warrior godfather

Chapter 413 Testing Zhan

May 5, Chicago, United Center.

In this arena that has carried countless honors, there are no empty seats, and there is a lot of voices. The Eastern Conference G1 between the Bulls and the Heat is about to be staged.

Fanatical Bulls fans filled the auditorium, shouting as hard as they could, trying to create an atmosphere of terror and demonstrating against opponents, convinced that this would help the team.

Previously, the Bulls defeated the Eagles 4:2 and took the lead in entering the Eastern Conference Finals.

After the Heat and the Pacers drew 1:1, they lost G3, and then Wade and James played together, three games in a row, eliminated their opponents with a big score of 4:2, and joined the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive year.

This is the second consecutive year that the Bulls have been No. 1 in the Eastern Conference, and it is also the second consecutive year that they have entered the Eastern Conference finals. After winning the MVP last year, Rose ranked second in the MVP selection this year and was selected as the best team (Note [-]). The reduction also made the fans finally sure that the long-lost team of kings finally ushered in a revival, not just a flash in the pan.

However, the Bulls back then dominated the entire league, and the current Bulls are still far behind. Rose is a recognized superstar, but he can't dominate the superstar like Michael Jordan.

Bulls fans have never expected that Rose can lead the Bulls to regain their original glory, but they also look forward to him leading the team to win the championship, allowing the Bulls to reach the top again and enjoy the worship of the world.

And if you want to win the championship, you must break out of the East. If you want to break out of the East, the Big Three of the Heat are obstacles that the Bulls can't get around. Only by defeating the Heat head-on can the Bulls qualify for the championship.

Last year's playoffs, the Bulls lost to the Heat with a big score of 4:3, but it gave the fans hope. This year, the Bulls' record is still strong. They believe that the team will definitely beat the Heat this time and advance to the finals!
And the trend of the G1 game is also gradually verifying their ideas.

From the beginning of the first quarter, the two teams pulled up the intensity and the confrontation was very fierce.

Thibodeau, like last season's Eastern Conference finals, insisted on the strategy of defending against Wei Fangzhan. The defensive core was Noah on the inside and Luol Deng on the outside. Pressing on the left side, forcing Wade to take a jumper, for James, it is a sudden shot, Luol Deng is trying to fight on the line, and Noah is ready to help defend at any time.

This is the defensive strategy that the Bulls have been adhering to last year. It is also based on the tough and tenacious defense that the Bulls were able to fight the Heat in seven games and lost out.

It has to be said that Thibodeau's achievements in offense are mediocre, but he is definitely a master in defense. He restricts Wade's personal rush and curbs James' driving ability, which can be described as hitting a snake and hitting seven inches.

But the Bulls still lost to the Heat last season. On the one hand, it was because the Bulls' offense was too constipated and relied heavily on Rose's individual singles, which was unsystematic. Can rely on Rose's inconsistent jumper to solve the problem.

On the other hand, the Heat are a Big Three team. Thibodeau shifted his defensive focus to Wade and James, and he inevitably relaxed his defense against Bosh.

As strong as the Bulls, it is impossible to limit the offense of the three stars at once. This requires extremely terrifying defensive resources. Looking at the league, only the Warriors have such defensive resources, but it also needs to wait for Leonard, Clay and Green to grow up .

When Wade's scoring average was only 18.8 points per game and his shooting percentage was only 40.5% by the Bulls. James averaged only 6.6 assists per game but had to send 3.6 turnovers. Both were able to score 60 points, which was the decisive factor for the Heat to win the Eastern Conference Finals last year.

However, Bosh is now recovering from his injuries. The Heat will lose one of the Big Three, and the Bulls will have abundant defensive resources. With the difficulty of one ball and one ball, the Heat's offensive efficiency plummeted and it was difficult.

However, the Bulls' offense is not much better. Thibodeau has coached the Bulls for two years, but he still hasn't built a stable and efficient offensive system. He puts all his attention on defense. When using players, give priority to their Defensive prowess, not its offensive strengths.

As a result, the Bulls' defense is naturally very strong, but their offense is very weak, relying largely on Rose, which is quite similar to the 76ers coached by Larry Brown.

The same is true of today's game. From the first minute, Rose has the right to fire unlimitedly, violently impacting the Heat's inside line.

