Champion, please stay!

Chapter 216, Section 214: The Number One in the West Has Arrived!

At 7:30 p.m. on the 7th, Yi Shui and his teammates entered the Target Center and received a lot of cheers.

Tonight marks the first time this season that the Target Center stands are full. To be precise, it's the first time since Garnett left that attendance has exceeded 90%. In the past two seasons, the Timberwolves' average attendance was less than 85%.

However, for this match, regular tickets went on sale a week ago and sold out on the same day.

When the home team entered the field, the first one to enter was... Evans.

Next came Damir Wilkins, Corey Brewer, Ryan Hollins, and star player Al Jefferson entered last.

Mayo is not in the Timberwolves' starting lineup.

Regarding this, Yi Shui felt that although the Timberwolves' management was not very capable, they were not stupid.

After the draft, Yi Shui saw Timberwolves' new general manager David Kahn boast that he had assembled the most talented backcourt duo in the NBA.

Ideals are lofty, but reality is often disappointing. Mayo lacks off-the-ball ability and is unwilling to develop off-the-ball tactics.

That's secondary. Playing with two guards in a one-on-one situation is also one of the ways for weak teams to rise to prominence. The Thunder played that way last season.

But Mayo was unwilling to give up possession of the ball. In the preseason, he clung to the ball and wouldn't let go. Evans, on the other hand, was indecisive and wouldn't fight for the ball if Mayo didn't pass it to him.

The Timberwolves' management then stepped in. In the Summer League and training camp, Evans performed better than Mayo, who was in his second year. David Kahn made it clear that Evans was the team's core player on the perimeter and told Mayo not to play recklessly.

Mayo wouldn't listen, so David Kahn put Mayo on the trading block. With the management's permission, head coach Kurt Rambis also put Mayo, who was hindering Evans' development, on the bench.

Unlike the Grizzlies' management, Mayo is currently a highly valuable trade asset, and several teams have already contacted the Timberwolves. It's hard to say what will happen in another year or two.
Unlike the Kings' management, who are fickle and don't overthink things, once they determined that Evans had better talent, they poured all their resources into him. Even Al Jefferson, who averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds last season, had to give way to Evans in terms of shot attempts.

This move is similar to how, in the original timeline, after Love's second-year talent was realized, the Timberwolves sold Al Jefferson, who was hindering Love's development, to the Jazz at a low price.

Yi Shui is indeed interested in rookie Evans.

I wasn't that interested before, because the news I've seen in my memory and the news I'm seeing now all say that Evans is the 'point guard version of LeBron James' because his stats in his first month in the NBA were similar, 19+5+5.

But after arriving in Minneapolis yesterday, Yi Shui received the scouting report and video clips, and found that the nickname was completely inaccurate; the two were not the same type of player.

James plays a pure drive-and-dash style, excelling at strong drives and using screens to break through defenses. His scoring methods are almost entirely based on attacking the rim and fast breaks.

Evans is a standard combo guard, with excellent ball handling and outstanding lateral movement and change of direction. He rarely uses his body to directly overpower opponents, but instead uses a combination of physical attributes and change of direction skills to break through defenses. He is happy to execute tactics and can also directly drive and dish.

The difference in shooting percentages is also significant. With roughly the same average points per game, James' shooting percentage was just 40% in his first month as a rookie and only 41.7% by the end of the season, while Evans' shooting percentage reached 46% in his first month.

The passing styles also differ greatly. James excels at passing to shooters, while Evans is more compatible with the forwards and is extremely adept at driving to close range to draw the interior defense before passing to his cutting forward teammates.

Al Jefferson has reduced his ball-handling rate this season, but his scoring average has risen to 23.5 points per game, with a career-high field goal percentage of 52%.

Like James, Evans relies heavily on defensive rebounds. Al Jefferson, who averaged 11 rebounds per game over the past three seasons, has only managed 9.5 rebounds this season.

...

The Knicks' away game against the Timberwolves tipped off at 8 p.m.

2小时21分钟后，靠着易水在末节拿到14分3助攻，率队打出31比22的单节比分，三节77比79落后的尼克斯队，最终以108比101险胜森林狼队。

首节6分、第二节5分、第三节8分、末节14分，易水打了34分钟，20投11中，其中三分球5中2，加上11中9的罚球，拿到33分8板3助攻1抢断3盖帽。

With reduced playing time, Yi Shui's efficiency improved significantly, but the overall offense became more difficult to execute. The Timberwolves' defense was so formidable that the Knicks' scoring didn't even reach their season average.

The duo of Evans and AI was indeed excellent; they played very well in regulation time.

The Knicks managed to stay close in the score despite only playing 22 minutes in the first three quarters at Yishui and having an overall poor long-range shooting performance... all thanks to Mayo.

In the 21 minutes Mayo played tonight, the Timberwolves were outscored by 14 points.

In a direct confrontation, Yi Shui felt that the Timberwolves' decision to give up on Mayo was not only because of his competition with Evans for ball possession, but also because he felt that Mayo had hardly improved since his rookie year! His technical shortcomings had not improved at all.

However, when it came to the crucial moment, no one from the Timberwolves stepped up.

