333: 138: Perfect Lineup?
No, You Need Me Too Much!
(Two in One!)_6 333: 138: Perfect Lineup?
No, You Need Me Too Much!
(Two in One!)_6 But unfortunately, miracles don’t happen all the time.
“The first free throw is a miss!
Shaq’s free throws today have been a complete tragedy!
Jerry Krause can enjoy an extra glass of red wine tonight, for he crafted a perfect lineup for the Bulls last summer, making up for the mistake of trading away Roger!”
O’Neal had lost his confidence; now, the mere sight of the free-throw line made him nauseous.
Failed jump balls, failed free throws.
Rodman’s taunting, Michael Jordan’s mocking…
In this most critical battle, in this important fight for a professional player to prove his star quality, O’Neal encountered nothing but failure.
I really am just a supporting role, I really am just a damn supporting role!
“Shaq, stop the wishful thinking, focus!
We can win this, we didn’t come this far to fall in front of the Chicago people!” Roger’s voice pulled O’Neal back from the brink of emotional collapse.
O’Neal took several deep breaths before he finally made the second free throw.
But even so, the Magic were still down by one point.
Inside the United Center, the fans could already see the dawn of the Finals.
No, the dawn of the championship!
The consensus that whoever breaks out of the East will be the champions hasn’t changed.
Just win against the Magic, and the following matches with the SuperSonics would be just a formality, then the Chicago Bulls would return to the throne!
The situation was indeed very favorable for the Bulls; as long as they delayed time, even if they didn’t score at the end, they could still lead at the last moment.
If the next offense scored, that would directly secure the victory!
The Bulls fans were happy, but the Zen Master and Jordan were still solemn.
Because they both knew very well what time remaining on the timer meant.
No matter how big of an advantage you have now, as long as the game is not over, Roger is still a huge threat!
On the next play, the Bulls diligently controlled the clock, with Jordan only launching into attack mode in the final 4 seconds of the 24-second shot clock.
Jordan couldn’t shake off Roger in one move, so he had to force the shot.
The basketball hit the backboard, and half the ball had already dropped into the net, but in the end, it spun out.
Brian Hill broke out in a cold sweat; that shot was only 2 centimeters away from going in!
Just 2 more centimeters inside, and the outcome would have been completely different!
Michael Jordan leaned on his knees, with a faint premonition that this would be the jump shot he’d regret most in his life.
Of course, the Bulls still had the advantage.
There were only 20 seconds left in the game, and they were leading by one point.
Brian Hill used up the last timeout, drawing up a sideline ball strategy for Roger in hopes that he could catch and finish in the mid-range.
If Roger couldn’t receive the ball, the backup strategy was to give it to Saru and let him take the ball to attack.
The third backup strategy was to pass the ball to McKey.
“This is our chance to achieve greatness!
Not many teams can win back-to-back championships, not many teams can defeat Michael Jordan two years in a row!
Michael has left us 20 seconds, let’s use these 20 seconds to kill him!”
O’Neal sat to the side, already out of spirits.
At the crucial moment, the coach arranged three tactics, but not one involved him.
He was just a supporting role, an expendable supporting role…
The game restarted, the Magic aligned themselves along the free-throw line—anyone could rush out to receive the ball.
After the referee’s whistle, Roger used Shaq’s screen to run towards the sideline, but the screen didn’t stop Pippen, who stuck closely to Roger.
In this situation, passing the ball directly to Roger was highly likely to result in a turnover, so Horace Grant prepared to look for the second and third options.
But to Grant’s despair, Saru and McKey were also tightly guarded by their opponents!
The Bulls didn’t use a double-team; they used tight one-on-one defense to shut down all options!
The Zen Master knew very well that leaving anyone open at this time was extremely dangerous.
You must not give any Magic player the space to take an open shot.
At this point, everyone’s shooting touch had been exhausted, so one-on-one defense was sufficient.
Just now, Michael Jordan missed a mid-range shot under Harper’s defense.
Could Roger score a mid-range shot under distress?
As Brian Hill’s three tactics all failed to materialize, Roger had to push away Pippen and temporarily move beyond the three-point line to receive the ball.
First, he had to secure the ball, he couldn’t afford to waste possession on a throw-in violation.
Eventually, Grant got the ball to Roger beyond the three-point line.
But this also meant that the strategy had completely collapsed, and Roger had to figure out how to score on his own.
Challenging the Bulls’ muscular defense when already exhausted was not an easy task.
The Chicago Bulls just had to defend this offense to secure the game, and if Roger could break this defense, he would become a legend.
The stage for deciding fate was set, and it was time for the heroes to write their own stories.
The Bulls indeed adopted a one-on-one defensive strategy, with Scottie Pippen using the last of his energy to press against Roger.
“Slam” magazine once said Pippen would live in Roger’s shadow for a lifetime, but Pippen scoffed at such talk.
Today, he was going to break free of that damn shadow!
Roger didn’t control the clock; this wasn’t the time for that.
He had to ensure he scored first.
Facing Pippen with his arms outstretched, Roger broke to the right, but Pippen correctly guessed Roger’s direction.