no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 248 Low Kaleidoscope

After the warm-up, the scene entered the opening ceremony.

"Now! 6-time NBA All-Star voting champion, 3-time scoring champion, 2-time AMVP, 3-time MVP, 3-time FMVP, 3-time championship winner, 6 feet 9 inches from Arizona State University, No. 6, Satan~Xu ~~Yong!”

When Xu Yong finally appeared, explosive cheers erupted again.

This long list of honors with rich gold content makes people's blood boil just listening to it.

After the opening, the starting lineups of the two teams, the Lakers: Lightning Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Ariza, Gasol, Okafor.

(Ariza was traded away from the team in 2012, but as the Lakers traded back Gasol, they re-signed Ariza with a four-year, $4 million contract.)

Bulls: Rose, Butler, Xu Yong, West, Adams.

Amid the expectant cheers of the fans, Okafor returned the ball to the Lakers half, officially kicking off the game.

The Lakers' offense was very interesting as soon as they came up. After everyone opened up, Okafor took a position in the low post, and then Kobe fed the ball in.

I don’t know if Howard is watching the live broadcast of this game at this time. If he is, a big question will definitely pop up in his head: Am I not worthy?

After Okafor received the ball, the Lakers also cleared the strong side, creating sufficient space for Okafor's low post singles.

Xu Yong was also quite surprised at this time. He still knew a little about the former Emeka Okafor of the Lakers. After all, he was ranked second in the same class as Howard, but he really didn't pay much attention to this Okafor.

But speaking of this, Okafor is also the second pick. Could it be that he is given a chance to perform in the opening game?
Then, Okafor's next operation surprised him.

He leaned his back against Adams, sensed Adams's strength, and made a fake move toward the baseline. Then he turned around and made a jumping hook to send the ball into the basket.

Xu Yong, who has been improving his low-post skills this past summer, commented when he saw this: It's pretty good.

It seems that it's not that Howard is unworthy, it's simply that Okafor's low-post singles ability is better than Howard's.

This also made Xu Yong feel a little itchy. He reached the frontcourt and dropped directly to the low position.

Butler understood it clearly and fed the ball in after signaling to clear the strong side.

Xu Yong caught the ball, and after Butler also brought Kobe from the strong side to the weak side, he turned around to make sure no one was attacking from behind, and then launched the attack.

He gave Ariza a strong counterattack, then turned directly to the three-point line and performed a backward movement.

Ariza immediately flew up.

Xu Yong took advantage of the situation to collect the ball, step forward, and directly go up and down to attack the basket.

Okafor flew over with all his strength, and he easily passed the ball to Adams under the basket. Adams violently abused the basket with both hands, and the emotions of the United Center fans were instantly ignited.

Xu Yong high-fived Adams while retreating, and was in a good mood.

The reason why Ariza was hit wasn't because of poor defense, but because the closer he got to the basket, the higher his shooting percentage was. This low-post turnaround jumper was too reliable for him. If Ariza didn't pounce, he would have scored directly.

No wonder Jordan has to practice low post, this offense is too easy.

During the Lakers' offense, Kobe continued to lob the ball into Okafor's basket.

Adams increased his concentration this time and gave Okafor a strong confrontation after receiving the ball.

Okafor's choice was amazing again. He followed Adams' confrontation and turned directly to the baseline, wanting to attack from the other side of the basket.

Of course, Adams is not a vegetarian. One of the abilities he improved last season is to defend such a technical center. He directly blocked the direction of Okafor's turn.

Then, Okafor turned around and hit the board with a hook outside the penalty area.

The basketball hit the backboard and shot diagonally into the net.

This little skill is like the second generation of Duncan. This Okafor has more than two brushes and has the potential to become the launching point of low-post offense.

At this time, some memories deep in Xu Yong's mind were also awakened.

