Basketball Dragon

Chapter 41

15 points and 9 rebounds were Li Hai's answer sheet. In the contest between him and Maggette, he fouled 28 times in 4 minutes. It seemed that he was a little behind, but the Knicks won.

At 110:96, the Knicks ushered in their first winning streak of the season.

Tim Thomas also scored 15 points in this game, but only had 4 rebounds and also fouled 4 times.

Originally, he didn't have any idea about Li Hai. He didn't care even if he played as a starter and as a substitute for about the same amount of time. Anyway, he had already got a big contract, but after the media talked about it, he also had a sense of urgency.

There are two tens of millions of players in the main lineup, except for Marbury. If he is kicked out of the main lineup, it will be a bit too ugly.

His attitude towards Li Hai also changed, and his eyes were faintly hostile during the warm-up training.

On November 11th, the Knicks played against the Pacers, which was also the first back-to-back for Li Hai to enter the NBA.

The current Pacers are strong and strong. Although the old Miller was absent due to injury, Jermaine O'Neal has fully grown up and has the ability to overwhelm the inside.

Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson were also badass, as were Jamal Tinsley and Austin Croshere.

They ranked first in the league in the regular season last year. They were very unwilling to be killed by the Pistons in the playoffs. This season they plan to make a comeback and hit the highest honor again.

At the beginning of the game, the combination of "Martial Saint" Stephen Jackson, "The Beast" Ron Artest and Jermaine O'Neal made the Knicks extremely overwhelmed, especially Jermaine O'Neal, in front of him, the Knicks' inside line was useless.

Tim Thomas was very active in this game, and he was very desperate when he came up.

But he was used to laziness. First, he barely shot and was blocked, and then he fouled twice in a row. After only 3 minutes, he had to be forced to leave the field.

Li Hai felt a little surprised that Tim Thomas could get a 6-year 6600 million contract, logically it shouldn't be like this.

After he came on the field, he felt the best defensive player of last season. Artest, who defended for a while, was very powerful. Artest was very powerful, but this is not the point. The skill of contact made Li Hai consume a lot of energy out of thin air.

After making a big circle, he finally used his speed to get away from the opponent. Marbury passed the ball in time. Li Hai caught the ball and shot it.

Confronting, getting rid of, hitting, and scoring with all his strength made him happy.

When it was the Pacers' turn to attack Artest and directly force him to play, Li Hai felt more pressure than facing Maggette. When he was excited during the confrontation, the referee's whistle blew, and he realized that Artest Tom Thomas is not that good, it is really "beast" too tough.

Li Hai is not a person who will be cowardly, and the opponent is powerful, so he has the idea of ​​fighting with all his strength.

The opponent's offensive was fierce. Fortunately, Marbury was also in a brave state. He hit two consecutive three-pointers to close the score, but then Muhammad, who was defending Jermaine O'Neal, fouled three times.

Coach Wilkens could only let Kurt Thomas play center forward and replace Michael Sweetney, who was heavier than Lehi, at power forward.

However, misfortunes never come singly. Crawford had some physical problems. After missing three shots, he went straight back to the locker room. Coach Wilkens was forced to make a substitution again.

"Use your speed, you must make good use of your speed, and don't get entangled with that guy." During the timeout, Marbury gave Li Hai an opportunity.

Li Hai also felt that his breathing was a little messy, and within a few minutes of playing, he felt tired.

Is this the back-to-back of a high-intensity game? Yesterday, I fought against Maggette for so long. Today, I met Artest, and my body couldn't stand it. Only then did he feel the difference between the NBA game and the NCAA game, and kept expressing. It means playing for a longer time and consuming more.

Li Hai listened to Marbury's suggestion and tried not to make more physical contact with Artest. The offense went smoothly, but the defense was still awkward.

To be honest, his style of play also likes to make physical contact with the opposing players. It is good to say that he is purely running in the offense. If he is uncoordinated in the defense, he will be hit by the opponent.

In the middle half of the second quarter, Li Hai was replaced. He scored 6 points, but his body felt like he had fought for the whole game, his muscles were tensed and trembling slightly.

The Knicks were even more troublesome on the scene. Michael Sweetney, who went up to the power forward position, fouled three times in a short period of time in order to help defend O'Neal. Kurt Thomas also fouled twice, one of which was fouled by Jackson. Breakthrough made.

Lack of people, lack of people, Lenny Wilkens only felt that there was no one in his hands, and Vin Baker looked like he didn't even have the strength to wave a towel, so he couldn't get in at all.

Tim Thomas was placed in the power forward position because of his height. He didn't expect to commit two more crimes immediately, and committed four offenses before halftime was over.

This time the head coach is in a different situation, so he can do what he wants, and he will not change at all.

At the end of the first half, the Knicks trailed by 49 points at 63:14, and the Pacers were in great shape.

"We still have a chance to win." Li Hai was very unwilling. The team just won two consecutive victories and looked to develop in a further direction, but they didn't expect to be beaten out of breath by the opponent.

The locker room was a little quiet, the lineup was disorganized, and both offense and defense were struggling, making the Knicks teammates unable to raise their heads.

"14 points, you can't do it with only 14 points, I can get it back by myself." Marbury roared loudly.

He wanted to win, and he also felt aggrieved.

Some people are upset, some are ashamed, there are too many teams in this group who haven't been together for a long time, and their hearts are not twisted together.

"We can win." Li Hai also became excited, "They also have players who are injured and cannot play, and they are back to back. As long as we try our best, it's no big deal."

"Yes, we still have a chance in the second half." Wilkens, who had not spoken, stood next to the tactical blackboard, "Let's analyze the situation in the first half. As long as we do a good job, we will have a chance to win this game." Down."

"First and foremost, defend as hard as you can."

Analyzing and encouraging, Wilkens is just like usual, without anger, without cadence, and his voice is speaking about his ideas in a steady voice.

He's a good coach, but he's not tough enough, he's less tactful, and if New York had a good locker room leader, he'd be fine, but something's missing right now.

At the beginning of the second half, the Knicks had their own ideas, but some people were also stimulated by the words of Marbury and Li Hai. 14 points is not a big gap in the NBA.

(End of this chapter)