You are the pearl, Mo Mengchen

Chapter 613
December 1999, 12, Christmas.

Playing in the NBA, sometimes the strength of the team is not a good thing, because the most important festival of the year for Europeans and Americans—Christmas, except for NBA players, all Europeans and Americans celebrate the festival at home, reunite with their relatives, and say goodbye to each other. The gains and losses of the past year, but NBA players in strong teams have to play games in the arena during this time when they should be happy.

The Bulls finally found evidence that they were in a better position than the Pistons.

At least at least their players can get through Christmas.

This year's Christmas game, the Pistons naturally cannot be absent. Their opponents are not last season's opponents in the finals, nor the Celtics who have a feud. The Bulls have declined and have been kicked out of the Christmas game. lakers.

The Pistons' opponent in the Christmas game is the New York Knicks, which were determined to rise again before the start of the season.

The New Yorker ended a bitter season seven months ago.

They traded Ewing and Larry Johnson the following offseason, two players considered untouchable.

They don't fall to the bottom and rebuild like other teams. They quickly build a new army with great combat effectiveness through signing and trading.

The 9899 season was the worst season for the Knicks in the entire 90s.At the same time, the offseason of the 9899 season was their most successful offseason in the entire 90s.

They harvested the league's No. 96 guard, got Michael Jordan's biggest helper on the road to becoming king, won the top five shooting guards in the East, traded to the league's best defensive center, and Camby of the [-] golden generation.

The Knicks' starting lineup has been formed. Throughout the 90s, they have been adhering to a tough and iron-blooded style. What Riley left behind has been continued in Van Gundy.

The brand-new Knicks, with Pippen, Mutombo, and Camby, are three defensive talents. Penny also indicated at the beginning of the season that he would work harder on the defensive end, and facts have proved that he did.

Riley's Heat is exactly the same as Van Gundy's Knicks team system. Every time these two teams meet in the playoffs, they will always fight.

What's interesting is that Van Gundy, as an apprentice, has repeatedly made acts of deceiving his master and destroying his ancestors. His Knicks always win in the end.

This season, the Heat have become the Pistons' bitter masters. They continue to engage in physical confrontation like machines. In the previous two games, the Pistons' scoring average was limited to 106 points per game.

What will happen to the Knicks who may be better than the blue?That's why the game has attracted worldwide attention.

"Pence finally has a good team now."

"This season, the Knicks are averaging 103 points while allowing 88 points per game."

"By 15 points per game."

If you want to make a reference, you can use the invincible 96 bulls as a reference.

The 96 Bulls averaged 105 points per game and let their opponents score 93 points per game.

Although the cross-season comparison cannot directly explain the problem, nor can it be concluded that the Knicks are stronger offensively and defensively than the Bulls, but it is enough as a reference.

These two teams scored very high while suppressing the opponent's score very low.

"The Pistons are a completely different team." Vinier Johnson said, "This season, their offense is crazier than last season. They are currently averaging 125 points per game and allowing their opponents to score 107 points per game. By 18 points on average."

"They're playing the best offensive basketball ever, and at the same time, their defense is pretty good compared to their offense."

Because of those famous running and bombing teams in history, they can score a lot of points, but at the same time let their opponents get more points.

The Pistons have an average margin of 18 points per game, which is what sets them apart from other running and bombing teams.

"haven't seen you for a long time."

Mo Mengchen and Penny met in the middle circle.

Hill shook hands with Pippen. The last time the two sides were so tense, it had to be traced back to the Eastern Conference finals in 98.

At that time, Pippen was still a member of the Red Bulls, but now he has become the minion of his old enemy.

I just don’t know when Knicks fans see Pippen wearing their own jersey, can they recall the dunk when Pippen crushed the gorilla in the air?
After warming up, the game is about to start.

Van Gundy put his arms around his chest and looked serious.

Dikembe Mutombo stepped forward to jump the ball with Rashid, who had the advantage of his body, and the result was the same, with the African mountain going to Penny.

Penny dribbled forward, and Mo Mengchen followed closely. At the beginning of the game, both sides were probing.

Mutombo took advantage of the situation to block Ben Wallace's position with an iron arm. Penny then introduced the ball into the low post. Africa Dashan took the ball and launched a back attack stiffly.

A very Knicks approach.

Since Ewing joined this team, every attack they have is like this. They must let the inside play. Even if the gorilla has left Seattle, Mutombo has to take over this glorious tradition.

Mutombo's offense is quite stiff, he basically has no coping ability, double-teaming him is no problem, but with his heads-up technique, double-teaming is a complete waste, what if this guy has a flash of inspiration and passes a good ball? ?
Because the double-team was not given in the first place, Mutombo hit a deep position, turned over and made a strong move. The reckless attack seemed to have no chance, but he put the ball into the basket.

After all, Big Ben's height is a lot shorter.

"Mo, if you want to go inside, I have no problem."

