Perhaps it's because the Celtics have always taken the initiative. Although the score lead is not big, the advantage of the situation still makes Doc Rivers as stable as an old dog, without any intention to make changes first.
The first quarter of the game ended in a fierce confrontation. The Celtics failed to take advantage of the first quarter. They only led the Knicks by 2 points with a score of 26:24.
"With a difference of 2 points, the Celtics' advantage was very weak. They did not completely control the situation of the game. At least, they failed to control the Chinese Lin who changed his mind."
"In the first quarter of the game, China Lin did not take even a three-pointer. He seemed to suddenly change his style of play, using pick-and-rolls to seek mismatches. He almost defeated KG in one-on-one singles. Throughout the first quarter, China
Lin scored 13 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, directly giving the Knicks 20 points. The Knicks scored 24 points in the first quarter, only 4 of which he was not involved in!"
Although there was no three-point shot, Lin Yu played a rather perfect first quarter. This was a strategic victory.
After achieving a stage victory, Lin Yu strengthened his determination. If the Celtics did not withdraw their defense, he would never shoot three-pointers and attack the inside.
After the break, Lin Yu quickly showed everyone his biggest change from the previous game. At the beginning of the second quarter, he chose to continue playing.
"Lin Yu continues to play, and the New Yorkers seem to have changed their rotation order?"
Mike Breen was a little surprised, because Lin Yu had already played the entire first quarter and only took a minute and a half of rest between quarters before he returned to battle. This had to make people question his physical fitness.
"As we all know, Lin Yu's physical fitness has always been a stubborn problem for him. In the past three seasons, Lin's average playing time has not exceeded 36 minutes per game, which means that he needs a certain amount of rest time to maintain his combat effectiveness throughout the game.
player, but in this game, he doesn’t seem to be ready to rest..."
Marv Albert jokingly raised a possibility: "Maybe Lionel Hollins is desperate, and he can only choose to overdraft Lin Yu to win this game."
The actual situation is that on the sidelines, Hollins was also worried about Lin Yu's physical fitness, but unfortunately, Lin Yu took the initiative to ask for a fight. He could not refuse and was unwilling to refuse from the bottom of his heart. In the end, Lin Yu made consecutive appearances.
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Lin Yu made consecutive appearances, and he chose to serve as a guest point guard.
He will be joined by Fred Jones, Renaldo Backman, Zach Randolph and Nazr Muhammad.
The Celtics also used a rotating lineup, with Pierce as the core and Eddie House, Tony Allen, Glen Davis and P.J. Brown.
This lineup actually does not pose a big threat to the Knicks. Lin Yu feels that Rivers may have underestimated the opponent, or he did not expect that Lin Yu would make consecutive appearances.
"Returning to the game, the Knicks' offensive round was dominated by China's Lin, and the Celtics chose to respond with Tony Allen."
Teacher Tony's defense put a lot of pressure on Lin Yu. This guy has made rapid progress and is already a bit like a future single defense master.
But Lin Yu still played very simply. He asked for a cover and continued to look for mismatch opportunities.
"Facing P.J. Brown out of position, he made an emergency stop and retreated, but China Lin continued to take mid-range shots!"
Swish...the crisp sound of a basketball wiping the net sounded, and the score was evened.
Returning to the defensive end, when the Celtics responded with such a lineup, he directly found Renaldo Backman to switch defense.
"In the Celtics' offensive round, the basketball returned to Paul Pierce. In his singles, facing Lin Yu's defense, he advanced with his back, turned around and shot a fadeaway jumper..."
Bang, Pierce's single had a much different result.
Lowry picked up the rebound inside and threw it to Lin Yu immediately, and the Knicks launched a counterattack.
"Paul Pierce's jump shot strikes, and the Knicks' counterattack is coming!"
During the counterattack, Lin Yu was closely followed by Tony Allen, but because of the huge space for counterattack, his momentum was very strong, and Tony Allen could not completely block it.
Therefore, given the opportunity to counterattack, Lin Yu chose to get inside, and finally faced Tony Allen's defense and raised his hand to hit a layup!
"The counterattack was successful, it was China Lin again, he led the Knicks to overtake the score!"
The situation was gradually tilting towards the Knicks, and the Celtics didn't seem to pay attention. Doc Rivers just stood up and scolded the team's speed of defense.
Subsequently, Pierce failed to score in another single.
The Knicks once again grabbed the rebound and fought back.
This time, the Celtics quickly defended and prevented the Knicks from counterattacking.
But when the Knicks' round turned into a positional attack, Lin Yu's threat became even greater. He still asked for a cover, this time from Zach Randolph.
After the screen, the big baby Glen Davis couldn't hold up the defense for even a second and almost collapsed at the touch. He could only turn around and watch Lin Yu rush to the basket.
P.J. Brown under the basket was on defense, Lin Yu sent the ball to one side, and Nazr Muhammad under the basket took off and barely dunked.
There was a beep and Rivers called a timeout.
"At 30:26, the Knicks' lead reached 4 points. For the Celtics, the situation has begun to deteriorate. Doc Rivers called a timeout and he should make adjustments."
Lin Yu walked towards the sidelines, the camera kept focusing on him.
"Lin continued to play in the second quarter, and his performance was still perfect. He scored 4 points and 1 assist in a row. He also completely restricted Paul Pierce on the defensive end. A wave of explosions helped the Knicks overtake the score..."
As he left the court, Lin Yu turned his attention to the other half.
The camera immediately turned to the Celtics side. Doc Rivers had called Garnett from the bench, and it seemed that he was about to make a substitution.
Hollins was not prepared to make substitutions. At this stage of the second quarter, the situation was excellent and he did not seem to need to make any changes.
So, he could only hold the tactical board and patted Lin Yu's back: "Well done, Lin, we need you to continue your current performance, so there is nothing wrong with your physical fitness, right?"
"Don't worry, Leon." Lin Yu responded with a smile.
On the other side, Rivers had been discussing with Thibodeau for a while. Faced with Lin Yu who was desperately attacking the basket and mid-range, the Celtics chose to completely extend their defense.
This kind of defensive choice directly gives Lin Yu a very comfortable offensive space. The mid-range shot can kill the game, and attacking the frame is also the most effective offensive method to destroy the opponent.
Now he has clearly achieved results.
The Celtics had to make a choice, either to shrink back their defense, or to let the situation develop randomly. Who knows, the situation can still be saved if the main force comes back on the scene.
But Rivers didn't want to leave the outcome of the game in the hands of fate. In the end, he chose to shrink the defensive line.
"Let's take the defense back, Kevin, you will return to the court later, control the mid-range, and don't rush to the three-point line or so..."