Chapter 177 Congratulations, you almost defended me with only three people this time!
"Continuous switching of defenses and constant supplementary defense finally allowed the Bulls to complete the double-team. They played suffocating perimeter defense. Tonight's Bulls, their fighting will is extremely strong, which was first reflected on the defensive end." Bill.
Wharton praised.
"Yeah, it wouldn't be surprising at all if the Bulls win tonight," John Hanks said.
In the CCTV live broadcast, Zhang Heshi sighed: "Comparing the two teams, the Bulls are obviously in better shape. They are more focused and devoted to the game. The Suns' players are half a beat slower in reaction and are not very active in running.
It can't go on like this.
The Bulls' perimeter is inherently better than that of the Suns' perimeter, and now they have to find a way to restore the connection between the perimeter and the interior. Wang Tiejun tried to get in position under the basket several times, but just couldn't get the ball!"
"Then what should we do?" Sun Zhenping asked anxiously.
"Play more pick-and-rolls and use frequent moves to stretch the Bulls' defense, and there will always be a chance." Zhang Li said.
But in this game, until halftime, the Suns could not find a rhythm. They made as many as 9 turnovers in the half and the Bulls had 7 steals in the half.
At 38:54, the Bulls led by as many as 16 points at halftime.
In other words, the Suns can still maintain an advantage in rebounding, otherwise the point difference will be even greater.
Wang Tiejun played 7 minutes in the first quarter and was replaced because he couldn't get the ball inside and wasted his energy.
In the second quarter, he only played 9 minutes, while Jordan and Pippen played the entire first half and continued to implement suffocating defense on the Suns' perimeter. He still didn't have many opportunities inside.
In 16 minutes of the half, he had the ball 6 times, was fouled twice, made 3 of 4 shots, and 3 of 5 free throws, scoring 9 points and 7 rebounds.
Although he didn't play much, his physical energy consumption was not small. He had to fight for position in almost every offensive round, which consumed a lot of physical energy for nothing.
Barkley made as many as 3 turnovers in the double-team. He played 21 minutes in the half and made 5 of 14 shots, with a shooting percentage of only 35.7%. In addition, he made 2 of 2 free throws and scored 12 points and 8 rebounds.
The Suns returned to the locker room. The game was boring, the condition was not good, and the pressure was great. The physical exertion of the players was very great. No one spoke, only the sound of gasping one after another.
"Paul, what should we do in the second half?" Assistant coach Lewis asked nervously.
Westphal looked very unhappy. Not only was the player in poor condition, but he also did not come up with a good tactical solution.
After thinking about it, he said: "Fight one more quarter. If there is a chance to come back, keep playing. If it doesn't work, you have to give up."
"OK." Lewis nodded.
"How to solve Jordan's defense?" This is Westphal's biggest headache now.
Jordan switched positions to guard Kevin Johnson. He was 8 centimeters taller than the latter, had a wingspan of at least 20 centimeters, and weighed 15 kilograms. He completely enveloped the latter and constantly squeezed the latter's movement space through his body.
In terms of flexibility and mobility, he is not weaker than Kevin Johnson at all. His jumping ability is much stronger than the latter's, and his defensive ability is among the best in the league. Kevin Johnson has been completely locked up.
If Kevin Johnson is not released from Jordan's defense, not to mention this game, the following games will not be easy to play.
In the end, he could only resort to using more pick-and-rolls.
In the pick-and-roll, there is an outside pick-and-roll, but this does not create a mismatch advantage, and the Bulls also have Pippen on the outside, the same top outside defensive expert, so you cannot use an outside pick-and-roll, you must use an inside line to do the pick-and-roll.
Old K can't do it. He doesn't have long-range shooting ability, so he can only use Barkley.
The intermission ended, the game started, and the Bulls attacked.
"Bang!"
After returning from the break, his hand seemed a little colder. In the first half, he made 8 of 13 shots and 7 of 7 free throws. Jordan, who had already scored 23 points, missed a shot.
Wang Tiejun grabbed the rebound, saw Dan Malley coming down quickly, was one step ahead of Jordan, and quickly threw the ball over.
However, by the time Dan Malley received the ball, Jordan had already caught up. He was timid about the opponent's defense. He was a little afraid to take action against the opponent's defense, so he passed the ball to Kevin Johnson who was receiving the ball and lost the fast break opportunity.
