Champion, please stay!

Chapter 194, Section 192: Lianmei's Progress!
On October 26th, the Knicks hosted their final preseason game against the Nets.

Tonight, Yi Shui can finally play freely!
Tonight, D'Antoni didn't try any new lineups or tactics. The rotation was reasonable, the playing time was allocated well, and the tactics were very targeted... He played it like a regular season game!

In the first seven preseason games, Yi Shui could feel the improvement in team coordination and the effectiveness of tactical adjustments... but the games were actually very grueling. Just when a few teammates were getting into the swing of things and the tactics were working smoothly, they had to change the lineup or the tactics. If the changes were good, it was fine, but sometimes the lineup combinations and tactical adjustments were really tough to play.

Led by Yi Shui, the Knicks started the game with a very impressive offensive performance, scoring 13 points in just 4 minutes!
On the other side, the Nets started... better than Yi Shui had expected.

Harris's drive-and-kick performance and his long-range shooting were outstanding;

Courtney Lee also performed very well in mid-to-long-range positioning, dribbling around cones, and catching and shooting.
Rookie Terrence Williams is a versatile player who excels in everything: receiving and distributing the ball, second-chance points, and defense. He's ready to contribute immediately.
Yi Jianlian's wing screens, cuts to the basket for easy layups, and pull-ups for shots... When Harris launched a fast break, only Yi Jianlian could keep up with the Nets' pace immediately;

The player who made the most progress was Lopez, who gained weight from 121 kg to 127 kg this summer. The first basket of the game was a one-on-one overpowering Ben Wallace and a layup.

The Nets scored 11 points in the first 4 minutes!
The fans at the stadium were excited at the start, but after the timeout, those who had managed to snag tickets or watched the Knicks' first three home preseason games started to get nervous.

The Knicks had a great start to their previous games, starting strong from the very first game.

Curry and Ben Wallace's pick-and-roll plays are becoming increasingly refined; Wallace's off-ball screens for his teammates are becoming more and more seamless; and the teammates' movement in coordination with Yi Shui's one-on-one plays is getting better and better...

However, when they were rotated into the squad, their offense often became sluggish, with a record of 2 wins and 5 losses in the first 7 games, and no wins at home.

After watching the game, fans might think, "It's just a preseason game, it doesn't matter," and the media might even help explain, saying that they are trying out new tactics and that this is a necessary adjustment; but the game itself is very nerve-wracking. Even though it's a preseason game, fans want to see a win, not a loss.

However, after the timeout, the Knicks did not worry their fans again. Yi Shui, along with Curry, Larry Hughes, Gibson, and Swift, continued their offensive firepower from the start!
The Nets' team offense was really good tonight. Harris and Lopez, along with Yi Jianlian and two shooters, kept the offense going against the Knicks.

Towards the end of the first quarter, Nets' backup small forward and Rose's former teammate Chris Douglas Roberts cut in from the wing after a screen from Yi Jianlian, and Yi Jianlian timely moved to the left side of the top arc.

Harris drove down the right wing, collided with Roberts cutting in from the left, and passed the ball back... Yi Jianlian received the ball on the left side of the arc and hit a three-pointer.

With 30 to 32 and 10 minutes and 55 seconds left, the Nets have narrowed the gap to two points!

When it was the Knicks' turn to attack, Yi Shui, who had been playing off-ball and taking the blame for most of the quarter, started asking for the ball and set a pick-and-roll with Harrington, who had come off the bench, at the top of the arc.

During the pick-and-roll, Yi Jianlian passed the ball to Harrington, who drove into the middle. Yi Jianlian and Roberts, who were switching on defense, quickly blocked Harrington, who then passed the ball to the right rear.

