basketball purple front

Chapter 429 Holzman's Strength

Knicks training facility.

At this moment, it is cloudy, as if it is about to rain.

It was still a huge sunny day outside though.

"What are you doing? Cheer me up! Did you hear that???" Reed Holzman reprimanded loudly, because everything in front of him was like a ghost song of burial before death. Makes you feel depressed and depressed.Usually, everyone respects and obeys the coach Reed Holzman. No matter what the former says, they will nod instantly and obey the order.But today, everyone obviously felt a little absent-minded.

The reason lies in yesterday's game.

The Lakers have a luxurious lineup, but aren't they the New York Knicks?Just talking about the future "Fifty Superstars" and members of the Hall of Famer, they obviously have even more advantages in numbers.But even so, last night they still lost in a mess, a crushing defeat.It can even be said that the Knicks have not lost so badly this season.

Therefore, everyone's mood inevitably fluctuated.

The most important thing is that it doesn't count if they lost, but where they lost, how they lost, and why they lost. There is no definite answer to these key questions.This makes it easy for people to lose their way and lose their aggressive goals.Therefore, the training atmosphere of the Knicks today is very dull and gloomy.

Coach Reid Holzman also realized this, so he stood up and said loudly: "What's the matter with everyone? Are you all dead? Or are you just a bunch of stray dogs who only bully the weak? , but are afraid of being tough?" The Knicks players didn't say a word, although their faces flashed with dissatisfaction, but when they thought of yesterday's "disastrous defeat", they became depressed again.

You said it lightly, what happened yesterday, did you also see it?The tactical strength of the Lakers is really terrible, we are simply powerless, okay?In the face of this situation, what is the use of cheering up?After cheering up, and then being brutally abused by the other party again?

It is normal for the Knicks to have such emotions, because facing a style of play that is ahead of its time, anyone will have a feeling of near collapse.But at this moment, Reed Holzman, head coach of the Knicks, yelled loudly: "A group of worthless things! The enemy is strong, so you shrink your eggs? Don't forget, you are also the boss. Contenders for the championship! You didn’t come here to be a foil or a green leaf! Do you understand????”

"Think about 2 years ago, think about the finals of the year before last, if you all had the same mentality at that time, we could still win the tiebreaker? Can we still beat the powerful Lakers?" Reed Holzman He said loudly: "Why did the championship award a ring at the end? Why not a watch? Not a necklace? Not other things? Have you all thought about it?"

"It's an imitation of the MLB system!"

"The Lord of the Rings in imitation!"

"Because in our western world, rings have special historical significance!"

The Knicks' answers were varied, ranging from sports to humanities, and from humanities to history. In short, they got more and more off topic.Hearing this, Reed Holzman finally couldn't listen anymore, and interrupted: "What kind of bullshit is this? Is this your understanding of NBA championship rings?"

"Let me tell you, the reason why the NBA awards rings and not others is mainly because... rings are the embodiment of power, status, and trust." Seeing that others were attracted by his words, Reed Holzman cleared his throat, and continued to speak: "I won't say much about the first two. Everyone knows the meaning and significance. Here is mainly to talk about the third point, trust."

Reed Holzman did have a trick. Under his guidance, the New York Knicks gradually shifted their attention. "Why is it still the embodiment of trust?" Reed Holzman explained: "Because the ring, in a sense, also has the meaning of integrity, roundness, and harmony. And fingers. You see, five fingers can be clenched into a fist, and the ring is the result of five fingers being integrated into one."

"So for me, the strongest meaning of the ring is not the boss, the star, or how great I am." After finishing speaking, Reed Holzman showed his left hand, on the longest finger , just wearing a golden championship ring.And this ring, most of the old Knicks players, they also have one.

It is the 1969-1970 season, the symbol of the NBA king, and the first NBA championship ring of the New Yorkers.

"Think about it, how did we get the NBA championship ring at the end of that season? Relying on the performance of superstars? maybe~ relying on fierce hand-to-hand defensive strategies? maybe~ But the most important thing is..." Reed Holzman stretched out his left hand again, and said loudly: "We are five people! There may be long or short, thick or thin, but it doesn't matter, because We are a whole, because we are a team, so we can be invincible and destroy all obstacles! This is the essence of the NBA championship ring as I understand it, do you understand?"

