The rest is just noise

Chapter 522 This won’t be a second of garbage time

This era is not the era of three-pointers. Trying to dominate the contemporary era by relying on three-pointers is a strange way of thinking. Louis has never really thought about it this way. He just has a much higher acceptance of three-pointers than others.

However, if the opponent completely lets go of the Knicks' three-pointers and lets them do whatever they want, then the Knicks are not unable to defeat them with outside shots.

The complete Pistons, or the Pistons that play their ace, are a team that gives up defensive three-pointers.

This lineup was built to beat the Celtics.

In last year's semifinals, the Pistons' luxurious frontcourt lineup was destroyed by Sampson single-handedly.

The impact of that incident was far beyond imagination. There was something wrong with the way this Pistons team was built. They didn't know how to move forward, and they didn't know how to persevere.

If the Celtics cannot be defeated, there will be no talk of upgrading the lineup.

The Celtics defeated the Pistons head-on.

That is confirmation of authority.

A standard round of "I won't give it to you, you can't take it away" series.

Last year's disastrous defeat stopped the Pistons from moving forward.

If they were like the Knicks, who lost in six bloody games with the Celtics, the management might still be able to try to strengthen. But the gap is too big and there is no need for reinforcement. It seems that there is a mistake in the direction.

In this case, there is no point in thinking about reinforcements.

This year's matchup with the Knicks took away their chance to meet the Celtics again.

This is not what they want.

Both teams aimed to defeat the Celtics, so they met here. It was helpless. At the same time, this was also an opportunity.

A chance to prove yourself.

If they can defeat the Knicks, it means that they still have the ability to be second in the Eastern Conference. Since they have this strength, they naturally have to stay dormant. If one day the Celtics are hit by a wave of injuries, they will be able to stand up and become the master.

Yet?

On the other hand, if they are not a match for the Knicks, then they should do whatever they should and make plans for the future as early as possible.

Although the Knicks have proven in the regular season that their style of play is the natural enemy of the Pistons, it is only the regular season after all.

It needs to be proven again in the playoffs to completely prove that the Pistons' team building method is wrong.

So, in Game 1, the head coaches of both sides showed off their tactics.

Daly put on a four-frontcourt lineup and prepared to go head-to-head with the Knicks, but was destroyed by the latter's outside shooting.

Wilson and Ellis, each shot more accurately than the other.

They left no room for the Pistons to make amends.

Why is it difficult for insiders to survive in the small ball era and have few rebounds? First, modern insiders are basically very mobile players, which requires switching defenses, rotations, and assisting defense. This is exactly what Garnett played in the Celtics

That kind of play caused Garnett, who had long averaged 13 rebounds per game, to drop to 9 rebounds per game.

Second, the number of three-pointers is increasing.

A large number of three-pointers, even if they miss, are mostly long rebounds that are out of control inside.

This is the key to the avalanche of inside rebounding data in the small ball era.

It was also the key to the Knicks killing the Pistons.

What is the reason why they give up guarding three-pointers? They can't guard against them, and their three-point shooting percentage is low. Instead of working hard to defend, it's better to bet that the opponent can't make a shot. Ordinary teams will try to make a shot and forget about it.

The Knicks are different.

They continued to shoot when they couldn't make a shot, which resulted in a lot of long rebounds. The Pistons' frontcourt, who couldn't retreat, was completely out of control with these long rebounds.

Unable to control long rebounds, unable to follow people, unable to defend three-pointers... All the flaws in the Pistons' plan have become the key points for the Knicks to explode.

At the end of the first half, 67 to 47.

The 20-point difference was ruthlessly written on the scorer.

Chuck Daly said with a gloomy face: "The Knicks' performance has always been within our expectations. What we didn't expect was that they would unswervingly play their own basketball. This just shows that they are a strong team.

The team, they have their own basketball philosophy."

Louis had a relaxed smile on his face.

The reporter asked him: "Did you think beforehand that you would lead by 20 points at halftime?"

"of course not."

"But we thought about leading by 40 points at halftime." Louis' joke made the interview very comfortable.

The female reporter smiled brightly and said: "It seems you have to keep working hard."

"Yes, unless we can lead 40 points at halftime, we can't relax." Louis' "40-point" joke was not meant to embarrass his opponent, "The Pistons are a tenacious team, just like them

The same as the head coach. I believe there will be no garbage time in this series and we will fight until the last second."

The Pistons' counterattack in the second half did not exceed the Knicks' expectations.

They changed their style of play, abandoning the fatal method of four frontcourts and replacing them with a double backcourt and three frontcourts.

This is a typical lineup that is relatively common in their games.

Daly gave Joe Dumars the highest degree of freedom.

The Knicks maintained a three-person collaboration model of one man marking, one man covering, and one man squatting. Except for Dumars, the Pistons only had Ilo as a long-range threat, and the Knicks' defense became unscrupulous.

