The rest is just noise

The league announced the referee list for the Tianwangshan battle one day in advance.

The good old Hugh Evans serves as the referee. New referee Mike Mathis, who joined the NBA due to the three-man system era, and home court killer Nick Strome.

It would be unsettling for the Lakers to have these three referees for the next game.

Evans has a reputation for liking to blow the home whistle, but he has a soft ear. When the visiting team coach puts pressure on him, he can't help but blow a few balance whistles to appease the visiting team. Therefore, he is not only a big treasure in the eyes of the home team.

, for those visiting team coaches who like to put pressure, a referee who is "acceptable to advice" is also a great treasure.

Mathis has never served as a referee so far, and Louis can't figure out his style.

For some assistant referees who have never served as a chief referee, their law enforcement standards often follow that of the chief referee, unless they are weirdos like Strom...

Many referees are known for making mistakes, such as Dick Bavetta;

Many referees are known for being too fond of the limelight, like Hugh Hollins;

Many referees are known for being unkind, like Darrell Garretson;

However, Strome is known for irritating the home crowd and being detrimental to the home team.

He can be called an antique in the professional basketball world. He joined the NBA in the 1960s. It was him who was responsible for Auerbach being expelled from the All-Star Game. In the early 1970s, Strome was poached by the ABA⑴ and became a big player in the NBA.

Some head coaches were genuinely happy. Knicks godfather Reid Holzman predicted: "He's going to be in trouble."

Holzman was right.

During a 1970 game between the Texas Grove and the Denver Rockets in Denver, Colorado, Strome angered Denverites by favoring the visiting team. He was scolded by fans on the spot and yelled at.

Fans got into physical altercations. Soon after, he ejected Dr. J from another game. Not only did he enjoy embarrassing the home team, he also mastered torture.

In the early 1980s, Jazz general manager Frank Leyden couldn't bear the humiliation and cursed Strom continuously. He wanted to use this to force the opponent to expel him because the Jazz were losing more and more. But Strom just didn't want to.

After the game, he told Leyden that he enjoyed the game very much.

There is another story that has not happened in this world. In Game 4 of the 1987 Finals (Magic Tiangou defeated the Celtics), the Green Army sitting in the Boston Garden was eager to win. However, in the fourth quarter, the Celtics

Trome gave the Lakers 14 free throws, while the home team Celtics only had 1 free throw. Without his assists, Magic would not have had the greatest goal in his career.

What does it mean to suddenly have such a person come to enforce the law at the Lakers' home court?

A discerning person can see the problem right away.

Of course Louis can too, this is naturally the sincerity of David Stern, apologizing for the misunderstanding in the last game.

However, if the ratings of the series between the Knicks and the Lakers cannot continue to rise, he will have to invite those few people back to give the Knicks a chance to compete.

In order to satisfy all parties, Louis had to carefully design an offensive and defensive plan for the next game.

What should an enjoyable game look like?

First of all, there must be no constipation. The offense and defense of both sides must come and go, and an exciting sense of presence must be created.

This is not difficult, but what is difficult is to let the Lakers control the situation after getting high.

Louis didn't want to risk the victory, so he narrowed his goal of letting the Lakers get high to letting the Tragedy Hunter get high.

The tragedy master is alone and it doesn't matter how he wants to fight.

Even if he scores 60 points, 30 rebounds and 10 assists, that's fine.

If he really gets this data, regardless of whether the Lakers win or not, the ratings will definitely explode.

That afternoon, Louis convened the team members for a pre-match analysis meeting.

At the meeting, Louis unexpectedly untied the tragedian.

"Tomorrow night, we will stop the pincer attack on the tragedy master."

Wilson said rationally: "If we do this, he might score a lot of points."

"It doesn't matter, he can score as many points as he wants." Louis' words surprised the players.

Louis continued: "We just need to guard the other Lakers players."

June 14

Inglewood Forum Arena

Seeing the three referees who were temporarily assigned to work overtime, Louis greeted them warmly.

"Don't think we will favor you tonight." Nick Strom felt uncomfortable when he saw Louis' smile.

But Louis put away his smile and said: "It is precisely because you three are the most fair and wise referees in the world that I am so happy."

Strome mocked; "I hope you can say the same thing the next time I go to MSG to enforce the law."

