On the evening of April 17, 2004, in Madison Square Garden, Kevin Harlan nodded as he listened to Rivers' talk on paper.

Since the game had long been out of suspense, the two entered a state of gossip in the second half of the third quarter.

Perhaps trying to go the Jeff Van Gundy route, Rivers worked very hard tonight to analyse the game and prepare very well, and to put it mildly:

"Every team that plays the Knicks goes up to about 80 rounds."

"It's not their subjective will, it's involuntarily following the rhythm of the opponent."

"Compared to last season, the Knicks' number of rounds has dropped a bit, but that doesn't mean their game has slowed down!"

'Playing a good defense to make mistakes and then playing a quick counter-attack, this team is underrated in terms of discipline, rotated the lineup, and performed just as well.

Rivers said it from the heart, and when he coached the Magic last season, although he was swept 4-0, he really worked hard to study the Knicks.

It's just that this kind of team can't be replicated, basketball IQ exists, and some fleeting opportunities are not visible to most players.

Just like the Nets led by Kidd, a good point guard not only knows what kind of tactics he wants to play, but also understands what kind of cooperation the opponent will play.

After trying it out in the new season, the Magic team suffered injuries and played a losing streak, and Rivers was fired by the management before he could show his skills.

Kevin Harlan didn't notice the sourness in his partner's words, but felt that the best coach who was out of luck had a point:

"Terrible dribbling! Atkins made the wrong attacking choice! ”

At the top of the arc, after dribbling behind his back and switching to his right hand, Atkins quickly changed direction in front of the body, and was tackled by Li You face-to-face.

Seeing Li You controlling the ball, another burst of cheers broke out in the stadium.

With 2:03 left in the third quarter, the Knicks were ready to start the rotation and wait for the opponent to take a timeout and concede defeat.

In the third quarter of the game, Pierce no longer commanded his teammates and no longer took care of Artest, and the whole person looked depressed, and his motivation dropped greatly under the explosion of mentality.

The Celtics didn't have anyone to help defend anymore, and everyone was waiting for Coach Carroll to call a timeout, and they had enough of this game.

On the left flank, Atkins couldn't help but turn his head to look at his team-mate, but no one paid attention to him.

In desperation, he could only step forward and keep interfering, trying to disrupt Li You's dribbling rhythm.

Li You, who held the ball in his left hand, immediately accelerated the moment the opponent came up to the defense, and quickly approached the three-point line by relying on the defense.

The two were entangled to the three-point line, and Li You, who was leaning over to accelerate, suddenly stopped sharply, quickly dribbled behind his back, and completed the retreat at the same time.

Closing the ball outside the three-point line, Li You shook out a huge space to shoot, ignoring the small man in front of him jumping up and blocking, leaning back slightly, and making a quick jump shot!

"Huh!" Three-pointers hollow into the net.

“Wow！”

The cheers instantly resounded in the arena, and the New York fans shouted with joy as Lee Yoo set a new playoff record.

At 61:88, the head coach of John Carroll next to him reluctantly asked for a timeout, and tonight's game was painful to watch.

"14-of-14, 3-of-3 from beyond the three-point line, 4-of-4 from the free-throw line, 35 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists and 4 steals with no turnovers, Lee Woo broke the playoff all-of-the-clock record set by Larry McNell in 1975."

"Lee is also the first player in NBA history to shoot at least 13 shots in a single playoff game to stay on the hit and keep the shots, which is an incredible performance."

Kevin Harlan read out the information prepared at halftime in a brisk tone, and noticed that his partner didn't speak, so he couldn't help but add:

"This is Lee, the best player in the league, and in my mind, he's still the MVP this season!"

No one cares about this kind of tendentious commentary, since the regular season data rankings were announced, everyone knows in their hearts that Li You can't win the award, it's not his and the Knicks' problem.

The Celtics played well in the second quarter, scoring 29 points in a single quarter, but the margin was widened.

As a result, after the start of the second half, everyone lost their emotions and was waiting to be replaced.

Back on the bench, Pierce looked down at the floor without saying a word.

He was 5-of-17, 2-of-6 from beyond the three-point line, and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 turnovers.

As team leaders, he and Atkins both contributed nine turnovers, and the Knicks maintained the margin just by switching offense.

Feeling the lively atmosphere, Walter McCarty showed an envious expression, and if possible, he would also like to return here as the atmosphere group winner.

