Chapter 905: Chapter 286: Thanks to the Lakers for Delivering a Dynasty
The implication of this statement is that he doesn’t want to bring extra heat to Houston’s All-Star Weekend.
But if he speaks directly, he’s likely to get fined for it.
The League definitely doesn’t want players saying such rebellious things.
With Su Wan’s hundred-million annual income ability, a 20k fine is nothing to him. But he doesn’t need to "pay without getting fined!"
Anyway, he has already expressed what he wanted to say well enough.
Houston media, upon hearing Su Wan’s words, were naturally displeased. But now they’ve lost the confidence they had in earlier years.
With Yao Ming’s departure, McGrady suffering continuous injuries, and eventually sitting on the bench and leaving after taking all the money from his big contract.
And Yao Ming’s departure brought them Bynum, who also lost his confidence through repeated injuries, and his decline continued until he finished his rookie contract and disappeared.
In ’09, they got a high draft pick, but their selection of Tabite turned out to be the "biggest bust!"
It’s odd, since Tabite, the Rockets have been picking busts for years and haven’t found a new cornerstone.
Not to mention someone at the level of Yao Ming, they haven’t even picked an All-Star level player, the whole city feels like a quagmire, and all the Houston people are deeply in despair.
The Toyota Center, with its already weak basketball atmosphere, has become even bleaker as a result.
Today, rumors have it that Alexander is preparing to sell the Rockets...
David Stern is also afraid this city will become the next Seattle, hence the All-Star Weekend was selected to be in Houston this year.
He hoped that the All-Star atmosphere could rejuvenate basketball in this city.
Before the All-Star Weekend, the New York Knicks have only one "highlight" game, which is an away game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
After winning the "Christmas battle", the Lakers’ momentum has grown stronger, they are now steadily sitting in the second position in the Western Conference, and more and more media are including them in the "championship contention".
For the New York Knicks, who are aiming for a title defense, this "second round battle" against the Lakers will be an important game. If the New York Knicks lose to the Lakers again, it will definitely put pressure on the entire New York.
The coaching staff is also very concerned about this game. Before the January 10th game against the Lakers, they kept practicing three-point line screen tactics in games against other teams, aiming to create more space for Su Wan, especially for Stephen Curry, to have more room to receive the ball.
The good news is, during Tyson Chandler’s recovery period, Stephen Curry went through a round of close defense, and his resistance to interference has improved. With additional targeted tactics, it’s like giving him "wings to fly".
The effect of the tactical training is quite good.
The mutual screen tactics between Su Wan and Stephen Curry, as the "core tactic" of this "screen and receive" system, have shown obvious synergy.
January 10th, the time to test the results has arrived.
The Lakers have also prepared very thoroughly for this game.
This can be seen from their defensive stand adjustments to the Knicks’ "screen tactics", it’s clear that the Los Angeles Lakers have been observing the New York Knicks these days...
At the start, the New York Knicks missed several shots from the three-point line. This further proved the effectiveness of the Lakers’ targeted defense.
D’Antoni shook his head slightly, the data from a few days ago showed the "screen tactics" were quite effective, and he had expectations for tonight’s game. But it seems now, this tactic is far from mature.
More polishing is needed.
Otherwise, they can’t compete against a team like the Lakers.
Tyronn Lue shouted from the sidelines: "Pass the ball to Su Wan!"
The New York Knicks entered the familiar "Su Wan defuses the bomb" phase.
Su Wan confirmed this time, that whenever he faces Kobe, Kobe would definitely focus on defense. It’s evident that he knows, if it came down to a scoring duel with Su Wan, the 34-year-old Kobe is definitely no match for Su Wan.
His scoring explosive power is not as terrifying as it was seven years ago.
Now, facing Su Wan, he must avoid his edge...
He’s very unwilling, but to win, anything is possible!
This is the compromise of a middle-aged man!
But even though he’s putting all of his energy into defense, to be honest, he still can’t fully restrict Su Wan, only causing him some interference. But that’s enough, tonight the Lakers want to force the New York Knicks into isolation plays, making Su Wan constantly step up and solve the problem.
Then control the performance of other New York Knicks players, and eventually win the game!
So far, the plan is quite successful...
As the game entered the second quarter, Su Wan noticed this, and in the subsequent offense, he became increasingly focused, putting all his attention on his offensive game. Despite Kobe’s full efforts in the first half, Su Wan still managed to score 20 points by halftime.
What made Kobe even more helpless was:
He even feels that Su Wan is playing against him with ease!
The "Black Mamba" has to admit, he’s no longer on the same level as Su Wan.
Alright...
If he hadn’t acknowledged this, he wouldn’t have considered reducing his output on the offensive end and focusing all his energy on defense!