basketball pope

Chapter 85 [Fighting, eight-person rotation]

Pippen wanted to return a three-pointer, and suddenly pulled up a jumper against Houston in the middle of the road. He avoided the block and the ball bounced out of the frame.

This offense was too simple. Jackson knew that against the Knicks, he could not do without three-pointers. When no one in the starter was good at shooting, he could only let Pippen do the job.

Ben Wallace grabbed the rebound and gave it to Houston, who made a straight pass to Atkins.

Atkins held the ball on the fast break, changed direction while running, and succeeded in passing. Hubble pulled a foul in front of the three-point line.

Zhang Lili shouted, "It's Atkins again. He's only 180cm tall and very flexible. Hubble can't stand it."

Just over two minutes into the game, Phil Jackson made a substitution, and Stephen Kerr replaced Hubble.

"Zen Master" knows that he has to adjust, otherwise he will be unlucky in the first quarter. Atkins is the type of player that Hubble is most afraid of - a short and fast pick-and-roll guard!
Hubble has not been selected for the All-Defensive Team, but his defensive ability has always been praised by people. As a point guard, he is excellent at preventing pick-and-rolls, and his height of 198CM makes him not afraid of dislocation.

Yang Rui studied Hubble carefully, and his defensive style is like the future Jason Kidd, who can withstand small forwards and even power forwards.

During the Mavericks' period, Kidd was very effective against Kobe and James, but he was able to deal with the much less famous Ty Lawson, Lowry, and Nate Robinson. Kidd knelt directly, and his concubine couldn't do it.

The reason is simple, he is too slow.

Hubble's speed is not as good as Kidd's in the Mavericks. He suffered a serious injury when he was young, which led to a decrease in lateral movement speed. He couldn't keep up with his footsteps when defending small guards, and he could only make up for it by his height and wingspan.Once the opponent is quick to change direction, the wingspan can only be used to pull people into fouls.

On the offensive end, Hubble is also useless, and he can't open up space unless he goes to the low post to single out Atkins.Of course, the Knicks wouldn't give him this opportunity. Ben Wallace was always huddled near the restricted area, ready to help at any time.

Cole's defense against Atkins was better. Atkins gave Houston the ball. The latter caught the ball and made a jumper. Jordan, who was chasing the defense, almost blocked the ball. The ball bounced into the basket, and Pippen grabbed the rebound.

"Zen Master" is grateful to be on the sidelines. If Ewing is there, Houston will not have only one option to shoot, and Jordan will not be able to resolutely pursue defense.Ewing played a pick-and-roll with Atkins in the middle, and he could dislocate the ball to attack, or support with the ball.

The Bulls players also know that if Ewing is not injured, they will definitely not be able to beat the Knicks.Now put on Cole and they've stabilized.

Jordan singled out Mills, turned and made a fallback jumper, 8-6.

Cole played, the bottom line couldn't double-team Jordan, Pippen couldn't let go of the side, and the triangle offense began to show its power.

However, the Bulls still have weaknesses on the field. One is Longley's speed, and the Bulls can't defend him when they counterattack; the other is that Johnson can directly hit the basket with the ball. The opponent is a circle thinner than himself, 208cm tall and 87kg of Kukoc.

Johnson is averaging 17.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game this postseason while shooting 50 percent from the field.

Even if Kukoc guards Johnson, Big Ben can still rush for offensive rebounds.

The tactics that Yang Rui arranged were very simple. Run, shoot, and break fast. Everyone had to run, including Ben Wallace.Fighting speed, Longley is far worse than Big Ben.

In the second half, "Zen Master" replaced Longley and sent Scott Burrell, who is 201cm tall, to play small ball tactics.Van Gundy also replaced Atkins and Mills, and replaced Starks and Bowen.

Mills can only interfere as much as possible to defend Jordan, and if he is passed, he will be fouled.

In the first quarter, the Knicks' offensive efficiency was average, leading 24 to 23 by one point.

