Chapter 198: The Gap Between All-Stars and Superstars
On Feb. 20, the Thunder defeated the Knicks 121-118.
Wu Huang was in good form this game, facing Wei Shao and scoring 20 points and 12 assists, but his three-point shot failed to hit, and the team finally lost.
Westbrook's game can be called crazy, and finally let Wu Huang know what it means to be dead, plus Westbrook feels quite good today, and even has a shooting rate of 4 of 8 three-point shots, which makes Wu Huang a little overwhelmed, and was scored 35 points by the opponent, and Durant also has 30 points in the account, and the Thunder and the two young people jointly contributed 65 points, which decided the outcome of the game.
On February 22, the Knicks and the Bucks at home after a vicious overtime battle to separate the winners, the final score was 89:84, today the two teams did not play like a regular season game, the Knicks also rarely played defense with each other, the two sides played iron throughout the game, and both baskets were almost smashed down.
Wu Huang still didn't perform well in regular time, scoring only 15 points in the first four quarters of the game, and shooting only 4-of-14. But in overtime, Wu Huang finally found his touch, shot 3 of 3 three-pointers, and scored 11 points in five minutes to help the Knicks narrowly beat the Bucks at home.
In such a game where the iron is constantly playing, the number of rebounds will naturally not be small.
Wu Huang is obviously running for a double-digit triple-double in a single season today, and today he got another triple-double, with 26 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks in the whole game.
This is Wu's sixth triple-double this season, and judging by this momentum, perhaps he really has a chance to get a double-digit triple-double in the remaining 30 games.
ESPN reported after the game that Wu Huang is the only player to have more than five triple-doubles in his rookie season, except for the ancient Big O (Oscar Robertson) who scored 24 triple-doubles in that blinding rookie season.
After Wu Huang got his 6th triple-double. The Asian media immediately put the hat of the "triple double" king on his head. The American media didn't have much objection to this, they just didn't report it in depth, but they still couldn't question Emperor Wu's triple double ability.
The current NBA is not like five years later, when the triple-double data of the entire league suddenly exploded, and the triple-double data became worthless.
But now it's different, and now the triple double data has a very high gold content. Especially in Kidd's old age, it's a great thing to get more than five triple-doubles in a season. James can also get about 5 triple-doubles every season, so now the title of "triple-double king" is worn on Wu Huang's head, many experts think it is genuine, because when Wu Huang gets the triple-double data, his team's winning rate is 80%, which proves that he is not completely brushing the data, and his triple-double data is beneficial to the team.
Many fans believe that Big O's three pairs of water that year were very watery. Wu Huang's triple double ability is not worse than him, if he was also born in that era, his personal data will probably be better than that of Big O.
Strangely, this kind of remarks that are clearly exalted by the Asian media and fans have not caused much opposition from NBA celebrities.
Wu Huang was modest about this, in fact, Big O's popularity in the basketball field is very poor, he is a very mean person, and he was trying to brush up on the assist data. Asking a teammate to catch his ball must be missed, otherwise it is abusive. So his teammates were very afraid of him back then, and even hated him, which also made the popularity of the young Big O very poor.
On February 23, the Knicks lost back-to-back games to the Celtics, and in this game, the Knicks fell behind by nearly 20 points at the end of the half, after finding that the chances of winning were not good. D'Antoni immediately chose to give up strategically, and Wu Huang only played half a game, with 10 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists.
After this game, the Knicks have a record of 31 wins and 23 losses, temporarily sitting in fourth place in the East.
Two days later. The Knicks beat the Washington Wizards 123-100 on the road.
Wu Huang had a little conflict with Taylor Swift before this game, and he poured all his anger on the hapless Wizards, slashing 46 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists, almost completing the first 50+ in his career.
The Knicks played the Wizards away, and the next day was another back-to-back game, but fortunately, it was a home court, against the Grizzlies, a Western underdog, and the effect of the strategic abandonment against the Celtics in the previous game was apparent. In this back-to-back, the Knicks pressed the treasure into the first half, and finally with the excellent performance of the players in the first half, the Knicks led the Grizzlies by 25 points at halftime. With a huge lead, the Knicks held the lead until the end, closing out February with a two-game winning streak.
