Champion, please stay!

Chapter 254, Section 252: A Flat Push!

After the timeout, the Knicks went on offense.

The Celtics brought in a lineup of Rondo, Tony Allen, Pierce, Garnett, and Rasheed Wallace.

Rivers may not be good at devising ways to counter the opponent's strategy on the fly, but he excels at judging the opponent's lineup rotations and strategic changes, and making targeted personnel adjustments.

As for the specific implementation, that's not something Thibodeau, Garnett, or Rondo can handle!

Under Garnett's direction, the Celtics players got into their defensive positions.

Tony Allen, positioned on the right side alongside Webster, was ready to double-team the ball-handler; Rasheed Wallace was poised to block the baseline space under the basket; Garnett himself moved to the left side of the three-second zone, ready to cut off the middle at any moment; Rondo was also prepared to help defend the wing shooter…

Defensive tactical objectives – to force the opposing ball-handling offensive player to take difficult shots and to put the opposing receiving player in an unfavorable shooting position.

The target player for the ball-handling attack was Yi Shui, who was positioned high up against Pierce!

The lineup Rivers brought in, while much weaker in rim protection than the starting lineup, has significantly improved its ability to both collapse and expand, making it extremely suitable for targeting one-on-one forwards.

The Knicks were indeed focusing on half-court offense at this point, with neither Duhon nor Hughes, who were responsible for pushing the fast breaks, playing, but...

The one executing the one-on-one play wasn't Yi Shui, it was Curry!

Curry faked out Rondo and forced him to steal the ball. Curry then dribbled between his legs to get past Rondo, took a step forward, stopped abruptly, and launched a jump shot from just outside the three-point line... and it went in!
Rondo is a great defender, and with Paul out for the season, he will most likely be selected for the All-Defensive First Team this season. However, his wing defense is stronger than his one-on-one defense.

Rondo excels at one-on-one defense, particularly in pressuring and stealing. He can hold his own against players who are significantly smaller than him, such as James and Josh Smith. In this aspect, Rondo's ability is like the ultimate version of Rose and Westbrook. When Leonard first emerged, he was said to be similar to Rondo in defense because of his ability to press and steal.

But this kind of defense just happened to be Curry's target!

A fast-paced offense, a hard counter to a high-pressure, pressing defense!
The Knicks narrowed the gap to 1 points, 22-23!
In the transition between offense and defense, Rondo and Garnett initiated a pick-and-roll offense.

Normally, towards the end of the quarter, when the opposing team starts to rely on one-on-one plays, their team should have a star player step up to respond.

But Rivers' strategy was to continue with team offense, because... they had been running too much in the first 10 minutes!

Although they successfully contained the opponent's fast-paced attack, their physical exertion was far greater than usual.

Otherwise, Rivers would have substituted Garnett at this point and brought on Glen Davis to fight the opponent, leaving all the offense to Pierce.

If we were to name the Celtics player who was most exhausted defending against fast breaks in the first 10 minutes or so, it would definitely be Pierce chasing the Yi River.

With Rondo, Pierce, and Garnett all on the court, and center Rasheed Wallace able to create space, the team's play was excellent.

After using a screen, Rondo brought Yi Shui, who had switched onto the defense, to the right baseline. A precise long pass tore apart the Knicks' decent defense. Pierce received the ball on the left side of the free-throw line, and Chandler and Webster both rushed towards Pierce.

Pierce passes the ball!
Tony Allen cut in immediately after being left open, received the ball on the left side of the paint, looked at the empty basket, took two powerful steps, jumped on the third step, and dunked...

Rondo, on the other side of the three-second zone, yelled "No, no, no!" but the boos and shouts for "defense" from the fans were too loud, and Tony Allen, who only had eyes for the basket, didn't hear him.

Just as Tony Allen reached out to the left of the basket, about to slam the ball in, a hand appeared in his line of sight and landed on the ball he was holding up!
Yi Shui blocked Tony Allen's shot, sending him sprawling to the ground, along with the ball!

The ball bounced off the floor, and Yi Shui grabbed it... only to be caught by Rondo, who rushed in after her.

A very timely tactical foul!

