Chapter 206: The Imperative
On March 26, the Knicks lost to the Phoenix Suns away, Wu Huang scored 34 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, and the team still lost.
On March 28, the Knicks lost to the Jazz again, and Wu Huang scored 23 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, but it was still useless.
This week, the Knicks played four games and only got one victory, Wu Huang averaged 33.5 points, 8 rebounds, 9.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per game, including a 63 points, the highest single game in the league this season, and a big triple-double, although the team record is not as good as James and Howard, but in terms of personal data, Wu Huang is the best player in the East this week, relying on that 63 points, he still won the third Player of the Week award this season.
The Knicks have one game left on the 30th of the month, and Wu Huang's personal data will be the best of his career in March, and he hopes to win the first career Player of the Month award, but the only problem he faces is that the Knicks' team record this month is not good enough, with a 7-8 record in 15 games for the time being.
If such a team wants to compete for the Player of the Month award, first of all, the impression score will be deducted by more than half, and there is no precedent in NBA history that the winning rate of the month is less than half and can still win the Player of the Month.
Wu Huang has long lost hope for this award, the Player of the Month has always attached great importance to the team's record, if he can help the Knicks win more than 10 games, then this award is in his pocket, but now it is not possible, even if the last game against the Trail Blazers can be won, 50% of the team's win rate is not enough to compete for the award.
The biggest question at hand is. They have slipped to sixth place in the East, with Larry Brown's Bobcats overtaking them not long ago, and the team is much better than last season. Despite Jordan's growing conflict with Larry Brown, Bobcats fans actually support the team's manager.
The boss is too overbearing in team management, and Larry Brown has the same personality, but which of the two can help the team's record more, obviously the team's manager has a greater role, and Larry Brown's role for the Bobcats is obvious.
Jordan has always been unhappy with Gerald Wallace, who can only defend, including Stephen Jackson, who doesn't respect him much. and boxing champion Tyson Chandler, who can also defend and dunk, all three Jordan didn't like it very much, but Larry Brown liked such a player. The Bobcats also played an unexpectedly strong performance under his tutelage.
The Charlotte Bobcats are now a team that the whole league doesn't want to meet, and this team has the same defensive aggression as the Detroit Pistons in the past, and they are the kind of people who will bite off a piece of meat when they meet anyone.
The strong teams in the league don't want to fight hard against this kind of guy who is not afraid of death, especially those who are aiming to win the championship. In case of an injury. That's really a lot of suffering, and there's nowhere to talk about it.
If the Knicks finish the regular season in sixth place, they will face the Hawks in the playoffs, a team known as the Spurs, and the Knicks also don't want to encounter this kind of slow-paced team that just restrains themselves, and in the eyes of fans and coaching staff, it is better for them to fall to seventh place to play the Magic, which has the best chance of winning.
But it's up to them, and the Knicks' current record is no longer enough to guarantee that they will make the playoffs. If you pick and choose, you will be slapped in the face, and in the end, you will fall to the ninth place. That's really the heart that wants to die.
The Knicks have to try to win every game right now, and they have to make sure they make the playoffs before they talk about anything else.
On March 30, the Knicks continued their Western road trip, this time the opponent Portland Trail Blazers did not give face at all, Roy and Aldridge teamed up to score 59 points, and the Trail Blazers destroyed the menacing Knicks in only three quarters of games.
The Knicks did come up menacing before the game, but the Trail Blazers' defense was unusually solid and was unscathed in the face of the Knicks' torrential offense.
The New Yorkers were out of the limelight in the first half of the season, but now that the whole league has figured out how to deal with them, D'Antoni's bombardment is in trouble.
When encountering a team like the Knicks, you must slowly boil it with a small fire, and you must not give these guys space and opportunities to run. But any team that relies on touch needs to find a shooting rhythm, and as long as they don't play the offensive rhythm they like, the shooting percentage will not be too high.
So the key is to curb the Knicks' offensive rhythm, and then find a way to force them to shoot three-pointers from the outside, protect the backcourt rebounds, and wait for opportunities to counterattack. Usually use positional warfare to slowly arch, the Trail Blazers happen to have Aldridge who is good at playing low back, plus a top outside star Roy, who is not in a hurry to play the Knicks, and arches to the Knicks to death.
Wu Huang can occasionally use his personal ability to play wonderful goals in the game, and today he got 25 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists, another quasi-triple-double statistic, but he can't use his personal ability to control the pace of the game, and the Knicks still can't win the opponent.
In this kind of game, Wu Huang is the most embarrassing, if he strengthens his individual offense in the game, it will become Marbury's lone wolf mode. But it's not good to calm down and connect the team, controlling the rhythm is not something he can do alone, and the Knicks players except for him and Iguodala basically don't know how to play positional battles, so he can only play fast.
In fact, Wu Huang is now about to be trained by D'Antoni not to play positional warfare, in this case, he can only play fast-paced to activate his teammates, because his teammates will do this, but this is exactly in the hands of the opponent.
