the rest, only noise

Chapter 440
With 66 wins, the Knicks have all the home-court advantage in the playoffs.

Behind them are the 64-win Portland Trail Blazers, 62-win Los Angeles Lakers and 60-win Boston Celtics.

There are two 60-win teams in the east and west at the same time, and they are the top four chasing the championship this year.

Ironically, the least favored team is also the No. [-] team.

The Knicks are not favored for many reasons, too young, too immature, the best player is plagued by injuries, the best shooter is in trouble off the court, the most reliable two players are a second-year player and a rookie.

The Knicks' first-round opponents are interesting.

76ers from Philadelphia.

The interesting thing about this round of matchups is not the suspense of the series, but the players on both sides.

In the 76ers' starting lineup, there are three former Knicks players.

During last year's offseason, the Knicks sent away a number of rookies, and they all ended up in Philadelphia miraculously.

In addition, there is a gimmick in the first round.

That was "Dr.J" Julius Erwin's final battle.

He has decided to retire after the season, which means that the 76ers will enter a new era.

1987/4/24

The first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs Game1
As always, the old Knicks of the 76ers came to say hello to Louie.

"Coach, you shouldn't have traded me." Tony Campbell missed the days when he was in the Knicks and was praised to the sky.

"probably shouldn't"

Campbell's style of play and attributes are destined to become commodities that Louis sells to the outside world.

Louis has never regretted trading Campbell. He proved in the 76ers that he really needs the Knicks system.

He mistakenly thought the Knicks needed him too, but that wasn't the case.

"Coach, I won't be polite." Gerald Wilkins both appreciated Louis and hated Louis.

Because Louis traded him.

When seeing AC Green, Louis' first words were: "Have you kept your virginity?"

"Of course." AC replied.

"Congratulations." Louis patted him on the shoulder, "Come on."

This game is also Kevin McHale's comeback battle.

He resumed high-intensity training at the end of the regular season and was ready to play at any time, but Louis insisted on letting him rest until the playoffs before returning.

Facing the Knicks, the 76ers started to have a headache from the matchup.

Cheeks vs. Stockton, Gerald Wilkins vs. Dale Ellis, Dr. J vs. Wilson, AC vs. McHale, Sam Bowie vs. Ewing.

"The suspense of this series. Ugh."

CBS is responsible for explaining the game's partner, and it is the classic Barry and Russell.

Speaking of the suspense of the series, it is difficult for Barry to say what suspense is there in this round of the series against his conscience.

"The suspense is whether the doctor can restrain Benj's youthful vitality." Russell helped him out.

"Yes, this is very important."

They've started talking gibberish.

Before McHale's injury, Wilson averaged 20 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists per game.

Then, in the remaining twenty or so games, he averaged 25 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists per game, abruptly raising his scoring average to 21.5 points per game.

Wilson is a versatile wing who can survive in any era, and that's the Doctor's limitation.

At the beginning of the game, Wilson's running tactics easily penetrated the doctor's defense.

Since it was just the beginning, the doctor was very physically strong, and he wanted to make things difficult for this young man with a promising future.

As a result, Wilson had gotten used to the running position of the N.UCLA system in the game where Ellis pulled his hips. At this time, he took the lead and ran Exchange Ricky (high dynamic attack) to get rid of the doctor, catch the ball, and shoot.

5 is better than 0
These 5 points were all scored by Wilson.

The Knicks' players gradually proved why the 76ers' brothers were traded.

Wilson is far better than Campbell. The scene where he ravaged Dr. in a fancy way made MSG fans feel sorry for the visiting team.

It is too difficult for a 37-8 year old old comrade to be beaten up by young people like this.

Wilson played sparks at the beginning, followed by McHale's fancy 2 High Rip dislocation.

McHale, who just came back, caught a Wilkins miss, a Cheeks miss, and a Dr.

Not a single possession was defended by the 76ers inside.

In the end, the 76ers' defense was basically in the stage of throwing arms and hugs. McHale did not refuse, making 6 of 5 shots. The Knicks scored 42 points in a single quarter, blasting a chilling wave of attacks.

