The rest is just noise

Chapter 542 F…U…C…KY…O…UThas

May 22, 1988

Last night, after the second game of the Western Conference Finals, the Trail Blazers led the Lakers 2-0.

For the first time in four years, the Trail Blazers led 2-0 in the playoffs. Moreover, in order to defeat the Magic in the "all-around" area, Jordan deliberately played point guard and scored a triple-double in two consecutive games.

The average is 33+11+11. If you compare the statistics with Magic, he is only slightly behind in assists.

There are also rumors that Jordan would ask the technical desk during the game which data he had that was not in double figures.

Louis believes that this story is true. Jordan was in a rebellious period. Everyone said that he was not as good as Bird and Magic because he could not improve the performance of his teammates like these two people. He was a selfish scoring champion.

On the surface, Jordan is dismissive, but in the game, he will find a way to perform like Magic and Bird, prove his comprehensiveness with double figures in rebounds, and prove that he can play like Westbrook with double figures in assists.

Louis loves this version of Jordan.

Because if they meet this version of Jordan in the Finals, they will definitely win.

Now is not the time to think about Jordan.

Tonight is the Knicks' first home game in the Eastern Conference Finals.

They won a game in Boston and stole the Celtics' home court advantage.

This leaves Bostonians to do whatever they can to win at Madison Square Garden.

Since 1973, the Knicks have been closest to the Finals in 15 years, and many celebrities with tickets to the Garden have expressed their intention to be there to support the team.

They include Eddie Murphy, the number one comedy star in the 1980s. He was originally a Lakers fan, but now the Lakers are obviously no match for the Celtics. He remembered that he is a New Yorker and came back to support his hometown team.

When the Knicks have a bad record, only true star fans will show up to support the team.

Now, everyone wants to take a dip.

The garden also invited Old Nick from the previous generation to attend.

Willis Reed and DeBusschere are among the representatives.

This battle was too big, as if the Knicks were sure to win.

Louis never thought about killing the Celtics directly.

I don’t think about it now and I won’t think about it in the future.

Game2's victory was called the "Mori Massacre" by the media in the New York area.

Because that day happened to be World Stranger Day.

The American media always likes to use this method to remember an unforgettable day.

On game night of Game 3, Knicks fans filled Madison Square Garden.

Both sides are regular.

The Knicks played Stockton, Ellis, Wilson, McHale and Ewing.

The Celtics have Thomas, Harper, Bird, Sampson, and Laimbeer.

There is no change of formation, no reorganization, everything is upright and upright.

Even today's referee is Joe Crawford, who is highly regarded by the industry.

In the future, he will become "famous" by expelling Duncan because of his crazy smile, but until then, he is still convincing as a referee.

Louis believes that the Celtics will find a way to return all the grievances of the past few days tonight.

He didn't expect it to be so soon.

The first surprise is Thomas' long-range shooting touch.

Stockton, as usual, distanced himself and let him shoot.

As a result, Thomas opened his hand and got it.

This ball gave the Knicks a considerable deterrent. Then Ellis ran out of the opportunity and passed the ball, but his shot missed.

The Knicks retreated quickly enough, and no matter how fast the Celtics' offense was, they couldn't launch a counterattack.

However, it doesn't matter to them, the Celtics are already the team ranked first in effective field goal percentage.

Their scoring efficiency in positional battles ranks first in the league.

One level behind the second-place Denver Nuggets in the league.

The Knicks continue to let Thomas shoot.

"F...U...C...KY...O...U!!!Thas!!!"

Knicks fans turned into Zaans because Thomas was the only Celtics player to publicly complain about the referees. If the media guides public opinion, fans will naturally think that he cannot afford to lose.

To treat this kind of person who can't afford to lose, you have to let him enjoy the "grass mud horse" package of all the fans.

It would be great if it worked...

The abuse from the fans seemed to make him even more excited.

His second long-range shot attempt was farther than the last time.

Stockton had already let him go more than a meter, but he chose to take the shot half a meter away from the three-point line.

"Uh-huh!!!"

"Thomas is throwing crazy!" Groom Albert shouted, "John has to change his defensive strategy!"

Stockton looked at Louis, who nodded and said he would not make any more shots.

If Thomas is not left open, Stockton will have to choose to defend closer to the body. In this case, it is easier for Thomas to pass him than to cross the street early in the morning.

Wilson fired back.

2 to 6

After Stockton defended close, Sampson stepped forward to cover, blocked Stockton and then opened the ball.

Ewing could only guard Thomas. Sampson was not pulling away to catch and shoot, but to cover Bird according to tactics.

Bird had a shooting opportunity, but Thomas relied on his own personal ability to beat Ewing and score 2+1.

