NBA: James wants to team up with me

Chapter 144 brings a shock to the Bulls coach’s tactical thinking in 2023

"Bold words! Wang Chong officially declares that I will lead the Bulls to the Eastern Conference Finals and achieve more than 50 wins in the regular season!"

"Wang Chong wants to compete for the scoring title in the new season. Under the single-core leadership, the Bulls can indeed provide Wang Chong with enough shooting rights to achieve this goal, but without a top scorer like Kobe around to attract defense, Wang Chong Can our scoring efficiency still be as efficient as before?"

As expected, Wang Chong's interview became the front page of sports news that day.

Originally, the general public was very curious about what kind of performance Wang Chong could perform after joining the Bulls. Is Wang Chong really good? Even if he leads the team with a single core, he can still perform like a top star, or is he just a top player? He was a paper tiger. Once he lost the protection of top superstars such as Kobe and O'Neal, his true colors were immediately revealed.

Unexpectedly, Wang Chong had already started spouting wild words before the regular season started.

Putting aside the team's record for now, why does he think he can be selected for the best team and have the ability to compete for the scoring title?

This interview report alone made many fans who hate Wang Chong scoff.

"Are you kidding? This guy takes himself too seriously, doesn't he? Do you really think that you are invincible in this league? When the new season starts, I will definitely let you know that the league is not so easy to mess with. What can you do before? You can enjoy it simply because you have teammates like Kobe O'Neal around you to help you attract defenses!"

Of course, most of these words come from James fans. Wang Chong has been suppressing James since he entered the league, which has already made Emperor James's guards extremely disgusted with him.

Seeing the opportunity to add insult to injury, he was naturally eager to step forward and step on it.

But neutral fans who are slightly more rational think that Wang Chong may not be able to do it.

When Kobe was injured last season, Wang Chong's performance as a single-core leader was obvious to all. It was not bad at all. Once the Lakers team lost Kobe, it would not be much different from the Bulls' current lineup.

Since Wang Chong was able to lead his team to a higher winning rate in the Western Conference for nearly a month last season, why can't he do it in the less competitive Eastern Conference?

In this regard, Wang Chong's number one well-known fan in the league, TNT TV commentator Charles Barkley, mentioned this matter on the show.

"I think Wang Chong is fully qualified to say this with his strength. Those who think he can't do it may not have seen how he plays on the field!"

"Wang Chong, who is 2 meters tall and plays the role of a small forward, has always had an absolute height and wingspan advantage in matchups on the court. No matter who defends him, it is a misplaced defense. Those who are taller than him are not as fast as him, and those who are faster than him are not. Not as tall as him."

"When the defensive player is a regular small forward, Wang Chongdu doesn't need any fancy skills at all. He just makes a mid-range pull-up jumper, and the opponent can't interfere with his shooting at all."

"If he is defended by an inside player who is close to his height and wingspan, then Wang Chong can use his flexible mobility and first-class ball-holding breakthrough ability to launch an attack from the outside and pass the opponent directly to the basket."

"Such a player is almost unsolvable on the offensive end. No one really thinks that without Kobe's offensive restraint, they can easily defend Wang Chong, right?"

"I can tell right now that Wang Chong is definitely a strong contender for the scoring title in the new season, and under his leadership, the Bulls' record will not be too bad!"

Barkley had suffered big losses from Dayao and Wang Chong twice before due to bets. Especially after Wang Chong's incident, he seemed to have transformed into Wang Chongchui, always touting Wang Chong's strength.

After the All-Star season last season, when Kobe Bryant's grab for the ball and shot rights caused the Lakers' record to decline, Barkley beat Kobe mercilessly and scolded Kobe for being selfish, and even went so far as to accuse him of driving away O'Neal in the same way. , regardless of the team's record, only pursuing their own selfish desires.

In any case, the Bulls' media day successfully attracted a lot of attention.

Wang Chong actually felt that what he said was quite conservative.

My family knows their own affairs.

The Bulls' lineup looks very bad to the outside world, but from the perspective of Wang Chong, a time traveler, it is definitely not weak. At least those who can compete with the Bulls' lineup in the Eastern Conference are the Pistons, Heat and other few teams. A team.

