Champion, please stay!

Chapter 232, Section 230: It's Going on a tear!

Fortunately, the rebound gave Yi Shui some consolation.

21 rebounds, his first career double-double of 20+20, no, it's 30+20!

There are mainly more rebounds at the beginning and end of the game.

开局5分钟就拿到了4个进攻篮板球、1个防守篮板球，末节又拿到了2个进攻篮板球和5个防守篮板球。

Including the first half of the third quarter, when the Cavaliers struggled to score and only managed 6 points, he grabbed 3 defensive rebounds, bringing his total to 15.

In the last 7 minutes of the first quarter and the entire second quarter, totaling 19 minutes, he had 2 offensive rebounds and 4 defensive rebounds, which is considered a normal performance.

However, Yi Shui really felt regretful about this match.

The opposing team played so well in the first half! He had to fight tooth and nail for rebounds and charge forward every time he had an opportunity to create better shooting opportunities for himself and his teammates in order to keep the game going.

As a result, the score difference widened slightly, and the opposing team completely collapsed...

Although the Cavaliers have a deep backcourt with players like Mo Williams, Delonte West, Anthony Parker, and Daniel Gibson, even West, who has the worst three-point shooting percentage, still has a 39% three-point shooting percentage and is a good shooter. However, they are not strong enough to be the primary ball-handling and one-on-one offensive option for a championship contender.

Gibson and Anthony Parker were pure shooters, while Mo Buk and West were a decent point guard duo. They were good at scoring during regular time, but when it came to a real star-studded matchup, they couldn't even beat a second-grader.

At the very least, they need to replace him with a peak Conley, or someone like Ellis who's willing to come off the bench, to give James enough help. The most suitable option might be an uninjured Roy?
Yi Shui suddenly realized something and shuddered. He was actually helping his opponent figure out how to strengthen their team!

But when James plays off the ball, he's truly formidable: sharp drives, incredibly fast fast breaks, and decisive passing...

Yi Shui, who longs to face the strongest opponent, can hardly help but fantasize.

...

Meanwhile, the Knicks were having a blast at their resort in the suburbs of Cleveland, where Walsh signed the bill and ordered several hot dishes to be served.

The battle report released tonight has caused an uproar in the public opinion!
Before the game, it was widely believed that the Knicks would have a tough time.

American cable sports have once again followed the approach commonly used by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Let's first objectively analyze the Knicks' recent situation—after a 16-game winning streak, they have a record of 15 wins and 6 losses in 21 games. Their performance during this period is below the level of a 60-win team. Moreover, the three games that defeated the Suns, Celtics, and Spurs were basically victories fought tooth and nail by Yi Shui. Their performance in regular time was not as good as these three teams.

Next, he praised the Cavaliers for their dominance after acquiring O'Neal and strengthening their interior offense and rim protection, noting that they have maintained a winning percentage of over 75% almost throughout the season with very little fluctuation.

With this kind of reporting, if the Knicks win, the New York media can hype it up even more; if they lose, it's easier to make amends.

Especially yesterday, the Cavaliers picked up Jamison from the Wizards, who were practically giving him away for free, with almost no real cost!

With his excellent rebounding, strong shooting ability, and sufficient mobility for fast breaks, he seems perfectly suited for LeBron James.

Public opinion is more optimistic about the Cavaliers and James.

As a result, the Knicks won by 19 points, which was almost a massacre!

Yi Shui's performance ignited a heated discussion after the game, with 21 rebounds, 30+20, and 6 assists in a single game!
人家拿个20+10+5都能好好吹一波，易水这30+20+5了！
纽约时报的评论员抱怨——“如果大帝末节多持球，分一些注意力在进攻端，说不定都40分20板或者30分20板10助攻了……”

On the afternoon of the second day, after arriving at Yishui, they flew south with the team.

The last three away games were all on the South Coast.

On the 18th, in an away game against the Hawks, Yi Shui was unusually out of form. David Lee was basically rendered useless against the frontcourt of Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Al Horford, Zaza Pachulia, and Joe Smith.

The Knicks played a good defensive game, continuing the defensive form they showed in the previous game against the Cavaliers, limiting the Hawks to 99 points, but they only scored 91 points themselves... Curry scored 20+ points again after 4 games, with 23 points and 4 assists in a single game, but he is clearly not yet able to carry the team's offense on his own.

