Bishop of the Devil

In the home team's locker room.

"Boy, you have to take your time in this game! Don't treat him as a regular season game!" Richard said to Kobe.

He was mobilizing the players one by one before the game. Kobe was definitely the top priority in this game...

Since the two teams are located in the East and West and have never met each other in the playoffs, Richard and the Bulls have only met four times in total so far.

Every time he encountered the Bulls, Richard gave Kobe unlimited firing rights...

Part of the reason for this is that Richard wants to satisfy Kobe's desire to play against his idol Jordan, and on the other hand, he also wants Kobe to adapt to the rhythm of the game with the Bulls.

If Kobe is completely beaten, there is no doubt that the Blazers will definitely be doomed.

At present, because the benches of both teams are very deep, Richard is not sure what kind of starting lineup Jackson Jackson will come up with to deal with the Trail Blazers.

But one thing Richard can be sure of is that the Bulls' iron triangle will definitely start.

Between Rodman and Ben, because neither of them has offensive ability, if these two match up, the main point of competition may be in rebounding, and Ben's rebounding ability is definitely inferior to him at the moment. Rodman's.

The confrontation between Mr. Pi and Rashid will undoubtedly be a confrontational situation.

The rest depends on the showdown between Kobe and Jordan. If Kobe is completely defeated, the situation will be quite unfavorable to the Trail Blazers, because the advantage Jordan played will be difficult for the Trail Blazers to make up for in other ways.

In other positions, Sabonis should be able to regain some advantages for the Trail Blazers...

But this is not necessarily true. If the opponent's starting center is Luke Longley, then Sabonis should be able to take advantage.

Although Luke Langley is good in strength, there is definitely a gap compared to Lao Sha, and he is even not as good as O'Brien in terms of strength.

But based on Richard's understanding of Jackson Jackson, there is a high possibility that he will abandon Luke Longley in this series and use Kukoc as a center...

If Kukoc moves to the center position, the Blazers' situation will be quite bad.

Kukoc is 211 centimeters tall, and some statistics are 208 centimeters tall. Anyway, no matter what height he is, he is enough to play inside.

In the Bulls team, Kukoc, nicknamed the Europa Magic or the European Jordan, is a player who plays the role of snake oil, that is, he goes wherever he needs to go...

This season, Pippen was injured for half the season, so he replaced Pippen as the starting small forward for half the season. When the Bulls needed to increase their offensive firepower, he could replace Rodman and take up the starting power forward position. He can even play a guest role as an organization point.

At present, the Bulls undoubtedly need to solve the situation of the Trail Blazers' center advantage. It is perfect to replace Luke Longley with Kukoc!

Kukoc's three-point shooting ability is quite terrifying, especially in the playoffs. He even averaged 62.5% three-point shooting rate per game!

This season's Bulls playoffs lasted 13 games, and his three-point shooting percentage was 38%. Once he plays center and is pulled up to the high post, the Blazers center will inevitably have to chase and defend against such a high outside threat.

The key is that if Lao Sa defends at a fixed point, the effect will be okay. If he is expected to defend the opponent, the effect will be too bad...

O'Brien can defend Kukoc, but after the center is pulled out, it is definitely unrealistic to completely guard the Trail Blazers' penalty area with just his own strength. The breakthroughs of Jordan and Pippen will probably destroy the Trail Blazers' penalty area. Into a sieve!

Now Richard can only pray that Jackson Jackson is out of his mind, and then he has to let Luke Longley play center. Otherwise, the situation will be quite unfavorable for the Blazers.

…

Therefore, no matter what, Kobe must not be blown away!

"Coach, I know the importance of the game. Don't worry, I won't mess around!" Kobe nodded solemnly.

Richard patted Kobe on the shoulder: "Young man, work hard!"

"Okay, guys, I have given instructions for everyone's work. Whether you can defeat the Bulls and win the championship depends on you!"

Next, it really depends on the performance of the Blazers generals...

…

With the referee's whistle, the starting players from both sides began to appear.

The Bulls' starting lineup: center Toni Kukoc, power forward Dennis Rodman, small forward Scottie Pippen, guard Steve Kerr and Michael Jordan.

The Bulls' starting lineup made Richard feel helpless...

After all, Zen Master Jackson is a veteran coach who has seen a lot of things in the world. Think about the things that he can think of, how could Zen Master not think of them.

And Zen Master was more thoughtful. Not only did he put on Kukoc, but he also replaced Ron Harper with three-point king Cole.

Harper has always been the Bulls' starting guard, but his three-point ability is poor and he is considered to be at the bottom among the Bulls' main players.

The Trail Blazers have a bunch of shooters, and so does the Bulls.

Three-point king Cole, a historical three-point shooter!

Kukoc, Scott Burrell, and Buechler are all three-pointers who hit a very high level, with a three-point shooting rate of about 37%, which is quite threatening.

Now that Jackson has put Cole on the court, it is obvious that he has found the best way to deal with the Trail Blazers.

…

At the beginning of the game, Lao Sa worked hard and finally beat Kukoc with a jump ball, giving the Trail Blazers the first offensive ball.

Kobe controls the ball and advances...

In four games, Kobe suffered countless losses from Jordan. He was intercepted more than three times during the advancement process!

So now Kobe is extra careful, his speed is very slow, and he tries not to make any mistakes.

We have reached this urgent moment. Any mistake is fatal and may affect the championship.

After the ball arrived in the frontcourt, Kobe analyzed the situation on the court and found that the point where Sasha was undoubtedly the best passing point.

Although Kukoc's appearance has improved the Bulls' offensive threat, his defensive strength is definitely not as good as Luke Longley!

Just after Kobe passed the ball to Sara, the Bulls' interior players Kukoc and Rodman immediately switched defenses!

Rodman carried Sabonis tightly, while Kukoc was responsible for defending the big man.

Ben has no offensive ability. Even if there is only Kukoc in front of him, who is not particularly strong in defense, it will be difficult for him to score in sports games.

Facing Rodman's tough defense, Salvador finally took a small hook but missed.

The rebound was also grabbed by Rodman!

Richard looked a little angry off the court. It seemed that Jackson Jackson had made perfect arrangements.

The defensive tactic of changing defenses inside directly wiped out the little inside advantage the Trail Blazers had!