On May 19, the Bulls continued to play the Heat on the road.

Lakers players haven't paid attention to this set of games for two consecutive games, because they are too busy to take care of themselves, and how can they have the mood and time to worry about other people's affairs.

The Bulls have been paying attention to the matchup between the Lakers and the Jazz, and they bloodied the Heat in the first three games, and the overall score of 3:0 means that the Heat can only fight for themselves not to be swept out.

To be honest, the Bulls still can't see who can advance to the Finals between the Lakers and the Jazz, and the dominance shown by the Lakers in the past two years is not something that can be suppressed in a few games, let alone falling behind 1:2, even if they are really 1:3 behind, no one knows if they can turn the tables against the trend.

This is when the media has to stir things up, such as asking the Bulls players who they want to meet in the Finals. This is one of the best methods of provocation.

Of course, the Bulls players will not be stupid enough to name names, but from the head coach to the players, they still want to encounter the Jazz more, and this is the answer in their hearts.

Don't look at the Lakers now seem to be a little intimidated by the Jazz, but the lineup has a saying that they are mutually reinforcing, if Mutombo comes back in the Finals, the Lakers' interior line will have to restrain the Bulls' outside line, and one Mutombo is enough to halve Jordan and Hill's breakthrough threat.

But the Jazz's double big front does not have this ability, Langley + Barkley + Kukoc + Marshall, the Bulls' inside line will not be afraid of the Jazz, but the Bulls' outside line is enough to completely blow up the Jazz, the record of winning two games in the regular season means that the Bulls have full confidence to beat the Jazz, but the defeat of the Lakers in the regular season and the result of being swept in the finals last year will definitely put them at a psychological disadvantage when facing the Lakers.

It is worth mentioning that before the start of the fourth game of the Eastern Conference Finals, there was a grapevine that the Bulls would not sweep the Heat, because they were worried that taking too long a break would affect the state of the Finals.

Of course, home tickets and broadcast revenue are the main reasons why the Bulls want to play Game 5, and interests always come first.

Regardless of whether this news is reliable or not, but the Bulls really collapsed in Game 4, which makes people have to believe that this news is not groundless.

In the fourth game, Jordan only scored 20 points on a walk, Hill shot 5 of 17 and obviously paid tribute to Kidd, Barkley took two technical fouls in a row and slapped the team's face with poor acting skills, and only Van Exel performed prominently and scored 28 points and 8 assists to show a rare highlight performance this year.

But that performance was clearly not enough for the team to win, and the Bulls still swallowed a loss on the road.

"Rebounding, defending, shooting."

Zhang and his teammates didn't watch the Bulls and Heat games at all, and he was willing to train with his teammates when he had this time.

These three points are the key points that the Lakers must seize in Game 4, but he doesn't see much about offense, because he is confident that on the offensive end, his teammates only need to shoot when they get their chances, and he will be able to do the rest.

The Jazz didn't have much adjustment in this game, they think that as long as the Iron Triangle continues to play in the first three games, and the outside shooter throws the open space in, the Lakers no longer have the ability to defend themselves after losing Mutombo, and they have a great hope of grabbing the ticket to the Finals!

Both teams are actively preparing for the game, and the time is naturally approaching, and on May 20, it finally came to the crucial fourth match.

This battle is a real key battle for the Lakers, and if they win, they can regain home-court advantage, and all the previous disadvantages can be counted as a false alarm, and they can regain the initiative for the entire series. But if this game is lost, the total score of 1:3 not only means that the Jazz will grab the match point, but the Lakers may really rely on the honor they have achieved in the previous two years to support the belief of turning the tables, but at that time the probability of turning defeat into victory will be less than 20%.

- Win by surprise with Chikkichi!

Harris understands today's theme very well, this game is already a life-and-death battle for the Lakers, but there is not much he can do, he can only hope that Zhang Mao, the center, can hand over an answer sheet that surprises him.

Now there is a good news that the Lakers themselves don't know yet, that is, Sloan didn't expect Zhang Zhu to play center at all, this "strange" is really strange, but I just don't know if I can win?

