On October 2, 1999, before the preseason was about to begin, another blockbuster trade took place.
The Houston Rockets sent Scottie Pippen to the Trail Blazers in exchange for 6 players.
After the deal was completed, the Trail Blazers' salary also exceeded 70 million US dollars, and they became the only two teams in the league with exploding salaries, along with the Knicks.
The US dollar played a role again, and the Trail Blazers transformed gorgeously and became a strong contender for the championship!
After the deal, James Dolan also commented on it through his own MSG program:
"You can't win the championship with just US dollars. The Trail Blazers have not established a team culture at all!"
Compared with old Charles, James Dolan is much more active and likes to make his voice heard through MSG's own TV station.
It's just that talking too much sometimes offends people, and Paul Allen doesn't like to hear people say he is a rich kid!
Soon Paul Allen responded through The Oregonian:
"What was the Knicks' team culture like in the late 1980s and early 1990s?"
Hitting the nail on the head! Many basketball critics believe that the Knicks were lucky to draft an MVP-level player with the 18th pick.
The New York media was too lazy to refute these boring opinions.
The Chicago Bulls were the lucky ones!
The Bulls turned things around after getting Michael Jordan.
That was luck.
The Knicks drafted Clay Lee because they did a good job as a scout.
Many small-market teams were jealous again.
The Trail Blazers really had money.
In October, the Knicks had a total of 8 preseason games to play, and the first 4 games were all at Madison Square Garden.
The opponents were still Eastern Conference teams, just like in previous years.
The Trail Blazers' big move did not affect the good mood of New York fans.
The preseason tickets were sold out early, and the front-row tickets for the regular season were sold out long ago.
The average ticket price in the NBA is actually not high.
Last season, most teams were around $40, while the Knicks were $90.
The price increase did not stop the enthusiastic New York fans!
Not only are the tickets expensive, but the parking fee is also not cheap when you come to Madison Square Garden to watch the game.
When you enter the stadium, an ordinary hot dog, a normal beer, and a bottle of unremarkable soda are all more expensive than other teams.
The Knicks' championship hat is sold for 20 US dollars, but tourists who come to New York are willing to spend money.
A family of three will spend about 500 US dollars to watch the game in New York.
The seats will not be very good, and you may have to fight for tickets.
Although the Knicks have the highest salary in the league, the ticket price is also the most expensive in the league.
With the mutual offset, James Dolan did not feel the pain, but felt that he needed to spend more.
On October 8, the 76ers who flew to New York early did not focus on training.
Allen Iverson and his followers went into the nightclub that night.
The next day, the New York media revealed that Iverson spent more than 20,000 US dollars and enjoyed a night of carnival.
Larry Brown can't restrict Iverson's private life.
Fortunately, this is just a preseason game, so he can just turn a blind eye to it.
The 10th happened to be Sunday, and before 8 p.m., Madison Square Garden was full.
After the cheerleaders danced, they also began to cooperate with the staff to warm up the venue, constantly throwing championship T-shirts to the audience.
In the MSG commentary booth, since Marv Albert has not completely gotten rid of the scandal, Mike Breen is still the chief commentator this season:
"The 76ers did not make too many adjustments to the lineup during the offseason. It seems that coach Larry Brown is still very satisfied with the current lineup."
Walt Frazier, who was standing aside, took a look at the 76ers' roster and shook his head secretly in his heart, but on the surface he praised his opponent:
"After two seasons of running-in, the 76ers should realize their talent. Maybe they can go one step further this year!"
The two praised the 76ers after the Knicks in the commentary booth, trying to create an illusion of even strength for the fans.
However, after the game started, the 76ers were in a general state and missed shots.
After two days of high, Iverson's physical condition was not affected too much, but he was a little slow to warm up.
Iverson has completely transformed into a shooting guard.
After the opening, Iverson frequently shot.
Although it was just a preseason game, Larry Brown still wanted to win.
Tonight, he arranged a three-forward lineup to increase defensive mobility.
Billy Irving, who just joined the team, played at the 3rd position, George Lynch played at the 4th position, and Tyrone Hill became the 5th position.
This lineup just corresponds to the short inside players of the Knicks.
Larry Brown hopes that the team can speed up.
After three consecutive missed shots, Iverson immediately released the ball with his left hand when he received the ball on the left wing and broke through.
Relying on his extraordinary speed, Iverson almost wiped out Alan Houston's defense in the left blocking area.
He did not choose to shoot near the paint area.
Iverson continued to accelerate, as if he wanted to complete a layup under the basket.
Noticing Ben Wallace's quick rotation to the lower left of the basket, Iverson made a fake pass and immediately passed the ball to Tyrone Hill who was following up in the middle.
The latter received the ball and wanted to jump up and dunk in the paint area.
After grabbing the ball, he jumped into the air, but was firmly pressed down by Ben Wallace who turned back to defend.
"Oh!"
Ben Wallace's mobility in the interior made the New York fans at the scene exclaim.
After completing the front block and the basketball bounced to the floor, Kurt Thomas immediately controlled the ball.
