On the Jazz side, Coach Sloan also emphasized defense. "Karl and Felton should help defend the outside line when encountering a screen. They must interfere with Yang Jian's shots, especially his mid-range jump shot. Chris also needs to be careful if he is on the wing if the distance is relatively close.
Help with defense. If you see Yang running out of position, immediately interfere with him and let Schramf shoot from the outside. Jeff, try your best to keep up with him."
Sloan was unsure, so in order to ensure the team's offensive firepower, he started Hornacek.
During the regular season, Sloan tried to change the formation and let Hornacek play as a substitute for 23 games. The effect of this approach was not good. Hornacek is not a defender who is good at holding the ball and attacking. He is not in the starting lineup without him.
It's not easy to open up space.
When Hornacek is in the starting lineup, the team is more likely to win. But against the SuperSonics, his appearance was an obvious defensive weakness, and the physical gap between him and Yang Jian is too big.
SuperSonics starting five: Payton, Yang Jian, Schrempf, Kemp, P.J. Brown.
The Jazz's starting five: Stockton, Hornacek, Chris Morris, Malone, Felton Spencer.
Kemp won the jump ball and the game began.
The Jazz players knew they would lose if they jumped the ball, so they immediately retreated to prevent Yang Jian's fast break.
The players spread out in the positional battle. Payton did not look for a cover and directly took the ball to the weak side. This is an important change for Payton this season. His self-confidence has improved and he dared to directly challenge Stockton.
He dribbled the ball to a comfortable 50-degree angle, turned his back to Stockton, turned around and made a jump shot. 2-0.
George Karl encouraged Payton to take more shots in this series, which is the correct tactic. Stockton can hardly block Payton, nor can he push him away from the penalty area, and it is difficult for his teammates to help defend.
The Jazz's main defensive targets are Yang Jian and Kemp, and it is impossible to assign someone to help defend Payton.
Stockton and Malone were playing a pick-and-roll, and P.J. Brown helped to block Stockton so that he could not break through quickly. Payton pursued him from behind.
Stockton passed the ball to Malone. Malone held the ball from the center and went to the basket but was blocked by Kemp. PJ Brown retreated to form a double-team. Now the league's penalties for illegal defense are becoming more and more relaxed. If Malone
If you want to take an easy shot, you have to make a mid-range shot. Getting to the basket is usually the fate of being double-teamed.
Malone passed to center Felton on the left. The latter caught the ball at the baseline and had no shooting range. He took a step forward and was turned around by Kemp. His throw was deflected due to interference.
PJ Brown got the rebound and passed it to Schrempf. Schrempf quickly transferred it to Payton, and the SuperSonics counterattacked.
When Payton brought him to the three-point line, Yang Jian had already entered the penalty area. Payton lobbed a half-high ball, and Yang Jian jumped up on Hornacek, caught the ball in the air, half-turned, and picked the basket from close range.
Hornacek didn't jump and raised his hands to interfere. He didn't know how to defend against such a ball. The ball bounced out of the frame. Yang Jian immediately took off twice after landing, overwhelming Hornacek and scored with one hand. 4 to 0
.
Sun Zhengping sighed: "Yang Jian is just bullying people with his body. He can almost make up the deduction. Hornacek can't do anything."
Zhang Liji said with a smile: "Hornacek is a standard floor player, and his jumping ability is embarrassing to describe. Yang Jian asked him to take off first, and he couldn't even protect the rebound."
Jerry Sloan watched from the sidelines and shook his head, sighing secretly that it was a mistake to let Hornacek guard Yang Jian. But Hornacek will have this problem whenever he plays. He will also suffer a disadvantage when guarding Schremf, because of his height
, there is a difference in weight.
The Jazz attacked, and Stockton used a pick-and-roll to attract the defense and pass to Malone. Malone caught the ball in the high post and made a steady two-pointer. 4 to 2.
During the SuperSonics offense, Yang Jian ran from the baseline to the top line on the right side and received Payton's pass under the cover of Kemp.
At this time, the Jazz were particularly uncomfortable. Malone could only defend and interfere, otherwise Yang Jian would definitely take action. In the regular season, Jazz players have seen this kind of cooperation many times. No matter what, Yang Jian scored 40 points in the opening game.
Yang Jian has seen a lot of how Jazz players will defend and how teammates will move. After receiving the ball, he immediately moved quickly to the center without making any fake moves, and passed a high ball to the right basket with both hands without any trace.
hesitate.
After Kemp screened, he actually made an air cut, jumped up with both hands, and dunked the ball in! 6 to 2.
