The rest is just noise

Wilson was replaced by Shawn Kemp.

Such adjustments have left the Knicks' lineup without a shooting guard, but just like Pat Riley, Louis believes that ordinary shooters will no longer have much effect in this game.

Defense is the Knicks' first priority.

In the first possession after Wilson came off the court, the Trail Blazers intentionally attacked the Knicks' interior to show that the situation had changed.

As a result, Clifford Robinson received Jordan's pass and was blocked by Kemp.

Barkley won the out-of-control ball and his shot was blocked by Ewing.

The catch was that Barkley's ball was blocked out of bounds, and the ball still belonged to the Trail Blazers.

"It's good to defend, but you have to pay attention to the help defense in the high position!"

Louis has seen them miss high-post defenders a few times. If the Blazers' offense can be more patient and pass the ball more, maybe the opportunity will come out.

Stevens put all his attention on Jordan.

Intertwining off-ball defense is his strength.

It's just right to use it against Jordan at this time.

Jordan's catch-and-shoot jump shot after getting rid of him failed to hit.

But under the basket, Barkley grabbed an offensive rebound, got up and was blocked again, but the ball was still in his hand.

With brute strength, he bravely pushed Ewing's body away, looking for a reverse basket and scoring.

46 to 53

"Hit the inside!" Louie shouted.

There is no Wilson on the court, and under the Trail Blazers' defense, the Knicks' most reliable offense is to hit the basket hard.

Ewing consciously shouldered his responsibility and pushed Nance out of the defensive position with his violent position.

Stockton's ball came in.

Ewing turned around, elbowed the defender, and jumped up to dunk.

55 to 46

Louis has limited confidence in Ewing's offense, but now, the Knicks have to trust him.

Ewing also has an aura of "even if there are thousands of people, I will go".

His positioning, fighting at the basket, and attacking with the ball beat Larry Nance to shame.

When Barkley scores a goal, Ewing will respond with a goal.

Jordan scored a goal, and Ewing would still find a chance to get one back.

For four minutes, Ewing scored all the Knicks' points.

The Flying Pigs, as powerful as the Trail Blazers, only scored 10 points.

61 to 53

The Trail Blazers requested a timeout to adjust their defensive strategy against Ewing.

Louis knew that they would double-team fiercely on Ewing in the future, so he said to Ewing: "I know you are feeling hot now, but we can't win by just one person. Pay attention to their double-teaming and pass the ball if there is a chance."

!”

"Got it!" Ewing should be.

At the end of the timeout, Jordan squeezed Stevens hard to get the ball. Although the Knicks were double-teamed by three people, his turnaround and fadeaway jumper was too fast and he succeeded directly.

55 to 61

On the offensive end of the Knicks, just as Louis expected, the Trail Blazers' double-team came like a storm.

The moment Ewing got the ball, Mason came to the bottom line, Robinson came to the top line, and with Nance behind him, these were the three best defensive wings of the Trail Blazers. Together they put pressure on Ewing.

Ewing barely passed the ball.

Stockton's three-point shot failed at the top of the arc. If he could make a three-pointer, the defensive pressure on Ewing would be immediately reduced.

"Bang!"

The game has slipped into the abyss, the battlefield is hell, and a pitcher like Stockton, who is the icing on the cake, cannot stabilize his hand under this intensity.

Fortunately, the long rebound was caught by Rodman, but the Knicks' second attack was strongly intercepted by the Trail Blazers.

The Blazers became more and more excited as they played. Jordan followed up on the double-teamed fadeaway jumper in the previous round, and then ran into the frontcourt at the fastest speed and dunked on a fast break.

57 to 61

"Lao Lu, we made too much chaos!" Zhao Yuanzheng said.

Tomjanovich seconded: "If John can't make a three-pointer, it's better to let CJ play. If that doesn't work, find another offensive core. You can't put all the burden on Patrick!"

Tomjanovich's words reminded Louis that the potential of the Knicks' lineup still has room for development.

Louis looked at Kemp, who shined in the finals. He was facing off against Clifford Robinson, but compared to Robinson, who had a steady attack and stretched his hips in the playoffs, Kemp was better at both offense and defense.

With the decision made, Louis immediately ran to the technical desk to request a timeout.

Halfway through the third quarter, the Knicks' lead was only 4 points.

"The presence of Benjamin Wilson gives us a wrong perception of the Knicks' offensive capabilities."

Doug Collins sharply told the truth about the fact that the Knicks have been chasing points continuously during this period.

"So far in the series, Benj has averaged 36 points per game and shot 52% from the field. He is the anchor of the Knicks' football strategy when facing Portland, and is even more valuable than Patrick Ewing," Collins said. The offensive end can compete with MJ, and the defensive end echoes the team. He is an energetic core player. In contrast, Patrick Ewing is a silent leader. His value is beyond doubt, but now, the Knicks players on the court need to communicate. !”

