Bulldozer of the NBA’s Restricted Area

It’s noon on the day we return to Salt Lake City.

Major media and fans across the United States are enthusiastically discussing the epic battle and super-large team battle that took place the day before. And because of the constant heated discussion from the outside world, this game has become a typical opportunity for league officials to seize, and on a deeper level Stern likes to see the current situation of the Jazz. It can even be said to be a timely rain that saved the Western Conference that was in dire straits.

Adhering to the game rules of weakening the strong and reinforcing the weak, coupled with Stern's dissatisfaction with the league's current court atmosphere, and encountering major incidents involving more than a dozen people and four consecutive conflicts, the Knicks were the first to bear the brunt and were labeled as a negative example. , because in the final analysis... Charles Oakley's criminal Stockton was the original cause.

For this reason, Oakley was suspended for 15 games, and even Rivers, who was beaten without doing anything, was also banned for 5 games.

15-game fines are really quite rare, which shows the league's 'sincerity' in deterring others. The only thing that makes New Yorkers happy is that... Knicks player Ewing escaped this disaster and was not affected, and even if Oakley was suspended, 15 games doesn't hurt, after all, most of the time the meaning of his existence is to take penalties.

Unlike the Knicks, the Jazz's influence is too great.

Maybe it was too much limelight, even if the Knicks provoked first, but the league did not impose lenient penalties, and the original unspoken rules of players being punished for fighting and cheating were no longer there. Malone, Crotty, and Ban in the first wave of fights Knott was all suspended, and the players involved in the conflict were probably pardoned by the league as they were considered minnows.

Therefore, Malone was the first to attack in 12 games.

Crotty, who was severely injured, received a sympathy card and was suspended for 5 games.

As for Benoit... he stopped three people and punched Rivers. Objectively speaking, he prevented the conflict from escalating, so he was suspended for 3 games.

Including the injured Stockton, the Jazz truly had five starting players, three bans and one injury, with only Li Shengli leading the team alone. This also made the Jazz fans very dissatisfied, and they cursed Stern's voice for a while. Explodes throughout Utah.

…

There is no doubt that this wave of bans has dealt a huge blow to the Jazz. What is even more distressing and can be called bad news is the player injury reports released by both teams.

First up is the Knicks.

Although Oakley beat Crotty badly, Malone also gave him a severe beating. It's just that Oakley, who fights more than plays, is experienced. Even when he encountered Malone, he didn't need a break. Sai's blow.

Back to Jazz.

Stockton's rotator cuff was seriously injured, and the rotator cuff mainly controls the rotation of the shoulder and maintains the stability of the shoulder joint. Ordinary people may be able to move freely in three or two months, but as a basketball player...high-intensity exercise, plus Si Tocton is also a point guard who holds the ball for a long time, and his influence on dribbling, passing and shooting is immeasurable. After all, basketball is still a hand game.

Although the chance of rotator cuff injury is much smaller than that of knee injury, compared with knee injury, major rotator cuff injury is more serious. According to the doctor's estimate, Stockton will conservatively need less than half a year to return to the game.

Half a year?

Hearing this news, Li Shengli and Malone's faces were terribly dark. They regretted beating the Knicks too lightly. You know... it is the end of November now, calculated as 6 months, so Stockton estimates the time for the rematch. Will be at the end of May.

But the first round of the playoffs is usually at the end of April!

This means that Stockton is basically reimbursed for the season. Even if he returns from the rematch at the end of May, he has almost played in the Western Conference Finals at that time. How can he still compete in the Finals? !

This is only an estimate of the resumption time. If the recovery situation is not good, Stockton may have to wait until the day lilies are cold this season. As for letting him come back early?

Even if Stockton himself agrees, no one in the entire Jazz will agree, because now Limas has become the Jazz humerus and is the guarantee of the championship. No one can tolerate any damage. If Stockton comes back, the injury will be aggravated. , no one can bear the result.

…

What a mess!

What a mess indeed.

Li Shengli had to clean things up. If he couldn't wait for Stockton, he had to wait for Malone. Just when he was ambitious and self-dedicated, Malone and Stockton gave up their choices.

It goes without saying that Stockton needs to recover. He smiled wryly and asked Li Shengli to wait for him. He could miss the regular season, but he didn't want to miss the playoffs and once again reach the top with his teammates.

