Basketball: The Chosen Victim

Chapter 121 Physics and Thibodeau must score to win!

"Yes, the time moves forward, and the action moves backward. If I make another move, I will return to the forward timeline!"

At the United Center, Wu Di is explaining the "quantum mechanics" of double stepbacks to Christopher Nolan on the sidelines.

As Wu Di expected, Nolan not only continued to use the front-row season tickets to watch the Bulls game as usual, but also took the initiative to talk to him during the warm-up time and started a step-back.

"This is amazing! It's a pity that I can't see you use the retreat step with my own eyes today..."

Nolan's eyes lit up. Ever since his first film "Memory Fragments" came out, he had always wanted to make a "back in time" movie in which the bullets returned to the pistol. Wu Di's explanation gave him great inspiration.

"Haha, there will be a chance! Mr. Director, I have seen all the movies you have made. If there is an investment opportunity in the future, you can recruit me. I will only pay the money and will not interfere with anything else!"

Wu Di smiled and suggested that Nolan's box office appeal is still guaranteed, and now that talent points are becoming more and more expensive to exchange, it's time for him to make some investments.

"Oh, I'm glad you can say that! But now that the funding for "Batman 3" has been locked, maybe the next movie is a good opportunity, are you interested in science fiction?"

Nolan said with a smile, although he has produced several well-known works such as "Inception" and "Batman", he has not won any director awards, and has not yet grown into a top celebrity.

Therefore, investors like Wu Di who are both topical and not involved in specific affairs are still very scarce resources for him.

"Of course! Interstellar travel, one of the favorite subjects of our Chinese people!"

Wu Di smiled and said, science fiction?

Isn't that "Interstellar"?

Nolan couldn't close his mouth from ear to ear when he heard the words:

"That's great, I happen to have a movie about it..."

However, just as the discussion between the two was on the rise, Joakim Noah with a ball head came up:

"Hey, great director! Let's watch the game again!"

Noah is a typical social cow. After a few pleasantries, he began to raise his opinions on the unfinished "Batman 3":

"I heard that Batman 3 may not be filmed in Chicago anymore? How can this work? Gotham is Chicago, Chicago is Gotham, you can't leave..."

Seeing this, Wu Di was ready to leave immediately, but Noah obviously wanted to take two bites no matter who he was:
"Big star! I wish you no injuries for Christmas! Oh...forgot, Chinese people don't celebrate Christmas! Haha!"

Wu Di sneered and pointed at him as a response, this little cutie, how much she laughs now, how miserable she will cry later!

Noah and Cleveland have an old grievance. When Lao Zhan was there, he still had scruples, just all kinds of yin and yang.

Now that Wu Di's new emperor has just been established, not only did he not restrain himself, he even dared to intensify it!
The last time the Bulls played in Cleveland, this guy played four full quarters while the Cavaliers were absent from 9 players, scoring 31 points, 19 rebounds and 5 assists.

Created the largest loss record in team history for the Cavaliers with 112-67!
After the game, he tweeted openly, saying "Cleveland is so bad that I don't want to go out" and so on!
It's just outputting on the face!

Made, Brownie can't bear it, uncle can't bear it!

How fat!

But this guy really has the courage and fat capital. The Bulls are now ranked first in the Eastern Conference with a record of 20 wins and 6 losses, one more win than the 19 wins and 6 losses of the Heat with Riley's comeback.

I don't know how much higher than the Cavaliers' record of 12 wins and 14 losses.

Gan!
"Coach, I want to play later!"

Wu Di took Scott to the team's locker room and said that he had done an MRI test with Eva this morning.

The diagnosis given by Eva is "limited play".

But Scott frowned and didn't immediately agree.

When Wu Di proposed testing in the morning, Scott knew what Wu Di wanted to do.

He didn't stop him, but wanted to wait for the negative test results before persuading Wu Di.

But the test results were unexpected.

His first reaction was to suspect that Eva, the new personal doctor, had been bought.

Second-degree groin strain, he has coached for so many years, and he has never heard of anyone who can recover within three weeks.

