New York's "Inheritance" (II) (5429 words)
He turned his head and saw Larry Bird on the sidelines looking at him, and hurriedly adjusted his mood.
Noticing that the Pacers' offense had become a screen and throw, Doug Collins smiled and commented:
"Larry Johnson's screen defense has declined significantly this season. Jalen Rose can get a lot of opportunities. It seems that the Pacers have made full preparations for this game."
The game soon became two rhythms.
The Pacers began to speed up.
Dale Davis received the ball and played with his back, while Jalen Rose took the ball and threw it after the screen.
Reggie Miller also shot as soon as he received the ball, but in some rounds he would break through and cause a foul.
Even when they fell into positional offense, the Pacers did not slow down and continued to speed up the offensive rhythm.
On the Knicks side, Lee did not run with him.
After Ewing tried to play in the low post, he stood in the elbow area and pulled Rik Smits out of the inside.
Larry Bird watched Lee circle around Ewing and use the screen to get to the basket.
For a while, he had no good solution.
Jalen Rose missed the jump shot, and the basketball hit the front and flew to the free throw line.
Lee immediately collected the long rebound and then rushed with the ball.
Mark Jackson quickly retreated to the half court and hurriedly delayed outside the three-point line.
However, Lee, who held the ball with his left hand, did not slow down at all.
He came to the free throw line and clamped the ball with his left hand, and rushed to the basket against the defense.
Losing his position, Mark Jackson subconsciously pulled, and Lee was not affected too much.
After three steps to the basket, he tilted his body and shot the ball to the backboard!
"Squeak!"
The whistle sounded and the ball went in.
The basketball hit the backboard and went into the basket accurately.
The atmosphere group of the Knicks team also stood up and shouted happily.
As Lee made the free throw, head coach Larry Bird immediately requested a timeout.
12:18, there were 6 minutes and 16 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Pacers' fierce attack on Larry Johnson and Oakley during this period was effective, and the Knicks' response was also simple.
Lee continued to play the pick-and-roll on Rik Smits' side.
Both sides knew their opponents very well and seized their weaknesses.
Doug Collins noticed that the Knicks were preparing to rotate and praised the bald young coach again:
"The game plan formulated by head coach Van Gundy before the game was very targeted!"
The clock was used to change players, and Kukoc, Kurt Thomas, and Ben Wallace came on the court.
The Pacers continued to use Rik Smits, and Larry Bird had not given up and wanted to play a mismatch.
In the second half of the first quarter, the rhythm of the game between the two sides began to reverse and entered the positional offense.
Rik Smits began to position again.
Lee, however, started to counterattack with all his strength when the opponent missed the shot, and Kukoc continued to wander around the free throw line.
The Pacers quickly transferred the ball from left to right after scoring in and out continuously.
Dale Davis received the ball in the low post on the right side, and faced Kurt Thomas' defense.
He then made a turnaround jump shot near the paint area and missed.
Kukoc retreated to get the rebound, and then immediately launched a counterattack with the ball.
Both sides rushed to the half court at the same time.
On the right wing, Lee received a pass from Kukoc, and immediately released the ball with his left hand after receiving it, and quickly cut in.
Facing Jalen Rose who was sliding back to defense, Lee quickly went in and out while moving, shaking left and right, and successfully gained half a body position.
He blocked the opponent, and the ball protector took advantage of the situation while moving, slapping Jalen Rose's arm.
After the second acceleration, Lee completely shook off the defense and came to the basket to easily pick up the layup!
Lee scored points continuously, and Jalen Rose could only complain to the referee about his hand movements, but naturally no one paid attention.
Larry Bird on the sidelines had already realized that there was an error in the pre-match plan, and Jalen Rose's defense was almost a waste.
The Knicks, who were running, quickly sent Rik Smits off the court.
At the end of the first quarter, Reggie Miller used his foot to break through and make a quick stop jump shot to stand on the free throw line.
He stretched his foot to make a foul, and Alan Houston smiled and shook his head, and did not complain about such a call.
While Reggie Miller was shooting free throws, Spike Lee on the sidelines kept shouting and showing his printed T-shirt.
Seeing Reggie Miller's second free throw miss, Spike Lee raised his hands proudly.
Ben Wallace grabbed the backcourt rebound at a very fast speed and got the ball as soon as possible.
Lee kept accelerating along the left sideline.
The defensive attention of the retreating Pacers was attracted by Lee, who cut in from the left wing, and all of them shrank for a while.