As for Malone... he said that he hasn't had a holiday for a long time. The 12-game suspension is his holiday. Although generally suspended players will be required to observe the game during the game, if Malone wants to take a holiday, no one will really say anything. Even Mr. Sloan wouldn't say that because Malone's perfect attendance is terrible, the Jazz owe him a lot of vacation time.

If this is done, in a short period of time, there will be only one boss left in the entire Jazz.

When Li Mas was around, Li Shengli's feelings were not too obvious, but when he was alone, almost everyone became his fan. During training, the service was attentive, and he cheered before and after work. Crotty, who was not on vacation, also benefited from the glory and enjoyed the treatment of a main player for the first time.

…

Back to the schedule at the beginning of the season.

The game against the Knicks is on the 22nd, and the 11th game of the regular season on the 24th is at home to the Jazz, and the opponent is really dumbfounding... the Chicago Bulls? !

Since the failure to defend the title last season, the entire Bulls have regarded the Jazz as an imaginary enemy for the championship. The Bulls' iron triangle led by Jordan is always looking forward to a game with the Jazz to wash away the shame of previous defeats. Now this situation is quite Embarrassed...

A half-disabled knight is obviously not the target of the Bull's revenge.

Even a big victory over the Jazz by 1,000 or 10,000 points in this game will not help, because everyone knows that the one who defeated the Bulls was the Jazz with the three giants of Limas, not the half-disabled Jazz today.

So even though the game hasn't started yet, outside media believe that there is not much suspense about the outcome of the game, or that the Jazz's chance of winning is very small, and even the Jazz's newly assembled starting players are in despair.

Being timid before fighting is not a good sign.

As if expecting this result, Li Shengli clearly remembered Ma Long's parting words before the holiday... Anyone can give in, but we who are the boss cannot give in. No matter how hard the bones are, you have to chew them with your teeth, because only Only after you gnaw on it will our teammates be willing to believe that it is soft and glutinous bread and unleash the fighting power they deserve.

At that time, Li Shengli scolded Malone for being a pretense, but now it really confirms Malone's words... The Bulls in front of him are tough, and the starting teammates that the Jazz put together are a bit timid.

…

On the evening of the 24th, Utah Jazz VS Chicago Bulls at Jazz Triangle Center Arena.

When the game came on stage and warmed up, all Bulls members seemed extremely relaxed, while Jordan, who was in a complicated mood, joined hands with Pippen, who was smiling, and walked over to Li Shengli on the Jazz side.

"Hey, Lee, your postman didn't go to work today. Why did he go to New York once to deliver a letter, only to have no one come back? Oh, are the Knicks not hospitable or enthusiastic enough?" Pippen half-jokingly said to Li Shengli: "Boy, you have no help today, just wait for me to kick your ass!"

No help?

Not only do I have no helpers, I almost can’t even get a starter!

Li Shengli rolled his eyes at Pippen. Although he was not too close to him, he was not so close to each other. Hearing Pippen's ridicule really made him want to slap this wily guy.

"Okay, don't talk to Pippen!" Jordan smiled and said to Li Shengli, but Pippen was choked and uncomfortable, complaining that his boss turned his elbow outward.

"Today's game will be a bit boring. Your lineup is really weak!" Jordan, who has experienced the pain of losing his father, appears to be more stable than last season, and the Jazz's experience is also the cause of his complicated mood, because the full strength The Jazz is the opponent he wants.

"Brother, don't tell me, it seems like we have already lost!" Li Shengli rolled his eyes at Jordan.

"Why, do you have any other ideas? I advise you to recognize the reality and wait patiently for the rematch between Stockton and Malone, otherwise the Jazz will have no hope at all."

"You are looking down on me!"

"No, it's different. I just look down on the current Jazz, and it has nothing to do with you!" Speaking of which, Jordan is also a big show-off, and his words are so impressive to the world that he seems to have convinced the half-disabled Jazz.

"Why don't we check first and then talk?"

"Okay, let me teach you a lesson first, let your kid steal my ring! Let's go, Pippen, you can kick his ass later!" Jordan laughed and cursed, taking the first step, while Pippen pointed to his butt. , extremely arrogant, closely following Jordan.