They didn't think about making a crazy offensive at the beginning. They were waiting for Barkley to go down and rest in the rotation stage. Barkley + Zhang Hao is no worse than O'Neal + Zhang Hao, and they knew very well.

Pippen went to the frontcourt to receive a pass from Ron Harper, passing it to Jordan who leaned against Doug Christie on the left side of the three-second zone.

Jordan caught the ball and played Doug Christie with his back, Barkley quickly made up for defense, and Rodman was also ready to grab the offensive rebound after being released, but Jordan still did not give him a chance to grab the rebound. Facing the pinch attack, he made a jump shot from the back!

The use of strength advantages, the judgment of the time when the pincer attack truly poses an effective threat, the grasp of the timing of turning over, the adjustment of the rhythm, the height of the jump, and perhaps the most accurate mid-range shot in basketball history...

Without O'Neal's mid-range backup threat, Jordan's mid-range back-attack is invincible!

4 to 4!

Zhang Hao and Jordan scored two goals at the beginning.

It's the Lakers' offense again.

The Bulls' high defense stability is related to their active and autonomous adjustments on the field.

After defending in the last round, Jordan and Rodman immediately decided to switch defenses. After Zhang Hao came to the frontcourt, he encountered Jordan's front-circling defense and chose to cut in!

Kenny Anderson passed the ball to Zhang Hao. Zhang Hao turned around and cut in quickly. Pippen and Longley's attention were attracted by Zhang Hao. It seemed that he was shrinking in the middle to block Kenny Anderson's breakthrough, but Kenny Anderson broke into the free throw line, and they did not press on, but were preparing to attack Zhang Hao who was cutting into the receiving ball.

While Kenny Anderson entered close range, Zhang Hao suddenly ran backwards and went to the free throw line... The Bulls' defense was dismantled!

Kenny Anderson passed the ball to the right bottom line in the middle, and Barkley caught the ball and took a step forward and made a close jump shot!

It seems that the Lakers are going to start the main attack on Zhang Hao, but in fact, they are still playing Barkley.

It was just that Barkley took the ball and became Kenny Anderson to attack. Taking advantage of Zhang Hao, he would definitely be defended by the focus, allowing Barkley to be the most stable ending point.

Zhang Hao's scores in the past four finals were not very high, because the opponent had to keep an eye on him after G2, so he used Jordan card, and his tactics still had to be around his threat, which was the most advantageous choice.

The starting strategy is like this, but the original specific implementation was not the way of playing just now, but the Bulls made adjustments to the defensive end after the Lakers lost O'Neal. It was not the defensive method in the rotation stage, but the pseudo-joint defense that was tentatively tested back and forth on the brink of "advance attack violations". Jordan did not defend Kenny Anderson anymore, and Ron Harper could not defend. At this time, Kenny Anderson and Zhang Hao had threats, and Kenny Anderson immediately made a change in his playing style.

Kenny Anderson broke through and Zhang Hao cut in. When Doug Christie needed to keep an eye on, the Bulls' defensive change was a failure!

This stage is not the stage where Barkley has already brought up his defense when he came on the court in the past two games, and the mid-range shots have begun to be affected by the confrontation. At this stage, Longley seems a bit redundant, and he has become the one who drags the Bulls' defensive end.

The Bulls' defense was not adjusted well. The players on their court made active adjustments in the next few rounds. Blocking Zhang Hao is the core goal. Jordan will go to the outside to defend. As one of the best teams in the league today, even if Zhang Hao uses the Jordan card, the Bulls can still do it by gathering the strength of the entire team to limit him alone, but they have to do this well, and it is more difficult for them to do this today than before!

Zhang Hao's cutting speed was so fast that the Bulls had to attack or make up for him faster. When he was running, the opponent became more nervous, which gave Kenny Anderson a better chance to organize the offensive!