When Alan Houston received the pass on the right wing, Mark Jackson finally reacted, but it was too late for him to jump up and defend.
He watched the three-pointer go into the net.
Larry Bird, who was holding his arms, couldn't hold back.
He cursed inwardly and then angrily criticized the defense.
After entering the state of mutual poking, the Pacers couldn't keep up with the response.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was 22:30.
Reggie Miller, who played the whole first quarter, was in no mood to pay attention to Spike Lee who was jumping on the sidelines.
Looking at the technical statistics, Bob Costas in the commentary booth couldn't help but exclaimed again.
"Except for the super long three-pointer that missed at the last moment, Lee made all the other 7 shots. His condition is really outstanding!"
7 of 8, 1 of 2 from beyond the three-point line, 3 of 3 free throws, 18 points in a single quarter, such a performance made Madison Square Garden boil again.
Doug Collins noticed that Alan Houston only scored 3 points with 1 of 5 shots, and knew that the Knicks were in average condition:
"The Pacers still have a chance, I believe in their resilience!"
In the Pacers' rotation, Travis Best and Jalen Rose partnered in the backcourt, Croshere and Harrington were on the front line, and Sam Perkins was the center.
Jeff Van Gundy didn't say much during the intermission, and he still rotated according to the clock.
However, after the start of the second quarter, the Knicks' shots were ironed, and the veteran Sam Perkins, who came off the bench, made two three-pointers in a row.
In less than 3 minutes, the score difference was only 2 points.
Kukoc, who was in good form in the previous few games, suddenly became sluggish tonight.
There were 9 minutes and 1 second left in the second quarter, and the score was 28:30.
Jeff Van Gundy looked at the bench lineup that had not scored a point, and he didn't call a timeout, but made a tactical gesture to indicate that he would strengthen the breakthrough.
Lee, who was sitting on the bench, was already used to such scenes.
Kukoc, Artest, and Chris Childs were all in unstable states.
Seeing Jalen Rose break through to the basket to tie the score, Lee also stood up and reminded Artest loudly:
"Ron, defend! Go for the rebound!"
He lost the man in the transition offense.
Artest heard Lee's shout and hurriedly focused his attention.
Oakley, who was sitting on the bench, didn't care that the score was tied.
He just muttered in a low voice:
"The rookie is still unreliable!"
According to the pre-match plan, once Kukoc's touch was not good, Artest would get some opportunities.
Perhaps it was the first time to play in the Christmas game, Artest was a little nervous and didn't grasp the simple ball.
After playing for another 2 minutes, the Pacers overtook the score, and Jeff Van Gundy hurriedly requested a timeout.
On the NBC commentary seat, Doug Collins couldn't help laughing when he saw this situation:
"Like I said, when Kukoc can't find his touch, the Knicks' rotation lineup will have some problems."
"This situation also occurred when I was with the Bulls. Larry Johnson led the second lineup in the past, but the situation is different this season."
Bob Costas watched the Pacers regain momentum and sighed:
"The Knicks have entered the state of transition between the old and the new ahead of time, which is really not a good thing for them."
Lee, who came on the court early, quickly stabilized the situation.
In the first round after the timeout, Reggie Miller, who had just come on the court, failed to chase and defend in time.
Lee seized the opportunity and received a hand-to-hand pass from Kukoc in the right elbow area.
He went straight to the basket and caused the veteran Sam Sperkins to foul.
As the game time passed, the Knicks overtook the score.
The New York fans at the scene were emotional again.
Artest's rough defense made Reggie Miller feel uncomfortable.
In addition to fouling, he still rarely scored in the open play.
Jeff Van Gundy watched Lee stabilize the situation on the court, and he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
He sat back on the bench and hung up at ease.
The two sides took turns leading.
With 2 minutes and 43 seconds left in the first half, Lee made two free throws and the score came to 42:44.
The Pacers changed their defensive strategy again in this quarter, trying to make Lee lose his offensive rhythm by committing rough fouls.
Ewing, who returned to the court, shouted to his teammates to retreat and get back on defense.
The Pacers played the same tactics, but Jalen Rose failed to get rid of Artest's pursuit this time.
In the right elbow area, he put the ball in his left hand and dribbled forward two steps.
Finally, he was forced to stop the ball in the paint area.
Jalen Rose wanted to find his teammates again after passing the ball, but Ewing suddenly rushed up and cooperated with Artest to double-team him.
