On May 20, 2004, ESPN, as the broadcaster of this year's Eastern Conference Finals, began to warm up for the divisional finals that will begin tonight.

Last night's Western Conference semifinals ushered in a tiebreaker, and the Timberwolves won the series with Kassel's two free throws in the final 16.8 seconds.

Garnett's last-minute block before the end of the game was also impressive, but with the Eastern Conference Finals leading up, pundits began to talk about the Pistons' performance.

ESPN's recent episodes of the NBA Countdown reflect on Coach Larry Brown's accomplishments.

As the head coach of the men's basketball team at this year's Athens Olympics, Larry Brown, a veteran coach, naturally has a lot of faces.

It's just that after some discussion in recent days, most football critics are not good at commenting on it.

The best team on the defensive end of the league is up against the best offensive firepower in the league.

Judging from the regular season record, the Knicks have an absolute advantage, but the playoffs are different.

The Pacers have a good record this year, but in the semifinals, they were completely limited by the Pistons, not in one or two games, but in most games where it was difficult to score more than 80 points.

In the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Pistons averaged 75.2 points per game and the Pacers averaged 72.7 points per game.

If a game is filled with a lot of iron, fouls, and free throws, and there are no outstanding star players, and some are just mediocre scores, fans will not buy it.

ESPN is very worried about the Eastern Conference Finals ratings also being affected, and has worked hard to introduce it in the past two days, but every time it talks about the Pistons, it is a little embarrassing:

"I can't blow it!"

In the semifinals, Hamilton was the Pistons' leading scorer.

Averaged 43.0 minutes per game, averaging 23.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.2 blocks and 2.5 turnovers per game;

He shot 47.4 percent from the field, 22.2 percent from three-point range and 86.5 percent from the free throw line.

Hamilton's stats are mediocre, and the rest of the Pistons are even more miserable.

Outdated All-Star Rasheed Wallace averaged 12.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 steals, 2.3 blocks and 2.3 turnovers per game;

He shot 35.6 percent from the field, 20 percent from three-point range and 75 percent from the free throw line.

As for Billups, he averaged 12.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 3.7 turnovers per game;

He shot 30.8 percent from the field, 25.9 percent from three-point range and 85.3 percent from the free throw line.

The statistical performance of the three core players makes the ball critics unable to find an angle to blow X, and the other role players have not scored more than 8 points, so everyone really can't blow it!

The Pacers have been really good defensively this season, finishing third in the league during the regular season, averaging 85.6 points per game.

But the Nets are not bad, second only to the Knicks, in fifth place, and the top teams are all defensive powerhouses, but in the other group of semifinals, the scene is completely different.

After analyzing the game for several days in a row, ESPN could only barely blow X to the Pistons:

"Coach Larry Brown has built a historic defensive team!"

“.”

New York fans simply don't believe it, and young fans have recently started to output due to Hill and Gasol losing the best team.

Everyone thinks that the sports media that voted on it were deliberate! They're targeting New York.

While Hill's stats have slipped and Gasol's inflated stats have been a bit watery, New York fans are unanimous that the duo should be on at least three squads.

Today happens to be Thursday, and TNT's show is not as polite as its peers, and Charles Barkley has brought up the star color theory again:

"In basketball, no amount of defense can limit a real superstar."

"We all know that, and if Michael Jordan could have been limited to 20 points, I would have won the championship."

"If defense can bring Lee's scoring down to 20 points, the Knicks simply won't be able to achieve a four-game winning streak!"

"I stand by my opinion, most of the stars in the league at the moment are not in line with their fame and strength, they are overrated."

"Nothing but good highlights, sorry, there are some players who can't even make up the highlights."

This last sentence refers to most of the players of the Pistons, who average more than 10 points per game, and they don't play fancy, and the highlights of the beautiful offense are not the Pistons' business.

Kenny Smith feels that his partner has offended a lot of people again, and even if it's true, he can't say it on the show:

"In fact, after the league allowed zone defense, the restrictions on scorers were huge."