With Larry Brown's shouting, the 76ers quickly retreated.
Compared with the previous two seasons, the most obvious improvement of the 76ers is the defensive discipline.
If it was the 76ers in the bad period, they would have been blown up by the Knicks' counterattack.
Larry Johnson dribbled the ball twice after receiving it, and then casually passed the ball to Clay Lee on the side.
The opponent quickly retreated, and the Knicks did not push for a fast break.
Lee, holding the ball in his right hand, slowly crossed half court.
After a few rounds of the game, Lee had completely found his feeling, and his metaphysical sense of position began to work.
On the left wing, Ben Wallace immediately stepped forward to screen and roll.
Eric Snow saw his teammate Hill following him, pointed to the position with his finger, and then prepared to squeeze through the screen.
Ben Wallace had just stood on the three point line, and Lee quickly pushed the ball and changed direction.
Tyrone Hill had just slid to switch defense, and Lee, who had switched to his left hand, led the ball to the right front again.
The basketball almost brushed Hill's fingertips as he passed in front of the opponent, and quickly squeezed through the two of them.
Lee quickly scooped the ball with his right hand, 45 degrees to the left, and went straight to the basket.
The mobility of the forward players is naturally better than that of the big men.
Although Hill, who was switched to defense, was out of position, he immediately gave physical confrontation, and then quickly slid to the left and back.
George Lynch also began to shrink back to the basket at this time, and the 76ers once again showed their defensive resilience.
However, contrary to the expectations of the two defenders, Lee, who was moving, suddenly dribbled behind his back without reaching the blocking area, and took a big step after switching to his left hand again, and then started directly against Hill who was twisting his body to defend.
Lee suddenly increased his stride, and Hill, who was attacked on his front foot, realized that he was out of position at this time.
Hill, who was twisting his body to defend, tried his best to block the shot and hoped to interfere with Lee's layup, but in the end he could only watch Lee hold the ball with his left hand, and easily completed the layup at the bottom left of the basket!
"Bang!" The high shot went into the net.
In the eyes of the fans at the scene, Lee's goal was very thrilling.
Tyrone Hill almost blocked the shot.
They exclaimed and then cheered loudly.
Lee, who scored the goal, felt extremely relaxed.
After a few rounds, after he figured out the opponent's athletic ability and adjusted the ball position, he would score a goal that was just a little bit away from being blocked.
At 4:12, the game had been less than 4 minutes, and the 76ers immediately requested a timeout.
Of course, there is no need to be so serious in the preseason, but Larry Brown's obsessive-compulsive disorder has occurred.
This famous coach really can't stand this easy score.
Artest on the bench was shaking his towel and shouting at this time.
In more than half a month of training games, he has been defending Lee and partnering with "Little Ben", but the two were abused every day.
I thought it was because of my lack of strength, but when I saw that the 76ers' defense was also like paper, Artest regained his confidence.
"It's amazing, I knew it wasn't my problem!"
Artest kept shouting on the sidelines, and suddenly fell into a state of self-excitement.
Assistant coach Thibodeau covered his head subconsciously.
After half a month of observation, he found some problems with Artest.
This new player is extremely emotional.
Moreover, the coaching staff could not predict whether the impact of this emotionality would be positive or negative.
This trait is destined to not become the real core of a team.
Fortunately, the coaching staff positioned Artest as a tool and did not expect this new player to become the team's third main attacker.
Artest, who regained his confidence, began to look forward to his appearance, and soon the opportunity came!
After Jeff Van Gundy realized that Lee was in excellent condition, he began to rotate constantly.
With 5 minutes and 42 seconds left in the first quarter, the Knicks' lineup became Chris Childs, Ron Artest, Toni Kukoc, Rashard Lewis, and Ben Wallace.
Iverson, who had not been able to find his touch, wanted to teach Artest a lesson in this attack and break through the defense.
Before he had time to be happy, Iverson was knocked to the floor by Artest, who was too excited and wanted to block the shot, when he was making a layup.
The fall was not light.
Artest's block didn't touch the ball at all, but hit Iverson's arm.
The brutal defense made the New York fans cheer loudly.
Iverson, who had just climbed up from the floor, was furious and immediately went up to push, but failed.
Artest, who was warned by the referee, felt that he was attacked by surprise, and turned around to rush to Iverson to give him two punches.
The 76ers players hurriedly pulled the boss behind them, and they were a little overwhelmed when they saw Artest suddenly becoming very emotional:
"Let me go! Let me teach that shorty who can only attack by surprise a lesson!"
Toni Kukoc helplessly hugged Artest who kept cursing.
His former teammate Rodman was cunning, but the one in front of him really wanted to swing his fist.
After the conflict, the emotional Artest competed with Iverson.
Facing a speed guard, he was really difficult to defend.
He received two fouls in half a quarter and also made his opponent lie on the floor three times.
Larry Brown was so angry about the referee's lenient call standards that he kept complaining after replacing the main lineup in the second quarter.
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