"Bang!"
Dribbling back, he dodged the first double attack between Jordan and Pippen. At this time, Jose Hawkins on the right wing had already reached the top of the arc and reached out to him for the ball. Ron Harper, who was chasing him, was one step behind. He immediately He pulled the ball up, pushed it with one hand, and passed it.
"Spare the ball!"
Zhang Lili shouted loudly.
"boom!"
Hawkins caught the ball and immediately made a jump shot, but missed.
Under the basket, Rodman, Matt Geiger, Schrempf, Luke Longley, and Kevin Willis crowded together to compete for rebounds. The Sonics formed a three-to-two deficit under the basket.
Kevin Willis also worked hard, squeezing through the crowd regardless of his knee injury.
"mine."
Rodman picked up the ball for the first time, then picked it up again and grabbed the ball.
Among the five, he had the best bounce and the best sense of rebounding, but he was also the shortest, so he fell into the crowd as soon as he landed.
But he didn't care who was around him, he put the ball in front of his chest with both hands, turned around and swept his elbows violently, scaring everyone around him and quickly moved away.
Once he got the space, he immediately made a layup.
"Snapped!"
Luke Longley didn't hesitate, went up and slapped Rodman on the hand.
"Beep!"
The referee's whistle sounded, a free throw.
Larry Bird analyzed: "Pippen adopted a line defense. It is certain that the Bulls' double-teaming tactics against Iron Fist on the outside tonight will be more severe. Limited by the restrictions of the anti-isolation law, Iron Fist may really be double-teamed on the outside. .”
Magic Johnson nodded and said: "Every tactic has advantages and disadvantages, it depends on how to use it. Phil Jackson did this because Iron Fist's ball-handling threat must have been too great, and he had to double-team. If he didn't double-team, he would lose." to the point.”
Next, Rodman missed two free throws, Luke Longley grabbed a backcourt rebound, and the Bulls attacked.
"Rodman couldn't make a free throw until the critical moment." Magic Johnson laughed.
"Hey, he is the key to the Sonics." Larry Bird laughed.
Jordan then pulled to the low post on the left wing, and Zhou Quan followed up in time. Then Jordan received the ball and began to single out Zhou Quan in the low post.
"Bang!"
The dribble only arched for a moment, but it didn't move, but Jordan immediately turned around and shot a fadeaway jumper.
Zhou Quan reacted very quickly and caught up in time. After taking the first step, he took off to block the shot. However, Jordan's fadeaway was too difficult to guard, or even impossible to guard at all. His hand was still one foot away from the ball.
"boom!"
However, this ball also missed. Rodman grabbed the backcourt rebound and handed it to Zhou Quan.
When Zhou Quan received the ball, Jordan had already run ahead and blocked his fast break.
This time, Zhou Quan advanced from the right wing, approaching the sideline, and Hawkins led Ron Harper to the top of the key.
Ron Harper also adopted the same line defense as Pippen just now, letting Hawkins two meters away, one and a half steps away, that is, one step, his hand can touch Hawkins.
However, because Zhou Quan's position is close to the sideline, the distance between him and Harper is longer. He wants to double-team Zhou Quan, which is more difficult than Pippen just did.
But Jordan was not a vegetarian. He immediately pressed Zhou Quan and forced him to the middle, preventing him from continuing to break down, creating conditions for Ron Harper to double-team.
"Let's see how Zhou Quan fights?" Zhang Lili said nervously.
Zhou Quan switched to his left hand to control the ball, and his right elbow pressed against Jordan, who was trying to press him closely. He was not in a hurry to break through, but he was indeed forced by Jordan to slowly move towards the center, and the distance from Ron Harper was slowly shrinking.
Ron Harper's defensive position was very good, always between Zhou Quan and Hawkins, and he was not in a hurry to double-team, leaving no opportunity for Hawkins to be wide open.
He was also constantly shaking his head left and right, updating his panoramic vision, observing Zhou Quan and Hawkins, and then constantly adjusting his defensive position.
Now he is two steps away from Zhou Quan's position, about 3.5 meters, and needs Michael Jordan to create double-team opportunities for him.
But if Zhou Quan breaks through from the inside, he has every chance to complete the double-team in the right elbow area in time.
At this moment, Jordan's right hand suddenly stretched out, passed in front of Zhou Quan, and stabbed the ball.
The next moment, Ron Harper seized the opportunity and pounced.
But in terms of nerve reaction speed, Zhou Quan is the fastest.
The moment Jordan's right hand stretched out in front of him, before Ron Harper started the double attack, he seized the opportunity and suddenly turned around.
"not good!"
Jordan poked a hole in the air, but found that Zhou Quan was turning around to break through from the outside. He quickly turned around to catch up, but at this moment, Zhou Quan, who had already completed his turn, secretly pushed him with his left hand. His movements paused at his crotch.
The next moment, Zhou Quan distanced himself from him and broke into the three-point line from the outside. When he caught up again, he was already two steps behind.
