Chapter 31 Our Home

The 76ers arrived in Philadelphia on the morning of the 28th.

As the thin mist dissipated, the rising sun shone on the 76ers players. The hometown folks of Philadelphia, who came to greet them, welcomed their heroes back with cheers and applause.

Seeing this scene, the 76ers players, who had been fighting alone in Chicago, immediately felt their tired and sleepy bodies filled with strength.

Su Feng, who had chatted with Davis for several hours on the plane, walked at the front of the team. His smile, as sweet as a cantaloupe, left a deep impression on the fans who came to greet them.

Someone like Su Feng can generally only be described with six words:

The dream of nine hundred million girls.

Screams rose one after another as fans shouted Su Feng's Chinese name. Some emotionally excited female fans even wanted to rush forward and give him a kiss.

"Next, it's our home court," Su Feng said, turning back and patting Iverson's shoulder with a smile.

"Yeah," Iverson nodded firmly. He had been sleepy, but at this moment, he couldn't help clenching his fist.

The 76ers, who brought back a victory from the Windy City, had already reversed the asymmetrical strength comparison between the two sides before the start of this series.

The Bulls were still strong, but these young robbers of the 76ers gave people a different kind of hope.

...

After returning to Philadelphia, the team had a half-day off.

On the afternoon of the 28th, while Davis arranged for the assistant coach to lead the players in restorative training, he called in important players such as Iverson, Su Feng, Stackhouse, Harris, and Smith.

"I know you might think every word I'm about to say is crazy.

But to beat the Bulls, I think we need that kind of madness."

Listening to Davis's explanation, Su Feng silently gave him a big thumbs-up.

Because Davis had indeed listened to the playing style he had told him on the plane.

In Game 2, as the Bulls further raised their defensive intensity, the upcoming series had essentially become a multiple-choice question for the 76ers.

Answer A: Continue to compete with the Bulls on defense, but if they did that, the 76ers would have a more than 95% chance of being ground to death by the Bulls.

Because after the Bulls raised their defensive intensity, if the 76ers couldn't solve the problem of court spacing, they wouldn't be able to break the game.

Compete with these Bulls on defense?

That's not a wise choice.

The Bulls' experience far surpasses that of the 76ers.

As long as the 76ers were dragged into a slow, positional battle by them, the 76ers could only watch helplessly as the Bulls relied on their defense plus Jordan's explosive plays to take the game away.

In Game 2, the 76ers didn't play poorly; it's just that the Bulls did better than them.

Therefore, Su Feng, unwilling to sit idly by and wait for death, had instilled a wave of ideas that didn't belong to this era into Davis on the way back to the team.

Answer B: Further increase the team's three-point attempts, and leave the outcome of the game...

To the players' touch!

Under HC rules, the 76ers were in fact capable of taking 30 or 40 shots in a game.

Because the Heat this season were a living example.

While saying "three-pointers are garbage," Riley was also instilling in the Heat's players the tactical concept of fully utilizing the advantage of the shortened three-point line.

In the 1996/97 season, the Heat attempted nearly 24 three-pointers per game in the playoffs.

Considering that their shots, relative to the future, were mostly reasonable choices, the 76ers could take 30 or 40 three-pointers in a game as long as they increased their unreasonable shot selections.

In this era, few three-pointers were taken, not only due to the rules.

A large part of the reason was also that people's tactical concepts were different from those of the future.

It wasn't a question of whether or not they valued three-pointers, but rather, with no team having ever proven that three-pointers could kill, why would other teams want to emulate them?

Even the future three-point era only fully opened up after the Warriors won the championship.

In this series against the Bulls, Su Feng had to be responsible for drawing Jordan's hatred and couldn't guarantee a stable output of three-pointers for the team, but Iverson and Stackhouse weren't without opportunities.

Take the Bulls' pseudo-zone defense, for example; it was easy for Iverson and Stackhouse to get open three-point opportunities.

