Chapter 196 End of regular season + double championship

Author: Dong Wangyi

Chapter 196 End of regular season + double championship

The Bulls attack again, with 5 seconds left on the clock.

Cartwright served from the baseline, Jordan was running around, borrowing obstacles twice in a row, but could not get rid of Zhou Quan. Finally, BJ received the ball and passed it to Pippen. Pippen missed the jumper and Rodman won the backcourt.

Rebounds, Pistons offense.

Jordan followed Zhou Quan, who advanced to the top of the key and passed the ball to Joe Dumars.

"Boy, don't you dare to take action on my head?"

There is no doubt that BJ is a breakthrough for the Bulls' perimeter defense. Jordan knew it very well, and the veins on his head jumped.

"How about we guess, can Joe beat BJ?" he joked.

Jordan snorted coldly. This was the shortcoming of his defense against Iron Fist. It was the same in last year's Eastern Conference Finals. Fortunately, Paxson was only three centimeters shorter than Joe Dumars, so his height was no disadvantage. In that series, Joe Dumars was as efficient as Paxson in singles.

Generally speaking, it would be good to see the effect of Joe Dumars against BJ today, so you can prepare in advance.

On the right wing, Joe Dumars caught the ball, made a fake move, shook BJ and then rushed in. Then he encountered Grant's defense in the middle distance and made an emergency stop jumper.

"brush!"

The water splashed and the basketball flew down the basket.

In the next game, Joe Dumars continued to single out BJ, and the effect was pretty good. Within 9 minutes of the first quarter, he made 4 of 7 shots, including a three-pointer, and 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 11 points.

"No, BJ is 6 centimeters shorter than Joe Dumars, is lighter, and has worse confrontation. He can't guard Joe Dumars. Paxson is only 3 centimeters shorter than Joe Dumars, and his wingspan is better than BJ.

The defensive effect is better."

Phil Jackson is a little disappointed, but John Paxson's injury is very serious. The injury is inactive and he can no longer play the main force.

From this point of view, if Michael is asked to switch defense against Iron Fist, BJ will really be beaten by Joe Dumars, and if he does not switch defense?

The image of Iron Fist crushing BJ on the offensive end immediately came to mind, which was even rougher than the image of Joe Dumars crushing BJ just now.

But if we don’t change defense, who can change Iron Fist?

Neither is Pippen, who can't keep up with Iron Fist's speed.

After thinking about it, he didn't have any good ideas. This was a flaw in the lineup.

In the next game, he still asked BJ and Jordan to switch defenses, hoping to see the effect, but instead of the scene he wanted to see BJ guarding Joe Dumars, there was a scene where Joe Dumas beat BJ.

Chuck Daly's tactics are very clear. If Jordan switches defense, let Joe Dumars attack and defeat B.J. Armstrong.

Because Zhou Quan is now the same height as Joe Dumars, with shoe height of 191 centimeters, but his tonnage is larger, and with his current offensive ability, if the Bulls dare to let BJ guard him, they will definitely be beaten miserably.

And now judging from BJ's performance in defending Joe Dumars, it is obviously not as good as Paxson's performance in defending Joe Dumars last season, which gives Chuck Daly a lot of confidence.

Even if the Bulls don't switch defense, they will switch defense and let Zhou Quan defend Jordan, because Joe Dumars can't guard Jordan, his confrontation ability is too poor, and Jordan's efficiency cannot be reduced at all under single defense.

In this game, 92:105, the Pistons finally won, facing the Bulls and winning two consecutive regular season games this season.

After the game, Jordan walked off the court with a livid face.

"Hey, Flying Man."

Zhou Quan called out from behind, smiled and extended a friendly hand to Jordan.

Jordan snorted coldly, then turned around and walked over.

Zhou Quan smiled and said: "Thank you for going all the way to Detroit to give us a victory."

Jordan was so angry that his teeth ached, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Don't be too proud, kid. There are still two regular season games. We will meet again."

"Goodbye, Black Jesus." Zhou Quan smiled and waved.

Jordan's face trembled when he heard Black Jesus. It was his most pretentious nickname, but he felt that he had lived up to it tonight.

In the ABC commentary box, Bill Walton said: "Under the full defense of Iron Fist, Jordan made 11 of 24 shots and a field goal percentage of 45.8%, which was lower than his average field goal percentage of 49.5% this season. He also made 2 three-pointers.

0 shots, plus 9 of 10 free throws, he scored 31 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls."

Williams continued: "Under Jordan's defense, Iron Fist's efficiency also declined. In 45 minutes, they only made 6 of 15 shots, a 40% field goal percentage, 1 of 3 three-pointers, and 6 of 6 free throws.

In the game, he scored 19 points, 4 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 5 fouls."

Bill Walton smiled and said: "The best performer today was Joe Dumars, who made 14 of 24 shots on BJ, with a shooting percentage of 58.3%, 2 of 4 three-pointers, 3 of 4 free throws, and scored 33 points.

, is the scoring leader in this game and the best player in the game.

I think the Pistons' tactics are good. They let Joe Dumars focus on BJ. His effect on BJ is better than that of John Paxson. If the Bulls cannot change this, they may have to face the Pistons in the playoffs.

Suffer.

But it is very difficult to change the disadvantage of the first position, because it is a flaw in the lineup, unless they find a point guard who can compete with Iron Fist, or at least reduce Iron Fist's offensive efficiency and organizational efficiency, or can play with him

To a certain extent, point guards will explode with each other."

