The rest is just noise

"Do you think Xiao Yu can do it?"

Louis didn't ask Zhao Yuanzheng to praise Yu Tian's talents from a parent's perspective. He wanted to hear Zhao Yuanzheng, a top scout,'s true opinion of the top player in the first phase of the Road Academy in the United States.

"He's incredibly athletic for his size."

Zhao Yuanzheng said accurately.

"It's rare to be tall but not slow, fast but not stupid."

Fast was also Louis' first impression of Yu Tiancan.

At two meters tall, he is really fast. Although he can't compare with someone like Ewing, nor can he compare with a freak like Sampson, but compared to other giants who are over 220 centimeters tall, his speed is absolutely

It stands out from the crowd.

Yu Tiancan is fast and has excellent athletic ability. As long as he is not stupid or lazy, these two characteristics are enough for Yu Tiancan to be a good blue-collar worker in professional competitions.

"Don't report good news or bad news, talk about his shortcomings."

The "shortcomings" are that Zhao Yuanzheng has been observing Yu Tiancan for a long time, and he doesn't know what obvious shortcomings Yu Tiancan has at this stage.

As a center, his four years in college were not wasted.

Wake Forest University prepared him well for playing professionally.

His technical reserves are complete, his physical talent is outstanding, he has no bad record off the field, he is a good gentleman on the field, and he is also excellent in both character and academics in school.

"His personality is a bit like David Robinson."

To put it simply, he is a good person, which is not a good thing for a professional player.

If you are not ruthless and fierce enough, there will definitely be problems on the inside.

Yu Tiancan is not so impeccable that he can only find flaws in his character, but it is really difficult for the NCAA to expose his shortcomings.

What the Knicks need is a backup center.

Because they do not plan to renew Jake Sikma's contract, John Salley has become a vegetarian and may not be able to maintain his condition for a few years, so introducing young insiders is one of the most important things the Knicks need to do at the moment.

"Doesn't he have any technical shortcomings?" Louis saw that Yu Tiancan didn't play many games, so he might have missed something. Zhao Yuanzheng specializes in this.

If he said that Yu Tiancan's technique was flawless, Louis would believe him.

"Shooting will probably be the biggest weakness that affects his integration into the N.UCLA system."

Zhao Yuanzheng searched for a long time and found a shooting problem.

But Louis is not stupid enough to let a 2-meter-2 inside man shoot at all times. This is not the small ball era. It is naturally best for the inside man to shoot. If he cannot shoot, he will not force it.

Louis also discussed with Zhao Yuanzheng Hu Weidong of Syracuse University.

He will also participate in the draft this year and is expected to be in the early second round.

In another mediocre draft year, he should have been available at the end of the first round. This year, the competition is indeed fierce.

Louis regarded Hu Weidong as a candidate.

At this time, Louis is no longer as enthusiastic as he was when Hu Weidong was recruited by Luyuan.

The establishment of the Road Courtyard changed the fate of many people, and Hu Weidong was just one of them.

In Louis' previous life, the NBA dream that he failed to realize has a high probability of being realized in this life.

After all, he is a shooting guard of sufficient size. Even if his nationality and skin color are not considered, he is still worthy of selection based on his immediate combat ability and plasticity.

It just so happens that this year, in addition to the first-round pick swap with the SuperSonics, the Knicks also have the Spurs' second-round pick. This is the legacy of the Bol deal that year.

Afterwards, Louis discussed with Zhao Yuanzheng other Chinese players who are competing in the NCAA.

Currently, there are 18 Chinese players who have entered the NCAA Division I league through the Road Academy.

In addition to Yu Tiancan and Hu Weidong who have graduated, there are still two players in the NCAA in the first phase of their stay in the United States, including Liu Yuqing.

Then came the second phase of the tour in the United States, with 6 players entering the first-level league, and then the third phase of the tour in the United States, known as the golden generation, with all ten players entering the first-level league.

Compared to the mediocre second phase, Liu Yuqing in the first phase and the ten players in the third phase are the ones Louis focuses on.

Liu Yuqing became the main force in UCLA's second season, averaging 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game, and has draft prospects.

If he enters the draft this year, he is expected to be selected in the middle of the first round.

But he wants to play college for four years.

Then there are ten people from the third phase: Kang Chengbiao, Wu Qi, Xiao Laoban, Zheng Bian, Chu Nan, Du Shuai, Lin Zhiwei, Du Weiguo, Lu Gensheng, and Zhang Baoyu.

Among these ten people, seven entered the team's rotation in their freshman season, and two of them were on the team.

Zhao Yuanzheng exaggeratedly said: "The growth of this group of people in D1 will determine the future height of Chinese basketball."

Louis is much more relaxed. He is most satisfied with these players. Except for Hu Weidong, the rest were all unknown in his previous life. In other words, without Louis, their talents may have been buried.

This was Louis' original purpose in founding the Road Academy. As for whether they could change Chinese basketball, that was not what he valued.