Al Jefferson is no longer effective; if he wants to go one-on-one with Yi Shui, he can simply pull in and cover him.
Evans has a variety of offensive moves, which is very different from James's straightforward style. He takes a step to the side, then steps back to hold off the defender before accelerating again. This way of breaking through is similar to McGrady's explosive ball-handling and positioning. However, while it works well in regular time, it becomes weak in crucial moments and is not as powerful as McGrady's move.

In crucial moments, James's physical prowess in driving to the basket proved more effective.

The new skill 'Pseudo-Snake Heart' was tested by Yi Shui during the close start of the final quarter, and the effect was quite good! He could feel the changes after the skill was triggered—when he focused on the game, the cheers or boos from the fans in the stadium seemed to be much quieter, and it was particularly easy for him to concentrate.

The 'side effects' were also obvious. In the second half of the quarter, when he relied on one-on-one scoring, apart from Curry, whom he trusted highly, he didn't want to pass to anyone else when they were open, preferring to shoot even when double-teamed.

...

The two most anticipated rookies from the 09 draft class, Jennings and Evans, have faced each other once. Compared to Jennings, Evans is obviously more promising, but at present, he's just so-so. As a core combo guard, he's good at everything but not at everything.

On the 8th, Yi Shui returned to New York with the team and rested for an afternoon. In the evening, they played back-to-back games against the visiting Warriors, alternating between home and away games.

The Knicks started poorly, scoring only 19 points in the first quarter and 20 points in the second quarter, and their defense also collapsed, allowing the Warriors to score 28 and 29 points respectively. At halftime, they trailed by 18 points, 39-57!
The Knicks rebounded in the second half... mainly because Yi Shui, Curry, and David Lee played the entire second half, leading the team to score 32 points in the third quarter and further increasing to 36 points in the final quarter.

However, their defense was still not good enough. Led by Ellis, the Warriors scored 26 points in the third quarter and rebounded to 29 points in the final quarter.

尼克斯队这次没能成功翻盘，埃利斯28分6板10助攻、马盖蒂26分、安东尼-莫罗21分，勇士队3人20+，力压31分的易水、18分的库里、25分的大卫-李，以112比107守住胜利，送给尼克斯队赛季第2场失利！
In the post-match interview, Yi Shui took the blame.

This game was indeed somewhat frustrating. In the first half, the opponent double-teamed him relentlessly. He took the initiative to receive the ball, attract the double-teams, and pass the ball. It should have been a team scoring feast, and he might have even gotten his second triple-double of the season. However, the 'winning streak syndrome' was still affecting him. Moreover, it was the second game of a back-to-back, and he shot terribly in the first half. He only scored 9 points in the first half, and his teammates only scored 30 points in the first half combined.

He scored 22 points in the second half, while Curry and David Lee combined for 25 points, leading the team to a total of 68 points in the first half. However, while their offense could be driven by their strong attacks, their defense failed to keep up.

After suffering his first loss of the season to the Bobcats, he analyzed that in games that are won too easily, even if the team misses shots, the teammates won't care. In the game against the Bucks, Jennings was terrible, and they actually won relatively easily. In the game against the Timberwolves, although the game was close for three quarters, he stepped up his game in the final quarter and won the game. Fortunately, after playing 5 games in 8 days at the beginning of December, they got two days of rest, and having just played a home game, they can adjust their form.

The next day at noon, after finishing lunch, Yi Shui went to Madison Square Garden for extra practice, focusing on improving his positioning, sudden stops, catches, turns, and shots.

The offseason training focused on ball-handling offense, and now we're practicing more off-the-ball movement to diversify our playing style.

To his surprise, many teammates came for extra practice on the first day off! Almost all the younger teammates came!
He recalled that after losing to the Bobcats, his teammates were very motivated and focused on their morning practice before the game against the Bucks. However, there wasn't a clear focus at the time, and Duhon emphasized shooting, but many of his teammates didn't understand what he meant.

This time, Chalmers, Webster, Barnes... even Gibson are practicing that unreliable catch-and-shoot mid-range jumper.

Accustomed to winning, unable to accept losing and starting to strive harder? That's great...

Around 4 PM, Yi Shui finished his extra training and was preparing to go home to train for 'Day 7' when Clark called him to attend a coaching staff meeting.

Compared to last season, the coaching staff has held many more meetings this season. Whenever he has free time, they always call him in, and he's gotten used to it.

Yi Shui was surprised again at the start of the meeting.

This time, D'Antoni stated that the goal for the rest of the season is to strengthen the defense!
...

During the meeting, Yi Shui learned about the coaching staff's assessment of the team's offense—the room for improvement in the team's offense was already at its limit.

The main problem is the roster. In the paint, most of the players are role players. Harrington is almost 30 and can do a lot of things, but his playmaking ability is only at a first-rate level. David Lee is still relatively young, but his All-Star fringe skills are unlikely to improve much.

Among the perimeter role players, none have particularly outstanding shooting or rim-attacking abilities. If there were a super shooter like Joe Johnson during his time with the Suns, they would immediately take off.

