Chapter 539 The strength is quite all-round competition
The referee didn't make any penalty. The Knicks had the ball and served from the baseline.
Jordan did not pass the ball to O'Neal immediately. He wanted the Sharks to calm down. Instead, he attacked with the ball. After pulling away, he singled out Richmond on the left three-point line.
"Bang!"
However, he himself missed a shot under Richmond's defense, and Lao Wang protected the backcourt rebound.
4:7, the Lakers attack again.
"Bang!"
Under Jordan's defense, Richmond also missed a shot.
Oakley grabbed the rebound and the Knicks attacked.
"Give me the ball."
O'Neal roared in the low post on the left wing.
Jordan passed the ball and then immediately went around Richmond and cut inside.
Richmond defended very hard, followed closely and defended on the lower side, but started behind and was half a step behind.
"Bang!"
O'Neal did regain his composure. He held Old K on his left elbow and threw the ball to the floor with his right hand.
While Jordan quickly cut inside, he used his left hand to block Richmond, who was half a step behind on the left. He leaned forward and grabbed the ball with his right hand, and the rebounded basketball fell into his hands.
The next moment, he stepped into the paint area.
At the same time, Lao Wang and Fordson, who was in the low post on the right, returned to the basket to defend.
Jordan took a step forward and flew towards the basket. His eyes were extremely firm, he grabbed the ball with his right hand and sent it to the basket.
Lao Wang and Fordson jumped to block shots on the left and right sides of the basket at the same time, implementing a closed-door defense. But the seemingly airtight closed-door defense failed under Jordan's attack.
Jordan's right hand holding the ball suddenly recovered, evading the two blocks, and then it was like having invisible wings. After they landed, he was still in the sky. Before landing, he took a second shot and lifted the ball to the basket.
basket.
"brush!"
The water splashed and the two-pointer hit.
"This is bullying others with your talent!" Su Qun helplessly shook his head.
"Haha, what the NBA draft selects is talent." Zhang Li said with a smile.
On the court, Jordan was very excited after he succeeded, but he learned the lessons from the past and did not trash talk Pharaoh. Instead, he yelled at Richmond: "Rock, I said you are the second shooting guard, do you still take it seriously?"
Yeah? But that was just a joke on my part."
"You? You deserved to be swept by the gliders in the finals."
Richmond's nose was so angry that he happened to see the glider sitting with Barkley and the others. He immediately reacted and spat back a rubbish that almost made Jordan angry to death.
There was a murderous look in Jordan's eyes. He was swept by the Suns in the 1995 Finals. This was one of his reverses. However, he could only swallow Richmond's words alive and could not refute them.
"Ha ha……"
Lao Wang was watching the show and laughing.
6:7, Lakers attack.
Lao Wang once again took the ball in the low post on the left wing, turned around and shook O'Neal away, then calmly stood up, hit a front hook, and hit a goal.
6:9, Knicks attack.
"O'Neal, be careful with his nearly two-point hook." Phil Jackson reminded loudly on the sidelines.
He made another gesture to Oakley, asking Oakley to strengthen his defense against the basket and asking O'Neal not to retreat too hastily.
Just now, Old K faked a real shot from the outside and directly knocked away O'Neal. When he shot, he was open. If he was allowed to hit 60% with a hook near the two-point area, it would be fatal.
Next, Oakley did strengthen his defense against the basket, which relieved O'Neal's defensive pressure. The Sharks immediately changed their defensive strategy according to tactical requirements.
The previous defensive strategy, because of Lao Wang's breakthrough ability, mainly limits his offense under the basket. Although it is not about preventing breakthroughs or shots, it focuses on preventing breakthroughs. Knowing that Lao Wang's hook shot is powerful, he has to defend like this.
His nearly two-point shot was defended less intensely.
But now it's different. Now O'Neal's defense focuses on preventing shots. Once Wang breaks in, there is Oakley inside to block it, and O'Neal can return to the basket in time to double-team.
Lao Wang was not in a hurry. Faced with the strength of the Knicks, he never planned to defeat five opponents on his own. So after the Knicks changed their defensive strategy against him, he immediately delegated power and let the outside take over the attack.
Focus on defense and rebounding, and attract defense in the low post on the offensive end.
Jordan broke through Richmond with the ball, and when he reached outside the paint area, he forced Wang to come out to defend, and then stopped for a jumper, forcing Wang to take off and block the shot.
However, this was actually a fake pass from Jordan, and the ball was passed to O'Neal, who was moving towards the basket.
