On the 16th, the G4 battle continued.
At eight o'clock, at Delta Stadium, the SuperSonics and Jazz announced their starting lineups.
Jazz: Felton Spencer, Karl Malone, Tyrone Corbin, Jeff Hornacek, John Stockton
SuperSonics: Sam Perkins, Rodman, Schrempf, Kendall Gill, Zhou Quan
Zhang Lili said: "The best thing for the SuperSonics is to win this game, 3 to 1, and get the match point. Otherwise, it will be a tie at 2 to 2, and the situation will be a little troublesome, and the situation will become very passive."
Sun Zhenping nodded and said: "Don't be like the Suns, who won two consecutive games and then lost two consecutive games."
Zhang Liyi nodded and said: "Now the morale of the Suns has been suppressed by Mosaic, and it is somewhat unable to control the situation. It is very troublesome. According to the analysis of many American media, the Suns are more likely to lose the series than Mosaic."
"Barkley's inconsistent play affected the series."
When Sun Zhenping said this, he suddenly said: "Coach Zhang, I remember during last year's finals, Zhou Quan said that if Barkley can no longer lead the team to the finals, the Suns management will most likely choose to trade. You What do you think?"
Zhang Lili was startled and said with a smile: "Barkley's home team is not the Suns. If he cannot lead the Suns to win the championship, then the management will not hesitate to trade him and will only consider what kind of bargaining chips they can get back."
"Victory! Victory! Victory..."
At half past eight, the SuperSonics cheered in the Delta State Stadium.
In addition to the players, there were also two thousand SuperSonics fans who came from afar. These fans were shouting hard, hoping to boost the team's morale.
"Shh!"
The home fans booed and shouted, trying their best to suppress the morale of the away team.
"Snapped!"
Jump ball, Spencer moves the ball away, and the Jazz attack.
"brush!"
In the low post on the right wing, the postman hit Rodman with his back, turned sideways and elbowed the opponent away, and then hit a jump shot.
When the offense and defense transitioned, Spencer immediately defended on the spot to prevent Perkins from making a fast break. The SuperSonics' fast break did not come out.
Zhou Quan took the ball to the frontcourt. When he reached the top of the arc, he looked left and right, and then suddenly pulled it up.
"brush!"
As the water splashed and the refreshing sound of the basket was being washed, the two thousand visiting team fans suddenly cheered.
"Three points...hit!" Sun Zhenping shouted excitedly.
Zhang Lili said happily: "It's our home court. Even if you rush in with all your strength, you may not be able to beat the whistle. Since you feel good, let's continue shooting from the outside."
"Yes, Stockton can't defend him anyway." Sun Zhenping said with a smile.
"boom!"
Hornacek made a three-pointer but missed, and Rodman protected the rebound.
The Jazz still defended on the spot, preventing Rodman from passing the ball quickly, which slowed down the SuperSonics' offensive and defensive rhythm.
Zhou Quan once again reached the top of the arc with the ball, leaned sideways, and ran over Stockton to the free throw line. Before the Jazz's attack arrived, he suddenly turned around and made a step-back jumper.
"boom!"
But it missed. The ball hit the inside edge and bounced out.
"mine."
Rodman rose up and grabbed the offensive rebound over the Postman's head.
As soon as he landed, he lobbed the ball toward the top of the key.
Zhou Quan retreated to catch the ball outside the three-point line. When Stockton came up to press, he suddenly broke through with a tentative step. After forcing the opponent back, he stepped back and shot a jumper.
"brush!"
The water splashed and he hit a three-pointer.
"Beautiful! Two of three shots, two of two three-pointers, Zhou Quan's touch should be guaranteed today." Zhang Liangyi shouted excitedly.
Jazz attack.
Zhou Quan stared at Stockton, and Postman moved up to the high post for a pick-and-roll. He followed Stockton in time and cut off the connection between him and Postman. Other teammates did not get out of the way, so Stockton had no choice but to Take action yourself and miss.
This time Perkins grabbed the backcourt rebound, Zhou Quan came down to take the ball, the Jazz quickly returned to defense, and the SuperSonics once again started a positional battle.
Zhou Quan took the ball to the top of the arc and hit two three-pointers at the beginning. Stockton's nerves were very nervous.
Perkins pulled to the right three-point line, and the postman followed up to defend. Only center Spencer defended the Jazz inside the basket.
"squeak!"
Zhou Quan dribbled the ball and broke through from the right side.
Stockton retreated sharply, Zhou Quan took two steps forward and then stopped suddenly, Stockton also stopped suddenly, but at this moment, Zhou Quan started to break through again, and Stockton could not control his body. Sit directly on the floor.
"brush!"
Amid the exclamations of the home fans, Zhou Quan calmly took off from the free throw line, took an open shot, and hit another goal.
"Beautiful! 3 of 4 shots, 1 of 2 mid-range shots, 2 of 2 three-pointers, are you going to have a blast today?" Zhang Lili said excitedly.