He is the Celtics player who has had the worst time in the past two days, and he is also the one with the worst public opinion among the Celtics' Big Three.

Sampson was also responsible for the success or failure of the second game, but the Boston media was too biased. They couldn't bear to blame "Mr. Only" and could only blame Thomas for not taking enough responsibility. He was too busy competing with the referees to forget his true mission.

If Sampson were a white man, Thomas could still complain that the Boston media judged people based on their skin color. Unfortunately, Sampson does not have a trace of white blood in him. He is a pure black man, but he uses superb skills and unparalleled dominance on the court.

And his perfect off-court persona has earned him as much love as Bird.

Thomas has always been the ignored one.

When he made the free throw, Louis replaced Stockton, and the outcome of this game no longer depended on their offense.

Defense is the key. If they don't guard Thomas, they will be in trouble.

Hornacek was replaced because of this. He has stronger independent offensive ability and better defensive habits than Stockton. Although Stockton is the best in the team in steals, he makes too many small moves.

At this time, his small movements will be amplified by the referee. Because of Thomas's complaints, Crawford's focus is now on the outside matchup.

Starting 9-2, the Knicks responded unfailingly.

McHale hit Sampson with his back, using his signature up and down steps to dodge Sampson, and then used his long arms to avoid Laimbeer's block and score a layup.

The Celtics counterattacked very quickly, and Thomas rushed to the frontcourt fiercely.

They definitely wanted to counterattack quickly. Fortunately, the Knicks had strong defensive discipline and were not overwhelmed by Thomas alone, maintaining a basic defensive formation.

Thomas made an emergency stop, with Hornacek standing in front of him, and he returned the ball to Bird.

Bird is dribbling the ball, and Wilson in front of him lowers his center of gravity and puts his hands on his body. This defensive method makes it difficult for people with low explosive power to smoothly hold the ball and break through.

As a result, Bird failed to break through. It was as if there were eyes on the side of his head, and he could actually see Sampson's cut.

So just throw the ball high.

Sampson's alley-oop dunk...

The Celtics' three giants are connected to each other. There is no complicated tactical offense, but more of a display of personal abilities and talents.

16 to 7

The Celtics started the game with a 9-point lead and the Knicks requested a timeout.

Tonight, the Green Army focused its defense on the outside.

The interior basically relies on the individual defense of Sampson and Laimbeer.

They forced Wilson to play singles with the ball and gave Ellis a lot of physical contact. The Knicks' No. 1 Stockton or Hornacek were both semi-abandoned.

Louis replaced McHale and replaced him with Rodman. Since the Celtics wanted to focus their firepower on the perimeter, they allowed Ewing to unleash a large number of attacks. Rodman was responsible for the pick-and-roll and screen cuts.

"Honey, as long as you have the chance, take bold shots, don't be afraid!" Louis shouted, "It doesn't matter if you can't make the shot, our defense is stronger than theirs!"

Louis' adjustments took effect immediately.

Rodman's defense made the Celtics' offense more difficult, causing Thomas to make his first mistake of the night.

Hornacek attacked decisively, and Ewing used a lot of 1-4 pick-and-rolls.

Either Ewing finished or Hornacek shot, the Knicks chased and fought hard, catching up to 25-30 before the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the exact same script appeared.

The Celtics replaced Bird, Thomas and Sampson to lead the second team.

The Knicks' trio, headed by Wilson, McHale and Stockton, once again pressed the Celtics 2-2-1 full court.

Under normal circumstances, a 221 full-court press can often play an unexpected role when the score is behind.

Because it requires extremely high personal defense capabilities and physical strength of players, it can generally only be used as a secret weapon and not as a regular means.

The usual position is that two defenders are at the front, forming the first line of defense, forcing turnovers or passes from the opponent's defenders. The two forwards form a second line of defense near the midline, waiting to intercept the ball and create opportunities for double-teaming.

Double-teaming, the center shrinks to the basket and waits to block the shot. This is the basic position of the 221 strategy.

The Celtics have luxurious wing reserves, and Wilson always takes the lead, so he and Stockton block the front line together, Rodman and Cooper build the second line of defense, and McHale sits in the backcourt.

Although the Celtics still rely on Thomas and Sampson as the backbone to break the full-court press, they have three special players lurking around them.

Danny Ainge, Harper and veteran Scott Weidman.

Different from the previous game, the Celtics changed the receiving order.

Thomas served to Sampson, who handed the ball to Thomas before the pressure was on him.

Thomas accelerated to break the defense and went straight to Weidman in the frontcourt.

Weidman didn't give McHale a chance to defend, and the three-pointer hit the center of the basket.

The Celtics cracked the 2-2-1 full-court press like a textbook.