The tacit understanding between Kenny Anderson and Zhang Hao, the keen sense of teamwork, allowed them to adjust their established playing style from the beginning and implement it firmly in the next few minutes.

The Bulls were at a disadvantage at the beginning, but they did not call for a timeout for rotation. Rodman ordered Longli to actively seek confrontation with Zhang Hao on the offensive end, and could not prevent it. The Zen master did not call for a timeout, so they rely on the offense to support him.

At the beginning, the Lakers made 9 shots, most of which were shot in mid-range and 6 shots. Except for Zhang Hao who scored 2 of 2 shots in the first game, the others scored 4 of 7 shots and 16 points in 5 minutes and 22 seconds!

The Bulls also scored 13 points, and Jordan scored 7 points in half a quarter. With the main rhythm, the Bulls' offensive performance is still very good.

The Bulls' offense is coming again. As Jordan scores continuously at the high position, the Lakers' defense gradually rises up, and the lower limit becomes more and more empty. Finally, Jordan found that the opportunity for his bottom line teammates has come!

Jordan received the ball from a high position and played with the back, attracting the ball after being hit...Pippen used Rodman's pick-and-roll to reach the middle distance of the baseline on the right, and Pippen received the ball and made a jump shot...

"Bang..."

Pippen was very confident when he took action, but Zhang Hao, who was quickly moved to the bottom line, slapped him down!

Too fast!

When Pippen moved in place, he reached out to catch the ball and saw that Zhang Hao was still blocked by Lang Li on the left side because Jordan could turn around and break through from the left side.

But when Pippen received the ball, he stood firm and jumped out, he found that Zhang Hao was only one meter away from him. At this time, Pippen had already raised the ball and his wrists had already begun to exert force. It was too late to retract the ball!

The ball was slapped out of the sideline by Zhang Hao!

When Jordan saw Zhang Hao's block, he remembered the round when he received the ball from the bottom line at the beginning. However, although Zhang Hao made up the ball quickly, it was not as fast as this time. Jordan concluded that Pippen had a chance based on Zhang Hao's movement, but Pippen was just blocked!

The reason for this is quite simple. After playing a few more rounds, Zhang Hao is more familiar with the combination of the speed and the bonus of burst start from Jordan Card and the "bottom line ruler (gold)" brought by Jordan Card. It is hard to say that he has the defense in other areas. He must have improved the defense of the outside line, but the team does not need O'Neal more to protect the frame. He can only choose the protection of the frame in the starting stage. Jordan Card also does not have the defense experience of protecting the frame and the bonus of muscle memory, but the speed has become faster. After playing a few rounds to adapt to the latest movement of the bottom line, he completed the defensive suppression of the bottom line area well!

Back-playing is basically one of the most time-consuming styles of play. Pippen's shot was shot out of bounds, and the Bulls continued to attack with 3.7 seconds left.

Jordan received a cross-pull in the top arc, but failed to get rid of Doug Christie's active and clingy defense, and missed the three-pointer!

Barkley protected the defensive rebounds, but was still pushed into the position by the Bulls. In this matter, the Bulls did not waver regardless of the situation. Jordan + Pippen + Rodman's Trinity defense was very good in terms of suppressing the rhythm.

Kenny Anderson advanced to the frontcourt and played singles on the outside, with a beautiful cross-step changing direction, breaking to the right side of the free throw line, attracting defensive attention, and a sudden stop and jumping...

Zhang Hao waited for a long time, and finally found an opportunity this time. He moved to the bottom line and pretended to go around the left side of the free throw line and suddenly ran back and cut in.

Kenny Anderson was very tacit. Facing Rodman to make up for defense, the space on the right bottom line was still covered by Rodman and there was no chance to pass it to Barkley, but he still jumped up because he predicted Zhang Hao's movement!

