Although the Bulls did not shoot Zhang Hao without a ball, they just did not shoot Zhang Hao who ran out of the three-point line. If Malone also expanded out of the three-point line, the 76ers' defense would be nothing.

Just as Zhang Hao thought, the 76ers were indeed testing Zhang Hao's start status.

Kobe did a good job in the defense change this time. The defenders in the league can interfere with Zhang Hao's shot after receiving the ball after the pick-and-roll without the ball just now. Both hands can count it. This only refers to the bounce speed and bounce height combined with the height and wingspan. First of all, the defense change must be done.

The defender of the best defensive lineup this season won the third vote, and the best defensive player won the third vote. Kobe's defense just now was really good.

But even so, Zhang Hao still threw the ball in!

Although strong investment depends on personal ability and also has luck, it means that Zhang Hao feels very good!

The 76ers dare not bet on Zhang Hao's condition. In the last round, in the Western Conference Finals, Zhang Hao averaged 36+ per game and shot a 62% shooting percentage!

In the past 10 years, only three players have performed similarly in a series.

Jordan has three times, playing against the Lakers in the 1991 Finals, playing against the Heat in the 1992 Finals, and playing against the Suns in the 1993 Finals.

Olajuwon once played against David Robinson in the 1994 Western Conference Finals.

O'Neal has played against the Suns in the second round in 2000 and the Suns in the second round in 2001. The Lakers have just finished their season with the Clippers.

Zhang Hao's performance in this year's Western Conference Finals is more exaggerated than these people. The most important thing is that Zhang Hao performed like that, less than a week ago!

Zhang Hao's goal made the game uncontrollable from the beginning.

Larry Brown is very outstanding in building a defensive system, strategic plans on the defensive end, and on-the-spot adjustments on the defensive end.

The defensive strategy he arranged this time was to follow up with Zhang Hao, and always maintain a defensive player who can form interference in front of Zhang Hao.

But it's not much the same when executed.

Larry Brown was very calm when formulating a strategic plan, but the players on the court couldn't calm down!

An opponent who can score 40+ at every turn, can score more than 80 points in the regular season, and most people even think that if he is in good condition, he can break Jordan's historical record of 63 points in the playoffs. After just playing a god-level Western Conference Finals, his first shot in the first game of the finals hit a strong shot against interference...

Usually, Larry Brown's poor offensive command and pit players, and he could only rely on defense, and Kobe or Malone's singles were supported.

This time, Larry Brown made the right decision, but the players cheated him.

No matter how Larry Brown sounded on the sidelines, the players on the court wanted to limit Zhang Hao's catch. Zhang Hao was so big, and the explosion of elbows and Ma Long after losing weight were not at a loss. It was almost impossible to defend himself from catching the ball alone, so the two of them would join in...

Larry Brown never expected that the area attack he taught was attacking, and the pseudo-joint defense was actually used by the players to restrict the opponent from catching the ball alone.

Kassel decisively took the ball and directed his teammates to change his playing style. Ben Wallace went to pick-and-roll with Jordan without the ball, Artest cut in... The one who benefited the most was Jordan, who played very positively tonight!

Jordan scored 11 points in the first quarter, Kassel scored 6 points and 4 assists, leading the team to score 32 points in a single quarter!

When the Bulls were in chaos on the defensive end, they chose to attack against each other and played more modestly.

The towering building rises from the ground, and the bulls rely on themselves to attack.

The starting lineup of the Supersonics team played the entire first quarter, and the starting five tigers of the Supersonics team have higher defensive efficiency than the 76ers!

Zhang Hao protects the frame, Ben Wallace swept, Artest defends the top arc area, Jordan is ready to help Artest or Ben Wallace make up for defense and carry, and Kassel attacks in the area...

This playoffs mainly play against the Lakers and the Kings two-round series, and it is obvious that Artest and Ben Wallace's improvement in defensive ends can be seen.

Artest is fine, genius, young.

But when Ben Wallace played against the Kings after playing against the Lakers, he saw improvement on the defensive end. In the finals, he was still improving...

"Ben Wallace, 27 years old, 206 cm (?), 110 kg, 84 ability evaluation, 55 offense, 100 defense..."

Originally, before the Western Conference Finals, Ben Wallace's defensive evaluation was the same as Garnett, tied for the strongest Zhang Hao saw.

But after the Western Conference Finals, Ben Wallace became the first god-level defensive boss Zhang Hao saw with a huge defensive evaluation!

In the first quarter, the Supersonics defended around Ben Wallace's backup defense, assisted defense, and pinched attack capabilities. Although McGrady + Malone's pick-and-roll attack was sharp, Kobe's timely singles were also pretty good.

However, the Supersonics still restricted the Bulls from being limited to only 23 points in a single quarter, leading by 9 points 32-23 in the first quarter!

With this start, the Supersonics played very smoothly behind.

Jordan scored 9 points in a single quarter in the second quarter, Zhang Hao scored 7 points and 2 assists. After halftime, the Supersonics scored 60-47, leading 13 points in the first half!

Although Kobe and McGrady took turns to go wild in the third and fourth quarters, Kobe scored 13 points in the third quarter and led the team to score 27 points in a single quarter, the Supersonics also scored 26 points in the third quarter. In the last quarter, McGrady made three consecutive moves in the last four minutes, scoring a three-pointer and two goals that broke into the basket. One of them scored a goal at the basket also caused Zhang Hao to foul, making 2+1, scoring 8 points in a row, and then passed an assist to Kobe. The two teamed up to score 11 points in 4 rounds.

But during this period, Jordan received Zhang Hao's pass, made all three shots, and even scored all three-pointers in the top arc... and scored 7 points!

And before this wave of matchup, the score was 105 to 94!

Although Plan B's team scored an 11-7 wave at the last moment, it could not change the situation.