On the Knicks bench, the assistant coach continued to tell the players on the court, D'Antoni hung up the whole process, and the main lineup left the court, and he just clapped his hands with a smile:

"Perfect match! We played perfectly tonight! ”

Li You, who had already changed into a training uniform, and the fans behind him waved their hands and sat down to watch the game quietly, and he only played 33 minutes without any challenges.

In the second half, the opponent had already conceded defeat, and he did not punch hard.

Gasol is also accustomed to an easy playoff schedule, and the team hasn't faced much of a challenge in the Eastern Conference since he joined the Knicks.

Several people were chatting in low voices, and Artest couldn't stop laughing, getting the DPOY and giving the opponent a big defeat, this is indeed the perfect script!

On the commentary bench, Rivers seemed to recall last year's playoff experience, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke:

"I don't think the Eastern Conference can bother the Knicks!"

'They've been better this season, more mature than last year and there could be some injury concerns on the bench, but that won't affect the team's attack.

"The Knicks' rotation is so good, especially in the playoffs!"

Kevin Harlan nodded secretly when he saw the active Stoudemire on the court, and then asked routinely:

"The series has just begun, how can the Celtics adjust?"

Rivers said a lot of words, and he couldn't give a specific plan, thinking that the Celtics would most likely change the head coach after losing, he suddenly felt a move in his heart:

"Perhaps, this is also my chance!"

The fourth quarter of the game was completely turned into show time, and Stoudemire frequently dunked and completely ignited the atmosphere of the scene.

Amid the cheers of the fans, the final score was fixed at 86:116, and the Knicks won the game easily in G1.

The Celtics walked to the full lane early, and after losing by 30 points in one game, they were naturally in a bad mood and lost face.

Even if they are only a team with 36 wins, they have to face when they enter the playoffs!

Coach John Carroll maintained his demeanor, and after shaking hands with D'Antoni, he even sighed:

"Your Knicks are fantastic! With 70+ wins in two consecutive seasons, no one will be able to break this record in the future! ”

73 wins to win the championship, if this season again 72 wins to win the championship, D'Antoni will have no suspense to squeeze into the ranks of super coaches.

Once it was a fluke, twice it was really level, hearing the other party's praise, D'Antoni laughed, patted the opponent, and said quite smugly:

"It's easy to succeed in the NBA, it's okay to coach a superstar!"

"But Lee is unique, and I'm just doing some tiny work."

Carroll thought that D'Antoni would probably win the best coach award, and couldn't help but nod in agreement, hugging his thighs is the most effective way to coach.

Before Li You, who attended the press conference, took his seat, the New York media in the audience applauded.

Although tonight is only a small record, the New York media will be good at it, and in the next few days, the blow will be over!

After a commercial exchange, TNT's reporter asked an inopportune question:

"Lee, you've set a lot of records since you entered the league!"

"Now in your career, it doesn't seem to be challenging, too many wins, will it bother you?"

After hearing this question, Li You suddenly felt a little inexplicable, and there was still trouble in winning?

"No, I've been enjoying winning, I love the feeling of winning, I hate losing!"

"I'm a professional footballer, in other words, playing basketball is my job."

"It's all about making the fans who support me happy, the teams that pay the high salaries, and the win-win situation."

"Unless the New York fans tell me they want to see the team lose, winning is our only pursuit."

"No more questions about whether I'll retire or not, I still have a long career ahead of me! Victory never bothers me. ”

Li You laughed after answering the question seriously, and then teased at everyone in the audience:

"Nobody really likes to lose, does it? Maybe you should interview the Knicks' opponents, and maybe they'll have a different answer. ”

"Hah!"

Some New York sports reporters immediately burst out laughing, and as we all know, no one likes to fail.

For professional footballers, basketball is work, and Lee Woo doesn't talk about things like sportsmanship in front of the media because that's the basic requirement of a professional player.

The players need to take care of their bodies, they need to train on time to stay fit, they need to take care of the emotions of the fans, and they need to be responsible for the teams that pay the high salaries.

Lee Woo is about to get a super maximum salary, and the entire New York sports league has expressed support!

Although he likes young blonde girls, is good friends with many girls, and has a legend that he has a silver party, none of this matters, because competitive sports rely on results.

On the morning of the 18th, the Chinese sports media focused on Yao Ming's playoff debut.