Although Wu Huang's 19 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists today were so-so, he saved the team in the fourth quarter, and 9 of the 19 points he scored were scored in the last quarter.
The Grizzlies launched a counterattack in the second half, and the Knicks players had a problem with their stamina, and they could only hold on to the lead in the first half. But after the third quarter, the difference was still narrowed to 15 points. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies unleashed a 12-2 attack wave to narrow the deficit to six points in one game.
Wu Huang hit two three-pointers in a row at a critical moment to stretch the difference back to double digits, giving the team a crucial breath, which allowed the Knicks to successfully maintain the lead until the moment the final whistle blew.
After the Knicks' victory over the Grizzlies, all the games in February were all played, and the ranking remained in fourth place in the East.
Eastern Rankings -
1. Cleveland Cavaliers (43-13).
2. Orlando Magic (37-20).
3. Atlanta Hawks (34-22).
4. New York Knicks (33-23).
5. Boston Celtics (32-24).
6. Charlotte Bobcats (31-26).
7. Miami Heat (30-27).
8. Milwaukee Bucks (29-28).
Wu Huang has played a total of 55 games so far, averaging 35.5 minutes per game, contributing 22.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 2.5 steals, 1.1 blocks and 3.8 turnovers, shooting 45.9% from the field, 41.1% from three-point range, and 87.5% from the free throw line.
With the end of February's game, the situation in the East has become clearer. Now it seems that James' Cavaliers have shown a championship appearance, and O'Neal has struggled to integrate into the team, but it looks like they have found the right way to get along.
What about the other major contenders in the East? The aging Green Shirts looked like they were starting to gather momentum, and they followed three or four closely. It could be re-overtaken at any time and back in third place in the East. The Magic are still figuring out how to properly use "Warcraft," but Carter has begun to integrate into the team, which is good news for the Magic. Although the Eagles flapped their wings and flew high, the reality of two defeats to the Cavaliers made people see the gap between the two teams, and the poor record against the strong teams is an urgent problem for them to solve. The Knicks, the dark horse, are also moving in a good direction, and the core Wu Huang has come out of the post-All-Star slump, and they need to be patient and wait for their core and a group of young role players to become more mature.
The "Best Player in the East and West" award at the end of the month naturally has nothing to do with Wu Huang. His stats are one notch away from winning Player of the Month. This award is a competition between superstars, and an All-Star player can only play the role of a spectator unless he is a big hit.
Fortunately, the "Rookie of the Month" also has no one to compete with Wu Huang, and even in the few games when he is in a slump, the data obtained is no worse than Jennings, so it is conceivable that the gap between the two of them is also at least one level worse.
Wu's problem was that his shooting percentage dropped after the All-Star break, and the following March. The Knicks have 16 games to play, and Wu Huang is about to have his toughest month since entering the NBA.
The New York press believes. If the Knicks play well in March, some of the questions about the regular season will no longer be in doubt.
"We're not strong enough to sit back and relax, the Bulls have a 27-29 record, they're only six and a half wins less than us, and if we feel like we've locked up the playoffs, we might end up winning the lottery. That's not the end we want to see. So, the March game is important for us and we are aiming to get 10+ wins in March to further solidify our position and get home advantage in the first round of the playoffs. "Wu Huang after winning his fourth Month Rookie of the Year. So said in a small interview with ESPN.
New York fans burst into tears after hearing this, Wu Huang's words sounded so cool!
In the past five or six seasons, the biggest goal of the Knicks every year is to enter the playoffs, but now only one season has passed, and this goal has become in Wu Huang's mouth to get home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
This is like, Chinese football suddenly appeared in a year or two not inferior to Messi, Ronaldo, Modric, Silva, Neuer and other young talents, the goal of the 2010 World Cup has become no longer to rush out of Asia, but to get the first place in the group stage of the World Cup, at this time Chinese fans must be crazy a lot.
