This season, the New York Knicks have not played many games without O'Neal, after all, for the current O'Neal, he needs to rest often, so New York Knicks fans are actually not very unfamiliar with O'Neal's appearance on the team's bench or in the team's stands.

But this game is not the regular season, this game is not the time for O'Neal to rest and adjust, and this game is also a game that the New York Knicks must win for their own survival, but now, their team's biggest security is now sitting on the bench, and it is clear that this is not a very normal thing.

O'Neal's performance in the first two games of this season's finals was terrible, but no matter how bad it was, the Lakers' leading player averaged the highest points per game on this team, although now the whole country is criticizing him, and New York Knicks fans also feel that his performance is not quite in line with their expectations, but there is no doubt that if this team wants to beat the Lakers, it must have O'Neal's contribution, in this case, no matter how ugly the player is, they don't want him to sit on the bench and watch.

Therefore, at this time, New York Knicks fans have extremely mixed feelings about O'Neal now.

Of course, at this time, the New York Knicks fans have mixed feelings about O'Neal's bench, and the New York Knicks players are also very complicated at this time, and the significance of this game is very significant, although for many of them, it is basically not very realistic for many of them to beat Zhuang Fei and the Lakers in this round of the series, and win the championship by overtaking, but just like Phil Jackson does not allow him to lose by a big score all the time. These New York Knicks players also don't allow themselves to be swept on the Finals stage at this time.

Because counting the sixth and seventh losses to the Rockets in the 1994 NBA Finals. Then he was swept by the Spurs in the 1999 Finals. In the present lost two games in a row to the Lakers again, and now the record of the New York Knicks Finals is 8 consecutive defeats, which has created an NBA record, if it is swept by the Lakers this year, then this team will become the first team in NBA history to lose 10 consecutive games on the Finals stage, such a shameful record is definitely able to nail these New York Knicks players to the shame pillar of NBA history, just like this season's regular season Magic was abused by the Lakers in the regular season by 169 points, It's even more tragic. After all, the Magic's New York Knicks themselves cannot be compared, one is a giant and the other is grassroots, and the Magic was set a record by the Lakers in the regular season, while the New York Knicks were set by the Lakers This is on the stage of the finals.

In this case, for the current players of the New York Knicks, they do have a reason why they can't lose again, even if the team boss is pressed to the bench by the head coach at this time, they have to beat the Lakers.

"No matter what, we must not be swept by the Lakers again this year" Marbury slowly dribbled the ball at the top of the arc, and then looked up at his opponent Hardaway. He has the determination and courage to win this match.

It was a game of great unity for the New York Knicks, although O'Neal was not there. But after the start of this game, this team took advantage of the home court advantage and the Lakers have not yet adapted to the reason to take the lead, it can be said that it got the initiative of the game like the last game, especially the team's two current leading players Marbury and Van Exel, who replaced O'Neal as the team's starter, performed extremely well, the New York Knicks' lineup in this game did not have an inside line, after O'Neal was withdrawn, Phil Jackson replaced Van Exel, not other inside, obviously, Phil Jackson also knows that in the face of the Lakers, a defensive interior line is not useful at all, there are only a few interior lines that can defend the Lakers' offense, and whether it is Duncan or Garnett or Howard is not on their team, in this case, putting a substitute interior line that cannot be prevented and unable to attack to slow down the team's offense and not stop the opponent's offense is to find death, in this case, Phil Jackson is ready to fight with the Lakers for a small lineup and offense.

And the more advantageous point for them is that they are now playing at home, whether it is the damage caused by the breakaway, and the shrinking defense to allow the opponent to shoot outside, they have an advantage.

In fact, when this game started, I have to say that Phil Jackson's change is extremely correct, at least now the New York Knicks are leading the score to these New York fans.

"This kid is really resolute in his breakthrough in this game"

Looking at Marbury who suddenly killed him, Hardaway was a little secretly surprised, in the first two games, the New York Knicks' leading outside offense was very hesitant, after all, for this team, it was O'Neal who was really in the first place in the offense, in this case, his individual offense was naturally suppressed, and now, O'Neal was gone, and naturally no one suppressed his offense, in this case, he was able to almost give full play to his offensive ability.

And the most important point is that for any NBA player, defensive players are often more passive than offensive players, and at this time Hardaway is very passive, after all, Marbury can now attack unscrupulously, and he can't, he also needs to take care of the team's offensive tactics and system, in this case it seems that Hardaway is at a disadvantage when facing Marbury.

