Champion, please stay!

Chapter 173, Chapter 171: A Wild Ride in the Playoffs!

When it was the Hawks' turn to attack, Bibby and Josh Howard ran a pick-and-roll and drove and dished to Horford at the free-throw line. Joe Johnson cut in, received the ball, and leaned on Curry for a floater that went in.

The Hawks' offense is in the middle of the league, and they should have no problem dealing with the Knicks' poor defense.

But after retreating to their own half, the Hawks players felt the pressure when they saw Yi Shui running towards them, and the pressure intensified as they listened to the cheers of the fans in the arena.

The way this rookie number one draft pick played in the first two games reminded the Hawks of a super center who had dominated them this season – Dwight Howard.

The two teams faced off for the first time in December. Howard made 14 of 24 field goals and 13 of 19 free throws, scoring a game-high 41 points for a center, tied with Yao Ming and Shaquille O'Neal. His field goal attempts and free throw attempts were both double his usual number. In that game, Howard grabbed a league-high 15 offensive rebounds and a league-leading 27 rebounds overall.

Yao Ming's third 40+ point game came against the Hawks, along with 16 rebounds, 10 of which were offensive rebounds.

O'Neal, on the other hand, won by taking advantage of Jermaine O'Neal's injury and posting up against Bosh and Bargnani...

The Hawks rank sixth-worst in the league in rebounding, averaging only 40.8 rebounds per game, while allowing opponents to grab 42.2 rebounds, a mere 42 rebounds per game.

It may not seem like much, but the Knicks are giving up an average of 46.5 rebounds per game. However, this is because the Hawks are playing at a very slow pace. In the regular season, the two teams combined only have 165 possessions per game on average. Only the Spurs play at a slower pace.

While the Knicks conceded 46+ rebounds per game, they still had the third-highest average in the league at 45.5 rebounds per game, and averaged 179 possessions per game in the regular season, only slightly slower than the Warriors' 181 possessions per game.

Howard and Yao Ming's strategy for dominating the Hawks' interior defense was simple, just like Yi Shui's strategy in the first two rounds – using brute force to push past the players protecting the board!

Curry advanced to the top of the key and continued to initiate pick-and-roll offense with Swift.

Marvin Williams was the one who extended out to defend the pick-and-roll this time, while Horford stayed under the basket. Although he couldn't handle Howard and Yao Ming, he was capable of holding off Yi Shui.

Curry was switched onto by Marvin Williams. After swatting the ball down with his left hand, he raised his right hand. Marvin Williams jumped up and pressed forward. Curry reached his left hand under his right hand and flicked the ball forward to the left, making a drive down the middle!
Josh Smith reached the free-throw line, Curry passed to the right, Yi Shui cut towards the basket from the right sideline, Joe Johnson couldn't hold on to the defense, Horford reached the elbow area and double-teamed Joe Johnson, Yi Shui moved to the left side.

David Lee received the ball close to the left baseline, took a step and launched a floater... Josh Smith, who was even more athletic than Yi Shui, managed to dive from the free-throw line to the baseline, but he was still a bit too slow. By the time his hand reached David Lee's shooting line, the ball had already flown past and fallen into the basket.

The attack was completed in 11 seconds!

Horford looked helpless as he retrieved the ball.

Marvin Williams can do a good job defending pick-and-roll specialists like Paul and Deron Williams. He also performs well defending Westbrook and Rose in isolation situations, because these players have a straightforward playing style that relies on either speed or strength.

Curry is similar to Nash; he can create a rhythm difference after setting a screen, which is a hard counter to Marvin Williams' aggressive and direct defense!

With Yi Shui's support and coordination, as long as Curry can drive up with a screen and draw Josh Smith's defense, the Hawks will be unable to stop him!
The Hawks' only regular season loss to the Knicks came when Curry and Yi Shui connected in a half-court set, with Yi Shui recording a season-high 14 assists!
Horford's decision to pull out to defend pick-and-rolls in the first two possessions was an adjustment Woodson made after learning from that game's experience. He also added mid-range interception defense and perimeter physical battles, which were very effective for the Cavaliers when they played the Knicks.

As a result, their defensive strategy was broken by Yi Shui's brute force before it could even be implemented!

If they can't defend, the Hawks will attack!
The Knicks' defense is terrible, among the worst.

The Hawks' starting five are very well-rounded, with Joe Johnson leading the scoring with 21 points per game, Bibby and Josh Smith both averaging around 15 points per game, Marvin Williams averaging 13 points per game, and Horford averaging 12 points per game. The five starters combined average 78 points per game.