But when he called the Cavaliers team doctor for a second diagnosis, he also gave a positive opinion!
Wu Di once again showed a jaw-dropping talent for recovery.

But it also made him suddenly difficult.

As the Cavaliers coach, Scott has a deep understanding of Wu Di's role on the court.

It can also be seen from the record of the Cavaliers.

With Wu Di in the game, the Cavaliers have 11 wins and 2 losses. In the game without Wu Di, the Cavaliers have 1 win and 12 losses.

The Cavaliers' lineup is not deep enough, lacking Wu Di as the main force, relying on the actor Williams alone, it is no different from Baige.

Wu Di was injured, and the team lost six games in a row. As the first person responsible for the record, Scott has endured so much criticism from the outside world during this period that his thin chin is wrinkled.

But if Wu Di gets injured after rushing to the field, it is not just a matter of criticism, he may even be questioned by the management because of this, and even face the fate of being dismissed from get out of class...

"Coach, you understand, we can't lose like this anymore!"

Seeing Scott hesitate, Wu Di persuaded again.

Although many people in the outside world say that the Cavaliers can enter the playoffs this season is success, but sports competitions, as a continuation of the war, follow the rule of winner-take-all, and if you want to maintain the morale of the team, you have to win all the way.

Otherwise, not to mention winning the finals, even the running-in of the team will be a problem.

"Growing through failure" is just a propaganda slogan. In fact, because of the six-game losing streak, the Cavaliers' morale has fallen to the bottom.

"However, even if you play this game, the probability of us winning this game is very small."

Scott sighed, not letting go.

If the diagnosis is OK, he agrees in principle to play Wu Di, but as the Cavaliers coach, he must take a longer-term view and maximize the role of Wu Di's return to the team.

Without Wu Di's seven-game losing streak, the team's morale can still be restored.

With Wu Di's seven-game losing streak, the team's morale may be in a slump.

"I understand your concern, but think about it, if we can beat the No. [-] Bulls, which is a game with a high degree of attention like the Christmas game, how much it will boost our morale!"

Wu Di began to tempt, saying that big risks mean big opportunities. Anyway, when they were predicted by the media to be the last, they shouted the slogan of the championship. Are you afraid of this risk?
"You have a way to beat the bull?"

But Scott raised his eyelids and keenly heard the meaning of his words.

Wu Di nodded, and after calling Jamison over, he explained to them the strategy he had thought of in the past two days.

The more Scott listened, the wider his eyes widened. In the end, in the last half hour before the start of the game, Wu Di and Jamison's game status was updated from injury to playable.

At this time, the rules of the league are still relatively loose. Players can observe their physical state during pre-match training to decide whether to play.

The team's starting lineup only needs to be announced 10 minutes before the game.

But Scott's move instantly caught the attention of the Bulls.

One of the assistant coaches who was full-time to investigate the situation before the game immediately ran all the way and came to Thibodeau to report the situation.

"What? Both of them have become available for battle?"

Thibodeau heard that the chrysanthemum tightened, which attracted the surrounding Bulls players to look over.

Originally, he thought that this game would bring a visual feast equivalent to a Christmas gift to the Bulls home fans like the previous 112-67.

But all of a sudden, both Wu Di and Jamison can play?
Thibodeau frowned. He was only promoted to head coach this season. Although the team has a good record, he still instinctively felt that it would be better to be cautious.

He looked at Jamison and Wu Di with his examining eyes.

According to the previous injury report, two people, one with a hamstring strain, will rest until January 1 next year, and the other has a groin strain, and will rest until January 5 next year.

Even if the injury report is conservative, it will be a week at most. Then Jamison will be on December 12, and Wu Di will be later on January 28 next year.

But to fight now?

Although he can understand Scott's urgency to end his six-game losing streak, player injuries are not a trivial matter, especially for main players like Jamison and Wu Di.

What is Scott taking the risk for?

Thibodeau looked in the direction of the Cavaliers. Wu Di and Jamison were already warming up, and Wu Di dunked a basket?

