East New York, Long Island Marina Villas.

Two black men dressed in hip-hop costumes sat leisurely on the balcony of the villa looking at the scenery, chatting and sipping coffee.

These two are the current players on the Knicks, Jamal Crawford and Quentin Richardson.

And this villa was purchased here by Crawford after joining the Knicks two years ago, and it is worth more than 900,000 US dollars.

As a black child who came out of the slums, Crawford, who grew up in Seattle, also had a sad childhood.

Crawford's mother gave birth to her first daughter at the age of 12, and two years later gave birth to her second sister, who cared best about Crawford.

Crawford was born very thin because of his mother's weak health, but as he grew younger, basketball became his best friend in life.

After entering the NBA with the 8th pick in the first round in 2000, Crawford spent the first four years of his career with the Chicago Bulls.

Although he was physically confrontational and often dropped the chain defensively, Crawford played a very good performance on the bench, and his breakthrough and dribbling ability were quite good.

As early as 04, he hit 50+ in a single game as a substitute, and the score was explosive.

Now receiving an annual salary of six or seven million dollars in the Knicks, Crawford has completely broken free from his poor fate, bought a luxury car and villa, and brought his mother and sister to New York.

"Jamal, Lin's arrival, I don't know what kind of storm the team will go through in the new season, it seems that we could be traded at any time!"

In the face of Quentin Richardson's concerns, Crawford was tempted to think that after all, it was the same everywhere, it was in Chicago, and now it is the same in New York.

"I've never had any friends on the team, Quentin, you're one of the few!"

"After all, we can't become the boss of a team like Lin, no matter how strong we are, we can only be a role player, so when we are traded and where we are traded, it is useless to worry about it, because we can't control these at all!"

"Anyway, with your ability and my ability, it's still okay to eat in the NBA, not to mention that we like to play, don't we?"

"Of course, if I can stay in New York forever, this is naturally what I want most! Who wants to be traded to the icy Minnesota and Denver Plateaus? ”

Quentin Richardson shook his head helplessly: "Jamal, you're okay, after all, you are the team's best sixth man who averages 15 points per game, and it's no better to play Lin off the bench, I'll be in trouble, the position of starting quarterback is bound to be given up!" ”

"Quentin, is it possible that Cheng Ling still wants to start with Lin? He's the MVP of the finals, so you and I should be honest on the bench! ”

is different from Jamal Crawford and Quentin Richardson's mood is Trevor Ariza, who has just signed a three-year, $9 million annual salary with the Knicks.

As a second-round pick in 04, Ariza played very average in the first two seasons of the Knicks, averaging only 4.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 19 minutes per game, and the only commendable thing is 1.2 steals per game.

originally thought that the offseason would be abandoned by the Knicks to exercise the team option in advance, but he didn't expect to turn around and give himself a three-year, $9.3 million contract, which was really a surprise.

Ariza naturally wouldn't have thought that the reason why the Knicks chose to keep him was entirely because of the new boss Lin Fei.

At the same time, Ariza's agent and the team's trainer also revealed that Isaiah Thomas's new coaching staff has the intention of promoting Ariza as the starting small forward in the new season.

After all, Jalen Rose is old, and his annual salary of more than 15 million in the last year is likely to be bought out in advance by James Dolan, and Ariza's opportunity will naturally come.

For Ariza, who entered the NBA at the age of 19 and has just turned 21 years old, if he can partner with Lin Fei and Marbury before the Knicks play the starting lineup,

This is definitely a huge opportunity to surprise yourself more than an annual salary of more than 3 million.

During his time in high school and freshman year in the NCAA, Ariza was already showing a pretty high level of quality, but he was too young to make it to the second round of the draft, but he was absolutely confident that he could play in the future.

As the new season approached, Ariza, who was full of confidence and pride, also took the initiative to increase his daily training volume and began to imitate the technical characteristics of Sean Battier, the starting point of the Heat.

Although a new contract with an annual salary of 3 million was signed, the salary has not yet arrived, and the prospects for the new season are still uncertain.

As a result, Ariza is still renting a house in Manhattan, New York, and has no plans to buy a property in the short term.

Early in the morning of October 26, Madison Garden Plaza.

The newly formed Knicks coaching staff of "Smiling Assassin" Isaiah Thomas also officially gathered the entire Knicks team for the new season to prepare for the upcoming 06-07 season.

In the training hall at Madison Square Garden, Lin Fei and the Knicks' new teammates met one by one and got acquainted with each other.

For Lin Fei's arrival, almost everyone in the Knicks camp showed a welcoming gesture, and also tacitly agreed that Lin Fei is the leader and only core of the team in the new season.

