With the intervention of Willis Reed, the deal was eventually canceled, and under the suspicion of a group of New Yorkers, Larry Johnson was taken as the starter, and the three of Moxi, Camby and Thomas were rotated according to the opponent's situation, but in the playoff sprint, Van Gundy put Moxi in the starting position. www.biquge.info In the period from mid-March to early April, Mo Xi played the first peak of his career, in the last eighteen games of the regular season, Mo Xi got 30 minutes of playing time per game, the efficiency was amazing, and the average game could cut 20 + 8 data, during this period, the Knicks 11-7, steadily rushed to the third place in the East, only under the Pacers and the Heat, Mo Xi played 77 times throughout the season, started 30 games, averaged 17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.2 blocks and 0.4 steals per game, the shooting rate was as high as 56%, and the free throw shooting rate was 78%. With the majesty of the king of the East, the Knicks descended into the playoffs and headed for the glory they lost.

In the 1999-2000 season of the league, there was nothing worth mentioning, O'Neal became the league's scoring champion with an average of 29 points per game, Mutombo beat O'Neal to become the rebounding champion with 14 rebounds, Kidd beat many opponents to become the assist king, Mourning also won the block king, and Eddie Jones successfully justified himself, ranking first in the league with 27 steals per game. O'Neal was almost certain to become the regular season MVP with his outstanding performance, but in his own words, this MVP scared him, and few people have won the championship when he won the MVP.

It's just that there are two particularly important things in this year, Duncan is out for the season due to injury, and when I heard the news, all three teams were silent. Spurs naturally felt a hint of despair; The Lakers, led by O'Neal, are very happy; As for last season's loser, the Knicks, no one knows how they feel right now, even if they can't say it themselves, frustrated? Annoyed? Glad? No one can see it, and no one can understand it.

As for the other thing, his protagonist is the Spurs' first-round opponent, the Phoenix Suns, the team's guard group suffered a major injury, and the retired Kevin Johnson directly gave up his campaign path and came back to help his old club Suns face such a difficult time. (This was probably the fastest man in the league before Iverson and T-J. Ford, and more importantly, he was the first two-way guard of his era.)

These two things complicate the whole situation, but it's all about the West, and what matters now for the Knicks is to win the East.

Not much has changed in the East, and the teams that have made the playoffs are almost the same as last year, except that the Raptors have replaced the Hawks. But whether it is the Raptors or the 76ers, or the Pistons, Hornets and Bucks, in the eyes of most fans, they can only be regarded as the martyrdom of the emperor, and the final Eastern Conference championship will always be decided among the three teams of Knicks, Heat and Pacers. And this time, what makes fans shout even more is that the Knicks and the Heat are in second and third place, that is, if nothing else, this year, the feud will collide again.

However, whether it is Van Gundy or Pat Riley, they are both strict people who govern the army, and naturally they will not ignore their opponents in the first round and directly consider the next round of competition under the encouragement of the media.

The Knicks' opponent in the first round was the Raptors. (This is where the legendary first round of curses began)

Maddy's performance this season has been even better, to the point that there is no excuse to block him from the starting lineup, so, like Moxi, in the final part of the season, Maddy also stepped into the starting position, and formed a backcourt duo belonging to the Raptors with his cousin Carter.

The Raptors also have some problems with their configuration, they don't have a pure point guard, and to a large extent, the team's organization relies on Carter and Maddy's breakthrough points, especially Maddy's passing ability, which has begun to show signs at this time. In the confrontation between these two people, the talented Carter and Maddie can be said to be the only place in the Raptors where they can wrestle with the Knicks. Opposite the two of them will be Sprewell and Ward, Sprewell needless to say, as a representative of the late 90s scoring guard who integrated offense and defense, how could he fall behind in the face of Carter? When it comes to Ward, there may be some small trouble against Maddy, but Maddy has much less say in the team, a lot of the ball is concentrated in Carter's hands, and Maddy can only move and attack without the ball, which makes Houston's defensive pressure reduced a lot. As for the other positions, even Toronto's own media can only appear to be fragmented, and instead of asserting, it is ESPN and other media that have made simple and clear judgments.

