Chapter 446 [He is changing the alliance tradition]
Payton brought the ball to the frontcourt and passed it to Yang Jian. Yang Jian and Mason played a pick-and-roll outside the three-point line in the middle. Longley did not guard it and stood near the free throw line.
Yang Jian took a step to the left and shot a three-pointer at 70 degrees. Jordan tried his best to avoid the screen and took off slowly, unable to cover the ball. The ball drew a beautiful arc and hit the net! 19 to 8.
Coach Phil Jackson called a timeout, and Yang Jian almost stunned the Bulls with this wave.
Zhang Lili sighed: "Yang Jian was so strong today. He made 4 of 6 shots from the three-point line and scored 15 points and 2 assists."
Sun Zhengping said: "He was targeting this point of Langley. He would pull out to cover whoever Langley was guarding. Langley was dumbfounded."
Zhang Lili said: "A textbook mismatch attack. Yang Jian was hit by Malone in the pick-and-roll. Stockton is more threatening. Longley will definitely be replaced. If the Bulls continue to defend like this, Yang Jian can hit a three-pointer in a single game today."
ball record.”
Sun Zhengping said: "In order to defend Yang Jian, teams are now beginning to sign inside players who are good at guarding pick-and-rolls. He is changing the league's tradition."
Zhang Lili said: "Yang Jian's ability to find a cover and move one step to take a shot is recognized as one of the most difficult techniques to guard against. His first step in changing direction is too fast. If the opponent changes defense inside slowly, he will use the time difference to take the shot. Don't talk about Langley.
Mobility makes O'Neal uncomfortable."
What is the tradition of the league? Those who can get inside win the world! Although Jordan is a shooting guard, his offensive method is to attack the basket. The opponent's big man can wait inside to grab rebounds and defend.
Against the Sonics, the big man stayed in the paint and waited to die.
Last season, many teams were dissatisfied and had to play like this. As a result, they always watched Yang Jian score high points and enter garbage time in the third quarter.
Jackson knew that Longley was easily targeted on the defensive end, so he still let him start. Because the Bulls needed Longley to attack, add a scoring point, and give Jordan some support.
Without Langley, the Bulls would only have two strong scoring points, Jordan and Kukoc, and their opponents would definitely double-team Jordan at all costs.
Well, Kukoc is not very strong either, currently averaging only 14 points per game.
Without Longley, the Bulls' defense in the penalty area will also have problems. Last season, it was difficult to defend Kemp when he hit the basket. This season, the SuperSonics have Barkley, and without a big man to support him, Bark would have to stick his butt out and beat him.
Go to the basket?
Now that the Zen Master has no time to take care of Buckley, he must first find a way to restrain Yang Jian.
After the timeout, the Bulls made substitutions. Steve Kerr and Jason Caffey came on, replacing Harper and Longley.
Jason Caffey is a short and stocky post with a height of 203cm and a weight of 116 kilograms. His mobility is relatively average. He was replaced because Jackson had no better choice and other substitute post players were slower than him.
The mobility of the white substitute center Wennington is similar to Longley. He is 213cm tall and weighs 111kg. He is also a frame-protecting high center.
The Bulls also have a white high center named Joe Klein, a 36-year-old veteran who is 211cm tall and weighs 116 kilograms. He entered the league with the sixth overall pick in the first round in 1985. This is the 13th season of his career and he is a well-known blue-collar player.
Joe Klein walks and plays, the slowest on the team. In a parallel world, he is the lucky guy who was trash-talked by Jordan after winning the championship, "Why are you crying? I helped you win the championship."
Now Joe Klein still has a chance to be scolded by Jordan, and there is basically no chance of realizing his championship dream.
It is worth mentioning that Bissendler, the Bulls' backup power forward who performed well last season, was poached by the Pistons at a high salary. Bissendler's performance this season is very eye-catching, currently averaging 16.3 points, 9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
This made many Bulls fans dissatisfied and believed that the management should keep Bissendler. If the Bulls trade Rodman in the summer, they can find another strongman to compete for the championship.
Fans' dreams are wonderful, but based on Rodman's performance and reputation in the last Finals, no team wants him.
The Bulls' interior lineup is obviously weaker than last season, with important substitutes gone and no replacements introduced.
The saddest thing is that it’s not that the Bulls management doesn’t want to poach people, but that no big name is willing to cut their salary to join. If a strong inside player comes, he will definitely have no ball rights and no hope of championship. Why not find a bad team with salary space to sign?