During the timeout, Louis took the tactical board and said to Ewing: "Patrick, if Portland is determined to use double teams to defeat your offense, you should use every trick! Use yourself as a bait, Sean, you come to this position, Whenever they double-team Patrick, you have to be ready to catch the ball and attack!"

Third-year Sean Kemp took a deep breath. No one could have expected that the Knicks would pin their offensive hopes on him at this juncture.

"I won't let you down!"

Kemp shouted.

"You're going to fucking kill the people of Portland, and that's what you should do!"

Willis Reed shouted in his ear.

The timeout ended, Louis looked at the court nervously, and team doctor Kaminski came over and said: "Benj may have strained his hamstring."

"Is it serious?" Louis asked.

"It's a blessing among misfortunes. If you take good care of yourself, you can recover within a week."

Louis has never thought about letting players play with injuries, but today, he tentatively asked: "Can I play again tonight?"

Kaminsky said meaningfully: "Knee injuries can't stop Reed, shoulder dislocation can't stop Havlicek, Kareem with one foot single-handedly helped the Lakers get the match point in Game 5 of 1980." .As long as Benj wants to fight, nothing can stop him."

Louis glanced at Wilson, who had already sat back on the bench.

Louis angrily swore in a low voice, saying that letting players play with injuries was the thing he hated the most. He couldn't put a player's future on the line just for a game.

He stopped looking at Wilson and returned his attention to the game.

Using Ewing as bait to create offensive opportunities for Kemp was an unexpected move by the Blazers.

When the Trail Blazers' double-team came to Ewing again, he accurately distributed the ball to Kemp.

From the high post, Kemp made a jumper.

"Whoa!"

63 to 57

Kemp became the brightest light on the court, hitting two consecutive jump shots.

The Blazers allocate manpower to defend him, but he is not a shooter who can only shoot open shots.

This is the most unexpected thing for the Blazers - Kemp attacks with the ball!

Clifford Robinson, who came to defend him, first took advantage of Kemp's triple threat. The defense was passed by, and Kemp went to the basket with ferocity and dunked.

Shooting, breakthrough, Kemp was all open.

Every move he makes makes people see the value of talent. The stability of his shooting, the explosive power of dunks, and the speed of performing technical movements are not what a strong power forward should possess.

Kemp and Ewing became the backbone of the Knicks' offense.

At the end of the third quarter, 75 to 68, the Knicks still led by 7 points.

At this stage of the game, both the Knicks and Trail Blazers can only play talented ball.

The high-pressure defense suffocated the role players and left them no room to perform.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Ewing was attacked again with the ball and the ball was distributed to Kemp.

Kemp flew past Mason, who was assisting in defense, and decided to go inside for a powerful dunk. However, on his way forward, Jordan suddenly appeared, and Kemp, who could not stop his pace, knocked the flying man out.

One meter away, an offensive foul was called.

"Damn, you're calling an offensive foul at this time?" Louis questioned.

The referee ignored Louis, but called a screen foul on the Trail Blazers later, which was considered a balance, but it was not balanced for both parties. That was Kemp's fifth foul. Once he was beaten by the Trail Blazers, the Knicks

There is no second offensive strength besides Ewing.

Under the guidance of Reid and the influence of Georgetown, Kemp has made great progress every year, but he has been influenced by Georgetown's inside philosophy. He is full of intimidation on both ends of the offense and defense, and likes to make rough moves. This kind of game

This method has advantages but also obvious disadvantages, that is, it cannot control the number of fouls it commits.

The Trail Blazers also seized on this, with Jordan and Barkley finding ways to name Kemp.

If the game continues like this, it's only a matter of time before Kemp gets his sixth foul.

The Knicks' defense is still strong, but their offense is off the charts.

The offensive foul Jordan made on Kemp seemed to be a curse falling on them.

In one minute, neither the Knicks nor the Trail Blazers scored.

Then, when 24 seconds were about to run out, Jordan turned around and hit a fadeaway three-pointer.

"Bang!"

71 to 75

Ewing stormed to the basket and was blocked. The Blazers counterattacked, but Jordan still scored with a dunk.

73 to 75

Kemp responded with a jumper.

77 to 73

Barkley unexpectedly attempted a three-pointer and made it.

76 to 77

Then, the Trail Blazers pressed the Knicks full court, Stockton was knocked down, and then dropped the ball. Jordan stole the basketball and the Knicks defended on the spot.

Kemp was alone in the penalty area, and Jordan's breakthrough was just a feint. The real purpose was to pass the ball to Barkley, who was following up in the middle.

The moment Barkley caught the ball, Louis knew something was wrong!

Sure enough, Barkley bumped into Kemp, causing the opponent to completely invade his cylinder. Then he used brute force to find the shooting angle, and hit the ball hard under the basket.

The referee's whistle sounded in the bottom corner.

"And One!!"

"Charles Barkley caused Shawn Kemp's sixth foul! It was a three-point play! The Trail Blazers went ahead, unbelievable! Unbelievable!"

"The Knicks dynasty has reached its most dangerous moment!"