Starting lineup: Point guard Monta Ellis, shooting guard Lagar Bell, small forward Luol Deng, power forward Wang Chong, center Tyson Chandler.

With this starting lineup, what other bikes do you need?

Bell and Chandler are both functional players. Both have played in the league for several seasons. They have rich game experience and mature styles. As long as they arrange tactics suitable for them according to their style characteristics, they can perform well. Effect.

As for Luol Deng and Ellis, one is a second grader and the other is a first grader. Their strength is definitely not comparable to the peak years when they grew up later, but they are not without their merits.

Especially Luol Deng. Even without Wang Chong's presence, he still became the Bulls' main small forward in the original 05-06 season, averaging 14.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. In the third season of his career, That is to say, the data in the 06-07 season skyrocketed to 18.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

As for Monta Ellis, he didn’t get many opportunities with the Warriors in his rookie season in 05-06, with only 6.8 points and 2.1 rebounds. But that was more because the Warriors were full of talents on the back line, and without his performance Opportunity, in the 06-07 season, there was a wave of injuries in the Warriors' back line. Ellis, who got a lot of playing time, immediately jumped to 16.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists, with a shooting percentage of 47.5%.

同样是生涯第三个赛季，07-08赛季已经成为勇士队外线主力核心的埃利斯场均可以得到20.2分5篮板3.9助攻。

Both in terms of personal strength and development potential, these two players are of very high quality.

Luol Deng is a typical off-ball player. He is good at cutting into the penalty area from the wing to catch the ball and attack the frame, and counterattack fast breaks. In addition, he also has a so-so mid-range shot. His best thing is his all-round attributes of both offense and defense. On the offensive end While not occupying the ball, he can also provide stable scoring. On the defensive end, Luol Deng can be used to defend the opponent's offensive arrow figures. The effect of using it in conjunction with Laga Bell should be more significant.

As for Monta Ellis, in fact, he is not strictly a traditional point guard, nor a traditional shooting guard, but a typical combo guard with a vague sense of position. He appears in the position of point guard, doing His job is mainly focused on shooting guard work.

In the future small ball era, there will be many such players, but combo guards are still relatively rare in this era.

Ellis' style is actually somewhat close to Wade. Although he is not as strong and impactful as Wade, he is even better in terms of speed. At his peak, he was like a bolt of lightning when he broke through on the court and could easily tear apart any defense. .

This is also the reason why Ellis was able to average 25.5 points per game in his peak period.

Although Ellis' shortcomings are more obvious than his advantages, he has a perverse personality and acts recklessly. He often makes poor shooting choices on the court, resulting in low shooting percentage and low offensive efficiency.

At the same time, defenders who rely too much on speed will have a common problem, that is, once an injury occurs, the speed and explosiveness that they rely on for survival will no longer exist, and their strength on the field will be greatly reduced.

Even Wade is not immune to this problem, let alone Ellis, who is much weaker than Wade.

Of course, that is all a matter for the future and Wang Chong does not need to think about it.

Wang Chong has only one expectation for Ellis, who has come to the Bulls at this stage, and that is that he can use his speed advantage to break through and attack the basket with the ball, increasing the lethality of the Bulls' breakthrough. Not to mention more, in the new season As long as he averages more than 10 points per game for the Bulls, it is considered a success.

-

"Did you see the news yesterday? Oh my God, it was so lively..."

In the Bulls locker room, several players were changing clothes and chatting.

"It's not clear yet how strong this new big shot is, but he certainly has a good tone. I hope he can keep his word. The team's record will improve, and our value will rise accordingly."

Tyson Chandler smiled and shook his head when he heard this. "Then I have nothing to look forward to."

He has just signed a 6-year contract with the Bulls. If he wants a big contract, he will have to wait 6 years later.

Chandler's contract extension with the Bulls is 6 million for 7500 years, with an average annual salary of 1250. Although it is not a maximum salary contract, it is still a very high salary in this era. This shows that it is not only Wang Chong who is optimistic about Chandler. , the Bulls management also has high hopes for the center who was the second overall pick in 2001.