Later, Yi Shui was about to make a long pass. When Curry saw Tony Allen fall to the ground, he had already rushed out and was ahead of Garnett who was turning back to defend. If Rondo fouled again after Yi Shui made the pass, he would most likely be called for an unsportsmanlike foul.

Tony Allen, who was helped up by his teammates, grimaced and hissed. He wasn't injured, but it hurt!

He watched the replay on the big screen and gasped again.

When he received the ball and took three big steps, Yi Shui was still in the middle of the right baseline. He took two steps to reach the three-second zone sideline, and with his third step, he pounced on him from the right sideline of the three-second zone and gave him a big block as he was dunking on the left side of the basket!
The key point is that in the replay, when Yi Shui rushed towards the inside, Rondo pulled on Yi Shui's arm. Otherwise, Yi Shui's first two steps might have gone even further. But even so, Yi Shui's jumping speed and height seemed unaffected!
Tony Allen faced Kevin Garnett in his prime during his rookie season, and even Garnett at that time couldn't have done that!

The Knicks' backcourt ball fell into a half-court offense once again.

Tony Allen's butt was still hurting, but he still went to the top of the key to switch onto Curry.

The Celtics' slow-paced offense and tough defense require one prerequisite to work well: a lead in the score.

Either you play your offense steadily and maintain a high level of efficiency, or you shut down your opponent's defense.

They need to play at least evenly and not fall behind, otherwise catching up will be a nightmare for them.

If you haven't scored, then you must defend!
Tony Allen switching onto Curry is essentially preparing to leave Webster open on the right sideline. Rondo can double-team on the wing better than Tony Allen, as Tony Allen doesn't have Rondo's ability to get to the sideline from the high post.

But Curry didn't pass the ball to Yi Shui; he chose to go one-on-one instead!
Tony Allen was startled and defended very hard and very well. He didn't fall for the opponent's feints and even blocked Curry's knee when Curry jumped.

Curry's three-point attempt missed!

The ball hit the inside left side of the rim and bounced out.

As the ball flew toward the basket, Rondo anticipated that it would miss and even predicted the landing point, so he moved forward in advance. But for some reason, the closer he got to the landing point, the more uneasy he felt... Just as he reached the landing point, his view was blocked!

Yi Shui rushed in front of Rondo, grabbed the offensive rebound, got up and pressed forward, putting the ball into the basket over Pierce's head as he came to help!

The Knicks have taken a 24-23 lead!
Rondo finally understood why that second-year pitcher was playing with such confidence.

So they're just taking advantage of their poor rebounding again! With Garnett's athleticism declining, their rebounding ability has further deteriorated compared to last season, averaging only 38.4 rebounds per game so far this season, the worst in the league!

Moreover, Yi Shui was keeping an eye on him to grab the rebound, and he couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't just judge where the ball would land and not try to grab it, could he?
This is simply unsolvable!
Rondo also saw another advantage of the Knicks' strategy – reducing Yi Shui's physical exertion.

Being able to draw defenders on the flanks, rush to steal shots when teammates take them, and not have to worry about getting back on defense is much less physically demanding than taking one-on-one shots in double teams and physical battles.

Not only at this stage, but the same principle applies to the Knicks' previous "brainless charge" – whether it was merely to wear them down or to maintain the continuity of the Yi River.

Given Yi Shui's physical condition, charging forward to compress the defense would consume far less energy than compressing the defense in positional warfare!

With 40 seconds left in the first quarter, it was the Celtics' turn to attack, and Pierce proactively pulled out to call for the ball and go one-on-one.

This time, he wasn't retaliating because Yi Shui scored on him, but because he had to step up now.

We can't let the point difference widen!

Yi Shui defended very far out, mainly guarding against shots. Pierce seized the opportunity, changing direction in advance to get past Yi Shui and drive into the paint!
Chandler's timely help defense, together with Yi Shui, sandwiched Pierce on the right side of the basket, and Curry also came in.

Garnett tried to make a run to create space for the pass, but Barnes stayed close. He was no longer the "Wolf King" who could outrun guards with a single burst of speed and a long stride.

Tony Allen and Rasheed Wallace were open... Pierce chose to push towards Chandler, holding off Chandler's strong layup...

No!