Spoelstra is not a vegetarian. Last season, the Heat were able to eliminate the Bulls, and the defensive strategy of resolutely strangling Rose's breakthrough played an important role.

He used this method again tonight, using Chalmers to lead the defense. After being broken by Rose, James, Wade and other wing defenders first swiped their cards to help defend, and then Joel Anthony, Haslem and other insiders The players supplemented the defense, deployed three layers of defense, blocked each layer, completely blocked the space for Rose to break through, and forced him to take long-range shots from the outside.

However, Rose punished the Heat's defensive strategy by relying on long shots in the Eastern Conference Finals last year, leading the Bulls to three victories. After he tasted the sweetness, he practiced shooting hard during the lockout, and his three-point shooting percentage this season has also increased to a career high. 35.6% of the total.

This is still not up to the level of a shooter, but it is already the result of Rose's great efforts. In fact, throughout Rose's career, even if he was forced to transform after a serious injury, three-pointers have never been too accurate. Now he can Reaching such a level is already commendable.

Relying on a long-range shooting efficiency of about 35%, Rose can still score relatively stably under the targeted defense of the Heat. In addition, Noah, who has a much improved finishing ability inside, and Luol Deng, who has a certain ability to hold the ball, can shoot. Boozer and Hamilton, the Bulls and the Heat are evenly matched.

The two teams fought fiercely until the last 2 minutes of the fourth quarter, the score was 87:86, the Bulls led by 1 point, and the game entered the final decisive moment.

……

"Huh...huh..."

Wade stood at a 45-degree position on the weak side of the three-point line, bent over and bent his knees, with his hands on his knees, panting heavily. He never thought that he would feel so tired on the court.

His footsteps were so heavy, it seemed as if powerful arms stretched out from under the floor, grabbing his ankles, and every time he ran, he had to use all his strength to break free.

The air conditioner in the United Center is powerful and the cooling effect is excellent, but it can't make him feel cool. Wade seems to be in the desert. Every breath he takes is rapid and scorching, exhaling a ball of flames. , and sucked back a cloud of hot air.

This feeling of exhaustion to the point where the body is crumbling is something Wade has never experienced in his past career.

Wade had to admit that he was no longer the fast-moving Flash, he was old.

Although he is only 30 years old this year, Wade has repeatedly suffered serious injuries, his physical function has declined significantly, his athletic ability has declined, and his physical fitness has recovered slowly, which does not match the courage of the year.

Wade at his peak, even if he was exhausted physically, as long as he was given a little breathing time, he would be able to recover and devote himself to the game again, tirelessly.

But now, he has to rest for a few minutes off the court to barely recover a little energy, and he will be exhausted again soon.

Last season, Wade played 76 games, nearly full attendance, averaged 37.2 minutes per game, scored 25.5 points, 4.6 assists and 6.4 rebounds.

This season, Wade only played 49 games, missed 17 games, averaged only 33.2 minutes per game, scored 22.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists, missed the best team (Note 2), and the decline was very obvious.

More importantly, Wade's average number of free throws per game has dropped from 8.6 per game last season to 6.1 per game this season, and his aggressiveness has dropped a lot.

However, after the start of the playoffs, Wade had to shoulder the heavy burden of attacking. In the first round against the Celtics, the Big Three of the Celtics were old and strong, and the Big Three of the Heat had to go all out. In the end, it was James Runaway and turned on the "Full Zhan" mode, it was difficult to eliminate opponents in the tiebreaker. Wade averaged 42.4 minutes per game, second only to James and Rondo, and his physical consumption was very intense.

In the second round, the Heat beat the Pacers. Wade wanted to take a breather, but Bosh was accidentally injured in G1. The Heat fell behind by a big score of 1:2 and fell into a crisis. He played 39.5 minutes per game, scored 26.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists, helping the Heat win three games in a row and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Wade and James are also the only two players in this round of the series who averaged more than 20 points per game. James averaged 30 points, 10.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game, which was even better than Wade's performance. The Heat rely on the ultimate superstar basketball, Minimized the impact of Bosh's injury and passed the Pacers obstacle.

However, after 13 consecutive high-intensity games, Wade has consumed a lot of energy. Tonight against the Bulls, he can't relax in the slightest. He has played for 41 minutes so far, under the strict defense of the Bulls. , scored 18 points with difficulty, and the efficiency was very dismal, 17 of 7 shots.

"Huh...huh..."

