Falling behind at halftime, the situation looked a bit pessimistic.
Lin Yu doesn't want to lose this game. To be specific, this season, he can accept some poor conditions or careless losses against some unimportant teams and let Jingzhou lose.
But against two important opponents, the Celtics and Cavaliers, he would never accept a loss.
After a somewhat dull midfield, when the second half of the game was about to begin, Hollins announced the lineup for the second half. Except for Kwame Brown, who was replaced by Nazr Mohammed, the other four positions were the same as the starting lineup.
Nothing has changed.
But in terms of tactics, Hollins still made some adjustments.
"Play more pick-and-rolls in the second half. Lin, take more three-pointers. Zach, get to the top of the key as much as possible."
Such an adjustment means that in the second half, the Knicks will also have to use pick-and-rolls.
This season, the Knicks don't play many pick-and-rolls and rely more on Lin Yu's single-point blast on the offensive end. This is to take care of Randolph.
Because Randolph has not developed a shooting range around the three-point line, his most threatening areas are in the mid-range and low post, as well as the area under the basket. If he is positioned at the top of the arc, his threat will be greatly reduced.
But obviously, in this game, the Knicks need Lin Yu to contribute more offensive firepower. At this time, the pick-and-roll becomes extremely important.
Randolph's pick-and-roll is different from the center's pick-and-roll. In Randolph's pick-and-roll, the opponent needs to solve two threats. When the center uses the pick-and-roll, the opponent will usually choose to surround Lin Yu alone.
Therefore, in a situation similar to this game, Randolph has to leave his area and go to the top of the arc or even further outside to cooperate with Lin Yu.
In the second half of the game, the Cavaliers also played with a full lineup.
The point guard is Xiao Mo, the shooting guard is Anthony Parker who is very effective in defending Lin Yu, the small forward is James, and the inside is Al Harrington and Gavarejao.
The Knicks kicked off the ball from the backcourt, and it was Lin Yu who received the ball.
Controlling the frontcourt, almost at the top of the arc, there was immediately a pick-and-roll from Randolph.
For this pick-and-roll, the Cavaliers obviously didn't have many plans. After all, throughout the first half, the Knicks didn't play many pick-and-rolls, almost only a handful.
They habitually chose to switch defenses, but the switching speed was not fast. Harrington seemed to have not entered the state yet. He took two steps forward slowly, but directly faced Lin Yu who had passed the pick-and-roll and raised his hand to shoot.
.
"Al Harrington didn't expect Lin to take action directly. Look at this goal... it went in!"
Whoosh!
After the crisp sound of the net being wiped, Mike Breen announced: "At the beginning of the second half, the Knicks relied on a long two-pointer from Lin to close the score gap to 4 points!"
"Get on top, Al!"
On the sidelines, Terry Stotts roared. It sounded like he was not prepared to adjust his established defensive strategy. Even if the Knicks continued to pick and roll, the Cavaliers would only continue to switch defenses.
On the court, during the Cavaliers' offensive round, they handed the ball to James, and there was a sudden attack. Wilson Chandler's defense was very tough, and with the help of Lin Yu, he pushed James back.
James can only pass the ball back and then reorganize the offense.
After three or two times, time is running out.
In the last 6 seconds, James made another strong breakthrough and was stopped near the free throw line by Wilson Chandler. He raised his hand to shoot, but hesitated under the long arm of Wilson Chandler. Finally,
I still chose to pass the ball.
He threw the ball to Mo Mo on the left, and shouted: "Pitch it, Morris!"
Xiao Mo didn't hesitate much and took action directly.
Or to be precise, when he received the ball, there were only 2 seconds left. If he didn't shoot, it would be a 24-second violation. He could only force the shot against Lowry's defense.
With a bang, the basketball hit the frame hard and bounced high.
Lin Yu, who was standing in the inner circle of the free throw line, jumped up high, but missed the basketball.
But the Knicks' overall strategy of rushing for rebounds was successful. Randolph got stuck, and Nazr Muhammad moved over and grabbed the rebound.
Lin Yu also landed at this time, took the basketball directly from Nazr's hand, and turned around to launch a counterattack.
The counterattack against the Cavaliers is not very effective because the Cavaliers retreat quickly. With James, they are a team that places great emphasis on counterattacks and fast breaks.
This also explains why the Knicks were 6 points behind the Cavaliers in the first half, because their best offensive method, which broke out in a period of time, was directly restricted.
Facing the Cavaliers who can score multiple points, facing a Cavaliers team in good shape, the Knicks, who relied heavily on Lin Yu, were forced to fall behind by 6 points round after round.
The counterattack was unsuccessful, and Lin Yu, who rushed forward with the ball, could only retreat to the top of the arc.
When Randolph was in position, the Knicks immediately ran another pick-and-roll. After the pick-and-roll, Harrington's switch was timely.
But Lin Yu raised his hand to fake a shot. Harrington was inexperienced and jumped forward, seemingly trying to interfere with Lin Yu's shot.
Lin Yu also fell forward a little, raised his hand and threw the ball.
Beep!
The referee blew the whistle and pointed at Harrington.
"Foul, Al Harrington, his beater fouled, sent Lin directly to the free throw line."
The basketball missed the basket and missed, and the replay showed that when Lin Yu took the shot, his feet were outside the three-point line, so: "This is a three-point foul. Lin is going to make three free throws. The free throw shooting rate is close to
For 100% Lin Yu, these three points are almost within reach."
There was no accident, Lin Yu indeed hit three free throws accurately.
"Three free throws were made. At the beginning of the second half, the Knicks made very obvious offensive adjustments and added pick-and-rolls, helping Lin Yu score 5 points in a row. Now, they are only 1 point behind."
56:55, 1 point difference, it was the Cavaliers' turn to attack again.
It was James' breakthrough again, but this time, he rushed very suddenly. Wilson Chandler was passed by one step, and Lin Yu could only make up for it in the middle, thus missing Anthony Parker.
Facing Lin Yu or Anthony Parker who is in an open position, James' only choice is to pass the ball.
The ball was passed to Anthony Parker, who raised his hand and hit a three-pointer. The score jumped, 59:55, and the score gap returned to 4 points.
The Knicks kicked off from the backcourt. Faced with the situation that seemed to be returning to its original state, Lin Yu remained patient. He still slowly controlled the ball to the frontcourt, and then continued to cooperate with Randolph in a simple pick-and-roll.
After a pick-and-roll, Lin Yu no longer faced Al Harrington, but the surprising LeBron James.
After scoring points for Lin Yu in two consecutive rounds, the Cavaliers immediately made changes. On the defensive end, LeBron James was pushed to the fourth position.
The effect of this change is significant. Al Harrington couldn't stop Lin Yu, but it would be different if he was replaced by James.
Regardless of whether Lin Yu shoots directly or continues to break through, James' defense can successfully limit Lin Yu, at least making Lin Yu less of a threat.
Lin Yu raised his hand to shoot and hit the iron.
Although he has scored 5 points in a row in the second half, it is obvious that he has not entered his rhythm yet.
But under the basket, Wilson Chandler rushed into the penalty area and grabbed this somewhat important offensive rebound from the Cavaliers' overwhelming force.
Then he directly tipped the ball in, and with a bang, the basketball hit the board, rebounded and hit the center of the basket, directly in.
"Wilson Chandler made a tip-in, 59:57, and the score gap was reduced to 2 points."
