When the Jazz advanced, the SuperSonics players had already rested for five days to adjust to their condition.
George Karl did not arrange high-intensity training, and the players could only practice shooting. The SuperSonics' tactics have been well-established in the regular season, and it is more important for the star players to ensure that they have sufficient physical strength.
The media predicted the game and were almost unanimously optimistic that the Sonics would win the Western Conference Finals. The San Antonio media also ridiculed the Jazz players, hoping that if they failed to beat the Sonics, they would not hurt the Sonics stars, which would make the finals less exciting.
There was a lot of tension between the two teams, and those who supported the Spurs were still upset after the game. Many Spurs players complained that the Jazz players played too dirty, especially their core.
Some people are watching the excitement and don't think it's a big deal. The host of Detroit Sports Station issued a soul torture: "Ma Long and Stockton are also dirty. Why is no one calling them a bad boy army?"
However, more media criticized David Robinson for not being tough enough. He couldn't lead the team to fight back, and you can't win by complaining.
David Robinson is called a softie by many, and his performance at critical moments is indeed terrible.
The Jazz's center position is their biggest weakness, with only three blue-collar players. They cannot guard Robinson one-on-one and often resort to foul tactics.
As a result, Robinson averaged 11.5 free throws per game in the series, and only made 6.7, with a shooting percentage of 58%. His free throws at critical moments were at the O'Neal level, which disappointed the fans.
The Sonics players play relatively cleanly, and the most egregious one, Payton, just curses on the court. The Sonics have received a lot of support because of this, and almost everyone hopes they advance to the Finals.
There are also people who want the Jazz to advance, and most of them are gathered in Salt Lake City.
Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and the stars were interviewed, and they all expressed that they would not be intimidated by the SuperSonics' regular season record and believed that the two teams could compete.
Salt Lake City media predicts that Chris Morris and Brian Russell will become the Jazz's winning team. The two swingmen performed well in the series against the Spurs and can attack and defend well.
Sean Elliott's poor performance was the main reason for the Spurs' elimination. He averaged 38 minutes per game in the series, averaging only 14.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists, shooting 33.3% from the field and 25% from the three-point range.
Elliott's statistics are far inferior to those in the regular season, and he can be said to be completely protected.
The Seattle media believed that the Jazz overestimated their capabilities. They only beat the Sonics once in the regular season, which was a fluke. Yang Jian is much stronger than Elliott, and their playing styles are also different. The Jazz can guard against Elliott.
It proves nothing.
They also broke an eye-catching news.
"Yang practiced boxing and fitness at the largest boxing club in Seattle during the holidays. According to two coaches at the club, Yang's boxing level is extremely high and he can become a professional boxer. He may have been mentally prepared and plans to use the method he is good at.
Returning a flagrant foul from a Jazz player."
"Sprewell did not dare to say harsh words after he was discharged from the hospital. In the next game between the two teams, he also performed very honestly against Yang Jian. The madman was scared. Yang is definitely the toughest foreign player in the NBA."
Yang Jian practiced boxing before the game, which made the game more popular.
Someone pointed the finger at Karl Malone. Malone elbowed his opponent many times during the game. If Yang Jian and Malone had a conflict and suffered a weight loss due to the fight, were they prepared to use skills to win?
Yang Jian did this not because he wanted to fight with anyone, but because he wanted to use this method to remind the league to strengthen the management of referees during the Western Conference Finals and not to cause the game to get out of control because the whistle was too biased.
If the Jazz players did not have a strong home whistle, they would definitely not be an opponent of the SuperSonics. In a parallel world, this series was very intense. Jeff Hornacek played the best performance of his playoff career and was completely blown away.
West Hawkins dragged the game into a tiebreaker.
If it weren't for the Sonics' home court advantage, the Jazz might have come back from falling behind 3-1. Now that Yang Jian is the starting shooting guard, compared to Hawkins's switch, Hornacek can't have the upper hand.
Yang Jian is going to play hard with Hornacek and increase breakthroughs and air cuts, which means that he will often have to face Malone's defense near the penalty area.
