February 16th is Chinese New Year. Before the game, the SuperSonics specially arranged a lion dance performance at home.

In the stands, there were also Chinese fans holding Chinese signs with "Happy New Year".

In fact, it is not just the opening and midfield performances. As NBA officials pay more and more attention to the Chinese market and out of respect for Eastern culture, there are more and more Chinese elements around NBA arenas.

This trend was started by Yang Jian. Drew Barrymore wore a green cheongsam as early as in the movie "Fifty First Dates". Later, many movie fans bought cheongsam and thought it was very beautiful.

This is a focus game that is broadcast live across the United States, SuperSonics vs. Jazz.

The Jazz started with 6 wins and 0 losses, leading the SuperSonics by half a game and ranking first in the league. The two teams met in the Western Conference finals for three consecutive seasons, and the Jazz did not win a game. Now, the Jazz have the best opportunity for revenge, the SuperSonics

Weaker than last season.

However, the Jazz's lineup is also weaker than last season.

They have maintained their original core lineup, and the three stars are one year older. Moreover, Jeff Hornacek is absent from this game, so the situation is favorable to the Sonics.

The Jazz defeated the Kings at home yesterday 120-112 in overtime. Hornacek scored 13 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. He was not injured. This game was more like a rest.

TV5 commentator Sun Zhengping said: "Hornacek's reason for taking a break seems to be 'you will be abused anyway, so just rest'."

Zhang Lili said: "Coach Jerry Sloan has long been afraid to let Hornacek guard Yang Jian. Every time he can't guard him, the difference in physical fitness is too big. But he can't guard anyone else, the Jazz."

There are no particularly fast players."

Sun Zhengping said: "The two of them are about the same height. Yang Jian can't guard Yang Jian's catch-and-shoot and step-back shots. Hornacek is a team player and can't jump up."

Zhang Lijia smiled and said: "The best accountant in the NBA cannot beat the best actor in the NBA."

Stockton, another white Jazz guard, has declined significantly and failed to score in double figures in the first two games. The Jazz's lineup has no advantage at all, and the players are still under great pressure because they have lost to the SuperSonics too many times.

In a parallel world, it makes sense for Karl Malone to win the regular season MVP for the second time this season. His teammates are too bad. He is the only strong scoring point in the team and has to take care of defense.

It is incredible that Malone can lead the team to the best record in the league under such conditions. This is directly related to Malone's "body of steel". Yang Jian doubts that Malone can recover his strength even if he is exposed to the sun. At the age of 35, he averaged 37.4 minutes per game.

Quite brave.

After the game started, the SuperSonics quickly gained the upper hand.

Coach George Karl sent out a starting lineup of Ben Wallace and Brad Miller inside, and they unexpectedly did not fall behind in the face of the Jazz inside. Ben Wallace can defend Malone in the low post and interfere with shooting, and his performance is eye-catching.

Miller and Ostertag are both nicknamed "Big White Bear", and Miller's performance is better than that of the other. Because Miller can open up the space and shoot in the high post, Ostertag can make free shots as long as he leaves the penalty area.

No range.

In the low post, Ostertag can't beat Miller alone. One is the 28th pick in the first round in 1995, and the other is the last pick in the second round in 1998. It would be reasonable for them to swap their picks based on their performance.

What’s embarrassing is that the Jazz just renewed Ostertag’s contract for six years with an average annual salary of 5 million.

This caused strong dissatisfaction from Malone, and his dissatisfaction was justified. Although Ostertag has height and weight, his playing style is soft and of little use on the offensive end. On the defensive end, he cannot defend the pick-and-roll and can only stand near the penalty area.

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The Jazz have no choice but to renew Ostertag's contract. Salt Lake City is not attractive to free agents. Let him go and the Jazz can't find a better center to replace him. There are simply not many good centers in this year's free market.

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The Jazz's substitute interior also has no shooting range, and the condition of many players has declined. Greg Foster and Adam Keefe are almost useless on the offensive end and can only eat cake at the basket.

In the past, the Jazz's 6-game winning streak relied on Malone's performance. Today Malone is not good either. He will be double-teamed in the low post, and his teammates will not be able to shoot accurately when passing out.