This season, playing Spurs, Bobcats, Celtics and other teams, Wu Huang has this feeling of powerlessness, as if he was trapped by someone drawing a circle on the ground, how can he not turn over the five finger mountains of Rulai, no matter how he plays, it seems to be under the control of others, this feeling is too bad!
There are too many factors that can cause this phenomenon - game experience, tactical literacy, overall details, on-the-spot judgment, teammate strength, chemistry, and even the coach's command ability, etc., these are the Knicks' current shortcomings.
It's not the playoffs yet. As soon as people study them, many teams Knicks can't beat them. Previously, they also fantasized about playing the Magic in the playoffs, thinking that they could win against Orlanders. But the defense of the Magic is the top three in the league, and if they don't get serious, they will die even more miserably!
This game was the Knicks' last game of March, and in 16 games throughout the month, the Knicks won only seven games and lost as many as nine, which was a close reversal of the previous plan to win 10 games.
Knicks' performance this month. No matter how you look at it, they are not qualified, and their record has come to 40-33, and they are currently in sixth place in the East with only one win.
Eastern Division Rankings -
1. Cleveland Cavaliers (55-18).
2. Orlando Magic (49-25).
3. Atlanta Hawks (48-26).
4. Boston Celtics (43-30)
5. Charlotte Bobcats (42-32)
6. New York Knicks (40-33).
7. Miami Heat (39-34).
8. Milwaukee Bucks (38-36).
9. Chicago Bulls (37-37).
Such a team record. Naturally, Wu Huang did not have the Player of the Month award in March, and he did not have such illusions, and now the top priority is to confirm the team's playoff spot, and Wu Huang does not want to win the lottery with the Rockets in the end.
The Knicks are temporarily three and a half wins ahead of the ninth-ranked Bulls. Both teams play nine games each in April. They have to get six of those games to make the playoffs, which is a tough task because the Knicks have three back-to-back games in April, which is a daunting schedule!
On April 1, the Knicks came up to meet the Timberwolves, this kind of game must be won, of course, the Knicks three military life, in the away road burst out of amazing attacking power. He scored 124 points in the fourth quarter to win the game.
On April 3, the Knicks continued their trip west. This time the opponent is the Golden State Warriors.
The Knicks' difficult schedule in March and April forced D'Antoni to take a rotation for this game, and the starters were all bench players except for Wu Huang and Iguodala. This was a means to avoid injuries to the players, and Wu Huang and Iguodala were not rested because they were physically able to cope.
That's when you can see who is more resilient, and Wu Huang's ability to recover allowed him to survive the intensive schedule in March and April, with Gallinari and David Lee both experiencing fitness crises during this time, and they must have a proper rotation to prepare for the playoffs in the final month of the game.
Wu Huang faced Ellis and Curry, cutting down 28 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists and 4 steals, but the Knicks' rotation lacked offensive power and failed to beat the Warriors on the road, and the New Yorkers ushered in their first loss in April.
Soon, the Knicks received another piece of bad news as the Bulls beat the Bobcats at home, closing their gap to a two-and-a-half-game win.
The Knicks are in real danger right now, as they have another back-to-back on the road on April 4, and the only good news is that their opponent is still a fish belly - the Los Angeles Clippers, who have only 25 wins so far.
New York fans are praising the mustache and wit at the moment, but thankfully they rested most of their main players yesterday, and it turns out that D'Antoni's intention is to make sure that the Clippers are easier to deal with.
I have to say that such a choice is correct, even if the Warriors are all dead, they may not be able to win, and it is easy to lose both games at that time.
However, it is not easy to play the Clippers, there are Byron Davis, Chris Carman and Eric Gordon in this team, one of these three guys restrains Wu Huang, and the other restrains David Lee, the Knicks don't have much advantage to play this team, and one is not good enough to stage a rollover in Staples.
The New York Times specially listed four keys to victory for the Knicks before the game-
First, Wu Huang at least has to explode with Byron Davis, who has recovered recently, this season's beard first suppressed and then raised, and the state recovered a lot after the All-Star break.
Second, if Lee wants to inflict damage on Carman on the offensive end, he will face similar troubles as Wu Huang, and the New York center will have to make the most of his face-frame offensive strengths, or at least form a mutual blow with Carman.
Third, Iguodala wants to limit the Clippers' rising backcourt star Eric Gordon. The Clippers are a small star, but with outstanding strength and speed, and a relatively well-rounded skill. With 25+ points already in place several times this season, Iguodala needs to limit Gordon's scoring to single digits.
Fourth, the Knicks' bench lineup must step up, they have to break the Clippers' weak bench, which is the most advantageous part of the New Yorkers, if they can't play in the game, then it will be difficult to win this game.
The pre-game preview was just an assumption, and the outcome of the game was that the Knicks' bench advantage really didn't play out; Wu Huang did not take advantage of Byron Davis, who was recovering in form; But Iguodala managed to keep Gordon on 3-of-12 shooting; The duel between David Lee and Carman was even more unexpected......
