no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 237 2015 NBA Trade Deadline

On the last day of the All-Star Game, the All-Stars went to Madison Square Garden for public training to prepare for the big show in the evening.

Xu Yong was in a great mood after winning the three-point contest. During public training, he saw James proactively greeting the Eastern Conference All-Stars.

Rose's previous news is indeed true. James has indeed been a little busy recently.

He didn't pay much attention, because there were too many media waiting for him, so he basically just went through the motions and then went to the sidelines to be interviewed by reporters.

"Do you have any plans for this All-Star Game?"

"Let the fans enjoy a visual feast." Xu Yong said with a smile.

"You won the three-point contest yesterday. Do you have a goal to win the MVP of the All-Star Game today?"

When he heard this, Xu Yong felt that someone was looking at him. He turned around and found that it was James who had stopped communicating at some point. He turned back and said with a smile: "Who doesn't want to?"

James was trembling with anger.

After the interview, Xu Yong participated in an exclusive interview with CCTV and took a while before returning to the locker room.

As soon as I walked to the door of the locker room, I saw James chatting with people there again, and making weird laughs from time to time.

Of course, there are photographers inside to record everything that happens. After all, this is the locker room of the All-Star team. The All-Star Game itself is a show, and naturally the materials in the locker room are also public.

Xu Yong withdrew his gaze, walked to the seat closest to the door, and sat down. That was his seat.

NBA locker rooms are very particular about seating arrangements. The seats closest to the door are generally reserved for team bosses because they are spacious and convenient for reporters to interview at any time. The same is true for the All-Star Game.

The interesting thing is that after Xu Yong entered the locker room, everyone else stopped communicating and looked at him.

When the All-Star Game was divided into the East and West, it was very clear who was the boss of the division team. After all, everyone played in the same division, and everyone knew who was the strongest.

It was only later that it was necessary to appoint captains to consolidate the alliance status of some people.

Paul handed Xu Yong a piece of chocolate. It was still early before the evening game, but they had to take makeup photos later, and they really needed to rest their stomachs first.

After Xu Yong took it, he turned around and said: "PG."

After hearing this, George was still being forced to chat by James, but now he gave up and turned his head.

"That guy lost the game yesterday. He will definitely be thinking about performing tonight. You have to keep an eye on him." Butler was absent, and Thibodeau chose George to replace him in the Eastern Conference's starting lineup.

"Stephen?"

"Yes, he is very eager to perform. He will not wait passively, but will take the initiative."

"I will guard him, and I will ensure that all his first four shots miss the basket." The confident George couldn't see Curry, but he seemed to have imagined the appearance of a toy in his mind.

Xu Yong, who had just opened the chocolate, laughed when he heard this. George's self-confidence improved much faster in the Magic than in Indiana.

"If he hadn't made the first four shots, his teammates wouldn't have passed the ball to him." Anthony joined the conversation at this time.

"Then he has to grab the rebound by himself." Paul said with a smile.

"He might be better at dunking than grabbing rebounds." Xu Yong said and stuffed the chocolate into his mouth.

Everyone in the locker room burst into laughter.

James' expression at this time was indescribably ugly, because he suddenly realized that everything he had done before, all the busyness, seemed to be less effective than Xu Yong's joke.

Or at this moment, he recognized a reality: he was in the East, and it was impossible to win the All-Star Game MVP from Xu Yong now, and it would be even more impossible in the future.

That night, the All-Star Game kicked off at Madison Square Garden under the spotlight.

The venue for the All-Star Game was decided two years ago, when Anthony was still with the Knicks. But now that the Knicks are rebuilding, the team can't even find an All-Star player, so the enthusiasm of New York fans , I can only throw it to Xu Yong.

Xu Yong was also very generous. He broke through Durant at the beginning and performed a very performative self-throw and dunk.

He has no plans to participate in the slam dunk contest again for the time being, but he can move the part that fans are looking forward to to the main game.

But after dunking, he led the team to play defense. Poor Stephen was defended by George three times in a row, and then he didn't take any more shots.

