basketball pope

Chapter 56 [Fighting the Bull Again]

On the 30th, the Knicks defeated the Orlando Magic, coached by famous coach Chuck Daly, 104 to 97.

Ewing played 38 minutes, scored 38 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists, and the data brushed up.

After "Shark" O'Neal left the Lakers, the Magic's inside line could only be supported by "Cobra" Horace Grant, from the strongest in the league to a shortcoming.Ewing dominated the restricted area, cut to the basket several times after screens, grabbed seven offensive rebounds, and made 7 of 9 free throws.

On January 1, the Knicks defeated the Nets 2-107.

Ewing scored another double-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.

Even if Van Horn is out, the Nets lineup is not a vegetarian. It was not until the end that the two sides were divided. Ward moved to catch the ball and hit a key three-pointer.

Back to back, the Knicks played the Magic again at home and won easily.

On January 1, the Knicks lost at home to the Wizards, their fifth loss of the season.

The Knicks rookie's performance was very unstable, and Jackson was completely blown away.Juwan Howard, one of the Rockets' "Second Elders of Xuanming" in the future, is now at his peak. He has comprehensive offensive skills, various scoring methods, and can play small forwards. Jackson is not an opponent.

Ewing also failed to suppress Chris Webber, and the data of the two exploded. A healthy Webber was not as strong as Garnett and Duncan.

The biggest factor for the Wizards to win is the outside line. Point guard Rod Strickland blew up Charlie Ward and scored 21 points and 11 assists.

This season, Strickland's various data have reached the peak of his career, averaging 17.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 10.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game. The absolute star data is likely to become the assists king this season.

Yang Rui has a deep impression on this person. He is a rare person with outstanding strength and gorgeous style of play, but he has never been selected as an All-Star in his life. He is also the godfather of future Cavaliers star Kerry Irving.

In his heyday, Strickland was one of the best point guards in the league and the most troublesome troublemaker.He DUI and beat up teammates in Washington, unexcused absences and coaches in Portland, nightclubs and hit-and-runs in Minnesota.

In short, it is also difficult to become a superstar if the character is too bad, unless there is the strength to dominate the alliance, or the gimmick is full.Strickland isn't that strong yet.

At the press conference, Van Gundy said he was not worried about the Knicks losing streak. On January 1, Larry Johnson announced his comeback, and the Knicks' strength greatly increased.

Stephen Jackson is back on the fringes, Mickey Moore is even worse, and his place in the 12-man roster is gone.He is the worst performer among the rookies hired by Yang Rui, and he won't have the chance to prove himself this season.

The Knicks beat the Nets 99-88 at home. Johnson was in average form after his comeback, scoring only 8 points. The five players in the team scored in double figures, all of which were average.

The New York media commented that this is the Knicks' warm-up for the next battle with the Bulls. On January 1, the top two in the Eastern Conference will face each other, and the focus of the live broadcast will be the United States.

Many people regard the two teams as the favorite opponents in the Eastern Conference finals of the playoffs. Jordan often performed brilliantly at Madison Square Garden, which is a major attraction.

In the morning training, Yang Rui and Van Gundy sat on the sidelines chatting.

He thought for a while, then smiled and said, "Jeff, when you boosted morale today, can you say that the Bulls are nothing special? We now have the first record in the league, and we shouldn't be in the position of challengers."

"Isn't this underestimating the enemy?" Van Gundy hummed.

"Tell them that the Bulls are vulnerable, do you think anyone will believe it? Just because they won't underestimate the enemy, they should be relieved. Too much pressure will affect the players' mentality and performance." Yang Rui whispered.

Van Gundy didn't speak, feeling a little uncomfortable.

Why does this kid like to be picky about everything, isn't Riley so morale-boosting?

Riley's brain has actually never been very normal.When this guy took the Lakers, he swept the three rounds to advance to the finals in 89. He took a brain break and engaged in devil training during the offseason. As a result, he injured Magic and Scott, and was finally swept by the Pistons in the finals.

Van Gundy is under Riley, which is a test for the stars, and the training intensity is not low.And the stars under Riley and Van Gundy have premature aging, which should have something to do with devil training.

The only counter-example is "Sky Hook" Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who also played under Riley, but stood for many years without falling, until he was 89 years old in 42 and could not be moved.After all, Kareem is Bruce Lee's apprentice, maybe there is a mysterious force from the East to protect the body...

Van Gundy didn't want to listen to Yang Rui for everything, and said coldly, "I know better than you how to boost morale. You don't need to teach me about this trivial matter."

"It's just a suggestion, you can do whatever you want." Yang Rui complained in his heart: If you don't get rid of the dead-end problem, you won't become a famous coach.

Yang Rui is indeed inexperienced, but he dares to try and innovate than Van Gundy. He has his own style. Van Gundy is just continuing the old way of his predecessors.

If the Knicks have the best record, the best coach is awarded to Van Gundy, who does not seek merit, but seeks no faults.

Thibodeau and Sharman were used to listening to the two of them chatting on the sidelines. In the coaching staff, in fact, only two people discussed tactics. They just voted "in line", and when the proposal was hardly adopted.

If Van Gundy had the final say, it would be hell if Yang Rui didn't raise the bar.

Compared with the conflicts of the Bulls, the differences between Knicks Yang Rui and Van Gundy are only pediatric.Coach Phil Jackson and manager Jerry Krause have been at odds for a long time, and the relationship between management personnel is so bad that they don't speak, which is really strange.

"Zen Master" Jackson has an agent. In order to run against him in the summer, Klaus made it clear that he would not use a coach with an agent in the future.In the end, because Jordan was forced to renew Jackson, he also said that even if he wins 82 next season, Jackson will have to leave.

What's more troublesome is Pippen. Earlier, there were rumors that the Bulls wanted to use Pippen for the Nets' second-place Keith Van Horn; it was also reported that Pippen had scolded Jerry Krause on the plane.

It can be said that in 98 Jordan won the championship and was praised as the altar is well deserved.This year's Bulls starting lineup is much older than the so-called "old arms and old legs" of the Spurs in 2007, and the bench has little vitality.They have a good professional attitude, maintain a good state, and have no major ups and downs.

Yang Rui watched the 98 finals, and sometimes he thought, these guys are so old, they can't run fast, they don't have much energy, there are positional formations on both sides, and there are few quick offensive and defensive transitions.

This season, the questions that have plagued him for years will be answered.

Jordan is not a god, he is just a man.

The back waves of the Yangtze River push the front waves, and the front waves die on the beach, which is an inevitable law of physics.In particular, Yang Rui has seen Jordan of the Wizards, who failed to make the playoffs twice, and he firmly believes that his own set will work.

What's more painful is that Van Gundy still regards the slow things of the Bulls and Jazz as the truth.

PS
In the previous chapter, it was mentioned that Pippen was in the Rockets. It was a clerical error. It has been revised. I will explain it here.

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(End of this chapter)