The rest is just noise

On the eve of the semifinals, Ewing injured himself due to excessive training intensity.

This made Louis furious.

Because he was not injured during the training session, but after the training session, he was injured due to his private training.

"If you think the training time is not long enough for you to be a model worker, just tell me and don't fucking play this trick with me in private!" Louis scolded Ewing, "This time I just twisted my knee.

If you fucking tear your ACL, what the hell do you want me to do? What the hell do you want the team to do?!"

Ewing lowered his head and did not dare to answer.

The Knicks have a strong team, but if you have to say which position is lacking, it's the inside line.

If Ewing is injured or Bowie is injured, he will indeed encounter some rotation problems.

Louis' usual approach is to put Bowie in the starting lineup and John Salley to take Bowie's original spot.

It's the same this time. Louis can't say what hidden dangers there will be if Ewing can't play, because although the Pacers have Danny Manning, the latter is not a typical seven-foot super center in the 1990s.

Therefore, if Ewing does not play, it may reduce the Knicks' advantage in the penalty area, but will the Knicks' penalty area be overwhelmed by Manning?

Louis doesn't think so.

Before Game 1, Louis held a meeting to deal with the Pacers and laid out in detail how to defend Manning when he and Mookie Blaylock cooperated.

If Ewing is here, he won't have to work hard.

It's a pity that this orangutan suddenly lost his chain. We can't scold him too much. After all, he was also injured in training, even though it was a stupid extra training.

"Dennis, Kevin."

Louis gave Rodman and McHale the task of guarding Manning.

Immediately, Tomjanovich played the video clip.

A certain offensive round of the Pacers appeared on the screen. Louis pointed at Manning and said: "Many of the Pacers' offenses cannot be turned around without Danny Manning. For example, in this round, when Manning and MJ Cousins ​​⑴

During the pick-and-roll, he will choose to use his flexibility and quick turning speed to get rid of the defender, so pay attention to his movements."

⑴Louis has a habit of giving his opponents distinctive nicknames during analysis meetings.

"How do we do it? Simple, the defender bypasses the screen. MJ's cousin's long shot is not a big threat, and the focus is on preventing breakthroughs. As for Manning, we must not give him the opportunity to easily rush to the basket. Kevin, Dennis, if

When you encounter this routine, remember to leave space and don't rush forward. Remember, as long as you retreat to the basket and force him to use shooting to solve the problem, our plan will be completed."

This is a way to limit the cooperation between Manning and his teammates. Louis requires that it be implemented in all Manning's pick-and-roll screening cooperation.

That is, no matter who Manning is playing pick-and-roll with, he must defend according to this plan.

Louis let Tomjanovich cut the picture.

Tomjanovich brought another picture to the players, the Pacers' main tactic two, the ball handler and the fifth position pick-and-roll.

Under the Pacers' system, the fifth position is usually Oakley. He is tough enough and can stand under the basket despite his lack of height.

Moreover, this man has become more and more motivated after leaving New York. In order to make Manning play comfortably, he practiced three-pointers from the top of the arc that were not very accurate.

This makes Blaylock and Oakley very threatening when playing pick-and-rolls.

Because he can shoot three-pointers, shoot from the high post, and can provide support from the center, so he and Manning don't delay each other.

"It seems that after Oak went to Indiana, he was also influenced by the locals. This shot reminds me of that bumpkin from Boston."

Everyone knew that Louis loved Bird.

"What if we see them doing this during the game? It's simple." It was simple when it came out of Louis' mouth, but executing it was another matter. "No matter who it is, as long as it's their insider."

When we go to the outside and try to run such a pick-and-roll, we need someone to follow him, and the person who follows him must resolutely flank MJ Cousin with the people guarding him, forcing MJ Cousin to stop the ball."

Stockton asked: "What if Oak goes outside the three-point line?"

"Let him shoot. If you can interfere with it, it doesn't matter. If you can't, it doesn't matter." Louis asked with a smile, "You don't think Oak's three-point shot can kill us, do you? This is something that even Ralph has not done."

"If you want to double-team, Oak will not necessarily bounce out." Wilson saw the problem, "Because we spent two people on MJ's cousin, no matter what Oak decides to do, he will have no one to take over.

In addition to catching the ball and shooting three-pointers from outside, he can also choose to cut inside to attack the basket."

Louis clapped his hands several times.

"If you all used more wisdom during meetings like Benj, my job would be much easier."

Ewing snorted and expressed dissatisfaction.

"What the hell are you talking about? The things your father has done make me have to prepare for this series seriously!" Louis' face was sometimes kind and sometimes ugly.

Ewing simply didn't want to hear Louis praise Wilson so much.

Now that he was being sprayed in the face again, he was both ashamed and angry.

"What are you looking at? Are you not convinced?"

"No...don't dare."

"What is your dad afraid of? Your dad has too much energy and likes to train, right? I ask you to use your brain next time you do this. Is it an option for your dad to practice more to consume your excess energy? You

His father won't go to nightclubs to find some flesh and blood? You are the King of Gambling in Jamaica!"

