66:60, the Suns trailed by 6 points, and the Bulls attacked.
The Bulls' offense could only rely on Jordan and Pippen. This time Pippen missed a jump shot. Wang Tiejun protected the backcourt rebound and the Suns attacked.
Barkley singled out Grant, turned over for a jumper, and hit a mid-range shot.
Bulls attack.
"Hurrah!"
Phil Jackson inserted two little fingers into his mouth, blew the whistle, and after attracting the attention of the players on the court, he made a gesture.
This tells the field to speed up.
Soon, the Bulls quickly advanced to the frontcourt and started to attack. Wang Tiejun was a little slow and failed to keep up with the rhythm. Finally, Jordan broke through for a layup and got a goal back.
68:62, Suns attack.
"Don't worry, don't follow their rhythm, we are suppressing the fight."
Seeing Kevin Johnson advancing very quickly, he knew that the players on the court were starting to get impatient. Except for Danny Ainge, no one on the Suns had played in the Finals and had too little experience. Westphal quickly reminded him loudly.
After being reminded, Kevin Johnson stabilized his rhythm, came to the frontcourt, moved in a wide range, pulled from the top of the key to the right wing, and then pulled back, patiently waiting for Wang Tiejun to get into position.
Comrade Lao Wang is not in a hurry, and he really can't keep up on the defensive end, but on the offensive end, he controls the Bulls' inside line, which is a sure thing, so he also deliberately controls his speed and tries not to waste precious physical energy.
At the 17th second of the attack time, he dropped low on the left wing, passed the ball in, and grabbed it with one hand with his right hand.
At this time, he faced upward and saw that Grant had come from the weak side to help defend, Barkley was empty, and from above, Pippen was also coming down to double-team. The Bulls actually implemented a three-person double-team on him. This is really impressive.
he.
He suddenly hooked the ball with his right hand to the front of the basket. Barkley just cut Grant with his back, received the ball in the air and completed a dunk.
68:64, the Suns trailed by 4 points.
The Bulls' offense and transition between offense and defense are still at a fast pace, and they deliberately exploit Wang Tiejun's weakness of not being able to keep up with the rhythm.
However, this attack failed. When Jordan broke through with the ball and reached the basket, Barkley blocked the shot from behind. He collected the ball and avoided the block. While flying under the basket, a difficult shot came.
made a backhand layup with the lever, but missed, and Barkley got the rebound.
"The Bulls are speeding up, but there is also a weakness. Whether it is the main center Carter White or the substitute Mark West, they are more than 30 veterans. The former's speed is not as fast as that of Old K, and the latter cannot be as fast.
Old K is faster, so although the Bulls have increased their speed, they have not actually formed an advantage in the frontcourt with more players and fewer players." Bill Walton said at this time.
John Hanks nodded and said: "Old K is indeed not fast, but the Bulls themselves do not have a fast center.
And we can’t just consider offense. On the defensive end, the center’s size is too small, and it’s simply not enough for Old K. I guess Mark West won’t last long.”
Wang Tiejun once again got the ball in the low post on the left wing, but he found that Mark West relaxed his defense on him. Is this, are you afraid?
He immediately dribbled the ball and relied on the ball. Mark West did not block the ball and retreated from the side. The intensity of the confrontation was gone.
At this time, the Bulls' defensive formation quickly shrank toward the basket, including Jordan and Pippen, who rushed into the paint, leaving only point guard B.J. Armstrong outside.
"Four to one?!" Zhang Lili shouted in surprise.
Of course Wang Tiejun saw that the Bulls wanted to surround him under the basket. How could he let his opponent get what he wanted?
After successfully taking a big step into the paint area, he was only one and a half meters away from the basket. He turned around directly, held the ball in both hands, pressed Mark West and jumped up.
Mark West wanted to jump to block the shot, but Wang Tiejun hit him with overwhelming force. The huge force of the impact knocked him to the ground without any chance to take off.
"Bang!"
When Jordan and the other three rushed to the basket, Wang Tiejun just completed a two-handed dunk. When his huge body swayed forward, several people were frightened.
"Mr. Qiaodan, the air-cutting king, are you here to collect his body?"
Pointing to Mark West at his feet, he said with a cold face.
"Get away!"
In anger, Jordan suddenly came up and pushed Wang Tiejun.
