Game 1 of the Finals was played at Madison Square Garden.
This is the basketball Mecca’s return to the finals stage after 12 years, which is of great significance.
Ballmer will naturally not be absent, and Madison is also star-studded.
As in history, most viewers are optimistic about the Knicks winning the championship, because the Mavericks seem to have missed something along the way.
But after the game started, fans quickly discovered that the Mavericks really didn't rely on luck.
Kidd, Stevenson, Marion, Nowitzki, Chandler.
Except for Nowitzki, everyone else in this lineup is a strong defensive player, and their help defense rotation is very fast.
So since the game started, the Mavericks have been in a stalemate with the Knicks.
However, after halfway through the first quarter, the situation on the field began to change.
Perhaps it was because of his confidence in the Eastern Conference Finals that James began to use his back to target Kidd.
Although he has lost weight, James' body shape is still that of a small forward.
Think about why "Magic" Johnson became the most dominant point guard, because he always played out of position.
Compared with small forward, point guard is the position that can best utilize James' advantages.
Moreover, James' basketball IQ is indeed high, and his post-up play is not static most of the time.
For example, James quickly advanced to the frontcourt with the ball. Taking advantage of the Mavericks' defensive footing, he leaned his back against Kidd, then turned around and shot backward.
It's a bit like Kobe's style of play, but with a faster offensive pace.
Moreover, the changes brought about by weight loss are also obvious. His movements look very smooth and have good stability.
These details are presented to Lin Ying. The most intuitive feeling is that James is playing very much like the 2011~2012 season in history.
With his outstanding efficiency that season, James won the regular season MVP for the third time in four years.
With back-fighting, you can play more proactively and with confidence.
And all of this seems to be the same as what the Suns have experienced this season, and there are traces to follow.
Because unlike in history, he has entered more Finals, especially when he was swept by the Suns last season, which caused a big change in James' mentality.
Therefore, after being defeated by the Suns in the new season, he will take the initiative to learn post-up reinforcement techniques in advance.
Or you can understand it another way: what James experienced in history when he faced the Mavericks in the 2011 Finals, he has now experienced it in the 2010 Finals against the Suns.
Therefore, the changes he showed in the 2012 Finals in history are now shown in advance in the 2011 Finals!
That's right, it's one year in advance. This year has a huge impact on the balance of victory and defeat!
In addition, the Knicks' role players are stronger than the Heat's role players, and the Knicks' overall playing temperament is not inferior to that of the Mavericks.
So unlike in history when the Mavericks grabbed the Heat's Big Three and beat them up, the Knicks were obviously stronger in this matchup, or at least evenly matched.
Then what you need to look at is the details of the game and the adjustments.
After the first game, 103 to 93, the Knicks took the lead at home.
Although Nowitzki scored 28 points efficiently on 11 of 20 shots, they did not restrict James' performance. The latter had a near-triple double with 35 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
It is worth mentioning that of the 35 points James scored, 10 were obtained through shots after hitting the back.
This put a lot of defensive pressure on the Mavericks.
Under this premise, the famous scene of James hitting Barea from behind will probably never happen.
After watching the first game, Lin Ying felt that the Knicks had great hopes of winning this year.
After two days of truce, G2 continued to play.
In this game, Carlisle showed his ability to adjust as a top coach.
He used a 2-3 zone defense at the beginning, and it was similar to the Suns' strategy against the Knicks in the Christmas Day game, pointing the zone defense arrow at James.
Even down to the details, Carlisle did not use Kidd to lead the defense, but used Marion.
Obviously, the goal is to push James' shot to the mid-range or even beyond.
After all, although James has increased his post-up play, his outside shooting is not stable enough.
This trick was indeed very effective. James' score dropped significantly compared to the first game, and he only scored 18 points in the end.
However, doing so means letting Wade score.
As a result, Wade scored 32 points and led the team... unfortunately losing to the Mavericks 103-110.
The Mavericks team exploded tonight.
Carlisle's adjustment is only one aspect. More importantly, the Mavericks shot nearly 60% from the field, which was a big difference.
