no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 213 Question, understand, become
"when!"

Howard's free throw hit the rim, and it was a little too wide.

James glared at Xu Yong fiercely, how dare you tell the truth in front of me!

However, Xu Yongdang didn't see it and continued to look at Howard and said, "But there is nothing we can do about it. After all, you came later."

Howard was confused.

Xu Yong only said a few words, but they already made him doubt his life.

Yes, why should he attack James?

When he agreed to renew his contract in advance, Pritchard agreed that he and James had the same status.

But the situation now is different from what was said. Is it really Xu Yong who said it because he came later?
But he was only ten days late!

This is not fair!

Looking at Howard's uncertain expression, Xu Yong wanted to laugh a little.

Howard is still a sunshine boy.

Look at James, he and the Bulls have whipped him and he has matured.

Looking back at Howard, in this year in history, Howard was not even willing to pick and roll for Kobe!
What's your status as James?How dare a defeated general allow me to block you all the time?

So this trash talk is as lethal as Haslem's formula last season.

And the most fashionable thing at this time is that James can't say anything else.

Xu Yong is simply the biggest conspiracy in the world.

"when!"

Howard missed both free throws.

His mood was completely reflected in these two free throws.

Butler was on the sidelines at this time, and he seemed to have learned something else while he was concentrating.

"Shh!"

Looking back, Xu Yong scored two points on Richardson with a beautiful turnaround and fadeaway jumper.

Then, when James held the ball in the frontcourt again, Howard went directly inside to gain position.

James mentally defeated Xu Yong, then called Jamison on the other side to come over for a pick-and-roll, and broke through Gibson in a misplaced position.

Gibson's mobility is much better than Brown's, especially after entering the league for so many years, he has gradually improved in confrontation and is not so afraid of James.

But James sped up, turned around, and then used a drifting rebound to send the ball into the basket.

Although the posture was not aesthetic at all, he still sent the ball in steadily.

And after the Bulls missed a wave of offense in the frontcourt, it was James who forced a breakthrough and caused a foul on Artest.

His state tonight was a bit unbearable.

Thibodeau called a timeout.

When he came down, he rarely questioned Artest's defense.

Then, Thibodeau replaced Artest with Tony Allen and pushed Xu Yong to the third position.

He needs to ask Xu Yong to bring down the fire for James.

Xu Yong went to Artest before taking the field and patted his shoulder to comfort him.

Players will all age, and it is inevitable that Artest's condition will decline year by year.

After all, he is 33 years old this year.

For a player who relies on physical fitness to make a living, it is already good to be a starter for a strong team at this age.

But it is indeed difficult for him to face James, who is at his peak this season.

After the timeout, James made two free throws to help the Pacers tie the score.

The next few minutes belong to "Listen, they are playing basketball" time.

On the Pacers side, Howard continued to act like a big boy. Even if James called him, he would not hit the pick-and-roll.

And James became difficult to play against Xu Yong.

In the past two years, Xu Yong has been slowly gaining weight and increasing confrontation. In fact, he has been playing more like a small forward.

Against such a nemesis player, James would be in good shape without the strong support of his teammates.

But the same is true for the Bulls. Tony Allen was left open, and with the Pacers defending four and five, Vogel's team defense system was able to operate effectively.

This situation did not improve until the end of the quarter when both sides began to rotate personnel.

Butler came up and grabbed an offensive rebound and put in a tip-in to score his first point of the season, and then forced Gerald Green to make a walking error on the defensive end.

But the person from the Pacers who came up and performed well shocked Xu Yong, who had already taken a break.

Lance Stephenson.

This is not the Stevenson who has been with the Mavericks and Heat before, but the "junior brother" Stephenson who likes to play the pipa.

Stephenson was a second-round pick selected by the Pacers last year. He didn't get much opportunity in the past two years, but this year the Pacers were short of players in the backcourt and he finally entered the rotation.

He has obviously improved his scoring this past summer. Not only has he developed a three-point shot, but he has also demonstrated his organizational skills and controlled the situation very well.

Of course, these were not enough to surprise Xu Yong. He knew that Stephenson could play well. What surprised him was that this guy was on the same team as James!

This is the "first Zhan Chui"!
In a physical sense, he blew James' ears, which is a classic NBA scene.

Ayers, Howard, Stephenson, and if you include Boozer who was traded away before, let's not talk about the strength of this Pacers team, there is really too much fun.

