Play with your brain

Chapter 251 Knicks' First Round Playoffs

After a day of rest, the Knicks' second playoff game is coming soon.

On April 4th, still in New York, or in Madison, the Knicks continued to face their opponent, the Toronto Raptors.

This time the game was different from the previous ones. The Knicks launched a fierce offensive from the beginning of the first quarter.

The tactics haven't changed much, Lao Hu still asked Curry to hit the Raptors inside from the beginning.Of course, the Raptors did not carry out the double-teaming tactic that failed like last time, but used the original method, with Nesterovic defending alone and Bosh helping.

But this time, the Knicks came prepared. As long as the 'Little Shark' attracted a double-teamer, it would pass out immediately, and then the Knicks fired directly from the outside.After a burst of three-point rain, the Raptors were smashed to death in the first quarter.

On the whole, there was no suspense in this game. When the Raptors began to emphasize perimeter defense in the second quarter, Curry and David Lee played well inside.

57 to 41, the two sides entered the third quarter with a 16-point difference.

Sam Mitchell, who just got the best coach of the season, is very eager to win an away game, so that he can basically reverse the embarrassment of not having home court advantage.

Therefore, starting from the third quarter, the Raptors started their own three-point rain!

Jose Calderon, Anthony Parker, and Maurice Peterson all scored three-pointers. For a while, the Knicks were a little bit dizzy.

"What are you panicking about! Just fight normally!" Seeing this situation, Lao Hu shouted directly, hoping to stabilize the morale of the army.

However, it is better to say than to do, so, Lao Hu simply made a three-pointer himself!
Swish!
Really, Hu Lin's ball was a back-up single against Peterson. After a forward fake move, he stepped back and made a three-point jumper.

This goal really stabilized the floating mentality of the Knicks players, and they never gave the Raptors a chance after that.

102 to 96, the Knicks won another game. Although they were almost overturned by their opponents at home, they finally won.

Among other things, Lao Hu entered the playoffs for the first time, leading 2-0 at the beginning, which is really gratifying. However, the next game is away. I don't know if there are any changes for the Raptors.

The changes in the Raptors are not yet known, but the playoffs in the West are a bit surprising.

Of course, this surprised others, and Lao Hu was like a mirror in his heart.In the first round of the playoffs between the Mavericks and the Warriors, the first game shocked the league when the Mavericks lost at home.

To be honest, if Lao Hu was not born again, he would have known that Mavericks would be "black eight", otherwise, he would definitely be shocked.Nothing else, this 'Black Eight' is really beyond people's expectations.

The gap in strength is huge, and the difference in record is as far-reaching as the Santa Mariana Trench.But their warriors can still perform miracles, you say they are better than others.

Forget it, don't think about other people's affairs, the third battle between the Knicks and the Raptors is about to begin.

On April 4, the third game between the two sides was staged on time at the Air Canada Center Arena in Toronto.

The Knicks haven't changed in any way, it's still the same old tactics and old style of play.The Raptors changed again, and this time they simply focused their attacks on the perimeter.

That is to say, let Bosh shoot in the middle distance, and add the Raptors' shooters to fire with all their strength.This made the Knicks very uncomfortable at the beginning, and Bosh's hand feeling is quite good today, and other Raptors' shooters also cooperated vigorously. Therefore, their shooting percentage is quite high.

The Knicks can't just sit still. Since the opponent is going all out and playing outside, it is natural to make defensive adjustments.Coach Thomas sent Jeffries and Channing Frye, and removed Nate Robinson, but for the sake of mobility, he also replaced Crawford. As a result, the Knicks' inside defense appeared weak .

As a result, Sam Mitchell immediately adjusted his tactics, and the Raptors began to bomb the Knicks' inside line again.

In other words, this is really a very fickle coach, and the coordination of various tactics in his hands always needs to be changed.

But this time, the Raptors' change was very subtle, just hitting the Knicks' weak spot.

In fact, the Knicks are not a perfect team. Their biggest problem now is that the bench lineup is not strong enough, and they can even rotate at most.In other words, the Knicks have very little room for tactical maneuvering, which is why they always play a tactic, always a starting lineup, simply because they have no more options.

