Back at the hotel in the afternoon, Yang Rui considered whether to call Van Gundy and ask him to have a meal with Thibodeau. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info After thinking about it, he didn't fight, now Van Gundy is having a hard time, and the atmosphere will definitely be very awkward after meeting.

They can't talk about basketball, they can't salute first and then soldiers, and tell each other what tactics they want to play, right?

As for how the Knicks' offense can become stronger, Van Gundy will not ask, how can the defending champion head coach ask the opponent such a question?

In the evening, in the away team's locker room, Yang Rui began to take an unusual approach to morale.

"Guys, are you nervous about playing the defending champions today? I'm nervous, I'm not scolding you, I'm not afraid to tell you, I'm also nervous, because when I play, I don't know if I'll get boos or applause from the New York fans. Yang Rui smiled.

He doesn't feel like he's losing money to New York fans, whose last championship was snatched from the Bulls. When people go to high places, players will still change jobs, not to mention that he is only an assistant coach with an annual salary of more than 100,000 yuan in New York?

The players knew that there was something to be done, so they didn't interrupt and listened quietly. wants to get applause away from home, Yang Rui is thick-skinned enough.

Yang Rui continued: "I think the fans may applaud me, because the Knicks are not able to attack this season, only star singles, only positions, such a game lacks highlights." In order to make the fans happy, you have to run, run as fast as you can, and as long as you do that, I'm sure you can win today. ”

Thibodeau picked up the conversation: "Let me tell you a secret, last season, Jerry was in the Knicks' regular practice games with the bench offense to suppress the starters, they have obvious weaknesses, as long as they target the singles of the defensive stars, they can control the rhythm. ”

Yang Rui smiled: "So, we have to change the starting lineup again today. ”

Instead of looking at the core, he looked at the white big man Ryan Bowen, who made the 12-man squad for the first time today.

"Ryan, I'll let you start today, and you'll be in charge of defending Ewing."

The players were thundered, and this adjustment is no longer "bold" to describe, it's just a joke. One was the regular season MVP last season, one of the four centers. The other is a few rookies after the second round, base salary players.

Bowen didn't have the slightest worry when he heard the news, and his eyes showed excitement, as a defensive player, he has to deal with the core attack points in order to prove his worth.

In the team training, Bowen was assigned to defend O'Neill Jr. and Detreve, and he did a very good job. His pace can keep up with all the league's withdrawal shots, and he keeps getting close to him and disrupting the opponent's rhythm.

Of course, as soon as he entered the squad, he never dreamed of this kind of thing, and said loudly: "Coach, I will work hard." ”

"Don't be nervous, Ewing generally can't hit the basket, mainly relying on jump shots, which is the type of defense you are good at. On the offensive end, you stand in the bottom right corner waiting for the pass, and when there is an open opportunity, you don't blame you for not being able to shoot. Yang Rui smiled.

Considering that Bowen is a person who has neither the desire to attack nor the attacking skills, Yang Rui has only let him practice one point of shooting from training camp to the present - three points in the bottom right corner!

He doesn't make the 12-man squad and usually has a lot of time to practice shooting from the bottom corner. Yang Rui was pleasantly surprised to find that Bowen can actually shoot, he just lacks confidence and is very weak compared to the outside, but he is better than black players such as John Thomas, John Wallace, and Willis in the team.

In short, his shooting level is similar to that of a general power forward with mid-range shooting ability, but his offensive ability under the basket may not be as good as a random power forward. Compared with most small forwards, he has no advantage in shooting, and his skills are not as good as those of a random person.

This caused Bowen to be in an awkward position, and unless there was a striker or center who played on the perimeter, didn't move fast, and lacked strength to defend, he didn't have much to do.

Today, there is a place for him.

In the home dressing room, Jeff van Gundy has put a strong emphasis on defence.

He thought he knew Yang Rui, and arranged: "The Raptors' style of play is very simple, grab rebounds and quickly counterattack, and cover the middle and side of the positional battle. They're missing variety, and all you have to do is press those rookies one-on-one and protect the rebounds. Detreve has to follow up on the perimeter and he has the ability to shoot. ”

At this time, Ewing despised Van Gundy in his heart, and said that the Raptors played simply? Could it be simpler than the offensive tactics you arranged? Now it's all heads-up.

Ewing spoke to Van Gundy about continuing last season's tactics of running sideways without the ball and focusing on catch-and-shoot shots, or playing off the bench like Starks, who is responsible for handling the ball, tackling the ball and handling the ball and continuing to be at the heart of the game.

Van Gundy refused, citing Sprewell's lack of ability to play off the ball. He also praised the "madman" for always being 100% committed in training and games, doing his best on both offensive and defensive ends, and never complaining.

This annoyed Ewing, and didn't that mean he would complain? Why would management trade someone who doesn't fit into the system? And it's a problem player, isn't that looking for trouble?

Not only Ewing, many people miss Yang Rui and Starks. While Starks is not as good as Sprewell, he is willing to accept the bench position and can play off the ball, only occasionally hot-headed. The "madman" is a starter in every game, needs to hold the ball to play, and takes up a lot of the ball.

If the "madman" is in the Raptors, Yang Rui will not hesitate to trade him.

His individual ability is indeed good, with terrifying first steps, amazing bounces and breakaway dunks, and occasional jerking threes, but none of them make up for the flaws in his character.

This man has a fiery temper, an off-court style of decay, and to make matters worse, his offensive options have been so poor that he has never shot 45 percent from the field except in his rookie season.

In terms of career record, except for the year in the Timberwolves, the team of the "madman" has never been the top team in the league or even the division, and the Knicks entered the finals purely because the East was too weak as a whole.

In Yang Rui's previous life, the most suitable role for the "madman" was actually the sixth person, playing like Ginobili.

It's a pity that the "madmen" themselves don't think so. Therefore, after his contract renewal with the Timberwolves collapsed, no team was willing to want him, which is a direct denial of his strength.

Before the players on both sides played, Knicks manager Ernie Grunfeld presented Thibodeau and Young Rui with championship rings. His message was simple: "Thank you Tom and Jerry for everything they did for the Knicks last season. ”

The fans gave warm applause, and the Raptors players could be heard clearly in the aisle, which boosted the morale of the whole team, and there was some pride in the heart.

It's very rare for an away manager to receive applause from the home fans, but now this very good manager is on their side.

After the game, captain Christie said loudly: "Remember what the coach said, run!" We can win this time! ”

The young men of the Raptors shouted in unison, "Win!" ”