Champion, please stay!

Chapter 123, 121. The more progress we make, the more we feel there's not enough time!

Nash called a timeout to set up a quick attack and fouls strategy.

After the timeout, he took on the crucial shot himself... He used a screen to shake off Du Hong's tight defense, jumped, and launched a three-pointer... a forced fadeaway...

Nash's shot was from a very high angle, but Yi Shui still managed to touch the ball with his fingertips, giving Yi Shui his 5th block of the night and setting a new single-game record for blocks!

The ball continued flying towards the basket, then fell midway and was picked up by David Lee, who passed it to Duhon.

The Suns didn't execute a quick foul. A tactical foul is only necessary after a basket. Now that they've committed a tactical foul, the score is 7 points behind with 10 seconds left. It's game over. Du Hongyun didn't attack again after crossing half-court, and the score is now set.

The boos from the fans gradually subsided as the countdown numbers dwindled.

纳什32分8助攻、斯塔德迈尔31分6助攻、奥尼尔23分12板，‘三巨头’合砍86分，还是无法阻止第9场失利的到来。

In their previous 18 games, they had more losses than wins against playoff-level teams. The 10 wins were mostly against weaker teams. Even against the Heat, who only had Wade, they almost lost and had to play several overtime games to win.

易水出场39分钟，19投9中，其中三分球5中2，加上6中6的罚球，拿到26分10板7助攻2抢断5盖帽。

库里17投8中，其中三分球10中4，加上3中3的罚球，拿到23分5助攻。

加上大卫-李的17分8板、杜洪的12分8助攻、鸟人8分10板、大Q14分……122比117，尼克斯队5分险胜太阳队！豪取7连胜！

As the final whistle blew, the chants that the fans had shouted before the game began to rise from nowhere, spreading throughout the stadium and gradually becoming more synchronized than before the game.

"Porter out! We want Mike!"

D'Antoni listened to the fans' shouts, his eyes fixed on the big screen, looking at the score, trying hard to suppress a smile... but he couldn't.

On the Yishui side, after celebrating the victory with his teammates, he chatted with two rookies from the same cohort about the head coach and his former team.

Yi Shui: "I saw the news. In April, after the Suns were eliminated by the Spurs 1-4, they returned to Phoenix and thousands of fans blocked the airport, chanting 'D'Antoni out.' A week later, Mike left the Suns. This scene is really ironic."

Chalmers: "I heard that their new general manager at the time, Kerr, the shooter from Jordan's Bulls, blamed Mike for the elimination, saying that he brought O'Neal to Mike, but Mike couldn't bring victory. The Phoenix fans believed him and got rid of Mike."

Curry: "I don't understand why Kerr thinks bringing in O'Neal will bring victory. Doesn't he know that the Suns' system is incompatible with O'Neal?"

Yi Shui recalled the controversial moves Kerr would make when he coached the Warriors and speculated: "Maybe he wanted to overturn the team-building ideas of the previous general manager of the Suns and prove that he was better than his predecessor."

It's also possible that after joining the Suns, he attributed the team's previous success to his own actions, believing everything was under his control?

Curry: "Aren't these two possibilities too extreme?"

Chalmers: "But it's all possible, otherwise such a move couldn't have been made..."

...

The main character after tonight's game is D'Antoni, who is facing his former team as an opponent. Yi Shui is happy to have some peace and quiet... but not really.

Back at the hotel, he started lifting weights to prepare for tomorrow's competition.

He played 39 minutes tonight, and his counterpart was... Shaquille O'Neal. After the timeout with two and a half minutes left in the second quarter, when O'Neal came on for the Suns, D'Antoni substituted him in, and when O'Neal rested, D'Antoni substituted him out.

This operation is ingenious, but it works very well!
When O'Neal was on the court, if Raja Bell and Hill played together, even with Nash and Stoudemire on the court, their half-court defense was still decent.

But once Yi Shui is on the court, two of the Suns' three good defenders will have their attention on him, making it easier for the others to play.

This is also why his shot attempts decreased sharply in the last three quarters. He could attract the defense, so he would drive Hill inside, drawing O'Neal's attention and giving David Lee, Birdman, and Curry better space to attack the basket on the other side.

Many people didn't notice that rookie Curry is the only guard on his team with a 6% field goal percentage near the basket, on par with Yi Shui, although he takes more than half the number of shots compared to Yi Shui.

Curry is as reckless with his outside shots as he is cautious inside, averaging 1.8 of 3 shots per game, and you almost never see him forcing shots inside.

Yi Shui's inside players average 7.9 field goal attempts and make 4.8 of them per game.

This playing style also reduces the physical exertion on Yi Shui, so although his playing time is five or six minutes longer than usual, his physical exertion after the game is about the same.

Also, he recently felt that his physical strength seemed to have improved, quite noticeably.

After completing the sixth round of weightlifting training on 'Day 7', the system finally determined that he had met the standard. He breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he was about to exceed it. After all, this was a training session he could barely manage in one go when he was in the NCAA and his stamina was in the 70s. For him now, the volume was indeed not high enough.