.
"If this ball had been replaced by Jordan, no matter who the defender is, there is no reason not to play one-on-one. One-on-one is the fairest way to reflect personal strength." Zhang Li said with a smile.
In the positional battle, Wang Tiejun entered the low post, Barkley came up to the top of the arc to initiate a pick-and-roll, and Kevin Johnson, who was holding the ball, took the opportunity to get rid of Jordan.
At this time, Wang Tiejun had already entered the basket, squeezing Bulls backup center Wilperdo to the left and occupying the position under the basket.
"Whoosh!"
As soon as he got rid of Jordan, Kevin Johnson saw an opportunity under the basket, so he did not rush in again, but directly pushed with his hand, hit the ground and passed the ball in.
"Crack!"
Wang Tiejun held Perdo on his left elbow and caught the ball with his right hand.
"Bang!"
In the next moment, an iron mountain hit knocked Perdo away, and he finished getting up before Grant could pounce on him.
"Bang!"
"Beep!"
Smashing the basket with one hand, the two points were valid, and he also earned a beating foul from Perdo.
His Iron Mountain hit just now was no longer like before, where he knocked the person over with all his strength, which would consume more energy. Instead, he only knocked him away to give him the chance and space to get up.
It was precisely because he was not knocked over that Perdo had the opportunity to foul.
"Pick and roll?"
In front of the Bulls bench, Phil Jackson squinted his eyes in thought, then inserted his two little fingers into his mouth and blew hard. The rogue whistle immediately sounded, attracting the attention of the players on the court. Jordan was standing on the center line waiting for a free throw.
He ran over immediately.
"Pay attention to the pick-and-roll defense. They want to free up the No. 1 position. Don't let them succeed." Phil Jackson said after being given the opportunity.
"ok."
Jordan nodded and ran back again.
"Bang!"
The ball hit the basket and Wang Tiejun made an extra free throw.
41:54, the Suns are still 13 points behind, the Bulls attack.
Pippen broke through with the ball and passed a cross to Jordan on the right wing. The latter made a jump shot and hit a goal.
"The Suns can't guard against the Bulls. If they keep playing like this, even if they can score points, there's no hope of chasing them! The hole dug ahead is too big." Zhang Lijia sighed.
When the Suns attacked, Barkley came up to pick and roll, and Kevin Johnson used the wall to break through.
Perdo was originally on defense, but then he suddenly went forward, disrupting Wang Tiejun's rhythm and missing Kevin Johnson's passing opportunity. At this time, Grant switched defense, and he could only go to the left wing and left the paint area.
.
But as soon as he reached the left wing, he was blocked by Pippen. At this time, Jordan caught up again and was double-teamed. He could only protect the ball with his hands and could no longer dribble.
"Give me!"
Wang Tiejun had already returned to the low position on the left wing and shouted loudly from the side.
"Bang!"
Upon hearing this, Kevin Johnson, whose sight was blocked, quickly hit the ground and passed the ball from Jordan's feet.
Jordan took a handful but failed to catch it, so he quickly turned around and jumped in front of Wang Tiejun, completing a front-to-back double-team with Perdo.
At this time, Pippen was also in place, forming a three-man double team, sticking tightly to Wang Tiejun, and constantly squeezing him, not giving him any space. At the same time, six arms pressed on his head, preventing him from taking shots and passing the ball.
.
"Tiejun, knock them away!"
In the CCTV live broadcast, Zhang Lili suddenly shouted loudly.
Three people double-teamed him. At this moment, no teammate could help Wang Tiejun, but he did not give up. A trapped beast still fights, let alone a human being?
He leaned over to hold the ball in his arms, bowed his horse slightly, kept his right foot still, stepped back slightly with his left foot, slammed his feet down, twisted his waist and abdomen, and combined his six forces into one.
"Bang!"
There was no room to exert force at all. The tonnage of Perdo behind him was 110 kilograms. His upper body was only slightly tilted back by the impact, but his feet did not move.
But just this less than fifteen centimeters of backwardness bought him a little space to exert force. The next moment, the second iron mountain hit exploded.
The left foot moved forward again and inserted between Jordan's legs, and the six forces were instantly united.
"Bang!"
Jordan in front was only 98 centimeters tall, so he retreated.
"It's open!
Zhang Lili shouted excitedly.
"What?"
