The longest river

Chapter 156 Using Evil to Stop Evil
When the Pacers went to the venue for an acclimatization practice, the Jazz were just coming out after their practice.

Because of that experience during the regular season, a strong sense of tension filled the narrow passageway.

Just as they were passing each other, Ma Long gave Yang Shuai a fierce look and then swung his elbow.

This is blatantly provocative.

Seeing this, Jermaine O'Neal also swung his fist. Although he might not be able to beat Malone, he wasn't going to back down.

However, Yang Shuai was smiling at this moment, and that smile made Ma Long suddenly feel his scalp tingle and his hair stand on end.

Thinking back to the last "accident," he always felt that Yang Shuai was up to some dirty trick.

On the night of the game, the Delta Air Lines Center was packed to capacity.

For Salt Lake City fans who are religious and don't have many other forms of entertainment, experiencing the Finals with the team is like celebrating Christmas.

Many fans even showed expressions of fervor on their faces.

In a sense, this is why Ma Long dares to elbow his opponents repeatedly during matches without fear of retaliation.

Because if a real opponent dares to retaliate in kind, it's questionable whether they can even leave Salt Lake City.

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

Pacers: Mark Jackson, Miller, Young, Jermaine O'Neal, Schmitz
Jazz: Stockton, Hornacek, Brian Russell, Karl Malone, Greg Ostertag

Schmitz tipped the ball back to the Pacers' half of the court, officially kicking off the NBA Finals.

The Pacers immediately targeted Ostertag, and Yang Shuai used Schmitz's screen to hit a three-pointer over Ostertag.

Ostertag, a 2.18-meter tall, 127-kilogram heavy center, was even less able to deal with this style of play than Ewing.

During the Jazz's offense, Malone established position in the low post, received the ball, and immediately made a turnaround jump shot.

In order to create more offensive space, Bird continued to start Jermaine O'Neal in the Finals and had Schmitz guard Malone in mismatches.

Physically, Schmitz has an advantage, but Malone is competing with Jordan for MVP this season, and his individual performance is at the peak of his career.

Turning back, Yang Shuai used Schmitz's high screen to cut to the basket, and Jackson passed the ball to him immediately, allowing him to score with a layup.

Because they were using Jermaine O'Neal, Malone was pulled to the far end and couldn't get over to help defend.

This is actually a key reason why the Pacers were able to come back from a 2-3 deficit to defeat the Bulls.

Their starting lineup maximized the use of space.

Malone continued to assert his position in the low post, showing his strong desire to attack tonight.

Mark Jackson collapsed early, and Stockton, seeing that it wasn't a good time to pass the ball, took a step forward and drove to the mid-range for a pull-up jumper.

Jermaine O'Neal showcased his individual defensive skills, rushing in to disrupt the defense.

Stockton's shot missed.

Schmitz turned around and secured the rebound, then quickly passed it to Jackson, who, as he looked up, had already tossed the ball forward.

What is teamwork? It's knowing your teammates' offensive habits after playing together for a long time.

For example, Yang Shuai had already shaken off Hornacek and rushed past the midfield at this point.

After receiving the ball, Yang Shuai made a fast break to the frontcourt and unleashed his signature tomahawk dunk.

He scored 7 points in a row after the start!
After landing from the dunk, Yang Shuai turned around and immediately found the camera, then made a gesture of flexing his muscles.

He was doing it for Barkley's benefit.

It's obvious that guy is glued to the TV.

The Jazz fans in the arena were in an uproar.

Their focus was previously on the Western Conference Finals and the Rockets game, and Yang Shuai's role was still the same as during the regular season: to play a supporting role to Miller.

However, it is clear that after experiencing Bird's "off-peak travel" season and then taking on the main offensive role against the Bulls after Miller's injury, Yang Shuai is no longer the same player he used to be.

"Negative energy from Karl Malone +444".

When Yang Shuai made a gesture that was meant for Barkley, Malone thought Yang Shuai was trying to provoke him, and he even deliberately looked for a camera angle, doing it so skillfully.

Malone moved directly to the free-throw line to receive the ball, but unlike Ewing's ball-handling offense, he immediately pulled up for a mid-range jumper and made it.

He is indeed in very good condition.

But... Yang Shuai feels that Malone is more like a "steel-blooded jump shot" than Garnett.

Turning back, Yang Shuai's movement drew more defensive resources from the Jazz, with Malone helping him, and then Hornacek on the other side starting to cover for O'Neal.

Just then, Miller suddenly ran from the baseline to the 45-degree angle, received the ball with O'Neal's screen, and hit a three-pointer.

Although Miller is affected by injuries and can only perform at 70-80% of his ability, he is perfectly capable of handling the weak side offense and can do it better than Yang Shuai.

4:10.

The Pacers took the initiative and got off to a perfect start.

Although Malone is in good form, his mid-range shot is completely ineffective.