Williams shook his head and said: "It doesn't have to be a point guard. The Bulls are different from other teams. They organize small forwards. The role of point guards is not that big, so point guards and shooting guards can be used, even small forwards with excellent mobility.

You can also be a striker. The range is still very large. If you are looking for it, you will definitely find it.

For example, Ron Harper, the swingman of the Clippers, has a height advantage compared to Tekken, but his weight is slightly different. His defense is very strong. I think he can at least reduce Tekken's performance.

But now that the trade window has closed and no trades can be made, the Bulls have lost the opportunity to adjust their lineup this season."

Bill Walton finally said: "I would also like to remind the Bulls that facing the Pistons, you are still at a disadvantage in rebounding. The Pistons had 43 rebounds in this game, and the Bulls only had 35, which was 8 less.

In fact, although Joe Dumars beat BJ, Pippen also had an advantage against Ulrich's defense. He scored 22 points today. But what I mean is that what really made the Bulls lose the game

, it’s a rebound.

Rodman and Seikaly grabbed 28 rebounds together, of which Rodman got 18. If this disadvantage cannot be made up, then the Bulls will be in trouble."

Winning against the powerful Bulls and winning two consecutive home and away games against the Bulls gave the Pistons strong confidence.

The Bulls' management and coaching staff did not sleep after returning to the hotel and discussed what to do all night long.

But after much discussion, there was no good solution. The number one position was not as good as the others. Finally, Phil Jackson proposed that since no point guard could guard Zhou Quan, then there was no need for a point guard and instead a strong perimeter defender could be used to counter him.

Zhou Quan.

He is not required to hold the ball to attack, his main task is to use running to contain Zhou Quan on the offensive end, and at the same time withstand Zhou Quan's offense on the defensive end.

Or, because Ulrich has no offensive ability with the ball, there is no need for Pippen to guard him. Pippen can guard Joe Dumars, Jordan can guard Zhou Quan, and another forward can guard Ulrich.

These two methods are not bad. The Bulls don't need an orthodox point guard at all. Pippen and Jordan can both pass and organize.

Next, the Pistons began a round of five away games, including two back-to-back games.

At this time, the regular season is coming to an end, and the Pistons have already determined to enter the playoffs. As long as there is no consecutive losing streak, they can still stay in the top half. Therefore, the management and coaching staff have made a decision to reduce the number of important rotation players.

Play time and try to avoid injuries in the final stage.

After defeating the Kings on the 16th, in the away game against the Jazz on the 17th, Rodman got entangled with the postman Malone. When he fell to the ground, he was pressed by the opponent. His waist was injured and he needed to sit out for six to seven days.

Field left and right.

In order to be safe and avoid the situation like last season's playoffs, Chuck Daly made the decision to let Rodman rest for a few more games to allow the injury to heal more completely.

The absence of Rodman had a great impact on the Pistons. The number of rebounds and defensive intensity immediately declined, thus affecting the record.

After losing to the Trail Blazers on March 31, this wave of games ended with 5 wins and 4 losses, 46 wins and 23 losses, and a winning rate of 66.6%. They were surpassed by the Bulls and ranked third in the Eastern Conference.

Rodman returned in an away game against the Nets on April 8. He only played 22 minutes and rested for a total of 11 games. In 20 days, he recovered from the injury to the greatest extent.

Chuck Daly has decided to strictly control Big Worm's playing time in the remaining regular season to prepare for the playoffs.

On the 11th, the Pistons defeated the Bullets on the road, and then rushed back to Detroit overnight to prepare for a back-to-back game against the Bulls tomorrow.

In this game, the Bulls sent out a new starting lineup for the purpose of testing lineup tactics.

Center Carter White, power forward Spencer King, small forward Grant, shooting guard Pippen, point guard Jordan.

On the defensive end, Spencer King, who is more mobile and younger, will guard Seikali, while Carter White will sit at the basket.

As a result, this lineup achieved results. Pippen restricted Joe Dumars, Jordan restricted Zhou Quan, and Grant restricted Ulrich. The Pistons suffered a rout on the outside and lost back-to-back home games, with the two sides tied at 2-1.

On the 17th, Troy Weaver and Chuck Daly found Zhou Quan and discussed something with him.

"We are currently third, and the Bulls are second. Entering the playoffs, if we both advance to the first round, we will meet in the second round. If we enter the playoffs as fourth, we will advance to the first round.

The Knicks will be played in the second round. Do you want to play the Knicks or the Bulls in the second round?" Chuck Daly asked.

Weaver said: "Now we are only one game ahead of the Cavaliers and can operate."

Zhou Quan didn't think about it and immediately said: "The Knicks are not easy to deal with, and it's not like we haven't won against the Bulls. I don't care, but I don't want to lose on purpose."

Chuck Daly and Weaver both laughed. From Zhou Quan's words, they felt a strong fighting spirit and a strong self-confidence in defying powerful enemies.

On the 22nd, the Pistons came to Chicago and challenged the Bulls away from home. This was also the last regular season game for both sides.

As a result, Phil Jackson changed the game again and sent out two small forwards. Grant returned to the power forward position and defeated the Pistons again.

Both sides won two and lost two, resulting in a draw.

However, the Pistons were a bit passive because they won two games first and lost two games later.
To be continued...