The Knicks lost 91-99 on the road.

On the 19th, they will play the Heat in a back-to-back game, their third game in four days.

In the first three quarters, Yi Shui scored 11, 10, and 11 points respectively, leading the team to 80 points in three quarters. His offensive firepower was fierce, but his defense couldn't keep up and he was exhausted. The Heat also scored 80 points. He scored 32 points in three quarters, only managing to tie the game with the opponent!
In the final quarter, his teammates couldn't keep up offensively. He scored a game-high 14 points in the quarter, bringing his total to 46 points for the game and marking his 9th 40+ point game of the season. However, his team only managed 22 points in the final quarter, and the opposing team scored 31 points...

The Knicks suffered their first losing streak of the season, falling 102-111.

21号，6天4战的4连客最后1场，客场挑战魔术队。

魔术队10人轮换，8人得分上双，霍华德拿到全队最高的24分18板4盖帽，率领魔术队以118比107大胜尼克斯队。

Chalmers and David Lee played aggressively during garbage time, scoring 20-10 in the latter part of the fourth quarter to narrow the 21-point deficit to 11 points.

Yi Shui played for 31 minutes, shooting 11 of 19, including 3 of 6 three-pointers, plus 5 of 6 free throws. He was substituted halfway through the final quarter, with his score ending at 30 points.

He actually had a good shooting night, but the whole team was in terrible form. The Magic dared to double-team him because some of his teammates couldn't even make open shots. Apart from him, the others took 67 shots and scored 72 points... Van Gundy's defense was very effective. He didn't insist on defending every aspect, but focused on key areas.

...

4连客开局轰轰烈烈赢了19分，后面连输3场，尼克斯队战绩下滑到了32胜9负。

Fortunately, they have a large lead and are currently one game ahead of the Suns (31 wins, 10 losses), ranking first in the league.

Back home in New York, Yi Shui saw while browsing the news that after their three-game losing streak, all sorts of negative comments had surfaced, with the most popular one being that the Knicks had started strong but ended weak.

A three-game losing streak is something almost every star player experiences every season. From the 2007-08 season to the present, only the Lakers have never suffered a three-game losing streak.

To be described as 'starting strong but ending weak' simply because of a three-game losing streak... that's only possible in New York.

Yi Shui has gotten used to this situation. Playing basketball here means enjoying high exposure, so he has to accept this kind of public opinion environment.

Sometimes, when others are also suffering, you don't seem so bad yourself.

He wasn't the only one receiving negative reviews; LeBron's team also suffered a three-game losing streak!
After their 19-point victory over the Cavaliers, the media and fans focused on the Cavaliers' inexplicable collapse in the second half and his 30+20+5 performance.

But the coaches of other NBA teams, after watching the live broadcast or the recording, were not concerned about that. Instead, they were concerned about the Knicks' offensive and defensive strategies against Jamison and O'Neal's twin towers in the first quarter!

After losing to the Knicks, the Cavaliers went on to lose to the Bobcats 90-96 on the road and then to the Trail Blazers 93-102 at home.

Yi Shui looked at the game reports of the Cavaliers' two losses to the Bobcats and the Trail Blazers and saw that O'Neal's playing time had dropped significantly. He played 29 minutes against them, 22 minutes against the Bobcats, and only 19 minutes against the Trail Blazers.

Just as he analyzed, Jamison's addition is not necessarily a good thing for the Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers' three-point shooting has improved, and they've gained some passing ability in the paint, but their offense may not necessarily improve as well. Their once near-perfect defensive rotation has been disrupted.

It could be considered a matter of reaping what you sow. In the 07-08 season, Nash was in even better form than when he won the MVP in the 05-06 season. However, the team's performance collapsed midway through the season when Shaquille O'Neal joined them.

This year, O'Neal delivered his best all-around performance on both offense and defense since the 05-06 season, but midway through the season he was paired with Jamison, an inside partner who was completely incompatible with him...

However, the Cavaliers are in a much better situation than the Suns were that year.

With Nash so severely affected, the Suns are basically finished and will struggle to even make the Western Conference playoffs.

