Healthy basketball, starting from eating the old Lakers F4

Usually the ratings of G1 in the finals are higher than G2, but this year is different.

Before the second quarter of Game 2 of the Finals was over, the overall audience had already surpassed Game 1.

When we carefully counted the number during the half-time break, we found that it had exceeded 1400 million and showed signs of continuing to rise.

It's back, it's all back!

Although the negative impact of the overall environment still exists, the ratings of the NBA Finals have returned to the level of the 19 Finals.

However, this does not mean that the NBA will be able to return to its peak immediately and start competing for the second place among the four major leagues again.

After all, this year the gimmick of Duane's upcoming retirement attracted many fans to watch the finals.

Next year, if the Bulls fail to make it to the finals, or if Durant's strength declines and does not meet fans' expectations and he performs poorly during the finals, then the ratings will probably drop again.

Of course, even if Durant's strength does not decline much next year and the Bulls are lucky enough to make it to the finals again, the ratings are difficult to guarantee.

Compared to more than ten years ago, the NBA's domestic finals ratings of 2500 million to 3000 million have now been reduced by nearly half.

Without the ability to improve the competitiveness and performance of star players, intensify the confrontation of games, and reduce referees' interference in games, the signs of shrinking NBA's domestic market are simply unavoidable.

The short-term recovery in the ratings of the finals this year was just a flash in the pan.

It is obvious that relying solely on the afterglow of Duane, the god of basketball, to illuminate the NBA is not a long-term solution.

The way out for the NBA is to improve some of the current problems in the league, or to create a new league facade, or even a brand new god of basketball, to increase the NBA's influence in North America.

However, no matter what, Duane's influence cannot be ignored at this stage. Once Duane retires, the NBA will undergo new changes.

It is worth mentioning that the reason why Durant was able to gain the tacit approval of NBA executives to become the basketball god after Jordan is mainly due to Durant's influence on the Chinese market and the entire Asian market.

The Asian market is the NBA's largest market after the North American market, and the Chinese market is of utmost importance.

Nowadays, except for Durant, it is difficult for Chinese and Asian players to survive in the NBA, let alone continue to do so, with no successors.

This is exactly the problem that NBA executives really need to face.

……

Back to the topic, as the halftime break ended, the G2 game of the finals continued.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Booker, the Suns' star player, kept using pick-and-rolls to cause trouble for Curry.

The Bulls used Wiggins to lock down Booker, and the effect was pretty good in the first half.

Booker is good at shooting, but his breakthrough is limited by his lack of explosiveness, so he needs to rely on pick-and-roll to play against the mismatch.

When defending the outside, Wiggins can basically handle the rest one-on-one, except for small guards who are very explosive and too fast.

However, Booker has entered his peak period, his body and skills are mature, and he is good at pick-and-roll, has good ball-handling ability, and has good passing ability.

Wiggins is not particularly good at squeezing screens, so Curry is exposed to Booker from time to time.

Curry's defense is actually okay, not too bad, but in the playoffs, or even the finals, facing the offense of the opposing team's big man, it's a bit lacking.

Halfway through the third quarter, Booker scored 6 points against Curry and 4 points against Wiggins.

Looking at the whole day, Booker's performance in the third quarter was remarkable and quite good.

Fortunately, the Bulls were able to accept Booker's singles scoring.

As long as the other Suns players fail to step up, Booker's not-particularly-efficient singles scoring won't be enough to win the game.

Times have changed! In the 90s and 00s, if the team's star player scored 40 points in a game, they basically couldn't lose.

But now, if one person only plays alone, even if he scores 40 points in every game, it will be extremely difficult to win the game as long as his teammates cannot stand up.

The reason why the Suns were able to break out of the Western Conference was mainly because there were no reliable big centers in the current small ball era.

Ayton was the No. 1 pick in a big draft year, and he was eager for a big contract and a high status in a team. After entering the league for three years, he quickly improved his strength every year by taking drugs and training hard.

Although he still has some bad habits such as being obsessed with cleanliness and not liking to play pick-and-roll with his teammates, he is still very competitive at the center position overall.

