On the Bulls side, Phil Jackson warned: "Joe Dumars is the scoring leader of the Pistons, and Zhou Quan is the second scoring point, so from now on, Scotty, John, you two must concentrate on helping to defend Iron Fist. We must not only block his breakthrough with the ball, but also lock his offense.”
"Where's the pass?"
Jordan asked immediately.
Locking offense and locking passing require different defenses. He needs to ask clearly before he can implement the coach's tactics more accurately.
A smile flashed in Phil Jackson's eyes and he said: "Joe Dumars missed three shots, which at least means that he will not be in a hot state today.
This is something we need to take advantage of. We can let him go appropriately and focus the main defensive force on Zhou Quan.
And you should also notice that the Pistons' morale is not strong. John Salley's injury has affected them and further reduced their confidence in victory.
The Pistons were swept by us last year. You should know very well that they are a bunch of old guys who have lost their fighting spirit and energy after winning two consecutive championships.
Although they have been shouting that slogan, they have actually lost their tenacity. There has been some improvement this season, and that is only because of Zhou Quan. In fact, their hearts have not really changed. They are just a group of mixed people. Guys, that's what they are.
Believe me, we can break their will with a big win tonight, and then we can harvest our victory at the Palace of Auburn Hills in the next game and eliminate them at their home court. "
These words immediately excited Jordan and the others.
Jordan stood up, motioned for his teammates to gather around him, and then sternly shouted at them: "Listen carefully, whoever dares to relax will never have an easy time in the team or in this league. I will definitely keep my word."
Everyone's face twitched and they nodded repeatedly.
Phil Jackson nodded. The Pistons had lost their energy because of two consecutive championships. The Bulls also had one championship in hand now and were likely to face this situation in the future. However, he believed that with Jordan's incredible competitiveness and outstanding leadership ability, he would win the championship in the future. Under his harshness and trash talk, this possibility will be minimized, and the current situation with the Pistons should not occur.
"Michael, go up and hit a few good shots on Zhou Quan's head, trying to break their psychology." He said to Jordan again.
He knows that Zhou Quan is also a young man with a very strong willpower and is not easy to defeat. But after all, he is too young. He lacks experience in leading the team and his control over the game is far inferior to Jordan. There is a possibility of being stunned at critical moments. Very big.
Without experience, and then being stunned, you will immediately lose control of the game completely, and the Bulls' home victories will follow.
For example, in the G3 game, at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Jordan stunned Zhou Quan through continuous steals and high-intensity pressing.
He didn't believe that a rookie's psychological quality could withstand the blow from Michael Jordan at his peak. Jordan didn't have such a strong psychological quality in his rookie season, and it took many seasons of training to develop a strong psychological quality. Quality.
He needs Jordan to completely defeat Zhou Quan technically, offensively and defensively, and psychologically.
As long as the Pistons are blown out, the Bulls will be able to accumulate the momentum to attack the championship, launch the final impact on the championship, and complete the defense of the championship.
"Let's fight! Let's fight..."
At this moment, Zhou Quan's sharp shouts rang out from the Pistons, followed by the shouts of other Pistons players, followed by the two thousand fans of the away team who also drank.
He stared and saw that Piston's mental state at this time was obviously different from when he paused just now.
He couldn't help but look towards the audience. The next moment, huge boos sounded from the United Center, extinguishing the Pistons' shouts.
Smiling calmly, he turned around and said to Jordan: "Michael, remember what I said, hit a few good shots when you go up, don't let their morale rise, you have to break them psychologically, I think this pair It’s not difficult for you.”
"OK."
Jordan nodded and walked toward the court.
After the timeout, the Pistons attacked.
In the frontcourt, Ulrich was on the left sideline preparing to serve.
The method he just used was that Zhou Quan ran to the penalty area, borrowed Rodman's body, temporarily got rid of Jordan, and then circled out from the top of the arc to catch the ball.
But this time Jordan was well prepared. As soon as he caught the ball, he rushed in front of him, preventing him from even getting a small opening.
However, he achieved his goal of catching the ball, but he just didn't have an open shot.
Pippen on the left wing quickly rushed toward the top of the arc, hoping to take advantage of Ulrich's serve and complete a double-team on Zhou Quan from the outside.
Ulrich has no long-range shooting ability, and his mid-range shooting is average. His main goal is to go in and dunk. He will not have any problems if he puts it outside.
Moreover, this is also the execution of Phil Jackson's tactics.
After serving the ball at this time, Ulrich immediately entered the court. When he saw Pippen rushing towards the top of the key, he immediately cut inside to the basket and was ready to catch the ball.
Seeing Pippen coming, Zhou Quan immediately dribbled back.
He also saw Ulrich cutting inside. At this moment, he suddenly started forward and broke through to the right elbow with the ball.
Pippen and Jordan quickly attacked, and Zhou Quan changed direction to the right, reaching the right elbow in two steps, which also drew the Bulls' defensive attention to the right wing.