But O'Neal was at most a half-superstar; the real core, James, was a better fit with Jamison.

Yi Shui saw that a top commentator had suggested a solution for the Cavaliers – to bench O'Neal.

It's very simple and straightforward, but it's predictably effective. It might even be more effective against weaker teams. However, without Shaquille O'Neal averaging 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks in 25 minutes per game, it's probably going to struggle against strong teams.

Just like the Christmas Day game between the Cavaliers and the Magic, without O'Neal sitting in the low post and dominating Howard, limiting Howard's drives on defense and his offensive rebounding, the Cavaliers would have had a hard time outscoring the Magic.

By the way, the commentator who came up with this solution is named Charles Barkley.

While browsing the news today, Yi Shui discovered something he hadn't noticed before.

目前的战绩榜，东部前八——尼克斯队32胜9负第一、魔术队30胜11负第二、骑士队29胜12负第三、步行者队29胜13负第四、热火队25胜16负第五、老鹰队23胜18负第六、凯尔特人队23胜19负第七、雄鹿队22胜19负第八。

In the Southeast Division, which includes the Magic, Heat, and Hawks—three of the three South Coast teams—three out of five teams are already in playoff contention!

The Bobcats, ranked ninth, also have a record of 22 wins and 20 losses, closely following the Celtics and Bucks.

He remembered that when the "gun incident" was first exposed, the news said the Wizards were ranked 10th in the Eastern Conference.

In other words, if the Wizards hadn't had that incident, all five teams in the Southeast Division would have had a chance to make the playoffs!
Yi Shui looked at the results in the western region. Of the other five regions, only the southwestern region could be compared to the southeastern region.

西部前八——太阳队31胜10负第一、湖人队30胜12负第二、小牛队29胜13负第三、掘金队25胜16负第四（西北赛区第一，赛区第一自动前四）、灰熊队27胜14负第五、马刺队26胜16负第六、爵士队25胜17负第七、开拓者队24胜18负第八。

In the Southwest Division, three teams are ranked in the top eight: the Mavericks, Grizzlies, and Spurs.

The Rockets, ranked tenth, and the Hornets, ranked eleventh, can barely be considered playoff contenders.

In the two southern divisions, apart from the Wizards who were forced to falter, there isn't a single tanking team this season!

After a night's rest, the Knicks continued their brutal schedule in January on the 23rd.

The Knicks coaching staff and players have regained their enthusiasm and are focusing on preparations!
Three consecutive losses are certainly regrettable, but the regular season continues. The road ahead will be difficult, and the road ahead will be just as difficult. There's no need to dwell on the defeats.

今天到31号，9天时间6场比赛！只看赛程密度，不比前面6天4战的6连客好到哪里去。

Fortunately, all six matches are played at home, so the physical pressure will be much less than with a four-game away trip.

The opponents aren't that strong anymore; the 76ers, Clippers, Mavericks, Pistons, Nuggets, and Heat are the only three playoff contenders.

To other star players, such a dense schedule, with half of the opponents being strong teams, would be considered an extremely difficult one. But to Yi Shui right now, it's already considered easy.

After entering 2010, in their first 10 games, only the Wizards collapsed due to off-court issues; the other 9 games were against teams that were in the top eight of the Eastern and Western Conferences, and most of them were in the top four.

Ben Wallace participated in this morning's practice as a sparring partner. He won't play tonight, but he may return at the end of the month, which is great news.

After the team's training ended at 11 a.m., Yi Shui called Curry over and asked him to help him practice shooting after dribbling. There was a game that evening, so they didn't practice for too long, just half a set of 50 shots at half load.

Curry didn't refuse, and he patiently and meticulously explained the techniques during practice.

But after the practice, Curry asked in bewilderment, "Big, why did you suddenly decide to practice the fadeaway jump shot? Is it necessary for someone your height? When you pull up for a jump shot, it's very difficult for James and Smith (Josh) to contest it."

Yi Shui replied, "Of course we don't need this to deal with them, but it can be useful sometimes. If I could shoot backwards like you, I might have made those shots when Wade blocked my lower body and Milicic blocked my mid-air at close range."

"If I had made a few more shots that day, we probably wouldn't have lost."

