On April 29, the Knicks host the 76ers.

Rashad Lewis came on in the game, but his performance was terrible, and he was replaced by Li Wei five minutes later.

The team is hitting a pivotal moment in the playoffs, and if he plays a few more minutes and loses, it will be more than worth the loss.

Lewis was also unhappy with his performance, sitting on the bench without saying a word, and stayed in the team's training gym after the game.

In this game, the Knicks finally won, and their record changed to 26-21, the same as the Bucks. Due to their win-win relationship, the Knicks are still in 8th place in the East below the Bucks.

The Hornets, who lost three times to the Knicks in April, finished ninth with a 24-23 record, while the Raptors finished 10th with a 22-25 record.

This means that the Knicks can make the playoffs as long as they don't lose all of their next three games. If the Knicks win streak and the Bucks lose streak, they can still grab a seventh place like last year!

On May 1, Li Wei had a small surprise - he won the award!

The three teams with the best records in April are the Jazz, Knicks, and Spurs, with the Jazz 15-4, the Knicks 14-2, and the Spurs 13-3.

The Player of the Month award went to Karl Malone, who averaged 24.8 points per game this month, second in the league behind O'Neal (25.7), and Iverson was very iron this month, shooting only 37% from the field, so the score did not go up.

As is customary, Malone won the Player of the Month, and Jerry Sloan was "taken care of" when he was choosing the Coach of the Month.

Li Wei originally thought that the league would give the award to Popovich, after all, the Spurs had a very good record, and Popovich should have won the award last month, but he didn't get it, so he should be comforted.

Although the Knicks have one more win than the Spurs, their overall record is too poor, and he, the head coach, is always called a puppet, so he deserves to be ignored.

But an accident happened, and the league actually awarded him the Coach of the Month award!

The other Rookie of the Month of the Month - April Rookie of the Month is still Vince Carter of the Raptors, who has fully adapted to the NBA and averages 20.6 points per game!

The Celtics' Paul Pierce picked up this month, averaging 18.7 points per game, and the third place on the rookie list was the Grizzlies' Mike Bibby with 13.2 points per game.

Nowitzki, who was outside the top 10 in the first two months, finally played an expected performance this month, averaging 13 points and 5 rebounds per game with a 48% shooting rate.

Kings point guard Jason Williams averaged 12.8 points and 7.1 assists per game and also helped the team run a five-game winning streak at the end of the month, which was also very good.

When the media in New York heard that Li Wei had been named the best coach of April, they immediately came to interview him.

Facing reporters, Li Wei chuckled and said, "I really didn't expect that I could become the best of the month, it's so unexpected." ”

"Coach Lee, the Knicks were about to be in the lotto, but they came back to life last month and went back to the brink of the playoffs, and you deserved the best of the month, what's so surprising?"

Li Weidao: "That's right, in fact, I always wanted to win the Rookie of the Month last year, but I never got it, and it was snatched away by Tim Duncan. This year I was thinking about winning the Player of the Month award, but I still didn't beat Duncan. Is it not surprising that I wanted to get a player award and the league gave me a coaching award? ”

"Hahaha!" The reporters chuckled, "Coach Li, you won't be able to win the player's award in your life, so it's better to get the coach's award with peace of mind!" In fact, you almost won two awards last year, mainly because the Knicks' 20-game winning streak was spread over two months, and if it was in one month, it would definitely be the coach of the month! ”

Li Weidao: "Thank you for your encouragement, and thank you to the league for giving me this award, I will make persistent efforts to not delay the team's victory!" ”

"Hahaha!" The reporters burst into laughter.

The head coach leads the team to win, but Li Wei said that he will strive not to delay the team's win, which is too humble!

In this tone, he really thinks of himself as a puppet!

The Knicks have just three regular-season games in May, with the Pacers on May 2, the Celtics at home on May 3, and the Heat at home on May 5.

May 5 is also the day the NBA regular season ends, and after a two-day break, the playoffs will officially begin on May 8.

While the Knicks were preparing for the Pacers, Rassu Nesterovic, who had ended his European campaign, came to report to the team.

With only three games left in the regular season, the Knicks will only sign Nesterovic to a short-term contract before giving him a guaranteed first-round rookie contract next season.

As for the playoffs, NBA players play the playoffs without salaries, only bonuses. Nesterovic would be the same even if he made the playoffs.

"Rasu, I believe you are the player we need the most, we are going to play away, you come along!"

So, before Nesterovic could figure out who his teammates were on the team, he hurriedly put on the newly made Knicks No. 8 jersey and headed to Indianapolis.

The battle between the Knicks and the Pacers has always been a battle of focus, and the media likes to hype up the feud between the two teams, as well as the grudge between the head coaches of the two teams, and this time is no exception.

Larry Bird lost his first two games against the Knicks this season, and this time he was well prepared to beat the Knicks!

After the game, numerous media outlets interviewed Bird and asked him what it was like to beat the Knicks. This is the first time Bird has beaten Li Wei in the regular season, and it is indeed gratifying.

Bird said calmly: "I don't take this game seriously at all, this year the Pacers have only one goal, which is to win the championship. Don't always mention Coach Lee and the Knicks in front of me in the future, they are not worth my time! ”

That's right, the Pacers have only one goal, and that's a championship. After seven games against the Bulls last year, and this year the Bulls dynasty collapsed, and Larry Bird believes the Pacers have come to challenge for a championship.

As for Li Wei and the Knicks?

Bird actually admires Li Wei more and more in his heart, but the Knicks, as a rebuilding team, are indeed not the focus of his attention!

The reporters quickly relayed Bird's words to Li Wei and asked him what he thought.

Li Wei frowned and said, "What, the Pacers' goal is to win the championship?" I think Larry Bird should be pragmatic and think about how to get past the first round! ”

"Hahaha!" The reporters laughed.

With two games left in the regular season, the teams are very close. The Pacers are competing with the Heat for first place, either first or second in the East. On the Knicks' side, it is to compete with the Bucks for seventh, either seventh or eighth!

So there's a good chance the Pacers and Knicks will meet in the first round!

What Li Wei meant by this was to say, "Bird still wants a championship? He's going to be killed by us in the first round! ”

As the coach of a team with about seven or eight players, it is a bit arrogant to say this, but Li Wei staged the Black Seven Miracle last year, do you dare to say that he can't do it this year?

A reporter from the Indiana Star asked, "Coach Lee, if the Knicks and Pacers meet in the first round of the playoffs, do you think you can win the series?" ”

Li Weidao: "You asked a very stupid question, last year I conceded Larry Bird a few games, this year will not be, as long as our two teams meet, the win will definitely be ours!" ”