This Okafor was also very popular with the Lakers in history. The Lakers were short of insiders at the time, and the fans were also looking forward to his joining. However, the Lakers changed their minds temporarily and cut off Russell, who was the favorite of digital people at the time. , as a result Okafor was forced to go to the digital man.

Because of this result, Okafor deliberately took off the number man's jersey in the draft. You must know that the number man already had Embiid [in the process], and he would definitely conflict with Embiid after he went there.

As for what happened later, although he didn't remember what happened, he probably didn't compete with Embiid and was dealt with.

Xu Yong continued to play low in the frontcourt. This time Kobe directly chose to flank Xu Yong. Xu Yong pretended to attack and waited for Kobe to assist in defense and threw the ball back to Butler.

Butler caught the ball from the three-point line and dropped it directly.

The focus of Butler's training this past summer should be shooting. His overall shooting rhythm is obviously better than last season.

Xu Yong gently raised his hand and got two assists. He regretted not doing so earlier.

Okafor continued to position himself in the low post, and Thibodeau was already on the sidelines at this time, rushing to the court to signal for help.

Butler helped defend, and Xu Yong adjusted his position at this time, ready to defend Kobe at any time.

But he soon discovered that he had overestimated Okafor.

Okafor obviously lost the composure he had in the previous two rounds when faced with a double attack, especially since Butler's double attack was very aggressive. He could only raise the ball to protect it, and then he was forced into a dead ball.

At this time, Xu Yong had already appeared in the middle between him and Kobe. He did not have a good passing route, so he chose to turn around and take a shot against Adams' defense. As a result, it hit the frame and the rebound was firmly protected by Adams.

Because both sides have been playing low-post tactics in the past few rounds, the gap was immediately apparent.

At this time, Xu Yong also understood why Okafor could not compete with Embiid. Embiid's ball-playing ability was already average, but Okafor's ball-playing ability could be classified as poor. After catching the ball, he observed the opponent's defensive changes and failed to pay attention to the position of his teammates, resulting in the failure to pass the ball in the end.

As the starting point of low-post tactics but without the ability to shoot the ball, this is like a big core with the ball but no shooting, which is very fatal.

Even O'Neal has to hit the ball when he is flanked in the low post.

Although Okafor's static talent is good, judging from the confrontation with Adams just now, the first two goals were scored with low-post skills. His explosive power is obviously insufficient at the NBA level, and he cannot do it like O'Neal. Score quickly under the basket.

Then looking back, Xu Yong turned around in a low position and hit the ball steadily with a fadeaway.

Theoretically, Xu Yong plays in the low post: hand-to-hand combat, confrontation.

Xu Yong actually plays low: deft and silky.

And with the comparison of Okafor, fans can more clearly feel Xu Yong's low-post singles ability.

"When everyone feels that Xu is strong enough, he can always show his progress in each new season. This is why he has achieved brilliant achievements in the past six years." In the commentary box, Barkley has already started Tell the truth.

Looking back, the Lakers did not continue to let Okafor play in singles in the low post. Instead, Reggie Jackson held the ball, played a pick-and-roll with Gasol, and then drove to the basket.

The lightning strike was very fast, forcing the Bulls defense to shrink, and he quickly distributed the ball to Ariza in the bottom corner.

Ariza's three-point shot.

"when!"

Still that familiar taste.

West took off the defensive rebound, the Lakers retreated quickly, and the two sides continued to fall into a positional battle.

But at this time, the Lakers made defensive adjustments, and Kobe directly switched to guard Xu Yong.

Kobe has not taken a shot since the start of the game. He is planning to start from the defensive end first.

Xu Yong caught the ball, still observed the defense, and after confirming that there was no immediate double attack, he started to play singles against Kobe.

Unlike playing against Ariza, playing against Kobe Xu Yong required more physical confrontation.

When he was one-on-one with Kobe in the summer, Xu Yong found that Kobe's physical condition was better than in the past two seasons, but one thing was that his explosive power was obviously gone.