"Beautiful cut, Marbury's breakthrough is excellent, Hardaway's defense is also in place, but Marbury didn't have any hesitation after he started, which made Hardaway very uncomfortable, Webb didn't have much to do about this sudden layup, although he jumped very high, but his defensive position was problematic, beautiful one-dragon layup, huh? Foul, referee Bavita awarded Hardaway a foul, it was the second personal foul in the first four minutes of the game, and Hardaway now needs to be off"

In the stands at Madison Square Garden, Kenny Smith looked at the New York Knicks on the court with some surprise, and the team, which looked to have completely lost its leader, played extremely unexpectedly, Marbury's breakthrough. Van Exel's three-point cold arrow. and Odom, who has always been soft, also dared to shoot in this game. After the absence of O'Neal, the team seems to have come to life, especially the team's second-in-command Marbury, after only 4 minutes of the game, the player who had suffered a lot in front of Hardaway in the previous game actually beat Hardaway, which has to be said to be an unbelievable thing.

Of course, the New York Knicks fans and many viewers in front of the TV will be pleasantly surprised by the performance of the New York Knicks so far in this game, but O'Neal, who is sitting on the New York bench at this time, is definitely not happy.

At this time, the New York star has mixed feelings, and it should indeed be a great joy for the team to be able to play like this with the Los Angeles Lakers without him. But there is no doubt that the team played better than the first two games, and on the other hand, didn't he play very well in the first two games? Or rather, he dragged down the team in the first two games.

For the league's No. 1 center, Phil Jackson put him on the bench, which can be said to have made the New York Knicks player who has been very entangled recently, even more entangled, and at this time, the New York Knicks player looked a little bleak when he thought of the rumors and rumors in the media recently.

It's just that what O'Neal didn't find was that the other players of the New York Knicks performed very well in this game, in addition to his some loss, the head coach of the New York Knicks on the side, Phil Jackson, did not have much joy, and even the New York Knicks head coach did not pay attention to the situation on the court but constantly observed the changes in O'Neal, and every time he saw O'Neal's expression change somewhat, the face of the head coach of the New York Knicks was also constantly changing. Seems to be thinking about something.

"Coach, it didn't look as easy as we thought. Do you think we should change our tactics? After Paul replaced Hardaway, who was out of trouble due to foul play, Stephen Green, the assistant coach of the Lakers next to Zhuang Fei, also said with a sigh, and at this time Zhuang Fei also nodded slightly.

The New York Knicks are desperate to attack with the Lakers in this game, which is not a very good choice, but because this game is the Lakers' first away game and the New York Knicks' home game, the Lakers' offensive efficiency is very low in the first few minutes. After all, he didn't even get a firm foothold and was swept away by the New York Knicks' desperate style of play, which was indeed a bit difficult for the Lakers.

"Although it is a little difficult now, there is no need to change the tactics, that's it, and I want to know what Phil Jackson wants to do now" Although Green suggested that Zhuang Fei needed to change the team at this time, this seemingly reasonable suggestion was directly rejected by Zhuang Fei.

At one stage of this game, the New York Knicks were indeed able to use the advantage of the home court to suppress the Lakers, but it was impossible for such a team lacking O'Neal to suppress the Lakers for a whole game, unless the team had players who performed like miracles, but obviously, if the miracle was so easy to appear, then the miracle would no longer be a miracle, at least Zhuang Fei didn't think that any of the New York Knicks players could beat the Lakers without O'Neal in the next supernatural performance.

"Chris, be careful, try to keep a certain distance from him, the whistle in this game is not good for us, let go of the shot"

Looking at Paul, who had just been struck by Marbury again, although it was not a 2+1, but also caused a foul, Grant Hill patted Paul with some comfort and said at this time, who was a little too hard.

Paul is a very strange young man on the Lakers, this young man is very big, even if this year is his rookie season, but this best rookie still shows enough maturity and stability, even when he comes to the stage of the Finals, unlike other young people who are nervous and afraid, this young man and Josh Smith do not seem to have any such fear.

Josh Smith is okay to say, this is a bad guy, they don't know what such a player is afraid of, and naturally they won't be afraid, but Paul is different, at least Hill thinks he was quite nervous for a while when he played in the Finals for the first time.

However, it seems that Paul is not easy to be nervous when facing major games, but there is another problem, that is, it is easy to use too much force or get too excited. This is a common problem of scrappy players. In general, the fighting spirit is so strong that the force is too strong and there is no kind of harm. But at this time, there is a bit of a delay.

"Grant, I know, I won't foul again next time" Paul was also a little shocked after being reminded by Hill, and soon reflected it, which also made Hill extremely pleased.

