than the so-called "old arms and old legs" Spurs in 2007, and the bench has no vitality. They have a good professional attitude and maintain a good state without major ups and downs.

Yang Rui watched the finals in 1998, and sometimes he thought, these guys are so old, they don’t run fast, they don’t have much vitality, there are positions on both sides, and they don’t even have quick offensive and defensive transitions, how can they reach the end?

This season, the questions that have plagued him for years will find answers.

Jordan is not a god, he is just a person.

It is an inevitable law of physics that the back waves of the Yangtze River push the front waves, and the front waves die on the beach. In particular, Yang Rui has seen Jordan of the Wizards, who missed the playoffs twice, and he firmly believes that his method will work.

What's more painful is that Van Gundy still regards the Bulls and Jazz as the truth.

P.S.

In the previous chapter, it was mentioned that Pippen was in the Rockets. It was a typo and has been revised. Let me explain here.

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