At this time Ulrich had quietly cut outside the left waist and was about to rush into the paint area in one step.
But at this moment, Zhou Quan suddenly joined the ball, then stood up to take the ball, raising his hands upward.
The next moment, Jordan flew up in front, and Pippen held down Pippen on the left side without taking off, showing his extremely high defensive skills.
This is not because Jordan's defense is not as good as Pippen's, but that he must take off and block Zhou Quan's shooting and passing angles to the basket.
"Fake action!"
Robert Guida shouted.
The next moment, Zhou Quan collected the ball and dwarfed, blocked Pippen with his left elbow, and threw the ball at Jordan's feet with his right hand. With a bang, the basketball hit the ground and fell into Ulrich's hands.
"Oops!"
Cartwright and Grant under the basket were all focused on Zhou Quan. When they saw the cross pass, they turned around in a hurry, but it was too late. Ulrich's back-cut dunk was unstoppable.
"boom!"
The next moment, Ulrich jumped up against the basket, performed a one-handed tomahawk dunk, and slammed the ball into the basket with Cartwright and Grant looking up.
"oh!"
The players on the court, the Pistons bench, and the two thousand Pistons fans cheered instantly.
"Let's fight and defeat them!" Zhou Quan shouted at Ulrich and the others.
"Have a fight!"
Everyone drank together, and the Pistons' morale improved again.
Zhou Quan nodded. These old wimpy guys had to give them a shot of adrenaline from time to time, otherwise they would wil easily.
"Beautiful back cut! In the double-team, Iron Fist's pass completely penetrated the Bulls' defense." Robert Guida said excitedly.
"8:12, the Bulls don't have to worry, they are still 4 points ahead." Ringo Wilson said.
"Hurrah!"
"Michael, press them."
Phil Jackson stood up, blew the hooligan whistle, made powerful downward movements with his big hands, and shouted at Jordan.
Bulls offense.
John Paxson crossed the halfway line and handed the ball to Pippen on the left wing.
This time, Jordan went to the right low post first, and when Zhou Quan caught up, he suddenly ran up again.
At this time, Pippen reached the left waist with the ball. When faced with Bedford's defense, he suddenly jumped and passed the ball to Jordan with both hands.
Jordan ran from bottom to top and ran to the right elbow to catch the ball. Zhou Quan jumped behind him.
He suddenly turned around to face the basket, and at the same time raised the ball with both hands, Zhou Quan's body moved upward and was shaken.
The next moment, he collected the ball and turned around. He dribbled once and entered the paint area.
"What the hell."
Zhou Quan was left behind and quickly chased after him.
"boom!"
Jordan took two steps into the paint and then took off. Holding the ball in one hand, he faced Rodman under the basket with a flying dunk, knocking over the Pistons' basket.
Rodman ignored his injury and refused to take a step back. He gritted his teeth and jumped to block the shot, but was dunked directly under the basket by Jordan. He was very embarrassed.
"Beep!"
The referee blew the whistle, pointed at Rodman, and made a gesture to indicate a foul.
"Haha, Michael ignored Rodman's defense and completed a dunk, making it a two-plus-one." Ringo Wilson laughed.
"Rodman tried his best and worked very hard. He was injured." Robert Guida said.
Zhou Quan rushed to the basket, pulled Rodman up, and asked: "Dennis, are you okay?"
"fine."
Rodman gasped and shook his head.
"Boy, you almost guarded me." Jordan walked from Zhou Quan to the free throw line and threw a trash talk.
I don’t know who this trash talk was directed at, maybe it was attacking Zhou Quan and Rodman at the same time.
Before Zhou Quan could respond, Rodman's trash talk came first.
He is Ranbir's apprentice, and his trash talking skills are not bad, even very strong. He immediately counterattacked with a smile: "Scotty, you decide for yourself, no matter what you do, I will support you. Please, Michael, you Do you support him in apologizing to Iron Fist?”
"Ha ha……"
Zhou Quan, Joe Dumas and others laughed.
"Damn big bug."
Jordan's face was blacker than carbon. He gave Rodman a hard look and cursed.
Rodman walked up to Jordan, shook his crotch at the opponent exaggeratedly, lowered his voice, and said triumphantly: "I am a big bug, a big bug, I have unlimited energy, Madonna is drooling over my big bug, you It's useless to be envious and jealous. Who calls you small? I am a big insect and you are a small insect."
"Haha..." Zhou Quan and others lowered their heads and laughed fiercely.
When Jordan faced the shameless Rodman, he no longer knew what to say. Anyway, he made up his mind not to talk trash to Rodman in the future.
"Mine is definitely no smaller than yours. Big worm, I will take Madonna away from you." Pippen said with a proud look on his face.
"What are they doing?" Robert Guida asked confusedly when he saw the players from both teams huddled together.
"Whisper?"
Ringo Wilson had some guesses, but even he didn't believe it. The two teams were likely to fight when they met off the court. How could they whisper on the court?
"Hey, if you want to whisper something, go down and do it. Now prepare to take free throws, hurry up." The referee couldn't help but urge.