However, unlike Wang Chong who only hopes that Chandler can be a good defensive leader in the penalty area, the Bulls obviously hope that the opponent will not only shine on the defensive end, but also show the strength of an All-Star insider on the offensive end.

This is obviously a bit overwhelming.

But at least now, with Eddie Curry being traded to the Lakers and signing a big contract with the team, Chandler's position as the team's main center can be described as

Luol Deng sat quietly on the side, listening to his teammates talking, but his heart felt a little heavy.

Ever since he learned the news that Wang Chong had joined the Bulls, he had not been happy.

The reason is simple. Wang Chong is a small forward, which conflicts with his position.

If the opponent comes to the Bulls, he will definitely be the starter, so what should he do?

He couldn't help but worry.

In his rookie season last season, Luol Deng made a good start.

Played in 61 games, started 45 games, averaged 11.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, and was successfully selected to the All-Rookie First Team.

Originally, Luol Deng thought that he would secure his position as the team's starting small forward in the new season.

But with the arrival of Wang Chong, everything became confusing.

Luol Deng feels that there is a high probability that he will be moved to the bench due to Wang Chong's arrival, but what can be done about this?

Wang Chong is a star acquired by the Bulls at a great cost. He was the All-Star MVP last season and the best second-team player. Although he is only a few months older than him, he is already a well-known star in the league.

"Forget it, train hard and work hard, there is always a chance for gold to shine. As long as I can continue to get stronger, sooner or later I will be able to succeed."

After changing into training clothes, Luol Deng left the locker room and came to the training hall.

Before he even walked in, he heard the sound of basketballs hitting the ground in the venue.

"Has someone arrived so early?"

Luol Deng looked over with some confusion and saw Wang Chong sweating profusely on the field.

It can be seen from the jersey that is mostly wet with sweat that Wang Chong has been here for some time.

When Luo Er Deng saw Wang Chong, Wang Chong also discovered him.

Seeing that the first person to arrive besides him was Luol Deng, Wang Chong couldn't help but have a smile on his face and waved at him.

"Come, take two shots with me."

Luo Er Deng was stunned when he heard this.

What does it mean? Wang Chong wants to challenge himself to a duel? but why?

Luol Deng is a player who has been in the league for a year after all. Strictly speaking, he is no longer a rookie. At least in the year he came to the NBA, he has not seen a few one-on-one situations within the team. .

Because of various factors, including affecting team unity, many NBA teams even strictly prohibit players from private duels.

The Bulls don't have this rule, but no player will be bored and insist on playing one-on-one.

But now that it was Wang Chong who made the request on his own initiative, Luo Er Deng could only nod his head and walk over even though his heart was full of question marks.

Wang Chong simply passed the ball to Luol Deng, signaling the opponent to attack first.

Luol Deng stood at the top of the three-point line with the ball. Faced with Wang Chong's somewhat backward defensive position, he thought about it and chose to break through and attack the basket with the ball.

In the early days of Luol Deng, the three-point shot had not yet been developed, and his outside shooting ability was insufficient. In the first three seasons, his average three-point shooting percentage was less than 27%, and he had almost no three-point shooting ability.

His main method of scoring is still cutting without the ball, so when attacking with the ball, Wang Chong immediately noticed Luol Deng's rather average skills when dribbling and breaking through.

With Wang Chong's current perimeter defense of 82, he can easily judge Luol Deng's breakthrough route with the ball one step ahead.

But he didn't do that.

In a duel with Luol Deng, Wang Chong's purpose is not to defeat the opponent. The two are not players of the same level at all. Wang Chong's current overall ability rating has reached 94, while the opponent's comprehensive rating is less than 80. There are What's the comparison?

He wanted to test the opponent's ability through a one-on-one duel with Luol Deng. To be precise, it should be to test Luol Deng's defensive ability, because from the beginning, Wang Chong did not have too much confidence in the opponent's offensive ability. Great expectations.

Luol Deng was a little dazed after holding the ball all the way to the penalty area and scoring a layup.

