The longest river

Chapter 144 Gives the Alliance a Little Shock
On game night, the United Center in Chicago was ablaze with enthusiasm.

The Bulls are now on the road to their second dynasty, and Chicago fans are like citizens waiting for their coronation, eagerly anticipating it.

When the Bulls players came out of the player tunnel, the crowd erupted in cheers.

"If you're feeling down, watch a Bulls game. It'll wash away all your fatigue and unhappiness!"

This is a slogan used by a Chicago television station.

Why can it be? Because you know it's going to be a victory from the very beginning of the game.

Ernie Johnson and Mike Breen were already ready in the commentary booth.

"I think Indiana will definitely give Chicago some trouble tonight, but Chicago will win the first game."

Brin made a judgment in advance based on his experience.

"The competition will be more intense than we expect. Indiana has proven in the last two rounds that they are worthy of being the challenger."

Ernie Johnson had a different perspective, but he largely agreed with this view.

The opening ceremony before the match, with the classic background music "Sirius" eliciting a deafening roar of cheers from the crowd.

Jordan's appearance in the final moments caused the entire stadium to erupt in cheers.

Yang Shuai felt his blood begin to boil.

He may stay with the Pacers next year, but the Pacers will definitely pay attention to their tactics and then make adjustments accordingly.

Therefore, this year presents the best opportunity.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups for both sides were announced.

Pacers: Jackson, Miller, Young, Davis, Schmitz
Chicago Bulls: Harper, Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Longley

Both sides fielded their full-strength teams.

Schmitz flicked the ball back to his half, and the Eastern Conference Finals officially began!

The Pacers started with a spacing strategy.

However, their tactics didn't go so smoothly.

Compared to the Knicks and Heat, the Bulls' defensive intensity was on a completely different level.

Even setting aside Jordan and Pippen, two defensive stalwarts on the perimeter, Rodman is one of the few power forwards who can hold his own in the low post and keep up with the perimeter players' movements.

His exclusion from the defensive team this season is largely due to injuries that have limited his playing time.

Moreover, Phil Jackson had prepared in advance, pairing Rodman and Schmitz together at the start of the game.

Miller's three-point attempt was unsuccessful, and his drive to the basket was also blocked by Rodman.

Jackson eventually passed the ball to Schmitz.

Schmitz made a high-post jump shot despite Jordan's interference.

The Pacers took an early lead.

Jordan didn't participate in the Bulls' offense on the weak side, and Pippen ran a triangle offense on the right side to pass to Longley in the low post for a one-on-one.

Longley has the lowest profile among the Bulls' starters, whereas Harper was the core player for both the Cavaliers and the Clippers before joining the Bulls.

However, Longley's fame is probably not as great as that of his substitutes, Kukoc or Kerr. He is probably most famous for being criticized by Jordan as a "bust center".

Even Yang Shuai only learned last season that this was the first Australian to make it into the NBA.

Langley turned and hooked the ball into the net despite Schmitz's defense.

His low post technique looks very solid, and with his 120-kilogram weight, he's a formidable opponent for Schmitz.

A cheer erupted from the fans in the stadium.

Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? A good tool is more than enough!
The Pacers continued to play a half-court game, and this time the Bulls chose not to make any substitutions. When Miller drove to the basket, he was chased by Jordan and didn't have a good opportunity to receive the ball.

Mark Jackson glanced to the weak side, Davis moved up to the high post to set a screen, Yang made a fake move to the three-point line, and then suddenly turned and cut to the basket.

Pippen reacted quickly, turning around Davis and chasing after Yang Shuai.

Jordan also noticed Yang Shuai at this moment and turned around in advance to block Yang Shuai's cut.

Jackson passed the ball, but not to Yang Shuai, but to Miller who had moved to the bottom corner!
Yang Shuai's entry successfully diverted the attention of the Gemini stars, leaving Miller completely unguarded.

By the time Pippen reacted and lunged forward, Miller had already made the first move.

"Shh!"

With a crisp sound, the Pacers scored 5 points to start the game.

There was a commotion in the place.

Jordan and Pippen exchanged a glance, both showing expressions of surprise.

Given their understanding, their defense shouldn't have caused any problems. However, the key issue is that the Pacers' spacing-oriented style of play opens up the paint, making them more sensitive to protecting the rim.

Langley continued his low-post isolation play, but this time his hook shot after turning around was interfered with by Schmitz and went wide of the basket.

However, Rodman leaped to grab the offensive rebound and passed it to Pippen on the perimeter to reorganize the offense.

Langley mentioned receiving the ball at the high post, with Pippen cutting to the basket from behind to receive the ball and make a layup – a common tactic in the triangle offense.

This choice is also fine, because Yang Shuai needs to keep an eye on Jordan, and Pippen has a matchup advantage against Miller.

However, Davis quickly retreated to the basket, and Pippen's layup attempt after the confrontation faltered, hitting the edge of the rim and bouncing out.

Davis secured the defensive rebound.

The Bulls' offense ultimately failed to continue.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out at the scene.

