The rest is just noise

Chapter 845: As strong as the New York Knicks, they can also be defeated

One-on-one with the ball in the mid-to-long distance is a required skill for super giants in Louis' eyes.

This technique can be used in any era.

In the 2018 playoffs, James relied on his incomprehensible ball-handling jump shots to fight his way out of the less competitive Eastern Conference when his teammates were generally out of shape.

The Cavaliers took the Finals to the Finals and were slaughtered by the Golden State people.

Louis asked Wilson to fire frequently from mid-to-long range. In fact, he wanted him to challenge Jordan to see whose offensive firepower could remain stable in the current situation.

After Wilson provoked Jordan, the duel between the two escalated.

Relying on ball-handled jump shots to increase personal scoring output is applicable to almost all superstars, but superstars who shoot more jumpers are usually not as efficient as those who attack the basket more.

Blacksmithing is a label that has accompanied Kobe throughout his career, but if you compare him with other stars of the same generation who play the same style, you will find that Kobe is pretty accurate.

A style of play with a high proportion of mid-range jump shots must not focus on hitting the basket to be efficient. This is a fact, and it is also a limitation of the jump shot style. What is more difficult than ordinary mid-range jump shots is holding the ball.

Defensive jump shot.

This kind of offense can be used to force the attack regardless of the surrounding environment when teammates are not strong enough. Under normal circumstances, if the hit rate of this type of attack can reach about 40%, it is considered excellent.

But today, the battle between Wilson and Jordan completely went against public perception.

It turns out that in the face of high-intensity defense, the ball-holding jump shot can actually control the hit rate above 50%?

Wilson has two advantages. One is his size. His height and wingspan are better than Jordan's, which creates a natural advantage for his ball-holding jump shot. The other is his advanced philosophy. After playing under Louis for six seasons, Wilson's views on the game

He is already ahead of his contemporaries, and has developed the step-back jump shot, a unique skill in the small ball era. At the same time, the improvement of his movement control skills allows him to calmly find the offensive rhythm when facing Jordan's defense.

And his opponent is even more unreasonable.

Jordan first found the three-point touch at the top of the arc, and then used his explosive power and agility to repeatedly shake Wilson by half his body with the ball before making emergency jump shots.

On some rounds, Wilson was close to him, or the Knicks teammates stepped forward to attack him in time, but Jordan remained calm and calmly made a fadeaway jumper.

In the second quarter, Wilson scored 16 points by holding the ball and shooting, while Jordan combined with sudden shots and scored 18 points.

"How is it?" Louis asked Zhao Yuanzheng.

Zhao Yuanzheng followed Louis' request and counted the shooting percentages of Qiao Wei and Wei in singles with the ball.

"This is beyond common sense." Zhao Yuanzheng said in surprise, "Benj shot 55% against MJ's defense. I think this is the ultimate offensive performance, but MJ seems to be better. He was in

Facing Benj's defense and possible flank attacks at any time, we achieved a 60% hit rate."

In the first half, the Trail Blazers led the Knicks by 7 points, 59 to 52.

The magnificent confrontation between Wilson and Jordan caused the ratings of this game to skyrocket.

"This is the value of a superstar!"

"We saw everything about basketball in the matchup between MJ and BenJ!"

The tragedian cannot hear such words.

Even in retirement, he still refused to admit defeat and commented: "The superstars' offense with the ball is only part of the game. They are indeed enjoyable to watch, but it is not everything about basketball. Compared to Larry and me, Benj and MJ

They are all more self-conscious.”

Collins' mood also calmed down and he said to the point: "Moreover, even between benj and mj, we can see the difference between them. Compared to benj, mj has a stronger self-awareness and when faced with challenges,

He responded violently like an arbitrary tyrant."

"Yes, MJ's offensive ability was demonstrated tonight." Bob Costas asked, "Do you think MJ's offensive threat can affect the outcome of this game?"

The tragic man who has already proven that no matter how strong his personal ability is, he cannot win if the team is not strong enough, shook his head and said: "I think it is difficult for a team like the Knicks to be defeated by a strong individual. If the Trail Blazers want to win, MJ must not only show a high level

With his performance, Chuck also has to keep up with MJ’s intensity.”

This is what the tragic master learned from his experience after kneeling for eight consecutive games in the finals.

If Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was younger, if Wilkins was not such a black hole, if Pippen had stronger offensive ability, if David Robinson had a killer mentality, if one of these became a reality, the tragedy would not be so overwhelming.

.

In the halftime lounge, Louis stopped planning the second quarter.

If the Knicks had no other players to count on besides Wilson, then it would make sense to play, but it's not.

So Louis needs to use the collective power.

"In the second half, we want to give Portlanders a 'surprise'."

Louie's "surprise" is the murder press.

But during the setup, Ewing had a strong desire to be the leader of the murder force.

He believed that the murderous press under his leadership would have a different effect.

Moreover, Wilson can just sit back and wait for work, waiting for him to lead the murder press team to inflict heavy losses on the Blazers before attacking in a big way.

Wilson had no problem with it, but Louie's biggest concern about the plan was that the last time Ewing was on a murder squad was probably way back in the 1980s.

It's been years since he attempted murder.

But it was also a change, and Louis decided to try it.

In the second half, the Knicks' lineup consisted of Ainge, Stevens, Rodman, Selley, and Ewing.

