Champion, please stay!

Chapter 202 200. Can't beat the old blacksmith, but can't beat the second-year emperor?

When the Nuggets went on offense, they started with a team attack.

Billups and Nene initiated the offense with a pick-and-roll, but Yi Shui collapsed the defense at the right time, blocking Kenyon Martin's off-ball cut and cutting off the passing lane between Anthony and Billups.

But Anthony didn't just stand there idly on the wing; he seized the opportunity to drive in.

Billups promptly passed the ball to Nene, who then passed it to the left side from a step inside the free-throw line. Anthony received the ball close to the basket, turned his back, held off Duhon's close-range pressure, and made a turnaround jump shot... and it went in!
Classic tactics live on forever! Yi Shui first saw this tactic in the NBA Finals video of Iverson and the Lakers. Later, the Pistons also used it, and after Billups joined the Nuggets, this tactic was also implemented.

As the finisher in this tactic, Anthony performed better than Iverson and Hamilton, with a significant physical advantage.

If you can't defend it, then go for it! The ball fell from the basket and bounced on the ground. Before it had even fully bounced up, Yi Shui stole it and passed it to Du Hong, who then advanced the ball!
Taking advantage of the fast break threat from Yi Shui and David Lee, Curry followed up with a three-pointer... but missed, and the wide-open Ben Wallace scored two points with a putback!

In transition, Billups continued his half-court offense with pick-and-roll and passing, dishing the ball to the open Afflalo, who took a three-pointer... and it went in!
The commentators were all questioning Dumas's judgment.

Although Afflalo wasn't heavily used in his rookie year, Flip Saunders gave him more than 10 minutes of playing time in every game, allowing him to miss shots. He averaged 12 minutes of playing time with 4 shot attempts, or one shot attempt every 3 minutes, a frequency that was almost comparable to Ray Allen's during his time with the Celtics. Clearly, he was a key player being developed.

Michael Curry only coached for a year and didn't give Afflalo much playing time, but he still gave him time to develop.

As a result, Dumars gave away a promising young player who had been patiently nurtured by two head coaches for two years as a bonus!

前5场比赛，阿弗拉罗三分球合计20投9中，算上这球，21投10中了！命中率超过45%！

While the commentators were criticizing Dumars for his increasingly magical plays, the Knicks rallied again!
The Nuggets' transition defense is among the fastest in the league, but they still couldn't stop the Knicks' fast breaks.

The Knicks' offense is too strong! They've had a great start to the season, averaging 114.8 points in their first 5 games, even higher than the Suns' 114.2 points!
Seeing Yi Shui rush to receive the ball at close range, take a step to avoid Anthony's block, and lay up over Kenyon Martin... Nuggets head coach George Karl was driven crazy by Yi Shui's exaggerated physique and athleticism.

It's amazing that a player like this still has so much patience to practice his skills!
However, George Karl had already complained to the assistant coach about this during their first matchup last season. Compared to this, he was puzzled by the Knicks' offensive choices at the start of the game.

Why would they choose to speed up in the face of that?
This is extremely rare; they are the most physically active team in the league! Especially when playing at home!
Even the Phoenix Suns, who didn't trade Marion for Shaquille O'Neal back then, would choose to slow down the pace when playing here.

The same thing happened when the Knicks came here last season.

However, precisely because very few teams speed up when playing against the Nuggets, the Nuggets, despite having one of the best transition defenses in the league, have very poor teamwork in defending fast breaks. Every time they transition, they are thrown into chaos by Yi Shui, the fast-break whirlwind.

With 3 minutes and 15 seconds left in the first quarter, David Lee rushed to the baseline, received the ball, turned around, and shrugged off Anthony's help defense before making a layup off the backboard.

Billups urged his teammates to serve and called for them to charge forward. George Karl, who was about to call a timeout, saw Billups' gesture and stopped.

We can no longer proceed with a cautious, steady approach!

