This game is not a focus battle, after all, the strength of the two teams is there.
However, there is also a lot of media attention. The reason is just because of Chen Jie's bet with the media.
Many media that were supposed to be neutral could not help but side with the Celtics in this game.
We look forward to the Celtics being able to stop the Bulls' winning streak. Although this seems a little difficult, the media still firmly believe that the Celtics have a chance.
Although the Bulls defeated the Knicks, it was because of Chen Jie's superb performance and Du Hong's explosion.
In the eyes of the media, it is impossible for Chen Jie to perform at a super level in every game, and it is naturally impossible for Du Hong to continue to explode.
With both players performing normally, the Bulls are still short of major generals. Under the leadership of Paul Pierce, the Celtics have hope of victory.
The opening situation also allowed the media to see the possibility of Celtic victory.
Because both sides did not perform immediately, but attacked tentatively first, both Chen Jie and Pierce chose to stimulate their teammates' state first and let them play a few games first. Neither of the two leading stars took the initiative to attack.
On the Bulls' side, almost half of the ball goes to Eddie Curry in the paint. Eddie Curry is actually still the second choice for the Bulls' offense besides Chen Jie. He plays post-ups in the paint.
It is still one of the Bulls' most powerful tools for destroying cities.
Facing LaFrentz's defense, Eddie Curry's success rate was quite high. In the first three minutes, he had already scored six points and made three goals.
But on the defensive end, this has become his biggest vulnerability.
However, this time, I can't blame him.
Although LaFrentz can't guard Eddie Curry, Eddie Curry can't guard him either. He prefers to move to the outside. As a standard center, Eddie Curry simply can't keep up.
, if he comes out, he will basically be passed in one step. And the inside line will be empty immediately.
Therefore, every time LaFrentz gets the ball, he basically needs Chen Jie Duhong or Griffin from the outside to interfere with LaFrentz.
This time, the neutral position is released.
Under the organization of Gary Payton, the Celtics' offense was immediately activated starting from LaFrentz.
At the beginning, the Celtics took the lead and felt good. At least there were open shots. Several players could hit the shots.
Paul Pierce also hit a three-pointer. But it was not a chance he created. Instead, he got an open shot and made the shot after several passes.
Compared to Gary Payton, Duhon's organizational ability is really beyond praise.
With no choice, Chen Jie took over the important responsibility of the organization. Although he did not switch positions with Du Hong, after the opening three minutes, Chen Jie was basically the Bulls' point guard, while Du Hong was a bit like the point guard of the Bulls.
It means to give Chen Jie a hand.
Facing Payton's relaxation, Duhong was also suppressed offensively.
Seeing that the Bulls' situation was a bit pessimistic, Scottie Pippen and Jessica Alba frowned on the court.
However, Skiles is not worried. He knows that the current adversity does not mean anything, because Chen Jie has not yet performed. When Chen Jie performs, the Bulls will be able to reverse the situation immediately.
The winner of this game will be whether the Bulls can guard Paul Pierce after Chen Jie's performance.
Because of this idea, even though the Bulls were already behind, Skiles still did not call a timeout, but let the players make adjustments on the court.
The pace of the game has never been very fast. After five minutes of play, the Celtics only scored 12 points and the Bulls 8 points.
After seeing that LaFrentz was an absolute weakness in defense, Chandler took the initiative to communicate with Eddie Curry. When defending again, Chandler took the initiative to take on the task of marking LaFrentz.
Eddie Curry, on the other hand, went to defend Gugliotta.
This change of defense allowed the Bulls to immediately stabilize the situation.
At least the Celtics' offense wasn't as smooth as before.
After Gary Payton broke through Duhon's defense, he was about to play an alley-oop with Richie Davis. However, the basketball he threw up high passed Eddie Curry's head, but was blocked from behind.
Chen Jie, who was following Richie Davis, stopped.
After stealing the ball, Chen Jie did not immediately choose a fast break. Instead, he slowed down his pace and waited for his teammates to run past half the court before launching an attack.
Thinking that Chen Jie would still choose to organize rather than play alone, Davis subconsciously focused more on defending Chen Jie's pass. But at this moment, Chen Jie moved forward step by step.
When he came one step beyond the three-point line, he suddenly took off and shot.
Richie Davis was caught off guard and couldn't even take off in time. He could only raise his hands high. But how could it affect Chen Jie?
Chen Jie made a three-pointer without any hindrance, and it was a direct hit.
After this goal, the Bulls were only one point behind.
And now the atmosphere is finally no longer depressing.
At least, Jessica's brows have relaxed.
Next, everyone thought that Chen Jie was going to start a solo fight, and even Paul Pierce started gearing up for a big fight.
But unexpectedly, after this three-pointer, Chen Jie stopped playing again and chose to pass the ball to his teammates to let them play more.
Until the first official timeout, Chen Jie only took one shot and hit a three-pointer.
As for Paul Pierce, it's the same, one shot, one hit, one three-pointer.
The stars of the two teams were exactly the same in the first half of the first quarter, both in terms of performance and offensive performance.
The two teams also played a very dull game for six minutes, with the score difference being only one point. It was a stalemate.
But everyone knows that this is only temporary.
Paul Pierce and Chen Jie, who were sitting on the bench, looked as if they were not playing. They didn't even take a big breath. They had very calm expressions and looked calm.
At this time, Scales said to Chen Jie: "It's time to exert your strength!"
Chen Jie nodded and continued to listen to Scales' arrangements.
"Make more breakthroughs, draw fouls, and beat LaFrentz. Duhon concentrates on defending Gary. As for Paul, leave it to Griffin and Jay!"
After six minutes of officialdom, Skiles could basically judge the Celtics' strengths and weaknesses. He felt that there was no need to observe anymore, so he said these words.
On the other side, Rivers is also explaining to Paul Pierce. (To be continued...)
