On December 4, 1999, the Knicks ushered in their fourth game of the week, taking on the Nets on the road.

Since the start of the new season, the Nets have a 2-14 record.

The team's results are stretched, the tickets can't be sold at a price, and many times the home team is not satisfied.

New Jersey fans don't buy it, and they only have a little more when the visitors come to play.

Against the Fish Belly team, Jeff Van Gundy thought it would be an easy game, but after four quarters of hard fighting, the Knicks lost unexpectedly.

At 92:95, relying on Marbury's consecutive free throws in the last minute, the Nets won their third game of the new season.

The Knicks coaching staff looked stupid, Chris Childs, who started in the final moments, made consecutive mistakes, and Jeff Van Gundy almost thought that the team had mixed in with the opposite undercover agent

Lee, who returned to New York to take the LSAT at Fordham University, took a leave of absence to rest, even though New Jersey was very close, and finally did not bother to go back to play another game in the evening.

After the loss, Jeff Van Gundy had no choice but to take the blame, and the New York media accused Van Gundy of being too poor on the spot at the last moment.

Losing a game is nothing, but losing to this kind of fish belly, New York fans can't accept it, it's a free record.

Li You, who completed the exam with ease, practiced Husky Happy at home, and the husky, who was almost fat into a pig, was finally walked so far that he stuck out his tongue and obediently lay down when he went home.

In every TNT post-game commentary, as long as there is a Knicks game that day, it is usually discussed, and this loss to the Nets will not let go of this hot spot:

"Without Lee, facing the Nets in this game, the Knicks turned out to be 19 turnovers."

"Alan Houston and Larry Johnson are having a hard time digesting too much of the ball, and the team's offensive efficiency is too poor."

"But the good news is that we've seen a resurgence in Oakley's form in those two games, with four more frontcourt rebounds tonight."

"While the December schedule is relatively friendly, the Knicks have to be nervous too!"

Mike Flatello is still not optimistic about the Knicks, but as a professional commentator, he does not blame Van Gundy, after all, the games are played by players.

Kenny Smith looked at the technical statistics and noticed that the shooting percentages of both sides were very average, and joked with a smile for a while:

"Looks like the Knicks need Lee! As it turns out, Lee is the only one who can digest the ball efficiently, and most outside players will be less efficient when they get more shots. ”

9-of-24, Alan Houston scored 25 points tonight, shooting the same percentage as Marbury, less than 40%.

Teams with outside players as the core will encounter such a dilemma, Ernnie Johnson did not comment on the player's performance, and after being recharged, he began to preview Li You's second-generation signature shoes on the show:

"Before the Christmas War, Lee's second-generation signature shoes will also be on sale, which is definitely a good thing for fans!"

“.”

"Lee Flightpostie 1" made the hook cut leeks wildly, especially the dazzling metal color scheme launched in the finals, which made many fans take the initiative to swipe their cards.

When new sneakers are released, the hook will not stop the sales of the first generation, but the basic color will no longer be produced, and more bells and whistles will be launched later.

Recently, the hook has placed a bunch of advertisements, and after the sales of the 4th generation of Anfernee Hardaway declined, most of the resources were given to Li You.

He didn't go out to play on weekends, and Kim still read books at home every day, and occasionally read the newspaper or surf at night in his spare time.

Having noticed the news in the newspaper for a long time, Kim was still a little incredulous:

"With more than $60 million in sneaker sales, maybe I'm really getting behind."

Unlike New Mexico, New York has a higher level of spending, and those who have a small amount of savings find that their wallets are not as bulging as they imagined.

The sales are in line with Li You's expectations, but compared with the Jordan series, his signature shoes are still a big step behind.

Before retiring, the Jordan 14 sold very well, and after the retirement of the Mai Buckle, the sales of the ugly Jordan 15 were still not affected too much.

Whether it is red and black color, or North Carolina color, the two shoes are still very popular, and the news that Li You got from Mark Parker is that the sales of the two sneakers of Maikou have exceeded 100 million.

"There are a lot of opportunities to make money, remember to help me read the stock news, I'm afraid that I will miss useful news!"

Most stocks are still rising, Qualcomm has completely gone crazy, Li You is afraid of being cut leeks suddenly, and has recently mobilized everyone around him to pay attention to the news.

Jin could only nod his head, and after learning about Li You's investment, he was also a little worried at this time, after all, the stock could not go up all the time:

"I saw the pet shop at Macy's on Thanksgiving."

"Seriously, the more information I learned, the more I felt that the stocks of these companies would fall sooner or later, and maybe at the end of the month, they should be ready to leave."

Li You nodded, this is also his idea, end the game of drumming and passing flowers as soon as possible, and it is true that he will be safe.

At the end of the year, the feast of the Internet continued, and there were many players in the Knicks team who bought stocks.

