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Chapter 254 Influence

In the past two years, the Jazz have beaten the Lakers badly.

The Jazz have a group of extremely accurate outside shooters, and frequently use pick-and-roll tactics on the offensive end. Every time O'Neal encounters an outside player who switches defenses, he chooses to squat inside, and the opponent is almost shooting empty baskets.

Let's also talk about Shaquille O'Neal here.

O'Neal is the best big man in the history of the league, but he is also a player with obvious shortcomings and advantages. He is invincible around the basket and can easily lead a team to become the favorite to win the championship.

The super guard here is not just an all-star guard, but a guard who is particularly good at defense, has top-level death coils, and can stick to players with the ball and make the opponent's pick-and-rolls unable to exert their power.

And the Jazz's tough style of play and small moves also made the Lakers complain.

O'Neal, the biggest player on the team, almost clashed with the Jazz after being elbowed by Malone in a dunk.

Compared with the Lakers, the biggest difference between the Supersonics and the Lakers lies in their ability to defend against pick-and-rolls. The Supersonics themselves have a group of outside players who can defend. In addition, the strikers have long hands and feet, developed athletic ability, and strong ability to defend against pick-and-rolls.

So when the Jazz played against the Sonics, they obviously felt the difference from when they played against the Lakers. The defensive pressure they felt from the perimeter suddenly increased several levels.

Reflected on the court is a little uncomfortable.

The Sonics are very adaptable to the Jazz's offense and defense, and the six games against the Spurs are not in vain. If there is chemical reaction data at this moment, the entire Sonics team is at least above 80.

When the time span reached the second half, the Jazz felt that the odds were bad, and they fought desperately at the beginning of the third quarter.

What is the concept of "desperate" on the court?

First of all, this is a state, a state of selflessness, where there is nothing else as far as the eye can see, only opponents, teammates and the basket are left.

Secondly, this "desperate" can be desperate with yourself or with your opponent.

"Desperate" with yourself means that every ball must be fought, especially some rolling balls, some balls that roll past in front of your eyes, you can catch them with both hands, regardless of whether your body will be injured, winning every ball is the first priority.

"Desperate" with an opponent is basically a burst of powerful physical confrontation ability, spare no effort, and head-to-head with the opponent at any cost.

It is reflected on the court, that is, the offense and defense of both sides are very terrifying. For a ball, the two teams can have seven or eight strong men, regardless of their weight of two or three hundred catties, fall to the ground to grab the ball.

The referee follows the concept of the home court, and some balls that should not be blown are not blown.

That's too embarrassing to play jazz all the time, just play [-] big boards each, and ignore it.

In this way, there will be more hand-to-hand combat, fewer goals, and fewer fouls in the game.

After the number of fouls decreased, some balls that were actually thugs were also considered steals or blocks.

So there are actually era factors in the number of steals in the 90s.

In this era, the three-point line is short, everyone works together, and there are more opportunities to help defend.

And most importantly, this era has fewer pick-and-rolls, fewer shots, and more breakthroughs.

On the court, if you catch and shoot the whole game, it will be difficult for the defensive players to break your ball, because you don't stop the ball and don't dribble, so you can avoid mistakes to the greatest extent.

Therefore, some players' mistakes are mostly due to the team's tactical reasons or some objective reasons.

However, there are also some players who make many mistakes purely because they are too turbulent

The score between the two sides rose very slowly. The Jazz made a lot of small moves, and the referee didn't blow it, which made it worse. Then Payton sprayed people over there, using his self-amplified voice, shouting so that everyone could hear it.

The referee was not embarrassed either, listening to the left ear and listening to the right ear.

As long as you don't feel embarrassed, it will always be someone else who is embarrassed.

At the end of the three quarters, the Sonics led the Jazz by 70 points 65 to 5.

A 5-point difference is nothing in the eyes of the Jazz. The Jazz's group of shooters guarantees the team's explosive power, which is completely different from the Spurs.

When playing against the Spurs, a 5-point lead feels very stable, and a 10-point lead against the Jazz is not too much.

This also reflects some subtle differences between the two teams.

When Qin Fei left the field, an unknown player beside him shouted "MVP" wildly

He glanced at the stands in surprise.

The MVP is definitely a bit far behind, but the emergence of such a head seems to prove that he plays an increasingly important role in the team, and even the fans have become a little abnormal.

During the break, assistant coach Bob still communicated with him. Bob drew some Jazz tactics on the whiteboard and analyzed them by Qin Fei's side.

After stripping away, the Jazz's complex pick-and-roll system was gradually exposed. Bob Withey drew a few circles on the whiteboard, specifically marking the places where the Jazz shot densely before.

"And then there's Hornacek's defense."