Just listening to Strom's words, you know that he knows enough about himself.

Hugh Evans said seriously: "Little Lu, you think you can get an advantage from me, but I am no longer the same."

"Yes, it's completely different. You've become thinner, Hugh." Louis commented on the other person's figure like a friend, "You're so thin that I can't even recognize you."

Seeing Louis chatting animatedly with the referee in the distance, Riley became even more uneasy. He also wanted to say a few words, but the words came out of his mouth very lightly. He really didn't know what to say to these people.

Especially that Nick Strom, do we need to ask him to control himself?

Can a dog that only blows the away whistle be able to stop it from blowing the away whistle than you can?

"Coach Lu, are you too familiar with these referees?" Riley said sourly.

"How could it be? Pat, you must be familiar with them. You have been dealing with them for much longer than I have." Louis said modestly.

They chatted casually for a few more words and then dispersed.

Tonight, the Knicks' roster is slightly different from before.

Among the 13 players who played, 12 had played in the previous four games, with only one exception.

Rookie Doug West, who had been on the bench for four games, was suddenly put on the active list by Louis. He was excited and excited.

The two people who were slapped with DNP were Brad Rohaus, who bought a villa in the DNP position, and the other was Shawn Kemp.

Louis blocked two big men in a row, but no one was worried that the Knicks would not have enough big men.

This problem does not exist.

After the warm-up, the DJ introduced both parties.

The Knicks changed from the previous formal or twin towers and put Rodman at the fourth position for the first time since the start of the Finals.

Except for Rodman, the other positions remain unchanged.

There is a small change on the Lakers side.

They paired David Robinson with Vlade Divac as the Twin Towers.

This is also because Robinson's athletic ability is enough to play the fourth position, while Divac's shooting range, rebounding, and fox-like ability to instigate offense can liberate the tragedy maker.

"Patrick, can you win the opening possession for us? Please, just once, I'm willing to risk not drinking Coke for three days."

Hearing this, Ewing became energetic.

He knew what Coke meant to Louis.

He also knew that if he didn't drink Coke for more than a day, Louis would basically die.

He has severe caffeine dependence.

It is a pity that Ewing was unable to echo his thoughts with practical actions.

For jump balls, as long as Robinson grasps the timing well, his bounce speed will have a clear advantage.

Robinson caught the ball, but his teammate accidentally knocked the ball out of bounds, causing the ball to go to the Knicks on the spot.

This time, the Lakers won, but not completely.

Ewing turned to look at Louis and said kindly: "I really can't bear to see you go without Coke for three days."

"What the hell are you pretending to be? If you can't dance, you can't dance. What's so good about pretending? Do you think I'll believe you after you pretend like this? Bah! That's disgusting!"

Ewing's acting skills are obviously not up to par.

In the frontcourt, Stockton passed the ball to Ewing in the middle of the pick-and-roll.

Ewing's current ability, not to mention his low-post offense, may be second only to Karl Malone in his finishing ability after the pick-and-roll.

After all, Malone is a natural pick-and-roll terminal, and his technical characteristics and tactical system are very suitable. Ewing learned it from Louis while practicing and scolding him, plus Stockton, the top cake maker in history, is very hands-on.

Hey, I gradually grasped the essence.

The Knicks' first offense of the opening game was successfully scored by him.

2 to 0

"The Knicks, as always, come out on top from the inside!"

For this grand game, CBS sent ace announcer Brent Musburger and recognized Louis fan Billy Cunningham.

"This kind of offensive method is actually not new. As long as the Lakers block the incoming route in time, the Knicks' tactics will fail." Cunningham vividly explained to the audience what it means "Although the Knicks scored a goal, they are still very poor."

"Dish" style of explanation.

Comparing him with Hubie Brown, they are two extremes.

One brags too much and loses his stand; the other goes too dark and loses his stand.

As for the Lakers, the Knicks did not immediately implement the strategy of not allowing the tragedy maker to connect with others.

When he came up, Divac was asked to get into position, and the tragedy master passed the ball.

The Serbian white bear from Yugoslavia leaned on Rodman and hit the board with a high hook.

⑴In order to compete with the NBA, the ABA not only spent heavily to steal potential new stars, but also poached four of the six top referees recognized at the time.