Chapter 558: Even God Gets Replaced Eventually, Right?

Thibodeau shouted excitedly from the sidelines, telling his players to get into their defensive positions—he wanted to stop this possession, to save face, and not let the Knicks keep running rampant.

But amid his shouting, Fan Xi at the top of the arc waved his hand, casually breaking the defensive scheme Thibodeau had preset. Kevin Garnett came out and set a precise stationary screen for Fan Xi, and Fan Xi quickly completed the pick-and-roll with Garnett.

Fan Xi accelerated two steps to draw the defense into the paint, then passed back to Garnett. Garnett gave a ball fake, drove forward one step to draw the Bulls' wing help defense, and kicked the ball out. Bargniani was in an excellent position—he launched a three-pointer and hit it!

The Knicks landed a beautiful combination punch.

Fan Xi, Garnett, and Bargniani formed a chain-style offense.

Thibodeau's brow furrowed—he felt the difficulty.

This possession was similar to some combinations from the first game, but tonight it was more precise, and that precision made it tricky. Garnett's role in particular gave him a headache. He quickly sent Taj Gibson to the sideline to get ready—clearly, Carlos Boozer's defensive ability had not earned Thibodeau's approval.

Boozer was an offensive power forward; his role in the Bulls' system was to space the floor.

But now the Knicks were mounting a powerful penetration, so they had to temporarily sacrifice offensive spacing. Let Taj Gibson use his defense to hound Kevin Garnett first.

Taj Gibson stepped onto the court.

The Bulls inbounded the ball again.

Because tonight the Knicks' defense posed a challenge to the Bulls.

Derek Rose adopted an attacking posture after crossing half court—his drives were still sharp and fierce.

But Fan Xi effectively stayed with him, shadowing Rosa like treading on his tail. Rosa didn't dare pass the ball casually, worried that Fan Xi would suddenly jump out to disrupt his pass—he knew Fan Xi had that ability.

So he drove straight in and, under Kevin Garnett's defense, completed a reverse layup.

Rosa's mastery of takeoff timing, hang time, and release angle had reached perfection. He was the best finishing guard in the league today, bar none.

Rosa's basket allowed the United Center to regain some face—they breathed a sigh of relief.

But coming back down, Fan Xi still initiated the pick-and-roll with Garnett. Even though the newly subbed-in Taj Gibson's delay ability was stronger than Boozer's.

But to Fan Xi, being a little stronger made little difference.

Fan Xi drove into the paint, paused, and feinted a pass backward, with Garnett making a corresponding cut.

This put the Bulls' defense on edge.

But Fan Xi instantly fired a bounce pass into the lane, and Josh Smith grabbed the ball and threw down a reverse dunk… Fan Xi's pass was extremely well-hidden; this season Fan Xi had rarely showcased his imagination in passing.

So much so that Joakim Noah was still looking elsewhere when Josh Smith attacked from behind him for the dunk.

"How could the Bulls make such a stupid mistake? Actually standing there watching Jieke Fan light fires everywhere with his passing." Dennis Rodman sat courtside, very angry. He had a clear view as a bystander.

Jordan shook his head slightly.

He didn't agree with Dennis's conclusion, even though the footage showed the Bulls players looking like headless flies. The root cause was still Fan Xi's individual ability—Fan Xi had activated Kevin Garnett, drawing their attention to Garnett, which gave Josh Smith his opportunity.

And Fan Xi excelled at seizing fleeting chances.

The Knicks were blooming across the board.

The Bulls' dense defense was starting to be challenged.

Rosa then ran a play with Joakim Noah, getting Luol Deng to complete a possession.

But right after, Fan Xi directly assisted Tyson Chandler for a dunk in the paint.

Both sides entered a strategic stalemate.

The Bulls, relying on their chemistry advantage and Rosa's spearhead role, continued to score.

The Knicks, meanwhile, relied on Fan Xi's flexible command, using Garnett as the secondary axis to activate every spot on the half court and bloom across the board.

After the first quarter, the Knicks held a 29:23 lead.

This was beyond everyone's expectations.

Everyone thought the Knicks would be dazed in this game, because the last game had shown an all-around gap. Yet in this game, they were actually able to match the Bulls on both ends of the floor.

However, ESPN wasn't panicking.

