Before Thanksgiving, the Knicks started their road trip in the West.

Jeff Van Gundy was worried about the team’s defense, but there was nothing he could do.

No matter how the lineup was matched, the high-intensity defense of the first three seasons with fast rotation and local pressure could not be achieved.

On November 16, 104:95, it was not until the fourth quarter that the Knicks really opened up the gap and finally defeated the Nuggets.

Larry Johnson returned from injury, but was beaten by the new Byron Russell.

Russell, who played 47 minutes with 12 of 25 shots, was almost unstoppable.

He shot and broke through, and scored 30 points like Lee.

It turned out that it was very difficult for the backcourt double-gun mode to clock in for three quarters and completely dominate the game.

Alan Houston made 10 of 18 shots and scored 26 points, but the Knicks’ dominance was declining.

Larry Johnson played 33 minutes, 2 of 9 shots, and scored 7 points.

His knee condition was worse than he thought.

In last year’s finals, “Grandmama” sprained his knee, but no one cared.

He played in the next few games with the injury and was not in good condition.

Everyone thought that there would be no problem after the offseason.

But no one expected that Larry Johnson’s old back injury and knee injury would cause him to decline so much.

The most obvious change was that “Grandmama” could not get in and could not get free throws.

With multiple rotations, the Knicks made 26 free throws in this game, but the opponent made 38 free throws.

If it weren’t for the Nuggets’ 20 turnovers, the game might have been more intense.

Flying back to back to Salt Lake City, Lee and Alan Houston’s state fluctuated, and the Knicks lost the game neatly.

92:98, the Knicks’ 6 of 23 three-pointers gave the opponent too many opportunities for transition offense.

The slow-heating Jazz has just found their form recently, and after winning this game, their record has reached 5 wins and 3 losses.

As the defending champion, the Knicks are naturally a team that has been repeatedly studied.

The defense exposed problems, and the Jazz seized the opportunity and attacked the inside line fiercely.

The 36-year-old Karl Malone was still full of energy.

He played 41 minutes, made 10 of 17 shots, 13 of 15 free throws, and scored 33 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block, and 5 turnovers.

The Salt Lake City media naturally would not miss this opportunity to win the game, and they started to make sarcastic remarks again:

“The Knicks should be prepared to lose a lot!”

“.”

After a day of rest, the Knicks continued to fly to Phoenix.

In the next two days, they played back-to-back games.

What made Jeff Van Gundy depressed was that the coaching staff could not summarize the losing game.

In the game against the Jazz, the Knicks only made 13 turnovers and took 83 shots.

Except for free throws, they were ahead in almost all data.

Lee can always control the team’s mistakes, but the jump shot team can’t make a shot, which is unsolvable.

Once the efficiency of the two main attackers decreases and the role players perform generally, the Knicks will lose even if they are ahead in data.

On the evening of the 19th, at the Western Arena in the United States, more than 19,000 Suns fans continued to cheer for the home team after the game started.

Tonight’s nationally broadcast game is known as the “strongest backcourt showdown”.

Anfernee Hardaway is still very impressive.

After joining the Suns, he formed the “strongest backcourt” with Kidd.

Coupled with Gugliotta, a former All-Star forward, and the experienced Luke Longley, the Suns’ paper strength is still very good.

The newcomer Shawn Marion has already got the starting position, and after a few games, he has also had some outstanding performances.

Although the Suns have only won 5 games and lost 4 games since the start of the season, Phoenix fans feel that the future is promising when they see this lineup!

Larry Johnson rested again in tonight’s game.

After playing back-to-back games, he had some problems with his back.

After the start of the game, the Knicks were a little slow to warm up.

This time, Oakley missed a jump shot in the right elbow area of the free throw line, and the Suns seized the opportunity to switch offense.

Longley grabbed the rebound, and Kidd continued to accelerate from the middle after receiving the ball.

It was a classic three-line fast break. Anfernee Hardaway and Marion rushed to the half court on the left and right.

The Knicks’ retreat speed was not slow.

Lee delayed Kidd’s advancement speed at the first time.

