NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 216: The Famous Nemesis (6000 words chapter)
On May 2001, 5, at Madison Square Garden Arena, president David Stern felt the atmosphere and was in a good mood for a moment.

Li You was elected the regular season MVP. League staff no longer had to fly. The awards were presented "at home" and the arena was filled with cheers.

New York fans who like to watch the excitement came to the scene early. At 19:[-] tonight, the Eastern Conference semifinals officially started.

Raptors head coach Lenny Wilkens looks serious. After taking over the team, the record seems to have improved, but he has a good idea of ​​the team's specific strength.

After completing the appearance ceremony, the Qiansheng coach subconsciously looked at the smiling Jeff Van Gundy on the other side, and for a moment he felt envious of him.

When the nearly 2 spectators at the scene saw Li You, "fully armed" wearing a white home jersey, standing in the center of the field, they burst into loud cheers again.

"MVP! MVP! MVP!"

The explosive PER and the exaggerated plus-minus value in each game make Li You's Excel extremely beautiful, which is very suitable for young fans to "evaluate the game in the cloud".

David Stern waited until the cheers gradually subsided, then took the microphone and said with a smile:

"Thank you! Thank you to the enthusiastic New York fans. It's an honor to witness this historic moment with everyone."

"This season, we have witnessed the growth of Lee and the changes in the Knicks."

“The best efficiency value in history, this season’s assists and steals leader!”

"The only team in the league with 60+ wins, both offensively and defensively. The 23-year-old Lee is still improving. This is a great blessing in the basketball world."

"Congratulations on becoming the 2001 NBA regular season MVP - Clay-Lee!"

"Keep chasing history, it is our honor to witness your career!"

After David Stern, who was in a particularly beautiful mood, said these words, he handed the microphone to the surrounding staff with a smile, then turned around and hugged Li You in greeting, while blessing in a low voice:
"Lee, congratulations! Continue to maintain such a competitive state, the future of the league needs players like you!"

David Stern quickly turned around and handed the small bronze figure in the center of the field to Li You, and then smiled and clapped from the side. For a while, the shouts in the arena became a little louder.

With a smile on his face, Li You raised the trophy in his hand high. There is no such thing as too many MVP trophies. He activated the hook reward clause and got another dollar in his account.

After taking a group photo with Mr. President holding the trophy, Li You also took the microphone and thanked him again:

"Thank you everyone for your recognition, my teammates, and the coaching staff. This award belongs to all of us!"

"Thank you to the New York fans who have always supported the team. You are so enthusiastic. Next, let us complete the remaining work and continue to cheer for victory!"

"Wow!"

The New York fans who were so excited about the victory started shouting excitedly. Everyone likes to win.

At the end of the award ceremony, Li You smiled and high-fived his teammates to celebrate. Artest, who likes to touch trophies the most, smiled happily while holding the little bronze man. This trophy is indeed exquisite and substantial.

Ewing secretly felt like lemon, but the gorilla was very graceful at this time and took the opportunity to exchange a few words with Wilkens.

On the other side, Marcus Camby was very sad. He was also a rookie in 96. His presence as the second pick is getting weaker and weaker. Everyone seems to have forgotten about him.
Mark Jackson is Li You's old rival. He sighed secretly when he faced off against each other again.

In the first round, they encountered Tim Hardaway, who was in average physical condition, and the Raptors swept their opponents. However, when they met Li You, Mark Jackson became a little unmotivated and lost in recent years.

Vince Carter has the best mentality. He is just a little envious of Li You's achievements, three consecutive championships and MVP. He also desires these things.

Most of the players on the MVP candidate list have a very bad relationship with Li You. The two families dislike each other. Vince Carter didn't think too much about it. During the final warm-up before the game, he gave a friendly blessing:

"I am very happy to witness your award ceremony live. The MVP is well deserved!"

Li You also patted the newbie. The two teams often played against each other in the regular season, and they were considered superficial brothers:
"Come on, Bro! Don't be polite, or the series will be over soon."

The two were chatting and laughing, but there was not much competition. Some memories suddenly appeared in Li You's mind. Looking at Carter's twisted back, he secretly blessed in his heart:

"I hope you can attend the graduation ceremony happily!"

"."

In the live NBC commentary box, Bob Costas also expressed emotion. At 23 years old, he is too young.

The most important thing is that in the Eastern Conference, he feels that Li You will often appear in the finals in the future.

