The away game against the Suns was not only a loss that ended their winning streak for the Knicks, but the more profound impact was that they tried their best to win this game, but it all turned into nothing.
Their physical energy was exhausted, and then they rushed to Los Angeles overnight to challenge the Lakers back-to-back.
Another defeat. This time, even Lin Yu, who has had a stable output of 30+ since the start of the game, has performed abnormally.
On the offensive end, he shot 7 of 23 from the field, smashed 16 shots, and his shooting percentage was only over 30%.
Fortunately, his defense was still on the line, and he defended Kobe on 11 of 29 shots, with a shooting percentage of less than 40%.
Lin Yu hit 16 fine irons, and Kobe also hit 18. The two of them completed a different kind of competition, commonly known as the iron fight.
The stars of the two teams were relatively new to each other, but the Lakers' overall performance was better, and the Knicks ushered in their first losing streak this season.
Despite the losing streak, Lin Yu's mood was not affected.
After the game, he still found Kobe with a smile on his face: "Kobe, I lost this time. I will get it back next time I go to New York."
Kobe smiled: "No, this time we are tied. Next time will be the real chance to decide the winner."
Kobe's theory is very simple. The Knicks are playing away from home and have experienced harsh back-to-back games. In such a game, although the team wins, his data is not dominant.
Therefore, in Kobe's view, the showdown between him and Lin Yu was considered a draw.
Lin Yu pointed at Kobe, his expression seemed to agree with Kobe, but he didn't agree with it and said: "If we want to really decide the outcome by points, I think the playoffs are more appropriate."
"Then you have to work hard and break out of the east."
"The same goes for you, you also have to work hard to break out of the west."
"I will."
"Then I'm just like you, I can do it too."
"Then we'll see."
"same……"
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Lin Yu is in a good mood. He knows one thing very well: no team will win all the time, especially in the regular season. What he needs to ensure is that the team can win in the playoffs. That is the most important thing.
But the media began to clamor after the Knicks' two consecutive losses.
"With a losing streak on the road, the Knicks are no longer the favorites this season."
"With consecutive losses to the Suns and Lakers, the Knicks may have exposed a major flaw."
"Teach you step by step how to beat the Knicks. Master Zen's coaching methods are profound and profound."
“The Knicks’ biggest problem: Lin Yu’s dependence!”
"..."
Lin Yu is not surprised by these reports. The media is like this. When you are at your peak, they will rush in to praise you like crazy.
And when you start to struggle, they will rush up to you in a swarm and step on you a few times.
Of course, the Knicks' current situation has not yet reached the point where they have been stepped on a few times, but this two-game losing streak has directly caused them to lose their two league No. 1 spots.
The first is that the team ranks first in the league. This season, not only Zach Lowe, Yahoo's Woj, USA Today's Sam Amick, and Sports Illustrated's Lee Jenkins have all published similar rankings, and as the
As the season progresses, there will be continuous updates.
Compared to Zach Lowe who favors Lin Yu, Yahoo's Woj and USA Today's Sam Amick favor the Lakers and Kobe Bryant, and Sports Illustrated's Lee Jenkins favors LeBron James.
After the Knicks lost two consecutive games, the only one who still ranked the Knicks first in the league was Zach Lowe. The remaining three groups all ranked the Knicks second. As for first,
Of course it was the Lakers who defeated the Knicks.
The player rankings are similar. Zach Lowe and Lee Jenkins still ranked Lin Yu first, but Woj and Sam Amick ranked Lin Yu behind Kobe.
Lin Yu still pays more attention to these rankings, especially the player rankings.
After returning to New York from Los Angeles, the Knicks' first opponent is the Bucks.
Lin Yu met another RBQ besides Joe Johnson: Michael Reed, and Andrew Bogut, his jealous enemy upon meeting, and with the urging of the rankings, Lin Yu broke out.
In the first quarter of the game, he scored 17 points.
In the following second and third quarters, he scored 11 and 13 points respectively, with 41 points in the third quarter. The Knicks also took a 25-point lead at the end of the three quarters.
So, in the fourth quarter, Lin Yu stopped playing.
Even after playing one less quarter, he still scored a gorgeous statistic of 41 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks, helping the Knicks end their losing streak that had just begun.
After that, it was the last game before the Christmas game. The opponent was the Timberwolves, a very weak opponent.
The Knicks won another 23-point victory, and Lin Yu once again scored 44 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.
With 40+ games in a row, Lin Yu's performance can already receive the highest evaluation in the basketball world: no offense!
Not only Zach Lowe and Lee Jenkins, but also Woj and Sam Amick had to re-rank Lin Yu to the first place.
In terms of team rankings, the Knicks' two big wins only allowed Lee Jenkins to change his original ranking, allowing the Knicks to return to the top of the list.
Woj and Sam Amick still ranked the Lakers first.
The reason given is very simple and crude: Although the Knicks have won two games in a row, their opponents are not of high quality.
One is last in the Eastern Conference and the other is last in the Western Conference. These two wild wins really don't mean much.
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Although these two wild victories failed to bring the Knicks back to first place, they did have a great impact on the upcoming Christmas game.
"Lin Yu has to face his old club again. This time it's the Celtics. The Celtics who committed a malicious foul last season ended the playoffs early. Perhaps, at this moment, he should be in a very happy mood.
It’s complicated, but it’s foreseeable that this Christmas battle will be very exciting!”
Bill Simmons used his column to preview the game and said he would buy tickets to watch the game live.
"Last season, the Celtics used unfair means to kick Lin Yu out of the playoffs. Coupled with all the previous grievances, I believe that Lin will definitely use this Christmas game as a starting point to enter his revenge against the Celtics.
The next stage of human beings…”
This is what Mark Stein said before the game.
Most media reporters, and even fans, like Mark Stein, have a spectator mentality and are very concerned about the upcoming Christmas game.
Although the focus is very single, it is Lin Yu’s revenge against the Celtics.
But the revenge scenes are the most exciting.
In particular, Lin Yu's recent form is so outstanding.
"Two consecutive games with 40+ points. Lin Yu's recent form has been outstanding, but he is about to face the Celtics, whose defense is still online this season. Can he continue this performance?"