掘金队开局6投3中、加上2中2的罚球拿到9分，表现很好了，这个效率保持下去，单节得分上30妥妥的。

但对面，7投5中、其中三分球2中1、加上2中2的罚球，拿到13分了！

George Karl on the sidelines just realized the opponent's strategic intentions at this moment. Billups, as a member of the team, realized it much earlier after playing 3 possessions - the opponent was learning from the Lakers in last season's Western Conference Finals!

In last season's Western Conference Finals, the Lakers opted to slow down the pace and grind the Nuggets through the first four games. However, no matter how they tried to control their energy expenditure, they were still overwhelmed by the Nuggets' group of track and field athletes, just like the Spurs and Hornets. The overall difference in physical strength was too great, and the Lakers lost their home-court advantage in Game 2.

要不是G3科比飙出了41分、第三节和第四节分别拿到14分和12分，率队以103比97逆转险胜，G4输了的湖人队前4场将面临1比3落后的极端不利局面。

If it weren't for Ariza's crucial steal in Game 1, the Lakers might have been swept by the Nuggets. Last season was truly the closest Anthony ever came to a championship as a primary scorer.

In Game 5, Phil Jackson decisively changed the entire playing style. During regulation time, the three big men relentlessly attacked, keeping the score close. When the inside players ran out of energy and could no longer attack, Kobe began to take over the one-on-one offense, wearing down Billups, Anthony, and JR Smith all by himself. They won two games in a row, reversing the score to 4-2 and advancing to the Finals.

Tonight, Yi Shui failed to launch a single attack in the first three rounds of play, and their counter-attacks were mainly aimed at drawing defenders into the fray.

Billups immediately sensed the opponent's intentions. His choice was to go against their wishes, control the pace of the game, play a steady and methodical game in set plays, and launch fast breaks only when the opponent missed their shots.

But then he realized that because very few opponents faced them running and fighting, they had not invested enough time and energy in training in this area. The opponents charged around the Yi River without regard for anything else, and they couldn't stop them!
Also, the opponent's positional defense was better than he had imagined, and their pincer attacks were extremely targeted!
If Anthony is good at mismatch isolation plays, then double-team him; if Kenyon Martin has good cutting awareness, then use Yi Shui to specifically guard him, leaving Nene and Afflalo open.

Even if Nene's open mid-range jumper and Afflalo's open three-pointer are accurate, they are still just regular receiving points, not core scoring points like Nowitzki, Duncan, and Stoudemire. They will always miss sometimes, and once they miss, the opponent will attack even more fiercely!

Billups had no choice but to keep up with the pace of the game.

...

Seeing the Nuggets also get into running mode, with all 10 players on the court engaging in a long-distance offensive battle, D'Antoni breathed a sigh of relief on the visiting team's bench. At least strategically, he had made the right bet!

Both are run-and-gun teams. If they play normally, D'Antoni, besides hoping for a good long-range shot, doesn't know how to beat them. The difference in individual player ability is too obvious.

Curry and the opposing sixth man, JR Smith, are probably about the same level in terms of ability; Yi Shui will not be at a disadvantage against Anthony, but apart from these two, almost all other players are not as good as the opposing team.

Duhon is essentially a bankrupt version of Billups. He has good ball control, rhythm control, and can shoot three-pointers... but he's not as good as Billups in any way.

David Lee has better stats, but his actual impact on the court may not be as strong as Nene's. Birdman is more aggressive and stronger, but his athleticism is slightly inferior to Kenyon Martin...

During preparations, D'Antoni racked his brains but couldn't solve the problem of individual player differences from a tactical perspective. He understood the opponent's tactics, and the opponent was also very familiar with his tactics.

Mark Jackson's comment, "We have more people," sparked a new idea for D'Antoni. In fact, he had initially thought of the Lakers in last season's Western Conference Finals, and he greatly admired the Zen Master's reckless adjustments.

However, they lack the three tall players and cannot overpower the opposing twin towers. Yi Shui can do it, but David Lee's one-on-one scoring almost always involves bullying players who are physically weaker than him. Against the Celtics' frontcourt, the Cavaliers' frontcourt, and Howard, he always manages to score.

