"Bang bang bang..."
At the top of the arc, Zhou Quan kept dribbling the ball, leaning very low, and started to play singles against Ron Harper.
Ron Harper's nerves were tense. If he said he wasn't nervous, it would be a lie. Facing the attack of the first active player, the bastard wouldn't be nervous.
He remembered what BJ said to him before leaving the Bulls. After playing the finals series with Iron Fist last year, he suffered from neurasthenia.
Now the King of Iron Fist is leaning very low, as if he is about to break through, so he can only bend down, otherwise with the King of Iron Fist's breakthrough ability, he can break through with one step.
The next moment, Zhou Quan pressed down with his right hand, and the basketball quickly exploded from the floor and bounced very high. He took advantage of the momentum and took off with the ball.
"not good!"
Ron Harper immediately took off, but was still half a beat too slow. By the time he jumped up, Zhou Quan had already completed his shot and the basketball flew toward the basket.
"Three points?"
Zhang Lili shouted loudly.
"boom!"
The basketball hits the basket and rises.
"Ouch!"
Zhang Lili exclaimed.
"brush!"
When Luke Longley and others were about to take off to grab the rebound, the ball bounced back into the basket.
"Hit! A three-pointer from the top of the arc, haha!" Zhang Lili roared excitedly.
"Oh ho!"
"Pa bang bang..."
The Seattle Center Arena was filled with cheers and regular season action.
On the sidelines, George Karl was excitedly pumping his fists in celebration, while Phil Jackson standing next to him frowned.
"Does this feel good? Or is it just average?"
But the ball couldn't tell what state it was in, so Phil Jackson decided to watch it for a while.
2:3, Bulls attack.
On the three-point line on the right wing, Michael Jordan was attacking with the ball very cautiously. His left elbow was against Zhou Quan in front, and his right hand controlled the ball very far back to prevent the ball from being intercepted.
In the last game, Zhou Quan had 8 steals, 16 possessions of the ball in and out, intercepted 4 balls, and blocked him 2 times. These data made him very painful, so tonight when he attacks with the ball Just be very careful.
"Why are you dawdling, why don't you hit me instead?" Zhou Quan urged.
The veins on Jordan's forehead jumped, and he suddenly bumped forward, then turned around and passed.
Zhou Quan was hit and predicted that Jordan would break through. He simply took advantage of the trend and stepped back, trying to establish a defensive position in advance. But at this moment, Jordan made a turnaround jumper without breaking through.
"You've been fooled, you cunning flying man." Zhou Quan couldn't go back and could only watch Jordan take action.
"brush!"
The water splashed and he hit a three-pointer.
"Oh, yes, Michael also hit a three-pointer. His touch should be very good tonight." Magic Johnson said happily.
"Yes, facing the iron fist defense, turning around and shooting from outside the three-point line is not easy." Larry Bird praised.
Phil Jackson was not happy because he didn't want Jordan to attack with the ball in front of Zhou Quan. It would be too dangerous to face the strongest steal king in history.
5:3, SuperSonics offense.
Zhou Quan quickly advanced to the top of the arc, and Matt Geiger, Luke Longley, and Kevin Willis all fell behind. Only Rodman, the four major insiders of the two teams, could barely keep up with the rhythm. Pause for a moment, then immediately attack.
He stepped forward to accelerate the breakthrough, and the Ronha ball came from the left, followed an arc, and headed towards the basket through the left elbow area.
Jordan and Pippen returned to defend the basket at the same time, but Zhou Quan was one step faster and hit a layup. The two jumped from behind to block the shot at the same time.
"Bang!"
The basketball bounced off the board and fell into the basket.
"It's very beautiful! The SuperSonics played a fast-paced offensive and defensive transition, and the iron fist succeeded in the fast break." Larry Bird praised.
"Michael and Pippen are still a little slow." Magic Johnson shook his head.
5:5, Bulls attack.
"Michael, don't take any chances."
On the sidelines, Phil Jackson shouted loudly.
He never sat down. He rarely had the intention to sit down when playing against Zhou Quan's team. Now that he lost the first game in the finals, he couldn't even sit down.
In fact, he also thinks it would be better to sit less because he has an old injury on his buttocks and it will hurt if he sits for a long time.
But Jordan is Jordan. When his temper gets angry, no one can say anything. Moreover, he just scored a goal, and he is very confident.
After halftime, he got the ball and once again singled out Zhou Quan on the right wing.
The defense was too passive last time and led to a wrong prediction. This time Zhou Quan's defense became active and began to press before Jordan could get close to the three-point line.