As a senior commentator, Bob Costas is certainly aware of the current league structure, with the West being strong and the East being weak. Like most football commentators, he does not believe that the Raptors will cause too much trouble to the Knicks:

"Head coach Wilkens has not changed the lineup. The backcourt is still Mark Jackson and Vince Carter, and the frontcourt is Maurice Peterson, Max Camby, and Antonio Davis."

Doug Collins heard his partner introduce the lineup and quickly commented:
"The Raptors' athletic ability is very good. Mark Jackson controls the team's rhythm and combines old and new players. This is why they were able to sweep the Heat."

"Coach Van Gundy also continued the starting lineup from the first round. After Grant Hill returned, the Knicks became faster in order to counterattack."

"If you want to win on the road, you still have to look at defense. This is also a huge test for the Raptors."

Before the game started, the two had an analysis in the commentary box. Although Antonio Davis was also selected as an All-Star this season, when discussing the strength of the Raptors, everyone still discussed Vince Carter more.

Contrary to their expectations, Carter started the game very slowly. For more than two minutes, the Raptors still scored zero points.
"Defense!."

The opponent scored zero points, and the defensive shouts became louder and louder.

An extremely traditional style of play, quickly slipping across the baseline and in the right block, Carter stretched his hands behind his back to get the ball.

Li You's interference did not have much effect. Mark Jackson got the ball very quickly. The moment Alan Houston came up to defend, Carter caught the ball and attacked the frame.

Everyone on the Raptors pulled away, Camby moved to the free throw line, Carter continued to test with his left foot, then quickly released the ball with his left hand, walked to the line and broke through smoothly.

Alan Houston immediately blocked the ball. After the physical confrontation between the two, Carter observed that Ewing had moved to the basket. After taking two big steps, he simply turned around quickly with his right foot as the axis.

While combining the ball, Carter returned to the right block position, drifted to the right, and finally completed a fadeaway jumper!
"Bang!" Another strike.

The rebound popped up, and Antonio Davis had quick eyes and quick hands. He rushed to the offensive rebound immediately. He didn't care about Ewing in front of him and took the ball directly.

The gorilla under the basket didn't react slowly. He pressed down the opponent and completed the block. The fans at the scene also exclaimed, but Camby got the second rebound.

Seeing that the opponent was about to grab another rebound, Lewis stuck the opponent tightly. After taking off for the second time, he relied on his position advantage to protect the backboard with difficulty.

At this time, everyone on the Raptors had completed their retreat, and the Knicks' counterattack failed again.

Carter struck the iron, and the Raptors' two big men scrambled wildly. The simple and crude tactics just suppressed the rhythm of the game.

"Let's go Knicks!."

Although they fell into position and attacked again, the fans' enthusiasm remained unabated and they continued to shout loudly.

He was rushed by the opponent twice at the beginning. Realizing the opponent's intention, Li You also began to speed up the attack rhythm.

Ewing stood outside the three-point line at the top of the arc after halftime, and Antonio Davis naturally also mentioned the high post.

Lewis moved to the right corner, and Marcus Camby was forced to guard him, but he kept turning his head to observe the situation on the line.

On the left wing, Grant Hill stopped, and Alan Houston was already waiting to receive the ball in the left corner.

The Knicks adopted a five-way strategy after halftime. Even if the Raptors were prepared, they still felt a little uncomfortable at this time.

Mark Jackson spotted the movement behind him, took advantage of Li You to quickly circle the ball behind his back, switched to his left hand and leaned his shoulder to accelerate, and quickly moved, preparing to squeeze through the screen.

Ewing's cover was of high quality, and Li You, who had just switched to his left hand, suddenly turned around quickly.

Mark Jackson was still too old after all. Even if he held on to Ewing's thigh and tried to squeeze through, he was still accelerated by Li Youchen and passed directly.

Facing Antonio Davis, who was moving to help defend, Li You quickly pushed the ball to change direction at the three-point line. He lowered his center of gravity and adjusted his stride. After grabbing the ball with his left hand, he strode straight into the basket.

In the paint area, Antonio Davis was sliding desperately. Seeing Li You relying on him to complete the top turn again, he couldn't twist his body for a while and subconsciously called out to his teammates:
"Marcus!"

Marcus Camby moved quickly, helping to defend the basket in two big steps. At the same time, he jumped high and waited for Li You in the air.

While turning around quickly during the high-speed breakthrough, Li You did not lose control of his body. With the two men double-teaming to help defend, Li You took advantage of the situation and threw the ball towards the right corner.

