Chapter 415 [Heroes are late, and they will beat the bull again]
Two days later, the former basketball coach of Harvard University was pulled out and whipped to death. This guy was dubbed "the only person on earth who could prevent Yang Jian from dying."
Someone also mentioned guard Kevin Edwards. This guy didn't want to serve as a substitute for Yang Jian in the SuperSonics last season, so he actively requested a trade to the Bucks. Then he was seriously injured and was reimbursed soon after, and now he has no ball to play.
It's really weird that a glass man with average strength is unwilling to serve as a substitute for Yang Jian. If Edwards doesn't leave, he won't have much playing time with the SuperSonics, the chance of injury will be greatly reduced, and he will have a chance to win two championships with the team.
When fans evaluate Jordan, most people say that "the hero lags behind." They believe that it is not that Jordan is not good enough, but that he is a bit old. Moreover, Jordan is only slightly inferior to Yang Jian, and is still outstanding compared with other outside stars.
Pippen and Rodman received a lot of bad reviews, and not many fans cleared them up. Almost all Bulls fans felt that these two held Jordan back and were an important reason for the loss.
Pippen is 32 years old this year and is still in his prime, but his performance in the playoffs for two consecutive years has been a mess. His shooting percentage has just reached 40%, and he averaged only 17.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.5 steals per game in the playoffs.
Pippen averaged less than 20 points per game with this kind of shooting rate. In the past, some people used to praise him for his good defense to prove that he was a superstar. Now, unfortunately, against the SuperSonics, the audience could not tell who Pippen guarded.
The person in charge was not Yang Jian but Schrempf.
Although Schrempf didn't score many points under Pippen's defense, his shooting percentage was higher than Pippen's. This was also the case last season, and I couldn't see what advantage Pippen had.
Rodman was even worse. He was a complete undercover in the first game. He couldn't guard Kemp and couldn't even grab a few of his best rebounds. So what's the use of this guy?
Rodman averaged 16.1 rebounds per game in the regular season, but his average dropped to 8.7 rebounds per game in the playoffs, and his data dropped by half. He is 37 years old this year, and his poor athletic ability is only one factor in the decline in data. Reference
In his regular season performance, he was more like a data brush.
In the regular season, Rodman would rack up statistics when facing a bad team. Entering the playoffs against a strong team, Rodman could no longer show his strength. His opponent's star inside numbers were at a disadvantage, not only in scoring but also in rebounding.
ball.
When the Bulls win the championship, the media can also praise Rodman to the sky, saying that his role cannot be reflected by the data.
When the Bulls lost, the media belittled Rodman as a cancer and a thorn in the side with weird personalities. There is no shortage of people in this world who set the pace, people who add insult to injury, and people who take pleasure in others' misfortune.
Players in this era are relatively lucky, because it is not the Internet age, so they do not receive much information. In the Internet age, as long as players go online to check news about the NBA, they will see a group of people scolding them.
No matter how good you perform, some people will scold you, because no one can satisfy everyone, and there is no answer to this. What you can do is try to ignore these voices and concentrate on yourself, or create a small account and scold them.
Almost everyone is optimistic that the Sonics will continue to win in Game 2. If the Bulls lose again, the series will basically be out of suspense.
The players rested for two days before the second game between the two sides started on June 4.
This is obviously a bit of preferential treatment given to the Bulls by the league. For a team headed by veterans, it is more difficult for the stars to regain their physical strength and reach their best condition. If the second game is played two days apart, the results may be completely different. Usually the schedule is a day off.
Players from both sides came on the field, but the Bulls did not adjust their lineup. Tank center Luke Longley still started.
The SuperSonics adjusted their lineup, with Terry Cummings coming on as a substitute and Sam Perkins starting.
In terms of clearing the penalty area, Perkins does a better job. He can shoot three-pointers. In this morning's training, Perkins' touch was very good and he hit consecutive three-pointers from the corner. Moreover, Perkins' weight
At 107 kg, Cummings is more resistant to people than the 100 kg Cummings, and his defense against Longley is better.
After the game started, Yang Jian kept looking for cover and running. Whichever inside line Longley guarded, he would look for cover from that side, catch the ball and shoot or change directions with the ball to break through. The slower Jordan would catch up, the more opportunities Yang Jian would have.
faster than him.
Langley doesn't help defend against double teams, and Yang Jian can make a big jumper if he has space. Because Kemp will see the right opportunity to move from the center to the weak side to give him the second block. At the same time, Payton can suddenly make an air cut in the center.
