no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 272 "Coach, let me be the substitute."

"We all know Nikola's ability, he is Chicago's magician." At the post-game press conference, when reporters asked about Jokic's performance, Xu Yong gave his evaluation with a smile.

He never hesitates to praise his teammates, not to mention Jokic's improvement in strength this season has been so obvious.

However, the Bulls' first show today was destined to be overshadowed by the battle between Lei and Yong. After the game, the social media went crazy.

"That's just a walk! I've never heard of someone who can take two steps back after taking one step!"

"The referee ruined this game. This should have been a victory for the Warriors!"

"Who said Durant is now Nike's top brand? And we are just Adidas and Under Armor."

"If you don't understand, you can study the league's rules and don't treat referees like air." A comment from "KBforever".

"You guys are so funny. Why didn't you see you so excited when LeBron took eight steps?" a comment from "KBfnas".

"I agree, I used to be James, and I was embarrassed by the King's moves at that time. Look at how much he struggled in the first half of last season!"

"But he has changed now!"

"Haha, finally admit it! I killed someone, now I change and become a good person?" A comment from "KBfnas".

"The ball didn't move. There was a rule stuck. I have reason to believe that Harden was there studying the rules at four in the morning. He is a player with a high IQ."

"Tsk, tsk, you formed Team Cosmos just to fight the Thunder until the last minute? The Thunder only have two All-Stars, and you have four."

"Green's performance is really terrible. He is not worthy of the All-Stars at all. Seeing that Capela can make trouble in the interior, it is better to use him for a blue-collar center."

"You know nothing!" Comment from "Draymond Green".

"It's started, it's started, I'll go first, Green CBA!"

……

After defeating the Heat to get a good start, the Bulls entered a very comfortable rhythm. They achieved a record of 13 wins and 1 loss in the first month of the season, and the only loss was to the Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers played very well in that game, with the Big Three scoring 20+ points.

After James left, the most worrying issue for the Cavaliers was the team's organizational problems, because they had only one key operation in the summer, which was to use Shumpert as a bargaining chip to exchange James Johnson from the Raptors.

The Raptors used this to improve their defensive strength on the outside, while the Cavaliers supplemented their organizational skills after James left.

Johnson also used his outstanding performance last season to earn himself a starting opportunity.

Of course, although Johnson can organize, he is definitely not as good as James because of his limited offensive ability with the ball.

But he is not the only person the Cavaliers can organize. Irving can organize, and even Love can.

When James was absent last season, Love's organization helped the team well.

As the saying goes, three stooges are like Zhuge Liang. In doing so, the Cavaliers not only did not weaken their organizational ability, but more importantly, they divided the ball rights.

Irving has the ball in his hands, Love has the ball in his hands, and even Davis has the ball in his hands. Compared with all the ball rights being concentrated in the hands of one person, this is more benign to the entire environment of the team.

As evidence, the Cavaliers' record in the first month was 12 wins and 1 loss, second only to the Bulls and even one more win than the Raptors.

Speaking of the Bulls, they were able to achieve such a record not only because of the fundamentals of the Iron Triangle, but also because of the performance of Jokic and Johnson.

Johnson averaged 10 points per game this season and shot 43.6% from the field. He averaged 3.3 three-point shots and shot 43.4% from the field!

The Bulls originally expected him to be able to absorb the ball rights in the transition period from the bench, but instead he played more like an outside shooter.

First of all, Johnson has this ability. When he was playing with the Suns, he was a 3D player next to Nash.

In his last season before leaving the Suns, he averaged 4.5 three-pointers per game and shot an extremely accurate 47.5% from the field.

The reason why there is such a change now is not that he can't play alone or digest the ball, but that someone on the Bulls can digest the ball better.

That's right, it's Jokic, the Serbian tea sommelier, Chicago magician, and recently affectionately called "Joker" by fans.

As a substitute, Jokic averaged 19 minutes per game, averaging 11.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, shooting 57.8% on two-pointers and 32.4% on three-pointers.