The Knicks struggled to find a clear defensive direction, resorting to help defense on whoever received the ball. Bibby, Josh Smith, and Horford connected at Princeton, and with Joe Johnson's isolation plays, the Hawks' scoring was far better than usual.

But the Hawks and Knicks went on a scoring spree...

With 4 minutes and 09 seconds left in the game, Yi Shui received a pass from David Lee at close range. He faced Josh Smith one-on-one under the basket, triggered his "inside dominance", squeezed past the future Hawk King and drove to the basket for a dunk and a 2+1!

Woodson calls a timeout!

The Knicks lead the Hawks 14-10 by 4 points, and Yi Shui has an extra free throw!

...

Yi Shui returned to the bench, high-fived and hugged his teammates, and as he took the towel handed to him by Birdman to wipe his sweat, he looked at the smiling D'Antoni.

The mustachioed man's offensive skills are truly unparalleled!
No wonder he's the best offensive coach who can force the Spurs into a scoring duel during the playoffs!

The Hawks have an excellent defense. Their frontcourt trio, including Horford who can even play small forward, can seamlessly switch defensive positions and are very good at controlling the tempo of the game.

The Knicks lost both regular season games to the Hawks because they were contained by the defense. They only scored 99 points in one game and 101 points in the other, which was almost 10% lower than usual. They had difficulty launching fast breaks and their half-court offense was often suppressed.

Yi Shui once scored 35 points against the Hawks, but it was a high shot that he forced his way through, and the team still lost.

After falling behind the Magic and being confirmed as the Hawks' first-round opponent, he spent the past two weeks thinking about how to deal with the Hawks' frontcourt. He came up with some ideas, but the Hawks' core five were excellent, they relied on an eight-man rotation, and the three frontcourt players averaged more than 35 minutes of playing time per game, sometimes even 40 minutes when the game was close. His solutions always seemed to cover one aspect but not the other...

D'Antoni, however, devised a way to break through the opponent's defense.

Yi Shui was confident in his tactical awareness, but this time, he directly felt the limitations of being a player—his thinking was always based on his habitual playing style.

D'Antoni made personnel adjustments, with Duhon in and Q out, while Curry, Yi Shui, David Lee, and Swift continued to play.

After the timeout, Yi Shui went to the free-throw line and saw that the opposing team had substituted Pachulia in as D'Antoni had predicted... In terms of on-court adjustments, the mustachioed player completely dominated Woodson on the opposing team.

Yi Shui made the free throw, bringing the score to 15-10, and the Knicks extended their lead to 5 points.

It's the Hawks' turn to attack.

With Pachulia replacing Marvin Williams, and Bibby, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, and Horford continuing to play, the Hawks' offense was not significantly affected.

Bibby used Pachulia's screen to drive to the right side of the three-second zone, passed the ball to Pachulia who was blocked outside the restricted area, Pachulia turned and leaned against David Lee who was helping on defense, carefully protected the ball, and then passed it again... Joe Johnson ran to the left baseline, received the pass from Pachulia, and made a jump shot!
Although Pachulia is a physically imposing center who is only 208 cm tall and weighs 125 kg barefoot and lacks mobility, he has a very accurate catch-and-shoot ability on offense, similar to Josh Powell. Compared to Josh Powell, he also has a more solid ability to set screens at the top of the key and pass the ball. This season, he had a near triple-double performance of 9 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.

Princeton continues to function smoothly, but...

Curry immediately retrieved the ball under the basket and passed it to Duhon, and the Knicks launched a fast break!

Except for David Lee, whose sprint speed was limited by Pachulia's rough delay, the other four Knicks players rushed out!

The Hawks only managed to retreat with Bibby, Josh Smith, and Horford; Pachulia, who was providing close-range support, and Joe Johnson, who was shooting from the baseline, couldn't keep up. Yi Shui rushed to close range to draw the defense, Curry spread out on the perimeter, Duhon lobbed the ball to the middle, and Swift soared for an alley-oop dunk, scoring two points!
The Knicks are on fire!

Woodson wanted to improve the team's defensive rebounding ability, so he brought in Pachulia, a player with excellent positioning skills, which did fill that gap. The Hawks did the same thing in their last three regular-season games against the Magic, but they were subsequently overwhelmed by fast breaks from Nelson and Alston, suffering consecutive defeats of 98-112, 95-109, and 94-108. They did not win a single game against the Magic in the regular season.