Wade is very tired, he would like to maintain the current position until the end of the game.

But he can't do this. The game is not over yet, and the Heat are still behind the score. He must grit his teeth and survive the last 2 minutes, and fight for this crucial victory before he is eligible to rest.

At this time, it was the Heat's turn to attack. After James dribbled the ball halfway through, with the help of Haslem's pick-and-roll, he broke through to the inside of the Bulls, against Noah's defense, and missed a layup.

Looking back, Rose launched a pick-and-roll with the ball. Under the heavy siege of the Heat, he had no chance to break through to the inside and made a three-pointer.

Haslem protected the rebound, and the Heat pushed for a counterattack. Wade squeezed the last bit of strength in his body and rushed to the frontcourt, but encountered Rose and Hamilton. He was forced to take the ball and was ambushed in the passing lane. Luol Deng on the ball steals.

Luol Deng immediately passed the ball to Rose, and the Bulls counterattacked. Rose took the ball and rushed to the frontcourt, striding forward, past Chalmers and Haslem, and rushed into the Heat's penalty area at a fast speed.

James took big strides from behind, struggling to catch up, trying to stage a scene of chasing the big hat. Rose slowed down and leaned back, forcing James to be unable to fully exert his strength, and then pulled the bar sharply to avoid James' block Gai, underhanded and underhanded.

89:86, the Bulls widened the point difference to 3 points.

The Heat's situation was critical, and Spoelstra called a timeout, but there was no way to adjust it. He could only boost morale and leave the ball to James and Wade to deal with.

After the two teams returned to the court, there were 45 seconds left in the game, and the Heat still had two offensive rounds, but there was no delay. After Chalmers sent a sideline ball, James immediately used the double screen of Haslem and Battier , rushed into the inside of the Bulls, overwhelmed Boozer who was helping to defend, and made a layup, which only took 5 seconds

89: 88.

The Bulls attacked, Rose did not rush to attack, he obeyed Thibodeau's instructions, dribbled the ball at the top of the arc to waste time, until there were 5 seconds left in the attack time, he used a super large double change to pass Chalmers , An emergency stop jumper was shot inside the three-point line, the basketball went out of the frame, and was grabbed by James who shrank to the basket.

At this time, with 16 seconds left in the game, James didn't dare to waste time, quickly dribbled the ball across the half court, hit the inside line through the pick-and-roll, and encountered Boozer's help defense.

James had the space to force a jumper, but he hesitated and chose to split the ball to Battier who was emptied.

Battier received the ball and wanted to shoot a three-pointer. Hamilton made up the defense and stopped in front of Battier.

Battier wanted to find another teammate, but the Bulls' defensive formation was very tight, moving as a whole with the Heat's players running, blocking the passing lanes of Battier and other Heat players, and Battier was in the corner , the field of vision is already narrow, and then he was blocked by the Bulls, and he couldn't find a chance to pass the ball for a while.

He swung his arms left and right to avoid Hamilton's press, and glanced left and right, and found that every teammate in front of him was next to a Bulls player. Hamilton's defense made a three-pointer.

Bang!

Under Hamilton's interference, the basketball bounced out of the basket. Noah overpowered Haslem, grabbed the rebound, and passed the ball to Rose.

Wade immediately stepped forward and fouled Rose. Rose was extremely stable and made two free throws.

At 91:88, the Bulls led by 3 points.

With 3.2 seconds left in the game, the Heat had no timeout. After receiving the baseline ball from Chalmers, James rushed to the front court, but instead of shooting a three-pointer, he handed it to Wade beside him. Three points far away, without touching the frame, the red light also turned on.

In the end, the Bulls narrowly beat the Heat 91:88, fighting this fierce hand-to-hand battle!
After the game, James said in an interview that the Heat will definitely win this round of the series. G1 is just a test. Next, he will go all out and work hard to solve the opponent.

But the fans did not agree with his statement. Some people ridiculed on the Internet:
"G1 test Zhan, G2 peak Zhan, G3 full-strength Zhan, G4 desperate Zhan, G5 best Zhan, G6 dumping Zhan, G7 decision Zhan, when will there be a Super Saiyan Zhan, free and extreme Zhan?"

　Note (1) (2): There was an error in the selection of the best team, which has been corrected. The correct result is that Rose was selected for the first team, Kobe was selected for the second team, and Wade was not selected.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)