Four minutes into the second quarter, the score was 4-28, with the Bulls leading.

Both sides have successively replaced their main players, and the coaches have adjusted their lineups based on the status of the players on the field.

Bulls: Hinrich, Jimmy Butler, Xu Yong, Battier, Brown;
Pacers: Hill, Stephenson, James, Jamison, Howard.

Up comes the Pacers' ball.

Howard set up a pick-and-roll for James again.

Xu Yong was a little surprised, but he was also mentally prepared.

It seems that Vogel made a good ditch again during the break... Howard didn't even get in the way, so he just passed it!

James was already ready to accelerate, but now he pressed the brake button, and the ball was suddenly exposed in front of Xu Yong's eyes.

"Snapped!"

Xu Yong was not polite, stretched out his hand and cut off the ball, leaving a stream of exhaust gas for James, and then went straight to a fast attack.

When he was approaching the three-point line in the frontcourt, he looked back.

James did not pursue the defense, but spread his hands and looked at Howard.

Obviously, it is better not to do this kind of pick-and-roll without hanging people.

Howard had a dissatisfied expression of "Is this my fault?"

The effect of Xu Yong's trash talk lasted all night, no, maybe a season!
He withdrew his gaze, and while he was happy, he also felt the desire to perform.

He slowed down at the three-point line, threw the ball high forward, and then accelerated and sprinted inside.

"boom!"

The basketball bounced after it hit the ground, and he was able to catch it. Then he jumped up, grabbed the rebounding basketball, and swung it into a windmill...

"Oh!"

Smash the ball into the basket.

"Oh! God, what is he doing!"

Over at the commentary box, O'Neal held his head and marveled.

Xu Yong regarded the main game as a slam dunk contest, and it was a difficult dunk that would result in a direct turnover if it failed.

But he did it, resulting in one of the absolute top five goals tonight, and also put the reactions of James and Howard behind him on the TV show.

The United Center has gone completely crazy.

Xu Yong VS James, every time they meet, they steal and perform famous scenes, although they are late, they are there!
Over at the commentary box, O'Neal put down his hands and looked at James and Howard on the court, and suddenly an idea came to his mind.

These two guys contributed such a famous scene in the first scene together, and they will definitely have fun in the future.

If he could put these scenes together, could he create a special show?

Barkley has now created a firm image of himself as the "No. [-] Xu Chui" by bravely eating cow dung (even though he was the last pigeon). It will be difficult for him to compete again.

But it is better to make the cake than to grab it. The Pacers team is the perfect raw material for making the cake.

In this case, let’s name that show..."Shaq’s Five Embarrassments"!

On the court, James and Howard were completely at odds with each other.

However, it turns out that the effect of each of them playing alone is obviously not as good as the pick-and-roll cooperation.

After Howard once again failed to attack Brown inside, the stalemate situation finally began to develop in a direction beneficial to the Bulls.

Xu Yong continued to hold the ball high in the frontcourt, and then after the Pacers flanked him, he threw the ball to Butler at a 45° angle on the weak side.

The Pacers' defense didn't catch up immediately, and they didn't seem to pay much attention to Butler's three-pointer.

Butler adjusted his three-point shot after catching the ball.

"Shh!"

His crazy training in the summer successfully turned into a crisp sound of hitting the net, and the United Center was instantly filled with cheers from the fans.

Thibodeau couldn't help but clench his fists while sitting on the bench.

The reason he used Butler instead of Allen in this period was to open up space on the court.

This three points is priceless.

It might even be the [key goal] of tonight's game.

James and Howard were so detached from each other by Xu Yong's devastating trash talk that the Pacers couldn't open up the offensive situation;

Butler can also open up space while ensuring defense on the court, and the Pacers' defensive pressure has increased sharply.

In other words, after the main force returned in the second quarter, the Pacers were in trouble on both offense and defense.

The score was quickly drawn.

At this time, Vogel seemed to be possessed by Spoelstra, looking confused.

He thinks he is good enough at dealing with superstars, but Howard is not a star, he is clearly still a child.

Of course, the most depressing person at this time must be James.

After losing the London Olympics and being kicked out by Riley, it took him a whole month to readjust his mentality with the help of Mike.

It was even a blessing in disguise that his mentality matured and he evolved directly from a young boy to a thirty-year-old man.

Unexpectedly, he met Howard.

It's not like he hasn't played against Howard before. Even the dance battle between the two at the All-Star Game was a famous scene.

