Should they simply copy the previous game plan, hand the Timberwolves another loss, and leave Edwards brooding for a while?
Or should they take a different route, try another experimental approach, and see whether the team had more possibilities?
Or perhaps they could simply play dumb, lose a game, and throw up a smokescreen for their other potential rivals. In theory, any of those options could work.
With a blast of the referee's whistle, the game officially began.
The Knicks won the opening tip at center court.
For some reason, Towns was noticeably a beat slow to react, which directly cost the Timberwolves possession on the opening play.
Fortunately, the outcome of a single jump ball probably wouldn't have much bearing on the final result.
In the Knicks' backcourt, Rose received Toppin's pass, quickly dribbled across half court, and initiated the offense against Oladipo at the top of the key.
He dribbled in place, waiting for Chen Xi to come up from the wing off a screen, then delivered a steady pass.
Chen Xi caught the ball on the wing at a forty-five-degree angle.
Keeping his pivot foot planted, he made a half-turn to face Edwards's defense.
He threw in a jab step, then gathered the ball and raised it into a shot fake, successfully shifting Edwards's weight before immediately putting the ball down and driving.
His lightning-fast first step carried him straight to the elbow.
With one hand, he lightly tossed the ball forward toward the right side of the free-throw line, then immediately followed it.
As he gathered the ball, he swept it upward and stepped into a Euro Step.
With his speed and sudden change of direction, he slipped effortlessly past Towns into the paint, then jumped and laid it in for a clean two points.
Chen