I have to say that Reid Holzman was indeed the "master" head coach of that era, and he cultivated a thorough tactical concept in the ten years of "reckless work".That is, what is the ultimate purpose of coaching?Obviously, it is to let the team win!Don't talk about the examples and words of "friendship first, competition second". It's okay to fool a 3-year-old child with that kind of words. In the NBA where there are only adults, if you want to talk about this, it will make people laugh out loud. !

Race second?Then why are you still playing in the NBA?

Friendship first?How dare you say that, let's see which team owner will sign you?
Some people understand this passage on the first level, some understand the second level, and some understand the third level.

He is number 18 of the New York Knicks, Phil Jackson.

"The more difficult the game, the more difficult the opponent, the more the series has no chance. Believe me, if you win, you will never forget it! This is why only the championship team deserves to be awarded the ring. !" Reed Holzman saw that the effect had already started, so he said: "Tonight's game, let's do it like this..."

"Do you understand everything???"

"Understood! Sir!" The Knicks players responded loudly.

"Okay~ Continue to practice, and tomorrow, go kick the ass of the Los Angeles people!" Reed Holzman said with a smile on his face.

The next day, the fourth game of the NBA 1971-1972 season finals was played again in Madison Square Garden.

Tang Qian thought that after the introduction of the "future tactical system", the Lakers would become invincible and win streak all the way to the end, but the real history once again showed him what it means to be "the ancients cannot be bullied".Yes, the Knicks have not found a way to deal with the Lakers' "high pick-and-roll system", but what does this mean?

Could it be that they can only be caught with nothing?

Reed Holzman told Tang Qian why he was highly praised by "Zen Master" Phil Jackson in later generations.

This New Yorker, who had served in the U.S. Navy for many years, showed a super "famous commander" background.

I can't crack your "new tactical system" in a short time, so I admit it, but you guys still don't want to win easily and win the NBA championship this season.The specific method is..."Strong hand-to-hand combat".What is "powerful hand-to-hand combat"?The Lakers quickly learned that the New Yorkers actually revised the starting five in the fourth game.

Two lesser-known inside players were replaced.

They are Charlie Paulk and Eddie Master.

These two players are both inside players, and they both have one thing in common, that is, their career statistics are very bleak and very low-level.To what extent is the inflow, the average is only about 2+2 per game.People who got this kind of average data in the 60s and 70s were basically "historical passers-by", and they would leave the league after a few years and find another way to develop.These two are typical examples of them. They all only had 3 years of career life, and they faded out of the league.

However, those who can be selected into the playoff squad by the "famous coach" Reid Holzman must be useful, and they must all have skills.For example, the two of them are very defensive and fierce!Pay attention to see clearly, it's not that the defense is particularly good, it just refers to the "violent" aspect.How vicious you ask?As long as you dare to layup in front of you, no matter whether you can block or not, you will be slapped; Forcibly "send" it out.

This is an important tactic for the Knicks and the core of Reid Holzman's defense.

Because in his view, defense is not how good your physical fitness is, how tall you are, and how strong you are, but how determined you are, how brave you are, and how brave you are!As long as you are brave and determined, even if the opponent is 40cm taller than you and weighs 100 pounds, that is not a problem.

How to do it?Immediately announced.

beep beep beep beep beep beep
It was only the first quarter, and the Lakers frequently went to the free throw line and made nearly 20 free throws.

What is this concept?In other words, the New York Knicks committed at least ten fouls in one quarter.

According to the rule of 6 offenders, one and a half people have already been sent off.

The fact is the same. Charlie Paulk took the lead in graduating with 6 fouls, and another person, Eddie Master, also committed 3 fouls.In other words, the Knicks seemed to have a lot of fouls in the first quarter, but the real "main force" suffered little damage.However, the overall free throw percentage of the Lakers is not good. Tang Qian made 4 of 0 free throws, Happy Hairston made 8 of 2 free throws, Jerry West made 4 of 1 free throws, and Gail Goodrich made 2 of 0 free throws. middle.With a total of 18 free throws, the Lakers only scored a poor 3 points and made 16.6% of their free throws.

