Basketball K God

Chapter 121 Return to Madison Square Garden

On the evening of March 3, the Kings will be a guest at Madison Square Garden to challenge the New York Knicks away.

New York City is located on the Atlantic coast in the southeastern part of New York State. It is the largest city and port in the United States. The New York metropolitan area is one of the largest urban areas in the world.

The New York Knicks, one of two teams that haven't moved a city since the original BAA, still have fewer championships than the Boston Celtics (2 17, Celtics [-] times).

Of course, although the Knicks are not some historical giants, they have finally had a championship, but as far as the current situation is concerned, this team is really bad enough.The last time they made the playoffs was the 2003-04 season.In other words, they have not entered the playoffs for 5 consecutive seasons.And not only did they not go in, they were completely one of the bottom few in the league.

This is not the first time Xie Kai has come to Madison Square Garden. Nine months ago, he participated in the NBA draft here and fulfilled his dream of playing in the NBA.

Therefore, this is the starting point of his dream. Coming here again this time, he will have a different feeling from other away games.

The two teams are currently regarded as "difficult brothers and sisters".The Knicks currently have 28 wins and 39 losses, ranking fourth from the bottom in the Eastern Conference, and entering the playoffs is nowhere in sight; the Kings are 4 wins and 14 losses, ranking second from the bottom in the Western Conference, and have already entered the competition for the No. 54 pick.

The game has not yet started, and a large number of fans have already arrived at the Madison Square Garden Arena.Although the home team has a poor record, there is never a shortage of fans here.The attendance rate of teams in big cities has never been comparable to that of teams in small cities.

Many black-haired and yellow-skinned Chinese also came that night. You must know that Chinatown in Manhattan is the densest concentration of Chinese in the Western Hemisphere.Obviously, many of them came here for Xie Kai.

Even if it's just a contest between big teams, the attention before the game is no less than a direct competition between playoff teams.There is no other reason, Xie Kai and the Knicks, this is attention, this is popularity.

People of yellow race will be discriminated against in the NBA, but at the same time, rare things are more expensive, and the attention and popularity they receive are unmatched by ordinary black players.

There is a similarity between Madison Square Garden and Staples Arena, that is, you can often see local New York stars, political and business celebrities, and socialites in the arena.

Tonight, among the many fans at the scene, the great director Spike Lee sitting on the sidelines is particularly eye-catching.He often comes here to watch games, and has gradually become one of the business cards of this arena.

In this game, the starting lineup of the Knicks at home is: center-David Lee, power forward-Wilson Chandler, small forward-Larry Hughes, shooting guard-Nate Robinson, Point guard -- Chris Duhon.

"Godfather of 7-second offense" Mike D'Antoni has moved over the previous set in the Suns since he entered the Big Apple this season. Nash, without Stoudemire, and without singles players such as Joe and Hacker, couldn't play the kind of offense that the Suns had back then.

D'Antoni's team has no offense, and the defense is a big colander. He also prefers small lineups, short rotations and fast offenses, so his team's backcourt ball holders have good statistics.But the downside of short rotations is the increased risk of injury.

In this game, he let the 206cm white power forward David Lee play the center, let the small forward Wilson Chandler play the power forward, let the combo guard Larry Hughes play the small forward, and the two players in the backcourt The average height of players is 180cm.With such a lineup, there is inherently no hardware configuration that can defend against opponents.

Therefore, if the team's starters want to suppress the opponent in terms of score, they can only rely on offense.

The starting lineup of the Kings in the away game is: center - Spencer Hawes, power forward - Jason Thompson, small forward - Francisco Garcia, shooting guard - Kevin Martin, point guard - Benno Udry.

The Kings still use the previous starting lineup. At present, their lineup has stabilized. These 5 players start, and the 6th player is thankful.

The commentators for this game are Mike Breen and Mark Jackson.

"Mark, did you eat well when you came back to New York?" Mike Brin asked with a smile.

Mark Jackson patted his stomach with a smile: "I gained a few pounds, hehe..."

"In this game, if you make a bold prediction, who will have the advantage?" Mike Breen asked.

"It's hard. These two teams seem to have a chance of winning. It depends on the performance on the spot!" Mark Jackson said.

"Mark, you are really getting more and more cunning now, and your words are tight, which is not the case when you are playing." Mike Breen deliberately pretended to blame.

"Mike, please forgive me. The process and results of the match between these two teams are really unpredictable!" Mark Jackson immediately surrendered.

Mike Breen smiled proudly. Of course he knew that the course of this game was very unpredictable.Who knows if the Kings have been instructed to play badly in this game?Who knows if the Knicks have already begun to enter the bad plan?
The first quarter started soon.

As soon as the game came up, the offensive efficiency of the two teams was not high.Although the Kings have a height advantage inside, but one of their two insides is outside and the offensive skills are rough, it is difficult to punish the opponent inside.The height of the outside Knicks is also obviously at a disadvantage, but their speed is very fast, but they are evenly matched.

Halfway through the first quarter, there was a dead ball on the sidelines, and Xie Kai replaced Garcia.

As soon as Xie Kai entered the field, the Chinese fans at the scene began to cheer.In the NBA, it is indeed not easy to meet a yellow player. Compared with the last century, the number of yellow players in the current league has reached a record high.

"Here comes Kane," Mike Breen said with a smile.

At this time, the score on the court was 12:11, and the Kings led by 1 point.

The game continues.

Chris Duhon dribbled the ball over, the frontcourt was V-shaped, and David Lee put up the pick-and-roll.

D'Antoni's offensive tactics are actually not complicated. The core point is that the ball-handler starts the pick-and-roll, the wings open up space, and the inside line lifts the pick-and-roll.To put it bluntly, it's a set of pick-and-rolls to kill. It's not that he has no other tactics, but this is the one he plays the most.

Xie Kai defended Larry Hughes, the talented combo guard who was called "Big Iverson" back then.It's just that his talent has not been fulfilled in the end. He has been in the industry for 10 years, and he has no chance to become a superstar.

(End of this chapter)