Chapter 217 [Opportunities are only given to those who are prepared]
The Sonics determined their style of play, and then conducted boring shooting drills and running drills. The players became familiar with the tactics over and over again.
After Yang Jian joined the SuperSonics, he realized how boring the daily training of professional players is. They have to do the same thing over and over again and practice the same tactics.
Even though Yang Jian is already the team's leading scorer, he is not free to move. The running route in most rounds is set. He cannot run around. If he runs around, his teammates may not be able to find him.
The ball is prone to mistakes.
Opportunities only come to those who are prepared. Only by practicing in this way can players achieve tacit cooperation and win the game more easily. In terms of training offense, George Karl is undoubtedly an excellent coach.
The Sonics' daily training intensity is not high, and George Karl believes that the key to victory lies in the players' physical strength.
In the regular season, if a team wants to achieve a good record, they will compete on lineup depth and rotation tactics. Entering the finals, both sides will compete on the ability of the stars, and it will be difficult for role players to play their role.
On June 2, the 1995-96 NBA Finals kicked off at the United Center, home of the Bulls.
The United Center, formerly the indoor Chicago Stadium, was dedicated on August 18, 1994. United Airlines paid $1.8 million per year and enjoyed the naming rights of the stadium until 2014.
This is known as the largest stadium in the United States, which can accommodate 21,879 spectators when a basketball game is held. The largest refers to the arena area rather than the seats.
The statue of Michael Jordan is located on the east side of the stadium. Players will yearn for it every time they see it, hoping that one day they can have a statue standing outside the stadium.
There are only a handful of players in NBA history who can win this honor. Stars must have made outstanding contributions to a team, and it is best to have "one person, one city". Let alone erecting statues for stars who change teams, fans will not
It would be nice to burn his jersey.
Yang Jian doesn't know if he will have a statue in Seattle in the future. He wants to win a championship for the team first!
During the warm-up, Yang Jian mainly practiced three-pointers. Today his main task is to shoot and maximize the formation. The person responsible for attacking the basket is Kemp.
During the cctv5 live broadcast of the game, Zhang Lili introduced other information about Yang Jian. "Yang Jian has decided to join the Chinese men's basketball team to compete in the Olympics. However, it will be too late after he plays in the finals and will not return to China to join the national team. He will be in
The United States is waiting to join when the national team goes to practice."
Sun Zhengping said: "This way the time for him to get in touch with his teammates is a bit short, but the NBA Finals is definitely more important. Fans who want to see him in China have to wait."
Zhang Lijia smiled and said: "I think it doesn't matter that his running-in time is short. The rest of the national team can just watch the NBA Finals and figure out how to cooperate with him. In the Olympics, players from other teams will not be able to guard him one-on-one."
Sun Zhengping said: "It depends on whether Jordan can defend today. The performance of the two star shooting guards is the key to winning the game for both teams."
The starting lineup for both sides started. The SuperSonics five players: Payton, Yang Jian, Schrempf, Kemp, and P.J. Brown.
Bulls five players: Ron Harper, Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Luke Longley.
The slow-moving meat shield center Longley started, and the Bulls needed him to defend the penalty area. If he didn't play, it would be difficult for Rodman alone to withstand Kemp's impact.
Phil Jackson talked to Rodman before the game and asked him to try his best to guard against pick-and-rolls and interfere with Yang Jian's shooting, instead of focusing on grabbing rebounds. If he had been staying near the penalty area to defend, Yang Jian would have an easy time
Opportunity to take action.
As in the previous two games, Yang Jian did not talk to Jordan. He just smiled and said hello.
Jordan was used to it and understood what Yang Jian was thinking. Yang Jian regarded him as a rival and an enemy, and tried his best to defeat him. They were destined not to be friends, and it was all false to pretend to be friendly.
.It just so happens that they are not the kind of people who like to play tricks.
People who can be friends with Jordan are either bodyguards like Oakley or opponents like Barkley who are convinced. Yang Jian is not among them. He will not be convinced by Jordan. If the Sonics win,
Champion, Jordan must be so angry that he wants to kill Yang Jian. If the Bulls win the championship, Yang Jian will also be very unhappy.
