Healthy basketball, starting from eating the old Lakers F4

December 12, Chicago United Center, Christmas Day game.

The Bulls' opponent tonight is the Eastern Conference powerhouse Celtics!

The entire league knows that the Celtics aim to win the championship again in the next few seasons.

If the Celtics can achieve their goal of winning the championship, the NBA will have three teams with 17 championships at the same time!
The Bulls, Lakers, and Celtics will share the honor of being the No. 1 in NBA history.

Coincidentally, the Bulls had just won the championship last season, and only two months had passed, and the entire team was exhausted both physically and mentally.

Although there has been no intention of giving up this season, in fact, there is no desire at all.

As for the Lakers, they have been rebuilding for several years since Kobe retired.

Because Anthony Davis was snatched away by the Clippers, and the Lakers themselves no longer have a superstar to lead the team, not even a decent All-Star player.

Also because of their own lack of strength and the lack of superstars joining, the Lakers can only continue to hoard draft picks, wait and see, and wait for the opportunity in recent years.

Therefore, this year is extremely important, even for the Celtics.

It is also a huge test for the Celtics' core - the two rookies.

If the Celtics, led by the two rookies, can take advantage of the temporary silence of the Bulls and Lakers to return to the top and win the championship again, they deserve it.

Then he can lead the Celtics to a revival, make the Celtics great again, and return to being the top team in the league.

Often, a top team needs a landmark victory if it wants to return to the championship race.

It was also through a great battle that the team overcame all difficulties, completed the transformation, and washed away all the dross, allowing the team to make further progress and truly possess the spirit to inform the league.

And this Christmas battle is undoubtedly the most suitable battlefield for the Celtics to hone themselves.

The Bulls are not only the defending champions, but also the top team in the league.

The core lineup of Durant, Curry, and Jokic is once again at the top level in history.

If the Celtics' two rookies can lead the team to defeat such a powerful team, even if it's just a regular season game, it will greatly enhance their morale, leadership and key ball ability!
This will undoubtedly be of great help for the subsequent regular season and playoffs.

After the game officially started, the Celtics' two rookies immediately showed strong offensive momentum and went all out from the first quarter.

Jaylen Brown played one-on-one against Murray in the first half of the first quarter and almost broke through the Bulls' perimeter defense by himself.

It's just that Tatum was a little blocked by Durant, because his first step in the breakthrough was not fast enough, and he needed to rely on strength to push away the defensive player in order to complete the breakthrough.

Tatum does not have the advantage in strength when facing Durant.

He thought he could use his height to make uninterrupted shots, but now he has no advantage in front of Duane and is even greatly restricted.

Also because he faced a taller and stronger player like Durant, Tatum's breakthrough, shooting and passing did not pose much threat, so Tatum was somewhat invisible in the first quarter.

But after Durant left the court, Tatum suddenly got rid of all the burdens on him and became a brand new one.

On the Bulls side, whether it was the young and energetic White and Bridges, or the experienced defensive Iguodala, they were all turned into ATMs by Tatum.

Moreover, Tatum did not use any mysterious or dazzling moves. He just made a pull-up three-pointer and added a step back.

It's just that he has one trick that's effective everywhere. No matter who he plays against, it's the same as playing against Nash, and he always hits them accurately.

After the first quarter, the Bulls, playing at home, were already 31 points behind with a score of 27 to 4.

Looking at Duane's plus-minus value, it is +4.

It is obvious that as he gets older, Duane's defensive quality has declined a lot.

However, defending against some stars who have technical flaws or lack physical fitness can have a good effect.

The key is that Duane has historical physical fitness, and even if it has declined a bit, he still has elite defensive quality.

In particular, while Dunn's athleticism will decline, his static talent will remain the same.

It just so happens that basketball is a sport for big men, and sufficient size can have a huge effect on the defensive end.

Of course, Durant’s defense against Tatum is effective, but if Tatum’s touch has been improved, Durant will not be able to limit him.

Superstars cannot be restricted in the first place, let alone those who have now entered their prime.

Tatum is still a little far from being a superstar, but his overall quality and technical ability are indeed in the category of superstars. After entering the second quarter, Tatum still maintained the hot hand of the first quarter.