"Emergency stop and quick start breakthrough, Zhou Quan's breakthrough rhythm is so good." Sun Zhenping said with a smile.
8:2, Jazz attack.
"brush!"
Hornacek made a fake shot, then made a pull-up jumper and hit a mid-range shot.
8:4, SuperSonics offense.
Zhou Quan once again took the ball to the top of the key, and Stockton was very nervous.
"squeak!"
Continuously moving the ball under the crotch, he suddenly started to break through with the ball from the left, and then stopped and pulled back. After Stockton pounced back, he started to break through again, this time breaking through the opponent with one step from the right.
Spencer under the basket did not dare to come out from the basket to cover up defense, because Rodman was beside him. As long as he went up to cover up defense, Zhou Quan would definitely pass the ball.
Seeing that Spencer still didn't come out, Zhou Quan rushed to two meters in front of the basket and stopped for a throw.
"brush!"
The water splashes again.
"Oh oh oh, Iron Fist made 4 of 5 shots in the beginning and scored 10 points in a row. The Jazz's defense completely failed. Why don't we call a timeout?" Bill Walton exclaimed.
"Serve, oh, we called a timeout. Now the score is 10:4, the Jazz fell behind by 6 points at the beginning, and the game only lasted three minutes." Williams laughed.
Bill Walton said: "Although Stockton has been selected to the All-Defensive Second Team three times, he can't guard the Iron Fist at all. It would be better to replace Hornacek. Although Hornacek has not been selected for the defensive team, at least he You don’t suffer from heights.”
"But in the two away games, Hornacek switched to defense against Iron Fist and lost, which shows that he couldn't guard against Iron Fist. Although Stockton has a height disadvantage, it is not too big. The difference is only 6 centimeters. His defensive skills Better,” Williams said.
Bill Walton laughed and said: "Lewis, I didn't say Hornacek can defend Iron Fist, that's something Michael Jordan can't do, I just mean that the defensive effect is better.
We can't just look at whether they have been selected for the defensive lineup. There is restraint among players. Iron Fist is the kind of Tianke Stockton. Stockton not only has a height disadvantage in front of Iron Fist, but also a greater tonnage disadvantage. "
Williams said: "But if Hornacek is asked to defend Iron Fist, then Iron Fist will lock Stockton on the defensive end, and the Jazz's offensive tasks will have to put more pressure on Hornacek. The tasks on both ends of the offense and defense are too heavy, and his physical fitness cannot be maintained. He is not a physical monster."
"Okay, Lewis, you have a point. This may be the reason why coach Jerry Sloan did not arrange for Hornacek to switch to defend the Iron Fist tonight."
Bill Walton nodded, but then said: "Then, let's watch how Iron Fist beat Stockton to pieces, the kind that exploded into crumbs."
"Ha ha……"
Williams laughed.
In front of the Jazz bench, Jerry Sloan was telling Spencer to make up for it when Zhou Quan broke through.
But he also knows Spencer's ability, so the purpose of coming out is not to block Zhou Quan, but to put some defensive pressure on Zhou Quan and affect his shooting percentage.
He somewhat hates short centers like Sam Perkins who can shoot three-pointers. Although he has an advantage in rebounding, on the defensive end, the postman has to be pulled out by Perkins, and the inside is severely lacking in defensive capabilities. The strength to protect the basket is seriously insufficient, and the inside can be easily beaten by Zhou Quan, who has strong breakthrough ability.
He thought about letting Postman stay in the basket to face Rodman, but Postman's ability to protect the basket is also average. As a power forward, he only averages 0.8 blocks per game. Although Spencer also averages 0.8 blocks per game, he is outside He can't keep up with Sam Perkins, and his mobility is not good.
After the timeout, the Jazz attacked.
The postman missed a jump shot, but the Sonics lost a backcourt rebound. The weakness of the lack of height under the basket was exposed. Perkins failed to grab Spencer.
Mailman got the ball under the basket, elbowed Rodman and then hit a front-side hook.
"Snapped!"
Zhou Quan rushed in and hit a big hit.
"pretty!"
Sun Zhenping shouted excitedly.
"Snapped!"
Rodman grabbed the rebound, and Zhou Quan took it over. He saw that the Jazz had returned to defense from the outside, but he unhurriedly advanced to the frontcourt and reached the top of the key again.
"Oh, switch, Hornacek follows the Iron Fist," yelled Lewis Williams.
"Will Iron Fist take action this time?" Bill Walton asked expectantly.
Zhou Quan continuously dribbled the ball from the top of the arc, suddenly shook his shoulders, and then broke through from the right side.
Hornacek's center of gravity was shaken, he couldn't keep up with the rhythm, and was half a beat slow.
Zhou Quan passed the free throw line and Spencer had to come out to defend, but at this time Zhou Quan passed the ball to Rodman who cut to the basket.
Rodman caught the ball and made an empty layup, but missed, but he grabbed an offensive rebound. By this time, Spencer had returned and he quickly passed it to Zhou Quan.
