Healthy basketball, starting from eating the old Lakers F4

The Bulls, who had just completed their reinforcements, were full of expectations. However, before the veteran reinforcements could integrate into the team and bring much help to the team, new problems emerged in the Bulls' main lineup.

Horford suffered a recurrence of his old injury during the game against the Magic, straining his chest muscles.

Although it is not a complete tear, it will take one or two months to fully recover.

To make matters worse, Horford's injury is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the Bulls.

The coaching staff had to urgently adjust the lineup and put Portis in the starting lineup.

After all, the Bulls need to put together a lineup that can all shoot, using offense to make up for the lack of interior defense.

Therefore, compared to Gordon, who has better physical fitness, it is more reasonable for Portis to start.

Of course, Horford's role on the court cannot be completely replaced by rookie Portis.

In terms of ball possession, Portis has not proven his true strength, so in a short period of time he only has half the ball possession of Horford.

In Horford's absence, Portis is more of a role player who creates space in the corner and sets screens for Curry or Durant.

The remaining half of Horford's ball possession was basically taken over by Jokic.

The absence of the main players due to injuries will add some burden to the young players and will be a big challenge in the short term.

However, if you are talented enough and capable enough to do the job, then this is also an excellent opportunity to demonstrate your abilities.

Jokic already possesses the talent and potential to be a historical superstar.

Now is the era of small ball which is most suitable for Jokic to play and big centers can play against each other!

It was only a matter of time before Jokic could perform well.

After several seasons of experience, Jokic is capable of taking on more responsibilities for the Bulls.

If the Bulls hadn't helped Curry win the regular season MVP.

Maybe last season, if the Bulls gave Jokic enough ball rights, Jokic would be able to play as an All-Star.

Fortunately, it’s not too late to have a good meal.

Jokic seized the opportunity of Horford's absence from the game due to injury, and rose strongly to support the Bulls' inside line.

到了12月底，原本笼罩在公牛头顶的阴霾，因为约基奇近5场比赛场均21.4分11.2篮板4.5助攻1.5抢断0.6盖帽的出色表现，一扫而空。

The Bulls, who already had the momentum to see the light, also took the opportunity to launch the Northern Expedition.

By the end of January, the Bulls, who had been winning all the way, had already reached the third place in the Eastern Conference!
During this period, the teams that played against the Bulls clearly showed signs of targeting Jokic.

However, Jokic, who has the status of a super giant, has broken through his own bottleneck and entered a new stage.

Although he is still some distance away from being a superstar, it is not difficult for him to achieve superstar-level statistics and influence in the game if given the right to play.

One superstar, two superstars! The Bulls have such a unique core combination, I really don't know how they can lose.

If the league had not imposed double-standard penalties on the Bulls early on, the Bulls could have already booked their fourth consecutive championship this season!

Having said that, thanks to the excellent record of 16 wins and 4 losses after Horford was injured, the atmosphere within the Bulls has become active and harmonious.

The veterans who joined last month have fully integrated into the team.

The remaining rookies on the Bulls also have a certain amount of playing time and hope, so they perform more seriously and actively on the court.

Before the All-Star Weekend, the Bulls continued to work together towards the goal of returning to first place in the Eastern Conference.

In the following games, Jokic continued to be noticed and targeted by other teams.

Some teams used point guards to constantly pick and roll against Jokic, trying to give him military training.

On the defensive end, Jokic does have some problems, which cannot be compensated by game experience and a serious defensive attitude. However, the Bulls' defensive resources on the perimeter are still good. In some rounds when Jokic was targeted for military training, there would be wing players cooperating with Jokic to double-team the offensive players.

This naturally reduces some of Jokic's defensive pressure.

Jokic himself also continued his hot form on the offensive end, helping the Bulls to go one step further and rush towards the first place in the Eastern Conference.

Speaking of which, Jokic, as a rookie, performed well, and Curry, as the team leader, naturally could not remain indifferent.

In the week before the All-Star Weekend, Curry won another Eastern Conference Player of the Week award with comprehensive statistics of averaging 33 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block per game, as well as winning all four games in a week.

For a player of Curry's level, an honor like Player of the Week is actually not worth mentioning.

However, as early as last season, Curry set the goal and ambition to compete for the regular season MVP.

You know, the regular season MVP is accumulated by the weekly best player and monthly best player.

Although Curry has not won the Player of the Month award this season, he has already won three Player of the Week awards.

Judging from Curry's current condition, it will not be too difficult for him to win the Player of the Month award in the next two months.

Today's Curry is no longer the overpaid star who had the highest salary in the league at the beginning of the season but only performed in the top ten in the league. Instead, he is a superstar who is truly capable of playing in the top two of the league.

The Bulls have a superstar leading the team and a superstar as the backbone.

Under such conditions, it makes perfect sense to defeat one tough opponent after another.

In addition, victory can make the team more united and more positive.

The Bulls have been winning recently, which has reduced internal disputes and frictions, further strengthened internal unity and cooperation among players, and greatly improved the Bulls' overall combat effectiveness.

In the eyes of Bulls fans, the Bulls once again showed their unparalleled championship qualities!

The team is developing in the direction everyone expected, and everything is so good.

However, Duane knew that this was only temporary sunshine.

As for the championship, the first half of the regular season is not difficult, and the real challenge is yet to come.

Health wins championships!
As early as this year's All-Star starting and substitute lists were released, Duane made some suggestions on rotation to the coaching staff.

Duane himself, relying on the recent hot form of Curry and Jokic, put down the burden on his shoulders and returned to playing health-preserving basketball.

For the team, as one of the oldest veterans in the team, it wouldn't be a bad thing for Duane to have less ball possession and less playing time.

Correspondingly, more passes and more encouragement may make the rookies in the team perform more actively and outstandingly.

Duane personally encourages rookies and taps into the potential within the Bulls.

Curry saw this, and then gradually learned to think in Durant's way - how far is he from actually leading the team to win the championship for a whole season?

There is a successful path to take, there is no reason not to choose it.

Curry also began to delegate power and reduced his desire for the honor of regular season MVP for the team's ultimate victory.

Time flies and it is February 2th, and the Los Angeles All-Star Weekend finally begins.

Perhaps because he is in the Eastern Conference, Jokic was selected for this year's All-Star Game as an Eastern Conference All-Star backup forward.

Duane and Curry are naturally the undisputed starters in the Eastern Conference.

The only difference is that Curry is a guard and Duane is a forward.

"Enjoy it and show off."

On the evening of February 2, before the All-Star Game began, Durant gave Jokic some pointers. (End of this chapter)