This will not only affect Kobe's offense, but the defensive disadvantage will also be magnified.

Xu Yong didn't mean to give in. He knew Kobe. For Kobe, the greatest respect on the court was to go all out.

After giving Kobe two consecutive strong confrontations, Xu Yong turned around and ran over Kobe, flying for a layup.

After Kobe lost his defensive position, he tried to swat the ball out of Xu Yong's hand to disrupt the offense, but failed in the end and hit Xu Yong's arm instead.

The referee's whistle sounded and Kobe was called for a foul, but Xu Yong still sent the ball into the basket, which was a 2+1.

Kobe shook his head in annoyance, but he quickly turned his head and gave Xu Yong a thumbs up, indicating that it was a good shot.

Xu Yong smiled and nodded, walked to the free throw line and hit the extra penalty. The score on the court became 4-9.

"I think what I just said was a bit too conservative. Xu showed his dominance in the low post tonight." Barkley continued to state the facts.

Xu Yong had 5 points and 2 assists. Every point of the Bulls was related to him.

Kobe finally took action on the offensive end. He used Gasol's screen to run a mid-range tactic without the ball.

However, due to his explosive power, his shooting speed is much slower than at his peak. Basically, after he catches the ball, Butler has already made up for him.

He was forced to switch to singles.

Playing from the back, slumping his shoulders and feinting, turning and leaning back, Kobe's technical movements are still the same as in the past. The only change is that due to his lack of explosive power, he was strongly interfered by Butler when he took the shot, and the basketball also missed. basket.

Looking at this scene, Xu Yong could not help but think of watching Iverson's last season before his rebirth.

After losing his speed, it was very difficult for Iverson to get an uninterrupted shooting space, let alone dazzle others.

A hero dies in his twilight years, that's probably the case.

And it was at this time that he probably solved the doubt he had at the beginning.

Kobe's fighting spirit is still high, otherwise he would not take the initiative to guard him, but his ability is indeed not good enough, so there is a high probability that Kobe announced this is his last season after playing for a while and realizing this.

The Bulls advanced to the frontcourt, Xu Yong fell down again, and Kobe directly chose to go around and defend this time.

Seeing this, Xu Yong quickly counterattacked, and the two men had a physical confrontation. This scene was vaguely reminiscent of the scene where Anthony and Kobe Bryant fought in the playoffs. At that time, Kobe had the upper hand, but this time Xu Yong finally suppressed Kobe and received the ball. ball.

Moreover, Xu Yong's next choice was very similar to what Kobe had just done. He hit the back with a heavy shoulder and feinted, then turned towards the baseline with a fake move that directly shook Kobe, then turned around and leaned back lightly to hit again.

After Kobe landed, he looked back and saw the goal. He was stunned for a while before turning back and running forward.

There was an accident in one round, but two consecutive rounds showed that he could no longer guard Xu Yong.

In the Lakers' offense, the ball went to Gasol at the free throw line. Jackson cut in without the ball, and he contained the Bulls' defense.

At this time, Kobe suddenly moved near Gasol. Gasol passed the ball hand-to-hand, and then set up a pick-and-roll wall. Kobe finally got a comfortable shot.

"Shh!"

The basketball hit the net and Kobe scored his first goal of the new season.

This ball reflects Kobe's hard work over the past two years. Although he was plagued by injuries, he continued to train even in a wheelchair, which kept his hand feeling the same.

This goal also won applause from the fans at the scene.

When Xu Yong went down low in the frontcourt again, the person defending him changed again, this time it became Okafor.

The outside line cannot be guarded and the inside line is changed, because it is in the low post, this idea is not strange.

After Xu Yong received the ball, he changed to face the basket.

Because he assisted his opponent to score consecutively in the opening game, the Lakers became wary of their choice of double attack. At this time, no one came to help defend immediately.