"What a waste of opportunity." Zhang Lili shook his head.
Hornacek stood in front of Zhou Quan again, and Stockton on the right also took the opportunity to double-team, but Zhou Quan saw Gill's opening and passed the ball in time.
"brush!"
Gill made a jump shot from a position 40 degrees from the three-point line on the right wing and hit a goal.
"We're still in!" Zhang Lili said excitedly.
"12:4, the Jazz couldn't guard against the SuperSonics, and their own offense didn't show up. If the SuperSonics score two more goals, they might call a timeout again." Sun Zhenping said with a smile.
"brush!"
The postman hit a mid-range shot, turning the score into 12:6.
Zhou Quan once again took the ball to the top of the arc, but Hornacek was still guarding him.
Hornacek's confrontation ability is stronger than Stockton, but he is far inferior to Zhou Quan. Zhou Quan leaned sideways and forced himself to the free throw line. At this time, the Jazz's defense began to shrink.
"careful!"
Gill, who was on the right three-point line, pointed to the left wing and shouted loudly.
Zhou Quan turned his back to the left wing and could not see the postman rushing towards him, but he saw Gill's movements and immediately knew that there was a flanking attack from behind.
There was only one flanking force from the left wing, and that was the postman who was pulled to the three-point line by Perkins.
The next moment, he put his hands together with the ball, jumped up, turned around in the air, and saw Perkins in the open position.
"Whoosh!"
When the postman jumped forward, Zhou Quan passed the ball in the air and the ball flew to Perkins.
Perkins caught the ball and there was no defender within three meters of him. He first looked at his feet, outside the three-point line, and then glanced at the basket before taking off and shooting.
"brush!"
The water splashed and he hit a three-pointer.
"well!"
"Oh ho!"
The home fans lamented, while the Sonics cheered.
Bill Walton shook his head and said: "It seems that Hornacek's defensive effect against Iron Fist is average. If we continue to fight like this, with the feel of today's Iron Fist and Supersonics, the Jazz will be beaten."
"15:6, if the Jazz cannot reverse the situation quickly, they will lose." Lewis Williams said in a positive tone.
Bill Walton said: "From this point of view, if there is no one who can stand up to the Iron Fist on the outside, there will be no strength to compete with the SuperSonics, unless the strength of the inside can completely suppress the inside of the Sonics."
Williams nodded and said: "If the inside line wants to completely suppress the SuperSonics inside line, it must not only be offensive, but also on the defensive end and control the rebounds. Only then can it be possible to restore the disadvantage of the outside line. Anyway, with The Jazz’s inside line doesn’t seem to have that possibility.”
Bill Walton said with a smile: "The Postman is very good. He mainly focuses on mid-range shooting. 60% of his offense is outside the paint area, but 40% of his offense is in the paint area. With his offensive strength, it is indeed possible to win." Blast Rodman and Perkins.
In terms of rebounding, Postman is also good. He averaged 12.3 rebounds per game against David Robinson in the first round. He also averaged 11.2 rebounds per game against Rodman in the second round. The Jazz did not suffer in rebounding.
On the defensive end, Rodman's offense poses no threat. The problem is that Perkins can shoot three-pointers. After he pulls the mailman out, the Jazz have no defense at the basket and can easily be beaten by an iron fist. That's the crux of the matter. "
At this time, the postman hit the basket and scored another goal.
15:8, SuperSonics lead by 7 points.
This time, Zhou Quan came to the left wing, broke through with the ball, and reached the right side of the paint area, attracting the Jazz's defensive attention to himself, and then passed the ball through the seam to Kendall Gill, who was cutting back on the weak side. Gill Catching the ball and throwing, he easily hit a ball on Spencer's head.
"Look, that's it, you can't guard against the Sonics' offense." Bill Walton said.
Williams said: "If the SuperSonics had such a good touch in the last game, the Jazz would have lost the match point."
Bill Walton laughed: "This game should have the same result. The Jazz can't keep the match point."
The Jazz served and called the second timeout of the first quarter.
Jerry Sloan had no choice but to increase his strength in protecting the basket. He could only move Dr. Iron Elbow Postman to the basket, let him face Rodman, and let substitute power forward Tom Chambers guard Perkins and replaced him. Without the main center Felton Spencer, there is no height advantage.
Seeing the postman Karl Malone standing under the basket with a pair of iron elbows swinging from side to side, Zhou Quan and others were on alert.
In the last game, after Zhou Quan entered the game, the postman did not dare to hit him hard, but there were many small moves that were suspected of fouling. This was the Jazz's home court, but he did not get a few free throw opportunities.
In other words, it is no longer worthwhile to continue to rush in and fight, otherwise it will be over if you don't get injured.
However, in the next few minutes, his touch declined. After missing two consecutive shots, the Jazz's score gradually approached, forcing him to start breaking through with the ball.
In the 10th minute of the first quarter, at 28:25, the Sonics still led by 3 points and had the ball.
(End of chapter)
