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Timeout, Van Gundy did not emphasize defense as usual. Yang Rui convinced him with one sentence - if defense is the main focus, it will be difficult for Ewing to win the MVP.

"Retract and defend the penalty area, let them shoot in the middle and long range, Patrick protects the rebound, and launches a counterattack with a pass. If there is a chance, the defender can grab the shot."

When arranging a quick counterattack, Van Gundy was tangled in his heart.

He's very smart, and he did it if he didn't like it. It's better than Ewing's data collection. The management decided to firmly adopt Yang Rui's opinion and then do it well. Then he would be a hindrance.

Retracting the position is a lazy way to defend. It can hold the penalty area, but it is easy to be empty on the outside. The two big men of the Raptors are not good at shooting. die laughing.

The Knicks will deliberately expose some gaps in this defense, so that the opponent does not dawdle and shoots from the outside, thereby increasing the number of offensive rounds.

Raptors coach Darnell's adjustments are fairly reliable. He replaced John Wallace, who is 203cm tall and weighs 102kg, and used an unstable small forward in the CIC to play the 4th position.

John played for the Knicks last season and was Larry Johnson's backup. After joining the Raptors, he performed well, averaging 14.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.

The Raptors' offensive power has been strengthened, the formation has been stretched, and outside shooting is the main focus, but it does not help much in defense.

Wallace is fast, is responsible for side-change pick-and-rolls, and can keep up with Houston. Ewing moves to the middle to catch the ball and single-handedly or support, how to play or how to play.

As long as Camby is lured away by the point guard, Ewing singles out the 178CM Stoudemire, and it is easy to guarantee a shooting rate of more than 50%. He is the most accurate jumper among the four major centers.

If Camby doesn't switch defenses, it's useless to follow Ewing. Ewing's high position support, just hoist the ball to the basket according to the routine. Whether Johnson is singled out against Christie or Wallace, the advantage is obvious, and he will be strong as soon as he takes the ball and turns around.

Ewing broke out, making 7 of 9 shots and scoring 14 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 block in a single quarter. And the highest single-game assists in his career was only 11 times. He got it against the Hornets on April 19, 1996, and it is likely to break the record today.

The Knicks led 37 to 24. In the second quarter, Ewing took a rest and put on a fixed lineup. What made Yang Rui and Van Gundy a little depressed was that the substitute players started to disrupt the situation.

Ben Wallace and Oakley can only defend. If you want the Raptors to easily break into the basket and score, unless they are arranged to fake the ball. Childs and Mills worked equally hard, one wanted to regain the main position, and the newcomer wanted to prove himself.

As soon as the four of them played, the game immediately became extremely dull, with Starks attacking alone.

Yang Rui thought of the Pistons in the future. Such a team is really unlikable. The league felt that defensive teams like the Pistons and Spurs were too ugly to play. After the 2005 Finals, they couldn't bear it, so they started "nohandcheck" to encourage offense. In 2006 and 2007, many people scored blowouts and set career scoring highs, which has a lot to do with it.

Now, the NBA is still a defense-oriented league. Many teams and fans have a sworn feud, and they must not be made to feel comfortable.

Yang Rui had nothing to do. If he wanted to change at this time, he had to talk to Van Gundy. These ten rotations can all play a role, and none of them are superfluous. Unless they are injured, there is really no reason to force anyone to be a marginal player, otherwise the role players will have ideas, and if it is serious, it will affect morale.

After five minutes of playing, something unexpected happened. The Raptors' home fans lost their temper, and someone yelled into the field.

Glenn Gruward was dumbfounded when he heard it, because many fans shouted "Knicks, change!"

I rub, where are you from? Do you still think we lost badly enough?

Van Gundy also heard it, and felt a little uncomfortable. This is a treatment that the Knicks have never had before, and it clearly proves one thing,

Yang Rui's tactics are more attractive to fans.

Six minutes later, Van Gundy made a substitution without Yang Rui's reminder. Ewing and Johnson played together, replacing Oakley and Ben Wallace. Houston replaced Childs and partnered with Mills and Starks on the perimeter.

There is no orthodox point guard on the court. Starks is responsible for dribbling the ball across the half court. His dribbling skills are very skilled and he can be a combo guard. He is more threatening to play pick-and-rolls with Ewing in the frontcourt.

Starks is a well-known "inspirational brother" in the NBA. He was an undrafted rookie in 1988. After playing 36 games for the Golden State Warriors, he could only make a living in the low-level leagues.

In 1990, Starks went to New York for trial training. During a team training session, he jumped high with the ball and attempted to dunk on Ewing's head. Ewing slapped him to the ground.

Starks sprained his knee in that collision, and league rules at the time prevented teams from ejecting players who were injured during workouts until the end of December. Starks stayed, and at the same time, the Knicks teammates also remembered that this wild boy who claimed to be able to play the 2 position was a man.

What happened later was beyond everyone's expectations. Starks was selected to the All-Defensive Second Team in 1993, the All-Star in 1994, and the Sixth Man of the Year in 1997. Spike Lee, a famous New York fan, is his fan. .

When Starks played point guard, the Knicks put on the strongest offensive lineup.

On the Raptors side, Darnell replaced Stoudemire and Oliver Miller.

"Little Flying Squirrel" was replaced due to poor defense because of an unspoken rule in the NBA. Players involved in trades have to find ways to get them to improve their statistics and increase their trade value.

As for Oliver, it's purely because the Raptors lack someone at the 4th position and let John Wallace comeo. Once Camby defends out, he can't defend the penalty area. With the same last name as Wallace, John's strength is far worse than that of Big Ben.

As soon as Oliver came up, the Knicks' side off-ball screen tactics began to show their power again. Houston didn't do anything else, just ran back and forth between the left corner and the 70-degree position, and Ewing was in charge of the screen.

Oliver switched defenses a little slower, and there was a three-pointer on the side, Camby left the basket, and Johnson was able to catch the ball on the outside again.

Christie is very similar to Bowen. He is very strict in defending outside breakthroughs and is not afraid of facing the frame. He is dumbfounded when he encounters Johnson who relies on his body to crush him.

At the end of the half, Ewing scored 11 assists, tying his career record, and also had 20 points and 7 rebounds, close to a triple-double, leading the Knicks to a 59-42 lead.

During the intermission, Van Gundy was full of praise for Ewing's performance, and the outside players were also very happy. Ewing was responsible for supporting, giving up space under the basket, and the offense was fully opened.

Raptors general manager Glenn Gruward didn't care about losing. He focused on something else and asked, "Jimmy, are you sure Jerry Young is the one who set up the Knicks' offense? He's really capable? "

"I think it's pretty much the same. We've all seen what the Knicks were like last season. They definitely can't play such a gorgeous offense. It's defense that wins." Jimmy sighed.

Glenn was silent, and a bold idea began to sprout.

P.S.