Pippen's inner thoughts aside for the moment.

On the court, Su Feng, at the free-throw line, made both shots, 4-0.

On the Bulls' bench, watching Su Feng retreat on defense, Phil Jackson, still outwardly calm, was filled with images of Su Feng's fierce battle with the Bulls in December.

'It's been three months since the last game. If he were a typical rookie, he would have hit the rookie wall by now, right?'

After more than half a season, the '96 rookies had no secrets left.

Especially core rookies like Su Feng and Iverson; their stats and game footage were carefully studied by opponents before every game.

And even Iverson had encountered the "rookie wall" in January and February.

But Su Feng was different. As time went on, his stats steadily increased every month.

For veteran players who had been in the league for years, such consistency was not difficult.

But for a high school player who was only 18 years old...

To be able to do all this could only be described as "incredible."

In the '90s, the pace of the game was slower than in the future. In this era, Su Feng's current average of nearly 18 points per game was a number that only star players could achieve.

Moreover, he achieved this scoring average while also shouldering a large number of defensive responsibilities for the team.

Although saying this might hurt Pippen's feelings...

If the 76ers really agreed to trade Pippen for Su Feng, Phil Jackson would definitely be the first to agree.

Because Su Feng...

Was too young.

Perhaps he was not as good as Pippen in all aspects at the moment, but what about in two or three years?

Considering his age and his terrifying stamina, in the "Zen Master's" opinion, it should be no problem to use this kid consistently for ten years.

On the court, the Bulls attacked, and Jordan went for a pull-up jumper after a probing step...

Clang!

Jordan, who had missed two shots in a row, looked at his big hands, feeling like the basket was targeting him tonight.

Su Feng, who was guarding Jordan, was amused.

Because if he remembered correctly, in his previous life, "Old Rogue" would miss 15 shots in this game, with a shooting percentage of only 37.5%.

You have to know that the 76ers in Su Feng's previous life didn't have a defensive expert like him.

Therefore, in Su Feng's opinion, there could only be one reason for Jordan to have such a shooting percentage...

Michael, did you go win money again before the game?

In the 76ers' paint, Rodman, who was in a dilemma, originally wanted to tug on the jerseys of Big Ben and Ratliff, but Rodman, who had been told by Jordan before the game, decided to rely on his continuous jumping ability to grab this rebound.

And then, there was no then.

If 35-year-old Rodman could grab this rebound while being sandwiched by Big Ben and Ratliff, then he wouldn't be Rodman, but Chamberlain.

After Big Ben secured the rebound, he steadily passed the ball to Iverson.

The Bulls retreated quickly this time. Even Longley retreated under Jordan's "divine gaze." The 76ers couldn't push a fast break and settled into a half-court set offense.

Watching Su Feng wandering around with Pippen on the court, the "Zen Master" smiled helplessly in his heart on the sidelines.

In Jackson's opinion, this 76ers gift package should really be sent to the Heat.

On the court, Su Feng slipped out using a teammate's screen this time.

Although his elegant jumper eventually missed the basket, only the high salary of 2.25 million knew what Pippen had experienced in the defensive play just now in order to interfere with him at the last moment.

Wake up, Su Feng was facing Jordan and Pippen in both offense and defense tonight.

In other words, after completing one-on-one defense against Jordan just now, he immediately completed a shot.

Su Feng's unsolvable stamina was the root of why he wouldn't hit the rookie wall.

It was also why Davis had been increasing his playing time recently.

It seemed like his performance on the offensive end was very unstable, but in reality, he could achieve about 12 to 18 stable shots per game.

What?

You say doing the above is easy?

Don't treat reality like it's 2k...

Only people who have played basketball know how difficult it is to immediately switch to the offensive end after full-strength defense, and then immediately switch to full-strength defense after full-strength offense.

The 76ers' wing defense almost entirely rested on Su Feng's shoulders, and he could also provide the team with "stable" output on the offensive end in addition to focusing on the opponent's core players every game...

