The rest is just noise

Louis asked Wilson to use his brain, aiming to help him find teammates.

Wilson is no longer alone in his problem. His entire style of play is just like Han Xiannu's "Not Delivered". Although he works hard to sensationalize, it ultimately reveals that the entertainment industry has long been separated from the public and does not understand the nature of the suffering of all living beings⑴

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For Wilson, it's not that he's separated from his teammates, he just isn't the same team he used to be.

He often chooses not to pass some balls that should be passed;

Some balls he could pass before, he definitely can't pass now;

His teammates no longer expect him to pass some balls that may or may not be passed.

However, these problems can only be seen through the details, and there has been no change in the data.

Wilson still averaged nearly 7 assists per game in the Finals, higher than Jordan and only lower than Stockton.

If you say he is selfish, he will definitely not agree.

But some changes cannot be reflected in the data.

Just like Kobe in 2008 only averaged 2 fewer shots per game than Kobe in 2007, but everyone said that Kobe became a team player and was willing to trust his teammates, but this change cannot be proven statistically.

Wilson's changes are exactly the same.

If the Knicks are considered a car, Wilson is the engine that provides extra fuel. If he chooses to isolate himself, it will have an impact on the entire team's play style.

Louis indulged him for five games, and now in this battle of kings, which is about who will win the match point, both teams want to win.

If this continues, even if Ewing can really enlighten and wake up Wilson, will Wilson be able to adjust himself?

So he had to set some restrictions for Wilson, but he still maintained determination and confidence in the entire plan.

Wilson began to take the initiative to pass the ball, which shows that Louis still has the same status in his heart.

He is still obedient.

This made Louis slightly relieved, but Wilson's pass was more like a move for communication.

His teammates got the ball, and the Knicks' offensive points became scattered, but the effect was not what Louis wanted to see.

On the other hand, the Trail Blazers took advantage of the trouble brought by the Knicks and began to passively improve the chemical reaction within the team.

Jordan gave up the ball, allowing this team's offensive and defensive intensity to reach its highest level since the 1980s.

When the Knicks couldn't compete with the Trail Blazers on offense, Louis wanted to use the strongest defense to limit them.

So Wilson, Stevens, Rodman, Kemp, and Ewing, players at four defensive levels, a legacy that will be mentioned frequently because they were not selected for the defense in the future, formed the greatest team in basketball history.

Strong defensive lineup.

But what awaits the Knicks is not a battle between offense and defense, but "the truth."

In other words, that is the truth in Louis' eyes.

The five players in the Knicks can almost be regarded as the best defensive players in each position. The only one who can be changed is Stevens. If he can be replaced by Jordan, it will be a sure win, but it is a pity that he cannot be replaced.

But even Stevens is not a laggard in this lineup.

This lineup combines strength, stiffness, height and flexibility.

Single defense, assist defense, switching defense, double-teaming, blocking three-pointers, locking inside, no matter what kind of defense Louis wants, they can do it.

But the Blazers' offense has exceeded the limit that basketball logic can explain.

Jordan and Barkley are both invincible one-on-one.

Last year, it was thanks to the individual play of these two that the Trail Blazers were able to reach the finals until the last ball of Game 7.

Being invincible means being unreasonable.

What's more, the Blazers have two, and they can overwhelm all teams except the Knicks in an unreasonable way.

But the strength of the Knicks makes them understand that when they go out, they have to be reasonable.

In order to turn them into a "reasonable" team, Riley also spent a season, and it was not fully formed until the fifth game of the finals.

This moment doesn't come too late, at least the Knicks can have a bloody battle with a super team that has surpassed the peak Green Kai.

Thomas found his three-point touch in the second half, Nance continued to come off the bench, and Clifford Robinson provided value in all aspects, and he and Sabonis became the only pair in the league who can protect the rim and can reach the outside to shoot three-pointers.

Inside combination.

Sabonis's high position support has become arbitrary. His body is an excellent tool for hand-to-hand coverage in the high position. His height provides excellent vision, coupled with dexterous hands and amazing golf intelligence, he played many times tonight

Throw an amazing pass.

Jordan three-pointer, Thomas three-pointer, Robinson three-pointer, Barkley three-pointer, Sabonis three-pointer

This was one of the biggest butterfly effects caused by Louis. He pushed the three-pointer away two generations earlier.

Because you can't beat the Knicks without three-pointers.

The Trail Blazers are determined to end the Knicks dynasty, and three-pointers are a skill that must be mastered. Now even Thomas has practiced three-pointers from the top of the arc. Barkley already has a three-pointer that sometimes works well and sometimes doesn't work. Sabonis has done it in Europe.

Known for his broad shooting range, and Robinson, a rare athletic power forward with the ability to shoot three-pointers in modern times.

The Trail Blazers were in 1993 and playing in 2022.

This is a span of nearly 30 years.

Compared with the 2022 team, they do not have the help of three-second defense, body hair whistle, NO Hand-g and other rules, but they have played a magnificent offense with rare talent and unparalleled chemical reaction.

That's the "truth" in Louis' eyes.

Before the 1980s, what the NBA did was to make offense difficult.

This allowed Chamberlain, Mr. BUG in the 1960s, to dare to say that the league introduced rules to restrict him. This trend of restricting offense gradually reached its peak after the restoration of hand-g defense in the early 1970s.

Later, because Louis brought the pocket formation to the league, the NBA entered the era of pseudo-zone defense 10 years early.

Then it's a long road to restrictions.

The first is to narrow the use area of ​​​​Hand-g from the entire court to outside the backcourt and outside the midfield. It is very likely that in a few years, NBA teams will only be able to use Hand-g in the frontcourt.

The second is to add a third referee, which greatly reduces the space for players to use small movements on the court.

Then came the introduction of flagrant fouls, which was very bad news for some teams that didn't learn enough from the Knicks.

The Knicks brought the NBA into the era of national defense.

But this era itself is not conducive to the league's promotion of the game. If the team that has dominated the league for a long time was not the Knicks, maybe the NBA office would have turned into a designer to revise the version.

Defense can only focus on the present, offensive basketball belongs to the future.

This may be what Riley wants to do with the Trail Blazers.

Although Louis always liked to joke in private that Riley was the most outstanding among his many "students", this did not mean that Riley was willing to live in Louis' shadow.

Louis launched the pocket formation in the 1980s, sounding the clarion call for the defensive era, and ultimately successfully led other teams to imitate it with five consecutive championships with the Knicks.

Riley also started out as an imitator in the Trail Blazers, but he soon understood that he would never get ahead of the Knicks by taking this path.

The arrival of Thomas and Sabonis gave him the opportunity to change.

They have been working together for a year, but whether it was Riley's subjective control or accidental discovery, the Blazers' offensive potential is visible and can be tapped.

Since the core players are still in their prime, as long as they work together properly, they have every chance to create their own championship basketball.

Louis brought the league into the era of national defense, and he, Riley, will bring the league into the era of national offense.

And Riley's goal is exactly in line with the future that Louis knows.

So, this is the "truth" hidden in this game.

The Trail Blazers destroyed the Knicks with a perfect offensive, waving the military flag in this battle of the kings, as if ringing the death knell for the New Yorkers.

"Is this the eve of a new era?"

Bill Shenelli says.

"If you ask me this question, my answer would be an emphatic 'yes'!"

⑴ This short film tells the story of an ordinary delivery boy living in a large single room with a private bathroom in Shanghai. Everything from the accommodation to the furniture is luxurious. The only ordinary thing about the whole story is that the character is forcibly set to be an ordinary person.