BJ pushed the ball into the frontcourt and encountered the defense just now. Seeing that it was not convenient for Pippen to pass the ball, he could only pass the ball to Jordan.
This time, Jordan cautiously moved out to catch the ball, and then played one step away from the right three-point line.
He catches the ball with his left hand and raises it high, then bends down to play the ball. Suddenly, with a squeaking sound, he starts to exert force under his feet and takes a strong step from the right (outer) side.
Zhou Quan quickly retreated sideways and stuck to Jordan's left side. Jordan pushed forward two steps, reached one step inside the three-point line and suddenly stopped to shoot a jumper.
Zhou Quan stayed close to Jordan's left side, with his right hand even on his waist. As soon as his opponent stopped, he reacted immediately. When Jordan took off, he immediately followed suit and blocked the shot.
Jordan forced a shot, and after Zhou Quan landed, he started to use his strength and rushed past Jordan.
If the ball hits, he plays a fast break. If he doesn't hit, it's the same fast break. Anyway, he can't get rebounds from outside, and there are Joe Dumars and Assassin, so the backcourt is not afraid of not having anyone to receive the pass.
He believes that the rebounding abilities of Rodman and Sekali are definitely better than Cartwright and Grant, and they are better by more than one level. In the first six games of the series, the Pistons averaged 7.7 more rebounding courts than the Bulls. And this is a backcourt rebound, and the chance of his teammates grabbing it is very high.
"Rebound!"
When Jordan took the shot, he knew the ball would not hit, so he couldn't help but shout.
At this time, he noticed Zhou Quan rushing past him, and he knew what Zhou Quan had in mind, so he quickly turned around and chased after him.
But by the time he started it, it was already a step too slow.
"mine."
Dennis Rodman shouted secretly, stuck Grant behind him, and grabbed the backcourt rebound in a sudden movement.
"Give me!"
The assassin ran down from above, and Rodman quickly passed the ball over.
The assassin caught the ball, turned and dribbled past BJ, then glanced ahead and saw Zhou Quan had passed the center line, and quickly passed the ball.
Zhou Quan took two steps across the center line to catch the ball. Jordan took the opportunity to tie the ball and stuck to his left side, starting to fight and squeezing his center of gravity.
"squeak!"
He took two extra steps and suddenly slowed down after reaching the top of the arc.
"Emergency jump shot!"
Jordan's right hand was always on his waist, and he reacted quickly, immediately making an emergency stop.
"squeak!"
But the next moment, he used his feet to accelerate past the passer, using 92-level acceleration to step past the passer, past Jordan, and passed the top of the arc.
Jordan quickly turned around to pursue him, but he was already too late and was a step too late.
"Beautiful breakthrough with the ball!" Bill Walton couldn't help but admire.
Before he finished speaking, Zhou Quan was already holding the ball on the court and Jordan, who was one step behind, also jumped up and stretched out his hand to chase the ball.
"boom!"
Under the dunk with the ball in hand, the Bulls' rebounds screamed again.
"Oh ho!"
Two thousand Pistons fans raised their arms and cheered excitedly. The opening wave of six-to-zero attacks brought their emotions to the top in no time.
"Iron Fist, let's do magic, let's partner up." O'Neal jumped up from his seat and shouted to Zhou Quan.
"Awesome! What a great game! Zhou Quan dunked three times in a row at the beginning, and all three were considered fast breaks. The Bulls were a little stunned!" Zhang Lili shouted excitedly.
Sun Zhenping said excitedly: "Zhou Quan played two successful defenses and scored 6 points on 3-of-3 shooting. He is in great shape today!"
"Phil Jackson couldn't sit still anymore. He stood up. The Bulls served and called a timeout." Zhang Lili said.
The atmosphere in the United Center was a little depressing, just like the Bulls bench at this time.
The Pistons are completely opposite. On the bench, the players are very excited, and in the audience, the Pistons fans are also very excited.
Phil Jackson squatted in front of the bench, holding a tactical board and pen in his hand and said: "Don't stand still, run. Why are our pick-and-roll screens gone? I can't see any tactical moves in the triangle offense." , we have a problem now.