In the "Zen Master's" opinion, you're telling me this player is only 18 years old?

On the court, the Bulls attacked, and Jordan's third attempt finally went in this time.

4-2.

On the court, Su Feng, who had "lost" 10,000 defensive smithing points, ran even more happily on offense.

Teasing Pippen was just teasing Pippen. Su Feng, who had played one-on-one with Jordan at the All-Star Weekend, knew very well that it wasn't wise for him to dribble and take on Pippen.

Moreover, in that case, Su Feng wouldn't be able to deplete Pippen's stamina.

If he wanted to increase his chances of winning tonight, Su Feng had to prevent Pippen from helping "Old Rogue" on the offensive end.

Before recklessly joking with his career, Pippen was the ideal second-in-command.

Iverson broke into the Bulls' interior with Ratliff's screen this time, but unfortunately, "the Answer's" layup bounced twice on the rim and then slipped out.

After Rodman secured the rebound, the Bulls went into a 1-2-2 set offense for a triangle, creating an opportunity for Jordan to post up against Su Feng.

This time, Jordan successfully attracted the 76ers' double-team because he had gotten too deep. Once he turned around, Su Feng would be helpless.

Pippen cut in time and scored an easy layup with an assist from Jordan.

4-4.

Jordan and Pippen were Jordan and Pippen. Even if Su Feng calculated in every possible way, he couldn't stop the Bulls from scoring like this.

However, the unknown was also what made basketball so charming.

If you don't do something because it feels difficult, then what is worth doing?

If there is no sweet after suffering, then what is there to be excited about?

Before every shot, you expect the ball to go in, and that is what Su Feng loves most about basketball.

76ers' offense, this time "Ai Feng" ran a pick-and-roll at the high post. Pippen sighed and switched defense with Harper.

Su Feng's pick-and-roll was too cunning. It was less like he was setting a screen for Iverson and more like he was deliberately dragging Pippen towards Iverson.

After silently mourning for his ankles for 0.1 seconds in his heart, Pippen barely managed to keep up with Iverson with all his might.

Changing speed, accelerating while changing speed, and decelerating and stopping suddenly while accelerating, Iverson's breakthrough was so difficult to defend.

Just like Su Feng was lamenting the Bulls' brutality, in fact...

The Bulls players were also troubled by the 76ers' tenacity.

This time, Iverson jumped and shot after a series of crossovers.

Pippen didn't dare to lunge too hard because he had been made to doubt his life by Iverson's "By God" move before.

Swish!

6-4.

United Center, believe it or not, the Bulls fans tonight felt like they were watching the Finals...

How intense was the scene between the two teams tonight?

Although the games in this era were not as one-sided as in the future, where one quarter or even half a quarter could decide the game, in most games, the Bulls could still gain a relatively obvious advantage.

Because this Bulls team relied on defense to play.

Defense was their foundation. In this era, if you were 10 points behind the Bulls, it basically meant you were sentenced to death.

But the question was...

Could the Bulls really lead the 76ers by 10 points tonight?

You have to know that the regular season wasn't the playoffs. In the regular season, the Raptors had even beaten the Bulls this season...

Although the Bulls wouldn't be as careless as they were when they lost to the 76ers last time, to ask the Bulls to bring the focus of a playoff game to every regular-season game...

You would probably have to point at Rodman and kick someone again to make that happen.

The starting lineup of this Bulls team was all over 30 years old, and Jordan was already 34.

Rodman had finally come back to save everyone some energy. If the Bulls continued to fight to the death, they would collapse before the regular season was over...

…

22-24. After the first quarter, the 76ers trailed the Bulls by two points.

In the second half of the first quarter, Jordan's touch began to recover.

The Bulls switched to Kukoc and used speed to counter speed. Of course, this speed was different from that speed, because the "Zen Master's" purpose of putting up a smaller lineup was to limit the 76ers' transition offense and bring the 76ers into a positional game.