Penny said flatly.

Go inside?Mo Mengchen glanced at Mutombo and Camby. The two future shot-blocking champions and best defensive players were already in place. Coupled with Pippen's mopping up, the Knicks' lineup was too strong in defense.

However, it is not without loopholes.

Steve Smith, at his peak, should be the top three shooting guards in the Eastern Conference. Now, with the rise of a new generation of star players, he may not even be in the top five. He has the ability to score 20 points per game, but he also has The defensive ability of the opponent scored 20 points per game.

Mo Mengchen slowly dribbled the ball to the right, Houston took a screen, and cut straight from the top of the arc to the free throw line.

Among the crowd, Mo Mengchen took the ball with his left hand and smashed it hard to the ground, passing directly through Pippen's long arm and reaching the palm of CIC Wang.

"A beautiful pass!"

Houston received the pass, took two steps with long legs, and the speed was so fast that both Camby and Mutombo could only watch him score a layup.

2 is better than 2
New York's defensive strength is not as strong as expected, which makes people feel very uncomfortable.

Last year they were still a meat grinder team, but this year they changed to unrestrained style?

Mo Mengchen didn't believe it.

Moreover, can the unrestrained team limit the opponent's scoring to 88?This is impossible and has only one explanation.

They kept beating.

The Knicks are currently 22 wins and 6 losses, second only to the Pistons, ranking second in the Eastern Conference. They have already regarded the Pistons as potential opponents.

Mo Mengchen saw Hardaway free the ball and immediately posted it for confrontation.

Since people don't want to show off their muscles in front of you, you can only press your nose and eyes to force him to exert strength.

It is impossible for the Knicks to change, because their head coach is Van Gundy, a head coach who regards defense as his life, rigid to the extreme, and especially insists on himself.

A set of old clothes that he can wear for ten years.In the end, because the clothes were too shabby and worn on Van Gundy, his coquettish Mediterranean style made him look extremely bad, and the manufacturer of other clothes offered him money to ask him not to wear that suit again.

In addition to clothes, there is also Van Gundy's famous ten-year-old broken car. No matter what it is, as long as it is in his hands, he can use it for a long time.

This person doesn't like change.

Therefore, even if the lineup has undergone earth-shaking changes, the Knicks are still the Knicks.

Penny sent the ball away, and Pippen wanted to dribble and break through, but the Hill who was facing him was no longer the Hill who was educated by him at will.

It was difficult for Pippen to do anything in front of Devil Mountain. At this moment, he saw Mo Mengchen stuck in the low position of Penny.

Just like passing the ball to Jordan, Pippen also passed the ball to the young man who he thought was closest to Jordan.

After Hardaway got the ball, he immediately faced the basket and moved back and forth with one foot, which brought some confusing information to Mo Mengchen. The direction of his breakthrough was unpredictable.

Then, suddenly, Hardaway didn't expect that there would be ambushes on this road.

Alan Houston suddenly appeared, double-teaming with Mo Mengchen.

The two surrounded Hardaway and covered Hardaway's sight. Penny passed the ball to Pippen, and Pipen passed the ball to Smith who missed.

Completely open, Smith missed a shot.

"Watch out for their counterattack!"

Van Gundy growled.

If it is useful to shout a word of caution, the mistakes in this world will be reduced by at least 90%.

Rashid grabbed the rebound, roared, and threw the ball hard to Mo Mengchen in front of him.

Mo Mengchen grabbed the ball with one hand, didn't stop for half a second, and sent the ball directly before he could stabilize his figure.

This is the classic fast-break counterattack of the Pistons. Rasheed and Mo Mengchen passed the ball as soon as they got the ball, without delay.

Hill's speed is too fast, also running at full speed, Pippen can't keep up with his speed at all.

Devil Mountain caught up with Mo Mengchen's pass, and the penalty area was in front of him. He simply sped up, jumped up, and scored a slam dunk.

After landing, Pippen walked in front of him.

He moved out of the way gracefully and no physical contact occurred.

"You're still as weak as ever," Pippen said.

"But I won the championship." Who said Devil Mountain doesn't talk trash?When he decided to talk trash, he was also extremely mean, "Your sports career has plummeted after you left MJ, right?"

What makes Hill more confident than Pippen is that his champion is the old champion.

Even if there is Mo Mengchen who can't tell whether it is the boss or the second guy beside him.

His honor is really there, unlike Pippen who is the second child at first glance.

In the backcourt, Penny rushed back to catch Pippen's serve, and then returned the ball to Pipen, letting him take it to the frontcourt.

Pippen and Penny usually do not communicate with each other, and the cooperation on the field is mostly through eye contact. For example, in this round, Penny used a small trick to make Camby step forward to screen without the ball, and suddenly ran to the top of the arc to catch the ball and shoot.

A shot that was completely unexpected by Mo Mengchen.

"Shh!"

(End of this chapter)