NBA: James wants to team up with me

Chapter 173 is in hot shape, winning consecutive games at the beginning

ESPN's strength ranking evaluation is, of course, based on the team's running-in situation, player status, and outside opinions. The ranking is given after comprehensive consideration of many aspects and angles.

Although it may not necessarily represent the true strength of a team, it is also the most objective point of view relatively speaking.

The reason why they are optimistic about the Bulls is also very simple. The Bulls themselves are a very young team. The oldest of the five starting players is Laga Bell, who was born in 1976 and is currently 30 years old. The second oldest is Tyson Chandler is less than 25 years old.

The remaining three, Wang Chong, Luol Deng and Monta Ellis, are all in their early 20s and are in the period of youth and strength. Each season is a stage for them to accumulate valuable game experience and improve their abilities. .

Therefore, there is no dispute that the Bulls should be stronger in the new season than last season.

The Cavaliers, on the other hand, are different. Although they have acquired big money and the team's defensive ability has been qualitatively improved, it remains to be seen what level the Cavaliers' second-leading scorer Larry Hughes can perform as he recovers from an injury. It is doubtful, so it is reasonable to rank the Cavaliers behind the Bulls.

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The preseason is over, and the Bulls' regular season opener will be held on October 10. Their opponent is the Miami Heat, their opponent in the Eastern Conference finals last season.

On October 10, all Bulls members arrived in Miami by plane and began preparations for the opening game.

Although it was an away game, the Bulls had no intention of giving up. On the contrary, they planned to avenge last season's Eastern Conference Finals in this game. They were not daunted at all by the Heat's title of defending champion.

This is also the benefit of a young team. They will not be discouraged and give up just because of one or two failures.

I thought that this replay of last season's Eastern Conference finals would be an anxious battle, but no one expected that the Heat were melted as soon as the two teams met.

26:16 in the first quarter and 35:14 in the second quarter.

After half the game, the Bulls already led by 59 points at 30:29.

The Heat were directly blindsided by the Bulls. They did not react until the second half and were taken away by the Bulls. They lost 108:66 at home by 42 points.

The Bulls' revenge battle was a hearty one, and it was completely ruthless and bloody.

Not to mention the Heat and major media, even the Bulls themselves were a little confused.

What's happening here? Is the defending champion so good?

Others may not understand the situation, but Wang Chong knows it well, and such a result is not surprising at all.

Although the Heat's lineup has almost no changes compared to last season, the Heat, which has many veterans such as O'Neal, Mourning, Gary Payton, etc., will weaken due to the aging of the veterans with each additional season. point.

The most critical thing is O'Neal's declining condition.

O'Neal himself is not a self-disciplined player. He is often criticized for not training seriously and being lazy. Although he had the goal of winning the championship before, O'Neal could barely control himself.

But after winning the championship last season and completing his obsession to slap the Lakers in the face, O'Neal completely began to let himself go. In just one holiday, O'Neal gained a lot of weight, and his competitive state was ridiculously poor. He ran a little on the court. Already out of breath from running.

In the Heat, there are more than one or two players in a similar situation to O'Neal. The result is that after the whole game, the only one in the team who scored in double figures was Wade, who made 15 of 10 shots and scored 25 points.

Wade, who is in the same period of rising strength as the Bulls generals, is certainly not as strong as O'Neal and others, but when he is the only one who can score stably, he is still unable to support himself and can only watch the Heat suffer a big score. slaughter.

For the Bulls, Wang Chong did not exert much effort in the game. He made 18 of 10 shots, 5 of 3 three-pointers, and 6 of 6 free throws. He scored 29 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. His performance was relatively average.

But the performance of other Bulls players is quite eye-catching, especially Luol Deng at the forward position. In this game, the Heat relied on the old and slow O'Neal inside to frequently cut into the basket and score without the ball. , made 12 of 9 shots in the game, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 20 points and 6 rebounds.

In addition to Luol Deng, Ellis, Chandler and others also performed well. Five members of the Bulls team scored in double figures, playing a very hearty game.

After an away upset against the Heat that surprised everyone, the Bulls immediately headed to Orlando to challenge the Magic.