"The Raptors have used Maddie to play point guard in these games, and with Maddy's height, no matter which point guard he plays, he will undoubtedly have an absolute advantage, but Ward's defensive ability is very strong, and if the Raptors let Maddie enter the rhythm of their singles, this will undoubtedly cause two problems, one is that the Raptors' own organizational offense will be wiped out, just relying on simple breakouts, but because of Maddy's height advantage, once Ward defends closely, Maddie's ball-holding singles will encounter great difficulties. Carter didn't have a lot to say about this, but Sprewell was also very strong, and the role of the two of them could almost be canceled out. Then the question comes down to the rest of the two teams. If Maddie plays point guard, then any other Raptors guard will be shot into a sieve by this talented shooter when facing Houston, and it will be difficult for anyone other than Maddy and Carter to limit Houston's play; In terms of the configuration of the interior line, although the Knicks' interior line always has various shortcomings, it will have the upper hand in the face of the Raptors' interior line, and the physical advantage is an insurmountable wall, Mo Xi and Ewing are both seven feet tall and weigh about 240 pounds, while on the Raptors' side, Antonio Davis is six feet nine inches tall and weighs only more than 210 pounds, Charles Oakley is only six feet eight inches, and weighs more than 220 pounds, but obviously, As for Oakley, everyone knows that Oakley is a very righteous person, maybe when he faces the Knicks, his style of play will still be very fierce, but there is no doubt that if you want to see the scene of Charles Oakley ravaging the opponent like in the past, it will not appear, as for the substitutes on both sides, maybe the young Kevin Willis can knock down the entire Knicks alone, But now look at who's on the Knicks' bench, Larry Johnson, Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas, Chris Charles, John Wallace This is the new New York bench gang, and the gangster forces from New York are once again invading. The Raptors, who have lost their interior resistance, cannot achieve an overwhelming advantage on the outside, Carter and Maddy, then it will be difficult for the Raptors to steal a victory from the Knicks, especially since the Raptors will face two consecutive away games and are likely to be swept directly by the Knicks. (Kevin Willis was also drafted in '84, was selected by the Hawks with the 11th pick in the first round, formed the most physically gifted team at the time with Wilkins and others, and he was also the seventh most rebounded player in league history.)

ESPN's analysis is still very pertinent, without the slightest bias, the current Raptors are really a little powerless in the face of the Knicks, there is no advantage in all positions, and there is even some meaning of being crushed in it. Despite this, the Knicks' training has not relaxed at all.

"Move move keep move" (run, run, keep moving) Van Gundy loudly reminded the players on the training ground that the Knicks were the last wave of the Finals last season, and the aftermath of the Black Eight Miracle is not far away, and the Knicks will not underestimate anyone, especially, now this Knicks, from top to bottom, the entire Knicks team is filled with a spirit of gold and iron, win or go home, (win or go home) This time the Knicks are united, After the defeat in the finals last season, after seeing the scenery under the mountaintop, everyone wants to go further, there is always someone who wants to win the championship, why can't it be me?

Now this Knicks is like a wild horse, only running in one direction, Van Gundy has to follow from time to time to force this team to stop, calm down, a team that goes straight to the championship is undoubtedly terrible, but if this team runs too fast, it will lose its mind, Berserker is strong, but none of the Berserker have a good end.

Camby, Sprewell and Mo Xi sat on the floor shoulder to shoulder, tomorrow the playoffs will officially begin, the Knicks will once again embark on the road to the championship, this time, lost a terrible opponent, but Mo Xi also knows that this year at the end of the line, there is an equally strong person waiting, he is still too weak, so he needs to sacrifice himself with sweat first.

The playoffs are full of smoke, and the Knicks veteran driver is driving.