NBA: No. 1 Forward

Chapter 204: end of regular season

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On April 6, all the Knicks' main players played against the Celtics at home, but they did not expect the Celtics to start their rotation.

The Big Three did not play for too long in this game. At the end of the season, for teams with a relatively older average age, the most feared thing is injury.

Especially for the Celtics this season, the Big Three in the regular season were on and off due to injuries.

Moreover, it was an away game, and they did not have the determination to fight the Knicks.

In the first half, Lian Dao, who was on a rest in the last game, took the lead in firing. He scored 19 points in the first quarter from inside and outside, helping the Knicks lead the Celtics 32:22.

In the second quarter, Gallinari fired three shots from the outside and went all out, leading by 18 points at halftime.

In the second half, Rivers only made a symbolic appearance on the Big Three in the third quarter, feeling that he could not win easily, so he replaced all of them on the bench and announced his surrender.

The Knicks, who thought it was a big battle, easily defeated the Celtics 106:98.

On April 7, the Knicks played against the Indiana Pacers. In this game, D'Antoni still chose to rest, and Lian Dao, Holiday and David Lee took turns.

Then, the game was lost, 109:118, the Knicks lost back-to-back away games.

D'Antoni didn't pay much attention to the victory of this game. In away games, back to back, if he loses, he loses.

On April 9, the Knicks lost to the Orlando Magic in an away game. The Magic with a one-star lineup also played their advantages in this game.

Throughout the game, the Magic's dominance in the interior was overwhelming. The Magic only needed to do a good job in the perimeter defense, and Howard in the interior wiped the team's ass.

Once the Knicks double-team inside, then their power forward, Mr. Billionaire Lewis, will shoot a three-pointer from the outside.

If Howard is not double-teamed, none of the Knicks can withstand the impact of this monster.

Throughout the game, the Knicks were severely restricted inside, and their rebounding was much worse than the Magic.

If you want to deal with the Magic, at least there must be a player inside who can limit Howard, and the Knicks do not have this aspect.

Howard scored 17 points, 26 rebounds and 5 blocks in this game, a very terrifying large double-double.

In fact, many people in later generations underestimated Howard's ability to lead the team. Although Yao Ming beat Howard easily, it was because Yao Ming's posture and lower body strength were stronger than Howard's. It can only be said that Yao Ming restrained Howard, but not On behalf of Howard's strength is not enough.

At least last season, he led Lewis all the way to the finals, which speaks volumes about his strength.

Moreover, it is not just a joke that the league said that Howard would only change James.

You must know that in the current league, there are many outstanding outside players, but there is a feeling of lack of outstanding inside players.

On April 11th, back home, this game is against the Miami Heat. In this game, D'Antoni put all the main players on the court, and he is bound to win this game.

Because so far, in the first round of the playoffs, the two teams most likely to face the Knicks, one of which is the Miami Heat.

The Heat, who worked hard in the late stage, were in a very hot state. They won a wave of 9 consecutive victories. In the last game, to everyone's surprise, they lost to the Eastern Pistons.

But the Heat's 9-game winning streak still shocked all teams.

The Heat have been trying their best to win, and many people know the purpose. They want to surpass the Bucks and sit on the sixth place. In this way, the Heat will have a greater chance of winning against the Knicks in the playoffs.

After all, in the first half, only the Knicks are the most like a soft persimmon.

Current Eastern standings —

1. Cleveland Cavaliers (61 wins and 19 losses).

2. Orlando Magic (56 wins and 22 losses).

3. New York Knicks (52 wins and 27 losses).

4. Atlanta Hawks (51 wins and 29 losses).

5. Boston Celtics (50-30).

6. Milwaukee Bucks (45 wins and 35 losses).

7. Miami Heat (44 wins and 35 losses).

8. Charlotte Bobcats (43 wins and 37 losses).

9. Chicago Bulls (38 wins and 41 losses).

The first to announce their elimination was the Chicago Bulls. They still have three games left. Even if they win all of them, they can only get a record of 41 wins. This is two games away from the current record of the Bobcats. I can only say that I am sorry.