The 06-07 season can be regarded as the season of the Magic's rise. In the third season of Howard's career, he has been able to average 17.6 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. In addition, the team also has Grant Hill and Hedo Turkoglu. As well as capable players such as Jameer Nelson, it is no surprise that the Magic will return to the playoffs with a record of 40 wins and 42 losses in the regular season.

However, the Magic's strength at this stage is just that. Howard is not the monster who will replace James alone at his peak in the future. His defensive level in the penalty area is only about the same as Chandler's, and the outside configuration of the two teams is completely different. .

At 104:89, the Bulls once again won an away game and ushered in their first two consecutive victories.

On November 11, the Bulls finally returned to their home court against the Sacramento Kings.

By the 06-07 season, the Kings are no longer the Kings that dominated the league with their gorgeous Princeton system a few years ago. The only players from that period are Mike Bibby and Brad Miller, although there are also some players in the team. It has been filled with players such as Artest and Kevin Martin, but it is definitely not a strong team.

Defeating such an opponent will not be difficult for the Bulls, who are so impressive.

96:88, the Bulls won the game at their home court and also won three consecutive victories at the start of the new season.

The Bulls started the new season in an unexpectedly hot state, defeating the Magic and Kings was enough. In the opening game, they beat the Heat by 42 points away from home, which really scared the whole league.

After all, the Heat are the defending champions. They beat others by 42 points. Are they so shameless?

The Bulls don't care about you. A group of young players lead the team. The more they win, the more powerful they will be.

11月6日，公牛主场110:85击败密尔沃基雄鹿，又是一场酣畅淋漓的大胜，常规赛战绩直接来到了4胜0负。

But then, the opponent will not be so easy to deal with.

The Bulls' opponent in the fifth round of the regular season is the Cleveland Cavaliers, the protagonist team of the 23VS24 showdown that has been highly hyped at the beginning of the new season.

The Cavaliers' start to the regular season could only be considered satisfactory. They easily won the opening game and then won two consecutive games. However, in the next two games, the Cavaliers lost to the Spurs and Hawks respectively, suffering two consecutive losses and reaching a record of 2 wins and 2. burden.

The game against the Cavaliers is also the Cavaliers' fifth round game.

Both the Cavaliers and Cleveland fans attach great importance to this game.

<divclass="contentadv">There's nothing you can do if you don't pay attention. Last season's regular season and playoffs, the Cavaliers didn't win even once between the two teams and were swept by the Bulls.

Cavaliers fans can accept the team's failure, but facing the new Bulls, also led by a supernova, it is still a bit uncomfortable to lose so miserably.

Therefore, when the Cavaliers acquired Ben Wallace in the summer off-season, the first thing many fans thought of was that they would finally get revenge on the Bulls this season.

Cavaliers star James is also full of confidence in this, otherwise he would not clamor for the first place in the Eastern Conference in the regular season before the new season begins.

Although the regular season started poorly, with a record of only 2 wins and 2 losses, it was just the beginning. As the season progresses, the team's tacit understanding and chemical reaction will improve. These are all problems sooner or later.

The first game against the Bulls in the new season was still played at their home court. The Cavaliers had to win the game no matter what, and James could not accept that he would continue to lose to Wang Chong.

But Wang Chong said that whether you win or lose is really not up to you.

If the Cavaliers get one of Duncan or Garnett this summer, Wang Chong may not have much confidence in winning. James plus either of the two top insiders in the league will be unimaginably terrifying.

But what they got was Ben Wallace. Do you really use Ben as a treasure? Even if he is a baby, Ben's truly powerful period has passed. What can a player who can only perform blue-collar duties on the defensive end do on the court?

While the Cavaliers are gearing up, Wang Chong is also ready to wake up the Cavaliers fans who are still dreaming.

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November 11, Cavaliers vs. Bulls at Quicken Loans Center in Cleveland.

The Bulls' starting five have remained unchanged for a long time. They are still the five main players from last season, point guard Monta Ellis, shooting guard Lagar Bell, small forward Luol Deng, power forward Wang Chong, and center Tai. Sen. Chandler.