The two were of similar size, and Kidd continued to accelerate against the defense.

Quickly advancing to the top of the arc three-point line, Kidd still did not slow down, and even played a trick.

While moving, he quickly circled the ball behind his back, switched to his left hand and took off.

After a false shake in the air, Kidd passed the ball to Marion who followed up on the right.

“Oh!”

The beautiful assist immediately made the Suns fans at the scene shout happily, but Marion was forced to adjust when he received the ball, and he was also a beat slower when he rushed to the basket for a layup.

It seemed that Lee did not give up defense at all.

After Marion made a layup, the basketball just flew out of his hand and flew to the basket.

Lee, who was well prepared, suddenly jumped up and sent a nail-board block after jumping up!

“OMG!”

Dick Stockton exclaimed in the TNT commentary booth, and then saw the basketball hit the backboard and bounced into the hands of Kukoc who was retreating.

The tall forward immediately turned around and pushed forward after controlling the ball, dribbling behind him and passing Gugliotta who was delaying.

After switching to his left hand, Kukoc took two big steps and immediately passed the ball to the front court.

At this time, Lee, who had completed the block, had already rushed across half court again.

After receiving the ball, Kidd also immediately came up to defend.

Lee accelerated while protecting the ball.

He noticed that Longley was in a position where he could not retreat up or down.

When he was close to the three-point line, he passed the ball to the upper right side of the basket.

Halfway through the retreat, Longley could only watch Ben Wallace rush to the basket and jump high.

After catching the ball in the air, he dunked it with both hands!

“Boom!” The alley-oop dunk was successful!

The Suns fans at the scene booed loudly.

The transition offense failed, and the Knicks seized the opportunity to score another 2 points.

Like Oakley, Longley was facing a lot of transition offenses, and less than half a quarter later, he was also a little behind the pace.

Kidd handled the ball very quickly, especially in transition offense, and his speed was the top in the league.

This was indeed not friendly enough for a big man with average running and jumping ability.

At 16:12, watching the Knicks take the lead again, Hubie Brown on the commentary stand immediately commented:

“Coach Danny Ainge should probably consider replacing Longley. In the last few rounds, the two sides have been playing faster and faster, and it is obvious that Longley can no longer keep up with the pace of the game.”

This time, when the Suns attacked, Anfernee Hardaway followed the coach’s instructions and played on the left wing without dribbling too much, and immediately passed the ball to Longley in the interior.

Facing the short Ben Wallace, Longley immediately released the ball with his right hand after receiving it, hit it hard and quickly turned to the baseline, switched to his left hand and raised it high to complete the shot.

“Swish!” The two-point shot was hit steadily.

The height difference between the two was too big.

Seeing Longley score easily, head coach Danny Ainge on the sidelines felt comfortable.

The Knicks quickly sent the ball to the baseline again, and Lee advanced very quickly.

After passing the center line, he came to the left wing and encountered Kidd’s defense.

Noticing Ben Wallace moving quickly from the basket to the three-point line, Kidd moved back slightly and waved his left arm at the same time, indicating that Longley was responsible for the other direction to prepare for delay.

Kidd moved back, and Lee suddenly jumped and dribbled the ball, shaking his body to the right while quickly changing direction in front of his body.

Subconsciously moving to the left, Kidd then realized that something was wrong and jumped up to defend, but the moment Lee opened the defense, he dribbled the ball outside the three-point line and made a quick jump shot from the left wing!

“Swish!” The three-pointer went into the net!

Shaking his fist in annoyance, Kidd watched Lee raise his left hand, put up three fingers and then pretended to retreat, and cursed in his heart.

Before the game started, the Suns coaching staff showed the players a lot of recent Knicks game videos.

Lee’s rapid breakthrough made Kidd more worried tonight.

Danny Ainge immediately requested a timeout at this time.

Tonight, Lee regained his touch, and his offense was fast and accurate with a combination of breakthroughs and shots.

Oakley returned to the bench and took two breaths, while Ewing stood up and high-fived his teammates who were leaving the court.

