Chapter 107: The Bulls' Cleverness
The game was very exciting from the beginning, and Liu Han scored four points in a row, which made the Lakers fans in front of the TV happy, and they felt that Liu Han had already shown signs of beating Jordan.
The Bulls' side did not seem to have changed because of Liu Han's scoring streak, after all, they are already a team that has won four championships, and their mentality is much better than that of Lakers players.
Dennis Rodman was still a little angry because of Liu Han's partition just now, and he kept muttering something in his mouth.
The Bulls attacked, and Jordan still had no intention of single-handing Liu Han, as if he had ignored Liu Han. In fact, Jordan's mentality is no longer as paranoid as when he was young, he has been in the NBA for 12 seasons since he entered the NBA in 84, during which he has encountered countless provocations and challenges, but now he has achieved the most achievements himself, so he is now facing the media hype and the league's provocation It seems very determined, he feels that Liu Han has no way to challenge his status, even if he has scored four points in a row under his own defense, but Jordan knows that if he wants to score, the opponent will definitely not be able to prevent it.
Bulls point guard Ron Haber handed the ball to Scott Pippen. Then he ran to the bottom corner to form a triangle position with Jordan and Pippen, a triangle offensive tactic that Phil Jackson is known for.
Pippen is strong with the ball and Eddie Jones, Jones is much weaker than Pippen in every aspect. Pippen forced a low-handed layup after bursting inside, O'Neal couldn't cover the ball, but the ball didn't go into the frame, and Rodman was in the right position and grabbed the rebound and dunked for two points.
Rodman has always been known for his defense and rebounding, and his offensive means are very simple, that is, the second offense under the basket, but even like that, he often doesn't score a point in a game, so the two points he just got made this player who looked more like a hooligan very happy, and he also deliberately waved his hand to Liu Han to show provocation.
"The Lakers' defense has always been poor, they don't have a better defender on the interior other than O'Neal, and that's why Rodman can easily grab rebounds and score." Melf Albert criticized the Lakers' defense.
"Yes, this Lakers don't have the right role players, and their defense relies more on the individual abilities of the players than as a whole. Haha, here's an interesting statistic, this ball just now is Rodman's first score in the last three games, congratulations to the Lakers, you sent Rodman to score. Rego Sagar has always been known for his humorous commentary, and although he admires Liu Han, his words do not save face for the Lakers.
The Lakers attacked, the Bulls were still man-to-man, Liu Han faced Jordan as soon as he passed halftime, and the Bulls used Jordan to defend Liu Han alone in this game.
Van Exel wanted to pass to Liu Han after dribbling the ball through the half, but Jordan's defense was very tight, and Liu Han had no way to get rid of Jordan's defense, knowing that the opponent had won the best defensive player. In desperation, Van Exel could only hoist the ball inside.
O'Neal continued to beat Luke Longley after receiving the ball, and this time he managed to shake off the opponent and score two points, and the score of the two teams came to 6-5, and the Lakers led by one point.
In the next game, the scores of the two sides have been rising alternately, the Lakers' defense has no way to limit the Bulls' offense well, and on the Bulls' side, although Jordan's restriction of Liu Han is very successful, O'Neal's strength on the inside line is also very good, and Luke Longley has no way to limit O'Neal's play.
Eight minutes into the first quarter, the Bulls brought on Steve Kerr and Kukoc for Ron Harper and Rodman, with Jordan on the court.
The Bulls' substitutions have also changed the situation on the court, Van Exel is misplaced no matter which player he defends, and the Bulls, who have added two major shooters, began to hit three points frequently on the outside, and they made the Lakers, who have always been known for their three-point points, look down, and the Lakers have only Van Exel and Liu Han scored two three-pointers so far, I have to say that although Jordan is 34 years old, his defensive skills and physical fitness have not deteriorated, and he is still as good as ever, Liu Han is very difficult to defend.
Lakers head coach Harris is facing such a situation without flexibility, he still maintains the lineup on the court, Harris is still inexperienced in the Finals.
At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers trailed the Bulls by six points, 21-27.
In the second quarter, both teams replaced substitutes, and Liu Han consumed a lot of physical strength in the confrontation with Jordan in the first quarter, so he was also replaced at the break, and Van Exel continued to take the bench on the court.
Kobe Bryant was substituted and he was very positive, and although he has decided to leave Los Angeles, which makes him unhappy, he still hopes that he can play better in the game so that he can go to a better team in the future.
The Bulls' bench strength is actually slightly weaker than the Lakers, but with the presence of two shooters, Steve Kerr and Tony Kukoc, plus Rodman, who got a nearly five-minute break in the first quarter, the Bulls' bench will restrain the Lakers' bench both defensively and offensively.
Less than four minutes into the second quarter, Coach Harris had to put Liu Han and O'Neal back on the court, because the gap between the two teams had reached 12 points.
Liu Han played immediately after he came on the court, without Jordan's restrictions, he hit three points from the outside in a row, narrowing the gap in the score to less than 10 points.
After Liu Han came on the field, Van Exel, who had not rested, came off the court, and Liu Han was responsible for controlling the ball and attacking.
With the ball in hand, Liu Han finally showed his strength, he scored 7 points in a row, and in less than 5 minutes, the gap between the two teams narrowed to 3 points.
Bulls head coach Phil Jackson showed a very stable mentality, he did not arrange Jordan to play as soon as Liu Han came on the court, but let the bench players consume Liu Han's physical strength as much as possible, and Jordan did not play again until 8 minutes into the second quarter.
After Jordan came on the court, he did not face Liu Han, but let Ron Harper continue to defend Liu Han in the opposite position, and the other players of the Bulls strengthened their defense on the inside, although Ron Harper could not limit Liu Han's play well, but prevented other players from the Lakers, Liu Han could only play alone, and his physical consumption was greater. On the Lakers' side, their defense still hasn't improved, the Bulls are taking what they want on offense, and Liu Han has to try his best to entangle Jordan on the defensive end.
At halftime, the Lakers still trailed the Bulls by 3 points at 52-55, and Liu Han scored 21 points in a single quarter.
Entering the third quarter, Liu Han, who had a short break, continued to play, the two teams were still inseparable, Jordan entangled Liu Han again, which made Liu Han very uncomfortable, the best defensive player is different from ordinary players, but when Jordan tried his best to defend a player in the game, it is estimated that few people can score easily.
The Lakers stepped up their interior offense in the third quarter, and although O'Neal couldn't be said to dominate the interior, O'Neal's scoring was not too difficult in the face of Luke Longley's defense.
However, the Lakers' defense is still sparse, and Liu Han can only try his best to defend Jordan, but in the face of the Bulls' triangle offense, the rest of the Lakers' players still seem weaker.
Liu Han still played the whole quarter in the third quarter and scored 7 points.
In the rest before the start of the fourth quarter, Liu Han looked very tired, this game was almost equivalent to him playing a game and a half, Liu Han had to fight Jordan with all his strength in offense and defense.
In the fourth quarter, Liu Han, who had too much physical exertion, began to be a little unable to keep up with Jordan, and so far in this game, he has only rested for 4 minutes, while Jordan has rested for nearly 10 minutes.
In the end, the Lakers lost to the Bulls 96-101 on the road, and Liu Han, who was physically exhausted, almost collapsed before he came off the court, he scored 33 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, but the Bulls scored 6 double-doubles, and in the first game of the finals, the Bulls were superior.