Bulldozer of the NBA’s Restricted Area

First round attack.

Stockton failed to find a suitable opportunity on the outside and sent the ball to Malone in the high post. Malone once again passed the ball to Li Shengli on the edge of the penalty area. After that, he directly shook off Thorpe and cut inside.

Li Shengli pulled a little outside, pulled Olajuwon out, and passed the ball to the basket. Malone, who cut inside and shook off Thorpe, just caught it, took off and dunked, completing his first game in the opening game. Smooth attack.

Seeing this offense, Jerry Sloan applauded on the sidelines.

Smooth and skillful, Limas' cooperation is becoming more and more tacit. In the entire offense, if there is no suitable opportunity from the outside, Stockton will choose to pass in, and Malone and Li Shengli will cooperate in the attack, but both of them have a lot of skills. Strong penalty area lethality cannot be completely restricted.

Easy side to fight again.

The Rockets' offense is also quite clear. It can be seen from the positions of Olajuwon and Thorpe. They are either high and low posts, or left and right low posts. It is clear that they are twin towers.

However, unlike the Jazz, the Rockets found an opportunity through pick-and-roll cooperation on the outside. Vernon Maxwell made a smooth shot. Consistent with his style, this shot chose a three-point shot.

Uh-huh!

Hollow into the net, the Rockets scored three points.

…

The confrontation in the entire first quarter was not too fierce, and the score between the two sides was very tight.

As the biggest highlight of this game, the matchup between Li Shengli and Olajuwon was watched by everyone. Unfortunately, there were not many collisions between the two.

Because the Rockets feel good on the outside, they don't need to drag the battle into the inside; although the Jazz don't take many outside shots and focus on the inside, the collision between Malone and Thorpe is more important, and Olajuwon does not dare to short Li Shengli. Helping to defend Thorpe, this caused the scores of both sides to rise alternately.

The first quarter was tied and entered the second quarter.

If the rhythm of the first quarter was followed, the intensity of the battle between Li Shengli and Olajuwon would still not be too high, but in fact it was Kenny and Vernon of the Rockets who briefly misfired, and it was Rockets boss Olajuwon's turn.

Because the Jazz's defense was tight, the Rockets didn't have many chances, so Sopra opened Malone and created a singles opportunity for Olajuwon, and Olajuwon got the ball as he wished.

finally come!

A one-on-one collision of old and new!

Seeing the two people meet in a narrow road, the Rockets home fans cheered loudly, and in this roar, Li Shengli also felt how terrifying Olajuwon was in full condition.

Although in terms of physical confrontation, the young and powerful Li Shengli has the advantage, in terms of experience, he is still a little behind Olajuwon.

Lowering his center of gravity, Olajuwon used his lower limbs to exert force and his back to send force. After a few hard thrusts, he suddenly turned his back from the left and drove towards the basket.

Fake action?

Olajuwon was famous for his footsteps, and Li Shengli was on guard.

However, Olajuwon seemed to know other people's hearts, so this time he played for real. He seized this gap and successfully squeezed into the basket. Even if Li Shengli wanted to make amends, it was too late and he was easily scored. The ball made the home atmosphere explode instantly!

"How about it, Lee, are you still confident to win this game?" Olajuwon laughed.

"Why are you so anxious? It's just a goal, isn't it?" Li Shengli's expression remained calm.

"Then keep going, you can't stop me anyway!"

"You should stop me first before talking!"

…

Offense and defense change sides.

Perhaps in order to regain the court for Li Shengli, Malone also took Thorpe shopping. Stockton took advantage of the situation and handed the ball to Li Shengli on the edge of the penalty area.

Olajuwon stepped forward. As a super giant center, he is experienced in offense and naturally has the skills to defend the opponent's center alone. After all, he relies on the basket to make a living, and he must take into account both offense and defense.

Turning his back and lowering his center of gravity, Li Shengli also exploded his lower body strength and slammed backwards. However, Olajuwon's reverse push was very rhythmic. At the peak of Li Shengli's collision strength, he did not fight back. Instead, he launched a reverse push when his remaining strength weakened. Li Shengli felt very sad.

This feeling is very mysterious, as if Olajuwon has caught his breath accurately, and the strong back pushing feeling is very rhythmic, which makes Li Shengli's bulldozer-style push inexhaustible, and the effect is greatly reduced.

What a cunning old man!

This is Li Shengli's evaluation of Olajuwon. Not only is he offensive, but he is also cunning defensively, and he knows that he cannot wait too long. Since someone is leading the rhythm, he should mainly disrupt the rhythm!

So Li Shengli hit back again, this time to save three points, and when Olajuwon reversed, he suddenly added force.

The effect was remarkable. Olajuwon was stunned for a moment, his center of gravity was unstable, and he staggered back. However, Li Shengli successfully squeezed into the basket and ended the attack with a dunk.

Damn it, what a cunning little person?

Olajuwon suffered a heavy loss and looked bad.

Speaking of which, even strength confrontations are very particular. The way and rhythm of exerting force will affect the outcome of the confrontation. The so-called confrontation experience is generally like this. A battle of strength also requires a battle of intelligence. Olajuwon did not expect that a rookie like Li Shengli could do this. Adapted to this so quickly.

…

The game is not about players playing alone, otherwise why would a team have five starters? So what really makes the offense simple is the cooperation of five people.

