Chapter 251: The feud of the last century, Knicks vs. Heat! Enemies never get together!

Downey Jr. lit up a cigarette and, as an analyst, he spoke eloquently.

He had already summarized the regular season before the final game.

The Knicks' top scorer is starting shooting guard James Harden.

Averaged 22.5 points, 4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 0.4 steals per game.

This is more than what Jiang Chao remembers from Harden's rookie season.

Curry was also sharply trained late in the season, averaging 31 minutes per game, 17 points, 4.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.3 rebounds per game.

This data is similar to Curry's rookie season in the previous life, but at that time the Warriors were a bad team. The same data, the record was different, and the concept was completely different.

You must know that the statistics of Tim Duncan, the master of basic skills, are 17.9 points and 10.1 rebounds. It seems ordinary, but when it comes to the Spurs, it is the absolute core.

Then the biggest signing, Turk Drew, provided good support, averaging 11.2 points and 9.3 assists per game. He can be said to be the Knicks' offensive sorting machine.

He is the most stable point on the court. No one dares to let him go. He has shooting and vision. It can be said that without Turk Drew, the Knicks will hardly be fourth in the Eastern Conference.

Everyone else's statistics are also very average, and their characteristics are basically revealed. The next step is to wait for time for them to transform.

Harden, for example, has actually reached the numbers of the Rockets in the early stage, so Jiang Chao is not worried about whether Harden can withstand the playoffs. Some people are born for big scenes.

Dengola is there and Curry is there.

The advantage of reaching the peak early is that there is really hope this year. What Jiang Chao is most worried about at the beginning of the season is whether Coha can practice well. He will not question Coha's ability to lead the team.

Even Curry's own ability to lead the team to win the championship has been proven, but they are still too young. Fortunately, they gave satisfactory answers at the end of the season.

It can also be said that the departure of Larry Hughes has allowed Curry to officially regard himself as the core. Both defensive courage and offensive decisions are much tougher than during the substitute period.

Okur averaged 9.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

David Lee averaged 6.4 points and 8 rebounds per game.

Big Q averages 9.3 points per game. He is the third-leading scorer and his style of play is to attack tough situations. He is the kind of madman who dares to lay up against James.

Yi Jianlian averaged 7.3 points and 5 rebounds per game. Although his numbers were much lower than those in the Nets, he still showed his presence. His three-point shooting percentage was 54%, ranking the highest among the Knicks.

When he was interviewed by Chinese media, he bluntly stated that he didn't care about data. Look at the Nets' record, which is only 12 wins. What use can such team data be?

The Nets were about to move to New York. When they sold Carter, they also wiped away the last traces of the Big Three. After their complete decline this year, no tennis fans criticized Yi Jianlian. They hated him as much as Yi Jianlian.

And Ibaka's statistics are the most interesting, averaging 4.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 1.1 steals per game.

In fact, it can be seen from the data of these insiders that there is no strong insider who averages a double-double per game. He or she has either height or weight restrictions, and is more suitable for role players.

The same is true for the forward line. Gallinelli is the civilian version of Turk Drew, averaging 5.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2 assists per game. At critical moments, his big Q is more effective than him, and he rarely plays at critical moments.

Then there are Jiang Chao's group of second-round defenders.

Danny Green averages 7 points, 1.3 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game, with a few tenths of assists and rebounds. He is worthy of the 3D concept, only doing scoring and defense.

The most outrageous player is Beverley, who averages 1.2 points, 4 fouls, 0.9 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game, which is pretty good. He can't help but commit fouls when the whistles are loose now.

But this is a good thing for role players. The opponent knows that you are fierce in defense. In the current situation where there are no foul-making players, opponents are actually most afraid of such people.

Mills averaged 3 points per game. He mentioned a lot today. Matthews averaged 4.5 points per game...

"How is the agent's recovery?"

"He recovered quickly under Dr. Carter's treatment, but in the end he was asked to stop taking the injection, otherwise the data would be better." The young marshal drank a glass of wine with Jiang Chao and laughed.

"That's OK. Your data is still in line with my expectations."

The people selected by Jiang Chao all have their own merits. The main reason is that there is also Yao sitting on the bench. A bunch of rookies who have been under child labor contracts have achieved this data and this record. They are too good.

And if it weren't for the six-game losing streak during the painful period at the beginning of the season and the extremely stretched games when Curry and Harden hit the wall, the Knicks could even be second...

But it doesn't matter, at least I won't be able to meet Turk Drew's old teammates before the Eastern Conference Finals, which is also the magic of defeating the Knicks.

Everyone's internal discussion is consistent on this point. With so many teams in the Eastern Conference, they are not afraid of anyone except Howard's magic. That is the only team where the Knicks have no way of restricting their opponents' ace stars.

Other teams are fine. Cavaliers O'Neal is already 37, Kevin Garnett is not very heavy and has high injury risks, and the Hawks focus on the perimeter...

Now we have to talk about the teams we are about to face.

First round.

Knicks vs fifth place Miami Heat.

If you are lucky enough to pass the test and play the winner of the Cavaliers and Bobcats in the semifinals, the Knicks will not be particularly weak if they play the Cavaliers. After all, Curry has a buzzer beater, and he may even have the upper hand mentally.