George has both wingspan and movement speed, and he has always been very willing to defend since he came out of the Pacers.

Of course, one thing can be seen from this. At this time, Curry did not yet have the dominance of the game.

This is probably the reason why he was restricted by Dellavedova in the finals this year in history.

Or you can understand that Curry's surge in popularity this season is not due to the improvement of his personal strength, but more due to the rise of the Warriors.

After all, for a player who shoots a lot of three-pointers in a season but averages less than 24 points per game, it is indeed far-fetched to say he is dominant.

Curry's truly dominant performance came in the next season, when he made an unprecedented 402 three-pointers and used logo three-pointers as a regular weapon.

And as the game progresses, the defensive intensity of both sides decreases. The most active person in the West is not Curry or Durant, but Westbrook.

Agui, who has already produced an economical triple-double with the Pelicans this season, shows that he is most familiar with large-scale statistics gatherings such as the All-Star Game, and he rushes with the ball.

It can be said that both sides have their own highlights, and those who want to fight will basically have a good time.

Only [King of Cleveland] [Son of the Chosen] [Nike Top] James is slightly embarrassed.

Because he found that although he had done a good job in psychological construction, the reality was still more cruel than he imagined.

When he is on the court, few people pass him the ball!

When Paul started the game, he would pass the ball to Xu Yongsai or Anthony without even looking at him.

Judging from the previous exchanges, he thought he had settled the differences with Paul.

However, it turned out that he thought too much.

Or maybe he simply lacks self-awareness. When he left the Pacers, he didn't even say hello to Paul. With Paul's character, even though he knew James might leave, he left without saying hello. Maybe he just pretended that nothing happened?

He's not as easy to get along with as Wade.

Both Xu and Zhiwei did not break their faces, leaving the last trace of face to both parties.

Although just like American soldiers sometimes suffer from epidemic concussions, everyone understands.

Then when he came to the bench, there were a lot of people who were unhappy with him, including Wade, Bosh, and even DeRozan and Lowry.

Breaking up requires "decency". James changed teams three times, and he was so unhappy with his home team all three times. If he can still be entertained in the Eastern Conference, then that's the real deal.

After the two teams played for three and a half quarters, they had a real showdown in the last half. Xu Yong and Leonard staged a wonderful offensive and defensive battle at the last moment, and successfully led the team after scoring two difficult key goals in a row. Gone game.

The score on the court was finally fixed at 163 to 158.

赛后的数据统计，西部那边威斯布鲁克28投16中得到全场最高的41分5板1助攻3抢断，杜兰特16中11拿到29分，库里16中6只拿到15分。

东部这边，徐永21中15得全队最高的34分，安东尼20中9得21分，乔治19分，保罗14分16助攻，詹姆斯14分7板4助攻。

There was no suspense about the final MVP. Xu Yong once again won the All-Star Game MVP trophy after four years.

And there was a very interesting scene after the award ceremony. After Xu Yong took the trophy, he found that his shoelaces had come loose, and turned around and handed the trophy to James who was nearest.

James was confused at first, but after taking it, he looked excited and motioned with his eyes to reporters to take pictures of him.

However, when the reporter was ready, Xu Yong had already tied his shoelaces and took back the trophy under James' reluctant eyes.

"Thank you." He said thank you to James, who was stunned on the spot.

This scene, combined with the results of this All-Star Game, perfectly illustrates the sentence: I can don’t want it, but you can’t steal it.

……

The All-Star Game ended with a bang, and then came the 2015 NBA trade deadline.

Because of Adams' injury, the Bulls still have some ideas at this year's trade deadline.

Originally, their expectations for veteran Muhammad were similar to last season, as long as he could play 10 minutes. However, Muhammad's physical decline this season was more obvious than expected. It had no impact when the team did not encounter injuries, but now this situation Obviously not good.

So just use him in the second round and replace him with an inside man who can still play to carry him through this period. The Bulls' favorite targets include veterans Haywood and Amundsen.

Because Adams' injury is expected to only miss about ten games, the Bulls don't really need to invest much.

However, this year's trades for each team came earlier than in previous years. The trade deadline has not yet come, and there are trades starting one after another.