Zhang Hao received the ball during the cutting of the bottom line on the left and stepped into the left side of the three-second zone. It has to be said that the Bulls' defense cooperation is really good. Lang Li was not panicked, leaving room for movement in the baseline to avoid being blocked by the foul. He jumped vertically and covered the space where Zhang Hao wanted to buckle directly. At this time, if Zhang Hao jumped and bumped into the ball, it was likely to hit the person. Anyway, there was no defensive foul move, and Pippen also actively retreated, but Zhang Hao still jumped into the left side of the three-second zone!

Facing Lang Li to make up for defense at the basket, Zhang Hao slid over the basket as if he had flew up at the bottom line, avoided Lang Li, and flew to the right side of the three-second zone. He switched the ball from his right hand to his left hand in the air. When he slid over the basket, he grabbed the ball with his left hand and reached to the right three-second zone. The movement of the three-second zone was frozen. When his body was falling, he swung his left hand up and threw the ball into the basket with his back to the bottom line!

The moment Zhang Hao smashed the ball into the basket, Pippen, who rushed back, hit Zhang Hao and knocked down Zhang Hao... The referee whistle, Zhang Hao scored a goal, Pippen made a foul, Zhang Hao received a penalty!

Doug Christie scored a three-pointer, Kenny Anderson scored an emergency stop and scored 2 points and 2 assists, Barkley scored 5 points, Zhang Hao scored 6 points, George Lynch scored 2 points...18-13, and played 6 minutes and 03 seconds. The Lakers expanded the lead to 5 points. Zhang Hao also added another penalty. The Zen master called the timeout and entered the official timeout stage.

This start is really surprising!

The Lakers' performance at the start is really surprising. Not only was it not affected by O'Neal's injury and missed the tiebreak, the most critical game of the entire season, but it seemed to play more firmly!

Doug Christie's decisive three-point shooting, Barkley made better and more calm in both cutting and receiving and shooting, Kenny Anderson made a jump shot with an emergency stop, George Lynch also had a dunk that was restrained by Zhang Hao in the counterattack.

In the eyes of the Bulls players as opponents, the Lakers' players perform better than in the past two games!

What kind of abilities does the Lakers have when they have players have suddenly improved in terms of personal abilities?

Judging from the first half of the game, it was really not. Zhang Hao scored 6 points in 3 of 3 shots, but he was just playing irritably. Zhang Hao would have also been able to make the jump shot with a beautiful horizontal pull-changing direction and breaking through. Jordan taught him, and he swallowed the blood he wanted to vomit back.

Just now, the trolley dunk from the bottom line... Jordan could only think that Zhang Hao was imitating him, because except for being a little bigger, he didn't dare to say how similar the movements were, he could only say that it was...

Doug Christie still caught the ball and made a few passes after receiving the ball. George Lynch still had no other use in position except for pick-and-roll, cut and robbing on the wing. It was not difficult for Kenny Anderson to beat Ron Harper, and Barkley even went to eat cake.

But cooperation has improved! Lakers players can always find opportunities more calmly!

Just calm down!

The Bulls players just think that the Lakers' cooperation is amazing and their ability to seize opportunities is better, but the Bulls coach Zen master Phil Jackson is an outsider and can see more clearly. He vaguely feels... Why do the other party seem to be like five people, not to play like one person, but to be calm...

It seems that everyone on the other side has become as calm as the 20-year-old bald superstar!

The Silver Fox was also surprised. Their cooperation in the beginning was so good. They entered the rotation stage, leading by 5 points at the beginning, and Zhang Hao had extra penalty after the timeout. He replaced Barkley and George Lynch first. According to the agreement with Zhang Hao, Brian Xiao and Jason Williams were replaced at this stage, and the back line remained unmoved.

Although the lead at the beginning may reach 6 points at most, the Silver Fox did not think about expanding the gap in one breath, and the game was still long.

When it comes to the rotation stage, Barkley and O'Neal are not there, and only Zhang Hao supports the inside, and Silver Fox can only expect them to continue to cooperate well like the beginning.

