Healthy basketball, starting from eating the old Lakers F4

Because there are many super teams in the league, this year's All-Star configuration is slightly different from previous years.

In previous years, a team could only have at most three players selected to the All-Star lineup at the same time. Usually, a team with two All-Stars for the season is already capable of competing for the championship.

This year, with the emergence of super teams such as the Bulls, Celtics, Lakers, Suns, and Mavericks, the All-Star spots in the Eastern and Western Conferences are basically divided between these teams.

In the East, the Bulls have four All-Stars, the Celtics have three, and the remaining five All-Stars are Wade, James, Anthony, Bosh, and Howard.

There are three Western Lakers (Kobe Bryant, O'Neal Jr. and Gasol respectively), two Suns (Nash and Stoudemire), two Mavericks (Kidd and Nowitzki), and the remaining five are Paul, Roy, Boozer, Duncan, Yao Ming.

It is worth mentioning that both Iverson and Tracy McGrady were selected as All-Star substitutes, but missed the All-Star game due to injuries.

Generally speaking, the situation of the Eastern and Western All-Star teams is similar. The core players of several championship teams account for the majority, while only the team bosses of other teams have the opportunity to appear in the All-Star game.

But if you want to compete for the honor of All-Star MVP, then there is no need.

After all, the championship team has teammates in the All-Star Game!
Today is different from the past. If you want to make a name for yourself in the All-Star Game, how can you do it by working alone?
In this All-Star Game, the Bulls also relied on their large number of people. While winning the Eastern Conference All-Star Team, they also gave Garnett an All-Star MVP.

Doon already won it last year, but can't get it this year.

At the same time, I don’t want anyone else to take it, so in line with the principle of not wasting it and not letting the money go to anyone else, it’s just right to give it to Garnett.

Garnett also said that he had only won the All-Star MVP in the Western Conference before, but never in the Eastern Conference, so he did not reject Duan's kindness.

As for Luol Deng and Josh Smith, are they hungry for the All-Star MVP honor? That must be greedy.

However, it was the first time I participated in the All-Star Game. I was still relatively young and had no one to help me, so my performance in the end was average.

From Du En's point of view, forcing them to develop their talents will have a negative impact on them.

Besides, there is only one All-Star MVP!
In order to build his own dynasty for three consecutive championships, Dunn obviously needs to take advantage of the rookie bonuses of Luol Deng and Josh Smith.

Therefore, at this stage, it is not yet time to kill the donkey, so there is no need to take precautions and do things like killing three people in advance, actively engaging in internal coaxing, and destroying the atmosphere of the locker room.

To take a step back, with Du En's current strength, even if there is a Jordan in the team, he is not afraid of losing his position as the boss.

What's more, today's teammates are only at All-Star level and have limited talent.

Normally, players like Luol Deng and Josh Smith who rely on physical play will be finished as All-Stars.

He also understands where his teammates' limits are, so Duen is naturally not worried at all whether his teammates will play too well and threaten his team status.

What Du En is really worried about is whether his teammates, who have been winning recently, are too relaxed, or whether they may do some inappropriate behavior in private, which may affect the championship this season.

In addition, there is the physical condition of teammates.

Health wins the championship! Before the start of the All-Star Weekend, the Bulls had already suffered three injuries.

And it’s not just minor injuries like scalding your mouth with boiling water or pinching your fingers when closing the car door. It's injuries like shoulders, knees, and groin that have a greater impact.

Fortunately, the Bulls have no shortage of players. Even if Ben Gordon is injured, there will be someone to take his place.

For now, as long as Duane and Garnett are not injured, it will have little impact on the Bulls' regular season record.

As for the playoffs, there are still two months left, and no one can tell what will happen then.

By the way, after Garnett took home the All-Star MVP trophy from New Orleans, he quickly helped the Bulls accomplish another big thing.

It is also because Ben Gordon is still recovering from injury and the second half of the regular season is more difficult to play than the first half of the regular season. The Bulls' lack of point guards is a serious problem.

Garnett understood the troubles the Bulls were currently facing, so he quickly contacted his former teammate Cassel, the alien, to convince him to buy out his contract with the Clippers and then switch to the Bulls.

As a quick aside, the trade deadline has arrived long before the All-Star break.