After watching the second scene, Lin Ying couldn't help but think for a while.
If the Knicks and Mavericks can still win, then this Mavericks team is really stronger than he imagined, and much better.
Then back at home in Dallas, the Knicks defeated the Mavericks 113-93.
Lin Ying: You are pulling and jumping over and over again!
However, after actually watching the game, Lin Ying discovered some details.
The Knicks have made new adjustments.
James spent the first three quarters assisting Wade!
Although his final statistics were 28 points, 7 rebounds and 13 assists, which was only 2 points less than Wade, 10 of them were obtained in garbage time in the last quarter.
This is where data sometimes deceives people. If you don’t watch the game and only look at the statistics, the third brother will be truly invincible.
This time, Lin Ying did not express his emotion that the Knicks were stable.
Then after G4, the Knicks won the game again.
This game was very intense and thrilling. The Mavericks played tenaciously in the face of adversity and once stretched the point difference to double digits.
But the Knicks never gave up. After the fierce battle into the fourth quarter, the Mavericks began to have some physical problems.
Kidd, in particular, made consecutive passing errors on the offensive end and was caught by the Knicks to counterattack.
The final score of 106 to 102 also showed how thrilling the game was.
3 to 1.
Looking at this score, Lin Ying really felt that the Knicks were stable this time.
To be honest, James did not play in the back this year in history, and he did not dare to play at critical moments. He is really not worthy of the championship.
But now James has changed so much, and his changes have also caused a huge change in the Knicks' momentum. It is really difficult for the Mavericks to win.
Before the G5 game, a bigger piece of bad news for Mavericks fans was that Nowitzki had a fever.
This is something that has happened in history.
Even though he was sick, Nowitzki still scored 22 points.
The meaning of the word "spirit" in basketball games has also been reflected again.
Under his leadership, the rest of the Mavericks fought hard and defeated the Knicks 101-95, bringing the score to 2-3!
Then after this game, Lin Ying was also paying attention to the news about the Knicks.
Because after this incident in history, James and the others created a coughing scandal, which directly made everyone on the Mavericks full of anger.
But, no.
Being swept last year really made him mature a lot.
This is also reasonable.
In history, after being defeated by the Mavericks, James seemed to have matured on and off the court in one summer.
The saying "Failure is the mother of success" makes sense for a person who is willing to work hard and change.
G6, back at home in New York, the two teams played an ups and downs game.
The Knicks started with great momentum and once established a 15+ lead.
But the Mavericks, led by Nowitzki, chased points all the way and tied the score before the end of the third quarter.
At the decisive moment of the fourth quarter, James found his outside touch and made two consecutive three-pointers from the outside to help the Knicks gain a key lead.
That ultimately allowed the Knicks to win the game 96-91, defeating the Mavericks 4-2 with a total score of 4-2 to win the 2010~2011 NBA championship!
When the final whistle blew, the entire Madison Square Garden fell into a carnival.
He reached the finals again after 12 years and won the NBA championship trophy again after 38 years!
A large number of Knicks fans were in tears.
The feeling of climbing out of the mire and reaching the top again cannot be described in words.
Even some big names in New York were so excited that they couldn't help themselves.
This is a historic moment for New York basketball.
On the court, James couldn't control his emotions and cried bitterly while holding Wade.
He has been under tremendous pressure since he was swept last year, and his choice of team formation has also been met with a lot of infamy.
So at the moment when he won the championship, he couldn't contain his emotions at all.
Wade was also very excited, but at this moment he was patting James on the shoulder more like a big brother.
After all, he can be considered someone who has been there.
At this time, the most exciting person on the Knicks was Bosh. Wearing black braces, he waved his arms, and his long arms kept roaring like a dragon, echoing the cheers of the New York fans at the scene.
By the time of the award ceremony, James' emotions had been adjusted and he was holding the championship trophy high with indescribable excitement.
In the subsequent FMVP selection, James was successfully elected as the Finals MVP by averaging 27.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7 assists per game.
During his acceptance speech, James lost control of his emotions again and choked up as he thanked many people.