Apart from other things, Ayton is one of the best interior defenders at the moment just by relying on his physical strength. Unfortunately, he met Jokic in the finals, and his physical talent alone was not enough, and he ended up becoming Jokic's toy.

As for the offensive end, Ayton wanted to take the ball and play one-on-one, but the Suns did not give Ayton many tactics and roles.

Ayton can only do some blue-collar center's work on the court. When the Suns remember him and need him to score, Ayton's physical strength has been almost consumed in the process of running back and forth.

Ayton also wanted to ask his coach and teammates - what were you doing so far?

Ayton didn't want to take the blame, and as a result, he appeared to have no fighting spirit and was like a weak center.

Therefore, when the inside players cannot stand out, the Suns still need to rely on the outside players to score.

Booker and others have the ability to score, but their efficiency is not high.

The outside shooting percentage is much lower than that of the inside shooting percentage. These days we still rely on three-pointers and free throws to improve the true shooting percentage.

But in the playoffs and even the finals, blindly shooting three-pointers is tantamount to suicide.

Especially when teammates in the interior are mysophobic, dare not fight for rebounds, and do not position themselves well, continuously shooting will only give the opponent the ball for nothing.

The Bulls relied on defensive counterattacks to keep the score in the third quarter and continued to consolidate the double-digit advantage established in the first half.

But to be honest, the Suns have no choice.

The Bulls played a zone defense, making it difficult to break into the paint.

If the Suns can't bet on three-pointers and try to win by offense, they can't think of any other way to win the game.

In order to break the Bulls' 23-zone defense, the Suns have to rely on two three-pointers at a -degree angle, and occasionally find a weak link in the defense in the mid-range long two-point area, taking the opportunity to shoot a few open or semi-open long two-pointers.

However, the Bulls are not afraid of the Suns' long two-point shots, and even if they change their opponent and let Durant lead the Clippers to play against them in the finals, they are not afraid of Durant's mid-range shots.

After all, no matter how accurate a playoff star is in mid-range shooting, his hit rate is only about 50%.

Just like in tonight's game, the Suns' mid-range shots from the outside were pretty good, making 21 of 10 shots, a 47.6% hit rate.

But what's the use? He only scored 21 points in 20 shots, with a true shooting percentage of less than 50%, and he also gave a lot of rebounds to the Bulls.

So it makes sense that a team with a large number of jump shots cannot win a championship.

In a evenly matched game, if you cannot score more efficiently in the restricted area and just rely on your touch from the outside, it will be difficult to win the game by shooting.

After all, you can have a good performance in one or two games, but it’s impossible to have a good performance in every game.

On the contrary, scoring in the restricted area, transition offense, and even increasing the number of offenses by getting more rebounds will become more stable and reliable.

The Bulls have a big advantage against the Suns this year, mainly relying on their advantage in the interior.

94 to 108, the Bulls once again demonstrated their strength with a big win.

As for the Suns, losing two away games in a row is somewhat hurtful.

Although this round of series has not yet ended, it seems that the hope of turning defeat into victory is extremely slim.

The Suns are still too young. Their main inside player is just a third-year rookie. How the hell can they play against Jokic, who has already become the No. 1 player in the league?

Next, they will return to Phoenix. Playing at home can provide some help to the Suns, but it won’t be much better.

In this year's finals, most people can feel that the league's suppression and weakening of the Bulls is no longer that severe.

Compared to the previous three rounds of the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Bulls finally had a little home-court advantage playing at the United Center.

Of course, when the Bulls play in the finals, they never rely on the referees to win the championship.

In the past, each of the real champions taught the Bulls players how to deal with various situations in the finals.

Not only did they have to fight hard with 5 against 8 against a favorable wind, but they also had to take advantage of their home court to win the game more easily when the wind was favorable.

In the next away game, the wind direction may change again, but fortunately, the Bulls are already prepared for the challenge.

Even the plan to successfully defend the championship in Phoenix and win the championship trophy again has been made. (End of this chapter)