Chapter 147 The Celtics lost...

Quentin Richardson played for less than four minutes in the first quarter and was immediately replaced by Rondo.

The score on the field is 11:12 at the moment. The Knicks are not behind the Pistons, but for the Knicks, what they have to do is to widen the score rather than being closely followed by their opponents.

The purpose of replacing Rondo is to hope that he can use his assists to connect the team.

"Within 3 minutes and 15 seconds of the first quarter, the Knicks made a player adjustment, which is a rare scene in their past games. We don't know whether this was an on-the-spot adjustment by coach Larry Brown or he had already prepared for this game.

However, we can still see from this substitution that coach Larry Brown hopes to see the team's offense become more diversified, with more players involved, rather than always relying on Zheng Yang alone.

Although he can hold his own against any team in scoring with his two-time scoring champion ability, if you let him start the offensive mode from the first quarter, his physical strength in the fourth quarter will become a big hidden danger.

Now let's see if the Knicks' offense will be any different after adding a young player like Rajon Rondo."

As Yu Jia explained, the fans in front of the TV were all staring at the TV intently, waiting for the Knicks' offensive performance.

After Rondo dribbled the ball across half court, he began to direct his teammates to run tactics. At this moment, Hamilton did not press Zheng Yang too hard, giving Zheng Yang the opportunity to receive the ball.

It's not that there is a problem with his concentration, but the tactic proposed by Pistons head coach Philip Saunders for this round of the series is to let Zheng Yang play unlimited one-on-one.

Of course they know how strong Zheng Yang's scoring ability is, but they also know that without Zheng Yang, the Knicks will become fish on the chopping board, at the mercy of others.

So their plan was to let Zheng Yang take more shots in the first three quarters to consume his physical strength. By the fourth quarter, even if he wanted to attack, his physical strength would not be able to provide him with strong support.

Therefore, during the ball receiving stage, Hamilton did not interfere with him too much, and after Zheng Yang received the ball, he would immediately press forward.

We don't need to destroy his attack, but at least we need to make his physical strength drop rapidly.

Although Zheng Yang didn't know the Pistons' strategy, he also felt that his teammates' participation in offense was too low. You know, the touch needs to be maintained by constantly catching the ball and shooting. Why did Thompson, one of the Splash Brothers, score 16 points in 17 minutes in the 29-60 season, but it was emphasized many times that he only dribbled 11 times?

It's because the opponent's touch is so explosive that he can just shoot as soon as he receives the ball. He doesn't need to dribble to find the feel or make adjustments.

But the Knicks players can't do it. If they can't touch the ball, they naturally won't be able to stand up when they are needed later.

So he still hopes that his teammates can attack more, while he attracts defense for them and creates space.

During a period of running, the Pistons' defensive players focused their attention on Zheng Yang, and their defensive positions also changed.

At a certain moment, Eddy Curry suddenly appeared in the paint area, and Rasheed Wallace did not react in time. The next second, Rondo's pass reached Eddy Curry, who jumped and dunked on the spot.

11: 14!

"Well done Rajan, that's it, keep it up!"

Larry Brown on the sidelines shouted loudly, and these words sounded like heavenly music to Rondo's ears. Being able to get the attention and recognition of the team's head coach on the stage of the playoffs is enough to prove his excellence.

Of course, he also knows that he is still far behind Zheng Yang, but it doesn’t matter, he will continue to improve and will surpass him one day.

……

After Rondo came on the court, the Knicks' offense was indeed well organized. Although Rondo did not have any outstanding performance in scoring, for the team, as long as he could pass the ball to the right person, nothing else was required.

With the help of Rondo, the game did not last too long. When the Pistons were still trailing by 15 points in the last three minutes of the fourth quarter, Philip Saunders directly called off the game and arranged for the substitute players to play the rest of the game. After all, the defeat was already decided.

Larry Brown on this side also withdrew the players and did not let them stay on the court.

In the end, the Knicks won the game 98:110 and are currently leading by a large margin.

Let's take a look at the player data of this game. The highest scorer for the Knicks is still Zheng Yang, with 32 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. The second highest scorer is Crawford, with 15 points and 4 assists. Although Crawford played very well in the first round of the playoffs, he was a little wilful in the second round when he faced a stronger opponent.

But it doesn't matter, as long as he can continue to maintain his current state. After all, the team doesn't expect him to average more than 20 points per game.

Although Rondo only scored 8 points, he had an amazing 12 assists and only 2 turnovers.

This assist-to-turnover ratio is also very good.

至于活塞队那边，汉密尔顿20分5助攻5失误，比卢普斯24分3篮板7助攻，普林斯12分7篮板4助攻……

Although they won the first game, the Knicks players were not very excited.

This is not because we are too worried about this series, but the times are different now.

They were last year's championship team, and their goal this year was to defend the title. But now they have only won a second-round playoff game. What is there to be happy about?
……

When the Knicks finished the first game of the second round, the Celtics' opponent was also newly determined.

After six games with the Magic, the Cavaliers finally defeated their opponents with a big score of 4:2 and advanced to the semifinals.

Maybe the Celtics don't take this team seriously at the moment, but in the near future, they will make the Celtics pay the price.

……

The second game between the Knicks and the Pistons is scheduled for May 5, still at Madison Square Garden.

The game that night was still very intense. The Pistons were not the 76ers. They were a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference and the championship team that year. They had their own pride.

Therefore, unless the score is 3:0, there is a possibility that the mentality will explode and the players' morale will be negative. Otherwise, how could the loss of the first game affect them?

