The timeout ends, the game restarts, and the Bulls attack.
Jordan had played five goals. This time Pippen took the shot, Drexler went to guard Jordan, and Dan Marley guarded Pippen.
"Bang!"
The ball missed, Lao Wang grabbed the backcourt rebound, and the Suns attacked.
He is still in the high position, with Clifford Robinson below, Dan Marley on the right three-point line, Drexler on the left three-point line, and AC Green active on the right.
Seeing BJ guarding him, Perry breathed a sigh of relief. Facing Jordan, the overwhelming pressure could suffocate him. Facing BJ, he could at least perform normally.
"Bang!"
Pushing through the center line, a bad luck, fake sudden pass, he shook away the bj, and then gave the ball to Lao Wang.
After receiving the ball, Lao Wang raised his hands high, kept his left foot still, and moved his right foot twice, facing the baseline. He saw Dan Malley being closely followed by Pippen, running past the basket and pulling him to the left wing.
Get rid of the defender, and the gliding on the left wing can't get rid of Jordan either.
"Do it yourself."
He immediately leaned over to dribble, turned around, and began to beat Clifford Robinson.
At this time, Toni Kukoc, who was in the low post on the right wing, quickly jumped into the paint area. Lao Wang faced the right wing and hit his back, and saw his movement from the corner of his vision.
"Bang!"
While dribbling the ball, Lao Wang was about to hit the defender, but found that Clifford Robinson actually took half a step back, making him unable to start his hit.
He quickly took a step forward, stepped on the free throw line with his left foot, then turned around and dribbled the ball again, trying to hit it directly from the right side.
At this time, Toni Kukoc rushed forward and formed a double-ghost closing force with Clifford Robinson, trying to block him out before he could rush forward.
"Don't even think about it!"
With an angry roar in his throat, he grabbed the basketball that bounced off the floor with his right hand, then took a big step forward with his right foot and forced it between the two of them. When the two of them staggered, he jumped on one foot.
Get up and throw the ball toward the basket with your right hand.
The basketball flew towards the basket with a very flat arc, hit the front edge with a bang, bounced forward slightly, and then fell into the basket.
"Beautiful! Old K made a strong shot from the double team! Now 8:12, the Suns lead by 4 points."
"Yeah! Old K made a throw to the basket and hit a nearly two-point throw from three meters away."
On the sidelines, two commentators shouted excitedly.
"Face-to-the-basket throw? It seems that Old K hasn't used it much in the team's training games?" Head coach Westphal stood on the sidelines and murmured.
He wants to see if Old K will attack facing the basket next. If he has good facing skills and Old K's powerful low post play, then Old K's threat will increase again.
Next, Toni Kukoc made a shot, turning the score into 10:12, and the Suns attacked.
This time, Lao Wang was no longer in the high post and went to the basket again.
Because he felt that Jordan would no longer switch to defend Perry, and there should be no problem for Perry to pass the ball in.
But he guessed wrong, because BJ tried his best to block Perry and his passing and receiving routes. It was not easy for Perry's ball to pass in.
In the first three seconds, the ball didn't come in, so he had to leave the paint area and go to the low post on the left wing.
After 12 seconds of attack time, he entered the basket for the second time. This time when three seconds were about to expire, Perry's ball finally passed in.
He received the ball under the basket, and the Bulls were obviously desperate, and he did not let the Bulls despair in vain. As soon as he turned around, he carried Clifford Robinson and forcibly got up and dunked. Not only did he succeed, but he also caused a defensive attack by his opponent.
foul.
"As long as it can be passed in, the Bulls' inside tonnage is too light to guard against it." Dort shook his head in the TNT commentary box.
"A good passer can allow Old K to beat the Bulls." Letem smiled.
"so……"
Dortmund said solemnly: "You still have to have Jordan guard Perry, BJ can't guard Perry."
"Haha..." Letem laughed.
On the sidelines, Phil Jackson stood up, inserted a pair of little fingers into his mouth, and blew hard. The whistle did not sound. He quickly put his hands together in front of his mouth and shouted: "BJ, keep an eye on him, don't let him easily."