Is it that easy? Did Wang Chong let his guard down when he was on defense?

Luol Deng has always had little confidence in his ability to hold the ball and attack, and he is also very aware of how poor his ability to hold the ball is.

Can he really break through and make a layup easily against Wang Chong's defense? Is Wang Chong's defense so bad?

He was still confused, but Wang Chong was already standing outside the three-point line.

"It's my turn."

Hair changing rules?

Luol Deng thought silently, picked up the basketball and passed it to Wang Chong, and immediately moved closer to defend.

<divclass="contentadv">When he stood in front of Wang Chong, he realized what height suppression meant.

Luol Deng is 2 meters tall and is a relatively tall player among small forwards. Most of the time, the players he plays against are rarely taller than him.

But Wang Chong is obviously not among them.

Wang Chong, who is 2 meters tall, has a clear height advantage over Luol Deng.

Luol Deng, who has watched the video of Wang Chong's game, knows very well that what the opponent is best at on the court is to use his height advantage to shoot unbreakable mid-range pull-up jumpers. Players shorter than him are basically unable to guard against him.

Therefore, he is also very particular about his defensive position. He is very close to Wang Chong, fearing that Wang Chong will use his signature mid-range pull-up jumper.

But what Wang Chong knows now is not just CIC.

After a series of flexible and fancy dribblings, Wang Chong suddenly swayed and suddenly accelerated his breakthrough with the ball, passing more than half of Luol Deng in an instant with just one step.

"So fast!"

Luo Er Deng's pupils narrowed.

Whether it was the fake movement of dribbling or the sudden burst of breakthrough speed, it was far beyond his expectations.

By the time he turned around, it was too late to pursue him.

Wang Chong took the lead and rushed into the penalty area and scored with a one-handed dunk.

After landing, Wang Chong turned to look at Luo Er Deng and shook his head slightly. "Seriously, let me see what you're really capable of!"

-

A few minutes later, other Bulls players came to the training ground one after another, and what they saw was Wang Chong and Luol Deng dueling on the court.

"What's happening here?"

Everyone was stunned, but this didn't stop them from enjoying the fun.

They came to the sidelines and stopped to watch.

Then they saw Wang Chong beating Luo Er Deng in various tricks.

A mid-range pull-up facial shot, a behind-the-back jump shot, a front-on breakthrough with a butterfly step, and a break-through and step-back three-point shot.

Wang Chong has a variety of offensive methods, and each of them is very efficient in scoring, which makes Luol Deng overwhelmed.

When it was Luol Deng's turn to attack, Wang Chong did not let off steam as he did at the beginning, but defended with all his strength.

82's perimeter defense and defensive awareness may not be enough when facing top players like Kobe, but facing Luol Deng simply shouldn't be too easy. Don't forget that Wang Chong also has a very cost-effective defense. Badge Death Coil.

After previous mission upgrades, the level of Wang Chong's Death Coil Badge has reached Silver. The defensive effect of close pressing is excellent. In several consecutive rounds, he directly cut off the basketball in Luol Deng's hands with his strong pressing.

Just watching it for a while, the melon-eaters on the sidelines couldn't help but talk about it.

"As expected of Wang Chong, his strength is truly unparalleled. Even his defense is so oppressive. No wonder the management paid such a high price to get him."

"From this point of view, the core of the team in the new season must be Wang Chong. It depends on what kind of performance he can perform in the regular season."

-

The duel between Wang Chong and Luol Deng ended with the former winning without any doubt, and the whole process only lasted a few minutes.

But after the game, Wang Chong looked at Luol Deng who was a little disappointed, but smiled and comforted: "You played well, your performance has exceeded my own expectations for you."

Indeed, second-year Luol Deng already has good personal abilities. Let’s not talk about the offensive end for now. He is not good at holding the ball and attacking, so he suffers in singles.

But in terms of defense, Luol Deng has done a very good job. It is normal for him to be unable to guard against Wang Chong. It is better to say that if the opponent can really limit his offense, Wang Chong will be surprised.

