Chapter 432 East G1, O'Neill's Injury

Chicago, May 20, 1997.

The fanatical atmosphere of basketball rendered this sinful city red.

Bulls logos are everywhere, and Michael Jordan is spray-painted everywhere.

In this era, in this city, the flying man is the god in everyone's heart!

The situation in the Eastern Conference this year has not changed since the beginning, and the Chicago Bulls are the absolute rulers of the Eastern Conference.

Hill once played as a challenger for a period of time, but because of limited technical moves and team lineup, he left the position of contender with the Bulls after being targeted.

The Knicks, a veteran strong team, are no longer expected to be a championship contender because of Ewing's aging. Even in the playoffs, the old man Ewing chatted about being a teenager, and once again played a dominant performance and crushed Mourning, let everyone know that the reason why there are only four major centers is because other than them, there are no other players in the league. Center forwards are on another level.

Instead, the Heat came to Mashburn with the mid-season trade of Pat Riley, making them instantly the Bulls' biggest competitor. The Heat's record at the end of the season is not inferior to any team that has been contending for the championship.

However, the Heat's performance in the playoffs did not have the same dominance as the regular season.

In the first round against the Magic, Penny Hardaway scored 40+ in two consecutive games and 30+ in one game after being silent in the first two games. He almost finished the black seven by himself.

3:2 The Heat relied on Tim Hardaway's matchup advantage against Nick Anderson to pass the risk.

In the second round against the Knicks, it was seven games!

Ewing arranged for Amozo Mourning, who wanted to be in the top position, to play superstar dominance, and directly penetrated the Heat's inside line!

You must know that the Heat's inside line is a combination of the tough guy Mourning and PJ Brown. This defensive strength is second to none in the league. Ewing's ability to defeat the two of them together is enough to justify the names of the four major centers.

It's a pity that Alan Houston and John Starks didn't perform as well as Tim Hardaway. Tim Hardaway's first two rounds of the series are enough to prove that he is qualified to be the best team in the league. He can be said to have carried the team for two rounds when Mourning and Mashburn were blown up.

But when he came to Chicago and met the Bulls, the team with the strongest perimeter defense in the league, and met Jordan, Pippen, and Harper's perimeter defense, can Tim Hardaway still play?

The answer is - no.

Heat 77:94 Bulls.

On the Bulls' home court, in this game, Houston's mini-SHOWTIME Big Three were defended and only scored 77 points!

A score that borders on shame.

If the offensive rhythm of both teams is slow and the scoring is low, that's all.

The Bulls on the other side didn't slow down! They are running and fighting with the Heat!

start running! With the rapid attack rhythm that the Heat are best at, they defeated the Heat!

Tim Hardaway made 4 of 14 shots! 13 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists!

This is completely different from his performance in the previous two rounds of the series, which soared to 30 points. In this game, Tim Hardaway behaved as immature as a child.

"Too strong. Michael and Harper's defense destroyed the Heat." Larry Bird was the commentator of the game, and he clearly felt Jordan's influence on the game.

Jordan and Harper took turns defending Hardaway in this game, and Jordan defended Hardaway all over the court in the third quarter, making it impossible for the league's first-team point guards to even dribble across halftime easily!

Such defensive pressure is simply terrifying!

Tim Hardaway was delayed in this game. As the team's offensive engine and the absolute core of SHOWTIME's style of play, Tim Hardaway's poor performance can almost mean the collapse of the Heat's offensive system.

From Pat Riley's uncharacteristically angry face at the end of the game is enough to see how dissatisfied he is with Tim Hardaway's performance.

"Damn, if my point guard was Kobe" Although Tim Hardaway has perfectly played the core of his tactics in the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs, he played no worse than Magic.

But that was all played when the opposing player was rubbish. Pat Riley, the magician, didn't know that Tim Hardaway would stretch his hips when he met a strong defensive player. After all, he is not a superstar, and his height has an inherent disadvantage.

But he really didn't expect Tim Hardaway to collapse so completely.

Mourning scored 21 points and 8 rebounds in 7 of 13. This is the only point Pat Riley is satisfied with the team. But from the number of shots, it can be seen that although Mourning was not restricted, his teammates really couldn't get him the ball.

If it is Kobe, Mourning must have already had 20+ shots in this case, and Kobe's independent offense is definitely not right and will not be completely blocked by the Bulls with only one player, even Jordan.

But Tim Hardaway can't do it at all.

And the Heat's defense against Jordan is almost powerless.

Jordan made 15 of 31 and 7 of 10 free throws. He scored 37 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 2 turnovers.

The mid-range one goal and one goal delayed the Heat's back line, and the lack of defensive ability of the Heat's defenders was infinitely magnified.

"The gap is too big. The difference between these two teams may be more than one level." Larry Bird made a judgment for this round of the series in the middle of the game.

"Five games, maybe four. This series will be over."

This is the confidence of Bird Bird.

In fact, Jordan did not regard the Heat as an opponent.

This year's Bulls are the overlord of the East, and no team in the East has the strength to challenge the Bulls.

They have only one opponent, and that is the final champion won by many top teams in the West.

No matter which side wins, the Lakers or Houston, this opponent deserves the respect and seriousness of the Bulls.

The Eastern Conference series is just a warm-up for Jordan and the Bulls.

It happens that the combination of Mourning and Tim Hardaway can be used to simulate Kobe O'Neal. Although compared with the original OK, the Heat have dropped countless grades, but they can still be compared.

After this uneventful game, the league also announced additional penalties for Big Ben and Barkley.

Big Ben fined 20,000 U.S. dollars, and O'Neill announced that he would pay the money.

Barkley was fined $30,000.

The league brushed off the conflict and let the media focus on Kobe and the Bulls.

O'Neal found no structural damage after the MRI. After confirmation by the team doctor, he had some bruises like Kobe.

Game two! O'Neal is back!

In the absence of Barkley, G2 Houston will play OK at the Lakers' home court!