On March 2, Emperor Wu went to Cleveland for a long time, and finally coaxed Taylor Swift to return to bed and continue to receive his seeds, and the Emperor of New York worked hard several times that night, and the next day he came to Cleveland contentedly.
The media in both places took this game very seriously, and Wu Huang and James did not want to lose this game. Not long ago, they shared the MVP trophy at the All-Star Game, but both of them have a lot of complaints about this arrangement, and they are not willing to share the honor with others, so this game has some competitive elements.
At the pre-game press conference, Wu Huang said: "They are the No. 1 team in the East and the team with the best record in the league, but we will not rest on our laurels, and if we are afraid of the No. 1 team, then our efforts for most of the season will be meaningless, because the Knicks' goal is never to be second." ”
Before the game, in the speeches of the core of the two teams, it was obvious that Wu Huang was superior.
Wu Huang's eloquence has few opponents in the entire league, and many fans who hack him always mock him for "only one mouth left", which means that he thinks his mouth is powerful.
Now Wu Huang is already a real All-Star player, but there is still a distance from James's grade. He was able to steal half of James' AMVP trophy, which has to do with his technical style being suitable for brushing up on the All-Star Game, but in the playoffs or in key battles, he is a notch behind James.
D'Antoni fielded a more mobile line-up today, starting five: Wu Huang, Danny Green, Iguodala, Channing Frye and David Lee.
This lineup is more mobile to play, and the ability to pack James is better defensively. The mustache is going to have a hard top with Iguodala today. Danny Green's defensive strategy against James, combined with Frye's quick lay-up on the inside, effectively used three men and three lines to contain the gorilla.
Unfortunately, Frye's small frame was weaker, and David Lee had to concentrate on dealing with the big sharks and had no time to worry about it, and the Knicks' defensive formation did not have the desired effect.
After the start of the game. The Cavaliers quickly took a 9-6 lead, with James scoring five points on two breakaways. Frye and Green then hit two goals each, and David Lee's breakaway in the frame caused O'Neal to foul and make both free throws. Wu Huang broke through Xiao Mo's jump shot, and the Knicks led by 7 points at 20:13.
The mustache's defense did not work, and in the end he opened up the situation with his offense.
The Cavaliers called a timeout, first to strengthen the defense of the Knicks outside without players, and on the offensive end replaced O'Neal, who did not perform more than enough and blocked James' breakthrough route on the inside. Replace Valejo with a shot that can pull out space.
The change worked well, with James and Vallejo combining for seven points at the end of the timeout, and the two teams began to form a stalemate, and Wu Huang consciously hid himself into his teammates today in order to play his threat without the ball.
The two teams then tied 20, 22, and 26, and then Wu Huang used his off-ball run to catch the ball twice in a row and hit it, leading the team to end the quarter with a 6:2 attack wave, and the Knicks led 32:28 after the first quarter.
Section II. The Knicks' bench came up and scored four straight points to stretch the margin to eight points.
But soon. O'Neill scored back-to-back balls on the head of Francisco Elson, and he led his team to an 8-2 counter-attack climax to narrow the gap to two points.
D'Antoni didn't use a slashing tactic that would affect the team's offensive tempo, and the Knicks didn't play as slow as the Spurs would, if they had O'Neal to keep getting to the free-throw line. On the contrary, it will affect the rhythm of their own attack, and it is easy to be self-defeating.
It was the right choice, as Gallinari and Harrington each hit 3-pointers to help the Knicks reopen the gap.
James took a two-minute break off the court and quickly returned to the court. Lead the team to return a wave of 7:0 small climax. Five minutes before half-time, the two teams were tied again at 45:45. After that, the two teams alternated points, and Valejo, who tried to foul him before halftime, scored a 3-pointer and the Knicks led by three points at 58-55 at the end of the second quarter.
