At the United Center in Chicago, the curtain of Game 2 of the Finals officially opened.

Yao Ming passed the ball back to the Bulls' half, giving the home team the chance to attack first.

"Go! Bulls!"

Chicago fans were almost crazy tonight. They were cheering for the home team as soon as the game started.

In addition to the team's unfavorable situation, what is more important is that the next three home games are in Dallas, and it is still unknown whether the Bulls can return to Chicago.

The Mavericks started the game the same way as in Game 1, not directly using a zone defense but playing man-to-man defense.

It can be seen that Carlisle is still a little worried about the Bulls' outside shooting.

After all, you said that Rose is not accurate, but he also has a three-point shooting percentage of about 35%. If he has a good shooting style at the beginning, the Mavericks will be passive all night.

Moreover, it is impossible for a coach of Carlisle's level to not see that the Bulls were not in good shape in Game 1, but the Bulls' mental outlook during warm-up tonight was obviously different.

The Bulls did not hesitate when seeing this. Xu Yong passed the ball directly to Yao Ming in the low post.

Yao Ming received the ball, leaned against Chandler, and shot off the rebound.

Chandler jumped up and tried to block Yao Ming.

However, Yao Ming's shooting speed was faster than he expected, and this time the ball was not blocked, but a slap landed directly on Yao Ming's wrist.

The referee blew the whistle and called a foul on Chandler.

This foul stunned the head coaches on both sides.

Carlisle: What's going on?

Thibodeau: The Mavericks are giving a big gift at the start of tonight?

In fact, not to mention the coaches on both sides, Xu Yong had never expected this.

Regarding the chain reaction that would be caused by the main center committing a foul too early, Howard had already vividly demonstrated it when the Bulls played against the Magic.

Although Chandler may not commit a second foul like Howard, this can already reduce his defensive deterrence by half.

Even this kind of thing might be barely acceptable to other teams, but for teams like the Magic and Mavericks where the center is extremely crucial, the impact is huge.

There is no need to talk about the Magic. As for the Mavericks, they play team basketball. Everyone has their own responsibilities and the execution is as precise as a machine.

But what this kind of team fears most is that something goes wrong with one of the players.

Just like if there is a problem with a component of a machine, the whole machine will have problems.

Never mind Haywood. Haywood is not even a little bit worse than Chandler. Otherwise, the Mavericks wouldn't have waited until Chandler arrived to get tough.

No one knows what Chandler is thinking. Maybe he was suppressed too much by Yao Ming in the last game and wanted to prove himself tonight; or maybe he just wanted to defend this ball so that the Mavericks would not fall into a passive position too early.

But no matter what, judging from the results, this is good news for the Bulls.

Yao Ming went to the free throw line and scored two points, giving the Bulls the lead.

And back on the defensive end, the Bulls also showed a completely different intensity from the previous game.

Their speed of assisting and supplementing defense has increased significantly.

This is the state. The same group of people in different competitive states can produce completely different results.

The Mavericks failed to find a good opportunity after two consecutive plays. Finally, Kidd's three-point shot went wide of the basket due to interference from Rose.

After O'Neal Jr. protected the defensive rebound, the United Center quickly became restless.

Putting aside Chandler's foul issue, the Bulls' enthusiasm at the start of tonight's game gave people the overall impression that they were indeed two different teams from the previous game.

The Bulls advanced to the frontcourt and the Mavericks switched to a 2-3 zone defense.

Chandler's early foul forced Carlisle to use a double team to protect the restricted area.

But just after the Mavericks did this, the Bulls began to show their tactical adjustments.

The first thing that changed was Yao Ming's position.

Generally speaking, placing someone who can pass the ball and has mid-range shooting ability at the free throw line and setting up a 1-3-1 position is the best way to break the 2-3 zone defense.

This is what the Bulls did in Game 1, and the effect was pretty good.

But the Bulls went a little unconventional tonight.

Yao Ming and O'Neal both fell to the low post, while Xu Yong and Artest were at 45° angles to the left and right.

Then the tactic was quickly launched. Artest and Xu Yong cut into the basket from the left and right sides, but when they reached the free throw line, they suddenly turned back and set up two pick-and-roll walls on the left and right sides of the top of the arc.

The purpose of these two walls is to block the two people standing on the outside in the 2-3 zone defense and create breakthrough space for the No. 1 player holding the ball.

This is a tactic called "cross" but has not yet entered the NBA.

Even though Carlisle has been coaching in the NBA for many years, he was caught off guard by Thibodeau's new tactic.

Of course, compared to Carlisle, the Mavericks players on the field were even more confused.

