NBA: James wants to team up with me

The preseason games of the shortened season are also shortened. While the schedule is compressed to the limit, the number of preseason games for each team in the league has also been reduced.

In the preseason, the Bulls have been following their past habits, basically not letting the main starting players play for too long, and mostly using substitute players.

The biggest change between the Bulls this season and previous seasons is that there are two new faces on the bench, Jimmy Butler and Isaiah Thomas.

Butler's level when he first entered the league was actually not very good. He averaged only 2.6 points and 1.3 rebounds per game in the original Bulls' first season. Although this was mainly because he didn't have much playing time in his rookie season, his skills were indeed average and he had more talent. This is reflected in his fairly good physical fitness and athletic ability.

But Isaiah Thomas is different. His ability to break through with the ball is quite lethal due to his top speed. This was well reflected in the preseason games.

After Thomas comes on the field, as long as he faces some inferior substitute defenders, he can easily use his breakthrough ability to get rid of the opponent's defense, and his offensive ability is enough to make people shine.

In addition, there are two generals on the bench of the Bulls, Danny Green and Marcus Thornton. The Bulls performed well in the preseason and easily achieved a complete victory in the preseason. At the same time, Butler and Thomas Jr. has also come into the league's sight.

As a player selected with the late pick in the second round, Thomas' performance has been highly praised.

"The so-called one-trick trick makes him famous all over the world. Although Isaiah Thomas' height makes him a complete black hole on the defensive end, and it is difficult for him to be qualified for the team's main position, his excellent breakthrough ability can be used in the limited time on the bench. "He can help the team charge forward and be a second-round pick."

As for Jimmy Butler, despite his mediocre performance and being completely overshadowed by Thomas, who was ranked lower than him, there were not many criticisms.

This is also normal. After all, Butler is only the 30th pick in the first round. Strictly speaking, there is not much difference from the players in the second round. No one really expects that after the Bulls select Butler, the latter can immediately Showed the potential of a top star and became the mainstay of the Bulls.

However, the Bulls players did not think so, because from Wang Chong's attitude towards Butler, they knew that this seemingly ordinary player definitely had high hopes for Wang Chong.

It has been several years since I came to the Bulls. The team has experienced many rookies coming and going, but the only one who really impressed Wang Chong enough to personally arrange assistant coaches to formulate training plans was Stephen Curry.

Now Butler is the second.

Although Butler basically has no tactical status in the team, and his playing time is ranked behind Danny Green and Marcus Thornton among substitute players, Wang Chong's treatment of him is really special. He even praised Butler for his hard work in training more than once. Anyone can see that Wang Chong loves Butler.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau didn't even hold back and consulted Wang Chong privately about Butler's opinion.

Wang Chong didn't hide it, and directly told Thibodeau that Butler would become the Bulls' No. 3 player in the future, second only to him and Curry, and even above Gasol, just as a player. Butler currently lacks combat power and needs time to train and develop.

Thibodeau was skeptical of Wang Chong's words, because at least he couldn't see any eye-catching potential in Butler. Such a mediocre guy had neither shooting ability nor ball-handling ability. In addition to his so-so defense, he was completely built. What is the difference between forward players who are highly motivated but have absolutely no defensive skills?

But Wang Chong's status in the Bulls is transcendent, and he is completely above anyone on the team, including the team owner.

The honor of four consecutive championships has put Wang Chong on the altar, and he is within easy reach of Jordan. During this period, no one in the Bulls would disobey Wang Chong, nor would they dare.

Wang Chong attaches great importance to Butler's performance, which directly affects the Bulls coaching staff's positioning and view of Butler. Although there is no special care in the tactical arrangement, in the team's daily training and other times, Butler is regarded as a lottery. Treated as a draft pick.

Butler himself expressed that he was very confused. He himself had no idea why Wang Chong would give him such special care, and he was very touched.