The most notable of these is the Heat.

The Heat made a three-way deal with the Suns and Mavericks.

The Heat sent Norris Cole, Justin Hamilton and Devin Harris, as well as two first-round picks, to get Goran Dragic and Zoran Dragic.

The Suns sent the Dragic brothers and received Kerr, Hamilton, Delonte West, two first-round picks from the Heat, and a first-round pick from the Mavericks.

The Mavericks sent West and a first-round pick to acquire Devin Harris.

Dragic played his masterpiece last season, averaging 20.3 points and 5.9 assists with a shooting percentage of 50.5%. He was a quasi-All-Star. So far this season, he has 16.2 points and 4.1 assists with a shooting percentage of 50%.

The Heat acquired him after paying a lot of scraps to form a luxurious five-star lineup of Dragic, Wade, Luol Deng, Bosh and Hibbert!
Riley's operation is crazy enough. Although Dragic's trade value is low, largely because his contract is expiring this summer, he is obviously fighting for this season.

Even if the Bulls are at their peak, and even if the Cavaliers have created an unprecedented Big Four, Riley seems to have ignited his old passion and given it a try.

Of course, the actual situation is that the Heat cannot afford to wait. Wade's state has declined significantly this season. In addition, Hibbert's role on the court has dropped sharply due to the [vertical jump rule]. The Heat have fallen to fifth in the Eastern Conference. Now this situation is no longer possible. Fight, there will be no chance later.

In addition, there are several transactions worthy of attention.

The Pelicans made a trade with the Jazz, with Perkins as the main body, and exchanged Kanter from the Jazz. Perkins has significantly deteriorated due to age and injuries and can no longer play in the starting lineup;
The Timberwolves traded Thaddeus Young from the Nets for Garnett, and the Wolf King returned to the place where his dream began in the final stage of his career;

The Celtics acquired Isaiah Thomas from the Suns for Marcus Thornton and draft picks;
……

Although there was no trade this year that could change the league's landscape, the number of players involved in the trade reached 43, the most in history.

In the final analysis, this is still the impact of the super luxury tax. Except for a very small number of teams with money and willingness to spend money, most teams are avoiding triggering it.

Xu Yong was also paying attention to this trade market, but until the trade deadline passed, the Bulls made no move.

This is somewhat surprising, but also reasonable.

The Bulls' No. 30 position in the league this season is extremely stable, and there are almost no variables in next year's draft picks, which are 60 in the first round and [-] in the second round.

It's not worth sending him out in the first round for a team's third substitute, but that round is almost as good as nothing, and other teams don't want you to continue to get better.

However, the problem shouldn't be too big. Hawes has the ability to play as a starter. It's not a big problem if Johnson can't play the fifth position for a few minutes. After all, the league is no longer an era where big centers are rampant.

The day after the trading day, Xu Yong ended his morning training and headed to the arena with Anderson.

When getting in the car, Xu Yong noticed that Anderson had thick dark circles under his eyes. It seemed that he had not slept well last night.

He suddenly realized something. Because Anderson had not had much opportunity so far this season, there was a high probability that he would become a bargaining chip. Last night should have been a torturous night for Anderson.

The car stopped at a traffic light intersection. Seeing the tattoo on Anderson's arm, Xu Yongla started talking: "Is that your relative?"

Anderson turned his head in confusion.

"It's on your arm." Xu Yong has seen a lot of tattoos in the United States for so many years. The most exaggerated one is Anderson's, but he has never seen two old ladies tattooed on his arms.

After hearing this, Anderson smiled and handed his left arm to Xu Yong's eyes, and said happily: "This is my grandma and grandma."

"You love them very much."

"No, they love me very much. They taught me a lot since I was a child and helped me a lot." Anderson looked at the tattoo on his arm with love in his eyes.

Hearing this, Xu Yongyong couldn't help but nodded in approval. Anderson has been very active in work since he moved to where he lived.

Now it seems that all these things of his are influenced by his family. It is no wonder that he will follow his mother thousands of miles to find his relatives in the future.

