The away game ended and the Knicks returned to New York that day.
The next day, they gathered as usual. It wasn't that Lionel Hollins didn't give them a day off, but that one day later, they had to face the next opponent.
Early in the morning, when Hollins arrived, the locker room was still empty. Even Lin Yu, who always arrived early, was a little late.
There was no other way. After returning to New York yesterday, it was too late. Even Lin Yu needed more time to rest.
But even after resting for a while, Lin Yu was still the first to arrive from the Knicks team. As soon as he arrived, he saw Hollins sorting out a pile of newspapers and magazines.
"Today's report?"
Lin Yu could guess what Hollins was organizing without looking at it. Hollins also smiled: "This is the last step. Believe me, Lin, you will see a hard-working and striving performance in the stadium."
Victorious Zach Randolph."
Lin Yu just patted Hollins on the back, but this move expressed that he already believed in Hollins.
Hollins is more professional than him in training Randolph.
Soon, everyone arrived, and Hollins announced the start of training, but threw the pile of newspapers and magazines he had compiled to Randolph.
Lin Yu had scanned Randolph before he came. Unlike after the home game against the Raptors, after this away game against the Raptors, Randolph was mentioned countless times.
"With internal and external strength, the Knicks defeated the Raptors again and won their third consecutive victory."
"Zach Randolph scored 26 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block. He suppressed Chris Bosh and completed his revenge on the road."
"Randolph hats Bosh and washes away the shame of being bombed in the previous battle."
"With a combined score of 55 points, Zach Randolph has become Lin Yu's biggest helper."
"..."
Lin Yu didn't know how Randolph would react after seeing these reports, but he confirmed that what Randolph needed was not so-called playing time or data (although he valued data), but recognition.
Although he had the memories of his previous life, Lin Yu still had some things he didn't know. For example, the reason why Zach Randolph changed his mind after joining the Grizzlies was because Randolph felt that he had been treated well in Memphis.
The Knicks treated him like garbage, and he also felt that he was a cancer. But when he arrived in Memphis, the Grizzlies boss personally picked him up, and the Grizzlies management and coaching staff also regarded him as the core of the reconstruction.
This inspired Zach Randolph's fighting spirit. Of course, it was just fighting spirit. On the court, he began to realize his talents. Off the court, he was still a jerk.
#
After two games against the Raptors, February has come to an end, and the Knicks only have two games left to play, one at home against the Bobcats and one away against the Hawks.
Just be careful when playing the Bobcats at home, winning won't be a problem.
You have to pay attention to the away game against the Hawks. The Hawks are currently the top eight goalkeepers in the Eastern Conference. Although the record is the worst among the top eight, the paper strength of the lineup is not weak at all.
The leader Joe Johnson's pure strength is not much worse than Lin Yu, and forward Josh Smith has also made significant progress this season, plus Al Horford in the interior, Marvin Williams in the forward, and just from
The Kings traded for Mike Bibby.
The overall strength of the Eagles is already approaching that of the top teams, but what they lack may be experience.
Lin Yu's later memories also proved this. In the next few years, surrounding Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Al Horford, the Hawks improved year after year, and at their peak they even ranked first in the league in the regular season.
But now, they do lack some experience.
Lin Yu's goal is to win these two games. He wants to win five consecutive games at the end of February. With this five-game winning streak, the Cavaliers' record will reach 21 wins and 37 losses.
In order to achieve this goal, the Knicks are also using the period at the end of February to continuously improve themselves and make various fine-tunings to past tactics.
The first is the offensive adjustment proposed by Lionel Hollins. He saw the power of Lin Yu and Randolph's pick-and-roll in the previous game against the Raptors.
He hoped that the Knicks could increase this type of cooperation, but unfortunately, the two assistant coaches brought by Hollins focused on defense and had little involvement in offense. He could only ask for help from the Knicks' original offensive coach.
The Knicks' original offensive coach was Duff Hopla, but Hopla was also a part-time coach. His job was as an assistant coach responsible for various chores. This kind of assistant is called a coordinating assistant.
Without a qualified offensive coach, Hollins had no choice but to bite the bullet and do it himself if he wanted to add some pick-and-roll coordination.
But he couldn't get what he wanted after adjusting it again and again.
In desperation, Hollins could only find Steve Mills and asked to find an assistant coach who would focus on offense.
Lin Yu also found Hollins at this time. He hoped that the team could make some tactical changes for him. When he heard that Hollins was looking for an assistant coach who would focus on offense, Lin Yu thought of one.
The man—future championship coach Nick Nurse.
But he didn't know how to say it, because he didn't know where Nick Nurse was now. He couldn't say. He knew a coach named Nick Nurse who was quite accomplished in offense, but he just didn't know this guy.
Where have you gone?
After thinking about it, Lin Yu gave up the idea of recommending Nick Nurse as the Knicks' new offensive coach.
Lin Yu waited for a while until Hollins and Steve Smith finished communicating before he explained his purpose.
"That's it, Leon, I have an idea about the team's tactics. You can choose to listen or not."
Lin Yu said it tactfully. He didn't want to antagonize Hollins by interfering in the team's tactics.
But Hollins expressed his understanding that in the NBA, it is very common for stars to make tactical demands, and he responded with a willingness to listen.
"I hope our center can stay in more positions when fighting for rebounds instead of directly fighting for them."
"More card slots, no fighting for them?"
Hollins was very puzzled and looked at Lin Yu doubtfully, and Lin Yu had to explain.
"Counterattack, by doing this, we can counterattack faster. If the inside is stuck and does not fight for it, it will leave the space for the defender to grab the rebound. It will be easier for the defender to rush for the rebound with the help of the inside player."
"Unlike the inside grabbing rebounds, the defender can grab the rebounds and directly advance the counterattack."
Hollins nodded, and at the end of Lin Yu's words, he raised his hand: "But, Lin, our tactics are based on defense, and slow-paced offense is our normal style of play."
"I know that there is no conflict between slow-paced offense and counterattack. From a certain perspective, counterattack is an offensive method that is independent of various offensive systems. It can help us score more easily. In today's world where defense is the main focus, counterattack is an offensive method that is independent of various offensive systems.
In this era, once this kind of scoring method can pose a threat, it will help us improve our strength to a higher level."
Lin Yu tried hard to persuade, but Hollins quickly made a decision, seemingly without hesitation: "Then let's give it a try."
The reason why Hollins is so decisive is that this guy believes that the remaining games of the Knicks this season are not important, and it is better to use them to try something new. If they succeed, the Knicks will be stronger next season.
