The rest is just noise

Chapter 1001: People who transcend the times

"As far as the first half is concerned, we performed very poorly." Pat Riley said dissatisfiedly, "If we want to be a team like the Knicks in 1988, we should not play like this."

Riley has never admitted that he is a fan of Louis, but since he left the Lakers, he has to follow Louis no matter what he does.

He may have studied the 1988 Knicks more than anyone else in the industry.

"So, how do you break down the Knicks' steely defense in the second half?"

"With a next-level offense, with an unstoppable offense, with the most unstoppable offense in the history of professional basketball."

Riley said decisively.

As for the Knicks, Louis seemed calm and calm during the interview.

For him, it was natural to take the lead before halftime, they played so well tonight.

"Coach Lu, what do you think of the various rumors about the Knicks?"

"No, every piece of news and every piece of gossip." Louis responded with a smile, "It's all true."

The reporter knew he was joking, and also knew that Louis was not afraid of being led around, but responding to those rumors in this way was really different.

"So, for tonight's game?"

"I have nothing to say." Louis said confidently, "You just need to know that we will win."

"Who do you think was the MVP of the first half?"

"There is no doubt that it's Benj." Louis said without thinking. "He scored the highest points in the game and also provided the best defense. There are few players who can dominate the game on both ends of the court like him in the finals."

.”

When Louis walked into the tunnel, he met Ewing.

Ewing has been enjoying being back in the locker room with Louie more and more lately.

"The reporter just asked me who was the MVP of the first half." Louis said deliberately, "I told him it was Benj."

Ewing had no reaction: "It was him."

In the past, Ewing would have competed with Wilson for anything, including this so-called first-half MVP.

Louis tried to stop him and reprimanded him, but he never changed his behavior.

Later, Louis no longer stopped him because he believed that the competition between Ewing and Wilson would increase the Knicks' competitiveness, and the side effect would be that the rifts and conflicts between the two would become larger and larger.

In the past, Louis regarded Ewing's competitiveness as a sign of his low emotional intelligence. He was not a selfish player and never wanted to take all the glory for himself.

Why were Ewing's actions and reactions to Wilson so different?

This question has troubled Louis for several years, and it was not until recently that he found the answer.

Because Louis, he is the source.

Benj is his baby, Ewing is not.

Because the two men have different temperaments, personalities, and even different views on Louis, Louis' "double-standard" coaching based on the concept of teaching students in accordance with their aptitude indirectly brought a lot of sense of crisis and the need to seek recognition to Ewing.

eager.

Arguably, this is Louis' fault.

He mistook Ewing for Bird, but he is not Bird.

Louis and Bird are like bad friends, they can scold each other, but Ewing dare not scold Louis's mother, even though he is only 2 years younger than Louis. In his subconscious, Louis is more like a harsh elder, he will laugh at

Louis' belly, but never dare to have the following sinful actions and thoughts.

Now, Ewing sees clearly the nature of his relationship with Wilson.

So he no longer has that jealous mood, and he also discovered the precarious contradictions within the Knicks. He wants to stop that momentum, so he must become more mature.

"It's rare that you think so." Louis smiled, "Don't you think he took too many shots?"

Ewing did not deny it, "It's a bit much, but considering he feels so good, it's not unacceptable to take a few more shots."

Ewing now reminds Louis of a group.

There is a group of people on the Internet who like beagles but don’t want to bear the burden of raising a dog. Beagles are famous dogs that like to be trained by their owners with weight-bearing training. Therefore, whenever they see Beagles on the Internet,

The owner of the checkered dog is in a hurry, and when the owner expresses his helplessness, they will collectively get sick in the message area: "Messi! Messi!" (useless things)

Now, Louis also wants to call Ewing Messi.

He thinks Wilson is the same as before, and Louis knows that Wilson's current style of play is wrong, even if he has given the team an advantage.

Americans all agree that you should not replace your shoes until they are broken.