Surrounded by the two, Artest hugged the ball and pulled it out.
Jalen Rose, who was pushed against his body, didn't stand firmly and fell to the floor immediately after being pulled.
"Oh!"
Seeing Artest pull the ball out of the opponent's arms, the fans at the scene exclaimed.
Before being tripped, Artest passed the ball to the front court.
Lee rushed across half court and easily scooped up the ball.
He played 1-on-0 in the front court, grabbed the ball with his right hand, and glided and dunked successfully!
"Wow!"
Cheers resounded throughout the arena.
It was a rare successful defense.
Jeff Van Gundy stood up and clapped.
In the last stage of the half-time game, as the Pacers' ball handler made consecutive mistakes, the Knicks seized the opportunity and widened the gap again.
46:52, both sides played a good game in one quarter.
Seeing the Knicks, who were particularly stable in the first three seasons, in such a situation, Bob Costas made a simple comment at halftime:
"Rookie players need time to grow, and the sudden decline of veterans obviously caught the Knicks off guard."
"In some games, Lee really needs to get more points to win, which is a great opportunity for other teams."
Lee scored 28 points in the first half with 10 of 13 shots, 1 of 3 from beyond the three-point line, and 7 of 7 free throws.
Looking at the 3 assists in the technical statistics, Doug Collins joked:
"Lee has become a shooting guard, which is somewhat inconsistent with his new title!"
After the second half of the game, the two sides almost repeated the situation in the first half.
In the third quarter, the Knicks' starting lineup widened the gap to 10 points at 24:28.
With the rotation of the lineup in the fourth quarter, the gap was narrowed to 4 points.
There was no three-quarter clock-in, but the audience who bought tickets to watch the game tonight didn't care and still cheered for the home team happily.
The Pacers, who began to shorten the rotation in the second half, gradually lost their fire.
Although Alan Houston's touch was average, Reggie Miller didn't find the aim completely.
Larry Bird was still loudly calling on the Pacers to retreat.
Reggie Miller missed a three-pointer, and Lee, who collected a long rebound, seized the opportunity.
On the right wing, Mark Jackson caught the ball while pulling it secretly.
While sliding, the small movements of his right hand never stopped.
Lee noticed that several of his teammates had already settled in, approached the three-point line, and dribbled behind his back quickly.
After switching to his left hand, he paused slightly, then dribbled the ball between his legs twice in a row, and Lee's body shook rapidly as he suddenly stepped back.
Mark Jackson was stunned by the shaking, and then jumped up to defend.
The rhythm of the two sides was not on the same channel.
Lee ignored the defense and easily jumped outside the three-point line!
"Swish!" The three-pointer went into the net!
88:95, the score difference returned to 7 points, Lee had a blank expression and quickly retreated.
There were 4 minutes and 46 seconds left in the game, and the fans who had been pulled emotionally cheered again.
The atmosphere group of the Knicks team also threw towels on the sidelines at this time.
Speeding up the offensive rhythm, Reggie Miller's high-hanging pass on the left wing was obvious, and Rik Smits, who was defending behind Ewing, suddenly rushed to steal the ball.
The moment he bent down to pass the ball, Rik Smits was intercepted by Ewing, and then he could only clap his hands in frustration and quickly retreat with his teammates.
Ewing, whose physical strength was almost exhausted, quickly rushed across the half court with the Knicks.
Ewing stood at the top of the arc.
Lee, who was holding the ball in his right hand, suddenly pushed the ball and changed direction, lowering his center of gravity and breaking through on the left.
Before Rik Smits could defend, Lee, who switched to his left hand, adjusted his steps, got rid of the defense, and suddenly stopped at the top of the arc, and shot another jump shot from outside the three-point line!
"Swish!" Another three-pointer went in!
88:98, the score difference returned to 10 points again.
The Pacers immediately requested a timeout.
Larry Bird watched Rik Smits gasping for breath and did not criticize the players anymore.
"God! Lee is starting to take over the game! We rarely saw such a scene in the past few seasons."
Bob Costas, who was watching the fun, shouted excitedly.
Doug Collins on the side laughed and said,
"Head coach Phil Jackson will definitely have a headache if he sees this game!"
"In the fourth quarter, if the big guys don't delay in time, Lee will punish them thoroughly!"
Ewing returned to the bench and drank from the water bottle.
