As the trapped beast continued to fight, a giant beast broke through all the suppression, rose into the air, held the ball in both hands, and smashed the basket crazily.
"Bang!"
Amidst the violent explosion of the basket, the postman and three other people were staggered by the powerful explosive force. Small forward Russell was even knocked over directly, and the huge Delta Center Arena was instantly silent.
"Ouch!"
On and off the court, everyone in the Suns team roared with excitement. Kobe and others rushed to the basket, while people rushed up from the bench, waving white towels excitedly.
"This is Old K! Even with the restrictions of K's Law, he is still an unstoppable beast!"
In the ESPN live broadcast booth, Carter Oldman stood up excitedly, holding the microphone in his hand and shouted loudly: "One on three, he is crushing the Jazz! The K Law cannot suppress him at all! He is like a majestic Himalayas
Same thing, can Jazz cross this mountain? I think it’s very difficult, hellish level of difficulty.”
"Haha!" Luo Lin laughed helplessly.
"Damn commentator, one day we will defeat Lao K."
"I will continue to complain against him."
At this moment, countless Jazz fans picked up their phones in front of the TV.
On the court, the referee also blew the whistle and gave Brian Russell a thug foul.
In fact, all three of them committed fouls, but they could only pick one. Giving the role player Russell a foul would do the least damage to the Jazz. This is also one of the advantages of the Jazz's home court.
"Why are you so excited? Do you think I can't beat them? Remember, this is just my regular operation, it's not worth getting excited about."
Lao Wang pushed away Kobe and Kidd, glanced at the postman and others with disdain, and walked to the free throw line.
"This is so cool? It's classy. I want to learn from it." Kobe said with envy.
"I learned it." Kidd nodded.
Horry glared at the two of them. They were two flatterers and said everything I said.
Lao Wang was about to take a free throw when the Jazz called a timeout.
Jerry Sloan hopes that through this timeout, the Postman and others can slow down and interrupt the Suns' momentum.
At the ESPN live broadcast, Luo Lin said: "This season has been played for more than two months, and K's Law has been implemented for so long, but now it seems that the restrictions on old K are not as big as imagined."
"Barkley has long said that Law K will not have such great restrictions on Lao K. He is the person who knows Lao K best, and I agree with his statement."
Oldman was with the Jazz today, and he never left the Jazz. At this point, he added: "Anyway, the Jazz can't beat Old K. As long as Old K is in the West, the Jazz will probably never break out of the West."
."
Luo Lin laughed and analyzed: "Judging from Old K's hit rate, the efficiency has declined somewhat, but not by much, at most four percentage points. This is not a huge improvement for his high efficiency of over 60%.
The drop was so drastic that he was still able to keep his hit rate above 60%."
Oldman said: "Even so, he is still the first player in the league in offensive efficiency. Even O'Neal's shooting percentage is one percentage point lower than Old K."
Rollin said: "Before O'Neal was injured, his shooting percentage was 61%, and Old K is now 62.1%, a difference of 1.1 percentage points.
Last season, O'Neal's shooting percentage was 61.5%, and Old K's was 65.4%, which was 3.9 percentage points behind Old K. In other words, under the restrictions of K's Law, O'Neal was less affected. The gap between him and Old K was the same as that of Old K.
The dominance has shrunk to a very close level."
"But this data doesn't tell the whole story."
Oldman immediately shook his head and said: "Judging from the two men's average data, there is still a big gap between him and Old K."
Rollin nodded and said: "O'Neal should weigh more than last season. Last season, he weighed 140 kilograms. Now he is at least 145 kilograms. This means that his physical fitness will be affected even more, which makes him unable to be as versatile as the old K.
In terms of investment, even in attack alone, he doesn’t have as much investment as Old K.”
Oldman smiled and said: "The huge tonnage gives O'Neal greater dominance, but his physical fitness also limits his development. In Chinese terms, this means that every advantage must have a disadvantage."