He definitely won't practice in the last round, so he has to keep this 'repair card'.

Tonight's extra training is just depleting my own energy.

He dragged his weary body back to his room, fell asleep without even taking a shower...

The next morning, Yi Shui woke up feeling full of energy, plus she was very hungry as she was used to waking up early.

After he focused his attention, a system notification appeared!

"Your stamina has increased from 89 to 90. According to the system calculation, it is close to the optimal combination of your current age, height and weight. It is recommended to combine muscle building and physical training to improve your stamina."

Upon seeing the notification, Yi Shui's first reaction was not to be happy, but to lie down again.

He slept well last night and his stamina is now at 90. This doesn't mean that his stamina jumped from 89 to the top level of 90 overnight, but rather that it's the result of more than two months of hard training and playing matches.

He looked at the files. He needed to practice the basics, practice the techniques, optimize the techniques, and work with Cheeks to find ways to improve the team's defense little by little... He felt like he was never finished and there was never enough time!
After lying in bed for a while, Yi Shui got up, took a bath, and went to eat; she was starving.

After eating and drinking his fill and experiencing a bout of carbon monoxide sickness, he thought about it and realized that among the top draft picks, his fate was actually quite good.

When he arrived at the Knicks, Thomas had already been fired, and Walsh took charge of the rebuilding process. The Knicks entered what could be considered their first successful rebuilding cycle of the new century...

...

In the evening, the Knicks arrived at Staples Center for the second game of a back-to-back road game against the Lakers.

After two and a half hours of play, the Knicks' seven-game winning streak came to an end.

After a 10-game stretch, the Knicks' streak of scoring over 100 points ended, as they lost to the Lakers 98-110, bringing their record down to 14 wins and 5 losses.

The Knicks played three games in four days, all away, and it was the second game of a back-to-back. Apart from Yi Shui, Nate Robinson and Wilson Chandler who didn't play last night, the rest of the team's stamina was affected.

David Lee and Birdman, two strong men, were in better physical condition, but they encountered the Lakers' three tall players...

拜纳姆6投4中，加上12中9的罚球，拿到17分22板，湖人队全队61个篮板球！而尼克斯队全队38个篮板球，有14个还是易水玩儿命拼出来的。

Moreover, the Lakers' preparations for the game were much more thorough than the Knicks had imagined!

Seemingly drawing inspiration from the Spurs' defense, the Lakers made almost no rash moves in the first three quarters, playing steadily and gradually widening the gap to over 20 points, leading the Knicks by 22 points after three quarters.

In the final quarter, most of the Lakers' nine key players rested, and their performance began to decline, allowing Yi Shui, who played aggressively during garbage time, to narrow the gap to eight points.

易水今晚29投仅11中，其中三分球4中1，加上10中9的罚球，拿到32分14板2助攻2抢断，外线队友接应投不进，他攻进去面对两两上场的三高打得则更加困难。

However, he played one thing very well tonight: when he couldn't hold onto the defensive rebounds, he relentlessly pushed his way into the paint and fought for them everywhere. He only got 6 defensive rebounds, but he got 8 offensive rebounds!
He went to the free-throw line five times, three of which were thanks to offensive rebounds, but unfortunately all his efforts were in vain... He was also surrounded by Gasol and Bynum and received several big blocks from them...

Yi Shui only played 34 minutes tonight, a full 5 minutes less than last night, but he was so tired after the game that he didn't even have the energy to do extra training. Fortunately, he has two days of rest after 3 games in 4 days.

Back at the hotel, he saw the news that their winning streak had been ended, which stated that the Lakers had a record of 18 wins and 2 losses.

Is this what a championship-caliber team is like? Yi Shui reviewed tonight's game and felt that even if the Lakers were at their best, they probably wouldn't be able to beat them unless they had a breakout performance... But he had to admit that playing against such an opponent was really good training.

He felt that his "Long Coach's slalom and stealing board" technique had improved a lot tonight. You know, you have to push people!
看着科比23投7中、其中三分球5中1、只拿到19分，易水心情好了不少。

If victory is hopeless, then gang up on the old ironman! Bynum will have 11 offensive rebounds tonight, and at least two-thirds of them will be contributed by the old ironman.

The next morning at 10 a.m., the exhausted Knicks team departed from Los Angeles early and flew back to New York. In order to ensure their condition for the upcoming home game, they needed to get back early and rest well at home.

Yi Shui's promise to treat everyone who won the Player of the Month award was postponed at the team's request.

Back in her apartment in the evening, Yi Shui hung a Kobe Bryant figurine with the Lakers logo on the wall, alongside Spurs and Celtics pendants.

As for why the Lakers' keychain is a Kobe Bryant figurine... it's because of his afro!
Yi Shui called the restaurant to order dinner, then turned on his computer to browse the news. The warm-up for their home game the day after tomorrow had already begun, and their opponent was the Cavaliers!

(End of this chapter)