As for Ron Harper, when he took a step forward, it was when Zhou Quan got rid of Jordan. His double-team was doomed to fail from the beginning.
"good!"
Seeing Zhou Quan's successful breakthrough with the ball, Zhang Lili couldn't help but shouted.
"brush!"
Zhou Quan reached two steps away from the right midfielder and saw Kevin Willis coming up. He immediately stopped for a jumper and hit one.
"Beautiful! Iron Fist hit a two-point field goal." Xu Jicheng said excitedly.
After Zhang Lili calmed down, he analyzed: "Although he only hit two goals, it can be seen that the Bulls were very determined, very vicious and desperate in double-teaming Zhou Quan today."
"I hope the offense will not be affected." Xu Jicheng said.
"That's impossible. With such a double team, Zhou Quan's offense will definitely be affected. Others will have open opportunities, which will definitely increase the number of passes. Let's see how others feel." Zhang Lijia shook his head.
Then he added: "Kevin Willis came out just now, and his defense was a step slower. If it were Toni Kukoc, his defense would be one step faster, and Zhou Quan's personal offense would be more difficult to beat."
Next, the two teams continued their offensive and defensive tactics.
The SuperSonics mainly let Zhou Quan defend Jordan alone. If Jordan breaks into the penalty area, he will be double-teamed by the inside line. However, the outside line generally does not participate in the double-teaming of Jordan, leaving no space for the Bulls' outside line.
The offensive end is relatively simple, with Zhou Quan holding the ball and leading the attack.
As for the Bulls, the offensive end is still the same triangle offense.
The defensive end insists on double-teaming Zhou Quan on the outside. If Zhou Quan breaks through, the double-teaming will become more fierce, both inside and outside.
Zhou Quan can only attack from the flanks and is reluctant to go to the top of the arc in case he is double-teamed by three people.
Because the anti-isolation singles law still exists, the league has not canceled it. If Zhou Quan holds the ball and plays singles at the top of the arc, according to a rule in the law, more than two Sonics players are not allowed to sink below the top of the free throw arc. Otherwise, the ball will be exchanged.
In other words, only two Sonics players are allowed at most below the top of the free throw arc, and the other two must be above the top of the free throw arc.
This rule is to create opportunities for the defender to double-team on the outside. It does not allow other players on the offensive side to enter the low post, allowing the ball holder to play singles at the top of the key.
So this is also one of Phil Jackson's confidence to double-team Zhou Quan on the outside. Once Zhou Quan holds the ball at the top of the arc and plays singles, Schrempf and Hawkins cannot go down and must stay above. This will limit the The two of them cut inside and Zhou Quan's passing tactics.
This forced Zhou Quan to attack with the ball on the wing.
As for the wings, there are also rule restrictions in the anti-isolation law. The offensive team is not allowed to place three or more players on the weak side.
In other words, the offense must place at least three people on the side with the ball, which allows the defense to retain at least three people on the strong side.
When Zhou Quan attacks on the wing, he is also likely to face a three-person double-team, but it is unlikely that he will face a three-person double-team of Jordan + Pippen + Ron Harper at the same time, so he would rather attack on the wing than at the top of the arc. .
After the first quarter, at 21:26, the Bulls led by 5 points at home.
For the Bulls, Jordan made 4 of 9 shots, 44.4% from the field, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 11 points. Pippen had 4 points, Willis had 4 points, and Ron Harper had 5 points. , Cole, who came off the bench, scored 2 points.
For the SuperSonics, Zhou Quan made 2 of 5 shots and 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 6 points, Hawkins had 4 points, Schrempf had 5 points, Rodman made 1 of 4 free throws and scored 1 point, and Matt Geiger had 3 points. , Gilliam scored 2 points.
The Bulls are leading, the atmosphere at home is very exciting, and the atmosphere on the bench is also very good.
Jordan saw the opportunity to win and began to actively communicate with Phil Jackson.
In the CCTV commentary box, Zhang Lili took the statistics table handed over by his assistant, looked at it, shook his head and said: "Zhou Quan's shooting percentage was only 40%, and he only had 2 assists and 1 steal in 11 minutes in a single quarter.
The Sonics had two more rebounds than the Bulls, but their shooting percentage was only 41.1%. Everyone was out of shape and missed some small open shots.
The Bulls' shooting percentage is not high, only 45.4%, but it is higher than the Sonics, so now they are 6 points ahead. "
Xu Jicheng said: "Coach Zhang, it seems that the Bulls' defensive tactics against Zhou Quan were effective today. They took too few shots in the first quarter and most of them were passes."
Zhang Liyi nodded and said: "The three top defenders on the outside defended Zhou Quan at all costs. Even if Zhou Quan broke in, the inside would still be desperate to double-team. This kind of defensive intensity was second only to the bad boy back then. The Legion's defensive intensity against Jordan was overwhelming."
Xu Jicheng had never seen the game at that time and couldn't help but asked in surprise: "How much stronger is the Bad Boys' defense against Jordan?"