Because Rose was too fast, even if Marion reacted quickly enough to squeeze through, Rose had already broken through to the penalty area like lightning.

Chandler had to guard against Yao Ming, so he didn't dare to rush out at this time.

Rose completed a quick stop and layup almost without being guarded.

“Swish!”

The basketball landed safely in the pocket.

0 to 4.

The Bulls played much more smoothly in this opening than in G1.

The Mavericks attacked again, Nowitzki received the ball from the outside and passed it to Marion who cut in and made a layup.

"Bang!"

It was directly blocked by Yao Ming who was returning to the basket!

After blocking the shot, Yao Ming gave Marion one of his favorite tomatoes, and the United Center was in an uproar.

Moreover, the Mavericks sent a sideline ball in the frontcourt, and Stevenson's shot after a pick-and-roll hit the rim and went out despite Xu Yong's strenuous defense.

After Yao Ming secured the rebound, the Bulls launched a direct defensive counterattack, three against two in the frontcourt.

After receiving the ball, Rose moved forward quickly and then passed the ball to Xu Yong who was following up.

Xu Yong received the ball one step inside the free throw line and then flew up.

Kidd saw that he couldn't defend and just moved away.

“Bang!”

Xu Yong made a gliding slam dunk followed by a two-handed dunk, which immediately ignited the atmosphere at the United Center.

0 to 6!

The Bulls got off to a perfect start!

At this time, Jordan, who was thousands of miles away, smiled and took a puff of his cigar.

Xu Yong's enthusiasm for defense and fast breaks at the beginning of the game made his previous worries completely unnecessary. This little guy is really good!

Ha, as expected!

In Miami, James had an expression of having guessed it right in his eyes.

How great it would be if he was the one playing against the Mavericks now!

Unfortunately, there is no if.

On the court, Carlisle stood up from the bench and made new tactical gestures to the players on the field.

Kidd advanced to the frontcourt, leaned against Rose and waited for the tactical positioning to be adjusted, then passed the ball to Nowitzki.

Nowitzki reacted quickly after receiving the ball, but his turn did not give him a direct chance to shoot. O'Neal Jr. tried his best to defend him tonight.

However, the ball was still not defended.

Nowitzki turned around and shot from one leg, but O'Neal couldn't get him.

“Swish!”

Nowitzki continued to show his soft touch, helping the Mavericks break their scoring drought.

However, after the ball was scored, Thibodeau's expression on the sidelines did not change much.

Like Wade said, you can't stop a player of Nowitzki's level from scoring.

Moreover, the Mavericks' consecutive attacks at the beginning of the game failed to make any progress, and the system that Xu Yong mentioned, "Nowitzki plays supporting roles in the first three quarters and outputs in the last quarter" has been broken.

At this time, Nowitzki was forced to step up, and this was what the Bulls wanted to see.

It can be said that from the beginning of G2 to now, everything has been developing in a favorable direction for the Bulls.

As long as Rose continues to maintain his firepower in positional warfare.

"Go! Bulls!"

The United Center was once again filled with the cheers of fans.

The Bulls' opening tonight got their blood boiling.

The Bulls continued to use the cross tactic, and this time Marion got around Artest's pick-and-roll from behind in advance.

But at this moment, Rose changed direction and broke through from the right.

The best state of this tactic is to give Rose a direct scoring opportunity at the free throw line, as in the previous round.

But it doesn't have to be like that, because the purpose of these two pick-and-roll walls is to create a breakthrough channel for the No. 1 position with the ball.

As for whether you walk in the middle or on the sides, on the waterway or on land, there is not much difference.

Rose once again went straight into the penalty area, and this time Chandler chose to rush out.

Seeing this, Rose jumped up and did a dodgy gliding pull-up layup in the air.gif!

Chandler was in foul trouble at this time and didn't dare to take action. He could only watch Rose put the ball into the basket in the air.

2 to 8.

Things change. In the last game, the Mavericks kept suppressing the Bulls from the start, and the Bulls responded in exactly the same way tonight!

"Defend! Defend!"

Moreover, the fans at the scene were very enthusiastic and kept cheering.

The Mavericks' continuous tactical coordination still failed to create any opportunities.

With the Bulls in this state tonight, it was really difficult for the Mavericks to score.

The ball still has to go to Nowitzki.

Tonight's Mavericks turned into the Bulls in the last game.

I can't tell the calf or the bull apart.

Nowitzki still pushed forward, turned around, broke through, faced the help defense, and shot with his body tilted, causing Artest to foul.

After stepping up to the free throw line, he made both free throws steadily, scoring all 4 points for the Mavericks.