At that time, he just thought that Howard was an optimistic, sunny and cheerful boy, but he never expected that he would be so naive.

At halftime, the score on the court was fixed at 46-33, and the Bulls had widened the point difference to double digits.

Looking at James who got up and left the field early before the half ended, Xu Yong didn't think he was unlucky at all.

As the saying goes, things turn around and what you have done to others will one day be repaid to you.

When James released his military power, did you ever wonder how Wade felt?
Even if he was racking up points in key games last season, did he ever consider Wade's feelings?

Now it's just a change of position, allowing him to experience it all over again.

And James will gradually understand that what he thought was maturity was actually Ah Q's self-deception.

Of course, the game has not yet decided the winner. Vogel still has the opportunity to ease the relationship between the Demon Kings. The second half of the game is still worth looking forward to.

Xu Yong thinks so, and so do the fans.

But when I really came back in the second half, the game suddenly became...abstract.

James began to play the easy ball he was familiar with, and Howard began to play hard ball crazily.

One rattling to gain points, the other banging the iron.

Then after three quarters, the game completely lost its suspense.

The Vogels were dumbfounded.

Although last season's Pacers lacked talent, they were a well-disciplined team that followed Indiana's iron-blooded culture. It was the kind of team that said, "I can lose to you, but I'll lose standing up."

But what is this called?
The mob is nothing more than that!
Of course, Vogel is still young.

But after James fell behind by more than 20 points in the fourth quarter and started [The King is Coming], he felt that his view of basketball was refreshed again.In the end, the Bulls defeated the Pacers 102-91.

徐永三节轻松拿下28分7板8助攻的准三双，辛里奇15分4助攻，巴特勒三分4中2拿了11分3板，布朗8分11板2盖帽，阿泰斯特7分2板。

步行者队那边，詹姆斯得到全场最高的33分外加6板6助攻，霍华德17分11板2盖帽，但是17投仅6中，希尔14分5助攻。

At the press conference after the game, Xu Yong attended with his junior Butler.

In addition to Xu Yong's leadership temperament, Butler, who continued his preseason status into the regular season, can be said to be the biggest surprise of the Bulls season.

Then, during his first press conference, Butler made a statement that was not surprising.

"I don't think this game has much reference significance. The strength shown by our opponents is too weak."

This made the reporters in the audience agitated, and Thibodeau couldn't help coughing twice.

He didn't even notice that Butler had such a flamboyant personality!

Xu Yong just smiled.

Butler is not actually arrogant, he just speaks more directly.

If the Pacers played like they did in the first quarter, tonight's game would have reached the decisive moment.

This is like the Arab world. Together they are strong on paper, but they are unable to handle Israel due to internal conflicts. Doesn't that mean that the displayed strength is too weak?
Of course, Xu Yong was much more tactful.

When asked by Windhorst, an "old friend", about his feelings against James tonight, he gave a very high evaluation.

"He has matured a lot. He is in very good shape this season. I think he is undoubtedly the team leader of the Pacers and will be the favorite for MVP this season."

Xu Yong's answer made Windhorst extremely happy. After many years, he finally heard the answer he wanted!
It's just that some smart reporters couldn't help but laugh.

The internal contradictions displayed by the Pacers tonight are unprecedented. James and Howard only played well for half a quarter before starting to fight against each other. Xu Yong uncharacteristically praised James at this time, which simply added fuel to the fire.

In fact, after the press conference, the Jamies were already taking to social media.

"Why is LeBron so unlucky that he left Wade and Bosh, two guys who are not worthy of their reputation, and how come he meets trash like Howard again?"

“17中6拿17分，反观我詹22中12拿33分，霍华德怎么好意思不给我詹挡拆的？”

"Howard still thinks he is the number one center in the league. If he cannot recognize himself, his future will only be in the CBA!"

"That's right, you see, Xu Du recognizes me, Zhan, but Howard is still living in the past."

"I think it's better to just go to the Bulls after two seasons. Anyway, I think Yao is not far away from retiring."

……

After returning to the locker room, the Bulls players seemed more excited.

Defeating the Pacers so easily gave the players a huge boost in confidence.

Hinrich also proposed to go out to celebrate together at this time.

Xu Yong nodded in agreement and announced that he would pay for all tonight's purchases.

This moment caused everyone in the locker room to cheer.

Then a group of people marched towards the local nightclub.