It's just that most of the players buy what the stockbroker recommends.

Li You will never sell the stocks he bought in the team, it is easy to make money, once he is cut leeks and loses a lot of money, it will definitely cause controversy at that time.

The Knicks had a relatively easy schedule in December, with only 14 games to play that month.

In order to show his full devotion to the championship, Ewing called on everyone to say goodbye to the night with him.

In the past, when I encountered such a relaxed schedule, I would inevitably go out in the evening to have a good time, and take care of the field of Oakley friends by the way.

It's just that the team is in a critical period this year, and the gorilla intends to retire after the end of the contract, in order to avoid being injured by alcohol, Ewing took the initiative to state after the training session on the morning of the 5th:

"We also have to be nervous before the All-Star break, we can't relax at this time, we have to be strict with ourselves regardless of the schedule and the opponent."

It's just that the gorilla's words are not convincing, after all, he himself is a representative of undiscipline

Most of the players looked at Li You, and everyone wanted to hear what the real core thought.

"Pat has a point, a lot of times the game is not good and we know why, and if you want to play well in the regular season, you really have to be nervous."

Li You didn't dismantle the stage, the players wanted to go out to play, it was useless to rely on verbal guarantees, at this time it was just a statement, if you really want to get nervous, you still have to look at a few people in the main lineup.

Oakley quickly agreed, the old guy's last year of contract, in addition to the daily squeeze of the new, the rest of the pursuit is three consecutive championships.

Alan Houston and Larry Johnson also agreed, saying that "Big Mom" just has more than enough to do.

The attitude of the game is still fine, just don't expect to play highlight.

After the small player meeting, the Knicks decided to "quit drinking and sex" and play their best for this month.

On the night of the 5th, Oakley, who was back in form, restored the Knicks' defense to a touch of its former style.

80:108, the Knicks at home defeated the Nuggets.

can beat the opponent by a big margin, and it is inseparable from the undercover performance of Van Axel and Billups.

The former was 7-of-23 from the field and 1-of-9 from beyond the three-point line, scoring 18 points and committing four turnovers.

Billups was invisible all over the court, 1 of 5, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 turnovers, and the name of "parallel import" has been firmly buckled on his head.

In the three games of the second week, the Warriors continued to send warmth, and at 83:109, the Knicks continued to win by a wide margin.

The 76ers, who lacked Iverson, did not improve their offense after coming to New York, 78-107, and failed to score 80 again.

It wasn't until the night of the 12th that the Knicks' home game against the Celtics encountered a difficult time.

Paul Pearce's injury has caused a ripple in the Celtics' record, which has had a good run since the start of the season.

The night lasted until the fourth quarter, when Antoine Walker suddenly hit a series of irons, and the Knicks seized the opportunity to play a transition offense, which sealed the victory.

At 97:106, the Knicks successfully defeated their opponents and once again played a wave of 4 consecutive wins.

Despite the win, Jeff Van Gundy didn't show a smile after the game, and the New York media was not in a good mood.

After several days of publicity, Ewing only played 28 minutes, 3 of 11, and got 8 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 3 turnovers.

Coach Pitino's Celtic team has always been a whirlwind, and the gorillas can't run, and the naked eye can not keep up with the pace of the game.

At the post-match press conference, perhaps a little disappointed with his performance, the gorillas did not attend, and as soon as Li You sat down, the sports media in the audience actively asked:

"Lee, after a break for more than half a year, how do you think Pat is recovering, his performance tonight doesn't seem to meet everyone's expectations."

As the person who knows Ewing best, Li You has never had any illusions, and the Achilles tendon injury made the gorilla lose its explosive power.

Unless you have to go to a deep position, the previous kind of jump step with the ball and arch to the basket is basically invisible.

The decline in athleticism has brought about a chain reaction of a decline in "explosive penalty power", and like "Big Mom", Ewing's ability to make free throws has also declined.

"Give Pat more time, recovering from a major injury is never easy!"

"We're going to help Pat find his rhythm through half a month of playing."

Li You briefly introduced the team's plan, and the New York media in the audience began to look forward to it again when they heard this.

On December 14, the Knicks flew to Houston to challenge the Rockets away.

Since the start of the new season, the Rockets have only played a 7-15 record.

The biggest reason for the hip pull is injury, Barkley previously strained his Achilles tendon, and two days ago in the game against the Magic, he also had an injury to his pelvis.

As for Olajuwon, this season has been lying straight down, which has made the core of the Rockets become Francis and Cateno Mobley.

It was rare to encounter soft persimmons, and the Rockets' offensive rhythm was not fast, Li You took the initiative to slow down, and with the cooperation of the whole team, they helped Ewing find the feeling of the game.