The former could use his teammates' screens to find gaps to shoot, while the latter could use Iverson's penetration to attract help defense and gain open looks.

Given the 76ers' overall shooting percentage of 39.8% in Game 2, since two-pointers couldn't get in, why not gamble on three-pointers?

In the first two playoff games, the 76ers had already increased their three-point attempts compared to the regular season, but Su Feng felt that what they had done before was far from enough to lure the Bulls out.

"Let me take about 15 three-pointers a game?" After listening to Davis's words, Iverson's big eyes sparkled at that moment.

"Yes," Davis said, patting Iverson on the shoulder.

Fifteen three-point attempts sounded exaggerated, but Su Feng believed that Iverson could definitely do it.

Because in Su Feng's previous life, in the 1996/97 season, Iverson had quite a few games where he shot more than 10 three-pointers in a single game.

If these Bulls wanted to defend his penetration, they would inevitably choose to give him his three-pointer.

Otherwise, once Rodman pounced out, or Pippen compensated to the outside, the logic was the same; at that time, the rebounds would belong to the 76ers.

And as long as Iverson could guarantee a 1-in-3 shooting percentage, believe it or not, the 76ers' scoring efficiency would already be far greater than in Game 2.

In fact, it was a very simple math problem.

Five out of 15 three-pointers equals 15 points, and based on the 76ers' overall shooting percentage in Game 2, 15 attempts would probably earn the 76ers about 12 points.

Iverson wasn't Curry, but precisely because he was Iverson, he could launch about 15 three-pointers per game in this era.

Harper's tight marking was ineffective against Iverson.

Because Iverson could even complete such shots without screens.

Of course, after the NBA changed back to the normal three-point line next season, it wouldn't be realistic to expect Iverson to continue playing like this.

Because this guy's career three-point shooting percentage also belonged to the "depends on fate" type.

Although Iverson had practiced a lot more three-pointers than in Su Feng's previous life, at Su Feng's suggestion this season, Iverson's three-pointer was only a little more stable than in the same period of Su Feng's previous life.

Curry's touch couldn't be practiced without talent.

But was that important?

No, it wasn't!

Because in this era with the shortened three-point line, Iverson only needed to shoot.

If he could shoot with a 40% or higher percentage, then the Bulls would have to adjust their defense.

And at that time, the entire 76ers team would be revitalized by Iverson.

With the advantage of the shortened three-point line, if they didn't utilize it, were they really expecting the 76ers to get hot-blooded and defeat the Bulls in one go?

Wake up; reality is much crueler than novels and comics.

Let Iverson take the lead and drive the other 76ers players, using crazy three-point attempts to draw out the Bulls' defense.

At least this tactic, in Su Feng's view, was the only way for the 76ers to break the Bulls' dense defense.

If they missed, they'd just have to accept it; after all, the defensive intensity of this era was like that.

Su Feng couldn't suddenly open a cheat and surpass Jordan in one day, right?

From the process of the first two games, Su Feng was still stacking armor to take hits, while also comparing whose kidneys were better with the "Old Rogue."

Therefore, looking at Iverson's eager expression, Su Feng felt that, as expected, every one of the Four Guards had a heart of iron and blood for three-pointers.

"Su, practice three-pointers with me for a while."

After getting unlimited shooting rights, Iverson felt a lot of pressure, but for some reason...

If possible, he hoped Davis could maintain this kind of intensity.

...

The story of Su Feng helping Iverson cram at the last minute is put aside for the moment. On the afternoon of the 28th, the Chicago Bulls also arrived in Philadelphia.

And after checking into their hotel, the Bulls players were immediately dumbfounded.

Because within a kilometer radius of their hotel...

Was this a concert?

When that extremely penetrating noise pierced through the hotel rooms, all the Bulls players felt as uncomfortable as the fans watching the South Africa World Cup in the future.

This was definitely an even more exaggerated noise than vuvuzelas!