It wasn't that Woodson hadn't learned his lesson. Before the game, he repeatedly emphasized to his players the importance of the Knicks' fast breaks. But once the game started and they were down by 5 points, he forgot everything and just wanted to plug the gaps, which led to another oversight...

With Du Hong on his left and the youngest player on his right, he launched a furious offensive onslaught. The two big men in the paint, David Lee, Swift, and Birdman, took turns attacking. The Yi-Ku duo served as a distraction on offense, while the three big men, who came on in pairs, were the main offensive force!

At the end of the first quarter, the Hawks had scored 27 points, which is quite high for their offensive level, with all seven players who took the court scoring.

But the Knicks scored a whopping 35 points in the quarter! They took an 8-point lead!
...

During the break, D'Antoni substituted Curry and Duhon for rest, and brought on a combination of Chalmers, Big Q, Yi Shui, David Lee, and Harrington.

It's time for positional warfare; even D'Antoni can't hold them off no matter how hard he tries.

To play fast, Du Hong, Curry, and Yi Shui all need to play together. Yi Shui's impact role can also be filled by Wilson Chandler, who can rest for 3 minutes at the end of the first quarter.

But against the Hawks' defense, if you want to play fast, Duhon's push, Curry's follow-up long-range shots and catch-and-pass are unmatched by anyone else.

Unfortunately, Yi Shui was the one with the best stamina among the three... D'Antoni's solution was simple—after gaining an advantage, let Yi Shui rest for a bit, then go up and confront the opponent head-on!
Yi Shui only played 9 minutes in the first quarter, taking only 6 shots, making 2 of 5, plus 2 of 2 free throws for 6 points. His main role was to attack, draw defenders, and take the blame. He only had 1 one-on-one opportunity, all for this moment!

After the start of the second quarter, the Hawks' offense was even better than in the first quarter.

With an eight-man rotation, just like the Kings back in the day, they maintained excellent continuity.

The Knicks pushed the fast break less, the Hawks didn't have to push so hard on defense, and their stamina was better on offense.

On the field, the Hawks began to take the initiative.

But catching up isn't that easy!

Yi Shui and Harrington initiated their offense with a pick-and-roll at the top of the key, supported by Chalmers on the sideline, Big Q running to receive the ball, David Lee receiving the ball in the mid-range, and necessary low-post isolation plays... keeping the score close!
Midway through the second quarter, the Hawks capitalized on Joe Johnson's mismatch on the sideline, hitting a step-back three-pointer against Chalmers. The Hawks extended their lead to 14-9 in the quarter, finally establishing a significant advantage and closing the gap to 41-44, reducing the deficit to just 3 points.

However, the Knicks did not call a timeout when their lead was about to be wiped out. After the offensive and defensive transition, Yi Shui went one-on-one against Josh Smith, broke through, and drove to the basket, scoring over Marvin Williams who was helping on defense, while also drawing a foul on the opponent!

Marvin Williams was completely taken aback. This number one draft pick, he just had to go for it whenever he saw him!
Horford, who was squeezed next to David Lee, couldn't do anything about it. Of the Knicks' first 9 points, 4 were scored by David Lee, who made 2 of 3 shots. He couldn't let his guard down at all.

With Yi Shui making the free throw, the Knicks regained a 6-point lead, making it 47-41, prompting the Hawks to call a timeout!

The opposing team called a timeout, and the fans in the stadium erupted in cheers!

Woodson looked at the excited look on the opposing players' faces, and then at his own players' faces filled with dissatisfaction and pressure. There was nothing he could do. In fact, they had a chance to take the lead. They had created several mismatch opportunities. The Princeton offense mainly scores by exploiting mismatches, not by finishing the ball. They had seized most of the opportunities, but Bibby missed two mismatches against bigger players!

The White Devils, now over 30, still have no problem with technique, since they don't rely on athleticism but on strength and shooting. However, their stamina has declined significantly, and after playing for a quarter and a half, they were starting to struggle.

Woodson had hoped to hold on until the other team called a timeout, or until a dead ball occurred and the referee called an official timeout, but the opposing team's Emperor was too overpowered. He defended very well, but the other team still managed to force his way in and put the ball into the basket for a 2+1!

After the official timeout, Woodson brought on a lineup of Asi Law, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and Zaza Pachulia.

