The longest river

Chapter 146 Fulfilling the Promise
"Negative energy from Scottie Pippen +999".

Pippen's face turned red. Who the hell scored 8 points? It was 9 points! His lowest score against the SuperSonics was 9 points!
But what's the difference between 9 points and 8 points?

Unfortunately, Pippen wasn't smart enough. If he had known to rack up some points during garbage time in the final quarter, he wouldn't have been attacked like that by Yang Shuai.

"Scottie, he's just trying to provoke you."

Just then, Cole shouted at Pippen.

Pippen realized instantly that he had almost fallen for Yang Shuai's trick again, just like before.

Sure enough, except when he said "You can't win without Scottie," Yang Shuai was always so dangerous and annoying.

Yang Shuai turned his head and frowned as he looked at Cole.

You scoundrel, Curry's archenemy, how dare you ruin my plans?

Kukoc missed his outside shot, and the Bulls' offense failed to score.

As the game transitioned from offense to defense, Pippen was eager to try.

Although he couldn't score against Yang Shuai on offense, Yang Shuai also couldn't score against his defense.

However, when he got into position, ready to teach Yang Shuai a lesson, Yang Shuai didn't take the ball but instead passed it to Scott.

Just as he was about to retort, Yang Shuai quickly set a screen for Scott after passing the ball.

His block was very solid, completely shutting down Cole.

Pippen was forced to switch onto Scott.

But in that very instant of switching defenses, Scott had already passed the ball back to Yang Shuai.

Yang Shuai faced off against Kerr and executed a bulldozer-like layup, not only making the layup but also knocking Kerr down and drawing a defensive foul from the latter.

His revenge is time-sensitive.

Yang Shuai goes to the free throw line.

"Are you that afraid of playing one-on-one against me?" Pippen, unable to vent his emotions, looked at Yang Shuai with disdain.

To Pippen's utter surprise, Yang Shuai looked at him with an expression as if he were an idiot.

"What have you been playing basketball for all these years? Don't you understand the essence of basketball: how to put the ball in the basket in the most efficient way?"

While Pippen was still in a daze, Yang Shuai made the free throw.

"Negative energy from Scottie Pippen +748".

After regaining his senses, Pippen's face flushed with anger again.

Yang Shuai actually called him stupid!

However, he quickly realized what was going on. When he got to the frontcourt, he passed the ball to Kerr and then went over to set a screen for him. After the screen was set, he tried to get out of position to shoot Scott.

However, this was quickly proven to be foolish. How could Yang Shuai not be prepared for the tricks he used?

Just as Cole passed the ball, Yang Shuai seized the opportunity to contest it and directly intercepted the ball from his hands!
Amid the roar of the fans, Yang Shuai stole the ball, shook off Cole's pursuit, and charged to the frontcourt for his signature tomahawk dunk.

23:18.

Yang Shuai launched a 5-0 run, instantly widening the gap in the score.

After completing the dunk, Yang Shuai shrugged and spread his hands at Jordan as he passed the Bulls' bench.

This time, however, Jordan did not respond to Yang Shuai's gesture.

The playoffs are not the regular season, and Jordan wouldn't let his personal emotions override the team's at this time.

Moreover, Phil Jackson couldn't possibly bring Jordan onto the court at that point.

This was the right choice, but it was tough on Pippen.

"Look, Michael just watches you make a fool of yourself on the court and doesn't even come up to help you."

Compared to Jordan, it's much easier to mess with Pippen's mentality.

This was a conclusion Yang Shuai had already reached during that training match.

Of course, the main reason is that Pippen's individual ball-handling and offensive abilities cannot be utilized against Yang Shuai.

If you can't make Yang Shuai uncomfortable on the court, how can you possibly shut him up?

Perhaps it really is as Pippen himself thought: he should have crushed Yang Shuai in that practice game, which might have been his only chance.

Thanks to Yang Shuai's off-peak travel time advantage, the Pacers led the Bulls 55-47 at halftime.

However, Kukoc regained his outside shooting touch in the latter part of the second quarter, and his excellent performance greatly reduced the physical exertion of Jordan and Pippen in this quarter.

The match did not unfold exactly as Yang Shuai had planned.

However, the game against this Bulls team will obviously not be that easy.

The Pacers had at least a decent lead by halftime.

Although it was only half a game, as Ernie Johnson said, the Pacers gave the league a little shock.

This Bulls team has never been so passive in the playoffs.

The third section is the decisive one.

At the start of the third quarter, the Bulls immediately switched to a full-court press.

This has been their winning formula in the past, and even the Pacers last season were helpless against this kind of tight defense. And it has worked again.

Although the Pacers now have Mark Jackson and Yang Shuai has improved his passing ability, they are no longer as vulnerable to turnovers when crossing half-court as they were last season.