Marcus Camby, who was leaping high, suddenly found that the ball in Li You's hand was gone. He did not immediately defend the ball, but simply stayed in place to protect the rebound.

When Lewis caught the ball, there was no one guarding him in front of him again. He glanced at the basket and then made a steady jump shot.

"Shua!" The three-pointer hit the net hollowly.

At 0:9, Madison Square Garden was in a frenzy. Lewis hit two three-pointers after the opening game, letting everyone see another sign of abuse.

Coach Wilkens on the sidelines immediately requested a timeout and frowned helplessly. An attack took less than 12 seconds, and a unilateral rush for rebounds failed to suppress the rhythm of the game.

Looking at Mark Jackson, who was slightly out of breath, the Raptors coaching staff was a little helpless. On the offensive end, they needed the veteran to control the rhythm, but on the defensive end, they felt powerless.

The atmosphere at the scene became joyful again, and Doug Collins also frowned secretly and commented helplessly:

"This is not a good defensive option and Marcus Camby should be more cautious."

Bob Costas also saw Mark Jackson's problem, but just thinking about the Raptors' lineup, he simply suggested:

"Perhaps we can change the defense early and let the forward players face Lee."

Doug Collins secretly shook his head. Anyone who has paid attention to the Knicks' regular season knows that once the small guard guards the corner, the tactics will become misplaced singles.

With his height advantage, Alan Houston has a very high shooting percentage on turnaround jump shots from left and right near the baseline this season. When playing in isolation against a short man, he can only pray that he misses the shot.
The Raptors did not choose to make substitutions. Head coach Wilkens looked serious. When the players returned to the field, he kept making tactical gestures on the sidelines.

After continuously passing the ball from the outside, Carter caught the ball from the left wing, swung right and left, released the ball with his left hand, took two big steps, suddenly stopped, and shot a long two-point jumper!

"Shua!" The two-pointer went into the net hollowly.

No longer pursuing low-post offense, but using Carter's athletic ability to improve the receiving position. Coach Wilkens did not make many adjustments and still let Carter focus on the offense.The Raptors completed the scoring, and the Knicks quickly sent a baseline kick. Mark Jackson immediately led the defense on Li You, but found that he could not keep up with the rhythm.

Li You, who was holding the ball in his left hand, rushed towards the center line while hanging on the defense. He suddenly stopped before half-time, dribbled the ball behind his back quickly, switched to his right hand and accelerated again.

With sudden stops and starts, Mark Jackson almost lost his defensive position.

Li You, who passed half the court, immediately passed the ball to Grant Hill, who stepped forward to receive the ball. The moment the latter caught the ball, Li You immediately moved to the right and received the pass from hand to hand.

Maurice Peterson saw his teammates out of position and subconsciously moved to help defend. For a moment, Grant Hill, who moved to the left flank, was unguarded.

Li You jumped up and threw the ball before the two were surrounded. Grant Hill caught the ball, and Maurice Peterson rushed back to defend, but was passed by in one step.
Antonio Davis under the basket subconsciously came up to help defend. In the paint area, Grant Hill took advantage of the situation to pass the ball. At the bottom left of the basket, Ewing received the ball and easily succeeded in a one-arm dunk!

"Wow!"

The wonderful cooperation made the New York fans at the scene shout happily. Jeff Van Gundy, who was sitting on the bench, also smiled and clapped along.

Coach Wilkens on the other side looked a little ugly and made tactical gestures to indicate that he should continue to persist.
Perhaps the Raptors' game strategy before the game was relatively radical. From the beginning of the game, most of them asked Li You to play the ball quickly.

After handoffs on the line, Li You will encounter a double team, break through after the pick and roll, and rely on Antonio Davis's relatively fast lateral speed and Marcus Camby's athletic ability to double-team.

Camby had just hit a mid-range jumper from the free throw line. Looking back, using the same tactic, Li You was about to break through to the lower left side of the basket, and Camby jumped up early to help defend.

When Lewis caught the ball, he didn't even have to adjust much, he just lifted the ball and threw it!

"Shua!" A three-pointer was scored again.

Trying to slow down, Carter took over from the left wing. As 24 seconds approached and he was still a short step away from the three-point line, he suddenly succeeded with a cold arrow.

Looking back, Li You had just passed half court and was close to the three-point line. Mark Jackson blocked his left hand, and Carter quickly came over to help defend and double-team.

