In this away game against the 76ers, everything went smoothly, which was a bit too much.
In addition to a victory, Lin Yu also discovered the appearance of the phrase "Board Man" in post-match media reports and sporadic discussions on the Reddit forum.
"The backboard man's plot should be fast..."
There was too little discussion to create a meme effect. Lin Yu guessed that he only needed to create a little topic about this, and the "Backboard Man" meme would be ready.
This is a Kawhi Leonard meme, and it is not very popular, but at least one time-sensitive item cannot escape, and the value of stealing it is still quite high.
After this victory, the Knicks will play against the Raptors in two consecutive games, first at home and then away.
These two games are also extremely critical, because at this time, the Raptors are ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference, with a record of around 50% winning rate, and they are also direct competitors on Lin Yu's path to the playoffs.
The first game was held at the Madison Square Garden Arena. From the perspective of Cleveland's Lin Yu, this Raptors is a bit like his and LeBron's RBQ, which can be manipulated at will, because it is too soft and weak. It needs to be a little stronger.
, the Raptors couldn't stand it anymore.
But when he switched to the Knicks, Lin Yu found that the Raptors seemed a bit stronger.
In the first quarter of the game, Chris Bosh used his continuous mid-range singles to open up a gap from Randolph's side.
Soon, Bosh and Lin Yu formed a rivalry, a bit like a duel between leading stars.
Lin Yu tried to seek confrontation, but he did not get the whistle. Lionel Hollins seemed to be right about this.
Even if the league takes care of him, it cannot take care of him every time.
Without a whistle, Lin Yu's consecutive scoring failed to give the Knicks the lead. After the first quarter of the game, the Knicks and Raptors achieved a score of 28:29. The away Raptors even scored
Lead by 1 point.
Difficult, too difficult!
Lin Yu had his hands on his hips. In this quarter, he relied on high shots, taking as many as 13 shots, scoring 6 goals and 16 points, plus 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. It was already a superb performance.
Already.
Lin Yu couldn't last long with such a performance, because the physical energy consumption was too huge.
During the break, Lionel Hollins emphasized defense and looked at Zach Randolph from time to time.
In the first quarter of the game, Randolph's defense was completely overwhelmed by Bosh, but on the offensive end, Fatty Lan still made some contributions. This guy made 3 of 6 shots and scored 7 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. He and
Lin Yu almost accounted for all the Knicks' points in the first quarter.
"This guy is a double-edged sword. He has offense but no defense. He still needs training. Let's see what Leon does."
After the new coach took office, Lin Yu no longer interfered with the team's formation.
But before that, he had an exchange with Hollins: If Fatty Lan didn't defend, he would just put him on the bench. At that time, Hollins agreed to this proposal.
But now, Lin Yu couldn't be sure that Hollins would do this, because the break time had passed, and Hollins still let Randolph come on to lead the bench and spend the substitute rotation time when Lin Yu was not present.
On the court, Randolph took the lead for a while, and the score increased alternately, and then the Raptors unknowingly widened the score gap.
By the time Hollins replaced Lin Yu, the Raptors had already taken a 6-point lead.
Lin Yu came on the scene and made a powerful effort, scoring two goals in four offensive rounds and adding an assist, instantly closing the score gap to 2 points.
After that, Randolph, who had just rested for more than two minutes, reappeared.
What his appearance did to the Knicks was that Lin Yu needed to take care of this guy on the offensive end and pass a few balls to him, but the offense stagnated a bit.
Then on the defensive end, Bosh, who was severely restricted by Renaldo Backman, who played as a guest at the fourth position, broke out again, scoring two consecutive mid-range singles, both of which scored goals.
Lin Yu was about to go on a rampage to help the Knicks take the lead, but the Raptors relied on Bosh's explosion to stabilize the situation.
The game went on like this anxiously until halftime.
"At the end of the half, China Lin continued his outstanding personal performance. At the end of the half, he had scored 21 points, and also had 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals."
