The rest is just noise

At the end of the first quarter, 27 to 22, the Trail Blazers led by 5 points.

If there was any flaw in the Knicks' performance, it was that Wilson took too many shots.

There were 7 shots in a single quarter. If Wilson felt hot, there would be no problem, but he only scored 3 goals and his shooting rate was less than 50%.

"Benj, don't rush to take action." Louis reminded him, "Passing the ball one more time may give you a better chance."

Wilson admitted his mistake by simply saying "My fault".

Louis looked at him deeply and said nothing more, "In the second quarter, we are going to try a more unrestrained style of play."

However, Riley didn't give Louis a chance.

The Verdun Defense Line, which did not appear in the first game, appeared in the second game.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Riley expected Louis to replace Wilson and Ewing to rest.

Even if these two people are here, Riley is not afraid.

On the Trail Blazers' side, Jordan, Cosey, Clifford Robinson, Xavier McDaniel, and Mason lined up.

Just like when the Knicks replaced Rodman, Stevens and Wilson at the same time, it meant that they were going to use a murderous press.

The same goes for the Trail Blazers. Whenever you see Jordan, Robinson and McDaniel on the court, you don't have to think about it, it must be the Verdun defense.

In the first game, Riley did not use this move because Jordan was not in good condition at the time.

Tonight, Jordan was in top form and it was time to hit his opponent hard.

The Knicks' transition lineup to deal with the second quarter was Stockton, Miller, Reggie Williams, Rodman, and Yu Tiancan.

Louis did not resort to murderous pressure to retaliate in kind.

Because he is not sure whether Wilson in this state can still lead the way as before, whether his teammates are accustomed to his changes, and are they still willing to fight with Wilson as before?

Louis will not resort to murder until he has a definite answer.

Moreover, the pioneers' Verdun defense line was so powerful that it was difficult to match it. Even if they resorted to murderous pressing, it would not have a positive effect.

Instead of going head-on, it's better to trust the players' adaptability.

They also grew up in the baptism of blood and fire, and were not the frivolous people in the west who were manipulated at will by the pioneers.

When the Blazers' defense unfolded, Louis experienced firsthand the advanced nature of the opponent's defensive system.

Riley is a good student. If he wants to copy, he should copy it thoroughly.

The Blazers mimicked the murderous press position.

However, there are differences in concepts between the two sides.

The Knicks focus on "murder," that is, by pressing the ball holder, while the Trail Blazers focus on "defense." What they are looking for is not the immediate pressing effect of the Knicks, but nightmare torture.

Since the five players on the Trail Blazers field, except Mason, can switch defenses infinitely, they naturally put Mason in the backcourt to support them. The positioning of the other four players is exactly the same as that of the murder press, adopting a 2-1-1 strategy.

Defensive formation.

Stockton called for a pick-and-roll and barely got rid of Jordan in front of him. Then, Cosey appeared in front of him and forced him to stop with strong defense.

Stockton passed the ball to Miller, but it was not a good choice.

Miller's dribbling is not enough against this defense.

The Knicks are not used to the Trail Blazers' defense. The Trail Blazers' Verdun defense has been qualitatively improved compared to last year's finals.

Tacit understanding, this is the most important point of the full-court press.

Jordan had unlimited killing intent, putting pressure on the Knicks players in the frontcourt like a bandit.

Miller can't dribble against this defense.

He just tried to do so and Jordan brutally stole the ball.

"Beep!"

Fortunately, the Knicks have referees to help.

The home court didn't come for nothing, as sideline referee Jack O'Connor called Jordan a defensive foul.

Jordan stared at him dissatisfied: "Do you think tens of millions of viewers turned on the TV to watch the live broadcast of this game just to watch you call my foul?"

"Don't be so self-righteous, Michael, who the hell cares about you!" Of course Louis couldn't let him cause additional interference to the referee.

But Riley was furious as if he wanted to kill the referee.

Louis understood how he felt. After all, it was his family's top dog who was whistled for body hair. What did it mean? Maybe it meant nothing. But if Riley's nerves were really that big, he wouldn't be where he is today.

Calling Jordan a defensive foul is likely to be the benchmark for this game.

If the scale is tightened tonight, it will be detrimental to the Blazers.

Because of the showdown between the Trail Blazers and the Knicks, they were obviously the more brutal side.

How did the Knicks overthrow the Celtics back then? It was because of their brutal style of play.

However, this style of play cannot be effective without the referee's acquiescence.

So Riley was angry, he was so angry that he couldn't control himself, as if the referee had blown the whistle all night.

"Ruth (Reggie Williams), you and Reggie switch positions." Louis did not interfere with Riley's pressure on the referee.

That is his freedom.

Rather than caring about his opponents, what Louis needs to do more is adjust the positioning of his personnel.

Since Miller can't handle the ball at this intensity, let Williams do it.

