During the period when Lin Yu joined the Knicks, the Knicks' schedule was very loose, with only one game occurring every two, three, or even three to four days.
Therefore, all the new players are in place for this away game against the Wizards.
Lionel Hollins' tactical class has been going on for a few days. The Knicks players have already had a general understanding of Hollins' tactical concepts and are in the running-in stage.
The opponent in this game, the Wizards, happens to be a typical second-tier team in the league. When all members are healthy, they can be considered a powerful team in the Eastern Conference. This is an opportunity to prove the strength of the New Knicks.
At the same time, the Wizards are ranked seventh in the Eastern Conference. If the Knicks set their goal for the playoffs, this game is equivalent to two wins.
However, the Knicks failed to seize the opportunity.
It has nothing to do with winning or losing the game. What Lin Yu cares about is that the Knicks failed to play the tactical coordination they expected from beginning to end, and Hollins' tactical concept was not implemented. During a certain period of the game, the brush was still
The original shape has emerged.
At the end of the game, the Knicks finally lost this somewhat crucial game 97:108.
"The Knicks have ended their winning streak. It seems that the coaching change and continuous transactions have had some impact on them. I hope they can solve these problems as soon as possible."
The commentator didn't say much, and didn't seem to want to judge the Knicks too much for this defeat.
The New York media are different. They seem to want to use this game to directly deny the Knicks' recent coaching changes and trade operations.
The New York Times stated:
"In this away game against the Wizards, the Knicks faced their opponents with a new lineup after the trade, and with new coach Lionel Hollins at the helm, we can see some clues from this game."
"The work of new coach Hollins has not yet paid off, at least in this game. We only saw some simple pick-and-roll cooperation, and Lin got an easy scoring opportunity, but other than that, there seemed to be no more
A lot has changed.”
"In addition to the new coach, there are new players. Kyle Lowry provides a stronger defense at the first position, but we failed to find the other two points Lin mentioned from him, three-pointers and organizational ability. Both styles focus on defense.
The new centers, Nazr Mohammed and Kwame Brown, were introduced to improve defense, but in this game, the team's interior defense was still a mess."
"Perhaps we can already claim that the transfer operations after acquiring Lin, Manager Lin and Steve Mills were failures. Let's not mention the new coach for the time being. In terms of new players, we also put aside Aaron McGee who cannot play. Not to mention, Kyle Lowry’s defense is worse than Nate’s, but his offense is far inferior to Nate’s.”
"The two centers failed to perform as effectively as they should. Overall, the Knicks lost a valuable first-rounder in the transaction, but did not receive the improvement they deserved."
"Give the power of transfer to one player. This time, James Dolan got away with it again!"
James Dolan wanted to shout: It’s unfair!
He really didn't hand over the transfer power to Lin Yu. However, as soon as Lin Yu arrived in New York, he acted too strongly and pushed forward these two transactions involuntarily.
Looking at it now, these two transactions were indeed not successful.
Within the Knicks, Lionel Hollins and Lin Yu also saw this analysis report by the New York Times.
Different from the analysis of the New York Times, Hollins and Lin Yu agreed that the Knicks' loss to the Wizards had nothing to do with the new players, but another problem.
"The problem lies with Zach. He didn't invest much energy on the defensive end. Our defensive system could not be formed and was directly destroyed by Antoine Jamison."
In a meeting between the team's top management, coaches and the core of the team, Lionel Hollins spread his hands. As the head coach, he knew the reason for the team's loss best.
Lin Yu nodded. He also agreed with Hollins, but he added one more point: "It's not only a matter of defense, but also an issue of ball distribution. In the third quarter, when the score was still tied, Zach kept clapping for the ball.
, he always stood in the waist position, and our offense was also affected. He wanted the ball, and I could only pass it to him a few times. As a result, his singles were very reluctant and he missed many offensive opportunities."
"This guy has always been like this, a trouble off the court and a cancer on the court."
Dave Hopla lamented that such a cancerous brush is one of Isiah Thomas' masterpieces. Steve Mills smiled bitterly: "How about trading him?"
Lin Yu refused: "No, if he is willing to play honestly, he will be my biggest helper. Let's keep him first and let Leon try to train him and see if he can be brought back."
On track.”
Hollins nodded: "Lin is right, give it a try."
"Training? It's not like Isiah hasn't tried it before. It's too difficult." Steve Mills shook his head, as if he didn't think much of Hollins.
Lin Yu thought for a while: "Next time, if he doesn't defend, just replace him and don't let him play. With such a data brush, he should be very concerned about the time of playing."
Hollins continued to nod: "I'll give it a try."
#
After playing the Wizards game, the New Orleans All-Star Weekend begins.
Lin Yu is going to participate, and among the Knicks, Lin Yu is the only one participating in this All-Star Weekend. If Lin Yu had not joined, the Knicks would even have the dilemma of having no one attend this All-Star Weekend.
This team, located in the largest city in the United States, has been really miserable in recent years.
Because of the transfers, transactions, and worries about the Knicks' future during this period, Lin Yu did not sign up for more All-Star events. He would only participate in the All-Star game.
Therefore, for him, he will be more leisurely during this All-Star weekend.
Taking advantage of this free time, Lin Yu thought deeply about the Knicks' playoff hopes this season.
After losing to the Wizards, the Knicks' record before the All-Star Weekend was set, with 16 wins and 37 losses, ranking second in the Eastern Conference, only better than the Heat when Wade was injured for the season and Shaq left for Phoenix.
After the All-Star break, the Knicks have 29 games left in the regular season.
The playoff competition in the Eastern Conference is not fierce. Taking last season as an example, a winning rate of close to 50% can lock in a playoff spot.
This season compared to last season, the gap between the strong teams and the weak teams in the Eastern Conference is even greater. There are many top teams, such as the Celtics, Cavaliers and Magic, but there are very few first-class teams. Only the Pistons can be considered a first-class team.
, and then there are various second-rate teams, such as the Wizards, Raptors, 76ers, and Hawks.
Therefore, the competition in the Eastern Conference this season is smaller, and the winning rate required for eighth place in the Eastern Conference will be lower.
However, Lin Yu still limited a winning rate of 48.8%. As a reference, this is a winning rate value he derived from summarizing the previous two seasons.
In the 2005/06 season, the Bucks, who were eighth in the Eastern Conference, had a winning rate of 48.8%, and in the 2006/07 season, the Magic, who were eighth in the Eastern Conference, also had this winning rate.
Starting from this winning rate, it means that in the remaining games of the season, the Knicks can only lose a maximum of 5 games, that is, 29 games. They must achieve a record of 24 wins and 5 losses.
This is a relatively conservative estimate. Maybe he can lose a few more games, but Lin Yu doesn't want to leave too big a bottom line for himself.
Let’s take a look at the opponents in the remaining schedule.
There were 11 games against direct opponents, including one game against the 76ers, three games against the Raptors, games against the Pacers, Nets, Hawks, etc.
This is a good thing for Lin Yu, because as long as the Knicks win these games, one victory is equal to two wins.
There are four games against the top teams, namely the Celtics, Mavericks, Spurs and Magic. Here, it is not good news, because the probability of losing in these four games is too high, and Lin Yu
As long as there is room for losing five games, including the four games here, he only has one left.
Except for these 15 games, the remaining opponents are mostly weak teams in the lottery. Although they are not a threat, they cannot be careless.
In general, in this schedule at the end of the season, 11 games must be won. Four games against strong teams must be won, and one or two games must be won with all one's strength. The games against weak teams in the lottery area must also be won.
