NBA: No. 1 Forward

On December 30, before the start of the game, Howard said in an interview with the media.

"Our current lineup is very strong. We are no longer the Magic of last season. We will beat the Knicks in this game!"

Lian Dao did not give any response to Howard's speech, because the Magic had already been kicked out of the threat list by Lian Dao.

Indeed, Howard's position as an inside center is still unshakable, and as long as the Magic has Howard, it must be a playoff team, but it is only a playoff team.

In this game, Stoudemire returned from injury. I believe that the combination of Stoudemire and Cousins ​​will definitely give Howard an unforgettable memory.

Furthermore, although Turkoglu is the organizational small forward of the Magic, Lian Dao really doesn't like Turkoglu.

The Magic's trade of Lewis and some three-point shooters also represents the end of the Magic's one-star four-point shooter strategy. Now, Howard is paired with Brandon Bass, who is only 2 meters 03. This short power forward Unlike Lewis, this guy has no three-point ability, but he has a precise mid-range shot.

But Brandon Bass rarely passes the ball, doesn't rebound well, has mediocre defense, lacks height, and is also flawed in assist defense.

Let this guy match Howard, I don't know what's wrong with the Magic's management.

…

In this game, the Magic also put on a brand new lineup.

Jameer Nelson, Jason Richardson, Turkoglu, Brandon Bass, Howard.

It's a pity that the Magic are destined to become the backdrop for Stoudemire's comeback in this game.

Stoudemire is also very excited for his comeback in this game. He has been recovering from his injury for two weeks, and he is also a follower of the Knicks game, especially seeing Lian Dao scoring high scores one after another. When he was injured, he defeated one after another. opponent.

It caused an uproar in the league and was rushed to be reported by the media!

He is also very itchy about this, and now he just wants to play and kill the Quartet.

And in this game, Stoudemire is also in a very good state. He hit a three-pointer directly against Brandon Bass in the first quarter, and then hit a mid-range shot. He also cooperated with Cousin on the defensive end. Smith double-teamed Howard.

Without Lewis, who helped him open up space last season, Howard, who was double-teamed, had a very poor shooting rate in the first quarter.

Turkoglu did not play the miraculous effect of the playmaker in this game. On the contrary, under the impregnable defense of the Knicks outside, the Magic made repeated mistakes.

At the end of the half, the Knicks led by 17 points at 62:45.

During the intermission, the fans in the Amway Center put their hands on their heads and looked at the score in disbelief.

Is this still a Magic team that can reach the finals?

Even, watching the game with his father in the front row, the little Magic fan wearing Howard's No. 12 jersey, with tears in his eyes, turned his head and asked his father.

"Daddy, didn't you say that we are the strongest, why can't they beat the team led by the handsome big brother?"

"This..." The middle-aged white man next to him who was also wearing the Magic jersey No. 12 was completely stunned by his son's words, but then organized his words and said.

"It's possible that our players weren't in great form today, you know, it's impossible for someone to be at their best all the time, but I believe in their fighting spirit, they're the best players, they have the tenacity to fight. Will, they will not give up, believe daddy, they will definitely adjust in the second half and launch a counterattack.

Victory will definitely belong to Orlando! "

"At the same time, I believe your child, when you face difficulties, you must not give up, keep the spirit of tenacious struggle, and you will be able to overcome difficulties!"

The middle-aged white man also educated his son.

The little boy wiped away his tears and nodded firmly: "Don't worry daddy, I won't give up on Susan, I believe I will definitely defeat Xiaopang!"

"Yes, that's right, child... eh? Wait, who is Susan, and who is Xiaopang?" The middle-aged white man couldn't react, and asked suspiciously.

"Oh, Susan is my girlfriend, but she was snatched by the nasty chubby with a ticket to Sea World, but I won't give up, I will definitely chase Susan back!" The little boy clenched his fists as he spoke, with a high-spirited expression on his face, and then he asked the middle-aged man again.

