At this time, the lights in the stadium dimmed, leaving only two bright spotlights pointing at the exit of the players' tunnel.
In the player tunnel, a team of security personnel separated the starting players of the two teams.
The eyes of Wang Tiejun and the postman continued to exchange views through the security guard, full of sparks.
"Now, let us welcome Old K, the leader of the Four Evil Men, to the stage." At this time, the host's passionate voice sounded outside, and earth-shattering boos immediately erupted from the scene.
"I x, are you trying to prove my reputation as a villain?" Lao Wang cursed angrily and rushed out of the player tunnel.
Like a giant beast, he broke into the flock of sheep, arousing countless wails.
Yes, in his opinion, these boos were the wails of the Jazz.
After Lao Wang, there is Dan Marley, then Glider Drexler, and the fourth one is Danny Manning. As the core of the previous team, Kevin Johnson made the final appearance.
In the order of appearance, the first is the core on the field, the fifth is the leader of the locker room, and of the remaining three positions, the third is higher.
The order in which the five people appear is also their own choice.
Lao Wang respects Kevin Johnson very much and chose the first one.
Dan Marley has the lowest strength among the five. He is not actually a star player, nor is he a leader in the locker room. He was chosen second.
Although Danny Manning was the No. 1 pick, his performance could not be called a superstar. He was only at an average All-Star level. He was not qualified to play third. He was selected fourth, and the third was given to the real superstar Drexler.
After playing, Lao Wang and others went over to the Jazz half court and chatted with Tom Chambers for a while. The Jazz players glared at them and did not dare to come over to chase them away, which only made Chambers very embarrassed.
At eight o'clock, the game officially begins.
Wang and Jazz center Felton Spencer jump ball.
Spencer is 216 centimeters tall and 125 kilograms. He was originally 120 kilograms. He gained five kilograms in the offseason for the team's needs.
This tonnage is not enough to withstand the two giant beasts, Lao Wang and O'Neal, but if the tonnage is larger, the mobility and flexibility will be sacrificed too much. Pure human shields are useless against the two giant beasts. Some human shields last season have proved
got this point.
He was the No. 6 pick in the first round of 1990, but his strength is average. Last season's statistics were 88, his scoring ability and defense were average, and his rebounding was okay. Otherwise, the Jazz would not be willing to let him become a human shield.
Let him be used as a human shield. His own defense is poor. The Jazz don't expect him to be able to block Lao Wang. He is just using waste. It doesn't feel bad if he is not used. There are too many people like this in the league. This is also the fault of role players and marginal people.
The sad part.
"Crack!"
Lao Wang moved the ball away and the Suns attacked.
He bypassed Spencer in front of him and was about to run towards the basket. Postman Malone came and blocked his way. Spencer, who was not as fast as him, took the opportunity to retreat to the basket.
Glancing at the thick scar that curved like a centipede on the postman's bald head, he used trash talk to stimulate him: "Postman, are you afraid of confronting me?"
The postman's scalp twitched, his eyes flashed sharply, and he said coldly: "Old K, don't be proud, sooner or later I will settle the score with you."
At this time, Lao Wang entered the paint area, Spencer stepped forward, and the postman ran to Danny Manning, who was one step inside the right wing three-point line.
Lao Wang paused below the free throw line, with Spencer behind his back to ask for the ball. One step in front of him was Jazz point guard John Stockton.
Knowing that Kevin Johnson did not have a three-pointer and had great breakthroughs, Stockton took a step forward to prevent breakthroughs rather than shots, but got closer to Wang Tiejun.
At this moment, Wang Tiejun quietly made a gesture, and after meeting Kevin Johnson's eyes, he suddenly turned around and stepped towards Spencer, the human shield behind him.
At this time, Kevin Johnson took the ball with both hands and pushed it inward, and the ball flew from Stockton's head to the basket.
Lao Wang turned around and took a step to fly up. At this time, the ball slipped from above. His right hand caught up with the ball from behind and pressed forward.
"Bang!"
After the alley-oop dunk, the basket shook violently.
"Beautiful! This is a difficult alley-oop dunk."
Bill Walton praised: "If it was Old K last season, he might not be able to complete such an alley-oop. He didn't have such good coordination at that time.