Berlinberg spent a lot of money to invite talented musicians from various high schools in Philadelphia. Anyway, whatever noise was loud, they just made it.

Even calling the police didn't work for the Bulls, because the Philadelphia Police Department said that the Bulls had just happened to run into Philadelphia's annual "Carnival."

Carnival your sister!

However, even the well-informed "Zen Master" couldn't have imagined that Berlinberg had even fewer scruples than he had thought.

The next day, when the Bulls players arrived at the training hall they had rented at the agreed time...

They received a notice that the training hall's air conditioning had suddenly broken down.

Oh, dear Chicago Bulls players, we're really sorry, but because we've been losing money every year, this air conditioning hasn't been replaced for many years. Why don't you just make do with it?

The "Zen Master" was helpless. On this day, the 29th, he didn't even let the players run through many tactics. After sweating a lot in the training hall, the Bulls players returned to the hotel.

But just as the Bulls players returned to the hotel to rest, that damned "Carnival" started again.

To be reasonable, not everyone is used to sleeping with earplugs.

Therefore, on the morning of the 30th, the Bulls' starters, including Jordan, all had poor sleep quality.

"Let's go to the arena a little earlier and let the players catch up on some sleep there," the "Zen Master" sighed helplessly.

...

"Do you guys think the opening of this hoop's net is bigger than usual?"

In the Zhongzhou Arena, when they arrived here for warm-up training, Kerr, who was always attentive, reminded them.

"It seems a little bit, what's wrong?" Harper asked curiously.

Kerr first shook his head, and then after trying a few more three-point shots, Kerr found that the 76ers' hoop... seemed to be not as tightly fixed as in the United Center?

As everyone knows, because the Bulls players aren't dominant in height, the United Center's hoops and backboards are fixed tighter than in ordinary arenas.

In this way, after the basketball hits the rim, the distance will be farther, and Rodman can give full play to his prediction advantage and fight for offensive rebounds for the team.

Tonight, the 76ers were just doing the opposite. Of course, unlike the Bulls, the 76ers also deliberately widened the net tonight.

This was a trick that the Suns used in the future. In this way, the basketball will land faster after brushing the net, so that their side can better launch transition offenses.

Home court advantage, what is home court advantage?

Which NBA team doesn't have some tricks?

Don't treat NBA teams as Mother Teresa's, because in this league, if there is a good person, then Su Feng will chew up Hill and Old Curry.

Just look at the narrow visitor locker rooms of each team and you'll know.

It's just that Berlinberg is kind-hearted; otherwise, with off-court tactics, things like the floor and the basketball's air not being fully inflated... these can actually be done.

Some teams in the NBA have even done the trick of not providing hot water to the visiting team.

Where is there absolute fairness in this world?

Since the Bulls couldn't defend their home court, if the 76ers didn't take advantage, would they just lie down and get screwed?

In his previous life, Su Feng hated the brain-dead fans who thought that NBA teams and stars were all good people, because these people clearly hadn't experienced the beatings of society.

Fairness is always relative, not absolute.

If you have home-court advantage and you don't use it, then in the NBA, no one will say you're a good person; you'll only be labeled as an "idiot" by your opponents after losing the game.

On the court, as the players from the two teams began to warm up, Zhang Zhidao on the commentary desk, wearing a suit, was already so hot that he had taken off his suit.

"Why is the 76ers' home court so hot?" Zhang Weiping said, looking at Su Junyang.

"I don't know. I remember the last time I came to interview, the air conditioning here was quite comfortable," Su Junyang said, also taking off his suit.

Well, don't say the 76ers didn't give the Bulls a chance to adapt to playing without air conditioning in advance.

Tonight, I'm sorry, the Zhongzhou Arena's air conditioning...

It's on strike!

On the Bulls' bench, Jackson's eyes were always fixed on Davis.

Because he felt that Davis was too ruthless.

How could you bear to watch your players play in this sweltering environment?