"Daddy, you will support me, right? You will support me for a ticket to Disney World, right?"

"Uh, hell!" The middle-aged man cursed inwardly, and he was completely overwhelmed by his son's questioning.

"Listen, Thomas, you are only 7 years old, you are not allowed to have a girlfriend, otherwise, I will cut off all your pocket money, and open your ass!" The middle-aged man turned to his son beside him. Roaring.

The voice of the middle-aged man also attracted the attention of the people around him. The fans next to him looked at the middle-aged man with unkind eyes, thinking that this guy was a domestic violence element.

Coupled with the child with long eyelashes fluttering and a pitiful expression, it makes people want to be crooked even more.

At this time, someone has already picked up the mobile phone, as if to make a report call.

"Oh, that's not the case..." The man patiently explained, and finally calmed down the farce.

…

The game continued in the second half. The Magic did not counterattack like the middle-aged male fans expected. On the contrary, with the pick-and-roll pass and cut cooperation of Lian Dao and Stoudemire in the third quarter, the Magic team played the Magic at the beginning of the third quarter. Team A 6:0.

Afterwards, the Magic began to double-team Lian Dao, and Holiday actually stood up. He first speeded up and passed the general Arenas in a disguised form, and after reaching the basket, he attracted Howard to defend, and then assisted Cousins. Receive a dunk.

Afterwards, he steals Arenas on the defensive end, passes a long pass to Lian Dao who is going down quickly, and scores a layup.

Between offense and defense, they once again beat the Magic 4:0.

And less than 4 minutes into the third quarter, no one expected that the Knicks would extend their lead to 27 points, and the players on the Magic team were also dejected by this wave of offense. .

Even Howard, who was full of confidence before the game, was full of disappointment. He never thought that the Magic would still lose so badly in the next match a few months later. No, compared to the match last season, This season, the Magic lost even more thoroughly.

Although they lost to the Knicks in the playoffs before, many Magic players believed that they just lost to Lian Dao, who was in a better state, but in this game, Lian Dao hadn't exerted his strength, and the Magic team was defeated in less than three quarters up.

The head coach of the Magic, Stan Van Gundy, sighed helplessly at this time. He knew that this transaction really did not change much for the Magic. On the contrary, the loss of outside players helped Howard share the pressure. The Magic needed Howard Make more contributions on the offensive end Or let Turkoglu go in the 2009 offseason and choose to chase Carter, the Magic went the wrong way.

The inside players in the East this season are too bloated, the Knicks' Stoudemire, Cousins, Rasheed Wallace; the Celtics' Garnett, Shaquille O'Neal, Jr.; Zell, Joakim Noah; Hawks' Joe Smith, Al Horford; Pacers' Royon Hibbert; Heat's Chris Bosh…

Although Howard's current title as the league's No. 1 center is still unshakable, his technical flaws are also very obvious, especially this season's deterrence in the Eastern Conference has been greatly reduced compared to previous seasons.

Stan Van Gundy called a timeout and made some personnel adjustments. First, he replaced Arenas and replaced him with Jameer Nelson, whose defensive skills were not much different from Arenas'. What, but better than being strong and daring to confront, unlike the current Arenas who has degenerated into a glass man on the court.

Of course, what Stan Van Gundy can't do without is to cook a bowl of chicken soup for all the players before the timeout.

In terms of momentum, the players of the Magic team have also recovered.

When he came back from the timeout, Howard pushed Cousins' defense under the basket and scored a dunk. Then Jameer Nelson also hit a three-pointer from the outside with the help of a pick-and-roll.

Immediately afterwards, Turkoglu once again assisted Jason Richardson to cut inside the basket and score a layup.

Although the Magic have changed on the offensive end, there is always someone on the Knicks side who responds.

Danny Green, who was replaced on the court, scored a three-pointer from the outside as soon as he came on the court. Then Stoudemire received a pass from Lian Dao and scored from the inside. Record ultra-long three-pointers.