NBA: I have 3, no D, and I can't dribble

Chapter 213 [213] The Knicks’ 12-man roster is released, and the new season begins!

East New York, Long Island beachfront villa area.

Two black men in hip-hop attire were sitting leisurely on the balcony of the villa, looking at the scenery, chatting and sipping coffee.

These two are the current players on the Knicks, Jamal Crawford and Quentin Richardson.

This villa was purchased here by Crawford after joining the Knicks two years ago and is worth more than $90.

As a black child who came out of the slums and grew up in Seattle, Crawford also has a sad childhood past.

Crawford's mother was uneducated and gave birth to her first daughter when she was 12 years old. Two years later, she gave birth to her second sister, whom Crawford cared about best.

Because of his mother's physical weakness, Crawford was very thin when he was born, but as he grew up, basketball became his best friend in life.

After entering the NBA with the 2000th overall pick in the first round of 8, Crawford spent the first four years of his career with the Chicago Bulls.
Although he has poor physical confrontation and often loses his defense, Crawford performed very well on the bench. His breakthrough and dribbling abilities are very good.

As early as 04, he scored 50+ in a single game as a substitute, with explosive scoring power.

Now earning an annual salary of US$700 million with the Knicks, Crawford has completely escaped his poverty, bought a luxury car and villa, and brought his mother and sister to New York.

"With the arrival of Jamal and Lin, I don't know what kind of storm the team will experience in the new season. It seems that we may be traded at any time!"

Faced with Quentin Richardson's concerns, Crawford wanted to be open-minded. After all, he played the same game everywhere. This was the case in Chicago and now it is the same in New York.

"I never have many friends on the team, and Quentin, you are one of the few!"

"After all, we will never become a team boss like Lin. No matter how strong he is, he can only be a role player. So there is no use worrying about when he will be traded and where he will be traded, because we have no control over these!"

"In short, depending on your ability and my ability, it's okay to make a living in the NBA, not to mention we like to play, don't we?"

"Of course, if I can stay in New York, this is naturally what I hope for the most! Who wants to be traded to the snowy plateau of Minnesota and Denver?"

Quentin Richardson shook his head helplessly: "Jamal, you're okay. After all, you're the team's best sixth man averaging 15 points per game. It's perfect to serve as a substitute for Lin, but I'm in trouble. The starting shooting guard. The position must be given up!"

"Quentin, is it possible that you still want to compete with Lin for the starting spot? He is the MVP of the Finals, so you should just stay on the bench with me!"

The one who feels different from Jamal Crawford and Quentin Richardson is Trevor Ariza, who just signed a three-year contract with the Knicks with an annual salary of US$3 million.

As a second-round pick in 04, Ariza played very mediocrely in his first two seasons with the Knicks. He only averaged 19 points and 4.6 rebounds in 3.8 minutes per game. The only thing worthy of praise is Averaged 1.2 steals per game.

I originally thought that he would be abandoned by the Knicks when they implemented the team option in advance during the offseason. Unexpectedly, he turned around and offered me a three-year contract worth US$3 million. It was really an unexpected surprise.

Ariza naturally would not have thought that the reason why the Knicks chose to keep him was entirely because of the wishes of the new boss Lin Fei.

At the same time, Ariza's agent and the team's trainer also revealed that Isaiah Thomas' new coaching staff has the intention of positioning Ariza as the starting small forward in the new season.

After all, Jaylen Rose is getting old, and his last year's annual salary of more than 1500 million is likely to be bought out by James Dolan in advance. Ariza's opportunity will naturally come.

For Ariza, who entered the NBA at the age of 19 and has just turned 21 now, if he can be the starting small forward in the Knicks and partner with Lin Fei and Marbury,

This is definitely a huge opportunity that surprises me more than the annual salary of more than 300 million.

Ariza's personal performance during his high school and freshman NCAA years was already quite high. He was only too young to fall into the second round of the draft, but he has absolute confidence that he can perform well in the future.

As the new season approaches, Ariza, who is full of confidence and pride, has also taken the initiative to increase his daily training volume and began to imitate the technical characteristics of the rival Heat starting small forward Sean Battier.

Although he signed a new contract with an annual salary of 300 million, the salary has not yet been paid, and the prospects for the new season are still unclear.
Therefore, Ariza is still renting a house in Manhattan, New York, and has no plans to purchase real estate in the short term.

Early on the morning of October 10, Madison Square Garden.

The newly formed Knicks coaching staff under "Smiling Assassin" Isaiah Thomas has also officially summoned all the Knicks team members for the new season to prepare for the upcoming 06-07 season.

At the Madison Square Garden training facility, Lin Fei and his new Knicks teammates met one by one and got to know each other.