"Ruth, the Blazers' full-court press shouldn't be unfamiliar to you, right?" Louis asked with a smile.

Williams boasted: "We have been imitated, and they are just one of them."

"So you know how to deal with them?"

"Coach Lu, it's not Patrick who has allowed me to gain your trust all these years in New York." Williams is a player that Louis likes very much, and at the same time, he is also a person full of resentment.

When he came to New York to join Ewing, he was as fragile as crystal glass.

Because of his glass-like attributes, he was given up by his parent team, the Warriors, and came to New York. After winning the championship, he signed a long-term contract.

He never expected that his body would suddenly become rough. He had few injuries over the years and his attendance rate was stable. As an unshakable member of the Knicks' murderous press, he also had a stable rotation time. He could be regarded as a Knick.

One of the first eight people.

With his ability, there is no pressure to play for other teams and get a contract with an annual salary of 3 million.

But, he couldn't go.

Because heck he signed a heck of a six-year, $3.4 million contract extension in 1989.

Today, this contract is worse than a standard rookie contract, not to mention his senior's frightening three-year salary of 20 million.

The Knicks' salary space prevented Louis from re-signing a contract with Williams, so he could only contribute to elite strength on a cheap contract until 1995.

Seeing his teammates around him getting big contracts one by one, it's normal for him to feel resentful.

In order to vent this resentment, Williams also turned into a hedgehog, stinging people at every turn.

"I know that you rely on yourself, and the glory of the Knicks cannot be separated from your contribution." Louis patted him on the butt and said by the way, "In this case, I should be able to rest assured that you will cooperate with the general to crack the wave.

Tran’s defense shouldn’t be a problem for you?”

Williams is not stupid. The Trail Blazers' full-court press can be said to prevent so-and-so from getting pregnant in the Western Conference. How capable is he? Do you dare to boast about it?

"Don't say that, coach, I only make 500,000 a year. Such an important task should be left to those who make millions a year."

"Stop fucking nonsense!" Louis was furious, "If you think you deserve more money, just show your value in the finals. As long as you show your value, I guarantee that I will give you a good contract next season!

"

Williams' eyes lit up: "Really?"

Louis said angrily: "It's absolutely damn true!"

Stockton was unable to withstand Jordan's ferocious defense.

Jordan's defensive actions were even more excessive than before, but this time O'Connor did not dare to call him a foul.

Stars have privileges no matter where they are, especially those of Jordan's level.

Just blowing a piece of his body hair was already treasonous.

Stockton couldn't wait for the referee's whistle, so he had no choice but to pass the ball.

Williams received the ball and faced Cosey, he swung left and right and successfully penetrated the opponent's defense.

Clifford Robinson came forward, ready to take over the responsibilities of leading the defense.

The Trail Blazers' defensive switching routine is based on the 2-1-1 formation. Williams has trained in this formation for many years. He knows that as long as he passes Cauchy, someone will come to cover, so he has already prepared the pass.

ball or speed up preparations for a second breakthrough.

Robinson's defense was difficult to break through, so he passed the ball.

Rodman is responding at the LOGO.

"Dennis!" Williams yelled.

Rodman caught the ball, took a step forward, passed the midfield, and initially broke through the Verdun defense.

Miller quickly followed up and asked for the ball.

Rodman sideways to give the ball.

They all know that to deal with a full-court press, once they break through the defense line, they must quickly end the attack while the opponent is not on a firm footing.

This happens to be Miller's favorite offensive rhythm.

Before the defense can reach him, his teammates have the ball in their hands.

He didn't need to hesitate and just shot a three-pointer.

"Whoosh!"

"Trying to use a full-court press to widen the point difference is a naive idea." Hubie Brown said, "No team understands the full-court press better than the Knicks."

Riley scoffed at Brown's analysis.

If the referee allowed them to increase their intensity, the Knicks would have been overwhelmed. How would they have the chance to leisurely go to the frontcourt and shoot three-pointers?

But he won't make excuses. He didn't defend well this round, so he will just work hard next round.

Jordan ran upfield and Riley said to him:

"Michael, I hope you haven't forgotten how you lost last year. If you don't want to repeat the same mistake, you must let New Yorkers know our determination here!"

Riley's words pierced Jordan's mind.

Like thunder across the sky.

The flying man seemed stunned, he was standing in the bottom corner.

I saw Cosey dribbling the ball to break the Knicks' perimeter defense. That was just the first level.

Rodman's help defense is the second level.

Cosey could not move forward, and it was at this moment that he discovered that Jordan was unmarked in the corner.

Because Jordan's corner threes aren't worth defending?

No one knows why Miller didn't guard Jordan. Everyone just saw Cosey passing the ball.

Jordan caught the ball and jumped up. His body rose and fell in a uniform manner, and the arc of his shot was as graceful as Zhou Shen singing "Big Fish".

"Whoosh!"

Jordan glanced at Miller coldly, "Try to let me go again?"