As the Knicks played defensive counterattacks one after another, Van Gundy positioned his formation closer to the backcourt this time.
This is to prevent the Knicks' fast break counterattack.
This was originally the formation the Magic used before, but because of Howard's retirement, the deterrent effect at the basket was not as great as before.
Therefore, Van Gundy gave up this lineup and switched to shrinking inside.
However, seeing that he could not stop the Knicks' fast break counterattack, Van Gundy had no choice but to use it again.
However, this is just the right thing to do.
The Magic team pulled to the outside and cleared the basket in disguise.
This also gave Ryan Anderson a chance to cut in and receive a pass from Nelson to complete an alley-oop dunk!
Ryan Anderson is similar to Yi Jianlian. He is not good at physical confrontation and is not good at dribbling, but his ability to shoot three-pointers and cut through the air is very good.
8:17!
This goal was scored. Although the deficit was not reduced much, it still greatly improved the morale of the Magic team.
Back on the defensive end, the Magic's morale is clearly reflected in their defensive enthusiasm.
The Knicks passed the ball twice in a row, but failed to find a suitable shot.
The ball finally returned to Lian Dao's hands.
Lian Dao was once again attacked by Richardson and Turkoglu while holding the ball.
Lian Dao decisively chose Richardson as a breakthrough point.
This guy has all the "hardware" conditions needed to become a top defender, but he doesn't have the corresponding defensive awareness and enthusiasm.
Lian Dao easily accelerated in disguise and knocked Richardson out of the way.
Lian Dao then took advantage of the physical confrontation with Turkoglu and retreated!
Turkoglu's physical fitness declined too quickly. Under Lian Dao's confrontation, the two were one step away from each other.
Now, it can be said that Lian Dao has a bright future.
Take the three-point shot without hesitation.
"brush!"
The basketball fell straight into the net!
8:20!
The Magic team members were shocked!
Is it really possible to double double team with ease?
The most difficult thing to guard against Lian Dao is that he has both physical and technical skills. The key is to play without getting too high.
To deal with him, even if two players are flanked, one of them needs to be the league's top defender.
But look at the current Magic, which one looks like a top defender?!
The Magic's renewed fighting spirit was once again dampened by the Knicks.
Nix True Fire Captain!
The live footage showed a member of the Magic team. Richardson lowered his head and showed no fighting spirit.
He feels that he has done his best on both offense and defense, but his opponent can still score.
This was a big blow to Richardson, which made him feel that the Knicks were invincible, and at the same time he had the idea of giving up.
Turkoglu is very familiar with Richardson's character. Turkoglu was teammates with Richardson when he was with the Suns.
The two were later traded to the Magic together.
One look at this guy's demeanor and he knew he wanted to give up.
Turkoglu went over and pulled Richardson to say a few words.
Richardson nodded, his mood restored a little.
The Magic team attacked, and Turkoglu asked Nelson for the ball after Nelson dribbled the ball across half court.
Turkoglu took over the organizational rights of the team.
…
Turkoglu's physical fitness is just like that, mediocre or passable.
What is surprising about him is his great vision and organizational ability. This is due to his height advantage and the influence he received in the Kings and Spurs in his early years, which makes him play very smart.
[In other words, currently the best app for reading and listening to books, change the source app and install the latest version. 】
But Turkoglu's technical characteristics also destined him to be a system player.
Under certain team systems, he can become a top-notch organizational forward in the league.
For example: the Orlando Magic during the Howard and Lewis era!
Of all the partners Howard has had so far in his career, Turkoglu is the one who feeds him the best.
His ball feeding allowed Warcraft, which had never made any substantial breakthrough in its inside skills, to steadily maintain 20 points per game in the past few years.
And compared to Nelson, who is too short, Tegkolu has the advantages of height, vision, and ball handling.
However, Turkoglu has declined very seriously in the past two seasons.
Especially without Howard, Turkoglu's role on the court will be greatly weakened.
…
Turkoglu holds the ball, Lian Dao defends alone and does not choose to flank.
His passing is more threatening than Nelson. As long as the Knicks defend well, he will not have a chance.
However, Turkoglu did not choose to attack alone, and he also knew that it was impossible to break through Lian Dao's defense.