Therefore, this game ended in the changes of the Raptors' inside and outside attacks.Guts turned into the Knicks, who lost the game in Toronto.The final score was 87 to 93, and the Knicks lost by 6 points.

On the 28th, there are only three playoff games. In addition to the Knicks, there are also duels between the Bulls and the Heat, and the Mavericks and the Warriors.As a result, nothing came as a surprise to Lao Hu. The Bulls made another victory, and the Mavericks lost to their opponents in the away game.

It seems that this 'black eight' should still appear on time, and the Mavericks should not die.

After losing this game, the Knicks and Raptors will have another game on April 4 in Canada. From the perspective of time, the Knicks have almost no chance to breathe.So if the opponent continues to play like this, how should the Knicks respond?
The opponent is adjusting, and Coach Tor also wants to adjust. You can't let that guy Sam Mitchell reverse the entire game!
To be honest, this is Thomas holding his breath!
What are you angry about?It was the previous NBA Coach of the Year award.

In the original history, this award was indeed Sam Mitchell's. However, this year, because of the excellent record of the Knicks, it is far higher than last year's record of 24 wins and 58 losses.Therefore, before voting, Thomas' voice was actually the highest.

That's right, even more than the little general who won 67 wins!Unfortunately, the final result was won by Coach Sam, the dark horse.

Although Thomas claims to be a 'smiling assassin', after knowing the result, he has been 'smiling', but can he not be angry?

Lao Hu, who knows Coach Tuo quite well, is like a mirror in his heart. I guess this can make Lao Hu angry!
Therefore, in any case, in the first round of this playoffs, we must beat our opponents hard, so that Thomas' anger can be dispelled.

In fact, this "best coach" did not go to Thomas, and those who voted also had an explanation. People think that the Knicks can achieve such good results, and it has nothing to do with you, Thomas!

Who is it related to?Of course it was Hu Lin.The reason is very simple. If you look at the Knicks' record, how is it different from last year's 24-win team without Hu Lin?

The reason is very good, and you Thomas can't say anything, you can only smile and sulk at the same time.

However, this also reflects from the side that Coach Tuo really can't do much in terms of tactics.Finally, after much deliberation, Coach Tuo felt that it was necessary to discuss with someone.Who are you looking for?

Of course I was looking for Lao Hu!
"Dantou, what do you think is the problem with our last game? How can we say we want to win a victory in Canada? Do you have any good ideas?" Called Lao Hu into the room where he lived, and began to ask shamelessly.

Hearing this, Lao Hu was a little flattered, and immediately turned his mind away, thinking: "It seems that this is really a no-brainer, but since people can put down face, we can't do nothing, of course , this thing is not bad for me!"

Thinking of this, Lao Hu didn't hide it anymore, and directly expressed his thoughts, "Actually, the reality is that we can't change at all. Let me tell you, instead of following the opponent's change, it's better for us not to change." Change, how to fight, how to fight."

Doesn't that mean you didn't say anything?Coach Tuo was a little unhappy, "Then let's keep playing like this? Don't you care about watching the Raptors shoot hard?"

In fact, Lao Hu has not finished his sentence, "There is no need to change the style of play, but there are some points that need to be emphasized. Anyway, our defense is the same, and it will not be improved for a while. Why don't we just think of other ways. "

"any solution?"

"Considering the reality, it is unlikely to prevent the opponent's shot. We really don't have anyone to defend against a big man like Bosh shooting from the outside. So, why don't we find a way from other places, my That means, strengthen the rebounding, do a good job at the end of the defense, as long as the opponents are not allowed to grab rebounds, and they are not given more second chances to attack, no matter how high their shooting percentage is, how high can it be?"

This is Lao Hu's method. Unless the Raptors can hit a higher shooting percentage, otherwise, they will definitely not be able to beat the Knicks if they just float outside and shoot.

In fact, in the last game, it was because of the opponent's outside shooting that weakened the strength of the basket, and then the basket was blown up by others, which was the only way to lose.