"Bang!"
When O'Neal got the ball under the basket, he was completely unstoppable. Fordson was too short and Wang couldn't come back from a business trip. He dunked hard and sunk the basket frame.
"This is the cooperation of the internal and external cores. Either one needs to be double-teamed. As long as they truly join forces, it will be difficult for the Lakers to guard against them." Zhang Liji shook his head.
In the 10th minute of the first quarter, at 23:25, the Lakers led by two points, and the Knicks had the ball, which was considered a tie.
Taking advantage of the timeout, for the Knicks, O'Neal took a rest while Jordan remained on the court, and the inner and outer core remained on the court.
In addition, Oakley is not young anymore and will also take a rest.
On the inside, they replaced Terry Cummings, a veteran with a minimum salary, and Buck Williams, a veteran. Buck is also the current chairman of the league's players union and participates in the league's labor negotiations.
At the third position, the veteran Jerome Corsi with a minimum salary was also replaced, and at the first position, substitute Thompson was replaced.
For the Lakers, of course Wang is still on the court, and Kobe is also on the court. The other three players have been replaced by Hill, Chris Mullin, and Mark Price.
Within 10 minutes, Lao Wang made 4 of 5 shots, including all 3 of his first 3 shots. He hit one of the last two 2-point hook shots, but was interfered by O'Neal. In addition, he made 2 of 2 free throws and scored 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.
Data of 1 block and 1 foul.
As the core of the perimeter, Richmond faced Jordan's defense. Especially after he made a three-pointer from the pick-and-roll at the top of the arc, Jordan stepped up his defense and made 2 of 5 shots. The efficiency was average and he only scored 5 points.
O'Neal made all his first two shots, and then made 5 shots. He was blocked by Wang three times and was blocked by Wang. He made 4 of 7 shots and 1 of 2 free throws. He scored 9 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 turnover.
1 Foul data.
Jordan still had the upper hand against Richmond, making 3 of 4 shots, no free throws, and scored 6 points.
In 10 minutes, the internal and external cores of both teams jointly contributed 15 points.
Zhang Lili analyzed: "What the Lakers succeeded in was guarding the Knicks' small forward, veteran Ellis, and preventing him from getting open and shooting a fatal three-pointer. Just now, he made 1 of 2 shots and only scored 3 points.
In addition, Richmond's defense is still good. Although Jordan shot 75%, he didn't take many shots, only 4.
Of course, Jordan takes fewer shots, firstly because O'Neal takes up the shots, and secondly, because O'Neal needs rest time, he will strengthen his personal offense after O'Neal comes off the court to make up for the lack of firepower after the Sharks come off the court.
The Knicks succeeded in using Oakley to defend the basket and allow the Iron Army to curb their offense.
But like Jordan, the Tiejun didn't have much offense in the first 10 minutes. The more consideration may be that they hope to strengthen the offense when O'Neal comes off the court to rest."
Su Qun said: "Coach Zhang, the Knicks have also found four veterans with basic salaries. Including the original old Buck, there are five veterans. I think their bench lineup is still not as good as the Lakers, right?"
Zhang Liyi nodded and said: "Comparing the strength of these substitutes, the Lakers are indeed stronger. Chris Mullin, Fox, Te Yinlong Hill, Mark Price, these are all strong enough to play the main force, but several veterans of the Knicks
I really can only play as a substitute.
Like Old Buck, he only played 41 games in the regular season and retired after this season. I guess he came up to implement foul tactics."
Su Qun said: "Then during the bench time, the Lakers should attack vigorously and try to widen the point difference before O'Neal comes back."
"It should be like this. It depends on how the Tiejun fight. The Knicks are probably going to kill him. The two veterans will definitely not be able to stop him. But there are only two minutes, so the chance is slim." Zhang Liang said.
At this time the timeout ends and the game restarts.
Kobe followed Jordan, who immediately took over the ball after halftime and pulled to the right wing to prepare for the attack.
"Double-team him!"
Lao Wang did not hesitate. As the core of offense and defense, he immediately issued defensive orders.
This is when Jordan broke through Kobe's defense and headed towards the paint area. Hill in the low post immediately covered up the defense, and Kobe also caught up behind him.
Jordan suddenly stopped and turned around, using his turn to distance himself from Kobe. After leaning on Hill, he suddenly turned around again, and then jumped up with the help of his strength.
"Turn around and shoot a fadeaway jumper!" Zhang Lili shouted loudly.
Before he finished speaking, there was a swipe and the basketball penetrated the net.
