novelhk Chapter 647 The New Denver Mafia Legion! The whole team is made up of thugs and...
Chapter 647 The New Denver Mafia Legion! The whole team is made up of thugs and...
Two consecutive wins to start the season are clearly not the limit for the Knicks. This season, the Knicks are obviously stronger than last season!
Several of their players have shown significant improvement. If we had to pinpoint a weakness in the team, it would be the lack of a qualified backup center.
After Mourning left, Nelson could only have Stoudemire play center more often to make up for the time spent at center.
With the Knicks having plenty of players at the 3 and 4 positions but lacking at the 5 position, Don Nelson's approach is arguably the only reasonable rotation plan in the team's current roster.
Of course, if Stoudemire is completely ineffective at defending the power forward position, he will naturally have the same defensive weaknesses when he plays center.
When Stoudemire played center, the team's power forward position was usually filled by Smith, Wallace, or Hill. These three players were either too aggressive, too rough, or too old, and their defensive performance was equally negligible.
As a result, the Knicks' interior defense will be heavily targeted and exploited by opponents in almost every game of the new season!
Moreover, it's not just their defense at the center position that's weak; the Knicks also struggle to contain the scoring power forwards.
Of course, defense was never their strong suit, but it just became even weaker after Mourning left!
In the following games, apart from Yao Ming scoring 40+20, the Knicks' interior defense was almost completely dominated.
Against the Wizards, Jamison exploded for 38 points and 19 rebounds. Against the Pistons, Rasheed had 30 points and 10 rebounds. Against the Jazz, the Jazz's twin towers, Boozer and O'Neal, combined for 59 points and 28 rebounds!
Against a team like the Trail Blazers, who started the season with a five-game losing streak, they allowed Randolph to score 39 points and grab 17 rebounds!
Throughout November, although the Knicks had a pretty good record, with a 13-4 record that kept them firmly in first place in the Eastern Conference, their interior defense was repeatedly exploited and breached.
It's worth mentioning that despite their interior defense being so thoroughly exposed, neither the media, fans, nor their opponents seemed to see it as a problem!
Who can blame them when their defense not only didn't decline, but actually improved!
Last season, the Knicks ranked either 30th or 27th or 28th in defensive statistics such as points allowed per game, opponent turnovers per game, opponent field goal percentage, and opponent three-pointers per game. None of their defensive statistics exceeded 25!
On average, they were the worst defensive team in the league last season!
It's absolutely awful.
If a team like this can win the championship, then without a doubt, their offense is absolutely epic in its power!
But this season, their defense has improved.
Even though their inside game was so badly exploited, their overall defense still improved!
The Knicks have improved from 30th overall last season to 27th this season!
The three teams trailing behind them are also quite interesting!
They are the Suns, who finished the first month with a 10-5 record and were fourth in the Western Conference.
The Seattle SuperSonics are third from the bottom in the Western Conference with a record of 5 wins and 10 losses.
And the Orlando Magic, who only had a 4-12 record in the first month, ranking second to last in the Eastern Conference.
The bottom four defensive teams include two of the league's top teams and two of the league's worst teams. It's quite interesting that these four teams appear repeatedly on the same list!
However, the reasons why these teams have the worst defenses are different.
The Suns missed the first month because their starting center, Martin, was injured. If Martin were back, the Suns' defense could definitely take a big step forward, at least improving to around the 4th to 6th worst in the league!
As for the remaining three teams, their poor defense stems from the same reason.
The vegetables were simply rotten!
However, the Knicks and Suns were able to recover more of the points they lost through offense, while the other two teams did not have that level of ability.
This is why all four teams have equally terrible defenses, yet their records are worlds apart!
Also in the first month of the new season, Lin Tian not only led his team to continue being the top team in the East, but also averaged 24.5 points, 11.2 assists and 10.8 rebounds per game, and became the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for the first month.
However, for Lin Tian's fans and the league's fans, whether Lin Tian gets a triple-double or wins Player of the Month, it's all trivial.
Everyone has already adapted to it, everyone has already gotten used to it.
It's just Player of the Month. I've already won so many MVP awards. What's there to say about Player of the Month?
After a series of impressive games in November, the Knicks faced another formidable opponent on December 1st!
Denver Nuggets!
Since drafting Darko Milicic in 03 and bringing in Karl, a coach known for giving his players confidence and allowing them to develop and improve freely, the Denver Nuggets have finally gotten on the right track, and their performance has been improving in recent years.
Although the team never had a particularly outstanding performance in the playoffs, the Nuggets were already recognized as a strong team in the regular season!
This season, the Nuggets have improved their record even further after acquiring Billups!
