Roy still remembers the ten days and nights he spent with Derrick Rose. In those ten days, Roy would train one-on-one with Rose almost every day, from day to night, from full of energy to lead in his feet, from the real world to the virtual space, the two of them practiced bullfighting training day and night, until their physical strength was exhausted, as if they were playing a never-ending streetball game.

Actual combat is the best training.

In the non-stop confrontation between the two, Roy slowly comprehended the mystery of transcendence, from a simple straight line acceleration pass to a complex change of direction dribble, from the beginning of the cross-step sway, to later learn to use every part of the body to make feints, Roy frantically imitated every movement of Derek Rose, he was like a mirror to guide Roy forward.

Practice makes perfect, quantitative change to qualitative change, these two words also apply in the field of basketball, Roy did not become so powerful in a vacuum, he grew up through hundreds of practical experience, he grew up through the tempered confrontation of former MVP Rose. For ordinary people, it may only be a short ten days, but for Roy, it is long enough time for him to undergo a qualitative change.

Of course, Roy and Rose's special training isn't limited to one-on-one heads-up. As Ross said, even when he was in his prime, even if he still had the "ball king system" back then, there were opponents who could not be completely defeated. No matter how strong the system is, it can only play a role in improving one's own ability in the end, and when facing super defenders like Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Andre Iguodala, and Paul George, you need to beat them in other ways.

"Basketball is a five-person sport, and if every offense can be finished one-on-one, then it's no different from streetball, and in the league, there are always some defensive players who give us headaches, and at this time, we have to learn to play smart."

Playing smart, this is also an important lesson that Derrick Ross has taught Roy.

Roy has a super high ball quotient, and as long as he understands that, the game will be very easy for him.

"Roy, if you have the chance, you can give the ball to your teammates to finish, and try to revitalize the team's offense."

This was originally just a slightly tentative tactical arrangement by Hornacek, and in fact, Hornacek couldn't figure out what Roy's state was right now, or he didn't think about how to use Roy. Judging by the last game at the end of the suspension, Roy's performance was a bit unpredictable. Not only is his breakthrough sharp and impressive, but his style of play has also become more varied, he can score 30 points in a single quarter, or he can brush the data to a triple-double without scoring in a quarter.

It seems that Roy can accomplish a lot of what he wants to do if he wants to.

For the wayward Roy, Hornacek did intend to tolerate it in the last game, firstly, because this is the first game of Roy's comeback, and it is normal to need to perform, secondly, Hornacek also hopes that Roy, who has been absent for a long time, can find his feel through singles, and thirdly, the game did not become difficult because of Roy's willfulness, on the contrary, under Roy's sudden outburst, the game became simpler.

Because of this, Hornacek is not sure what Roy's situation is now. Although Roy's first three goals were not very smooth in this game, out of the protection of Roy's self-esteem and curiosity about Roy's true strength, Hornacek did not directly ask Roy to change his style of play, his words were not so much tactical arrangements, but rather a kind reminder to Roy to Paul's defense. Hornacek's art of language is a match for his teacher, Jerry Sloan.

Hornacek really didn't expect Roy to change his style of play immediately, and he didn't expect Roy to surprise him right away.

Back on the court, Roy's style of play suddenly changed.

In the face of George's stalking, Roy didn't continue to fight with him, he directly handed the ball to Rose, and then pulled it to the weak side, leaving half of the court for Rose.

Is this about creating room for Derrick Rose to singles? Exactly.

Roy is full of confidence in Rose, in the days of special training, Roy has learned the power of Rose's breakthrough, if the current Derek Rose has declined greatly in all aspects, then the only weapon he can still use is to break through.

Even Derrick Rose, who has only seven successes left, is still very sure of Teague, who has a mediocre defense.

I saw Rose take two quick cross steps, and his body suddenly leaned forward, taking advantage of such a momentary gap, taking advantage of Teague's slight distraction, Rose swished into the interior, and a high throw board shot the Knicks' first shot of the game.

