"Coach, let me play. I didn't play well in the last few games, but I'll fix it," Yi Jianlian said, lowering his head.
Lowry also walked over and apologized in a low voice.
D'Antoni was very happy, but outwardly he just nodded lightly and said, "Don't worry, I'll let you play when it's time."
The two had no choice but to return to the bench and sit down honestly. wΑp.kanshu伍.net
The Pacers' head coach, Vogel, was very capable. He knew that the Knicks could last until now because of Li Feng alone.
Therefore, he emphasized to the players again that they must defend Li Feng to death. If double-teaming wasn't enough, they should triple-team, and let others go if necessary.
After the timeout, the Pacers players immediately launched a fierce offense.
The Pacers players were ambitious, aiming for the championship this season.
In fact, Li Feng, before time-traveling, also had regrets about this Pacers team when he watched games.
Granger, Paul George, West, Hibbert, George Hill, this lineup was really great.
If there was any regret, it was when Granger was injured by a foul in the playoffs. kanδん
In this year, Paul George had not yet grown, and Granger was the undisputed leader of the team.
When he went down, the Pacers couldn't hold on, and their strength was greatly diminished.
In the end, the Pacers failed to break out of the Eastern Conference.
Of course, that was a story from another parallel world.
After the timeout, Li Feng was subjected to crazy double-teaming, and the Knicks teammates clearly lacked chemistry.
The Pacers also went on a run, widening the score difference again.
As the first quarter reached 9 minutes and 26 seconds, the score was 27:17, with the Pacers leading by 10 points.
Seeing that Li Feng was too tired, D'Antoni called a timeout and replaced the starters to rest.
The bench lineup came on: Billups, Yi Jianlian, Lowry, Marion, and Jerome.
Perhaps feeling guilty, Yi Jianlian and Lowry played very hard.
Although the Pacers' bench was also very strong, Lowry, Yi Jianlian, and Billups all had the strength of starters.
By the end of the first quarter, the Knicks were only trailing by 3 points, with the score at 32:29.
D'Antoni watched from the sidelines and nodded slightly.
Lowry and Yi Jianlian played very hard and did not become discouraged or slack off just because they were moved to the bench.
The second quarter began with the same bench lineup.
The Pacers' head coach, Vogel, was a little anxious. He couldn't understand why Lowry and Yi Jianlian, who were originally starters, were in the bench lineup.
In desperation, he had to send Paul George and Hibbert onto the court early to play with the bench.
With this arrangement, the two teams' benches played a fiercely contested game.
After more than 3 minutes into the second quarter, Li Feng suddenly walked to the coach and asked to play.
This was the time for the bench players.
D'Antoni immediately understood that Li Feng was doing this to save face for Yi Jianlian and Lowry.
Li Feng, through his actions, showed Yi Jianlian and Lowry: Play hard, starting or bench doesn't matter, what matters is your attitude!
The Pacers' head coach Vogel was confused. He didn't understand the Knicks' substitution. Why was Li Feng back on the court?
As soon as Li Feng took the court, he immediately changed the situation.
Li Feng was already strong, and with Yi Jianlian, Lowry, and Billups, they had an advantage on both offense and defense, and the score difference slowly widened.
Vogel had no choice but to call a timeout and prepare to bring in the starting lineup.
At 42:36, the Knicks led by 6 points.
D'Antoni clapped and nodded vigorously from the sidelines. He was truly impressed by Li Feng's unique management style.
Using both soft and hard tactics, leading by example, deeply understanding the psychological changes of his teammates.
It can be said that without Li Feng's efforts in all aspects, the Knicks would not even have won two championships, let alone three.
The team had too many problems after winning consecutive championships.
After the timeout, the game continued, and both teams' starting lineups continued to battle.
The Pacers' lineup was indeed balanced and powerful, with strong players at every position.
Without Yao Ming, the Knicks' inside advantage was gone, and they played very hard.
The score difference hovered between five and six points. Although the Knicks led, it was not easy to widen the gap.
By the end of the second quarter, the score was 59:55, with the Knicks leading by 4 points.
Barkley, commentating on the game, had sharp eyes and immediately noticed that there were internal problems with the Knicks.
"Smith, have you noticed that the Knicks' substitutions today seem particularly chaotic!"