Barkley's playing time in the first half will be reduced, and the second half will most likely be full. The Silver Fox planned this way. At that time, whether it is chasing points, stabilizing advantages, or playing in the anxious stand, Barkley will be needed.

...

The Bulls sent Elvin Robertson, Ron Harper, Jordan, Pippen and Rodman.

The TV commentator played a few rounds at the beginning and complained about why Zen Master didn't use Elvin Robertson, a veteran defensive player who has excellent defense, to replace Longley with Longley.

The Zen master's idea is very simple. He first leads Jordan's personal offense and waits for Barkley to be replaced before changing into this lineup to gain an advantage.

With Elvin Robertson, the Bulls are definitely the strongest in the league in defense of teams without big centers!

Just Pippen was hated, and Zhang Hao dunked 2+1 from the bottom line, but the Zen master was not panicked. Seeing the timeout back, Zhang Hao scored a penalty, and the score became 13 to 19, and he was still nagging.

It's still a long time, only half a quarter, and there are still three and a half minutes to play. At least, at the beginning, the Bulls did not allow the Lakers to perform well in a single player.

The Bulls attacked and returned to the Bulls' first attack. Unexpected situation occurred.

Jason Williams squatted under the basket, Doug Christie followed Pippen, Brian Shaw went to defend Ron Harper, Kenny Anderson defended Ron Harper who advanced to the frontcourt...

After Jordan ran through half the game, he found that it was Zhang Hao who wanted to defend him!

Pippen immediately went to the sideline to pull open, Ron Harper passed the ball to Jordan, and Jordan played singles to Zhang Hao.

This choice is fine.

Jordan faced Zhang Hao with a cross step, accelerated and broke through... was blocked by Zhang Hao!

Jordan was extremely surprised, leaned against Zhang Hao and turned over and jumped over... Zhang Hao was following closely, with excellent height and arm spread. Jordan's back-attack did not play a particularly important role. The main reason was that Jordan did not expect this situation at all. He could not get rid of the defense and temporarily added a backward line, which was a bit too much...

Jordan missed a jump shot!

Jason Williams withstood Rodman and grabbed the defensive rebound, protected it and passed it to Kenny Anderson. Kenny Anderson protected the ball under the full pressure of Elvin Robertson, without rushing and advancing steadily.

Really defended! Kenny Anderson needs to ease...

Jordan, who quickly retreated after striking the iron, was also surprised.

Zhang Hao actually kept up with his breakthrough speed! That's fine, the key is that Jordan saw Zhang Hao's movement predicted in advance, rather than being blocked by the acceleration after being shaken away.

This far exceeds his understanding of Zhang Hao’s external single defense!

In Jordan's impression, Zhang Hao could not defend against the outside line with excellent physical fitness and skills, but he was very good at defending a short speed guard. His defensive method was to use his outstanding moving ability and his huge body advantage to cover his shooting opportunities, but he generally could not defend against breakthroughs.

However, what Zhang Hao temporarily obtained was not only Jordan's athletic ability, but also, he only needed to look at the details of Jordan's movements when he changed direction, and immediately thought about how to break through the details of such movements he made.

Lakers offense.

Except for the singles at the beginning of the game, Zhang Hao did not play singles when Jordan defended him later.

When he and Kenny Anderson and Barkley were on the court at the same time, Kenny Anderson was the main control, and Barkley was the best team offensive method after their analysis.

But Barkley went down. When it reached the rotation stage, the rotation stage was not easy to cooperate with the team. The Lakers didn't even try to play the team offense. Zhang Hao was ready to do it alone!

Kenny Anderson advanced to the frontcourt, Zhang Hao waved to the ball one meter away from the left side of the top arc, but Jordan did not press it. Zhang Hao asked for the ball at this position, and he could not press it up and go around in front. He would definitely be easily cut in. At such a long distance, Zhang Hao rushed up, so he could not see the defense behind.
To be continued...