Li You reacted very quickly. Without waiting for the two to surround him, he blasted the ball on the spot and scooped it up with his right hand. When he turned around, he swung the ball to the right wing.

Alan Houston showed no mercy after receiving the ball and responded again with a three-pointer!

The Raptors attacked like crazy, but the Knicks' score kept rising.

In the NBC commentary box, Doug Collins raised his eyebrows. Seeing such a situation on the field, he subconsciously said:

"Let the role players complete the offense. Coach Wilkens made the right choice, but everyone on the Knicks had a great shooting touch tonight!"

Bob Costas was also unable to comment on the choice of Qian Sheng coach, and could only say euphemistically:
"The Raptors need to continue putting the ball in the basket, otherwise they're going to be overwhelmed by the Knicks' [-]-point shooting very quickly."

Mark Jackson strictly implements the game strategy. Every time after halftime, he will call on his teammates to help defend Li You.

After most of the quarter, the Raptors' score slowly increased thanks to secondary rebounds.

With 1 minutes and 2 seconds left in the first quarter, Carter missed a three-pointer from the left wing, and the long rebound bounced to the top of the arc, where it was directly collected by Li You.

The two big men were still fighting inside. Facing Mark Jackson's defense, Li You led the ball forward with his left hand. Then he accelerated without the ball, got rid of the defense in one step, fished for the ball again, changed direction significantly, and switched to his right hand. Accelerate and rush.

In the blink of an eye, Li You had already rushed through the half court, and with the cheers of the fans at the scene, he went straight to the basket!

Continuously accelerating along the right sideline, watching Mark Jackson being gradually thrown away, Carter immediately pursued the defense.

In the paint area, Carter wanted to commit a direct foul and cut the ball with his right hand. The next second, Li You, who was holding the ball with his left hand, changed his hand behind his back and just dodged the defense while joining the ball.

Under the inertia, Carter rushed out of the baseline, and Li You, who switched to his right hand, grabbed the ball with one hand. He came to the lower right side of the basket, hovered slightly in the air, twisted his wrist, and the basketball spun, hit the backboard, and accurately bounced into the basket!

The beautiful layup made the New York fans jump and scream. Everyone still preferred to watch the "performance".

At 15:26, the Raptors seemed to be in a scoring drought again, failing to score for several minutes.
Watching Li You retreat with a smile, Carter was anxious. After receiving a pass from Mark Jackson, the right wing immediately dropped his shoulder and accelerated the breakthrough.

Alan Houston was half a body behind and did not rush to slide. Instead, he maintained physical confrontation and jumped close to the basket to block shots to interfere.

Ewing, who was well prepared, squatted under the basket and jumped to block the shot.

When the two were surrounded, Carter in the air collided with his body, twisted his body, grabbed the ball with one hand with his right hand, hovered, waited until the two began to fall, and then threw the ball toward the backboard.

The extremely cool one-handed basket pick in the air also made the New York fans at the scene scream. Unfortunately, the touch was not good tonight. The referee blew the whistle and the basketball knocked out of the basket.

After landing, Carter was depressed. The Knicks' defense was almost surrounding him at all levels. If he chose to go to the line to break through, Lewis would shrink near the free throw line.

Ewing kept squatting, even if Antonio Davis scored consecutively in front of him, he remained unmoved.
After receiving two fouls, Gorilla took advantage of the opponent's serve and was replaced by Ben Wallace.

Jeff Van Gundy waved his hand, and Artest replaced Grant Hill.

Soon, Carter experienced the feeling of pendant defense again.

Too many hand movements and confrontational pulls made him unable to help complaining to the referee, but such feedback had no effect. Instead, Artest became more defensive.

After the two sides continued to fight, Li You picked up a long rebound at the free throw line, and Alvin Williams, who came on the bench, quickly retreated.

There was no delay in defense. Li You rushed very fast. Dell Curry followed Alan Houston and ran to the left wing. Carter hesitated and followed Artest to the right wing.

The big man behind was still trying to rush to the half court, and Li You, who was holding the ball in his left hand near the three-point line, quickly went in and out.

After a slight pause, he swung right and left, Li You accelerated again, and Alvin Williams, who was still adjusting his center of gravity, was passed by in one step.

Seizing a position, Li You grabbed the ball with his left hand, crossed the free throw line and rushed forward in three strides. Alvin Williams subconsciously pulled him.

When the referee blew the whistle, Li You tilted his body and threw the ball towards the basket, shouting at the same time:
"My bowl!"