Bob said: "Hornacek's offense is really good, and he is very accurate in three-pointers, but the past period of time shows that Hornacek's tactical status in the Jazz has declined. In other words, Hornacek's first choice for outside shots may not be all Hornacek, and Russell may also be."

"When you are in the corner, it is actually difficult for teammates to help you switch defenses, but because you are closer to the basket, it is actually very suitable for double-team operations"

Qin Fei rested until the decisive stage of the final quarter, and reappeared with only 7 minutes left.

At this time, the Supersonics still lead the Jazz by as much as 6 points. During this period of time, the Jazz's substitute players did not find a chance to tie the score, and were even pulled away by the Supersonics' substitute players.

When the team leaders appeared one after another, the main players of the Jazz recovered 2 points.

The Jazz are in a bit of a hurry. Although it is an away game, if they win the first game against the Sonics, the entire series will be much easier for the Jazz.

And at this time, it's not that they have opened up a lot of points. The Jazz are hanging on this, and they actually have a chance to recover the point difference.

"It can't go on like this!"

Sloan took the initiative to call a timeout to make adjustments.

George Karl's tactical system is somewhat similar to Sloan's pick-and-roll offensive tactical system, but it is not exactly the same. The Jazz cannot solve the problem by relying on guards alone. At critical moments, they have to rely on the scoring ability of superstars.

The Jazz is still on the front line of super giants, only and only Karl Malone.

After this game, Ma Long only scored 18 points in total, 19 point lower than Qin Fei's 1 points.

The supersonic striker's ability to bite is too strong. He doesn't have many opportunities in the middle distance, so he can only go to a deeper position to score.

Back from the timeout, Malone received the ball from Stockton, and made a false shot to kill inside.

The extremely powerful Kemp carried Malone on his shoulders to prevent him from going in. Malone bumped directly and then hit hard. The two directly collided with each other without any other fancy moves.

Ma Long, who resisted a little space, hit the ball when he got the ball.

Kemp leaped high with a "whoosh", but Malone just made a fake move. He took a time difference to find an angle to shoot the ball on the other side, and hit the rebound.

That is to say, Kemp's monster-like physical fitness is nothing to be resisted by Ma Long, and the other strikers have long been cold.

Malone doesn't score many goals like this. Sometimes this feint may not really be able to deceive Kemp, and in many cases, he can't be careless if he deceives Kemp. This guy still has the ability to take off continuously.

Switching between offense and defense, the Supersonics also silently adjusted their tactics.

The biggest change is that after the pick-and-roll attack was blocked, it was directly replaced by Payton's strong attack. Qin Fei was doing a lot of this strong attack before.

But after all, Payton is the supersonic core of one defense, so at the critical moment, Payton is still allowed to attack.

Stockton took the risk of reaching out to steal, but failed to break Payton's ball, and was killed by Payton.

The Jazz under the basket hit the goal with double ghosts, almost without any space.

Payton broke through the crowd and gave the ball to Kemp.

Kemp didn't have any tricks at all, he jumped up with his hands straight up and down, and put the basket into the frame.

The two teams each completed a wave of offense, and the Jazz were still 6 points behind.

Karl Malone's physical fitness is very good. In the fourth quarter, he was still able to walk like a fly. This is due to his years of self-discipline and rigorous physical training.

Kemp was also galloping with Malone.

Kemp can also run, and in the fourth quarter, he can also fly dunks. This is mainly a talent, and he is a monster in itself.

Kemp followed Malone, coupled with the flanking attack of some outside players. After a game, Malone was not as comfortable as when he was playing against the Lakers.

With one minute left in the game, the Sonics led the Jazz by 1 points 91-81.

This has almost decided the outcome of the game.

In the end, the Sonics defeated the Jazz 93-84 at home, winning the first game of the Western Conference Finals, leading the Jazz 1-0.

全场比赛，秦飞22分6篮板2次助攻1次抢断，佩顿拿下了19分9次助攻2次抢断，坎普贡献了18分，施拉姆夫飚中了3记3分球。

Compared with the Spurs, the Jazz had only a handful of fouls on the court. The "double steal" lineup composed of Qin Fei and Payton declined in power, and the number of steals was obviously not as many as the previous round.

The Jazz's outside touch was not good, and the highest scorer was Karl Malone, who finally scored a game-high 25 points, and got 11 rebounds and 1 steal at the same time.

Stockton scored only 9 points and sent 7 assists. Compared with the regular season, the data has a further downward trend.

In the 14th season of his career, Stockton finally failed to maintain the same attendance as the Iron Man.

This season, Stockton suffered from injuries. He played a total of 64 games and missed 18 games. In the previous 13 seasons, Stockton only "only" played 89 games in the 90-78 season. The rest of the seasons are full attendance. He is also an iron man among iron men and is very slot-resistant.

