Duan chose to squat in the bottom corner to create better scoring opportunities for Baron Davis and others.
However, on the Pistons side, Hamilton also felt good early. After half the first quarter, he made 4 of 5 shots and scored 8 points on jump shots alone.
In fact, this has something to do with Duen. Logically speaking, Duen plays the second position and should defend Hamilton.
However, in order for the Bulls to save Duen's energy, Duen stood on the flank defensively and generally assisted in defense.
There is no problem with Duan's defense, but he is more focused on defending against breakthroughs and helping to defend the ball holder, rather than a player like Hamilton who runs without the ball and catches and shoots.
And because Billups, a big-hearted point guard, needed to be restricted, the Bulls sent Luol Deng to lead the defense.
In this way, the only person who can defend Hamilton on the Bulls side is Baron Davis.
Baron Davis is actually pretty good at guarding off the ball, but after all, he is a bit too short. Naturally, he cannot guard a swingman like Hamilton who is two meters tall in shoes.
Hamilton's touch tonight is indeed very good, and Billups can also use the pick-and-roll to launch attacks in the mid-range or beyond the three-point line.
The Pistons' two guns on the outside were fired, so the offensive firepower is naturally not bad.
However, the Bulls were not too anxious.
The Bulls' transition offense, as well as local four-on-three scoring and passing, are also effective.
It is precisely because of this that even if the Pistons took outside shots, the point difference still could not widen, and it was basically around four or five points.
When more than eight minutes into the first quarter, Ben came off the court to rest, and Duan began to reach for the ball in the high post.
Seeing this, the Pistons players on the court immediately flanked Duen without the ball, making it impossible for Duen to catch the ball.
Tyson Chandler, who was originally going to cover Duane, immediately covered Baron Davis.
At the same time, Luol Deng, who was left open, also quickly cut to the basket.
Antonio McDyess, who comes off the bench, is not as strong in assist defense as Ben, and Rasheed Wallace also has to guard against Tyson Chandler and Josh Smith.
Antonio McDyess just faced Baron Davis, who passed the ball to Luol Deng who had already rushed to the basket.
Roaring Tianzun chose to cover up the defense and took off to block the shot, but Luol Deng still scored the ball with his excellent physical fitness.
The only good news for the Pistons in this round is that the referee did not blow the whistle.
However, this does not mean that the Pistons can breathe a sigh of relief.
You know, before Billups and Hamilton felt good, the Pistons didn't expand their advantage.
Now that Ben has left the game, the quality of the Pistons' interior defense has declined significantly.
The other four members of the Pistons' top five played on the court for more than eight minutes, and would be replaced immediately.
If the Bulls take this opportunity to blow the horn of counterattack, the consequences will be disastrous.
There is no doubt that for the Pistons, interior defense will be a serious problem next.
Normally, Duane runs from the low post to the high post, and the Pistons' defensive pressure should be more on the outside.
However, Larry Brown has emphasized that Duane cannot catch the ball or score, so the Pistons players can only choose to defend Duane at the expense of defense elsewhere.
The main shooting ability of the Bulls' starting lineup is Duan, while others are better at scoring at the basket.
Ben's fate is equivalent to lifting the seal on the offense of other Bulls players.
As a point guard, Baron Davis also knows how to connect the team and help other teammates score better at the basket.
However, because Hamilton was so good at running, Baron Davis consumed a lot of energy in the first quarter, and his performance at the end of the first quarter was not very good.
In the Bulls' plan, Duane was double-teamed in the high post, and Baron Davis should carry the offensive banner.
However, due to physical problems, Baron Davis at the end of the first quarter failed to produce results that satisfied Scott Skiles.
So in the last 2 minutes of the first quarter, Ben Gordon replaced Baron Davis.
Without a qualified passer, the Bulls' breakthrough points and passing and cutting coordination would not be so smooth.
However, Ben Gordon's performance tonight was okay, and he hit a three-pointer right from the start.
Seeing this, Scott Skiles then replaced Andres Nocioni to increase his outside shooting ability and opened the score with a three-pointer.
By the end of the first quarter, the score was 26-28, and the Bulls had a 2-point lead.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Pistons relied on Prince and Ben to lead the team. On the Bulls' side, Duan continued to play with the second team after playing the entire first quarter.