"Kyle."

Anderson heard Xu Yong calling him and looked up at Xu Yong again. "No matter where you are, opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared. The direction of your current training and the degree of effort are destined to have a place in the NBA in the future, so don't worry too much." After finishing speaking, Xu Yong read. Look ahead, the light is green.

Anderson's expression was slightly excited at the moment. He felt that his prospects were suddenly brightened by receiving such affirmative words from Xu Yong.

"Thank you, boss."

After saying that, he turned around and started the car. The car in front had already driven away and the road ahead was clear.

……

After arriving at the arena, Xu Yong went to the locker room first. Because it was the team's daily training, the players were also chatting and laughing there.

"Spencer, have you got your toilet back?" Butler wanted to ask Hawes with a smile while changing into training clothes. Adams was still unable to play due to injury, but he seemed to be alive and well.

His state before and after made people suspect that he was injured passively because he didn't want to go to the All-Star Game.

“I posted on social media and it showed up on my doorstep not long after.”

Hawes' words instantly caused everyone in the locker room to laugh. This is how popular the Bulls are in Chicago now. Their lives and financial security no longer need to be covered by gangs, because the entire Chicago gang is covering them.

Xu Yong also smiled and shook his head, but at this moment, he found that there was someone missing in the locker room. He looked carefully and saw that the sign in one of the wardrobes had been removed.

It's Muhammad's.

This made him a little confused, because he was sure that the Bulls would not make any move at the trade deadline.

At this moment, Thibodeau entered the locker room and called Xu Yong out.

After leaving the locker room door, Thibodeau did not rush to say anything, but took Xu Yong straight back to the coach's office.

"Steven is expected to miss about 10 more games, Jimmy... about [-] games."

After listening to what Thibodeau said, Xu Yong looked surprised, mainly because of Butler. He also thought that Butler would be able to play after the All-Star Game, but it turned out that he had to rest longer than Adams?
"Jimmy's situation is a bit special. He can play through injuries, and he also wants to play through injuries, but the coaching staff wants to wait until he recovers from his injuries before letting him play."

It turned out that it was because of this that Xu Yong already understood the reason why Thibodeau called him here.

The Bulls have an excellent record this season. Until now, two-thirds of the schedule has passed, and they have only lost 7 games. This is a real chance to break the record of 72 wins that year.

But the current wave of injuries has put a big question mark on all of this.

In other words, the Bulls now have to make a choice, whether to chase this record at all costs, or give up early and ensure that all members are healthy and enter the playoffs.

"I think the coaching staff's consideration is correct." Xu Yong agreed with Thibodeau. As a reborn player, in history, the Warriors suffered a lot of injuries in order to achieve this record, but in the end they ended up with a joke of 73 wins and the runner-up spot. So impressed.

Thibodeau looked happy when he heard this. Since Xu Yong agreed with him, he had nothing to worry about.

"But I think our momentum can continue." However, Xu Yong followed up with a twist.

"Tom, I'm only 26 years old. I didn't contribute much in the first two-thirds of the season. Just leave the remaining one-third of the schedule to me."

Whatever choices adults make, of course I have to make them all.

The wide-eyed Thibodeau laughed the next second because Xu Yong's words made him unable to refute.

As for injuries, Butler said he was injured, but he was still injured, but Xu Yong has really never been injured in these years, and he is really a contemporary AC Green.

"By the way, has Nazr (Mohammed) been laid off?" Xu Yong couldn't help but ask before leaving after finishing the business conversation.

"Gall (Forman) said someone new will be here in two days, but it's not certain, and he didn't say who it is." Thibodeau nodded.

Xu Yong suddenly realized that this was probably the reason why the Bulls did not act on the trade deadline. After all, there was a buyout market behind it.

If this were the case in previous years, a buyout would definitely not be as attractive as a trade, but with this year's situation, there will probably be a lot of veterans who want to be embraced by the Bulls.

Two days later, after a game day training session with the Grizzlies, Malone led a newcomer to the locker room.

When he saw the other party, Xu Yong was quite surprised because the other party was Kendrick Perkins.