At the pre-game press conference, Zhang Qi kept using tricks to mislead opponents, but Jazz never guessed that he would play such a strange routine as a center.

Therefore, when Zhang Qi stood in the middle circle and greeted him, the first reaction of the "postman" was "This goods should come here to elbow themselves, right"?

Malone's idea suggests that he still has a psychological shadow over the scene where he was almost elbowed to death last year, although it will not affect his performance in the game.

Today's Jazz starters remain the same, but the Lakers' starters have made countless people drop their glasses: Kidd, Starks, Jones, Big Ben, Zhang Fu.

"Am I right? Lyon playing the C position? ”

"Is this a tribute to the magician?"

"No kidding, how do they defend this lineup?"

"Haha, I guessed it a long time ago, this is the same script as Abdul-Jabbar was injured back then."

“……”

As soon as the Lakers' starters came out, Sloan let out a "pop" in his heart, and suddenly had an ominous premonition?

"Boy, do you have itchy bones, or itchy skin?"

When Ma Long greeted him, he suddenly stretched out his right hand to Zhang Qiu, which was ill-intentioned, because the players usually greeted each other before the game by hugging and touching their palms, and few people shook hands.

Zhang Yu knew in his heart where Ma Long's malice was, he completely lost his crosshair after being hit twice on his wrist and palm last time, if it wasn't for Jazz's carelessness and not guarding his left hand, he would have stopped eating that game. Now Ma Long obviously wants to take the opportunity to yin him again, as long as he dares to reach out and take the move, Ma Long will definitely not be stingy and let his right hand be scrapped for another night.

However, Zhang Fu was not stunned at all, and quickly stretched out his hand, seeing that this momentum seemed to be even more impatient than Ma Long.

Ma Long suddenly regretted a little, because Zhang Qiu's big hand was obviously longer and wider than his own size, and his fingers were thicker.

"This ...... It's not going to roll over, is it? ”

A thought of unconfidence rose in the heart of the "postman" classmate, of course he would not know that how could a soul find the strongest hybrid from the world's 50E population not be a gifted freak?

Zhang Qi is compared to the muscles and biceps of the upper body, of course, it is not the same talented Ma Long's opponent, but it is only slightly inferior in forearm and wrist strength, and it is completely surpassed in finger power.

In the past three years, the least fans have seen is the footage of Zhang Yu dropping the ball, especially when he grabbed the basketball in his hand, no one wanted to snatch the basketball in his hand again.

Needless to say, Ma Long's confrontation ability is rarely rivaled in terms of upper body strength and lower handicap, but his palm is not so famous, and there has never been news about his palm.

Zhang Qi is a well-known big hand, not only with big palms, but also with particularly thick fingers, which the young ladies have the most right to speak.

So needless to say, you can see from the TV lens that Ma Long's entire arm was bruised at the moment of shaking hands, especially the amplitude of the forearm and biceps muscles were about to explode, and even the back muscle groups were bulging, but there was no use for eggs, these muscles had limited blessings for hand strength, and this wrestling mainly relied on force and wrist strength.

Ma Long's whole face turned purple after three seconds, but Zhang Yu was no different, he could feel that the other party was desperately pulling back his palm, but how could he miss this kind of good opportunity, there was no loosening force in his hand at all, and his whole arm was also bruised, and he wanted to crush all five of Ma Long's fingers.

"Come on, it's your own!"

Zhang Fu was so happy in his heart, he was worried about how to limit Ma Long's stable mid-range shots, but he didn't expect the other party to send it to the door himself, how could he miss such a good opportunity?

Ma Long felt Zhang Qi's intentions, he really couldn't hold it anymore, his fingers would really be crushed if he persisted, so he had no choice but to grab Zhang Qi with his left hand, and he was stunned to throw him out with the strength of both hands.

"Toot toot...... Governor ......"

The three referees were gathering together to finally confirm today's penalty scale, but they didn't expect that before the game started, Ma Long and Zhang Qi began to wrestle, so presumptuous?

As soon as Ma Long used all his strength, Zhang Qian naturally had no way to compete, after all, the block was there.

Therefore, he is like a weak little girl, Ma Long actually threw him out four or five meters with this throw, and in the end he really didn't do anything, Zhang Qi added force to himself, and rubbed several meters on the floor.