They didn't keep up with the rhythm in the final sprint of the season. Their core players were injured, their record dropped all the way, and they finally missed the playoffs.

Both the Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks are likely to face the New York Knicks in the playoffs. The records of the two teams are currently tightly locked, and they are currently only one win away.

Although these two teams have a low winning percentage against the Knicks in the regular season, they still don't want to face the top two teams.

The reason is simple. The insiders of these two teams have certain advantages against the Knicks. They still have the possibility of a battle, but against the top two teams, there is basically no possibility.

The Heat are also very serious about this game, and they also treat this game as a playoff.

In fact, for the Knicks, facing the Heat in the playoffs is really not as good as facing the Milwaukee Bucks.

Because the internal strength of the two teams is not much different, but for the outside players, the Milwaukee Bucks are weaker than the Miami Heat.

And the Bucks don't have a lot of experience in the playoffs, so the Knicks will be more comfortable in the playoffs.

Therefore, the Knicks have to win this game based on emotion and reason.

The game quickly unfolded at Madison Square Garden.

D'Antoni made adjustments to the team's starting lineup in this game.

Jrue Holiday, Lian Dao, Gallinari, David Lee, Millsap.

D'Antoni mentioned Gallinari to the third position, and then put Lian Dao in the second position.

The purpose is to limit Wade. In the heat's previous winning streak, most of them were caused by Wade's continuous damage to other teams. As long as Wade's engine is pinched, the balance of victory in this game will change. to the Knicks.

In the interior, Millsap's defensive ability has also improved rapidly recently. If he defends O'Neal, O'Neal will definitely not be too comfortable.

After the start of the game, the effect of Lian Dao's defense against Wade was quickly revealed. Under Lian Dao's defense, Wade's offensive efficiency plummeted, especially when Lian Dao released a step away, it was the breakthrough of the main defense Wade.

Although he also broke into the inside of the Knicks through the pick-and-roll of his teammates, he was blocked twice in a row by Lian Dao, who had been prepared for a long time.

On the offensive end, Wade's strength couldn't stand up to Lian Dao at all. After each confrontation, he could only watch Lian Dao hit a three-pointer from the outside.

The Heat's inside line, at the beginning, was just Millsap's single defense against O'Neal. Although the effect was there, O'Neal could still score due to his height advantage. At this time, David Lee also started to assist defense , but still did not let down Beasley's vigilance.

Although Beasley's field goal percentage this season was not as high as his rookie season, David Lee still didn't dare to relax, but it wasn't until Beasley missed two open shots in a row.

David Lee gave up Beasley completely and turned to double-team Jermaine O'Neal.

After the first quarter, the Knicks led by 8 points at 34:26.

In the second quarter, Lian Dao also rested first. Recently, the Knicks have returned to their normal rotation. Lian Dao also rested at the beginning of the second quarter.

However, Wade did not choose to rest on the Heat's side. He still led the bench lineup on the court, constantly hitting the Knicks' inside lane to score layups.

Not only that, Wilson Chandler's defense did not put as much pressure on Wade as Lian Dao. In the second quarter, Wade even hit a three-pointer against Chandler's defense.

The Heat quickly played a 12:2 counterattack climax under the leadership of Wade.

36:38.

The Heat not only tied the score, but also led the Knicks by two points.

Lian Dao rested off the court for 4 minutes, then quickly returned to the court, and led the team to retaliate with a small climax of 8:0.

Four minutes before the end of the second quarter, the score was 46:42, with the Knicks leading by four points.

After that, the Heat's three-point shooter Quentin Richardson stood up and hit two three-pointers from the outside, but because the Knicks kept responding, the Heat did not catch up with the score.

But the Knicks also did not open the score.

Until the end of the second quarter, when Wade and Richardson double-teamed him, Lian Dao made a three-pointer from the outside line and fouled Richardson, winning 3+1.