At this time, the timeout ended and the game started. Lao Wang made an extra free throw, 5:2, and the Jazz attacked.
Kidd has an absolute mismatch advantage against Stockton, using the big one to defend against the small one. Although the small one is more agile, Stockton happens to not be a person with outstanding physical talent, so Kidd is both agility and speed.
Don't suffer.
And Kidd is not afraid of Stockton at all. In a regular season game between the Mavericks and the Jazz last season, he scored 20 points and 25 assists on Stockton. Stockton scored 28 points and 10 assists.
Assists, the Mavericks also beat the Jazz, that game gave him the confidence to compete for the top spot, and then he was sold to the Suns.
At the top of the arc, Stockton was also very cautious and called Russell's pick-and-roll, and then broke through from behind Russell with the ball.
But Kidd reacted quickly and had excellent pick-and-roll defense. He quickly bypassed Russell, chased to Stockton's right side, and then made a vicious steal.
Stockton protected the ball, but Kidd immediately used his strong physical advantage to squeeze the opponent, and finally forced the opponent to make a mistake. Then Robert Horry, who came to help defend, grabbed the ball from the side, and the two collaborated to complete a beautiful defense and steal.
.
Kidd took the ball and quickly advanced upfield.
"here!"
Kobe moved quickly down the right wing, quickly dropped Hornacek, who was an average athlete, and rushed across the center line while shouting at Kidd.
"Whoosh!"
Without Kobe's need to shout, Kidd's 360-degree vision immediately saw the former's leading position, and the ball immediately flew over.
"Bang!"
After receiving the ball, Kobe immediately reached the three-point line, entered from the left waist of the paint area, took off one step later, and blasted the Jazz's basket with a tomahawk dunk.
"Alas, my teammates are too strong, and nothing can happen without me." Lao Wang stood in the backcourt, crossing his hands and sighing.
But soon, this thought disappeared.
On the right wing's three-point line, Hornacek, who has average singles ability with the ball, actually beat Kobe with the ball in singles.
He plays without the ball, moves very well, has excellent shooting ability, and can beat Kobe Bryant in isolation with the ball. This is obviously a rookie defense that he can't stand.
"brush!"
Triple threat, he suddenly broke through with a tentative step, faked a sudden shot, and easily deceived Kobe, and then hit a three-pointer.
"You're too novice. It seems that the rookie needs more practice!" Lao Wang said disappointedly.
Hornacek's athletic qualities are average, and his ability to break through with the ball is average, but his shooting is accurate and he is a standard shooter.
To guard against such a shooter with average breakthrough ability, we must focus on preventing shots. As for breakthroughs, with Kobe's athleticism, even if he is missed, he still has a chance to catch up. Therefore, the focus of defense is to prevent shots, not breakthroughs. Kobe did it the other way around.
.
"Jason, give me a call."
Even a rookie wants to save face after being hit. Kobe wants to retaliate and is very determined to get the ball.
Kidd didn't give it to the rookie because Kobe's position in the main lineup was to play without the ball and focus on defense.
"Give it to him." Lao Wang shouted.
Kidd just passed the ball now. After Kobe got the ball, he turned sideways and started to hit Hornacek.
Hornacek was so experienced that he immediately took half a step back to prevent Kobe from having a chance to hit him.
Now the whole league knows that Kobe is the only one who has learned the power-generating technique from Old K. He has used it many times. Although the effect is far from comparable to that of Old K, it is also easy for defenders to suffer. If one is not good,
If he was hit and his center of gravity was shaken, he might be surprised, so he chose to retreat a little.
However, at the next moment, Kobe's left foot moved inward, and he spread out his bear steps. The iron mountain exploded, and his left shoulder and back hit Hornacek's left chest hard.
"Oops!"
Hornacek's upper body was knocked backwards, and his feet were weak.
The next moment, Kobe had already passed by while dribbling.