Back in his hometown, Billups put on a stunning performance in his first month, with his field goal percentage, assist-to-turnover ratio, and scoring all reaching career highs.
Besides Billups, the team's core player Milicic has also continued his uninterrupted progress.
He has finally taken another step forward this season, averaging 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks in his first month! These stats have officially propelled him into the ranks of the league's top centers, and many believe that Milicic will definitely be selected for the All-Star Game this year!
When the two eldest players on a team perform exceptionally well and deliver the most outstanding performances of their careers, the team's results are sure to be good as well!
In November, the Nuggets achieved an 11-4 record, ranking third in the Western Conference. If they can maintain their current record, Milicic will likely earn more than just an All-Star spot; he could very well be selected for the All-NBA Team!
Besides Milicic and Billups, the Nuggets now have a number of daring players, including Nene who successfully returned from surgery, multiple-time league block leader Marcus Camby, Eastern European double-double Kleiza and Nájera, and rebounding enthusiast Reggie Evans.
Just by looking at the names of this roster, you can imagine the Nuggets' current style.
The team, comprised of burly men, is practically the new generation of gangsters in the league. Their style is quite brutal, with a group of tough, muscular forwards and centers of varying skin colors who inflict intense physical contact and relentless friction on their opponents in every game.
Their style is to compete with others to see who is fiercer and more ruthless!
In addition, the Denver Nuggets' home court is located at an altitude of over 5000 feet, making the Denver Highlands one of the most difficult home courts to breach in the entire league this year.
On December 1st, the first game of the second month of the new season, Denver's home arena welcomed a formidable challenger.
New York Knicks!
These two teams have completely different styles.
The Nuggets are aggressive and domineering, playing pure power and physical basketball.
Their games are not flashy at all, and they rarely even have dunks. The team's style is quite simple, but every simple Nuggets player is the kind of ruthless person who can pull out a sharp knife or hammer from his pocket and smash it on your head at any time!
The Knicks are a team that can run and jump, with a flashy style of play. Every player on the team is incredibly entertaining to watch. Whenever they play, they are guaranteed to produce several of the top 10 plays of the day.
But these flashy guys on the Knicks, while they might not have any cleavers or bricks in their pockets, they can produce Lin Tian!
They can field the league's top-tier fighting force. With Lin Tian on the team, no team would dare to play dirty tricks against the Knicks, unless they're tired of being in the league and want to retire and spend a few days in the hospital. Otherwise, no one would be willing to fight the Knicks.
In this respect, the Knicks and the Nuggets are quite similar.
The Denver Nuggets, with their roster of burly Eastern European players, are also one of the most formidable teams in the league!
Now, these two teams, which are completely opposite in every way except for their incredibly strong fighting ability when they get into a fight, are about to start a battle!
Before the game, apart from Lin Tian and Billups exchanging greetings and a few casual words, the rest of the players from the two teams were not familiar with each other at all. In fact, Milicic kept a close eye on Anthony.
Clearly, this guy, like the rest of the class of 03, thought he was the best and should be the top scorer.
Because most people on both sides were not very familiar with each other, the atmosphere before the game started was quite tense. Neither side spoke. Anthony noticed Milicic glaring at him and immediately glared back fiercely.
Then Nene noticed Anthony glaring at Milicic, and Nene glared back...
After a series of back-and-forth stares, the atmosphere of the match became even more tense!
When the referee walked to the center line to prepare to start the game, he was startled.
The referee glanced to the left and exclaimed, "Holy crap! That's terrifying! A bunch of burly men are staring at me!"
I glanced to the right, and FUXX! How scary, another group of burly men were staring at me!
The referees instinctively felt that tonight's game might be difficult to officiate! These people might have some grudge that the referees didn't know about, and Yao might have to settle the score with them tonight!
As the match was about to begin, the three referees looked at each other again and then nodded in unison.
Be careful tonight! We need to keep things under control to prevent a fight from breaking out!
Tonight, in addition to the four core players who never change their starting lineup, the Knicks' starting shooting guard has changed to Gerald Wallace.
This isn't a specific adjustment targeting the Nuggets, but rather because Don Nelson hasn't yet decided who to start at shooting guard! So far this season, he has started four players: Hill, Wallace, Barnes, and Houston.
However, none of these four players satisfied Nelson, so the team's starting lineup has not yet been officially determined!
All I can say is that everyone still has hope!
On the Nuggets' side, the starting point guard is Lin Tian's old rival Billups, and the shooting guard is Linus Kleiza, a standard Eastern European giant who is 203 cm tall and weighs over 100 kg! Actually, Kleiza is more suitable to play the small forward position, but George Karl has put him at the shooting guard position this season.
The team's small forward is another forward who came from Eastern Europe. He is also 203 cm tall and weighs over 100 kg, Aidodon Najura!
