On the day of the game, the Spurs also came to Madison Square Garden in advance for state training.
After the training, Spurs head coach Popovich was also invited by the media for an interview.
Immediately afterwards, his pre-game poisonous milk operation came.
When asked about tonight's opponent, the Knicks, Popovich praised:
"They have completed their reconstruction perfectly this season, especially their core players with perfect talents. D'Antoni has brought the best tactics to the Knicks. They have also continued to play wonderful games this season. I believe this year's Knicks will be the best."
Can appear on the playoff stage."
Popovich's mouth is as poisonous as Chicago Braised Eggs and Barkley the Flying Pig.
It's just that the latter two are really optimistic about a team and believe that the other team has a real hope of winning. They have poisonous vision.
Popovich did this deliberately, putting himself in a weak position, raising his opponent up, and making his opponent relax their vigilance against him. If you truly believed his lies, you would basically be close to losing.
…
Domestic attention is also paid to the Knicks games. The Christmas game between the Knicks and the Heat ranked first in domestic ratings for the same period.
This has also made Liandao's reputation in the country continue to rise. Not only that, as Liandao's popularity is getting higher and higher, many well-known domestic and international brands want to cooperate with Liandao as spokesperson.
Anta's hot news in China is making everyone jealous.
When Anta signed the contract with Lian Dao, other domestic sneaker brands also ridiculed Anta as a symbol of stupid people with too much money. In the end, it was inevitable that they would lose everything.
However, even before the signature sneakers are released, Anta has already become popular in China. Not only that, even the newly opened market in the United States has already taken shape.
This has made many domestic sneaker brands jealous.
This time, the Knicks vs. Spurs game will be broadcast live on CCTV 5.
It is no exaggeration to say that since Yao Ming was reimbursed for the season this season and Yi Jianlian was on the injured list and did not play, everyone's attention was also focused on Lian Dao, especially Lian Dao's handsome appearance, which led to some male compatriots saying that
When you choose to watch NBA games, you will be affected by the will of your female compatriots.
Some Kobe fans like to watch Lakers games, but my girlfriend thinks the Knicks games are more interesting and Lian Dao is more handsome, so after a good negotiation, she focuses all her attention on the Knicks games.
.
…
Madison Square Garden Arena was another game packed with fans today.
Madison Square Garden rarely has vacancies. Even when the Knicks had the worst record in the past, they rarely had vacancies. Basically, James Dolan is like picking up money. This can also be seen from this aspect.
The power of New York City.
Tickets for Knicks games this season are even harder to come by.
After the warm-up on both sides ended, the opening ceremony was held on site.
The Spurs' starting lineup took the lead, and Madison Square Garden was filled with boos.
Tony Parker, Keith Bogans, Richard Jefferson, DeJuan Blair, Tim Duncan.
The Knicks came on the stage as the home team, and every player came on the stage with huge cheers. Until Lian Dao came on the stage, the cheers reached the loudest, and all Knicks fans shouted Lian Dao's name.
Chris Duhon, Wilson Chandler, Lian Dao, Millsap, David Lee.
Duncan and David Lee make a jump ball.
Duncan's long arm moved the ball from David Lee's head to the Spurs' half, and the Spurs gained the ball.
After a serious injury and getting older, although Duncan is no longer a flying devil, his rich experience makes him still like a fish in water in the paint.
The Spurs advanced and Duncan got hold of David Lee in the low post for the ball. Parker then fed the ball in.
Although David Lee suffered a bit against Duncan, David Lee also tried his best to defend, and the confrontation between the two under the basket was also fierce.
Although Duncan is stronger, David Lee is younger and more flexible. David Lee relies on his flexibility to constantly interfere with Duncan at the basket.
Duncan is still experienced and can avoid David Lee's interference every time.
Duncan's back attack was very distinctive. His shoulders dropped, directly touching David Lee's chest, and then he attacked inside. When he turned around, he even used his elbows to open the way.
So, despite Deng's innocent expression, this guy's movements are definitely not that clean. He used some small moves to the extreme within the referee's tolerance.