Although there were only three rounds, the third quarter lasted too long and he.couldn't run anymore:
"I need to rest for two rounds, shit! Damn my physical fitness!"
The gorilla was no longer trying to be brave.
Victory was in sight and he didn't want to force himself.
His feet felt heavy and he couldn't exert any strength on the defensive end.
The 10-point difference made Jeff Van Gundy completely relax.
He waved to Ben Wallace and Kukoc, preparing to replace the two veterans:
"Larry, pay attention to defending Dale Davis, don't let him catch the ball easily in the low post!"
The "grandmama" who had basically slacked off tonight was in good physical condition and patted her chest to show that she understood.
Before going on the court, Jeff Van Gundy patted Lee on the shoulder again, and everything was self-evident.
In the last few minutes of the fourth quarter, the quality of the Knicks' screens declined, but the Pacers' defense could not catch up.
Seeing Lee's continuous high-post pick-and-rolls, or breaking through or shooting, constantly tearing apart the opponent's defense, the New York fans at the scene shouted excitedly.
Reggie Miller continued to miss shots from outside the three-point line, and Rik Smits was completely exhausted at the last moment.
The pick-and-roll defense could only symbolically reach out and watch Lee squeeze past the side and go straight to the basket from the middle.
Dale Davis, who was assisting in defense, moved his feet, and Lee's right wrist shook while moving, passing the ball in the pocket, and the basketball flew directly into Kukoc's hands.
After cutting in from the left, he dunked with both hands!
"Ah!"
Looking at Kukoc roaring under the basket, the Pacers bench was completely silent.
With the complete collapse of the defense, Lee finally assisted his teammates in the final stage and completely locked the victory.
With 1 minute and 1 second left in the game, Larry Bird requested a timeout, replaced the main lineup, and completely admitted defeat.
"Wow!"
Madison Square Garden erupted in huge cheers, and New York fans began to celebrate the victory of the Christmas game.
As time ran out, the final score was fixed at 92:107, and the Knicks successfully defeated the Pacers.
Ben Wallace grinned and hugged the game ball in his arms, preparing to leave it for Lee as a souvenir.
There was no crushing victory.
Lee just smiled and hugged and greeted everyone on the Pacers after the game.
Spike Lee saw Reggie Miller greet Lee and turned his head to the player tunnel.
For a while, he raised his hands and booed with the fans.
For many old fans, it was worth the ticket to see Reggie Miller miss in the Christmas game!
Playing for 40 minutes, 6 of 17 shots, 2 of 9 three-pointers, 8 of 9 free throws, 22 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 turnovers, Reggie Miller's touch was not good, but he still got a lot of free throws with his rich experience.
The Pacers lost again, Doug Collins did not comment too much:
"The lack of a stable scorer is the current problem facing the Pacers."
"If Reggie Miller is in average form, who can take over the scoring task? Coach Larry Bird needs to dig out a second main attacker."
Bob Costas did not comment on the losing side, but smiled and said:
"50 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, Lee tied Rick Barry's record of 50 points in this year's Christmas game!"
"I believe the fans will like this Christmas gift very much!"
Playing for 39 minutes, 17 of 25 shots, 3 of 7 three-pointers, 13 of 13 free throws, Lee once again played with extremely high efficiency.
Although it was not a bullying game, the New York fans who were excited about it did not leave the court immediately after the game.
Seeing Lee waving his hands while holding the ball, they continued to shout:
"MVP! MVP! MVP!"
"."
In the era when data did not explode, high scores were still a rare product.
Coupled with the blessing of the Christmas game, 50 points swept all major sports media just after the game ended.
In the Knicks locker room, Artest seemed to be more excited than Lee and went straight into a self-excited state:
"50 points! I had a hunch after the first quarter, it's crazy!"
"Can O'Neal score 50 points in the Christmas game? He is not Chamberlain!"
He didn't feel it during the game, and Ewing was a little confused when he saw the technical statistics after the game.
The Knicks took 80 shots tonight, and the rhythm of the game was normal.
Lee didn't throw three-pointers crazily.
After all, if there are too many transition attacks, the old guy will have to rest early.
The atmosphere group was all talking about it, only Kukoc didn't feel much.
In his impression, dunks were also so easy.
Larry Johnson was like a gorilla tonight, 4 out of 10, and scored 12 points.
Looking at Artest who was in a state of.self-satisfaction, he joked while applying ice:
"Ron, you have to work harder. The combined score of you and Lee is only 54, 6 points away from Bernard King's record."