Find opportunities to get the ball down low."
But Perry is not that bad. He has been in the NBA for three or four seasons. If he can survive here, he is still a good role player. Bj's own strength is also average. It is really difficult to prevent him.
, without double-teaming, it would be difficult for bj to really cut off the passing and receiving lines between him and Lao Wang.
After the first quarter, at 24:30, the Suns led by 6 points at home, but the crazy Bulls fell behind by 6 points.
Lao Wang played 11 minutes in the first quarter, because the Bulls are too weak inside, do not have a large player, and are not very confrontational. Moreover, his current speed is not slower than other inside players. The two main inside players of the Bulls
The speed is even a little slower than him, so the physical energy consumed is not huge. I only rested for one minute.
With his 99-level physical fitness, he can withstand such playing time if the confrontation is not very strong.
And now his playing style has changed to a certain extent compared to the last two seasons. With the improvement of his athletic quality, the sideways pushing and crushing style of relying on fighting has been reduced a lot, and the physical consumption has also been relatively reduced.
It's just that with his huge tonnage, even if he just runs on the court, he will consume a lot of energy. What's more, he must now contribute in all aspects of offense, defense, organization and support, so overall, his physical energy consumption is also very large.
, no smaller than last season.
Speaking of confrontation, many inside players who are not strong enough and have insufficient confrontation ability are avoiding strong confrontations with him. The Bulls' Clifford Robinson and Toni Kukoc are also such insiders.
He made 8 of 10 shots in the first quarter. This was the quarter in which he took the most shots in three seasons. He made 5 dunks and scored 1 of them, 2 close-range hooks and scored 1, and 2 close-range throws and scored 1.
, scored one with a throw from the basket.
Including 2 of 5 free throws, he scored 18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in the first quarter.
Thanks to his efficient main attack, the Suns were able to lead the Bulls.
In the TNT commentary box, Dort analyzed: "Old K played very well today. He made all 6 attacks at the basket, made 2 of 4 shots from close range, and scored 18 points in a single quarter. This is the performance of a superstar.
"
Letem continued: "His high efficiency is based on the fact that the Bulls' interior defense and confrontation are not strong enough. Regardless of height, tonnage, strength, wingspan, and confrontation ability, he has great advantages, especially his confrontation.
The ability to make opponents retreat, and as long as the ball can be passed to his hands, he can do whatever he wants in the opponent's paint area."
Dort nodded and said: "The Bulls fell behind because bj was unable to completely cut off Perry and old K's passing and receiving lines, which was beyond his capabilities. Of course, he also made efforts, and every time Perry would
I had to be careful when passing the ball, and I made two mistakes.
Coach Phil Jackson didn't make any more changes. It seems that he didn't want to waste Jordan's ability and never changed defense."
Letem shook his head and said: "I don't think he is afraid of wasting, he just wants to use these few minutes to see whether bj can do what he wants him to do. Isn't the regular season an opportunity to test his opponents and test himself?
?”
"Yes, but will he change next?" Dot asked.
Letem nodded and said: "Of course he will, he should change his defensive tactics. In addition, on the offensive end, Pippen went in and took a big block from Old K, and the two inside players also got a big block each, which reduced the Bulls' breakthroughs."
, he should also make changes on the offensive end.
The Bulls only scored 24 points in the first quarter, which is lower than the normal level. This season, the Bulls averaged 112 points per game and averaged 30.2 points per game in the first quarter."
Dortmund said with a smile: "We have always said that K's defense is not good, but tonight his defense was not bad, especially his weakest assist defense. Two of the three big shots were from assist defense."
The hat, and the big hat given when returning to defense after being pulled out, is particularly precious and has a great impact on the Bulls."
Leitem suddenly thought of something and said: "You know, Dortmund, K's rookie contract with the Suns is 31, and the last year is a player option. He may opt out of the last year of the contract."
Dort nodded and said: "The Suns have not completed an early contract extension with Old K, but I suggest them to make a choice in advance. Old K is the only new-generation behemoth center that can be compared with O'Neal, except for the three super centers.