Although he is not very old, Butler has already experienced the ups and downs of human relationships in society. He knows very well that Wang Chong seems to have done nothing, but it has played a very important role in helping him gain a foothold in the NBA. Therefore, when Butler came to the Bulls for the first time, he From the beginning of the day, Ponyboy was already Wang Chong's most loyal man.

Butler's mediocre performance in the preseason made Butler feel a little frustrated and even felt that he had failed Wang Chong's expectations.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you."

Wang Chong didn't take it seriously and just patted Butler on the shoulder. "You are too impatient. You are still young and need time to learn and grow. Take your time step by step... We have plenty of time."

Wang Chong's own expectation for Butler is to grow into a top defensive player at the forward position within one to two seasons.

Under normal circumstances, it was in the 13-14 season that Butler truly grew up to be a starting player. Although he averaged only 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists per game, Butler's defense could already be selected for the All-Defensive Second Team. He is the defensive end An absolute mainstay.

The reason for this plan also has something to do with the competitive state of Garnett, the Bulls' current main striker.

Garnett's final peak period was the 12-13 season.

届时已经36岁高龄的加内特，常规赛期间依旧可以为球队贡献14.8分7.8篮板2.3助攻，此外还有1.1抢断和0.9封盖。

It's just that the increase in age has indeed caused Garnett's condition to decline a lot. This year he failed to be selected for the All-Defensive Team, and his defensive efficiency also dropped directly from third in the league the previous season to fifteenth in the league.

In the 12-13 playoffs, the Celtics were eliminated by the New York Knicks in the first round. Garnett played 6 games, averaging 12.7 points, 13.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. There was no way to help the team on the offensive end. Fire support, but the defensive end is still barely able to shine, definitely not to the point where it can be ignored.

But unfortunately, after the Celtics were eliminated in the first round, Celtics general manager Ainge decided to tear down the team and rebuild it, trading away veterans including Garnett and Pierce.

Garnett and Pierce were packaged together and traded to the Nets, which had moved to Brooklyn. At this time, Garnett had exhausted his last bit of strength.

In the two seasons with the Nets, Garnett only averaged about 6+6 per game and never regained his courage. Then in his twilight years, Garnett was traded to the Timberwolves. Officially retired from the Timberwolves. Not surprisingly, Garnett's time as the Bulls' main power forward is for the remaining two seasons.

Wang Chong's plan is to let Butler grow up quickly within two seasons so that he can seamlessly succeed Garnett and allow the Bulls to continue to maintain the strongest forward status in the league.

Butler, who is 2 meters tall and plays the role of small forward, certainly cannot take over Garnett's class, and Wang Chong has no intention of letting Butler take over Garnett's position.

When Butler grows into a top striker, he will naturally serve as the Bulls' starting small forward, while Wang Chong will switch to power forward.

Wang Chong had already planned it.

By the 13-14 season, the tide of the small ball era was already rolling in. Among other things, the two teams in the finals, the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs, both had obvious small ball prototypes.

Needless to say, the Heat have already begun to engage in small-ball tactics during the two consecutive championships of the Big Three. With Bosh as the center, the team's mobility is fully maximized, and the transition between offense and defense is ridiculously fast.

As for the Spurs, despite having the number one power forward in history in Duncan, they also used small-ball tactics in the later stages. However, unlike the Heat, which focused on counterattacks and fast breaks, the Spurs' small-ball tactics mainly relied on extreme teamwork and passing. Focusing on cutting-edge tactics, especially in the championship season of 13-14, the Spurs averaged 105.4 points per game, ranking sixth in the league. At the same time, they averaged 6 points per game, also sixth in the league. It can be said that they are full on both offense and defense.

In fact, since that time, the league has begun to use fast-paced small ball play as the mainstream of the game. However, in the following two seasons, Curry and the Warriors emerged, and the ultimate death five small ball play shocked the league. It laid the foundation and promoted the development and evolution of small ball tactics.

In the small ball era, many traditional small forwards can be rotated to the power forward position, because this can help the team further speed up and greatly increase the offensive threat.

Top forward players including James, Durant, Anthony, Leonard, and Paul George have all had experience as power forwards.

