With Xiao Ka's help in defense, Lin Yu's training plan also changed.
Because of the commitment he received when he joined the Knicks, Lin Yu's personal training has been handled by David Alexander around the clock.
After Lin Yu proposed to add a training to improve assist defense, David Alexander immediately called in a few helpers, and the training hall in Queens directly designated a half court for Lin Yu's exclusive use.
This is the privilege of a star player. Although it may make some role players jealous, the team is happy to do so, because doing so can stimulate the role players' fighting spirit and strive to improve, hoping that one day they can also get such a privilege.
The defense training was very simple. David Alexander found three players who were forced to end their basketball careers after playing in the NCAA. The three of them attacked the basket from three directions. Lin Yu needed to choose a position to defend.
Stay with the first player, and at the moment the first player passes the ball, move to the other side to guard the second player.
Finally, by analogy, continue to move and defend to defend the last one.
Helping to defend is a test of a player's defensive positioning, lateral speed and reaction acuity.
In these items, Lin Yu is not bad.
Therefore, his practice went very smoothly. Within a few days, his assist defense attributes increased slowly, and soon exceeded his breakthrough attributes.
Speaking of his breakthrough attributes, Lin Yu was helpless. After getting Lao Zhan's breakthrough attributes, he has been practicing intensively for less than half a month, but the increase in attributes has been pitifully slow. He just broke 70 points two days ago. On the court,
The function and effect have been slightly improved, but the improvement is not significant and it still cannot help Lin Yu create more threats.
Although the improvement is not large, the Knicks' regular season journey has been relatively smooth during this period.
After defeating the Spurs at home, the Knicks' record became 26 wins and 39 losses.
Then, they played against the Hawks at home. In the previous regular season match between the two teams, the Knicks relied on Lin Yu's burst in the last quarter to win the game.
When they met again, the game suddenly became much easier.
Compared with the last match, the biggest difference between the Knicks is that Zach Randolph has been completely activated. At the same time, with the help of the "Lin X Connection" feature, he and Lin Yu quickly formed a tacit cooperation.
In this game, Lin Yu suppressed Joe Johnson one-on-one, Zach Randolph also played with Josh Smith on the offensive end, and rookie Al Horford did not have the ability to reverse the game on his own, even later.
Peak Horford is just a puzzle, but compared to other puzzles, Horford is relatively perfect.
Relying on matchup suppression, the Knicks easily defeated the Hawks 107:92, winning their fourth consecutive game after losing to the Pistons.
The next evening after defeating the Hawks, the Knicks went to the road to face the Pacers.
In Indiana, before the game started, Lin Yu met Donnie Walsh in the tunnel of the Pacers' home arena.
Compared with the first time they met in New York, Donnie Walsh seemed less confident when they met again this time. When he saw Lin Yu, he said hello very politely, followed by all kinds of greetings...
…
Lin Yu can understand Donnie Walsh’s change——
When he first arrived in New York, the Knicks were in such bad shape that many people believed that even the arrival of Michael Jordan would not be able to save the Knicks.
If the Knicks want to revive, they must make a big move from top to bottom.
Therefore, Donnie Walsh at that time believed that even if they acquired Lin Yu, the Knicks would have to wait until the summer to make changes, and by that time, the Knicks would be very dependent on him.
But now, before Walsh takes office, the Knicks are already on track.
The double-star combination of Lin Yu and Zach Randolph gradually formed, and the role player lineup composed of young players also formed a fighting force, each with their own unique characteristics.
Sometimes, Walsh will also study the issue of signings for next season. As a result, he found that the only place where the Knicks need to increase their efforts to bring in new signings is the bench.
It can be said that if the bench improves to another level, this Knicks will become one of the league's top teams.
That's good news for Donnie Walsh, because it will be a nice addition to his front-office resume.
But there is also bad news. The bad news is: the Knicks have succeeded, and Lin Yu will have the greatest say in the team, because Lin Yu has won the recognition of James Dolan, New York fans, and the team's main players and coaching staff.
If he wants to steal Lin Yu's right to speak, Donnie Walsh has only one way, which is to dismantle the Knicks' main lineup and fire Lionel Hollins. At the same time, he must ensure that James Dolan and New York fans do not
rebel.
But is this possible?
Totally impossible!
Therefore, Donnie Walsh can only find ways to build a good relationship with Lin Yu, so that his position as president of operations can be secure.
Walsh sat in a private room in the Pacers' homestand and watched the regular season. The Knicks performed perfectly, of course, because the Pacers were a bit bad this season.
Jermaine O'Neal is seriously injured and is out for the season. The Pacers can only rely on Mike Dunleavy, a second-hand player, and Danny Granger, a new wing player who has made significant progress this season, to win.
But obviously, no matter how these two wing players played against Lin Yu, they couldn't get enough of it.
The game turned into Lin Yu's personal show. Neither Mike Dunleavy nor Danny Granger could stop Lin Yu.
Relying on Lin Yu's 32 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in this game, the Knicks easily won another five consecutive victories.
After beating the Pacers, the Knicks took three days off and then faced the Grizzlies at home.
This game can be regarded as an old player meeting an old owner, but the Grizzlies have completely entered a state of ruin after sending away Pau Gasol.
Although the old general met his old boss, the Grizzlies couldn't make any waves.
On the Knicks' side, Lowry finally broke out on the offensive end. From beyond the three-point line, Lowry made 3 of 4 shots. He scored 18 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 steals, helping the Knicks win easily.
.
With this, the Knicks' winning streak reached 6 games.
With 29 wins and 39 losses, the Knicks are still 10 games away from a 50% winning rate.
After defeating the Grizzlies at home, there was another back-to-back away game against the Kings. Although the away game was a test for physical fitness, the Knicks won this game with difficulty because the opponent was not strong.
The winning streak reached seven games, the record improved to 30 wins and 39 losses, and the Knicks' Eastern Conference ranking quickly jumped to 11th place.
Although they are ranked 11th, the Knicks are only 2 games behind the Hawks, who are eighth in the Eastern Conference.
They are one game behind the Nets, who are tenth in the Eastern Conference.
One and a half games behind the Pacers, who are ninth in the Eastern Conference.
With 13 games left in the season, the Knicks have a great chance of overtaking the three opponents ahead of them, because the gap is already very small.
The gap in wins is extremely slim, which means that the Knicks are in the race for Eastern Conference playoff qualification!
Finally, the Knicks, who everyone was not optimistic about when the trade took place, amidst the slaps in the face and everyone's surprised eyes, overtook the team all the way and is approaching the threshold of the playoffs!