McBlin said on TV: "This isn't enough to change my pregame prediction. I still think the Knicks won't pull out the win. Besides taking a lead by exploiting the Bulls' lack of preparation at the start, they've been in a stalemate the rest of the time."

"And the reason this lineup can stalemate with Chicago is Kevin Garnett. Without Kevin Garnett as the glue, their offense and defense would still be a pile of loose sand."

"Now, Kevin Garnett already has three fouls, and having played the entire first quarter, he'll definitely need to rest next. They'll bring in Stoudemire—Stoudemire has stronger offensive firepower, but… offense won't beat the Bulls. The last game already proved that!"

McBlin held forth at length during the quarter break.

This was the source of his confidence.

Van Gundy beside him corroborated McBlin's argument, explaining from a tactical perspective why Kevin Garnett was the Knicks' most important soul figure in the first quarter.

Van Gundy's commentary was well-reasoned and convincing.

But when he finished his eloquent speech, Reggie Miller added: "What I mean is, if Jieke Fan goes off during the time Kevin Garnett is resting and enters scoring mode—can he hold on until Garnett returns to the court, and then together lead the team to victory?"

Uh…

McBlin fell silent.

Jeff Van Gundy said: "We can't rule out that possibility either."

Beep!

The whistle sounded.

The Bulls didn't make many personnel adjustments, aside from putting Carlos Boozer back on the court and subbing in Caron Butler at shooting guard. Rosa, Deng, and Noah—the core trident—were all still there.

The Knicks made personnel adjustments on their end.

Steve Nash, Fan Xi, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, and Stoudemire took the court.

This was an earth-shattering change.

This was pure run-and-gun.

Seeing this lineup, the Western Conference semifinals head coach D'Antoni watching from in front of his TV was deeply moved—he even felt like crying. Nash, Joe, and Stoudemire were the core nucleus he had when he first returned to the NBA to coach the Suns.

Now ten years had passed, and he could still see them playing together. What a feeling.

But he knew very well that this lineup couldn't beat the Bulls—not a single chance.

This was the playoffs.

He is facing a player who has been in the Eastern Conference finals for three consecutive years.

There is no chance of taking shortcuts.

Jordan, sitting on the sidelines, breathed a sigh of relief; he optimistically estimated that the Bulls would tie the score in this quarter, even overtake.

He doesn't care for the Suns' run-and-gun style, but he holds Kevin Garnett in high regard. He likes Garnett; back then the Bulls wanted to trade Pippen for McGrady, and he firmly opposed it. But if they could trade Pippen for Garnett, he would surely give his full support. However, by that time Garnett had already started signing multi-million-dollar contracts.

Derek Rose brought the ball past half-court, easily breaking through Nash's weak defense; he came to the free-throw line, wanting to pass, but discovered Fan Xi tightly guarding Butler, Joe also locked Deng, and Josh Smith almost lay on Boozer.

Rose had an opportunity to pass the basketball to Noah, because Stoudemire left him open.

Rose chose to go straight into the paint and hit a pull-up jumper after a sudden stop.

The Knicks adopted a defensive strategy of abandoning the point guard and center positions.

Essentially, this is an alternative 'Jordan Rule'.

Jordan sat on the sidelines, feeling very familiar.

Afterwards, the Knicks launched a fast attack.

Nash brought the ball to the front court, immediately set a screen with Stoudemire, then drove from the left.

Fan Xi quickly followed from the right; Fan Xi's follow-up route was precise and sharp.

This made the Bulls' defense somewhat loose, and they dared not contract, because Stoudemire was still standing one step outside the free-throw line.

This led to Nash making a beautiful pass while moving, pretending to pass the ball to Fan Xi on the right, but actually tossing it into the paint.

Josh Smith leapt and slammed the ball into the basket.

Another sneak attack on the Bulls' backdoor.

The Bulls' defense was cut into separate units, and finally the Knicks broke through at its weakest point.

Looking back, Rose and Boozer set a screen; he passed the ball to Boozer, but Boozer failed to score under Josh Smith's frantic defensive interference.

Under the basket, Joakim Noah went crazy for position, trying to fight for offensive rebounds.

But Fan Xi leapt from his side, directly snatched the ball, and launched a fast break.

Fan Xi threw a long pass to Joe Johnson.