The Durant growth template card used by Wang Chong, the height and wingspan are completely the standard for an inside player. Not to mention serving as a power forward, even a guest center is not impossible. After all, there are only a handful of traditional centers in the league now.

Moreover, Wang Chong has also begun to make plans. He is deliberately strengthening his physical fitness this season so that he can be more comfortable at the inside power forward position in the future.

Considering this point, the power of 70 is still a bit insufficient. It must be improved to above 80 no matter what, so that it will not suffer too much in the interior.

In the future, Wang Chong's main opponents in the same position will be James, Draymond Green, Giannis Antetokounmpo and other players. They are all a group of powerful and devilish musclemen with top-notch confrontation capabilities.

Of course, Wang Chong will definitely not miss Draymond Green, who was only selected in the second round.

Wang Chong, who used to be a fan, hated players like Green the most. He kicked his eyes, stepped on his feet, and boxed, while also having a bad mouth. Durant has sorry for many people in his career, but he has never failed the Warriors alone. He worked hard to bring two benefits to the Warriors. He fought hard to win the championship until his Achilles tendon ruptured, but what he got was the world-famous Green formula: "We were the championship before you came."

Of course, those who watch the excitement can gloat about the misfortune. After all, Durant, who defected to the enemy and joined the Warriors, has nothing to do.

But from the perspective of the Warriors and even Durant, Green's betrayal and adding insult to injury is extremely shameless.

Therefore, Wang Chong hates Green very much, and it can even be described as disgusting.

But by the same token, from another perspective, if you look at Green from Curry's position, you simply don't like him too much.

A Ma Chai boy who loyally supports him, a top defensive player who can always wipe his ass on the defensive end, takes away all the dirty work, and bears most of the offensive firepower as a villain.

This is really not an exaggeration. Green contributed a lot to Curry's subsequent achievements and reputation. Not to mention anything else, the Golden State Martial Arts Team is famous in the league. Everyone knows that they are dirty, but when it comes to Curry, everyone... Everyone thinks that Curry is a high-quality idol star, handsome, with a good personality, a happy family, and a very clean game.

Isn't that clean? Let others do the dirty work.

Wang Chong doesn't play dirty at all. After all, his strength is there. If he can use offensive scoring to solve the game, he doesn't need to think about other aspects at all. However, this does not prevent him from having a thug in the team, especially with a rookie contract. A cheap hitter.

It's just that if the Bulls select Green, then he won't be able to stand in the top arc and direct traffic like he did with the Warriors, and he will be known as the team's engine. At most, he will be positioned as a blue-collar guy like Bruce Bowen. Defensive players.

Two years later, Garnett retired from the starting lineup. The Bulls' ideal starting lineup should be Curry, Danny Green, Butler, Wang Chong and Gasol. This lineup is still a strong contender. The crown configuration can be described as a perfect and seamless switch between new and old players,——
December 2011, 12, Christmas Day, was also the regular season opener of the shortened NBA season.

In order to eliminate the impact of the league's suspension on ratings as soon as possible, the Christmas games will all be focused games.

Miami Heat vs. New York Knicks, the competition between the two Big Three lineups in the Eastern Conference is naturally full of highlights.

Dallas Mavericks vs. San Antonio Spurs, the traditional cow-horse battle is as classic as ever.

Of course, the most watched game is the Chicago Bulls vs. Los Angeles Lakers game.

The league's four consecutive champions immediately faced off against the league's newly emerging super team, the Big Three, the Lakers, which was enough to whet everyone's appetite.

Who is not curious about the strength and weakness of the super Big Three combination of Kobe + Paul + Howard and the invincible Chicago Bulls who have won four consecutive championships?
Considering the team's tacit understanding and teamwork, the Chicago Bulls, who have been together for many years, must have the upper hand.

However, the configuration of the Lakers' Big Three is too exaggerated and beyond the scope of ordinary people's understanding. It is really impossible to judge which side has the advantage before the two sides are on the same stage. (End of chapter)