However, he did not push Lao Wang. Instead, Lao Wang grabbed his right wrist and could no longer struggle.
Under Lao Wang's backhand pull, Jordan's arm joints were restrained, and he was helpless to resist. He immediately staggered around, spinning around the former in a very awkward manner.
"Let me go." Jordan yelled angrily.
"Sir, this bastard tried to attack me. Now that I caught him, you can punish him." Lao Wang complained to the referee.
"Pfft!"
Barkley and others laughed.
The referee twitched his face and motioned for him to let go, but did not call a technical foul.
Mark West was pulled up, but he couldn't hit him anymore. When his back hit the floor, an old back injury occurred.
Phil Jackson had a big head and injured two centers in a row. He didn't have many available inside players, but the game wasn't over yet. There was still a whole series ahead, so we were in trouble!
He replaced it with Spencer gold, which is 211 centimeters and has a tonnage of only 105 kilograms.
In the Bulls' 12-man playoff roster, including main center Carter White and main power forward Grant, he selected a total of six insiders and even compressed the back line for this purpose. He has made the most adequate preparations, but
It's still not enough now.
Now that two are injured, there are still four insiders left. Who knows how long these four can last? Now he only hopes that Cartwright and Mark West can come back soon.
The game starts and the Bulls attack.
Under Dan Marley's desperate defense, Jordan failed to successfully break through with the ball, so he tried a three-pointer but failed to hit it.
Wang Tiejun dominated the basket, stuck Spencer King behind him, and protected the rebound.
As usual, he had just dunked a ball and would not hit it this time, but he was in the low post on the left wing, demanding the ball.
This is because Mark West did not work hard on defense just now. His physical energy consumption in that attack was very small, so he did not need to recover blood.
Spencer King didn't want to get hurt, so he also gave up strong confrontation and adopted a forward defense.
Wang Tiejun made an iron pass from behind, easily shaking the opponent's center of gravity, and then took the opportunity to turn around and cut towards the basket.
"Bang!"
At this time, the ball was in the hands of Barkley on the right wing. He threw the ball with one hand and performed an alley-oop dunk with Wang Tiejun.
68:68, the two teams tied.
Next, Jordan hit a mid-range shot, turned around, and Wang Tiejun went directly to the basket. Under the double-teaming of Spencer King and Grant, he successfully dunked and caused a foul on Spencer King.
Phil Jackson discovered a serious problem. Whether it was Spencer King or Grant, it was obvious that the defensive strength of the old K was weakened. Even if it was a double-team under the basket, they only used their hands and did not dare to do so.
It's close to the body and has no strength at all. What's the use of such a double team?
This time, Old K didn't knock the defender away, he got up directly from the double team and completed the dunk, making it a two plus one without having to expend any physical energy.
If we play like this, Lao K can't take twenty or thirty shots at the basket in a game?
He called timeout again.
Not only did he discover this problem, but many professionals also discovered this problem.
Bill Walton said in surprise: "Obviously, Old K's deterrent power has begun to show. His strong confrontation has made the Bulls' insiders start to feel intimidated and dare not confront him.
If he is allowed to attack the basket like this, the Bulls will definitely lose, even if Jordan and Pippen score 100 points together, it will be useless, because K will score more points under the basket."
In the CCTV live broadcast, Zhang Liji also said: "Wang Tiejun's style of play limits his number of attacks to not too many, but if the Bulls do not engage in strong confrontation with him, this restriction will be greatly weakened and his scoring ability will be greatly reduced."
Explosive growth.”
Although Phil Jackson called a timeout in time, he found that he had no way to solve the problem because it was not a tactical issue.
Tactics can solve many problems on the basketball court, but there are always some superstars whose abilities cannot be suppressed by tactics. For example, Jordan's offense, such as the postman's elbow, and Old K's strong confrontation cannot be solved by tactics either.
problem.
This problem can only be solved by using type players, there is no other way.
And now, where can he find a human shield that can fight against Old K?
If the inside players are forced to have a strong confrontation with the old K, then there will be two consequences. First, the players will not obey and fall out directly, or they will violate the rules. Second, the players will obey, but none of them are human shields, so it is very likely that they will fall out again.
When an injury occurs, neither outcome is what he wants to see.