Yang Shuai has already rushed out of the three-point line! Jordan's attention was on the rebound under the basket, and his reaction was a beat too slow.

Seeing this, Davis immediately executed a long backcourt pass.

However, because he had to guard against Jordan's interception in the air, his pass was obviously too long.

But the commotion at the scene grew even louder at that moment, because Yang Shuai suddenly accelerated a second time to race against the ball in the air!
Jordan was momentarily dazed, as if he were seeing himself when he first entered the league.

Yang Shuai ultimately failed to catch the ball; Davis is not Jackson after all, and not everyone can make such a long pass from the backcourt.

Even so, the fans at the scene were still taken aback by Yang Shuai's fast-break awareness.

Of course, there's also the Pacers' opening momentum.

Previously, whether it was the Magic or the Hawks, the Bulls seemed to lack confidence. On offense, they were forced to be hesitant by the Bulls' defense, and on defense, they were also overwhelmed.

But the Pacers played proactively and confidently, as if they were really ready to beat the Bulls!

In the Bulls' half-court offense, Jordan finally made his move, using Rodman's screen to run an off-ball play.

Pippen delivered a perfectly timed pass, but just as Jordan caught the ball and shot, Yang Shuai had already circled around the screen and rushed in.

The fast break just now showed that Yang Shuai was highly focused tonight.

Jordan suddenly flicked the ball towards the basket, and Langley suddenly cut into the basket from the middle.

Langley attempted a turnaround shot under the basket, but it was blocked by Schmitz.

Langley turned and retrieved the ball, but he was already forced to move away from the basket.

Just then, he spotted Harper at the far end and delivered a long cross pass.

However, Jackson successfully anticipated the ball and jumped to intercept it.

The Bulls' offense still couldn't keep going!

After Jackson gained control of the ball, he quickly advanced to the frontcourt and made tactical gestures before both sides were fully in position.

Miller used Schmitz's high screen to suddenly accelerate and drive directly to the basket.

Rodman moved from the weak side baseline and sandwiched Pippen from both sides, leaving Miller with no good opportunity to receive the ball.

But at that moment, Yang Shuai, who was originally moving towards the weak side corner, suddenly moved towards the 45-degree three-point line.

Davis quickly set a screen.

Rodman was drawn away by Miller, and Jordan simply went around the screen. Meanwhile, Yang Shuai received a pass from Jackson with a lead time and took a three-pointer.

"Shh!"

With a crisp sound, Yang Shuai's three-pointer also came down smoothly.

2 is better than 8!

Phil Jackson called a timeout.

The scene was in an uproar.

Ernie Johnson and Mike Brin in the commentary booth were also stunned.

They considered many possibilities, but they never expected the Bulls to be so badly beaten by the Pacers at the start of the game!

Furthermore, Phil Jackson is not a coach who likes to call timeouts, indicating that the situation on the court is even more serious than the score suggests.

"The Bulls' defense has failed."

After regaining his composure, Brin offered his analysis.

The Bulls' strength lies in two main aspects: Jordan and their defense.

Not being able to score on offense isn't a big problem, because Jordan hasn't really started to perform yet.

However, the Bulls were unable to contain the Pacers' spacing tactics on defense.

"Perhaps Indiana can give us a little shock."

Ernie Johnson agreed with Brin's point of view, while also showing a hint of barely suppressed excitement in his eyes.

The Pacers' strength lies not only in individual player ability, but also in their spacing and tactical system.

Judging from the start, the Bulls were clearly not adequately prepared for that tactic.

On the Pacers' bench, Yang Shuai listened to Bird explain the tactics while turning his head to look at the other half of the court.

Yesterday, when he asked Jordan that question, it was clearly not meant to provoke Jordan or disrupt his mental state. After so many matches against each other, he already knew very well how strong Jordan's mental fortitude was.

He did that simply to confirm one thing: what Jordan and the Bulls' mentality was towards them.

As it turned out, just like Jordan's reaction, the Bulls didn't take them too seriously.

Even though they had easily overcome the Knicks and Heat.

Perhaps in the eyes of Jordan and Phil Jackson, the defensive resources they had and the triangle offense were enough to defeat any opponent.

Bird's earlier comment, "You guys overestimated something," was misinterpreted as underestimating the opponent, but in fact, the Bulls were the ones who truly underestimated them.

I remember that after losing the Christmas Day game, Jordan reminded his teammates that the Bulls could also lose, but after so much time has passed, the basketball god, who is busy every day, probably forgot about it.

But can you blame the Bulls?
You can't. Winning has been too easy for the Bulls these past two seasons. They've become numb to it, completely desensitized to winning.

Although Yang Shuai did not think the Bulls would be defeated so easily, after all, it was the Bulls.

But the current situation is enough.

Just like the reason he said "I want them all" when he first chatted with Bird, a big reason for losing to the Bulls in last season's playoffs was that they were suppressed from the start.

Now, it's the Bulls who are being suppressed.

(End of this chapter)