Oh, I went down with my legs, hehe, dare to play in this state?
Simply bullshit!
And this new beautiful team doctor...

Hehe, it looks very unprofessional at first glance. The older the doctor, the more popular the profession. The knight is running wildly on the road of pioneering!

Thibodeau observed for a while and then turned his head.

There is indeed nothing to observe. Even if Wu Di and Jamison can play, their playing time and actual performance will be severely limited.

Besides, so what if they are on the court, their Bulls are number one in the Eastern Conference!

Jamison is here, they have the defensive champion "British Jordan" Loel Deng, Deng Yingqiao!

Woody is here, and they have defensive champion Keith Bogans.

Bogans is the one the Bulls brought in from the Spurs to mark Wade!

Of course, there is another reason, and that is to let Thibodeau adapt to the situation, I really think highly of him.

Since Jeff Van Gundy, the defensive assistant coach of Van Gundy Jr., entered the NBA, Thibodeau has been labeled as the Van Gundy family.

It's not that the family doesn't enter the house. Thibodeau is simply a strengthening of Van Gundy Jr., paying more attention to defense and not being able to react on the spot.

Little Van Gundy will prepare some note kits for himself before the game, while Thibodeau only has the Bible, and he will only pray when he is in trouble.

When the starting list was determined, his prayer seemed to have an effect, and neither of them was on the starting list of the Cavaliers.

Thibodeau breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Scott and found that the latter was looking at him with his teeth bared.

"Damn it, you actually played this game with me!"

Thibodeau narrowed his eyes, he thought Scott was trying to scare him just now!
After all, he has just been promoted to head coach, so he will inevitably feel a little nervous in the face of such an unexpected situation...

Damn it, what a joke!
Thibodeau, feeling deeply offended, rallied the Bulls players together for his typical pressure-cooker output:

"Guys, look around, they're fans paying big bucks for Christmas tickets to see us play!"

"This Christmas, the gift they want most is a big victory! A big victory like the previous 112-67!"

"Today, we are facing the same opponents again. Their main players are injured and are unlikely to play, but we still have home court advantage this time. Such excellent opportunities do not come every year. We must seize them well. !"

"Or I'm sorry for the fans who came to watch the game!"

……

The game started soon, and the starting lists of the two teams were displayed on the big screen.

The starting lineup for the Bulls here is Rose, Bogans, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and Noah.

The Cavaliers have a two-point guard lineup, Davis, Williams, Parker, Hickson and Jordan.

The jump ball whistle sounded, and Jordan faced Noah and took the lead to transfer the ball to Davis!

The audience immediately started shouting "defense" to the DJ's music.

The United Center is full of emotions, and Thibodeau's pressure is also very high, which makes the Bulls team seem to have entered the lore moment of the fourth quarter when they come up!

Soon, before the first round was halfway through, there was a bang on the court!
Rose breaks the basketball from Williams' hand!

Then facing Davis' chasing and defending one-stop, he completed a dunk and scored!
Change direction without slowing down, dunk without hanging on the frame!
The Rose of the Windy City took the lead in blooming, and Carlos, the "anti-boned boy" in Kecheng, was not to be outdone. Facing Hixon, he used his signature weird jumper and scored consecutive mid-range shots.

There were endless cheers at the scene, and the gap in strength between the two teams was still too great. The Cavaliers were beaten 2-2 in 8 and a half minutes of the start.

Only 2 points were scored, and Davis made a foul free throw to get it.

Scott urgently called a timeout. Instead of putting pressure cookers on the players like Thibodeau did, he instilled chicken soup:

"The opponent is the No. [-] strong team, and we have just suffered a six-game losing streak. I am not God, but I used to be a player, so I can deeply understand everyone's pressure."

"Calling this timeout is not to reprimand everyone, but to hope that everyone can adjust and show their best form. The great thing about Christmas is that it is equal and belongs to everyone, not just Bulls fans. And thousands of Cavaliers fans!"

