The rest is just noise

June 14

The incidents of Stockton and Miller did not cause more repercussions because the Knicks have already had a lot of things happen this year and the public has become numb.

But one thing is very certain, that is, the Knicks have gathered all the conditions for collapse.

Even to outsiders, their internal conflicts are difficult to reconcile.

Louis first controlled the atmosphere in the locker room. Players with problems should be solved. If they can't be solved, they should be shelved and then train normally.

It was under such circumstances that the Battle of Tianwangshan, which seemed to be related to the direction of the series, began.

Riley was still dressed as usual today, with a big oily head, black suit and red tie. When he saw Louis, he expressed concern for the Knicks like a friend: "Coach Lu, I really hope everything is well with you.

"

Louis smiled and replied: "It's true that everything is fine."

"That will put my mind at ease." Riley, like Louis back then, was extremely eager for success.

And he doesn't just want to be successful, he wants to be completely successful.

Only by defeating the Knicks, who are still at their peak, at least on the surface, can the Blazers' ascension to the throne be considered perfect.

Just like the Celtics and Knicks, they both reached the top in perfect form and then began to dominate the league.

The Blazers want this too.

Tonight, there are no changes for the Knicks.

Stockton, Miller, Wilson, Kemp, Ewing.

But things have changed for the pioneers.

Jordan, Cosey, Clifford Robinson, Barkley, Sabonis.

Isiah Thomas and Larry Nance on the bench.

Two uninjured All-Star/Superstar substitutes are just for better performance and at the same time greatly enhance the offensive firepower of the substitutes.

Moreover, judging from the reactions of Thomas and Nance, they had no doubts about this arrangement.

There was a time when Stockton didn't mind being benched.

Now the situation is completely reversed.

On the opening jump ball, Sabonis won the ball for the Trail Blazers.

"Saab looks confident!" Bill Shenelli said cheerfully.

Jordan controls the ball from the outside, and Louis has many arrangements for him.

The most important arrangement is to double-team him as soon as he has the ball.

The Knicks double-teamed Jordan and Cauchy was left empty.

Jordan passed the ball to Cosey, who missed an open three-pointer.

Sabonis tried his best to stay in position and confronted Ewing. The two eventually caused the other party to be unable to take off, which gave Barkley an advantage.

Barkley jumped up with extremely fast speed, grabbed the offensive rebound from the two monsters, and scored a tip-in.

2 to 0

Stockton called for a pick-and-roll, but the Trail Blazers chose not to switch defenses, and Jordan, who was facing him, squeezed into the wall.

This performance answered the question as to why Louis often benched Stockton against the Trail Blazers.

When the Trail Blazers treat Stockton's pick-and-roll offense like defenders from all over the world treated the Chinese defender's pick-and-roll offense in the 2019 World Cup, and choose to retreat or squeeze the wall to give you space to attack, there is nothing you can do, and the value of the pick-and-roll will be greatly increased.

reduce.

Stockton obviously couldn't do what Louis wanted in this situation, seize that damn open space, and shoot that damn ball in front of his opponent.

According to his game thinking, he will break through or pass to Wilson.

However, with the defense and athletic ability of the Trail Blazers' lineup, Stockton would basically just walk around and pass the ball or go back to reorganize when he broke through.

Stockton's habit is to play the ball as much as possible and not to be too passive.

So he will habitually hand the ball to Wilson.

Facing Robinson, Wilson feinted and made a quick stop jumper, 2-2.

On the next possession, the Blazers' positional battle gave the ball to Barkley in the low post.

The Barkley Kemp faced was different from the Larry Johnsons and others he had faced before.

Kemp can suppress Big Mom and beat Gathers, but he showed a weak side in front of Barkley.

Buckley pushed in like a bulldozer.

Kemp retreated all the way. If it weren't for Ewing's defense, Barkley's offense would have succeeded.

Because Ewing ran over to help defend, he lost his rebounding position. When he reacted, Sabonis was already in the best position to grab the board.

Ewing is worthy of being the most influential insider at the moment. In an unfavorable position, he first used a small move to hold up Sabonis's hind leg, and then used his strength to prevent the Lithuanian from getting up and knocking someone who did not belong to him.

grabbed the rebound.

"Ten years ago, he couldn't even get stuck." Louis said happily, "How much progress do you think he has made?"

Tomjanovich knew that Louis was the decisive factor in Ewing's success today.

At this time, he just nodded in agreement, because that rebound did not determine the trend of this game.