Pierce played bravely, shouldering the responsibility, but against two giants like Yi Shui and Chandler, it was already a feat to just get the ball out without getting blocked! Barnes secured the defensive rebound and passed it to Curry.

Curry held the ball firmly under Rondo's tight defense and pressure, demonstrating a clear advantage in static confrontations.

Rondo's pressing was unsuccessful, so he retreated to the backcourt and switched defense with Tony Allen, then followed Webster.

Curry didn't rush to go one-on-one; when the opponent missed, there were less than 24 seconds left in the first quarter.

Tony Allen was focused and patient, not rushing forward. This second-year player's sense of rhythm reminded him of that guy from Phoenix.

Suddenly, Tony Allen saw Curry grab the ball. He thought Curry was about to launch a surprise pull-up jumper, so he immediately moved up to him... but Curry didn't jump and instead flicked the ball to the left!
Is Barnes the only player there? The opposing team gave the final shot of the first quarter to a role player with little shooting ability? Is this a game against the Cavaliers or the Knicks?

As this thought crossed his mind, Tony Allen turned his head to look... Barnes wasn't there... Yi Shui rushed over!
Garnett chased after Yi Shui, but the distance between them didn't shrink; instead, it widened!
Just as Yi Shui reached the left sideline, Curry's pass arrived perfectly. Yi Shui stopped abruptly to receive the ball, turned around, and jumped to shoot a three-pointer before Garnett could close in...

'Braking Genius' is triggered, reducing the rhythm impact of sudden stops.

A three-pointer from the sideline hits!

The first quarter ended with Pierce missing a three-pointer after receiving the ball against Chandler's defense.

Yi and Ku connected, scoring 7 consecutive points in the final minute of half-court offense, going on a 7-0 run to take a 27-23 lead over the Celtics!
At this point, Tony Allen still couldn't figure out what had happened with that defensive play... The replay on the big screen gave him the answer.

Barnes suddenly cut in from the left, and Garnett moved in, but Barnes didn't cut in to launch a sneak attack. Instead, he was blocking Pierce for Yi Shui, who was sliding along the baseline.

The Celestial was keeping his eyes on Chandler and Curry, trying to prevent Chandler from making a 'sneak attack' pick-and-roll, but ended up getting his base stolen from behind!

...

During the break, the atmosphere on the benches of the two teams was completely different.

On the Celtics' side... Rivers is giving a passionate 'speech,' but this time his motivational speech isn't working.

For the first 10 minutes or so, they dominated both the game and the score.

If we disregard the four points scored by Yi Shui after the first timeout, including dunks on Perkins and Garnett, and only consider their regular offense and defense, they outscored their opponents 23-16 in about 10 minutes.

Compared to their match in January, they not only defended better, but their offense also became more consistent.

If the Knicks had played like they did in that game, they might already have a 10-point lead.

But at this moment they are down by 4 points!
In the remaining two minutes, they allowed the opponent to score 11 points on 5 of 6 shots in 5 possessions!
If the other side suddenly erupts and they are caught off guard, then it's alright.

That situation can be avoided in the future.

However, they discovered their own pre-match prediction error early on and analyzed the opponent's intentions, but they were unable to stop it!
This feeling is so agonizing!

On the other side of the bench, the atmosphere was completely different; everyone was incredibly excited.

D'Antoni was beaming, literally.

The strategy not only worked, but it exceeded expectations!
The opposing team's offense was actually stronger than he had anticipated before the game. When he called the first timeout, he wasn't so confident anymore. He was just hoping to catch up by the end of the quarter, and he would be lucky to even tie the game.

Unexpectedly, Yi Shui scored 4 goals and got 9 points in just two minutes when the opponent's attack was interrupted!
One more strategy to counter the Celtics!
In fact, Rivers' pre-game prediction that the Knicks would choose the star-studded scoring style that they used against the Grizzlies and Pacers was not a wrong prediction.

That style of play is actually in D'Antoni's strategy pool for dealing with the Celtics, and it's ranked at the top.

Rivers has a strong analytical ability in this area.

It's just that the timing was wrong!
Unlike the Celtics, who are still striving for a higher ranking and need to fight hard to win every game.

The Knicks are now six games ahead of the second-place Magic (48 wins, 18 losses) and seven games ahead of the top-ranked Suns in the West. With 17 games remaining, their league-leading position is practically secure.