Almost everyone in the Knicks camp welcomed Lin Fei's arrival and acknowledged that Lin Fei is the team's leader and sole core in the new season.

Even if there is dissatisfaction and contempt, it is hidden in the heart and dare not be expressed directly.

Although Chinese people and Asians have been discriminated against to varying degrees across the United States, the same is true in New York.

But Lin Fei's achievements in the NBA and basketball fields, and the strength he displayed on the court, have long transcended his skin color and nationality.

When a person truly achieves great success, he will find that the people he meets are good people.

After experiencing the ups and downs in the Timberwolves during his rookie season, and then rising up the ranks with the Miami Heat, Lin Fei has naturally become more mature and stable.

For Lin Fei, these new teammates in front of him are naturally no strangers, no matter in the past life or in this life.

Stephen Marbury, who was as good as Allen Iverson in his peak period, Eddie Curry, who is known as one of the three successors to the Sharks,

Future first-class 3D Trevor Ariza, as well as All-Star forward David Lee, the strongest sixth man Jamal Crawford,

The shortest dunk king Nate Robinson, three-point anti-aircraft gun Channing Frye, large-tonnage center Jerome James...

Take a closer look and you will see that the new Knicks teammates around Lin Fei are strong or not, but they are not bad at all. There are at least two All-Stars and three or four quasi-All-Stars.

With the instructions and threats from owner James Dolan, Isaiah Thomas, the team's general manager and concurrently head coach,

It can be said that Lin Fei responded to every request and significantly lowered the head coach's attitude.

Regarding the team's lineup and tactical arrangements for the new season, they will also take the initiative to listen to and ask Lin Fei for some suggestions.

"Starting today, I will temporarily serve as the head coach of the Knicks for the new season until the management finds a suitable candidate to take over!"

"Everyone is basically the same old face from last season's team. Although the Knicks' record last season was very bad, I know very well that this is not the players' responsibility!"

"I believe Lin's arrival will definitely put the Knicks on the right track in the new season, and everyone will be able to play their respective roles in the team perfectly!"

Most of the Knicks players are not optimistic about Isaiah Thomas' concurrent role as head coach.
After all, this guy retired as a player and became a general manager. His trades with the Raptors and Knicks were criticized and his reputation was extremely bad. How good can he be as a head coach now?
But there are only a few good coaches in the NBA these days, and they really can’t be signed just by having money.

Whether it’s Isaiah Thomas now, Larry Brown last season, or Lenny Wilkens before that,
The Knicks' record has plummeted in recent seasons, and the head coach's responsibility is far greater than that of the players.

As the new leader and boss of the Knicks, Lin Fei naturally did his part and had to say a few words in front of these new teammates:

"I am very honored to come to the New York Knicks and become teammates with you all in the new season!"

"Most of the players on the team now played against me more than once in the Heat last season. My memory is pretty good, and you all left a deep impression on me!"

"Although the Knicks' record in the past two seasons has been very poor, I don't think this is a problem with the team's lineup and players!" "The Knicks' current player lineup can be said to be very reasonable, but it is obvious that everyone is in disarray. They failed to unite and bring out their respective strengths!”

"The new season brings new expectations. We are talented enough, young enough, and strong enough to beat any team!"

After Lin Fei finished speaking, the surrounding Knicks teammates applauded. Little fat man Eddie Curry came over, bent down directly to retaliate for Lin Fei's thigh, and said with an exaggerated smile:
"Lin, the team and I will be led by you in the new season. I'm still waiting to benefit from you and be selected as a substitute for the Eastern Conference All-Stars!"

Lin Fei smiled and touched Eddie Curry's big belly, raised his eyebrows and said:
"Eddie, from now on, train with me for two hours every day, lose weight to less than 300 pounds, and then give up coke. Not to mention the All-Star substitute, the starting center will be yours!"

Everyone burst into laughter, Eddie Curry shrank his neck and shrugged his shoulders:
"I can agree to all other conditions, but I definitely can't quit this Coke. It's my life!"

Stephon Marbury laughed, punched Eddie Curry in the shoulder and joked:
"Eddie, since you can't quit coke, how about quitting women?"

Eddie Curry: "Ah...then I'd better give up coke as much as possible!"

As the players got to know each other, Isaiah Thomas also organized a competition within the Knicks team.

And intentionally put Stephon Marbury, Lin Fei, Trevor Ariza, David Lee and Eddie Curry in a group.

These five people were also initially determined to be the Knicks' starting five for the new season after discussions with the coaching staff.

Lin Fei, Marbury and Eddie Curry started the game, which is naturally undisputed.

After all, the strength is there. In their respective positions, the three of them can be said to have reached the level of the top ten in the NBA.

Putting young rookies Ariza and David Lee at small forward and power forward is obviously a decision made by the coaching staff after careful consideration.

