After defeating the Nets and closing in on the victory gap, it took two days for the Knicks to face another regular season match. This time, the opponent was the Heat, who were already ranked last in the Eastern Conference.
The day before this game, several of the Knicks' competitors finished the regular season first.
The Nets and Pacers played head-to-head. For the Knicks, the best result was that the Pacers lost. But unfortunately, facing the Nets, the Pacers held on and fought hard for four quarters.
A wave of 14:3 successfully defeated the opponent.
When the Nets lost, they fell half a game behind the Knicks and fell completely to 11th place in the Eastern Conference.
The Hawks also won. They defeated the Bulls and also widened the gap by half a game.
Then, it's Knicks game day.
On the Knicks' game day, the Pacers also faced a back-to-back game against the Magic.
There was no suspense about the result. The Knicks easily defeated Wade at home without Wade, and he didn't even go with the team to the away game against the Heat.
The Pacers also lost miserably to the Magic in back-to-back games.
So, after this round, the Knicks opened up a one-game gap between the Nets and tied with the Pacers. Relying on a better winning-loss relationship, they ranked ninth in the Eastern Conference, only one game behind the Hawks.
Already.
After defeating the Heat at home, the Knicks will soon face a five-game away schedule.
Fortunately, these five consecutive visits have been in the Eastern Conference and there is no long journey. The only problem is that the Knicks have to play against the Magic in these five games.
This is one of the four strong opponents that Lin Yu expected at the end of the season. After beating the Magic, the Knicks will only have to face the Celtics in the penultimate game of the season for the rest of the regular season.
Already.
Although this five-game road trip will involve them playing against the Magic, at the same time, the Knicks will also have a direct duel with the Hawks. Therefore, this five-game road trip schedule is both a test and an opportunity for the Knicks. One can directly lock in the playoffs.
opportunity to qualify.
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In the first game of their five-game road trip, the Knicks will face the Raptors, who are sixth in the Eastern Conference.
The Raptors have a five-game advantage over the Knicks. With 11 games left in the season, the Knicks only have a theoretical chance to catch up and surpass the Raptors.
Because it was a theoretical opportunity, even Lin Yu didn't think the Knicks could surpass the Raptors.
However, an opportunity to directly narrow the gap is before us, and the Knicks will certainly not miss it. What's more, the Knicks have defeated the Raptors twice before, and Zach Randolph was activated because of Bosh's victory over Lin Yu.
provocative.
When they met again, Randolph was still full of fighting spirit.
He and Bosh exchanged blows, and the Knicks relied on Lin Yu's huge advantage on the outside to win the game.
In the game on the same day, the Hawks upset the Magic and maintained a one-game advantage over the Knicks.
The Pacers also defeated the Timberwolves and were not left behind by the Knicks.
But one day later, the Knicks and Hawks faced off directly.
Although it was an away game, the Knicks took advantage from the beginning of the game.
Lin Yu, as always, suppressed Joe Johnson. In the first few rounds of the direct confrontation between the two, Lin Yu directly defended Joe Johnson and made 1 of 5 shots. He was completely unable to make a breakthrough.
On the inside, Josh Smith rushed fiercely, but under the increasingly established defensive system of Lionel Hollins, he also appeared to be very ineffective.
The Eagles wanted to struggle and counterattack, but Lin Yu's suppression of Joe Johnson was too critical.
It can be said that although Mike Bibby was acquired through the trade, a strong starting lineup of Bibby, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith and Al Horford was formed, and there are still about 100 substitutes on the bench.
Shi Childress and Zaza Pachulia.
But with Bibby aging, Marvin Williams disappearing from the crowd, and Josh Smith and Al Horford still being immature, the Hawks are still Joe Johnson's team.
Joe Johnson is the barometer of the Hawks. If he doesn't perform well, the Hawks will lose half the game.
For the Knicks, the situation is not much different.
The Knicks are very interested in Lin Yu's performance. If Lin Yu fails, the Knicks will lose. Therefore, the Knicks' record improved rapidly in the second half of the season and they only lost two games. This found the source.
However, the Knicks and Hawks are different. Zach Randolph was activated, giving Lin Yu a helper. Although this helper is unstable, as long as he performs well, he can share a large part of the pressure of Lin Yu.
Relying on Lin Yu's pressure on Joe Johnson, the Knicks easily won this direct confrontation.
After this victory, the Knicks' record became 34 wins and 39 losses, and the Eagles, who lost this game, also had a record of 34 wins and 39 losses.
In the game on the same day, the Pacers also defeated the Heat. With two more games, they had a record of 35 wins and 40 losses, and were tied with the Knicks and Hawks.
So, after this game, a strange scene appeared in the East——
With less than 10 games left in the season, the eighth to tenth wins in the Eastern Conference are exactly the same. However, in terms of the outcome of direct matches, the Knicks tied with the Pacers at 1:1 in the first half of the season.
They were defeated twice by the Knicks in the first half of the season. With a 3:1 record, the Knicks ranked ahead of the Pacers.
As for the Hawks, in the first half of the season, the Knicks played against the Hawks once and lost. Then in the second half of the season, the Knicks, under the leadership of Lin Yu, defeated the Hawks twice.
Therefore, the Knicks now lead the Hawks 2:1.
The two teams have another chance to play directly against each other. Before that, the Knicks also ranked ahead of the Hawks based on their history of playing against each other.
Just like that, the Knicks entered the top eight...
At this time, it has only been two months since Lin Yu joined the Knicks.
"In two months, the Knicks only lost three games, one to the Wizards, one to the Mavericks, and one to the Pistons. The Knicks won the rest of the games!"
"Undoubtedly, Lin Yu, who has averaged 31.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.5 blocks per game since joining the Knicks, is the main reason for the Knicks' rapid improvement. We can even say that he is the only reason!"
"The qualitative change he brought to the Knicks made the Knicks jump from a weak team to a strong playoff team. Now, with the 20 wins and 3 losses at the end of the season, the Knicks have already entered the playoffs.
, it seems that they have a chance to become a disruptor!"
After the Knicks defeated the Hawks, they officially entered the top eight.
The entire league is still Lin's world, and at this time, they are beginning to advocate the changes that the Knicks may bring to the playoff situation.
The New York Daily News report was the most alarmist:
"At the end of the season, it was 20 wins and 3 losses, with a winning rate of 87%. It is the only one in the entire league. Even the Celtics, who currently rank first in the league, are far inferior to the Knicks."
"Now, the Knicks are going to enter the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, and their playoff opponent will most likely be the Celtics. The dark horse after the trade will face the Celtics, who have been strong this season.
Among the three giants, it is still unclear who will win and who will lose."
"If analyzed carefully, the Celtics' advantage is their paper strength, but the problem is that after Zach Randolph turned back, the Knicks' paper strength is not bad at all."
"They have Lin Yu, the scoring leader this season, and Zach Randolph, who averaged 22.8 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists after being activated in the second half of the season. Apart from a slightly poor substitute, this Knicks doesn't have many shortcomings.
,Perhaps, we can expect a Black Eight miracle to happen."