Chapter 768: Chapter 13 Iron Five_2
Gan Guoyang or Sabonis themselves need to adjust again, find their rhythm anew, and think about how to pass the ball to the Three Second Zone and play Princeton.
The originally smooth set plays got disrupted and were completely off rhythm.
As for fast breaks, don’t even think about it. The Bulls’ transition defense and tight marking of the ball handler were very strict.
Every time when retreating in defense, Buck-Williams and Horace Grant would almost always hinder the ball handler’s progress.
This good habit made it impossible for the Trail Blazers’ backcourt to accelerate and made their fast breaks even worse.
The arrival of Buck-Williams had a catfish effect within the Bulls.
His presence spurred Horace Grant to play harder, lately he’s been training almost harder than Jordan.
Buck-Williams provided a benchmark for the Bulls’ young frontcourt; he didn’t play for stats, didn’t play to stand out, he played only for the team and victory.
He couldn’t stop Ah Gan, but he helped the Bulls in other ways, forcing Gan Guoyang to expend more energy on the inside, especially on protecting rebounds.
Buck’s offensive rebounding skills were second only to Moses Malone back in the day, and had to be taken seriously.
And without Jerome Kossie, the Trail Blazers’ frontcourt lost its strong presence and rebounding ability; no one could match Buck, it had to be Ah Gan.
The entire first half was extremely difficult for the Trail Blazers, even more so than the opening match against the Rockets.
Later on, the Trail Blazers had to revert to relying on Ah Gan to play one-on-one.
In a disadvantaged situation, Bobby Beelman changed his strategy in the third quarter, strengthening the defense across the board and starting to wear down the Bulls.
Gan Guoyang took over the offense completely, but it was hard for him to receive the ball in the low post, so he started his offense from the perimeter to avoid being double-teamed by the Bulls.
In the third quarter, Gan Guoyang hit two three-pointers in succession and used his nimble footwork and strong penetration to score consecutively underneath the basket.
He also drew a foul from Buck-Williams.
The Trail Blazers surged with an 11:2 run, overtaking the score at once.
But the Bulls quickly adjusted, with Jordan scoring continuously in isolation against Reggie Lewis.
He seemed to be taunting Jerry West, "You brought in Reggie Lewis, but he’s no use against me."
Reggie Lewis could control Jordan in some rounds, but when Jordan fully got into his rhythm, Lewis was powerless.
In the fourth quarter, Jordan found his passing touch in the offense, and when Ah Gan switched onto guarding Jordan, he would pass the ball.
The triangle offense provided the Bulls with good passing lanes and offensive visibility, with Pippen and John Paxson scoring off Jordan’s assists.
The Bulls took the lead again, and Jordan was pleasantly surprised to find that the sense of helplessness he used to feel against Ah Gan and the Trail Blazers was gradually fading away.
The triangle offense was really working; it didn’t make Jordan stronger, but it provided him with more options: he could trust his teammates rather than challenging Ah Gan.
BJ Armstrong and Hodges hit consecutive three-pointers, helping the Bulls regain the lead.
Basketball is a team sport, and Jordan understood this more deeply than ever before.
Yet Gan Guoyang was caught in a dilemma.
Pass the ball? Tonight the Trail Blazers’ perimeter was a mess due to the Bulls’ defense.
Hold onto the ball and attack? This was a solution, but the chance of success was only thirty to forty percent.
On the defensive end, Gan Guoyang was stretched thin.
Sabonis was targeted heavily, and the advantage that was supposed to be established in the Bulls’ frontcourt was not apparent.
Defensively, when facing the Bulls’ triangle offense, it didn’t seem like a good choice to keep Sabonis in the Three Second Zone.
Anyway, as the game went on, the situation did not seem optimistic.
The Trail Blazers, after targeted reinforcements over the summer and tactical upgrades, did not seem to achieve the expected effect.
Jordan not only put pressure on Lewis through offense and defense but also attacked Lewis with trash talk, aiming to break him mentally.
Of course, the leading Bulls did not dare to be careless; they knew Ah Gan had the ability to turn the tide and change the situation on the court instantly.
In the final stages, Gan Guoyang, despite the multiple Bulls players double-teaming him, still managed to score.
But Jordan could respond likewise, also scoring against the Trail Blazers’ intense and solid defense.
At this point, the previously leading Bulls held the advantage, maintaining a lead of about four points.
With less than a minute left in the game, Gan Guoyang had to risk attempting a three-pointer.
After missing, he rushed into the Three Second Zone to grab the offensive rebound and passed the ball to Petrović on the wing.
Petrović took the three-pointer and scored!
The Mozart of basketball hit a crucial three-pointer.
92:91, the Trail Blazers were behind by only one point, and the Bulls called a timeout.
Phil Jackson, unusually, paced back and forth by the sidelines.
If the next offense missed, things would definitely get troublesome.
During the timeout, Gan Guoyang said to Jordan: "If you miss, I’ll score the game-winner on you!"
Jordan knew that Ah Gan would do as he said; if Jordan missed, Ah Gan would score the game-winner.
But Jordan withstood the pressure; after the timeout, he used his skillful dribbling and incredible burst of speed to tear through the Trail Blazers’ defense line.
Facing Ah Gan’s formidable defense under the basket, Jordan passed the ball to John Paxson on the wing.
Petrović, who had just contributed a crucial three-pointer, made a mistake this time. He was drawn to Jordan’s attention, leaving Paxson open.