Coach Sloan doesn't like players to shoot three-pointers, but if they don't shoot three-pointers, the Sonics will huddle around the penalty area to defend, and the Jazz's offense will not be efficient at all. Hornacek is an important member of the Jazz, and he is not on the team.

The impact of the team cannot be reflected by data.

Shanton Anderson was today's starting No. 2, and he was guarded against Yang Jian. Facing Payton, Stockton cannot be said to be inferior to the opponent. It can only be said that he has no power to fight back and cannot break through even once.

If he can't make outside shots, Malone can only hit hard, but he can't hit the basket. His jump shot rate is very low due to interference.

On the other hand, the Sonics' offense was impressive under the leadership of Yang Jian. Payton and Schrempf took a break in the second half, and Yang Jian guest-starred as point guard, leading Dell Curry and Mobley to fly on the fast break.

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Yang simply scored 11 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 steal in the quarter, almost scoring a double-double. When he quickly advanced against the point guard's defense, the Jazz would definitely have serious defensive holes on the court. Substitute point guard Howard Eisley came on the court.

Two fouls were called in three minutes.

The SuperSonics led 33-13 by 20 points in a single quarter, basically sealing the victory.

The Jazz's offense was still terrible in the second quarter. Malone went down to rest for a while and felt like he didn't need to come back again.

The Jazz only scored 12 points in this quarter, and the SuperSonics scored 22 points. They led 55 to 25 at halftime.

Without Yang Jian, the Sonics would be a different team. Payton's effectiveness as a substitute was not good and the offense was weak. He couldn't attract double teams, his breakthroughs were not sharp enough, and his shooting percentage today was not high.

Schrempf was also guarded like a blacksmith, and his efficiency in hitting people hard and shooting in the face was incomparable to catching the ball and shooting easily.

As soon as Yang Jian came back, the Jazz's defense immediately went into chaos. He took the ball on the weak side, and with a little space, he could make a big jump shot. Moreover, Miller and he played a good pick-and-roll, and Yang Jian attracted double teams and could distribute the ball to

Miller made a jump shot in the middle, but when he missed the shot, Ben Wallace rushed to grab the offensive rebound.

In the second half, Yang Jian continued to play. As soon as the position battle was over, someone was covering him. He took the ball and made 3 of 5 shots from beyond the three-point line. When the big man came out to help defend, he broke through and led the team to a 15-4 victory over the Jazz.

The team collapsed.

The point difference widened to more than 40 points, and Shanton Anderson and Brian Russell took more shots in an attempt to narrow the score. Stockton, the second in command of the Jazz, turned on the stealth mode again, not taking any shots at all and just dribbling the ball through the half.

The poor performance of his teammates made Malone feel desperate. He realized that he would never be able to defeat Yang Jian in the playoffs. Because the entire Jazz team was psychologically affected, they were habitually weak against the Sonics.

The SuperSonics led 84 to 43 in the third quarter and entered the final quarter, and the game entered garbage time.

Yang Jian played 31 minutes, making 13 of 19 shots, 5 of 9 three-pointers, 7 of 7 free throws, scoring 38 points, 3 rebounds, 13 assists and 2 steals. He made all layups in the counterattack and scored without being caught.

The Jazz team scored 18 points in this quarter, which was already their best performance today. Experts who said that the SuperSonics were bad inside had an ominous premonition after watching the game, and it seemed that they were about to be slapped in the face again.

Ben Wallace's offensive ability is indeed poor, but he performed very well on the defensive end. He played 32 minutes, made 1 of 4 shots, 1 of 2 free throws, and scored 3 points, 18 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.

He had 8 offensive rebounds, and both assists were obtained by grabbing offensive rebounds and passing them to Yang Jian.

Zhang Lili commented on the game and said: "As long as the SuperSonics have Yang Jian here, they will restrain the Jazz. It is impossible to lose. It would be good if the Jazz did not lose by 50 points today."

Sun Zhengping laughed and said: "I don't know if the Jazz's starting lineup will play in the final quarter. If not, it is really possible to lose by more than 50 points."
Chapter completed!