The wild victory in the Christmas war was not immediately reflected in the rankings that were updated as the season progressed.
Because the rankings are updated weekly.
After the Knicks played the Christmas game, they played another game against the Bobcats, which was also a 24-point victory. Lin Yu also scored 43 points again.
In this way, after four games, the new player and team rankings were released one after another.
Team rankings, according to ESPN's Zach Lowe, the Knicks were already No. 1, and naturally there will be no changes now.
After all: "Four consecutive victories of more than 20 points. This week, the Knicks have reached their peak after readjustment. The Christmas Day victory over the Celtics has proven the Knicks' strength. As for a week ago,
After losing consecutive away games to the Suns and Lakers, physical fitness is crucial."
Mainly Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated, Woj of Yahoo and Sam Amick of USA Today. These three famous North American journalists all ranked the Knicks behind the Lakers in the last ranking.
This week's four games, against the Bucks, Timberwolves and Bobcats, can be said to be a waste of money and lack of gold content.
But at least, the victory over the Celtics on Christmas Day was very convincing. A favorite to win the championship this season was eliminated from the championship in one game.
And the Knicks, who have taken the championship heat out of the championship ranks, naturally deserve higher evaluation.
As a result, after four games, the remaining three famous North American journalists who did not rank the Knicks in first place also made changes.
Lee Jenkins and WoJ both moved the Knicks back to first place, and Sam Amick also ingeniously put the Knicks and Lakers tied for first place.
Lin Yu browsed the Reddit forum, and ordinary fans seemed to be more sympathetic to Sam Amick's arrangement.
"At this stage, the Knicks and Lakers really cannot tell the difference. The Knicks have an advantage in terms of overall record, and the Lakers have an advantage in the battles between them, but the advantages are not big."
"If we have to decide the outcome in the regular season, the Lakers' away game against the Knicks will be the key."
Lin Yu flipped through the schedule. The Knicks will not play the Lakers again until early February. It seems that in a short period of time, the Knicks and Lakers will be unable to decide the winner.
However, Lin Yu also saw a reply: "Why do we need to determine the winner in the regular season? The current situation is that the Lakers lead the Western Conference and the Knicks lead the Eastern Conference. They will defeat their strong opponents in the playoffs and then meet in the Finals to discuss the winner.
Isn’t it bad to be negative?”
Lin Yu quite agreed with this reply.
Unless the Lakers double beat the Knicks, it will be too difficult to determine the winner in the regular season.
Will Lin Yu give the Lakers a chance to double beat the Knicks?
Obviously not!
On the other side, in the player rankings, among the rankings of Zach Lowe and Lee Jenkins, Lin Yu is number one. The reasons they gave are:
"Although Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to defeat Lin Yu's Knicks, Lin has a not insignificant lead in terms of the team's overall record and individual player data. In a direct duel, although the team
He lost, but in terms of personal statistics, Lin did not lose to Kobe at all..."
Woj and Sam Amick ranked Lin Yu second for a simple and crude reason: Lin Yu lost the direct duel between him and Kobe.
But obviously, Kobe's basic statistics and record are worse than Lin Yu's, especially his statistics, which are almost a notch behind Lin Yu.
Therefore, in the past four games, the Knicks have won four games, and Lin Yu has scored 40+ points in four consecutive games. Even Woj and Sam Amick, who are obviously biased towards Kobe, can only put Lin Yu back.
Ranked first.
"After losing two consecutive games on the road, the Knicks returned to their home court to take a break and immediately rebounded. Lin Yu also broke out, scoring 40+ points in four consecutive games. This performance reminded me of Kobe Bryant in the 2005/06 season.
Special, but Lin Yu is different. While scoring high, the Knicks' record is also among the best in the league." - Woj.
"40+ points in 4 consecutive games, leading the Knicks to 20-point wins in 4 consecutive games after two consecutive losses. Just talking about his personal performance this season, Lin Yu is already a well-deserved No. 1 in the team's record.
Without straining his hips, he is the No. 1 player in the league this season." - Sam Amick.