As soon as the words fell, the on-site director gave the data of Li You's 4 semifinals:

Averaged 35.0 minutes per game, averaging 36.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 10.3 assists, 2.5 steals, 0.5 blocks and 1.5 turnovers per game;

He shot 58.5 percent from the field, 47.8 percent from three-point range and 92.3 percent from the free throw line.

Kenny Smith smiled helplessly when Lee's stats appeared, which showed that Barkley was right.

While TNT is broadcasting the Western Conference Finals this year, Ernnie Johnson is also interested in the division finals on the other side.

When both partners were silent, Ernnie Johnson smiled again and said:

"Don't talk about personal data anymore, it's the win or defeat that matters."

"I think the Pistons still have a good chance of getting an away win, and they've played the ultimate team basketball this season!"

In the studio, Charles Barkley shook his head again and again, showing disdain for the so-called team basketball:

"If the Pistons continue to play like this, then there is no suspense in the game."

"In my opinion, they're the Nets with the stronger interior team, and the Pistons aren't going to bother the Knicks."

After a round of ratings plummeting in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the NBA league has significantly strengthened its publicity this week.

Fortunately, the Knicks team is the guarantee of the current ratings, although there are many fans who are tired of watching Li You, but they are afraid of comparison in everything, and after watching it for a while, they can only "really smell" in the end.

After 13 seasons, the Pistons reached the division finals again, and no matter what the outside world says, Detroit fans are already in a blast.

With the support of enthusiastic fans, the Pistons who flew to New York were also on fire.

Although Billups and Ben Wallace had rings, they were only role players with the Knicks back then, and they didn't have a sense of accomplishment in winning championships.

After several years of struggle, after coming to the division finals again and flying to New York, the mood of the two is also very different.

However, the Pistons, who arrived in Manhattan a day early, quickly sensed the arrogance of the local fans.

The New York sports media is full of superiority, and there is not much coverage for the division finals, and the core of most articles in the New York Times is similar these days:

"Knicks championship."

There hasn't been as much coverage of the Pistons as the Lakers.

Fans are not interested in the Pistons without star players, and in order to cater to their preferences, the New York media naturally reports more about the "thief" Lakers.

Rasheed Wallace didn't like the feeling of being ignored and held back the fire during an early afternoon warm-up:

"They think they've won? It's the playoffs, anything is possible! ”

Perhaps because he had seen too much of the Detroit Free Press's touting, Rasheed Wallace was a little uncomfortable after being miserably ignored.

In Detroit, they're heroes, while in New York, the Pistons seem to have become indifferent little players.

After the win over the Pacers, one of the most popular articles in the Detroit Free Press was:

"It's the New York Knicks' turn!"

Knocking out No. 2 in the East, Detroit's sports media has blown the Pistons into the sky.

Looking at his teammates who were shouting loudly, Billups was calm, patted the ball and pouted:

"This is New York, and they haven't looked down on their opponents in the East."

Coach Larry Brown took away games very seriously, and as soon as the players were chatting, they immediately interrupted and reminded:

"Don't get distracted and stay focused! Outside evaluation cannot affect the outcome of the game. ”

"All you have to do is execute the game plan that the team has set up and remember, we only play for each other."

Hamilton and Ben Wallace also gave up on gossiping after hearing the coach's words, and the current boss of the team is the head coach, and everyone listens to him.

When the Knicks came to the arena to warm up early, Gasol was still discussing the best lineup.

The rise in numbers but the defeat made Gasol a little unhappy, and he should not pay for the alliance's star-making movement.

On the contrary, Grant Hill didn't care about any of this, and after the stats dropped, Hill also removed the baggage, and now he just wants to win the championship and then make a big splash in the Olympics in the offseason.

D'Antoni didn't say much, but just took advantage of the warm-up to remind Li You:

"The opponent will definitely use a lot of zone defense, Lee, you know what to do!"

"We need to hit those shots from the outside as early as possible."

The opponent likes to defend the joint defense very much, and after preparing for a week, Li You naturally knows:

"Don't worry, coach, you can't beat us just by defending!"