"Whoa!" The whistle sounded and the ball was scored.

Huge cheers rang in his ears, and Alvin Williams was a little dazed for a moment, unable to hold back at all.
Watching Li Youjia make a free throw, Alvin Williams, who came back to his senses, saw the coach's thumbs up and encouraged himself again.

However, Carter made a mistake in his breakthrough pass, Ben Wallace completed the steal, and Li You rushed forward again. Alvin Williams, who was chasing after him, subconsciously wanted to foul directly.

On the left wing, Li You immediately slowed down after catching the ball with his left hand. After an emergency stop, he completed the dribbling under his hips, switched to his right hand, and in and out again.

As his body swayed to the left, Li You suddenly exerted force and leaned forward to break through. Alvin Williams, who was about to commit a foul, gained experience and immediately slid back to the left without any surprise.

Just after adjusting his defensive focus, he saw Li You quickly cross-stepping back and connecting the ball directly from outside the three-point line. Alvin Williams completely followed his body instinct and pounced directly.

Li You waited until the opponent bumped into him, then jumped up and threw the ball toward the basket.

"Squeak! Bang!"

The referee blew the whistle and the basketball hit the basket. In the commentary box, Bob Costas subconsciously shouted:
"God! Lee threw the ball in! Unbelievable!"

Coach Wilkens on the sidelines rubbed his brows helplessly. This substitution did not have much effect at all, but instead sent consecutive points.

Vince Carter, who retreated to halftime, subconsciously widened his eyes and watched Li You walking towards the free throw line with a smile.

"MVP! MVP! MVP!"

Amid the cheers of the fans, Li You hit the extra penalty steadily, and Madison Square Garden was boiling again.

In the last few rounds of the first quarter, the Knicks fought hard, and Antonio Davis and Camby's free throws helped the Raptors stabilize the situation.

At 19:33, looking at the 14-point difference, the Raptors bench became silent.

Doug Collins felt the increasingly joyful atmosphere at the scene, glanced at the score, and finally said helplessly:
"The Raptors didn't seem to be able to match the intensity of the game. Vince Carter thought the offense was too simple."

"He needs to respond in the mid-range, not just drive to the basket for those 'nice' layups."

7中2，三分线外2中1，罚球2中2，7分2篮板2助攻2失误，魔球化的卡特表现一般。

Bob Costas believes that there is a problem with the Raptors' game strategy, but he is not good at evaluating coach Qian Sheng:

"Lee performed so well, with 9 points, 2 rebounds and 6 assists, which completely activated his teammates. The Knicks were in excellent shooting form tonight."

With a big lead, the Knicks naturally rotated extensively, and Billups got more playing time.

On the other side, the Raptors continued to retain Carter, and at the same time acquired Mark Jackson and Dell Curry, and the inside became Camby and Keon Clark.

As a last resort, coach Wilkens also asked the team to play more breakthrough goals, and Carter also began to take crazy shots.

It's just that in the substitute lineup, the inside combination of Kurt Thomas and Ben Wallace has better defensive mobility. With Artest's marking, Carter suddenly started to strike again.

Dell Curry frequently shot from outside the three-point line, and Kukic, who grabbed long rebounds, hit the ball quickly. The Knicks counterattacked and scored more and more points.

Watching the transition attack, Billups suddenly made a cold arrow from the right wing, and Li You, who was wearing a towel on the bench, also laughed along with everyone.

At 27:44, the game was lively, but the point difference did not narrow.

The Raptors lost more than they won in the regular season, and Grant Terhill also completely relaxed:

"It seems that we won't have too much playing time tonight, and the schedule is indeed very favorable to us!"

With a big lead and the game basically over, Grant Hill suddenly felt that the playoffs were not difficult.

In the first round, he met the small Best, and in the semifinals, he met Mark Jackson, who had old arms and legs. Li You liked this matchup very much:
"We have worked hard all season and this is what we deserve. This is what the regular season is all about."

Alan Houston nodded in agreement. On the other side, Ewing sat back in his seat, pretending to be sure of victory, and chatted with the young fans behind him.
Jeff Van Gundy didn't make any adjustments in this series. Everyone in the Knicks whispered on the bench, so he hung up with a smile and sat peacefully in his seat.

From time to time, he turned to look at Coach Wilkens, who was shouting on the sidelines. Thinking of the two of them fighting, he always won more than he lost, and the bald young coach suddenly became ecstatic:

"Perhaps I am the handsome nemesis."

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(End of this chapter)