Stockton looked stupid directly, Zhang Qian was thrown under his feet by Malone from the midfield, he was standing in the three-point line, could it be that his old buddy secretly worshipped Yan Fang as a teacher?

"What do you see, haven't you ever seen someone thrown more than ten meters away?"

Zhang Mao's words made Stockton completely speechless, and he simply turned away from watching this clumsy performance.

"Idiot, why don't you fly out of the field?"

"Liar from Los Angeles, you should go to Hollywood and use your talents."

"Chinese Yankee, this year's Golden Raspberry Award will be decided by you."

“……”

Of course, the fans of Salt Lake City couldn't see Zhang Yu's clumsy performance, and the referee also felt a little insulting to his IQ, so he didn't show a foul to Ma Long, but seriously warned the two not to play too much, otherwise they will bear the consequences!

Zhang Yu was snickering in his heart, his big move was mainly to cover up the damage he had caused to Ma Long just now, although he was just passively fighting back, Ma Long couldn't blame him for killing himself, but it would be bad if the referee played fifty boards each.

Now such a warning is most in his heart, because he knows that Marlon's right hand is useless today.

Ma Long also knew that he had lost his wife and broken his army, and at this moment his entire right hand was shaking like a Parkinson's patient, and an unforgettable pain came from the palm of his hand, so painful that he couldn't help jumping on the spot a few times, and shook his right hand in an attempt to resolve this unbearable pain.

The three referees also went to the technical table to watch the replay just now, and fans all over the world saw the scene of the two shaking hands just now, and at this moment the fool knows what happened.

"Oh my God, Leon actually injured Marlon's hand?"

"How is it possible, Marlon's hand strength is not as strong as Leon's?"

"Haha, Ma Long's hand stretched out first, is this considered self-inflicted?"

"Damn the Chinese guy, he must have attacked Carl, and the despicable Asians will only sneak attack!"

"That's right, Carl just made friendly gestures like him, but this guy maliciously hurt his opponent and should be expelled from the game!"

"Hehe, the slow-motion replay is very clear, Marlon is working hard with Leon, and considering his suspicious hand-reaching action, who has malicious intentions and doesn't understand?"

“……”

The whole process was replayed in slow motion on TV, and in fact, everyone could see who was the one with bad intentions. Not to mention anything else, Malone hugs when greeting other Lakers players, why does it become a handshake when he arrives at Zhang Fu? Why didn't he shake hands before?

Moreover, the time of the two is basically the same, which can only be said that Zhang Qian is not good at stubble, but it cannot be said that Ma Long was sneak attacked, which doesn't make sense.

The Jazz's starting lineup was forced to adjust before the game began, and Sloan saw that Malone was in pain like that, so he could only replace him with ice first, and put the 216cm tall Greg Ostertag on top.

The game was also delayed by this accident for a few minutes, and the referees discussed it after watching the replay, and felt that it was best to maintain the original decision, and there was no need to pursue the penalty, so let the league study this matter after the game.

Of course the Jazz fans didn't do it, their double front combination hadn't started yet, so they actually folded one of the most awesome Malone first, how can this be played?

All of a sudden, the "Energy Solution Arena" was full of all kinds of discriminatory insults, and all kinds of titles such as "thin eyes", "short three inches", "clear worms", and "dog meat" all popped up.

But none of this affected the start of the game, and the satellite broadcast signal had already filtered out the noise of most of the fans in the stadium, especially the Asian fans who did not know what the fans were shouting again.

In the opening jump shot, Zhang Zhu faced Ostertag, who was much taller than himself, a white power forward with a strong defense and weak offense, who could contribute six or seven rebounds and two blocks in the last two seasons in the early 20 minutes per game, and his low-post defensive ability was also good, but his flaws were lack of mobility, poor athleticism and physical strength, and he was also very anxious on the offensive end.

Obviously, this kind of player is suitable for dealing with a center like O'Neal, but it is conceivable that the fate of Zhang Yu can be imagined, and he will lose in the jump ball link first.