Of course, he also knows very well that as long as he can withstand a period of time when Old K is full of physical energy, the Bulls will win the opportunity to counterattack, but he also knows that Old K can recover quickly after his physical energy is exhausted, but he
No one can guarantee the damage caused and whether the injured players can recover in time.
He could take a gamble and force the players to consume Old K's physical strength at the cost of injury, but he couldn't afford the result because this was a series.
"Cut him!"
In the end, he could only choose the solution that was not the solution.
"Bang!"
Disappointed and angry, Jordan kicked the chair.
He is extremely disappointed with his teammates, especially his teammates in the post. The inside has lost its ability to fight. Doesn't the Bulls' penalty area allow their opponents to do whatever they want?
Therefore, in the next game, Wang Tiejun frequently went to the free throw line.
As the whistle blew, the G1 game of the finals ended, 108:116. The Suns trailed by 6 points at halftime and now won by 8 points, leading by 14 points at halftime.
"Pa bang bang..."
At the end, more than 10,000 home fans burst into enthusiastic cheers and applause.
"Haha, we won! We won!" Barkley was extremely excited. He actually defeated Jordan, who had suppressed him all his life, in the finals.
"Brother, don't get too excited, this is the first show." Lao Wang went over and poured a basin of cold water on it.
"Yes, yes, I know that, but this is a good start and we will continue to win." Barkley shouted excitedly.
Looking at the Suns and home fans celebrating crazily, an exhausted Jordan was extremely reluctant.
What he was even more unwilling to do was that in the next series, the Bulls would continue to face some of today's problems without any good solutions, which made him very disappointed and angry.
Before, he hated the old teammates Jerry Krause traded with him to win the championship, but now, he's filled with disappointment in them.
"It's not easy, the Suns won the G1 game."
After Zhang Lili praised him, he concluded: "Because the Bulls stopped engaging in confrontation, Wang Tiejun's physical exertion was not too great and he played the full 24 minutes in the second half.
In 36 minutes, he made 10 of 13 shots, a shooting percentage of 66.9%, and 14 of 23 free throws, a shooting percentage of 60.8%. He scored 34 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls.
His 34 points are his highest score in the playoffs, and this is the finals, so this score is even more valuable."
Sun Zhenping said: "Barkley made 9 of 18 shots, 4 of 5 free throws, and scored a double-double of 22 points, 21 rebounds and 2 assists. Coach Zhang, the performance of the two of them is indeed extraordinary."
Zhang Liji said with a smile: "The two teamed up to score 56 points and 36 rebounds. In terms of scoring, they completely overwhelmed the Bulls' inside line. They also controlled the rebounds. When there were too many mistakes on the outside, they used rebounds to ensure the ball."
The team does not lag behind the Bulls in the number of shots. This is the most important guarantee for the Suns to win. If you win rebounds, you can win."
At this time, Bill Walton said in the ABC live broadcast: "Old K got a lot of free throw opportunities in the second half, but his free throw percentage reached 60%. I don't think the slashing tactic is a good tactic to deal with him.
Not confronting Old K allowed him to complete the offense without consuming a lot of physical energy. Old K's physical energy was preserved, so he got a lot of offensive opportunities. He actually scored 34 points in the finals. This is the real Bulls team.
Suicide tactics, I don’t agree with Phil Jackson’s tactical choice.”
John Hanks said: "When Old K meets those first-class light offensive centers, the three super centers, O'Neal and Mourning, even if he can score 2010, he still can't
You will be beaten by these opponents, and you will even get higher scores on your head.
When he encounters strong opponents, he loses more points than he scores. This is why the league and the media do not currently recognize that his strength has reached a first-class level, because defense is his shortcoming.
But the Bulls do not have such a center, so the Bulls are a pure loser at his position. The Bulls lost at least 20 points at No. 5 tonight. Otherwise, Jordan and Pippen scored 67 points together, how could they still lose?
What about the competition?”
Bill Walton shook his head and said: "The Bulls paid a huge price because of their cutting tactics. Two of the inside men were sent off for six fouls, and the remaining two committed four and five offenses respectively. But even so, they still lost.
Contest.
Jordan tried his best and made 17 of 34 shots, a hit rate of 50%. He made 0 of 3 three-pointers and 11 of 11 free throws. He scored 45 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls. His performance was very good.
, invincible offensively and defensively, but it is still difficult to save the team’s failure.”