It is unfair to Luol Deng to compare Wang Chong, who is a BUG-level offensive player.

If we broaden our horizons and put him in the league, his defensive ability can basically reach the first-class level, which is similar to Wang Chong without the Death Coil Badge.

This is enough. Luol Deng himself is still in the growth stage. During the long regular season, as the game progresses, his strength can be further improved.

In fact, this conclusion can be drawn by referring to Luol Deng's original data of 05 points and 06 rebounds per game in the 14-6.6 regular season, but Wang Chong still wants to try it himself. After all, Luol Deng was in the early stages of his career. He is not a player who is good at defense. What really made the league realize his defensive ability was what happened after Tom Thibodeau joined the Bulls and built the Bulls into a top defensive team.

After personal testing, Wang Chong has determined that even if Luol Deng's defensive ability has been maximized under Thibodeau's guidance, it will not be possible without a good foundation.

In this way, Wang Chong felt relieved.

-

The one-on-one duel between Wang Chong and Luol Deng was like an episode and did not affect the subsequent training sessions.

No one knew Wang Chong's intention. They all thought that Wang Chong was just passing the time out of boredom, or maybe he was demonstrating his strength to other players.

Likewise, no one knew that after the day's training, Wang Chong went to head coach Skiles.

"Coach, regarding the team's main lineup for the new season, I have a good suggestion that I would like to discuss with you."

As the head coach, Skiles has high authority in the team, but this does not include Wang Chong. He is very aware of Wang Chong's status in the Bulls and how much the team owner and management value him. , so it is also clear which side the team will be on once he conflicts with Wang Chong.

Therefore, Skiles did not want to offend Wang Chong, so he smiled patiently. "Okay, let's talk about it."

In fact, Skiles is also having a headache now about how the team will play in the new season.

In his opinion, the team's lineup is already a bit deformed. There is no qualified point guard and a lack of main power forward. How should he arrange the lineup for the new season?

But he doesn't think Wang Chong will have any good ideas. If a player who has been in the league for two seasons can solve the problems that bother him, then why does the NBA need a head coach? Just let the players play freely.

"According to the Bulls' current lineup, I think I can try to switch to the power forward position in the new season."

Wang Chong didn't leave any ink and said straight to the point.

"Are you going to play power forward instead?"

Hearing Wang Chong's words, Skiles was stunned for a moment, and then felt suddenly enlightened.

Yes, if Wang Chong switches to power forward, many problems will be solved at once!

Wang Chong plays power forward, filling the Bulls' lack of a main power forward. At the same time, Luol Deng can also continue to appear at the small forward position, getting the best of both worlds.

Why hadn't he thought about this problem before?

The reason is simple. He never thought that Wang Chong would be willing to switch to power forward.

Although Wang Chong occasionally appeared at the power forward position due to lineup adjustments when he was in the Lakers, but those were only in a few occasional games. Most of the time, he was still the team's main small forward and a standard outside player.

It can also be seen from Wang Chong's physique and his playing style that Wang Chong is a standard outside player. It is not a particularly good idea to let him play inside instead, especially if the opponent is unwilling to play inside. Rushing into such an arrangement will only annoy the players.

But if Wang Chong took the initiative to ask for help, the situation would be different.

"Wang, you have to think about it. Although they are both forwards, the playing styles of power forwards and small forwards are very different. And once it is really decided, the playing style and training will definitely be arranged around this lineup, not a game. You can easily give up after trying two games without success.”

Skiles spoke with great care, obviously worried that if Wang Chongruo failed at the power forward position, he would turn around and run back to play small forward again.

But if Wang Chong was not sure, how could he take the initiative to say this?

His height and wingspan alone are definitely enough for him to be a power forward. Now that his overall ability score has been enhanced to 94, his abilities in all aspects are not low.

With 75 rebounds, 71 blocks, 74 interior defense and 74 blocking ability, there is definitely no way to compare with first-class interior players, but he himself is not prepared to be a traditional interior player, but is similar to Nowitzki. , a space power forward like Bosh.

To put it bluntly, it means playing the power forward as a defender.