Curry: "..." He subconsciously wanted to retort, "Can't you just not challenge yourself with such difficult shots?"

他回想起了几天前，与热火队比赛的第四节，易水12投5中、其中三分球1中0、加上4中4的罚球拿到14分。

Of those, seven were close-range shots, with only two resulting in goals.

He knew that Yi Shui didn't want to shoot from long range more, but the opponent's perimeter players were relentlessly guarding and surrounding him, forcing Yi Shui to shoot from close range.

Wade and Milicic on the wings were always there to block in the elbow area.

In that quarter, the rest of the team only made 2 out of 10 shots... Yi Shui could only shoot under the double-team of Wade and Milicic.

Thinking about this, Curry also wanted to practice more!

But he held back; there was a match that night.

In mid-November, he had a period of brilliance that lasted for more than a month. After Christmas, his performance began to decline because he couldn't keep up with his physical demands.

他没有易水那种离谱的恢复能力、6天4战还能场均32分、且最后一场打魔术队31分钟拿到30分，他在南海岸3连客时，只有打老鹰队那一场得分上双拿到23分，另外两场都坑了。

...

In the afternoon, Yi Shui took a nap in his private rest room. He woke up around 3 p.m. and prepared to go to the training field to stretch his body and wake up before having lunch and waiting for the pre-match warm-up training.

When he arrived at the home team's locker room, he saw his teammates chatting animatedly.

I made a call... and the Wizards are in the headlines again!
Around 1 p.m., Yahoo Sports columnist Wojnarowski reported that the Wizards' owners, the Pollin family, no longer wanted to waste time negotiating with Zydrunas Ilgauskas and had opted to buy him out!

Shortly after Wojnarowski exposed the matter, at 2 PM, the NBA official website confirmed the news, stating that the league had approved the Wizards' buyout application.

Less than half an hour later, the NBA official website updated with another signing news - the Cavaliers signed Zydrunas Ilgauskas to a one-year veteran minimum contract.

This is even more outrageous than when the Lakers traded Kwame Brown plus an unsigned second-round pick for Gasol!

约等于，骑士队只用了一个13年首轮乐透保护、且约定好了13年骑士队如果没进季后赛将变成13年和14年两个次轮签的低价值首轮签，就换回了场均21分8板的贾米森。

A true empty-handed All-Star!

Moreover, if the Cavaliers hadn't even put on a show and had delayed signing Zydrunas Ilgauskas for a couple of days, the public outcry wouldn't have been so intense.

The Wizards bought out the player at noon, and the Cavaliers signed him back that afternoon. It's like telling everyone that they had planned to screw over the Wizards with Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

However, the Cavaliers are indeed anxious. They were originally firmly in second place in the East, but after a three-game losing streak, they have dropped to third place and are even being overtaken by the Pacers.

O'Neal was targeted by the opponent. Varejao was okay at protecting the rim against the opponent's backup center, but he was not good enough against star-level centers. He urgently needed another giant.

His teammates were discussing the matter enthusiastically. Yi Shui took out his phone and checked; the news was dominating the headlines of various sports portals.

He wasn't surprised by the matter itself; he already knew about it.

However, while browsing the news, he saw a report from a Washington media outlet, which explained why the Wizards' management was willing to offer Caron Butler to Hughes and Jamison to Zydrunas Ilgauskas—they wanted to find good homes for Butler and Jamison before selling the team, as a way of repaying the two for their sacrifices in terms of salary and tactical role over the years.

He shared the same thought as Walsh—the NBA has lost another humane owner like him.

In the evening, the Knicks hosted the 76ers.

It's a bit of a shame that Iverson hasn't played since the middle of the month due to his child's serious illness, and he didn't come this time either. The last time we played against the 76ers, it might really be the last time I'll be playing against Iverson on the same court.

2小时21分钟的比赛过后，尼克斯队以117比102轻取76人队，终结连败。

易水出战32分钟，16投10中、其中三分球7中5，加上6中6的罚球，拿到31分8板4助攻2抢断1盖帽，终于打了一场舒坦的虐菜局。

Then, the Knicks had their only game of the season, playing four games in five days!
On the 25th, the Knicks will host the Clippers.