Fans in front of the TV can clearly see that this tall and strong guy is like a clumsy bear, his reaction is obviously slower, Zhang Yu jumped up and touched the basketball, this thing has just been 10 centimeters off the ground.

Kidd got the basketball and passed it directly to Zhang Mao, who was rushing forward.

The Jazz players are in chaos, Zhang Zhu is the center today, which has overwhelmed them, there have never been emergency measures and plans for this routine in the pre-game preparations, and Malone's unexpected departure caught them off guard, and now Zhang Fu's breakthrough naturally makes the Jazz's defensive line chaotic.

Lao Huo and Eric hurriedly came up to wrap Zhang Zhu, but the two could not form a tacit cooperation in a panic, Zhang Zhu forcibly broke in from between the two as soon as he exerted his strength, and by the way, he passed McDeis, who was too late to settle down, and completed a violent two-handed dunk in only three seconds after the opening!

Seeing this, Sloan didn't say a word, and directly called a timeout.

Just now, Eric and Lao Huo were obviously still executing according to the previous defensive strategy, but Zhang Zhu played a center today, even if he didn't succeed in breaking through just now, he could assist the unguarded Starks and Jones to score with a casual pass.

In addition, this timeout is also to buy time for Malone to recover, and the poor "postman" classmate is wearing ice packs with a look of shame, but I don't know if he is ashamed that his self-assertion has affected the normal operation of the team, or he is ashamed that he lost to Zhang Fu, the outside line.

On the Lakers' side, a group of younger brothers naturally gathered around to slap Zhang Zhu's ass, and Kidd was even more eager to rush up and kiss Zhang Qi's right hand, but he finally knew that this kind of action would definitely provoke a backhand slap for himself.

"Hehe, even if you play again, can this hand still guarantee the feel?"

Zhang Wei was very proud in his heart, how much effort he had just made in his heart was the best, Ma Long's right hand was not pinched off by him, and that guy was already a big hand, but today he didn't want to shoot with his right hand, even if it can relieve the pain after the ice, the whole palm will inevitably become unconscious, and it is estimated that it will be difficult to throw a vacant position tonight.

After the timeout, Malone still did not play, and it seemed that a few minutes of ice was not enough to relieve the pain, which was much more serious than that day of Zhang Mao.

The Jazz offense, Stockton was still blocking with the inside, but found that Zhang Zhu did not defend Ostertag, he defended McDyce.

After Stockton and McDyce were separated, Zhang Yu didn't bother with the former at all, Ostertag over there didn't have the ability to shoot and couldn't open up the space, Big Ben only needed to stay near the penalty line and star, with the footsteps of the outside line, as long as Stockton or others dared to rush to the basket, Big Ben and Kidd would immediately form a front and back attack, and would not give him a chance to shoot at all.

The Lakers guarded the inside, Stockton could only walk around the restricted area and then come out in gray, Starks and Jones on the outside only needed to keep an eye on their opponents at this time, Stockton had no goal at all, and once the ball was sticky, Kidd could only use his physical advantage to force it into the corner to make a mistake.

The Jazz players rotated the ball in passive, but no one could create the right opportunity, and in the end they could only rely on Eric to hold the ball and attack Jones, but although this guy has a physical advantage, he also did not dare to go deep into the basket into the defensive range of Zhang Qiu and Big Ben, and he couldn't shoot the Lakers with a long-range strong shot, and Jones was not afraid of this kind of offense.

The absence of a Malone immediately made the Jazz's offense passive, and it turned out that the Jazz's two-forward lineup could not play without any link, and Stockton was not enough to create offensive opportunities alone without the cover of these two.

Zhang Zhu started infinite singles on the offensive end, and the Jazz let the interior line misplace the defense, everyone knew that Ostertag could not defend against Zhang Zhu, and Sloan had to let McDyess defend.

Harris reacted quickly, Big Ben defended well, and Ostertag couldn't beat the opponent who was two laps younger than him, because he didn't have the ability to attack at all. But the reverse was also true, Big Ben couldn't beat Ostertag either, so there was no need to keep him on the court, and Mason was substituted after the opening minute.