Ewing grabbed the rebound and threw it to Miller on the outside. Miller wanted to pass the ball long, but was intercepted by Jordan.

Jordan intercepted Miller's ball and shot directly outside the three-point line.

"Whoosh!"

"J!"

"e on!!!"

Then, Jordan chose to retreat in Stockton's pick-and-roll attack to give space for shooting, guarding against breakthroughs.

This routine was also called the "Nelson route" by Louis.

In Louis' era, this routine was used to defeat disabled guards who could not shoot, but now it is used in disguise to suppress Stockton, who cannot keep up with his ideas.

Jordan retreated and Stockton stopped the ball.

He has encountered this situation many times. Sometimes he will choose to shoot directly, and sometimes he will stop the ball.

The more critical the game, the more hesitant Stockton is when facing Nelson's route.

He didn't dare to gamble with his own feel.

This is the difference between him and Mohammad Raouf, and the reason why Louis often asked Rauf to replace him.

Magic can only be defeated by magic.

The results of this stoppage were disastrous.

Jordan stepped forward to press, and Stockton couldn't bear the pressure from the strongest offensive and defensive combination in the world.

Stockton's desire to find someone to take over was understood by Jordan, and he shot and cut the ball in less than a second.

Stockton lost the ball, and the Blazers' counterattack started in full swing.

Jordan dribbled the ball in the middle, but Stockton was too slow to chase back. Wilson and Kemp were the ones who followed up.

Wilson entangled Jordan and refused to give him a chance to dunk.

However, Jordan's ultimate goal was to attract the Knicks' defense and pass the ball backwards.

Barkley followed up and finished with a momentum that no mortal could stop.

7 to 2

"Old road, it's time to replace someone." Zhao Yuanzheng was afraid that Louis would care too much about Stockton's feelings and not choose to replace him.

Louis has no intention of replacing him.

He stood on the sidelines, waiting for Stockton to dribble forward, and then said flatly: "John, if I replace you now, will you be frustrated?"

"You will, I believe you will." Louis said heartily, "But if I don't replace you, except for you, your teammates, members of the coaching staff, and the fans who support us, they will all be frustrated. I hope

You know, I don't care about anyone's feelings as long as it's good for the game."

After that, Louis shouted Rauf's name when Stockton faced Jordan.

"Mohammed!" Louis exclaimed, "get ready to replace that easily frustrated guy!"

Louis wondered how Stockton would react.

He may fail, he may play passively, or he may act impulsively and make mistakes.

The purest point guard in history, his commanding ability is indispensable to the Knicks, but he no longer lives in a pile of statistics.

Once upon a time, Stockton meant to Louis a pure point guard template and an unattainable total number of assists and steals. He had never understood Stockton in depth.

Stockton last year has made Louis understand that even such a talented commander with excellent golf intelligence can let jealousy go to his head, and he can also ignore the interests of the team due to uneasiness.

Louis thought that Stockton, who had forgotten his original intention, would use more violent methods to fight against him.

But what he never thought was that Stockton would regain his senses. Just when Louis prodded him, he chose to pass the ball to Jordan's feet and went out of bounds, retaining the ball and causing a dead ball, allowing himself to be replaced.

When Stockton came off the court, he didn't even look at Louis.

But he said something.

"I'm different from you. I care about everyone's feelings."

Rauf must not be considered a human being in his eyes, right?

Louis hesitated for a second and looked directly at Rauf: "Go ahead. If they give you a chance to take action, just do it. Don't hesitate."

Rauf responded and the game started again.

After Rauf came on the court, Jordan's strategy changed.

Against Stockton, Jordan often chose between squeezing through the pick-and-roll or dropping back to defend.

Jordan chose to retreat most often, because Stockton's shots could not effectively punish their defense.

As for Rauf, a player who had caused them pain with his shooting, Jordan's only defensive method was to squeeze through the pick-and-roll like a mad dog.

Moreover, if Jordan does not squeeze through the pick-and-roll in time, the teammates who follow the opponent's pick-and-roller will have to switch defenses immediately, and then Jordan will approach the double attack.

The Trail Blazers' defense was both flexible and targeted, allowing Rauf's first shot to strike.

Ewing grabbed an offensive rebound and the second attack was blocked by Sabonis.

Kemp grabbed the second offensive rebound, which was also affected by Sabonis. The Knicks failed to attack several times, and then the Trail Blazers counterattacked.

9 to 2