前三节，尼克斯队与快船队分别打出了28比29、30比31、28比30的比分，以86比90落后快船队4分。

The rotation of Love, Thabeet, Kaman, and Gooden in the paint caused the Knicks a lot of trouble.

Fortunately, Love, Kaman, and Gooden were all out of commission in the final quarter, the Clippers' wing shooters' performance declined, and the Knicks' collapsing defense worked.

The Knicks' long-range shooting performance declined as they actively engaged in physical battles, but Yi Shui held on and performed exceptionally well in mid-range and close-range shooting. He scored 15 points in the quarter, going 6-for-11 from the field and 3-for-3 from the free-throw line, leading the team to continue their scoring momentum from the first three quarters and scoring another 30 points in the quarter.

For the Clippers, Baron Davis failed to step up, making only 1 of 4 shots, missing all 3 of his three-point attempts, scoring only two points on fast breaks, and showing very little willingness to drive to the basket.

After having his peak season, he was traded to the Clippers by the "mad scientist" (Warrior's nickname), resulting in a lose-lose situation for both the Beard and the Warriors.

The Clippers scored only 18 points in the final quarter, and the Knicks rallied to win 116-108.

易水今晚29投15中，其中三分球5中2，加上9中9的罚球，拿到41分7板5助攻3抢断1盖帽，拿到本赛季第10次单场40+！

After the game, Yi Shui made headlines, becoming the latest player to score at least 10 40+ point games in a single season, following in the footsteps of Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade.

McGrady, James, and Wade all had one season with 40+ points and double-digit totals.

Last season, Wade scored 13 40+ point games, a rare season of high-frequency scoring for him. The other five and a half seasons combined don't have as many 40+ point games as last season. This season, he played 40 games, averaging 31.8 points, but only had 40+ point games, which is less than James' 28.6 points and Ellis' 25.5 points, both of whom had 5 40+ point games.

詹姆斯也只有05-06赛季拿到10次40+那一次，不过他从04-05赛季开始至今，每年40+次数都在5到10次之间，总40+次数比韦德高出整整11次。

McGrady's disadvantage was his short peak period. He only had 11 40+ point games in the 2002-03 season and 8 in the 2003-04 season. He had the potential to reach more than 10, but he was sidelined with a back injury in March. He was not yet 26 years old when he was sidelined, and he never had those two years of performance again.

艾弗森、科比，40+次数上双的赛季就多了，现役纪录由科比05-06赛季的27次40+保持。

The New York Times basketball expert predicts that Yi Shui could become the second player after Kobe Bryant to score 40+ points more than 20 times in a single season.

He stated that, given the Knicks' current situation, winning the game heavily relies on Yi Shui's high scoring.

Furthermore, it is predicted that this season is the season when Yi Shui has the best chance to achieve such an accomplishment. After becoming stronger in the future, it will be difficult to have such an opportunity again.

The comments from ESPN experts were quite interesting—the Knicks' number one record isn't because the Knicks are a particularly good team, but simply because Embiid is so talented.

...

Some media outlets tried to stir up trouble, but unfortunately, the Knicks players had no interest in paying attention to those comments.

The following day, the 26th, the Knicks hosted the Mavericks in a back-to-back game at home.

Yi Shui's 11th 40+ point game of the season came sooner than expected!

Yi Jianlian made 10 of 18 water-based shots tonight!
全场31投17中、其中三分球5中2，加上10中9的罚球，背靠背再砍40+，狂轰45分！
Thanks to his high-post shooting, David Lee also found his rhythm on the wings and baseline, making 8 of 14 field goals and 4 of 5 free throws for 20 points.

Curry, Chalmers, and Duhon combined for nine three-pointers while receiving passes on the wings.

The Mavericks had a decent offense tonight, scoring 108 points, 6 points higher than their average of 102 points per game.

But the Knicks went on a shooting spree under Yi Shui's leadership!
113比108，尼克斯队5分险胜小牛队，让诺维斯基的29分、特里的23分、卡隆-巴特勒的25分成为无用功！

After a day of rest on the 27th, the Knicks continued their back-to-back game on the 28th, hosting the Pistons at home.

