the rest, only noise

Chapter 858 Awakened Beasts
June 1992, 6 Flag Day
Madison Square Garden, Midtown Manhattan, New York, NY

In the 1991-92 season, the garden was the most suitable place for the final battle of the NBA season.

MSG has hosted many famous sports competitions. As a basketball mecca, whether the Trail Blazers beat the Knicks to become king, or the Knicks defeated the Trail Blazers to win the first five consecutive championships in the merger era, they all have unparalleled historical significance.

Prior to this, Trail Blazers coach Pat Riley had announced that they would win the series today.

Fans have reasons to believe in the Blazers.

At least, they are the second team to drag the Knicks to Game 1988 in the playoffs after the Celtics in [-].

Fans who are familiar with the Eastern Conference Finals that year know that the victory or defeat between the Knicks and the Celtics is only a hair's breadth away.

This year, the outcome between the Knicks and the Trail Blazers is the same.

In the garden, nearly a hundred celebrity fans set up a beautiful landscape in the VIP seats.

The well-known anti-bones boy and street-going actor Eddie Murphy, Louie's friend Jennifer Beals, Woody Allen who was recently revealed to have a secret relationship with his adopted daughter, the godfather of R&B music Luther Vanderlooth, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Don Johnson, Tom Hanks - compared with these people, Spike Lee is like the light of a firefly, but there is a bright moon in the sky behind him.

However, Louie's wife, Monica Bellucci, was not at all shabby as she sat beside them.

Although she was called a "everywhere" vase by the New York Times, as an actress, every movie she starred in made hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office.Even if it is a vase, it is also the GOAT of the vase world.

Louie's son Lu Wuxia was also shooting from the sidelines with the Knicks before the game.

Daughter Lu Wuyan pestered the celebrities in the front row like a little devil asking for autographs and group photos.

This game has been rendered by NBC and various media for many days, and it has been regarded as the most legendary decisive battle in the sports world since the duel between Bird and the tragic division in 1984.

The level of attention is unprecedented.

Where have the Portland Trail Blazers players seen this kind of battle?

Just a random celebrity fan in the front row of the garden is hard to see in the Memorial Stadium.

Mariah Carey sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the show.

After the song is over, tonight's big show is about to begin.

"In Game [-] of the Finals, the Knicks' starting lineup has some slight changes compared to the past." NBC Sports commentator Bob Costas said, "Dennis Rodman started as the third position, Sean Kemp started as the fourth position, and Benj started as the second position. Irwin, Doug, what do you think of this adjustment?"

"Little Lu did something he's never done before," Tracy said. "It shows that he's going to shorten the Knicks' rotation."

"Yes, long spins have always been Little Lu's specialty."

Collins explained: "In the past, the Knicks didn't have the depth of any other team, so Little Lu could stretch the rotation as long as he wanted and get everyone on the ball. But Pat Riley's Trail Blazers built the Knicks' way and used the same style of play, which made the Knicks lose value on the court. If they want to keep up with the intensity of the Blazers, the Knicks have to adjust those secondary players out of the rotation, which is something Little Lu has been avoiding in the past. , But today, he has no reservations. In order to win this world-renowned decisive battle, he chose to use a shorter rotation and a higher lineup strength to face the Blazers."

"I can understand." The tragedy division said, "The injuries of Reggie Miller and Reggie Williams disrupted the deployment of the Knicks. Shortening the rotation is a helpless move brought about by injuries."

The Knicks' opponent, the Trail Blazers, has not changed in the lineup.

Still those five people.

Louis and Riley didn't hold back, let's see the real chapter in this game.

"Remember our plan!" Louis repeatedly reminded, "There is no problem with shooting, but we should not completely pin our hopes on shooting. The inside line is our greatest advantage. Tonight, we will smash the inside line of the Portlanders!"

All players should be in unison.

The two sides started to play, and the game is about to start.

Today Ewing wore a black undershirt to show his determination to put himself in the most dangerous situation.

At the opening jump ball, he roared and gave the racket to his teammates.

The Knicks got the ball at the start, and just as the Blazers were about to step up, Stockton passed the ball to Wilson.

Wilson didn't stop catching the ball and lobbed it to Ewing.

Ewing grabbed the ball, collected the ball from the free throw line and started, went inside and dunked through Clifford Robinson's body.

