The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 480 Good Statistics
After trading Jimmy Butler, Wade and Rondo left, the Bulls quickly entered rebuilding mode after a season of fanfare.

When Zhang Xiaotian was in the Heat, the Bulls who fought against them were already different things.

This is the status quo of the league. Nothing lasts forever. Competitive basketball has to change without winning.

After trading Butler, the Bulls definitely want to train young players, such as LaVine and Dunn who were traded from the Timberwolves, as well as this year's rookie Markkanen.

However, they are now full of wounded soldiers, and they are looking to compete for the number one lottery.

They were still a bit aggressive at the beginning of the game, but they couldn't stop the Spurs' offensive soon.

None of them can resist Zhang Xiaotian, and the inside defense is insufficient, and Robin Lopez's ability to protect the basket has dropped drastically.

The Spurs began to work hard from the rotation period, stabilized their lead in the second quarter, continued to increase their intensity in the second half, and expanded their score advantage to double digits in the third quarter.

Then, there is no more. Now this Bulls team has no attacking stars at all. As soon as Zhang Xiaotian exerted his strength in the last quarter, the main players got off work half a quarter earlier.

And Aldridge scored a double-double, which also pleased Popovich.

Aldridge can choose to jump out of the contract next summer, and he must be full of energy this season.

As the third point of the team to assist Zhang Xiaotian and Leonard, although he is not the best choice, there are not many players in the league who are more suitable than him, and the team also hopes that he can play well.

What's more, Murray has improved significantly this summer, especially in defense.

The current Spurs, if Leonard returns, the outside line is a real death block.

If Murray didn't have a bad three-pointer, he would definitely be able to secure the position of the first point guard in the Spurs.

Now, defense is only one aspect, and it doesn't matter if the organization is not very strong, but it is best to be able to match Zhang Xiaotian's characteristics and have a three-pointer.

But with the growth of young players, even if Parker returns from injury, it is estimated that there are not so many opportunities.

Parker's three-pointer is not very good, and there are still problems in defense. The core of the former Spurs is now somewhat unsuitable for the new Spurs.

On October 10, the Spurs ushered in the Eastern Conference Raptors at home.

The Raptors need Lowry and Ibaka to succeed in the summer. In addition to stabilizing the lineup, they also won CJ-Myers to supplement their firepower. They also hope to take it to a higher level and call it a strong team.

They started the same way as the Spurs, easily won two consecutive victories.

At the beginning of the game, both sides defended well, and both inside and outside lines clamped down on each other.

The team does not have Leonard, and Zhang Xiaotian enjoys double-team treatment almost all the time. He needs the support of three-pointers from the outside very much now, but the firepower of the Spurs' two insiders to start the outside line is really weak.

The Spurs' defense this season is stronger than last season, but the offense feels a bit regressed.

Of course, it's just the current starting lineup, plus the substitute lineup, the team's offensive power is definitely not weak.

As Zhang Xiaotian said, Dedmon is actually not particularly suitable for the Spurs' tactics, but relative to the price, there is absolutely no premium.

The offensive end was a bit missed, but so was the opponent.

Murray's defense against Lowry once again surprised the team.

Lowry got a three-year, [-] million contract in the summer, and was restricted by a second-year rookie. Zhang Xiaotian suddenly felt that he was really cheap.

Both sides started to work hard from the rotation lineup. Ginobili and Evans provided steady firepower when they came up. Another surprise was Gerald Green. After he came up, he received two passes from Zhang Xiaotian and hit three-pointers .

As a shooter player, Zhang Xiaotian is a very good choice when leading the team alone.

The Raptors' bench lineup is also very good, and they have a further background this season.

So the Spurs only had a slight lead in the first half, and it was not so easy to win.

Judging from the situation in the first half, Lowry's state is not very good, and the focus of pinching the Raptors lies on DeRozan.

DeRozan has made some changes this season. One is that he has increased his three-point shots, and the other is that he is on the front line most of the time. Of course, the task of restricting this buddy is handed over to Zhang Xiaotian.

When Leonard is not around, Zhang Xiaotian has to prove his defensive ability.

In the third quarter, DeRozan felt the pressure from Zhang Xiaotian increased.

In fact, DeRozan is quite confident in his singles ability, but against Zhang Xiaotian, he felt that it was a mistake to go up the front line.

He should tell Coach Casey that he may not be suitable for the third position, but it is better to be the second position.

It's okay for him to play with his feet while holding the ball, but Zhang Xiaotian's confrontation without the ball almost suffocated him.

And now Zhang Xiaotian's footsteps are already very fast, so after Zhang Xiaotian improves his oppression, DeRozan's chances to make shots are much less.

This is only the offensive end. On the defensive end, DeRozan found that he couldn't resist Zhang Xiaotian at all, and needed help from the inside. Soon Ibaka fouled too much and couldn't stay on the court.

When the Spurs were on the rotation, the score between the two sides began to widen.

With two more shooters on the field, Zhang Xiaotian's current breakthrough and scoring are more and more like James.

Sure enough, the striker must have good physical fitness, and if he directly enters, no matter how stable the opponent's defense is, there will be problems.

When Zhang Xiaotian went to rest, the Raptors chased a little bit, but when Zhang Xiaotian played again in the final quarter, their defense was completely unstoppable.

To be honest, the Raptors' current lineup lacks a qualified third position, and now there are ruthless players in the east and west of the league's center forward. If they don't change this, problems will arise again at critical moments.

However, they just got rid of Carroll and they have the confidence. The rookie OG-Anunobi they selected is a very strong third number.

But a rookie is a rookie, and the Raptors want to turn their rookies into immediate combat power, so they can't do it without spending a lot of energy on training.

After Zhang Xiaotian showed his strength, the Raptors changed to play one big and four juniors, and the Spurs played Evans, allowing Zhang Xiaotian to play the fourth position.

It didn't take long for Ibaka to be sent off the field by Zhang Xiaotian, and the Raptors lost the morale to fight back.

With three consecutive victories at the start, the Spurs without Leonard are still strong, and the team that wants to take advantage of the fire may need to wake up.

Zhang Xiaotian scored a triple-double of 39 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, and after the game he suddenly found that he was temporarily on top of the scoring list.

Although I don't know how long I can stay on the Internet, it still feels very cool.

In fact, his rebounds, assists, and steals are all on the list. Now he is the dominant player in the team's tactics. Does this count as a statistic?

If it can help the team win the victory, it's okay to brush up.

Leonard, who was in training, couldn't help but feel a little envious. Why did Zhang Xiaotian maintain such a good physical condition? Should he consider changing his trainer?

(End of this chapter)