When the final whistle sounded, the score difference was frozen at 7 points!

Relying on Jordan's 42 points in a single game, Zhang Hao's 22 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks, Cassel's 16 points, 9 assists, Ben Wallace's 4 points, 14 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks, Artest's 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block and 5 fouls...

The Supersonics beat the Bulls 112-105 and led 1-0 away!

In fact, after halftime, the Bulls' defense against Zhang Hao became normal. They scored 6 points in 2 of 7 shots in the half and scored a three-pointer at the beginning. In the first half, due to the opponent's strict defense and blocking, Zhang Hao could basically only shoot the ball, and 1 of 6 shots...

But the Bulls only adjusted to normal defense during the halftime break after falling by more than ten points!

Larry Brown was annoyed--he was right this time! He was right!

If you want to say something worth having fun... it was that he pointed at Kobe at halftime, and he scolded him. This time, Kobe did not retaliate, and he implemented his defensive adjustments very well and firmly in the second half.

But lost...

The fans on the scene watched a group of people surrounding the first game of the finals, making 13 of 28 shots, including 2 of 4 three-pointers, plus 14 of 15 free throws, and 42 points... The fans on the scene wanted to burst into tears.

This is Jordan!

This is Jordan!

Jordan, who averaged 15 points per game in the first and second rounds and averaged 13 points per game in the Western Conference Finals, is not the real Jordan! This is the real Jordan!

But... this is no longer their Jordan...

On the other side, McGrady once again ruled Kobe's head, and Kobe did not resist this time.

The first time I played in the finals, I was hit by the opponent in the first game...

12 of 27 shots, including 2 of 5 three-pointers, plus 11 of 11 free throws, Kobe also scored 37 points... But the man with the number one smaller on the opposite side took advantage of all the favorable conditions and sprinted 42 points...

If you lose, there is no way. If you make a mistake, you must stand attentive when you are scolded. Improve the bad things. That's what Kobe did tonight.

But he couldn't understand one thing - the No. 24, who stood outside the encirclement formed by his teammates against Jordan, only made 16 moves tonight, 7 in the first half and 9 in the second half...

After the game, Jordan scored a 42-pointer in the Supersonics career playoff high, but Zhang Hao was interviewed.

Not only was Kobe unable to understand, but the rest of the Supersonics were also shocked when he heard Zhang Hao's strategic plan during the last team meeting that he clarified how to play in the first game yesterday.

Although it was a bit different in the final execution, for example, the plan was team offense + defense at the beginning. In actual combat, Jordan, who had a level of obviously exceeding his teammates, was able to compete with Zhang Hao for the off-ball running ability with Zhang Hao under the condition of restraint, took on most of the team's moves... But Zhang Hao really implemented such a way of playing in the game.

The media was also surprised...

After watching the game, the Supersonics team's strategic plan was easily understood - using Zhang Hao's crazy performance in the western finals, the Supersonics team played around his restraint.

But even if you can understand it, even if this is a good plan, it still makes people unable to understand it.

When asked this question, Zhang Hao replied: "I should have rarely considered the data issue. What kind of decision can win is the most important thing for me. Being able to grab the home advantage in the first game is very important for us. Mr. Jordan helped me implement our plan well. His 42 points are the key to winning the game.

Even if I have the control, I still need to shoot the ball by one person. Is there any better choice than N0.23?"

When the reporter heard this answer, he wanted to complain - who scored 86 points per game? Who scored 39 points per game in a single season? Who scored 39 points per game? Who scored 30 points per game?

However, it seems that this guy really doesn't care so much about the data.

For example, this game just now... for many years, this reporter from Sports Illustrated has been in charge of interviewing Zhang Hao since Zhang Hao joined the Lakers. Although he became a black fan when Zhang Hao left the Lakers at first, three years have passed and he feels that it is not shameful to like stars from other teams when there is a home team.

The reporter continued to ask: "Aix, did you plan to use your restraint to deal with the Bulls from the beginning?"

"Yes, since my first strong shot was to lay the groundwork for the subsequent game. That move was very risky, but fortunately, I bet right."

The reporter wants to cry very much - I am a fan of 7 years old! Can't you be kind to me? It's okay to ask me a few more questions!

Moreover, if you say so directly about playing with the opponent's general strategy, aren't you afraid that the opponent's players will come to beat you?

Oh, by the way, our Haozi is not afraid, and Ma Long is unlikely to beat our Haozi...

...

...

The first battle won, and the entire Supersonics team was very excited.

However, at the team meeting the next morning, Zhang Hao's analysis was very serious.

"We didn't do a good job in the second half last night. Ron and Andre, you didn't do well in the second half. Ben, you need to help Kobe's teammates who are defending Kobe... My movement judgment when resting on the baseline is not good enough. Mr. Ewing, can you practice with me later..."

Except for Kassel, Jordan, Steve Smith, and Ewing, Zhang Hao didn't find any problems. The other seven players who played last night, including Zhang Hao himself, and Zhang Hao all found problems.

These four people don’t have much problems. First of all, they have rich game experience. Secondly, they are of a low level of importance on the defensive end. The team hopes that they can do all of them well and better than what they require. Although the requirements are not high, they exceed the team’s expectations, and that is they do well.

After winning the game, Zhang Hao kept saying in the team meeting that the team was not doing well, which did not surprise his teammates.

Zhang Hao has always been like this in the playoffs.

This instead suppressed the high-pitched emotions that my teammates had always been brought to the top because they were leading 1-0.

Unlike the adjustments during the regular season, during the regular season, Zhang Hao always focused on what he did well, but there were very few playoffs.

First of all, last night's game was quite special, and it took advantage of the deterrence of the previous round and laid the foundation for the victory in the first quarter.
To be continued...