Scottie, Joe Dumars cuts off your passing angle, but the Assassin's position is a bit to the left, and BJ has a downward passing angle, so you can cut directly inside.
Bill, your positioning needs to come up a little bit, come out a little bit to cover Scotty, just outside the left midfielder. "
As he spoke, he drew a circle with a pen on the tactical cardboard and drew a circle outside the left waist. Cartwright nodded.
He added: "Horace, you come out to cover for Michael. Michael, you and Horace cut outside and inside, BJ passes to the right wing, including the right wing in the low post. The entire right wing passing angle is completely open... "
The timeout ended and the game began. The Bulls served from the backcourt and BJ advanced to a step beyond the top of the arc and stopped.
Pippen cut inside at this time, Joe Dumars chased closely, guarding on the upper side, still cutting off Pippen's receiving angle, but was blocked by Bitwhite, Sekali was forced to switch defense, but fell behind.
"Whoosh!"
BJ passed the ball down, and Isiah Thomas failed to adjust his position in time when Pippen cut inside and failed to block the pass.
"boom!"
Pippen caught the ball when he cut into the left sideline of the paint. Rodman had been pulled out by Grant, and there was no one under the basket. He flew up and dunked, opening the Bulls' scoring record.
"oh!"
Finally scored, the Bulls fans roared with excitement.
"Prevent the pick-and-roll, pay attention to the pick-and-roll! Joe Dumars, lock your man, don't let him leave your side." Chuck Daly roared on the sidelines.
Pistons offense.
The Assassin advanced to the frontcourt. This was the Pistons' first positional battle.
As soon as he arrived in the frontcourt, BJ immediately began to press and engage in physical confrontation.
The assassin was very depressed. His body was not working anymore and he could no longer perform the previous technical moves. Otherwise, he could have killed the clown in front of him with one hand.
Sekali entered the penalty area, Cartwright followed him on one side, plus Rodman and Grant, there were four people in the penalty area.
At this moment, Zhou Quan moved without the ball and entered the paint area. With Jordan and him, six people were in the penalty area, which was already very crowded.
"There is a crowd of people." Zhang Lili shouted excitedly.
Zhou Quan moved continuously in the crowd, bypassing Rodman and Bitwhite, then turned around and passed between Rodman and Grant, and returned to the right wing.
His speed is not very fast, but every time he circles around people, it is very smooth, just like a chef trying to untie an ox.
"Damn rats!"
Jordan was very passive following behind him. Every time he bypassed someone, his rhythm would be destroyed and he would have to exert force again. When Zhou Quan got out of the penalty area and returned to the right wing, he was thrown away.
Grant, who was on the edge, switched defense in time and kept up with Zhou Quan.
At this time, the Assassin passed the ball, and Zhou Quan caught the ball in one step at his right waist. He turned around and faced the basket, holding the ball with both hands.
Grant immediately flew up. The next moment, he dribbled a step laterally, and then made a jump shot when Jordan pounced on him.
"brush!"
The water splashed and he hit a two-pointer.
"The weird movement in the penalty area has become Tekken's signature technique." Bill Walton praised.
Williams nodded in agreement and said: "Yes, after several times in the league, almost no one can do the moving skills in the penalty area like Iron Fist.
Even Boggs, who is 160 centimeters tall, is more agile than Iron Fist, but it seems that he does not have the ability to move at will in the penalty area. "
8:2, Bulls attack.
On the right wing, Jordan and Grant pick and roll without the ball. The former cuts inside and the latter goes outside. Zhou Quan and Rodman switch defenses.
This is an established defensive strategy. Rodman is also a top defensive player, stronger than Zhou Quan, because he can defend from position one to position five, and his movement speed is also good, so switching defenses is the best option.
When BJ saw the ball at the top of the arc, he quickly passed the ball to Grant who was cutting outside. He believed that Grant had a height advantage when playing Zhou Quan.
But his passing awareness is too obvious, and the assassins mainly block Pippen's side, and the probability of passing to Jordan's side is very high. In addition, his reaction is super fast. At the moment the ball is released, he uses his feet to jump and jump. He got up, backhanded everything with his right hand, and snapped the ball.
"oh?"
Countless Bulls fans exclaimed in frustration.