Unexpectedly, Forman actually brought him here without saying a word, and there was something about it.

Perkins is also very knowledgable. The first thing he did after entering the house was to come to Xu Yong and bow to him. When he came up, he opened his hands as if they were familiar with each other.

Although this guy looks silly, he looks like Li Kui in Water Margin has traveled to modern times, but Xu Yong knows that after he retired, he went to ESPN to become a commentator and prospered.

Xu Yong did not embarrass him, stood up and hugged him.

Although Perkins' current ability is not as good as it was back then, he still has no problem doing Muhammad's original job, that is, playing for 10 minutes.

And the key is that what makes him stronger than Muhammad is his experience. After all, he is a serious champion blue-collar center with too much game experience. He can help Adams grow better.

"When I came here, I heard that Chris (Bosh) was out for the season." Perkins, who received a hug from Xu Yong, became more proactive and sat directly in the empty seat next to him to chat about the gossip he had heard.

"Blood clot?" Xu Yong was not too surprised, because he had remembered this incident during the All-Star Game.

"You already know?" Perkins said and moved towards Xu Yong.

"I just heard about it." Xu Yong felt a strong body odor and leaned back.

"Blood clots in the lungs will end the season. The Heat are finished for the season." Perkins took the initiative to move away and sighed.

Xu Yong also felt a little emotional. Riley is a good fortune teller, but after all, human fortune is not as good as heaven. The Heat's five-star lineup was over before it even started.

But in this way, the feud between them and the Heat seemed to come to an abrupt end.

That night, the Bulls faced the Grizzlies at home. Butler and Adams were both absent due to injuries. Although Perkins was new to the game, he entered the rotation directly.

The Grizzlies ranked fourth in the Western Conference this season and were the best team after the Warriors, Thunder and Mavericks. They even acquired Jeff Green from the Celtics at the trade deadline.

Starting with Mike Conley, Courtney Lee, Jeff Green, Randolph, and Gasol, this lineup is very oppressive when you think about it.

This game is also the most difficult game of the Bulls season.

The Grizzlies opened the game with full defensive intensity. Without Butler to dilute the ball, Rose was also locked up by Conley, who was defending for a while. The Bulls' offensive pressure basically fell on Xu Yong alone.

Moreover, the black and white duo also put great pressure on the Bulls on the offensive end.

West struggled to match up with Randolph on the defensive end, and Hawes couldn't handle Gasol at all. The impact of Adams' absence was infinitely magnified.

The Bulls trailed for the first three quarters. At the decisive moment of the final quarter, Thibodeau directly abandoned Hawes and replaced Perkins as the main center.

This effect is significant. Perkins can't do anything else. The hardness of his body is there, and the protection of the inside line is significantly improved.

It's just that this puts Xu Yong's offensive pressure even greater, because the current offensive end of Perkins is basically useless, and he can't eat the cake he's fed.

Xu Yong then led his team to win the game 20-96 with one mid-to-long-range shot after another, 91 points in a single quarter, and a dunk on Gasol.

"We tried everything, but in the end we couldn't stop him from scoring." Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger could only smile bitterly in front of reporters after the game.

When the opponent's two main players are absent and you still can't win the game, that kind of result is hard to accept.

The reason why you are smiling rather than frustrated is because the opponent team has Xu Yong, so it is reasonable for you to lose.

Facing the Grizzlies' high-pressure defense, Xu Yong still scored 45 points, nearly half of the team's points.

However, this game attracted attention not only from Xu Yong, but also from the newly joined Perkins.

Because of his outstanding performance in the last quarter, Thibodeau also brought him to the press conference.

"Xu is the strongest teammate I have ever encountered in my entire career. I won't be surprised if he scores 100 points." Perkins played with a red face and a heartbeat.

However, this kind of shameless behavior further explains why he will be able to prosper at ESPN in the future.

Xu Yong's face on the side had no emotion at all, but to be honest, with Perkins' resume, this flattery was quite comfortable.

"I only practiced tactics for 45 minutes before going on the field. I didn't know what to do on the field, but we still won the game."

