In the year of his previous life, Schmitz announced his retirement after playing in the finals, and he really couldn't play.

Li Wei hopes that Da Yao can limit Schmitz on the defensive end, and once Schmitz is limited, the Pacers can only rely more on outside scoring, which can just fall into the defensive trap set by the Knicks.

In addition, on the offensive end, Li Wei also hopes that Da Yao can play aggressively, use his speed and explosive power to bully the old Schmitz, save the cunning Schmitz from being lazy on the defensive end, and then leave his strength on the offensive end.

The Pacers attacked, and Mark Jackson gave the ball to Rick Schmitz, who hit it hard.

Bird's intention, like Li Wei, is to prepare to open the game to show off his scoring ability on the inside, so that the opponent does not focus on the outside on the defensive end. In fact, whether it is the Pacers or the Knicks, the scoring is dominated by the outside line.

Schmitz singles, no one to wrap up, no one to help defend, all handed over to Da Yao!

Da Yao's single-handedly defended former All-Star center!

The old Schmitz didn't push twice, and finally made a hook!

Da Yao, who was 5 centimeters taller than him, raised his hands high and tried to interfere, and finally made his hook hand deviate a little bit!

Garnett grabbed the defensive rebound, and the whole team was on the fast break!

Maddie faced Jalen Rose's defense and scored the ball!

0：4！

Maddie vs. Jalen Rose is another key point in this series.

Schmitz is old, Reggie Miller is old, and maybe the legendary scorer can still hit 20 or 30 points in a game, but it is obviously impossible to expect him to carry the team forward with one shoulder like before.

Jalen Rose is the most improved player this season, he averaged 21 points per game in the playoffs in his previous life, played a good role as the second scoring point, and was a big contributor to the Pacers' reach for the Finals!

If Maddy can contain Jalen Rose, the Pacers will have a very tough time!

In addition, Li Wei also wants Maddie to blow up Jalen Rose on the offensive end.

As one of the Michigan Five Tigers, Jalen Rose's talent is undoubted, but the defensive level has not been very good, and Larry Brown, who advocates defense, can't look down on him at all, and has been throwing him at the end of the bench, and the arrival of Larry Bird has given him a new life.

In his previous life, Rose also had a very classic masterpiece on the defensive end, that is, to prevent Kobe Bryant from scoring 81 points!

Li Wei felt that in the face of such a player who could score 81 points at the mercy of the opponent, Maddie should play more, play aggressively, and strive to dominate the court at both offensive and defensive ends!

Therefore, the key players in this round of the series are Da Yao and Maddie, as long as Yao Mai plays well, the Knicks can win the series!

The Pacers attacked, Dale Davis did a good job of covering, and Garnett could only help defend Reggie Miller, so the Pacers, who were selected as All-Stars this year, had a strong inside cut!

Mark Jackson sees the opportunity to feed the cake, and Davis easily scores 2 points!

2：4！

The Knicks attacked, and Nash handed the ball to Garnett and ran to the bottom corner.

Da Yao covered Nash, but it was actually a fake cover, and after making a look, he cut empty, and didn't care about Nash at all!

Rick Schmitz was fooled, his reaction was half a beat slower, Garnett passed the ball in time, and Da Yao made a layup!

2：6！

Mike Brin said: "Today, Coach Li has been arranging for Da Yao to play under the basket, and he just cut two empty cuts at the beginning!" ”

Walter Fraser said: "Don't say it, in front of Rick Schmitz, Da Yao's speed is really fast!" ”

"It's Schmitz who is too slow!" Mike Brin chuckled.

Larry Bird also saw Li Wei's intentions and told Schmitz to work hard to defend Da Yao and put the matter of assisting in defense first.

Rick Schmitz nodded.

The Pacers attack, Jalen Rose breaks through with a pick-and-roll!

Maddie was blocked, and Da Yao came to make up in time, so Rose split the ball, and Schmitz calmly made a jumper!

4：6！

The Knicks attacked, and Da Yao covered Maddie.

Schmitz didn't care about Maddie, still staring at Da Yao, he knew that if he wasn't careful, this kid would have to slip under the basket!

So Maddie easily received the ball, forced Jalen Rose to score, and scored a layup!

4：8！

The two teams went back and forth, played half a quarter, and the Knicks led 18-12.

Larry Bird frowned slightly when he saw the situation on the field.

Everyone knows that the Knicks' star stars are Houston and Garnett, and the focus of the Pacers' defense is definitely on these two.

But today Li Wei didn't arrange these two people to fight at all, and the offense always revolves around Da Yao and Maddie!

Of the Knicks' 18 points, Da Yao scored 8 points, Maddie scored 10 points, and Garnett and Houston didn't score a single point!

Using Yao Mai as the main attacker is a huge challenge to the entire Pacers' defensive system. In particular, Rick Schmitz is already old, and his legs and feet can't keep up with Da Yao at all, so he can't focus on Da Yao, and he can't take care of both defense and delay.

Regardless of Da Yao's words, the Knicks' position is particularly scattered, and the Pacers want to prevent the opponent's three points, and they can't keep people inside, at this time, the Knicks' big center rushes in to catch the ball and dunk it, and the score is not too easy!

After a ball out of bounds, Bird finally replaced Rick Schmitz with Austin Crohill.

Standing at 2.06 meters tall and weighing 107 kilograms, Austin Crohill is a white forward with excellent offensive skills and a range from beyond the three-point line.

He was also a member of the "Golden Generation" that beat Li Wei in '97, the No. 12 rookie in the first round that year, and spent the first two years honing his skills at the end of the bench, and this season Antonio Davis left, he was reused by Bird and became a reliable rotation on the inside.

Li Wei saw that Bird replaced Schmitz, and also made personnel adjustments. Nash, Big Yao, and Garnett are down, and himself, Big Ben, and Nowitzki are on the court!

Da Yao wants to stay to deal with Schmitz, Krohill and a white striker with a soft style of play, Nowitzki is enough to deal with it, and the German is taller and stronger than him, and his speed is not slow.

Big Ben went to top Dale Davis. This year, Davis was selected as an All-Star based on his defensive ability, and his strength is very strong, Li Wei doesn't want Garnett to be consumed too much physical strength by him, so let Big Ben and him go to each other!

When Bird saw Li Wei playing, he immediately sent in backup point guard Travis Best.

Mark Jackson is old, and his movements are not fast, and it will be very difficult to defend Li Wei, if he is present, he can only bombard, that is, Li Weiyuan throws a ball, and Mark Jackson farts a big fart and arches a goal.

That's the pace the Knicks want, but it's not the situation Bird wants to see. Li Wei's three-point shooting is too accurate, and Mark Jackson arches inward, and he will encounter Big Ben and others frantically making up for the defense.

In contrast, Travis Best is only 1.8 meters tall, shorter than Iverson, and is very fast, which is just right for defending Li Wei.

After playing for a season, Li Wei is also used to being closely guarded by short fast players like Best. He calmly advanced to the front court with the ball, and then commanded the whole team to play a No. 25 tactic, and finally assisted Nowitzki to score!