His breakthrough rhythm after playing is even faster than that of Lao Wang, because he is smaller, more flexible, faster, has better ball-holding ability, and has a stronger ability to combine man and ball, so he turns around
The breakthrough speed is faster.
Campbell lost Williams and made up for it, but with his mobility, how can he make up for it?
Kobe passed by Campbell again and entered the paint area. He saw the postman coming from under the basket and saw Old K asking him for the ball.
Stop the jump shot.
"Bang!"
The ball passed through the postman's hand and hit the basket accurately.
"Bang!"
The next moment, Lao Wang succeeded in making up the deduction.
"Damn it!"
Kobe hit his right hand in frustration. Everything went well in the front, but he didn't score in the final shot. What a pity.
But soon he had no chance to be upset, because Lao Wang was roaring at him: "Kobe, I am already empty under the basket, why don't you pass?"
"Didn't I pass it?" Kobe was startled and immediately argued.
"Are you passing or shooting?" Lao Wang is not that easy to deceive.
"Of course it's a pass, it's a little bit off." Kobe's mouth was very harsh. After all, if he was honest, Ban Deng would be in trouble.
"Next time you don't pass the ball when there's room under the basket, you'll just sit there until the end of the season, waiting to be traded to Canada to enjoy the northwest wind." Lao Wang spat.
"What a risk! Fortunately, I didn't do anything. Old K is such a fool." Kobe breathed a sigh of relief.
Lao Wang glared at Kobe "I got beaten again" Bryant, and decided that when Kobe takes fighting lessons again in the future, he will ask his brothers to teach him a lesson and beat him with bruises and bruises to see if he still dares to lie to himself.
"Ah owe!"
Kobe suddenly sneezed and felt a chill on his back!
The Jazz attacked, and the postman moved up and played a pick-and-roll tactic with Stockton. Wang and Kidd did not switch defenses. Stockton took the opportunity to break into the paint with the ball and go straight to the basket. Kidd was one step behind.
"Crack!"
Stockton made a layup, but was blocked by Kidd. The ball was directly pressed on the backboard, and then was picked up by Lao Wang who returned to defense.
"Ha ha……"
Carter Oldman burst into laughter and said with great joy: "Stockton, with your little finishing ability, how did you have the courage to take action when Kidd was chasing you?"
"Damn, he's mocking our John again?"
"This bastard, you must continue to complain against him!"
"Shet, is this commentator our knight? Complain to him!"
Countless Jazz fans in front of the TV picked up the phone again and started calling the ESPN complaint hotline.
"Carter, you have been deducted three thousand US dollars." Luo Lin reminded in a low voice in the ESPN live broadcast booth.
"If you continue to hold me back, I will resign and go to TNT." Oldman said angrily.
"Damn it, Carter, stop targeting the Jazz, I beg you, this is their home court, give them some face." The director shouted loudly into the headset.
The Suns once again played a fast break, and it was Kobe again. This kid couldn't get any shots in the positional battle. The fast break was his opportunity. He was the fastest in the Suns. After getting rid of Hornacek, he took Pharaoh's pass and once again
A slam dunk.
At 11:5, the Suns led by 6 points on the road and stopped the Jazz again.
Rollin analyzed: "The Suns' current perimeter defense has been greatly improved compared to previous seasons, which is very beneficial to their development in the playoffs."
Oldman laughed and said: "The rookie Kobe also has a very positive defensive attitude. Of course, he is still too inexperienced in defense now and has a serious lack of experience. He will suffer a loss when he meets an experienced veteran with good skills."
Nodding, Luo Lin smiled and said: "But his attitude towards playing is quite positive. I think the Suns should give him a certain amount of ball rights, so that he can improve faster."
Oldman laughed and said: "No, no, no, a shooting guard should first learn to play without the ball. If the shooting guard controls the ball, then his first choice is to take the shot himself.
As a result, first, with the ball in his hands, he is most likely to take the shot himself, then the opponent will not hesitate to concentrate on double-teaming him.