Big contract? A player with a basic salary who has no strength will be of no use to the Bulls.
The SuperSonics also made adjustments, replacing Bo Otello and Barkley, and replacing them with Schrempf and Sam Perkins to add two outside shooting points.
George Karl planned to let Barkley lead the offense off the bench in the second quarter. Mason moved to his familiar power forward position and was responsible for guarding Jason Caffey, who was similar in size to him.
When the Bulls were attacking, it was hard to understand what tactics Jackson Jackson arranged after calling a timeout. After receiving the ball in the frontcourt, Kukoc passed the ball to Rodman in the low post on the left, who wanted the ball with his back.
Rodman pushed Perkins twice with his back, as if he remembered that he was Rodman, a person who cannot shoot outside the penalty area, and then passed the ball to Cole. Cole then looked for Kukoc, and Kukoc
Kochi lobbed the ball to Jordan in the low post on the right.
Jordan turned his back on the weak side to take the ball as a "threat", pushed Yang Jian twice, turned around and shot a fadeaway jumper from the baseline, and then hit the iron under severe interference. Jordan only scored 4 points on 2 of 6 shots, with a poor shooting percentage.
Yang Jian now feels that he is not strong enough. He can only let go when he is guarding a player facing the frame, but he cannot let go when he encounters a player who is attacking from behind. He suddenly withdrew, fearing that the opponent was in full swing and would fall in the air.
During the SuperSonics offense, Payton passed the ball to Yang Jian, who was running on the right side. This time Jordan bypassed the screen and pursued the defender to complete the close-up. Yang Jian protected the ball with his back and waited for his teammates to respond, and Mason provided Payton with an off-ball screen.
Yang Jian passed the ball to Payton who ran to the middle. The latter's high jumper missed due to slight interference from Rodman. Kukoc grabbed the rebound and passed it to Cole.
Cole showed off a wave of fancy dribbling, attacking up and down, forward and back... Unfortunately, he only had skills but no explosive power. In the end, he failed to get rid of Payton and dribbled the ball out of the three-point line.
Kukoc received the ball from the outside and lobbed the ball to Jordan in the low post. Jordan hit Yang Jian with his back on the left, attracting a double-team, then turned around and passed the ball to the middle, and laterally transferred it to Cole who was running on the right.
This goal showed Jordan's excellent passing vision. Cole made a mid-range shot from the right baseline. 19 to 10.
After Harper took a break, the Bulls had an extra shooting spot from the outside and their formation was even wider.
During the SuperSonics offense, as soon as Yang Jian passed the half court, he caught the ball and started a pick-and-roll with Mason, moved laterally to get rid of Jordan, and dribbled the ball from the center to hit the basket at full speed.
Jason Caffey, who had just come on the field, was passed by Yang Jian in a change of direction. Yang Jian took a step in front of the free throw line to attract Rodman's defense but did not pass the ball. He jumped up and threw a straight-arm throw with his right hand to avoid the block. The ball
Hollow into the net. 21 to 10.
Yang Jian's shot was very fast, and his movements were not very standard like Superman flying into the sky. His posture was picturesque, and his talent as a "court artist" was activated.
Today, Yang Jian planned to let go and throw, instead of taking action on his own when encountering a tight double-team. His goal was very clear, he wanted to score high points and beat Jordan.
He can do it, this is his 17th personal score.
Today is the best time for Yang Jian to score high points against Jordan. Because Pippen is absent, the Bulls' wing defense capabilities are not strong enough.
How could a forward like Rodman, who loves rebounding, run to mid-to-long distance to help defend again and again? After Schrempf came on the court, Kukoc had to consider the consequences if he wanted to help defend.
Before the game started, Yang Jian analyzed the Bulls' lineup and thought through the situations he might encounter.
In the next round, the Bulls played an exquisite combination.
Cole relied on the screen to change direction and quickly transferred the ball to Kukoc on the baseline. When Jordan and Yang Jian were blocked, they suddenly turned around and bypassed the defense and entered the basket. Kukoc accurately passed the ball back to Jordan.
Jordan jumped up to attract Mason's defense, and passed the ball to Rodman from close range. Rodman easily shot under the left basket and missed the rebound. He grabbed the offensive rebound and jumped for a second attack, finally letting go.
Scored .21 to 12.
Although the goal was scored, Rodman turned Jordan's pass assist into an additional offensive rebound. His shortcomings were fully exposed, and his shooting was too bad.