Seeing this, Xu Yong put up a posture. After sweeping away the three threats, he suddenly exerted force from the right side and prepared to break through the bottom line.

Okafor struggled to move toward the baseline.

But Xu Yong did not go deeper after dribbling the ball, or maybe his dribbling was just a fake move. He used Okafor as the axis and turned around, completely throwing away Okafor like a roller. Cafu got to the basket.

There was a burst of exclamation at the scene, because this is Anthony's signature [washing machine drum].

"Oh!"

With a muffled sound, Xu Yong came to the basket and smashed the ball into the basket with one hand, giving the Lakers' weak side no chance to defend.The scene began to burst into cheers from Chicago fans.

"So, are there any low-post skills that he hasn't mastered?!" Barkley pounded the table excitedly.

Tonight's game has completely become a showcase of Xu Yong's low-post skills.

On the sidelines, Jordan couldn't help but smile and applaud Xu Yong.

He knows the advantages of low-post skills better than anyone else, especially now that everyone outside is talking about the small ball era, which will only amplify the lethality of this technology.

Looking back, Kobe cut in and received Gasol's pass for a layup, causing West's defensive foul. He got two free throw opportunities and made them steadily.

When the Lakers needed to score the most, Kobe stepped up and scored 4 points in a row, all of which came from the cooperation with Gasol.

Replacing Gasol is probably the most correct decision the Lakers made this summer.

However, it was easy for Xu Yong to turn around and continue to play Okafor. He immediately stopped Okafor with a sideways drag step, and then turned around and hit Okafor for a layup.

And his two consecutive rounds were even easier than when he played Kobe before.

This is somewhat unbelievable. Okafor is a big man with a height of 2 meters and a wingspan of 11 meters, but this seems to explain more why he cannot compete with Embiid.

Compared to his ability to play the ball, his defense is more deadly.

Scott called a timeout.

Okafor seemed a little frustrated when he came off the court. In the past period, he couldn't attack and defend on the court, and he was completely negative on the court.

But at this moment, Kobe quickly walked up to him, pulled his head and lowered his head, cheering him on.

Seeing this scene, Xu Yong felt that Okafor was much luckier than he had ever known in his previous life.

Although Kobe is strict with his teammates, he is definitely the big brother who can make newcomers better.

As for Okafor's problems, whether it is his ball play or his defensive habits, there are opportunities for improvement in the future.

After returning from the timeout, Jackson made a wave with the ball and missed the mid-range shot. However, Gasol grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it to Kobe on the outside. Kobe used a fake three-pointer to shake Butler away and broke through to the mid-range. Another shot from distance.

His touch was really good tonight.

Then looking back, Xu Yong's beautiful steps in the low post shook Ariza away, and then he hit Gasol who was assisting in defense and scored hard.

At 10 minutes into the first quarter, the two teams were tied 24-30. Both sides entered rotations one after another. Xu Yong and Kobe were both replaced and took a rest.

Xu Yong scored 17 points and 4 assists, and Kobe also had 11 points and 2 assists. The two staged a scoring battle that fans have been most looking forward to for a long time.

Just like the Lakers' starting lineup at this time, Ye Qing is back.

Xu Yong was in a good mood after coming off the field, chatting and laughing with Adams.

Tonight, I tested the training results throughout the summer in actual combat. The results were remarkable, and I even matched Kobe's score. This night of championship rings was a complete success.

In the transition period between the first and second quarters, Xu Yong sat at ease, because the score that had not been opened during the first period was opened at the beginning of the second quarter.

The Bulls' lineup at this stage includes Rose, Foye, Butler, Kyle Anderson, and Hawes.

The one who performed best here was Rose.

The scene of Rossli making a sudden outside shot gives people a feeling of dreaming back to the top.

It can be clearly felt that a series of things that happened in the summer made him full of desire to compete.

By the time the half was over, the Bulls had opened the point difference to 25 points, and the half game was already wasted.

