On October 31, 1997, the 97-98 season officially began.
There was no special opening game at this time. There were a total of 14 games that night.
Most fans will choose to watch the home team's games.
If they have money and time, they will go to the other stadium to support the team.
Watching the game in front of the TV is also a way of showing their thoughtfulness.
Chicago fans can see another championship banner raised above the United Center!
For New York fans, they will be challenging for the championship in the new season.
Everyone firmly believes that the team will break out of the East and the Bulls are no longer good!
Throughout October, the New York media has been frantically promoting the depth of the Knicks' lineup.
Although the regular season has not yet started, New York fans are convinced of this.
At 7 p.m. that evening, the Knicks will face the Hornets at home.
Many New York fans choose to enter the stadium early and watch Lee's pre game warm-up.
"Wow!!"
Every goal would cause cheers from the fans, especially when they saw Lee shooting farther and farther, the cheers would become louder and louder.
Wearing the white home jersey with a white compression shirt inside, a white arm guard on his right arm, and white compression pants on his lower body, Clay Lee has a little more equipment for the new season.
According to the contract requirements, Lee naturally wore hook-and-loop sneakers.
Jason Kidd's Nike Air Zoom Flight V, in Knicks colorway, is a flashy shoe in this era, especially the plated piece on the side of the shoe, which is particularly eye-catching.
The term "equipment trend" has not yet appeared, but Lee's outfit will soon sweep the street courts in New York.
After finishing the warm-up, assistant coach Don Chaney waited for Lee near the player tunnel with a smile:
"What a great form! More and more fans are coming to watch you warm up."
"Once everyone gets used to it, they won't come in early just to watch me warm up."
Looking at the fans on both sides of the player channel waving vigorously, Lee immediately stepped forward and high-fived the enthusiastic fans.
Don Chaney, who was walking towards the player tunnel, didn't care about what Lee said.
He knew New York, and many of the people who bought tickets to watch the game were tourists:
"There are new fans every year. It's great to be young."
The Hornets players who came to New York prepared for the game step by step.
Among the team, Anthony Mason felt sad.
He had completely experienced the New York fans' fickleness.
After just one season away from the team, no one paid attention to him anymore.
Glen Rice is not in a good mood either.
He was extremely efficient last season and even won the All-Star Game MVP, but he only got a shoe sponsorship from Nautica.
During the offseason, Glen Rice watched several rookies' sneaker ads and watched the Nike wield US dollars to sign Lee, and he was jealous.
As soon as the visiting team's players came out, Madison Square Garden began to erupt in huge cheers.
"The Hornets added guard David Wesley and forward Tony Farmer during the offseason."
"Both new players got the chance to start tonight. Together with Glen Rice, Anthony Mason and Vlade Divac, the Hornets have three forwards in their starting lineup tonight."
At the MSG live commentary booth, commentator Mike Breen briefly introduced the opponent's situation.
"With Dell Curry on the bench and targeted reinforcements, the Hornets should achieve good results this season!"
Walt Frazier also gave his own opinion.
Like the Knicks, the Hornets are currently considered a relatively balanced team in the Eastern Conference.
Larry Johnson was very sorry that he didn't meet his old club in the playoffs last season.
The first game of the new season was against the Hornets.
The "grandmama" immediately became energetic and completed the entrance ceremony.
During the final warm-up, he frequently winked at Lee,
"Let's go Knicks! Let's go Knicks! Let's go Knicks!"
As the tip-off was about to begin, the New York fans at the scene began to shout loudly, cheering for the home team.
After watching so many reports from the New York media, everyone was expecting a resounding victory tonight.
As Ewing easily jumped to the ball, cheers resounded throughout the stadium again.
Lee, who received the ball, quickly made a tactical gesture and immediately rushed across half court.
David Wesley, who played badly with the Celtics last season, seems to have not adapted to the Hornets' defensive system.
Seeing Lee coming to the left wing, he did not take any action and just defended with his eyes.
Realizing that Ewing behind him had moved up, David Wesley stepped forward.
However, just as his feet moved, Lee, holding the ball in his left hand, quickly went in and out, shook right and left, and instantly passed the defense.
Ewing's screens were all fake, it was a two-on-two attack on one side, and the gorilla suddenly rushed down quickly.
Divac, who was defending, saw his teammate out of position and wanted to delay Lee immediately, but when he saw Ewing quickly moving forward, he hesitated.
Lee handled the ball very quickly and was unable to break through the blocking area on the left.
He passed the ball quickly on the ground while moving and immediately broke through the defense.
Ewing received the pass in the paint area and noticed that Mason's defense was shrinking, so he just shot the ball right in front of the basket!
"Swish!" The two-pointer went into the net.
Ewing quickly ate the ball, punched the ball in celebration, and the Knicks players quickly retreated.
"Lee's perfect pass allowed Ewing to complete the offense without any adjustments. I like to see this kind of offense, simple and efficient!"
Wal Frazier started the game with a bluff.
He wanted to continue, but his partner next to him immediately shouted,
"Nice block! Ewing blocked Divac's turnaround hook shot!"
Commentator Mike Breen instantly raised his voice, and when he saw the Knicks initiate a transition offense, he shouted again:
"The Hornets haven't finished retreating yet! Oh! Lee made another great assist!"
Larry Johnson ran as fast as he could and just as he reached the free throw line in the front court, he looked up and saw the basketball flying to the upper right side of the basket.
Larry Johnson quickly adjusted his steps, leaped into the air, scooped up the ball in the air, and then made a layup!
"Bang!" He made an alley-oop.
"Wow!!"