His pressing is not necessarily to complete the steal. The purpose is to interrupt Jordan's offensive rhythm and force the opponent to make a hasty shot or distribute the ball.
"Can you get away from me?"
"You can get out of here if you have the ability."
Jordan was so annoyed that he felt like Zhou Quan was like a fly, always buzzing around him and never getting rid of him.
Especially those two hands, which poked around him from time to time, fast and accurately, and there was a possibility of the ball being intercepted at any time, which made him a little nervous.
Seeing that Jordan had some difficulty getting rid of the iron fist, Ron Haqiu quickly took two steps outside at the top of the key and reached out to Jordan for the ball.
Zhou Quan did not look specifically at the top of the key, but he saw Ron Harper's movements clearly with his vision, so he immediately made a prediction that Jordan was likely to pass the ball.
Jordan actually passed the ball. He planned to pass it out first, then take the opportunity to get rid of the iron fist, cut inside, and then catch the ball back.
"Snapped!"
But at this moment, Zhou Quan, who was prepared, quickly stepped forward to steal the ball and stole the ball in an instant.
"Oh, the ball is stolen, the Seattle Iron Fist steals the Chicago Flyers!" On-site commentator Hernem Chrisman roared with joy.
"Damn it!"
Jordan's eyes were about to burst, he turned around and chased after him.
But when he turned around, Zhou Quan, who was descending quickly, was already one step ahead of him. When he started to catch up, Zhou Quan was already two steps ahead.
Ron Harper returned to defense from two steps outside the top of the arc and ran to the basket first, but Zhou Quan came in from the left elbow and took off directly, giving him no chance to jump to block the shot.
Moreover, as a defender, he was not that good at blocking shots. He didn't even have the awareness to block shots under the basket and ran directly out of the basket.
"boom!"
With a tomahawk dunk, the Bulls' basket was instantly exploded.
"Oh ho!"
The entire central gymnasium suddenly turned into a boiling ocean.
Zhang Liji said cheerfully: "In fact, we should let Jordan and Zhou Quan face off on both ends of the offense and defense, two top offensive and defensive players, the first player in office and the current one, so that fans can enjoy watching."
5:7, Bulls attack.
Pippen got the ball back and organized the offense on the left wing.
Zhou Quan followed Jordan around, Jordan came around from the low post, Kevin Willis used a pick-and-roll screen, and Jordan took the opportunity to run to the left elbow area to get the ball.
Pippen quickly passed the ball across the ball, and Jordan immediately turned around and shot a jumper after receiving the ball. The entire technical movement was without any interruption, as smooth as silk.
But Zhou Quan's full-level panoramic vision had already seen Kevin Willis' movement a moment in advance, so he reacted a little faster, speeding up to bypass Willis, catch up with Jordan, and catch the ball and shoot. Jordan just slapped him away.
Jordan turned around and took off, but saw Zhou Quan rushing forward. He immediately adjusted the angle of his shot. The basketball flew over Zhou Quan's palm and flew towards the basket. Zhou Quan slapped the ball in the air.
"rebound!"
The shot didn't feel good, and Jordan yelled immediately after landing.
"mine."
Rodman predicted that the ball was short and would rebound, landing one step ahead of the left side of the basket. He immediately moved into position early, jammed Luke Longley there, and protected the backcourt rebound.
Zhou Quan had already turned around and was about to step down. Jordan was chasing after him. At this time, Rodman threw the ball. He slowed down to catch the ball and Jordan took the opportunity to run ahead.
Ron Harper at the top of the arc had already returned to defense, and Hawkins stopped at the top of the arc. He could only stop at the high position.
Pippen on the other wing also took the opportunity to return to defense, but Schrempf also stopped at the right three-point line. He could only stop and did not dare to return to defend the basket.
From the left wing, Zhou Quan took the ball and headed toward the penalty area.
Jordan ran one step ahead, looking back at Zhou Quan.
"One-on-one." Zhang Lili shouted excitedly.
Zhou Quan entered the paint area from the left waist position, took off, and made a small throw with his right hand while gliding forward.
Jordan tried his best to take off and block the shot, but still didn't touch the ball.
"brush!"
The water splashed and the throw hit.
"pretty!"
Xu Jicheng shouted loudly and said excitedly: "I made 4 of 4 shots in the opening game. This is a good state. Zhou Quan may have had a dreamless night last night!"
Zhang Lili calmly analyzed: "Four shots, a three-pointer, a layup, a dunk, the near-basket throw just now, three of the attacks were scored after breakthroughs, and there was only one outside jumper.
