blogombal Chapter 697 The Knicks unveiled a completely new defensive formation! Chapter 2
Chapter 697 The Knicks unveiled a completely new defensive formation! Chapter 2
As expected, the Nets made a substitution after the timeout!
They replaced Kostic with Harrington, and now they have four players on the court with relatively stable three-point shooting, leaving only Yao Ming in the paint!
The Knicks also changed their lineup at this time!
They replaced Okur and Barnes with Smith and Wallace!
At this moment, the Knicks played a combination of athletic track and field players with explosive physical abilities!
These two, along with Lin Tian, Anthony, and Stoudemire, make up what is arguably the most physically explosive five-man lineup in the league today!
"The Knicks, at this point, actually fielded this kind of lineup? What is Don Nelson trying to do?" Barkley frowned and said, "I don't understand! I don't understand what Don Nelson is trying to do!"
"Impact!" Kenny exclaimed. "The biggest characteristic of this lineup is its extreme impact! Old Nelson will definitely utilize the impact of this lineup!"
"But don't ask me how he's going to use that impact force, I don't know."
With even two incredibly experienced commentators unable to decipher Nelson's intentions, the game continued!
With 3 minutes and 05 seconds remaining, the Nets inbounded the ball in the frontcourt.
Then Barkley understood what Old Nelson was up to.
"Half-court defense! Half-court zone defense!" Barkley exclaimed, "The Knicks, they can actually play such advanced defensive tactics?"
The so-called half-court zone defense is actually an expanded version of zone defense.
This is a defensive tactic that often appears when a team is behind and needs to catch up urgently.
This defensive tactic is all about giving it your all, disregarding everything, and fighting to the death!
This tactic allows the defense to apply immense pressure and tight defense to the opponent in the area above the free-throw line. The goal is to completely disrupt the opponent's offense before they can even launch an attack or execute the tactic, preventing them from effectively organizing their offense.
This will cause the opponent to make a mistake!
The most important aspects of this defensive setup are the players' teamwork, double-teaming the players on the perimeter, and their movement and reaction speed!
This tactic is actually frequently used in European competitions because the individual abilities of players there are relatively average, with very few outstanding top players. This tactic is perfect for countering this egalitarian basketball system.
But in the NBA, this approach is rarely used.
Because this move is most vulnerable to top-tier players with exceptional individual skills!
A star player's breakthrough or a sudden wide pass after drawing defenders can easily break down this defense.
"The Knicks are notorious for their lack of defense, and now they're pulling out this kind of play..." Kenny frowned. "I don't understand!"
Although he couldn't understand it, the Knicks on the court were already showing terrifying pressure!
Lin Tian and Wallace surrounded Bibby at the top of the arc. Seeing that he was about to make a mistake, Bibby barely managed to pass the ball to Prince. But as soon as Prince got the ball, Lin Tian moved to his side and, together with Anthony, double-teamed him!
Prince's ball control ability is nowhere near Bibby's; Bibby can pass the ball out, but he can't!
"Snapped!"
Lin Tian slapped the ball away, intercepting it. He then glanced at the situation on the court and immediately threw the ball towards the frontcourt.
Wallace had already overtaken Bibby and was leading the charge. He grabbed the basketball, dribbled it twice, then gathered the ball, jumped, and after a glide, arrived at the basket and slammed the ball into the hoop!
"boom!"
With a loud bang, the gap between the two sides widened to 14 points!
"Old Nelson's defense... it's actually effective!" Kenny couldn't help but say. "I'm starting to suspect that the Knicks have been secretly practicing their defense."
Have the Knicks been practicing defense in private?
of course not!
Because in the second round, when they used the same zone defense again, Bibby was already mentally prepared.
As a result, the Knicks' seemingly useless defense was immediately broken!
With his mind at ease, Bibby made a more composed pass and handled the ball more quickly. He passed the ball to Carter, who dribbled two steps to draw the defense before lobbing it to the basket. Yao Ming caught the ball under the basket and immediately pulled up, dunking the ball into the hoop with both hands!
There wasn't a single Knicks defender within a 2-meter radius around him.
The main goal is to leak it completely and thoroughly!
The fact that they were able to leave such a large opening under the basket for the opposing team's top scorer tonight is enough to show how ineffective their defense is.
