The entire league was unaware that something terrible was happening.
The 19-game winning streak is just the beginning...
There have been winning streaks in the league before. The Lakers' roster has excellent chemistry, so it's normal for them to lose every game so far this season. But to say they're undefeated is just wishful thinking.
One day later, the Knicks arrived!
This is a back-to-back game; they just played the Bulls yesterday and are facing the Knicks today.
Generally speaking, back-to-back games are difficult because players haven't recovered from the fatigue of the previous game, especially for the Lakers who only have a 7-man rotation. However, the Knicks' record has given the Lakers a lot of confidence. Bynum even said that he doesn't need Wei Ge to take the shot; he can take care of the Knicks on his own.
Speaking of which...
The Knicks have a strong roster.
The head coach is Thomas, a legendary guard who was a key figure in the Detroit Pistons' "Bad Boys" era.
Most of the Knicks players are familiar faces to Wei Guo. Crawford, Nate Robinson, David Lee, Eddy Curry, and Balkman are all former Knicks teammates. In addition to these players, the Knicks also strengthened their roster in the summer, signing Randolph and Richardson. One of them is a teammate of the Trail Blazers, and the other is an opponent of the Suns.
so...
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Knicks are a championship team.
Which of these players hasn't played in the Finals? Which of them doesn't have a championship ring?
The Knicks have dominated the league for six years, and it's so hard to get a championship ring... In those six years, superstars like O'Neal, Duncan, Garnett, Kobe, and McGrady combined haven't won a single championship ring, while the Knicks have a dozen or so.
Such a strong team...
Their record is second to last in the Eastern Conference, which is puzzling.
......
They ran into Brother Wei again, and these dark-skinned, tough guys were as excited as children, lining up to rush into Brother Wei's arms, saying they would definitely hold back tonight and give Brother Wei a 20-game winning streak.
Thomas was furious...
These people usually listen to him, but after meeting Gentry and Wei Ge, they don't care who Thomas is.
......
Starting lineup for this match:
Lakers: Farmar, Walton, Weiguo, Ariza, Bynum
Knicks: Nate Robinson, Crawford, Richardson, Randolph, Eddy Curry
......
The Knicks have very tall interior players: Eddy Curry is 2.13 meters tall, Randolph is 2.06 meters tall, and David Lee is 2.06 meters tall. Their perimeter players are quite short: Robinson is 1.75 meters tall.
Eddie Curry and Bynum jump ball.
"Beep!!!"
The whistle blew, and the game began.
Bynum had a better jumping ability and won the jump ball against Eddie Curry. Farmar got the ball, and Wei Guo had already moved to the basket.
If it's Paul...
A long pass can assist Wei Guo's alley-oop.
Farmar's skills were a bit lacking. He dribbled three steps before passing the ball to Weiguo when he was close to the three-point line. Weiguo received the ball, walked to the basket, and easily scored with a layup.
2-0!!!
The Knicks' defense was practically nonexistent.
This shows their understanding of Wei Guo. Most of the Knicks players are Wei Guo's former teammates, and they know him too well. Even if Eddie and Randolph surrounded him, they couldn't stop Wei Guo from scoring.
Who knows...
Wei Guo was about to dunk on them again.
Rather than becoming a background character, it's better to just avoid the situation altogether. This defensive attitude almost made Thomas faint with anger. If someone defended like this in the 80s, the head coach would definitely kick their ass.
Fortunately...
The Lakers knew how to return the favor, and Crawford used his signature behind-the-back dribble step-over to get past Walton and score a layup over Bynum.
Crawford moved very quickly...
If Bynum had anticipated the shot and positioned himself accordingly, he could have saved it.
The Knicks still didn't play defense, making the Lakers feel embarrassed to play defense too, and the game changed... You score a basket, I score a basket, and when we were on defense, we were practically making way for you to go for a layup. If you got a spectacular dunk, we were practically cheering.
Thomas's face darkened!
I wanted to get angry but couldn't... The Knicks didn't play defense, and neither did the Lakers. They were just trading baskets, with the score constantly fluctuating.
......
The first quarter has ended.
41:39!!
The Lakers lead by 2 points.
In one quarter, the two teams combined for 80 points, which is even more impressive than the Suns, who are known for their offense.
With all the players back on the sidelines, Thomas finally couldn't hold back and questioned, "Is this the attitude you're going to use to defend?"
There were only two official timeouts in the first quarter, which was too short for Thomas to say much. When the first quarter ended, the players returned to the sidelines laughing and joking around, which gave Thomas a reason to lose his temper.
"Relax..."
Robinson said with a grin, "We're only down by 2 points, that's already great!"
Thomas had never encountered such a shameless person. He was so angry that he stammered, "Only... two points behind? And you... play... this... attitude?!"
Robinson said, "Our opponent is Wei Ge, no matter how hard we try, we can't beat him."
Thomas asked, "Do you even know anything about basketball?!"
Robinson said, "Do you even understand Brother Wei?"
Robinson has become a bit too indulgent.
Crawford pulled Robinson aside, winked at him behind Thomas's back, and said insincerely, "How dare you talk to the head coach like that! If you don't want to play, get out... We need a winning mentality."
These were all said to Thomas, which calmed him down. Thomas picked up the whiteboard and talked to the players about defensive tactics, specifically pointing out a few problems in the first quarter. He noted that if they had defended those few plays, the Knicks would have taken the lead. Similar to Pete's mentality, Thomas also longed for a victory.
actually...
Thomas also understood that the Lakers were also taking a relaxed approach to defense.
Wei Guo, who averages five-plus blocks per game in his career, didn't record a single block in the first quarter. Even when Little Potato made a mid-range shot in front of Wei Guo, Wei Guo would just open his arms as a formality. If he really wanted to defend... it wouldn't be a simple block; Wei Guo could have caught the ball right off the ground.
The Knicks players have too much reverence for Wei Guo.
They treated tonight's game as a friendly match, playing fun basketball, and ultimately didn't lose by too much, so they achieved their goal!
Thomas had watched the Lakers' last game. The Bulls' roster wasn't much stronger than the Knicks', and they still managed to beat the Lakers by more than ten points in the third quarter. This was also a back-to-back game for the Lakers, and Thomas felt that if they put in some effort, they could really win this game.
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