Chapter 173: 16 consecutive victories to the playoffs

Although the Knicks defeated the Celtics and won 11 consecutive victories, many people thought it was an accident. No one expected that the Knicks would continue to move forward, and they actually achieved 16 consecutive victories, which is also the best winning streak in the entire league this season. There is only one game in the regular season next. If the Knicks can win, they will win 17 consecutive victories and the record will be refreshed again.

Since defeating the Boston Celtics, the Knicks have been invincible. No one can stop their victory from the Eastern Conference leader Magic or the powerful Atlanta Hawks. Whether it is luck or strength, there will be a bloody storm wherever the Knicks go.

Romantics think it is a summer fairy tale; cynics think it is a sign of the arrival of the wolf.

The entire league is exclaiming for the Knicks, and everyone is looking for a team that can stop the Knicks from moving forward.

Faced with such a strong "nova", Pat, who is also the Heat Heat's hero, came and said that this Knicks is the Heat's future enemy.

Now it's not only Pat is here, but many Eastern Conference teams are alert. After 16 consecutive victories, the Knicks actually became sixth in the Eastern Conference, and the rise of the Knicks has become inevitable.

The Knicks' last opponent this season is the Philadelphia 76ers, the Knicks are sixth in the East, and the 76ers are twelfth in the East. Before the game, everyone thought this was a contest without any suspense, a contest between Giant Goliath and Snow White's Dwarfs, but the final result was shocking.

The 76ers' playoff dream has been shattered. They use intensive defense to fight this game. In fact, this season, the Knicks are experts who break intensive defense. The 76ers' defense is not very good, otherwise they would not sit at the bottom. However, in addition to intensive defense, the referee also became accomplices. The referee Crawford looks like a black whistle, but in fact he is a faint whistle. His tolerance for physical confrontation is outrageous. A game full of rough fouls was actually yelled cleanly and elegantly, and no player was sent off. After the game, D'Antoni said lightly that Crawford should have gone to the law enforcement free fighting competition, and he went to the wrong venue.

Luck and impatient are twin sisters. Impulse makes luck worse, and bad luck makes players even more impatient. In this game, the Knicks made a total of 85 shots, hitting 30 goals, and Li Feng hit 18 goals alone. Li Feng, who was amused and crying, sighed to the sky, "It's not that we don't work hard, it's that the basket doesn't let us win."

After the game, almost all newspapers and TV broadcast the news, and the 76ers became heroes. The Philadelphia Photos said, "The 16-game winning streak ended, which is something that no one could have thought of. The 76ers did the magic, and the Celtics did not do. If the Knicks continue to win like this, they can only let them play on Mars." The New York Times said: "Although the 16-game winning streak was over, the Knicks also set a new record for the longest winning streak this season. Their performance made everyone timid. This horror is now spreading to the playoffs. Li Feng, who scored 40 consecutively, became the leader of the Knicks. Even No. 1 pick Blake Griffin is hard to match."

Li Feng's old friend, ESPN expert Brussad, starts with a poetic beginning, "The powerful Knicks ended their winning streak by the tiny 76ers, and Madison is still unbreakable, but the flame of hope has been lit up, and failure has appeared. Will the losing streak be far away?"

Even many non-sports media reported on this game. USA Today commented after the game: "Mr. Dolan's team was defeated by 76ers. They had won 16 consecutive games before, but the regular season has ended, and they turned their attention to another battlefield - the playoffs." Although the winning streak was over and the failure to meet the playoffs with victory made the Knicks players a little unhappy, head coach D'Antoni thought it would be better to be low-key, and the big tree attracted the wind. In addition, they did have some reservations in this game because this game was back-to-back, except for Li Feng, Eddie Cory, James Harden and Marcus Thornton, only played for 40 minutes in total.

The Knicks' playoff history in the past six years has been blank. They have not even made the playoffs, so it would be strange if they have not made it to the blank... And now the opportunity has come. Not only have they entered the playoffs, but their power of winning streak has not yet dispersed. If they can make a concerted effort, it is not impossible to enter the second round.

The regular season has come to an end, and the Knicks' game has come to an end for the regular season. They finally achieved a 50% winning rate of 42 wins and 40 losses and maintained their sixth position in the Eastern Conference.

In the East, the first one is the Orlando Magic, who have achieved a record of 58 wins and 24 losses, the second one is the Boston Celtics, the third one is the Cleveland Cavaliers, the fourth one is the Atlanta Hawks, the fifth one is the Milwaukee Bucks, the sixth one is the New York Knicks, the seventh one is the Indiana Pacers, and the eighth one is the Chicago Bulls.