The gorilla has become a group of people making chicken soup in the recent road trip, but the current predicament of the Knicks is not a mentality problem, but a result of a decline in physical condition.

Jeff Van Gundy mentioned defense in the past few games.

After a day of rest, he saw that Lee had recovered his touch and Alan Houston was also in good shape.

He continued to encourage during the timeout:

“Keep this pace of the game, Ben, Kurt, remember to rush for the frontcourt rebounds and try to slow down the opponent!”

Oakley was replaced, and Kurt Thomas’s task after coming on was to rush for rebounds.

In the second half of the first quarter, the Suns replaced Longley with the short center Oliver Miller, and the two sides began to poke each other.

Lee and Kidd have similar styles of play.

Both of them can easily find teammates in transition offense.

Once they start running, the game becomes very interesting.

Lee has almost no difference between his left and right hands, and can pass the ball with both hands.

In addition, his personal impact in transition offense is very strong.

Once the Suns’ retreat defense has problems, Lee will immediately go straight to the basket.

In the transition offense, Kidd just assisted Marion to follow up with a layup.

Looking back, Kukoc received the ball at the elbow area on the right side of the free throw line.

After passing the ball, Lee suddenly ran back and cut in.

Kukoc, who was facing away, secretly sent a small ground pass and set a screen.

Kidd made a defensive mistake, and Lee immediately rushed to the basket after receiving the ball.

The attention of the Suns was all attracted by Lee, and everyone moved to the basket.

While moving, Lee cut into the basket with his left hand holding the ball.

He turned around quickly, dodged Miller who was helping in the inside defense, switched to his right hand and came to the paint area, and passed the ball to the right bottom corner.

Lee’s extremely hidden pass made everyone on the Suns stunned.

Anfernee Hardaway reacted quickly, but Alan Houston shot the ball as soon as he received it!

“Swish!” The three-pointer went into the net.

Kidd pointed to the position under the basket helplessly, signaling his teammates not to help defend too early.

Neither side had the intention of slowing down, and Anfernee Hardaway’s low-post attack also helped the Suns score quickly.

The scene was lively and the Suns fans were satisfied.

Later, when the game entered the free throw state, Kidd was fouled by Lee.

Seeing this scene, head coach Danny Ainge was a little dissatisfied.

Kidd did not play according to the game plan arranged before the game.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 30:26.

Both teams had a high hit rate and the Knicks temporarily took the lead.

The game was lively, but Hubie Brown on the TNT commentary booth did not like this kind of game content:

“The Knicks still haven’t solved some defensive problems. When facing tall inside players or strong forwards, it is difficult to limit the opponent’s scoring like in previous seasons.”

“Of course, basketball games are not just about defense. After three seasons, Lee seems more calm on the offensive end, but the Knicks should reduce their dependence on him.”

“Sometimes high scores are not a good thing. Instead of scoring 40 points, it is better to score 28+10.”

Dick Stockton also watched some of the Knicks’ games.

At this time, he smiled and asked:

“Lee is stronger, but the team’s front line has declined. How should the Knicks solve this problem?”

Regardless of fighting spirit and mentality, this decline in hard power also makes Hubie Brown difficult to evaluate:

“Maybe the Knicks need another defensive system. I believe that coach Van Gundy will solve this problem.”

Anfernee Hardaway also had a decline in physical condition.

The Nike’s internal resources were taken away by Lee.

When he came to the Suns, he was suppressed by Kidd.

He wanted to prove himself well in the game broadcast live in the United States, but in the rotation stage of the second quarter, facing Artest’s top defense, Anfernee Hardaway’s best post-up singles also failed.

His fighting spirit was useless.

The quick and agile turns in the past disappeared, and the signature step-back jump shot after shaking also failed.

Anfernee Hardaway led the Suns to collapse in the first half of the game.

Forced to request a timeout and return to the bench, Hardaway’s mentality exploded.

The bench lineup, which had been in a slump for half a month, finally had a good time tonight.

Chris Childs began to hit three-pointers from the outside, and Kurt Thomas’ mid-range jumper was also a steady hit.