86:96, the Spurs suppressed the opponent throughout the whole process and beat the Rockets by a small margin!

Duncan played 40 minutes, 12-of-19, 4-of-6 free throws, and scored 28 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 1 turnover.

Yao Ming played 37 minutes, 6-of-14, 2-of-2 free throws, and finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 1 turnover.

Before the start of this game, the Chinese sports media naturally touted it, and even used the performance of the Spurs in the finals as an argument.

Many Chinese fans had great expectations before the game, ignoring the Spurs' record and firmly believing that Francis and Yao Ming would beat their opponents inside and out!

The result was completely different from what fans expected, Francis made 6 of 15, got 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 6 turnovers;

Mobley scored 10 points on 5-of-14 shooting, and the Rockets did not blow up the opponent, but were suppressed all the way.

"Yao Ming is isolated, and the Rockets are losing for the first time in the playoffs!"

Sina Sports published an article after the game, highly praising Yao Ming's performance, and criticizing Francis and Mobley by the way!

As for Mike Brown, he has changed from a generation of famous coaches to "black bread".

Hook made a forecast early this year that Lee You's Asian guild will go to BJ and Shanghai in China.

No matter how fierce the media blows, the experiences of Wang Zhizhi, Battle, and Yao Ming in the past few years have told fans that mixing in the NBA is a difficult thing.

"Winning honey" has long been boiling, and I have read too many small compositions, and everyone wants to take a look at Li Youzhen.

In another Western Conference playoffs, the old man basketball taught the newcomers another lesson!

84:99, the Lakers easily defeated the Nuggets!

Facing the inside combination of Marcus Camby and Nene inside, Karl Malone and O'Neal completely blew up their opponents.

Carmelo Anthony scored 16 points on 5-of-17 shooting and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line, and was suppressed by the Lakers from the outside throughout the game.

Although Kobe Bryant and Payton were a little slow and mediocre, the Lakers clocked in in the third quarter by relying on their excellent play on the inside.

After the game, Phil Jackson also confidently stated in an interview:

"The playoffs are a completely different field, and the opponents may be talented, but we have a lot more experience!"

'The veterans won't disappoint the fans and the lack of home advantage won't bother us!'

The old man of KFC has something to say, obviously he didn't take his opponent seriously!

After winning 72, the New York media repeatedly emphasized the Knicks' dominance and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, and Phil Jackson followed suit and clearly had his sights set on the Finals.

The Eastern Conference Pacers and Bucks game was similarly one-sided:

80:104, the Pacers beat their opponents by a big margin, and Reggie Miller's championship dream continues!

On the evening of April 19, Lee Woo entertained his agent, Mark Battlestein, at his home in Manhattan.

Mark Battlestein successfully signed UConn's champion center Okafor, Emeka Okafor.

At the same time, Ben Gordon was also pocketed by Mark Battlestein.

While Kwame Brown hasn't been able to cash in on his talent, a big man like Okafor who has been baptized by college competition has a good chance of succeeding.

People are in good spirits on happy occasions, and Mark Battlestein chats about the latest gossip while eating a delicious steak:

"Mai Kou plans to go to China in his personal name, and your time on the itinerary is just staggered, after all, you are going to play in the finals!"

"Hook plans to hold more events to warm up your personal brand, which is also a good thing for you."

"Maybe someone doesn't like to ruin Mai Ku's career, the two of you travel together, and neither of you knows what will happen."

Avid fans are everywhere, and some Wall Street traders are staunch Michael Jordan fans, and they don't like Lee Woo.

These people weren't even interested in the Knicks, they only liked the Bulls, which was the pure "winning honey" of the year.

However, most of those older fans are also out of luck, and at present, Li You's fanatical fans are young, and in the past few years, he has also accumulated a lot of "winning honey".

The two sides quarreled on some forums, but the fans of Maikou fell into disadvantage, and rookie Li You stepped on Maikou to win the championship, and then achieved four consecutive championships!

With such an achievement, Michael Jordan's iron fans can only be "IF", only talking about the championship, Li You has already overpowered Mai Buckle.

Li You knows the general itinerary of the other party, and after going to China in May, he will have to be busy with the Bobcats.

He was quite satisfied with the arrangement of the hook, and thinking of the event, Li You simply advised:

"Let the organizers pay attention to the ticket price, we don't just go and make money and leave."

Mark Battlestein nodded, Li You's professionalism is excellent, which is why many brands like to work with him.

