Chapter 928: Chapter 292: The First Thing After Advancing—Insult LeBron
This is actually the deepest "mark" on the "old generation of superstars".
It’s just that as times change, "spirit" slowly becomes a joke.
People only care about winning, regardless of how you win, as long as you win, that’s everything...
But with the breakup of the "Peak Three Giants" of the Heat Team, the "giant team-up" failed to become a shortcut. On the contrary, when the "Three Giants" broke up, the unanimous ridicule from the outside made many "superstars" hesitate and start to think about the consequences if teaming up doesn’t lead to a championship.
Especially with...
The presence of Su Wan as the "Demon King" in the league.
This choice became even more cautious.
And because Su Wan "leads the team single-handedly", waiting for the New York Knicks’ Ninja Turtles to grow up, and looking forward to creating a "three consecutive championships" myth that is about to be achieved.
It also made the other teams in the league become patient, putting more effort into building a "solid foundation".
This league’s spirit still retains a considerable portion of old-school style.
Miami’s media criticism also comes from this...
However, with the start of the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals, Miami media’s attention was fully focused on the game.
The Heat team has the possibility of defeating the New York Knicks...
Not only does Miami media say so, but quite a few outside media also think so.
You can see from the series between the New York Knicks and the Bulls that the New York Knicks’ interior strength this season is very weak. Tyson Chandler has already declined from his peak state, struggling against Bozer and Noah, let alone Chris Bosh and Kevin Love!
Bosh plus Love’s state on both ends of the court this season is definitely stronger than Noah plus Bozer...
It means...
Most media have already concluded that the Heat’s outside can’t match the New York Knicks’ outside.
Of course, this is also very normal. With the rule changes, Stephen Curry, who has entered the "superstar" ranks, coupled with the further growth of Paul George, and the "divine status stabilized", known as "basketball itself", Su Wan...
Calling this lineup the "strongest outside lineup of the season" is not an exaggeration.
Even...
They can compete with those champion teams, no, those "three consecutive championships" outside lineups in history!
Rational analysis shows that for the remaining teams this season, any team facing the New York Knicks must be prepared for their outside line to be overwhelmed!
The Heat team is no exception.
And this was evident from the start of the game.
Although the Heat team was on the road, their momentum was not affected by the booing of the away crowd. Instead, they used these boos as fuel, burning even more fiercely!
The New York Knicks, to ensure the success of the first attack, also set up a tactic for the opening attack, but the Heat’s defensive adjustments were very timely. With 6 seconds left, the New York Knicks couldn’t find any shooting opportunity.
Su Wan forcefully received the ball, ready to "defuse the bomb".
Wade stuck close in defense, not giving Su Wan the chance to shoot immediately. But at the first contact, he felt that the opponent’s core strength was even more stable. It was this confrontation that he realized his defensive strategy had a problem.
Sure enough, Su Wan immediately left him behind with one step, then smoothly completed a mid-range shot.
Watching Su Wan easily complete the mid-range, Barkley said, "Everyone has noticed Su Wan’s transformation beyond the three-point line this season, but in reality, Su Wan’s most stable trump card is still his mid-range shooting, simply amazing..."
Barkley himself is also an expert in mid-range jump shots. In his view, if a superstar can’t dominate the mid-range, he can’t truly become a dominant player!
Don’t look at the mid-range as just 2 points.
But when a player can frequently score from this position, then defending him becomes a problem.
Take the simplest breakthrough for example.
For a player like Su Wan, when he leans on a defender to the mid-range, the defender still doesn’t dare to give space, which gives him the opportunity to "accelerate a second time" and break past the defender!
Michael Jordan’s breakthrough ability is above Su Wan’s, which is why Jordan was so invincible during his first "three consecutive championships" period!
Of course, in this era, Su Wan’s destructive power at the basket is no less than Michael Jordan’s.
Especially after the "vertical jump" rule change, even more so...
Su Wan completed the shot with 2 seconds left.
This bomb defusal left Spoelstra scratching his head.
If this ball had been defended, it would greatly benefit the Heat’s next attack, and falling short would affect the Heat’s overall mentality.
The Heat’s first attack also had a special tactic arranged.
However, the New York Knicks’ defense was also very on point, making sure the Heat’s tactic didn’t materialize into a final shot.
Chris Bosh forcibly received the ball outside the three-point line, glanced at the basket, then leaned on Dior and attacked the basket.
Dior’s core strength is quite good, but he was still pushed out of the shooting space under the basket.
Tyson Chandler helped in a timely manner, successfully interfering with Chris Bosh’s shot.
"Clank" sounded, Bosh’s layup missed.
But Kevin Love, positioning himself against Tyson Chandler, first executed a "can jump", tapping the ball to the backboard, then jumped again to secure the rebound.
Don’t look at the height of the jump, but this counts as excellent "consecutive jumping ability"...
Then Love, leaning on Chandler, successfully made the bank shot.
If Timberwolves fans were watching this game, they would certainly find it very familiar.
Because during his time with the Timberwolves, Kevin Love relied on these two moves to average 25 and 13!
Of course, it’s also this style of play that kept the Timberwolves in a "bottom feeder" state.
This is not a "franchise player" style of play.
But in the Heat team, being a part of the team’s tactics, this style of play won’t hurt the team.
After all, Chris Bosh needs a "big center" like him to wrestle in the paint, grab "offensive rebounds," and complete "second attacks."
Although Chris Bosh’s "Bosh board" was because of LeBron James, his ability to scramble for rebounds in the paint is indeed not prominent, and he is better at crashing the boards.
Anyhow, this ball succeeded in the response, and this shot also proved that the Heat team does indeed have enough advantage in the paint.
Spoelstra’s expression visibly relieved, his whole face showing two words:
Can fight!
When an expert makes a move, one can tell immediately.
Just from this first round, he knows that this year’s Heat team has more hope than the past two years.
And the rest of the game time verified this point.
The New York Knicks relied on frequent outside scoring, while the Heat team relied on their "duo" inside to continuously score in the paint.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was tied at 33 to 33.
The main highlight was "neither could stop the other"!
However, in terms of consumption, the Heat team’s is definitely greater.
After confirming their advantage inside, Spoelstra called a timeout to adjust the defense.
They began tightly guarding the New York Knicks’ outside shots.
The result of this was that many opportunities for breakthroughs to the basket were exposed, but for the Heat team, this was not a fatal issue.
They could keep responding in the paint.
points for 2 points is better than 2 for 3.
This simple math, Spoelstra is clear about.
Then...
the score stayed close, with the game tight from the first quarter to the third.
By the start of the fourth quarter, the New York Knicks finally held a 2-point lead.
However, the Heat team quickly called a timeout, adjusted their defense, and worked to stave off the New York Knicks’ perimeter shooting.
This meant leaving more opportunities for break-ins to the basket.
And then...
The score continued to remain deadlocked, from the first possession to the third quarter!
As the fourth quarter began, the New York Knicks finally had a 2-point lead.
However, considering the energy expenditure, it was definitely more significant for the Heat team.
With the advantage inside confirmed, Spoelstra decided to call a timeout and adjust the defensive arrangements.
They started to focus more on blocking the New York Knicks’ outside shooting.
The result of that was that several opportunities for breakthroughs to the basket were revealed.
After all...
The score remained tight, from the first quarter through to the third quarter.
Finally before the start of the fourth quarter, the New York Knicks managed to take a 2-point lead.
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