Even if there is dissatisfaction and contempt, they are all hidden in their hearts and dare not show it directly.

Although the Celestial Empire and Asians have been discriminated against to varying degrees in various parts of the country, the same is true in New York.

But Lin Fei's achievements in the NBA and basketball, and the strength he showed on the court, have long surpassed his skin color and nationality.

When a person is truly successful, he will find that the people he meets are good people.

After experiencing the warmth and coldness of the Timberwolves in the rookie season, and then rising step by step in the Miami Heat, Lin Fei has naturally become more mature and stable.

For Lin Fei, these new teammates in front of him are naturally not strangers, both in his past life and in his current life.

Stephen Marbury, who did not lose to Allen Iverson at his peak, Eddie Curry, who is known as one of the three successors of the Big Shark,

Future first-class 3-and-D Trevor Ariza, as well as All-Star forward David Lee, the strongest sixth man Jamal Crawford,

Shortest dunk king Nate Robinson, three-point anti-aircraft gunner Channing Frye, big-tonnage center Jerome James......

Take a closer look, the new teammates of the Knicks around Lin Fei are not strong, but they can't really be considered bad, there are at least 2 All-Stars and three or four quasi-All-Stars.

With the dictates and threats of owner James Dolan, Isaiah Thomas, who is the team's general manager and also the head coach,

It can be said that he responded to Lin Fei's requests, and the head coach's shelf was obviously lowered a lot.

In terms of the team's lineup and tactical arrangements for the new season, they will also take the initiative to listen to some suggestions from Lin Fei.

"Starting today, I will be the head coach of the Knicks for the next season until the management finds the right person to replace him!"

"Everybody is basically the same face from last season, and even though the Knicks had a terrible record last season, I know it's not the players' responsibility!"

"I believe that the arrival of Lin will definitely put the Knicks on the right track in the new season, and everyone can play their respective roles in the team perfectly!"

For Isaiah Thomas's part-time coach, most of the Knicks' players are not optimistic,

After all, this guy changed his career to become a general manager after retiring as a player, and the transactions between the Raptors and the Knicks were all scolded, and the reviews were extremely bad, so how good can he be as a head coach now?

However, there are only a few good coaches in the NBA these years, and it is really not possible to sign them with money.

Whether it's Isaiah Thomas now, Larry Brown last season, or Lenny Wilkens before that,

The Knicks' record has plummeted in recent seasons, and the responsibility of the head coach is far greater than that of the players.

As the new leader and boss of the Knicks parachuted in, Lin Fei naturally took the lead, and he had to say a few words in front of these new teammates:

"It's a great honor to be here with the New York Knicks and be your teammates in the new season!"

"Most of the players on the team now played against me more than once with the Heat last season, and my memory is pretty good, and you all made a big impression on me!"

"Although the Knicks have had a poor record in both seasons, I don't think it's a problem with the roster and the players!"

"The Knicks' current lineup of players can be said to be very reasonable, but it is obvious that everyone is scattered and has not been able to unite and play to their respective strengths!"

"New season, new expectations, we are talented enough, young enough and strong enough to beat any team!"

Lin Fei's words fell, and the Knicks teammates around him applauded, and the little fat man Eddie Curry came over, bent down directly to make a move to report Lin Fei's thigh, and said with an exaggerated smile:

"Lin, the team and I will rely on you to fly in the new season, and I am still waiting to be stained with your light and be selected as an All-Star substitute in the East!"

Lin Fei smiled and touched Eddie Curry's big belly, raised his eyebrows and said:

"Eddie, train with me for two hours a day in the future, lose your weight to less than 300 pounds, and then quit Coke, not to mention the All-Star bench, the starting center is all yours!"

Everyone laughed, and Eddie Curry shrank his neck and shrugged his shoulders and said:

"I can promise you other conditions, this Coke, I definitely can't quit, this is my life!"

Stephen Marbury laughed and punched Eddie Curry in the shoulder, quipping:

"Eddie, since you can't quit Coke, let's quit women, how about it?"

Eddie Curry: "Ah...... Then I'd better try to quit Coke! ”

As the players got to know each other, Isaiah Thomas also organized a game within the Knicks.

And deliberately put Stephen Marbury, Lin Fei, Trevor Ariza, David Lee and Eddie Curry in a group.

These five people are also the starting five Tigers of the Knicks new season after consultation with the coaching staff.

Lin Fei, Marbury and Eddie Curry started the trio, which is naturally indisputable.

After all, the strength is there, and the three of them can be said to have reached the top ten of the NBA in their respective positions.

And the promotion of young rookies Ariza and David Lee to small and power forward is clearly a deliberate decision by the coaching staff.

