Bulls offense.
Jordan ran into the penalty area from the right wing.
There are not many people in the penalty area, only Rodman and Wilperdo. He has studied it carefully. The more people there are, the stronger Zhou Quan's mobility in the penalty area will be. The fewer people, the more average it will be. That's why he has the confidence. Entering the penalty area under Zhou Quan's guard.
He deliberately ran past Wilperdo, used the screen of his teammates to temporarily get rid of Zhou Quan, pulled to the left wing to receive Pippen's pass, and then immediately made a jump shot.
Bypassing Wilperdo, Zhou Quan was just a step slower, but the rhythm of Jordan's catch and shot was too fast. By the time he pounced on him and jumped to block the shot, it was already too late.
"brush!"
The water splashed and hit two points.
"This is one of Jordan's best skills, catching and shooting." Larry Bird praised.
Magic Johnson smiled and said: "It is a very simple and commonly used technique, but as long as it is practiced to the top level, it is very practical. However, it is difficult to practice to the top level. It requires the best coordination, very stable hands, and a good mentality. .”
Larry Bird chuckled and said: "Michael's catch-and-shoot jumper is good, and his off-ball movement is also good, but he is not top-notch."
The Magician was startled, looked at Larry Bird's evil smile, and suddenly understood, he couldn't help laughing, and said: "Yeah, that guy called Big Bird is the best at running without the ball and catching the ball and shooting. .”
"Haha..." Larry Bird laughed.
4:2, SuperSonics offense.
Schrempf on the left made a pick-and-roll with Gilliam who was pulled out, and then he suddenly cut outside and ran towards the three-point line. Pippen, who was following the defense, thought he was going to cut inside and was thrown away.
"Whoosh!"
Zhou Quan quickly passed the ball, Schrempf received the ball, stepped on the three-point line and shot, and with a swipe, the basketball penetrated the basket.
6:2, Bulls attack.
Wilperdo forced his way into a position under the basket, but Rodman did not block the ball and went around to defend.
At this time, Pippen lobbed the ball to the basket, and Zhou Quan, who was guarding Jordan on the right wing, immediately turned around and rushed to the basket.
Rodman took off and tried to steal the ball, but the ball was lobbed well and failed.
Perdo caught the ball with his backhand, one meter and two meters away from the basket, and threw it with one hand.
"boom!"
Basket smashes rim.
Zhou Quan arrived and jumped from the right side of the basket, but the basketball bounced to the left side of the basket.
"boom!"
At the next moment, Perdo took off for the second time and made up the ball.
"What the hell!"
Zhou Quan cursed secretly, it was a bit embarrassing to let a third-rate center make up for him and Rodman's first defense.
"Rodman's height is a flaw, and his ability to protect the basket is average." Zhang Liji shook his head.
Xu Jicheng said: "You can use Matt Geiger and put him at the basket. Rodman is responsible for guarding Toni Kukoc. His assist defense is better than single defense, and his speed is also good."
Zhang Lili said: “The main reason for putting Rodman at the basket is to use him to control rebounds, and secondly to protect the basket.
But what you said, Mr. Xu, is also a method. Matt Geiger started 26 games this season. As long as he has enough playing time, his performance is still acceptable. "
Xu Jicheng smiled and said: "Gilliam is indeed stronger than Matt Geiger."
Zhang Lili smiled and said: "After all, I was the second pick in 1987."
At the 10th minute of the first quarter, at 23:21, the Sonics led by two points, and the Bulls called the second timeout of this quarter.
Larry Bird said: "In the first ten minutes, Jordan mainly played without the ball. He rarely played with the Iron Fist in isolation with the ball. He mostly used screen obstacles to get rid of the Iron Fist and then caught the ball and shot jumpers. Therefore, the Iron Fist only had one steal in the first quarter, and it was Pippen's. Passing the ball, there is no chance to intercept the ball when facing the ball holder."
Magic Johnson smiled and said: "This must be a targeted play. The ball carrier will never face the Iron Fist. Haha, this is also the huge deterrent caused by his stealing ability. No one in the league dares to attack with the ball in front of him. , including the current number one player, Michael Jordan.”
Larry Bird laughed: "The Bulls' rebounding ability is weaker than the Sonics. If they are intercepted five or six times by the Iron Fist, the loss of the ball will be serious."
The timeout ends and the substitute comes on.
However, although the Bulls' Ron Harper entered the twelve-man roster, his injury seemed to have not improved and he did not play. Steve Kerr and fringe man Pete Meyers were added to the back line.
The inside is Bill Wennington, Luke Longley, and the small forward is edge forward Corey Blount.
