Thibodeau looked at the situation on the field with a serious expression.

Although expectations have been raised, the Mavericks are still stronger overall than he expected.

Especially on the defensive end.

The so-called connoisseur looks at the connoisseur, and he knows whether there is one or not.

The Mavericks were not a team known for defense in the past, and when the Warriors were black-eight, Nowitzki was asked by the "little general" Johnson to play center and play a big and four small matchup with others.

Even after Carlisle arrived, the Mavericks conceded around 100 points per game all year round.

If you want to change the team's culture, it is not an overnight thing, of course, the more important thing is that it is difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice, and the Mavericks' former starting center, the self-proclaimed "second center in the league", is a real parallel commodity, and was once squeezed to the bench by Diop.

But the addition of Tyson Chandler changed all that.

This center, who was beaten by Yao Ming before entering the league, has made significant progress in the league over the years, with excellent single defense, especially the rare ability to cover the three-point line, which directly made the Mavericks' interior defense qualitatively changed.

Coupled with Kidd, Stevenson and Marion, Carlisle has built a great defensive system.

In a sense, this is very similar to the defensive system of digital humans in 2001, which is "four guarantees and one guarantee".

It's just that the biggest difference in the same system is the "one".

Nowitzki's defense, although average, is still much better than Iverson.

A trivia fact, Nowitzki's career so far has averaged about 1 steal and block per game.

In the 2004 playoffs against the Kings, he averaged 1.4 steals and 2.6 blocks per game.

The impression that he can't defend well comes more from the lateral disadvantage of big defense, and in the confrontation on the inside, he is much better than many people remember.

Therefore, the Mavericks' entire defensive intensity is one notch stronger than that of the digital people back then.

The key for the Bulls now is to find a way to break the scoring drought on the court first.

Xu Yong continued to hold the ball in the positional battle, but he did not play alone as before, but signaled to pull away and let Yao Ming fall low, and then fed the ball in.

The Mavericks are doing too well defensively, and the easier it is to play at this time, the better.

Facts also proved to be the right choice, Yao Ming received the ball and turned directly to hit a hook to break the scoring drought for the Bulls.

Chandler is a good opponent and moves quickly, and he is no match for Howard and O'Neal now, and he is even a good player at capturing breakthrough players.

However, against Yao Ming's style of playing with softness, his effect will not be much better than Howard's.

And now Yao Ming is experienced, and his flexibility to lose weight has increased a lot, so he doesn't wait for you to help defend and attack directly.

The Mavericks' offense, the ball finally led to Nowitzki's hand, Nowitzki's three-point line fake shot really suddenly shook off O'Neal Jr. to the free throw line, attracting Yao Ming to assist in the defense and directly stuffed to the baseline to borrow Chandler to cover the cut Marion, who flew to the wipe board to score two more points.

This attack hit the mercury and was full of ornamentation.

And the Mavericks players really don't stick to the ball.

It's the style of European basketball that is played in the NBA.

This may not be noticed much, but it is very similar to the Spurs in the 13~14 season, and it is a serious team basketball.

The Bulls were a little flustered, and Rose made another mistake in passing the ball out of bounds.

There was a stirring at the scene.

Playoff experience is a relatively abstract thing, but if you describe it concretely, it is the ability to withstand pressure and adjust on the court.

The Bulls have a better roster, but they are far inferior to the Mavericks in terms of playoff experience.

Not to mention the playoffs, the only person on the Bulls' side who has experienced the Finals is head coach Thibodeau, and he is still an assistant coach.

On the Mavericks' side, just on the court at this moment, Kidd and Nowitzki have experienced the baptism of the Finals.

On this field, they are clearly the more experienced side.

8-2, and it's the Mavericks' possession.

The Bulls got off to a bad start.

Thibodeau got up from the bench and shouted at the players to remind them of their focus on the game.

But such a reminder did not work, or the Mavericks, who had just finished their battle with the Thunder, were obviously in better shape than the Bulls, who had not played for nearly a week.

Nowitzki cut to the basket, received a pass from Kidd and flew to the basket for a layup.

However, just before the ball reached the highest point, a figure slammed out from the diagonal side and slapped the ball directly on the rebound.

It's Xu Yong!

He defended Stevenson tonight, the one who was the least stressed defensively tonight.

This allows him to help defend more on the pitch.

Of course, more importantly, although he has not played in the Finals, as he showed in the previous conversation with Thibodeau, he knows that the Mavericks are strong, so he is the one with the most concentration on the Bulls' side tonight.

After completing the block, Xu Yong directly took advantage of the airspace to close the rebound, and then turned around and threw the ball to Rose on the outside.

The Mavericks' outside trio is quick to get back and fast, but Rose is even faster.

After accelerating past Kidd, he faced Stevenson with a change of direction without slowing down and a pull rod to score a fast-break layup.

This goal can be regarded as making up for the previous passing error.

And more importantly, this offense and defense, the momentum that the Bulls have been pressed on, has finally turned back.

"Defend! Defend! ”

Even the fans at the scene began to cheer for the home team in unison.