Second, the team's organization will be a mess, no one will distribute the ball reasonably, and the five players will work on their own, and it will be a mess."
Luo Lin nodded and explained: "What I mean is just to let him improve his offensive ability with the ball, not to let him control the ball, because the shooting guard needs the ability to hold the ball in isolation. When his teammates are unable to score,
As a shooting guard, he has to stand up."
"Understood." Oldman nodded with a smile.
At this time the timeout ends and the game restarts.
On the sidelines, on the Suns bench, D'Antoni said to Danny Ainge: "Danny, Kobe is very capable of running fast breaks and has good finishing ability. Kidd is also very capable of organizing fast breaks, especially K.
His speed can actually keep up with the fast break rhythm, and he also has the ability to launch fast breaks. We can actually add some fast break tactics."
Danny Ainge nodded thoughtfully, but was noncommittal.
D'Antoni has suggested to him many times to add fast break tactics, but he has never adopted it. The team still focuses on traditional positional warfare.
Old K can indeed keep up with his speed, but he knows very well that no matter how fast Old K is, he is still a heavy center of 135 kilograms. If he frequently goes on fast breaks, the result will be an increase in his physical energy consumption. Even fast break tactics
It will aggravate Lao K’s physical exhaustion and shorten his career.
If he wants to add fast break tactics, Lao K will probably not agree. No, he will definitely object. And the management has no second choice at all. It will only focus on Lao K. He may lose what he just got.
The head coaching position.
But D'Antoni is right. The team now has a good foundation for fast break tactics. Kidd and Kobe pass and attack each other. It is indeed worth trying. However, it can only be done when K is not on the court.
And with this season's inside lineup, this may not be possible. The two inside substitutes are old. Old K's playing time has increased to more than 40 minutes, and there is no time for fast breaks.
At the end of the first quarter, at 31:24, the Suns led by 7 points in a single quarter.
During the timeout, the Jazz asked the Postman to contain Wang Tiejun on the weak side, and then stepped up the attack at the strong side position 4, using Campbell to hit Williams with a few goals. The effect was good and the point difference was not widened.
Luo Lin said with a smile: "The Suns' lineup today is more uneven than the last time the two teams met, but they have the upper hand. There are several reasons for this. Let me analyze it."
"Okay, I'll check it for you." Oldman smiled.
Rollin glared at his partner, I still want you to check? After coughing twice, he said: "First, Kidd replaced Lightning. When he played against Stockton, he had the advantage of height and tonnage. At the same time, his
Better defense than the Lightning, more physical, better defensive effect against Stockton."
Oldman nodded and said: "Yes, Stockton made two mistakes in the first quarter, only sent out 2 assists, and scored two points on 1 of 3 shots, while Kidd sent out 4 assists in the first quarter, without a single mistake, and made 2 shots.
Two points out of 1, better performance, that’s proof.”
Rollin continued: "Second, Kobe replaced Wilkins. His addition improved the Suns' outside speed and fast break capabilities. In the first quarter, the Suns played five fast breaks and succeeded four times."
Oldman nodded and said: "Indeed, the fast break in the defensive counterattack was good, which also saved old K's physical energy.
In the first quarter, Old K made 4 of 6 shots, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 10 points. His shots were not too many. In addition, he also sent 2 assists, grabbed 5 rebounds, and made a big block."
Rollin added: "However, Williams deteriorated seriously and he failed to guard Campbell. This is also the reason why the Suns were unable to continue to open the score."
Oldman said: "The Suns signed Williams for two years and four million dollars a year, and now it seems that this signing was a mistake.
This guy just came to the Suns to retire, and in one offseason he was reduced from the main center to a marginal player. Looking at the fat on his body, he is at least ten kilograms fatter than last season."
"I guess the management can't find anyone to replace him, otherwise they would have gotten rid of him long ago." Luo Lin said with a smile.