Drinking, disco dancing, dancer performances, group smoking cigars, playing dice... They celebrated in the nightclub for more than two hours before leaving.

The teammates were all enjoying themselves, but Butler sat alone in the corner without saying a word. He also didn't drink during the whole process.

Xu Yong drank a lot, and when the party was over, Butler drove him home.

In the car, Xu Yong was resting and Butler was also driving. The atmosphere seemed a bit dull.

"Senior, what I said at the press conference is the truth." When the car stopped at the intersection and waited for the traffic light, Butler finally couldn't help but said.

"I know." Xu Yong replied calmly.

"I mean, I think we got a little carried away tonight," Butler continued.

"Pass me the water in front of you." Xu Yong said.

Butler was stunned for a moment, opened the water on the center armrest and handed it to Xu Yong.

Xu Yong took a few sips.

Just when Butler turned around to listen, Xu Yong glanced ahead and reminded: "The light is green."

Butler looked back helplessly, then continued driving.

"Jimmy, what you said makes sense, but do you think that after an important victory, I should refuse my teammates' request to celebrate and then urge them to train?" Xu Yong said at this time.

"I..." Butler hesitated. Although he felt it was inappropriate to celebrate, what Xu Yong said made sense.

"You have to know that not everyone is like us. For example, Kirk, he has already married and started a business. In addition to basketball, he also has a family. Another example is Ty, who also needs to spend time with his girlfriend. You can't ask for it with your own requirements. other people.

Moreover, our season is also very different. I still don’t think we have a chance to defend the title. After all, we also won the finals last season without Derrick, right? "

After Xu Yong finished speaking, Butler nodded.

"Don't be anxious. The season has just begun. All we have to do is maintain our fighting spirit." Xu Yong said and put the water back on the central armrest.

"I understand."

……

After winning the Pacers, the Bulls continued their efforts, defeating the Digital Man and the Raptors one after another, and achieved a three-game winning streak to start the game.

This boosted the morale of the Bulls.

Then until Thanksgiving, their record was 9 wins and 2 losses.

Everything doesn't look much different from last season, and the Bulls are still the favorites to compete for the championship.

However, after Thanksgiving, the Bulls lost to the Mavericks, Spurs and Heat one after another, suffering a three-game losing streak.

And throughout November, their final record was only 11 wins and 9 losses, with a total record of 6 wins and 11 losses, ranking fourth in the Eastern Conference behind the Heat, Nets and Pacers.

Xu Yong's performance is still very stable. His scoring average of 28.5 points per game this season is even better than last season.

His assists also exceeded 6 for the first time in his career, reaching 6.2, which shows that he is playing more as a team than last season.

But it's obvious that the Bulls' overall strength is weakening.

Not only are Rose and Yao Ming absent, Artest, Battier, and Hinrich have all declined in ability to varying degrees due to their age.

Among them, Artest's performance is the most obvious.

As the team's second-leading scorer, his scoring average of 14.5 points per game looks okay.

But in fact, this data is as high as Jamison's.

His shooting percentage this season has dropped to around 40%, and his three-point shooting percentage is only 34%. This performance is obviously not enough to help the Bulls win steadily.

Although Butler has surprises, he has not grown up enough to step up.

It should be most appropriate to describe the Bulls at this stage as "lack of success".

Then, the outside world began to question Xu Yong overwhelmingly.

Just like when Xu Yong won the MVP and FMVP, the outside world would not overemphasize the strength of the Bulls, because Xu Yong's performance was worthy of those honors.

Similarly, when the Bulls are struggling, no one will analyze the difficulties the Bulls encounter. They will only question Xu Yong as the boss.

After these voices appeared, the Bulls' morale and players' enthusiasm also dropped significantly.

Even at this time, Taylor Swift released the single "I.Knew.You.Were.Trouble," which is widely believed to be based on her ex-boyfriend.

Although Xu Yong was mentally prepared as shown when communicating with Butler, he still felt a lot of pressure when all these things came together.

He needs to let off some steam, and he asks Scarlett to meet again.

In his manor, the two men fought a fierce and long battle.

The bed in the rooftop room was the battlefield for their first battle, then the floor-to-ceiling window sofa in another room, then the rose bathtub in the downstairs room, then the kitchen on the first floor, then to the cinema, and finally they were even in the open air The swimming pool had a blast, leaving a pool of fresh bath water.

To be honest, Xu Yong does not have any feelings for Scarlett, and the communication between them is purely physical.