Tanizaki

This subject is so big that even Louis can't even imagine it.

June 5, 1992

Madison Square Garden welcomes the second game of the NBA Finals.

Pat Riley stopped hiding things and played whatever cards he had.

The Trail Blazers' biggest cards are Jordan and Barkley. In this game, they will play around these two.

Plus a strong supporting cast: McDaniel, Mason, Clifford Robinson, Nance, Cosey, Porter and Brian Shaw.

Tonight, Riley has a plan up his sleeve.

In the previous games, players like Mason, Robinson, McDaniel, etc. all went to the bench.

It's Porter, Shaw, Jordan, Barkley, Nance.

Shaw is a tall point guard who is short of shooting. There is only one reason for him to join the team, which is to provide ammunition to Jordan and Barkley.

When it comes to passing the ball, Shaw is as good as anyone on the Trail Blazers.

Porter became an outside shooter who could take over the ball, while Jordan, Barkley and Nance became ruthless finishers.

Holding an angry Jordan from the beginning, Louis saw how powerful the league's top attacker can be when he goes all out.

Because Jordan's three-point touch was not open, the Knicks' pocket formation + triangle formation composed of defensive players restricted them from attacking the basket. Therefore, he caught and shot a lot from the high post.

Even for Jordan, it would be impossible to kill the Knicks with an unsolvable mid-range shot.

As the game progresses and his physical strength decreases, his jump shot accuracy will also decrease.

Therefore, the Trail Blazers must rely on another superstar, Starbucks, to perfectly take advantage of the space created by Jordan's fiery jumper and rush to the basket every time he catches the ball.

If you just hit the basket blindly, your production capacity has an upper limit.

In the first half, according to the Knicks' team statistics, Barkley shot 70% from 0-3 feet away from the basket. Including free throws, he scored 18 points in the half, and Jordan scored 20 points in the half mainly with jump shots.

complement each other.

The Blazers' attitude towards the game was more brutal than Game 1.

Those muscle monsters who entered the second lineup dragged the game into the bloodiest confrontation at any cost.

Xavier McDaniel's murderous rush forced Reggie Williams to retire injured.

Kemp lost control of his temper, got into a fight with Mason, and both were sent out at the same time.

But Kemp's importance to the Knicks is far greater than Mason's to the Trail Blazers.

In the first half, the Trail Blazers suppressed the Knicks 49-44.

The combined scores of both sides at halftime were less than 95 points, which is rare in games between the Knicks and Trail Blazers.

Although they are both defensive-oriented teams, they both have the top three offensive firepower in the league.

The most disappointing thing is not being able to defend, but being able to defend and attack at the same time.

To defeat this kind of team, it is not enough to be strong offensively or defensively. Only by being good at both offense and defense can you overwhelm your opponents when the intensity is high and win the game against them.

The showdown between the Knicks and Trail Blazers is like this.

The Knicks feel that their defense is stronger and their offense is more open, while the Trail Blazers believe that their superstar's offensive ceiling is stronger than that of the Knicks. As long as they use rugby tactics and let the wing players desperately strangle the opponent and drag the game into a confrontation,

In the quagmire of hand-to-hand combat and wrestling, the offensive efficiency of both sides dropped to the lowest point, and then they relied on their super attack ability to win.

It can be seen from the score in the first half that the Blazers achieved their strategic intentions.

During the halftime break, Louis pointed to the tactical board and said: "The key reason why we couldn't limit them is that our defensive communication was not in place. From the second half on, I want Jordan to play under the constraints of the 'law' every second.

I want the fat boy from Alabama to have at least two guys stopping him every time he attacks our basket! Don't worry about their outside shots, they can't make them! They haven't made one so far tonight.

Three points!”

The way the Knicks and Trail Blazers play are also two extremes.

The Blazers are strong because of their players, and Riley provides suggestions and strategies, but when implemented, they are actually like those "Hail Mary" believers in the monastery, they can only influence everything with their faith/super giant.

The Blazers are player-centered.

The Knicks also have superstars, but no one can play their own game better than Louis.

Louis is the Knicks' "Hail Mary."

The Trail Blazers look at the players, the Knicks look at the coaches.

In the second half, when Jordan received the ball on the weak side and was flanked by Wilson and Rodman, he forced his way out.

He represents a way of playing that is even more unreasonable than either The Tragedyman or Larry Legend.

Usually when someone double-teams like this, the ball will be passed out early. Bird may pass the ball before being double-teamed. Jordan has the awareness of the ball, but he knows that his teammates can't make a three-pointer, and his pass has no effect.

Meaning. Instead of wasting time by passing the ball, it's better to do it yourself.

Isn't it just DPOY + the double team of the first defense selection?

Jordan broke through the most difficult double-team defense on the planet, rushed to the penalty area, and was met by another first-defense selection, Patrick Ewing.

The Flyer used Ewing's majestic body to dunk and score.