John Hanks continued: "Pippen made 10 of 20 shots, the same shooting percentage as Jordan, and made 2 of 2 free throws. He scored 22 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 5 fouls.
The two took 63% of the team's shots and jointly scored 67 points and 12 rebounds, which is better than Wang Tiejun and Barkley's data, but they are outside players after all and are not as efficient as the Suns."
Bill Walton said: "The Suns were able to win the game. In addition to the fact that no one in the Bulls could compete with Old K, there was another important reason. They grabbed 50 rebounds, while the Bulls only had 32, a difference of 18 points.
A rebound.
It was these 18 rebounds that helped the Suns get enough shots. Otherwise, with their outside performance, it would be difficult to win.
It can be said that if it were not for rebounds, no matter how strong the Suns were inside, they would not be able to beat the Bulls. After all, they would only win by 8 points.
In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bulls did not do well on rebounds in the first few games. The biggest difference was 20 rebounds in a single game. However, as the rebounds got better and better, the Bulls also turned defeat into victory.
Now it's the same situation again. If the Bulls do a good job of rebounding, they still have a chance to turn defeat into victory."
John Hanks said: "In terms of steals, the Suns only had 5 steals, while the Bulls had 11. The Suns turned the ball over 18 times, while the Bulls only had 10. In terms of blocks, the Bulls only had 6, while the Suns had 8.
In short, on the outside, both offensive and defensive ends, the Bulls have a complete advantage. If it weren't for the huge difference in rebounding, it would be difficult to lose in the G1 game."
"Inside, if the Bulls lose this series, it will definitely be in the inside. But the problem in the inside is not the lack of scoring, but the inability to control rebounds. This is the most fatal problem." Bill Walton said.
John Hanks laughed at this time and said: "Old K grabbed 15 rebounds tonight. If he knew the current situation, would Mr. Jerry Krause be willing to offer Old K an offer that he couldn't refuse?"
And what about the big contracts that the Suns can’t keep up with?”
"Haha..." Bill Walton laughed.
"I really should have offered him a No. 1 pick contract comparable to O'Neal's. Colangelo probably wouldn't have signed with him at that time."
At this time, Jerry Krause on the sidelines murmured.
O'Neal's athletic talent is of course unmatched by Old K, but now Old K is a little better than O'Neal, but it is not his low post play, but his strong confrontation ability.
That kind of strong confrontation is really enough to make any inside player who is not strong enough to retreat and fear like a tiger.
This ability is something O'Neal, who weighed 125 kilograms in his rookie season, does not possess.
On the sidelines, Wang Tiejun was conducting a post-game interview on ABC TV.
"Old K, the Suns won the G1 game. You scored 34 points and 15 rebounds in the first finals. What do you think of the Bulls' strength?" a reporter from ABC asked.
When talking about this issue, he immediately became serious and said seriously: "We won tonight not on offense, let alone defense, we won on rebounds.
Judging from the final outcome of the Eastern Conference Finals, if we cannot maintain this advantage, we may follow in the footsteps of the Knicks."
He didn't talk about the Bulls, but his answer still satisfied the ABC reporter.
The reporter asked again: "What changes do you think the Suns need to make for the next series?"
He thought for a while and said: "I don't know about this. I just execute the tactics, how to play, and what tactics to play. It's not our players' problem, and I don't understand it either."
"Do you think the Suns can finally win the series?" the reporter finally asked.
"Why not? The Bulls are too weak inside, which is a flaw. They may be able to grab enough rebounds from the Knicks to win, but it won't work for us. We won't let them take it away.
More rebounds, rebounds are the guarantee for our victory." He smiled.
On the other side, Barkley also accepted live interviews with several reporters.
"Charles, you only took 18 shots tonight, which is far less than the number of times Old K got the ball, and your shooting percentage is not low. Why is that?"
asked a Chicago reporter.
"If I had taken more shots than Lao K today, the victory would not have been ours."
Barkley was sober and only won by 8 points. The win was a fluke. His shooting percentage was only 50%, while Old K exceeded 60%, so Old K should have taken more shots.
For him, the championship is everything and the most important thing.
The current team's tactics, as Old K's offense gets better and better, will increasingly favor traditional center tactics. Old K is also the future core of the Suns. He cannot change this and is powerless to change it.
If you forcefully try to change, you might be traded one day. The Suns management will definitely do that, just like the Philadelphia management traded him.