Their relationship is a bit similar to that of Megan Fox, but the difference is that Scarlett enjoys the process more than Fox.

Xu Yong even felt that Scarlett was addicted.

He confirmed this when he finally felt tired and Scarlett said, "Give me more."

Then he remembered two things.

One thing I heard in the news in my previous life was that Scarlett was playing ball with a man in the elevator and was photographed.

Another thing is the breakup between Rodman and Madonna, which was as powerful as the "big bug" and was also defeated in front of Madonna.

There are always only exhausted cows and no damaged fields.

So early the next morning, Xu Yong put the reluctant Scarlett on the plane, and then went back and had a good sleep.

Then when he woke up, Xu Yong felt refreshed and had new ideas.

He invited Thibodeau to his home for a meal.

Thibodeau's hair looks a little thinner again.

The competition among NBA players is the most intense, and the pressure on NBA head coaches is the greatest.

But even so, while eating and chatting with Xu Yong, he was also enlightening Xu Yong.

"You have done a good enough job, and the current situation is not your problem."

After hearing what he said, Xu Yong was still very moved.

It is easy for players and coaches to be on opposite sides, especially between superstars and famous coaches, because this involves all aspects of team power and interests.

But Thibodeau does have a different style. The fact that he is still a bachelor in his 40s because of his devotion to basketball is already unique.

Not to mention trying to enlighten him at this time.

"Tom, let Jimmy and Sean start the game." Xu Yong then expressed his thoughts.

Thibodeau seemed a little surprised to hear this.

They had communicated before adjusting the starting lineup. That was when he had just become the head coach and was studying the "one big and four small" lineup.

But at that time it was he who took the initiative to seek advice from Xu Yong, but this time it was Xu Yong who took the initiative.

There is a big difference between active and passive. To a greater extent, it means the players have exceeded their authority.

However, Xu Yong's next words let him know that Xu Yong's proposal was not out of selfish motives.

"I'll take care of the offense, and someone else will take care of the defense."

Artest is not performing well this season. Can the Bulls find someone else to step up?
The answer is no.

Butler is not good enough, and others are even less good, because they are functional players after all and do not have the ability to attack with the ball.

You can't let Gibson suddenly turn into Boozer and then hold the ball in the low post, right?
Or maybe Battier becomes a point forward and dilutes the ball?
None of this is obviously possible, and it's also normal.

You have two maximum salaries in a team, and the third salary is not enough. If there is someone who can top it up, that would be too much of a hooligan.

Therefore, there are only two choices before the Bulls: trade, or the plan mentioned by Xu Yong.

The transaction is not a matter between the coaching staff and the players, and Xu Yong is not like others who will replace me if my teammates are not good this time.

And more importantly, in fact, the Bulls' current lineup is aging, and there are almost no players who can be used as trading chips. The draft picks are not valuable and cannot be exchanged for truly valuable players.

So there seems to be a choice, but in fact there is no choice.

Using a space lineup, allowing the ball to be concentrated in Xu Yong's hands, and using Xu Yong as a bully until Yao Ming comes back is the only solution at present.

After thinking it through, Thibodeau looked at Xu Yong and couldn't help feeling a little distressed.

Even if you raise a cow, you will not be willing to watch it plowing the land day and night, let alone your beloved general.

"Tom, don't feel bad for me, I like to score." Seeing Thibodeau's expression, Xu Yong said with a smile.

Hearing this, Thibodeau smiled bitterly. With Xu Yong's scoring ability, it would be easy to score high points if he didn't take defense into consideration.

After seeing off Thibodeau, Xu Yong stood at the door for a long time.

As a fan of Jordan, after Jordan retires, he will naturally turn his attention to Kobe.

The most eye-catching thing about Kobe is the season in which he scored 81 points in a single game, 62 points in three quarters, and averaged 35+ per game.

It was a crazy performance. You must remember that it was still at the beginning of the century, and the second attack had not yet been changed to 14 seconds and the number of rounds was limited.

But in addition to high scores, there is also a crazy number of strikes. Kobe's 1195 strikes in a single season directly broke the NBA historical record.

Therefore, he also received a lot of doubts, including Xu Yong, who felt that Kobe, who often voted against three or four people, was too independent.

But now, he understands Kobe, because it is the same as what he is experiencing now, and he has no choice.

Because the team cannot win, even if you play as a team, your morale and enthusiasm are still not there.

So now, he can only choose to become Kobe.

(End of this chapter)