Before the start of the Eastern Conference Finals, most people thought that the Bulls' chances were running out, that the team had quite a lot of natural flaws, and in a game like the NBA playoffs, which had fewer weaknesses than anyone, those flaws of the Bulls could have kept the team dead from start to finish for almost an umpteenth time, especially against the defending champions.

When the Bulls lost the first two games in a row at the American Airlines Center, everyone used various data to prove that the Bulls had little hope of qualifying, but Thibodeau simply changed the formation, completely liberated Sun Xiaotian in the starter, and actually won three games in a row and directly got the match point, which simply made fans all over the world smash their glasses.

In the crucial fifth game, Sun Xiaotian scored 27 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists, beating James' 24 points and 7 assists, becoming the best on the spot. Not only that, Sun Xiaotian averaged 31.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game in the first five games of the East Finals, ranking first in the playoff MVP list.

Sun Xiaotian was so excited to win Tianwang Mountain that he roared in the locker room after the game, and the Bulls gathered together to chant "Savior!" Savior! It feels like you've won the championship.

On the other hand, the Heat, in Game 5, they actually had a chance at the end, but the Heat's tactics were too obvious, coupled with the Bulls' targeted defense, which curbed the Heat's last-minute play very well.

Celebration was normal, but the calm Sun Xiaotian quickly returned to normal. In an interview with the media, he said:

"It's just one game, we still have one more game to win! After all, basketball is also round, anything can happen, and we can't relax. ”

Are you ready to win this series in the next games? No, we're not going to be so arrogant, we're not like some teams, and now we start thinking about the next opponent, we're a more pragmatic team, a team that wants to win a championship needs to have better considerations, when a team comes to the playoffs, even if the opponent is weak, you need to put all your energy into it, after all, the current opponent is the Heat, they are not an ordinary team.

After the game, James praised Sun Xiaotian's performance, "His play in this series is phenomenal, we have to be more resolute when defending him, I believe we will come back!" ”

led the team to win three games in a row, and the American media was also fascinated by Sun Xiaotian's performance. Just like Yahoo Sports said, "Such a civilian team, with the existence of Sun Xiaotian, has become completely different." ”

You must know that although this is only Sun Xiaotian's rookie season, after the baptism of the regular season, especially the playoffs, he has completely achieved transformation.

Of course, the team was able to win this crucial battle, thanks to Thibodeau's tactical adjustment from the third game onwards.

In response to the Heat's smooth transfer ball, the Bulls centered on the ball, pinched the passing route to block the Heat's pass, and forced the Heat to play alone. For the key people, the players of the James Bulls start to prevent the ball from no ball, change people when there is cover, raise their hands high to prevent shooting when defending, and if they break through, there is a pinch and a supplementary defense. For the Bulls, it doesn't matter if others score, without James and Wade's certainty, as long as these two guys don't play the Heat, it will be difficult to win.

Three-point tactics are the magic weapon of the Heat, and the Shuai has formulated a lot of three-point tactics for this, and when defending the Heat's three-point shots, the Bulls almost always press beyond the three-point line, controlling the ultra-long range of Battier, Ray Allen and Miller.

On the offensive end, the Bulls seized the weakness of the Heat's lack of interior height, and frequently impacted the interior through various methods such as air cutting, breaking, and rushing to the frontcourt to rebound, striving to press within the three-second zone. After playing the inside to the point where the Heat had to shrink, the outside naturally had a chance to shoot. At the same time, both Sun Xiaotian and Butler deliberately strengthened their individual offense when they were facing Zhan Wei, putting pressure on them and consuming Zhan Wei. Heat players can't get the ball well on the offensive end, and they are caught and beaten the defensive end, so of course they will be impatient. The Bulls put more pressure on the Heat players psychologically through strategic pressure.

The Heat's big four is the team's dominant lineup, and the Thunder, whether they play Noah or Gibson play a big four lineup, will not suffer too much in terms of speed. And Noah, Gibson, Butler, Sun Xiaotian and even Lu Deng and Lee all have a lot of advantages in height, confrontation and athleticism, which can firmly trap the small lineup of the Heat. Especially in terms of rebounding, the Bulls grabbed a total of 54 rebounds in Game 5 between the two sides, while the Heat only had 43, and the gap was obvious.

Game 6 of the two sides will return to the Union Center, and the Bulls are full of confidence as they prepare to end the series on their home court and return to glory in the Finals. The losing Heat certainly won't surrender so easily, and the more they fall behind, the more they will be able to find a way to win.

Thibodeau is actually very worried that the atmosphere of the team will change because of the win on match point, after all, the team is not very experienced, and the main reason is that the psychology of the players is easy to change. If the team can't grasp Game 6 and let the Heat drag into the tiebreaker, then the right time and place and the Bulls can still have a few points, everything is unknown.

Coach Spoelstra has no way back, the first two games of the Heat team actually won on home-court advantage and experience, but the last three games were lost on the adjustment lag, to put it bluntly, on the conservative.

In fact, Si Shuai has not changed at all, compared to the defeat in the third and fourth games, the Heat assisted the inside line in the fifth game, which still brought a lot of trouble to the Bulls, and Bosh scored 25 points and 16 rebounds in the fifth game as evidence.

In the fifth game, the Heat lost to Wade, and this time Wade's defensive efficiency was the second lowest on the team, which may have something to do with his injury, so how to activate Wade in the sixth game is crucial -

Despite winning the battle of Tianwang Mountain, the Bulls are still at a disadvantage in terms of lineup. In Game 5, James, Wade and Chalmers blocked and switched defenses alone, which has always been a sore spot for the Bulls, and it made the Bulls extremely uncomfortable and had no clue to deal with it for a while. The other is Boozer's defensive gap, as long as he changes the defense, no matter who faces him, he will not hesitate to break through him. But Boozer is an existence that the Heat cannot ignore on the offensive end, and how to use him has become a headache for Thibodeau.

However, Thibodeau also thought of a way to deal with this, and his countermeasure was to rotate 7 or 8 people that he is best at. This lineup is a ruthless starting lineup, although it is very conservative, but it is really practical. (To be continued.) )