If you've ever played in an indoor basketball court, you'll understand how torturous it is to play in an indoor basketball court without air conditioning after the temperature rises.

The Zhongzhou Arena, with nearly 20,000 people, was already becoming a furnace.

The Bulls players, covered in sweat, all felt like they were about to "get heatstroke."

And on the 76ers' side, although the 76ers players were also uncomfortable, the biggest advantage of youth was...

Playing in this environment that hurts the enemy a thousand, and yourself eight hundred, would be more beneficial to the 76ers.

Especially Su Feng; in Su Feng's view, the NBA was too good to the players. Playing a ball also requires air conditioning; what kind of sissy habit is that?

In Su Feng's view, to play basketball, you have to turn off the air conditioning!

Don't ask; the answer is that Su Feng is physically fit and has strong endurance.

"It's too hot; I can't take it anymore. I'm going to buy a cup of iced cola," Zhang Zhidao said on the commentary desk, already using his notebook as a fan.

"Zhang Zhidao, bring me a cup too!"

"I want a cup too!"

In the arena, although many fans were asking the staff why the air conditioning wasn't turned on tonight, after getting the answer "to defeat the Bulls," even if the fans were uncomfortable, no one complained anymore.

On the court, as the players from the two teams were doing the entrance ceremony, Jordan was constantly sticking out his tongue, trying to dissipate the heat.

At this moment, the thing Jordan wanted to do most was probably to soak in an ice bucket.

And it's worth mentioning that when the on-site DJ read out Su Feng's long string of prefixes, he specially added the prefix "Michael Jordan's Terminator" to him.

Hearing this introduction, Jordan was furious.

But the angrier he got...

Jordan realized he was getting hotter.

Why?

Why wasn't a good team like the 76ers left for the Heat, but for us?

Jordan's mentality was already a little irritated without him realizing it.

And on the 76ers' side, Iverson was also covered in sweat.

Before the game started, he tugged at Su Feng's sleeve and said, "Su, are we really going to play a whole game against the Bulls in this environment?"

Although they had adapted in advance, Iverson couldn't take it anymore before the game had even started.

At a critical moment, Su Feng gave his ultimate move in time: "Allen, don't forget, in my heart, you are the never-say-die Philadelphia 'Answer'!

What is suffering this little bit of hardship? Trust me, the Bulls will definitely not be able to hold on before us!"

Hearing Su Feng's words, Iverson immediately felt extremely refreshed.

Hot?

What is hot?

Doesn't exist!

Speaking of which, why is it so cool today?

On the court, after the players from the two teams were ready, the big screen also showed the starting lineups for the two teams tonight.

76ers: Ratliff, Big Ben, Su Feng, Stackhouse, Iverson.

Bulls: Rodman, Kukoc, Pippen, Jordan, Harper.

Judging from the starting lineups of the two teams, there were no changes compared to Game 2.

On the Bulls' bench, under the calm appearance of the "Zen Master" was his inner pride.

Because in Jackson's view, even if the 76ers had done so many fancy off-court tactics, as long as the 76ers couldn't deal with the Bulls' defense, the Bulls would definitely be the ones laughing last tonight.

Jackson was also very confident in the Bulls' willpower.

In the center of the court, Ratliff and Rodman began the jump ball.

Bang!

Ratliff still didn't give Rodman a chance in the jump ball, and the 76ers launched the first attack.

And right from the start, Iverson sounded the cannons of freedom.

Tonight, Philadelphia "183," the Holy Cannon has arrived!

On the court, after using a Crossover to widen the distance between himself and Harper, Iverson's three-point cannon hit the bullseye!

0 to 3!

And after scoring the first points for the 76ers, Iverson also pointed to the floor under his feet with both fingers and roared at Harper:

"This is our territory!"

...

P.S.: 10,000-word update delivered! A Qiao is going to sleep! Wake up on the 3rd and continue to work hard! Begging for double monthly tickets!