Yang Jian's attitude made Jordan feel threatened. He knew that one day he would be replaced by young people, and he didn't want this day to come too early.
Those newcomers who regard Jordan as an idol and even want to be filial to him as a father cannot defeat Jordan. It is possible for Yang Jian that Jordan saw his own shadow in him.
In this finals, Jordan is under greater pressure than Yang Jian.
Because Yang Jian is young, there is no failure in being young. He can make a comeback, and there is no shame in losing to Jordan, who has been famous for a long time and has established a dynasty. Jordan is different. If he loses to a rookie, everyone will think that he is old and can't do it anymore.
will be completely replaced by new people.
After the Bulls were eliminated by the Magic last season, Jordan said Anfernee Hardaway was his successor. Hardaway was very satisfied with this title, and Jordan was saving face.
If he loses in this year's finals, Jordan won't be able to say that Yang Jian is his successor. Yang Jian definitely doesn't like others talking about him like that, and Jordan will be too embarrassed by that.
I must win! After winning the best record in the history of the regular season, there is absolutely no way I can lose this championship! Jordan said to himself in his heart.
What Jordan didn't know was that Yang Jian was also saying similar words in his heart, no defeat allowed.
In a parallel world, the SuperSonics reached the finals this year without Yang Jian. Although they lost 2-4, their defensive shooting percentage against Jordan was only 41.5%.
Yang Jian felt that if he was added to the mix and the Sonics still couldn't beat the Bulls in the end, wouldn't he be a waste?
What's the difference between having him and without him? The team's regular season record is better? Or did it win one more game in the finals? If he can't win after preparing for a whole season, he might as well find a place to crash and die.
never mind.
In short, he couldn't tolerate Jordan stepping on him to the altar. He came back in time to pull Jordan down from the altar! No matter how great a star you are, no matter who you are, there will always be something that can put you in trouble.
Make you humble.
Kemp won the jump ball and the game began. Yang Jian failed to make a fast break and the SuperSonics fell into position.
As expected, the person responsible for guarding Yang Jian for the Bulls was Jordan. Yang Jian first reached the left corner, then slid down the baseline and ran to the right, with PJ Brown covering him without the ball.
Yang Jian ran to the right corner to catch the ball, and Jordan caught up with him. Yang Jian held the ball and changed direction to the left, and Kemp immediately came up to play a pick-and-roll with him.
This tactic is carefully practiced by the Sonics. The first block is an opportunity for Yang Jian to run without the ball to catch and shoot. If Jordan catches up with Kemp, the second block will be used, giving Yang Jian a chance to get rid of the ball with a quick step.
Stop the jump shot.
The Bulls' defense was very tight and there was no opening. Rodman helped defend and blocked Yang Jian to interfere with his shot. Yang Jian held the ball and led it to the center, looking for breakthrough opportunities while observing Kemp's movement with the corner of his eye.
.
Kemp made an air cut, but Jordan did not follow. Yang Jian immediately found an opening and passed the ball to Kemp.
Although Longley can cover up the defense under the basket, the ball will be passed to Kemp and there will be a chance to hit it, which is better than Yang Jian himself holding the ball to Rodman or looking for an opportunity to take a shot.
Yang Jian's reaction speed is very fast now, and he can think of many things by just looking at his teammates on the court. If Kemp doesn't shoot when he hits the basket, he can also pass the ball to PJ Brown on the left.
Jordan chased Yang Jian, but Rodman blocked it and quickly retreated. Both of them were very fast, but Kemp got rid of it as soon as he caught the ball. Yang Jian passed the ball at the perfect time, and there was a time difference.
Kemp took the ball and took three steps, and he was about to dunk as it flew. Longley quickly pulled someone under the basket and fouled him. He couldn't do it without fouling, because he knew how high Kemp could fly.
Zhang Lili shouted: "Yang Jian sent a wonderful pass at the beginning, which attracted Rodman and Jordan to attack from a double attack. Unfortunately, Kemp was pulled down and it did not count as an assist, which caused damage in the opening game."
Sun Zhengping said: "Kemp is very excited. If he scores this ball, it will boost morale. Let's take a look at his free throws. We must seize this simple opportunity."
Kemp specially practiced free throws during training, and he performed very steadily today, making both free throws. 2 to 0.