Yi Shui received the ball at a 45-degree angle on the right side, used the sprinting Courtney Lee as a cannonball, and fired a three-pointer... It went in cleanly!
When it was the Nets' turn to attack, Harris successfully drove past Hughes in a one-on-one situation, but after he drove in, there was no help defense from the wing, no help from Birdman under the basket, and Hughes was chasing closely behind. Harris had no choice but to stop abruptly in the elbow area and take a jump shot... It missed!
The Nets executed a decent transition defense in this offensive and defensive transition. Roberts's aggressive rebound prevented Birdman from passing the ball immediately after grabbing the rebound, thus successfully pushing the Knicks into a half-court offense.

Yi Shui continued to call for the ball, and Roberts called for Yi Jianlian to double-team Yi Shui, ignoring Harrington. But Yi Shui didn't ask for a screen; he simply pulled to the side, took a step, and blocked Roberts to the side before driving hard!

The timing of the breakthrough was excellent. Birdman went to the wing to screen for Curry, and Brook Lopez followed. Yi Jianlian broke into the paint, and Brook Lopez couldn't get back in time. Yi Jianlian received the ball under the basket.

Yi Shui rushed to close range, grabbed the ball, and took a step forward with his left foot to jump!

Yi Jianlian didn't back down, he jumped to block... but was pushed aside...

Yi Shui slammed the ball into the basket during a contest with Yi Jianlian!
After landing, Yi Jianlian stumbled back two steps due to the impact and looked like he was about to fall flat on his backside, but Yi Shui caught him.

Hearing Yi Jianlian instinctively say "Thanks" in broken Mandarin, Yi Shui felt a bit conflicted.

Lianmei defended this ball aggressively and tenaciously, but it was too clean.

That's true. In the Guangdong team and the national team, others do the dirty work... but in the NBA, having accepted the role of a role player, the defense can't be so clean.

When it was his turn, he couldn't defend against it, so he just slapped the other person's arm.

However, Yi Shui won't bring this up now; if he does, it'll be after the match. He's not a masochist...

...

With Harris missing a tough three-pointer over Hughes, the Knicks led the Nets 37-30 at the end of the first quarter, establishing a clear advantage!

Yi Shui single-handedly scored 5 points in the final minute, going on a 1-0 run! 15 points in a single quarter!
In this quarter, Yi Shui felt that the Nets' team offense improved a lot without Carter!

Last season, Carter still had a superstar mentality and played a ball-dominant style, after all, he had 20+5+5 stats.

However, in terms of ability, the current Carter can no longer rely on his individual skills to drive the team's offense like he did during his time with the Raptors.

On the contrary, their high ball possession rate and excessive one-on-one play negatively impacted team coordination.

Without Carter, the Nets' head coach Lawrence Frank's teamwork, built around star perimeter player Harris, rising star Brook Lopez, and quality power forward Yi Jianlian, is much better than last season. However, without Carter, the Nets struggle when they need to rely on individual scoring.

Yi Shui learned something from Hughes in these two defensive plays.

Preventing a drive from getting past you doesn't necessarily mean you're a bad defender!
When Harris missed his pull-up jumper, Hughes's aggressive perimeter defense forced Harris to make a quick decision to drive, as neither Yi Jianlian on the weak side nor Kenyon Dooling on the same side were ready to move and receive the pass.

Hughes's defensive pressure was also very good, forcing Harris to push hard to the elbow area for a quick shot.

If Harris is playing his normal drive-and-kick rhythm, and there's no one to help defend that area, there's a good chance he can score. But if he takes a rushed shot, it's off target.

That's defensive experience!
Instead of treating Hughes as a top-tier player with a salary of over 1300 million, they only see him as a teammate with a salary of over 300 million a year... That's really something!
Yi Jianlian has also made great progress, focusing on screens, shooting, cutting, and fast breaks, instead of posting up and facing the basket. This has greatly improved his efficiency and may even reduce the risk of injury.

In the last three quarters, the Knicks gave the Nets no chance, maintaining their superior offensive firepower for most of the time, and ultimately defeated the Nets 122-103 to win their final preseason game!

After the Nets scored 30 points in the first quarter, they only managed 73 points in the following three quarters. Once the Knicks adapted to the Nets' teamwork, their defense, under Cheeks' adjustments, was not particularly strong but was well-targeted, preventing the Nets from continuing their scoring spree.