Tonight, the Knicks continued their hot shooting from the previous game, with the whole team hitting their shots. They made 47 of 90 field goals, including 11 of 20 three-pointers, and added 19 of 25 free throws, for a total of 124 points!
The Knicks led by as many as 27 points, and ultimately defeated the Pistons 124-106.

Last season, the Pistons and Bulls were grouped together by the media and called the 'worst performing teams'.

This season, people have realized that the Pistons are not as good as the Bulls. At least the Bulls were willing to give up their veterans and focus on developing a few young talents.

The Pistons, on the other hand, lacked even that fierce drive. They had poor judgment in judging players, gave Stuckey absolute ball possession, and were unwilling to give up the trade value of veterans like Hamilton and Prince. They couldn't even tank properly, and after 46 games, they had a record of 16 wins and 30 losses. They were undoubtedly a bad team, but not bad enough.

In this game, the Knicks went even further than in the previous game, but Yi Shui's scoring actually dropped. He only scored 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting, but he also had 11 rebounds, 12 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block! His second triple-double of the season!
When his teammates are shooting well, he is happy to draw double teams to create opportunities for them. When his teammates are shooting poorly, even if he has an open shot, he would rather take a dozen shots in a single quarter despite the defense.

On the 29th, the Knicks faced their final opponent in a 5-day, 4-game series – the Nuggets.

At 8 p.m., after the game started, both teams scored... very low.

After two consecutive high-scoring games, the Knicks players were simply too exhausted to keep up their pace in the final game of a back-to-back.

But the Nuggets couldn't get going!

This month, it's not just the Knicks who have a brutal schedule; the Nuggets and Suns, two highly entertaining run-and-gun teams, are also facing the same fate! They're practically being exploited rotten by the Knicks.

The Knicks don't actually have a particularly large number of games this month, only 16. Like most teams, they have fewer games in the first half of the month than most teams. The main reason is that the schedule is tight in the second half of the month. The reason they are considered to have the 'most brutal schedule' this month is that their opponents in the 16 games include a bunch of teams with 50 wins or more.

The Nuggets and Suns, on the other hand, have a lot of games, with 17 games in a single month!
While it may seem like there's only one game difference between 16 and 17 games, the difference is actually significant. The Nuggets and Suns both have two more back-to-back games this month than the Knicks.

Tonight is also the second game of a back-to-back for the Nuggets, having just played the Nets on the road yesterday.

If neither team's pitchers can make their shots and their fast breaks are ineffective, then it all comes down to the individual abilities of their star players.

库里今晚表现不佳，12投4中只拿到11分，三分一个没进；不过比卢普斯表现更糟，14投4中只拿到9分。

大卫-李和JR-史密斯，前者打不动收缩防守的掘金双塔，只拿到8分8板；JR-史密斯8投2中拿到7分5板2助攻，也没好到哪里去。

Kenyon Martin had a good game tonight, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds thanks to his aggressive play; but Birdman also stepped up for the Knicks, grabbing 6 offensive rebounds and scoring 10 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double.

Yi Shui and Anthony's individual performances became the key to the outcome of the game between the two teams.

In this duel, Yi Shui won again!

It wasn't that Yi Shui shot more accurately than Anthony tonight, it was that he took more shots!

The two players traded baskets in the first quarter, with Anthony scoring 29 points and Yi Shui 30 points in the same quarter, and their shooting percentages were similar. However, the gap widened in the final quarter.

Anthony is truly in the physical condition of playing the second game of a back-to-back, while Yi Shui took two girls to the hotel last night...

Another factor is physique. In the final quarter, Anthony only took 5 shots, and in the last 3 minutes, he only took one shot, which was blocked by Yi Shui. Facing Yi Shui's close defense, he couldn't jump and couldn't even shoot.

全场比赛下来，安东尼打了42分钟，27投11中、其中三分球9中3、加上9中7的罚球，拿到32分，是两队出手次数超过10次的球员里，唯一一个命中率过4成的。

易水命中率只有38.2%，但进了13球！34投13中！其中三分球15中6、加上11中9的罚球，狂轰41分！
末节12投4中、其中三分球5中1、加上4中3的罚球拿到12分，率队打出了21比13的比分。

The Knicks narrowly defeated the Nuggets 92-85!
(End of this chapter)