On the SuperSonics side are McMillan and Aikos, one defense and one offense. Aikos's defense is not as good as McMillan's, but his offensive ability is stronger. In the regular season, he averaged 24 minutes per game and scored 9.8 points.
Carter White and Matt Geiger are on the inside, and Schrempf is still at the third position.
After the first quarter, at 25:23, the Sonics still led by two points.
The substitute was still playing in the first two minutes of the second quarter. Zhou Quan and Jordan seemed to have a tacit understanding and were in no rush to play.
Two minutes later, at 27:27, the Bulls equalized the score. Cartwright fouled and George Karl replaced some of the main players.
Schrempf had played 14 minutes and was off.
The remaining four are Carter White, Matt Geiger, Gilliam, McMillan, and Zhou Quan.
The Bulls also replaced some of their main players, with Jordan and Pippen on the court, plus Steve Kerr, Luke Longley and Bill Wennington.
Jordan's style of play in the first quarter was still running, catching the ball and shooting after getting rid of Zhou Quan.
The rest of the Bulls also revolved around this style of play to create opportunities for Jordan to get rid of Zhou Quan.
This style of play did give Zhou Quan little chance to steal Jordan head-on, but while assisting in defense, he still managed to steal once in the second quarter.
On his offensive end, he still uses breakout tactics. Zhou Quan constantly breaks through with the ball, and his style of play is completely opposite to that of the Bulls.
The Bulls kept double-teaming, and Zhou Quan sent 7 assists in the half.
After halftime, 52:50, the Sonics led by two points.
"Rodman performed well today. He grabbed 8 rebounds in 20 minutes of halftime. The SuperSonics had three more rebounds than the Bulls. This is his contribution." Larry Bird said with a smile during the halftime break.
"Jordan made 6 of 12 shots in the first half, and his efficiency in catch-and-shoot jump shots was good. He just didn't break through with the ball, and he had no lethality. He only made 3 of 3 free throws, and scored 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 1 foul. Pippen today I scored 11 points in the half and shot 51% from the field, which is not bad," Magic said.
"Tekken made 5 of 10 shots, the same shooting percentage, 2 of 2 free throws, 0 of 1 three-pointers, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 0 turnovers and 2 fouls. Schrempf had 12 points and a 54.5 shooting percentage. %."
Larry Bird said this, and then said: "Actually, if you ask me to say, Michael's style of play is too ineffective. With 15 points in the half, the shooting rate is only 50%. He might as well be defending with an iron fist. Attacking with the ball is lethal, or it can also be called a pick-and-roll."
Magic smiled and said: "Look at the Bulls' tactical adjustments. The first half was tepid. Jordan tried his best to get rid of the Iron Fist before catching the ball and shooting, but he could not get rid of the Iron Fist every time. His shots were still blocked. restrictions."
In the home team's locker room, Phil Jackson is evaluating the offensive and defensive performance in the first half.
In fact, he was quite satisfied with the first half. As long as it lasts until the end, Jordan's ability at critical moments will give him a greater chance of winning.
However, Jordan was not satisfied. In the first half, he turned into a pure shooter without the ball. His ability to break through with the ball was completely unable to be displayed. He only showed half of his ability.
Although Tekken's defense is very strong, he can call pick-and-rolls and still get rid of Tekken. If he drives in with the ball, he can kill the Sonics' inside line and improve offensive efficiency.
This is his home court. If he breaks through with the ball and does not take more than a dozen free throws in a game, how much damage can he cause? He will definitely be able to make the SuperSonics insiders not dare to reach out to him.
At this time, Phil Jackson said: "Our tactics were right in the first half. Iron Fist stole twice and blocked a shot, which shows that our offensive tactics avoided his defense. We should stick to this in the second half."
Jordan interjected: "Phil, are you sure?"
"Sure."
Phil Jackson pushed up his glasses frame and nodded affirmatively.
Jordan immediately said, "But we're still two points behind."
Phil Jackson said: "That's because we still didn't lock his passing key. The double-teamers didn't cut off his passing angle. This is a problem we have to solve now."
Jordan nodded, had 7 assists in the final half, and had formidable passing ability.
Phil Jackson added: "They all opened up and fought. Pippen was brought near the sideline, and Iron Fist kept attacking at the top of the key. Pippen was unable to double-team, which resulted in the quality of our double-teaming being not good enough."
The main problem now is that after Michael is surprised, he can only lock one side of him, but not the other side. Our double-teamers are always unable to cut off his passing, or even block his shooting space. "
Jordan said: "His breakthrough speed is too fast, and the double-teamer cannot move in front of him in time. My suggestion is that the double-teamer is simply responsible for locking the passing angle on the other side, and I am responsible for the defense in front. .”
Phil Jackson asked, "Michael, can you do this?"