"Beautiful, Derrick Rose opened the scoring door for the Knicks, Rose's offense is still so sharp, I really didn't expect that Rose, who just returned from injury, can still maintain such a skill. With Paul George going all out to defend Roy, the Knicks desperately need a second point of attack like Rose. ”

"Mike, since you claim to be a fan of Derrick Rose, let me ask you, what do you think of Rose's performance this season?"

"Well, if you're going to talk about on-court performances, it's definitely not comparable to past MVP Rose, but I think he has one or two shining points per game."

"One or two flashes? Mike, you're a Ross fan. I'd say you're underestimating Derrick Rose, who's now the Knicks' No. 3 scorer and No. 2 assist, and is averaging 17.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. Therefore, anyone who underestimates the opponent of the former MVP will suffer. ”

Anyone who underestimates the opponent of the former MVP will suffer.

There is some truth to this.

When Paul George defended Roy, his own offensive ability was also restricted, of course, that is also normal, in the final analysis, a person's energy is just like this, used in defense, the offense will naturally appear weak, and Roy's defense is not vegetarian, the two of them are entangled and entangled, that is, to play a counter-effect.

The trump card is bound to be disadvantageous to the slightly weaker Pacers, for example, if you walk the military flag, everyone's biggest is the commander, if one side has any army commanders and division commanders, and the other side only has any brigade commanders and regiment commanders, the weak side is definitely unwilling to fight the commander.

But the Pacers are now doing the "fight for commander" thing, for McMillan's tactics, for George's face, the Pacers' ace is now doing the dirty work. After scoring nine straight points in the opening game, George never scored any points after that, and he and Roy were like a pair of conjoined men, always sticking together from the offensive to the defensive end.

And just when Roy and George were struggling to consume, the role of Ross and Porzingis was suddenly manifested.

Facing Teague, who is similar to his own type, Rose's offense is impressive, and neither of these two can defend their opponents, but if it is compared to the ability to finish the ball, the more experienced Rose undoubtedly has the upper hand.

Porzingis, on the other hand, is more comfortable, his Thaddeus Young is only 203 cm tall, and his defense is also average, and it is simply humiliating for him to defend the "Boshen" who is more than 220 cm tall.

So, under the involvement of Roy, Rose and Porzingis' offense was in full swing, and in the unfavorable situation of 0:9 in the opening game, the Knicks played steadily and steadily, and unexpectedly chased the score to 24:24 at the end of the first quarter and tied it.

Looking at the lively Rose and Porzingis on the court, and then looking at his team's 2 consecutive minutes without scoring in the final period of the first quarter, McMillan was worried again. In terms of scoring ability, Paul George is definitely the first in the Pacers, and then, there is no then. Jeff Teague may be a scoring point, but his shooting percentage is really not excellent among guards, and even a little behind; Score on Miles Turner? The sophomore's physical condition is not to be said, but his scoring methods rely too much on assists, and he is more of a senior blue-collar on the team; And who else is there? Relying on the "leak-picking" power forward Thaddeus Young? Or Al Jefferson, who is past his prime? Anyway, it will definitely not be the turn of Glenn Robinson III and Aaron Brooks who play strangely.

That's where the Pacers' style of play is awkward.

If George's offensive burning energy is sacrificed to stalk Roy, then the Pacers will basically become the "Pacers", in addition to playing high in the half, picking up leaks, and fighting for outside luck, what more effective way to score? In the end, the offensive tactics that he instilled in the Pacers are only the style of play, which is to block and shoot.

On the Knicks' side, even if Roy is firmly locked, they still have Porzingis (20.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists per game) and Rose (17.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game) two offensive strengths.

If this trend continues, the Pacers, who are worse on paper, will definitely be more unlucky, and there is one more headache, Pacers president Larry Bird actually gave him an order to play offensive basketball before the game.

To change or not to change? If it doesn't change, it will sit and wait for death, and if it changes, in addition to satisfying Nengbode's requirements, maybe there will be a chance to turn things around. Coach McMillan thought about it, and in the end, he finally figured it out, and simply let go of the attack with the Knicks......