At this moment, including Jordan who was knocked away, the image of the four-and-one under the basket from the previous game flashed through their minds.
The moment after knocking Jordan away, Wang Tiejun had no time to breathe and was hit twice in a row, making his face turn red.
At this time, he stepped out with his left foot again, took a big step outward, and broke out of the three-man double team before Jordan and Perdo got close to him again.
Pippen, who was on the right, secretly pulled his right arm, but he wasn't strong enough and couldn't hold it.
Without dribbling, he stepped out in one step, and all three people on the double team fell behind him.
At this time, Barkley was under the basket, but instead of passing the ball, he took a step forward and jumped directly towards the basket.
Barkley, who was holding out his hands to catch the ball, took a look and quickly ducked down.
"Bang!"
With a one-handed dunk, the Bulls' basket was exploded.
"yeah!"
Two thousand away fans stood up and cheered wildly.
"Hoo ho ho..."
Lao Wang jumped off the floor, gasping for breath.
"Brother, you did a great job. You fucked them again and they can't stop you!" The excited Buckley hugged him and yelled.
"Hey, No. 23..." After Lao Wang regained his breath, he shouted to the black-faced Jordan.
"Kacha kacha..."
The media box behind the baseline was clicking the shutter frantically.
Dozens of the closest microphones stretched out toward Wang Tiejun and Jordan, like pitch-black gun barrels.
Several reporters in the front row even extended their arms directly into the court, and the referee quickly went over to stop them.
"..."
Jordan's eyes became sharp. What was this damn rookie going to say?
Wang Tiejun took another breath, and then continued: "Congratulations, you have made progress this time. It only took three people to almost guard against me."
"Pfft!"
Not only did Barkley laugh this time, but many of the media behind the line laughed directly.
"Shh!"
The Bulls fans behind the media box booed Wang Tiejun in dissatisfaction.
More than a dozen cheerleaders standing there rolled their eyes at Lao Wang in dissatisfaction, and a few even quietly raised their middle fingers to him.
"Damn boy!"
Jordan was so angry that he vomited blood, cursed fiercely, turned around and ran towards the frontcourt.
"It only took three people to almost guard me? Hahaha..."
In the live broadcast of ABC TV station, Bill Walton couldn't help laughing after receiving the news from the reporter below.
John Hanks laughed and said: "No wonder Michael's face is so ugly. If it were me, I might be so angry that I would vomit blood on the spot."
"What do you mean? Haha..." Bill Walton laughed even more.
"Damn it, couldn't the Bulls' interior defense be stronger? They were collectively beaten by Old K every time."
"If you can't defend me with a double team, don't do it. I don't want to hear the words 'you four almost guarded me' again."
"Old K has tricked me again, haha!"
"I'm a Bulls fan, but please, next time you double team, don't do it with five people together."
Countless American fans heard this trash talk through ABC's live broadcast, and they were angry, angry, happy, and ridiculed, just to name a few.
After this blow, the Bulls' morale declined, while the Suns' morale took advantage of the momentum.
After the third quarter, 68:76, the Suns regained 8 points and were still 8 points behind.
Wang Tiejun made 3 of 5 shots and 4 of 6 free throws in the second quarter, scoring 10 points and 3 rebounds.
Five shots were taken, one was a second offense under the basket, four were nearly two-point hook shots, and two were hit.
He got the ball ten times, and the Bulls fouled him under the basket. He made a lot of free throws and his shooting percentage was acceptable, over 60%.
In the CCTV live broadcast, Zhang Li said with a smile: "The Suns have been controlling the rebounds tonight. If it weren't for this advantage, they would have been beaten by the Bulls. Now they are 8 points behind, and there is still a chance to come back in the final quarter."
Sun Zhenping said: "Wang Tiejun played 28 minutes in the third quarter, making a total of 6 of 9 shots, 7 of 11 free throws, and scored 19 points and 10 rebounds. Coach Zhang, his 2010 numbers tonight are solid."
"That's definitely no problem, but if you can't win, the data is useless. Cutting in the air is the most annoying." Zhang Li said with a smile.
In the ABC live broadcast booth, John Hanks laughed and said: "The Bulls are too weak inside. Old K will defeat 2010 again tonight, and his performance in the finals will be stronger than the previous three series."
