The rest is just noise

"Coach Lu, why don't you target KJ?"

Zhao Yuanzheng once suspected that Louis and Kevin Johnson had some ulterior deal, but when he thought about it, it was impossible.

Obviously KJ has shown the strength to destroy Hornacek and Stockton, but the person guarding him remains the same, and even went out of his way to stimulate Hornacek, forcing him to say the mindless "No one else".

Help me with defense."

Do you have that ability? Why don’t you help with defense?

"Because, I like to watch him play." Louis looked at the court. As expected, the Lakers replaced the tragic player.

The Tragedy Master has a habit after returning from a timeout, which is to play with the ball for a few rounds to get a feel for it.

The Lakers are very dependent on him, and it is understandable that he has this habit, because his performance is actually the weather vane of the Lakers team.

The Tragedy Master played well, and the Lakers were like a stinking mess that went down smoothly. The scene couldn't be summed up in just two words: "pleasant"...

"Like watching him play?"

Zhao Yuanzheng is full of doubts. Could it be that KJ really had some kind of deal with Coach Lu?

The tragic player controlled the ball and easily dribbled the ball to the paint area. The Knicks' double team was not timely enough, and he turned around and scored with a layup.

36 to 41

"Evan, KJ played so well before you came on the court, why don't you give him a few more balls?"

When the tragedy master retreated and returned, Louis asked seemingly casually.

The expressions of KJ, the tragedy master, and Zhao Yuanzheng changed.

KJ was stunned, Zhao Yuanzheng opened his eyes wide, as if he knew something, and the tragedy master looked the most natural, just like when he won the FMVP as a rookie and was favored by Buss and the media, and then signed the famous 20

A year-long contract, which made his teammates jealous.

What's ridiculous is that the tragedy man seemed unable to understand at the time why his teammates were unhappy with his boss being close to him, let alone why they were angry that Buss gave him an unprecedented contract.

To this day, he may not understand it, because his way to solve the problem was to force the team to fire the head coach by publicly applying for a trade, and then worked together with Pat Riley to win the 1982 championship.

The most classic solution in professional sports: winning will cover up everything.

However, what was thought to be the beginning was actually the peak of ShowTime in 1982. After that, within 8 years, the Lakers lost seven Finals.

Problems broke out immediately. Wilkins was gone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was old, the Lakers were destroyed and rebuilt, and now he was surrounded by a new group of people. Those people only knew that the Lakers had never had any success after the tragic figure became the leader.

This night, KJ's suppression of the Knicks' backcourt was impressive.

Even if he plays so well, the Lakers are still a tragic team.

The tragedy maker habitually goes on the court to get the ball and find his status, and KJ's status cools down quickly.

Louis' words seemed to come from KJ's heart.

KJ silently gave Coach Lu a look that said, "It's hard to find a confidant, I'm so grateful."

What about the tragedy master? How could he not see that Louis was so obviously sowing discord?

He smiled and patted KJ on the shoulder: "K, don't care what Little Lu said, you know that all these things I did are just to make us fight better."

"I understand, Captain." KJ replied calmly.

"Coach, if you want to cause civil unrest in the Lakers, this is too deliberate," Zhao Yuanzheng tried to find a euphemistic word.

"You think too badly of me."

Louis said without changing his face: "My idea is very simple. KJ played very well. He should continue the way he played just now. They can't just let KJ's performance be ignored just because the tragedy master came up. Erwin is not the only one.

Johnson."

Zhao Yuanzheng noticed that Louis called Earvin Johnson "the tragedy master", which seemed to be nothing wrong.

Because this nickname has replaced the "Magician" who was popular all over the United States five years ago and has become the most eye-catching label of "Ervin is the only Johnson".

However, Louis has a close personal relationship with the tragedy master, so when he usually calls the tragedy master, he does not call him "the tragedy master". He is the other person's friend, so he will call him "Evan" which seems more intimate.

Tragedian.

But just now, he called the other party a "tragedy master", as if he was trying to defend KJ.

"But in the Lakers, Irvin is the only Johnson." Zhao Yuanzheng said.

"So, KJ ​​is about to fall into the 'Isiah dilemma.'" Louis laughed, "But I believe that in a team that cannot win the championship, he cannot persist for many years like Isiah."

"Isiah's Dilemma" is a scenario proposed by Louis based on the Smiling Assassin's encounter in the 1980s.

A certain star who can stand alone cannot stand out because there is a better and more comprehensive star in the team than him. The team is strong and has the ability to compete for the championship. However, he is not willing to be small, but he is willing to do it for the sake of the team.

If he makes sacrifices, he will act like a monster from time to time. But as long as his performance is stable, he is willing to make sacrifices.

This is the "Isiah Dilemma."

The tragic player has the effect of holding the ball. KJ has nothing to say about this.

In those two minutes, the tragedy master easily scored 5 points and 1 assist, helping the Lakers chase the point difference to only 3 points.

The situation did get better, but KJ's offensive firepower, which used Hornacek as a weapon, was also extinguished.

Hornacek's teammates were surprised to find that he had successfully "guarded" KJ, who had a tendency to run wild.

"Good defense, Jeff!"

Louis didn't care about the approaching score. Seeing KJ's situation, he just wanted to add a little fuel to this unsolvable conflict.

When KJ got the ball before the end of the first half, he was no longer facing Hornacek, but Stockton.

Louis' order to other players is still not to double-team KJ, so Stockton has to face KJ alone.

As the most unstoppable offensive guard in the 1990s, as long as he is given enough space, he pulls the ball in front of his body to change direction, and adds explosive starting speed, he has everything to play against Stockton, but he has no body and no explosive power.

, the white defender who doesn’t move laterally quickly enough plays the same.

KJ blasted Stockton's defense to shreds like a bomb, drove to the basket, and dunked through Ewing who was assisting in defense.

Even the picky New York fans were speechless about this goal.

Bravo!

The Lakers caught up to 1 point.

The more dazzling KJ is at this moment, the bigger the shadow lurking behind the Lakers becomes. Louis is the only one who can capture that darkness.

The anger on KJ's face was like the long-distance three-pointer that killed the Cavaliers' Kevin Durant at the last minute of Game 3 in 2018.

Just looking at Durant's expression after the ball scored, you can't even feel that he made one of the top ten shots in his career.

It makes people feel like a good person who was wrongly imprisoned.

In Louis' eyes, this is a factor that will destroy the Lakers from within.

Beyond that, there was another ominous sign that the Lakers ignored.

Two seconds before the end of the first half, Reggie Miller casually threw a ball in the backcourt and hit the buzzer.

MSG was boiling over because of this, and Miller rubbed his hands in confusion, as if he didn't know what was going on.

His lucky goal helped the Knicks regain the lead to 4 points.

At the end of the first half, it seemed like there was still time to play.

Louis told reporters: "I'm already considering Game 3."