On January 13, 1997, after a two-day break in New York, the Knicks departed for Houston with three Western Conference games to play this week.

Jeff Van Gundy pulled a face when he got on the plane, Larry Johnson had a recurrence of his back injury, and the New York media sprayed him this weekend for being conservative.

The New York Post rummaged through the old accounts and believed that the root cause of Larry Johnson's shrinking data when he came to the Knicks was because Jeff Van Gundy's tactical system was not working!

So far in the new season, although the number of rounds of the Knicks has increased, they still feed fans a Xiangwei chocolate from time to time, which makes people love and hate.

Assistant coach Thibodeau didn't have much to do with these reports, especially because of the core, the other players are all tool men, and the Knicks are not in a position to restore "Big Mom" to his tactical position in the Hornets.

"There's no need to read those reports, the All-Star Game is coming, we're almost halfway through the schedule, and the last few months are all about staying healthy and we have a chance to win the division."

Thibodeau persuaded Jeff Van Gundy, who was about to go bald, the words of the New York media cannot be taken seriously, and everyone knows what is going on in the team.

"I didn't take the words of the media to heart, I was more worried about the injury, Larry's form has been wrong, and the back injury has affected him more than I thought."

After saying this, Jeff Van Gundy looked contemplative again.

The team can't lack "Big Mom", otherwise, no one can top the No. 3 position.

The new John Wallace was very excited at this time, and the first start of his career was a live game in the United States, and he had insomnia last night...

Charles Oakley looked a little impatient when he heard John Wallace chattering, and immediately issued a warning:

"It's just an ordinary regular season, look at Lee, I don't care if I win the award, this is what a star player should look like!"

"If you make a mistake on the pitch, next week, you're going to take Walter's job!"

“...”

As soon as the old guy spoke, the new John Wallace immediately shut up, he didn't want to do chores at all.

Li Youle watched the play, tomorrow night's game "Big Mom" is injured, and the Knicks are likely to have problems.

After Larry Johnson came to the team, he did a lot of dirty work, which he usually can't see, but when it comes to key games, he can experience the role of "Big Mom".

Patrick Ewing has not spoken, and every time he meets Olajuwon, the media will follow the hype.

Don't fight for steamed buns, gorillas also want to beat their opponents, even if it's the regular season, Ewing also attaches great importance to it!

"The Rockets are in good shape, but we're injured, and I don't know if we're going to make any adjustments in the training sessions over the past two days."

Alan Houston is still expecting the team to change tactics, but the "aunt" and Li You on the side pouted at the same time, it has been almost half a season, at most they have a dumpling, and the tactical core can't be moved at all.

It took three and a half hours on the plane, Ewing didn't want to play cards, so everyone could only read magazines, chat and fart.

...

The Rockets' senior triumvirate has also shown dominance since the start of the season, with head coach Rudy Tomjanovic winning the Coach of the Month award in the first month of the new season.

But as the season progressed, the old men's form began to fluctuate, and the game against the Bulls on January 11 was a heavy defeat to the opponent.

86:110, Strong Dialogue, Michael Jordan is coming!

12-of-25, 4-of-6 from beyond the three-point line, 32 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 3 turnovers, Michael Jordan, who was slightly powerful, broke the senior Big Three...

On the Rockets' side, Olajuwon performed the best, scoring a team-high 29 points on 12-of-25 shooting, and "Glider" Drexler was 3-of-11 and scored 7 points!

Charles Barkley, who hugged his thigh, was 2-of-11 and scored just eight points.

After the game, the sports media in the United States all shut up, and the topic of the Rockets' senior triumvirate winning the championship plummeted.

Patrick Ewing wanted to take advantage of the Rockets' low morale to give the other team another slap in the face!

It's a pity that the elderly triumvirate also wanted to pinch the soft persimmon, and the gorilla hit the muzzle of the gun...

In the game broadcast live in the United States on the night of the 14th, the Rockets, who were fighting at home, completely broke out in the first quarter.

Charles Barkley, who played the first quarter, was 5-of-9, 2-of-4 from beyond the three-point line, and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line, finishing with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist in a single quarter.

At 24:30, the Rockets took a six-point lead in the first quarter.

Lee Woo started the game and also played the full first quarter, and after coming on the court, he was responsible for passing the ball to Ewing and acting as an outside battery.

3 of 4, 2 of 2 from beyond the three-point line, 8 points and 2 assists in a single quarter, Li You's efficient play did not further expand the difference.

Ewing struggled a bit against Olajuwon and didn't play smart, making two mistakes in the low post, 1-of-3 for just four points.

Perhaps feeling that he had too few opportunities in the first quarter, Ewing came on early in the second quarter and then frequently turned his back to the ball.

Chris Childs didn't distribute the number of shots as reasonably as Lee You, and kept passing the ball to Ewing.

The gorilla failed to play single, and there were mistakes again.

The more you try to prove yourself, the more problems will arise, and before Jeff Van Gundy can react, the game will fall apart...

Charles Barkley, who was holding his breath, kept hitting the basket, and after rotating to the court, he was 2 of 3 in the first quarter, 6 of 6 free throws, and scored another 10 points!

At halftime, 46:63, the Rockets had a 17-point lead.

Oakley and Ewing, who returned to the locker room at halftime, looked ugly, and Starks also kept his face tight.

Everyone knows in their hearts why the game suddenly collapsed...

"I'm sorry, I'm too nervous to make a low-level mistake."

The new John Wallace was blown up by the "glider", and there was a situation where he missed the basket in the air, and returned to the locker room to admit his mistake in a low voice.

Li You looked calm, 5 of 8, scored a team-high 13 points at halftime, and returned to his seat without saying a word, and this was the time for the boss to speak.

To everyone's disappointment, Ewing didn't say anything the whole time, and the gorilla just sat in his seat, waiting for Van Gundy to arrive.

The 17-point difference actually has to be chased, and the "iron and blood" defense will speed up the offensive tempo, as long as the difference is narrowed to 10 points in the third quarter, the game is still in suspense.

When Jeff Van Gundy came to the locker room, he looked serious and said something chicken soup dryly:

"We had enough time to turn the game around, to believe in our shots, to believe in each other..."

“...”

Larry Johnson, dressed in a formal suit, looked around at the locker room, folded his arms, and didn't speak, even a little happy in his heart.

Ewing wants to prove himself every time he meets Olajuwon, but in this game, the Knicks pulled in early.

At 90:106, Team Rocket pinched "soft persimmon" successfully.

In the Houston arena, the fans in the stadium were cheering for the victory.

Li You looked at Charles Barkley, who was waving his fist in celebration, and turned his head to comfort John Wallace, who was not playing well:

"Next time, we'll win it back!"

The cute new John Wallace barely pulled out a smile and muttered in a low voice:

"I don't want to do chores, Oakley will definitely be mad at me..."

The corners of Li You's eyes twitched slightly when he heard such a response, and the brewing emotions disappeared all at once, and he cursed secretly in his heart:

"I'll send you away sooner or later!"