So after the trade deadline is over, if the championship team wants to strengthen, they can only find it from the veterans who have been laid off.

At the same time, the league stipulates that players must be laid off before March 3 to be eligible to represent other teams in the playoffs.

March 3 is the NBA’s agreed buyout deadline.

If the Bulls want to strengthen the backup point guard and increase the depth of the bench during the playoffs, they need strong veterans like Cassel who still have gas in the tank.

However, Cassel has already won a championship with Olajuwon as soon as he entered the league. Cassel is not like other veterans who are eager to come to the Bulls and win a ring.

Therefore, the Bulls need Cassel to buy out his contract with the Clippers before March 3.

It’s no secret that Clippers owner Donald Sterling is stingier than Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

Sterling regards the Clippers as a cash cow, relying on the team to sell players and draft picks, and to keep the team's operating costs as low as possible, and make profits by sharing money from the league.

It is precisely because of this that the Clippers don't care much about team performance, but more about how to save money and how to make money.

It is also because the Clippers' overall salary has been hovering around the poverty line all year round, and the Alan Houston clause is simply not available.

In this way, the veterans who join the Clippers will easily be trapped.

After all, the Clippers just need to finish the regular season with fewer players, and they don't care so much about results.

Cassell originally wanted to assist Elton Brand to achieve success in the Western Conference, but who knew that the Clippers were slow to reinforce the team. However, Brand suffered a season-ending injury after only playing a few games in the regular season this year.

And because the team owner likes to bring his girlfriend into the locker room, watch black players shower, and even point fingers at the players like slaves, Cassell has long wanted to leave the Clippers, leave Los Angeles, and go to other cities. Play ball.

The problem is, the Clippers are unwilling to buy out, after all, it would do them no good.

So if a veteran who originally played with the Clippers wants to find another job, he must either complete the contract or voluntarily give up the remaining part of his salary and buy out the contract with the Clippers.

Cassell happens to be in a contract year this year. He got a mid-level contract worth 600 million with the Clippers. Although it is not a big deal, he cannot give up the remaining millions at will.

After all, even if he switches to another team, he can only get a veteran's basic salary contract of more than 100 million, and the actual salary is only a few hundred thousand.

Cassell has no shortage of championship rings to prove himself. Now that he is in the late stages of his career, he naturally cares more about money than trying to win the championship again.

If Garnett hadn't invited him, and the Bulls had a good record and a lot of traffic, Bulls players would be more likely to be poached by other teams at a premium, and Cassell wouldn't have chosen to give up the rest of his salary in exchange for free agency.

All we can say is that Cassel took all the risks, and the Bulls made a fortune.

The Bulls are already short of point guards, let alone a player like Cassel whose strength far outweighs his reputation and who can bring a championship to the team.

It is worth mentioning that the Bulls have won the championship for the second consecutive time and are already making money.

It is also because the Bulls have been so outstanding in the past two years that it is difficult for other teams not to be envious, jealous, and hostile to the Bulls.

There is competition in all walks of life, and it is the most normal phenomenon to hope that your peers will die.

NBA teams all know how attractive the Bulls are to veterans these days, so this year there are not many veterans who were bought out halfway through the regular season. Unless they are teams that are eager to reduce taxes, the remaining teams do not want to take advantage of the Bulls.

Of course, the Bull is not a garbage collection station, and not everyone wants it.

Only when someone like Cassel has gas in the tank and is a point guard that the Bulls desperately need, the Bulls will rush to get him. Of course, after Cassell bought out his contract, he was actually quite popular.

Even the Lakers, who are in the same city as the Clippers, want to be closer to the water and get the moon first, so they threw an olive branch to Cassell.

After all, Cassel is averaging 12.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game this season, and he is still a qualified starting point guard.

That is, Garnett convinced Cassel, his former teammate, early on, and the Bulls picked up Cassel for nothing.

Cassell is obviously also interested in joining the Bulls.

On the third day after buying out his contract with the Clippers, he came to Chicago with his agent.

That afternoon, the contract was finalized.

In the evening, Dunn and Garnett attended the press conference specially held by the Bulls to welcome Cassell.

"I've worked with Sam and I know very well what Sam can do and make other players play better."

As a former teammate and the introducer of Cassel joining the Bulls, Garnett naturally supports Cassel.