Zhang Lili shouted excitedly: "Steal! Zhou Quan intercepted BJ's pass again..."
After Zhou Quan landed, he controlled the ball and then started to counterattack.
However, the Bulls have taken advantage of this opportunity to start to defend. BJ on the top arc and Pippen on the right have already turned around. Even Jordan, who is cutting inside, is desperately trying to defend.
Holding the ball to the three-point line on the left wing, Zhou Quan made an emergency stop, calmly made a jump shot, and took a three-pointer.
At this time, Grant had been completely left behind by him, and there was no defender around him.
"brush!"
The orange-red basketball flew towards the basket, drew a wonderful arc in the air, and then fell into the basket.
"yeah!"
Two thousand Pistons fans and Pistons players instantly cheered with excitement.
Bill Walton praised: "Today Iron Fist is in great shape, taking all the team's shots. He has made 5 of 5 shots and scored 11 points. He has already completed two fast breaks after steals, and his performance on both ends of the offense and defense is super explosive!"
Now Jordan should stand up. If you can't stop Iron Fist, then the Bulls' morale will definitely be broken by Iron Fist. "
Lewis Williams said: "Almost all media were not optimistic about the Pistons before the game. Many media even thought that tonight would be a one-sided game, but now, it is indeed a one-sided game."
Jordan breathed heavily. He didn't expect Zhou Quan's opening to be so explosive. Now it's 11:2, the team is already 9 points behind, and he hasn't scored a point. This is the tiebreaker, a game that cannot be lost. If he loses, he The dream of three consecutive championships is gone.
The honor of two consecutive championships cannot support his status as the only super giant. Once he loses tonight, he is likely to become the next smiling assassin and fall into the world.
At this time, his eyes were red, and the huge pressure made fighting spirit begin to surge in his body.
Phil Jackson resisted the urge to call a timeout. It was not a tactical problem just now, but the result of Iron Fist's powerful stealing ability. Calling a timeout was useless.
The Bulls attacked and BJ advanced to the frontcourt.
On the right wing, Jordan ran out of the three-point line and took one step to catch the ball. When Zhou Quan followed, Grant came out and screened for Jordan at the three-point line.
Jordan took the opportunity to break through, and Rodman switched defense. He continued to exert force at his feet. With his strong explosive power, he broke through Rodman again, went to the basket and met Seikali who was returning to defense, and made a violent dunk.
"boom!"
As the violent explosion of the basket sounded, Seikali, who lacked the ability to fight, fell directly to the basket.
"ah!"
After completing a venting forced dunk, Jordan stood under the basket, waved his fist vigorously and roared with all his strength.
"Oh ho!"
The entire United Center boiled instantly.
"Michael Jordan started to score. He dunked Pistons center Ronny Seikali on the first ball and overturned the opponent. The Bulls' morale began to come back!" Lewis Williams said excitedly.
"Let's see if Jordan can make a splash, otherwise with the current state of Iron Fist, the Bulls' morale may still be knocked back." Bill Walton said.
"Guys, we've got one more."
On the court, after pulling Seikali up, Zhou Quan roared angrily: "Remember, we are the gods of the United Center tonight. Tonight, we will control the fate of the Bulls!"
"Kill them!"
The assassins immediately joined in, and Rodman and the others roared at the same time. The Pistons' morale was not weakened by Jordan's dunk. Under the leadership of Zhou Quan, it became even higher.
"Don't even think about it!"
Jordan was furious.
"Tit for tat!"
Zhang Lili sighed excitedly.
"Crack, click, click..."
In the media box behind the baseline, all the reporters had been stimulated by both sides to a surge of adrenaline. Their excitement was as high as that of the players on the field. They kept clicking the shutter, and many reporters had already used their second film.
11:4, Pistons attack.
Next, Joe Dumars and Pippen each played an iron game, and the Pistons attacked again.
The Assassin advanced to the frontcourt, and Zhou Quan on the right wing asked for the ball. After receiving the ball, he singled out Jordan on the three-point line.
After passing the ball, the assassin did not stop at the top of the arc. Instead, he immediately ran to Zhou Quan and started a pick-and-roll for him, blocking Jordan. Zhou Quan took the opportunity to move to the top of the arc. Jordan was one step behind when he squeezed the assassin away, and BJ Also switching to defend Zhou Quan, the Assassin got an open position.