The New York center came up today and forced a strong attack, causing Carman to commit two fouls. The performance was very strong. In the ensuing game, Carman was beaten by the Knicks players every time he couldn't play for a while, and in the end Carman only played 18 minutes. In the end, he was fouled and sent off.
D'Antoni's tactics were successful again, the mustache was sometimes quite wise, and the Knicks won this game by Carman, and David Lee was mostly against the stupid little Jordan. This thing only lasted more than 20 minutes. In the end, he was also punished for six offenses.
David Lee played 42 minutes today, scored a career-high 38 points, and single-handedly wiped out all the interior of the Clippers, which made New York fans look forward to David Lee facing Horford or Howard in the playoffs.
Wu Huang's performance in this match was average, facing Byron Davis, who was always looking for physical contact with him. Wu Huang only had 15 points and 13 assists, although the assist statistics were good. But when he still gets data like 30+5+8, he poses the greatest threat to the enemy.
On April 6, the Knicks finally returned to their home court, but they faced the Celtics, a strong opponent in the same division, and the New Yorkers may still have a lot of luck in this game.
Before the Knicks' game, the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls took the lead, and the Knicks were very concerned about what they saw as a dog-eat-dog matchup, which would be in their favor no matter who lost, and the Bucks and Bulls were their most direct competitors after them.
In the end, the Bulls lost to the Bucks at home, and although Rose blew Jennings, John Salmons scored a game-high 26 points to lead the Bucks away from the road without Bogut.
To be honest, no one could have thought about the Bucks' record this season, they don't have any stars, the only one who is a star is Bogut who is still injured, and this team has won this season by a group of role players who have exploded in turns - Delfino, Ilyasova, Ridno, Varick and Jennings are all players who average a dozen points per game, but this group has a few outbursts every game, plus Salmons and Bogut, who are at the peak of their careers, after they are missing former All-Star Michael Reed, On the contrary, the performance has improved greatly.
The Knicks players faced the Celtics at home with joy, and Gallinari, who praised his character several times, finally broke out today! The kid scored 15 points in the first quarter to help the Knicks lead the Celtics 30-22 in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the shooting percentage of Knicks players was still high, and the Celtics did not vow to win on the road, and these old men did not have desperate thoughts with the Knicks after determining the fourth place, and they did not want to fight for an injury at the end of the regular season.
At this stage, the Celtics have begun to accumulate energy for the playoffs, and the Big Three are all ineffective on the court, but this is precisely what the team's head coach Rivers acquiesced to, and fools will let these old guys play with their lives at this time!
The Knicks led the Celtics by 12 points at 58-46 in the first half, which made the Knicks players feel better, and they also saw that the Celtics were unwilling to play with them, and of course they had to work harder at this time.
Wu Huang didn't have a strong desire to score today, since that 63 points, he didn't care how many points he scored, after guaranteed to score in double digits, he was happy to pass the ball for his teammates, especially when his teammates felt good.
In the first half, Gallinari scored a team-high 24 points, while Wu Huang had a game-high 10 assists.
In the second half of the game, the Knicks players were a little carried away, although the Celtics players were unwilling to play hard, but they began to carry out a small range of tactical cooperation in a relaxed state, just like conducting tactical drills, playing very easily and freely.
The Knicks' scumbag team defense was completely unable to cope with this seemingly random, but in fact tactically executed offense, and was quickly hit with a 16:5 attack wave, and the difference narrowed to 1 point in the blink of an eye.
"Damn, a group of people are leading by more than a dozen points and start to wave, this game might as well be lost." When Emperor Wu thought so, he didn't first recall, did he look arrogant just now, if he hadn't used a juggling breakthrough to trick the Green Army's defense line, Gallinari would not have done the same, and was slapped down by the wolf king.
It was Garnett's domineering block that set off a counterattack by the Celtics, and as a result, the score was almost overtaken in the blink of an eye.
The Knicks players didn't dare to wave any more, and with the blessing of the home fans, they finally maintained the lead at the end of the third quarter and entered the fourth quarter 85-81.
But not long after the start of the fourth quarter, the Celtics took the lead with two three-pointers from Pierce.
Gallinari, who had always felt hot in his hand, was blocked by Garnett in the third quarter, and he could no longer find his previous form.
Wu Huang planned to continue the firepower, but Rondo's defense made him frown, and the long arms that he had fought with him were interfered with two consecutive shots, and the Nixton was showing signs of collapse.
New York fans are now glad that their team has avoided the Celtics, a team that is so awesome when it's not serious, and once the playoffs are played, where can they take advantage?
This is the best manifestation of the lack of strength, one will avoid this and the other will avoid that There are too many teams that show that they can't beat, and such teams are eighty percent of the playoffs in the first round. Actually, New York fans know this, but as a human nature, people always want their teams to have a little luck, avoid those teams that can't beat, and take a few more steps forward to watch more games for their team. (To be continued.) )