Jordan thought carefully for a few seconds, then nodded and said: "We still have people under the basket. After locking the passing angles on both sides, his most likely option is to make a pull-up jump shot. I will be ready. "
"Okay, let's do it." Phil Jackson said.
Not long after, the third quarter began.
The Bulls started all the starters, but the SuperSonics didn't have Gilliam. They continued to rest, and Matt Geiger started, and the rest were starters.
Bulls offense.
Toni Kukoc still pulled out to set a pick-and-roll for Jordan.
Rodman follows up, and Matt Geiger sits under the basket against Wilperdo.
Jordan still implemented the original offensive tactics, entered the penalty area, and then got rid of Zhou Quan.
He first borrowed Toni Kukoc on the right wing to get rid of Zhou Quan and enter the penalty area. This was the first screen for the pick-and-roll. Then when passing the basket, Wilperdo made a second screen to block Rodman, allowing Rodman to German had no chance to change defense.
At this time, Pippen passed the ball and Jordan received the ball on the left side of the basket. Zhou Quan took a shortcut and jumped from above. He emerged from behind Rodman. He was already half a beat too late. He took off after receiving the ball and made a backhand layup. One ball.
52 draws, SuperSonics offense.
Both Matt Geiger and Rodman are active in the paint area, and their ability to open up is not strong, so with the two defenders, there are four people in the paint area, and there is not much room for breakthrough.
Zhou Quan held the ball at the top of the arc, and Jordan, who was half-stepping to defend, judged that Zhou Quan would either fake a breakout and make a real shot, or break in and then make a sudden stop for a jumper, so he was mentally prepared.
But at this moment, Zhou Quan passed the ball in.
When Jordan saw it, he immediately turned around.
At this moment, when Matt Geiger inside received the ball, Zhou Quan pounced from behind Jordan, but Jordan did not notice it immediately.
Matt Geiger was on the left front side of the basket, two steps away from the basket. He didn't take a shot after catching the ball. When he saw Zhou Quan pounce from behind Jordan, he immediately passed it over.
"brush!"
Zhou Quan caught the ball and stood up. Before Toni Kukoc took off to block the shot, he took a half-beat shot and easily hit a goal.
"Hey, this tactic, pass first and then cut, is unexpected!" Xu Jicheng said.
"Matt Geiger provided support in the low post, and his continuous passing also allowed Zhou Quan to get rid of Jordan. The tactic was successful." Zhang Li said with a smile.
Bulls offense.
Jordan followed suit, using continuous screens to get rid of Zhou Quan, entered the penalty area from the bottom line, and then ran to the left wing to catch the ball.
But this time Zhou Quan bypassed Toni Kukoc and Wilperdo in time, and when Jordan caught the ball, he rushed over.
"Snapped!"
With a precise strike, as soon as Jordan received the ball, Zhou Quan knocked the ball away with a big wave of his hand.
"Beautiful!" Zhang Lili shouted excitedly.
Fortunately, the ball flew in front. Zhou Quan jumped forward and grabbed the ball before Jordan.
He quickly advanced close to the right sideline, and Jordan chased him on the left. When he reached the three-point line, he suddenly stopped, then turned around and passed Jordan, killing from the right elbow area. go.
Jordan didn't miss a step and chased to the right again.
At this time, Kendall Gill rushed in from the top of the arc. Zhou Quan made an emergency stop at 60 degrees from the three-point line, pushed with his left hand, hit the ground and passed the ball to the front of Gill.
Jordan made a sudden stop as Zhou Quan and lost the chance to catch up.
"Snapped!"
Gill caught the ball, and BJ reached out and hit the former on the arm. The ball fell and the referee's whistle also sounded.
"BJ fouled for the third time. This foul was worth it. Without the foul, Kendall Gill used the big one to beat the small one. The success rate of hitting BJ under the basket is still very high." Zhang Liang said.
Next, Kendall Gill made the first free throw and missed the second. Toni Kukoc grabbed the rebound, 55:52. The SuperSonics took the lead and the Bulls attacked.
"Iron Fist and Jordan are still the same as in the first half. One focuses on combination offense and passing, and the other runs without the ball and attacks without the ball." Larry Bird.
"boom!"
Pippen missed a jump shot, Rodman grabbed the rebound, and the SuperSonics attacked.
Magic Johnson said: "The Bulls are concerned about Tekken's stealing ability, while the SuperSonics hope to activate the strength of the entire team, so Tekken and Jordan's personal offensive abilities have not exploded for the time being."
Larry Bird said: "If the game continues like this, the Bulls should slowly fall behind. After all, Iron Fist has better organizational skills than Pippen, and his ball-handling can often create more open opportunities for his teammates."
(End of chapter)
