Popovich left with a head full of worry and doubt, a head coach who had lived through Jordan's reign and didn't want another giant team in the NBA.

Since the slam dunk contest, Li Zhen has finally shown an aggressive posture.

The increase in the bouncing talent, and the increase in the degree of integration with the talent, made it easy for him to confide in his aggressiveness. And, when he was able to hit unreasonable shots from the perimeter, the Knicks' team-wide chemistry climbed again.

He made the Black and White Bears' survival in the paint area more strenuous, and the attacking opportunities of the other players also increased.

The easy win over the San Antonio Spurs was proof of that.

Another proof is that they don't recognize the real mother of the Denver Nuggets who are coming to visit.

The Denver Nuggets finally have some powerhouse momentum after acquiring Billups this season, and the interior group they had been hoarding is finally working.

Originally, everyone thought that the luxury interior line that the Nuggets spent tens of millions of dollars to build could teach the Knicks' young people some free courses.

But the result is... When Li Zhen opened the defense on the periphery, the black and white bears in the penalty area spread joy.

They sat and beat Kenyon Martin, Nene and others to the point where they couldn't parry.

126:101。

Another hearty slaughter!

The results of the two-game winning streak exceeded everyone's imagination, and Lee's improvement on the offensive end brought a qualitative leap to the Knicks.

If the Knicks in the first half of the schedule are weak or not strong, and strong or not weak. Then after the All-Star Game, the Knicks have been reborn and are completely a strong team.

Although Lee's 'unreasonable shots' can sometimes put the team in a stalemate, he is not the Nuggets' JR Smith after all, he is a super point guard with brains and can brake. He knows when to switch modes and never let his team get bogged down by his shooting options.

Jerry West finally felt what is called Thomasian luck.

He hadn't done anything since joining the Knicks, who were suddenly on the highway from a muddy country road and sprinting forward at league-breaking speed.

Now, his worries are no longer on the pitch, but off-the-pitch matters.

The smiling assassin's involvement in the boss's family is a foregone conclusion.

There are even a lot of small newspapers on the streets of New York that make a fortune by writing Isaiah and Dolan's love affair with the Big Apple...... The matter has reached the point where everyone knows about it.

Other members of the James family and the rest of the board have joined forces to put pressure on him.

They ordered Jerry West to immediately find a suitable head coach to remove Isaiah Thomas.

But.

Jerry West's feedback from Li Zhen was: I don't want Isaiah Thomas to leave, and his personal affairs won't affect the running of the locker room. These are just his private affairs.

Li Zhen's words carry a lot of weight.

Jerry West didn't want to get into trouble with Lee Zhen over this matter.

And, as a seasoned manager, he knows all too well how devastating an interim manager change can be for a team that is rapidly rising.

As a result, Jerry West struggled every day.

He can only maintain the status quo and perfunctory the board over and over again: I am trying very hard to find the right person, but I really can't find a manager who can keep the team moving at a rapid pace.

February passed quickly.

March is also like a white horse.

In a flash.

Since the end of the All-Star break, the Knicks have gone 18-1.

This result allowed the Knicks to quickly rush from eighth to third in the East...... Both the Celtics and Cleveland breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Zhen went straight from No. 5 on the original MVP list to No. 2, and only LeBron James can pose a threat to him.

However, LeBron James's recent momentum has not been as strong as it was at the start of the season!

After losing to Li Zhen in the slam dunk contest and being handpicked by Michael Jordan as Li Zhen's successor, the exclusive buff of the Chosen One was weakened.

Moreover, the very heated home glory battle previously hyped by the Cleveland media also ended in a slaughter because of the absence of LeBron James.

James was injured in the shoulder by Bogutra in the face up to the Bucks before that game.

Although the injury was not serious, he resolutely chose to rest the game in that focus battle.

He doesn't like to take risks, he only does safe things in his life.