This is also based on the fact that the Bulls currently have Tyson Chandler in the penalty area.

Chandler, who is 2 meters tall, has a good intimidation effect under the basket. Even if Wang Chong cannot guard the opponent's inside power forward, he can help defend.

Moreover, in today's league, the number of players at the power forward position that Wang Chong can find difficult to deal with can be counted on one hand, including Duncan, Stoudemire, Elton Brand and a few others.

As for Nowitzki and Garnett's style of power forward, Wang Chong really wouldn't necessarily boo the other side.

And like Duncan and Stoudemire, although they are both power forwards, they still appear at the center position more often in their respective teams. They are players that Tyson Chandler needs to deal with, who can really There are not many opportunities to face off against Wang Chong.

At the same time, the opponents Wang Chong will face on the offensive end will also be inside players who are similar in height to him, but most of them have far less mobility than him.

This may make Wang Chong's shooting more disrupted, but it will also make his breakthrough with the ball more threatening.

More importantly, this arrangement allows two Bulls strikers, Wang Chong and Luol Deng, to appear on the court at the same time.

The duel with Luol Deng was one of the testing sessions. He wanted to determine whether Luol Deng was worthy of him switching to power forward.

"Of course I have thought about it." Wang Chong nodded and said with certainty: "I have been thinking about this issue during the offseason. With the Bulls' current lineup, it is obviously the best choice for me to switch to power forward. Los Angeles Er Deng is a very good player with full potential. He should serve as the team's starting lineup. It would be too humiliating for me to serve as a substitute."

"In addition, I actually have some suggestions for the team's offensive and defensive tactics in the new season..."

A moment later, Wang Chong walked out of the head coach's office, leaving Skiles with a confused look on his face.

Wang Chong just told him a lot of things about the team's tactics, covering the two major areas of offense and defense. What he said was reasonable and well-founded, which made him, the head coach, very convinced, and he even wanted to hire Wang Chonglai on the spot. The urge to be his assistant coach.

"Does such a monster player really exist?"

Scales couldn't recover from the shock for a long time.

Of course, the tactics Wang Chong talked about were not particularly detailed, and many details were not explained clearly. In the final analysis, he was just a half-hearted fan before traveling through time, not a professionally trained coach.

But Wang Chong, who came from 2023, has a strategic height that is nearly twenty years ahead of people of this era. Although it is far from a dimensionality reduction strike, some extraordinary tactical coordination and ideas still made Skiles I feel benefited a lot.

It was unimaginable that he actually taught a lesson to a player who had just finished his second-year career.

At this time, Skiles no longer dared to look at Wang Chong with the eyes of an ordinary person. This was a young man who was not only great on the court, but also extraordinary off the court. It was unimaginable that in time, when he understood on the court After being perfectly combined with personal abilities, what kind of powerful dominance will be shown in the game.

-

The Bulls' training program underwent major changes one day later.

Many people were surprised to find that Wang Chong actually appeared at the power forward position during confrontation training, and Luol Deng, who was expected to serve as Wang Chong's substitute, appeared at the small forward position.

Not only that, on the back line, the Bulls also sent first-year rookie Monta Ellis and Laga Bell, who was traded at almost the same time.

Some experienced veterans have gradually figured it out.

Does the team plan to use these five people as the team's starters for training and running-in?

Although it is a bit bold, it is not incomprehensible. After all, there is no better choice in the Bulls' lineup.

The team's training time is actually not long, because the preseason has already arrived.

In early October, the league’s preseason officially began.

The Bulls did not hide their weakness and directly sent out the five-man starting lineup suggested by Wang Chong in the preseason.

But the effect of this lineup was not good. To be precise, the offensive end was a little messier than expected.

Wang Chong is slightly better when he is on the court. The ball is basically concentrated in Wang Chong's hands. He can choose to attack independently or pass the ball to other teammates. Wang Chong's passing ability value has also reached 85. It may be difficult for him to coordinate and assist his teammates, but there is no problem with his basic passing skills.

But once Wang Chong came off the court, the game became chaotic. The problem mainly lay with point guard Monta Ellis.