In other words, they were able to steal one point in the first possession by taking advantage of the Nets' slow reaction and Bibby's imperfect ball handling.
"Okay, now I'm sure of it. They haven't practiced at all. They were just using it to scare people." Kenny couldn't help but curse himself in his heart.
Secretly practicing defense? The Knicks? Don Nelson?
How is that possible!
They're just asking for trouble!
"From a scare tactic standpoint, they were quite successful," Barkley laughed. "Two possessions, shutting down one player and launching a fast break—that's a huge win!"
"Especially when they were leading by more than 10 points, this back-and-forth wasted dozens of seconds. The Knicks and Don Nelson's sudden change of strategy is absolutely commendable."
The question now is, will Old Nelson continue with this tactic?
"No way! A substitution! Old Nelson made a substitution during a dead ball situation! Hahaha, he really knows when to quit while he's ahead, not playing a single extra possession!"
Don Nelson made another move, replacing Smith with Okur, bringing the team back to the regular lineup.
This time, Lin Tian didn't rush. Instead, he slowly dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, waved to signal everyone not to rush, and to calm down and take their time to score.
At this point in the game, time was on the Knicks' side, and they kept pressing until there were only 8 seconds left on the shot clock. Finally, Lin Tiancai waved his hand, signaling Okur to come forward.
Another screen! They're going to target Yao Ming again!
But this time, Yao knew he couldn't just sit under the basket and wait; he had to come out!
At this point, watching Lin Tian shoot from the open is tantamount to suicide!
Bibby was once again blocked by Okur. One of them struggled desperately to break free, while the other held on tightly to prevent him from rushing over to defend his teammate.
Both players made excessive moves, and both committed obvious fouls.
But the referee's gaze wasn't on the two of them; instead, it was fixed on Lin Tian and Yao Ming!
This is the real battlefield!
Facing his fellow villager, Lin Tian had no intention of embarrassing him. With a change of direction and acceleration, he rushed directly behind Da Yao in just one step, leaving him completely behind!
As it turns out, with Yao Ming's speed, it's better for him to stay in the paint and wait to fight Lin Tian under the basket.
Break out?
It was just a matter of one step. Lin Tian could get past him without even needing to find his rhythm or center of gravity! He just had to speed up.
Lin Tian drove all the way to the basket, aggressively colliding head-on with Harrington, who was coming over to help defend.
"Bang!"
With a muffled thud, Harrington, who had just jumped up, was sent flying by Lin Tian's punch!
This guy, who claims to be tough, fierce, and multi-talented, is no match for Lin Tian when he charges forward!
"boom!"
After sending him flying, Lin Tian smoothly slammed the ball into the basket!
After landing, Lin Tian excitedly pounded his chest and shouted at Harrington!
At this moment, there's no time to care about the friendship with former teammates.
Lin Tian was in an incredibly fierce and domineering state right now!
After scoring 9 points in 2 minutes, Lin Tian's total score for the night has reached 50 points!
His first 50 points in this year's playoffs!
At the same time, Lin Tian used this score of 50 to declare: He's really okay! His injury is truly and completely healed!
It was after this incredibly clean and powerful dunk that the Nets' resistance was almost completely over.
Bibby's three-pointer missed again, and Yao Ming's putback also failed to find the net. Then Okur slapped the backboard away again, and Lin Tian caught the basketball in mid-air. Before he even landed, he threw the ball away.
The ball was received by Wallace, who had just completed a powerful dunk. This time, he took off again with the ball and completed another powerful dunk!
After that dunk, the point difference between the two sides had reached 16 points.
And there were less than 2 minutes left.
This time, Frank didn't force it. He called a timeout and substituted all the key players who had fought hard throughout the game.
Surrender.
On the other side, Don Nelson made the same choice, taking advantage of the timeout to make a large-scale substitution, which was quite considerate and prevented the starters from continuing to wreak havoc on the court!
The last two minutes of the game passed quickly, and neither side had any timeouts, fouls, free throws, or other events that would disrupt the game's progress.
Soon, the referee blew his whistle, and the game ended!
109: 100!
The Nets managed to score a few points in the final two minutes, but ultimately lost by only 9 points!