In the second quarter, Childs and Ward formed a double guard, Starks small forward, Oakley and Stephen Jackson inside, and continued to counterattack tactics.

Regardless of whether they scored or not, several people counterattacked on the spot and pressed the audience.Two point guards who are good at defense play together, and the defense is better.

The Knicks made a surprise move and caught the Bulls by surprise.Hubble didn't play much in the first quarter. At this time, he played with a substitute. As a result, the forced dribble was difficult to pass half court.

It was very suitable for Jackson to defend against Kukoc in a positional battle. He kept interfering in front of him. Kukoc couldn't get rid of it, so he turned around and shot twice and missed.

Pippen also couldn't break through with Starks on the bench. When the official timeout was reached, the Knicks led 34 to 27.

Jordan quickly returned to the court, relying on individual ability to lead the Bulls to catch up with the score.

In the third quarter, the two sides placed a large iron barrel, and the offensive efficiency decreased.

The Knicks players couldn't find their crosshairs collectively, and they only scored 15 points in a single quarter. They relied on their tenacious defense to allow the Bulls to score only 19 points, and the score still couldn't be opened.

In the final quarter, the two sides fought for every ball, and the defensive actions became more and more intense, full of gunpowder.Van Gundy kept discussing with Yang Rui on the sidelines, making substitutions at any time to adjust tactics.The Knicks used the full-court pressing to be the killer again, and the defending Jordan was also very uncomfortable.

Van Gundy's body trembled with excitement off the court, staring at the court for fear of missing every detail.

He is extremely grateful to Yang Rui in his heart. If it wasn't for Yang Rui's constant quarrel with him during the regular season, and his repeated proposals to reuse and cultivate new talents, the Knicks would definitely be dead.

For about a quarter, the Knicks used rookie tactics against the Bulls' starter.If the regular season does not allow them to play and accumulate experience, it is impossible to have such a good performance in the playoffs.

The skills of the newcomers are not as good as those of the veteran bulls, but their hard work is not lost to anyone.

What surprised the "Zen Master" and Bulls fans the most was Ben Wallace. In the second half, facing the "Shark Chopping Tactic", Wallace made 13 of 8 shots with his funny posture of holding the urinal. In one round, he attacked the basket twice. The shot was 2+1.

The 61.5% free throw percentage is low for many people, and it is already a long play for Big Ben.

He didn't catch the trick and completely calmed down, but he was in good shape and hit shit luck.Because Big Ben's performance exceeded expectations, Van Gundy increased his playing time, and the inside depends on the three-person rotation to deal with the Bulls.

Jordan, who played more than 40 minutes in the series, felt fatigued. In the second half, he hit the iron again and again. In the last 2 minutes, the two sides tied at 82. The ball was in the hands of the Bulls. "Zen Master" requested a timeout.

Zhang's reasonable evaluation: "The Knicks' lineup today is not as good as the Bulls. There is only one star in Houston. They are obviously at a disadvantage in the matchup with Jordan, but the Knicks relied on their hard work to save the suspense of the outcome to the end. This game is really exciting. ."

Sun Zhengping said: "The Knicks were very successful in double-teaming Jordan. Pippen has a very poor hand. If Ewing can play today, the Bulls may have surrendered their guns."

Zhang Lili smiled and said: "The score is deadlocked at the last moment. I think the Bulls have an advantage over the Knicks. Jordan often makes wonderful lore and is used to seeing big scenes. The Knicks players are definitely inferior to one-on-one."

The Bulls played small ball tactics. Burrell and Kukoc partnered on the inside. In addition to the two cores, Kerr was also deployed on the outside, ready to increase shooting points to open up the situation.

Wennington was completely abandoned, and Rodman was suspended, and the Bulls had only eight rotations today, of which power forward Dick Simpkins only played 5 minutes.

"Zen Master" Jackson arranged a triangle offense to help Jordan create a one-on-one chance, attracting double teams and then scoring the ball.At the decisive moment, he put all his treasures on the star, and everything depends on the star's personal ability.

(End of this chapter)