"Whoosh!"
Zhou Quan found that both Jordan and BJ were following him, and the moment they pulled up the ball, they passed the ball backhand to the assassin behind him.
"not good!"
Jordan turned around and pounced on the assassin.
"boom!"
The assassin caught the ball and took an open three-point shot. Jordan's block was a little slow, but the ball missed and the touch was a little worse.
"Snapped!"
Sekali grabbed the offensive rebound over Cartwright's head, took off a second time and put the ball in the basket.
"Ronnie, good job!"
Zhou Quan immediately shouted encouragement from outside.
13:4, the Pistons led by 9 points on the road, Phil Jackson called a timeout.
"The Bulls are at a disadvantage on rebounds!" Lewis Williams said.
Bill Walton flipped through Seikaly's information, shook his head and praised: "Ronnie Seikaly, so far in his career, has averaged 10.8 rebounds per game, including 3.64 offensive rebounds, accounting for 3.64 offensive rebounds. It reached 33.7%, and one of the three rebounds was an offensive rebound, which is a very high ratio, and Rodman only had 36.6%."
"He is small in size, has height, and moves quickly, much faster than Cartwright. He also has excellent positioning awareness. If he was not so soft at the basket, he would rebound more." Williams laughed.
"No one is perfect. If you are smaller, you will be faster, but your ability to fight will definitely be worse." Bill Walton said with a smile.
"The Bulls are a little passive now, with 3:1 rebounds, 2:0 steals, and 0:2 turnovers. The Pistons took three more shots and made 6 of 7 shots. The Bulls made 2 of 4 shots." Williams said.
Bill Walton said: "There is no doubt that the Pistons started better tonight and played at a top level on both offense and defense.
Among them, Iron Fist's three defenses were the key. He twice intercepted BJ's passes to Jordan and Grant, and once prevented Jordan's shot.
In contrast, Michael Jordan made 1 of 2 shots and did not perform well on the defensive end. He just said before he came out that he would dominate the destiny of the Pistons, so now he needs to work harder, otherwise Iron Fist will lead the Pistons in the United The center, in the Bulls' home court, dominates the Bulls' destiny. "
Williams said: "Judging from the current performance, Iron Fist's threat with the ball, Bill, I think it is not even lower than Michael Jordan?"
"A threat with the ball?"
Bill Walton pondered for a moment, then nodded immediately and said: "The offense is weaker than Jordan's, that's for sure. Iron Fist's offense is far from as unsolvable as Jordan's.
But his organizational ability and his passing ability are not comparable to Jordan's. Coupled with his first-class personal offensive ability, indeed, Lewis and Iron Fist's threat with the ball is no less than that of Michael Jordan. Otherwise, Phil Can Jackson make Jordan switch to guarding Iron Fist? This fully illustrates Tekken's threat with the ball. "
Williams said: "In this way, Jordan still can't guard against Tie Fist. A ball carrier who has reached the first-class level in sudden shooting and passing cannot be guarded by relying on single defense. Moreover, Tie Fist's passing and breakthrough have even reached the level of Top level.”
Bill Walton laughed and said: "The main reason for Iron Fist's breakthrough is that it is too comprehensive, coupled with the realistic fake moves, Jordan has been fooled many times, and being surprised is common."
The words of the two people were heard by many people and triggered their thinking.
For example, Lakers general manager Jerry West, Kings general manager Athos Rochell, Warriors general manager Gary St. Jean, etc.
He is as threatening with the ball as Jordan, the league's top ball-handling core, and he is only in his second year. He is frighteningly young. Such a potential superstar is worth trading with any bargaining chip, or even an entire team.
"Rebounds, protect our backcourt rebounds, this is my minimum requirement for you, understand?" Phil Jackson said to Cartwright and Grant in front of the Bulls bench.
If not for Cartwright's status in the Bulls and his experience, he would have been replaced by Scott Williams, who has a better rebounding ability.
But in the crucial tiebreaker, he didn't dare to let Scott play the main role, but if Cartwright failed to perform again, he would have to trust the undrafted player.
(End of chapter)