For the Knicks, Wu Huang had 18 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, David Lee had 8 points and 6 rebounds, Gallinari had 9 points, Harrington had 8 points, and Iguodala defended with only 4 points and 5 rebounds; The Cavaliers' James had 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in the first half, Williams had 10 points, Vallejo had eight points and six rebounds, and O'Neal had eight points and five rebounds
Shortly after the start of the third quarter, Mo Jr. hit a free throw, and Hixon made a layup, and the Cavaliers took a one-point lead.
Wu Huang stepped up the breakaway and assisted Gallinari to hit another 3-pointer, and the Knicks extended the gap to 4 points with a 9-4 counterattack.
The Cavaliers called a timeout, and after the game restarted, the Cavaliers switched to a dual-point guard lineup and were on guard against Wu Huang's breakthrough, once again strengthening the defensive intensity.
O'Neal was abandoned by Black Bread again today, Ilgoskas used his height to score five points in a row, Vallejo also hit a jumper, and the Cavaliers' lineup of two centers and two point guards made the Knicks unable to parry. Mustache's chain defense against James was also broken by the Cavaliers, and the little emperor handed out three assists before the third quarter was played, and the Knicks paid the price for defending James.
With 4:30 left in the quarter, the Cavaliers led 80-71, and then both teams traded several offenses, and James hit a 3-pointer from the top of the circle before the end of the third quarter, giving the Cavaliers a 10-point lead at 92-82 after the first three quarters.
This quarter of the game reflected the gap between the core of the two teams, the Knicks had to defend James with two or three people all the time, and they may not be able to prevent it, while giving the other players of the Cavaliers a chance to score, and the final result was that the defensive system collapsed across the board, and they scored 37 points in a single quarter.
However, the Cavaliers can rely on their excellent defensive system and do not need to contain Wu Huang so frequently, as long as their defensive system is in place, it will be difficult for Wu Huang to lead his teammates to climax.
The Knicks also scored 24 points in the third quarter, which is not bad, but their defense allowed the opponent to score as many as 37 points, and the gap became more and more obvious. In the face of such a knight, the Knicks only scored these points, which was not enough for them to win, but Wu Huang did not have a good way, because with his current personal ability, he could only help the team to achieve this point. Of course, he can also blindly attack like Wei Shao, but he can only rely on luck to play like this, and the Knicks can't even score 24 points.
West hit a jumper to start the fourth quarter, and Harrington also scored four points on his own, and a 9-4 counterattack allowed the Knicks to narrow the gap to five points.
James scored eight points in one breath after another short break, and he led the team to respond with a 10-2 mini-climax, which almost ended the game.
The Knicks' benches fought hard, but they couldn't close the margin to single digits when Wu Huang came on.
In the final 4:50 of the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers led by 14 points, 112-98.
D'Antoni knew it was time for the game to be desperate, so he replaced the lineup of Wu Huang, Iguodala, Gallinari, Harrington and David Lee to execute the three-point strategy.
Wu Huang was lucky, hitting two consecutive three-point shots, and with 1:30 left before the end, he helped the Knicks narrow the gap to five points.
James broke through in a row at critical moments to send points to his teammates, West and Gibson scored 3 points one after another, and the Cavaliers' two small men interrupted the Knicks' momentum of chasing points, and the Knicks still trailed by 5 points at 114:119 with 40 seconds before the end.
After D'Antoni called a timeout, Wu Huang hit a running shot to narrow the gap to three points.
The Cavaliers attacked, James missed three points, but O'Neal, who had an average performance throughout the game, grabbed a key frontcourt rebound in this round, and then made a basket under the basket, and the two teams still had a 5-point gap.
The Knicks' interior height was once again the culprit of their loss, and the scoring lineup sent by the mustaches was too inferior in height and finally took their own lives at a critical moment.
D'Antoni used up the last long timeout in his dying struggles, and Wu Huang came back with a three-point play, missed a long-range 3-pointer, and O'Neal once again controlled the rebound.
The Knicks were gone, and the three-pointers didn't save them, and they ended up losing by four points. (To be continued.) )