Obviously, his athleticism is improving step by step, which allows him to complete more complex technical movements."
John Hanks said: "It is very obvious that Felton Spencer cannot guard against Old K at all. If the postman does not come by himself, the Jazz will definitely lose and there will be no possibility of winning from the Suns."
"Yes, the Suns only need to beat Old K. It's too easy for Old K to beat Spencer in isolation. He doesn't need to use a heavy hit at all. He can use his mobility to defeat the opponent and get rid of him.
The opponent cuts to the basket, which consumes very little physical energy." Bill Walton nodded.
John Hanks said: "The Postman has made preparations to fight against Old K. According to media reports, he conducted arduous training to gain weight during the offseason. His current weight is 127 kilograms. He is known for his strength. In terms of weight, he
If the difference is not big, the strength should be stronger than Old K, at least not weaker than Old K. He should defend himself against Old K."
Bill Walton said with a serious face: "The league is entering a cruel tonnage competition. Slender insiders have lost their living environment in the paint area. Even the three super centers have been affected. Their offensive methods are more
Many of them occurred outside the paint, which affected their efficiency.
Old K is said to have gained weight to 129 kilograms, and O'Neal should be close to 140 kilograms now. There is no exact data, but the heaviest player in the league is not them, but Oliver Miller, who was just traded by the Suns. His tonnage is 150 kilograms."
"He's turned into a ball," said John Hanks.
"Pfft, haha..." Bill Walton, who looked serious, couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
Jazz offense.
The Suns switched defense on the outside, and Drexler switched to guard Jeff Hornacek.
His defense is better than Dan Marley's, with good wingspan, strong stealing ability, and very defensive pressure. He is specially allowed to defend the Jazz's outside scoring points.
On the right wing, Stockton broke through with the ball, dribbled with his left hand, elbowed Kevin Johnson away with his right elbow, then stepped on him, stomping on him hard, and then broke through.
"What the hell!"
Kevin Johnson was so angry that his eyes were red after being plotted against by evildoers.
Stockton burst out of the paint, and the postman came over to pick and roll. Then he received the pass, swung his elbows, and under the sweep, Danny Manning turned pale and retreated, and he took the shot calmly.
"roll!"
A big hand appeared and instantly slapped the ball away.
But it turned out that Lao Wang made up for it from the inside. Although the speed of level 77 is not too fast, it is definitely top-notch at the fifth position. It is still possible to cover the two-point area outside the paint area, but only to the three-point line.
Somewhat difficult.
After being slapped, the postman was so angry that his nose became crooked, especially when the person who slapped him was his enemy, Lao K. This made him so angry that his face turned pale.
Bill Walton smiled and said: "This time the defense was good. Old K's mobility is not his shortcoming now, it can even be regarded as his strength.
Among centers, he is only weaker than the three super centers. O'Neal may be a little faster than him, but not much faster."
John Hanks said: "O'Neal has gained weight for two consecutive seasons, and his athletic quality now is not as good as when he first entered the league. To be honest, looking at his recent performance, I don't even think he is faster than the old K.
And this is the change brought about by Lao K. He continues to gain weight, forcing his opponents to continue to gain weight, and a tonnage competition begins.
What I want to say is that you need to be mentally prepared to gain weight, especially for a big center like O'Neal. When the weight is too heavy, the load on the body will also increase, especially the pressure on the knees, which can easily cause Injuries.”
Bill Walton nodded, but said: "But if they don't gain weight, they won't be able to fight against Old K in the penalty area."
John Hanks suddenly laughed and said: "But after Lao K gained weight, his athletic quality actually improved. After other people gained weight, it was completely the opposite. He was a monster."
"Ha ha……"
Bill Walton laughed and said: "This phenomenon of his can only be attributed to the tapping of potential, but this potential should have reached its limit. If he gains weight in the future, his athletic quality will also decline."
What he said is half right. Lao Wang's weight limit is 135 kilograms. Although there is still 6 kilograms of room for weight gain, some of his athletic qualities have reached their limits.
For example, speed, flexibility, jumping, etc. have all reached the ceiling, and some other qualities are also close to the limit. The remaining 6 kilograms of weight gain and systematic training can only ensure that these qualities do not decline.