'Modern Jordan' used a slow three-step move while moving to shake off Deng, then with his left hand lofted the ball into the basket, showing his astonishing soft touch.

This fast break further widened the score gap between the two teams.

The roar of the United Center arena hit a reef, beginning to sink.

However, the Bulls were not so easily subdued; they showed strong adjustment ability.

They quickly changed their tactics, lowered the pace, aggressively attacked the interior; the Knicks' weak interior defense was their biggest weakness.

Larry Brown originally planned to substitute Josh Smith out after at most three minutes of run-and-gun, replacing him with Tyson Chandler or Aldridge.

But the Knicks, although they did not stop the Bulls' offense.

The Bulls also failed to stop the Knicks' offense.

After Joe Johnson hit that soft layup, his touch continued; he made a beautiful isolation on the wing, and Luol Deng could not contain his offensive firepower.

Sometimes, the Knicks even deliberately slow down to create isolation opportunities for Joe Johnson.

Modern Jordan displayed his myriad skills.

In front of Michael Jordan.

JR Smith teased him at halftime: 'Joe, are you trying to prove to the world that you're not weaker than Michael Jordan?'

Joe Johnson appeared somewhat shy; he humbly said, it's just that his touch is better.

Thanks to Joe Johnson's excellent performance, plus the run-and-gun offensive pace, the Knicks led 66-57 at halftime, up by 9 points.

The gap not only didn't shrink, but actually widened.

This led McBlin to say at halftime: 'The Knicks' luck is too good; they relied on Garnett in the first quarter, on Joe Johnson in the second; who are they planning to rely on in the third?'

He felt a bit resentful.

He really disliked the Knicks' 'not taking control' performance.

The Knicks and Fan Xi should be pressed to the ground by the Bulls and beaten, with no ability to resist.

That would be in line with the wishes of the broad American media.

At that time, Larry Brown also accepted an ESPN sideline interview. The reporter asked how he adjusted tonight's tactics, and how he viewed Kevin Garnett and Joe Johnson's performance tonight, and also asked whether he would have any new tactics for the second half.

Larry Brown said: 'We're just playing at our own pace. Why would you be surprised by Kevin and Joe's performance? They were superstars and All-Stars ten years ago. We never had fixed tactics; we only talk about strategy.'

From a strategic standpoint, we have no reason to lose tonight.

Moreover, we still have nearly half our players not on the court; we only played seven or eight players in the first half.

So, what will happen next? Only God knows.

After Larry Brown said all that, it was as if he said nothing.

Listening to your words is better off not listening.

Conversely, when ESPN interviewed Thibodeau, Thibodeau actually analyzed the game situation. He said the reason they trailed in the first half was due to inadequacy in responding to the Knicks' fast-changing tactics, which he said is normal fluctuation. In the second half, the Bulls just need to stick to themselves, protect the rebounds, push fast breaks, and victory will belong to Chicago.

9 points.

This point difference is just right.

The leader is not enough to feel superior, and the trailer has no reason to feel disheartened.

"... The Knicks are a team full of changes; tonight their changes produced a good response, so they led. In the last game their changes didn't produce a good response, so they lost."

Jeff Van Gundy analyzed at halftime: 'But, returning to the essence, returning to the game itself. The Bulls are definitely far ahead of the Knicks. Larry Brown doesn't know what will happen in the second half, but I know the Bulls will regain the initiative and win with solid defense and defensive counterattacks.'

"The only reason the Knicks could win is if God wore their jerseys."

Jeff Van Gundy said this firmly.

He is a stubborn academic; since he can't find any reason for the Knicks to win, he confidently states it.

But, when he said those words.

The Knicks fans in front of the TV let out a sigh of relief, and Fan Xi's fans also breathed a sigh of relief.

It turns out the Knicks only needed God to wear their jersey to win.

That's too simple.

Just let Jieke Fan switch to God state and log in.

Anyway, it's easy, not just once or twice.

"Jie Fu, what if God really puts on the Knicks jersey?" Reggie Miller asked timidly.

"That can only be said as Chicago being unlucky. However, isn't God sitting in a suit beside the Bulls bench?" Jie Fu Fan Gan Di shuddered.

This is his sense of humor, although it's not funny.

But he at least acknowledges that Jordan is God.

"God probably updates versions too." Reggie Miller said to himself.

He didn't let the microphone hear it.

…