The longest river

Chapter 125 The Dirtiest Team
After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups for both sides were announced.

Jazz: John Stockton, Jeff Hornacek, Brian Russell, Karl Malone, Greg Ostertag

Pacers: Best, Miller, Young, Dale Davis, Schmitz
Malone won possession for the Jazz in the jump ball, and the game officially began.

Immediately after the fight began, a deafening cheer erupted from the crowd.

Because of the "canyon effect," it feels like your eardrums are being vibrated so violently that it hurts.

The Lakers' home arena may look like the Colosseum from the outside, but it truly gives you the feeling of being in the Colosseum.

The Pacers' first defensive play of the game failed.

Malone received a pass from Stockton and drove into the paint for a layup, giving the Jazz the lead.

A classic pick-and-roll play from the Jazz.

Similar to the Bulls' "triangle offense," the "pick and roll" tactic was not actually invented by Sloan; he simply popularized it, much like Phil Jackson did.

He combined Malone Stockton's pick-and-roll initiation with John Wooden's UCLA pick-and-roll, developing it into a mature pick-and-roll offensive system.

Unlike low-post isolation plays and the "triangle offense" which create opportunities for star players to isolate, its ultimate goal is to create mismatch isolation plays.

This is why the tactic worked; Best was completely outmatched by Malone's drives to the basket.

Then, the Pacers' offense failed to score.

In the two games against the Jazz last season, Yang Shuai was outplayed by NDP in one game and didn't play much in the other, so he didn't have a deep impression of the Jazz.

But after one round, his most direct feeling was that the Jazz were fucking dirty!

It's not just one person, it's the whole team.

Let's not even talk about Malone and Stockton. As a member of the post-00s generation, Yang Shuai has heard of their "renowned reputations"—one is known for his ruthless elbow and the other for his amazing hand that can grab your balls.

But the remaining three people also seem to be just as formidable.

When Ostertag and Schmitz were blocking each other, Ostertag would directly elbow them in the lower back and knee them in the hip.
Hornacek would subtly elbow Miller in the ribs while vying for position, and then, when faced with a pick-and-roll, he would feign a defensive lapse and bump Miller's waist with his hip.

Then there's Russell, who defends him. He not only pulls on his jersey and knees him, but he also tries to trip him with extremely subtle moves!
Yang Shuai has played in the NBA for so long and has played against all the other teams in the league, but this is the first time he has felt that dirt can be a whole team.

Draymond Green would be unremarkable on this team.

He could understand why the Jazz, despite having far fewer defensive resources than the Bulls, could achieve a similar level of defensive efficiency.

This "meat grinder" style of defense is like walking a tightrope on the edge of the rules.

Looking back, the Pacers' defense once again ended in failure.

This time, the Pacers opted not to switch on defense, but Malone quickly punished them with a mid-range shot after receiving the ball.

This play highlights another characteristic of the pick-and-roll tactic: timing.

Just like when the Pacers played against the Bulls, Yang Shuai was helpless against Jordan's off-ball pick-and-roll.

It's not that his defensive footwork is slow, nor that his puppy-dog footwork has failed; it's just the natural time difference that arises after a pick-and-roll.

Of course, this time difference won't be too long. To take advantage of it, either the receiving player needs to release the ball quickly enough, like Jordan did back then;
Alternatively, the player who passes the ball must have exceptional passing ability, like Stockton in front of us.

Stockton's passing wasn't as elegant as Nash's, but his passing was truly reliable. It was the kind of reliable passing that, once you were in the right position, would definitely get the ball to you.

The Pacers got off to a bad start, but cheers erupted from the crowd.

Utah fans seem to already see the Jazz making it to the NBA Finals and lifting the championship trophy.

Hey! Where are your All-Star players?

Just as the offense and defense were switching, Ma Long suddenly shouted forward.

His shout drew laughter from the Jazz bench on the sidelines.

"Karl, shut your mouth!"

Dale Davis addressed Malone.

Yang Shuai's Christmas gift-giving did have an effect.

Malone simply shrugged: "But I just didn't see him."

The Jazz bench erupted in laughter once again.

With Ma Long's move, the atmosphere on the court immediately became tense.

Hornacek and Miller's entanglement intensified, while Malone and Davis's physical altercations became increasingly heated.

At that moment, Yang Shuai suddenly pushed Russell away from his hands and then moved quickly towards the 45-degree three-point line.

Seeing this, Ma Long quickly moved to cover Yang Shuai.

However, just as he passed by, Yang Shuai suddenly made a reverse run and narrowly missed Ma Long!
After exchanging a glance with Best, Yang Shuai pointed to the sky.

Best then delivered an alley-oop pass.

Although he has played far fewer years in the league than Walkman, his passing awareness is clearly better, which is a major reason why he was able to displace Walkman and become a starter.

Schmitz gritted his teeth and positioned Ostertag behind him, leaving only the thin air of Salt Lake City between Yang Shuai and the basket.

"Oh!"