Smith, as a veteran commentator, naturally noticed it and nodded, "I think the coach is trying to discipline certain players, because the previous two consecutive losses have surprised too many people."
"That's right. Yi Jianlian and Lowry, in those two games, their scoring was similar, but their defense was sloppy, which is really not like players from a reigning champion. It's no wonder D'Antoni was angry."
"It's strange that Li Feng wasn't too angry. This is different from the leaders of other teams. If it were Jordan or Kobe, they would have caused a scene in the locker room."
"It might have something to do with Li Feng's personality. He rarely has rumors of conflict with his teammates, and reporters have not received any such news."
"Li Feng's personality is tenacious but not ostentatious. In some ways, he is similar to Yao Ming. A team leader like this is also quite charming."
...
The fans found their commentary very reasonable, and many of them focused their attention on the Knicks players.
The second half began.
There was a change in the Knicks' starting lineup, with Yi Jianlian and Lowry returning to the court.
After half a game of "punishment," their attitudes were re-aligned.
Li Feng was very pleased and hugged both of them after they took the court.
The Knicks had basically resolved this issue, with D'Antoni playing the good cop and Li Feng playing the bad cop.
However, the ultimate goal was to make the Knicks players "realize" a truth: arrogance is unacceptable in any game.
With the gods returning to their positions, the Knicks once again displayed their dominance.
The tactics between Li Feng and Yi Jianlian, and Lowry and Li Feng, were frequently successful, leading to a run.
After more than 4 minutes into the third quarter, the Knicks led by 13 points.
Vogel shook his head in frustration and immediately called a timeout.
In fact, the Pacers were not weak. It was just that they didn't adapt to the Knicks' adjustments at the beginning of the second half.
In the first half, the Pacers' starters were matched against Novak and Shumpert, and of course, they were not as fierce as Yi Jianlian and Lowry.
Vogel kept emphasizing to the players: The Knicks have changed their lineup. They can't just focus their defense on Li Feng. Lowry and Yi Jianlian are also tactical initiators.
Although Vogel's idea was correct, the reduced defensive pressure on Li Feng had severe consequences!
After the timeout, the Pacers intensified their defense on Lowry and Yi Jianlian.
The defender on Li Feng was only Paul George.
This was like a training match for Li Feng.
Of course, Paul George's defensive ability was strong, but he was still in his rookie season, lacking experience. Moreover, defending Li Feng one-on-one was simply a disaster.
Lowry dribbled past half-court and passed the ball to Li Feng when he saw him beckoning for it.
Paul George was fully focused, his knees slightly bent, and his arms spread.
Li Feng made a triple-threat move, then suddenly drove.
Paul George quickly moved, reaching out to block.
Who knew that Li Feng suddenly made a crossover dribble, changing direction rapidly and turning to the left!
A Sam God dribble!
In others' Sam God dribble, there would be a half-second pause during the change of direction because the human knees and ankles need cushioning.
But Li Feng seemed to have no such worries, changing direction without slowing down.
Only Rose used to dribble like this, but Rose's later physical condition proved how much damage such non-stop directional changes could cause to the body.
Whoosh!
Paul George couldn't change his center of gravity in time. He only felt a blur, and Li Feng was gone.
Li Feng easily passed Paul George and drove into the paint.
Vogel was skilled. Although he had Paul George defend Li Feng one-on-one, others were ready to help.
Swish!
Granger abandoned Yi Jianlian and moved to block Li Feng, raising his hands high, giving Li Feng no space to shoot.
But Yi Jianlian was left unguarded, and he immediately retreated to the three-point line.
Li Feng made a no-look pass, whoosh!
The basketball went through Granger's armpit and accurately found Yi Jianlian.
Yi Jianlian calmly shot from beyond the three-point line!
Swish!
Three-pointer made!
Li Feng added another beautiful assist.
After scoring, Yi Jianlian rushed over to high-five Li Feng in celebration and then ran to the sideline to high-five D'Antoni.
The body language expressed gratitude for the trust of the coach and Li Feng!
The atmosphere within the Knicks team returned to their desire for championships, and the three armies fought with all their might!
The score difference continued to widen. By the end of the third quarter, the Knicks had a 23-point lead.
89:66.
The Pacers' situation was dire.
Before this game, the media unanimously believed that the Knicks would suffer a three-game losing streak.
This was because the Pacers were in great form after the All-Star break, while the Knicks had suffered two consecutive losses.