Bill Walton laughed: "Whether it's the Lakers, the Spurs, or the SuperSonics, their inside line is stronger than the Bulls, so it's not surprising that Old K performed better in the finals."
The two were talking, it was time to play.
The Bulls sent in backup center Scott Williams, and the Suns' Danny Ainge replaced Ceballos.
Head coach Westphal has decided to go all out tonight. With an 8-point gap, he has no reason to give up.
"Old K, are you okay?" Barkley asked with concern when he came on the court.
"If you're a man, there's nothing you can't do." After two minutes of rest, Lao Wang was still breathing slightly, but loudly.
In fact, he was very tired. Today's physical exertion was very huge. His calf muscles were already tight, as were his keys.
In the first half, the Bulls sent out several inside substitutes, taking turns to consume his physical energy, and every time they defended without hesitation.
In the third quarter, the Bulls began to double-team him, and his physical exertion was even greater.
Now at the end, he actually has very little physical energy left.
"Watch my distribution." He leaned over and said to Barkley.
"ok."
Buckley nodded quickly. From these words, he knew that Old K couldn't beat him.
"Should we change our defensive tactics?"
"I won't change it anymore. Old K is obviously lacking in physical fitness. My tactics are very successful and I will continue to double-team Barkley."
On the sidelines, in front of the Bulls bench, Phil Jackson was observing Wang Tiejun and Barkley through his glasses.
His defensive tactics were very successful today. Barkley made 7 of 20 shots and 3 of 4 free throws in the third quarter. He has only scored 17 points so far, with a shooting percentage of only 35%.
He then said to Scott Williams, who was walking towards the court: "Scott, you must do your best to guard against Old K alone."
Then he said to Jordan, Grant and others who were looking over: "Continue the original defensive tactics."
Jordan and others nodded and rushed onto the court one after another.
The final quarter of the game officially started, 68:76, the Suns attacked.
Lao Wang entered the low post on the left wing, and Scott Williams defended.
The two of them are one big and one small. Williams is only 208 centimeters and 105 kilograms, which is a lot smaller. It is impossible to carry him, but he still adopts the top defense that requires the most strength and tonnage. This is because the Bulls judge that Lao Wang has no physical fitness.
, In this way, his physical energy is further consumed.
The Bulls still mainly double-teamed Barkley. This tactic was successful. Barkley played very inefficiently tonight.
Therefore, because Lao Wang was out of physical fitness, Westphal arranged a low-post support and ball distribution tactic, that is, the ball went to Lao Wang first, and he attracted the defense and created open opportunities for his teammates.
The main idea is to use this tactic to liberate Barkley's side.
Entering the final quarter, Jordan and Pippen's physical fitness was naturally no longer sufficient, and their defensive intensity inevitably declined. It was impossible to maintain the terrifying ultra-high-intensity defense as in the first three quarters tonight.
In fact, with such a high-intensity defense, it is very good if it can last for half a half. They have already lasted one more quarter.
So now Kevin Johnson feels a lot less pressure and passes the ball quickly.
As soon as the ball came into Lao Wang's hands, he held Williams up with his left hand and grabbed the ball with his right hand and raised it high.
"No double-teaming?"
Pippen didn't come down, and there was no weak-side defense. After his physical fitness declined, the Bulls actually gave up double-teaming him?
The next moment, he suddenly turned upward and stepped seventy centimeters into the paint with his right foot. Even though his left arm was pulled by Williams, it could not stop him from getting up and hitting a front hook.
This time he didn't use the iron mountain to rely on, and he had no strength.
But without double-teaming, he was still confident in beating a fringe player like Williams in the low post, who was also a size smaller than him.
"Beep!"
When the ball flew toward the basket, the referee's whistle sounded.
"Whoa!"
The basketball went hollow into the basket, and the referee pointed his finger at Williams, making a pulling foul and an extra penalty shot.
"Scott, either let him take action or make him unable to take action. Choose one of the two. Don't make such a stupid choice again."
Jordan strode up to Williams and roared.
Williams is only 25 years old and a non-draft player. This is his third season. He had very few opportunities to play in the first two seasons. Only this season has he had more opportunities. After three seasons, he has been scolded countless times by Jordan. Now,
After being scolded by Jordan, he nodded repeatedly and did not even dare to speak.
Next, Wang Tiejun missed the extra free throw and Grant grabbed the backcourt rebound. 70:76, the Bulls attacked.