The Knicks' outside shooting was very limited in this game, causing their offense to slowly find its form, so until the last two minutes of the game, the score difference was still maintained within 5 points.

At the critical moment, Zheng Yang scored a 2+1 against Hamilton and made a three-pointer in front of Billups, and finally won the game with a 5-point advantage. This season, Zheng Yang is still constantly training his three-point shooting ability. Although he has the ultimate touch of Stephen Curry, the opponent's super three-point ability is not entirely due to his talent.

It was his acquired training that gave him this invincible killer move.

Therefore, if Zheng Yang wants his three-point shooting ability to be better, he must continue to train it.

After a season of training, Zheng Yang's three-point shooting ability has been excellent. This season, he can make 3.5 three-pointers per game with a three-point shooting percentage of 40.5%.

In this game, he was able to defeat his opponent thanks to his three-point shooting ability.

However, the Knicks, who were leading 2:0, were met with a fierce counterattack from the Pistons after they arrived at the Pistons' home court.

In Game 3, Billups exploded, scoring 35 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists, leading the team to a counterattack.

Rasheed Wallace seemed to have found a way to restrain the Knicks, with 5 blocks and 12 rebounds in a single game. In the end, led by these two players, the Pistons successfully won the game.

The Pistons, who won the next game, had an even stronger momentum in G4. Amid the fierce cheers of the home fans, they continued to launch counterattacks and finally defeated the Knicks with Hamilton's mid-range buzzer-beater, and the two teams were back on the same starting line again.

The next game will be a decisive battle, and whoever wins will reach the match point first.

The Pistons' two consecutive counterattacks were something that no one on the Knicks had expected. In their original predictions, they thought the Pistons could only win one game at most, but now, the score is already 2:2.

But the team that has experienced the baptism of the championship is different. There is a sense of strength in their eyes. They will not panic or be afraid easily. It is just 2:2, not 4:2. What is there to worry about?

All we have to do is win two more games in the next few matches.

……

If there is someone in the world who most wants the Knicks to lose the game, it is undoubtedly Avery Johnson.

The Mavericks head coach has not yet had any communication with the team's management, but he himself knows that his layoff will be a foregone conclusion.

After all, he led the team to two first-round eliminations, one of which was a surprise elimination. This ability is much worse than that of old Nelson back then.

Even old Nelson and his gang weren't planning to stay, let alone a little Avery Johnson like you.

Avery Johnson, who couldn't find anyone to vent his anger on, finally had to point the finger at Zheng Yang. He believed that it was because of Zheng Yang that he ended up in this situation.

Even if it wasn't Zheng Yang's fault, why could he still continue to compete for the championship while he could only sit at home and watch others play.

This isn't fair. This isn't fair at all!
So he wished that the Pistons could defeat the Knicks immediately and let everyone know that their victory last year was just luck and that their championship had no value at all.

Their true colors will be revealed this season. They are just a team hyped up by the media!
But the reality will not let Avery Johnson get his wish. The Knicks returned to their home court and showed what a championship team is.

In Game 5, the Knicks used their ultimate offense and defense to tell the world why they were last year's champions.

Every player played his or her part on the court, using all the means at his disposal to defend against the opponent. On offense, Zheng Yang was like a sharp arrow, piercing straight into the opponent's heart, while others continued to rub salt into the wound.

In the end, the Knicks ended the game with a score of 88:112. Zheng Yang scored a game-high 45 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and two blocks, which directly ignited the entire audience.

When the Pistons called off the game early, the whole stadium erupted in overwhelming shouts of "MVP" to express their love for the Knicks king.

The young king waved gently to his fans, then sat quietly on the bench, his face still calm.

“What is a champion team? This is a champion team!
The young Knicks successfully transformed themselves in last year's finals, emerging as a butterfly from a cocoon. In such an important game, their youth is no longer synonymous with recklessness, but vitality and positivity.

They were more stable than their opponents, focused and energetic on the court and made fewer mistakes.

We cannot say that the Knicks will still be the champions this year, because there are other teams as good as them in both the East and the West, but we must admit that the state shown by this team in this game is exactly what a defending team should be like.

They were not defeated by their own pride, nor were they knocked down by external doubts, nor did they lie on the championship trophy and live a life of drunkenness!
They are still strong!

Maybe that's why so many fans like them, because they can give them strength."

After the fifth game, Mr. Yu Jia said the following words in the live broadcast room. There is no need to elaborate on the praise, and this team is completely worthy of these words.

In Game 6, even though the Pistons returned to their home court and tried to fight back and keep the suspense until Game 7, the Knicks did not give them that opportunity.

They won the game and the series with a score of 105:95.

When the game ended, Rasheed Wallace breathed a sigh of relief for some reason. At this moment, he perhaps began to truly realize that the time that belonged to their Pistons' Big Five was gone forever.

Today's NBA is dominated by young people.

"Go for the championship, Zheng. It's really not easy, but believe in yourself, you can definitely do it."

After the game, Rasheed Wallace patted Zheng Yang on the shoulder and spoke seriously, and Zheng Yang smiled and nodded.

"I will."

This round of series ended here, and the Knicks once again entered the Eastern Conference Finals, and on the same day, their opponents also appeared.

However, it wasn’t the Celtics as countless people predicted, but the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Because in another Eastern Conference semifinal, the Celtics were defeated by the Cleveland Cavaliers 4:1...

(End of this chapter)