Chapter 566 [It's too late, and the whistle is out]
In another Western Conference series, the Spurs swept the Jazz 4-0.
The Jazz completely disappointed Salt Lake City fans and were swept out of the playoffs every year. This season they regressed and did not even reach the Western Conference Finals.
Karl Malone's statistics are better than Tim Duncan's, averaging 23.5 points, 11 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. Duncan only has 17 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.5 blocks. However, Duncan's shooting percentage is higher, 52.1%, while Malone's shooting percentage is
43%.
The Spurs have more scoring points, and the Jazz mainly rely on Malone to score. When his teammates can't open up, Malone has to force himself in the face of double teams and has no choice.
Small forward Brian Russell is the Jazz's second scoring point, scoring 14.7 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1.3 steals in the series.
The Jazz's two white guards are lost. Hornacek averaged 11 points, 3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, and his performance was acceptable. Stockton only averaged 9.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, 9 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
On the surface, Stockton's statistics are not bad. In fact, his performance is very unstable. He only scored in double figures in two games. In the fourth game, he only had 4 points and 6 assists, which was speechless.
When the Jazz need their outside core to step up and score, but Stockton is the "quarterback", how can the team win?
The Jazz don't feel very competitive anymore. The players know very well that there is no hope of winning, and they don't want to go to the Western Conference finals to encounter Yang Jian. Karl Malone's inefficient scoring, and on the defensive end, there is no elbow to beat Duncan and David Robinson.
The idea. If the Jazz want to win, Malone has the only possibility of maliciously hurting others.
The Knicks swept the Bucks 4-0 in the Eastern Conference, and the Heat swept the Hawks 4-0 to meet in the Eastern Conference Finals.
In this round, the SuperSonics were the last team to advance.
With only one day off, the Western Conference Finals will begin at the SuperSonics' home court.
The Spurs made adequate preparations and caught the SuperSonics off guard in the first game, leading by 18 points in the first half. In the second half, Yang Jian increased his efforts to catch up, but still failed to lead the team out of the pit.
The Spurs got off to a good start with a score of 118-107. The 118 points was also the Spurs' highest score in this playoffs.
The Spurs' strategy was to attack Ben Wallace's point and use any means necessary to cause him to foul. At the same time, they used the shark-cutting tactic many times when Ben Wallace received the ball, sending him to the free throw line and disrupting the SuperSonics' offensive rhythm.
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Ben Wallace is both a defensive strength and weakness.
Because once he takes a rest, SuperSonics' interior defense will have a big problem. Spurs coach Popovich discovered this during the regular season. Brad Miller and Othella Harrington are not as tough as Big Ben.
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If the league supports the Sonics and hopes that the Sonics will win, relying on the home court advantage and the home whistle, it will not be so easy to get fouled. But now president David Stern hopes that the Spurs will advance, even if the Spurs advance to the finals.
It would affect the ratings of the finals, and he didn't want to watch Yang Jian lead the team to win four consecutive championships.
Once Yang Jian wins four consecutive championships, he will step on all local American stars. No team has done this before except the Celtics. There is no doubt that the SuperSonics' four consecutive championships are more valuable.
Yang Jian is too young, and league officials do not want to see Chinese rule the NBA. If he starts to rule now, how many years will he rule in the future?
The Spurs have reached the finals, and Duncan is a young local star who can give other stars hope of winning. If the SuperSonics win the championship again, other teams will almost not want to play.
Fans usually discuss the game, but Stern gets a headache when he hears it. Everyone thinks there is no suspense about the championship.
"Do you still need to watch the game? The Sonics must win the championship!" This is the opinion of many fans.
What's even worse is that Yang Jian usually likes to do other things and is very successful in the entertainment industry. People like him don't need so many championships to become a superstar. It is reasonable to give a little exposure to other stars.
In the second game, the Sonics' tactic was to "retaliate in kind."
It didn't matter that Ben Wallace was in foul trouble. He went down to rest. The rotating inside players fouled Duncan and David Robinson hard when guarding Duncan and David Robinson, giving them free throws.
This move reduced the scoring efficiency of the Spurs' interior twin towers, and Yang Jian even accounted for most of the points against point guard Avery Johnson.
Yang Jian played 47 minutes, making 15 of 25 shots, 4 of 10 three-pointers, and 5 of 5 free throws. He scored 39 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. He didn't pass the ball much, and when he had the chance, he made plays on his own, and the Spurs couldn't guard him.