After receiving the ball, Lee accelerated along the left sideline and made a long pass before crossing half court.
The beautiful cooperation made the fans at the scene cheer loudly.
In the next round, David Wesley had just dribbled across half court when Glen Rice, eager to show off, reached out for the ball on the right wing.
Larry Johnson, who had just scored, was in full swing.
He immediately lowered his center of gravity and stared at his opponent.
It was a simple and rough attack. After the triple threat, he quickly released the ball with his right hand, Glen Rice broke through with a crossover step, and then he made a quick stop and jump shot in the right blocking zone, but missed!
"Clang!"
The moment the basketball bounced out, Ewing grabbed the rebound right in front of the basket.
Divac wanted to loudly remind his teammates to retreat quickly, but he soon discovered that David Wesley failed to match up with Lee in time.
The gorilla passed the ball near the right sideline, and after Lee received the ball, he rushed across half court in the blink of an eye.
He quickly came to the right wing and began to slow down near the three-point line.
Glen Rice, who was actively retreating, hurriedly chased in front of Lee.
Before he could make a defensive move, Glen Rice saw Lee jump up and quickly passed the ball outside the three point line!
The basketball flew straight to Larry Johnson who was running down the middle, who caught the ball easily, rushed up with three steps, and dunked with one arm!
Less than 2 minutes into the game, they scored 6:0, and Madison Square Garden was completely boiling.
Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines also clapped his hands:
"Good job!!"
Hornets head coach Dave Cowens soon realized that something was wrong.
Glen Rice was in poor form and frequently asked for the ball.
After several rounds of missed shots, the Knicks repeatedly forced the team into transition offense.
As Glen Rice missed the shot from beyond the three-point line, the long rebound was caught by Lee on the left wing.
Facing David Wesley who was defending closely, Lee took the ball forward with his left hand, then twisted his body and accelerated without the ball from outside the right sideline.
After Lee retrieved the ball with his left hand, the fans in the front row shouted excitedly, as the ball and man passed each other in front of them.
Realizing that he had been dribbled past, David Wesley quickly turned around to defend, but he was still a beat too slow and could only watch Lee quickly pass the ball.
Without waiting to cross half court, Lee passed the ball to the left wing outside the three-point line.
Alan Houston slowed down and received the pass. He didn't make any adjustments outside the three-point line and just shot the ball!
"Swish!" The three-pointer went into the net!
0:13, 8 minutes left in the first quarter, head coach Dave Cowens was forced to request a timeout.
At this time, Lee had already made 4 assists and walked towards the bench.
The atmosphere group jumped up and high-fived to celebrate.
"What a wonderful pass! Lee completely controlled the tempo of the game!"
In the commentary booth, Walt Frazier was in a good mood and the game was played with ease.
The game was about to start, and commentator Mike Breen could only laugh and say:
"I'm beginning to believe the New York Post report. The team is in excellent shape and the players are working better together than last season."
Clay Lee could sense that the Hornets players were not in good shape and seemed to have not yet recovered from the offseason.
After the timeout, the Hornets broke the deadlock with Mason's breakthrough, and Larry Johnson sent the opponent to the free throw line.
"Shh!"
Amidst huge boos, Mason missed his second free throw, and soon the Knicks switched offense again.
David Wesley's defensive speed was indeed very fast, but he forgot to position himself in time, and Alan Houston easily made a cross pass.
Lee quickly followed up and received the ball on the right wing outside the three-point line.
Without waiting for the opponent's defense, he quickly converted a three-point jump shot!
"Swish!" The three-pointer went into the net!
Smooth offense, quick scoring, except for the two strong attacks by the gorilla, most of the Knicks' points came from transition offense.
At 1:16, the game seemed to have been decided!
Many Knicks fans at the scene began to celebrate the victory without caring that the game had just started.
The huge score difference made the Knicks' offense more and more smooth.
The second half of the game simply turned into an offensive show.
The Hornets rarely scored in open play, which allowed the Knicks to have plenty of transition opportunities.
After a quick advance, Lee rushed into the paint area and easily passed the ball to Ewing who followed behind, who received the ball and dunked successfully.
After receiving a long rebound, Lee crossed half court and accurately found Larry Johnson who was sneaking in, and made a layup under the basket.
The Hornets rarely completed their retreat, but in a simple pick-and-roll, Tony Farmer transitioned to help defense, and before he could reach the right blocking area, Lee made a behind the-back pass.
Oakley received the ball at the right elbow and made an open jump shot!
Jeff Van Gundy, who had been on the sidelines, clapped his hands excitedly, watching the Knicks' wave after wave of attacks, and was completely excited.
When the first quarter ended, most of the New York fans at Madison Square Garden stood up and cheered loudly for Lee who was leaving the court.
At 17:38, the first quarter ended and the game basically lost its suspense.
"My God! Unbelievable! In just one quarter, we witnessed a new record!"
"Lee played the entire first quarter, made 14 assists, and had only one turnover! It's unbelievable, I almost thought I misread the technical statistics!"
Commentator Mike Breen was a little confused and looked for a long time before confirming that there were indeed 14 assists.
On the Knicks bench, the atmosphere team was shouting and yelling along with the fans at the scene.
Starks was also dumbfounded. Even with the home court bonus, 14 assists was outrageous enough:
"Lee, how did you do it?"
Lee, who was holding a water bottle to replenish water, was puzzled when he heard this question:
"If the opponent misses the shot, we will counterattack. Everyone saw that I just passed the ball to the open teammate!"
"."
...
https://discord.gg/mjcCSyu7Yr
By the way, don't forget to throw power stones and leave a review to motivate me :)