The next day, in the evening, the Madison Square Garden Arena was brightly lit, and the Knicks played back-to-back games against the Spurs.
This end-of-season game seemed to be a regular season game that had nothing to do with rankings. There was no dispute before the game. The biggest comment was when Popovich asked a reporter: In last season’s finals, Lin Yu almost single-handedly defeated the Spurs.
Does Povich think Lin Yu is a Spurs killer?
Popovich's response was: "Spurs killer? You have given many people the title Spurs killer, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady... But in my opinion, there are not that many Spurs."
Killer, one series can't prove anything..."
In other words, Popovich looks down on Lin Yu.
But he didn't say this directly, so no matter how much the media hyped it, it couldn't make any money.
Lin Yu didn't care much about Popovich's remarks. No matter how low the opponent looked down on him, it couldn't change the fact that the Cavaliers won the championship in 2007 and Lin Yu was the Finals MVP.
Of course, he didn't care about Popovich's remarks. On the other hand, it was also because his mind was not on these pre-game remarks. For Lin Yu, there were too many things to pay attention to in this game.
For example, he wants a victory.
For another example, in the regular season in March, after the Knicks added a handicap tactic, his number of rebounds increased sharply. Seeing that the "Rebound Man" plot was about to be achieved, this game was considered a top priority.
In the locker room before the game, Lionel Hollins did not pay too much attention to this game. Like the media reporters and ball commentators outside, he did not believe that the Knicks could have a bad record before the All-Star Game.
reversed the situation and entered the playoffs.
Therefore, these games at the end of the season are regarded by Hollins as training opportunities. Building a complete system around Lin Yu and Zach Randolph, who is gradually finding himself, is what he should do at this moment.
For this reason, after Hollins completed the routine adjustments before the game, he announced that the defensive positions and matchups for this game would remain unchanged, and Lin Yu raised his hand.
"Lin, do you have anything to add?"
It can be heard from this question that Hollins knows very well who is in charge of the Knicks. He respects Lin Yu's opinion very much. He added it once. Obviously, as long as Lin Yu proposes an adjustment that is not too outrageous, he will
Agree directly.
"Let Renaldo guard the Spurs' second position, and I'll guard Bruce Bowen."
Lin Yu proposed to switch defenses, and Hollins was slightly surprised, because Lin Yu was not switching to a stronger opponent, but a weaker opponent.
Although he was surprised, Hollins quickly understood that Lin Yu wanted to devote all his energy to the offensive end.
But he didn't understand it thoroughly enough. Not only did Lin Yu have to put all his energy into the offensive end, but in this game, he was also going to learn from the Turtles and do whatever it took to get rebounds.
Hollins readily agreed to Lin Yu's proposal, and in this game, Hollins chose to start with the more powerful Renaldo Backman. Originally, he wanted Backman to defend more inside and assist Lan.
Dov deals with Duncan.
Now, Hollins can only let the center participate in the defense of Duncan.
Overall, the Knicks' tactics have not changed much. They are still Hollins' defensive system, plus the pick-and-roll offense of Lin Yu and Zach Randolph.
The infield of the Madison Square Garden Arena was packed with fans, with warm cheers and a fiery atmosphere. Both the home team and the away team had already taken the field.
After the warm-up, the game will begin.
Lin Yu, however, was still wearing a heavy training jacket and stood in front of the technical stage.
Then, he suddenly opened his training jacket and threw it off, and with a lunge, he stood on the technical platform.
The staff behind the technical stage hurriedly leaned back, and cheers suddenly erupted in the arena.
Especially behind the technical stage, Knicks fans cheered for joy, and some fans even made moves to worship, which was really crazy.
In this madness, Lin Yu waved his arms vigorously and kept rising, and the home fans also kept cheering.
"A unique opening ceremony that fully interacted with the fans. China Lin enjoyed the cheers of the audience. This seemed to be the first time he had performed such an opening ceremony. Before that, he had only seen LeBron James perform a similar opening ceremony in the Cavaliers.
The opening ceremony of magnesium powder..."
"Perhaps the change is just because he finally came to a team of his own. In this way, he told all New York fans and everyone that this is his place!"
In the commentary box almost one meter away, Kenny Smith pretended to be calm and explained Lin Yu's opening ceremony.
But in fact, Lin Yu didn't think so much. He was just planning to steal a meme related to the opening ceremony, just like LeBron James: I have matured and will no longer perform boring rituals like throwing magnesium powder;
I can't wait to resume this ritual in the new season.
Now, he is just laying the groundwork.
After the opening ceremony, the effect was remarkable and the atmosphere in the Madison Square Garden Arena was warm.
When the two teams started playing, Lin Yu started shaking hands and hugging his opponents again.
Even though Lin Yu made a series of opening moves, Duncan remained expressionless. After hugging Lin Yu blankly, he stood opposite Kwame Brown.
In this game, as reported before the game, Tony Parker was absent, and the Spurs started with Damon Stoudamire, shooting guard Manu Ginobili, small forward Bruce Bowen, and Big Spurs.
Forward Duncan, center Fabricio Oberto.
For the Knicks, point guard Lowry, shooting guard Lin Yu, small forward Renaldo Backman, power forward Randolph, and center Kwame Brown.
As soon as the referee's whistle blew, Kwame Brown took a step ahead of Duncan and moved the basketball to his own half. Lowry took a step back and got the basketball.
Lowry quickly advanced to the frontcourt with the ball, and then handed the ball to Lin Yu immediately.
At a 45-degree angle on the left, Lin Yu faced Bruce Bowen's defense.
He and Bowen are also old rivals. They watch Bowen grow older year after year. This year, Bowen is so old that he has almost lost his job: defense.
With Lin Yu's current state and strength, there is no need to take Bowen seriously.
He chose to use a behind-the-back dribble change, swaying Bruce Bowen away from the right side, and reached near the free throw line.
Duncan's defense expanded outwards and forced him directly.
Lin Yu, however, directly passed the ball to the ground, bypassing Duncan and passing it to Zach Randolph, who cut in immediately.
When Randolph catches the ball, it's a throw, blah!
The basketball hit the net, and at the beginning, the Knicks used the cooperation of Lin Yu and Zach Randolph.
From the perspective of cooperation alone, they are like an old partner who has worked together for many years. Even Kenny Smith in the commentary box had to sigh: "The cooperation between China Lin and Zach Randolph is so tacit.
I don’t admire Lin, but his arrival has completely activated Zach Randolph, and the current Knicks can be said to be a Knicks teamed up by two All-Stars.”
"Moreover, these two All-Stars work together like old partners who have worked together for many years, which is really amazing."
Many people were surprised, but only Lin Yu knew that the reason why he and Randolph could cooperate so well was because of the "Lin X connection" feature of the system.
After he left the Cavaliers, he immediately untied himself from James. When he came to the Knicks, he was first bound to Wilson Chandler. When Randolph was activated, he changed the connection partner to Randolph.