In fact, this is the characteristic of basketball in this era, and the playoff competition will be even more intense.
Then there is the classic turnaround and the rebound into the basket.
This set of moves is performed smoothly in Duncan's hands, and scoring goals with a rebound is also Duncan's signature scoring move.
Looking back, Lian Dao caught the ball from the outside and faced Richard Jefferson from the outside and hit a three-pointer.
You have your plan, I have my ladder!
Although Lian Dao's post-up skills are not as good as Duncan's, his three-pointers will definitely give the Spurs a headache.
The Spurs still gave the ball to Duncan. This time the defense against Duncan was replaced by Millsap. David Lee still suffered a bit from the physical confrontation with Duncan.
Millsap is a muscular man, so he is stronger than David Lee in terms of confrontation. Facing Millsap's confrontation, Duncan also changed his strategy, turned around and hit three threats, and then hit the board from mid-range.
Millsap is not as tall as Duncan. Although the physical confrontation is up, his height is somewhat disadvantageous.
For a veteran like Duncan, adapting to circumstances is his best skill.
but……
Lian Dao broke through Richard Jefferson's defense and went straight inside. Duncan was also guarding Lian Dao's offense under the basket at this time.
Seeing Lian Dao's layup, Duncan stepped forward to block the shot. Lian Dao pulled the lever to avoid the block and then succeeded in the layup.
The Knicks can't guard Tim Duncan on the inside, but the Spurs can't guard Lian Dao on the outside either.
Both sides have just started and are in their own offensive state.
The Spurs were not in a hurry, Duncan continued to ask for the ball in the low post.
Parker passed the ball again, and this time Chris Duhon double-teamed him early. Duncan then passed the ball back to Parker. At this time, Chris Duhon refused to give up the double-team, and then Parker dropped the ball to Duncan again.
.
After Duncan caught the ball, he turned around and shot from mid-range. At this time, Millsap jumped up.
Unexpectedly, this was a fake move by Duncan, collecting the ball and breaking through to the basket.
"Peng!" scored a dunk.
These two rounds also demonstrated Duncan's mid-range and low singles ability.
The Knicks once again pushed the ball into the frontcourt. After Lian Dao received the ball, Richard Jefferson was a little nervous this time. He kept moving his feet to guard against Lian Dao's breakthrough or shooting.
However, the crushing of talent cannot be defended by being prepared in advance. The fastest step is to start and directly pass through Richard Jefferson's defense. This time, Lian Dao is directly double-teamed from the inside.
Lian Dao was not reckless. He turned around and stuffed the ball into the basket. Millsap received the ball and dunked it.
This goal barely vented part of the frustration of playing against Duncan.
Millsap was also a little unbalanced by Duncan. Even without losing his position, he could not stop Duncan's attack with all his strength, which made Millsap a little injured.
This is also the reason why Millsap is young and inexperienced. This will not happen to Deng Daidai. Even when he faced the Sharks, this guy was beaten inside and did not have any mental problems.
This may also be due to the fact that Deng Daidai majored in psychology, but it has to be said that Millsap still has a long way to go in terms of mentality and technology.
Lian Dao is not afraid of double-teaming by his opponents. He has excellent passing ability. As long as he is double-teamed, it means that his teammates will definitely have opportunities.
This is also what gives Popovich a headache.
He is not afraid of players like James, because James' shooting is still at a disadvantage, so most of his offense is breakthrough dunks or layups.
The Spurs are very experienced in defending breakthroughs. They were very good at dealing with James at that time. On the outside, the Spurs had Bruce Bowen stick close to James without relaxing a step.
Once James wants to break into the penalty area, even if he hasn't started yet, the Spurs will immediately send Duncan or Robert Horry to double-team him, blocking his path forward and forcing James to make a long shot.
It was this move that allowed the Spurs to directly sweep the Cavaliers 4:0. James' outside shooting was very unstable, and under the defense of Bruce Bowen, James' shooting percentage continued to decline.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
The Golden State Warriors once again won the championship trophy after three years!!!