"But on the other side, Chris Bosh, who was in great form in this game, also scored 23 points higher than China Lin at halftime, plus 6 rebounds and 1 block. He and China Lin competed successfully.
This turned the game into a tug-of-war.”
At the end of the half, Bosh was considered the second most powerful forward in the Eastern Conference. On the Knicks side, Lin Yu was quite dissatisfied with the score. If this game continues, the Knicks will ultimately suffer.
Because Lin Yu's firepower is difficult to maintain all the time, and his physical fitness is close to the limit. If there was not a 15-minute intermission, he would have greatly reduced his playing time and shots in the first half.
Physical fitness was already an urgent issue before Lin Yu.
During the halftime break, Lin Yu had an expressionless face. He had already experienced the difficulty of leading a team alone. Regarding the second half, he had a plan:
They played briefly in the third quarter to ensure that there were no problems. After resting in the second half of the quarter to recharge their batteries, Hollins was allowed to cooperate with him in the fourth quarter and put on a defensive-oriented lineup.
The so-called emphasis on defense means eliminating Randolph and using Backman or Wilson Chandler as a guest at the fourth position.
Teammates defended, Lin Yu ensured that the offensive firepower could be continued, and in the decisive moment of the fourth quarter, a wave of victory was achieved.
However, Hollins seems to have other ideas——
In the locker room, all the players were seated, and the team staff began to get busy. Some players needed to change protective gear, and some players needed to use the halftime break to apply ice to some easily strained parts.
Lin Yu asked for a piece of ice and put it on his ankle.
Hollins quickly pushed open the door and entered, holding a notebook and taking pictures, attracting everyone's attention.
"Okay, guys, the first half of the game is over. We performed very well and successfully made the game extremely exciting. Even if Lin scored 21 points at halftime, he couldn't help us take the lead. It's great.
Already."
Because his name was mentioned, Lin Yu raised his head, looked at Hollins attentively and said sarcastic words.
Immediately afterwards, Hollins called out Zach Randolph:
"Zach, what level of player do you think you are in this league?"
Zach Randolph looked up. When he heard this question, he seemed to have directly guessed Hollins' intention, so he sneered: "A toxic player."
His face was filled with an expression of "Are you satisfied with my answer?"
Hollins shook his head: "No, Zach, you are not a cancer, or to be more precise, you can be a cancer, or you can be an All-Star power forward. In between, you can take a step
One step, a back and forth across, it all depends on how you choose."
"If you want to be a cancer, and continue to let players like Chris Bosh score 30+, 40+ points over your head, you will naturally become a cancer."
"And if you want to be an All-Star power forward like Chris Bosh, you just have to do one thing, play your defense."
Randolph still only sneered.
Hollins immediately changed his approach: "How big a gap do you think there is between you and Chris Bosh? Do you think it is a probability event or an inevitable event that he beats you up?"
Randolph didn't answer.
Hollins continued: "Based on the data, you are both power forwards averaging 20+10 points per game, but he is an All-Star and you are not. Why is that?"
This time, Randolph finally answered: "Because my team can't win."
"Why can't we win?"
"Hey Leon, I know what you're trying to say. You're trying to tell me that I have to be defensive. Of course I know that, but I won't do it because I don't like being pushed to do things I don't like.
."
Randolph seemed to be impatient with the series of questions. Lin Yu stood up. He was not happy with Randolph's words and wanted to join the battle group.
But Hollins waved his hand to stop Lin Yu, and still looked at Randolph: "Zach, what I want to tell you is not to tell you to be defensive, but I think that if you want to, you can be very good.
You have the ability to defend easily."
"I also believe in you. As long as you are willing to devote some energy to the defensive end, you will become a better power forward than Chris Bosh, because he is a softie and you are not."
"But if you are unwilling to defend well, you will be even more weak than him!"
Lin Yu frowned, and he found that Hollins' words seemed a bit like encouraging Randolph.