In the Western Conference Finals, Yang Jian can't keep shooting from the outside. His shooting percentage was low in the last game because he didn't want to get to the basket to challenge Olajuwon. When he feels good, he can do this and shoot from the outside.
Opponents, but facing the Jazz and Bulls, he must be tougher.
He regarded this series as a warm-up against the Bulls, trying to give himself more adjustments and get used to hitting the basket.
As his mental attributes continue to improve, Yang Jian has figured out many things. People cannot live in peace forever, and sometimes he must dare to take risks. He can maintain his health properly during the regular season, and he can also do the same in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
But in the end, the core must stand up.
His style of play is actually evil in the eyes of many people. Other players with super physical fitness mainly focus on hitting the basket with the ball, while floor players like to practice three-pointers. He also has the ability to hit the basket, even if the shot is not good.
Yes, his speed and strength are also on the level of Dwyane Wade.
The last two rounds of the series are all live games across the United States, and there will be a lot of fans watching. He frequently hits the basket and scores, and he is a tough guy among tough guys no matter he wins or loses.
The benefits he can gain are not just a greater probability of winning a championship.
In next season's regular season, there may be many fans who will be unhappy with him. Fans will think that it is unreasonable for a strong man like him to not take as many free throws as Reggie Miller in the regular season.
He is a Chinese who plays in the NBA, and he has to pay attention to some small details to capture the hearts of the fans. Now some people say that he is weak because he can't play from behind.
He will never practice back-up attacks, it will only increase the number of breakthroughs from the frame.
If you hit your sister from behind, wouldn’t it be SB for someone who doesn’t have a height advantage to practice back hitting? The only people who are more SB than this are the high center forwards who are over 210cm tall and can break through the face frame by practicing crossover.
The Jazz players who arrived in Seattle also saw the media's comments. They were very angry, especially Malone and Stockton.
What does it mean that we can’t win if we don’t use small moves when playing and don’t play dirty defense?
We made a lot of small moves, but we have never won in the playoffs!
Thinking of this, the two stars became even more silent. The Jazz's best record in history was the Western Conference Finals. Now that they have entered the Western Conference Finals again, almost no one is optimistic about their advancement.
Malone feels sad for himself. Most of the big-name players in the league have won the regular season MVP. He is 33 years old and has not yet received this honor. Yang Jian even dared to shout out the rhetoric of winning the MVP, but he did not dare. If he continues to fight like this,
He may never have a chance to win mvp in this life.
On the evening of May 18, when the two core members of the Jazz came out, they heard boos from all the fans. They could only hear applause when they were in Salt Lake City, and they were basically booed everywhere else.
TV5 broadcast the game live, Zhang Lili said: "Yang Jian has not lost since entering the playoffs. He defeated two star shooting guards in the first two rounds. Today he defeated Hornacek again, which will be the third one."
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Sun Zhengping said: "Yang Jian is now recognized as the second shooting guard in the league, the first is Jordan. But I think he will not suffer against Jordan. The two of them won one and lost one in the regular season."
Zhang Lili said: "Today's matchup between Payton and Stockton was also a highlight of the game. Payton won the assists title in the regular season, ending Stockton's record of winning the assists title for the ninth consecutive time."
After the players warmed up, George Karl took the time to emphasize the tactics. "Man-to-man defense, fight for every ball, be careful to double-team Malone in the penalty area. As long as we win two home games first, the opponent will not be able to advance. As long as we win two home games first, it will be impossible for our opponents to advance."
If you defend with all your strength, you will be able to limit them. I still say what I said, cut off the connection between the stars and role players."
The Sonics are an offensive team, and their focus on defense is actually focusing on the individual abilities of their stars. When man-to-man, if the opponent's star scores a lot of points, it will be recognized. If the role players are restricted, they will win.
George Karl talked about offensive tactics again. "Gary, you can isolate Stockton on the weak side and use your advantage. If the opportunity for isolation is not good, pass the ball to Yang. Yang will catch the ball or attract inside help to defend.
Sean passes the ball. The others pull away and prepare to catch the ball and shoot."