On March 28, 1999, many sports media were still reminiscing about the Knicks' "Hack-a-Shaq" battle the day before.
He played for 38 minutes, made 7 of 16 shots, 5 of 15 free throws, 19 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block and 4 turnovers.
O'Neal's offensive rhythm was completely disrupted and he finally fouled out with 6 fouls.
Ewing made 6 of 13 shots, 6 of 8 free throws, 18 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 2 turnovers.
Although the gorilla's statistics were "mediocre", he had his best on-court performance in March.
101:91, the Knicks got their second victory of their Western Conference trip.
The two teams played some interesting matches in March:
The Lakers are full of energy, but the lineup still needs to be fine-tuned after the trade.
The Knicks often lack motivation in the game.
As long as they go through 5 games in a week, the old guys will definitely be defeated.
However, the real protagonist of this game is Clay Lee.
Different from the pick-and-roll offense of the Jazz, the Knicks almost relied on Lee alone to break the defense of the Sharks.
On Sunday's TNT pregame show, McHale broke down several of the Knicks' offensive plays in the studio:
"Shaq and his teammates lack tacit understanding, and the defense of pick-and-roll always lacks continuity!"
"When Lee held the ball on the left wing, Ewing's first screen was a fake, and he just created an opportunity for Lee to easily get rid of Derek Harper."
"When Ewing was actually standing outside the three-point line, Shaq returned to the three-point line. This was definitely a wrong choice!"
"Finally, Li hit the three-pointer easily. Note that this was a wide-open three-pointer."
It was a very simple high-post pick-and-roll tactic.
The gorilla first pretended to set a screen, replaced O'Neal, moved sideways, and then turned around and stood on the three-point line again.
This tested O'Neal's defensive continuity.
As a result, throughout the game, the Shark did not really try his best to pursue and delay, and was shot by Lee.
McHale had already drawn a lot on the tactical board.
The legendary star reviewed several tactical coordinations of the Knicks in detail.
The show began to repeatedly play the Knicks team mocking O'Neal's free throws, several people on the bench waving towels wildly, and Lee and Oakley chattering non-stop.
Whenever he stood on the free throw line, O'Neal had to start a verbal battle.
The Knicks team had multiple outputs, and Rodman of the Lakers was a fun guy.
He didn't help but joined in the fun.
Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson laughed happily at this situation.
"Shaq's defense is a real problem. Lee is not Stockton."
"This season, most Eastern Conference teams will choose to use strong delay defense. Maybe coach Rambis also arranged it before the game, but the players did not execute it."
As soon as Kenny Smith finished speaking, McHale shook his head again and gave his own opinion:
"Shaq has problems, but the Lakers' guards also have problems. Derek Harper and Fisher are slow to squeeze screens and lack height."
"My advice is that Shaq needs a guard who can defend the pick-and-roll, and Kobe Bryant is a better choice."
Kobe Bryant delivered regular stats in this game, with 8 of 20 shots, 5 of 8 free throws, 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 turnovers.
Kobe, who has gradually become famous, has chosen to gain muscle this season and has now become a scorer on the Lakers' outside line.
Ernie Johnson did not participate in the tactical discussion in depth.
Instead, he changed the subject and said:
"No matter who is defending, Lee always finds a way to help the team score."
"The Knicks' rotation also performed very well. Sprewell made 6 of 12 shots and scored 16 points efficiently, while the Lakers' bench only scored 15 points."
"The team is in great form. Do you think Lee will win the MVP award this season?"
Kenny Smith immediately gave a positive answer and said seriously:
"Although the Knicks have lost three games in March, Lee has maintained a very high level."
"No matter the record or the statistics, I will vote for him!"
McHale, who prefers big men, did not hesitate to support Duncan:
"This month, the Spurs are the better team. They have only lost two games so far. Tim Duncan has shown great influence on both offense and defense."
"As long as the Spurs can keep this trend going, I'll vote for Tim Duncan!"
In a direct dialogue with the MVP, Clay Lee played for 40 minutes, made 12 of 20 shots, 6 of 11 from beyond the three-point line, and 8 of 8 free throws, scoring 38 points, 5 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers.
Such performance almost destroyed O'Neal's MVP impression points.