#
After Christmas, 2008 is coming to an end. After two months of regular season, the players have basically entered the state. They are just like ordinary office workers, sometimes busy and sometimes unimaginably leisurely.
This is the state of the Knicks at this time. After a series of away games and the much-anticipated Christmas game, the density of their games has become very loose.
With nothing to do, Lin Yu went around asking people to go fishing. This time he made an appointment with the Knicks management, including Donnie Walsh, Steve Mills and Alan Houston.
During the fishing trip, everyone's talk naturally revolved around the Knicks' overall performance in recent times and the mid-term trade that was planned before the start of the season.
The Knicks are in excellent form this season. Both Donnie Walsh and Steve Mills believe that with such an excellent record, mid-term trades are no longer necessary.
"We are number one in the four major mainstream lists and two classification lists. In terms of record, we are also 26 wins and 3 losses, ranking first in the league. Does this mean that we do not need to sign players?"
It wasn't Donnie Walsh who made this point, but Steve Mills.
When Lin Yu heard this voice, he immediately shook his head: "We need a qualified sixth person, have you forgotten?"
"What is a qualified sixth man?" Donnie Walsh asked with a smile.
"What is a qualified sixth man? For the current Knicks, one who can fill the vacancy is qualified. Bill Simmons has mentioned it two or three times in his column. What the Knicks need now is someone who can hold the ball.
A sixth man who can play in isolation and is not vulnerable to defense at best."
"In other words, I am the only one who can do all the above in the current Knicks, but as a championship-level team, we need a second or even a third one!"
Lin Yu emphasized, but Donnie Walsh shook his head: "But, Lin, you should also know how difficult it is to find a player who can play in isolation, hold the ball, and defend? Such a player, in
No team is for sale."
Lin Yu knew what Donnie Walsh meant. What he meant was that trading is not something that can be done on the fly, especially for a company like the Knicks that has very clear requirements. It can be said that trading is something that can be met but not sought.
"I know, but Donnie, you should also know what we planned for the mid-term trade at the beginning of the season, Kwame's two-year contract, Chris Wilcox, who barely played after the trade was successful, and
There is Nazr who is leaving no stone unturned..."
Donnie Walsh began to nod repeatedly: "I understand what you mean, Lin. I will look for trading opportunities before the trade deadline, and at least send Kwame and Chris Wilcox away."
Donnie Walsh did not mention Nazr Muhammad because Nazr Muhammad has performed very well this season and is worthy of an annual salary of more than 8 million.
If the trade does not result in a qualified starting center, then Nazr will have to stay with the Knicks as the starting center.
"Try it, Donnie, the pre-season plan can't be completely abandoned."
The team's record was excellent, and Lin Yu's idea of demanding a trade was not that strong. However, Steve Mills was completely silent and seemed to refuse to trade, which made Lin Yu feel a sense of crisis.
In the big city of New York, the struggle for power is really everywhere.
#
The last game in December was also the last game in 2008. The Knicks faced the Nuggets. They played at home. Anthony returned to his hometown in this game.
"Hey Lin, long time no see."
The relationship between Lin Yu and Melon is different from James. Their relationship is relatively simple, they are just friends of similar age.
Although Melo is also a well-known gangster in the NBA, he is still very sincere towards his friends.
As soon as they met and said hello, Melon started talking about KG being blocked on Christmas.
"The show in Madison on Christmas Eve was so exciting. It's a pity that I wasn't in New York at the time. Otherwise, I would have had a part in it."
Lin Yu was a little surprised when he heard that Melon said he wanted to get involved too, so he made a joke: "You want to get involved too? Help KG?"
When Melon heard that he was helping Garnett, he quickly shook his head: "No, no, no, of course I'm going to fuck KG with Fat Joe!"
Lin Yu smiled. Of course he knew that Melo couldn't side with Garnett.
What he thinks is even more interesting is that Garnett is really a bit of a public enemy of New York now. Fat Joe fucks him, JayZ, who has no dealings with Fat Joe, also wants to fuck him, and even Melo, who has not been in New York for many years, wants to fuck him. This is terrible
It's too awful.
But when I think about it again, it was Melo who really blocked Garnett in his previous life. It seems that the two of them have always had a grudge.
