The rest is just noise

"Or are you feeling itchy again?"

Louie's words silenced Xavier McDaniel.

During McDaniel's rookie season, he was verbally abusive to Louis and was then slapped in the mouth by Oakley.

Although Oakley is no longer around, the Knicks have become a more dangerous team.

McDaniel didn't want to test how willing the Knicks players were to beat someone up for Lewy.

Jordan's defense is still a problem.

Vernon Maxwell obviously couldn't keep up with his defensive intensity, so Louis could only ask Rodman to guard Jordan.

If Rodman was asked to guard Jordan, Maxwell would have to guard McDaniel.

Although McDaniel is not a scorer of Jordan's level, he can still average 20+ per game on a weak team.

At this time, Louis only focused on how to defend Jordan.

He gave orders to both Kemp and Ewing.

You can ignore "minions" like McDaniel, but Jordan has to hold on.

On the Knicks' offensive end, Chris Jackson glanced at Louis.

Louis signaled to cooperate more with the inside line.

The Trail Blazers have studied Jackson's style of play and will not give him easy shooting opportunities. Therefore, the way to break the game is to cooperate with the inside.

Only by opening the Knicks' interior first can the Blazers' defense become loose and Jackson's shooting can be effective.

Jackson followed Louis' instructions and launched one of the Knicks' classic tactics, 2HighFOREHEAD (double high post cutback).

The 2High tactic has dozens of derivative tactics. What Jackson is calling at this moment is a tactic that most of the Knicks' insiders can execute.

The main operation method is to use double screens in the high post, one to pull away and the other to cut in. Under normal circumstances, the person responsible for cutting in will get an alley-oop opportunity.

If the opponent shrinks in place, the stretched inside line will catch the ball and shoot.

Kemp's pick-and-roll quality was not only high, but also gave Jackson the urge to collect the ball and pull it up.

Moreover, after blocking someone, the defender's aggressiveness when he loses his balance and then turns around and rushes to the basket is also rare.

He gave people the attitude of being determined to win.

Nance stared when he saw Kemp rushing towards him. He remembered how he had been detained just now, and wanted to stop Rainman head on.

Jackson's ball was comfortably thrown into the air.

Kemp's rising momentum is difficult to contain. Whether Nance admits it or not, this is the advantage of young people. His athletic ability is completely different from Kemp's.

"Patrick!"

When Ewing returned to defense, Louis called him and signaled for some tricks.

The routine is naturally aimed at Jordan.

Louis gave the order, and the Knicks' pocket formation changed accordingly. There were only three people responsible for the defensive formation in the middle, one on the front, and Ewing and Kemp stood on the left and right wings.

This is a variant of the pocket array, the triangle array.

Not having anyone under the basket is a concept that many coaches today don't have.

Because there is no three-second defense in the modern era, theoretically, the center can stand under the basket for 24 seconds and wait for the opponent to send a shot. However, Louis personally does not value the advantage of the insider standing under the basket indefinitely. In his eyes, this may not be an advantage, but

This will cause the defensive arrangement to become rigid in thinking, a disadvantage in certain situations.

For a center with high mobility like Ewing, if he is allowed to sit in the post, his mobility will be wasted.

To restrict players like Jordan, the inside line must follow suit.

In addition to three-pointers, Jordan's previous waves of personal offense also included layups and pull-up jumpers that penetrated into the sweet spot.

But it was Maxwell who guarded him before, and now it's Rodman.

Rodman lowered his center of gravity, and the defensive center of gravity shifted with Jordan's movements.

Even Jordan was unwilling to forcefully challenge Rodman and move forward in a pick-and-roll.

The moment Jordan passed the pick-and-roll, Ewing entangled him like a wild beast pounced from the forest.

The next second, Rodman approached.

The DPOY winner + a double-team from his first defensive teammate caused Jordan to make a pass error.

The triangle formation is a variant of the 2-3 zone defense. Because zone defense is still legally prohibited by the NBA, if you want to achieve a similar effect, you need to think about the positioning. At the same time, the players must have enough talent to cover a wide range of positions.

Rotate.

The defense composed of Ewing + Kemp + Rodman is the most indestructible in the league.

Jordan tried to use the help of his teammates, but Ewing could not only expand the defense outside, but also go back to protect the basket.

If he can't go back, Kemp's rim protection ability is enough to protect the Knicks' penalty area.

Sometimes, Ewing doesn't need to save, and this task can be completed by Kemp.

Rodman took advantage of DPOY's versatility. He could mark Jordan from the outside, sweep around in the high post, and defend Nance's back in the low post.

As long as he comes to the defensive end, he can be seen everywhere on the Knicks' position.