After the match, Yi Shui looked at the data table with the chief assistant coach.

他打了37分钟，23投13中，其中三分球7中3，加上5中4的罚球，拿到33分7板4助攻1抢断2盖帽。

库里打了29分钟拿到16分5助攻、杜洪打了26分钟8分6助攻、大本打了17分钟4分7板1抢断1盖帽、大卫-李打了30分钟15分11板……基本上是常规赛打弱队时的出场时间安排。

However, Danny Green, Pavlovic, Wilson Chandler... all only played in the last few minutes of garbage time.

对面，哈里斯打了41分钟，拿到20分7助攻；大洛佩茨打了36分钟，拿到19分8板1助攻2盖帽；得分第三高的易建联，打了32分钟，11投5中、其中三分球6中2、加上3中3的罚球拿到15分6板1助攻1抢断。

After Yi Jianlian stopped aiming to become a core player like Yao Ming, not only did his individual performance improve, but the team also seemed to value him more and gave him a better tactical role!
Indeed, given Yi Jianlian's one-on-one ability and his insistence on an inside-ball offense, the coaching staff didn't know how to develop tactics. Since he couldn't attract double teams with one-on-one plays, there was no basis for developing tactics.

Yad played 11 minutes tonight, scoring 4 points and grabbing 2 rebounds. He showed good awareness of easy baskets and his running and jumping abilities. However, his strong inside ball-handling and attacking style, which he relied on during his college years, was not enough to be overcome by David Lee and Harrington, who used their physicality to hold him off.

Moreover, because of his relatively short stature, only 201 cm with shoes on, he lacks shooting ability and doesn't get many opportunities to score easy baskets.

Yi Shui has watched it. Yad played well in the Summer League, averaging 15 points per game, but his playing time continued to decline in the preseason... I don't know if he will be able to make the 12-man roster after the regular season starts.

Over the years, the Nets have traded away players like Kidd, Richard Jefferson, and Carter, acquiring a number of quality role players in return. This is why Frank Lawrence has the resources to build a solid team offensive synergy around his core trio of Harris, Lopez, and Yi Jianlian.

On the Bucks' side, Robinson's preseason performance wasn't great either... Of the three dominant yellow, white, and black trio in the NCAA, only he has any prestige left in the NBA.

...

After the preseason games, the Knicks had a day off.

Yi Shui didn't go to extra training today. The last time he rested was in mid-September when it was Yao Ming's birthday. The regular season, which will last for several months, is about to begin, so he should take a good rest today.

At noon, he had lunch with Yi Jianlian and Yad.

Yi Jianlian was in a good mood, revealing that the Nets' management had promised him a starting position.

Yad... is in a good mood and is not discouraged by his inability to make it in the NBA. He also revealed that a CBA team has contacted him and that if his non-guaranteed contract is cut by the Nets, he would like to play for Yao Ming's team.

Yi Shui remembered that when he returned to China in June, Yao Ming mentioned that he had spent 20 million yuan to buy the Eastern Sharks team and was preparing to find coaches and players in the NBA to rebuild his old team.

The Little Giant is clearly trying to ride on Yi Jianlian's popularity!

If Yad goes, he'll definitely be labeled as 'Emperor's old teammate', 'member of the Husky Dynasty', etc... which isn't so bad.

There will always be people trying to ride the coattails of a trending topic, and it's always better for your own people to do so than for outsiders.

In the afternoon, Yi Shui invited a girl, along with Curry and his wife, Chalmers and his wife, David Lee, and a local socialite, to see a stage play.

While watching the show, Yi Shui received a phone call. She looked excited, but then sighed.

Chalmers noticed and asked, "Big, is that the team calling? What happened?"

Yi Shui nodded: "Yes, but it has nothing to do with us... It does have something to do with us though, Donnie told me that Wilson is going to be traded and they're giving us a different outside shooter..."

(End of this chapter)