Amid the gasps of the fans, Yang Shuai leaped high, caught the ball in mid-air with his right hand, paused briefly, then followed with his left hand and swung the ball in a wide arc, slamming it into the basket with an alley-oop windmill dunk!

The Jazz's tough defense instilled fear in their opponents, but Yang Shuai put on a show in their paint!

The scene was in an uproar.

Malone looked at Russell with displeasure. Before the game, he had instructed Russell to lock down Yang Shuai tonight. Russell, meanwhile, hadn't expected Yang Shuai to use such effective dirty tricks.

Believing that Yang Shuai was completely unworthy of being an All-Star, they naturally didn't watch any videos or do any research before the game.

Ma Long turned to serve from the baseline, and just then, Yang Shuai's cold voice came from ahead:

"If you have eye problems, go see an ophthalmologist instead of yelling to others that you're blind!"

"Negative energy from Karl Malone +999".

In an instant, Ma Long transformed into an enraged bull, swinging his iron elbow as he charged at Yang Shuai.

Yang Shuai also got into position, and Schmitz behind him came to his side immediately.

However, once the tension escalated, the referee had been keeping a close eye on the actions on the field.

Before Malone could charge forward, the referee had already blown his whistle and positioned himself between them.

The potential conflict was quelled, and the match continued.

The Jazz continued to use pick-and-roll tactics on offense.

Yang Shuai let Russell go over to help defend this time, but Stockton saw his movement and immediately made a pass with advance, leading Malone into the penalty area.

After receiving the ball, Ma Long took a big step and finished the game with a powerful two-handed smash to the rim.

The crowd erupted in deafening cheers.

After landing, Ma Long celebrated by flexing his biceps with both hands as Yang Shuai approached.

He smiled, his eyes full of smugness, but Yang Shuai's next words made him lose his temper instantly.

"If you want to show off your muscles, go to a bodybuilding competition. You might even win a championship there."

"Negative energy from Karl Malone +999".

Before the referee could react, Ma Long had already rushed up to Yang Shuai and shoved him hard.

However, to Ma Long's surprise, his push sent Yang Shuai flying.

Seeing Yang Shuai fly at least three meters away, the referee immediately gave the stunned Ma Long a technical foul.

Then, two other referees quickly arrived and stopped the players from the two teams who were about to clash.

As the game progressed, the tension on the field grew increasingly intense.

Yang Shuai had already been pulled up by Miller and Best.

He was perfectly fine, and even had a smile on his face.

After mentally cursing Rodman again, he realized that Malone's impulsive personality made him a promising candidate for the top spot.

As his NBA career progresses, the competition for the top spot is becoming increasingly fierce.

Miller made the technical foul free throw, then cut to the basket and scored his first basket of the night.

The Pacers' spacing strategy differs from the Jazz's pick-and-roll tactics, but both are different from the current era's approach of creating isolation opportunities for star players. It would be difficult to completely limit them with a "meat grinder" defense.

6:5.

The Jazz got off to a dream start, but the Pacers gradually found their offensive rhythm.

After the offensive and defensive transition, there was a matchup change for the Pacers.

Yang Shuai and Best switched on defense.

After failing to provide help defense, Yang Shuai knew that limiting Malone's finishing ability would be very difficult.

So, to defend against the Jazz's pick-and-roll, the only option left is to limit Stockton's passing.

Bird touched his chin at this moment. Although he was somewhat surprised by Yang Shuai's choice, he still chose to believe him.

Stockton was also surprised to see Yang Shuai appear in front of him, but he still continued to signal to run the pick-and-roll tactic.

The Jazz's initial pick-and-roll with Malone Stockton was unsuccessful.

Although Yang Shuai was not as agile as Best, his puppy-dog footwork allowed him to successfully bypass the screen set up by Malone.

However, the Jazz's pick-and-roll tactics did not stop there. If it is just a pick-and-roll starting move, then it cannot be called a pick-and-roll tactic.

After the failed pick-and-roll, Malone quickly moved to the high post on the weak side, seemingly to set an off-ball screen for Hornacek, but then suddenly cut to the basket, which allowed him to successfully shake off Davis.

The versatility of the pick-and-roll tactic lies in the unpredictability of the choices made after the pick-and-roll is set. It can be a pick-and-roll cut inside, a pick-and-roll cut outside, a fake pick-and-roll cut, or even, as Malone did, an off-ball pick-and-roll variation.

Malone's tactic perfectly showcased the pick-and-roll skills he honed over many years playing under Sloan.

He was ready to receive the ball and smash it around the rim, but the ball didn't come to him.

He turned back in disbelief; with his years of understanding with Stockton, it was impossible for Stockton not to pass the ball to him.

However, the moment he turned his head, his eyes widened instantly.

A huge commotion erupted at the scene.

Stockton didn't not pass the ball because he didn't want to, but because Yang Shuai was pressing him so hard that he had no space to pass!
Stockton got a 99 in one-on-one defense, a privilege that even Jordan never had!

-Dividing line-

①: Karl Malone had 332 technical fouls in his career, more than Barkley's 329 and Rasheed Wallace's 317.

(End of this chapter)