Chapter 319 The Road to Defending the Title Is Difficult

The first round of the playoffs is to advance with 3 wins out of 5 games.

In the Western Conference, the Jazz took the lead in sweeping and advancing. The other teams' matchups are currently 2:1. As for the Eastern Conference, there is also a team that swept the promotion, and that is the Magic's opponent, the Pacers.

Just like Li Shengli's blessing, the Magic were swept and O'Neal was beaten into a muggle. However, Hardaway showed his talent. He played for four quarters in the third game and scored 31 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks of data.

However, the East is a matter for the East. Li Shengli is still concerned about who his opponent will be in the second round. According to the regular season rankings, the winner of the Spurs and Suns can meet the Jazz in the second round.

There were no major changes to the Suns' lineup this season. However, the Spurs brought in a Rodman and General pairing, which was much stronger than the previous lineup. The two sides played until Game 5 before the Spurs got the promotion spot against the Jazz. .

…

The first game of the second round is scheduled for May 10th.

The Jazz, who were the first to advance, had enough rest time. After sweeping the Nuggets, the first game of the second round was still at Jazz's home court. Li Shengli and Malone were just waiting for the Spurs to come and prepare to beat Rodman.

Speaking of which, compared with last season, the Spurs have strengthened, but the Jazz have weakened.

Li Shengli + Malone VS David Robinson + Rodman, if the inside line is functioning normally, the Jazz will still have the advantage, but compared to the outside line, the Jazz without Stockton will be at a big disadvantage. When it comes to winning or losing, no one can give a definite answer.

Games are always more attractive when they are full of uncertainties. Obviously, the Jazz's game against the Spurs was full of uncertainties. The Jazz before the game was far from as relaxed as they were against the Nuggets, and the locker room was also serious.

"Lee, it's up to you to perform in this game!" Malone was about to go on the battlefield, and Malone was obviously a little anxious. Even if he looked down on Rodman, he had to admit that this unsophisticated bastard was capable of defense. , and in the five games of the first round...not to mention he averaged 18 rebounds per game, his opponents performed very poorly.

"What, you don't have the confidence to beat Rodman?" Li Shengli teased.

"Go away, do you really think I would be so arrogant and ignore Rodman?" Malone glanced at Li Shengli with disgust, "Arrogant people are fools, I'm just predicting a possibility in advance, if I didn't perform well, and whether you can beat David Robinson is the most critical part."

"You see what you are afraid of, I never think about things that have not happened." Li Shengli also disliked Ma Long.

"Nonsense, you definitely don't want to do it, because you will definitely have no hope next season, but this season is related to my second championship, so I can't think too much about it!"

"I have no hope, you are really good at talking when you are riding a horse!" Li Shengli sweated and continued: "Whatever you want, anyway, keep an eye on Rodman and don't make it easy for him. Robinson is my business!"

"No problem, this bastard is probably determined to make me sick now."

"Just fuck him and that's it. Who asked him to follow Ewing!" Li Shengli waved his hand and said: "Your mission is to fuck Rodman, my mission is to blast Robinson. Don't worry about their perimeter, Crotty will help us Handled.”

…

After waiting for a while, the first game of the second round finally started.

In the Spurs' starting lineup, center David Robinson and power forward Dennis Rodman are certainly worth mentioning. The small forward is Willie Anderson, the point guard Vinnie Denat, and the shooting guard. Dalle-Ellis.

In the first round of the Spurs' game, except for Rodman, everyone in this lineup has offensive capabilities that are above the passing line, and at this point... the Jazz's perimeter is incomparable.

…

In the midfield jump ball, both sides were equally prepared, without too much nonsense.

David Robinson's eyes were all fixed on Li Shengli. Ever since Li Shengli scored 72 points on him, he scored 71 points with a backhand in the next game and was criticized by the fans for half a season. Almost all the problems came from Li Shengli, and in this game...he must prove himself with hard power and keep his last dignity as a super center.

call out!