"The management's operation is still good. Rasheed Wallace, Kidd, Kobe, Horry, plus Old K, five youth teams, a very young lineup. If this lineup can be maintained, in the next
For several seasons, the Suns have been very competitive," Oldman said.
Rollin immediately shook his head and said: "After this season, Horry's rookie contract expires, and the Suns have no room to keep him.
Horry is gone, so the problem is not big, but after next season, Rasheed Wallace's rookie contract will also end. Can the Suns keep him?
Therefore, the biggest problem with the youth lineup is that there are too many young players, and if they are all of good quality, after they grow up, each one will need a big contract, and the team simply does not have enough space to keep them, and the lineup will soon decline.
They will be forced to break up."
Oldman nodded and said: "So the most stable lineup is to have one or two stars as the core, and then match it with a few high-quality and suitable role players and veterans, just like the Bulls.
If the Bulls hadn't encountered Barkley's Suns in 1993 and last season's mosaic of the Big Three, with their lineup properly tinkered with, how many consecutive championships do you think they could have had?"
"Except for these two teams, no one is their opponent. Six consecutive championships?" Luo Lin said in surprise.
Oldman said: "The Bulls are still one of the strongest teams competing for the championship even now. This shows that their lineup is stable and Jerry Krause's ability to build the lineup is really strong.
"
Luo Lin nodded and said: "So only by arranging a suitable lineup can we maintain the stability of salary space and stabilize the lineup, which is also the best lineup to win the championship.
As for this Suns team, there are too many young players. I think they can maintain a stable lineup for two seasons at most. It will be difficult to say after two seasons."
In this game, 108:91, the Suns finally defeated the Jazz on the road.
Veteran superstar John Stockton was a bit underrated under Kidd's defense. He only sent out 7 assists, made 6 turnovers, made 2 of 6 shots, and only scored 6 points including free throws.
Under Lao Wang's defense, the Postman only scored 18 points, which was not efficient enough.
For the Suns, Wang Tiejun scored 32 points and 18 rebounds. Williams and Tisdale, two veterans, scored 6 points together. Horry scored 13 points steadily. Although Kidd only scored 11 points, he delivered
17 assists and 3 steals.
Kobe made 7 of 12 shots, including 5 in 6 fast breaks, 2 of 6 in position battles, and 3 of 3 free throws, scoring 17 points.
Hornacek's defense is good, and he can't keep up with Kobe in fast breaks. However, in position battles, with his mature experience, he can also defend Kobe a little uncomfortable. His shooting rate in position battles is only 33.3%.
After a few fast breaks, today's efficiency will be ugly.
In the substitute lineup, Wilkins and Chapman performed well. The former scored 15 points and the latter scored 10 points, which contributed a lot to the team's victory over the Jazz.
After beating the Jazz, with 34 wins and 4 losses, the Suns still remain strong.
Returned to Phoenix on the 17th, and faced the challenge from the Knicks on the 18th.
However, O'Neal was seriously injured, and the Suns successfully defeated their opponents and won their 35th victory.
On the 20th, they defeated the Pistons again at home, and on the 22nd, the Suns played the Jazz three times at home.
Unfortunately, this time it was a failure.
Kidd succeeds and loses. In this game, Kidd was so excited by Stockton's little moves that his feet were swollen. His performance was far inferior to the previous game, and the lineup was not complete.
In the end, the team lost.
After losing this game, they were immediately thrown away by the Bulls. With 36 wins and 5 losses, just halfway through the regular season, the Suns fell to second place in the league and still ranked first in the Western Conference.
The Bulls are very lucky this season. There are no injuries to any major players. So far, Jordan and Pippen are still at full attendance, playing 38 minutes each.
But by the end of the month, the Suns had a four-game winning streak and achieved a record of 40 wins and 5 losses.
The Bulls unexpectedly had a losing streak, first losing to the Pacers and then the Jazz, with 39 wins and 6 losses, falling behind the Suns. In this way, by the end of the first month of 1997, the Suns finally dominated the league's record.