Ewing would not take action until Wilson's eccentric performance put the Knicks into danger.

Louis still can't get used to the current Ewing.

The contrast between him and the past is as great as Aya Koizumi and Yulia Rimi.

"All right."

Louis didn't say much, and now was not the time to talk about it.

Since he chose to believe in Ewing, he had to believe it to the end, even though this orangutan didn't look trustworthy in any way.

They returned to the locker room together.

Louis made corresponding arrangements for the second half. Although the Knicks were in the lead, the Trail Blazers would not sit still.

In the first half, the Knicks restricted the Blazers' offense by relying on targeted defense of key players, attacking in the middle and violently protecting the basket in the penalty area.

Riley attempted to strangle the Knicks with the Verdun Line of Defense, but was dismantled by Louis with a not-so-complete set of murder presses.

"First, Benj in the second half, you play the number one position." Louis continued, "Alex, Dennis, Sean, Patrick."

The lineup Louis selected was a clear indication of what the Knicks were going to do.

Of course it's defense.

Moreover, the most valuable thing about these five people is that they are all tall, long arms and extremely mobile. Even if three players are used to flank someone on the other side, as long as the opponent passes the ball, they can complete the rotation and cover defense with their athletic ability.

.

The Knicks are afraid of missing three points with this style of play.

However, the Blazers happen to have a shortage of three-pointers, and players with three-point threats are basically just catch-and-shooters in specific areas.

For example, Thomas, although he has practiced three-pointers from the top of the arc, does not pose much of a threat if he leaves this position.

The same goes for Sabonis, who is also a fan of three-pointers from the top of the arc.

In addition to these two people, the Blazers also have Jordan, Barkley, Clifford Robinson, and Cosey who can shoot three-pointers, but Jordan is the key figure on the Knicks' defense. Barkley can indeed shoot three-pointers from all angles, but

The shooting rate is only over 30%. Robinson and Cosey are both substitutes. How to arrange the formation will test Riley's skills.

As long as the Trail Blazers can't seize the three-point opportunities that the Knicks leaked to them, the Knicks' defense will be an iron wall for them and difficult to break.

In the second half, Riley still maintained his five-star performance.

This theoretically the strongest offensive lineup can never be used to its full potential.

Facing the Knicks' steel defense like a moving Great Wall, the Trail Blazers failed to score for three consecutive rounds.

On the other hand, the Knicks seized the opportunity of defensive counterattack and scored 4 points.

The score difference suddenly opened to 18 points. Riley couldn't sit still at all and called a timeout.

In the NBC commentary box, Hubie Brown predicted: "This timeout is crucial. The Trail Blazers have reached the edge of the cliff. If they cannot fight back effectively after this timeout, then I can announce that the Knicks will

Winning their home field advantage back tonight."

And Riley is worthy of being a loyal fan of Louis. He directly replaced Thomas, who was limited by his size and feel, and was not able to perform well on the offensive end, and Nance, who was beaten by Kemp.

The players he replaced were exactly the two players that Louis believed could solve the Blazers' current predicament: Causey and Robinson.

Seeing Riley's response, Louis understood that today's Riley is also out of the era.

Because Louis's ideas transcend the times, if you are bound by contemporary concepts, you will not be able to keep up with his rhythm.

Riley followed Louis and found a way to respond under Louis' coaching system.

What he did was imitate.

Louis asked Wilson to play point guard, and Riley asked Jordan to play point guard.

Louis put Stevens, who has static and dynamic conditions like a small forward, at the second position. Riley put a balanced offensive and defensive wing Cosey at the second position, and Robinson was asked to face Rodman at the third position.

, Barkley and Sabonis will face the Knicks' Kemp and Ewing at the fourth and fifth positions.

It can be said that from a physical talent perspective, the Knicks and Trail Blazers put their five most athletic players on the court.

This is Riley's key move tonight. If it doesn't work, the Knicks will win the game. Otherwise, they still have to play.