Other than that, it’s just the two of them.”
Letem smiled and said: "What he signed was CAA. Do you know CAA?"
Dot glared at his partner and said with a smile: "Do you think I'm a country bumpkin? Of course I know caa."
Letem smiled and said: "Then you should know the style of CAA. They always sign the best contracts for their stars.
Fortunately, they have not officially developed in the NBA, and they only have one NBA star, Lao K. Otherwise, they might bring in the package packaged by Hollywood in the future. If they want to sign Lao K, they will have to sign a few other rubbish and match it with a coach.
Group."
"Ha ha……"
Dort laughed several times and suddenly said seriously: "It's impossible for the Suns not to want to renew K's contract in advance. You know that the Hornets completed the early signing of Larry Johnson after he only played for one year. That is the first time in the history of the league so far.
The only contract worth 100 million yuan is simply incredible."
Letem nodded and said: "Yes, the 12-year contract of 110 million yuan is enough for Auntie. This is much better than Pippen's 20 million yuan in 7 years. They renewed the contract in the same year."
Although it has been several years since Larry Johnson received the 100 million yuan contract, when the contract is mentioned now, the two people still have a look of envy on their faces.
Dort laughed: "Speaking of Pippen, actually that contract was not too bad. You have to know that his salary and Jordan's salary were about the same at that time. Jordan's salary was 23 million for 7 years. Last season, his annual salary was 3.08 million and Jordan's 4 million.
, it’s just that Larry Johnson’s contract is too big.”
Letem nodded and said: "Let's talk about it. Old K has played for three seasons and has not suffered any injuries. He has made obvious progress every year. He continues to be strong and is worthy of a big contract.
Now it depends on how bold the Suns owner is."
Nodding, Letem said: "I think the reason why the early renewal of the contract was not completed is probably because of CAA. The contract was not completed consistently."
"In other words, for teams that want to get Old K, such as the Bulls, you now have a chance." Dort said with a smirk.
"No, old K is ours."
In Los Angeles, inside Jerry Buss's luxurious villa, the old Buss looked at the TV and said firmly: "The Hornets can give Larry Johnson a billion-dollar contract, and the Lakers can also afford it."
"Jerry, after next season, O'Neal's contract will also expire." Lakers general manager Jerry West reminded.
"Jerry, do you think the Magic are crazy? They will trade O'Neal? That is a beast more terrifying than Old K. His potential is higher than Old K in both offense and defense. It is impossible for the Magic to trade him."
Old Bass turned around and looked at West and said.
Jerry West couldn't help but nodded and asked: "Then we will pursue Old K with all our strength?"
Nodding, Old Buss said: "You can contact CAA. We Lakers have a natural advantage. I believe CAA is also willing for Old K to come to the Lakers. Only here can he obtain the greatest commercial benefits."
Jerry West laughed and said: "From a personal point of view, Mr. K's middle-g girlfriend is also studying here. I think he probably also hopes to come here."
Old Bass was startled, smiled, and nodded.
"I'm going to contact CAA first and talk to Old K's agent," West said.
"Don't let the media find out, otherwise Colangelo will take advantage of you." Jerry Buss reminded.
…
Phoenix, in the next game, Phil Jackson did not use Jordan or Pippen to guard Perry, and insisted on using BJ to face Perry.
There are two reasons for his consideration.
First, he has to consider the possibility that Kevin Johnson will come back in the playoffs. Then once he encounters the Suns with Lightning in the finals, even if the Lightning's state is far worse than last season, neither Jordan nor Pippen will be in trouble.
It is difficult to completely cut off Kevin Johnson's pass to Old K. No matter how old or injured the Lightning is, it is not comparable to Perry. The experience alone is beyond countless.
Second, the Suns still have the support of Drexler and Dan Malley, so it is even more impossible to do it.
Therefore, in this game, he wants to try his best to simulate the game situation after Kevin Johnson's comeback, that is, how the Bulls defend the old K when they cannot completely cut off the connection between the Suns' No. 1 and No. 5 positions.
There is still only one way to cut off the connection between internal and external lines as much as possible.