Su Feng, whose energy was mainly focused on wearing down Jordan and Pippen, scored 4 points in the first quarter. The 76ers' leading scorer in the first quarter was Iverson, who scored 10 points in a single quarter.

On the 76ers' bench, Davis looked at Su Feng with a slightly distressed expression, as if asking, "Can you still play in the second quarter?"

Su Feng, who had just had a good fight with Garnett in Minnesota yesterday, his stamina had already become the biggest concern for the 76ers' coaches.

As the saying goes, experts watch the inside, while laymen watch the excitement.

In Su Feng's previous life, Trae Young, who could average nearly 30+ points per game, was a stark contrast to Jimmy Butler, who averaged around 20 points per game.

If you only looked at the data, you would think that Trae Young was far better than Butler, but as long as you watched their games, you would find that Butler was improving the toughness of the entire team.

In Su Feng's previous life, Butler had never missed the playoffs in his career, except for the 15/16 season, while Towns, who averaged "20+10" for his career, had only played in the playoffs a few times?

The answer was once.

And the only time he got in, his teammate was Jimmy Butler.

The current Su Feng had an even more exaggerated effect on this 76ers team than Butler.

Because unlike offense, where you could still expect an unknown substitute to explode, once Su Feng's help defense was lost on the wing, even if the 76ers had Big Ben and Ratliff in the paint, they wouldn't be able to stop Jordan and Pippen.

In March, since Su Feng's playing time had been maxed out, it seemed that Su Feng's scoring had not seen a significant increase, but his plus-minus and defensive efficiency were the keys to the 76ers' stable record.

Su Feng, who had an extremely strong desire to win, had already conquered the entire coaching staff invisibly.

In Su Feng's previous life, many people played too much 2k, and with the game pace getting faster and faster in the future, and the players' stats getting more and more exaggerated...

Many people, at first glance, felt that Old Deng's data seemed to be just so-so, but in reality, you could tell how important Duncan was to the Spurs by looking at how difficult it was for Popovich after Duncan left.

On the 76ers' bench, looking at the coach's eager eyes, Su Feng immediately tore off the towel covering his head.

Are you kidding me? How could he rest in a game against the Bulls?

Su - I'd rather die than rest for a minute - Feng, was just that resistant!

Davis was moved by Su Feng once again. "Su... I'm counting on you in this game!"

Su Feng patted his chest, looking like he was saying, "Leave it to me."

Although it was very difficult to beat the Bulls, every game, whether it was because of Su Feng's own desire for victory or because of the more smithing points given after the victory, Su Feng's only goal was to compete for victory!

Putting aside everything else, if Su Feng was as brainless as Trae Young and others in smithing iron, then with this reasonable system, wouldn't unlocking the next stage of [Peerless Genius] with 1.5 billion smithing points in 3 years be a zua dream?

After playing for most of the season, Su Feng had long discovered that this system wasn't just based on data to give him a rating score.

There were many games where the 76ers won, but Su Feng had a very poor shooting performance, and he got an sss-level 30x multiplier after the game.

This system, man, was just a basketball expert, you know?

It only gave rating scores based on Su Feng's performance and actual effect on the court.

The last time the 76ers beat the Bulls, if you were to look at the data, Su Feng shot 9 of 22 and scored 28 points, which was pretty good in this era.

But if you were to use the standards of many people's 2k and fantasy basketball, then wasn't this data just trash?

But the system gave Su Feng an sss-level rating without any controversy at the time.

Generally speaking, if you can't put up better numbers than American players in America, then look at how Pau Gasol and Nowitzki were criticized by the American media and you'll understand.

But why was Su Feng able to get so much favor?

And even once made American scouts deeply believe in the durability of Chinese players, what do you think he relied on?

In the second quarter, when Phil Jackson saw that the 76ers didn't plan to let Su Feng rest, he looked at Pippen affectionately.

"Scottie... I'm counting on you in this game!"

Pippen: "..."

After biting his lip, Pippen took difficult steps onto the court.

And then...

During halftime...

Pippen felt that his heart hurt more than his back.