If we are lucky enough to get through, the Eastern Conference Finals will have a high probability of being the winner between the Magic and the Celtics.

"We think so, and I guess Pat Riley over there thinks the same, haha."

Indeed, the reason why Riley suddenly fell from third to fifth was actually because he did not want to face any team from the Celtics or Magic in the semifinals. They also felt that after the first round, it would be better to play the Cavaliers in the second round.

You must know that the Eastern Conference has been like this in the past few years. Once you climb the Kaizi mountain, you will touch the championship trophy with half your hand.

"So it seems that the Heat did it on purpose?"

"There is a high probability that Riley and Coach Spoelstra are always scheming."

"Actually, it doesn't matter. We can only watch them and play, unless we go to the Bulls in the third round, so that the first round will be easier."

"Don't tell me, the Heat are really staring at us."

"Yes, we are old enemies."

Downey Jr. also laughed and said:

"Boss, Dolan just sent me a text message, asking us to fuck the Heat. This is the first time he has sent me a text message after selling the team."

Jiang Chao scratched his head: "Okay, isn't the grievance that I didn't want to recruit Riley at the beginning of the season? Or is it the time when Riley left last century?"

"That time counts, there are more connections later." D'Antoni and others became energetic.

The Heat and Knicks have a long history of feud in the Eastern Conference.

What Jiang Chao knew a little bit was that when Riley just took over the Knicks and was about to challenge the Bulls, Dolan also bought the team. After that, Riley wanted to have the sole power of selecting and coaching like Popovich, so Dolan naturally refused to give it.

So far, the Knicks' plan to imitate the Pistons in building a Bad Boys team failed. Riley went to the Heat, who promised to give him more power. From then on, he played against the weakening Knicks every year. Riley was also ridiculed by Dolan and the Knicks in the circle.

One of the most popular people.

Then after Jiang Chao took over, he also said something like Pat Riley, "I don't like it." He had been in conflict with the Heat from the beginning. After changing the boss, the two teams still couldn't deal with each other. Now that they met in the first round, the two sides were so

They all carry gunpowder.

But in fact, the feud between the Heat and the Knicks is much more intense than the Cavaliers' duel later.

Their "feud" level is against Hukai, the Bulls and Pistons. From the management to the players, they are all enemies!

In 1995, then-Knicks coach Pat Riley felt frustrated because he failed to lead the team back to the Finals. On September 2 of the same year, he announced that he would join the Knicks in the dual capacity of president and head coach.

Heat, this move was regarded by New Yorkers as a naked betrayal.

The Knicks complained to the league that the Heat lured Riley to join him while he was still under contract. In the end, the Heat settled the lawsuit by sending a 1996 draft pick and $1 million.

This also started a precedent for players to change coaches.

The case was closed, but the feud between the two teams was forged from now on.

Because Riley has been with the Heat ever since.

The Heat and Knicks met in the playoffs four consecutive times from 1997 to 2000.

"Enemies are extremely jealous when they meet each other."

Every duel is filled with physical confrontations that are almost beating, which always makes people doubt that they are not on the basketball court, but in the boxing ring. The victory or defeat does not depend on who scores more points, but who knocks the opponent down first.

In Game 5 of the 1997 Eastern Conference semifinals, Heat player P.J. Brown hugged and threw Knicks guard Charlie Ward, causing a group fight.

As a result, one of the Knicks' four major centers, Ewing, Alan Houston, and Larry Johnson, were suspended. They were reversed with match point at 3:1, and the gap between the two teams was thus forged.

The main reason was that the league's ban order had just been issued at that time. P.J. Brown was banned from participating in Game 6 and Game 7, and the Knicks' Charlie Ward, Ewing, and Houston were banned from playing in Game 6.

Starks and Larry Johnson were suspended in Game 7, which was equivalent to the Heat's "one-for-five" scrapping of half of the Knicks' strength.

This can be said to be the ancestor of off-board recruiting.

And it is said that Riley instructed the players to do this. Riley has done a lot of instigating players.

From now on, whenever the two teams collide, it will be a full-on martial arts show!

The New Yorkers were put on the spot. After this gap was formed, heated scenes often appeared in the Heat-Knicks games. In the 1998 playoffs, Heat center Mourning and Knicks forward Larry Johnson once again fought. Van Gundy's coaching career was the worst.

This is where the classic "hug the thigh" comes from.

When Downey Jr. said this, Jiang Chao's memory also woke up. Damn it, it turned out to be from here.

The most interesting year was 1998. In the first round of the playoffs, under the arrangement of fate, the old hatred between the two teams continued to grow and new hatreds were added.

In Game 4 of the series, Heat's Mourning and Knicks' Johnson got into a scuffle, and another massive beating occurred.

Jiang Chao still vividly remembers the scene where Van Gundy, then the Knicks coach, was dragged a few steps on the floor by Mourning.

In the end, both Mourning and Johnson were suspended. Without Mourning, the Heat were unable to recover and handed the series victory to the Knicks.

So, a feud has to come and go. If it keeps beating the Knicks like the Bulls, it will be called a rival at most. If there is no hatred, it will be an old grudge that cannot be beaten.
To be continued...