And when reporters asked about his performance in the final quarter, he seemed to be understatement.

His method of flattering is not just for one person, but for the whole team.

Then, he integrated perfectly into the Bulls. No one would not want to be a teammate with a person who speaks well and has strength.

After the game against the Grizzlies, the Bulls immediately faced off against the Magic.

The Magic are currently ranked ninth in the Eastern Conference and are competing with the Nets and Celtics for a playoff spot.

Their starting lineup includes point guard Elfrid Payton, shooting guard Oladipo, small forward Paul George, power forward Aaron Gordon, center Channing Frye, and a third player on the bench. Six Tobias Harris.

This lineup is a serious youth team that has not even filled the poor line. However, they have reached this position in two seasons after rebuilding, which is much faster than after O'Neal left last time.

In the final result, the Bulls won the game 116-108.

Xu Yong scored his first 50+ of the season, 54 points, plus 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

The veterans of the Grizzlies couldn't do anything to Xu Yong, let alone the youngsters of the Magic.

George also played very well tonight. He scored 35 points, playing the role of the core, which was in line with his season average of 24.7 points per game.

The match between him and Xu Yong tonight was quite similar to the scene when Tracy McGrady and Kobe Bryant faced off.

"PG has a chance to become a superstar. He is very good." During the post-game press conference, Xu Yong also praised George.

What is different from history is that last year's World Cup Dream Team was full of elites, but George was not selected, which also allowed him to avoid serious injury of a broken leg.

And George, who has not broken his leg, is an offensive and defensive star who can compete with James in the playoffs. It is a high probability that he will become a super giant.

Xu Yong highly praised George at the press conference and seemed to be in a good mood. However, after leaving the press conference, he realized that this period was more difficult than he expected.

In the two games after the All-Star break, apart from him, Rose and West did not perform very well.

Especially Rose, he played against Conley in one match and Payton Jr. in the other match. Both opponents had strong defensive abilities, but his performance was relatively poor.

This actually involves a topic. Rose has adjusted his style of play so that he will no longer be reimbursed for the season, but the decline in his personal abilities is inevitable.

Ross can't have his cake and eat it too.

The 50-point game before the All-Star Game moved many Bulls fans. Even the host couldn't help but emotionally asked "Will the former Derrick Rose come back?", but Rose's original answer actually gave the answer. He couldn't do it without the help of his teammates.

Rose is now a starting-level player who occasionally breaks out and performs abnormally when facing high-quality defenders.

Yao Ming lost weight due to injuries and maintained his career, but his performance also declined year by year. Rose's situation will be better because he is young, but he can't go back.

Time flies to mid-March, and the Bulls have survived the most difficult days of the season with a record of 3 wins and 8 losses.

In these ten games, Xu Yong averaged 45.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game, shooting 53% from the field and 41% from the three-point range. His performance was explosive.

"I don't know how to describe it, but I'm shocked." This is the palest but most powerful description Buckley used on the TNT program.

"The Bulls' opponents face the Lord of Hell every night, and there is no shame in showing cowardice in front of Satan." The latest issue of "Sports Illustrated" used a photo of Xu Yong dunking on Gasol as the cover, and used Such words are used to describe Xu Yong's performance at this stage in the past.

Even according to NBA official statistics, because of Xu Yong's performance in the past, the league's ratings have increased by nearly 5 percentage points.

This is truly a one-man effort to increase ratings.

Just like wonderful dunks are often accompanied by erroneous passes, the Bulls' wave of injuries has allowed people to see Xu Yong's terrifying strength this season.

But now the Bulls have encountered a problem. There is still nearly a month until the end of the season, and the Bulls still have 15 games to play.

Although they will usher in the return of Adams and Butler, their current record is 58 wins and 9 losses. Unless they can win 15 consecutive games, they will not be able to break the Bulls' 72-win record.

Even if they lose one game, they lose the chance to tie the record.

There are too many uncertainties in the long season, which is why records are dusted.

……

ps: The temperature has dropped sharply, I have caught a cold, my head hurts, and my teeth need to be removed again. I will take a day off tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)