Generally speaking, the sixth man of a team is from the outside, because it is easy for the outside to steal the ball, but now, Jokic has become the sixth man of the Bulls as a center due to his outstanding performance. .

The only thing that can restrict his playing time is playing time.

The Bulls only lost one game in the first month, but they were not the only team to do this. Another team in the West also did it.

Not the Thunder, but the Warriors.

After losing to the Thunder in the first game, the Warriors then started a winning streak. They achieved a wave of 13 consecutive victories.

As Xu Yong has seen before, on paper, this Warriors team should be a championship team, and James' technical characteristics fit the Warriors very well. They have an almost perfect chemical reaction, although... Green The performance is still struggling.

But in fact, in addition to supporting people inside, Green can do everything James can do, and he can do it better.

The Thunder also performed very well. Durant averaged 33 points per game in the first month. He was the Western Conference's scoring leader and the Western Conference Player of the Month in the first month.

In terms of record, the Thunder only lost one more game than the Warriors.

In addition to Durant, Harden also performed very well. He also averaged 25 points per game. Against the Pacers, he scored 6 three-pointers in a row in the last quarter and led the team to victory with 21 points in a single quarter.

Therefore, although the Mavericks in the Western Conference have withdrawn from the championship competition this year due to Leonard's injury, the battle between the Thunder and the Warriors will be very exciting.

The temperature in Chicago finally began to drop significantly in December. At the end of November, the highest temperature was still above 12 degrees Celsius, but suddenly one day, it dropped to only three or four degrees, and the lowest temperature dropped below 11 degrees.

The rivers began to freeze, the cold wind became biting, and Chicago encountered a rare cold wave. Pedestrians on the street began to put on hats and wrap themselves in large cotton-padded jackets.

The cold winter also brought a new problem to the Bulls, Jokic's positioning problem.

Theoretically, Jokic's current performance requires more playing time, but as one of the Iron Triangle, Adams' role on the defensive end is irreplaceable, and he is at his peak, so he also needs playing time.

In fact, no one except Xu Yong could have guessed that Jokic's talent could be so good, so the current situation seems very contradictory.

Some outsiders have also begun to propose that Jokic play the fourth position, including Xu Yong, who also thinks that may be the only solution, but Thibodeau has never tried it.

Xu Yong has communicated with Thibodeau. Thibodeau has always had doubts about Jokic's defensive ability. This will not change even if he no longer coaches the Bulls.

Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for him to let Adams play as a substitute and let Jokic start.

Regarding this, Xu Yong has no objection. Putting aside the bond of the Iron Triangle, the Bulls' starting lineup needs a blue-collar worker who can protect the basket.

Especially now that the team's fourth position is relatively weak. Although Anderson's mobility is good, he can't guard against low post players like Aldridge and Randolph. Adams' assistance in defense is inevitable, and this is about Something Kitchen couldn't do.

Of course, they also talked about the idea of ​​letting Jokic play the fourth position.

"I don't think it's a wise decision to let Yao and Shaq play together. It goes against this era." Thibodeau made an analogy and made his point of view very clear.

The tactic of twin towers is too old, especially under the current alliance rules, playing twin towers is completely self-defeating.

Thibodeau is rigid and his views on defense are persistent, but this does not mean that his basketball thinking is conservative.

On the contrary, as a coach who has been committed to defensive counterattacks since 2010, he has a clear understanding of the basketball trends of the times.

The Bulls suffered two consecutive defeats in early December, and the team's touch seemed to be frozen by the freezing weather.

At the post-game press conference after losing to the Wizards at home, a reporter asked about Jokic's starting lineup.

"Joker's touch was very good today. Why couldn't he stay on the court at the last moment?"

What you have to admit is that Jokic is a big man who can pass the ball, and he is a big man who can pass the ball very well, just like Sabonis and Divac back then, he is very popular. Especially since he looks so cute.

Thibodeau directly refused to answer this question. It was not that he was avoiding it, but that he had already answered a similar question after the last game.

As passed to Xu Yong, he did not think that using the Twin Towers at the last moment was a wise decision.

Also because of what he did this time, he attracted a lot of doubts on social media after the game.

"Thibodeau has coached the Bulls for seven years. He has created many brilliant achievements for this team, but his thinking is obviously behind this era. I think it is time to change a head coach for the Bulls, just like back then. Steve Kerr replaced Mark Jackson." "I don't think it's time to change coaches, but Thibodeau must use people flexibly and not be so rigid. It's not a matter of course that whoever is in good shape will keep him on the court in the end. Something about that?”

"Everyone thinks that Jokic can be allowed to play the starting four position, but only Thibodeau is stubbornly insisting on it, just like when he stubbornly fucked Rose, which then led to Rose being abolished."

……

The cold wave in Chicago continues, and the Bulls' icy touch continues. Moreover, this schedule is relatively difficult. The Bulls' record is lagging behind compared to November, which has also brought the outside world's doubts about Thibodeau to a peak.

"It's time for Mike Malone to be the new head coach of the Bulls." This was a comment highlighted on social media and was also discussed on ESPN's show.

Finally, when the time came for the Christmas Day game, Thibodeau let Jokic play the starting four against the Raptors.

Did Thibodeau compromise? Obviously not, Xu Yong knew that he was not that kind of person.

So is he angry? More or less.

Because the Raptors' starting power forward is Antetokounmpo, his technical characteristics will make Jokic very passive on the defensive end.

If you really want Jokic to play well at the fourth position, you should choose a team like the Grizzlies or Lakers with a slower pace of play and a large number of low-post tactics inside.

But from another perspective, Thibodeau's approach is very reasonable, because the Bulls only have one goal to win the championship this season. If they cannot win against opponents of the same level as the Raptors, then defeat the Grizzlies. Or the Lakers, and what's the point of letting Jokic put up good numbers?

This game is a challenge but also an opportunity for Jokic.

Jokic played very proactively on the court, even flying to grab the ball, but the overall effect was very poor.

The offensive end that he is best at, because the Bulls already have Butler and Xu Yong on the field, he is not able to hold the ball very often, which prevents him from displaying his passing characteristics.

The bigger problem comes from the defensive end.

Compared with the matchup between him and Antetokounmpo, the biggest problem on the field is the passivity at the tactical level.

Once the Bulls fail to score in a positional battle, they basically cannot go back when they retreat. In other words, if they retreat, it will be a situation of 2 against 3, or 3 against 4.

Facts have proved that Thibodeau's theory is not wrong. Twin towers are simply not feasible in the small ball era. Even though Jokic has lost weight this season, his speed is still much slower than the average fourth position.

Thibodeau only used the Twin Towers for one quarter in the end, and he didn't use them as much in the second quarter.

He is a little angry, but he will not lose his mind.

After Jokic came off the court, he sat on the bench and wrapped his head in a towel, looking very depressed.

Xu Yong felt a little uncomfortable seeing this.

He can understand the reason for Jokic's frustration. The feeling of not being able to use his strength on the court is the most uncomfortable.

Speaking of the advice he gave Forman, he was more considering that as a reborn person, he couldn't miss such a choice.

But if he doesn't bring Jokic to Chicago, Jokic should be developed in Denver.

If he remembered correctly, second-year Jokic had already pushed Nurkic to the bench and became the core of the Nuggets' team building.

But now, Chicago cannot give Jokic a platform to display his talent.

People are selfish. His initial choice was selfish, but now it seems that it is not a good thing for Jokic.

During the rotation period of the second quarter, Xu Yong was ready to play.

When passing by Jokic, he reached out and patted Jokic on the shoulder, and then came on.

Xu Yong scored 50 points in the next three quarters and scored 61 points in the game, helping the Bulls finally defeat the Raptors and end their losing streak.

The outside world's attention suddenly shifted to Xu Yong. They realized that it had been more than a month since the start of the game, and Xu Yong had scored 60+ for the first time.

Compared with Xu Yong, who scored crazy points in the playoffs last season, they all feel a little rusty.

"When I went out this morning, I saw that the ice picks at the door had begun to melt. I believe this is good news for the team." At the press conference, Xu Yong used a very vivid metaphor to describe the team's prospects. .

The cold wave cannot last all winter, and it is impossible that the Bulls' touch will never recover.

Returning to the locker room at the technical press conference, Xu Yong saw that Jokic hadn't showered yet, but was sitting there scrolling through his phone with a serious expression. Jokic didn't even notice when he walked over.

Xu Yong looked down and found that Jokic was watching some funny videos, which was in sharp contrast to his serious expression.

Xu Yong reached out and patted his shoulder. After Jokic raised his head, he persuaded him: "Don't put so much pressure on yourself."

At this moment, Malone entered the locker room, and he also came to enlighten Jokic.

When Jokic first arrived in Chicago, the team arranged for Malone to train him alone, which allowed the two to establish a good mentor-student relationship.

Malone went to Jokic and chatted with him for a few words. Jokic suddenly said to Malone: ​​"Mike, let me come on the bench."

These words not only made Ma Long stop talking, Xu Yong was also surprised, and everyone else in the locker room also turned their heads.

Generally speaking, it is more common for players to apply to the coaching staff to play as a starter, but this kind of initiative to ask for the ball and play as a substitute is really rare.

"Nicholas, this is just the first game." Malone said.

"That's enough," Jokic said frankly.

Hearing this, Xu Yong put away his surprise.

Yes, Jokic's golf IQ, one game is enough for him to know that playing the fourth position is not feasible, and it is impossible for Thibodeau to let him play the starting five position, so he is the best for the Bulls The final destination is still on the bench.

Moreover, he chose to do so on such an occasion rather than in private, which was actually a statement that he did not want to cause conflicts within the Bulls because of himself.

Is this normal?

It's normal. After all, he is only in his second year, and he is on a team that is trying to compete for a dynasty. What right does he have to ask for so much?

Seeing this, Malone knew that Jokic was serious. Although he felt a little sorry for his disciple, he finally nodded.

This may be the best outcome, for now.

When he returned to the villa, Xu Yong found that Jokic rarely made tea.

Some time ago, in order to cope with the cold wave in Chicago, this guy was making tea and drinking tea every day. This even made Xu Yong curiously ask about his progress in golden elixir cultivation.

"Are you still a little unhappy?" Xu Yong asked after sitting down.

"Well, you definitely won't be happy if you play poorly." Jokic nodded.

"I thought it was because you couldn't play in the starting lineup." Xu Yong was more direct.

"Boss, actually I don't care about that, as long as the team can win." Jokic looked at Xu Yong and said seriously.

Xu Yong looked at Jokic's eyes and nodded: "I believe it."

What else could he say except that he believed?

He can't persuade Jokic to leave after persuading Butler to leave last season, right?

And there is no point in regretting the original choice, because there is everything in this world, but there is no regret medicine.

There is only one solution to the current situation: there must be a road for cars to reach the mountain, and for boats to reach the bridge.

"I heard that a new tea has been introduced recently. Would you like someone to bring you some?" Xu Yong then asked.

"Really?" Jokic immediately became energetic after hearing this.

"Can I still lie to you?" Xu Yong smiled and nodded.

……

As Jokic actively asked to return to the bench, the doubts about Thibodeau in the past month have also dissipated.

And when January comes, the temperature in Chicago finally begins to rise.

ps: It’s a bit laggy, I’ll update these today, and more tomorrow. Also, I’ve checked and everyone has no objections, so I’ll update it at 12pm starting tomorrow, so you don’t have to stay up late, and you can get it right when you wake up the next day. Look (although 12 o'clock is actually not too late), and I have recently been adjusting the narrative style of my writing, which should make the reading smoother.

(End of this chapter)