D'Antoni immediately laughed, he felt that Li You was in good shape, and he still had a bit of an impulse to lose when playing against the Nets, and he returned to his calm state after the rest.

The official kick-off at 20 o'clock, New York fans naturally came to the stadium early.

For tonight's opponent, the crowd is not paying attention, and the average fan will measure the strength of the team by the number of All-Star players.

The Pistons only have one Knicks veteran who is good at defense selected as an All-Star, and this kind of team configuration is naturally disliked by New York fans.

When Li You came out, cheers resounded in the arena, and on the ESPN commentary seat, Nesler still had a big back comb, and it was not easy to explain this round of the series:

"It's really terrifying popularity, and it seems that the Knicks, who have completed the rebuild, are about to start a new round of domination!"

Bill Walton didn't follow suit, and in terms of team configuration, only the Lakers can match:

"72 wins, I think the Knicks are stronger this season!"

"Last year's title was so easy, and this season they have had some challenges, but the team has been completely successful."

"It's the same with the Pistons, it's the pinnacle matchup between the two teams."

The Pistons didn't change their starting lineup tonight, with Billups and Hamilton in the backcourt, and Collis Williams, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace in the frontcourt.

The game was about to start, and in front of the director's camera, Coach Larry Brown sat firmly on the bench, showing a confident look.

On the other hand, D'Antoni was the same, he was modest in his pre-match interview, but he leaned back tactically before the game even started.

After the players on both sides came to the center of the field, Artest excitedly greeted his opponent, was selected to the best team, won the DPOY, and this year is the peak moment of his career:

"Ready to lose? You don't stand a chance! ”

The bouncing Artest watched Ben Wallace shout loudly, and was met with a look of contempt.

Li You and the others returned to the half court to wait for the ball, and the noise in the stadium quickly turned into cheering:

“Let's go Knicks！.”

Stand up, shake up the large orange handkerchief in your hand, and enter the playoffs, the number of games is small, and the fans are more engaged.

The referee tossed the ball up, and Gasol, who was playing with some emotion, reacted quickly and dialed the ball into his own half.

As Lee Woo received the ball, the Pistons quickly retreated to the halfcourt, and as the coaching staff expected, after the opening, the opponent defended the three-two defense.

Billups defended Lee Woo early in the half, and Williams and Hamilton stopped on the flanks one left and one right, completing the opposing defense while watching the movement of the line.

Rasheed Wallace and Big Ben crouched under the left and right baskets, a zone defense that made 19 blocks in a single game against the Pacers.

Protecting the ball sideways, Lee Woo just waved his hand to remind his teammates to change positions, and soon Grant Hill was running briskly to the left near baseline.

Gasol, meanwhile, walked briskly to the free-throw line and Kurt Thomas moved to the right near baseline.

On the court, the Knicks changed positions quickly, and the Pistons were unaffected, reminding each other to continue to maintain their defensive positions.

When his teammates moved, Li You immediately gave the ball to Artest on the left flank, and at the same time cut in the middle and accelerated to the bottom line.

Under the zone defense, the Pistons still didn't change their defensive area, and Billups at the top of the arc noticed that Hill was shooting outside again, and then he felt that the situation was wrong.

Hill, who bounced to the top of the arc, received the ball, and at the same time, Gasol lifted up to block and dismantled, and Li You, who came to the baseline, quickly ran to the bottom right corner.

Kurt Thomas took a position near baseline on the right side and provided Lee Woo with an off-ball screen.

Billups reminded loudly, and Big Ben hurriedly switched to Li You, and then ran to the bottom right corner.

Hamilton, who had been parked on the right flank, immediately slid to help defend Hill after the pick-and-roll.

The Pistons looked to be playing a perfect defense, but things changed completely as Gasol's fake cover accelerated and Kurt Thomas suddenly moved sideways to block Rasheed Wallace on the bottom left of the basket.

Hill, who was going to pass the ball to the bottom corner, suddenly jumped up and threw the ball near the right flank.

Billups, who still maintained the online defense, could only turn his head to look at Gasol in the paint area to receive the ball, and grabbed the ball with his right hand and easily made a one-handed split!