Playing 32 minutes, Ewing was 6-of-10 from the field, 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, and slashed 20 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block and 2 turnovers.

Eating cake efficiently, Ewing blew up the interior combination of Carlos Rogers and Thomas Hamilton of the Rockets.

Winning the game and grinning, seeing Ewing score 20 points, the front page headlines in the New York Paper Media Education section on Day 2 were about the same news:

"The league's No. 1 center is back!"

The New York media rejoiced too early, and on the 16th of the game against the Mavericks, Ewing was slumped again in the face of a quick offensive and defensive transition.

Nowitzki, who had not been impressed by the Gorillas before, was 8-of-19 that night, shooting inside and out, and scored 24 points in front of the "No. 1 center in the league".

Ewing played 24 minutes, shooting 4-of-10 from the field and finishing with 10 points, six rebounds and two turnovers.

At 102:93, the Knicks didn't show dominance in the game, winning stumbling up.

In this game, Li You played 39 minutes, 14 of 23, 4 of 10 from beyond the three-point line, and 6 of 6 free throws, and extremely efficiently cut down 38 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals and 3 turnovers.

Jeff Van Gundy is completely dead, and Ewing can't adapt to the fast-paced game.

When the Knicks' offensive rounds reach 85, Oakley and Ewing will have less playing time.

When encountering a team like the Mavericks with a fast offensive rhythm and can throw 89 times in a game, the veterans can't stand it.

After the game, the New York reporters in the Knicks' locker room were disappointed that the Gorillas didn't play as well as they expected.

However, during the interview, everyone still saved face for Ewing:

"Pat, have you gradually regained some rhythm through these games?"

Reluctantly pulled out a smile, and Ewing, who realized his problem, was also a little lacking in confidence when answering the question:

'I still need more games and at the moment, I'm still recovering.'

“.”

On December 18, the Knicks returned to New York to host the Wizards.

With a 7-17 record, Michael Jordan became the Wizards' director of basketball operations, and the team's record swooped again.

Losing in a row made Mai Buckle completely numb.

He can still be seen in the early part of the season, and with the Wizards' poor record, Mai Dunk is no longer on the spot.

After all, sports reporters like to watch him have fun, and every time he loses a game, he is ridiculed, and the extremely competitive Michael Jordan can't stand this, so he simply hides himself

Hamilton picked up an injury early in the season and had to sit on the bench to watch the game.

Encountering a team with a slow offensive tempo, Ewing is active again under the control of Li You.

The gorillas also wanted to show themselves in front of the home fans and worked hard once the game started.

At the top of the arc, Ewing moved quickly and stood on the three-point line, and Li You, who was holding the ball in his left hand, faced Strickland's close defense, suddenly pushed the ball quickly and changed direction, leading the ball forward.

Taking advantage of the delay of the opponent being blocked and dismantled by Ewing, the moment Li You grabbed the ball with his right hand, he faced Jahidi White, who came up from the switch, lowered his center of gravity, and quickly pushed the ball again to change direction.

The high-quality cover allowed Li You to get rid of the defense in an instant and easily pass between the two.

In the cheers of the New York fans at the scene, Li You, who was holding the ball with his left hand, went straight to the basket, faced Zhu Wan Howard, who came up to help the defense, adjusted his pace, and took the initiative to fight against the opponent's body.

The two collided in the air, Li You took advantage of the relay, tilted his body in the air, and in the surprised eyes of Zhu Wan Howard, he lay back and threw the ball to the basket with his left hand!

"Squeak! Swish! ”

The whistle blew the ball in, and after landing on the ground, Li You simply shook his fist, and after high-fived Ewing in celebration, he walked to the free throw line with a calm expression.

After landing, Juwan Howard looked at the scoreboard helplessly, compared to the previous encounter, as the quality of the cover increased, Li You's breakthrough became easier and easier.

“Wow！”

Although tonight's game was a bit of abuse, the beautiful goal still made the New York fans scream with joy.

On the MSG commentary bench, Walter Fred was loudly praising Ewing's cover at this time:

"Compared to Ben, Pat's size provides high-quality coverage, which will make Lee more efficient."

"Maybe there will be a decline in the ability to attack independently, but I believe Pat will use another form to help the team win the game!"

Commentator Mike Brin has a somewhat odd look, and in his opinion, the so-called other way is the meat shield tool man.

The ability to attack independently has declined, and Ewing, who has returned from injury, is basically to block and pick up the ball to complete the attack, although the shooting percentage looks good, but most of them are eating cakes:

"Lee was in control of the pace of the game, scoring doesn't matter to Pat anymore and I'm sure he'll find his niche again in the game."

The "No. 1 center in the league" has become a meat shield that eats cakes, which is actually very shameless.

Ewing has also tried to attack in the low post in these games, but the effect is not very good, but he is eating cake and is still in good shape.

