NBA: This flower path is a bit strong.

Ewing now thinks this red-haired rookie is not cute at all!

However, those who need to be educated should still be educated well, after all, he is the superstar Ewing!

If he messed up the welcome ceremony for this annoying red-haired kid, he would definitely be laughed at by the old guys.

A few rounds later, it was the Knicks' turn to attack, and Ewing once again held the ball one step outside the penalty area.

This time, it’s not as harmonious as the beginning!

Ewing launched with all his strength, turning his hips and waist at the same time, and a powerful force hit Hanamichi's chest.

Hanamichi groaned, but held on without losing his position.

But Ewing took advantage of this space and made a small lob shot with his right hand, and it hit the target!

"Hey, rookie! Welcome to the NBA!"

After saying this familiar sentence, Ewing turned around and went back to defense.

Hanamichi was left rubbing his chest. When the referee couldn't see, Ewing gave him a good lesson!

"We really can't underestimate these old comrades who don't follow the ethics of the game!"

However, from the referee's perspective, it was clearly seen that Ewing's turning movement did not involve lowering his shoulders or raising his elbows.

There was no deliberate violation of the flower path during the entire turning process, and there was no obvious personal foul. It was a good attack.

"Is this the NBA's true welcome ceremony?"

"Compared to this, the young wolf is really a civilized wolf!"

In fact, this is also a matter of experience. Although Hanamichi has the strength of a star, he does not have the corresponding experience, so he suffers in these small movements, and it is normal for him to be taught a lesson by the [Gorilla].

But I think flower path is very open-minded!

He was thinking that if Ewing didn't use these little tricks, would he not be able to hold his own "welcome party" successfully?

This also shows from the side that the strength of flower arrangement is indeed unique!

In the next three consecutive attacks, Ewing relied on "unreasonable" "playing" to create space, and then scored directly under the basket!

Facing Ewing's attack, Hanamichi seemed to have no ability to fight back!

At this time, only 6 minutes had passed in the first quarter, and Raptors head coach Landon Malone called a timeout.

During the timeout, commentator Bill Walton gloated:

"It seems that the young core of the Raptors still needs to accumulate more experience!"

However, another commentator, Matt Gokas, saw the essence of the matter:

"Bill, do you remember who was the last rookie that Ewing took so seriously?"

"It's that big [Shark]!"

"The fact that rookie Flower has been able to stay with Ewing for such a long time is already good enough!"

"Don't forget, this is only his second official game in the NBA!" (Preseason games don't count)

Matt Gokas, the former 76ers guard, has a basis for what he said.

Although Ewing made 6 of 7 shots and scored 5 points in the first 10 minutes, his performance was very unstoppable, Hanamichi's defensive efficiency was not very good.

But Hanamichi made 6 of 3 shots on the offensive end and scored 6 points, which is also a very good performance.

After all, these are the data he produced against superstar Ewing.

Likewise, Raptors coach Landon Malone knew better than to blame Hanamichi.

In fact, the fact that he could play like this with Ewing in a one-on-one offense and defense was beyond his expectations.

The next key lies in his deployment of troops!

"We'll make some adjustments on defense. Sharon White will remain the same, guarding Oakley on the opposite side throughout the game."

"As for Oliver Miller, I put you at the small forward position just to make it easier for you to help Flower."

Although Anthony Mason on the opposite side is a small forward, he is actually a "pseudo inside player" who averages 14+8 per game.

This was very common in the late 20th century, with five or six people often standing in the restricted area.

"As for the offensive end, Damon, you should play more... Playing small against big is your best opportunity. We have Flower, White, and Miller in the penalty area. Our rebounding configuration is not inferior to the Knicks!"

Oliver Miller, Hanamichi, Das, and White nodded in agreement.

The effect of coach Landon Malone's timeout and personnel and tactical adjustments were immediate.

After the Raptors strengthened their inside lineup, Ewing found that his shooting percentage gradually dropped.

The most obvious thing is that the interference when shooting has increased!

The opponent would provide assisting defense for him from time to time, and he was even blocked once by the red-haired rookie in front of him without noticing.

Another thing is the rebounding. Although Ewing is 33 years old, his rebounding level has always been at the top of the league, averaging 10 rebounds per game.

However, facing the Raptors' muscular inside line, Ewing was never able to gain absolute control over the rebounds.

Even in the second quarter statistics, the Knicks lagged behind the Raptors in both offensive and defensive rebounds to varying degrees.

Landon Malone is still very confident in his arrangement:

While limiting the opponent's inside offensive firepower, it also strengthened the fight for rebounds and increased the outside firepower output.

The reason why they can target the Knicks' powerful inside combination so blatantly is that they also have a core from the outside.

Das also performed very well, making 8 of 5 shots in the second quarter and scoring 11 points in one quarter.

This is the advantage of internal and external dual cores, complementary!

After halftime, the Raptors temporarily led the Knicks 43:41.

In the first half, Hanamichi scored a total of 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 assists.

Ewing scored 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Judging from the statistics, he did not lose to Ewing absolutely. In fact, he was definitely better than the latter in terms of rebounding control.

The second half is the time that Huamichi has set to exert his strength.

During the half-time break, he was blessed with the Silver Medal [Physical Strength Monster] and activated the bond with [Sakuragi Army].

So after the halftime break, after going through the "meat grinder" in the interior in the first half, the team still had enough physical strength.

Seeing this, coach Landon Malone directly changed the offensive core from the outside to the inside.

One reason is that because of the crazy offense in the second quarter, we need to cool down Das.

Secondly, the first 8 minutes of the third quarter were Ewing's rest time.

If he doesn't hit the Knicks' inside line hard at this time, then he is really derelict in his duty as a coach!

So the Raptors decisively replaced Das, White and Oliver, allowing Hanamichi to continue to score points with the bench lineup on the court.

Coach Malone's arrangement was correct. When Ewing was resting, Huadao put all his strength into attacking the basket.

The substitute center/power forward~Charles Smith was completely powerless to resist and was overwhelmed by the vigorous Hanamichi.

Charles Smith was the third pick in the 1988 NBA draft, but due to health reasons, he retired from the NBA in 1997!

At this time, there are only 2 years left until his retirement!

In fact, four months later, in February 4, Charles Smith would be traded away by the Knicks.

As the saying goes, "pick the weak and squeeze the weak", coach Landon Malone saw this point.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Huadao was repeatedly told to keep an eye on Charles Smith, which was simply a live roll call and teaching.

Hanamichi would sometimes hook the shot, sometimes force a back-to-the-basket shot, sometimes make a jump shot, and from time to time he would attack the basket and make a layup while carrying a bomb.

In the first 6 minutes of the third quarter, Charles Smith was fouled twice.

Hanamichi scored 6 points in the first 4 minutes of the third quarter, including 10 free throws.

This is much easier than scoring 10 points from Ewing in the first two quarters!