As the boss of the Bulls, Dunn also expressed his welcoming attitude: "We are in a difficult stage now, and we need Sam so much!"

If another team had injured a main player, it would be fair to say that they were in a difficult stage.

But the Bulls are still on a winning streak after Ben Gordon was injured.

Before joining the Bulls, Cassell naturally had some knowledge of the Bulls.

Cassell knew very well that what Du En said now was just polite words.

However, no one doesn't like to hear good things from others, and Cassel will naturally like the attitude Du En is showing at this moment.

Because there are less than thirty games left before the end of the regular season, time is also urgent.

Cassel wants to integrate into the team as soon as possible, and now he is also taking the initiative to lower his profile.

"You guys should know that I played in Milwaukee for many years before.

Milwaukee is very close to Chicago, so I know the city relatively well.

I love it here, my family and I love this city.

It's an honor for me to play in this city!
Next, I will do my best to help the team achieve good results.

Even if I can't play, I will use my experience to help the young players on the team. "

After Cassell became famous, he has always been a starter.

Now at the press conference, he expressed his willingness to play as a substitute, which is undoubtedly a low profile.

“I believe in Sam’s ability to help us get through this.

Sam can provide what we need in our starting lineup.

Of course, the specific situation depends on the team's arrangements.

In my personal opinion, Sam is strong enough to be a starter. "

Those who hold salaries for everyone must not freeze them to death in the wind and snow.

Cassell gave up part of his salary to come to the Bulls for a veteran's minimum salary to help the Bulls win the championship.

Although the Bulls themselves are still very strong and winning three consecutive championships is not too difficult, after all, they are here to help. Even if it is not a timely help, it is at least the icing on the cake.

Therefore, until Ben Gordon returns from injury, Duane supports Cassel as the starter.

In this way, Duen can better help Cassel and integrate him into the team as soon as possible.

As for Ben Gordon's return from injury, he is the final choice for the starting point guard.

It’s not difficult to solve, just compete for jobs!

The expected time for Ben Gordon to return from injury is mid-March, which is still a month before the end of the regular season.

The Bulls have time to put together combinations and experiment with a better playoff lineup.

In other words, despite Cassel's arrival, the Bulls' record has been slightly bumpy.

But it's not a big problem. Cassell's original condition is not bad, and he also played fast breaks under the guidance of George Karl in the Bucks.

However, the Bulls and Bucks have different fast break styles.

The Bucks just focus on offense, while the Bulls' fast break is based on defense.

Cassel is indeed not very good physically, and his defense is not much better than Ben Gordon.

However, the Bulls' defensive resources are sufficient, and Cassell's defensive problems are not serious.

As long as Cassel can integrate into the Bulls' offensive system as soon as possible and then help Duan reduce the pressure on ball handling and organization, there will be nothing left to do.

As for the inability to hit 73 wins again, the Bulls don't care much about the regular season record. Anyway, 60 wins this year is still very stable, and it is no surprise that they are first in the Eastern Conference.

The Celtics are playing well and are expected to win 60 games this year, but they lack defense and will struggle to win against some strong teams in the Western Conference.

The Bulls don't have much pressure in the Eastern Conference, and since they are sure to advance to the playoffs early, there is nothing to worry about.

The only thing that needs attention is the health of the players.

Therefore, in the next regular season, the Bulls once again resorted to taking turns, and there were new arrangements for both main players and substitute players.

Even Duane got more rest time, playing only half of several games, or skipping and playing half of each quarter.

However, after Ben Gordon returned from injury and the Bulls recovered to full strength, the Bulls re-adjusted their rotation.

This is mainly to prepare for the playoffs. The rotation time of the players is fixed, so that everyone is less likely to mess up, and it is more conducive for the Bulls players to adapt to the rhythm of the game.

Of course, after the rotation is fixed, the Bulls are not peaceful.

Ben Gordon wants to return to the starting lineup, but judging from the suitability of the lineup alone, he really can't compete with Cassel.

And Ben Gordon is in a contract year, and the contract is obviously more important than the championship ring.

However, the friction within the team has not yet heated up, and it will not affect the team's record for the time being.

As the last game of the regular season ended, the Bulls advanced to the playoffs with 66 wins and 16 losses, the league's best record. (End of chapter)