When Lao Hu said this, Thomas suddenly realized, of course, there was still a faint smile on the surface.

"That's right! It really is 'Dantou', but he has more heart than that guy! Very good, 'Dantou', you can go back first, we will start training later."...

As a result, the Knicks' training in Canada has become a situation where the team mainly protects rebounds and other training is supplemented.

Does this trick really work?Of course, you have to go to the court to try it out, so you don't know.

On the last day of April, the fourth playoff game between the Knicks and the Raptors started on time.

The starting lineups of the two sides have not changed in any way from the previous game, there are still so many players, and the style of play is still the same.

Due to the success of the last game, the Raptors continued the previous tactics and opened the gap from the outside first.

As soon as it came up, the Raptors attacked first. Chris Bosh came to the middle distance, shook twice and shot directly.

Swish!Good start!It seems that 'Dragon King' is in good condition today.

This made Thomas, who was standing off the court, frown slightly. If the Raptors always made shots, then the previous rebounding training would be of little use.

However, Lao Hu doesn't care about these, he still plays the old way, normal tactics, first find Curry.

The Raptors did not send Humphries again this time, that is to say, they did not double-team Curry. Only Nesterovic was the main defense and Bosh assisted in the defense.

This made the 'Little Shark' feel no pressure, played a very easy internal pass with Lao Li, and directly scored two points.

In the next game, the Raptors still fired from the outside. Their purpose was very clear, which was to use this method to shift the Knicks' defensive focus.

It's a pity that this time the Knicks were not fooled, and they still tried their best to defend, but the focus was on rebounding.

Whether you can grab a rebound mainly depends on a person's desire for rebounds.However, this is from a personal point of view. There are many tactical positions in the game, which can protect rebounds.

For example, in the current Knicks, once the opponent shoots from the outside, the inside card position is one aspect, and the protection of the mid-range is also critical.To put it simply, Bosh's shots are usually two 45-degree angles facing the basket in the middle distance, so that after he shoots the basket, he will have the possibility of actively rushing to the rebound. Of course, this is from himself From the point of view of not being able to invest.

In this case, it is necessary to block Bosh's forward route, which requires cooperation.No matter who is going to defend Bosh, they have to open their arms after landing, but this is not enough, and someone needs to help. Basically, this job is handed over to Nate. Robinson, he is like a help defense.However, Nate is facing the basket, because he can better protect the rebound, which is difficult, so it is necessary to adapt the players in training.

As for the positioning of other players, it is natural not to be sloppy, and no one has to show their energy. Of course, if the opponent's awareness of rebounding is not strong, it will be much easier.

What is Lao Hu doing?
This guy is easy, he only needs to stick to the position in front of the basket, to be exact, around the free throw line, as long as he stands there.Because as long as the Raptors shoot, the point guard must be the first to retreat, so as to prevent the opponent from counterattacking. Therefore, Lao Hu has the least effort in the entire rebound defense. Most rebounds.

In this way, the Knicks completely ignored the Raptors' shots. They just insisted on their own style of play, except for strengthening the rebounds, but the effect was very good.

Snapped!Lao Hu grabbed another rebound. Of course, it was better to pick it up.

At this time, it was already the end of the second quarter, and the Knicks had already led their opponents by 52 points 44 to 8.

"This position is really good. This rebound is caught. We guys have a chance for a triple-double today!" Lao Hu has already picked up 7 rebounds near the free throw line, and this is only the first half.

In fact, it's not Hu's luck, but if the rebound doesn't land near the basket and bounces far away, it will usually come near the free throw line, because the 'rebound' is right there.Lao Hu's tactical arrangement is also bad enough, because there are people in this place who often rebound here, and the most famous one is Jason Kidd, who is now in the Nets.

When watching the ball in the previous life, Lao Hu watched carefully. Old Kidd can get so many triple-doubles. Although he has a good body and can fight hard, many of the rebounds are picked up at the free throw line.

boom!Swish!
After the rebound was caught, Lao Hu quickly turned it into a fast break. This time, Nate, who had worked hard, tasted the sweetness and scored two points in a layup.

(End of this chapter)