"boom!"
The next free throw was taken, but Jordan was affected by Rodman's trash talk and failed to make the free throw.
Rodman rose up and grabbed the backcourt rebound. At 8:14, the Pistons attacked.
Joe Dumars arrived in the frontcourt, received a pass from Zhou Quan, made a fake shot, passed Paxson, and headed towards the basket.
It feels cold today, so go in and score.
Since last year, his scoring at the basket has begun to decrease because of more injuries. It is easy to get injured when he goes in. Moreover, he has enough honors and no longer needs to work so hard. He plays health ball. Your career will be longer and you will make more money.
However, he still didn't want to be a coward.
Under the cover of Rodman, he passed Grant, drove into the basket from the bottom corner, and made a small throw to Cartwright.
"Snapped!"
Cartwright slapped him in the face and missed the ball.
The two collided in the air as they fell. Cartwright landed firmly and stood firm, but Joe Dumars staggered and then fell to the floor.
"boom!"
The basketball smashed into the basket.
"Good job, Joe!"
Zhou Quan rushed in and pulled Joe Dumas up, shouting loudly.
Staring at Joe Dumas who was getting up, Jordan's eyes became serious.
"Keep fighting, we must keep fighting."
At this time, he only had this idea, and he must not let the Pistons' morale rise.
"boom!"
Looking back, he retaliated by catching the ball in the low post on the right wing for a single, and then slipped into the basket and dunked, once again dunking the weak Bedford.
"boom!"
At the United Center, 20,000 Bulls fans roared with cheers.
One is the shooting guard's throw when facing the center, and the other is the shooting guard's strong dunk against the center. The difference between the two is huge. The throw can barely maintain morale, but the dunk can crazily boost morale.
The morale that the Pistons had just stabilized was directly cut in half by the crazy momentum at home.
Phil Jackson, who had been standing in front of the bench, saw the ball, nodded slightly, then turned around and sat down.
In his opinion, the outcome of a game is composed of many things, including lineup configuration, on-the-spot status, on-the-spot tactical command, players' execution on the field, self-psychological adjustment, and psychological warfare.
To destroy the opponent's psychology through tit-for-tat attacks, this is what the Bulls are trying to do now, and they are succeeding.
No one in the Pistons can play a will-destroying offense like Jordan, and there is no way to counterattack on a psychological level. The result is that no matter how hard the Pistons try, their morale will inevitably decline and they will eventually lose the game.
"Bang bang..."
On the right wing, Zhou Quan attacks with the ball and Joe Dumas picks and rolls.
The next moment, as he drove in, Jordan and John Paxson double-teamed him, and he immediately handed the ball to Joe Dumars.
"boom!"
Joe Dumars, who got a small opening, faced Jordan who rushed back and made a three-point jumper, but missed.
"well!"
The moment he saw the ball bounce, he couldn't help but sigh.
"mine."
Rodman, who was under the basket, roared in his heart, jumped up with all his strength, and with the fastest speed, he grabbed the offensive rebound over the heads of Grant and Cartwright.
"here!"
Zhou Quan rushed in from the right waist position and shouted loudly.
Rodman threw the ball, and Zhou Quan caught the ball and headed toward the basket. He didn't care about the presence of three people under the basket. He had to return a dunk, otherwise the team's morale would be shattered by Jordan's continuous attacks.
"Don't even think about it!"
Cartwright and Grant took off at the same time, blocking the front of the basket like two mountains.
"boom!"
Taking a step forward to avoid Grant, Zhou Quan bumped into Cartwright on the left front side of the basket. He pushed the opponent with his right elbow and made a tomahawk chop with the ball in his left hand, instantly smashing the Bulls' basket.
"Oh ho!"
Two thousand Pistons fans cheered instantly.
"Shh!"
But the boos from Bulls fans immediately drowned out everything.
"Iron Fist, you did a great job! You gave them back..." Rodman, who was nearest, hugged Zhou Quan excitedly and shouted.
Joe Dumars and the others also rushed forward to celebrate, and the Pistons' morale increased again.
"Beautiful! The tomahawk chop, this chop is so beautiful! This is a very tough and powerful dunk!"
In the TNT commentary box, Robert Guida roared excitedly, and then shouted: "Iron Fist dunked on Carter White. Michael Jordan had just dunked on the Pistons substitute center, and he dunked on the Bulls' real center as a point guard. He In tit-for-tat confrontation with Jordan, I will never give in, not even a step back."
"It's really good to dunk the center as a point guard!"
Ringo Wilson praised him and then said: "But his body posture in the air is far inferior to Michael's. He has some borrowed movements and is just average to watch."
Robert Guida smiled and said: "Of course Iron Fist's bounce is not as good as Michael's. The distance is a bit too long, the air is not enough, and the airborne ability is not enough. Of course, there is a gap in the ability to operate in the air, which is understandable. But you can't deny his bravery, you can't deny it. His strength.”
(End of chapter)