"Boom!" Smooth down the violent deduction to get it!

Rashid Wallace and off-ball cover Kurt Thomas were entangled and gloomy as Gasol yelled at the camera as he completed the dunk.

In a flash, the Knicks seized the opportunity, and for the fans, everyone only saw a few people on the court running quickly, and then Gasol completed the dunk.

Most of the fans watched the excitement, but a dunk was a good shot, and everyone shook their handkerchiefs and sat back in their seats and continued to cheer loudly:

“Wow！”

Billups, who received the ball from the baseline, was led by Li You, and the Knicks' defensive strategy was very simple, which was to mark people.

After half the game, Li You didn't look at the movement behind him, and while sticking to the defense, he kept interfering.

Hamilton slipped quickly from left to right and quickly bounced to the left block with the help of Rasheed Wallace's cover.

Artest didn't lose his defensive position, the cautious Billups didn't make the first pass, and Hamilton ran towards the top of the arc with the defence.

Sideways to the left flank, Billups quickly tossed the ball to Wallace, who was low on the left side with his back to the ball.

As the Pistons' main scorer inside, Wallace has a positional advantage, and the moment he receives the ball, he immediately puts the ball with his right hand and plays vigorously.

Butt Thomas, who had been holding his forearm up, tried to meet him, and the two collided, and Rasheed Wallace first twisted forward slightly, and then immediately turned with his left foot as the axis of the baseline.

The deceptive feint worked, and the moment he completed the turn, Rashid Wallace immediately closed the ball, leaned back slightly against the block, and made a quick jump shot!

"Bang!"

Despite his high straight-arm jumper shot, his first offense was crisp and clean.

Relying on his height advantage, Gasol clicked the rebound at the first time, grabbed ahead of the big himself, and successfully controlled the ball on the second jump.

The Pistons quickly retreated at this time, and only Billups stepped forward to delay Li You's advancement.

The cheers of the opponent's iron resounded in the arena again, and Li You did not rush forward, aimed at the opponent's defensive position, and then made tactical gestures.

Unlike the previous round, after making sure that the opponent did not change the defensive formation, Grant Hill ran through the half court and took up the left near-baseline position.

Gasol stopped near the free-throw line early, and Artest didn't run to the bottom right corner, but stopped on the right wing to wait to receive the ball.

With Lee Woo-yun passing halftime, the Pistons still maintained an on-line three-man zone defense.

It was still a half-time handover, and Artest didn't rush to attack after receiving the ball, and waited until Hill bounced to the top of the arc again before sending a horizontal pass.

Li You, who cut in without the ball, did not take advantage of his teammates' cover this time and suddenly ran to the bottom left corner.

Hill, who moved laterally to the left flank, immediately pushed the ball and changed direction when he attracted Hamilton's defence.

The moment he switched to his right hand, he accelerated with his shoulder, and Billups, who was still loudly reminding his teammates, hurriedly skated to help defend, but he was still a beat slower.

Shaking off Hamilton and easily breaking through the help defense, Hill broke through to the paint area directly in front of the basket and jumped up to throw the ball while Rasheed Wallace was moving.

The basketball flew straight to the bottom corner of the left side, Li You took the ball and shook it after receiving the ball, Hamilton immediately accelerated to pounce, and the whole person flew out of the bottom line

"Oh!"

almost fell into the audience at the back, and in the exclamations of the fans, Li You, who deceived the defense, made a steady jump shot!

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

0:5, after the opening, the Knicks played a beautiful match again, and on the bench, everyone was jubilant.

Coach Larry Brown was a little nervous, and his zone defense didn't seem to be working.

The envisioned situation is very different from the actual fight, Li You no longer frequently initiates blocking, but squats in the bottom corner to open up space, becoming a pure endpoint.

This situation has never occurred in the regular season at all, and in recent years, Li You has always been holding the ball in his hands, blocking and dismantling to fly, and cutting data wildly.

Subconsciously standing up, head coach Larry Brown loudly reminded his players to change their defensive strategy.