However, with full-court press tactics, steals and forced turnovers are only one aspect; the more important aspect is to wear down the offensive clock.

Teams like the Pacers rely on space in their half-court offense, creating shooting opportunities through pick-and-rolls and tactical runs, which requires ample offensive time to execute.

All I can say is that the Bulls' defensive resources are truly insane. They can not only apply full-court press to create pressure, but also keep up with most of the Pacers' tactical runs when they return to half-court.

This is something that neither the Knicks nor the Heat could do before.

Seeing this, Bird started to fight the Bulls on defense.

The Pacers' easy victories over the Knicks and Heat weren't solely due to their offense; their defense was equally impressive.

Of course, the main reason is because of Yang Shuai.

Other teams would likely lose to the Bulls in a defensive battle, because just guarding Jordan would require at least two players.

Once Jordan does that, and starts passing the ball around, the opponent can only be moved around like a headless fly.

But the Pacers have Yang Shuai.

Yang Shuai's defensive ability is now comparable to Jordan's, and apart from the part where Jordan entered the "zone," his shooting touch tonight was indeed average.

Therefore, when the Pacers only needed one player to guard Jordan, their defensive effectiveness against the Bulls surpassed that of most other teams.

In this quarter, the score was 13-14, giving all the viewers a real taste of the defensive prowess of this era.

At the end of the third quarter, the Pacers led 68-61.

A seven-point lead isn't huge, but the fact that the Pacers were able to do it in the playoffs against the Bulls, especially at the United Center, shows that their impact on the league continues.

The good news for the Bulls is that, because of the defensive battle in the third quarter, most of the starters from both teams played the entire third quarter, including Yang Shuai.

Therefore, Yang Shuai will not be able to play during this substitute transition period.

The score difference didn't change much during this period. With 7 minutes left in the game, both sides substituted their starters for the final showdown.

The score at this point is 76 to 70.

In the very first possession, Jordan broke through Yang Shuai and hit a mid-range jumper.

Yang Shuai looked very surprised because Jordan had actually stuck out his tongue and entered the "zone" again!
This refreshed his understanding, because Jordan had only entered that position once before in the Christmas game, and he had also seen that the thing was extremely physically demanding.

Especially tonight, both sides battled defensively for the entire third quarter.

And this is Jordan, who is already 34 years old!

However, after the initial surprise, Yang Shuai confirmed his previous conclusion: entering this state is related to a person's mental and physical will.

Of course, this doesn't mean that having a strong will is enough to enter this state, because very few people can even reach that threshold.

Bird noticed this as well, so he unusually stood up and made a tactical gesture.

The Pacers switched on defense, with Mark Jackson taking primary defense and then double-teaming Jordan.

This had a good effect in the second quarter.

However, to Bird's surprise, Rodman actually stood up at the crucial moment.

He received a pass from Jordan and scored a quick layup, and on another occasion, he missed a shot while facing Davis's defense but quickly jumped up and scored on a putback.

The Bulls tied the game at 78 with four minutes remaining!
Bird reached out and called a timeout.

During the timeout, Rodman waved his hands wildly to rouse the crowd, and the United Center erupted in cheers.

This season, Rodman was not only dropped from the All-Defensive Team due to injuries, but his overall performance also declined significantly after entering the playoffs compared to last season.

So far in the playoffs, he's only averaging 4 points per game, with a field goal percentage dropping to 37.5%, and even his best-performing statistic, rebounds, is only 9 per game.

But when it came to the crucial moments, he still delivered the performance he was expected to achieve.

Or rather, first Kukoc, then Rodman, the Bulls' place in the discussion of the greatest team in history isn't solely due to Jordan.

The situation suddenly became dire for the Pacers.

If you don't double-team Jordan, you can't stop him; but if you continue to double-team Jordan, Rodman will likely continue to score.

Moreover, if the Pacers have a perfect start but still lose, it will affect not only Game 1, but the entire series.

Their ability to perform well is built on the confidence that Bird has consistently instilled in them.

A blow to self-confidence will inevitably affect subsequent performance.

Just then, before Bird could give instructions, Yang Shuai spoke up, saying, "Coach, I'll take care of Michael."

Bird looked at Yang Shuai but did not nod. Yang Shuai had tried it before, and he couldn't defend Jordan in "zone" mode either.

Besides, it's always better to let Rodman shoot than Jordan.

Seeing Bird's hesitation, Yang Shuai continued, "Coach, I made a promise."

Just like when Yang Shuai accepted Thaddeus's invitation but ultimately chose to return to Cleveland High School, Yang Shuai is someone who keeps his promises.

Bird looked at Yang Shuai and, seeing the unwavering determination in Yang Shuai's eyes, finally nodded.

(End of this chapter)