In the early part of the second quarter, before Jordan returned, Pippen could be said to have experienced what was called a "mirror matchup."

When the defender in front of Pippen became Su Feng, how could Pippen's offense be as easy as it was before when he was abusing the unknown substitutes of the 76ers?

Although Pippen only had a mere 4,000 defensive smithing points, considering that Pippen only made $2.25 million a year...

Su Feng was relieved.

So, after scoring 12 points in the first half, when Pippen returned to the locker room to rest during halftime...

Looking at Rodman, who was wearing headphones, listening to music, and even singing along, for some reason, he really wanted to kick Rodman.

These days, making money was too difficult.

Pippen was earning real sweat and blood money!

"Pippen's strength really can't be equated with his salary."

On the 76ers' side, during halftime, Su Feng recalled how Pippen was still able to maintain efficient scoring under his defense in the second quarter and sighed in his heart.

At the end of the first half, the 76ers trailed the Bulls by 3 points, 43-46.

It was definitely unrealistic for Su Feng to complete the second stage of the challenge [Michael Jordan] mission in this game because "Old Rogue" had already scored 14 points by the end of the first half.

Jordan's shooting percentage fluctuated tonight, hitting 5 of 14 shots in the first half and missing 9 shots, but with "Old Rogue's" waist, it was too difficult for Su Feng to prevent him from shooting.

Bosses were always so difficult to beat. Su Feng could be said to have given his all tonight. With both defense and running, he couldn't guarantee his own shooting percentage.

Therefore, if the 76ers wanted to pull off an upset, this game would still depend on Iverson, who had the best offensive environment.

This was a true four-protect-one strategy.

Su Feng knew very well that if he wanted to win, he had to make good use of all the resources around him.

In his previous life, Su Feng hated those third and fourth positions who didn't go to team fights to help him share the pressure and instead came to steal his jungle monsters when he was playing carry.

If he didn't build a good stage for the carry and only wanted to be a toxic carry, then where would the victory come from?

There was no victory without sacrifice. Even Duncan never stopped setting screens for Ginobili and Parker.

Basketball was a sport for five people.

Only when everyone did their job well could there be team basketball.

After recovering some stamina, before the start of the second half, Su Feng patted Iverson on the shoulder and smiled: "Allen, let me see the strength of the strongest offensive guard in the Big East Conference."

What was the right way to use Iverson?

It was to be reasonable when it was appropriate, and to let him go out and unleash a critical strike when it was time to let him go out and have a good round.

The Bulls' overall defense was extremely disruptive to the 76ers' passing and cutting and tactics. Su Feng knew very well that the more complex the routines, the harder it would be to play against this Bulls team.

Therefore, the simplest way was to let "the Answer," who could never be solved by this Bulls team, directly charge into the formation!

I attack, you defend, you attack, I defend.

The reason why the "Splash Brothers" were unsolvable was precisely because they lived together and died apart, right?

In the third quarter, when the 76ers' focus was raised again, even Jordan, who had a relaxed look on his face, knew that the 76ers tonight were completely different from the opponents they had crushed before.

If victory was a matter of course for a dynasty team, then to maintain this dominance, sometimes you had to put in more effort than others.

On the court, third quarter, Bulls' offense.

Jordan faked to his left shoulder and then suddenly pulled up for a jump shot.

Swish!

43-48.

In order to prevent Su Feng from interfering with his shot, Jordan put his all into the height and timing of this shot, like he was taking a game-winning shot.

And in return, 76ers' offense.

After blowing past Harper, Iverson suddenly stopped and fired a three-pointer.

Swish!

46-48!

This shot was unreasonable, but it was very Iverson.

The Bulls players were already accustomed to this offensive routine of the 76ers, and on the court, just as Harper was about to go to the baseline to receive the ball, he found that Rodman was still not passing the ball.

Because...

The 76ers had gone to a full-court press!

…

ps: Guaranteed 1/2, 5000 words first update brought to you! The Big East Conference is the conference that Iverson's college team belonged to.