All-star votes have to be pulled, and games have to be played.

On January 4, the Knicks sat at home and ushered in the first game of the new year, visiting the Boston Celtics.

The big boss of the Celtics is Antoine Walker, the talented No. 6 pick in '96 and the All-Star of the last year, and the second leader is Paul Pierce, a sophomore. After a season of workout, Pierce is stronger than last season, currently averaging 19 points per game, but Walker's stats are not very good, so far only 20 points and 7 boards per game.

Rick Pitino, the first generation of coaches in the NBA to start the trend of shooting three-point shots, wants to use Antoine Walker as a space power forward, this tactic can indeed succeed, the Knicks have succeeded, and now lead the league. But this season's Walker couldn't find a basket outside the three-point line at all, shooting only 25%!

"Antoine, you have to shoot more, don't be afraid, you look at the Knicks' Nowitzki, wasn't he also very iron when he shot threes last season? How accurate he is this season! Don't doubt yourself, try to shoot! Rick Pitino said to his disciple.

"Okay!" Walker listened to the coach and nodded firmly.

Yes, Antoine Walker shot 0 of 6 three-pointers, and Nowitzki, the Knicks backup power forward, shot 6 of 6 three-pointers, and the Celtics lost to the Knicks by a large score!

"Alas!" Rick Pitino looked up to the sky and sighed when he saw the huge difference between the two teams.

It's obviously the same tactic, why is there such a big gap between me and Coach Li?

Back then, Nowitzki would have fallen to 10th place and belonged to the Celtics!

Pierce is already a very good player, but in Rick Pitino's eyes, Nowitzki is clearly more valuable.

There are many good outside players in this league, but good inside players are hard to find!

Nowitzki is the kind of spacious interior that fits his tactical philosophy perfectly, and there are few in the league that can compare to it!

What makes Rick Pitino even more depressed is that Nowitzki is now a substitute!

Such an excellent person can only play as a substitute in the Knicks!

It's like saying that you fall in love with a peerless beauty, and you dream of marrying her, but she is married to Lao Li next door as a concubine, and you can only listen to her seducing ten people every night through the wall, but there is no way!

Li Wei didn't know how bitter Rick Pitino was, but even if he knew, it didn't matter.

Everyone plays cards at the same table, how can I catch two kings and only one?

The two kings will only be insured with the two kings in hand, Garnett and Nowitzki, both of whom are the Knicks'!

On Jan. 7, the Knicks traveled to Orlando to win away against the Magic.

On Jan. 8, the Knicks returned home, losing back-to-back to the Cavaliers, who had a poor record.

"Alas, I've been beaten up a lot of fast counterattacks!" Li Wei sighed after the loss.

There is a reason why a lot of old-school coaches look down on three-pointers. Once the long-range shooting percentage is not high, it will inevitably allow the opponent to grab more defensive rebounds, so as to launch more fast breaks. As we all know, fast breaks are the easiest to score.

In this respect, the damage to a jump-shot team from a drop in shooting percentage is far more than two threes equaling three twos.

To engage in a three-point-based style of play, the first is to shoot accurately, and the second is to return to defense quickly, even if you can't shoot, you can curb the opponent's defensive counterattack to a certain extent.

The Knicks have a lot of talented players and a well-established defensive system, but today's shooting percentage of the whole team was average, and the Cavaliers protected the defensive rebounds well and seized the opportunity to play the fast break, and finally won the victory.

The Knicks lost, 27-6, while the Lakers, on the other hand, kept winning, and they had won 13 in a row. So the Knicks gave up the top spot in the league, and the Lakers with 28 wins and 5 losses became the new first in the league!

The Trail Blazers are third with 24 wins and 8 losses, and the Pacers have played well during this time, surpassing the Heat, Spurs and other teams with 22 wins and 9 losses, ranking fourth and second in the East!

On January 11, the Knicks defeated the Bulls at home, but Li Wei frowned.

Because in the third quarter of the game, Nash injured his ankle, and the team doctor helped him off the court with a painful expression!

After a post-game examination, doctors believe that Nash's injury will be out for six weeks!

Injuries have always been the most frustrating thing in sports, and the Knicks, who are always resting in rotation this season, are actually the team that protects players the most, but injuries are coming, and Li Wei can't do anything about it.

Nash's injury caught the Knicks off guard, and the team had to play back-to-backs.

On January 12, the Knicks traveled to Detroit to face the Pistons. Li Wei usually uses Hornacek as the starting point guard, although the old Huo is old, the defense is better than Li Wei and Kerr.

Li Wei himself came off the bench to play the second quarter, only to be miserable by Pistons defensive stalwart Lynch Hunter. He didn't play in the second half, leaving Kerr and Boykins to take turns in control, but the two were also blocked by Lynch Hunter.

Hunter himself scored 29 points, and Grant Hill and Starkerhouse also broke out at the same time, also scoring 29 points!

The Pistons scored 29 points in all three starters and successfully defended their home court!

On January 15, the Knicks returned to their home court to face the Hornets and lost again!

Eddie Jones scored 26 points and made a steal for Li Wei, '90 No. 1 pick Derrick Coleman scored 18 points and Anthony Mason also scored 17 points.

Because of the Hornets' backup point guard, this year's scout show Byron Davis was too big, and Li Wei didn't play much time and didn't drag the team back on the court. However, the current Hornets are a strong team, and the Knicks played a little messily after losing Nash's brain, and failed to implement Li Wei's tactics well!

On January 17, the Knicks sat at home against the Pistons.

Li Wei saw that Lynch Hunter, who had killed him two days ago, had a little numb scalp and didn't play at all, while Hill won another game with the Pistons!

Three consecutive defeats, the Knicks suffered three consecutive defeats for the first time this season, and their record also dropped to 28-9!

In the standings, they have been caught up by the Portland Trail Blazers, both teams are tied for second place, and the Indiana Pacers are eyeing the back!

Li Wei immediately convened a meeting of the coaching staff to discuss how to deal with Nash's absence due to injury.

Byron Scott said: "I think the blame is on you for the team's three defeats in a row, Hornacek is good, but he is not as good as you. Nash is out now, you are the best playmaker for our team, why are you not playing longer, but shorter? In the last game, you didn't arrange for yourself to play, what is the reason? ”

Mike D'Antoni said: "David, I agree with Byron's words, you should play more, not less, Kerr and Boykins are not better than you, and they can't handle the team's offense!" ”

Li Wei smiled bitterly: "I want to fight more, but when I see Lynch Hunter, I have a headache, and Byron Davis is not easy to deal with." ”

Herb Williams said: "Haha, David, this is the NBA, every player is not easy to deal with, you do a good job as a coach, but the mentality of being a player is really too bad, you can't play with the wind, run against the wind, you have to take responsibility, now that Nash is not there, you have to pick up the beam, pick up the team's offense!" ”

"I'm the big guy?" Li Wei's brows furrowed.

He really doesn't have the consciousness to provoke the team, because there are too many talented players in the team, and his idea has always been not to lag behind.

In other words, Li Wei is still a kind of ticket mentality when he plays in the team, I will play more if I play well, and if it is not good, I will flash quickly!

Jeff Nick said: "It's okay for Jeff Jr. to start, after all, he has better defense and some playmaking skills. But David, you are the one who is most familiar with our team system and can control the rhythm of the whole game, and I think you have to play at least 20 minutes or more. ”