After all, the free throw shooting rate of just over 30% is really eye-catching.
Since the Knicks and the Lakers will only play once this season, O'Neal doesn't even have the chance for a second game.
The Shark, who broke through the defense, simply didn't allow his teammates to contact the Knicks players.
Travis Knight, who returned to the Lakers again this season, could only send a text message to Lee to apologize these two days.
In the third game of the Western Conference trip, the league finally gave the Knicks a benefit in the schedule arrangement, still in Los Angeles, away to challenge the Clippers.
Although the Clippers won the No. 1 pick in last year's draft, their record this season has not improved at all and is even worse than last year!
3 wins and 24 losses, meeting the Clippers is a welfare bureau.
The opponent can be called the weakest of the weak.
It is still the Great Western Forum Arena.
Before the game, a large number of media surrounded Lee and played the role of a mouthpiece:
"Lee, Shaq said that next time they play, he will beat the Knicks himself!"
Regardless of whether the news was true or not, Lee grinned when he heard it:
"The next match? We'll have to wait until next season. I don't think the Lakers can make it out of the West."
"As for O'Neal, maybe he should lose some weight and practice his free throws more."
"He is destined to not be able to put the ball into the basket with his eyes closed like me, but it shouldn't be difficult to stabilize his free throw rate at 60%?"
The Knicks' team reporters and the media laughed.
So far, Shark's free throw shooting percentage in his career has not exceeded 60%.
On the other side of the locker room, Oakley was still making sarcastic remarks:
"I don't want to see him call himself the "best center in the league" again. Has he ever won a championship?"
The Knicks team's atmosphere team also joined in the cheering, saying that the gorilla is the best center in the league!
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The ridicule makes people powerless to fight back.
The championship is very important these days!
Considering O'Neal's past playoff performance, the Los Angeles media was soon ridiculed.
The Lakers' record was surpassed by the Spurs and the Jazz, and the star player was suppressed by the newcomer Duncan in the MVP rankings.
The Los Angeles media has done its best.
In the Welfare Bureau game that night, Lee's condition fluctuated again and his shooting was a bit poor.
But Alan Houston, who was restricted by Kobe in the last game and played inefficiently, broke out again.
113:86, the Knicks defeated the Clippers and ended their short journey in the Western Conference.
After enduring five consecutive games in a week in mid-March, the Knicks finally regained some vitality at the end of the month.
In the last game of March, the Knicks continued to fly away and eventually lost to the Pacers.
25 wins and 6 losses, halfway through the season, New York was naturally ecstatic to see this record, and the media followed suit and shouted:
"The Knicks are champions!"
The fans can be happy, but Jeff Van Gundy is a little worried.
The Knicks have a total of 16 games throughout April.
Although they no longer have five games in a week, their opponents are always the same teams in the Eastern Conference.
How to mobilize the players' emotions and how to make them actively participate in the game has become a major problem facing the bald young coach.
On April 1, the NBA announced the Player of the Month for March, and Tim Duncan of the Spurs won the award.
In March, the Spurs had a record of 14 wins and 2 losses.
Despite a bad start, they successfully turned the tables and Popovich retained his position as head coach.
He averaged 39.0 minutes per game, 23.5 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.3 steals, 2.9 blocks and 2.6 turnovers;
He averaged 17.9 shots per game, with a shooting percentage of 52.1%, and 6.7 free throws per game, with a free throw percentage of 72%.
Tim Duncan's efficient double-double won unanimous praise from many media!
The Spurs are 20 wins and 10 losses, ranking second in the Western Conference, and the first is the Jazz, 22 wins and 8 losses.
Karl Malone and Stockton are still efficient.
In the MVP rankings, Karl Malone rushed to second place again, just surpassing Duncan.
In the first game of April, Ewing shot 2 of 12 and scored 13 points on free throws.
Fortunately, the Cavaliers' offense was sluggish, and Sprewell led the substitute lineup to help the team complete a comeback in the early part of the final quarter.
74:88, the Knicks played an ugly game.
Oakley made 2 of 8 shots and scored 4 points.
The old man has been in a slump on the offensive end since the end of March.
After the game, the atmosphere in Madison Square Garden was still hot.