Of course, it is terrifying to be able to gain 6 kilograms of weight without declining in athletic quality. In fact, it is also a way to explore potential.
If this kind of thing happened to O'Neal, with a tonnage of 140 kilograms and his athletic quality could remain at the level of a tonnage of 130 kilograms, it would be an even more terrifying beast. Lao Wang would not be able to fight against it and would be crushed directly. scum.
At this time, 4 minutes into the first quarter, 10:6, the Suns led by 4 points on the road, and it was the Suns' possession of the ball.
Lao Wang made several shots, scored two goals in the low post, sent out an assist, and grabbed two rebounds, one of which was an offensive rebound.
In addition, Jazz's human shield center Spencer was injured by Old K and could not get up.
The Jazz called a timeout early and head coach Jerry Sloan replaced Spencer.
Spencer couldn't guard against Lao Wang at all, and his mobility was inferior to that of the boss. Lao Wang didn't have to rely on hard hitting to defeat him. He could just get rid of him and attack.
The Suns' lineup also has a very strong ability to spread the ball. If the Jazz wants to double-team Lao Wang in the low post, it is also quite difficult with Lao Wang's ball speed and ability to assist.
Sloan could only let Karl Malone defend Wang, and replaced Tom Chambers at power forward.
The Jazz still prepared some inside players, and the substitutes are adequate, but their quality is not up to par.
Of course, in fact, the Jazz are short of a center. Karl Malone's offensive area is outside the paint area and there are not many low post plays. He is a power forward.
Jerry Sloan specifically warned Malone, saying: "Karl, I need you to be tough on the defensive end, but that guy is an absolute violent man, he is a madman, you have to pay attention to propriety, don't move your elbows too much, don't rush for vital points.
Go, don't let him find excuses to deal with you. So don't suffer a loss at his hands, we have already suffered too many losses at his hands."
The postman nodded expressionlessly.
Other Jazz players also looked weird.
Once upon a time, people in the league looked down upon the postman's iron elbows. No matter how tough the players were, they had to stay away and were stained with blood. He was nicknamed Dr. Iron Elbows because of this. Unexpectedly, now it's time to exercise caution when using elbows.
the point.
The timeout ends and the game begins.
In the Suns' frontcourt, on the left wing in the low post, Wang Tiejun and Karl Malone faced off, and all the attention was on them.
In the 1992/93 season, the two faced off once, and the postman was the first to use his elbow. But that time, Lao Wang struck first and struck hard, knocking the postman unconscious with one elbow.
Last season, the Postman threatened to deal with Lao Wang off the court. Lao Wang also took the initiative and challenged him off the court, giving the Postman a three-month break.
This time, it can be regarded as the second confrontation between the two, but it can also be regarded as the first confrontation, because the first time is not a complete confrontation.
"Want to challenge each other?" Lao Wang challenged.
"..."
When he heard the word singled out, the postman felt his scalp suddenly twitching and painful. He gritted his teeth and swallowed Lao Wang's rubbish.
At this time, Kevin Johnson's ball came down and was caught by Lao Wang with one hand with his right hand. The next moment, the back-up started.
"Bang!"
After being beaten once, the postman actually carried him down without even taking a step back.
Of course, this was a tentative back-and-forth fight, and he did not use his full strength. He did not even use the iron-mountain back-and-forth technique.
"Nothing more than that!"
After blocking the first hit, the postman's confidence soared.
And the next moment, the second call came.
This time, Lao Wang used nine points of strength, and Tieshan also used his strength.
"Bang!"
Amidst the impact, the postman couldn't help but loosen his feet, and his back foot involuntarily stepped back a foot.
The next moment, the third series of attacks broke out.
This time, Lao Wang used all his strength, leaving no trace of strength behind. He wanted to take advantage of the postman's center of gravity to knock the dog away and give him a disastrous blow.
The strength of level 98 is combined with the explosive power of level 80, matched with the huge tonnage of 129 kilograms, and finally there is a 10% bonus of Tieshan's fighting strength. At this moment, he is like a crazy rhinoceros, with his left shoulder and back moving fiercely.
With such force, it hit the postman hard on the left chest.
"Bang!"
Amidst the extremely heavy impact, the postman groaned as he was hit, and his extremely thick chest was instantly crushed by the huge explosive force.
