What level is the Knicks without Roy?

If this issue is mentioned, I'm afraid all Knicks fans will invariably recall the unbearable five-game losing streak when Roy was suspended.

Without Roy on the floor, it means that the Knicks have lost the leader and signature player of the team, and it means that the Knicks have lost the team's leading scorer and playmaker, which is not a purely statistical loss, it is the loss of the soul of a team.

Without Roy's presence, the Knicks could have lost to the league's top Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, as well as inexplicably lost to teams that are considered to be the best in the league, such as the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, and more.

So for Roy's departure this time, the first feeling of fans is that this game is lost.

You know, the Knicks are facing the Boston Celtics in this game, who are not inferior to the Cavaliers in the East, and now they are not only behind by double digits in the score, but also in terms of strength and team momentum.

Stevens was clearly in the best mood at the moment, and when he saw the news of Roy's injury on the big screen, his heart suddenly blossomed. Based on his judgment of the Knicks, with or without Roy, the Knicks are completely two-level teams, and the Knicks with Roy even have a chance to hit the top three positions in the East, while the Knicks without Roy may not even be able to enter the playoffs.

It is no exaggeration to say that the current Roy is like LeBron James, who just entered the league back then, and his presence is too crucial for the team.

And without Roy, Irving's mood is also refreshed, he still remembers that he was embarrassed by Roy in the first quarter, at that time he was still worried about whether he would become the target of ridicule from the fans tonight, and in the second quarter, before the shame and now Roy is injured, as long as he plays a wonderful performance and wins the game in the rest of the game, then at least his previous bad performance will definitely be diluted a lot.

Mixed with the various emotions of the players, coaches, and fans on the spot, the third quarter of the game began.

The Celtics took the initiative to slow down the tempo, and these experienced "Green Army" players on the court knew that when the opponent lacked core players, slowing down and slowly exhausting the opponent's fighting spirit was the safest way to play. The correct way to kill a chicken is to hit the blood with a knife, and then control the prey, and when it loses too much blood, it will naturally sit and wait to die.

What the Celtics have to do is to slowly wear down the relatively weak Knicks with their strength.

Irving was happily dribbling the ball, and the defender in front of him was replaced by Derrick Rose, the opponent he had ravaged in the first quarter, and Irving would not have taken it seriously.

It's almost the same routine, Irving dribbled behind a few flowers, and then accelerated to easily pass Rose, he rushed to the free throw line in one step, and was just about to shoot, when a big man Crowder suddenly flashed in front of him.

Crowder from the Celtics has a good sense of supplementation, but Irving has long been accustomed to this kind of scene, there must be gaps when there is supplemental defense, Irving's afterglow has seen an opportunity, he took advantage of the situation to pass the ball to Johnson who was in the open space, just like usual training, Amir Johnson received the ball and shot.

O, Johnson shot, Johnson was covered.

Amir Johnson would never have imagined that his ball would be covered from behind, and he never imagined that the person who covered him was Derrick Rose, who was 15 centimeters different from his height.

The man who blocked the hat was Derrick Ross, and his back cap this time was silent but very accurate.

To the exclamation of the crowd, Rose got the dropped basketball and drove it into the Celtics box.

"It's stupid." Irving was smashing Johnson's thoughts as he chased Rose in front of him at full speed.

This is another meeting between two generations of super point guards after a long time, with Rose in front and Irving behind, just like the champion chasing that unattainable MVP.

Although Rose is no longer as brave as he used to be, his speed is still there, and these few steps Owen can only keep up with Rose with all his strength.

"Rose is in danger, he's going to be caught up by Owen."

At Brin's exclamation, Ross and Owen jumped at the same time.

Rose "pill", fans seem to have seen the scene where Rose wants Irving to block from behind.

But Rose didn't hesitate, his hands clenched on the basketball, his teeth clenched, this was his long-lost highlight moment, he definitely didn't miss it, he just wanted to tell the world that I was still the former MVP Derrick Rose, I was, and I still am.

With a "bang", under the interference of Irving's foul, Rose forced the basketball into the basket, and this familiar two-handed dunk suddenly ignited the already silent court.

The referee's whistle also followed with interest, 2+1, the goal was valid, and the penalty had to be added.