However, they have more players than the Lakers' nine-man rotation, so they'll play a running game and wear down the opponent!
This was risky. If they recklessly charged in at the start and failed to gain an advantage or disrupt the opponent's rhythm, they would be finished, likely ending up like last season, swept away in one go. Fortunately, they gambled correctly! Curry missed his first three-pointer, but Ben Wallace made the putback, and Curry confidently hit his second pull-up three! This forced the opponent to leave a shooting guard or small forward on the perimeter to defend fast breaks, creating better opportunities for David Lee and Ben Wallace to score!
After the Nuggets caught up, the Knicks quickly lost control of the game, and their four-point lead couldn't be maintained. In the latter part of the first quarter, the Nuggets took the lead.

D'Antoni didn't seem to care. Both sides were playing aggressively, and the opposing team was one of the top three run-and-gun teams, so either side could have the upper hand. He did what he was supposed to do: make timely lineup rotations, make reasonable lineup combinations, and maintain the sprint speed.

In the final possession of the first quarter, Yi Shui received the ball with 4 seconds left, turned and dribbled behind his back, took a step to the side, faced Kenyon Martin's defense and Anthony's turnaround defense, and launched a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the left side of the top arc... and it went in!
The Knicks have taken a 37-36 lead over the Nuggets by one point!
...

During the break, the commentators praised the offensive performance of both teams, highlighted the Knicks' improvement compared to last season, and casually mentioned next week's Nuggets vs. Suns game.

The game was already generating a lot of buzz and high viewership tonight, and after the two teams started trading baskets, the number of paid viewerships surged again. According to internal sources at the TV stations, the total number of paid viewerships across all TV stations has already exceeded 2000 million. At this rate, surpassing the 2400 million viewership of the Lakers vs. Cavaliers opening game is not a problem.

On the court, D'Antoni continued to devise fast-break tactics and emphasize details; on the other side, George Karl could only continue to follow suit with his own fast-break offense.

Once this style of play starts, it's unstoppable. Trying to force a slowdown might be possible with the individual abilities of star players or the hot shooting of pitchers, but the probability is too low, and it will most likely be overwhelmed.

After the break, the Knicks fielded a lineup of Duhon, Curry, Webster, David Lee, and Birdman to continue their offensive push.

On the Nuggets' side, the combination of Lawson, JR Smith, Anthony, Malik Allen, and Nene continued their offensive push.

Thanks to two long-range three-pointers from JR Smith, the Nuggets took the lead for half a quarter, outscoring the Knicks 17-14.

But after Yi Shui came on in the second half of the quarter, the Knicks gained the upper hand!

When the Nuggets get into their run-and-gun style, Anthony's role is actually diminished, and the Nuggets' offensive spearheads are Kenyon Martin and JR Smith.

Kenyon Martin's role as a fast break spearhead, in a run-and-gun offense, is almost comparable to Stoudemire's, provided there is a good point guard.

The first section and the Yi River were practically on par in terms of their actual effects.

But the former top scorer is already 32 years old! The second-year top scorer is only 22 years old!
Despite Kenyon Martin maintaining excellent physical condition, even though he played the entire first quarter and rested for half a quarter, he still couldn't outrun Yi Shui!
Besides the difference in physical strength, there is also the difference in technique. Even when Yi Shui receives the ball and is blocked, he still has a very high success rate in attacking. When Kenyon Martin receives the ball and is blocked, he has no other option but to force his way up and throw the ball toward the basket.

Yi Shui, with Chalmers, Larry Hughes, Harrington, and Gibson, dominated the Nuggets in the second half of the quarter!

With 20 seconds left in the second quarter, Yi Shui received the ball, faked out Anthony, and drove forward, pushing past Billups who was blocking him on the wing. He drove to the basket, stopped abruptly on the arc of the restricted area, leaned forward, drew the opponent's attention, and then, without moving his left foot, turned to the left, stepped back with his right foot, and jumped up with both feet, releasing a one-handed floater... and it went in!
With Billups' three-point attempt from midcourt missing, the first half ended.