Moreover, he was really extremely tired of losing to Li Zhen, and he didn't want his injury to be a reason for him to fail again.

The Knicks didn't stop at all that night, and they were all villains.

A score of 137 points is enough to prove how arrogant they are.

Limiting the Cavaliers' overall scoring to 84 points proves that the team is dominant on both ends of the floor.

A score of 53 left Cleveland in disgrace.

The New York media made a big fuss, satirizing Cleveland without any mercy.

In this regard, the Cavaliers can only do personal attacks.

Mock Isaiah Thomas's, seduce the boss, nepotism and the like.

From February to the end of March.

The Knicks' internal problems have been fermenting and show no signs of stopping.

Even... Dolan's wife went to the TV to cry openly about her sorrow as a wife.

Isaiah's condition also became more and more depressed, and he arrived at the arena every game like a walking corpse, like a tool man who had been drained of his soul.

Moreover, every away game is a huge test for him.

Almost all the away fans will make fun of him and attack him with bad words.

So, when April came.

On the morning of April Fool's Day.

Li Zhen received a call from Isaiah.

The smiling assassin told Li Zhen on the other end of the phone: "I have decided not to do it!" ”

He finally couldn't take it anymore.

The tremendous worldly pressures took his breath away.

Li Zhen had a feeling that the era was coming to an end, Isaiah was his Bole, and it was he who brought himself to New York, and as a result... Before he won his first championship, he left in this way and will never come back.

"This is not an April Fool's joke."

"Jamie will be the acting head coach, that's what I negotiated with Jerry West. He's under a lot of pressure and I want you to win this year's championship, and I know you can do that. ”

Isaiah Thomas spoke on the phone, and he even felt a sense of relief.

Thomas is not a good manager, he is a good man, he is self-willed, he does not understand tactics...... But no one is better suited to be the head coach of the Knicks than him.

Now, he's leaving.

Li Zhen didn't train all morning.

He sat there in silence.

This April Fool's Day made him feel bad.

Knicks management also made an official announcement at noon that day.

Isaiah Thomas's ouster gave the Dolan family and the board a perfect explanation: they finally didn't have to worry about anything else going on.

The apprehensive fans were reassured that they finally didn't have to worry about the bad things and the team affected by it.

Everyone feels that this is the beginning of the Knicks' glory, which means that the Knicks can sprint to the top point without any baggage.

However, on the night of April Fool's Day.

Lee Jin missed the game against the Miami Heat.

This is the first time in his career that he has taken a leave of absence on the grounds of 'physical discomfort'.

Li Zhen is using this action to make his position clear.

He was haunted by Isaiah's departure!

Jerry West didn't understand much more about it.

He's ambitious plans for his brilliance, and Thomas' departure means he's in full control of the Knicks, a team with the most potential to win a championship in the league.

There is no one to check and balance his actions anymore.

He was immersed in a state of letting his dreams fly.

Orlando eventually defeated the Knicks.

121:111。

It wasn't easy for the Magic to win, even if Lee wasn't there.

However, after a season of tempering, the newcomers of the Knicks are no longer the dumb geese they were when they first started. Whether it's Dragic, Gasol Jr., or Yi Jianlian and Jordan Jr., or Gallinari.

They all played well in this game, which gave the opponent a lot of headaches.

Moreover, the Orlando side overestimated the negative impact on the Knicks after Isaiah Thomas left.

The Knicks are still working methodically, and Jamilin has been doing very well as the first-ever Chinese-American NBA head coach.

Although it was the first time he stood in front of the stage, he was a little nervous.

However, it quickly got used to it...... After all, he was the one who was in control before.

The win made Stan Van Gundy fully aware of one thing: the Knicks and the Magic are no longer teams at the same level.

Although Orlando took the victory, Van Gundy knew better than anyone else... If it weren't for Turkoglou's magical play in the final moments, they might not have been able to win this game: the Knicks' five rookies are too terrifying.

