The Golden Age of Basketball Chapter 842 - 37 Li Gui3

So, Jerry Sloan applied the "Flexible Offense" core, wrapped it with the complex and diversified skin of the UCLA system, to ensure that this system in the NBA, where man-to-man is primary and star players’ abilities play a decisive role, would not impose too much restriction on the players.

This was a brilliant move. In fact, many NBA coaches who successfully utilized systems later adopted this "simple core with a complex exterior" approach to ensure system compatibility in the NBA.

Of course, with a simple core, to create various modifications, you need daily practice and years of accumulation.

Karl Malone and Stockton, after years of coordination, had lost their greenness and beco more mature.

Especially Malone, in his rookie season, he was a country boy who, with a free throw percentage below fifty percent, would stumble through the gas and weep after them.

Now, he has beco one of the league’s most feared scorers, reaching an average of 30 points per ga, making him the only interior player aside from Ah Gan to break 30 points in the league.

His free throw shooting accuracy improved from 48% in his rookie season to 77%, which is a significant improvent.

Every sumr, he sweats profusely in the gym, honing his physical fitness, hoping to one day compete with Ah Gan in gas.

In 1991, Karl Malone’s biceps were ready to compete with Ah Gan.

Of course, in terms of body thickness, width, and overall robustness, Malone is still slightly inferior compared to Ah Gan.

Before the ga starts, standing next to each other, Malone visibly seems a size smaller than Ah Gan, making him question himself every ti they play against the Trail Blazers: Am I not working hard enough? Otherwise, why can’t I catch up to Ah Gan’s pace?

Once the ga starts, Malone realizes that the gap between them is not just physical, but also in the finesse of their skills.

Malone’s offensive techniques are almost a poor man’s version of Ah Gan’s: mid-range shots, facing the basket drives, baseline jumpers, and picks and rolls.

Being a poorer version, Malone’s mid-range is not as stable as Ah Gan’s, heavily reliant on rhythm, and once disrupted, his shots beco unstable.

While Ah Gan is not dependent on rhythm, capable of firing at any ti, making it difficult for opponents to anticipate the defense.

Moreover, Malone lacks variation in facing the basket, simply going straight, with straightforward footwork purely relying on explosive power.

Ah Gan adds variation; when facing dense interior defense, he changes speed, direction, switches to floaters, or pull-up jumpers.

As for the hook shots and turnaround jumpers, the difference is like two separate worlds. Malone’s hooks are occasional, decent, but not a lethal weapon.

In turnaround jumpers, Malone is slower and due to his height must add a fadeaway, often facing taller defenders.

Ah Gan’s quick turnaround with a forward lean in his shooting is nearly unique in the league, with unmatched ability to draw fouls.

And the three-pointer, Malone doesn’t have it, while Ah Gan is one of the best in the league — soon to be without peers.

So in this match, it’s like Li Gui eting Li Kui; Malone can’t get an advantage in a one-on-one with Ah Gan.

Throwing elbows? He dares not, for who wants to not play healthy anymore?

And tonight, Stockton also isn’t performing well, completely suppressed by Terry Porter.

This is purely a hardware issue; Jazz’s two cores are a step behind the Trail Blazers players.

Jerry Sloan’s system is not yet perfected to bridge this gap, leading to a 13-point defeat at ho for the Jazz team.

After the ga, Gan Guoyang caught up with Stockton, saying, "Will we et in the playoffs this year?"

Stockton hesitated with his expression, honestly lacking confidence; even if they et, what then? It’s still a loss.

Currently, the Jazz team is ranked fifth in the Western Conference; if the Trail Blazers maintain first place, they are likely to et in the semi-finals.

But facing the Lakers, Suns, and Spurs ahead, can Jazz beat any to advance to the next round?

"I don’t know, Sonny, I’ll do my best," Stockton said.

Gan Guoyang patted Stockton’s shoulder, adding, "I have enough patience; I hope you do too."

For the Jazz, they still have a long road ahead.