加上易水最后时刻的单打两分，尼克斯队后半节打出了18比14的比分，单节比分32比31，半场以69比67领先掘金队两分！
...

After halftime, Yi Shui brought Chalmers, Webster, Harrington, and Birdman onto the court. D'Antoni did not field Duhon and Hughes, the two heroes of the first half, allowing them to rest.

At this moment, D'Antoni feels that the 'two-for-one trade of bad contracts' was absolutely the right move.

Last season, only when Duhon had the ball could they fully execute their run-and-gun offense. When Duhon rested, they either had to force their way through the game or opt for a balanced approach. Tonight, by having the two take turns playing, each playing half a quarter, they were able to maintain their momentum.

At this point, D'Antoni actually wanted to bring Curry back in, but he couldn't, because Curry wouldn't be able to play in the final quarter.

Currently, their point guard with the best stamina is... Chalmers.

Duhon's stamina is average, and playing less than 30 minutes per game is the best option. Here, in a continuous shootout with the Nuggets, maintaining efficiency for 20 minutes at most is the best he can do.

Curry is still too thin. Clark's suggestion is to increase his weight to 200 pounds, which is about 90 kilograms.

Being overweight can affect physical strength, but being underweight will result in greater physical exertion, and Curry always faces endless physical battles from his opponents.

Furthermore, according to Clark's analysis, Curry has not yet reached the point where his weight affects his physical strength. On the contrary, due to insufficient muscle mass, he has not been able to fully develop his physical talent.

On the Nuggets' side, George Karl also put JR Smith and Kenyon Martin, two key offensive weapons, on the bench, and fielded a combination of Billups, Afflalo, Joey Graham, Anthony, and Nene.

He didn't want to, he was unwilling, but he could only watch helplessly as the team fell into this situation.

In Games 5 and 6 of last season's Western Conference Finals, they couldn't contain Kobe's three big men in the first half, forcing them into a head-on confrontation with him in the third quarter, resulting in two consecutive losses...

In terms of chaotic one-on-one battles, Kobe might be the greatest of all time, a deluxe version of Ellis, and the ultimate version of JR Smith.

George Karl chose to believe in Billups and Anthony. If they couldn't beat Kobe, how could they not beat a second-year player?
The TV commentators, recalling the two Western Conference Finals games from last season, began to create an atmosphere for the fans watching on television.

The third quarter began with the Nuggets attacking first.

Anthony received the ball at the high post and isolated against Webster, adopting a triple threat stance, and hit a long two-pointer with a step-back!
The fans in the stadium cheered wildly!

While most fans may not understand how the game unfolded, they do know that after the run-and-gun style of play, it comes down to the individual abilities of star players. Even run-and-gun teams don't play like that all the time. The Nuggets rely heavily on the isolation abilities of Anthony, Billups, and JR Smith; the Suns rely on Nash and Stoudemire's isolation plays; and the Knicks rely on Yi Shui and David Lee's isolation plays.

Seeing Anthony fall into a half-court offense, and the opposing team not rushing in immediately after losing the ball, the fans in the stadium knew that a star showdown was about to begin!

Compared to George Karl's various concerns, fans' support for their star player is blind—their Carmelo Anthony is the strongest one-on-one player!

As the game transitioned from offense to defense, Yi Shui received the ball, and the fans in the stadium began to boo wildly.

The defender guarding Yi Shui was Joey Graham, nicknamed "Little James," a first-round pick in the 05 draft, whose physical attributes, as demonstrated by his draft physical test scores, were as formidable as those of LeBron James and Josh Smith.

Yi Shui waited for Chalmers to move to the right sideline and leaned forward... Graham suddenly retreated, Yi Shui caught the ball and jumped, facing Graham who was rushing back again, and shot a three-pointer... It went in!
(End of this chapter)