At the end of the regular season, Stockton had only 12 points, 8.5 assists and 1.4 steals, all of which were new lows in the past 10 years.

Therefore, the 36-year-old Stockton lost the best team, and the fatigue on the court is more obvious. Although the team still won 60+ games steadily, anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Jazz seems to have really gone downhill.

Especially in this game in the Western Conference Finals, the Jazz finally tasted defeat again.

After the game, some pessimistic fans of the Jazz felt that the Jazz was in danger. The opponent was young and strong, with fast speed and accurate shooting. They were not inferior to the Jazz in every aspect.

Especially this year, Geiger was recruited. Geiger and Kemp sometimes misaligned, and it was just right to mess with Karl Malone.

The fans in front of the TV re-acquainted with Qin Fei, the No.1 outside scorer for the Supersonics.

In the regular season, Qin Fei may not be the most powerful firepower of the Sonics, but after two rounds of the playoffs, Qin Fei is the first scoring point of the Sonics outside.

Two days later, it was still Seattle.

In the G2 battle between the Supersonics and the Jazz, the Supersonics beat the Jazz 110 to 92.

Too bad, the Jazz were preparing for a comeback in Game 3, and the Sonics team shot very well. Payton made 2 of 4 shots from beyond the three-point line, Schrempf made all 4 shots from beyond the three-point line, and Qin Fei made 3 of 9 shots from outside the three-point line. These three contributed [-] three-pointers.

The Supersonics made a total of 15 three-pointers, and the three-pointers were like rain, and thousands of arrows pierced

The Jazz didn't feel too bad. Stockton made 4 out of 3 outside shots, but was knocked out. He fell behind by 25 points at halftime. Once the third quarter ended, the entire fourth quarter became garbage time.

After all, the Jazz recovered a few points in the last quarter.

Director Sun Zhengping was very moved.

"The players of the Jazz let go of their mental burden, and their performance is much better than before!"

In the G2 game, the Jazz lost so much that more and more people looked down on the Jazz from the outside world.

At the beginning, the two teams each had 50.00% support. Up to now, the support for the Supersonics has reached more than 70.00%.

"Impossible. The Jazz will definitely win. They are so stable. They also won against the Sonics last year. We believe in the Jazz!"

The host of TNT joked: "Speaking of which, Qin Fei seems to have been performing very well against such a traditional strong team. In G2, Qin Fei scored a game-high 29 points. He is only 20 years old. God, you can't find another 20-year-old player who is as good as him."

"However, no matter whether the Sonics won the series or the Jazz won, the two teams are on the stage of the finals for the second time in three years, which in itself is considered a success."

There is nothing wrong with this nonsense, and both teams have a strong belief in winning the championship.

It also shows from the side that it is impossible for the Jazz to lose the entire series so easily. In order to win the championship, the whole team has paid too much.

This feeling of fulfillment made the two teams feel like they had been pumped. When they left Seattle and went to Salt Lake City, they were all excited.

There is a fundamental difference from some teams that are deflated and feel hollowed out.

So Barkley, who was watching the game in Houston, was really envious. He could see that the two teams were fighting at 120% strength.

I won't talk about it this year, after all, I'm getting older.

Barkley already feels that there is no hope of winning the championship, especially now that Drexler has announced his retirement, the Rockets are even more hopeless in the future.

If this continues, how will we win the championship in the future?

At this moment, he actually regretted it in his heart. If he had known this, he would not have come to the Rockets.

In fact, he really wanted to complain about Olajuwon in his heart, but he was never embarrassed to say it.

A year ago, Olajuwon married Asafi, a bride who was 15 years younger than him. After a summer, the 35-year-old Olajuwon was completely out of shape in the new season, and his knee injury also caused his appearance rate to be cut directly. He only played 47 games throughout the season.

In the small year of the free agent market in 1997, the Rockets did nothing, and the only fancy Rick Fox finally chose to sign with the Lakers.

With a huge sacrifice, Barkley played the entire season as a substitute. In the second half of the season, Barkley's shooting rights were further diverted, and his position began to erratic. In many cases, Tomjanovich even let him play with Olajuwon and Willis to play small forwards that he hadn't played for almost ten years.

At the moment, Barkley's mentality is complicated.

Seeing the gradual rise of a young player like Qin Fei, he really feels that he has no time left. Can the Rockets get strong support this summer to fill the vacancy left by Drexler's retirement?

Another question is, even if a strong support is brought in, can they beat this Sonics team?

Barkley has doubts about this. He feels that he still has the strength to fight, but the premise is that he must have reliable teammates to help.

It can even be said that with the Supersonic lineup, a strong support is probably not enough, right?

If the Rockets are unwilling to introduce reinforcements, what should he do?

Barkley fell into a silent silence

(End of this chapter)