basketball pope

Chapter 91 [Faith collapses, easy to win the championship]

In the second game, the Knicks continued to screen off the ball and looked for dislocation offensive opportunities.

The Jazz chose to strictly guard against three-pointers from the outside and played small ball tactics. Larry Johnson broke out, caught the ball, jumped, turned and jumped, broke through the storm, and was unstoppable.

Brian Russell and Shanton Anderson were not strong enough to defend against Johnson, while Antoine Kyle and Foster were tall enough to prevent breakthroughs.Ostertag can't make it, and the Jazz's penalty area is not so tight.

As soon as the three guys who were good at shooting were pulled apart, the Jazz couldn't double-team Johnson.When Malone was defending Johnson, the rebounds couldn't be protected again.

约翰逊30分6篮板3助攻，休斯顿24分3篮板2助攻，是球队获胜的首要功臣。

本华莱士同样出彩，全场砍下6分17篮板2助攻2抢断4盖帽。

Starks felt bad and only scored 13 points, widening the gap with his teammates and temporarily staying away from the finals MVP.

101 to 85, the Knicks lead 2 to 0 in total, only Malone can contribute points steadily, and most of the shots are mid-range shots after the pick-and-roll.

In the third game, the Jazz returned to home to guard against Johnson, and Houston began to rage again.

The Knicks used a triangle offense. Houston singled out Hornacek with the ball, turned and made a jumper, and scored consecutively with dry pull-up jumpers, fully releasing his energy.

Hornacek is 191cm tall and weighs 86kg. When he first entered the league, he played as a point guard and suffered losses in defense at the 2nd position.He was completely helpless in the face of the convulsive Houston. Houston's jump shot was very high, and it was unreasonable to shoot against people.

The Jazz were collectively misfired on the outside, and the players were in unbelievable condition. They trailed by 31 points at halftime.

If Ewing is here, the Knicks can't prevent the Jazz like this. Now the three insiders are strong and fast, and they are especially good at preventing pick-and-rolls.

In the second half, Sloan was still the same old, pick-and-roll to death.

103 to 63, the Jazz lost 40 points at home, only Malone scored 24 points, and no one scored in double figures.

这是NBA总决赛历史最大分差，此前纪录是1978年6月5日，华盛顿子弹117比82战胜西雅图超音速，分差为35分。

The Jazz players lost their temper, and no matter how stupid they were, they could see that the Knicks just restrained the Jazz tactics.

In the fourth game, the Jazz fought for face, and Malone broke out, scoring 34 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists.

The Jazz still lost, 99-92.

The Knicks shot 46.1% overall, and the Jazz shot 50% overall. The two teams were similar in free throws. The Knicks made 19 of 15 shots, the Jazz made 25 of 20 shots, and the Knicks slightly outscored the rebounds.

Looking at the data, the Jazz have the upper hand in two shooting percentages, and they lost to the three-pointer that Sloan looked down on.The Knicks made 31 of 14 10-pointers and the Jazz made 2 of [-] [-]-pointers.

When the final whistle blew, Sloan sat in a chair, unable to recover for a long time.

For him, this was not just a failure in the finals, it was more like a collapse of faith. The blow was so severe that he began to doubt his life and wanted to give up his basketball philosophy.

It is true that the closer to the basket, the higher the shooting percentage, but the higher the two-point shooting rate than the three-point shooting rate, does not mean that there are more points, and it does not mean that the game is won.It was a simple math problem, and Sloan began to realize that not allowing players to shoot more threes was likely the reason the Jazz were easily beaten.

Van Gundy also has a feeling of enlightenment this season. Last season, he also let players make more mid-range shots, reduce three-pointers, and take mistakes as truth.

Van Gundy also felt unreal.Last season, the Knicks were humiliated by the Heat's 1-3 reversal.Winning the title so easily?No twists and turns, not much challenge, even if the team MVP is not.

Mike Brin even sighed: "This is the finals with the most disparity in strength in the past 20 years."

The Knicks coach and players went out to celebrate together.

Thibodeau disregarded his image and danced with Stephen Jackson, the youngest on the team, on the court.

Starks, Oakley, and Ewing all cried. They experienced the 1994 Finals and experienced too many failures and pain.

Oakley's tears are moving, and tough guys are also sad. When he first entered the league, he was Jordan's most trusted teammate, but the Bulls replaced him with the "Cobra". When the Bulls won the championship, he was already in the Knicks and has always been in the Knicks. Effective until now.

The person who cried the most was Ewing, who did not play. He also came to Salt Lake City with the team, and sat on the sidelines with a cane to cheer for his teammates.

Reporters interviewed players, interviewed Van Gundy, Yang Rui and Thibodeau were put aside, and they were all supporting roles on this occasion.

This will not affect Yang Rui's mood. He has never been as excited as he is today.

This is the NBA. He has only been reborn for a year and won the championship ring.Many people have no rings in their lives, such as Sloan and his disciples who have just left the venue and are downcast.

There are many players who have won the ring at the age of 24, and there are few coaches who have won the ring at the age of 24.Yang Rui has made a good start to his career, and fame is a matter of time.

Thibodeau smiled and asked, "Jerry, do you think it is possible for us to build a dynasty?"

It's too easy to win this season, and the Knicks seem to be going strong for many years.Although he is a teaching assistant, Thibodeau is also very satisfied if he can get a few more rings.

Contented people are always happy, and Xibodu always has a smiling face, which has a lot to do with personality.

Yang Rui didn't plan to hide it from his friends, he smiled and whispered, "I will definitely not be here next year, so I don't want the Knicks to establish a dynasty."

Thibodeau stayed for a while: "Is there a team looking for you?"

"More than one." Yang Rui smiled proudly. It was not a problem if the reporter didn't pay attention to him. "I'm going to have a showdown with the management before the holiday, because I can't pass up the opportunity to be the head coach."

The Knicks won the championship, and the Raptors had no reason to return. Yang Rui proved his worth.

Xibodu restrained his smile, looking at Yang Rui with a complicated mood, envy, jealousy, admiration, and a little bit of anger.

He was not angry with Yang Rui, but with himself.

The 24-year-old has worked for a year and has been successfully promoted to the head coach. Even if he joins an underdog, it is a big step in his life.Now 40 years old, he is complacent about getting a championship ring with ease. The gap is too big.

He has no right to speak in the coaching staff, learning is the main thing, which is really a shameful reality.

Thibodeau looked at Van Gundy, who was surrounded by reporters, and an idea emerged involuntarily—without Jerry Young, can the Knicks be able to win the championship in the future?
Most of the media and fans think that the coach who has the most credit for winning the championship is Van Gundy, but inside the team, from the management to the players, who doesn't know that Yang Rui is the one who changed the team?

"Tom, why are you in a daze? Come and get your hat." Yang Rui laughed.

"Oh……"

In the United States, it is a tradition to give hats when celebrating.Many sporting events have won the championship award, or the draft will wear a hat.

Houston won the Finals MVP by averaging 25 points per game; Ewing took the championship trophy from David Stern and held it high, and the 1997-1998 season officially came to an end.

(End of this chapter)