Kobe could not continue his magic in the second quarter. This performance made Xu Yong think of Iverson again, and it was also related to Kobe on the opposite side.

The best game Iverson played in the year he retired was against the Lakers.

He was particularly impressed by that game, because in the third quarter when everyone was in a scoring drought, Iverson stepped up and scored 11 points in a row. He really dreamed of returning to the top. In the end, it was Kobe's fighting spirit that was inspired to stabilize the situation. Help the Lakers win the game.

Otherwise, history is a circle.

Back in the second half, Gasol was in great form and led the Lakers to close to within 15 points. However, after the Bulls stabilized their position and Xu Yong went on a 7-0 offensive, the difference returned to 20 points. .

The last section basically became garbage time.

Xu Yong scored 32 points in three quarters, clocked out, and spent the last quarter as a VIP spectator on the sidelines.

When there were 6 minutes left in the game, the score difference on the field had reached 30 points, and both sides began to replace players from deep on the bench.

On the Bulls side, everyone except Artest and Jokic has played.

The reason why those two people didn't play was not because Thibodeau didn't want to play, but because there were only 13 people on the activated list, and they were not on it.

The score on the court was finally settled at 116-90, and the Bulls got a good start to the season with a big win.

In the handshake ceremony after the game, Xu Yong felt that Kobe was not in a good mood.

18 of 11 shots, 24 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. For today's Kobe, this performance is already very good, but thinking about his high fighting spirit before the game and this big defeat, this data is It became meaningless in Kobe's eyes.

"The season has just begun." Xu Yongzai seemed to encourage him as he hugged Kobe.

Kobe didn't say anything, just patted Xu Yong hard on the back.

"Kyle, show me your ring."

"No, unless you do a striptease for me."

"Nicholas, just do one dance and you won't lose a piece of meat."

"How about belly dancing? It will look great when you dance."

"I won't be fooled. By this time next year, I will have it too."

"Hahaha."

"Ignore them, I'll show you."

After the game, the players returned to the locker room, which was full of noise but also very lively.

Xu Yong couldn't help laughing when he saw Jokic playing around there.

When international players arrive in the NBA, what they fear most is not being able to integrate in. Yi Jianlian is a typical case. Although Jokic is a bit childish, his personality is really good and he is very relaxed.

And he was originally worried that Jokic would be a little disappointed because he didn't play today, but now it seems that his worries are unnecessary.

It seems that he was right to vaccinate Jokic in advance.

……

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye it is already the beginning of December, and the first month of the NBA regular season has come to an end.

It can be said that many big events happened this month.

The first and biggest thing is that on November 11th, Kobe announced at a press conference that this season will be his last season in the NBA.

As Xu Yong had judged before, after the first month of playing, Kobe already felt that he was out of his depth, and there was no point in continuing.

This result attracted a great response. The most direct one is that when the Lakers challenged the Spurs away from home in early December, many Spurs fans wore Kobe Bryant's jerseys, and the Spurs also took the initiative to play a tribute before the opening ceremony. A clip of Kobe, and also added a large prefix when introducing Kobe.

We all know that is the ace player of the home team. For example, the Bulls only use it when introducing Xu Yong, but now they have given such treatment to an away player, and they are also their old enemy in the West.

This is actually what some fans call a show-like [retirement tour]. Kobe did not ask for it, but other teams took the initiative to do these things after knowing that this was his last season.

Secondly, the Warriors have become the team with the strongest momentum in the new season. They have not lost a single game since the start of the season and have won 17 consecutive games, tying the Bulls' start record last season, and their momentum is expected to be maintained. Go down.

This wave of winning streak has a lot to do with the schedule, because so far this season they have not played against the Thunder and Mavericks, their main competitors in the West, nor against the Bulls and Cavaliers in the East, but there are some impressive ones. Deep games, such as their 50-point victory over their old rival Grizzlies.

And they averaged 118 points per game, a very scary number.

