When the Sonics players came out, the Bulls' home fans booed them. After the first game, Chicagoans were even more displeased with the Sonics players.
Boos will increase the psychological pressure on visiting team players. Fans use this method to support Michael Jordan and hope that he will lead the Bulls to win the championship again.
The atmosphere at the Bulls' home court is so terrifying that ordinary rookies might be "scared out of their wits" playing in the playoffs here.
In the first round of the game, Kurt Thomas, the Heat's 10th pick in the first round, was completely lost at the Bulls' home court.
Eric Snow didn't know how to play at all after he entered the finals. It was useless no matter how much the coach encouraged him. Fortunately, Snow was not completely useless. He shouted an average of 20 times per game, waved a towel ten times, and handed ten glasses of water.
, a furious triple-double.
Bulls fans hated Yang Jian who made the buzzer-beater, and they were the loudest when they booed him. With such momentum, it seemed that a group of people might rush out from the stands at any time to beat him.
Almost all American fans watching the live broadcast on TV supported Jordan and the Bulls to win the championship. Yang Jian did not expect that after a buzzer-beater, he would become a recognized villain except for SuperSonics fans, a supervillain who tried to prevent Jordan from continuing to write the legend.
Too much is not enough. Yang Jian's performance this season has been a bit too much, inspiring Americans' xenophobia. Pippen's words reminded people of this. Does anyone want to see a Chinese rookie lead the team to win the championship, with all local players as his foil?
Of course, Chinese fans all want to see the SuperSonics win the championship and Yang Jian dominate the NBA. But the NBA is an American sports league after all, and the answer for most people is definitely that they don't want to see Yang Jian win the championship.
Looked at from another angle, this matter is easy to understand.
Because in a parallel world, China's CBA league is even more exclusive than the NBA. For a while, CBA's rule was that foreign players were not eligible for MVP selection. Both the regular season and finals MVPs had to be Chinese, and foreign players could only be awarded the best foreign player award.
The CBA clearly told the foreign players that you are all outsiders, no matter how good they are, they are still outsiders. And no matter how useless the local players are, they are still their own. Later, a funny situation happened in the CBA. In the 2011-12 season, Li Xuelin of the Beijing team won the finals MVP
, averaging 11 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, stealing the MVP award from black player Liang Qichao.
In the NBA, there is no precedent for a foreign player to be the core of the team and lead the team to win the championship.
In 1993, Olajuwon became an American citizen. A year later, Olajuwon won the only regular season MVP trophy in his career with his outstanding performance, and led the Rockets to two consecutive championships. That is to say
, Olajuwon was an American when he won the award, not a foreign star.
Moreover, Olajuwon's skin is dark enough, making it easier for American audiences to identify with him.
You can imagine how difficult it will be for Yang Jian to lead the Sonics to win the NBA championship. He had thought of it a long time ago, so in an interview during the last game, he bluntly said that the Bulls would not be defeated that easily.
Looking at the All-Star voting, it seems that Yang Jian's popularity is not much different from Jordan's, both are starting players. In fact, the influence of the two in the NBA is far different, and they cannot be compared at all.
Before 1984, Chicago was a famous city of crime. The prototype of Gotham City where Batman is located is Chicago. Chicagoans have no interest in basketball at all. Although it is the third largest city in the United States, the Bulls could only use it before Jordan joined.
To describe it as dismal, the average attendance of an arena that can accommodate 20,000 people is less than 7,000.
At that time, the biggest star in the history of the Bulls was Jerry Sloan, who later became the head coach of the Jazz. Sloan only made two All-Stars and six All-Defensive teams in his playing career, so he was not a superstar.
After Jordan joined the Bulls, Chicago's bleak football market ushered in earth-shaking changes. In the 1984-85 season, the attendance at the Bulls' home court reached nearly 12,000, and then it increased year by year until it set a record of 610 consecutive sold-out games. These people
, without exception, all to see Jordan.
The economic boost Jordan brought to the city of Chicago was also huge. In 1994, the Chicago Tribune gave a statistic that Jordan's three consecutive championships from 1991 to 1993 brought a net income of US$1 trillion to Chicago.
What is the concept?
Jordan's significance to Chicago is no longer as simple as a basketball player. He is the totem of this city. Even if Pippen's nickname is "Batman", Jordan's status cannot be shaken.