Unlike usual, Robinson was in full swing at the beginning, rising up from the ground to win the jump ball from Li Shengli. Although it didn't matter whether the jump ball was successful or not, he did not allow any mistakes in this duel. Disadvantages.

…

In the first round, the Spurs attacked.

Vinnie pushed forward with the ball, and handed teammate Dale Ellis from the outside to take action. Although the Spurs are also a strong team inside, what is different from the Jazz is... they are not weak on the outside.

However, he is not weak at all. Dale Ellis's first shot was not accurate enough. The rebound collapsed to the right, and Li Shengli was too late.

People who specialize in one thing are always scary. When the ball just collapsed, Rodman blocked the position and got an offensive rebound. However, knowing that he was partial to one thing, he did not take the shot and instead handed it to another player. Admiral Robinson on the side.

Although the general has been criticized for not being tough enough, and most of his one-on-one attacks are mid-range shots, but he didn't want to lose to Li Shengli again in this game, so he pushed Li Shengli with his back and turned around for a jumper from the edge of the penalty area.

Everyone is an old rival, and everyone knows how much they have.

David Robinson really doesn't understand why Li Shengli has such strong physical fitness, but this does not hinder his shooting. Even if he can't resist Li Shengli, he can still use his strength. This time, the shot is surprisingly crisp, and the height of the shot makes Li Shengli It’s also hard to block shots.

Uh-huh!

The Spurs scored the first goal, Rodman's offensive rebound played a major role, and Robinson's turnaround jump shot was also very decisive.

…

Just one goal.

Although Malone failed to save the rebound and Li Shengli failed to block Robinson, no one took it seriously. After all, the two brothers were facing top players at the same position, and it was impossible to crush them.

But looking back...

On the Jazz side, Malone went down after a high pick-and-roll and received the pass from Bond. He also made a decisive jump shot, but one thing is different from Robinson, that is, he hit the iron, and what's even more ridiculous is... he got a rebound. , Robinson frantically blocked Li Shengli, setting the stage for Rodman to successfully compete for rebounds.

Perhaps due to over-reliance on Li Shengli's rebounds, the Jazz's offensive and defensive transitions were not smooth. This gave the Spurs another chance. Vinny pulled Dahler desperately into the frontcourt. Only Crotty was in place, but the first defense There was no chance for a second foul, and another goal was scored by the Spurs.

…

After one attack and one defense, Li Shengli and Ma Long frowned, but it was just the beginning, and the two were just playing the role of team bosses, encouraging their teammates.

However, as the game went on, the Jazz became more and more anxious, anxious and chaotic. Although there were strikes on both sides, the rebound seemed to have eyes and would not go to Li Shengli's side.

Generally speaking, as long as the rebound point is not too far away, Li Shengli can overpower everyone to grab the rebound, but this time...Robinson stared at him, and Rodman was another rebound monster, which made the Spurs' first quarter The number of rebounds suppressed the Jazz for the first time.

Rebounding is an advantage, regardless of front or backcourt.

With both sides having similar shooting percentages, every rebound can be turned into a shot. In the first quarter, the Jazz were outscored by a score of 30:18, even though Jerry Sloan called tentatively in the middle and wanted to slow down. The Spurs' pace couldn't close the gap.

The army was defeated like a mountain!

The matchup between Li Shengli and Robinson could only be regarded as a mutual explosion, with each scoring 8 points. However, Malone faced off against Rodman. The rebounding data was inferior, but they also scored 8 points. The two of them combined for 16 points and 2 points. in the other three positions.

This score distribution ratio is definitely abnormal.

The Jazz's perimeter weaknesses were really exposed in today's game, and they were stabbed hard by the Spurs, and Jerry Sloan suddenly realized...this playoffs will be far more difficult than him It was bigger than imagined before, and the road to defending the title was more dangerous.