Compared with before, without Wilson and Reggie Williams, the intensity suddenly dropped a lot.

Ewing took the initiative to stay in the frontcourt to press, and Selley stayed in the backcourt to prevent the Blazers from stealing the ball with long passes.

The Blazers' lineup remained unchanged, using the Flying Pigs as the core to face the Knicks' murderous press head-on.

Louis' worries became reality half a minute later.

Ewing has not trained with the members of the Murder Press team for a long time, and the tacit understanding and chemical reaction have long been gone. He only makes up for the shortcomings with his defensive skills and experience, as well as the punching ability left over from Georgetown University.

Moreover, he cannot lead his teammates like Wilson.

Ewing is a relatively silent player on the court. He doesn't like to talk trash, and he doesn't like to communicate. This is a major flaw for a murderous press that requires close cooperation.

Ewing did not cooperate well with his teammates, Selly's defensive intensity dropped significantly, and Ainge's ability to pester was ruthlessly crushed by Jordan when his teammates were unable to help.

Rodman and Stevens can't sustain the intensity of a murderous press.

Moreover, when the Blazers completed their attack, Riley gave an order for the players on the field to counterattack with a full-court press.

In addition to its obvious flaws as a murderous press, this lineup is even more powerless on the offensive end.

Ewing needs the ball downfield to be a threat;

Ainge is passable as a point guard, but as long as the Blazers' full-court press increases in intensity, an old comrade like him can't stand it;

Stevens can hold the ball, but he can't be relied upon to get through this;

When Rodman and Selley are not restrained by their teammates on the offensive end, their effect is 0.

"Patrick screwed up." Louis sighed.

Zhao Yuanzheng understands Louis' difficulties. The star's self-esteem needs to be taken care of. Ewing wants to enter the murderous press because Wilson has repeatedly led this lineup to establish a winning streak for the Knicks.

He hoped to perform like Wilson, but he made a mistake. The media promoted the murder press not because of its effectiveness, but because the leader was named Wilson.

The media likes Wilson and dislikes him.

This is just like how it was difficult for Louis to fully enlighten Isiah Thomas during his time with the Celtics. It is easy to correct the mistakes made by one person, but it is almost impossible to correct the behavior of a third party.

Thomas was looked down upon because of the color of his skin, and Ewing was entirely his fault.

Even so, Louis still has to give him this opportunity. If he can really lead the murderous press and inflict heavy losses on the Trail Blazers, it would be the best.

In this situation, Louis could only ask for a pause.

Three minutes into the second half, the Knicks were originally trailing by 7 points and now trailed by 15 points.

The situation is critical and the moment has come when changes must be made.

Louis replaced Ainge, Stevens and Selley. Replaced Stockton, Miller and Wilson.

He did not criticize Ewing. Decisions are made by everyone together and the consequences should be borne by the team.

"Now, we should lower our posture and aim to recover 1 point in each round." Louis said to everyone, "Start with the most basic high-position dynamic attack, maintain strong defense and stable offense, there is still a lot of time,

Enough for us to change the situation."

Before the timeout ended, Ewing had something to say.

Louis didn't give him a chance to speak: "I don't want to hear your useless nonsense. If you want to apologize, take action. I just want to see what you do, not what you say."

The Knicks then played a high level of offense and defense, chasing 11 points in a row within 6 minutes, narrowing the point difference to 4 points.

Miller gave up the outside shot and boldly cut into the Blazers' penalty area, which caused the Portlanders to mess up their position.

When the situation was good, Barkley used a one-on-three violent attack on the basket and hit Miller's groin, causing him to collapse on the spot.

This interrupted the Knicks' offense and rhythm, and caused Miller to withdraw from the game.

Louis gave up Ainge and Maxwell, because if these two people play, they will become a cash machine for the Trail Blazers on the defensive end.

The advantage of letting them play is that they can increase shooting points from the outside, but Louis now pays more attention to defense.

So he asked Stevens to replace Miller.

This is like the decision made by Yunus when the national basketball team played Spain in the 2008 Olympic Games. Either replace Yao Huang to ensure defense, or continue to use Wang Zhizhi to maintain offense.

Judging from the results, Yunus made a wrong bet.

And Louis' focus is also on defense rather than offense, because the Blazers' confrontation intensity is too high, the shooter's touch cannot be guaranteed, and at the same time, he will be hit hard by the opponent when defending. Stevens will not have this problem, at least he

Can bring high-quality defense.

In the end, Miller's departure became the turning point of the game. With the combined efforts of Jordan and Barkley, the Knicks' iron net composed of four players on the All-Defensive Team could not stop their offense.

Ewing repeatedly missed one-on-one opportunities in the penalty area. His mentality had problems after he failed to participate in the murder press.

At the end of the third quarter, the Knicks trailed by 9 points, and 3 minutes into the fourth quarter, the gap became 14 points.

The Trail Blazers began to dominate the game both inside and outside, but Louis did not give up and continued to request timeouts and tried every means to save the situation.

The ratings of this game broke the NBA single-game ratings record, with 33 million Americans watching the game.

And most of those 33 million Americans have watched the finals in past years.

They know how the Knicks dominate the league and manipulate the Lakers into their hands.

After Johnson's unexpected retirement, the Knicks looked set to dominate until the turn of the millennium.

But tonight, the Trail Blazers gave them a feeling that was stronger than ever and that the New York Knicks could be beaten.