Zhang Zhu's side also has an advantage in single-handedly playing McDyce, but the latter's athleticism is not bad, and if there are better offensive options, of course, the most optimized plan is chosen.

Mason has declined a lot this year, but he still has a certain ability to break through the frame, and his mid-range shooting is also good, he is basically a poor version of Malone, and now it is most suitable for him to deal with Ostertag.

"Let me go, I can defend."

Malone soon couldn't help it, and Mason singled Ostertag twice in a row, although his hand is still painful now, and it is estimated that he will not be less than Ostertag on the offensive end, but at least he can defend Mason's offense.

At 9 minutes and 46 seconds in the first quarter, the score was 8:0, and the Lakers played a game at the beginning, and Sloan had to let Malone return to the court.

Harris didn't make a substitution, he knows very well that keeping Mason on the court is far more useful than Big Ben now, unless Malone's palm does not delay the offense, Mason is enough to deal with such Malone, the key is that his role on the offensive end is much stronger than Big Ben.

Zhang Wei also has no opinion, although he feels that Mason can't keep up with the rhythm of the team anymore, and his attitude towards playing is not as good as before, but he will not ignore the overall situation for the sake of a little dissatisfaction in his heart.

The game restarted, Zhang Zhu was still facing McDyes, on the defensive end, because when Malone's right hand was crippled, this guy was the biggest threat to the Lakers' interior, as long as he could hold McDyes, the Jazz's interior line was basically no threat, and Mason had the ability to deal with Malone, who was crippled in his right hand.

But on the offensive end, the Lakers no longer focus on Mason, and even if Malone's right hand can't shoot blue, the defense must be fine.

Zhang Yu decisively took the ball and began to attack, scoring four points in less than a minute with free throws to help the Lakers continue to lead 12-2, and the Lakers established a 10-point advantage in less than five minutes of today's opening game.

Ma Long's side really can't shoot with his right hand, he doesn't have to try, because the whole right hand is not only painful, but also numb, and even the dribbling is like a burning feeling, how can the shooting be scored?

The Lakers began to let Malone empty on the defensive end, which was unthinkable in the past, but today as long as Malone is no longer holding the ball in the restricted area, there is no need to worry about his threat.

5 minutes and 50 seconds in the first quarter, Malone was once again empty at the free throw line, this time the "postman" classmate wanted to test his right hand, but the result was a "clang", the basketball smashed directly into the rebound and bounced into Zhang Qiu's hand, and the whole process did not touch the basket and the net at all, which is a "two non-sticks", only a little better than the "three non-sticks", Ma Long's right hand obviously cannot control the strength and accuracy of the shot.

Zhang Qi immediately went to the fast break after getting the ball, and finally assisted Jones to complete the layup, and the score came to 20:7, and it became difficult for the Jazz to score a point today, and they couldn't create good scoring opportunities at all.

On the Lakers' side, it was the opposite, Zhang Qian played the inside line for a while, and found that Malone did not drop too much on the defensive end, and began to frequently pull to the outside line to attack.

The Jazz's defense can't adapt to the elusive Zhang Qi at all, he played the center position today, but how can there be such a center who is running around the court but can break through and shoot outside the three-point line at will?

If the Jazz want to defend him, they have to let the inside line pull out, of course, they can also use the outside line to prevent it, but in this way, the inside line is still in the big defense, in short, the players on the Jazz side have not practiced how to defend such a routine at all, and they are naturally blinded by the Lakers' strange formation.

In the second half of the first quarter, Zhang Mao's mid-range shot and 3-point hit one after another, and Kidd also had a "2+1" brave performance. With 1 minute and 58 seconds left in the quarter, Zhang Zhu received a pass in the middle and passed directly behind his back to Big Ben, who was in the empty position on the left wing of the basket, and Big Ben, who scored 4 points in the entire series, strongly dunked the ball into the basket when Malone made up for it in time. The "postman" classmate stretched out his right hand to cover it, but in the end he still didn't dare to confront Big Ben, he was afraid that he would lose even the ability to defend after being hit hard.

At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers played a score that would be difficult for even the most ardent Jazz fans to continue shouting - 42-17, a full 25-point advantage that plunged the Energy Solutions arena into a deathly silence.