And as he exerted great force, his body flew backwards uncontrollably, like a big tree uprooted by an invisible giant hand.
"How is that possible?"
At this moment, the postman couldn't believe that he had been knocked away.
"oh!"
The moment he saw the postman fly backwards, the exclamations from the Delta Center Arena were like a hurricane, sweeping across and unstoppable.
"Kacha kacha..."
In the media box behind the baseline, intensive shutter sounds rang out.
It was said that he was knocked away, but in fact he was knocked over. The postman only slid two feet in the air. He landed with his feet first. He kicked off and his upper body slid three feet when he landed. He was very experienced and had sufficient self-protection, so he did not suffer any damage.
The postman who fell on the floor was dazzled by the countless lights from the ceiling, and then a black shadow suddenly appeared in his sight, flying over him like a big bird.
"Damn it!"
He knew what happened and couldn't help but cursed.
"Bang!"
Wang Tiejun flew directly over the postman and slammed the entire Delta Center Arena into silence with a two-handed dunk, leaving only the crazy cheers from the Suns bench.
The postman on the floor immediately got up. The next moment, Lao Wang let go of his hands and fell from the basket.
"Hey, you react so quickly?"
He was a little surprised to find that the postman had run away. He also wanted to ride the postman and give him a crotch humiliation. This didn't give him a chance.
He was panting a little, and his physical energy was consumed a lot in that moment.
This is the first time he has gone all out this season. After his tonnage and strength have increased, it is the first time he has gone all out, and the result is not bad.
However, he was still not very satisfied, because he had used three impacts just now, not counting the first trial by hitting, but also twice, after destroying the opponent's center of gravity through the superposition of power, he achieved the effect of knocking the opponent away.
If the opponent shrinks his defense and implements double-teaming, he will not have the opportunity to continue to play like this.
What he hopes is that with one hit, he can completely destroy the opponent's center of gravity and achieve the goal of breaking through the opponent's defense.
It seems that this wish can only be realized after the tonnage reaches 135 kilograms and the strength level reaches hundreds.
"God, the postman was knocked over?" Bill Walton's eyes were full of disbelief.
This is a 127-kilogram postman. After gaining ten kilograms, he is now vulnerable?
Okay, he admitted that it took Lao K three times to knock over the postman, but with the strength of the postman's upper limbs and the sufficient tonnage, the obstacle formed was already huge, and he was still knocked over, which was enough.
Shocking.
John Hanks was speechless and said: "Bill, I, I, I, did I see it wrong? The postman was actually vulnerable to Old K's beating?"
Bill Walton smiled bitterly and said: "Okay, John, this is the first real confrontation between the postman and Old K. He was not prepared, and it is normal for him to be knocked over."
Looking at his partner with wide eyes, John Hanks said in surprise: "Bill, you actually think it's normal for the postman to be knocked over?
Even though it was his first time facing Old K, the whole world knew how good he was by beating him. The postman was a superstar, and he was also Old K’s enemy. There was no way he was not mentally prepared. He just didn’t carry it.
live."
"Okay, okay, he couldn't bear it." Bill Walton nodded and smiled bitterly.
12:6, Jazz attack.
The postman ran to the front in a daze, and before he could recover, being knocked over this time was a huge blow to him.
The blow was psychological, not physical. His body was indeed strong enough.
Not only was he psychologically hit, but so was head coach Jerry Sloan's psychology.
In these few minutes, he did not arrange double-teaming tactics, and his defense did not shrink.
When Spencer started playing as a meat shield, he arranged for help to defend, but it had no effect. Later, when the Postman defended Old K, he hoped that the Postman could achieve a good single defense effect. Unfortunately, in the first matchup, his willingness was not enough.
Failed, even beaten.
However, he doesn't want to change his defensive strategy for the time being. He also wants to see the postman's single defense effect. Once he adopts the strategy of shrinking the defense and double-teaming the low post, with Old K's ball speed and assist ability, and the Suns' current perimeter offensive firepower, the Jazz's
The outside defense will be exploded in an instant, and then the inside defense will also be detonated.
Worst of all, he also hopes that the postman and Lao K can fight against each other. Lao K's defense is average. Even if it is a good single defense, it can only be regarded as first-class, not top-notch. It should not be able to guard against the postman.