Some NBA stars will also play big names, and there are many people who attend events with big faces, in contrast, Li You has not had much shelf for so many years, and he has done his best whether it is activities or advertising.

In this regard, Mark Battlestein only feels lucky, after all, the job of wiping his ass belongs to the agent.

Thinking of his player Kwame Brown telling him that he no longer planned to play for the Wizards, Mark Battlestein suddenly sighed:

"Pros shouldn't be emotional, Lee, did the Knicks think about Kwame Brown?"

Lee Yoo shrugged his shoulders, they did discuss a trade with the Wizards, but the other side did not accept the big man Wright and the draft pick:

"There's nothing I can do about it, but don't worry, maybe other teams will bring in this potential rookie and let him adjust his mentality, and the opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared!"

“.”

On the morning of April 20, as the Rockets lost again last night, the Chinese sports media became more and more disappointed, and the news content of Sina Sports basically became "teammates CBA".

After losing two games in a row, G2 Yao Ming performed mediocre, 8 of 18, 6 of 7 free throws, and scored 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 turnovers.

As if to appease the emotions of fans, Yao Ming took the initiative to take the blame in an interview:

"It's my first playoff game, the Spurs are very strong, and I still have a lot to learn."

Physical problems and lack of confrontation are problems that Yao Ming needs to solve urgently.

The Spurs have a lot of experience dealing with big men, and with the fact that they have been beaten by outside players for so many years, Popovich has also summed up a way to deal with the situation.

Coach Mike Brown's tactic of handing the ball to Francis has completely failed.

The first round was mostly one-sided, with the Eastern Conference Pistons and Nets also comfortably beating their opponents.

Wade was also beaten badly after meeting Kidd, and the Nets reached the division finals for two consecutive seasons.

On the evening of the 20th, the Knicks also ushered in the G2 game.

During the two days of rest, the coaching staff did not have a special arrangement, the difference in strength between the two sides was too large, and it was enough to wrap Pierce at the necessary moment.

The Celtics also didn't make any pre-game rhetoric, and the opponent seemed to be completely going through the motions and lacked energy in the game.

The New York fans at the scene were particularly happy, everyone didn't care who the opponent was, and they preferred to see the helpless look of the opponent when it came to the abuse game.

As soon as the game began, every time Pierce struck the iron, the arena erupted in a loud cheer.

In G1, Pierce will also command his teammates, and in tonight's game, the five people on the field of the challenge team are silent, and there is no communication between each other.

With 3:21 left in the first quarter, it was Atkins who launched the pick-and-roll at the top of the arc.

There was not much time to attack, and the small guard had just gotten rid of Li You, and he was still some distance from the three-point line, and immediately made a pull-up jump shot.

"Bang!"

The basketball smashed on the rebound and eventually bounced back into the hands of Kurt Thomas.

The shot was a little outrageous, which made Coach Carroll on the sidelines pull the corners of his mouth helplessly.

“Let's go Knicks！.”

Li You stepped forward to answer, and the cheering shouts resounded through the stadium again.

Atkins returned to the half-court early to establish a defensive position, his team-mates were already out of mood and he stopped calling for packs.

Soon, Kurt Thomas was at the top of the arc and after half-time, Lee Woo quickly looped the ball behind his left hand.

Noticing that Atkins squeezed through the cover and switched to his right hand, he immediately turned quickly with his left foot as the axis, and Li You easily got rid of the defense, re-fished the ball with his left hand, and accelerated from his teammate's side.

McCarty's defense was just for show, Li You accelerated and broke through to the paint area in the blink of an eye, facing Blount who came up to help defend and threw the ball to the top right of the basket.

Unguarded, Gasol jumped up and grabbed the ball with both hands and pressed the ball directly into the basket!

"Boom!" The empty catch is a violent dunk.

At 12:23, the margin was back in double digits, and Madison Square Garden was jubilant.

On the commentary bench, Kevin Harlan glanced at the technical statistics and noticed that Li You was his fifth assist, and couldn't help but sigh again:

"It seems that Lee switched the game mode tonight and sent a series of wonderful passes after the opening!"

"There seems to be a problem in the Celtics dressing room, and they are clearly lacking in energy on the field."

Rivers watched Pierce finally make a step-back jumper at the right block position, and also commented:

"Coach Carroll should have called for a timeout at this point."