"I made 4 out of 5 shots. We need to strengthen our defense against Jordan!" Su Qun said anxiously.
"Already double-teamed, but Jordan is not someone who can be restrained by double-teaming." Zhang Li said with a smile.
Looking back, the Lakers attack.
Jordan stood in front of Mark Price with an obvious intention to limit the Lakers' offensive engine.
Zhang Lijia sighed: "This is not easy for Jordan. He is already 35 years and 4 months old, and he is still working so hard on the defensive end. You can imagine how much he wants to win against the Tiejun."
But Jordan's switch of defense did not achieve the effect. Price did not hesitate. Seeing Jordan switch to guard him, he immediately transferred the ball to Kobe, who controlled the ball.
Because the Knicks' two substitute insiders are not tall, one is 206 centimeters and the other is only 203 centimeters, which is still the height of shoes, so Wang went directly to the basket to get the ball.
Among the Knicks' two substitute big men, Terry Cummings plays the center position.
This veteran is 37 years old this year. He was the second overall pick in 1985. He was selected to the All-Star twice in the 1980s. He was at his peak when he debuted. He had 23+10 in his rookie season. He had 20+8 in seven of the first eight seasons and another season.
He also had 19.8 points and 8.5 rebounds. He was strong in his peak period, but unfortunately he is too old now.
In addition, he has too many injuries and does not dare to maintain a large tonnage. He weighs only 105 kilograms, which is 30 kilograms different from Lao Wang in tonnage. He also has no height, plus his wingspan, there is at least a foot difference in height from Lao Wang.
.
When Lao Wang entered the basket, Karis had no way to stop him. He couldn't even block it, so he could only follow him into the basket.
Kobe just received the ball and saw Wang positioned under the basket. He suddenly pulled horizontally, avoided the Knicks' backup point guard Thompson, and threw the ball with both hands.
The ball was very fast and in a straight line, and the inside advantage was too great. Kobe didn't want to give the Knicks a chance to double-team Lao Wang.
"Crack!"
"Bang!"
"drop!"
Under the basket, Lao Wang caught the ball and dunked sideways with one hand. Suddenly, the sounds of catching the ball, hitting the basket, and the referee's whistle sounded almost simultaneously.
"Beautiful! Two plus one, it's so easy!" Zhang Lili smiled happily.
"Cummings did play a slashing tactic, but the rhythm of Old K's catching and attacking was too fast. He didn't make any adjustments at all. He just got up and dunked after catching the ball." Su Qun laughed.
"brush!"
Lao Wang made a penalty hit.
At 25:28, the Lakers led by 3 points.
Next, Jordan continued to attack and missed a shot under Kobe's desperate defense.
Looking back, Lao Wang continued to enter the basket to get the ball.
This time, the experienced Cummings seized the opportunity and fouled immediately after Lao Wang caught the ball, preventing Lao Wang from scoring two plus one.
However, Lao Wang made two free throws at 25:30, widening the point difference to 5 points.
Then the Knicks attacked and Jordan hit another shot. At 27:30, the Lakers led by 3 points and ended the first quarter.
"Old K made 5 of 6 shots and 5 of 5 free throws in the first quarter. I felt good today and actually made all the free throws, haha!" Su Qun said with a smile.
Zhang Liji said with a smile: "It's a rare occasion! Look at Tie Jun's wrist, it's so strong. His free throw shooting rate of 60% is very good."
What I admire the most is his hook. He actually developed such a good hook. It is more accurate than the sky hook, but the range is shorter than the sky hook and can only be used in the penalty area.
The hook hand requires pressing the wrist, and the wrist must be flexible, but his hook hand is not very particular about pressing the wrist, because his wrist cannot be pressed down at all, and it mainly relies on the movement of the fingers.
His fingers and wrists are the same. They are as thick as carrots. They are very powerful when pushing the ball. When the ball goes out, it has a strong rotation force, just like when shooting.
We all know that when shooting, the fingers and wrists need to give the ball a rotational force. If the rotational force is small, it will not work, and it will be soft! If the ball is soft, it will be weak and the shot will not be accurate. And Tiejun's hook is just like shooting, it rotates
It’s very powerful, so it’s very accurate.”
"Director Zhang, your observation is too careful, I didn't even notice it." Su Qun said with a smile.
Zhang Lili said with a smile: "I have seen him practice grabbing an iron ball several times, with his palms facing down, holding a 12 kilogram iron ball and grabbing it again and again, without letting the iron ball fall. Therefore, the strength of his five fingers is very strong, just like a steel hook.
