field coach

Chapter 189 The strategy of defeating the enemy with nowhere to play

DeWeese didn't care to continue the training, so he contacted the coaching staff and planned to have a small meeting with them to discuss the tactical arrangement against Ewing at night.

"Michael, I also have an idea to tell you. Let's meet and talk." What Davis didn't expect was that when he called Donovan, Donovan said that he also had an idea.

When Davis returned to the hotel conference room, the Magic coaching staff headed by D'Antoni was already there waiting for him.

Davis sat down, looked at the people who were waiting for him, and said straight to the point: "Do you remember our first game against the Knicks last season?"

Bird, Thomas, and McHale looked confused, D'Antoni was thoughtful, while Donovan and Anna's eyes lit up, especially Donovan, who nodded heavily. Obviously Davis wanted to go with him.

"I suggest that Rodman should defend Ewing at night!" DeWeese no longer kept his secrets, and directly expressed his thoughts.

Except for Donovan, everyone was lost in thought, deducing the pros and cons of letting Rodman defend Ewing.

All the people here are NBA head coaches, or those who are about to reach the level of NBA head coaches. Soon they all figured it out, and their expressions became very excited.

"Yes, let Dennis deal with Ewing, let Shaq deal with Oakley! Genius idea, I did use this tactic in last year's game, and I remember it worked very well." D'Antoni clapped his hands, "We will arrange the team meeting later."

When D'Antoni announced the tactical change after the team assembled, Rodman nodded indifferently. Although O'Neal was a little unhappy, he finally nodded and agreed to the change for the sake of the team.

Davis knew that O'Neal was a little unhappy, so he walked to O'Neal after the breakup.

"Shaq, let you switch defenses with Dennis, not because the team doesn't trust you, but because we need to win this series with the least loss, do you know what I mean?"

After a while of patient enlightenment from Davis, O'Neill's complexion also improved.

"There will be plenty of opportunities for you to perform later, wait patiently, it won't be too long." Finally, Davis patted O'Neill on the shoulder and assured him.

At seven o'clock in the evening, in both Denver and New York, the referee blew the whistle to start Game [-] of the second round of the playoffs.

Ewing looked at Rodman behind him in surprise, and then glanced at O'Neill.

He still followed his usual playing habits and began to ask for positions.

He soon discovered that although Rodman was inferior to O'Neal in terms of absolute strength, his small movements were so proficient that Ewing felt uncomfortable all over.

Another thing that worried Ewing was that after the game yesterday, he had too little rest time. When he stepped on the field today, his legs were still a little soft. He was worried that this would affect his state tonight.

Ewing's worries soon became a reality, and all three of his shots after the opening missed.

And O'Neill seemed to spread all his grievances on Oakley for not being able to match Ewing, and Oakley complained endlessly when he beat him.

Halfway through the first quarter, the Knicks fans desperately discovered the fact that their most trusted team core, Patrick Ewing, felt cold in this game.

Whether it's a post-up inside, a face-up, or a jumper, the basket at Madison Square Garden rejected Ewing without hesitation.

Pat Riley called a timeout when Ewing's fifth shot missed under Rodman's interference.

Now, the score of the two teams has reached eight points.

"Good job, Dennis." D'Antoni praised Rodman fiercely off the court.

But Rodman frowned and shook his head.

"It has nothing to do with me, that guy is in a very bad state today."

"You mean, he hasn't recovered yet?" Davis instantly understood what Rodman wanted to express.

Rodman nodded.

The atmosphere of the Magic team relaxed all of a sudden.

"Then keep going, lock him down, Shaq, take advantage of Ewing's lack of energy to control you, and beat Oakley!" D'Antoni immediately arranged the next game arrangement.

Ewing's sluggish performance made the game completely lose suspense. At the end of halftime, the point difference had reached 15 points.

Pat Riley looked at Ewing who was struggling on the field, sitting on the coach's bench and didn't know what he was thinking.

"Since his condition is not good, it would be good to let him play more on the court to find his condition." Pat Riley touched his chin and made such a decision.

Pat Riley would never have thought that his decision would make him regret it for a long time.

In the third quarter, Ewing's condition recovered. He started to score points on Rodman's head. Although it was not as simple as yesterday, the score was still slowly approaching when both Davis and O'Neal were resting off the court.

Eight minutes into the third quarter, the Knicks' attempt to chase points led by Ewing came to an abrupt end.

Ewing was on Rodman's head, struggling to grab the rebound, and after landing, he threw the ball aside, and lay on the floor with his legs in pain.

The Knicks thought that Rodman had done something wrong to Ewing, and immediately surrounded Rodman.

Of course Davis would not watch his teammates being bullied, he inserted himself into the crowd immediately.

But soon, this small conflict subsided, because the big screen above the head turned back to the scene of Ewing's injury just now.

Rodman didn't touch him at all, but Ewing obviously didn't use his strength when he landed, and his ankle twisted at a weird angle.

Ewing was carried off the field on a stretcher immediately, and never appeared again throughout the game.

The Knicks teammates who had no intention of fighting quickly collapsed without the backbone. After only 3 minutes in the fourth quarter, Pat Riley replaced all the main players.

Pat Riley is very clear that the Knicks' game this season is over.

The tactics against Ewing that had been carefully arranged before the game came to an anticlimactic end, giving the Magic a feeling of punching the air.

It was as if he had finally thought of an exquisite move and was about to surprise his opponent, but just as the punch was thrown out, the opponent was already lying on the ground before he touched anyone.

But the game was won after all, and the Magic also successfully won the match point.

After the game ended, Davis and his teammates looked at the unfinished game between the Jazz and the Nuggets in the locker room.

Unlike the Magic who won this game without any surprises, the Jazz and Nuggets played until the last second.

Reggie Williams' last-minute lore helped the Nuggets win this anxious game, 82-83, and the Nuggets won by only one point.

When Williams made the game-winning shot, the Magic cheered collectively, as if they were more excited than they had won the ball.

(End of this chapter)