However, the Mavericks really came all the way through the wind and waves, and they did not panic in the face of this situation.

Kidd continued to press Rose with his back to control the court from the outside, where Nowitzki went straight to the three-point line and passed the ball straight over.

Nowitzki made a breakaway feint and then shot straight outside the three-point line.

"Huh!"

The ball's parabola is very high, but it falls straight down the net bag like an extraterrestrial meteorite.

Nowitzki's state, no problem at all.

11 to 4.

The Mavericks continue to hold the lead.

Thibodeau was a little unable to sit still at this time, Nowitzki did not start as he expected in the high and low singles, but kept floating on the outside looking for opportunities, and O'Neal Jr.'s footsteps and reactions were very bad.

It's the same situation as when they played the Thunder, Ibaka and Perkins couldn't stop it, and O'Neal Jr. had a hard time.

The scene was also restless.

The pressure brought by the Mavericks to the Bulls is not at the same level as the previous Heat team.

This is equivalent to playing a game, which has always been easy and enjoyable in the front, and suddenly the next level is hellish difficulty, not to mention whether you can pass it, you can't adapt to it all of a sudden.

The Bulls' offense, Xu Yong continued to hold the ball on the outside and continued to give the ball inside.

This time, Yao Ming just received the ball when he encountered Stevenson's contraction and pinch.

The Mavericks' defensive reaction speed is as sensitive as a woman's emotions.

However, Yao Ming's reaction was also fast, and he quickly returned the ball to Xu Yong.

Xu Yong didn't panic and made a move, and when Stevenson came back from defense, he accelerated the speed of the pass and stuffed the ball into the ball this time.

Yao Ming received the ball and made a turn-over jumper directly to the baseline.

It's not a big move, but Chandler doesn't have a trick at all.

A big man of 2.26 meters does this kind of action, and the key is so fast, absolutely unprecedented.

Of course, there is also a very important point, shoulder width, good shoulder width can allow players to close the defender well when turning to attack, so as to avoid being disturbed.

Yao Ming's shoulders are wide, which can make O'Neill look like a small shark on the side.

Carlisle rubbed his chin vigorously with his hand.

Although the Bulls are still behind in the score, Yao Ming's consecutive scoring in the low post has also put pressure on him.

In terms of form and experience, the Mavericks are slightly superior, but the overall strength is undoubtedly superior to the Bulls.

And the Bulls are slowly adapting to the Mavericks' intensity.

Marion cut to the basket again and was blocked by Yao Ming, and the Mavericks' offense was also broken.

Fortunately, this time the Mavericks retreated quickly enough to not let the Bulls play a fast break.

The two sides continued to play positions in the front court, and Xu Yong also continued to feed the ball.

This time, Yao Ming made a shot against the help defense, causing Chandler's defensive foul to go to the free throw line.

After hitting two free throws steadily, Yao Ming scored 6 points in a row, bringing the score to 11-8.

The Mavericks' lead was eroded into a round in the blink of an eye.

That's how important a top-tier interior line is in this day and age.

This is not to the time when Kerr played five small balls in the World Cup.

In history, the Mavericks were able to win the Heat, and Chandler contributed a lot, and at the Mavericks' championship celebration banquet, no one moved his chopsticks until he arrived.

Because of his presence, the defensive end can make the Mavericks' restricted area impregnable, and even force Spoelstra to make a game strategy such as making Chandler fouls at the beginning; He is also underrated on the offensive end, and he can directly bombard the penalty area after blocking and cutting down to receive the ball.

But the Bulls are not the Heat, and the Bulls' interior line is an advantage because of Yao Ming.

"Defend! Defend! ”

The shouts and cheers of the fans resounded at the scene.

Chicago is destined to be quiet tonight.

The defensive intensity of the Bulls is also increasing amid the shouting, and the Mavericks are obviously not as easy as they started the game.

Nowitzki continued to catch the ball from the outside, and this time his shot forced O'Neal Jr. to lunge forward, and he went straight to the basket.

His movements are not fast, but he has a strong sense of rhythm, and in the face of Yao Ming, who is assisting in the defense, he almost lost his balance and turned around and scored a low-handed layup.

It feels like the Silver Horn King dancing a tango dance at the mouth of a flat-topped cave.

The shouts of the scene disappeared in an instant, what is an away silencer.

Nowitzki's state, just like those who practice martial arts to the realm of martial arts in the martial arts world, a second-rate master like O'Neill Jr. has no power to parry.

Switching offense and defense, Carlisle got up and waved to the sidelines, and the Mavericks adjusted their defensive strategy, switching from man-to-man to 2-3 joint defense.

He recognized Yao Ming's advantages on the inside line and used joint defense to protect the penalty area.

As a veteran user of joint defense, the Bulls naturally don't know how to break the joint defense, and Yao Ming directly pulled to the free throw line to catch the ball.

The Mavericks' joint defense is very skillful, and the Bulls don't get a chance to cut into the restricted area, and at this time, they can only look at the shooting percentage from the outside.