Zhou Quan obviously increased his breakthrough attacks today, which shows that his condition may not be as good as we thought. Usually when he feels really good, he spends most of his time outside shooting. "
At 5:9, the Bulls served and called a timeout.
After the players sat down, Phil Jackson said seriously: "He only has one outside jump shot, so from now on, we will use the original flanking tactics, and then flank when the iron fist is close to the paint area."
Jordan frowned and said: "He did increase his breakthrough points, but of his 4 attacks, there was only one positional battle, and the other 3 were fast break points.
It is difficult for us to double attack when he breaks through. Our speed is not as good as his. Even if there is a chance to double attack, his pass will find an opening. "
Phil Jackson said: “I know this, so we need to control their fast starts and fast passes, strangle their fast breaks from the source, block the speed of their offensive and defensive transitions, and interrupt their rhythm.
All outsiders remember to return to defense in advance. All insiders must remember to counter-attack on the spot and prevent them from making quick passes and destroying their passes.
These details are very important, and we didn't do a good job just now. Remember, they are very strong, and we only have a chance to win if we do everything to the best of our ability, okay? "
"OK."
Jordan and others nodded.
Phil Jackson said to Ron Harper again: "Ron, you can defend Iron Fist on the outside alone. You can press closely and prevent him from easily taking shots on the outside. Focus on shooting.
If he rushes in, your pursuit must be fast, and you must form a pincer attack with your teammates as soon as he breaks into the paint. "
"Yes," Ron Harper said.
"You should also pay attention to the inside line, attack both inside and outside, and at the same time, be careful not to let him pass the ball out." Phil Jackson finally explained.
The timeout ends and the game resumes.
Seeing that Jordan was being followed very closely by the Iron Fist, Pippen decided to do it on his own. After breaking through, he made an emergency stop and shot a jumper, but was almost blocked by Schrempf from the side.
"boom!"
But he was lucky, the ball hit the basket and hit the target.
7:9, SuperSonics offense.
Rodman picked up the ball and retreated to the baseline to prepare for a quick serve, but failed. Luke Longley blocked the ball and the rest of the Bulls quickly completed the defense.
As soon as Zhou Quan approached the top of the arc with the ball, Ron Harper suddenly rushed up to him.
He took a step back and Ron Harper didn't catch up. Then he broke through from the right side and Ron Harper quickly sided to his left side.
At this time, Michael Jordan did not implement a double-team. The first person to attack was Pippen from the left.
"Watch your back!"
Schrempf shouted loudly when Pippen was double-attacking.
When Zhou Quan burst to the right end of the free throw line, Pippen suddenly appeared from behind Ron Harper and him, blocking him in front.
From the moment Schrempf shouted, Zhou Quan had already reacted, and there was a high probability that Pippen would attack from a flank.
Sure enough, the next moment, Pippen appeared in front, and he immediately turned right to protect the ball, and quickly blasted the ball with his right hand. At the same time, as he turned right with full panoramic vision, he immediately saw the 40-degree position of the three-point line. Schramf.
"Whoosh!"
The next moment, when the ball exploded with his right hand, his left hand moved to the left wing, and the ball flew straight to Schrempf on the left wing.
On the left wing, there was only one Schrempf left among the players on both sides. There was no defender within five meters of him, and there was a huge gap as big as the Pacific Ocean.
"..."
Pippen and others were dumbfounded.
"Beautifully passed on!"
Seeing this pass, even Magic Johnson had to blurt out praise.
"brush!"
Schrempf exhaled and threw the ball in the most standard shooting posture. The next second, the basketball penetrated the net.
"Oh ho!"
The whole audience burst into cheers.
"A pass like a magician!" Larry Bird's admiration sounded.
Magic is still unhappy, Big Bird, I provoked you, can you use other words to describe his passing?
"Beautiful! This ball was passed so beautifully! At least 70% of the credit for this ball belongs to Zhou Quan." Zhang Lili said excitedly.
"That's right." Xu Jicheng said with a smile.
Zhang Lijia smiled and said: "Obviously, the Bulls stepped up their attack on Zhou Quan at the edge of the paint area, but I think Zhou Quan's pass will definitely make the Bulls' attack more difficult than it is worth."
"As long as the Bulls continue to double-team Zhou Quan, Schrempf and Hawkins will be waiting outside. I look forward to Zhou Quan getting 20+ assists again today." Xu Jicheng said with a smile.
At 7:12, the Bulls were 5 points behind in the away game.
Jordan was a little anxious. If he kept playing, he would lose again tonight, but he still gritted his teeth and played without the ball and followed the tactics formulated by Phil Jackson.
(End of chapter)