Seeing Duan continue to appear, Larry Brown thought to himself: "It's broken!"
Looking at this battle, how could Larry Brown not understand that Duan deliberately squatted in the bottom corner and stood guard at the top of the key in the first quarter, just to save enough energy and find opportunities to travel at different times and hit the bench lineup hard? !
Also worried that Duen would step up and score and suddenly widen the point difference, Larry Brown immediately rushed to the Pistons players on the court and reminded: "Don't let Duen catch the ball, keep an eye on him!"
The Pistons players heard it, and so did Duane.
Du En scoffed at this: "I'm running without the ball, how can you defend me?"
Duan did not ask for the ball from the high position, because the high position would definitely be double-teamed.
If you want to take action at the beginning of the second quarter, you must play without the ball!
As the shooting of Ben Gordon and Andres Nocioni becomes more and more stable, the Pistons will not dare to ignore it easily.
With outside shooters helping Duen open up space, Duen has even more room to run.
From now on, he is no longer limited to outside running. He can also cut to the basket, or run to both sides with the help of screens, catch the ball and then go to the basket.
Because Diaw was also on the playing list at the beginning of the second quarter, he was able to pass the ball to Duan who was running without the ball by holding the ball in a high position at the top of the arc.
If Du En brings this group of bench gangsters on the field, it will definitely be effective.
The Pistons think they know enough about the Bulls, but they are definitely unfamiliar with this set of offensive tactics and play styles that are common with small balls but relatively rare today.
Sure enough, after three minutes of the second quarter, the score difference was widened to 7 points, and Larry Brown hurriedly called a timeout.
"This guy Duan only targets our weak spots!" Larry Brown said with emotion.
Although Ben only committed two fouls at this time, after Duan ran without the ball, his intention to catch the ball and attack the basket and draw a foul was too obvious.
Du En played like this, obviously because he wanted to punish Da Ben.
As soon as Ben is gone, Duen can continue to smoke in the bottom corner, or stand guard at a high position, allowing other teammates to charge in front, and then conserve his energy to end the game at the critical moment.
"Richard, if Duan continues to run without the ball, you will have to defend it alone.
If Duane gets the ball in the high post, Tyshawn, you just have to try to limit Duen.
We don't have any more defensive resources to limit Duan, it's too difficult for him to play smart!
Unless the Bulls are forced into a desperate situation by us, Duan will not hold the ball and hit hard, so our double-teaming on him will not make much sense.
Now if we want to defeat our opponent the Bulls, in addition to continuing to be aggressive on the defensive end, we also need to score more points.
Duen is strong, but his teammates are not strong enough! I believe we are a better team! "
Larry Brown had to admit Duane's influence on the court, and also confirmed that Duane was more experienced and mature.
However, Larry Brown firmly believes that the Bulls, which the Pistons could defeat last year with the strength of the team, can still do so this year.
However, the strategy must be adjusted.
Last year it was enough to just rely on defense, but this year we also need to look at the offensive performance of the Pistons players!
The Bulls are a 73-win team and have the highest team strength ceiling in the league.
Larry Brown knows very well that this is because of Duan, because Duan was too stable in the regular season.
In the regular season, Duan can do what he did in the first quarter tonight in many games, waiting for work and letting his teammates play first.
Du En is in good condition because Du En has matured and become very calm!
Like a professional killer, he knows when to exert force and when to lead the team to close the game.
Now, Larry Brown must break Duan's inner peace and make Duan anxious.
And only when the Pistons open up the offensive end and the point difference slowly widens, Doon will be anxious! I'm worried about his CBA teammates, why are they so bad? It's not reliable at all.
Only when Duen couldn't help but attack with the ball, expending a lot of energy and barely maintaining the score, did the Pistons have the opportunity to rely on defense to defend Duen as well.
"Chuck is right, it's hard to guard Michael, but it's not difficult to guard the Chicago Bulls!"
Larry Brown recalled the trick Chuck Daly gave him a few days ago. If he didn't choose to be a villain to Duan, he would treat Duan like Jordan...
(End of chapter)