, there are muscles on the palms and fingers.”
At the beginning of the second quarter, O'Neal came back on the court, but Jordan did not come up. The Knicks still played on the bench, but they did not foul Wang again.
Su Qun laughed and said: "O'Neal's free throws are not as good as Old K. I think when the Knicks used foul tactics against Old K, I was scared to death, right?"
"Haha, so I probably don't dare to use this tactic all the time, for fear that the Lakers will turn against O'Neal." Zhang Li said with a smile.
In the first two minutes of the second quarter, the Knicks had the ball three times. O'Neal made one of two shots, all with hooks, and made another pass error.
The Lakers also attacked three times and scored twice, but Lao Wang did not take action, but defended, and others were responsible for the offense.
This is because Harris believes that the Lakers' bench lineup is stronger than that of the Knicks, and Wang can take the opportunity to save some physical energy.
After the first two minutes, at 29:34, the Lakers temporarily led by 5 points.
At this time, Jordan came on the court and formed an internal and external duo with O'Neal. Oakley, Ellis, and Charlie Ward also came on the court, and the Knicks restored their main lineup.
During the TNT live broadcast, Bill Walton said: "The Lakers did not follow the Knicks' substitution rhythm because the Lakers' substitutes are stronger and younger."
Kenny Smith said: "Richmond is 33 years old and is still at the end of his prime. Let's not talk about it. He is not considered a veteran.
In addition, Rick Fox is 29 years old, and Te Yinlong Hill is only 30 years old. They are both in their prime, and they are not considered veterans.
The real veterans, Chris Mullin is 35 years old, and Mark Price is 34 years old. Both of them can still play the main role now, but they can't play for too long.
So in comparison, the Lakers' bench lineup is better, which requires the Knicks' main lineup to play more time."
Bill Walton nodded and said: "In the regular season, the Knicks can let a few veterans play more time and let the main players rotate more. But now in the finals, Phil Jackson will definitely have to reduce their playing time and let the main players have more time."
Give it a dozen."
"When they recruited veterans in the offseason, they still believed in the strength of Old K. It is said that Chris Mullin rejected Jordan and then agreed to the recruitment of Old K." Kenny Smith said.
"After all, in the finals, Jordan lost against Old K... Well, we won't mention this topic, haha!"
When the two of them said this, they both laughed.
Although the Lakers' bench players were stronger and their overall rotation was stronger, the Lakers still did not take advantage when O'Neal and Jordan were on the court together.
After playing in the second quarter, Jordan strengthened his defense against Richmond, weakening the Lakers' perimeter offense and strengthening his cooperation with O'Neal.
Instead of strengthening his own personal offense, he cooperated with O'Neal in passing and cutting from the wings in the triangle offense. The offensive quality was very high.
On the Lakers' side, Richmond was guarded by Jordan and was not efficient enough, so the offense could not allow him to play more. Kobe's offense is also a bit more mature now. The offensive end is mainly carried by Lao Wang, but with O'Neal's desperate defense,
The efficiency was not very high, 3 out of 5 shots, a 60% hit rate.
On the defensive end, he had to withstand O'Neal and Jordan's side passes and cutbacks by himself and cooperate with offensive tactics. It was a bit difficult. He could guard against this, but he couldn't guard against that.
By the 9th minute of the second quarter, the two sides were tied at 50.
At this time, O'Neal took a rest, Jordan stayed on the court, and the Knicks once again put on the bench.
On the Lakers side, except Lao Wang, everyone else took turns playing.
In the last two minutes, the Knicks once again fouled Wang.
But Wang's free throws were really good today. Not only did the Knicks not take advantage, they also suffered a loss.
After the second quarter, 54:56, the Lakers led by 2 points, ending the first half.
Lao Wang made 5 of 7 free throws in the second quarter, 8 of 11 shots in the first half, a shooting percentage of 72.7%, and 10 of 12 free throws, a shooting percentage of 83.3%. He efficiently scored 26 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, and 1 turnover.
2 Foul data.
Richmond played 16 minutes in two quarters, making 4 of 9 shots, 1 of 3 three-pointers, and 3 of 3 free throws, scoring 12 points.
The two teamed up and contributed 38 points.
O'Neal made 6 of 12 shots in the half and 4 of 7 free throws. He scored 16 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls.
Jordan made 8 of 13 shots in the first half, a shooting percentage of 61.5%, 2 of 4 three-pointers, and 4 of 5 free throws. He scored 22 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, and 2 fouls.