This comes back again. When the inside is unable to fight against Old K, it is mainly a matter of outside defense.
Insisting on using bj for the first position, Jordan and Pippen mainly strengthened the outside assist defense, participated as little as possible in the inside assist defense, and put most of their defensive energy on the outside.
One of the benefits of this is to reduce injuries, because if Jordan and Pippen participate too much in assisting inside defense, they are likely to have a strong confrontation with Old K, and they will be injured.
In this way, with the Bulls' outside defense, it can only limit the Suns' internal and external contact to a certain extent. The inside will definitely be beaten by Old K, but this is enough. As long as part of the Suns' organizational functions are reduced, the Bulls themselves
The strong offensive ability is enough to defeat the Suns.
So in the next game, he insisted on using bj to defend Perry and did not change his defensive strategy.
At the same time, he did not let Jordan and Pippen participate in the defense of the Suns' No. 1 position, and let BJ play Perry alone.
This is because Perry is not Kevin Johnson, and the Suns' lineup is not complete. There is no need for the Bulls to exert their full strength, and there is no need to expose all their trump cards to the Suns' eyes. The outcome of this regular season is not in his eyes.
With the Bulls keeping their hands, Lao Wang frequently got the ball in the low post and completely defeated Clifford Robinson.
However, although Jordan and Pippen were lethargic on defense, they were not on the offensive end. The two went all out to attack and wanted to win the game.
It's just that Lao Wang played an efficient offensive performance in the paint, made a lot of contributions on the defensive end, and dominated both sides' paint areas in terms of rebounding. Therefore, by the third quarter, the Suns had a big lead over the Bulls.
After three quarters, 81:94, the Suns led by 13 points.
Lao Wang played for 33 minutes and only rested for three minutes in the third quarter. He made 16 of 21 shots, a shooting percentage of 76%, and 6 of 12 free throws. He already scored 38 points, 18 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 6 blocks, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls.
data.
Jordan and Pippen combined to make 17 of 37 shots, 46% from the field, 2 of 6 three-pointers, and 10 of 11 free throws, and together they contributed 46 points.
Dort analyzed: "So far, K has completely dominated the Bulls' interior in terms of offense and defense, rebounding, etc. There is no doubt about it.
Even though Clifford Robinson was pulled out every time, Old K showed a strong ability to return to defense today. He has sent six big blocks in a single game, four of which were after being pulled out.
He made a big block when returning to defense, and his performance in assisting and returning to defense tonight was very good."
"Yes……"
Nodding, Letem echoed: "Old K's speed is really not slow now. I observed that just below the three super centers, O'Neal has now gained 140 kilograms, or even more. His speed is
He’s not much faster than Old K. I even think he’s about the same as Old K.”
Dort also nodded and said: "In the past, K could not play fast break at all, but now he can keep up with the rhythm. This is an obvious manifestation of change and speed."
Letem said: "In other words, the Bulls' spacing tactics have become less restrictive for Old K."
Dort nodded and said: "In this game, the Bulls did not play impressive offensive tactics on the offensive end. It can be said that Phil Jackson's tactical ability on the spot was not that outstanding. If Jordan cannot solve the problem, we can only hope
Later."
Letem nodded and said: "The Bulls still rely on Jordan Pippen on the offensive end, but today they don't seem to work hard enough on the defensive end, especially the Suns' relatively weakest No. 1 position, which is completely defended by BJ alone, and Jordan Pippen rarely assists in defense.
, I think the Bulls are holding on."
Dort nodded and said: "I have also discovered this problem. I think the reason why the Bulls have reduced their perimeter defensive intensity is understandable, because this is not a neatly remodeled Suns team, and the Bulls do not need to go all out.
Let's put it this way, when the Bulls' perimeter defense weakens, this team's threat will be reduced by at least 30%.
If the Bulls really display the defensive intensity of the playoffs and the difficulty of the Suns' No. 1 passing to No. 5 becomes exponentially greater, then the score on the court today will probably change."
"Yes……"
Letem also nodded in agreement with Dortmund's statement.