The Pistons' discipline was very good, and everyone calmed down after hearing the head coach's reminder.

As soon as Billups dribbled past half-time, he immediately beckoned Big Ben to come forward to cover.

Acutely aware that the Knicks' side seemed to have completely abandoned their defense against Big Ben, Billups wanted to create an easy scoring opportunity for his teammates with a simple pick-and-roll.

Without Li You's reminder, Billups, who was moving sideways with the ball in his left hand, was immediately hit by Gasol's big delay.

The Knicks did let Big Ben go, but Gasol's delay was beyond Billups' expectations, crashing headlong into the arms of the big man and almost blocking the same defense that made Larry Brown on the sidelines complain loudly.

Billups failed to squeeze directly by the explosiveness, but slowed down to stop the ball, and without waiting to protect the ball in his arms, Li You, who was chasing after the defense, stuck behind the opponent and pulled it with his left hand.

Billups dropped the ball immediately after the two were caught between them, and cheers erupted in the arena.

After completing the steal, Li You controlled the ball and accelerated with the ball in his right hand, and Billups chased after him to the three-point line and had no choice but to stop.

1 to 0 in the front court, Li You jumped high in the paint area, his head was flat, he completed the crotch change of hands, stretched his body in the air and grabbed the ball with his left hand, and smashed the ball into the basket!

"Boom!"

The powerful dunk made the basket roar, and the beautiful crotch change hands instantly ignited the arena.

Seeing Li You stop at the baseline position and move his shoulders, the fans in the front row were so excited that they waved their fists again and again, and when the Pistons were about to serve the baseline ball, some fans kept shouting:

"Ugly basketball is not welcome in New York!"

"To hell with team basketball!"

Rashid Wallace, who returned to serve on the baseline, originally wanted to touch the ball more to find his touch, but he was almost blown up when he heard the shouts of the fans behind him

Larry Brown, who was still complaining loudly to the referee about the last round, saw this scene and reminded loudly, and Rasheed Wallace suppressed the anger in his heart.

The so-called physical contact, tough basketball, is often caused by the referee's indulgence.

Sensing the scale of tonight's blow, Billups no longer blocked with Big Ben.

Dribbling past half-court, Billups at the top of the arc took advantage of Rashid Wallace's cover to briefly get rid of Li You, holding the ball in his right hand and feigning to break through.

Attracted to Kurt Thomas's defense, before the help defense was in place, Billups flicked his wrist, and the base pass immediately found Rashid Wallace who was on the outside.

The 45-degree dessert position on the left flank, Wallace did not hesitate after receiving the ball, and immediately jumped and shot!

"Bang!"

The long rebound ball popped up, and Li You judged the landing point of the ball for the first time, controlled the ball in the left elbow area, and then turned around and rushed.

Rasheed Wallace immediately pulled for a foul and ruined the Knicks' transition offense.

"Shet!"

After a foul in the opening game, Wallace let out a low curse, and due to injury, this was his first time playing against the Knicks after joining the Pistons.

In the past, in the Trail Blazers, the discipline was not strong, Wallace would still fish, after joining the new team, he really wanted to win the championship, he liked the atmosphere of the new team.

Wallace, who kept clapping his hands and quickly returned to the halfcourt, reminded his teammates to change defense, and the Pistons suddenly switched back to marking.

Kicking the ball out of the sideline, receiving the ball, Li You suddenly picked up speed, and quickly rushed across the half court with the ball in his left hand against the defense.

The Pistons had just finished their defensive positioning, and the big man was still sinking to the baseline, and the two wings were pulled apart left and right.

Coming to the top of the arc, Li You quickly dribbled under his crotch after a sharp stop, and suddenly turned around dexterously when Billups interfered with his left hand.

At the moment when he grabbed the ball with his left hand, Li You lowered his center of gravity, leaned on the defense, and accelerated his breakthrough.

Billups could only twist and slide to try to give a physical confrontation, and the two had just crossed the free throw line when Li You suddenly made a sharp stop and blew the ball vigorously on the spot.