And at the end, he also made some processing on what he said to the media before.
"What I will bring to New York is not one championship, but two or three, but seven!"
This passage once again ignited the emotions of New York fans.
This year's championship is New York's third championship trophy in history, if James can really say what he did.
Then New York will surpass Chicago in the number of championships, second only to Boston and Los Angeles!
Especially in the FMVP speech, fans fully believed that James had the opportunity to accomplish these things.
Surpass Jordan and become the best basketball player in history?
why not!
It is worth mentioning that when James was celebrating with the fans after his speech, Wade poured champagne on his knee while sitting on the bench.
This man who gave the league a meniscus seems to be thanking his "old friend" in this way.
On this day, New York became a city that never sleeps, with fans partying in bars and even on the streets.
James even directly invited the entire team to the largest strip club in New York.
New York, a place of luxury, is destined to not be peaceful on nights like this.
…
Early the next morning, the North American media seemed to be going crazy.
A large number of media began to report the news of the Knicks winning the championship.
ESPN, the media that collaborated with James to launch "Decision 1," reported the most and the most exaggerated news.
"This is one of the greatest and most influential championships in NBA history, and James is also one of the most valuable FMVPs!"
"For the first time in NBA history, a player threatens Michael Jordan's status. We are about to witness the birth of a new GOTA!"
…
The media's campaign is just the tip of the iceberg. What's even more exaggerated is the reaction of online fans.
James has the largest fan base in North America after Kobe Bryant, and this moment is also a collective climax.
"The strength of the Mavericks is seriously underestimated. Nowitzki played the best season of his career."
"Yes, but LeBron still defeated them. As ESPN said, this is one of the most valuable championships in the NBA!"
"What's more important is that this is just the beginning. Look at LeBron's age, they will dominate the league for at least ten years!"
"Yes, LeBron will only be 35 years old in ten years. Looking at Jordan's state at the age of 35, I think seven championships reflect LeBron's humility!"
"Yes, yes, LeBron can still become stronger. His two key three-pointers in G6 show that he still has room for improvement!"
"It is already unstoppable for LeBron to surpass Jordan. Now we just have to see how long it will take to achieve it. We are lucky to be born in this era!"
…
It was lively and lively outside, and Lin Ying also felt a little emotional.
Of course, it's not what those fans brag about, but the Knicks' championship and the impact of the Mavericks' failure to win the championship.
The Knicks, like the Celtics, can win the championship as a team, and they are indeed young. This will put tremendous pressure on other teams!
Teams that are determined to win the championship will inevitably invest more.
For example, the Mavericks, the crazy Cuban will make even crazier moves this summer.
Another example is the Lakers. Their determination to change will become even greater.
And some other teams that have the potential to compete for the championship may give up under this background and enter reconstruction in advance.
At the same time, this will naturally put great pressure on the league and Stern.
Some things that shouldn't happen may happen.
Pull one hair and move the whole body.
The emergence of this champion will change too many things.
Or to put it another way, the root of all this comes from his time travel.
As he travels through more and more time, history has moved in a completely different direction!
Of course, those are things in the future. After the finals, he focused all his attention on special training.
Grover also asked Lin Ying to find a tool man.
Because both Allen and Holiday were involved, Lin Ying finally found Jimmy Butler.
Butler is also very happy.
As mentioned before, he got more opportunities in the Nets, but his defensive ability did not improve much.
So he is still looking forward to this opportunity.
Although his wingspan is average, his confrontational spirit and defensive awareness are very good, and he can be regarded as a qualified tool player.
And Lin Ying discovered something during this training, Butler has become his little fan.
This is understandable, after all, the seniors have trained together, and then fmvp, and even made it from scratch. Who else is more suitable to be his idol than Lin Ying?
Lin Ying's training speed was also much faster than Grover expected.
The profession of data analyst in his previous life has provided him with invisible help many times.
Originally, Grover's expectation for Lin Ying was to master the first step of breakthrough this summer, and then use the new season to master the pull-up jump shot.
But if the current progress continues, Lin Ying will be able to master at least one and a half.
Chapter completed!