"This kid's future is limitless, and the ball quotient is terrifying," and finally Hill also glanced at Paul deeply, and secretly thought in his heart.

What kind of offense is the New York Knicks' offense without O'Neal? Perhaps for many New York Knicks fans, they don't know it themselves, after all, there are very few games without O'Neal, and most of the time they don't pay attention to games like that. Or to everyone, they're all unfamiliar with how the New York Knicks will attack without O'Neal.

In fact, after the start of this game, everyone was told that the team's offensive method, that is, regardless of the breakthrough and breakthrough points, Marbury broke through Van Exel, and the players who can tear apart the Lakers' defense in the current position are these two, others such as Butler were locked up in this series for their own reasons and because of Hill, and there was no play at all, and the other player Odom. Although he has a strong ability to dominate the ball, the New York Knicks don't need him to dominate the ball as a team now. Such a tall figure allows him to play tricks in front of a group of extremely athletic players like the Lakers? Unless he still wants to be abused like Maddie in the last game.

It is precisely for this reason that this Lakers is actually a very simple team after the lack of O'Neal, in fact, this team was originally configured for O'Neal, with O'Neal's containment, Odom Allan Houston or Butler can have a better play, and the New York Knicks can be more powerful, outside of O'Neal's system, there will be a slight Marbury-based system and Van Exel-based system, in O'Neal's normal time, these two systems are basically rarely used, Now the New York Knicks are using these two systems, and of course, the first half is more about using Marbury.

The New York Knicks' home outside player was really good in this game, just in the first quarter, he made a mess of the Lakers' defense from the outside to the inside, and at the end of the first quarter, the New York Knicks leader led the team to a 33-30 lead over the Lakers at home.

And even in the second quarter of the game, he was replaced, and although Van Exel led the team to lose the score in the rotation stage, but after all the starters of both teams played, the New York Knicks' second-in-command still led the team with the Lakers all the time, at least, after halftime, the New York Knicks temporarily led the Lakers by 1 point at 64-63.

"Kenny, if I'm not mistaken, now the Lakers are ahead? It's incredible," Barkley said to Kenny Smith on the side of the pitch in disbelief as he looked at the scoreboard on the side of the pitch, and Kenny Smith nodded in surprise.

"This is the first halftime lead of the New York Knicks in three games of the Finals, however, the referee in the first half of this game is in favor of New York, Marbury's state is super strong, and the Lakers have been unstable, in this case, the New York Knicks are only 1 point ahead, although the situation is gratifying, but the second half is the key" Finally, Kenny Smith also looked at the New York Knicks players who walked into the players' tunnel and said with some summary.

"It seems that Phil Jackson is not ready to let O'Neal come up in this game anyway, this should be the biggest gamble Phil Jackson has made in his coaching career, he is now not satisfied with the status quo of losing to Coach Z all the time, he is ready to change, I hope his change can bring him victory"

Phil Jackson in this game made Kenny Smith feel a little unfamiliar, the head coach who has always been a little conservative in the on-the-spot command was very bold this time, and forced O'Neal to press O'Neal on the bench in the first half, even after the start of the second half, the head coach of the New York Knicks was still not ready to replace the New York Knicks' leading player, which somewhat made many people stumble, and it also confirmed Kenny Smith's guess, The former Lakers head coach is indeed ready to play against the Lakers with a lineup without O'Neal in this game.

In the first half, the New York Knicks suppressed the Lakers in the half with Marbury's brave play and continuous killing. And after the start of the second half. Just like a lot of people predicted. When the Lakers gain a firm foothold, the New York Knicks' suppression of the Lakers will be over, at least Marbury will not be so easy to break through, and the Lakers' shooting rate will not continue to be so low, in this case, the situation on the court will also change instantly, and it can even be said that it is a complete reversal.

"Little Chris, a beautiful biography"

Bryant got to the basket after getting rid of Van Exel, and soon received an aerial relay thrown by Paul directly from the top of the arc. This is also the first time that the Lakers player has played such an outside air relay in this game, and it is also the best shot he played in the game, he and his Lakers teammates played a little aggrieved in the first half, and the situation was obviously much better after the half.

At this time, in the face of Kobe's outstretched thumb, Paul also responded with a thumbs up.

For the New York Knicks, it was almost a miracle that this game could play like this without O'Neal, and in fact, after the start of the second half, Phil Jackson had many impulses to replace O'Neal again. Only in the end he suppressed these impulses if he wanted real change. Then he would have to keep O'Neal on the bench for the whole game, and if it had been in the past, when it seemed like there was a chance to win, he would have brought O'Neill on, but now, he didn't want to do that.