Still trying to grab the defense in front of him, Billups instantly lost his body's center of gravity, watched Li You push the ball and change direction, and switched to his right hand to completely get rid of the defense.

Wallace and Big Ben on the inside could only helplessly watch Li You easily complete the throw with his right hand while marching in front of the basket!

"Huh!" The two-pointer hit the ball steadily.

0:9, passing beautifully, once again making the arena boil.

Before the game, the sports media blew the Pistons' defense, and the New York fans were still a little worried, but seeing Li You's score of cutting melons and chopping vegetables, everyone only felt comfortable, and the shouts were a little louder

The Knicks quickly retreated, leaving only Li You to continue to lead the defense, watching the Pistons continue to pass the ball, Hamilton ran back twice and finally hit the jumper, and Nesler on the commentary bench couldn't help but sigh:

"The Pistons' defense doesn't seem to play much."

"If it's just man-to-man defense, then they're no different from any other team."

The Knicks played a transition offense, Lee Woo rushed past half court to the left wing and immediately pushed the ball to change direction, followed by a tank breakaway, carrying Billups to the basket.

Attracted to Wallace's help defense, Lee You, who leaned on the defense at the bottom left of the basket and rose into the air, grabbed the ball with his left hand in the air and threw the ball behind his head.

Kurt Thomas, who followed up, immediately burst into flames when he received the ball, and was eventually dragged down by Wallace.

"Shh

After the opening game, Wallace fell into passivity, and the anxious Wallace received his second personal foul before regaining his composure.

Seeing Larry Brown beckoning Oku to come on, Rashid Wallace took the initiative to walk to the bench and took off his headband when he got back to his seat, he slammed it to the floor.

Obviously defeated the opponent in the semi-finals by defense, but the proud defense of tonight's game did not work, Wallace's eyes widened, and he became more and more depressed.

Kurt Thomas took advantage of the free throws to stealthily shake his finger at the Pistons bench, and Wallace immediately stood up, and then was pressed by Larry Brown.

"Rashid, calm down! It's the divisional finals, and the competition has just begun! ”

Pushing his glasses and returning to his seat, Larry Brown patted Wallace on the back that he didn't believe the Knicks would score all the time.

0:11, both free throws, Bill Wharton looked at the Pistons who had not scored after the opening, and commented euphemistically:

"With a double-digit point difference, I think Coach Larry Brown needs a timeout."

"They should change their mindset of the game, the Knicks are not a traditional team."

Seeing the empty Ben Wallace make a mistake in the paint area and be tackled by Lee You, both of them in the commentary box felt that the game was going to take money.

Billups paid for a foul and was booed by the New York fans at the scene.

In the ensuing minutes, the Pistons were unable to score until 6:12 left in the first quarter when Big Ben's throws from the paint area helped the team break the scoring drought.

At 2:18, on the Knicks bench, D'Antoni couldn't hold back, deliberately stood up, walked to the sideline with his arms crossed, and looked at the Pistons bench by the way.

Noticing that Larry Brown didn't ask for a timeout and kept yelling, D'Antoni shook his head with a smile and the game was easier than he expected.

In the second half of the game, the Pistons showed their iron-blooded defense again, began to foul frequently, and sent free throws.

With a big lead, Li You began to squat in the bottom corner again, patiently waiting for the opportunity.

With the same tactics as in the opening game, the Knicks had a very high success rate, and Gasol was extremely tough and constantly attacking the basket.

By the end of the first quarter, Madison Square Garden was in full swing, and the New York fans were cheering for themselves.

At 14:32, although the foul disrupted the rhythm of the game, the Knicks still took an 18-point lead.

In the small half of the game, Li You, who was squatting in the bottom corner, was 5 of 7, 1 of 3 from beyond the three-point line, and 4 of 4 from the free throw line, and scored 15 points quietly.

When they returned to the bench, the atmosphere team excitedly high-fived Lee Woo in celebration.

When he sat in his seat, although Li You smiled and turned his head to wave to the fans behind him, he was not very satisfied with his projection state:

"Sure enough, you can't practice before the game."

(End of chapter)