The main reason for this madness is Curry.

Curry scored 40 points in the opening game, a career-high 53 points against the Pelicans in the third game, and 46 points against the Timberwolves a week later.

After 17 games, his data is 34.7 points per game, 51% three-point shooting, and 6 three-pointers per game.

This kind of scoring has not happened before in history, but you have never seen a player score in this way. You must know that he averages more than 12 three-pointers per game.

"Curry is changing the way basketball is played."

This is ESPN's way of describing Curry's crazy performance.

When the Warriors won 67 games last season and fans were saying that Curry was just a star created by the Warriors system, his performance this season proved that he is the system itself.

Although this has yet to be tested in subsequent games, after all, they have not yet played against a real championship opponent.

Third, the Mavericks have yet to lose a single game at home this season. The American Airlines Center in Dallas suddenly became the home of the Devils.

It is worth mentioning that after Aldridge joined, Nowitzki directly gave up his starting position, which made the Mavericks team highly cohesive.

And it seems that Nowitzki will not retire until he can no longer play like Xu Yong knew.

Considering Nowitzki's history of limping after retirement, this may not necessarily be a bad thing.

Finally, talking about the Bulls, the Bulls' record so far this season is 15 wins and 2 losses. Although it is not as exaggerated as the start of last year, the strong momentum remains unabated, beating the Cavaliers (15 wins and 3 losses) and the Heat (13 wins and 4 losses). ) and the Pacers (12 wins and 5 losses) rank first in the Eastern Conference.

The team is making great progress, but Jokic is not happy.

Because so far in the season, he has not played yet, and has not even been on the active list.

Even if Xu Yong gave him a vaccination, he was still a little depressed.

Xu Yong also noticed Jokic's mood and knew that there was no point in persuading him at this time.

After the extra practice that night, Xu Yong went to Thibodeau's office.

He used to think that Thibodeau would not reuse Jokic. After all, Jokic's defense is indeed easy to target, but now this situation does not give him a chance at all.

When he arrived at Thibodeau's office, he first chatted with Thibodeau about the next game, because they were about to face the Cavaliers, and they had a Christmas Day game with the Warriors.

"Tom, what do you think of Nicholas?" Xu Yong asked casually after finishing the serious chat.

"I heard Mike say you were training with him?" Thibodeau did not answer directly, but asked Xu Yong instead.

Xu Yong nodded.

"I previously hoped that the team would keep Kendrick (Perkins), but it was Gar who insisted on bringing him to the team this season." Thibodeau did not hide his thoughts in front of Xu Yong.

This is not surprising. Thibodeau is a defensive coach, and the people he uses are basically all defensive players, so it is easy to tell who he will choose between Perkins and Jokic.

"But now, what we have is Nikola. He works hard and deserves a chance." Xu Yong said. This is not just because he is responsible for Jokic, but people who work hard deserve a chance. Or in other words, whether it is a mule or a horse, you can only tell after pulling it out and slipping by.

"Xu, why do you think so highly of him? He gives me the impression that he is a Spencer (Hawes) who can't defend. Spencer can do everything he can do and do it better."

There is nothing wrong with Thibodeau's words. Hawes can handle the ball, pass the ball, and shoot three-pointers, and he is rich in experience.

"But he helped the bench team beat the bench team, more than once, didn't he?" Xu Yong asked rhetorically.

"That's just team training." Thibodeau shook his head.

"But he is only 20 years old." Xu Yong felt that Thibodeau was already biased against Jokic because the team did not keep Perkins.

"Well, since you came to me, I will give him a chance no matter what, but whether he can seize the opportunity and enter the rotation depends on himself." Thibodeau is not Raunsdorf, he said Those are just expressions of one's true thoughts.

"Thank you, Tom." Xu Yong said with a smile.

"I believe he will not let you down, that kid, he has been training with me for so long." After getting up, he added.

(End of this chapter)