This unique defense left the Blazers helpless with no physical confrontation.

Gu Niu

Louis could not rest at ease.

Because Jordan hasn't exerted his full strength yet.

When Jordan's breakthrough ball was passed to his teammates, but his teammates were unable to bring about an effective finish, Riley decided to change his style of play.

They are still the same people, but Jordan's choices have changed.

Jordan found the mismatch through the screen and forced the Knicks to switch defense.

The person responsible for guarding him is Chris Jackson, a defender with little success on the defensive end.

Jordan broke through Rodman's defense like a butler, moving his hands and feet as he pleased, and hit Rodman's jump shot.

During the Trail Blazers' defensive round, Ewing wanted to get the ball in the low post, but Jordan appeared like a phantom. By the time Ewing realized something was wrong, his ball had already reached Jordan's hands.

Rodman chased after him at full speed, and if he couldn't stop him, he would foul Jordan. His idea was good, but the result was disastrous. Jordan's body was like a rocket, leaping up to the basket, and letting Rodman's hand fall to the ground.

For him, the dunk still went on as scheduled.

Wilson looked at Jordan's walking back, stood up and asked Louis for instructions: "Coach, let me go."

At this time, Jordan was in full swing, and Louis didn't want Wilson to challenge the opponent. But now, Wilson took the initiative to ask for help. If he refused, it would hurt his morale.

Instead of letting him suffer off the court, it's better to go on the court and experience the strength of the league's number one defender.

Jordan added a penalty, and Louis asked Wilson to replace Jackson.

In a few minutes of the second quarter, Jackson scored 0 points, but sent 3 assists, which was pretty good, but he didn't have any characteristics.

Louis believes he will be able to adapt to the Blazers' offensive intensity sooner or later.

The Trail Blazers' wing group looks strong, but except for Jordan, no one can break into the defense. They have only talent but lack skills.

The Knicks' wing depth is not as good as that of the Trail Blazers, but fortunately the players are full of functionality.

Ewing's advantage in the paint is also obvious.

Jordan could steal the ball from him in the last round, but this round, he directly hit it high, crushing Nance, and forced his way to the basket to score.

In recent seasons, Ewing's offensive role has increased.

This is also the preparation that Louis made in advance for foreseeing the rise of the Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers are weak inside and will remain weak in the long run. Therefore, getting Ewing used to attacking with the ball will help the Knicks take advantage of the inside.

Wilson came up against Jordan on the first possession.

Marv Albert shouted: "Benj V. SMJ! One on One!"

Louis held his breath. He could see that Wilson's defense did not spare any effort. He did everything from anticipating the attack to putting pressure on Jordan's ball.

Jordan struggled with it for several seconds, and finally found a flaw and started to break through.

Compared to Wilson, Jordan was faster. His first step and start speed was the most powerful in the league, and he was more than half a body ahead in an instant.

As one of the three members of the Knicks' first defense, Wilson's reaction speed was fast enough. Although Jordan was one step ahead, he was immediately labeled.

Wilson's timely reaction created an opportunity for Rodman's rotation.

Pat Riley was stunned.

The Knicks' defense has long since transformed from the rugged style that relied on brute force to kill the Celtics in 1988 to a high-end style that focuses on technology, supplements cooperation, and secondary confrontation.

To put it bluntly, they no longer bothered to turn the game into a wrestling battle.

Because they have three first defenses, two second defenses, and a bunch of strong players who are proficient in defense.

They also have a coach who is good at scheduling and directing.

Jordan was stuck by Wilson, and Rodman's double-team blocked most of the passing line of sight.

Jordan was afraid of making mistakes and reluctantly took the shot.

Ewing grabbed the rebound and Wilson was already about to go down.

This is the best reward for players who defend seriously. Ewing sends long passes.

Even if Jordan returned to defense quickly enough, Wilson's counterattack was unstoppable.

Wilson pushed away Jordan with his elbow, a trick he learned from playing against Bird for many years, and then gently flicked the ball, and the basketball rolled into the basket.

Jordan held his stomach and looked embarrassed.

"That's all you have?" Jordan said dissatisfied.

"Hmm." Wilson squinted at Jordan without giving in, "My ability is only enough to help my team win four championships at most, and by the way, I kicked the butt of the Lakers team that has troubled you for many years three times."

When Wilson spouted this trash talk, Louis was standing on the sidelines.

He clearly saw Jordan's pupils shrink, and the murderous aura that instantly burst out seemed to fill the entire arena.

The flying man is already furious!

"Dennis!" Louie yelled.

Rodman looked over and saw Louis pointing his finger at Jordan, and extending two fingers of his other hand together, as a pincer attack.

"learn!"

Rodman responded loudly.