For New York fans, as long as they can win, they can accept an ugly process.
At present, maintaining the first place is the most important thing!
In the MSG commentary booth, Walt Frazier saw the technical statistics and could only sigh in a low voice:
"Pat is about to turn 37, and it is inevitable that his athletic ability will decline. Charles is also about to turn 36. We should be considerate of the two veterans."
Most New York media intentionally ignore the performance of the starting inside players.
After all, the two have played for the team for many years and their physical condition has declined, so we just need to be more understanding.
But in order to attract attention, a small number of media began to call for Ewing and Oakley to give up their starting positions.
The inside combination of Kurt and Ben is younger and more active, and they have performed very well in the past two months.
Kurt has a nice mid-range jump shot and is also very good at defending opposing big men in the low post;
Ben Wallace is extremely efficient at finishing at the basket, and he is also very aggressive in frontcourt rebounds!
Halfway through the season, Ben Wallace is averaging 2.8 offensive rebounds per game.
Although his height is inflated, with his afro and muscular body, Ben Wallace's defensive deterrence has greatly improved compared to last season!
Considering that his playing time was only 27.3 minutes, such performance does deserve encouragement from the starting lineup.
Commentator Mike Breen also paid attention to the internal situation of the Knicks, but as the home commentator, he did not say much:
"I think Coach Van Gundy could use some more minutes for the rotation."
"Some back-to-back games, young players are more energetic. Of course, this is just my personal suggestion. The Knicks lead the league and we have played a perfect season again."
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The two veterans who are at the end of their peak will naturally not give up their positions.
For the gorilla, they can't carry the ball, but they can't lose playing time!
Relying on eating cakes, Ewing can still score 18+10 this season.
Even if he lacks vitality in some games and is blown up by opponents, the gorilla doesn't take it to heart.
Back in the locker room, Ewing, who had not performed well, still kept smiling.
The team's record was the best in the league, which made him a little inflated:
"We have a great chance of defending our title this year. Maybe it won't be difficult to win three consecutive titles. No one can stand up to us!"
After hearing what the big brother said, the atmosphere group followed suit and flattered him.
After winning the Lakers, the New York media once again praised Ewing as "the best center in the league."
Lee has become accustomed to Ewing's performance of playing well in one game and then being sluggish in two games.
In terms of defensive experience, the gorilla is much better than the two players in the substitute lineup.
In mid-March, Lee began to play in a nanny-like style, gradually eroding ball possession while also taking care of Ewing and Oakley's data.
"Kurt, keep it up, Ben, you've been really good at grabbing offensive rebounds in these games!"
Hearing Lee's encouragement, Ben Wallace grinned.
"Little Ben" has just made it to the top and squeezed out Chris Dudley.
Kurt also smiled and patted his chest to show that he received it.
Sprewell looked at Ewing and Oakley on the other side who were still bragging.
Lee was chatting with the bench with a smile on his face.
He couldn't help but curl his lips and secretly complained in his heart:
"The leaders have all changed."
The games in April are a torture for all teams.
With a dense schedule and repeated opponents, it is inevitable that enthusiasm for the games will decline.
On the 20th, a campus incident occurred that shocked the entire United States!
Columbine High School massacre!
The Knicks did not have a game that day, so Lee followed his teammates to donate money in protest.
12 students and 1 teacher died, 21 people were injured.
When Lee returned to his home in Tarrytown at night, watching the news on TV, he could only sigh:
'The Price of Freedom'
By the end of April, the Knicks' schedule suddenly became tight again, with almost five games a week.
Jeff Van Gundy made chicken soup every day, but he still lost two back-to back games.
Throughout April, the Knicks finally achieved a record of 12 wins and 4 losses.
37 wins and 10 losses, the coaching staff and the New York media all breathed a sigh of relief, the Knicks have secured first place in the Eastern Conference!
On the morning of April 30, Jeff Van Gundy finally smiled when he was interviewed by the New York media:
"We have survived a difficult April by holding onto our first position and can now think about the playoffs!"
"No matter who our first-round opponent is, we are ready."
"Lee is in great shape, Pat is fine, the whole team is healthy, we will increase the rotation for the three games in May!"
"The team doesn't care about the specific results, our goal is to get the home advantage!"
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