Receive a pass from Yang Jian for a layup or a pull-up jump shot.
During the counterattack, Yang Jian still has the opportunity to beat Harper alone. He can hold the ball and force a breakthrough and shoot three-pointers from the outside. During the counterattack, it is difficult for the Bulls players to double-team. If Yang Jian is flanked and he passes the ball, his teammates will have an easy chance to make a shot.
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The SuperSonics led 31 to 22 in the first quarter and once again dominated the Bulls.
Yang simply delivered 7 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal in the quarter. Payton scored 12 points and 2 assists in a single quarter, the most in the game.
When Steve Kerr came on the court, Yang Jian attracted the defense and actively passed the ball to Payton. Payton was able to beat Cole in isolation. He ran to catch the ball and made two three-pointers. His hands were very hot.
Cole's performance in the finals last season was very poor, and it is the same this season, struggling on both offense and defense.
Because of his physical fitness, it is difficult to get rid of the defense by running, and he will be pressed close to him when he gets the ball. He is not able to launch a quick counterattack, and cannot advance quickly with the ball like Yang Jian and Payton.
In the second quarter, Yang Jian continued to play without rest, and it was still a big problem who would be the Bulls' main defender. After Jordan came off the court, Harper had to be the main defender. Harper would definitely not be able to defend well, and he would not be able to beat Yang Jian on offense. If Jordan did not rest,
Competing with Yang Jian, his physical strength will have to withstand a great test.
Yang Jian's offensive method remained unchanged. As long as the Bulls dared to let Longley go, they would hit him in a misplaced position and score the ball when double-teamed. Under Yang Jian's leadership, the SuperSonics still had the upper hand in the second quarter. The Bulls relied on Bissende
Le and Pippen held on to the score and could not catch up.
In the second half, Jordan returned to the court and began to take over the main offensive task. After a series of jingling strikes, the point difference between the two sides widened to more than 15 points.
In the second half, Jordan and Pippen began to take more shots from outside the three-point line, trying to catch up with the score.
If the Bulls play against the Jazz in the finals, this approach is indeed effective. Jazz players like to defend near the penalty area and their defense against outside shots is average. Sonics players are much more aggressive in interfering with outside shots.
This is the experience that teammates gained from guarding Yang Jian during team training. And everyone in the SuperSonics knows best how quickly outside shots can increase points. How can they give Bulls players an easy chance to shoot?
The three-point shooting percentage of the Bulls' two superstars is inherently unstable, and their forced shooting percentage will naturally not be very high under interference.
The SuperSonics' style of play was more flexible. Kemp showed off his strength in this quarter and scored 10 points and 5 rebounds. Without Longley, Kemp caught the ball and hit the basket, which was difficult to guard.
At the end of the third quarter, the SuperSonics led 81 to 60 by 21 points.
The Bulls players tried their best on the defensive end, but they just couldn't beat the Sonics. Because the Sonics' defense was also very good and their offense was more efficient.
In the final quarter, stars from both sides continued to play. Jackson Jackson's strategy was still to guard against Yang Jian and send in highly mobile inside players.
He was betting that Yang Jian would take more shots for the sake of statistics. As long as his shooting percentage dropped, the Bulls would still have a glimmer of hope. As a result, Yang Jian would pass the ball when he attracted help from defense. Especially after attracting help from inside players, he would definitely find an opening to pass the ball to
Camp.
Taking more shots for data? No need. Assist data is also data, and he doesn't have to score. Yang Jian is still the league's assists leader. He feels that playing a double-double in the finals is also very attractive, and he doesn't have to score 30 per game.
Kemp broke out, scoring consecutive goals and performing alley-oop dunks. Rodman was always sleepwalking. He double-teamed Yang Jian many times and missed Kemp, leaving teammate Kukoc to defend the basket.
Kukoc is a big man who plays very softly, like a small forward. How can he guard Kemp? Moreover, Kemp attracts defense points under the basket to the left corner, leaving Perkins empty.
The score difference between the two sides widened to more than 30 points. George Karl replaced all the main players, and the game entered garbage time again.
Payton wanted to take more shots, but he only scored 20 points and 7 assists.
Kemp exploded in the second half. He played 38 minutes, made 15 of 25 shots, 7 of 10 free throws, scored 37 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals, and only committed 2 turnovers.
Yang Jian played 42 minutes, making 8 of 15 shots, 3 of 7 three-pointers, 7 of 8 free throws, scoring 26 points, 4 rebounds, 16 assists and 2 steals.
At the end of the game, 109 to 83, the SuperSonics defeated the Bulls again.