The Cavaliers have fielded an interesting lineup.

Point guard Eric Snow, shooting guard Larry Hughes, small forward James, power forward Ben Wallace, and center Big Z.

Seeing the Cavaliers' starting lineup, Wang Chong raised his eyebrows slightly.

Obviously, this is a deliberately adjusted lineup arrangement for himself.

In the past few games, the Cavaliers' starting inside posts have always been Big Ben and Gooden. Big Z was placed on the bench, which is a more reasonable arrangement. After all, although the center and power forward are both inside, their playing styles are different. There is still a big difference. Big Z's style is not suitable for the power forward position, let alone Big Ben.

Faced with the Bulls arranging such a starter, the Cavaliers obviously have their own considerations.

The game is about to start, and the starting players of both sides come on the stage to prepare for the jump ball.

Wang Chong found Ben Wallace standing directly opposite him, obviously playing the power forward position.

The league's requirements for the power forward position are that in addition to being able to block inside like a center and help defend and grab rebounds, they also need to have a relatively stable mid-range shot.

Don't count on Big Ben's mid-range shooting, so he is simply not qualified for the power forward position.

The Cavaliers certainly understand this, otherwise they would not have allowed Ben and Gooden to start together before.

The reason for this arrangement is naturally because when facing the Bulls, the strategic significance of limiting Wang Chong's scoring is obviously more important than the functionality of the power forward position.

That's right, the Cavaliers' purpose in making Ben the starting power forward is simple, to target Wang Chong.

As a four-time Defensive Player of the Year and a well-known super defensive player in the league, there is no doubt that Big Ben’s defensive ability is strong. Although there is a big gap between Big Ben’s height and Wang Chong, he is the defensive king that the Cavaliers can think of. Worship the best candidate.

Before the game, the head coach of the Cavaliers has set a task for Ben Wallace. He does not need to do anything in this game. He has only one goal, which is to stare at Wang Chong and make the opponent feel uncomfortable.

Big Ben was very obedient. As the referee threw the basketball into the sky, Chandler first moved the basketball to the Bulls' side. He immediately came to Wang Chong's side and stayed close to the opponent every step of the way.

Seeing Da Ben's appearance, Wang Chong naturally understood what was going on, but he was still a little confused.

The head coach of the Cavaliers is considered a talented person. What on earth do he think? He actually thinks that the big boss can defend him alone?

Anyone who understands penalty kicks should know that Ben's defensive strength lies in his ability to protect the basket and assist in defense. His single defense ability is very average, and he is completely different from a single defense master like Leonard in the future. It's not on the same level, and it's not necessarily stronger than James on the same team.

It is true that Ben Wallace's strength is terrifying, but his mobility can only be considered average among players over 2 meters tall. It is only because he mainly plays the center position that he is asked to step on it. That’s all.

Guard him one on one? How does this guy prevent his outside penetration?

After halftime quickly, Wang Chong took the initiative to ask for the ball directly outside the three-point line.

Ellis, who held the ball past half-court, immediately passed the ball without any hesitation.

Wang Chong, who was holding the ball in the top arc, had a calm expression, but his movements were not delayed. He directly accelerated and broke through in disguise. His speed increased to the extreme in an instant. He passed the opponent in just one step and rushed into the penalty area for a layup.

On the Cavaliers bench, head coach Mike Brown's expression froze.

Obviously, he has not read Ben Wallace's instruction manual, and he doesn't even know that the usage is completely wrong.

If Wang Chong made the arrangements himself, he would let James be responsible for guarding him one-on-one, and then let James huddle under the basket, waiting to help defend against double-teams at any time, and he would not waste too much time on himself, but Let Ben's defensive deterrent cover other Bulls players and limit the Bulls' overall offensive efficiency.

The reason is simple. His offense cannot be limited. Instead of worrying about how to curb his scoring, it is better to work on other players and win the game by limiting the Bulls' overall offensive rhythm.

The Pistons have always used Ben Wallace in this way. Wang Chong didn't expect that Mike Brown couldn't even copy his homework. No wonder he would be given the death stare by Kobe in the future. This coaching level is really not the best.