In time, under the leadership of Li Zhen, it will definitely be the existence of the sweeping alliance.

New Yorkers are so lucky that they were able to select so many talented young people at once.

With such a good hand, even if a fool plays with his eyes closed, he can win the championship!!

Stan Van Gundy was envious.

There is no doubt that the Knicks are the team with the least salary and the highest level of strength in the league today.

Isaiah Thomas is a jerk, but he left the Knicks with a quality asset that tops the league!

……

The playoffs are just around the corner.

The situation in the east is becoming more and more secretive.

The fifth- to seventh-place spots are unpredictable, and while it's unclear where the Knicks will end up staying, none of them want to be sixth in the East for now.

The top-ranked Celtics and the second-ranked Cleveland Cavaliers are also in a frantic race.

Their goal is to escape from second place.

Despite the arrogance of what they all said, they all said that they would bring the Knicks to justice.

However, no one wants to meet the Knicks in the semifinals.

When this happens, there is no longer the same ease in the east as it was in previous years.

Nicks becomes the electric eel that is thrown into the sardine box.

It makes the east vibrant.

On the contrary, there is a bit of class solidification in the west, as if it were the scene of a decaying old dynasty.

The Lakers settled first in the West early.

Then, the core of the team began to enter frequent rotations, and even the league headquarters warned them not to suspend the team's stars at will.

But this kind of warning basically does not help.

The Spurs played this routine a decade ago.

San Antonio, who finished third in the West, was already content with his destiny, and Duncan lazily played for ten minutes per game.

In addition, there is nothing to fight for like the Mavericks, Nuggets, Hornets, and Jazz.

However, the Trail Blazers and Rockets have been competing for the fourth place spot and want to gain home-court advantage in the first round.

……

With the merciless crushing of time.

The chaos in the East finally ended with Li Zhen scoring 52 points in the final regular season game.

Frankly, Li Zhen didn't think about ending his 2008-2009 regular season with a phenomenal statistic.

It can only be said that the New Orleans Hornets were too unlucky.

Chris Paul has not said anything about the NBA's No. 1 point guard since the All-Star break, and what makes him more interesting than James is that he is more receptive to the status quo.

Moreover, now Li Zhen is no longer taking the path of pure point guard.

After the All-Star break, Lee Zhen averaged 24.8 points per game.

He averaged 1.6 three-pointers per game.

While the hit rate is touching at times, there's no denying that no one dares to remain indifferent to his offense anymore. Because you'll never guess if his crazy shot will hit or not!

The Hornets, who have been a runner-up this season, still responded with a very fast offensive and defensive pace in the final game of the regular season.

But what D'Antoni never dreamed of was that Li Zhen was like a fish in water in this rhythm.

He was extremely sharp in the fast run.

His touch exploded in the low-level defense.

He hit 11 three-pointers in the game, breaking his personal record and setting a new team record for the Knicks.

The Hornets were shot into a sieve by him alone.

D'Antoni was still thinking about sweeping away the shame at Madison Garden, but it turned out that sweeping him out of the house was the best decision the Knicks had ever made.

52 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

Lee's final stats not only completely cut off Chris Paul's ambition to compete for the No. 1 point guard, but also pushed the Cleveland Cavaliers to the third place.

The Knicks climbed to second place.

Chicago was in mourning.

They originally thought that they would be able to escape by finishing seventh, but they didn't expect to run into the Knicks in the end.

Both teams are youth teams, and both teams are dominated by point guards.

Moreover, the only situation in which Li Zhen has been suppressed on the court this season was in the game against the Bulls. New champion Derrick Rose is also considered a Bruce finisher because of his physical fitness that can suppress Li Zhen!

Of course.

No basketball pundit would dare to claim that the Knicks would lose as conclusively as they did last year, and in most discussions, the Knicks were expected to advance comfortably 4-1.

This is in stark contrast to last year.

Respect is all made by yourself.

……

……

n.