"He doesn't need to explain the tactical fit, he needs to arouse the desire of the players!"

At this point, the head coach should indeed "let's go", but unfortunately, the next few rounds, the Celtics are still the same.

Virshko and Pierce continued to play iron, and the score stopped at 14 points.

On the contrary, it was the Knicks' side that suddenly broke out, and this offense continued the previous round, and Li You easily broke through Atkins at the top of the arc.

Seeing Li You, who was holding the ball in his right hand, came to the right side of the blocking area, Pierce couldn't hold back, and quickly slid near the bottom corner of the right side and stepped forward to delay.

Without waiting for the opponent's defense to come to him, Li You immediately distributed the ball to Artest in the bottom right corner.

The latter received the ball, noticed that Pierce shrank to the basket, and simply adjusted it, and then made a steady jump shot!

"Huh!" Three-pointers hollow into the net.

At 14:29, hitting two three-pointers in a row, Artest was so excited that he beat his chest again and again and yelled at Pierce.

Defensive communication errors, Atkins looked at Pierce helplessly, the latter was silent, and the Celtics continued to play the iron step by step.

It wasn't until the final rounds of the first quarter that Ricky Davis came on the pitch to help the team score again.

Davis had just hit a long two-point jumper on the right wing with a pick-and-roll;

Coming back, Grant Hill singled Davis with his back to the left blocking area, turned to the baseline to close the ball, and hit the bottom left of the basket to make a basket.

Defending well again, Pierce and Davis couldn't finish the frame, and Atkins received the ball in the final moments, and McCarty was left with an empty left flank.

The outrageous three-pointer allowed Grant Hill to pick up a long rebound, accelerate along the left sideline, and move sideways after half-court to quickly reach the top of the arc.

The Knicks' counterattack was fast, and the two big men ran to the baseline early, and at the same time, on the right wing, Lee Yoo first moved to the top of the arc and then accelerated to the back.

Atkins defended well, sliding quickly, but the small defender lost his position when Lee Woo made a quick stop and ran back to catch the ball again.

The moment the right wing received Hill's pass, Li You first raised the ball and shook it, and then tried to step sideways with his right foot.

Atkins subconsciously took a step back, and then could only watch Li Yougan pull out the jump shot!

"Huh!" Three-pointers hollow into the net.

At 18:36, the Celtics trailed by 18 points in the first quarter as Atkins missed a long-range three-pointer in the final 2.1 seconds.

Pierce walked to the bench with some regrets, and this kind of defenseless game made him unmotivated.

What made him even more speechless was that the Knicks would really wrap him up and not give him any chance at all.

As the leader of the team, Pierce was supposed to give his teammates chicken soup when he returned to the bench, but his mentality exploded and he returned to his seat and went into silence.

Played the full first quarter, 5 of 5, including 1 of 1 from beyond the three-point line, 11 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal, Li You filled the data column.

Kurt Thomas also played very well, relying on the 4-of-6 jumper after the pick-and-roll, and easily scored 8 points.

The stadium was still noisy, and most of the fans had already started to enjoy the game, twisting their bodies to the music and jumping and waving from time to time in an attempt to attract the attention of the director.

Stoudemire sat on the bench tonight in a formal suit, and after two days of training with an uncomfortable knee, the coaching staff put him on the injury list again to be on the injury list.

"I didn't have any problems with my body and I woke up this morning feeling great!"

Because of the competition, whenever Kurt Thomas is doing well, Stoudemire feels the pressure and wants to be in the starting line-up as well.

Ewing heard Meng Xin's low complaint, and immediately said solemnly:

"There's nothing wrong with Mr. Scott's diagnosis, you don't want to have minimally invasive surgery during the playoffs, and the coaching staff will use it sparingly."

"Remember, your career is just beginning, all you have to do is be patient!"

Gasol and Stoudemire are both coached by Ewing, and the Gorillas are actually happy with the two big men and think they have a promising future.

Lee Woo has also noticed Stoudemire's complaints in recent times.

Kurt Thomas has been healthy all season, crushing opponents to the core, and Lee Woo also believes that the current rotation is fine:

"Pat is right, we don't have any pressure in the first round, health is the most important thing, Amare, be patient!"

Hearing this, Stoudemire looked at Li You, who had returned to his seat, and nodded helplessly, but he could only complain depressedly in his heart:

"How long am I going to be on the bench?"

(End of chapter)