After just chatting like this before the game, when it comes to the game, Lin Yu and Melon are their opponents.
From the trade at the beginning of the season, it seems that the Pistons should have lost money to grandma's family. On the other hand, the Nuggets will naturally make a lot of money.
With Chauncey, the Nuggets this season are completely integrated and look like a whole.
This is also reflected in the record. The record of 20 wins and 11 losses so far this season cannot be said to be outstanding, but at least it is in line with expectations.
If there is any difference between the addition of Chauncey and the original Iverson, it should be that Chauncey is more integrated, while Iverson's style of play has too many singles.
Melo is originally a singles player. Add Iverson and two singles players, and the Nuggets' offense will be filled with all kinds of singles. This is obviously not a tactical play that a reasonable team should have.
The Nuggets' deep bench has been unable to perform.
After Chauncey joined, the most obvious improvement was the Nuggets' role players. Nene, J.R. Smith, Kenyon Martin, and even Kleiza all performed well.
However, the Nuggets lost in Madison away from home.
Although they performed well overall, Lin Yu guarded Melo to death, but he himself was in great form, scoring 9 three-pointers from outside.
Reggie Miller, who commented on the game, shouted: "A three-point performance I haven't seen in a long time, China Lin once again dominated the Madison court!"
He also explained: "This season, Lin's three-point shooting has decreased a lot. He seems to have deliberately focused his offensive focus on the mid-range and even the basket. There are naturally very few explosive three-point performances, like this one."
This performance of scoring 9 three-pointers in a single game is unprecedented in every game..."
Reggie Miller's explanation is correct. Lin Yu did deliberately reduce his three-point shooting. The reason is that he increased his mid-range shooting.
After all, three-pointers are still too unstable. The Knicks do not have such a high fault tolerance rate for Lin Yu to shoot unlimited three-pointers. In contrast, mid-range is the scoring method that can steadily win the game.
Defeating the Nuggets, the Knicks ended the 2018 regular season with a five-game winning streak.
With a record of 27 wins and 3 losses, the Knicks still rank first in the league.
Major media outlets are discussing the Knicks, who have exploded this season, and there are discussions from various angles.
Like Zach Lowe, he is already convinced: "The team's record ranks first in the league, and in terms of personal data, it ranks first in the league in scoring, with more than 6 rebounds and assists, and more than 1 steal and block. This season's routine
It will obviously be a season for Lin Yu to gain personal honors."
Mark Stein, who is also from ESPN, analyzed in detail which regular season personal honors Lin Yu will attack.
"Regular season MVP, unless his personal performance and team record decline in the second half of the season, Lin Yu should be the winner."
"Other than that, there isn't much of a problem with the first round and the first defense..."
When it comes to first defense, we naturally talk about the Best Defensive Player Award.
"This season, the Knicks' defensive data ranks among the best in the league. The only one that can be compared is the Celtics, who just lost to them on Christmas Day. Lin Yu's defensive data is also very good, averaging 6.5 rebounds per game.
With 1.7 steals and 1.5 blocks, Lin Yu should be a strong contender for Dpoy based on the team’s defensive data and the player’s own defensive data.”
"In other words, he is likely to become another player after Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon to win MVP and Dpoy."
For example, Lee Jenkins was discussing the Knicks' championship hopes, and what he compared was the other two prominent teams in the league this season, the Cavaliers and Lakers.
He believes: "Even if the Celtics' performance is disappointing, there are still top teams like the Cavaliers in the East. The playoffs in the East will probably be devilish. On the contrary, in the West, there is a situation where the Lakers are as strong as one super team."
It feels like the Knicks have great hopes of winning the championship, but they have to face more powerful enemies and the road ahead will be difficult."
There are also somewhat xenophobic Americans like Sam Amick. The discussion of the Knicks focuses on what shortcomings the Knicks have. The most obvious one is naturally that the current Knicks still lack a real player.
The sixth person.
He vowed: "As the season progresses, the Knicks' lack of a player who can come off the bench and score in isolation will become more and more clear, and the Knicks' record will also be affected."