Kukoc’s score also increased with his continuous breakthroughs and free throws.

Artest and Ben Wallace’s defensive response also had some tacit understanding.

The Suns, who were still in the process of running in, were regarded as a sparring partner, watching the Knicks play more and more smoothly.

Lee, who played 39 minutes in several consecutive games, was also much more relaxed tonight.

He returned to the court with 4 minutes and 2 seconds left in the first half.

It seemed that the Knicks’ rotation lineup caught the Suns off guard and they suddenly lost their fire in the second quarter.

This made the score 58:46 at the end of the first half, and the Knicks led by 12 points.

When the team needed to catch up, Kidd couldn’t score, which is the biggest difference between him and Lee at present.

The “strongest backcourt” only played well for one quarter in the end.

The Suns made more and more mistakes in the second half.

With a few simple defensive counterattacks, the Knicks easily widened the gap.

On the TNT commentary booth, as the game lost suspense, the two began to discuss the situation of the Western Conference this season:

“If the Knicks want to achieve three consecutive championships, they have to restore their previous interior defense strength.”

“The Trail Blazers have only lost one game so far. Scottie Pippen has made up for the shortcomings on the front line and made the Trail Blazers more balanced.”

“The Lakers and Timberwolves also have excellent big men. It is difficult to limit their performance with the current Knicks lineup.”

Hubie Brown commented on the current strength of the Knicks.

Dick Stockton looked at Ewing who was cheering his teammates on the bench, and couldn’t help but sigh:

“If Pat recovers well, I believe he can help the team improve defense!”

“.”

Rashard Lewis, who had a good performance in the previous away games, was a little sluggish tonight.

But Jeff Van Gundy didn’t care.

He could help the team by shooting in the corner.

He would keep Lewis on the court when the offense was needed.

In the third quarter, Lee made 5 assists in a single quarter, and the Knicks finally played their best game in half a month.

The score was 29:22 in a single quarter, and 87:68 after three quarters.

The game completely lost suspense.

Kidd went off the court after making two assists in the fourth quarter.

4 of 12 shots, 4 of 6 free throws, 12 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers.

Kidd almost got a triple-double when he left the court.

Anfernee Hardaway made 4 of 13 shots, 2 of 2 free throws, 10 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 turnovers.

He scored a goal in the first quarter, but basically disappeared and missed shots.

The “strongest backcourt” scored 22 points, leaving the Suns fans speechless.

In 31 minutes, Lee made 9 of 16 shots, 2 of 4 three-point shots, and 5 of 5 free throws, scoring 25 points, 5 rebounds, 12 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, and 1 turnover.

After taking a look at the technical statistics and looking at Lee who was resting, Hubie Brown immediately praised him:

“I like Lee’s game tonight. This is the first time in a row of away games that he has a double-double. The Knicks need him to perform like this.”

Dick Stockton didn’t say anything this time.

After all, it was the Suns’ home court. It was not easy to say too much about the “strongest backcourt” being weak.

Jeff Van Gundy was also relieved, avoiding two consecutive losses, and no longer having to listen to the slander and nagging of the commentators before Thanksgiving.

In the end, 109:90, the Knicks had the last laugh in the game about the strongest backcourt combination, and successfully defeated the Suns.

Anfernee Hardaway was in a bad mood.

After the game, he said hello and turned to the player tunnel.

Kidd and Danny Ainge started to yell at each other on the sidelines.

The fans of the Suns were used to this. Danny Ainge could not suppress Kidd.

Many fans even thought that the team would soon change the head coach.

Ewing, who acted as a spiritual mentor, patted his teammates on the shoulders after the game.

After returning to the locker room, he encouraged them loudly:

“Hold on, guys! We only have two games left before Thanksgiving. The team’s record is very good!”

“.”

Lee didn’t pay attention to the spiritual chicken soup that the gorilla kept publishing.

He looked at the technical statistics thoughtfully.

The number of offensive rounds was 83, with 14 turnovers, of which 3 turnovers occurred in garbage time.

The team made 10 of 26 three-pointers.