Artest also dug a hole tonight.
Oakley touched his chin and said with a bad taste:
"Next month, you will help Todd carry the bag. Don't make excuses. When playing away games, the job of handing out jerseys will also be yours!"
"."
At the post-match press conference, Lee just appeared and the New York media in the audience cheered.
In another Christmas battle, the Lakers, playing at home, defeated the Spurs 93:99.
In 38 minutes, O'Neal made 13 of 22 shots and 6 of 12 free throws, scoring 32 points;
Kobe played 35 minutes, 7 of 19 shots, and scored 18 points.
The score of Chamberlain plus Jordan equals Lee's 50 points tonight.
"Lee, how do you feel about getting a career-high 50 points?"
Hearing the question from the New York Post reporter, Lee just smiled and said with a relaxed look:
"40+10 is 50 points, it doesn't feel too difficult!"
Everyone in the audience laughed, and Lee said seriously at this time:
"I never define myself as a scorer. As the leader of the team, I hope to be able to send 20 assists."
The Pacers team reporter was speechless and felt that Lee was pretending to be cool but was powerless to refute.
Seeing the two groups of people on and off the stage start the commercial mutual praise mode, some reporters soon left the scene in frustration:
"I can't stay in New York anymore!"
The influence of the Christmas game was very large.
The front page headlines of most paper media the next day were Lee's 50 points.
In the history of the Knicks, Bernard King once scored 60 points in the Christmas game.
When the New York media was shouting for inheritance, the New York Times published another article:
"The King!"
Lee, who scored high points, was not as happy as everyone imagined.
He did not like to fill holes in the game.
In the previous loss to the Hornets, in addition to the opponent's accurate shooting, the biggest reason for the loss was that the holes were not filled.
Once the opponent can also throw in the response ball, the game becomes difficult to say.
Lee understands his shortcomings.
His influence on the defensive end is limited.
The stalemate game is not what he pursues.
Jeff Van Gundy was also praised by the New York media after Christmas, and Popovich, who lost and fought against Duncan, was criticized by the San Antonio media.
From the beginning of the regular season, as long as it is a tense game, Duncan's playing time will definitely be 40+.
In the Christmas game, Duncan played for another 45 minutes, 8 of 23 shots, 12 of 15 free throws, 28 points, 9 rebounds, 1 block and 4 turnovers.
The loss to the Lakers has increased the calls for Popovich to be fired.
During the voting for the All-Star Game, Lee's 50 points were an advertisement for himself.
In the next few days, the New York media also made great efforts to praise Lee every day, trying to get the most votes.
In the game against the Nets on the 28th, Lee struggled and missed shots, but fortunately Alan Houston recovered quickly, 10 of 18 shots, and scored 28 points efficiently.
104:89, the Knicks successfully defeated their opponents!
After the game, Alan Houston, who was in a good mood, also joked in an interview in the locker room:
"I was relieved to see Lee's performance. This proves that he is still a human being!"
In the last game of 1999, the Knicks challenged the Wizards away but unexpectedly lost.
The whole team missed shots, 89:96, and the bottom-ranked Wizards won.
Lee's record of consecutive three-pointers was fixed at 56 games.
Michael Jordan, who rarely appeared at home to watch the game, stood up and applauded in the front row after the game.
It was the first time in two months that he smiled at home.
The applause was for Richmond and Clay Murray.
The former made 8 of 13 shots and scored 24 points, while the latter made 4 of 5 three-pointers and scored 15 points on the bench.
Hamilton, who returned from injury, played for 17 minutes, made 2 of 7 shots, and scored 7 points.
The team won the game, but he felt a little disappointed.
On December 31, 1999, Lee returned to New York and held a birthday party.
On this day, he officially turned 22.
Lee was particularly happy on his birthday this year.
Qualcomm's stock closed at US$88.06 at the end of the year.
During the offseason of 1998, Lee bought the stock at 2.88 US dollars.
The increase in 1999 alone almost made him sleepless.
Regardless of whether others still hold the stock, Lee has already started to recover.
January 1, 2000, the first day of the new century, there is no doomsday.
After Lee woke up in the hotel, he moved the Latina girl away and pulled his right arm out from under the blonde girl beside him.
There were a few long-legged girls sleeping under the bed who were still snoring after drinking too much.
The long-awaited overtime almost broke Lee's waist.
In order to celebrate the huge profits from stocks, last night's birthday party finally turned into a familiar silver party.