In this game, the Nets played well for 44 minutes, but they collapsed in the last few minutes and were defeated by the Knicks in one go!
Although they lost, and the margin of defeat was not small, everyone could see the Nets' progress and toughness. They put pressure on the Knicks almost throughout the game and maintained a chance to win.
It was only because the power went out in the last four minutes that the Nets were able to fight for a victory on the road!
For New Yorkers, it was another perfect night!
Victory! Lin Tian is back in top form! Lin Tian's 50+ point triple-double!
The entire Knicks team was on fire, with everyone playing their own style and easily winning the first game of the second round.
Happy!
"Lin, first of all, congratulations on your return to the game and on leading your team to the first win of the series. How does it feel to be back on the court?" At the post-game press conference, because this was a matchup between two New York teams, almost all the people present were New York reporters.
As is widely known, finding a Nets fan in New York City is harder than finding a rose in the Sahara Desert.
So the current situation is that everyone at the scene, whether they are reporters covering the Knicks or the Nets, is all smiling.
Tonight, everyone's a Knicks fan!
"Great, I'm very happy." Lin Tian leaned back in his chair and said, "I'm fully recovered. I can feel that I'm 100% healthy. I feel like I'm completely back! The discomfort I felt during the game against the Bulls has completely disappeared."
"Winning the first game is certainly happier. The Nets are a very strong team. They have two All-Star starters, and they also have many tough and aggressive players. Their overall strength is quite formidable."
"Vince has always been one of the strongest swingmen in the league; his physical attributes and clutch performance are absolutely not to be underestimated!"
"I think Yao is the best center right now. Among all the top centers I've seen in my career, his dominance ranks in the top three! He's in no way inferior to any of the four great centers!"
"Ty Shaun's defense is giving me a headache..."
"Mike's offensive and defensive abilities are top-tier in the league; the league owes him an All-Star spot!"
"It was very difficult to beat them. We fought with all our might and used every trick in the book to barely win the game."
"This series will be very tough, and we're prepared for it to go to seven games!"
That's why I say Master Lin is quite particular.
Lin Tian showed considerable respect to the Nets, a team with which he had a deep connection, where several of his younger teammates had played and been beaten up by him multiple times.
He showered the Nets with praise at the post-game press conference!
This team is the strongest team I've ever faced since my debut, the biggest challenge, and my biggest goal in life.
After this interview was released, Yao Ming was stunned!
Holy crap, am I that strong? Am I really that good?
Could it be that my brother Lin has discovered that I'm actually better than peak Shaq?
Like Yao Ming, a number of Nets players and coaches, including Carter, Harrington, Bibby, and Frank, also experienced this illusion.
They were all stunned by Lin Tian's praise.
That's too much, man! It's gone too far!
Then?
The second match between the two sides continued.
Then everyone realized that Lin Tian's words were all bullshit and utter nonsense.
Are the Nets strong?
They were able to let the Knicks hit 8 three-pointers in the first quarter, and were riddled with arrows by the Knicks, turning them into a honeycomb.
Is Yao Ming strong?
How could someone so strong not be able to find their rhythm in the entire second game? Isn't it just because the first game lasted too long and he was too exhausted to fully recover? Is that why he performed so poorly in the second game?
Carter's offensive firepower? He's been so targeted by Lin Tian and Barnes that he's almost forgotten how to play.
As for the remaining Bibby, Prince...
Let's not talk about it anymore, let's not talk about it anymore!
In the second game, perhaps the Nets were exhausted from playing too hard in the previous game, or perhaps they were suffering from some culture shock due to spending too much time in New York City.
In short, they were completely crushed!
In this game, because the Nets continued their strategy of collapsing their interior defense to protect the boards, the Knicks unleashed 25 three-pointers throughout the game, scoring 75 points from three-pointers alone!
They had a ton of opportunities beyond the three-point line and were hitting them like crazy!
Lin Tian made 4 three-pointers, Okur 3, Anthony 3, Barnes 2, Hill 3 off the bench, Houston 2, and Nate 3. The player with the most three-pointers on the team was Josh Smith, the "mid-range heartthrob." This guy is usually terrible at shooting and can't make many three-pointers all season.