As the game progressed, the Knicks gradually widened the difference, and the New York fans at the scene also saw Ewing block and dismantle again and again, receiving passes from Li You in the paint area to complete the offense.

After eating too much cake, he completely found his touch, and Ewing also followed in a mid-range jumper near the baseline position on the left and right.

Facing the underperforming Wizards, Ewing finally had another dumpling!

With 6:06 left in the fourth quarter, Ewing was also substituted.

In 28 minutes of play, Ewing was 8-of-14 from the field, 4-of-4 from the free-throw line, and had 20 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block and 1 turnover.

With such an efficient performance, Jeff Van Gundy was also completely relieved, and Ewing was still reliable in terms of finishing hand work under the basket.

In the end, 92:102, the Knicks who were fighting at home successfully defeated their opponents and continued their winning streak!

After returning from injury, Ewing attended his first post-match press conference.

The "No. 1 center in the league" has become the "No. 1 meat shield in the league", which is clear to the New York media, but at the scene, everyone kept praising Ewing's performance.

Business blows were pleasant, until a reporter in Los Angeles deliberately asked:

"Pat, I've noticed that you've rarely played in the low post since you came back from injury, can you explain why?"

Ewing, who is very clear about his physical condition, doesn't care about the other party's ridicule, and he can score 20 points, which already makes him very happy:

"Attacking in the low post doesn't fit the Knicks' current tactical setup, and I just want to help the team win."

“.”

On the 19th, at the Tarrytown Training Center, Ben Wallace immersed himself in strength training after the morning video session.

With Ewing's return from injury, "Little Ben" has also been affected a little, and his playing time has been reduced a bit.

Most players don't like to step out of their comfort zone, and Ben Wallace is no exception.

The coaching staff expects Ben's under-the-basket finishing to improve, but some technical work is really not suitable for Ben Wallace.

During this time, the opponent was not strong, and the Knicks won consecutive games, which made everyone feel good.

Assistant coach Thibodeau couldn't help but whisper to the assistant coaches on the side after the players left the multimedia room:

"If it was Lee from previous seasons, it would be difficult to take care of the big man calmly."

"It's a really good thing for us, at least Pat is getting back into the game."

This morning's video lesson is mainly about the tactical play of the Trail Blazers and Lakers, and the rest is about the opponents of the Christmas game, the Pacers.

Jeff Van Gundy is not as optimistic as the assistant coaches, and looking at the data collected, most teams in the league play at a fast pace, and 83 shots in a game are not difficult for everyone:

"Look at Pat's physical condition, I don't want to see him get injured again just after he has come back from injury."

Coach Van Gundy made a request, and everyone nodded along with it, and the Knicks are now doubly careful with the use of veterans.

Christmas is approaching, which also means that the results of the All-Star Game voting are about to be released, and players who are interested in All-Star games are showing themselves at this time.

Kobe Bryant's return from injury has not received as much attention as Ewing.

Compared with silently playing a supporting role, Kobe always wanted to show himself, but the few games after his comeback affected the previous team atmosphere.

On the night of the 20th, the Lakers challenged the Celtics away, and the game did not go as smoothly as Phil Jackson expected.

O'Neal was 13-of-20 from the field and finished with 34 points, 20 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 8 turnovers.

In the case of explosive performances, the Lakers won stumbling over.

Compared to some of the previous games, the Lakers are starting to get stuck in a singles cycle again.

Kobe, who can digest the ball, is not polite to the sharks, and in individual games, he has more shots than O'Neal.

With a 22-5 record, the Lakers have an excellent record, which makes the big media brag about the team's dominance.

In the same game that night, the Knicks faced the Raptors at home.

Carter, who has skyrocketed in popularity this season, has also seen explosive dunks for New York fans.

With 14 wins and 11 losses, the Raptors are in very good shape at the moment, Carter is a latecomer and has become the core of the team, while McGrady is still waiting for an opportunity on the bench.

With the blessing of the "No. 1 Meat Shield in the Alliance", Li You played extremely easily.

In the second quarter of the game, the Raptors' offense suddenly became dumb, and in the face of Artest's tough defense, Carter was also a little uncomfortable for a while.

At 14:26 in the first quarter, the score was fixed at 40:54 after halftime.

On the MSG commentary seat, Mike Brin glanced at the technical statistics and found that Ewing only scored 4 points, and he could only sigh for a while:

"Coach Van Gundy has no problem with his rotation and we do need the more mobile Ben Wallace when the opposition is making frequent transitions and trying to pick up the tempo."

After half a month of competition, Walter Fraser can be regarded as seeing the true situation of Ewing:

"If you want to win a championship, you have to make some sacrifices, and three consecutive championships is never easy, so hopefully Pat can adjust his mentality in time."

“.”

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(End of chapter)