On the first day of the new year, the Knicks gave everyone a day off.
After sending away the reluctant girls in the morning, Lee, who was hurt by alcohol and sex, looked at his friend with dark circles under his eyes and kept flipping through the news on the computer.
He whispered helplessly:
"Don't worry, it's not a bad thing to earn less. I haven't seen any news about policies at present."
There was no news of interest rate hikes, which also made Ivan feel relieved.
The US dollars he earned made him feel unreal.
Thinking that a large part of the stocks had not been sold, Ivan was still a little worried:
"I want to go home and ask for news. These Internet companies are crazy. That pet supplies website actually bought a Super Bowl advertisement!"
"They are not profitable at all. All the money was spent on advertising and marketing. I swear, as long as someone digs out this news, the stock will fall immediately."
"I know those Silicon Valley startups. Without investors' money, they may go bankrupt in half a year."
After the two discussed it, they finally decided to wait until the end of January at the latest, and then lock in the money.
On January 2, the first game of the new year, the Magic and the Heat played overtime, which made the fans happy.
103:111, the Magic led by Doug Rivers performed very tenaciously.
Although the Heat won the game, Mourning, who won the December Player of the Month, performed mediocre that night, with 4 of 18 shots and 21 points on 13 of 17 free throws.
With a record of 20 wins and 9 losses, the Heat still ranked third.
On the 3rd, the game between the Bucks and the 76ers also went into overtime.
In the end, 120:124, thanks to Iverson's heroic performance, the 76ers had the last laugh.
With 16 of 38 shots and 11 of 18 free throws, Iverson scored 45 points!
Under the "four-to-one" tactic, Iverson also showed his ability to develop offense.
While the commentators were still amazed, on the 4th, the Lakers defeated the Clippers at Staples!
O'Neal made 17 of 26 shots, scored 38 points and 15 rebounds, and Kobe made 12 of 26 shots, scoring 29 points and 9 rebounds.
Chamberlain and Jordan also showed their scoring ability, and the Los Angeles media continued to brag:
"The strongest duo in the league!"
In an interview after the game, Kobe did not talk about the victory of this game.
After all, the Clippers in the same city are a bottom-ranked team, and there is nothing to brag about winning.
When asked about his scoring ability, Kobe excitedly mentioned the "white-hot space" theory:
"I'm still looking for that state, just like Lee scored 50 points in the Christmas game, that night, he entered the "white-hot space"!"
The Los Angeles media in the audience were all confused.
Did Phil Jackson burn sage in the locker room and make the children stupid?
In the game that was played simultaneously that night, the Knicks played against the Celtics at home.
Lee sent 16 assists, Alan Houston made 12 of 18 shots, 3 of 4 from beyond the three-point line, and 10 of 13 free throws, scoring 37 points!
88:108, the Knicks defeated their opponents and ushered in a good start in the new year.
In this game, Ewing completely became a screen tool.
He played for 31 minutes, made 4 of 8 shots, and got 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Although he didn't score much, he had a strong presence on the defensive end.
The gorilla also sent 3 steals and 2 blocks!
In the newspapers of the second day, the New York media also boasted:
"Balanced offense and defense, the Knicks will continue to dominate the league!"
In the first half of the month, the Knicks' schedule was relatively easy, but the record was not ideal.
On the evening of the 15th, 79:99, the Knicks defeated the Hornets at home.
After the game, the record came to 28 wins and 8 losses.
In the first week, they lost back-to-back to the Cavaliers, and in the second week, they lost back-to-back to the Pistons.
Losing these two games made Jeff Van Gundy a little helpless.
One game allowed the Cavaliers to score 100 points, and the other game allowed the Pistons to score 114 points.
This way of losing is completely inconsistent with his coaching philosophy.
At the press conference after the game on the evening of the 15th, Jeff Van Gundy also talked about the current situation of the team in an interview:
"Defense has always been our guarantee for winning the championship, and the team has not yet recovered to its best condition."
The New York media, who were smiling after winning the game, were a little surprised when they saw that Jeff Van Gundy did not seem to be satisfied with the team's performance:
"Jeff, after the All-Star Game, will we add to the existing lineup?"
Thinking of General Manager Grunfeld frequently sending some big men who did not meet the requirements to the team, Jeff Van Gundy held his forehead and finally answered in a muddy way:
"The team already has enough talent, but we still need to be patient, and young players need to grow!"
"."
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