"!#%"

He snarled inarticulately, and the atmosphere in MSG was heated up from the opening round.

2 is better than 0
The Knicks' five-defense starting team limited the Blazers more than they expected.

Rodman is more conducive to sweeping in the third position. Ewing's determination to protect the basket in the penalty area and Kemp's watchdog-like sweeping around made Barkley, who was about to hit back, be flanked, received the ball too hastily, and his footsteps were not clear, and he was blown away.

"Charles, you suck, don't the donuts at the Four Seasons Hotel taste good? How the hell are you not full!"

Spike Lee yells like a throwback monkey to mess with each other's mentality.

The Blazers returned to defense, and Louis stood on the sidelines and gestured to Stockton from a distance.

Stockton nodded understandingly.

Those who pay attention can see that the Knicks' coaching staff has all stood up, and, starting with Louie, everyone has dark circles under their eyes.

They haven't had a good rest these days, because the game time is too tight and they only have two days to prepare.

Larry Nance is the only player in the Trail Blazers who was selected to the All-Defensive Team besides Jordan. His inside defense is the barrier that Riley dared to let him play center.

However, the quality of the Blazers' training was not high, especially the details of the player's defense were not well grasped. Jeff Van Gundy found a lot of flaws in his position.

Therefore, Louis and the assistants spent two days improving the "2 High" tactic.

The 2 High series of tactics is an inside double-high offensive system that the Knicks have used for many years. It was originally specially equipped for McHale. Now, Louis has made many adjustments to the tactical route and style of play.

2 Diagonal (double high diagonal tactics) offensive system came into being.

Since it is a temporary modification of 2 High, it has not yet undergone special design and research, so 2 Diagonal is not so much a new tactic as a new concept, a new style of play, and the general running and pick-and-roll cover remain unchanged.

Wilson pulled away on one side, and Stockton controlled the ball at the top of the arc.

Ewing, Kemp, and Rodman each performed their duties.

Gorilla and Rainman first set a high double pick-and-roll on Stockton, and Rodman pulled to the other side to prepare for an air cut.

The only one the Blazers came out to delay the defense was Clifford Robinson, and Nance still stuck to the paint.

As a result, Ewing pulled directly to the side, caught the ball and made a jumper.

"Shh!"

4 is better than 0
Ewing, who became more confident as he played, raised his right hand to show off his muscles directly after the shot was made.

"The more I look at it, the more angry I get!" Louis said angrily, "He played like this so early that we don't need to play the seventh game!"

Zhao Yuanzheng is a professional little expert in reducing blood pressure: "It's not too late for him to recover now."

"Damn, this bastard!"

The Knicks' five-defense team started the defense after that, which is the strongest defense many people have ever seen.

Jordan broke through and split the ball after being double-teamed.Porter, who received the ball, encountered Wilson's rotation and made another pass. Robinson was rotated by Kemp again and continued to pass. Barkley took the ball to attack.

Barkley angrily pushed Rodman away, wanting to fight.

The red-haired Rodman came here today with the idea of ​​fighting the Blazers desperately. When he saw Barkley wanting to make a move, he was neither afraid nor backed down.

Fortunately, the referee stopped it in time, otherwise the two might have a fight in front of tens of millions of TV viewers.

"Referee, if you let them fight, the ratings will be higher!"

The queen Madonna booed.

As a result, the referee only gave Rodman a common foul, the Blazers served, and the game continued.

Tactics were cut off, and the Blazers, whose offense was sapped, failed to find their star.

Terry Porter had to force a shot against Wilson's switch.

But his ball didn't even touch the basket. Wilson jumped up and blocked the ball out of the field the moment he shot it.

The Blazers' 24-second shot clock ran out as the ball flew out.

Wilson whistled sarcastically and made Porter look at him: "You don't think we'll let you score tonight, do you? You just got lucky last game."

Louis saw Potter's face turning over several times, and he didn't need to think about it to know that Wilson was talking trash again.

This is a true portrayal of the Knicks tonight.

Thanks to the Trail Blazers, the core players of the Knicks dynasty all remembered how they defeated the Celtics and sat on the throne.

Not by flashy offense, but competitive and aggressive like a fucking beast.

Just for that, when the game is over, Louie has to shake Riley's hand reverently and say thank you.

(End of this chapter)