During the transition from offense to defense, Carlisle stood on the sidelines to direct the game.

This cross tactic is not complicated, it just requires more assisting defense.

Based on Rose's habits, if he doesn't pass the ball fast enough, he will easily be forced into making mistakes.

Facts soon proved that Carlisle was capable. This time, when Rose broke through from the left side and encountered help defense, he was slow to pass the ball and was forced to stop.

Fortunately, he protected the ball well and it was not intercepted. When Stevenson made the move, the referee called a foul and the ball still belonged to the Bulls.

"Pay more attention to our position." Xu Yong walked to Ross's side, pulled him into his arms, and reminded him.

Although Rose's passing ability is not top-notch, it is definitely above average, especially his breakthrough points, which are no worse than James'.

He just wanted to prove himself too much.

Just like the previous round, although the goal was scored beautifully, compared to a goal of that difficulty, it would have been a better choice to pass the ball to Yao Ming after Chandler came out to assist in defense.

"We are a team," he continued after Ross looked up.

Ross nodded.

This reminder may not be useful if someone else reminds you of this, but it works for Xu Yong.

Because although he did not hear the communication between Xu Yong and Thibodeau, Thibodeau's adjustment of tactics was most likely agreed by Xu Yong.

Otherwise, if you had taken the ball from Xu Yong in a positional battle without saying hello, the Bulls would have been in chaos.

The ball was sent out in the frontcourt and Rose continued to hold the ball.

This time, the pick-and-roll given by Xu Yong and Artest was of very strong quality, and he successfully broke through the middle.

However, Marion was very experienced in this game. He retreated into the penalty area in advance to block Rose's shooting route.

When Rose saw it was Marion, he turned around and threw the ball to the right at a 45° angle.

Cross tactics, the two outside pick-and-roll players will directly bounce out to the three-point line after blocking, so this is a tactical pass.

Artest received the ball and encountered Stevenson's help defense. He quickly turned the ball to the left at a 45° angle.

At this time, the Mavericks players felt a bit like headless flies.

This is the sign of successfully breaking the double team defense. When there is a loophole, no matter how fast you make up for it, it will be a tiring task.

After receiving the ball, Xu Yong calmly shook off Nowitzki who was rushing towards him, and then took one dribble and made a three-point shot.

“Swish!”

The knife falls with a sudden movement!

4 to 11!

The Bulls widened the gap to 7 points!

The fans in Chicago are totally excited.

Team basketball is not exclusive to the Mavericks!

Although the Bulls may be a little lacking in tacit understanding and experience, their single-point offensive threat is clearly stronger.

The same effect, different approaches, what a wonderful thing!

Also having fun at this moment was James who was far away in Miami.

He sat up straight in the emperor's soft chair.

This tactic has a strong sense of immersion!

Because he, like Rose, is a player who mainly focuses on breakthroughs. Although he is not as fast as Rose, he is a better passer.

If the Heat can introduce this tactic next season, he will take off immediately.

Rose took the initiative to high-five Xu Yong while retreating.

Xu Yong’s reminder was very important, otherwise he would have made a mistake just now.

"Defend! Defend!"

The cheers from the crowd were deafening, and the Bulls' momentum was fully established.

Nowitzki caught the ball and continued to play.

But just as he turned around, Xu Yong seized the opportunity to quickly double-team him and directly steal the ball.

Although Nowitzki is good at controlling the ball, he is a power forward after all, with a high center of gravity, so he can't handle this sudden attack.

After he lost his balance, control of the ball was in Xu Yong's hands.

Xu Yong got the ball and threw it to Rose on the outside.

For the second time tonight, the Bulls unleashed their defensive counterattack storm.

Rose ran forward on his Hot Wheels, quickly broke through to the front court and performed his signature slam dunk.

4 to 13.

The score difference has reached 9 points!

Carlisle reached out and called a timeout.

This is not just a matter of changing fortunes, the Bulls are going to mess up the game in the first quarter.

Chicago fans' faces were all beaming with joy at this point.

Of the 13 points scored by the Bulls, Rose scored 6 points, Xu Yong scored 5 points, and Yao Ming scored 2 points.

Unlike the last game where Xu Yong fought alone, tonight the Bulls' three core players performed well together.

"Charles, what did you say before? Epic champion?" At this moment, Smith asked Barkley with a smile from the commentary booth.

Barkley's big mouth is really a blessing.

"Kenny, is this your first day as a commentator? The game has only started for a few minutes. Believe me, the Mavericks will launch a counterattack soon!" Barkley said confidently.