Here in the West: Lakers (57-25), Mavericks (55-27), Suns (54-28), Nuggets (53-29), Jazz (53-29), Trail Blazers (50-32), Spurs (50-32), Thunder (50-32) ranked top eight. Houston Rockets are the same record as the New York Knicks, but they are only ranked ninth in the West and miss the playoffs.

According to the playoff rules, the New York Knicks' opponent is the Cleveland Cavaliers, not the Boston Celtics, which had been "previewed".

When it comes to the Cavaliers, they are naturally their "little emperor". With the multiple care of their godfather Stern, the young monkey who only relies on his body to dunk in 2003 became one of the most powerful players in the league. James's Cavaliers this season are even more directed to the championship.

The Cavaliers made great strides last season, achieving the league's best regular season record of 66 wins, and had the largest win-difference score and regular season MVP LeBron James, but they had no choice but to win Dwight Howard in the Eastern Conference Finals, so they introduced the old Shake O'Neal in the summer.

The Cavaliers rank fourth in the league in offensive efficiency. O'Neal and Bovey, who have newly added inside, have significantly stronger offensive abilities than "Big Z" Ilgoskas and Ben Wallace, while Parker and Moon on the outside are not inferior to Pavlovic and Szebiak.

For the Cavaliers, they only have one goal this season, that is, to win the championship. Not winning the championship is a failure, because if they cannot win the championship this year, then they are likely to lose James. If they lose James, they really don’t know what kind of team the Cavaliers will become.

The Clevelanders may be heartbroken if they lose James, but their opponent, the New York Knicks, is happy to hear about it.

As we all know, the Knicks have always wanted to introduce James, especially the first encounter between the Knicks and the Cavaliers this season. The Cavaliers challenged the Knicks LeBron James to New York City and scored 26 points, and took only three quarters to kill the opponent. New York fans, who have always been known for their harshness, did not even express disappointment or indignation at the final gap of 18 points, because they believed that the No. 23, who was a mighty man in Madison Garden, will be his family in two years.

New York is full of citizens holding their heads at a gorgeous 45-degree angle, a city where you love and hate him can send them to. They were once bullied by another great number 23 wrapped in a red battle robe for a long time. Now, they are going to build their own number 23 - of course, it won't be Quentin Richardson.

There is an interesting detail about the game: New York is the first choice for sports brands to debut new products, so it is not uncommon for James to wear a new pair of sneakers to advertise Nike every time he goes to New York. However, on that day, James appeared in a pair of very eye-catching red sneakers, and the Knicks' "mascot" Spike Lee also wore an exact pair of combat boots to support the show. When the Knicks' Nate Robinson saw it, he was very angry and rushed up to step on the "traitor" sneakers. The big director Lima stopped him and said, "Hey, stop! He will be your teammate in the future!"

After this game, James used an ambiguous sentence to evade the reporter's possibility of whether he defected to New York after the end of his contract with the Cavaliers. He said, "San Antonio is also a small ball market, but Duncan still succeeded there." But is Duncan's business value the same as James? This is obvious to all.

Two days later, James' close friend William Wesley told the New York Daily News that the Knicks were in a very good position in the 2010 James battle.

Not lively enough? Two more days later, "Big Mouth" Barkley couldn't hold back the fire, accusing James of frequently talking about where he went in 2010 during the contract period, which was a blasphemy of basketball, the sport and the current owner of the Cavaliers. James only replied: "He is a fool. The answer was completed."

On the one hand, there is the passion of the New Yorker who is determined to win, and on the other hand, James' ambiguous statement, but at the same time, he cannot tolerate opponents' rashness. Does the deep meaning still need to be investigated?

This is the story that happened at the end of 2008, and it is the story that happened to "Little Emperor" James. Before that, the Nets sold Kidd and Jefferson one after another, and the Pistons completely dismantled the 2004 championship team. The Knicks exchanged a batch of short contracts that expired in 2010. The Trail Blazers, a team in Portland, a Nike company headquarters, have tried not to provide more than 4 years of contracts to its players since the summer of 2006. The purpose is self-evident...

Sima Zhao's intention to get James is obvious. Even if Li Feng leads the Knicks to create 16 consecutive victories into the playoffs, this will not dispel their desire for James. Although Li Feng and James may not necessarily look at each other, many people will subconsciously ignore this issue, especially many New York fans, who only want to get James!

Perhaps, Michael Jordan, a New York boy wearing Bulls No. 23, was unable to conquer New York, but LeBron James, wearing Cavaliers No. 23, conquered the Big Apple. Perhaps, New Yorkers only want to get the guy who ravaged the Knicks so much that they can no longer be ravaged. Some people will say, aren’t they masochistic?

Really?

What you can't get is always the best!
Chapter completed!