This long-distance alley-oop cooperation was completed too quickly, and Felton Spencer had no time to cover up. Felton is a meat shield center with a height of 213cm and a weight of 132kg. He moves very slowly.
Zhang Lijia shouted: "Beautiful, Yang Jian's assist is likely to be selected as one of today's top five goals. It's really far away. Kemp's dunk was also beautiful. Ordinary players can't play this kind of coordination."
Sun Zhengping said: "I think Yang Jian's passing ability is also first-rate. This kind of cooperation will never be seen in the CBA. He and Kemp have a perfect understanding."
This kind of coordination is not only not seen in the Chinese CBA, it is also not common in the NBA. Only people with super quality can do it.
The Jazz still played a pick-and-roll, and Stockton passed the ball to Chris Morris, who ran to the left corner on the screen.
The way Chris moved was a bit like Yang Jian, but he couldn't shoot from the corner, and his shooting rate was too low to dare to shoot. He feinted in front of the frame and then broke through, but was blocked by Schrempf, who was chasing after him.
Chris passed the ball to Malone in the low post. Malone held the ball and hit hard. The ball was knocked away by P.J. Brown and Kemp, causing a foul.
Malone is also very capable and is not afraid of being double-teamed. He has averaged double figures in free throws per game for five consecutive seasons. When he takes the ball, he can create space with one left elbow and one right elbow, but he can't open his elbow.
It can also hit people on the arm.
Malone's hard hitting was really unbearable. Kemp complained to the referee that he had been elbowed, but the referee ignored it.
In the NBA, this kind of confrontation is rarely called a foul. Many stars who attack with the ball will use their elbows to open the way. Nike's advertising slogan was "just elbow it" for a while. The Nike star was called "little one" by some people.
Malone".
Amid the boos from the SuperSonics home fans, Malone missed two free throws and Kemp easily grabbed the rebound.
Zhang Lijia laughed and said: "Ma Long is nicknamed the Postman, which describes his accurate shooting. I don't know what happened to him in this year's playoffs. His performance at the free throw line was very poor. In the first round against the Trail Blazers, his free throw percentage was only 50%. Up
One round he performed 70% better, but today he started not to score again.”
Sun Zhengping said: "This is good news for the SuperSonics. Malone is one of the stars with the strongest scoring ability."
Zhang Lili said: "Not as good as Yang Jian, Malone's average of 25.7 points per game this season ranks fourth in the league. The most amazing thing is that Yang Jian's shooting percentage is higher than Malone."
Kampra went to the outside and played a pick-and-roll with Payton, attracting Malone. Yang Jian ran to the right from the left corner, and PJ Brown blocked Hornacek.
Seeing that the opportunity was blocked by the bottom line, Payton moved laterally and passed the ball to Yang Jian in the right corner. Yang Jian caught the ball and shot. Hornacek was too slow to catch up and had no time to take off, so he only stretched his hand from a distance.
.
Yang Jian's shooting rhythm was perfect and the ball hit the net. 9 to 2.
Coach Sloan asked substitute inside man Adam Kife to go to the sidelines to warm up and prepare for substitutions. Against Yang Jian, you really can't play a meat shield center. He will move and play from this side. The choice is very smart.
Moreover, the Sonics created a weak side, and when Yang Jian ran over to catch the ball, it was difficult for the Jazz point guard to assist in defense. Stockton's assistance in defending Yang Jian was almost the same as not assisting in defense, and it was impossible to block the shot.
The Jazz attacked, Felton was released after covering for his teammates, PJ Brown decisively helped defend Hornacek, and Stockton did not pass the ball to the two.
It's useless to pass the ball. Felton can't shoot the basket and wait for the response. Hornacek's chance is gone after being blocked by the inside. Yang Jian bypasses the screen and catches up.
After passing the ball several times, the 24-second attack time was almost up. Stockton made another pick-and-roll jumper, but missed due to Payton's interference.
The SuperSonics attacked and used the same tactics again. Yang Jian went to the right corner and received the pass.
Hornacek tried his best to chase but failed to stop the car. Yang Jian feinted the ball in the corner, changed direction and took one step past Hornacek, and then took another step to the basket, beside Felton.
Passed the ball to the left.
PJ Brown caught the ball and made a layup with one step, easily hitting the board and scoring. 11 to 2.
When Felton turned around, P.J. Brown had already taken action, and it was too late for him to commit a foul. Felton's turning speed was like an "aircraft carrier U-turn". In the future, Manchester United's aerial dominance Maguire will be much faster than him.
Coach Sloan requested a timeout, and the first thing he did was replace Felton. If he continued to play, the Jazz would be defeated in the first quarter.