no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 281 Detonating Mines

When the MVP shouts sounded on the scene, you could clearly see the helpless look on the faces of the Warriors players.

If it was just the feeling of coaches like Stevens and Casey before, now the Warriors players also feel the feeling of "Why is Jordan on the opposite side?"

Sometimes it’s not a question of whether you want it or not, but whether you can.

Xu Yong broke the historical single-game scoring record as soon as he started the finals. I ask you, how can people play like this?

Let’s not talk about how this round of the finals went, but the sense of oppression tonight was overwhelming.

And after Xu Yong hit the free throw, the Bulls also opened the point difference to double digits with two minutes left before the end of the game.

But just when everyone thought the game was decided, Curry threw two difficult three-pointers in succession against the defense in the last two minutes, almost turning the game over.

But fortunately, the Bulls' lead was big enough, and they finally narrowly defeated the Warriors 116-111 to win G1.

Xu Yong scored another 4 points later, raising the historical record of the finals to 66 points.

"If you can't win the game with 40 points, then score 50 points."

This is what Jordan said back then, but tonight, Xu Yong scored 66 points on the stage of the finals.

As Barkley said excitedly, Xu Yong made the NBA great again since the Jordan era.

"We can lose others, but we can't live without Xu!" Barkley shouted loudly at the end of the game, just like "The West cannot live without Jerusalem."

However, considering the status and background of most of the bosses in the league, those words may just get stuck in their throats.

But that's not important. What's important is that O'Neal and Smith on the side both smiled and nodded, showing no signs of being weird about such exaggerated words.

This is a default.

If Xu Yong really retires midway like he did in the Jordan era, the scene will be unimaginable.

Let Barkley kneel down like Johnson and beg Seo Yong to come back? There was no hesitation at all.

Of course, Xu Yong's parents are healthy now, so retirement will basically not happen.

So whether it was Bird before or Barkley now, they were just using this method to criticize Xu Yong.

What could be more convincing than saying that you cannot live without someone?

On the Warriors side, the two best performers tonight were James, who had a triple-double of 24 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, and Curry, who scored the Warriors' highest score of 37 points.

At the press conference after the game, Xu Yong tried his best to be relaxed and not show his fatigue.

He was also very optimistic about the prospects of the finals: "Success all comes from a good start. Our performance tonight shows that we are well prepared and we will eventually achieve that goal."

When he returned to the locker room after the press conference, Xu Yong sat on the bench for a long time, and then went to the liquid nitrogen freezer in the medical room for physical recovery.

At the beginning of the century, players mostly used ice water baths to quickly relieve muscle fatigue, which was the same bath that Xu Yong and Kobe Bryant used in the game.

However, with the development of technology, starting last season, the Suns' medical team, relying on the aerospace company, took the lead in introducing the method of liquid nitrogen freezing. Although some people still have doubts, it quickly became popular in the league.

The Bulls have made a lot of money over the years, and due to the frequent injuries in the past, the management finally installed this device.

As a reborn person, Xu Yong is naturally familiar with the concept of cryogenic freezing. After all, in his previous life, there were endless news headlines like [The King undergoes cryogenic freezing and maintains self-discipline to stay in shape], although he does not understand this method of standing and recovering the body. What does self-discipline involve?

After coming out of the freezer and putting on a warm coat, he went to the rest room to recover his body temperature.

The kind of ease shown in front of reporters is necessary, but scoring 66 points under the intensity of the finals is extremely physically demanding.

If possible, he would rather score only 30 points.

This is by no means pretentious, it is not just a matter of team or not, but the finals have just begun and the consumption was so intense in G1. From the perspective of the entire finals, this is definitely not a good choice.

But this is not a matter of choice, but of necessity.

Butler is suffering from injuries and can only play more games to contain the situation.

Even if it weren't for Jokic's performance in that period and Green's unbalanced mentality, with the Warriors' state tonight, even if Xu Yong scored 66 points, the Bulls might not be able to win the game.

This is the strength of this Warriors team after running in. Although Barkley's statement about being brave is a bit exaggerated, it is not entirely fabricated.

So this choice is forced, because if the Bulls can't win G1, there may be no chance.

After two days of rest, G2 of the finals continued at the United Center.

The Warriors are still in good shape, and the loss in the last game doesn't seem to have much impact on them.

And after Cole tasted the sweetness at the end of the last game, he flanked Xu Yong in G2.

Under the Warriors' high-intensity defense, Xu Yong only scored 2 points in G37, and the Bulls eventually lost.

After two games of the finals, the two sides scored 1 to 1, once again standing on the same starting line. However, due to the current competition system, the Bulls lost their home court advantage, and they are now the lagging side.

The day after G2 ended, the Bulls flew to Oakland.

Xu Yong was sitting on the plane, leaning on it and looking out the window. He didn't show his sadness, but he was also thinking about the current situation of the Bulls.

Malone's advice in G1 was effective. Although Jokic had problems on the defensive end, when Butler's offensive threat declined due to injury, he could bring greater help to the Bulls on the offensive end.

Under normal circumstances, Adams is the starting center more suitable for the Bulls, but in this special situation, the advantages of Jokic starting outweigh the disadvantages.

But the crux of the problem is that even if he raises it, I'm afraid Thibodeau will not agree to such a request.

Everyone has their own bottom line and persistence. Thibodeau's bottom line is defense, which is why he is considered stubborn.

You can't say he is wrong, because "defense wins championships" is a wise saying, especially since Thibodeau brought four championships to the Bulls in this way.

Just like Cole's tactics in the later stages of the Warriors were figured out by his opponents, but he never made changes. This is his bottom line and principle.

If they can easily give in to what they have proven to be successful and the basketball philosophy they firmly believe in, then they will not be able to achieve success.

So maybe, he might really have no choice but to show his trump card.

The enthusiasm of Golden State fans is at an all-time high, and fans outside Oracle Arena are buzzing with excitement.

Although they have only played two games in the finals, football-savvy fans have already seen that the Bulls are at the end of their rope.

After all, Butler cannot suddenly recover from a foot injury. In a competition of this level, a change in a key weight is enough to determine the outcome.

Curry warms up every day at Oracle Arena, and even James is here this time.

James was smiling all over his face and even played an alley-oop dunk with Curry, with James throwing and Curry dunking.

It can be seen that James was in a pretty good mood before the game.

Obviously, although the current situation of the series is somewhat different from what was expected, the overall trend is still in line with expectations.

Just as he originally thought, if the Warriors win the championship this year, he will definitely invite Antetokounmpo out to have fun.

But while he was happy, Green also came to warm up and walked straight to Curry.

Seeing this, James chose to turn around and chat with others.

Although the previous WWE turmoil within the team was eventually turned into a major incident and dealt with, who would pretend that it never happened after receiving a punch in vain?

So now the two people are basically on the same team, but there is no difference between them and not on the same team. They have zero communication and avoid meeting each other.

Green was happily chatting with Curry, as if everything with the Warriors was still the same.

James chatted for a while and then left the arena.

Let Green stay like this for a while. G1 of the Finals has made the management see that Green is not that important to the Warriors now. If he continues to play like this, even Curry will not be able to keep Green.

Half an hour before the start of the game, players from both sides entered the stadium one after another.

Xu Yong caused a commotion among the players on both sides of the tunnel when he entered the court.

It was a commotion of excitement.

Although Xu Yong's current popularity does not mean that he has turned the Bay Area into his home court, it is impossible for fans not to be excited to see him.

After Xu Yong entered the court, he glanced at the Warriors for a few times, then looked away after confirming that he saw what he wanted to see.

After the warm-up, the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.

Before the game, the outside world was also speculating whether the Bulls would adjust their starting lineup in tonight's game, but the result was that they did not.

Cole was also paying attention to this, and he also had a smile on his face after seeing this.

Everything is going in the Warriors' favor.

After the game started, the fans in the Bay Area were full of momentum and cheers. The Warriors also attacked fiercely in the opening attack.

Of course, the Bulls came tonight with determination. Xu Yong also adjusted the game strategy, playing more containment and without the ball, allowing Butler to attack more at the basket, and then take the ball out and let Anderson organize the second team. attack.

Adams also tried his best on the defensive end, and the two teams still maintained a stalemate.

But Cole is not in a hurry at this time, because this is the most comfortable mode for this Warriors team now, a stalemate at halftime, and then wait until the third quarter to take away the game.

The game came to the second half of the second quarter in a blink of an eye, and the situation on the field was still inextricable. After looking up at the timer, Xu Yong reached out and called Anderson to pick and roll for him.

The person guarding Anderson was James. He obviously didn't want to be replaced in front of Xu Yong, but Green made a decisive choice and left directly with Anderson, without even executing Cole's flanking strategy.

After showing a Fake expression, James came to Xu Yong coquettishly like a man who had been arranged for a marriage.

Xu Yong did not rush to attack, but held the ball with one hand and chatted with James.

"You know? You are the first superstar I have ever seen beaten by a teammate."

The first sentence Xu Yong spoke made James blush.

Xu Yong said that he was happy because he was a superstar, but the prepositions in front of him made him not happy at all.

What does it mean to be beaten by a teammate?

He was beaten voluntarily!

If he hadn't volunteered, Green might have been able to hit him?

At this moment, Xu Yong launched an attack and made a pull-up jumper with a lateral drag step.

The basketball goes hollow into the net.

Simple and quick, but effective.

Thanks to the additional training before the finals, he has been in excellent condition since entering the finals.

"I think any man would at least fight back after being beaten." After scoring, Xu Yong turned around and continued to say to James.

James was furious, but the dull pain in his thumb, eyebrow corners, and face made him snort in the end.

"Look, you haven't let anyone tell you yet."

Xu Yong's appearance at this time indeed seemed a bit unworthy of a beating.

Cole noticed what happened on the court. This time he did not shout into the air in Orlando. Instead, he shouted directly at James: "He just wants to piss you off!"

Yes, Xu Yong's intention is actually very obvious. Not to mention James, even Cole can detect it immediately.

But, that's not important.

Because James made a mistake when he broke through in the next round.

That was not an unforced error, but James exerted too much force when playing from behind, and Butler took the opportunity to withdraw from the bench.

After struggling in the league for so many years and successfully mastering the true meaning of turtles, James is obviously not the person who was easily angered by Xu Yong back then.

However, people are people, and mood swings are inevitable, especially what Xu Yong said was not ordinary trash talk.

What is the most hurtful thing in the world?

the truth.

Lies don't hurt, truth is the knife.

In order to resolve the previous punch incident, the Warriors are prohibited from talking about what happened.

But what happened happened, if you said something that hurt someone's heart, can you make up for it in ten sentences?

And this is what Xu Yong will do tonight.

When he was a gardener, he allowed the tree of conflict between Green and James to blossom and bear fruit, but the final fruit was a black, black mine.

What Xu Yong has to do now is to harvest its fruits and detonate this landmine.

So when James thought it was hurtful enough, Xu Yong quickly told him that it was just the beginning.

And the key is, Xu Yong's trash talk, oh no, those truths, are always accompanied by points.

For example, before another attack with the ball, he asked: "Let me guess, did you let him hit you on purpose?"

Then after he turned around and leaned back to face James' defense and sent the ball in, he looked at James and said, "It seems I was right."

Really, James didn't go berserk on the spot because he was too afraid of what Xu Yong had done to him over the years, otherwise he would have definitely flipped the table on the spot.

Green re-enacted Bynum's classic scene, covering his mouth and snickering.

He didn't mean it, he just couldn't hold it back. After all, when he was ravaged by Xu Yong, James was standing by with his hands on his hips.

James finally controlled himself with the powerful turtle attribute, but it was obvious that the emotional ups and downs were no longer completely controllable by him.

When he passed the ball too big, he spread his hands and complained to Thompson who was receiving the ball.

Seeing this scene, Xu Yong's expression became relaxed.

People only act according to their instincts when they lose control of their emotions.

Of course, as we said, it was just the beginning, and what we just did was just the process. As for the end? Still early.

Under Xu Yong's repeated trash talk attacks, James was completely out of breath.

He didn't dare to vent his anger on Xu Yong, it could only be on other people.

During a breakthrough, James' angry elbow hit Adams in the abdomen, and also rubbed Adams' crotch.

Adams' second brother was hit hard again.

This almost triggered a conflict between the two sides on the court, but Adams soon stood up from his squat and signaled to his teammates that he was okay.

San Antonio's 101 blows couldn't break Adams' balls, this is the hardest man in the world.

Although James did not intentionally attack the crotch like Green, the result still earned him a flagrant foul.

At this moment, the situation on the court began to show a clear watershed.

In less than six minutes in the second half of the second quarter, the Bulls seized this opportunity to widen the point difference to double digits.

Kerr's plan, which everyone in Chicago could hear, was in vain at the last moment.

Although the Warriors theoretically have the possibility and even the ability to recover the score in the third quarter, the mentality of trying to open up the score in a stalemate and chasing points when falling behind are completely different in these two situations.

Not to mention Thibodeau's use of Jokic in G1, which shows that the Bulls are not without options against the Warriors' death five.

Back from halftime, the game continues.

Then in the first round back in the second half, Xu Yong broke through James, and then completed another dunk through Pachulia, causing the latter to foul.

"Was someone guarding me just now?"

After scoring, Xu Yong ignored Pachulia who fell to the ground and did not do any celebrations. Instead, he turned to shout to James.

"Really, your defense is far worse than Green's."

Then Xu Yong said with a smile before walking to the free throw line.

James finally broke out and began to reply with words starting from Fake.

Xu Yong smiled and shook his head, then turned to look at the referee to indicate what James was doing.

The league has no relevant mandatory regulations regarding trash talk. After all, it is also part of the basketball game.

Like Jordan (Rookie, welcome to the NBA), Bird (Are you here to compete for second place), Payton (crossing you is like crossing the road in the morning), these are all classics that fans are familiar with.

And Xu Yong can be said to be better than his master. Not to mention his career, the rubbish he said to James tonight can be considered a classic.

But trash talk is not the same as swearing, which is why trash talk in the NBA is sometimes called art.

After James broke the defense, he started spraying directly.

The referee gave James a warning whistle.

When Cole saw this, he immediately turned around and motioned for Iguodala to get up and replace James.

As soon as James came down, Cole quickly stepped forward to comfort him.

But when Cole finished soothing him and turned back to the sidelines to continue directing the game, there was a muffled "bang" behind him.

It turned out that James kicked over the bench.

That's not the point. The point is that after he kicked him over, he yelled: "Fake, Fake pursues his dream!"

It's a pity that Xu Yong didn't hear it at this time. If he had heard him, he would definitely have added with a smile: "Look, you don't even dare to defeat me."

(End of this chapter)