In the 04-05 season, Joe Johnson averaged 2.2 three-pointers per game with a 47.8% shooting percentage, demonstrating exceptional ability to receive passes and create space for his opponents.

The offseason reinforcements and tactical optimizations have greatly improved the offense, primarily in terms of consistency. If we disregard other factors, D'Antoni can field a lineup that combines positional play and fast breaks for the entire 48 minutes, but that's about it.

For the offense to improve significantly, Yi Jianlian and Xiao Xuezi need another qualitative leap in their individual abilities to further raise the team's ceiling.

Even so, D'Antoni's focus on strengthening defense throughout the season still surprised Yi Shui.

After the meeting ended and Yi Shui left, Mark Jackson asked him the same question out of curiosity. D'Antoni simply replied, "I just think defense is also very important."

After his subordinates left, D'Antoni took out a video clip of the Nuggets and watched their defensive counter-attack tactics.

He never imagined that one day he would place such importance on defense.

Actually, his previous refusal to play defense was not only due to concerns about offense, but also for another reason—that it would complicate his on-the-spot command.

Anything that is complex is prone to errors.

Things are different now. Cheeks and Mark Jackson are in charge of building the defensive system, adjusting tactics, training, and on-site command.

Most importantly, Yi Shui demonstrated his talent in on-field command during recent difficult matches...

D'Antoni's mindset also changed. Although he still had no intention of learning defense, he began to learn how to better utilize the help that defense brings to the offense, rather than simply having Cheeks and Mark Jackson build a basic defense that would not affect the offense.

December 10th marked the Knicks' second day of rest.

In the morning, the Knicks held their regular pre-game practice, which focused on defending against fast breaks.

During lunch break, Yi Shui saw the news: the Phoenix Suns had chartered a plane to New York!
Before Christmas, he had two opponents he was most looking forward to, one of whom he had already played against: the Denver Nuggets.

The other one is the Suns, who just arrived!
...

After a two-day break, December 11th marks the Knicks' 21st game of the season.

All eyes are once again on the Big Apple, and fans and media alike have been eagerly anticipating this game.

As of today, the most popular and exciting game of the season—the Knicks' Denver trip—had over 2700 million paid viewers, a number that, apart from the Lakers vs. Cavaliers opening game, had no other game in close proximity.

Currently, the Knicks are ranked first in the Eastern Conference and also first in the league with an 18-2 record.

太阳队也打了20场比赛，开局9连胜被湖人队终结后，后面10场比赛取得7胜3负的战绩，目前依旧以16胜4负高居西部榜首。

However, the Suns have only managed 7 wins and 3 losses in their last 10 games. In the public's opinion, this is mainly because Nash and Stoudemire have had their playing time reduced for most games. During this period, Nash averaged 29 minutes per game and Stoudemire averaged 32 minutes per game, with their stats dropping to 14 points, 10 assists, and 21 points and 7 rebounds per game.

The Suns' defense is poor, and the playing time of their two superstars has been reduced. They can still beat weaker teams, but they are more likely to lose when facing mid-tier teams. They were defeated by the Hawks and Hornets. In those two games, Nash only played 27 minutes and 30 minutes respectively, and Stoudemire's playing time was also just over 30 minutes. He was strictly protected by Gentry.

When Gentry doesn't limit the playing time of his two players, the Suns remain ruthless. In the game against the Spurs, Nash played 38 minutes and Stoudemire played 39 minutes, resulting in a 133-118 victory over the Spurs.

The last time the Spurs conceded more than 130 points in a single game was five years ago.

In the 04-05 season, the teams did not make good use of the newly introduced NHC rules. Only the Suns were far ahead, and the 05 Finals were still a pure defensive battle. In the 05-06 season, the Pistons started to play a defensive counter-attack and pick-and-roll passing game.

At the beginning of the 05-06 season, the Spurs still did not adapt well to the new rules and were scored 131 points by the Nets led by Kidd. In that game, the most feared thing for the viewers in front of the TV was that Bowen would kick Carter again. That night, Carter broke his single-game high score against the Spurs and scored 33 points.

Currently, the offensive performances of the Knicks and Suns are roughly the same, with the Knicks averaging 111.8 points per game and the Suns averaging 111.6 points per game. After both teams started the season with an average of 115+ points per game, they have recently returned to normal.

The difference on the defensive end is quite significant. The Knicks allowed less than 100 points in five consecutive games, starting with the 76ers and then the Bucks, reducing their average points allowed to 101.5. The Suns, on the other hand, have consistently had one of the worst defenses in the league, allowing an average of 105 points per game.

In the pre-match interview, both teams were very polite.

Nash: "The Knicks are the best offensive team this year. I love watching them play. They are like us five years ago when we were young. They have unlimited potential. At least in my opinion, Embiid will become the best player in the world."

When the reporter relayed these words to Yi Shui, Yi Shui immediately praised him: "Steve is the best point guard in the world, bar none. No one can take a team from 29 wins to 62 wins like he did. That's incredible. I'll never forget the Suns' crazy fast-paced style back then... Me? In my first year, I only took the team to 55 wins. I'm still far from that..."

(End of this chapter)