"I'm not!!!"

Ewing roared.

"I fucking said you are, and your dad is!" Louis instantly turned into a villain, "Do you have any objections?"

"without..."

Louis regained his composure and smiled at the others: "Why does this bastard insist on making me angry? What has he done to a person as talented as me?"

Then Ewing left, and it was none of his business. Ever since Ewing sprained his knee, Louis had been prepared not to play Ewing in the semifinals.

If the knee is not fully healed, let alone the semifinals, even the Eastern Conference finals, he may not let Ewing come back.

After Ewing left, Louis made further arrangements in detail.

"Just now Benj said that if we flank MJ Cousins, Oak or other Pacers insiders will choose to cut inside to attack our basket. This is very likely to come true. Therefore, we cannot make a plan that has a prelude but no follow-up."

Louis picked up the tactical board and said, "When we flank MJ Cousins, assuming Oak cuts inside, the players standing on the weak side will rotate to fill in. At the same time, the players on the 45-degree angle on the open side will rotate to the weak side."

The Pacers player who is left open because after going deep into the basket, it is easier to pass the ball to the bottom corner than to the 45-degree angle. When Oke or other Pacers insiders think of teammates at the 45-degree angle, our defensive rotations in other positions will

It’s already in place.”

The defensive layout is different from the offensive layout.

The offense can be strategic, giving the leading players a general direction, and then letting them perform on the spot, using their favorite postures and doing whatever they feel comfortable with.

If the defense is not good, the defense only provides strategy, and the players will be confused.

Just like what Louis just arranged, if we want to use a grand strategy to summarize it, it can be summarized in just a few words: shrink and protect the penalty area, and let the opponent shoot from mid- to long-range. However, how to protect, who will protect, and who will be left empty, these are all problems.

If these problems are not explained clearly, the players will not know what to do.

Louis formulated this strategy because the Pacers' long-range shooting percentage is only 31%, which is at the bottom of the league.

In the pre-match training session, Louis divided the match into two sessions.

On average, a match lasts only as long as half a game.

Louis allowed both the main players and substitutes to adapt to the new defensive routine. All that was left was to wait for game time to arrive.

Game1

Although the Pacers' head coach is technically a rookie coach, he has been in the league for many years.

His name is Dick Versace. He was Billy Cunningham's assistant coach in the early years. He is a daughter-in-law who has been a mother-in-law for many years. He plays the role of mentor to the Pacers like Jason Kidd to the Greek Monster.

Ewing couldn't play, which gave Versace an opportunity.

Originally, like the Bucks, they had no hope of winning.

Now, maybe we can actually win one or two games.

However, Versace did not expect that Louis would prepare a tight defense for them.

At the beginning of the game, the Pacers were blocked by the Knicks.

The Knicks defended with an attitude of trying to suffocate the Pacers.

In less than half a quarter, the Pacers were beaten beyond hope.

17 to 5

With a gap of 12 points, Versace quickly called a timeout. He knew that the Pacers' best pick-and-roll tactics between the inside and the ball holder were not working.

He decided to amplify Manning's role, let Manning get the ball more, and let him create opportunities.

Manning is a player with a high BQ. After getting the ball, he is not in a hurry to take action and sends it to Oakley who cuts inside or his teammates who cut across the baseline.

The Knicks gave the Pacers shooting space outside the three-point line, but they did not use it directly to shoot. Instead, they first used the depth on the offensive end, and then slowly found their touch with the three-point space provided by the Knicks.

The functions of Versace are basically the same.

Control the field, stabilize the morale of the army, devise temporary tactics to break the situation, and unconditionally believe in Manning.

A player like Manning needs the complete trust of his coach.

It was precisely because they trusted Manning that they were able to defeat the Heat in the first round.

However, when facing the Knicks, Manning alone is not enough.

In the second quarter, the Knicks were not satisfied with their 10-point lead. Wilson and Rodman led the second team to increase their speed and grab the rhythm.

Especially after Versace felt something was wrong and called the first timeout of the second quarter, Wilson came back and immediately launched a counterattack to score 2+1. After the pick-and-roll, he fed Rodman the ball comfortably and used the impact to compress the ball.

The Pacers then distributed the ball to the weak side in the penalty area for Hornacek to shoot a three-pointer.

When the rhythm picked up, the Knicks, who scored 0 points on the fast break in the first quarter, used the fast break to score 10 points in the second quarter. The Pacers, who like to play at a slow pace and grind their positions, were completely uncomfortable.

In the second half, the Knicks used defense + defensive counterattacks to speed up the game. On the offensive end, relying solely on Stockton's sudden points and the shots of Wex, Miller, Hornacek, Ainge and others, they completely destroyed the Pacers' internal and external defenses.

118 to 99

Without Ewing, the Knicks still defeated powerful enemies as a dominant force should.