Rookies’ Debut (Part 4)
Different point guards will bring different game rhythms. On the Knicks bench, the flatterer Charlie Ward watched everyone running back and forth on the court, feeling depressed and not wanting to talk.
In less than 3 minutes, the Knicks suddenly changed their style!
Patrick Ewing received the ball at the top of the arc. Lee, who had just handed the ball to Damon Stoudemire, was tug-of-war with him outside the three-point line.
Suddenly, he gave the other player a hidden push and quickly stepped forward to take the hand-to-hand pass.
Ewing's side screen prevented Damon Stoudemire from defending in time.
The moment Lee received the ball, he noticed that the Raptors' center Tabak came up without delay.
He dribbled sideways, passed the ball at the top of the arc, and made a quick jump shot from outside the three-point line!
"Swish!" The three-pointer went into the net!
At 19:17, the Knicks easily overtook the score.
The Raptors were all dumbfounded. Wasn't this just a blind fight?
In the Skydome, the fans ignored all this and continued to cheer. Compared to the previous foul, this was obviously much more interesting.
"It looks like Lee is continuing his preseason playing style. Maybe we'll see him again on Sports Center tonight."
"Coach Walker seems unprepared, but I believe the Raptors will respond!"
Home commentator John Saunders briefly praised Lee's performance, and then began to praise the Raptors.
Lee also has his own defensive experience on how to defend small point guards.
Try to cover the opponent with your body, and at the same time, use your other hand to pull from time to time at an angle where the referee can't see, disrupting the opponent's dribbling rhythm.
Damon Stoudemire was somewhat uncomfortable with the interference. Every time he accelerated, stopped suddenly, or crossed over and pulled back, Lee would move in time to leave him some space to break through.
After half-court, the two men were entangled all the way to the top of the arc, and stopped suddenly again. Damon Stoudemire no longer hesitated, holding the ball in his right hand and accelerating the breakthrough.
Lee quickly slid to the left rear. He did not completely lose his defensive position, but tried his best to drive the opponent into the inside.
After breaking into the paint area, Damon Stoudemire realized something was wrong.
There were people inside, and as a small guy, he couldn't find space to shoot for a while.
While moving, he subconsciously passed the ball to Doug Christie in the left corner.
Before the ball flew into the hands of his teammates, Alan Houston easily intercepted it.
Head coach Darnay Walker on the sidelines saw Lee receiving the pass again and rushing forward quickly, shouting to the players:
"Hold on, retreat, and chase!"
On the other side, Walter Williams heard the coach's loud reminder and rushed to Lee's side to delay him.
Lee, who was accelerating with the ball in his left hand, had no intention of slowing down. The two of them kept fighting and rushed into the paint area.
Approaching the basket, Williams, who had been physically confronting on the right side, realized that the ball in Lee's left hand was gone.
With a slight flick of his wrist, Lee in the paint area secretly threw the ball backwards, and Alan Houston, who followed up quickly, received the ball and easily made a layup!
On the Knicks bench, the atmosphere group cheered and threw towels, and Lee scored 9:2 after coming on the court.
21:17, the rhythm of the game was completely controlled by the Knicks.
"After Lee came on the field, everyone was more willing to run. That's his role. Of course, we have to accept some of his offensive choices."
Assistant coach Don Chaney whispered to Jeff Van Gundy, who was idle next to him, that he would indeed prefer to see the Knicks' smooth offense.
Van Gundy, who had already returned to the bench, was speechless. Of course, he could see the reactions of his players.
When Clay Lee came on the court, everyone knew that he could catch the ball if he could run. The tactics became clearer, and the chain reaction was that the offensive tempo accelerated.
"The Raptors are not very strong, and Lee still needs time to adapt to the high-intensity game."
Jeff Van Gundy still chose to smooth things over because he knew the veterans didn't like to run back and forth.
Patrick Ewing hadn't touched the ball for several rounds, and this time he fell to the low post on the left and turned his back to ask for the ball.
