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Chapter 184: Knicks vs Thunder 4
🕑 Added 2025-06-12 20:54:25 +0000 UTC“Wait—straight switch?” Harden was just getting into the pick-and-roll with Ibaka when he realized something weird.
The Knicks didn’t even bother fighting through the screen.
Douglas, who had been trailing Harden, suddenly peeled off and chased Maynor instead. And Chandler? He just stepped right up into Ibaka’s chest like it was personal.
Fast. Clean. No hesitation.
Harden paused for a beat, confused. He was about to hit Ibaka on the roll—until Lin Yi suddenly appeared out of nowhere, swiping at the ball with his left hand.
“Damn!” Harden nearly turned it over.
This guy again?
Harden had already seen enough of Lin Yi’s perimeter defense during the summer runs. So he bailed. Quick pass to Durant.
At least KD’s got space.
Gallinari was guarding him. Same height, sure, but Durant had the edge in wingspan and quickness. No way Gallo keeps up if KD goes downhill.
So Durant went to work. Smooth crossover, quick burst.
Gallo couldn’t hang.
Durant got into the paint…
Only to see Lin Yi there again.
“What the—?!”
Durant almost cursed out loud. How the hell is this dude everywhere?
Fine. If Lin’s here, then Harden’s gotta be open.
Quick swing pass—
Nope.
Douglas stepped right into it like he knew it was coming.
Snatch. Easy steal. Knicks' fast break.
Two points.
Barkley chuckled from the commentary desk. “Okay, that defense was wild.”
Kenny Smith leaned in. “I mean, they’re switching fast, but there’s gotta be a weak spot, right?”
Barkley nodded. “Oh, there is. It’s Douglas. If OKC figures it out, they can isolate on him.”
Only problem?
Thunder didn’t figure it out.
Knicks went on a quick 6–0 run, and Coach Brooks had to burn a timeout.
That switch-heavy defense was throwing OKC off rhythm. Brooks needed to talk this out.
Meanwhile, on the Knicks bench...
“You good to go?” Lin Yi asked Harrington, who was loosening up.
Harrington gave a lopsided grin. “Man, I can’t do this every night. But once or twice? Yeah, I still got some juice left. I need one last contract after all.”
Harrington might’ve been a vet now, but he still had that old-school Warriors' edge. Back in that ‘We Believe’ team? Every guy on that squad played like they had beef with the world.
After the timeout, Brooks noticed something.
“Wait... Harrington’s in? Then who’s running point for them?”
Then he stopped himself. Dumb question.
This wasn’t normal basketball anymore.
Since Lin Yi showed up, D’Antoni’s whole coaching style had flipped on its head.
With Nash, he’d leaned into the pick-and-roll and that fast-paced Phoenix offense. With Harden and CP3 in the future, it was isolation-heavy, drive-and-kick stuff.
With Lin Yi?
Anything goes.
Even stuff D’Antoni never dared to try before now looked... possible.
To be fair, the man was always innovative. Except for, well... rotating his bench.
Game resumed. This time, OKC shifted the offense. The ball went to Harden.
James hit the brakes, crossed over, left Danny Green lunging the wrong way...
Bucket.
Danny winced. “My bad!” he mouthed, but too late—Harrington was already sprinting back to help.
Lin Yi didn’t waste time. Three quick strides past half-court and fired a pass to Gallinari.
Gallo barely caught it before he let it fly.
No hesitation.
Splash.
Durant’s eyes widened as the ball dropped through.
Gallo just smiled.
Welcome to the chaos.
"So it's not just Lin Yi pulling up from way downtown..." Kenny Smith chuckled. "Is this all part of D'Antoni’s plan or what?"
"Man, I don’t even know what the Knicks are doing anymore," Barkley said, shaking his head.
Defensively, Barkley could see the strategy—constant switching to force the Thunder stars into isolation. Take away their ability to create for others. But on offense? The Knicks were just plain weird.
"Looks like the idea is to push the pace, hunt for mismatches, and if someone’s open—even just a little—just let it fly," Kenny added. "They’re not trying to run with the Thunder, though. Not with Westbrook out there."
Without Westbrook on the floor, OKC's transition game slowed down a lot.
And rookie Harden? He had his moments, sure. He’d take it coast to coast once in a while, but with Durant on the team, Harden didn’t dare go rogue too much. That came later, once he got to Houston and the shackles were off.
If these three young guys had stayed together long-term? MVPs for all of them would’ve been a tough ask. None of them played like Klay, who thrived off the ball. Even future Warriors coach Steve Kerr admitted Curry and Durant weren’t the perfect fit, because KD needed the ball to be dangerous.
Honestly, if you wanted a pure spot-up sniper, Lin Yi would’ve told you straight up—Klay’s your guy.
And speaking of those battles out West... when Klay torched OKC, it got to a point where Thunder players just assumed any shot he took was going in. No exaggeration.
Now, back to the present—this Knicks team might not be better than the Thunder on paper, but they were playing like they didn’t care. They weren’t slowing down for anyone.
Thunder clanked a shot, Lin Yi grabbed the board, and just zipped a pass downcourt. You could see it on the Thunder players’ faces—they were starting to question reality on what a fast play was.
Oh yeah. Faster than fast.
Danny Green caught Lin Yi’s bullet pass. Most guys might’ve pulled it out and set up the play. Not Danny. Dude barely got minutes, and Coach said, “If you’re open—shoot. No hesitation.”
So Danny let it fly from the left wing. He wasn’t even totally sure it was going in, but hey, orders were orders.
"Screw it—chuck it!"
Boom—three-pointer in!
Thunder coach Scott Brooks was about to lose it.
What the hell?! This isn’t how basketball works! Durant was nowhere near the basket—why not just take it inside?
Brooks wasn’t the only one confused. Thunder fans at the arena looked around like, “What kind of play was that?”
Meanwhile, Green sprinted back, beaming. “I scored!” he shouted at Lin Yi.
“Nice one!” Lin Yi grinned, then quickly turned to rally his guys. “Same thing! Doesn’t matter if they’re there or not—if you can see the rim, let it fly!”
Harden overheard Lin Yi from the other side of the court.
“Bro… what kind of tactic is that?”
If he’d asked, Lin Yi might’ve replied, dead serious: “That’s what the future looks like. People chucking threes instead of open layups, leading to brickfests thinking they were Steph.”
The Knicks were scrappy, unafraid, and a little nuts.
Talent for talent? Thunder had more. But mindset? The Knicks were all-in.
What were they afraid of—missing 27 threes? That’s future Rockets’ trauma, not theirs.
This wasn’t the Finals. The Knicks were playing loose. Free. No pressure. And Lin Yi? He trusted this squad way more than he would’ve trusted those jittery future Rockets.
Basketball is about fighting—on defense, on the boards, even on shot selection.
If the Knicks could keep throwing off the Thunder’s rhythm, Lin Yi believed they could win this game.
Tactics weren’t set in stone anyway.
Water flows, ice breaks. You adapt. That’s how you win.
Lin Yi knew where OKC’s weak spots were. If attacking them over and over didn’t work? That just meant he needed to be better.
The Knicks' surprising success this season wasn’t a fluke.
D'Antoni could feel it. This team was different from last year’s mess.
At first, he thought he’d slowly build the offense around Lin Yi, develop a core, and play it safe. But Lin Yi’s fire and stubbornness changed everything.
To win a title, you need more than talent—you need that edge. That belief. That attitude.
And slowly, the Knicks started to have it.