"They don't want much, they don't even hope for the fruits of victory, they just want to see a wonderful game! But now the Bulls want to stage a slaughter like the previous 112-67!"

"Now, everybody close your eyes and imagine that you're a Cavaliers fan and you're sitting in front of your TV watching this game with your closest family. Life's not easy. You've worked hard for a year and you've gotten nothing. Instead cornered, as your most beloved team is currently facing, 2-2/8, [-]-[-]..."

"Everyone open their eyes, you are now at the game site, you have the ability to change everything, all the decisions are in your hands, come on, guys, it's time to let this stupid cow see the crazy knight!"

The spirits of the Cavaliers players instantly lifted, and every word Scott said stimulated their nerves like chicken blood!
In the Christmas game, no one wants to be nailed to the pillar of shame like 112-67!

What's more, the Cavaliers missed 9 players in the previous game, and now they only have Wu Di and Jamison unable to play!

"Who said that ranking first will definitely take away the victory?"

Davis' eyes were spitting fire, and the temperament of the leader of the black eight gangsters was on his body again!
"Yeah, the Cavaliers fans don't want much, they just want a good game!"

Jordan clenched his fists tightly. Howard could resist him. How old is Noah?

"It's Deng Yingqiao, even if it's the real Jordan, I have to defend him today!"

Parker spat.

"This guy Boozer is the only defensive colander for the Bulls. I have to carry the burden of offense!"

Hickson looked determined.

Even Williams began to scold himself:

"Damn, what am I thinking! Even if you have to leave the team, a game like the Christmas game can't hurt the hearts of the fans!"

After the timeout ended, the Cavaliers players who returned to the field were completely different mentally.

Although they still couldn't prevent Rose's breakthrough and Boozer's mid-range shot, other positions were pressed to death, and Jordan, Hickson and Williams all scored.

The two teams began to play back and forth, and the point difference hovered between 6 and 8 points.

The Cavaliers bite tight, and Thibodeau pressed even tighter.

He is a very old-fashioned iron-blooded coach. If he can't play well, he will scold him more fiercely than an enemy.

Here, Hickson accidentally completed a consecutive scoring. In the next round, Thibodeau replaced Boozer, who was facing him, with Ty Gibson.

But letting go of Boozer would be like removing one of the bull's two horns.

The burden of the offense was all on Rose's horn.

Rose is indeed a big killer. Regardless of how many people are double-teaming the Cavaliers, Rose can break through the siege and send the ball into the basket, maintaining the Bulls' precarious offense and Thibodeau's high-pressure dynamics.

This season, Rose's possession rate reached an astonishing 35.5%, ranking first in the league.

If you add the assists that also accounted for more than one-third of the team, Rose can be said to have a big package on the offensive end, carrying the Bulls on his shoulders.

In Wu Di's previous life, Su Luo was seriously injured at a young age, and it was absolutely inseparable from Thibodeau's ruthless fuck.

After all, roses are not wintersweet, only with careful care can they bloom longer.

But Thibodeau obviously didn't understand this truth. He saw that the point difference started to widen again, and thought that his high-pressure policy had worked, but he started to instill more pressure on the players!
He fell into the vicious cycle of the rat race, and the point difference narrowed, indicating that the pressure was not enough, so continue to pressurize!

The widening of the score difference shows that the iron-blood high-pressure policy is effective, so continue to pressurize!

Anyway, as long as you can't be crushed to death, you will be crushed to death!
Physics and Thibodeau must score to win or lose!

Finally, the tragic first quarter between the chicken blood team and the high pressure team came to an end. The players of the two teams were exhausted, as if they were more tired than after overtime.

However, due to Rose's amazing performance, the high pressure team was even better and took the lead temporarily with a score of 18-28.

"I'll leave the rest to you!"

Scott looked at Wu Di, and the first step of their strategy had already been taken.

Wu Di will play with an injury in the future, and he will definitely give the Cavaliers another strong shot!

But whether Thibodeau can pressurize again depends on the quality of the Bulls' pressure cooker!
(End of this chapter)