While center Tabak was defending behind him, Ewing suddenly turned around and ran directly to the basket.
Just as he imagined, the ball flew to the upper left of the basket as soon as he jumped up. Lee's pass was just right, and Ewing grabbed the ball and dunked it with both hands!
"Bang!" The alley-oop dunk was successful!
After landing, Ewing first beat his chest and roared, and by the way, he pointed at Lee on the left wing:
"Lee, great pass!"
In the last 2 minutes of the first quarter, with the appearance of rookie Marcus Camby, Ewing began to frequently ask for the ball in the low post.
Lee and several other players on the court didn't have many opportunities to perform at this time, and both sides began to attack from a low post in a methodical manner.
The Raptors, with their twin towers, also began to push the ball into the paint, while also stepping up their fight for rebounds to curb the Knicks' transition offense.
When Larry Johnson saw that Jeff Van Gundy had not replaced Ewing, he cursed in his heart. The first quarter was almost over, and he had only taken two shots and scored 4 points from free throws.
The staggered travel plan was very unsuccessful. What Larry Johnson did not expect was that Jeff Van Gundy replaced him early at 28:24.
At the end of the first quarter, the Knicks led by 4 points.
2 of 2, 5 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists. The stats seem good, but Lee did not play well.
Ewing played for 11 minutes and 32 seconds in the first quarter. At the end of the first quarter, the gorilla even defeated the rookie Marcus Camby.
In the second quarter, Starks became Lee's partner in the backcourt.
Larry Johnson was also in the rotation lineup. The two "good brothers" helped Lee's assists to increase steadily, but his job of scoring on fast breaks was taken away.
Carlos Rogers, the Raptors' substitute center, missed the layup. Veteran Herb Williams grabbed the rebound and immediately passed the ball to Lee.
Larry Johnson rushed to the front court desperately, and Lee didn't stick to the ball.
He passed the ball from a long distance, breaking through the opponent's defense and assisting the "grandmama" to dunk with both hands!
"Fast break is as fierce as a tiger"
Lee was too tired to complain. Larry Johnson definitely ran into position and sprinted ahead of time.
It was a pretty nice dunk, and the fans at the scene burst into cheers again.
Head coach Darnell Walker on the sidelines looked at the twin towers who were completely unable to keep up with the rhythm, and waved his hand to signal substitute guard Huber Davis to continue to pass the ball to the inside.
The Raptors' offense was mediocre, but on the Knicks side, Larry Johnson completely let go of his pride and took the initiative to screen for Lee in several rounds.
Lee made a ground pass to assist the opponent to shoot an open mid-range shot, and then made a pick-and-roll breakthrough and assisted the "grandmama" who cut in to score another 2 points.
The Knicks' offensive tempo quickened, and the Raptors continued to slow the pace. Huber Davis missed a mid-range shot from the free throw line with 24 seconds left.
Before Lee could get up to speed after receiving the rebound, Starks on the other side had already rushed across half court and passed the ball to the opponent.
Starks, who was crazy about the crowd, caught the ball on the left wing and threw it directly from outside the three-point line!
"Swish!" The three-pointer went into the net!
The excited Starks didn't care about Jeff Van Gundy's unhappy expression, and happily high-fived Lee to celebrate.
Under Lee's leadership, the Knicks did not have a single post-up play in the early part of the second quarter.
When head coach Darnell Walker saw Lee set a single screen at the top of the arc and threw the ball away, he could not help but curse:
"What a damn game!"
The basketball went into the net, and the Knicks bench was completely excited. The score was 12:6 in a single quarter, and the score difference was just in double digits.
Jeff Van Gundy's face wasn't looking good either, he found that he had lost control of the team. This kind of game was completely different from the previous plan.
The Raptors requested a timeout and walked to the bench. Lee celebrated with his teammates with a smile and a high five.
Lee did not play according to the plan, but so far, the team is leading and he has also made 7 assists:
"If you want to make a change, someone has to give it a push!"
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