Of course, Lin Fei's opinion also played a major factor.

Isaiah Thomas' coaching philosophy is naturally more inclined to the one he played with the Pistons in the 90s.

It can be said that the technical characteristics of point guard Stephon Marbury are highly similar to those of the peak smiling assassin.
This is also the main reason why Thomas, as the team's general manager, tried his best to bring James Dolan into exchange for Marbury through a big trade.

Lin Fei, who partnered with Marbury on the back line, far surpassed Joe Dumars, who partnered with him back then, in terms of overall offensive and defensive strength.

In Isaiah Thomas's view, if he had teamed up with Lin Fei today instead of Joe Dumars during his peak period in the early 90s,
The Detroit Pistons will definitely prevent the rise of Jordan and the Bulls and officially create a dynasty belonging to the Pistons.

The Bad Boys place more emphasis on defensive intensity, which is also the comprehensive transformation Isaiah Thomas will make to the Knicks in the new season.

Among the team's current new starting lineup, only Lin Fei has top-level defensive capabilities. Marbury and Eddie Curry both focus on offense and light defense.

The newly promoted Trevor Ariza obviously has good defensive talents and is worth looking forward to and cultivating.

That night, the New York Knicks ushered in a preseason game against their close rivals, the Philadelphia 76ers, at Madison Square Garden.

Lin Fei, wearing jersey No. 22 for the Knicks, made his first start in this game on behalf of the team.

The 76ers' rebuilt main lineup also played.

The Knicks' starting five are:

Point Guard (PG): Stephon Marbury,

Shooting guard (SG): Lin Fei,

Small Forward (SF): Trevor Ariza,

Power forward (PF): David Lee,

Center (C): Eddie Curry.

The 76ers' starting five are:

Point Guard (PG): Andre Miller,

Shooting Guard (SG): Andre Iguodala,

Small forward (SF): Kyle Korver,

Power forward (PF): Joe Smith,

Center (C): Samuel Dalembert.

After trading away Allen Iverson and failing to pursue Lin Fei, the 76ers' reconstruction is far away, and the goal of ruining the new season is basically determined.

An assistant coach from the Heat last season has now joined Thomas' coaching team. In addition, Lin Fei has an absolute leadership position internally.

Therefore, based on Lin Fei's distinctive playing style, Thomas also drew on his own experience and the offensive tactics of the defending champion Heat to formulate a new tactical system.

Among the Knicks' new starting five, Marbury's tactical status is basically the same as Wade's from the Heat last season. He has the ball-handling organization and personal offensive ratio second only to Lin Fei.

At small forward, Trevor Ariza's role on the team highly overlaps with that of the Heat's Shane Battier. He is a 3D in the absolute sense.

For this reason, Ariza must adapt to the transformation as soon as possible, train frequently, and improve his three-point shooting percentage in the game.

At power forward, David Lee is not inferior in terms of personal physical talent. Although his shooting level is a bit worse, he is young and has enough room for improvement.
And David Lee also has talents that Eddie Curry does not have in terms of rebounding.

Eddie Curry's target is naturally Shaq O'Neal. Whether it is personal talent or low-post back shots and hooks, Eddie has certain technical reserves.

It's just that defense is a weak point. He is not active enough in the game and is easily distracted. This problem must be solved as much as possible.

In addition to strengthening the respective offensive and defensive characteristics of the players, various complex ball-holding pick-and-rolls, off-ball screens, air cuts and runs, and passing and cutting tactics among players,
This is the key that needs to be cultivated and strengthened in training and games, and it is also the top priority for whether Lin Fei can form a good chemical reaction with these new Knicks teammates.

In this preseason game with the 76ers, although Lin Fei, Marbury and Eddie Curry, as well as players such as Crawford and Nate Robinson on the bench performed well,

Ariza and David Lee, who were reused, also performed actively on both offense and defense.

However, the overall pick-and-roll cooperation and movement coverage between the players still appear to be too loose, the tacit understanding is far from enough, and the execution of tactics needs to be improved.

Even so, even though Lin Fei only played 22 minutes in the game, he still easily hit 7 three-pointers, scored 25 points and 9 assists.
The Knicks also defeated the weaker Philadelphia 109ers 97:76, winning their first victory of the preseason.

On October 10, the NBA's 30-2006 season officially kicked off.

The New York Knicks will sit at home to face the visiting Los Angeles Lakers. The new combination of Kobe and Dayao is also expected by fans!
At the same time, the Knicks’ 12-man roster for the new season has also been officially determined:
Starting lineup: Stephon Marbury, Lin Fei, Trevor Ariza, David Lee, Eddie Curry.

7 substitutes: Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson, Quentin Richardson, Channing Frye, Jerome James, Jaylen Rose, Reynaldo Balkman .

(End of this chapter)