Zhang Qi cut 15 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks in the first quarter, such data can't help but remind people of the magical "quasi-six-double", but the premise is that today's Jazz can hold on to the fourth quarter, if their offense still does not improve in the second quarter, then the first half of the game should be GG.

Sloan has sat on the bench frowning and thinking hard, he knows that the Lakers' score has nothing to do with whether Malone is injured or not, his injury does not have a big impact on defense, the team should not let the Lakers score 42 points, Malone's injury can affect a few points at most, they lost the ability to fight back against the Lakers on the offensive end, which is the real reason for trailing by 25 points in the first quarter.

Not being able to prevent the Lakers' offense is not necessarily the end of the world, as long as they can play the offense of the first three games, they will not be as many as 25 points behind. But after Malone's point of attack failed, Stockton and McDice also suffered a knock-on effect, and their performances became lackluster in the first quarter, leaving the whole team at a loss for what to score.

But the problem is that even if Sloan knows what the problem is, he can only solve it, because they can't restore the speed of light in Malone's right hand.

After the first quarter, the pain in Malone's right hand decreased, but the feeling of paralysis became stronger, and the result was naturally that he still had no offensive ability, and he was still treated as a big deal by the Lakers, which was simply a shame!

Harris reused Big Ben in the second quarter, although he was not very useful on the offensive end, but he could help the Lakers grab more rebounds, and it was difficult to meet such a non-biting Malone, it was necessary for Big Ben to take the opportunity to gain some confidence.

The most important thing is that it is enough for the Lakers to have Zhang Qi on the offensive end, and the three outside players are not in bad shape today, and the Lakers' offensive firepower has overflowed, so there is no need to let Mason play. In the first quarter, the reason why they played for a minute and then made substitutions was because the Lakers had not established such a big advantage at that time, and now that they had a 25-point advantage in hand, they could certainly play a little wayward.

When it comes to rebounding, especially "frontcourt rebounding", this has always been the barometer of the game, and if you fall too far behind in this regard, the suspense will be difficult to sustain.

In addition to affecting the offense, Malone's injury will definitely affect the protection of rebounding, and the Lakers in the second quarter strengthened the competition for rebounds in the front court, at which time Big Ben's desperate Saburo's style of play came in handy, but Malone had to always take care of his right hand, and as a result, the Lakers' two two-meter-old insiders actually grabbed 4 frontcourt rebounds in half a quarter, which made Sloan simply replace Malone in advance.

At 6:02 in the second quarter, the score came to 56:25, and the Lakers had quickly extended their advantage to 30+.

Sloan couldn't think of a way to deal with it in a short period of time, he knew that this game was no longer in suspense, and it seemed pointless to let Malone continue to fight with injuries at this moment, and forcing him to persist would be in danger of aggravating the injury.

The Jazz's team doctor has suggested several times that it is best to let Malone go to the hospital for a check-up, and he feels that Malone's palm is not a hard injury, it should be a soft tissue injury, because being held by brute force is different from accidental contact on the court, the latter is mostly a hard injury, and the pain can be quickly recovered. But the former is a deliberate and long-term injury, which is much more serious than being slapped on the wrist or something.

Ma Long did not object this time, his entire right hand had turned from pain to numbness and swelling again, especially near the index finger and little finger, which was already visibly swollen and purple, and the feeling of severe pain reappeared.

Zhang Yu himself didn't expect his grip to be terrifying, but he wouldn't care about Ma Long's life or death, who told this guy to come up and deliver by himself, if it weren't for his hand strength and his ability to be single for 50 years, he would be the one who was going to the hospital at this moment.

After Malone was forced to leave the court, the Jazz couldn't even continue to defend, Zhang Mao seized the last opportunity to play in the first half, slashed 26 points in a single quarter, and handed over a report card of 41 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks in the entire first half, helping the Lakers slaughter the Jazz by 39 points at 78:39 in the half.

Jazz fans started to leave the court at halftime, it's not that they weren't fanatical and loyal enough, it's just that there is no need to hold on to this scoreline, and they can only see the Lakers slaughtering their own team if they continue to stay on the field.