Putting aside ability and status, the Nuggets' 2-3 position lineup, just in terms of fighting ability and height and weight, is probably the best among all 2-3 position pairs in the entire league!
The team's power forward position is now led by Darko Milicic!
In this life, Milicic was lucky; he wasn't drafted by Larry Brown but instead joined the Nuggets, where he met George Karl, who was good at helping players improve and adjust themselves to play better and better.
Milicic was lucky! If he had been with the Pistons, he would probably have become the "human cigar," receiving almost no protection or help, and ultimately leaving the NBA early, becoming a notorious bust in NBA history.
This time, however, Milicic's situation with the Nuggets is completely different. He was developed as a core player from the moment he entered the league. Although his talent cannot compare with Wade, Anthony, and James, his progress is quite rapid.
In his fourth year as a professional, Milicic has already become a consistent 20+10 machine!
As for the team's center, it's Nene Hilario, who underwent a painful surgery last summer and then spent a whole year recovering before finally making a successful comeback!
This guy is incredibly bold; just by looking at his face, you can tell he's not someone to mess with. He's a ruthless bandit type!
This group of players forms the current core five of the Nuggets!
Looking at the muscular physiques of these guys, Lin Tian couldn't help but sigh, "They're definitely better suited to be mafia bodyguards than playing basketball here!"
The person Lin Tian thought was a villain must have looked incredibly fierce, needless to say.
If the gold rush team were to line up and walk onto the street, the police would most likely pull out their guns and make them kneel down.
They're obviously criminals!
However, for now, the Nuggets players seem to really enjoy being the villains.
Each one was more arrogant than the last, their chins held higher than the last.
Lin Tian had plenty of ways to deal with such arrogant and pretentious opponents.
Holding your heads high, huh? Perfect! When I dunk on you guys later, stay in that position and have a good sniff!
"Beep beep!"
At this moment, the referee blew the whistle to start the game, and Okur and Nene jumped at the same time, with Okur securing the first possession for the Knicks.
After Lin Tian dribbled the ball quickly to the frontcourt, he began to observe the area while facing Billups' defense.
Then he realized that the team was at a disadvantage in the overall confrontation!
Apart from Lin Tian, every position and every player on the Knicks is inferior to their opponents in terms of physical strength!
They were all pushed outwards by the opponent, and the Nuggets' most crucial area inside was filled with Nuggets players.
Since his teammates couldn't get open positions or find opportunities, Lin Tian simply stopped waiting!
Facing his old rival Billups, Lin Tian suddenly took a big step forward with his right foot to the left, as if he was about to launch a rapid attack from the left flank.
But just as Billups was about to shift his weight and change his defensive position, Lin Tian moved first!
He turned his right toes and twisted his hips at the same time, and suddenly his whole body changed from facing outwards to facing inwards!
Lin Tian's turn completely baffled Billups! Before this, Billups was directly in front of Lin Tian, but somehow, with this twist and turn, Billups was surprised to find himself parallel to Lin Tian!
By the time he finally realized what was happening and tried to turn around to complete the defense, it was too late!
Lin Tian had completely left him behind and suddenly accelerated, rushing towards Nene and Milicic under the basket.
"Bang!"
The first to jump was Nene, who collided heavily with Lin Tian. Although the collision looked fierce, it didn't cause any real damage. At least Lin Tian's hand position didn't change at all.
He was still in the same position, and just as Lin Tian was about to flick his wrist to send the ball out...
He suddenly noticed a dark figure appearing behind him!
Milicic!
This guy leaped high, timed it perfectly, and swatted the basketball that Lin Tian was about to shoot!
In other words, Lin Tian reacted really fast. Before Milicic's slap came down, Lin Tian incredibly completed the lever in mid-air and dodged the block.
Then, before landing, he flicked his wrist again.
"Whoosh!"
The basketball dodged all obstacles and obediently nestled into the net.
"Kid! If you want to challenge me, don't hide behind your teammates. Come out and fight me one-on-one! A coward who only knows how to hide will never grow up!"
"Let's see who the coward is!" Milic responded immediately to Lin Tian's taunt.
On offense, this guy didn't go inside to ask for the ball. Instead, he reached out to Billups from a step inside the three-point line to get the ball. Then, facing Stoudemire's non-existent defense, he used a shooting fake to get Stoudemire off balance, and then suddenly lowered his body and rushed into the paint.
As soon as he entered the paint, Milicic suddenly spun around and left Okur, who was coming to help defend, behind him.
Then this guy pulled up and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand!
"boom!"
After a loud bang, Milicic, with a deft breakthrough almost entirely contrary to his height and build, tied the score for his team! (End of Chapter)