Payton performed poorly, making 4 of 13 shots, 2 of 5 three-pointers, and 2 of 2 free throws. He only had 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 9 assists. The Sonics still won, 101 to 86.
Duncan played 47 minutes, making 8 of 11 shots, 7 of 13 free throws, and scored 23 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 blocks. His free throw percentage was only 53.8%.
David Robinson played 40 minutes, making 6 of 10 shots, 4 of 8 free throws, 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, and his free throw percentage was only 50%.
There is insufficient offensive firepower inside, so outside players have to take more shots. Avery Johnson made 5 of 17 shots and scored 10 points, 2 rebounds and 7 assists. He couldn't get rid of Yang Jian's entanglement, and his shooting percentage in quick pick-and-rolls was not high.
Yang Jian's defensive ability has been affirmed again. As long as he is serious, he can defend outside players into blacksmiths.
The last two games were played at the Spurs' home court, and the Spurs' home whistle was astonishingly strong.
When Yang Jian was running without the ball, he was constantly pulled by his opponent, and the referee turned a blind eye. Sonics players are more likely to get blocked when attacking the basket, because the opponent will not be called for a foul due to fierce physical confrontation, and it is difficult to rush.
Even though Yang Jian had been mentally prepared, he was a little angry when he encountered such a missed whistle. In the third game, he only got two free throws. As long as he was not knocked to the ground, the referee would not call a foul. He came with a mission.
In the fourth game, Yang Jian only got 4 free throws. He couldn't get any free throws, and it was even less possible for his teammates. The Spurs' penalty area offense completely overwhelmed the Sonics, and several inside players were troubled by fouls every time.
Even so, the Spurs' wins were always in single digits. Their offense was not good, scoring 94 points in one game and 85 points in the other game. The Spurs relied on their home court advantage and were surprised to see the SuperSonics score only 90 points in two games.
The total score is 3 to 1.
Because the game was broadcast live across the United States and in many countries, the Western Conference Finals whistle was too biased and caused huge controversy.
"It's too much. This is simply to let the Spurs advance. How can the Spurs players pull people on defense without fouling? Are those people who say that the defensive intensity in the playoffs is high and can be used? Are the Supersonics players physical when they defend?
Confrontation, Spurs players go to the free throw line."
"It's so dark. The league has made it clear that it wants to promote local stars and suppress Yang Jian. Who is Elliott? He averages 6 free throws per game more than Yang Jian. Can you believe it?"
"Too much is not enough. Yang Jian's current performance has hurt the self-esteem of Americans. Now the league has made it clear that it has arranged for referees to blow the SuperSonics. It's shameless."
"Is Stern out of his mind with this arrangement? If the Spurs advance to the finals, I won't watch the finals. How can Duncan be praised for his style of play?"
Not only are Chinese fans overwhelmingly supporting Yang Jian and the Sonics, a large number of American fans are also disgusted with the Spurs. Duncan's playing is indeed not interesting to watch. Looking at the sales of sneakers, you can see how big the popularity gap between him and Yang Jian is.
Due to pressure, the league did not dare to arrange for referees to call nonsense in Game 5. The SuperSonics easily pulled back the game at home 105-80, but the Spurs still took the initiative.
In Game 6, Yang Jian scored 53 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals on the road, leading the team to a 108-95 victory, dragging the series into a tiebreaker.
Stern was shocked when he watched the game. Yang Jian's touch was so good that he couldn't guard the Spurs even if he didn't break through. He made 11 of 18 three-pointers and killed the Spurs.
Yang Jian failed. The talent only possessed by g6 was really impressive. But it was not easy for him to win. He paid the price of 5 fouls and was almost sent off in the final quarter.
The tiebreaker was held in Seattle, and the Spurs' "home whistle" was still very obvious. The referee was smart enough to target the Sonics' inside line, causing Ben Wallace to fall into foul trouble. He only played 30 minutes and left the game with 6 fouls.
Brad Miller also committed 5 fouls and only played 24 minutes. Only Harrington guarded the penalty area at the critical moment of the SuperSonics' final period. How could he withstand the impact of the Twin Towers?
Payton performed well in this game, making 9 of 16 shots, 2 of 5 three-pointers, and 2 of 2 free throws. He scored 22 points, 8 assists, and 2 steals. Yang Jian also scored 36 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals.
But the SuperSonics lost the game 101 to 108 and stopped in the Western Conference Finals.
