Detroit, a city devastated by the financial crisis, is approaching the playoffs, and the Palace of Auburn Hills looks quite desolate.
There are no large tracts of empty stands, only a few empty seats.
But on the much-anticipated stage of the playoffs, if the attendance is not full, it is considered a failure.
Lin Yu, who was warming up, thought that in the next ten years, most NBA teams will change their owners, which may have a profound impact on the 2008 financial crisis.
As the attendance rate declines, the bosses' income will also decline as a result...
Amidst the noise, the Knicks completed their pre-game warm-ups.
On the way Lin Yu returned to the locker room from the tunnel, a group of fans wearing Knicks No. 23 jerseys shouted Lin Yu's name in the stands on both sides.
Very weird.
Lin Yu paused, signed a few autographs, and quickly left at the urging of stadium security.
When leaving, Lin Yu glanced at this home arena, which had been the most devilish in the league in the past few seasons, and suddenly felt that, aside from possible refereeing issues, there might be no difference between the home and away games in the first round of the playoffs.
Because of the infield of the arena, the Knicks have quite a few expedition troops...
In the visiting team's locker room at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Hollins had already filled the tactical board with various symbols and arrows. When the players took their seats, he quickly and briefly emphasized the tactical points of the game.
Hollins seemed a little nervous about this game. Lin Yu could understand that this playoff was not only the Knicks' first playoff game after the Patrick Ewing era, but also Hollins' first playoff game.
show.
"I have only one request, if we show the results of these two days of training matches, we will definitely take away victory from the Palace of Auburn Hills!"
The chicken soup Hollins spread was a bit tasteless. Lin Yu realized this. He quickly followed Hollins and clapped his hands: "In the playoffs, success means failure. As Knicks, we only accept success!"
He stood in the middle of the locker room and stretched out his right hand.
Then, pairs of thick black hands folded together, shouted "Come on" in unison, and pressed down with their hands and arms.
For a time, the atmosphere in the locker room was quite lively, and the effect Lin Yu wanted was roughly achieved.
Soon, the ceremony of entering the playoffs.
The home team Pistons did not receive many cheers, and the visiting team Knicks did not receive boos. The atmosphere of the game was a bit bleak.
"The Palace of Auburn Hills is very quiet today, but this does not mean that Detroiters are willing to hand over the victory to others. I saw murderous intent in the eyes of Chauncey and Rasheed."
Before the game started, Kenny Smith said half-jokingly.
"If Kenny saw murderous intent in Chauncey and Rasheed's eyes, then I also saw endless fighting spirit in Lin Yu's eyes..."
Then there's Charles Barkley.
Before the game even started, the two seemed to be at loggerheads, with one supporting the Pistons and the other supporting the Knicks. The two were competing against each other, but the process and outcome were similar to the predictions for this game - it would be a fierce and indistinguishable game.
A game of winning and losing.
On the court, Lin Yu hung the basket and made a loud bang, which seemed to be announcing something to everyone.
He has already thought about this game.
At the beginning of the game, he will be full of firepower, first gain the advantage, and then turn the advantage into victory.
"The starting lineups of both teams are unchanged from the regular season. For the Knicks, point guard Kyle Lowry, shooting guard Lin Yu, small forward Wilson Chandler, and power forward Zach Lando
Husband, center Kwame Brown.”
"Here are the Pistons, point guard Chauncey Billups, shooting guard Richard Hamilton, small forward Tayshaun Prince, power forward Antonio McDyess, and center Rasheed Wallace."
In the first season after Ben left, Tianzun still played as a power forward, but the Pistons' record declined. It was obvious that the defensive system suffered a heavy blow.
This season, Flip Saunders made changes, moved Tianzun to the center position, reshaped the defensive system, and the Pistons of the past were back.
It can be seen that this era is still the era of centers. An excellent center can bring qualitative changes to a team.
The referee blew the whistle and the ball jumped.
The Roaring God suddenly roared and won the opportunity, moving the basketball back to the Pistons' half. Billups retreated and got the ball.
Billups slowly advanced to the frontcourt, and the Pistons' style of play was still Larry Brown's old style, with grindstone defense and slow half-court offense and defense.
Facing the unhurried Billups, Lowry directly pushed out. Anyway, behind him, there was Lin Yu's defense and assistance.
In the last month of the regular season, Lin Yu's additional training has brought his assist defense attribute to the full potential of 90 points. In other words, Lin Yu now has 89 points of single defense and 90 points of assist defense.
So fierce.
On the outside, Billups made a small change of direction and then walked inside. Lowry's defense was very tenacious and gave him no chance.
Lin Yu also pressed from the wing. Although Prince's intention was a bit missed, the Knicks' wing rotation defense was very fast.
The first time Billups passed the ball, Wilson Chandler made up for it, and Lin Yu also kept up with Richard Hamilton, who was running through the ball.
The Pistons could only pass the ball back, and then Randolph's defense expanded. Billups held the ball for a few more seconds, with no chance.
He could only use the last few seconds to force his shot and hit the frame with a bang.
Lin Yu took advantage of the situation and entered the basket. With the help of Kwame Brown's blocking, he took off the rebound and then launched a counterattack!
In the Knicks' counterattack, Lin Yu, who controlled the ball from the beginning, was very fast.
Prince followed Lin Yu closely, and Billups, who was returning to defense, also vaguely came closer, seeming to force Lin Yu to pass the ball.
However, after Lin Yu rushed to the frontcourt, he suddenly stopped and shook Prince.
When Prince retreated, he immediately changed hands and dribbled the ball, changed direction and accelerated, passing Prince.
Just like that, he suddenly appeared inside the three-point line. When Billups couldn't catch up, he raised his hand and shot a long two-pointer.
Whoosh!
The sound of the basketball passing through the net was clear, mixed with some faint boos and cheers from the Palace of Auburn Hills.
The Knicks scored first and took a 2-0 lead.
In another defensive round, Billups continued to press the rhythm and consumed a lot of offensive time. However, the Knicks' defense was very overall and never gave them any chance.
Especially on the strong side, Lin Yu was always on his side. Billups tried to break through and was immediately flanked.
He chose to pass the ball, and Lin Yu immediately withdrew. When he withdrew, Wilson Chandler had already joined Prince who was receiving the ball.
When Prince went back to find Richard Hamilton, he found that Lin Yu was already following Hamilton closely.
In the opening two defensive rounds, Kenny Smith was a little surprised: "The Knicks' defensive rotation was too fast. China Lin was running all over the court. One second he was in front of Tayshaun Prince, and the next second he was in front of Tayshaun Prince.
Appeared next to Chauncey..."
Charles Barkley was not surprised: "His defense has always been his strong point, but in the regular season, he rarely contributed such high-intensity defense. In the playoffs, he began to go all out..."