Zhang Lili said with a smile: "At that time, there were no flagrant foul rules. It was common for the Bad Boys to reach out to Jordan on the outside and directly elbow him on the inside.
At that time, Michael Jordan was not heavy enough and lacked the ability to fight, forcing him to gain weight, and this is how Jordan became. It can also be said that it was the Bad Boys Legion that made Jordan what he became. "
Xu Jicheng said with some worry: "At that time, Jordan fell at the feet of the Bad Boys for three consecutive years. Today the Bulls are defending Zhou Quan like this. Director Zhang, what do you think of tonight's game?"
Zhang Lili said: "Zhou Quan's current comprehensive strength is definitely not weaker than Jordan's at his peak, but this Bulls are also quite strong, especially the three major perimeter defenders, which can be said to be the best perimeter defense in the history of the league. The lineup, and this is the home court of the Bulls, it is indeed very difficult for Zhou Quan to pass this level."
At this point, he changed the topic again and said: "But the SuperSonics have the strength to win two consecutive games at home. Zhou Quan broke out two games in a row, relying on hard power, not the referee's whistle.
Therefore, we must also believe in Zhou Quan and the SuperSonics. Even if they lose this game, there will still be opportunities later. After all, the SuperSonics have four home games in the seven-game series. "
Xu Jicheng nodded and added: "In addition to the low shooting rate in the first quarter, Zhou Quan only had one steal and no blocks. It seems that he is indeed in average condition."
Zhang Liangli said helplessly: "What they did last night, those extreme Bulls fans went too far, their methods were a little clumsy, and they didn't have any sportsmanship."
Xu Jicheng said: "Indeed, both the Japanese and South Korean consulates stopped protesting."
"Pfft!" Zhang Liji laughed.
Xu Jicheng said: "I heard that the Sonics have changed hotels. The hotel must have cooperated with them last night, otherwise there would be no chance. But I think we could have changed hotels last night."
Zhang Lili said: "Here in the United States, you have to book a hotel room in advance. It was so late last night, and it was definitely too late.
I heard that it was past twelve o'clock when the commotion broke out, and no hotel was willing to accept the Sonics, who were dozens of people.
Besides, this is Chicago. If you change the hotel, isn’t it also their home stadium? "
On the visiting team's bench, George Karl was discussing an issue with Zhou Quan. In tonight's game, whether to fight with all his strength or to save some energy.
He said seriously: "Iron Fist, everyone didn't sleep well last night. The Bull double-teamed you too hard. I plan to see the situation and then decide how to fight.
If it really doesn't work, for example, if I'm too far behind in the first three quarters, then I'm ready to give up in the final quarter. Otherwise, if we fight too hard and fail to win in the end, we will be in a disadvantageous situation in the G4 game. "
Zhou Quan looked at his teammates from side to side, but did not refuse, and said, "Then as you said, we will play three quarters with all our strength first."
Of course he wanted to keep up his efforts and win this game to gain match point.
But you have to eat one bite at a time. Today's situation is really not conducive to the SuperSonics, so staying focused in the final quarter is also an option.
The Sonics lost the game in the end. Everyone was out of shape. Zhou Quan strengthened his personal offense in the next two quarters, but he also failed to perform well under the full suppression of the Bulls.
A total of 9 of 21 shots, a field goal percentage of 42.9%, 1 of 3 three-pointers, 6 of 8 free throws, 25 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 5 turnovers and 4 fouls.
Jordan made 10 of 22 shots, 45.5% from the field, 1 of 4 three-pointers, 7 of 10 free throws, 28 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls.
After the game, Jordan accepted a live interview with TNT TV station.
"Michael, the Bulls pulled one back. What does it mean for the next series?" the reporter asked.
"It means our opportunity has come. There are two more home games in the future. We have to win them both and go to Seattle with match point." Jordan said with confidence and his tone was very firm.
"Your offensive efficiency was not very good tonight, why?" the reporter asked again.
"My main focus tonight was on the defensive end, and my offensive state was average. And my teammates were all good today, so they didn't need me to do my best," Jordan said.
"Tekken's steal data tonight was not outstanding compared to before. Is it because your offense made him powerless?" the reporter asked again.
"I was particularly careful about his steals and blocks, trying not to expose my ball to his sight, and most of the time I played without the ball, catching the ball and shooting jump shots," Jordan said.
At this time, Zhou Quan and his teammates were returning to the locker room. Some reporters were following them and kept asking questions, including many domestic reporters.
"Zhou Quan, you didn't perform well because you didn't get any rest last night, okay?"
"For that reason, we're less focused."
"Iron Fist, I heard that you have changed the hotel, can you tell me?"
"Sorry, can't."
Back in the locker room, Zhou Quan chatted and laughed with his teammates to relieve some of the negative emotions after the loss. The atmosphere in the locker room was always under his control and he was not depressed by the loss.
An hour later, a press conference was held.
(End of chapter)