"The Knicks made good use of the dislocation advantage. On the contrary, the 76ers always have gaps in their matchups. When they catch them, they target them. For example, in a certain round, Benj suddenly faced Mo (Cheeks). The others opened up space and defended one by one so close to the basket. The 76ers were half a beat behind in assisting defense this time."

"So, it can be said that the 76ers were destroyed by the Knicks' offense, and don't think that the Knicks' shooting rate is unbelievable. The 76ers' matchup arrangements, defenses, misplacement protection, and defense rotations are messed up. They caught up with the opponent's touch. The offense lacks stable means, so... this game can't be watched."

Barry wanted to say collapse, but it didn't feel right.

The words "I can't watch this game" are actually more serious than "collapse".

Fans are used to it, the two have been babbling from the start.

In the next three quarters, the 76ers still saw no hope.

The reason is very simple, Louis is very "lazy" sometimes, if he is sure that he has a move, the opponent will never be able to break it, then he will charge the opponent with infinite monthly reading and torture until the end of the game.

In the era of the weak three-point line, if the opponent is a team that is not good at shooting, he will resolutely let go of all long-range two-pointers and three-pointers, and keep the penalty area. There is no team that can shoot him dead.

The players of the 76ers who were traded by Louis, especially the wings, are basically defective in range.

In addition, Dr. J himself is not much of a threat as long as he stays away from the free throw line in actual combat.

At this point, when his athletic ability was still at its peak, Louis grasped it and suggested that Bill Fitch get him with a pocket formation.

In retrospect, the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals is why all teams play pocket formations today.

If basket-rushing monsters like Dr. J can be dealt with, how can other ordinary people who don't shoot the ball survive?
Even Magician and Jordan were forced to practice three-pointers in advance, and the situation is better than others.

The difficulty of the 76ers' offense is visible to the naked eye.The Knicks resolutely chose not to shrink back, and the pockets were tight, so they asked the 76ers not to miss their mid-range and long-range jumpers.As a result, only Cheeks and Gerald Wilkins were allowed to shoot, but neither of them was a superstar who could end the suspense of the series by this way. Without the ball and no chances, the limitations brought by the lack of outside threats also determined that it was impossible for the 76ers to catch up. For the entire fourth quarter, Louis let McHale and Ewing rest, and played the inside combination of Artis Gilmore and Oakley.

On the periphery, Hornacek, Curry, and Rodman were also tried.

As a result, the 76ers only recovered 4 points more.

The result is foreordained.

123 is better than 94
Game1, the 76ers lost 29 points.

"It was one of the worst losses of my career." Dr. J forgot that there were at least two games left in the series.

Louie told reporters: "I plan to have everyone in this series."

Then, an Asian face appeared among the reporters.

"Including Song Tao?" the other party asked in heavily accented English.

Louis knew that domestic journalists began to go to the United States to report.

How many years earlier than he thought?
In his memory, there were reporters from China who came to the United States to follow the game live, and I am afraid that they will have to wait until Wang Zhizhi lands in the NBA.

It's 1987 now.

It was at least 15 years earlier because of Louie.

"Coach Lu, what role do you think Song Tao will play in this series?"

A typical Chinese reporter, Louis can imagine that if D'Antoni in 2018 was asked by a reporter "What role do you think Qi will play in the playoffs", he would probably have a big head.

This kind of question falls into the "as long as I'm not embarrassed, it's you" type.

"He's going to be a 'triumph' type of character," Louie said. "When he comes in, you're going to hear Madison playing the triumphant ballad live."

Louie wanted to say "Human Victory Cigar", but he was worried that the sentence would be misinterpreted, so he said it a bit mysteriously.

The other side was happy, which seemed like an acceptable answer.

Well, he finally made it through, and if he asked a few more embarrassing questions for Louis, Louis would have to step on Ewing's foot and ask him to tell a cold joke that made everyone uncomfortable at the scene, thus creating a world where everyone felt uncomfortable.

Back in the locker room, Louis didn't say much, and the players wouldn't celebrate either. They knew that this game was just the beginning, and there was no need to be happy.

They weren't aiming for the first round, or even the second round.

The Knicks set their sights on the Celtics early on. Although no one was optimistic about it, including Louis himself, he thought it was too late, but he had to challenge it before he could see the gap.

The Celtics in the playoffs are very different from those in the regular season.

(End of this chapter)