NBA: The Basketball Miracle

On November 14, 1996, after two days of fermentation, Clay Lee's popularity soared due to his frequent appearances on TV.

The New York print media once again dug deep into Lee's story. 1996 was also an era of appearance. With a "superstar childhood" and a handsome face, the gorilla Ewing was forgotten by the New York fans who were fickle.

Lee indeed caught a good time. In early April 1996, Yahoo was listed on NASDAQ. On the same day, Yahoo's stock price rose from US$13 to US$33!

"Chief" Jerry Yang suddenly joined the ranks of Wall Street billionaires.

Lee, who is equally young, also received an American education and has excellent grades, and has made a name for himself in the NBA, barely caught up with this wave of popularity and was also labeled a genius.

After getting up from a hangover, Lee felt sick of reading the long articles in the mainstream newspapers praising the system.

ABC may think this is a paradise, but for Lee, the difficult experiences he had in Albuquerque as a child always reminded him that this is a cannibalistic society.

(A/N: This is true everywhere. Even The famous Mumbai slum can only rank second here.)

Near noon, agent Mark Bartelstein invited them to dinner, and the two chatted while eating at a nearby French restaurant:

"This is New York. As long as you perform well, you will be the target of media attention!"

"With these records, even if you are a substitute, New York fans will not forget you, so don't feel pressured, we have already succeeded!"

Mark Bartelstein was worried that Lee would be manipulated by the media and would perform poorly under pressure, so he flew to New York to give him psychological massage.

Lee showed off the French beef and spinach in front of him. He was busy drinking at the party last night and was hungry all morning. He took a few bites to feel completely relieved:

"I don't care what the media reports. These articles are quite boring. Besides, the regular season has just started. These records and data don't mean much."

Seeing that Lee seemed really unaffected, Mark Bartelstein also breathed a sigh of relief.

The Bucks have also performed well since the start of the season, currently with a record of 5 wins and 1 loss, but the team has received a lot less attention.

Ray Allen made 9 of 19 shots, 1 of 5 from beyond the three-point line, and scored 23 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers in the game against the Suns two days ago. The statistics were very good, but he did not receive much praise.

"Why not sign a sneaker contract now? I've received a good offer!"

Hearing Mark Bartelstein's words, Lee responded briskly:

"The period is too long and the price is too low. I have more opportunities to be exposed. I also know my ability. Within a year, these sneaker manufacturers will make new offers."

Mark Bartelstein felt that Adidas' offer of 12 million US dollars for 6 years was very sincere, but he also agreed with Lee's point of view:

"Just play basketball and don't care about Jeff Van Gundy's attitude. He is not Pat Riley and will compromise with the media sooner or later."

Mark Bartelstein didn't say it, but Lee knew he was going to make a move. The US dollar can sometimes determine the trend of public opinion.

Thinking of the nature of New York fans and media, Lee felt that Jeff Van Gundy would be bald sooner or later!

Not only good grades, but also attractive style of play. The New York audience may be the most picky fans in the league.

The Knicks only have three games this week, and they are three consecutive home games.

On the evening of the 14th, the Raptors visited Madison Square Garden and the two sides faced off again.

After a few games, rookie Marcus Camby also secured his starting position. He performed very well that night, making 9 of 14 shots and scoring a team-high 29 points!

Although the Knicks won, the fans watching the game felt like they had eaten a piece of shit chocolate.

The pace was too slow and there were too many mistakes. Patrick Ewing made 9 of 16 shots, scoring 25 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks and 6 turnovers.

The gorilla wanted to teach the newbie on the other side a lesson, but his performance on that night was really average.

96:102, the Knicks won the game with difficulty.

After resting for more than a day, the team faced the Minnesota Timberwolves on the evening of the 16th.

In this game, facing the Timberwolves' tall inside players, Jeff Van Gundy continued to stick to the low-post tactics. Ewing did not disappoint the coach's trust this time and played dominantly again.

Playing 44 minutes, making 9 of 17 shots, 26 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 3 turnovers, Ewing blew up the Timberwolves' inside line.

Kevin Garnett lost his touch after being knocked to the floor by Charles Oakley. He played the game honestly throughout the game, not daring to say a single trash talk, and showed a new attitude.

In 40 minutes of playing time, Garnett made 4 of 17 shots, with a hit rate of less than 30%, and only got 12 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists.

80:86, in this hand-to-hand fight, the Knicks finally won the game.

Despite an 8-1 record, the New York media still didn't treat Jeff Van Gundy well. Patrick Ewing was also questioned at the post-match press conference:

"Pat, we have better guards now, why don't we play more pick-and-roll offense?"

The New York Post reporter did not give Ewing any face and directly pointed the finger at the "King of New York".

Patrick Ewing doesn't like these media who often belittle him at all. He showed an impatient expression on his face and said in an unfriendly tone:

"Victory is the team's pursuit. We win the game, this is the most important thing!"

"I don't want to explain to you how to play basketball. I believe you all saw that I dominated the paint tonight."

"."

Jeff Van Gundy did compromise with the media, increasing Lee's playing time and no longer cutting his time into small pieces.

This is indeed what New York fans want to see, but as Ewing's playing time increases, Lee, who can play freely on the bench, is also restricted.

Some rounds were forced to slow down, with more balls passed to the inside and more open shots.

When the opponent strengthened the defense on Lee, the scoring remained stable and the number of assists even increased a little. The data was impeccable.

New York fans saw this and directed their criticism at Jeff Van Gundy and Ewing after the two games.

Fortunately, the Knicks have three more away games to go, and Jeff Van Gundy, who was starting to lose his hair, breathed a sigh of relief, finally getting rid of the troublesome New York media.

On the evening of the 19th, the Knicks defeated the Magic without Finney and Hardaway 96:88. After the game, they flew to Charlotte and then lost back-to-back to the Hornets.

After losing the game, Larry Johnson returned to the locker room with a grim look on his face.

"Grandmama" only scored 9 points with 4 of 5 shots tonight.

"Damn the pace of the game, can we go any slower? Damn it, I'm fed up with this kind of game!"

Larry Johnson kicked over the ice bucket and kept fumbling. The number of rounds in several consecutive games was 68. After venting his emotions, the "grandmama" returned to his seat and glared at Charlie Ward.

The newbie was so scared that he didn't dare to say a word in his seat. He was just playing according to the coach's instructions.

Alan Houston took the initiative to take the blame at this time, and said loudly with a serious expression:

"It was my fault. I made too many mistakes and was repeatedly counterattacked by the opponent."

When Chris Charles, the new player who returned from injury, heard about the mistake, he didn't dare to look at Larry Johnson, who had made 3 turnovers since he came on the court.

Charles Oakley didn't say anything, but just looked at Larry Johnson with a stern face.

After Lee entered the locker room, he didn't care about the tense atmosphere. He returned to his seat and said with a smile,

"Don't worry, Larry. I promise I will pass the ball to you more next time we play against the Hornets. But you have to convince the coaching staff to change their tactics first."

"It's dangerous to log in! Don't get angry at your family!"

After hearing what Lee said, Larry Johnson took advantage of the situation and stopped glaring at everyone. He cursed fiercely:

"Shit! I knew the rookie coach couldn't be trusted!"

...

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