Davis used a big meat shield to pick and roll from the outside, and then Turkoglu broke through toward the weak side.
Cousins switched defense, and after covering the screen, Big Baby ran toward the left near the bottom corner.
Turkoglu looked at Big Baby, but did not pass the ball to him.
Instead, he unexpectedly threw it toward the basket.
Richardson got rid of Danny Green's defense and rose up from the basket.
His body jumped high in the air, and his powerful explosive power combined with his excellent bounce made him look very elegant.
Worthy of being the winner of the two-time All-Star Slam Dunk Contest!
Grab the basketball with both hands, and then press it towards the basket!
pity……
"Snapped!"
Lian Dao seemed like a magic weapon descending from heaven, ruining what should have been a stunning alley-oop with one slap.
"All!"
The referee's whistle sounded, and Lian Dao looked confused.
foul?
"Mr. Referee, this is definitely a clean defense!"
Lian Dao walked to the referee and signaled with a smile.
But the referee just nodded, but did not change the penalty.
Richardson's two free throw opportunities.
"when!"
He failed to hit his first free throw, but as an outside player, his free throw shooting rate of 59.4% was really difficult for him.
"when!"
The second penalty was still wide!
When Richardson shot free throws, O'Neal shook his head when he saw how stiff his shot was.
In addition, his restored mentality was wiped out again by Lian Dao's slap.
Now Richardson has completely lost his fighting spirit.
"The Magic need to take Richardson off the court to adjust!"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Mike Breen gave a reasonable suggestion in the commentary box.
Putting a player on the court who has no desire to fight is not a good thing for the Magic.
But this time, the Magic retreated very quickly, and the Knicks did not launch a fast break counterattack.
Lian Dao came to the frontcourt, and Holiday handed the ball to Lian Dao.
After Lian Dao caught the ball, he glanced at Turkoglu, who was defending him in front.
Direct rapid breakthrough and then emergency stop and pull back.
After getting rid of Turkoglu, Richardson attacked from a double flank.
Lian Dao took one look and shot a mid-range jumper.
When Richardson saw Lian Dao take action, it was just a symbolic interference.
Even if he blocks shots hard, it won't necessarily interfere with Lian Dao, let alone symbolically.
"brush!"
The basketball seemed to have been equipped with a positioning device and scored easily again.
8:22!
With a point difference of 14, the Magic are about to be defeated!
Van Gundy made substitution adjustments at this time, replacing Jason Richardson with Quentin Richardson.
Richardson walked to the bench and sat down. After the staff handed him a towel, he covered his head in despair.
Although he knew there was a gap between the two teams, he didn't expect the gap to be so big.
Richardson's end did not change the situation on the court.
To put it bluntly, the Knicks are much stronger than the Magic.
Especially for Lian Dao, they have no way to solve it.
When Howard was here, it was difficult for Lian Dao to solve this problem, let alone now that there is no Howard.
…
.
After a nearly grueling game, the Magic finally lost by a huge margin on the road.
Although in terms of scoring, the Knicks did not score too many points.
But anyone who has watched the game knows that the Magic team had no power to fight back throughout the game.
Especially in the last quarter, D'Antoni implemented extensive rotations, almost treating the playoffs as a training ground.
Statistics after the game showed that Lian Dao from the Knicks had assists, 4 steals and 5 blocks, and clocked out in the third quarter.
Holiday contributed 15 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists, while Stoudemire had rebounds.
For the Magic, Jamal Nelson had 17 points and 9 assists, Glen Davis had rebounds, and Jason Richardson had 12 points and 5 rebounds.
After the game, the entire Magic team was wilting like eggplants beaten by frost!
Van Gundy shook his head helplessly after seeing it.
Although he knows that this year's playoffs may not be able to save him, as the team coach, he cannot show decadence.
After the game, Van Gundy rubbed his face and then clapped his hands to comfort the Magic players.
"Boys, this is the first game, we still have a chance!"
"Coach, do we really have a chance?"
Ryan Anderson was a little confused and said.
He didn't perform very well today.
He just won the Most Improved Player Award, but he was blocked and only scored 5 points, 5 rebounds and 4 turnovers!