The opponents in the playoffs did not develop as Lian Dao and the others expected. Their first-round opponent was not the Pacers, but the Philadelphia 76ers, which was somewhat beyond the expectations of everyone in the Knicks.
Even in the last battle of the regular season, the Pacers did not give up the opportunity to slaughter their opponents.
In the case that everyone else was playing, the Pacers actually had a record of 7 wins and 1 loss in the last eight games, advancing to seventh in the Eastern Conference with one more win than the 76ers.
The Pacers' operation directly confused the 76ers. The last thing they wanted to meet this season was the Knicks, but when they came to their senses, it was already too late.
In particular, the 76ers lost to their opponents in the last two games one after another, which directly sent the Pacers to surpass themselves and enter the seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
In fact, not only the 76ers are unwilling to meet the Knicks, but even the Pacers who scored 2:2 with the Knicks this season are also unwilling to meet the Knicks.
They knew exactly what they relied on to win the game. At that time, Lian Dao was suspended and Stoudemire did not even adjust to the core state of the team. This caused the Knicks to lose to Jingzhou and lose to the Pacers.
If they meet in the playoffs, even without Lian Dao, it will be difficult for the Pacers to beat the Knicks like in the regular season, not to mention the current Knicks, which have a complete lineup.
If they meet in the playoffs, they are very worried that they will be swept out by the Knicks 4:0 under the blessing of old and new enemies.
Therefore, in the final stage of the regular season, they did not dare to relax, and still went all out to hit seventh in the Eastern Conference, hoping to avoid the Knicks in the first round. Compared with the stronger Knicks, they are more willing to face this year's dark horse, the Chicago Bulls.
Although the Bulls are indeed very strong this year, they are easier to deal with than the Big Three of the Knicks and Heat.
On April 14, the entire Knicks team resumed training in New York. Their first game was scheduled on the 16th, with three days in between to adjust their status.
The Knicks currently focus on light physical training and tactical training sessions. Players will study the 76ers game video whenever they have time, and then practice targeted play, but the training intensity will not be too high.
Now it's just a matter of maintaining the state of the game, keeping healthy, and preparing for the playoffs.
With the end of all the games yesterday, the NBA also issued the playoff matchup table early this morning.
The first is the Eastern Division: Knicks VS 76ers; Bulls VS Pacers; Heat VS Eagles; Celtics VS Magic.
Then there is the Western Division: Spurs VS Grizzlies; Lakers VS Hornets; Mavericks VS Trail Blazers; Thunder VS Nuggets.
There is no problem with the teams in the Eastern Conference advancing to the playoffs. Although the ranking has changed slightly, it is normal; the record of the Rockets in the Western Conference still failed to surpass the Grizzlies and advance to the playoffs.
The Rockets tied with the Grizzlies in the end, but the Grizzlies took a 3:1 lead in the regular season against the Rockets. Therefore, the Grizzlies advanced to the playoffs, while the Rockets missed the playoffs.
Domestic fans are still very regretful. After all, Yao Ming came back with great difficulty, but he only missed the playoffs.
Many domestic fans can't help feeling that the Grizzlies have had "shit luck", but does the Grizzlies really only rely on luck?
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The first game of the Knicks started at Madison Square Garden on April 17. This year's playoff system is different from previous years. This year's playoff system has been reformed.
In the past, the finals used the 2-3-2 competition system, and the other three rounds used the 2-2-1-1-1 competition system, but this year all adopt the 2-2-1-1-1 competition system, including the finals. in this way.
The advantage of this competition system is that the home and away advantages of the finals are relatively fair.
Moreover, the interval between the two games of this year's playoffs is shorter. In the middle of each round of matchups in the past, there will be two games with a rest period of about three days, but this season there is no time for the rest of the season. The time was shortened to two days.
The overall schedule has become tighter, which requires more **** for players' physical fitness. This kind of schedule is very unfriendly to some teams with a relatively older average age, especially teams like the Spurs and Celtics. For the team, it is possible that the longer the game is delayed, the greater the physical test of the players will be.
However, the shortening of the rest time has caused dissatisfaction among many teams, especially the teams with the highest average age. Their opinions are very big.
Popovich, the old man, even directly bombarded the league's arrangement during the news interview, scolding the person in charge of making the schedule.
The old man thinks that the alliance is deliberately targeting them and wants them out as soon as possible!
In fact, Stern may really think so. The way the Spurs and Celtics played in the past few years seriously slowed down the pace of the game, causing many people to be unwilling to watch these boring offensive and defensive battles, resulting in a drop in ratings very serious.
On the contrary, the running and bombing of the Suns in the past two years, the quick defensive counterattack of the Knicks, the youth storm of the Thunder's three minors, and the Windy City Rose of the Chicago Bulls have won unanimous praise from the fans, especially the broadcast and live broadcast rights of these teams. , It is very popular in some overseas markets, which also allows Stern to see the future development direction of the league.
Some old fans in later generations felt that the game between the yellow and green was very exciting, with top defensive duels, etc., but they seem to have forgotten that it was these same people who said the game was procrastinated back then.
The NBA is a commercial league. While taking care of commercial aspects, Stern actually relatively guarantees the fairness of sports competitions.
It's not like the bald man later, who completely turned the NBA into a business. As for sports competition, what is it? Can you earn a dollar? Can you sell the team's broadcast rights? Can it increase the attendance of the team? Can it increase spinach income for the alliance?
So far, the Knicks' schedule for the first round of the playoffs has also been released.
April 17, New York Knicks VS Philadelphia 76ers—Madison Square Garden, 1:00 p.m.
April 19, New York Knicks VS Philadelphia 76ers—Madison Square Garden, 9:30 p.m.
April 22, New York Knicks VS Philadelphia 76ers - Bankers Life Arena, 7:00 pm.
April 24, New York Knicks VS Philadelphia 76ers - Bankers Life Arena, afternoon, 2:30.
April 26, New York Knicks VS Philadelphia 76ers - Madison Square Garden, to be determined.
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Due to the tight schedule this year, D'Antoni made strict requirements on the Knicks players before the start of the playoffs. During the schedule, no player is allowed to enter or leave the nightclub, otherwise, he will wait to sit on the bench all the time.
When this point is raised by the ball, there will definitely be objections.
But Lian Dao directly expressed his support, and said that even if he made such a mistake, he would be suspended for the same game, which also shut up the players who wanted to resist.
The boss of the team said so, and they had no choice but to agree.
Of course, this matter was also known by the major media, and it was mentioned in interviews. If you want to say that the Knicks players have changed their ways and stopped going to nightclubs, in the past, this was more than a fairy tale to the media. Still have to talk.
But after the head coach proposed, the head star still supports unconditionally. Which media is not curious about this?
"I fully support the head coach's decision~www.mtlnovel.com~ and will lead by example. We have continuously put forward our goals in public this year. I think this is the time to fulfill our promise. Of course, my teammates are also fully committed support!"
After Lian Dao said these words, he looked at his teammates behind him. All the Knicks players expressed their support, but in his heart, he probably labeled Lian Dao a "tyrant" long ago.
It doesn't matter to Lian Dao. Compared with a rollover in the playoffs, labeling is not important at all.
However, Lian Dao still threw out a bone to all the players. As long as he can win the championship, Lian Dao said that he can book a nightclub for three days as a treat.
This instantly mobilized the enthusiasm of Stoudemire, Millsap, David Lee, Cousins, and Gallinari. They couldn't help but pick up the bone thrown by Lian Dao, screaming, and hit the general team with all their strength. champion!
Sure enough, the precious experience left by the ancestors is easy to use. It is really easy to use a stick and then a sweet date!
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