the rest, only noise

Chapter 428 Playing with Fire
The Knicks withdrew the murderous press and played the remaining 2 minutes of the first half with Stockton, Ellis, Corbin, Ewing, and Ball.

Bird doesn't feel good, which is good news.

In the first half tonight, Bird was 12 of 2, which is definitely a "good brother of the Knicks" performance.

It was Bird's poor touch, coupled with the threat of the Knicks' murderous press to the Celtics' second team, that allowed them to enter the second half 50-45.

This half of the game saw a lot of Celtics standing on their hairs.

They were spooked, including Tom Heinsohn.

It's not that the Knicks have the strength to replace the Celtics, but the growth rate of this team.

Last season, they could only do their best to win the next game.

The Celtics, who are now able to compete with the full-staffed Celtics, played evenly in the regular season, and even defended the league's No. 1 Larry Bird to 12 of 2 in the half.

Then there's the murderous urgency that made Bostonians go crazy.

Unlike the Pistons, the Knicks took another path under Louie.

The Pistons piled up the depth of the frontcourt crazily, while the Knicks accumulated terrible flank strength.

In terms of compatibility and growth, the Knicks' murder tight end has proven itself.

They could pose a serious threat to the Celtics without Isiah Thomas.

Most of the players on this team are sophomores and juniors who are nowhere near their ceiling.

"As I said, any idea of ​​belittling the Knicks is stupid." Heinsohn sighed, "They are stronger than imagined!"

Interestingly, the Knicks showed their prowess, scaring Bostonians.

Louis was also shocked by the strength of the Celtics.

Tonight's game can be regarded as the best game between the two sides since the three matches in the season.

Louis tested the team's new tactics, but it didn't go well. Dell Ellis was trapped in a lawsuit. The more troubles off the court, the better the game. BUFF disappeared, and Wilson was adapting to the new tactics. Even so, they relied on defense and entered the second quarter with a leading position.

The Celtics got off to a bad start, but with Sampson as the flash point, they reversed in a short period of time, but Louie closed the gap with a murderous press and then took the advantage into the second half.

In the first half, the Knicks tested their quality.

What about the Celtics, how much did they play?Louis believes that this is far from the ultimate combat power of the Celtics.

Thomas just passed the ball, and the Knicks' murderous press was his only highlight, and more highlights were on Sampson and other role players.

Even the No. 1 Bird in the league pulled his hips.

this is the key of the problem.

The Celtics' two best players, the two cores of the four major offensive systems, did not perform as Louie imagined.

In other words, they didn't play much at all, but just let Sampson show off the strength of the league's number one insider, which drove the whole team, which was on par with the Knicks.

This is definitely not a good sign.

Just like in "Slam Dunk", Xiangbei played against Xiangyang. As long as Fujima pretended to be a criminal and sat down to dance as a master, Xiangbei had to play with all his strength and find a way to force him to play.

The Knicks have yet to reach the level of the Lakers in the Finals.

Louis walked into the locker room apprehensively.

He didn't close the door because the dressing room in the garden was unbearably rotten and he couldn't believe he had been an assistant for four years and a head coach for one.

How did I persist in the first place?
"The second half was about sticking with the defense," Louie said. "We defended Bird really well, so keep the intensity going and let him have a tougher night."

"Also, we're going to have to set up flanks in a couple of spots. Everyone on the Celtics, except for Larry and John Long in the corner, let them shoot [-]s whenever they want to."

Louie emphasized.

"The flanking near the paint area, the control of the penalty area, and the blocking of the breakthrough hand are the top priorities in the second half!"

Both sides started the second half, which is normal.

The typical Celtics Thomas, Long, Bird, Sampson, Lambiel, this is the dynasty starter.

Originally, Long's starting lineup had been replaced by Harper, but because he had a smooth three-pointer today, he was allowed to start.

The Knicks' starting lineup is also the signature five, and Louis still has some expectations for Dell Ellis' state tonight.

If he can regain his frightening touch, the Knicks' offense today will be saved.

If you can't, then follow the dogma: defense wins titles/games.

An off-ball master can save the team's offense, this is not just talk.Ellis was the one who saved the Knicks' offense, and Wilson's performance was crucial until he became the superstar Louie imagined.

However, the Celtics also know how important Ellis is to the Knicks.

Therefore, the defenders of Ellis, no matter what, the only thing to do is to keep fighting.

The Celtics' winning record in the Garden, it is very important that few referees blow their whistles here.

Without body whistles, they can do whatever they want with their guests.

