Basketball's most talented forward is on the left

This sentence is enough to boost the morale of the Knicks players.

Now Zuo Li has such prestige in the team, which is achieved every game, so if he says he won't give him a chance, he will definitely not give it!

The starting lineups for both teams are released at this time:

Knicks: Zuo Li, Randolph, Chandler, Larry Hughes, Dragic.

Bulls: Noah, Tyrus Thomas, Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Rose.

Both teams are regular starters, and there are no special changes. The only change is the fourth position, but everyone knows that the Bulls' fourth position is now a swing position. To put it nicely, it is a swing position, but to put it poorly, it means a bad position. Three or four

No one could stand up, so Noah was basically the one to carry it. Thomas was chosen because the others had been beaten too hard by Zuo Li before.

But for the commentators, it doesn't matter who starts, what matters is who is used to defend Zuo Li.

The whole world now knows that Zuo Li is difficult to defend. With the defensive intensity of the regular season, basically anyone can be mismatched. When ESPN summarized the season, Zuo Li was listed as a player who can truly play from 1 to 5. In fact, Zuo Li is

Zuo Li really played the 1st and 4th positions in the 82 games of the regular season. Although Zuo Li has never played the 2nd and 3rd positions, according to the ability Zuo Li has shown, there is no problem in making a guest appearance.

So this gives the opponent a very big problem, that is, how to limit Zuo Li's offense on the defensive end, and at the same time avoid being restricted by Zuo Li on the offensive end.

There are basically no successful examples to refer to in the regular season, so now everyone is guessing what tactics the Bulls will use to limit Zuo Li's performance.

I don’t know how many NBA head coaches or team staff are staring at the big screen right now. They all want to get some reference. Even if they don’t use it this season, they can use it in the future.

However, once the game started, everyone was disappointed because Donovan, the Bulls head coach, made no special arrangements at all.

There is no suspense in the jump ball. Noah basically gives up on the routine. He can't get it anyway. Noah has never beaten Zuo Li in a jump ball in his life. He is a person who has been crushed by various talents and left over and over again.

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But Noah was not angry, excited or anxious at all, and he was not the only one who couldn't jump the ball. Searching the entire league, no one in 82 games could beat Zuo Li in jumping the ball.

Successful jump ball in 82 consecutive games, which can be regarded as a record in the NBA, and zero jump ball failures in his career. I don’t know how long this record will last. Anyway, according to the current level of the league’s insiders, these few seasons can be regarded as

There is no hope, unless Zuo Li doesn't want it anymore.

It is said that there are bookmakers that specifically offer odds on when Zuo Li will fail to jump the ball...

After the Knicks got the opening ball, Zuo Li walked in as usual, and the person who followed Zuo Li was not Noah, but the 208-centimeter power forward Thomas. This was not much different from the last time the two teams met in the regular season.

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When Zuo Li received the ball with his back, Noah did not choose to help defend, which allowed Zuo Li to easily score the first goal with a wonderful turn and "rabbit jump".

"Yes! He has become extremely proficient in this move. It's very good." Ewing raised his eyebrows at Pippen happily. He was naturally very excited that his stunt was back in the playoffs.

Pippen snorted angrily and said, "Don't worry, the game has just begun. The Bulls will have a way to defend Zuo Li."

However, the following few minutes of the game proved that the Bulls did not seem to come up with any new tactics to deal with Zuo Li in this game.

It’s Thomas’ solo defense!

Noah only helped defend once in 6 minutes. The other times he was stuck in position, and he invested a lot in the offensive end. Basically, he pulled out to complete the pick-and-roll with Rose or Ben Gordon. Luol Deng also went around him.

One side goes inside to catch the ball.

The effect was pretty good. In the first 8 minutes, the Bulls trailed the Knicks by only 5 points, 15-20, but the cost was also obvious. Zuoli made all of his first 6 shots. Thomas was completely unable to withstand Zuoli's impact.

Whether it's a back-up inside line or a left-hand stance, it's all about getting what you want.

So far, I haven't been dunked simply because I am more stable on the left side. After all, in the first playoff game, I still need to test the opponent's tactics and play style.

Smith expressed concern: "Although we can still score points against the Bulls like this, what should we do inside? This is completely ruined."

But Barkley expressed his understanding: "Noah is definitely better than Thomas in defending the left wing, but it is limited, unless it is a double attack, but this Bull cannot and does not have the manpower to do that."

A clever woman can't make a fool of herself. Donovan has this kind of deck in his hands. The Bulls can reach sixth place in the Eastern Conference this season because of their scoring ability in the backcourt, especially Ben Gordon's support.

Outsiders say it's great that Rose led the team to the playoffs this season, but in fact Ben Gordon is the leading scorer and core of the offense, averaging 20.7 points per game, ranking tied for 17th in the league's scoring list, tied with Howard.

His three-point shooting percentage of 41.2% per game ranks second among the top 30 scorers, second only to Durant's 41.7%.

So unlike Thibodeau's future Bulls, which rely on Rose for offense and teammates for defense, this Bull typically relies on offense to make a living by being strong and defensive.

Therefore, it is destined that he will not be able to use a large number of manpower to defend Zuo Li, especially if he does not dare to use Noah to resist head-on. Noah's current role is very similar to that of the Warriors' Green in the future. At his peak, he was an enhanced version of Green, except that

Noah, who knows how to chase eggs, can basically do what Green can do, and the effect is very good.

When Noah was at his peak, he had defensive rebounds, steals, and blocks. His offense relied on support and tip-ins, but he was not good at shooting. But the Bulls didn't need him to shoot. They used him to support the perimeter shooters. The defense was developed by Thibodeau, so

If he is dragged down on the defensive end, the Bulls' offense will suffer huge losses.

So Donovan is also betting that the Bulls can use offense to counter the Knicks.

However, Donovan's idea was destined to come to nothing, and Zuo Li soon let him know what it means to be the one with the inside track to win the world.

In the second quarter, Zuo Li returned to the game after resting for 4 minutes. In the first quarter, he scored 8 points and 5 rebounds, which was equivalent to warming up. In the second quarter, he brought Ke Liu, David Lee, Novak and Duhong on the court.

, is for output.

Coming up to pick and roll at the top of the arc, Zuo Li followed down and took the ball to defeat Liuyi. He saw a chance to hit a three-pointer, but the bounce came out of the frame, but was collected by Zuo Li who was passing down. Zuo Li immediately gave it to the man standing in the bottom corner.

Novak, Novak catches the ball and pops up again!

And Noah once again failed to grab the rebound position, Zuo Li collected another offensive rebound, and then continued to distribute to Keliu.

This time, Ke Liu lived up to Zuo Li's pass and hit a three-pointer!

"Zuo Li hit the ball really hard! Three offensive rebounds in a row! This is the so-called sense of security of a super insider!" Yu Jia explained.

"This is the playoffs, tough. If you can't hold me down, I'll beat you up. Moreover, this goal boosts morale so much. When the Knicks shooters see it, I feel more confident in my shooting!" Yang Yi said.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ke Liu stole the ball, ran to the three-point line and directly chased for a three-pointer.

Score two in a row!

The bull was immediately stopped!