The ball finally passed to Rose on the perimeter, and Rose made a three-point attempt.

"Phew!"

Missed from the basket.

Chandler defends the defensive rebound.

The Bulls' first wave of offense and defense didn't work out.

However, fortunately, the 2-3 joint defense was not good to push the defense to counterattack, and the Bulls quickly retreated to the position.

Rose's attempt to break Kidd's ball was whistled for a foul.

Thibodeau turned around and called both Hinrich and Battier up, and the two came on to replace Rose and O'Neal Jr.

Rose came off the court with a frustrated expression, and he struggled overall tonight except for that fast-break layup.

Although this is actually quite normal, after all, the third year player is playing in the finals for the first time.

As for O'Neill Jr., who was replaced by the incident, Thibodeau also adjusted his defensive strategy and prepared to use a small guard against Nowitzki.

The game continued, and Nowitzki reached for the ball directly with Battier in the high post.

This is the label of a mature star, I will fly your kite if you use a big one to defend me, and I will play a frontal single if you use a small one to defend me.

And the rest of the Mavericks quickly pulled away, and Kidd followed to feed the ball in.

Hinrich contracted to pinch Nowitzki, who spun to the baseline and flicked the ball back to Kidd.

Kidd faced the rotating Artest and calmly distributed the ball to Marion at the free-throw line, and Marion hit the board from mid-range.

The Mavericks' offensive coordination is too tacit!

Catch one of your weak defensive links and break your entire defensive system.

The fans in Chicago are restless, and their biggest feeling right now is that the East is really too weak.

From the East Finals to the Final Finals, it's like going from Asian basketball to European basketball.

At this point, the pressure is all on the Bulls, and if they can't break the Mavericks' defense on the offensive end, the Mavericks' offense will allow the margin to be stretched apart again.

And Yao Ming was limited by the joint defense, and it was not so easy to catch up with the score again.

Yao Ming continued to respond at the free throw line, and the ball was distributed to Hinrich, who took the ball and didn't dare to throw it and passed it to Xu Yong, who took the ball and pulled it out directly.

The key to breaking the joint defense is three points, if you can't shoot or dare not shoot, the opponent will always resolutely continue to defend together.

However, Xu Yong, as the key defender of the Mavericks, will obviously not be so easy to shoot.

By the time Hinrich passed the ball, Marion had already let Artest pounce.

Xu Yong didn't pass the ball, and he resolutely completed the shot before Marion jumped.

The basketball swirls past Marion and shoots to the basket.

"Huh!"

With a crisp sound, the basketball went straight through the net .gif.

At the critical moment, the person who stood up on the Bulls' side was Xu Yong again!

"God, you're telling me this is a sophomore?" On the other side of the commentary seat, Buckley, who had just tasted the taste of "tiger urine", let out an exclamation.

With Nowitzki in front of him and a key three-pointer, Xu Yong's debut as a sophomore on the Finals stage was a bit of a show.

Especially with Rose, the new MVP of the same team, it looks more and more dazzling.

Back on the defensive end, the Bulls continued to flank Nowitzki, and this time Kidd got a direct shot from the outside.

"Phew!"

With a sound of iron, Kidd's response with a three-pointer was not able to shoot.

While the Mavericks are in great shape, it's impossible to make every shot.

Yao Ming defended the defensive rebound, and Marion was smart enough to foul on the spot before he could pass the ball.

The two sides continued positional warfare, offensive and defensive.

The Mavericks defended faster this round than in the previous round, and the Bulls didn't have the three-point opportunity they had in the previous round.

Xu Yong and Battier made a gesture of eye gesture at this time, and then the two switched offensive positions, and he fell to the bottom corner of the squatting pit.

The Bulls had no chance from the outside, and the ball returned to Yao Ming at the free throw line.

At this moment, Yao Ming discovered that there was a white figure flying in the bottom line.

He saw that it was Xu Yonghou and directly shook his hand to pass the ball.

After receiving the ball, Xu Yong took a big step and took off directly.

However, Chandler showed his top-notch rim protection ability, quickly shrunk back to the basket, and headed towards Xu Yong.

Chandler's height of 2.13 meters, his arm span of 2.21 meters, coupled with his confrontation, even if it is Xu Yong, it is basically impossible to block him head-on.

However, what he didn't expect was that after Xu Yong saw his movements, he directly made a horizontal pull rod in the air, and only completed .gif the shot after dodging his block!

Chandler just watched the ball fly past his eyes, and struggled to reach out to catch it, but couldn't.

At this time, the scene was already full of exclamations.

Xu Yong's difficulty coefficient of this ball is full.

"Bang!"

The basketball went past Chandler and hit the rebound, then fell diagonally into the net.

Cheers instantly filled the United Center.

Xu Yong, Xu Yong, it's Xu Yong!

15 to 13.

After Xu Yong scored 5 points in a row, the Bulls narrowed the difference to one goal!

In the audience, this time Jordan reached out to applaud Xu Yong's performance.

The white horse spear, the Bulls' home jersey looks so suitable!

(End of chapter)