On D'Antoni's side, the combination of Duhon, Curry, Wilson Chandler, Yi Shui, and Swift is ready to go again!
尼克斯队防守端，是一点没防住，5分22秒时间被老鹰队12投7中拿了16分。

但尼克斯队自己11投6中、其中三分球2中1、加上4中3的罚球，也拿了16分！
The Knicks outscored the Knicks 28-30 in the quarter, 63-57, and maintained their lead!
After halftime, the Knicks disregarded everything else and put their consistency aside. Their strongest offensive combination of Duhon, Curry, Yi Shui, David Lee, and Swift charged forward for the entire quarter!

The title of "strongest" for this offensive duo is not something they proclaimed within the team, but rather a combination with the strongest counter-attack ability according to media statistics, even stronger than the Nuggets' combination of Billups, JR Smith, Anthony, Kenyon Martin, and Nene!
The Hawks' offensive performance was... very consistent. Against the Knicks, they are capable of scoring around 110 points in a single game. Normally, they can score 25 to 30 points per quarter, and they scored 26 points in this quarter.

As described in the Knicks' scouting report, the Hawks have an excellent offensive floor.

But on the defensive end, they were overwhelmed!
Yi Shui scored 3 out of 4 on the counter-attack, plus 3 out of 3 free throws. In the half-court set, he made 1 out of 2 shots, including a three-pointer. He also grabbed an offensive rebound, drew a foul, and made one of two free throws, for a total of 13 points in the quarter!
加上大卫-李7投4中、罚球3中1拿到9分，库里进了1个三分球，杜洪1次跟进‘偷分上篮’拿到两分，交替上场的斯威夫特和鸟人合计拿到5分，单节拿到32分！
The Knicks extended their lead to 12 points, 95-83!
During the break, TNT Sports commentator Barkley pretended not to understand and criticized Woodson for his poor defensive adjustments, which led to a series of counterattacks, and for not using full-court press defense to limit the opponent's speed.

This is also a source of confusion for many fans watching on television.

Kenny Smith analyzed, "Woodson didn't want to, he just couldn't."

They only have 8 players in their main rotation, plus Lao who only plays for 9 minutes per game, so they only have 9 players in their rotation.

Like the Kings back then, they lacked the resources to play full-court pressure like the Cavaliers; their stamina couldn't sustain it, and they lacked the ability to pressure fast breaks.

However, the Hawks had their chance in the final quarter. The Knicks only had a 10-man rotation tonight, and after one quarter of that, they probably wouldn't be able to keep up in the final quarter...

TNT's golden duo, one playing the clown and the other the rational and wise man, seem like a comedic pair, but their analysis is always accurate and to the point.

As Kenny Smith analyzed, the Knicks' offensive efficiency plummeted in the final quarter, falling to less than half of what it was during the first quarter when their offense was at its most intense!
But the Hawks failed to capitalize on their opportunity; their offensive floor was decent, but their ceiling was really low!
Even Joe Johnson, the most prolific scorer, lacks the ability to score consistently.

Of all the players in NBA history who averaged 25+ points per game in a single season, only one player had a season where he didn't have a single game with 40+ points – that player is none other than the modern-day Michael Jordan.

Yao Ming, who averaged 25 points per game, once scored 40 points in a season, while Duncan, who averaged 25 points per game, even scored 53 points in a season.

Joe Johnson is perfectly capable of consistently scoring 20+ points per game and 5-7 points per quarter, but when it comes to scoring in bursts...

In the final quarter, Yi Shui made 3 of 9 shots, including 1 of 3 three-pointers, plus 3 of 4 free throws, scoring 11 points in the quarter despite missing shots, single-handedly withstanding the opponent's counterattack.

而同样打满整节的乔-约翰逊，5投2中，其中三分球1中0，加上4中3的罚球只拿到7分。

Led by Joe Johnson, the Hawks steadily scored 25 points in the final quarter, maintaining excellent defense and holding the Knicks, who struggled to mount fast breaks and had poor shooting in half-court situations, to just 17 points, outscoring them by 8 points in the quarter.

But after the first three quarters, the score difference between the two teams was 12 points!
At 8:24 PM, Yi Shui tossed the ball into the air, and amidst the deafening cheers of the entire stadium, the final whistle blew.

29投13中，其中三分球10中3，加上14中11的罚球，狂轰40分11板3助攻1抢断3盖帽，率领尼克斯队以112比108险胜老鹰队，主场开门红！

(End of this chapter)