Stockton's defense is not as good as Dumars, but he makes too many small moves.

McHale's help defense and harassment is the best among the Knicks. He is extremely good at this kind of help defense and interference that can only pass through without getting in.

In terms of ability, if the Pistons need Dumars to score, he can score, but in this timeline when Isiah Thomas is not wearing a Pistons jersey, Dumars changed to point guard many years in advance.

He became a full-time point guard.

As a point guard, his offensive threat is not bad, but his most powerful thing is that he uses his offensive threat to mobilize the whole team. He looks a lot like a commander like Nash.

The Pistons need a Curry-style off-ball player.

Only a Curry-style player without the ball, who can catch the ball without the ball and have a solo climax in half a quarter to end the game early, can make up for the Pistons' current lack of firepower and allow Dumars to find the opponent's gap to pass.

Lead the whole team in a wave.

The Knicks' approach gave Dumars a headache. He couldn't shoot comfortably, and his mid-range throw was covered by McHale. He would encounter Ewing when he rushed to the basket; distribute the ball to others on the weak side, the Knicks' defense can

Turn in place.

In desperation, I can only rely on singles and strong shots.

In the third quarter, the Pistons had a good offensive efficiency, scoring 26 points, but the team only had 3 assists.

Dumars even singled out Hornacek during the period and threw a 22-foot ball.

He is good at throwing after breaking through. Long-range shooting is in the skill package but is not commonly used.

At the end of the third quarter, Louis asked Ewing and Oakley to lead the inside, and placed Hornacek, Wilson and Rodman on the outside. The Knicks used unlimited defense changes.

This destroyed the Piston's little coordination.

The Pistons continued to find no opportunities in passing, so they had to let Dumars, Dantley, Ilo and Young take turns to make strong shots.

When the fourth quarter began, Louis let Ellis return to the game, and the Knicks began a wave of attacks that took away the game.

Wilson was playing psychological warfare to defend Ilo. At that time, Ilo had missed three consecutive shots. After being left open, his teammates passed the ball to him for a three-pointer, but he missed.

Wilson started a fast break, Ewing grabbed the rebound and threw a long throw from the backcourt. Weixia made a layup, and the Knicks once again led by 20 points.

Dumars broke through Stockton and was blocked by Ewing.

McHale saw that Malone had a moment of opening. Dumas tried to pass the ball, but McHale quickly reached the position and intercepted the pass with his long arm.

Turning around to counterattack, Wilson was flanked in the high post in the frontcourt and caught up with Rodman on the fast break for a dunk, leading by 22 points.

Ewing once again enveloped Dumas with his dominant defense. The height difference and position were too bad, Dumas couldn't shoot, so he had to take one more dribble and take another shot, but Ewing still blocked the shot.

The situation was extremely critical, so Daly replaced Ma Hong, replaced the exhausted James Worthy, and handed all the responsibilities to the inside.

However, something went wrong with Dumas, who hadn't rested for a second since the beginning.

Perhaps due to lack of physical strength, he had problems dribbling and was caught on the spot by Stockton.

The dribble was intercepted, and the Knicks' defensive counterattack was surprisingly fast.

The Knicks lead by 26 points.

"New York may use this offensive to establish victory in one fell swoop!"

Billy Cunningham hasn't spoken in a long time.

Now he is a bit like John Havlicek, who was invited to be a commentator. After Havlicek retired that year, he briefly served as a commentator, and then was abandoned by CBS.

Generally speaking, for a superstar of his level, as long as his business ability is not too bad and his eloquence is not good, it doesn't matter. The TV station is looking for his fame. But CBS was wrong. Havlicek was completely incompetent at the beginning of the game.

Speak and let your partner perform a one-man show throughout the whole process.

After a few games, Havlicek's career as a commentator came to an end.

Cunningham now looks a lot like Havlicek.

Seeing the Pistons being so beaten by the Knicks, Louis' rotation and on-the-spot strategy, not to mention suppressing Daly, it is no problem to say that he has the upper hand.

Cunningham could only remain silent.

Because... Dumars missed a long three-point shot.

Wilson grabbed the long rebound and threw it to Ellis who was about to go down.

Dale Ellis hit a chasing three-pointer from the top of the arc.

Madison Square Garden reached a climax, the fans roared, and the Pistons requested a timeout.

Dick Stockton said sincerely: "Whether you admit it or not, Lu is an excellent coach."

"Before he came to New York, the team was not respected, the stars in the team were dim, and the future was not visible. After he came, within four years, the Knicks rose again and became a respectable team."

"I don't like the New York Times, just like they don't like Lu, but even the New York Times admits that Lu is the messiah of this team!"

Stockton was not insulting Cunningham, he was just routinely praising the work of the coach of the dominant team during a timeout.

I don't know what Cunningham thinks.