Even if the Lakers' counterattack quickly eroded the lead of the New York Knicks at this time, and it was even more so when the score difference came soon, although Phil Jackson knew that his heart was dripping blood at this time, but after looking at O'Neal beside him, he still held back, and he believed that in order to win the game in the future, the persistence of this game was worth it.

The New York Knicks have been tenacious in this game, and although the Lakers, who have stood firm since the start of the second half, have suppressed them in an absolute sense, the team has not collapsed, and it is clear that they also want to win the game, and they know that this game cannot be lost again.

It's just that even with this belief, the difference in strength between the two teams in this game is too big, and by the end of the third quarter, the New York Knicks had fallen behind by 10 points at home.

"It looks like the game is over"

Kenny Smith on the commentary bench said with some regret when he saw that after the end of the third quarter of the game, the Los Angeles Lakers were in the lead, this game was a bit abusive for the New York Knicks, the strength of the Lakers was too strong, and in the absence of O'Neal, this team has played well enough, especially seeing the Marbury on the court who kept breaking through the whole game and constantly making kills to put Hardaway on the bench, and couldn't straighten his legs after the start of the fourth quarter, this commentator was still very moved.

Although it is said that the fourth quarter of this game cannot be said to be the Lakers' uneventful harvest of this game, in the fourth quarter of the New York Knicks' Van Exel actually almost played a miracle that made New York fans crazy again, the older and more demonic nerve knife hit 4 three-pointers in a row within two minutes to shrink the difference to within five points, but even so, when the opponent's Szczebiak silently replied with three consecutive Yan She Alan Houston three points, The Lakers proved to everyone that they are a team of thickness.

And when the game ended, the score of the game was also 135-126, and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the New York Knicks by 9 points on the road, which was the least of the Lakers' three wins, and the hardest victory, although the team still didn't use the Terminator tactics, which means still didn't use the full force.

"In the end, I still lost"

At the end of the game, the Lakers players celebrated their team's three-game winning streak in the Finals on the court, which was also a championship-defining victory, and at this time, for these Lakers players, the series victory and the championship trophy were already beckoning to them, so it was understandable that the Lakers players were crazy.

And the New York Knicks fans on the sidelines witnessed such a regrettable defeat at home, which also made these people extremely silent after the game, and could only look at the New York Knicks players who had all knelt on the court on the court.

"Still lost"

At this time, the players of the New York Knicks were a little weak, they had done their best in this game, and even played at a super level, even many external factors were in their favor, but in the end they still lost, obviously, without that big fat man, they could not beat the Lakers.

"Shaq, do you have any thoughts on this game" Looking at the New York players on the court who fell to their knees, Phil Jackson felt a little heartbroken, and when Phil Jackson asked this question, O'Neal, who was sitting on the bench, was also disappointed again.

"I've dragged everyone down" In the end, the New York Knicks player replied with some sadness, his eyes were full of weakness or even little brilliance, looking at O'Neal like this, Phil Jackson sighed again.

"Shaq, you are dragging everyone down, whether it is Marbury or Van Exel, they originally had more powerful abilities, but for you, they sealed most of their abilities, they believe that your ability can make up for their own lost abilities, but your cowardice and fear in the first two games made their sacrifices in vain" Phil Jackson's tone was a little excited at this time, and O'Neal was also a little surprised, but at this time Phil Jackson ignored O'Neal, who looked surprised, Instead, he turned his head to stare at O'Neal and continued: "Shaq, you have changed when you were swept by the Lakers in the regular season, you are no longer the fearless big shark, your teeth were pulled out by that Chinese, do you really think you are so weak?" Do you really think these teammates of yours are blind? ”

"Shaq, you're not as weak as you think" Finally, the New York Knicks head coach almost had red eyes and shouted these words tremblingly, which also made these New York Knicks bench players next to the New York Knicks bench a little surprised, but at this time, neither O'Neal nor Phil Jackson ignored these people.

"I'm not as weak as I thought I was"

"My teammates believe that the energy I bring to them is far higher than what they sacrificed for me"

"I was able to do better with them"

At this time, O'Neal's heart was a little upside down, and his mouth was constantly chewing on Phil Jackson's words just now, and then thinking of the crazy insurance of his teammates in the face of the Lakers in the game just now, the New York Knicks leader seemed to think of something, and Phil Jackson on the side was also slightly relieved to see O'Neal's suddenly changed look.

"Shaq, I hope you don't let me down"

At this time, no one will notice what happened on the New York Knicks bench, and the same is true for Zhuang Fei, who is already thinking about winning the championship after beating New York in the next game. (To be continued......)