NBA: This Center Is So Stable

The new season is coming.

Chapter 174: Change of plan, striving for the best in history

It is April.

The regular season schedule has come to the last half month, and the Knicks have locked the first place in the Eastern Conference with 67 wins and 8 losses. They still have 7 games to complete.

The game starts in April.

After defeating the Pistons, Bucks and Pacers on the 2nd, 4th and 7th, the Knicks’ record has reached 70 wins and 8 losses.

D’Antoni, who originally had no plan to leave a fierce reputation in the regular season, was also put on the shelf by the Knicks management.

“Mike, although we have broken the best record in team history, we can’t slack off in the next game. Put away your rest strategy and let us hit the league’s regular season win record.”

Scott Layden gave D’Antoni an order with a solemn oath.

He hoped that the other party could put away the rest strategy and prepare well for the last 4 games.

When the Knicks reached 70 wins at the end of the season, Scott Layden understood that the next game was no longer a simple regular season, but that the Knicks had the opportunity to create history and shoulder to shoulder with the 96 Bulls.

For the Knicks president, creating history means that the overwhelming traffic will be tilted to the city of New York, and the Knicks will become the hottest team in the playoffs.

As long as the Bulls’ regular season wins of 72 are broken, the Knicks this season will leave a strong mark in the long history of the NBA.

It is still unknown whether their dominance can continue to the playoffs, but as long as they surpass the Bulls, even if they tie the Bulls, it is enough to prove that they are the king of the regular season.

For the new head coach D’Antoni, Scott Layden can understand.

He obviously put the team’s focus on the playoffs, otherwise he would not have started the rest strategy directly in the middle and late stages.

It’s just that the Knicks still showed such competitiveness after the rest. Scott believes that even D’Antoni himself could not have imagined that the Asian big man of the team would have such a profound influence on the team.

Even in the absence of 1-2 main teammates, he can still affect the situation.

David Falk also expressed his attention to the Knicks’ subsequent schedule!

“Wang, you must go all out in the next four games. No matter who the opponent is, knock them down!”

Even though they have cooperated for nearly a whole regular season, Wang Song rarely saw such a serious expression on Falk’s face.

As for breaking the record of the best record in the regular season history, Wang Song said he would do his best.

In addition to the team’s record, Falk also talked about personal data.

According to Wang Song’s data this season, he averaged 30.5 points, 15.3 rebounds, 4.6 blocks and 4.7 assists per game. It can be said that the best rookie is already a foregone conclusion. In addition to the best rookie, the block king has also been confirmed.

Falk emphasized the competition for MVP.

“Wang, you don’t have many strong competitors now. Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett should cause some interference to your selection, but I believe that the NBA jury will not give this award to others unless they are blind.”

Before talking to Wang Song about this content, Falk specifically checked the team’s record and personal performance.

O’Neal’s Lakers ranked second in the West, Duncan’s Spurs ranked third, and Garnett’s Timberwolves ranked first.

As for why Falk didn’t mention the players in the East at all?

The reason is also very simple. In addition to the Knicks’ crushing record, the star players in the East did not show their dominance on the court.

Most of them are at the level of ordinary All-Stars.

The Indiana Pacers, ranked second in the East, have a star player Jermaine O’Neal who can only get 20+10 per game. This data is difficult to put in any MVP selection, and even the second team has to be weighed.

The Detroit Pistons, currently ranked third, have brought Larry Brown’s team basketball to the extreme. It is almost impossible to see individual heroism in this team. Billups, as the top scorer, only averages 17.6 points and 4 assists per game.

This kind of team is born for big scenes like the playoffs!

At present, only the Western Conference team still retains the remaining competitiveness.

The data of the three people are around 25 points, 12 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. Although they are all covered by Wang Song in all aspects, the NBA selection is also weird, and occasionally there will be situations where virtue does not match the position.

Therefore, Falk repeatedly told Wang Song not to be careless at the last moment.

···

April 8, the fourth to last game.

New York!

Madison Square Garden.

Knicks players arrived one after another to start training in advance.

Today’s game is against the Miami Heat, and it is also the first game of the Knicks’ full main force returning in the second half of the season.

This season’s Heat has changed a lot compared to last season after selecting Wade and Van Gundy to coach. Now it has firmly sat in the fifth place in the Eastern Conference and won a playoff spot.

Eddie Jones and Odom are the two biggest stars of this Heat!

The Heat does not have a traditional point guard, and Lamar Odom, who is 208 cm tall, is their dealer.

Odom, known as the “left-handed magician”, is the highest point of the Heat’s starting players. He not only takes on the team’s organizational work, but also covers the responsibility of rebounding. This season’s average of nearly 10 rebounds per game is the most powerful proof.

If facing an ordinary team, Odom can still maintain relatively good competitiveness, but today’s away challenge to the Knicks, Van Gundy’s task for him is very simple:

Protect the rebounds!

After a season of running-in and transformation, Van Gundy, the tactical master, understands that their newly signed rookie Wade has grown fast enough for him to start playing the role of a two-way guard in the Heat.

This allows Odom to concentrate on protecting the rebounds.

Van Gundy plans to hand over this organizational task to Wade next season, and this game is equivalent to a pre-drill.

As for winning the game… Van Gundy has not considered this issue.

Before this regular season finale, the Heat had been swept three times by the Knicks. The biggest gap between the two teams was the center.

Now the Heat has no traditional center. Facing the gap in the interior, even Van Gundy can hardly lower his head.

After the game started, the facts were just as he expected!

The Knicks were no less aggressive in this game than in the previous three games. The Knicks rookie directly dominated the rebounds. After three quarters, he got 18 rebounds, 8 of which were offensive rebounds. These 8 boards were almost converted into effective second-chance points.

However, in addition to being crushed in rebounds, Van Gundy, who was seeking change, still saw the potential of this Heat team.

They also have a strong rookie!

Wade, who focused on organization, scored 20 points and 11 assists in the whole game, which made Van Gundy determined to promote Wade next season.

After crossing the small hill of the Heat, the Knicks’ record reached 71 wins, one win away from creating the best record in history.

Their next opponent is the Detroit Pistons.

(End of this chapter)