NBA: James wants to team up with me

While they have the advantage inside, the Bulls' outside firepower is not comparable to that of the Spurs.

Throughout the game, the Bulls shot a total of 35 three-pointers, hitting 16, with a shooting rate of 45.7%, and scored 48 points on only three-pointers.

As a starter, Curry's performance in his first game for the Bulls was astonishing. He made 15 of 7 shots in the game, 9 of 5 three-pointers, and scored 21 points and 4 assists including free throws.

As a first-year rookie entering the league, it is already very good to be able to perform like this against a team known for defense like the Spurs.

After the first game, many media praised Curry's performance on the court.

"Stephen Curry is a very talented player on the offensive end. His precise outside shooting gives him a natural advantage in scoring. Even if his physical fitness is poor and he lacks confrontation, he can still score on the court."

"Unlike the Bulls' starter James Jones last season, Curry can not only shoot fixed-point three-pointers, but also has a very good offensive ability with the ball. In this game, he cooperated with Wang Chong many times in pick-and-rolls, and his shooting after the pick-and-roll was quite good. Stable, the cooperation between the two should be a great weapon for the Bulls in the new season!"

These media praised Curry too early, because in the following games, Curry performed amazingly in every game.

10月30日，公牛客场挑战波士顿凯尔特人，库里三分7中3，得到18分5助攻。

On November 11st, the Bulls played against the Miami Heat in an away game. Facing Wade's defense, Curry finally got a lesson. He made 1 of 12 shots and only scored 4 points and 11 assists. However, the Heat's current strength is simply not comparable to the Bulls. The team competed, and although Wade suppressed Curry, the Bulls still won the game by a large score.

On November 11, the Bulls played against the Milwaukee Bucks at home. Curry faced fellow rookie Jennings. He made 3 of 18 shots and 10 of 8 three-pointers, scoring a career-high 5 points!

On November 11, the Bulls challenged the Charlotte Bobcats away. Curry made 5 of 17 shots and scored another 8 points.

Unconsciously, the Bulls won five consecutive victories to start the new season, and Curry started all five games without exception, averaging 19.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game, and shooting 46% from the field. , the three-point shooting percentage is 43%, and the data looks quite gorgeous.

The entire alliance was shocked.

Curry is actually so strong? It was a seamless transition from the moment he came up, and he directly became the Bulls' second offensive core.

What does it mean to average 20+ points per game in your rookie season?

At least so far, those who can do this in the league have all grown into the league's top stars without exception!

And don’t think that there are many players who can score 20+ points in their rookie season. Going back, there are Durant in 07, James and Anthony in 03, Elton Brand in 99, and Elton Brand in 97. Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson in 96.

As for Derrick Rose, the No. 08 pick in 16.8, if he had been selected by the Bulls, he would have averaged 4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 19 assists per game in his rookie season. However, if he was selected by the Knicks, his data would be even better in this top bad team. In the case of Rose, when he won the Rookie of the Year last season, he averaged 4+7+20 per game. Although he failed to reach 7+ points, considering that he averaged assists per game, his strength can be included in this. in a row.

But the problem is, whether it is James, Anthony, Durant or Rose, they are all the top three super rookies in the draft. When they enter the league, they will be the stars of tomorrow.

In comparison, Curry, the sixth pick in the first round, is obviously much inferior. In addition, the Bulls also have a player who is recognized as the strongest scorer in the league. It is really impressive that Curry can perform so efficiently in the Bulls. It’s incredible!

It turns out that the bull has found treasure again.

People used to think that the Bulls traded for Curry and paid Millsap + Jones + Sessions and a first-rounder as a bargaining chip. It was not worth it just to exchange for a rookie with the sixth pick in the first round.

But if this rookie with the sixth pick in the first round is a player who can stably contribute 20+ points per game and still has a lot of room for growth in the future, it will be completely different and it will be a big mistake.

Originally, the Bulls' lineup of the Big Three plus Gasol was enough to make teams all over the league feel desperate. Now they have Curry, who has good fighting ability and great potential for future development. How will other teams in the league play?

Of course, Curry is not invincible. After all, he is not the Curry of the future.

On November 11, in the Bulls' away game against the Nuggets, Curry performed poorly and only scored 7 points with a 33% shooting rate.

The Denver plateau climate has had a serious impact on Curry's competitive state, and some team coaches have already conducted targeted analysis and responses based on Curry's technical characteristics in previous games.

Players whose main offensive scoring method is mid-to-long-range will inevitably have poor performance stability. After all, the farther away from the basket, the lower the shooting percentage. This is a normal and consistent thinking.

Players like Wang Chong who are accurate and stable in mid- and long-range are really rare.

In addition to the shortcomings of poor performance stability, some teams have also discovered the shortcomings of Curry's poor defensive ability.

Curry's physical fitness is indeed of the wrong type in the league. His confrontation ability is weak, and his defensive skills and awareness are also mediocre. This shortcoming is not obvious when playing against weaker defenders in some teams. But when he faced the league's top defenders, this shortcoming was immediately magnified.

On November 11, the Bulls faced the challenge of the Utah Jazz at home.

In this game, Billups missed one game due to a relapse of an old injury and physical discomfort. The Bulls' starting lineup became Curry, Danny Green, Wang Chong, Garnett and Gasol.

As a point guard, Curry faced off against All-Star guard Deron Williams. Due to the huge disparity in tonnage, Deron beat Curry almost all the way on the offensive end, using his physical advantage to force his way into the penalty area to score.

At this stage, Deron is already the league's top defender. He averaged 19.4 points and 10.7 assists per game in the regular season last season. He is one of the few point guards in the league to average a double-double per game.

Deron was not the only one to perform well in this game. The entire Jazz team felt very hot, even if the Bulls' invincible forward defense could not support it.

The result was that the Bulls lost to the Jazz at home 102:107, ending their six-game winning streak and ushering in their first loss of the new season.

Bulls fans did not take this defeat to heart, because if Billups had not been injured, the outcome of the game was still uncertain.

Don't look at Deron's current luxurious per-game statistics, which Billups has never achieved, but even if Billups' defense can't guard Deron, it won't let the opponent demand it on the offensive end like it did with Curry. .

Unconsciously, the time has arrived in mid-November, and the Bulls, who have started with 11 wins and 6 loss, encountered the first challenger of the new season, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers have been actively operating throughout the offseason, hoping to introduce strong players through trades.

It's a pity that things went against their wishes. Throughout the summer, the Cavaliers did not gain anything, and the main lineup continued to be the same as before.

Starting point guard Mo Williams, shooting guard Ray Allen, small forward James, power forward JJ Hixon, and center O'Neal.