A full 15 points were fined.

The Knicks maintained a normal offensive state, and finally ended the first quarter 26-38. The Lakers trailed the Knicks by 12 points.

The second quarter was similar to this situation. Although the Lakers insisted on playing "high pick-and-roll tactics", the effect of creating shooting opportunities was obvious, but the problem was that opportunities were just opportunities and could not be directly equated with scoring.At the end, it was strongly interfered and intercepted by the Knicks.

In fact, after halftime, the Knicks didn't have a lot of blocked shots, let alone steals, but why were they able to "block" the Lakers' scoring?It relies on an almost "suicidal hand-to-hand defense strategy."If you want to shoot from the outside, then forget it, if you go in, you are good, but as long as you shoot from the inside, then you will definitely be "undead but peel off your skin".

As we all know, the "spiritual attributes" of the Lakers have never been a strong point. If there is no "paranoid No. 24" in history, most of them are "ordinary people" in the "spiritual world".This is not a discussion of strength or skills, but a simple competition of "mental toughness". Whether the Lakers are ordinary players or super giants, they are all in the same level, "not enough".

Jerry West made it to the finals 7 times, all of which failed; Elgin Baylor, known as the "Eight Asian King", is even more pitiful.

But when you think about it at a deeper level, is it really just bad luck, bad luck?

You can still say that once, and you can barely get involved twice, but what about 1 times?Every time he is the "general runner-up", then I am afraid that there must be something else besides luck and fate.Taking Elgin Baylor's career as an example, in all series, the tie-break is almost guaranteed to be lost.First of all, in the 2-345678 season, the Western Conference Finals tiebreaker lost to the Eagles.Then came the 59-60 season, with the same opponent as last year, and lost to the Eagles in the tiebreaker of the Western Conference Finals. In the 60-61 season, the finals tie-breaker lost to the Boston Celtics. In the 61-62 season, the Celtics lost to the Celtics in the tie-breaker of the finals, allowing the opponent to achieve the historic feat of 65 consecutive championships.In the 66-8 season, the tiebreaker failed in the finals. Even if West won the only "loser MVP" in NBA history, it still didn't make much sense.In the 68-69 season, the failure of the tiebreaker in the finals gave New Yorkers the taste of the NBA championship trophy for the first time.

With so many tie-break failures, could it be possible to underestimate them all by saying "bad luck"?
Generally speaking, because the Lakers team is located in Los Angeles, the "City of Angels", it is gorgeous, luxurious, great, and a lot of praise words can be used on it.But only in terms of "spiritual will", the Lakers have never used this word for most of the history of the Lakers team.

And this scene also means that.

Reed Holzman fully mobilized the Knicks' enthusiasm for the game and defense, so they caught the Los Angeles Lakers by surprise.The fierce, tough, and ruthless fouls on the opposite side gave the Lakers a head-on blow, and the overall momentum and morale suffered a huge decline.

Even if Tang Qian used a bronze ability card, it couldn't save the fact that morale was greatly suppressed. The Lakers finally suffered a big defeat in the fourth game, 95-117, and lost the game.And it was also this game that allowed Tang Qian to fully appreciate the power of the "Top Ten Coaches in NBA History". This ability to respond and adapt is simply beyond imagination!

I thought that after the "super BUG" was released, it could help the Lakers take the opponent lightly all the way, but the reality poured a bucket of cold water on Tang Qian.Wanting to win a championship, no matter what era it is, is by no means an easy task.

If you despise "ancients" and "history", "history" and "ancients" will be returned several times.

Make you bruised and swollen.

Dragging his almost overdrawn body, Tang Qian glanced at Madison Square Garden, and then walked out unwillingly.

PS: This is the first update, thank you for your support~ It’s a new year, Xiaozi will definitely repay you with new efforts~
I wish you all a happy New Year's Day and all the best~~~
By the way, Reid Holzman did similar things in the finals, so many people questioned his game style and style at the time.

(End of this chapter)