Alan Houston, Kukoc, Chris Childs, Artest, and Lewis all scored three-pointers.

After losing the iron-blooded defense, the Knicks only had one way left:

“Just shoot it!”

On November 20, in a back-to-back game, the Knicks challenged the Warriors away.

Starks entertained the Knicks before the game, and then both teams played stumblingly that night.

94:79, the Warriors’ poor offense eventually let the mediocre Knicks win easily.

The Knicks still have one more game to play before Thanksgiving.

On the evening of the 23rd, Lee came to the Staples Center for the first time.

Because the opponent was the Clippers, many Lakers fans and Knicks fans came tonight to take advantage of the cheap ticket price.

After the start of the new season, the Clippers, who moved into the new arena, started with a record of 3 wins and 7 losses.

Such a poor performance also made many Los Angeles fans dislike it.

Perhaps because Thanksgiving is approaching, the Clippers worked extra hard in this game.

Odom performed very well, helping the Clippers score points while organizing the offense.

Contrary to the coaching staff’s expectations, facing the bottom team, the Knicks completely opened up the score gap with 2 minutes and 12 seconds left in the game.

106:99, the Knicks finished the schedule before Thanksgiving.

11 wins and 2 losses, while leading the Eastern Conference, the Knicks’ record is only one win behind the Trail Blazers.

On November 25, Thanksgiving Day, the Knicks held a Thanksgiving event at the Tarrytown Training Center.

Lee and his teammates wore aprons and hats and served lunch to the fans who participated in the event.

Many people drove here from Manhattan, and with the fans from Tarrytown, the training center became particularly lively.

In order to win three consecutive championships, Jeff Van Gundy has been focusing on training since the start of the new season.

The Knicks did not complain, but after being tense for more than half a month, everyone enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday.

Training – flying – playing games – video lessons – training.

This cycle has been going on for a while now, and the coaching staff is a little tired.

After the Knicks training camp assembled, everyone was full of confidence and eager for the third consecutive championship, but when the November game was about to end, Larry Johnson wanted to lie down.

After distributing food to the fans, Larry Johnson took off his hat and suddenly sighed in a low voice:

“Maybe after the rest of the contract, I will also consider retirement. It is also a good choice to enjoy life early.”

“?”

Lee, who was standing by, had a question mark on his face.

“Grandmama” is only 30 years old now, and he will only be 31 years old in 2000.

Most players will play until they are 34 years old.

In the past, Larry Johnson also planned to sign a large retirement contract like Ewing, but now he just lies down.

Alan Houston was also a little surprised to hear what “Grandmama” said.

The new season has just started, and he is already considering retirement?

Noticing the expressions of Lee and Alan Houston, Larry Johnson grabbed a donut, took a big bite, shrugged his shoulders, and said easily:

“I know my body. To be honest, it’s too tiring to get back to my previous state.”

“I’m already very uncomfortable losing weight during the offseason. I think I should accept the reality and enjoy life early like Pat did!”

Kukoc showed an expression of “as expected”.

He has experienced these situations in the Bulls.

Not every player is eager to win.

If they have earned enough dollars, maybe the players are more eager to milk Z.

Lee didn’t say anything.

He could understand Larry Johnson’s choice.

The decline of the body is irreversible and has nothing to do with the fighting spirit and mentality.

Ewing, who makes chicken soup for everyone every day, is still so fat, and Oakley’s fat loss speed is also very slow.

The old guys shouted about the championship, but their actions did not keep up.

The newbie is full of motivation, but his ability is a little lacking.

Seeing Lee in a daze, two little fans holding donuts and wearing No. 1 jerseys looked up and asked loudly:

“Lee, will we still win the championship?”

Lee came back to his senses and looked at Artest and Ben Wallace in the distance who were shouting and mocking each other.

Alan Houston next to him was still interacting with the fans with a smile.

After hearing the little fans’ question, Lee smiled and leaned over to bump fists with the two:

“Of course, I always keep my word! We will still win the championship.”

“.”

….

By the way, don’t forget to throw power stones and leave a review to motivate me 🙂

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep