The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!

Zach Randolph scores strongly, predictable within the New York Knicks coaching staff's expectations. They are well aware that facing the Pacers, the interior will be their weak link.

However, it's not a big problem!

Because...

"Swish!"

Dior from a high position "deals the cards," the moment Paul George receives the ball, Afflalo is right in front of him. He promptly tosses the ball to the right, Stephen Curry catches it, fakes a move to shake off Lin Shuhao, then quickly returns the pass, Paul George continues with broad movements, Su Wan holds the ball facing Leonard.

While holding the ball, his body leans forward, left foot continuously taps the ground, making fake moves to jump; the final move eventually deceives the unresponsive Leonard several times, completing a breakthrough beside him, and hits a mid-range shot.

The Pacers are strong on the inside, New York Knicks strong on the outside.

As long as the Knicks' outside offensive firepower can suppress the Pacers, then there won't be much need for adjustments, just watch the Knicks secure victory tonight and ultimately win the series.

Of course, he already anticipated this process to be very tough!

Sure enough, Lin Shuhao holds the ball again, breaking through and distributing, Leonard faces Su Wan, misses the mid-range shot, "Offensive Rebound" grabbed by Zach Randolph.

The moment his feet hit the ground, he immediately jumps up again, Randolph scores another 2 points.

Watching the "Big Black Bear" score continuously, New York Knicks fans are surprised, wasn't this guy playing for New York before, was he this strong?

When Randolph was with the New York Knicks back then, his average stats were decent, 18 plus 11 stats seemed like he was above the league's frontline. However, his efficiency wasn't high and he tended to disappear at crucial moments.

He was known as the league's famous "Data Brush."

But now, watching him score so forcefully under the basket, New Yorkers feel only two words:

Unfamiliar!

Su Wan continues to educate Leonard, grabs the ball with one hand and tosses it forward, deceives Leonard to turn his head, raises his hand to shoot, but instead delivers an "Air Relay" to Tyson Chandler.

"Bang!"

The sound of a heavy dunk echoes.

Rick Carlisle shakes his head slightly.

To be honest, although Leonard is just a rookie, he has grown rapidly on the defensive end, already becoming a more reliable perimeter defender than Afflalo. It's expected that by next year, he will represent the new generation defensive barrier in the NBA.

But now facing Su Wan...

He knows Leonard can't guard Su Wan, but being so easily fooled was unexpected.

The first quarter ends, with both sides featuring Su Wan and Zach Randolph as the offensive centerpieces. The game flows smoothly, scores continuously rise, and the New York Knicks lead by 3 points heading into the second quarter.

Traditionally, the Pacers excel in the bench rotation phase, but this time both sides tied during this phase.

Because the New York Knicks' bench rotation is not weak this year, with Ray Allen, Artest, and Vince Carter all being "old guards" in the league.

Their presence ensures that the New York Knicks need not fear any team during the bench rotation phase.

In the second quarter, as the main players return, both sides strengthen their lineup adjustments. By the third quarter, their defensive intensifications rival those in the Finals.

Interestingly, the New York Knicks choose to tighten around the basket, restricting Zach Randolph, testing the Pacers' perimeter shooting; meanwhile, the Pacers expand their defensive schemes, blocking the Knicks' three-point shooting, forcing them to drive toward the basket, confident in Marc Gasol's rim-protecting ability.

The targeted effect clearly manifests, as the New York Knicks find their outside shooting consecutively unsuccessful, forcing more basket penetration.

However, Marc Gasol originally became the league's best rim protector from the year 2012 onward for good reason.

His height, wingspan, and bulk indeed make scoring under the basket post-breakthrough very challenging for the Knicks.

New York Knicks only scored 23 points in the third quarter.

This has been their lowest-scoring quarter in the playoffs this year.

Evidently, the Pacers' targeting effect!

However, at the end of the third quarter, the leading team is still the New York Knicks.

Firstly, their targeting of the Pacers was equally outstanding.

Zach Randolph's strong attacks under the basket are very stable, but the relentless double-teaming forces him only to pass or make set-point long-range shots.

The "Big Black Bear" does have shooting ability.

Only...

His shooting ability isn't as strong as his fierce attacks at the basket, evident from the efficiency.

His scoring rate at the basket is over 50%, but his long-range shooting is about 45%!

However, his not-so-reliable long-range shooting is the second reason why the Knicks continue to maintain their lead, crucially due to:

Su Wan!

The Pacers' expanded defensive scheme means they can't assist Leonard with timely help defense, while Su Wan can't consistently shoot three-pointers, his mid-range is like a "divine weapon."

Under Leonard's solo defense, his offense is incredibly sharp.

Fourth quarter, 7 minutes 45 seconds, Su Wan shoots a mid-range jumper from the right 45-degree angle over Leonard; fourth quarter, 9 minutes 20 seconds, still facing Leonard, this time Su Wan deceives him to leap, completes a mid-range shot with a "2 plus 1" in confrontation.