Rose landed steadily, and in front of him was Owen with an unwilling face.

"Kyrie (Irving), do you think Roy can do whatever he wants? Even without Roy, your opponent still has an MVP. ”

……

While Rose was leading the team to play with momentum and stabilize the situation, Roy was in the infirmary under the treatment of team doctor Thomas Carter.

After Dr. Carter took over the Knicks this year, he also made a major change to the Knicks' medical equipment. In his opinion, the medical facilities of the Knicks were a bit old and backward, which obviously did not match the image of the wealthy New York team, which probably explains why the Knicks have been injured so frequently in recent years.

Dr. Carter's arrival was a bit of a surprise to Dr. Carter, and the players who were able to walk into the infirmary at game time certainly didn't bring good news.

Fortunately, Roy was not injured, he was just a little unwell. His request to Dr. Carter was to recover from his body's fatigue in a short period of time, and Roy wanted to catch the fourth quarter.

"You're still going to play?" After listening to Roy's request, Dr. Carter was even more surprised. Generally speaking, NBA players are extremely protective of their bodies, not to mention a very small number of hot-blooded young people or paranoia, most NBA players will choose to truce when their bodies are in a state of condition for the sake of their future and money. Therefore, most of the stories of those bloody battles with injuries are specially hyped by the NBA league in order to promote the enthusiasm of the NBA.

And a super rookie like Roy, who has huge commercial value and unlimited potential, should take care of his body even more, and if he were someone else, he would not fight hard for such a regular season.

But Roy's attitude was extremely resolute, and he repeatedly told Dr. Carter that there was nothing wrong with his body, and that all he needed was to recover from fatigue, and to recover from fatigue quickly.

"Is there really no problem?" Dr. Carter is also repeatedly confirming this problem, this is his duty, and it is also his concern, he doesn't want his most promising super newcomer to slip up.

After receiving Roy's assurance, Dr. Carter began his physical therapy.

Of course, just like the previous physical examination, Dr. Carter actually discovered another amazing thing in this physiotherapy - Roy's body has grown again.

"Roy, can you tell me the truth, where have you been in the past two days?" Dr. Carter couldn't hide his excitement, and he stared at Roy with a pair of shining eyes.

"I found a stadium and hired a personal trainer to train alone for two days, what's wrong?"

"Are you sure you haven't eaten anything weird?"

"Of course not."

"It's amazing, your body fat percentage has dropped by 0.5 percentage points from the last time, how the hell did you do it?" Looking at the eye-catching data on the ice therapy device in front of him, Dr. Carter's mouth grew, Roy's body fat percentage had broken through the figure 5 mark, reaching an astonishing 4.5%, and this was what happened in just two days, which is really incredible.

Roy, what kind of monster are you?

……

Back on the court, the atmosphere on the field was unusually warm.

With only 20 seconds left in the third quarter, the score was 84-92, and the Knicks were only eight points behind, and the shouts of the fans resounded in the sky, which they definitely did not expect.

On the court, Bradley blushed and stared at Rose in front of him motionlessly, Irving stood aside and kept muttering something, Steven stooped his chin and his face was blue, everyone could see that the Celtics' performance in this quarter was terrible.

With 8 seconds left in the third quarter, Derrick Rose got off the ground, and Bradley immediately stuck up like a hound, and after Irving was suddenly overwhelmed by Rose, Bradley took over the task of marking Rose.

But now Rose is obviously in a state of "hot hands", and in the cheers of the fans at the scene, Rose is simply unstoppable.

Just like in the Bulls back then, Noah mentioned high position, Rose took advantage of the situation to block and dismantle, and then hit the basket, facing the defense of Olynyk and Johnson, a beautiful ball pull-up layup, steady boarding, steady hitting.

86:92, with only one second left for the Celtics.

When Kyrie Irving angrily threw the ball to the basket in the backcourt, it was time for the third quarter.

"Toot." As the buzzer sounded, the third quarter of the game between the Knicks and the Celtics ended, and unexpectedly, the Knicks were not defeated but recovered 6 points after losing the team's main player Roy.

At the end of the third quarter, the Knicks still trailed by six points at 86-92, and the game seemed to be far from over......