At this point, the Jazz have done quite well. After all, Stockton, a big assister, can always give his teammates just the right pass.

Unlike the Rockets' inside line, Li Shengli can play, and so can Malone, and he played well against Thorpe. However, Olajuwon's defense did not dare to stretch too long. If it was too long, it would give Li Shengli a chance.

So throughout the second quarter, when the Rockets took fewer shots from outside, Olajuwon became the main offensive force, and Li Shengli became the main defensive force, playing hard.

…

Olajuwon is so fake.

When you think he is fake, he is real. When you think he is really going to turn around and rush to the basket, he is fake. It makes Li Shengli's head get big. Fortunately, Li Shengli also slowly figured out the defensive skills.

Normal confrontation, close to the ball, not allowing him to take a step forward, but as long as Olajuwon makes a turn over, regardless of whether it is true or not, Li Shengli will take a small step back, leaving enough room for change, forcing Olajuwon to jump!

Blocking a jump shot is too simple. Even if there is a small half-step in the middle, Li Shengli has enough height and bounce to not block the shot, and it is still possible to harass the shot.

So, until the end of the second quarter.

The tie maintained in the previous quarter was finally broken. The Jazz took a 6-point lead and entered the second half. The Rockets... used their strength from the outside in the first quarter, but temporarily stalled from the outside in the second quarter, and Olajuwon exerted his strength.

But what no one expected was... Olajuwon took a total of 7 shots in the second quarter, but only hit 2 of them.

What the hell kind of hit rate is this?

You know, Olajuwon's regular season shooting average was 52.9%. No matter how bad his hand was, he shouldn't have hit 2 of 7, right?

In fact, his touch is not bad either.

In the first quarter, he made 3 of 5 shots. After two quarters, he went to the free throw line 3 times and made all 6 free throws. But the difference is... Li Shengli found his defensive experience in the second quarter.

Li Shengli blocked Olajuwon?

Although the home fans didn't want to admit it, the statistic of 2-for-7 was real, and the Jazz fans who were waiting in front of the live broadcast were so excited that they couldn't contain their excitement and received another surprise from Li Shengli to the Jazz.

Everyone knows that Olajuwon's performance will dominate the Rockets' situation in this game. However, Li Shengli's presence restrained the top center very well, giving the Jazz a 6-point lead in the first half.

…

Of course, the most surprised person was the person who knew Li Shengli best. At this time, in the audience, Curry and Bogues took Stephen, Seth and Burgess II to watch the game. Obviously, the women were not interested, and the old ones chatted with each other. Yes, the little one talks about the little one.

"This... Li's change is a bit big?" Curry was dumbfounded.

During the Hornets period, Li Shengli showed his talents for the first time, but he still suffered a loss against experienced opponents. Although he didn't take many shots in this game and was suppressed by Olajuwon, his suppression of Olajuwon was even more fierce, and his confrontation experience increased rapidly.

"Damn, my blood is boiling when I see it!" Boggs stomped his foot, "Why did you think this bastard was let go? If he was here, we would definitely make it to the second round, and maybe even play in the Eastern Conference Finals. , it’s possible to reach the finals!”

It's not that Boggs is bragging, but you must know that Li Shengli's opponent is Olajuwon. Looking at his average per game this season, he can definitely be regarded as the strongest center in the league at present.

The only center in the Eastern Conference that can compete with him is Patrick Ewing of the Knicks. If the Hornets had traded Larry Johnson and kept Li Shengli, they might have been able to look forward to the Eastern Conference Finals.

"It's just a fart. The deal is over, and you're the one who said that!" Curry cursed: "Boggs, tell me...if we continue to play at this pace, is it possible for the Jazz to win the championship?"

"Nonsense, when you asked me, didn't you already have the answer in your mind?"

"Shit, to be honest, after my contract expires, I want to go to the Jazz!" Curry said seriously: "Having a teammate like Li is so worry-free. It happens that the Jazz are short of shooting guards, so I can still be a starter. .”

When Boggs heard this, he exploded instantly.

"Fuck you! If you go to the Jazz, what should I do? Do you want me to come as a substitute for Stockton?" Boggs' face was ashen. "Also, don't think too much, the Jazz have no salary. There’s room.”

"What are you afraid of? Mark Eaton is retiring. His contract is not small. The Jazz have left a big hole for both of us to fall into!"

Mark Eaton's annual salary is 1.3 million+, while Curry and Bogues, one is 75 and the other is 70. There is no need to consider the Jazz's salary space. However, they are short of shooting guards, but there is no shortage of point guards. There is no shortage of substitutes either.

And most importantly, who can see that the Jazz are about to start a dynasty mode. Those players whose contracts have expired want to get in more than they do. Bogues really has little hope.

"You bastard, are you planning to abandon me?"

"I can't even think about it. I didn't say I would definitely go."

"No, you have already had the idea of ​​​​rebellion!" Boggs looked resentful, "What are you doing? I just want to play pure basketball with everyone, but it's good now... Li has left, and Gil will also leave next season. , you even want to fucking escape? Are you still a human being?"

"OK, just pretend I didn't say anything."

"Traitor, you already said it!"

"Get out of here, I just said so!"

"You have indeed rebelled!"

"How about I just rebel?"

"You shameless bastard!"

"You just can't eat sour grapes. If you want to go to the Jazz, they don't want you!"

"Shut up, bastard!"

For a time, the two were bickering and bickering with each other on a daily basis.