More importantly, the Jazz's current roster is just like the Knicks and Heat's, because it's too bulky and completely unable to defend the Pacers' spacing offense.

It's worth noting that when they played the Pacers in the regular season, they were facing a Pacers team that didn't yet have Mark Jackson, let alone after Jermaine O'Neal was promoted to the starting lineup.

Sloan realized this and called a timeout immediately after Miller hit the three-pointer. After the timeout, he substituted Ostertag with Shandon Anderson.

Anderson is a 1.98-meter wing, and Sloan is using a "one big man and four small men" strategy, just like Lai did.

Moreover, after returning, Malone did not engage in individual one-on-one play, but instead started playing pick-and-roll with Stockton.

This adjustment had an immediate effect; after a pick-and-roll on the wing, Malone received a pass from Stockton and unleashed a powerful one-handed dunk.

Schmitz had no way to deal with that kind of ball.

On the defensive end, because Jermaine O'Neal did not yet have a mature low-post offensive ability, the Jazz's lineup was able to keep up with the Pacers' movement.

Yang Shuai attempted to defuse the bomb, but his three-pointer over Malone missed.

The ball hit the back of the rim, bounced high, and went out of bounds.

After seeing the ball go out of bounds, Ma Long roared at Yang Shuai again.

He discovered that Yang Shuai had completely ignored the fact that he had already returned to defend.

Since entering the playoffs, Yang Shuai's playing style has been very different from that in the regular season.

During the regular season, he would provoke and provoke his opponents in order to gain more points and then improve his personal skills.

But in the playoffs, winning is the primary objective, and aside from some necessary trash talk, his attention is focused on the game itself.

After the switch, he switched defense with Mark Jackson.

The moment Yang Shuai switched to defend Stockton, the crowd erupted in excitement once again.

Although half a year has passed, the scene of Yang Shuai pressing and then stealing the ball from Stockton is still vivid in my mind.

However, Stockton on the field acted decisively, passing the ball directly to Hornacek.

Malone seized the opportunity to establish position in the low post again, and then, after receiving a pass from Hornacek, he executed another turnaround mid-range jumper.

"when!"

However, this time his shot went wide of the basket.

Everyone's trying to make a mid-range jump shot, do you really think you're Jordan?

Moreover, the "one big and four small" lineup is inherently inadequate in rebounding, and when Malone turned and shot, the Jazz posed no threat whatsoever to the offensive boards.

Jermaine O'Neal grabbed the defensive rebound, and that's when the referee blew the whistle.

It turns out that Yang Shuai was about to launch a fast break when Stockton fouled him on the spot.

Yang Shuai's fast break ability has reached a point where even veterans like Stockton are wary.

Just then, a short whistle blew from the sidelines, and Bird substituted Dale Davis for Jermaine O'Neal.

He didn't have many opportunities to showcase his on-the-spot skills in the previous rounds, but this time he finally got one.

After the substitution, the Pacers created space to attack Davis in the low post.

Davis's high post-up shot after Russell's turn not only scored but also drew a foul from Russell.

When Davis made the free throw, the score was 4-13, and the difference was about to reach double digits.

The scene was in an uproar.

Before the game, Malone confidently declared that he would teach the Pacers a lesson, but now it seems that the Pacers are the ones teaching them a lesson!
Malone's face was extremely grim at this moment.

In fact, you could tell from his pre-game comments that he didn't take the Pacers too seriously because of Miller's injury.

But he clearly overlooked one thing: the Pacers beat the Bulls while Miller was injured!

Stockton then signaled to Malone to set a screen.

His reaction was still very quick. As long as Malone was able to set a screen and get mismatched against Yang Shuai, Yang Shuai's switch defense would turn from an advantage to a disadvantage.

However, Yang Shuai was not about to let him have his way, and he immediately started pressing and tackling.

Stockton, a legendary point guard known for his ball handling skills, was forced by Yang Shuai to make a basic mistake like dribbling out of bounds, and Stockton even fell out of bounds while trying to save the ball.

The fans at the scene were stunned.

They seemed to think the Jazz were no match for the Pacers.
"Negative energy from Karl Malone +748".

Malone appeared even angrier at this point.

His relationship with Stockton is actually very similar to that of Jordan and Pippen; they are not only teammates who have worked together for many years, but also close partners.

Putting aside everything else, the time he elbowed Thomas was when he stood up for Stockton.

The Pacers continued their low-post offense, with Davis attacking one-on-one. This time, Malone provided help defense, and Davis's turnaround shot towards the baseline missed.

Yang Shuai shook off Hornacek and charged toward the basket for an offensive rebound.

Just then, when Ma Long saw Yang Shuai enter, he immediately brandished his iron elbow.

In the name of Stockton, for the glory of Salt Lake City, and even more so for revenge for that collision at the technical table, I'll elbow you!
Yang Shuai fell backward.

However, in the instant he fell backward, his right foot flew towards the space between Malone's legs.

(End of this chapter)