After the game started, the Bulls still used a style of defense with all their strength and stars attacking.
The Bulls players were very active in helping to defend Yang Jian. As soon as he caught the ball, at least two people interfered, preventing him from taking an easy shot from the mid-range.
This will of course lead to defensive loopholes, especially when inside players are assisting in defense. Whether it is a mid-range jump shot or an air cut to the basket, Kemp will be able to get easy shooting opportunities. At least he will have a singles opportunity.
George Karl knew that Kemp had a physical advantage and encouraged him to take more shots. If Kemp can attract double-teams inside, the Sonics' offense will be unstoppable by combining both inside and outside.
The Bulls' solution is to foul Kemp in the penalty area and send him to the free throw line. If Kemp's free throws are accurate, the Bulls will have no choice but to admit it. They have no better defensive method.
Yang Jian anticipated this situation in advance. When he was unable to get a chance to shoot from mid-range, the best way was to rely on screens to pull out of the perimeter, catch the ball and shoot three-pointers or create space with the ball to shoot three-pointers. Outside the three-point line
, the Bulls cannot easily double-team him.
However, Yang Jian couldn't control his touch. His performance outside the three-point line today was very poor. Even if he practiced three-pointers this morning. His shooting accuracy only increased a little, and he couldn't see any improvement.
After the last game, he said he would risk his life with his opponent, but today Jordan risked his life with him. Jordan's physical strength was better than Yang Jian imagined. Both sides of the NBA Finals only had one day's rest before playing the second game, and Jordan still maintained a good performance.
competitive status.
No matter where Yang Jian catches the ball on the court, Jordan will pursue it with all his strength and try his best to interfere with the shot.
After Jordan was feinted by Yang Jian several times, he always focused on preventing shots. He was not afraid of being passed because after Yang Jian broke through, there were teammates behind him who could interfere with the shot.
The Bulls coached defense in today's training session. Jackson asked Harper to imitate Yang Jian's style of play, while others defended him. Harper's shooting was inaccurate, and if he was interfered with imitating Yang Jian, of course he would go crazy.
It seems that the simulation effect is not very good, but it is not the case.
Jackson Jackson used this method to give the Bulls players a psychological hint, making them feel that as long as they defend like this, they can reduce Yang Jian's shooting rate. They are familiar with Yang Jian's running route, and it is enough to maintain their confidence.
Yang Jian's shooting percentage is not high when facing strict defense, and the Sonics still have more offensive points than the Bulls. But when Payton and Schrempf face single defense, their shooting percentage is not high even in the open space, which is embarrassing.
It was the first time for both of them to play in the finals, and their mentality was not very stable. Moreover, they were responsible for defense with Jordan and Pippen, and they were only thinking about how to strengthen their defense. They did not have much possession of the ball on the offensive end, and occasionally they shot a lot.
Hard to heat up.
The shooting percentage of the Bulls players was not high, so Jackson arranged for them to attack the basket with all their strength in order to take advantage of the Sonics' lack of a defensive center. As a result, four of the Sonics' starters committed five fouls, and the Bulls players got a lot of free throws.
The Bulls' home whistle and star whistle were obvious. Even role player Harper was able to break through and cause Yang Jian to foul, making 7 of 8 free throws in the game.
The Bulls took a total of 42 free throws, while the Sonics only took 29, more than half of which were taken by Kemp.
Kemp made 8 of 18 shots, 13 of 16 free throws, and scored 29 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 blocks, but his shooting percentage was only 44.4%. Rodman's defense worked. Kemp can make mid-range shots, but he can't rush for a dunk.
, pull directly.
This is similar to the way the Sonics defended Karl Malone in the last round of the series, and it is effective. This way the Bulls have more manpower to deal with Yang Jian.
Under strict guard, Yang Jian made 7 of 15 shots, 1 of 5 three-pointers, 5 of 5 free throws, and scored 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.
Neither Schrempf nor Payton's shooting percentage exceeded 40%. Only Sam Perkins scored as a substitute for the Sonics, and no one else scored. Despite this, the Sonics still relied on star scoring and tenacious defense to compete with the Bulls.
Fighting till the last minute.
The Bulls relied on Pippen's mid-range shot and Rodman's offensive rebound and fouling to make two free throws, and won the victory with difficulty. The score was 90 to 93.