Duane thought he could continue to teach Tatum a lesson like he did in the first quarter, but Tatum changed his embarrassed appearance in the first quarter and shot confidently facing Duane.

Basketball doesn’t lie, and hard work won’t let the shooter down!
Tatum shot Durant in the face right from the start, and then made a three-pointer that went into the net, stunning everyone.

It was also because he succeeded in the singles at the beginning. After this battle, Tatum played more confidently facing Durant's defense.

The result was that even though Duane had used all his strength and kept using small moves to attack Tatum, Tatum was not greatly affected and still played very well.

Only halfway through the second quarter, Tatum had already scored 5 points on 3 of 9 shots over Duane.

You have to know that this is a singles game by a star player, and it is a pure score without free throws.

He efficiently scored 9 points in half a quarter. If he had the physical strength and energy to support him, it would not be impossible for him to score 20+ points in a single quarter.

To be honest, Tatum's physical strength is still good, but he also consumed a lot of energy when playing one-on-one against Durant.

After all, Duane is an old-school player who came from the most defensive era in the early 21st century.

Facing Durant's defense, Tatum performed very well on the offensive end, but he also consumed a lot of physical energy.

In particular, in the second quarter, Duane realized that he could not defend Tatum, so he chose to take the ball and back-up Tatum in the high position to further consume Tatum's physical strength.

No matter how accurate Tatum's shooting is or how strong he is, he is still at a disadvantage compared to Durant in terms of strength.

Duane's back-to-the-basket play not only allows him to attack himself, but also attracts defense and creates better scoring opportunities for his teammates.

As expected, with Duane's rich game experience, Tatum's offensive efficiency dropped to 4 of 1 shots in the second half of the second quarter due to his declining physical strength and tense muscles.

Tatum knew he couldn't go on like this, so in order to win the game he had to give up the ball and let Jaylen Brown lead the offense.

However, Jaylen Brown didn't have the ball for half a quarter and his touch was cold. He forced his way to the Bulls' basket, and the Bulls happened to replace Howard to protect the rim.

Having just won the championship ring, Howard was full of energy and seemed to be back to his youth.

If the ball is given to Howard, perhaps Howard's performance on the offensive end is average, but if he is just allowed to sit under the basket, the effect will still be very good.

55 to 56, in the second quarter the Bulls relied on defense to win and reverse the score again.

But the lead is too small, and the outcome of the game will be decided in the second half.

The Celtics thought they were evenly matched with the Bulls in the first half and had a good chance of turning defeat into victory in the second half.

Who would have thought that at the start of the third quarter, Curry suddenly exploded, scoring four three-pointers and two breakthrough layups in a single quarter, helping the Bulls to widen the gap in one fell swoop.

This put a lot of pressure on the Celtics who were trailing in the score.

The Celtics' two rookies were eager to catch up, so they basically took turns shooting.

The scoring efficiency is actually okay, but it allows the Bulls to better arrange their defense and reduce other chances and simple balls.

Then the Bulls themselves mainly focus on defense and rely on defensive counterattacks to consolidate their advantage in the game.

After the third quarter, the Bulls had established an 11-point lead.

The Celtics' main players were basically sweating profusely and panting.

It was obviously unrealistic for the Celtics to rely on their substitutes to hold on in the first half of the fourth quarter when their main players didn't gain any advantage.

98 to 107, the Bulls once again demonstrated the fighting power and dominance of the defending champions in the Christmas battle!

However, these two consecutive big wins did not make people think that the Bulls will continue to defend their title.

People across the league are just curious about how long the Bulls can maintain this momentum.

There are some teams that are waiting for the Bulls' upward momentum to come to an abrupt halt, and then the Bulls supermarket will open, where they can sell off some genuine potential new stars, or competitive championship puzzle pieces with championship experience.

When a whale dies, all things come to life. At that time, the alliance will once again enter the stage of competition among heroes, and start a bloody and chaotic war in which the sun and moon will fade away.

The Bulls will also start to train new players, develop steadily, and wait for the next opportunity to win the championship. (End of this chapter)