Ellis, who is out of form, will perform even worse in this case.

Tactical runs out, he shoots, bam!
The tactics come out again, and he keeps shooting, bam again.

Another play, but this time the opportunity didn't come up, and Stockton missed the pass.

Don't think that the previous two "bangs" were free, the cost was heavy, and the Celtics easily scored 4 points by counterattacking.

Stockton's mistake allowed the Celtics to score a chasing 2+1.

Another secret to the Celtics' success in the garden: They have body whistles.

Speaking of which, Louie was very lucky. In the epic battle played in the garden last season, the Knicks were rarely blown by a body whistle. We must thank the referee Tom Nunes on duty.

Louie hopes that he is the referee for every away game, he is a good referee.But not entirely good, for example, if the Knicks are playing at home, he's not the referee Louie wants.Because of this person, he really doesn't know how to blow the whistle to cheapen the home team.As long as someone puts pressure on him, he will relax the scale based on the idea of ​​not offending anyone, and let the players fight on the court.

It must be admitted that this kind of referee can easily bring out a fierce game.

Too bad we don't have him tonight.

Ellis' form disappointed Louie and he replaced him again.

Without Ellis, there would be no reliable shooter, no outside space, and no one could keep the Celtics' defense tight at all times.

Louie dared not let Hornacek and Stockton partner in the backcourt. Although this is the Jazz's classic lineup, they have not reached their peak at this time, and the defense of these two will be penetrated by the Celtics.

It's not worth the risk just to get Hornacek's shot.

Louie made the safest choice and let Dell Curry come up.

In many people's minds, Ku Ritian's father should be a traditional shooter who mainly focuses on running positions.

Actually no, if Louis hadn't crossed over, he wouldn't have believed that Ku Ritian's father's style of play was actually similar to that of a swingman who plays the second position.

He can handle the ball and is good at three-point shooting, but he is better at turning over jumpers on the left and right wings.

Let him catch the ball at a fixed point on the outside for three-pointers, which is really inferior.

It is precisely because Louie can't find a suitable position for him that Curry's priority will be after Hornacek.

After Curry came on the court, the Knicks' space has not improved.

Like Wilson, he is trying to adapt to the NBA's three-point line. So far in his rookie season, he has averaged 0.8 three-pointers per game and shot 24%.

With the Knicks, he had fewer opportunities, more competition, and pressure on every shot.

Today is facing the defending champion, the Celtics defend him very easily.

You can defend him as much as you want to defend against Ellis. A fourth-year old gun like Ellis can't stand it, and Curry can't stand it even more.

The Knicks' offense has gotten tougher.

Curry went 4-for-0 from the field in the minutes he was on the court, stumped by the obvious pressure.

Louis didn't make it difficult for him, and asked for a timeout after halfway through the third quarter.

64 is better than 59
Louis replaced Curry, and at a glance, there were almost no available second positions.

He patted Tyrone Corbin on the shoulder: "I need your defense, Tyrone!"

The Achilles heel of the Knicks system is the second position.

Their N.UCLA system relies heavily on outside shooters to create space. There is no space. No matter how you play the pick-and-roll, they just need to circle the defense, and the difficulty of defense is greatly reduced.

This is the era of weak threes, and a dangerous shooter can do a lot.

The Celtics figured out the fate of the Knicks. Just as the team’s rookie No. [-] position was not used to the intensity of the game, or even the three-point line in the NBA, Ellis made a lot of messes outside the court like suicide, making it difficult to maintain normal training.

In this case, the Knicks can still achieve an 80% winning rate, which shows Louis' coaching skills and the depth of the Knicks' lineup.

On nights when Ellis couldn't play, the Knicks' offense was alternately constrained and unobstructed.

It all depends on how Wilson, Hornacek, Curry and even Stockton feel.

If not, it's all up to McHale and Ewing.

Just like now, the situation is delicate. The Celtics lead by 5 points. It’s not much. If you don’t pay attention, you may be pulled to double digits by them. If you bite the bullet, you may be able to tie the point difference in two rounds.

McHale used 2 High Rip to create Bird's dislocation, and he used his signature turnaround shovel layup to score.

Bird came back and sent a good brother-level chasing three-pointer.

The Celtics fouled the Knicks tactically.

Then, the cooperation between McHale and Ewing made a wonderful Empty Lob (empty side lob).

Ewing made an empty dunk.

63 is better than 64
"Larry, you have such a day too!" Louie sneered, "Our victory tonight depends on whether you can keep 'such a good state' until the end."

(End of this chapter)