Of course, Lin Fei's opinion also played a major role.

Isaiah Thomas's coaching philosophy naturally leans more towards the way he played with the Pistons in the 90s.

Stephen Marbury on point guard can be said to be highly similar to the technical characteristics of the peak smiling assassin.

This is also the main reason why Thomas, who was the general manager of the team at the time, tried his best to broker James Dolan in exchange for Marbury through a big trade.

And Lin Fei, who partnered with Marbury on the guard line, far surpassed Joe Dumas, who was his partner back then, in terms of overall offensive and defensive strength.

In Isaiah Thomas's view, if he had teamed up with the current Lin Fei instead of Joe Dumas at his peak in the early 90s,

The Detroit Pistons will inevitably prevent the rise of Jordan and the Bulls and officially create a dynasty belonging to the Pistons.

The Bad Boys are more focused on defensive intensity, and this is also the complete makeover that Isaiah Thomas will make to the Knicks in the new season.

In the team's current new starting lineup, only Lin Fei has top-level defensive strength, and Marbury and Eddie Curry are both heavy offense and light defense.

And Trevo Ariza, who was newly promoted, obviously has good defensive talent, which is worth looking forward to and developing.

That night, the New York Knicks ushered in a preseason game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden.

Lin Fei wore the No. 22 jersey of the Knicks and made his first start for the team in this game.

The 76ers' rebuilt lineup also played.

The starting five Tigers of the Knicks are:

Point Guard (PG): Stephen Marbury,

Scoring Guard (SG): Lin Fei,

Small Forward (SF): Trevor Ariza,

Power Forward (PF): David Lee,

Center (C): Eddie Curry.

The starting five of the 76ers are:

Point Guard (PG): Andre Miller,

Shooting Guard (SG): Andre Iguodala,

Small Forward (SF): Kyle Korver,

Power Forward (PF): Joe Smith,

Center (C): Samel Dalham Porter.

In the case of trading Allen Iverson and failing to pursue Lin Fei, the 76ers' rebuilding is far away, and the new season has basically determined the bad policy.

An assistant coach of the Heat team last season has now joined Thomas's head coaching team, plus Lin Fei has an absolute leadership position in the interior.

Therefore, according to Lin Fei's distinctive playing style, Thomas also drew on his own experience and the offensive tactics of the defending champion Heat to develop a new tactical system.

Among the Knicks' new starting five, Marbury's tactical position is basically comparable to Wade, who was Heat last season, and has a ball-holding organization and individual offensive proportion second only to Lin Fei.

The in-team role of Trevor Ariza on small forward overlaps with the Heat's Sean Battier and is an absolute 3-and-D.

To do this, Ariza must adapt to the transition as soon as possible, train diligently, and improve his three-point shooting percentage in the game.

David Lee on the big forward is not inferior in personal physical talent, although the projection level is a little worse, but the emphasis is on youth and has enough room for improvement.

And David Lee also has a talent that Eddie Curry doesn't have when it comes to grabbing rebounds.

Eddie Curry's target is naturally the big shark O'Neal, whether it is individual talent or low post back play and hook hand, Eddie has a certain technical reserve.

It's just that defense is a weakness, and if you are not active enough in the game, you will be easily distracted, so you must try your best to serve the customer.

In addition to strengthening the offensive and defensive characteristics of the players, there are various complex ball-holding blocking, off-ball covering, air cutting and passing tactics between players.

It is the key to focus on training and strengthening in training and games, and it is also the most important thing for Lin Fei to form a good chemistry with these new Knicks teammates.

In this preseason game with the 76ers, although Lin Fei, Marbury and Eddie Curry, Crawford on the bench, Nate Robinson and other players have performed well,

The heavily used Ariza and David Lee were also positive on both ends of the floor.

However, the overall blocking and dismantling cooperation and running cover between the players still seem too loose, the tacit understanding is far from enough, and the execution of tactics needs to be improved.

Even so, when Lin Fei only played 22 minutes in the whole game, he still easily hit 7 three-pointers, scored 25 points and 9 assists,

The Knicks also won their first preseason game with a 109-97 win over the weaker Philadelphia 76ers.

On October 30, the NBA's 2006-07 season officially kicked off.

The New York Knicks will sit at home to face the visiting Los Angeles Lakers, and the new combination of Kobe Bryant and Da Yao has also been anticipated by fans!

At the same time, the Knicks' 12-man roster for the new season has also been officially confirmed:

Starting lineup: Stephen Marbury, Lin Fei, Trevor Ariza, David Lee, Eddie Curry.

Subs seven: Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson, Quentin Richardson, Channing Fry, Jerome James, Jalen Rose, Reinaldo Balkman.

(End of chapter)