But he always manages to unleash his full potential at crucial moments, making a rapid and decisive surge forward!
Then it gives people the illusion that this guy has incredibly accurate shooting skills!
But if you look at the data, this guy's field goal percentage in the regular season was only 28%, and in the first round and the first game of the second round of the playoffs, he only made 2 three-pointers in a total of 6 games, which is less than half of this game.
All I can say is that some people are truly blessed by destiny!
When the Knicks are able to make 25 three-pointers in a game, it inevitably means that Lin Tian also delivers a massive number of assists.
That night, Lin Tian made 8 of 13 shots, easily scoring 23 points, while also dishing out 21 assists and grabbing 15 rebounds!
Another incredibly exaggerated triple-double!
Lin Tian is becoming increasingly unstoppable!
In this game, the Knicks took the initiative from the very first second and maintained their lead throughout, never falling behind for even a second and holding a significant advantage for the entire game.
When the game ended, the Knicks defeated the Nets 128-80, a 48-point victory!
This was also the Knicks' biggest playoff win of the year! They delivered a crushing defeat to the Nets!
The good news is that the Nets have almost no die-hard fans; at least 7% of their fans are also Knicks fans.
This means that although the Nets suffered a crushing defeat, not many people were truly heartbroken.
The players from both teams then drove home separately. Since they both live in New York, neither team needed to fly back and forth to away games; they could simply drive across a river to get there.
This close-range competition also allows players to avoid the fatigue of travel, recover their form as much as possible, and play all the games with the best spirit!
For example, in Game 3 of the series, Yao Ming successfully regained his physical strength and dominance under the basket, and played exceptionally well!
He even played better than in the first game!
He played 36 minutes, scoring 31 points, grabbing 19 rebounds, and blocking 4 shots!
Yao Ming gave his all that night and gave everything he could!
Unfortunately, this match was almost a carbon copy of the first one. The two teams remained evenly matched for most of the game, with neither able to pull ahead and the score remaining close throughout.
The turning point of this game came with two minutes left in the third quarter!
At this point, Yao Ming had already played for 10 minutes straight, but Frank did not let him go off the court to rest.
Yao Ming, who was experiencing a physical bottleneck, played terribly in those two minutes!
Not only did he miss both of his shots, but he also made a mistake because of Lin Tian's double-team!
When you face the Knicks, if you fail to score on three consecutive offensive possessions, the Knicks will inevitably score in a row!
8: 0!
Taking advantage of Yao Ming's consecutive missed shots, the Knicks, led by Lin Tian, went on an 8-0 run in less than 2 minutes!
Okur hit a three-pointer, Anthony hit a three-pointer, and Lin Tian drove to the basket for a layup!
After this 8-0 run, the gap between the two sides widened to 13 points in the blink of an eye!
Throughout the fourth quarter, the Nets launched counterattack after counterattack against the Knicks, repeatedly trying to push onto the high ground, but were repeatedly driven back and brought down.
They were desperate to close the gap throughout the fourth quarter, but they were unable to reduce the score to within 10 points!
They ultimately lost this crucial third game with a score of 102-92!
3: 0!
The Nets are just one step away from being swept by the Knicks.
What saddened the Nets players even more was that, despite this being their home court, their territory, two-thirds of the people in the arena tonight were wearing Knicks jerseys.
This means that almost no one wore the white Nets T-shirts that the Nets officially gave out before the game!
Half of the fans stuffed this thing under their butts as a cushion, while many others used it as a prop to cheer for the Knicks, rolling it up and waving it around!
You know what, it was actually quite impressive to see tens of thousands of audience members doing this at the same time.
It would be even more perfect if they were chanting "New Jersey is invincible" instead of "Knicks will win".
In short, at that moment... everyone on the Nets team felt like they were being treated like a minotaur in person.
pain!
A pain that comes from the depths of my heart!
What does "home field as away field" mean?
They might as well go play in Madison!
There are plenty of fun places around Madison, so you can have a good time after the game.
Instead of what I'm doing now, being harassed by a Minotaur in the cold and boring New Jersey, and then returning home alone and dejected.
pain!
The fans' defection turned all the Nets' preparations, from top to bottom, into nothing but wishful thinking and an unattainable reality. (End of Chapter)