But the result of this game was truly jaw-dropping.
After three quarters, the Pacers were completely blown out by the Knicks!
Li Feng finished his game in three quarters, and the fourth quarter turned into garbage time.
Granger, Paul George, West, and others sat on the bench with grim expressions.
The ambitious Pacers, colliding with each other, were thoroughly awakened by a bucket of cold water poured on them by the Knicks.
Want to win a championship?
You're still quite far off!
In fact, the gap between the two teams was not as big as the score suggested. The main reason was that the Knicks' lineup changes in the first and second halves of the game had indeed made the Pacers extremely unaccustomed.
Of course, this was also due to the Pacers' lack of experience.
The Knicks, with two consecutive championships, had mastered the rhythm too well.
Especially Li Feng, with his extremely high basketball IQ, was like a commander on the court, seizing the opponent's weaknesses and exploiting them to the fullest.
In the end, the Knicks won a big victory against the Pacers on the road.
Li Feng scored 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in the game.
Granger scored 24 points, and Paul George scored 19 points, completely overshadowed by Li Feng's brilliance.
After the game, a local female reporter approached Li Feng with a microphone.
"Li Feng, congratulations on defeating the Pacers on the road, breaking their winning streak, and helping the Knicks avoid a three-game losing streak!"
Li Feng wiped his sweat and nodded with a smile, "Thank you. This game was very important for us. My teammates played very well."
"Many fans are confused about the Knicks' lineup. Why were Yi Jianlian and Lowry starters?"
Li Feng began to play dumb, shaking his head, "Well... I'm not sure. You should ask the coach. This was D'Antoni's arrangement."
"You really don't know the reason? But in the second half, Yi Jianlian and Lowry were put back into the starting lineup. Fans are confused."
Li Feng shrugged, "I don't know the reason either. Maybe they played well in the first half. I think fans shouldn't pay too much attention to these details. Is starting or coming off the bench important?"
The female reporter cleared her throat. She knew that Li Feng was very good at dealing with the media, and it was impossible to pry out the real situation within the Knicks locker room.
This was all locker room secret, and it was not easily revealed to outsiders.
After winning against the Pacers, the Knicks seemed to have opened the floodgates and could not be stopped!
Subsequently, the Knicks went on to win five consecutive games, reaching first place in the Eastern Conference and first place in the entire league!
After the previous two consecutive losses, many media outlets believed that the Knicks' chances of winning three consecutive championships were slim.
But after these few games, the media began to hype up the three-peat.
Many reporters vied to interview Li Feng at various times, but Li Feng refused them all.
D'Antoni also specifically instructed the other Knicks players not to accept media interviews casually, nor to participate in variety shows.
The regular season record was no longer the Knicks' focus. The entire team was now preparing for the playoffs.
Especially Yao Ming, who was being carefully nursed from his minor injuries. D'Antoni decided that before the playoffs, Yao Ming would play at most five games, and his playing time would be limited.
In addition, Li Feng and other starters' playing time would also be limited to below 30 minutes.
Even if they lost a certain game, it didn't matter. They would let the bench players fill in, which would also increase the bench lineup's game experience.
The Knicks were now like a high-speed operating machine, with every part working according to plan, not allowing even a single error.
On March 28th, the Knicks, playing at home, welcomed another strong opponent, the Miami Heat.
This was the last match between the two teams this season.
In the previous three matchups, the Knicks had won two and lost one, holding the lead.
However, in this game, the Knicks were in a precarious situation.
Because Yao Ming was still resting, the Knicks would have problems in the paint.
And the Heat had been in very good form in recent games.
The Big Three were young and healthy, and in the later stages of the regular season, their momentum was very strong.
Before this game, the Heat had won four consecutive games, while the Knicks had just lost to the Suns.
In the first quarter, led by Li Feng, the Knicks struggled to hold on.
But the Big Three were too fierce, especially LeBron James, who vented all his previous frustrations on the Knicks.
D'Antoni saw that the Big Three were coming in aggressively, and for the sake of the playoffs, the Knicks didn't need to go all out against the Heat's Big Three.
Therefore, at 7 minutes into the first quarter, the coach replaced all the starters.
Li Feng naturally understood D'Antoni's intentions, but he was also very reluctant, and other players were even more confused.
But no one said anything.