D'Antoni is no longer so concerned about the outcome of one or two games. Facing the Celtics, who are bound to be a top-tier team in the league for the playoffs, he certainly wants to win, but he also wants to explore more possibilities and make more thorough preparations for a possible playoff encounter.

If Rivers' pre-game preparations hadn't been so targeted, but instead had been like in January, with routine preparations and giving the players... especially Rondo, more control on the court, the Celtics might not have had such a difficult time.

...

After the timeout, D'Antoni substituted Curry, Duhon, Yi Shui, David Lee, and Swift to continue grinding out the opponent.

On the other side, Rivers had no choice but to continue to fight tooth and nail with his starting lineup.

After the start of the second quarter, the Celtics did not make any clear adjustments and continued to wear down the Knicks.

Rondo was helpless at this point, with no options to change the situation.

They did their best in both offense and defense during regular time, but when it comes to star players, Pierce was completely outmatched by Yi Shui...

Another point is that they have already been worn down by the opponent in the first quarter. If they don't change their strategy at this point, they can still maintain a slight advantage in regular time and hope that the opponent will miss their shots during the star player's one-on-one phase, thus dragging the game into the crucial stage.

If you blindly react, you might end up like the opponent did during the first official timeout in the first quarter, allowing them to seize the opportunity and score consecutive points.

At this point, it's not that the point difference has been caught up, but rather that the point difference has widened.

With Garnett's athleticism declining significantly and his offense collapsing, the Celtics are becoming more and more like the Spurs of the early 2000s, but without Manu Ginobili.

But Rondo's last remaining hope was also dashed.

Although the Celtics dominated possession and defense during regulation time, they failed to translate that dominance into a score advantage!
Because the Knicks' "brainless charge" was even more aggressive than in the first quarter, and the players were more confident in their attacks!

In the first quarter, they were unsure whether D'Antoni's new strategy would work, and based on their experience against the Celtics in January, they knew it would be difficult to play a fast-paced game against them, putting them under considerable pressure.

It was only with their leader leading the charge and the enthusiastic cheers of the home crowd that they managed to hold on, even when they were down a huge 16-23 deficit in the regular offensive and defensive battle, they gritted their teeth and persevered.

But things are different now. So what if the other side plays their regular offensive and defensive game well? So what if we suppress them? They have Embiid, who scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the first quarter!

In the second quarter, the Celtics not only failed to narrow the gap, but were also pushed back by 3 points.

单节27比24，半场打完，尼克斯队以54比47领先凯尔特人队7分！
During halftime, the Celtics finally made effective adjustments. Thibodeau, Garnett, and Rondo discussed a more suitable defense for the current situation and successfully reduced the Knicks' score to 22 points in the third quarter.

But another problem arose: Garnett, who did not rest in the first half, was exhausted. Although he played very hard on the defensive end, his playmaking and screen setting on the offensive end were not as good as in the first half, and the Celtics' score dropped to 20 points!
The Knicks took a 9-point lead into the final quarter, 76-67!
In the final quarter, both sides played ugly, falling into the Celtics' preferred rhythm. The Knicks couldn't break through. Yi Shui could charge forward, but his teammates couldn't keep up, and they were forced into half-court offense. The Knicks only took 17 shots in the quarter, making only 6, including 1 of 5 three-pointers. With 3 of 5 free throws, they only scored 16 points.

In this quarter, the Celtics' pre-game prediction finally came true—Yi Shui took 11 shots in the final quarter, making 4, plus 2 of 2 free throws for a total of 10 points.

But this did not affect the outcome of the game. The Celtics themselves only made 7 of 18 shots, including 1 of 6 three-pointers, plus 2 of 3 free throws, scoring only 17 points!
首节13分、第二节9分、第三节9分、末节10分，易水全场33投16中，其中三分球6中2，加上8中7的罚球，狂砍41分！
The Knicks defeated the Celtics 92-84 at home!

After the match, commentators from various television stations were all exclaiming in disbelief when analyzing the game.

The Knicks' victory over the Celtics wasn't surprising, given they're the league's top team, but the way they won... was a complete rout!
(End of this chapter)