NBA: James wants to team up with me

In the second game against the Hawks, just a few minutes after Curry started, he accidentally sprained his foot during a disguised breakthrough and left the game. Although the post-game MRI showed that there was no serious problem, he was injured during the game. Exiting the game will also have a big impact on the team's own game state.

Especially Wang Chong, who was still playing at that time. He didn't know that Curry's sprain was not serious. He thought that Curry was injured after only a few games in the regular season.

Because Curry, who originally played 26 games with the Warriors, was injured for the season, even Wang Chong was not mentally prepared.

Unexpected events made Wang Chong a little absent-minded on the court, and other players were also worried, causing the Bulls to lose to the Hawks.

After the game, it was found that Curry was fine and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

In the past two seasons, Curry has become Wang Chong's most capable right-hand man and the Bulls' second scoring point. The three-point deterrent formed by Wang Chong and Curry together has allowed other Bulls players to score on the court. Efficiency becomes much simpler and easier.

Everyone knows that once the Bulls lose Curry, it will be a huge blow to the Bulls, who have already aged Garnett and Billups. It is really lucky that Curry was not injured.

But Wang Chong didn't think so in his heart, because he knew very well that as long as there was no surgery, Curry's ankle problem would not be solved, and the injury would only be a matter of time.

Moreover, this unexpected event made Wang Chong realize that the current time and space was a timeline that had been completely disrupted by his intervention. It would not be surprising for any changes to occur, like Curry and Billu. It is normal for Puss to be injured earlier than the original timeline.

Among other things, the two of them on the Bulls have to reach the finals every season and play many more games than they originally did.

Normally, Curry's Golden State Warriors would have a holiday after the regular season. The players would end their season in mid-April and go fishing early.

However, during the two seasons he came to the Bulls, Curry traveled with the team until June.

This means that they have nearly two months less rest time than ordinary players. In addition, the intensity of confrontation and physical exertion in the playoffs are far greater than those in the regular season. The accumulation of fatigue and injuries induces players to get injured early. It's not something to be surprised about.

Coupled with this shortened season, the league's schedule is very compact. The original 82 games have been compressed to 66 games. In order to ensure that all teams in the league can play against each other, the schedule is very compact and the arrangement is extremely unreasonable.

In the Bulls' first 9 games, there were 7 away games and 3 home games, and they were 4 consecutive away games + 3 consecutive away games. Traveling back and forth all over the United States doubled the fatigue value of the players, and also made it more difficult. easy to get injured.

Having said that, Wang Chong still didn't expect that the wave of injuries would come so quickly.

After losing the first game of the new season, the Bulls immediately regained their momentum and defeated the Timberwolves, Wizards and Cavaliers in subsequent games, regaining three consecutive victories, with a record of 11 wins and 1 loss, continuing to lead the league.

But on January 1, during the Bulls' away game against the Boston Celtics, what was supposed to come came.

Billups jumped to try to block a ball-handling breakthrough by Rondo. The referee blew the whistle for a defensive foul. After the two of them stumbled to the ground at the same time, Rondo stood up quickly, but Billups looked in pain. He fell to the ground clutching his ankle, and was then helped back to the locker room by the team doctor. He never returned to the field again in this game.

This game also became the Bulls' second loss of the regular season.

The Celtics' current strength is really good. Veteran Pierce is still able to average 18+ points per game during this period. Kevin Durant has fully emerged. He currently averages 29.2 points per game, which is close to the king who averages 30 points per game. worship.

In addition, the Celtics also have outstanding young talents such as Rondo, Millsap and Al Jefferson. The starting lineup has almost no shortcomings, and the lineup has been fully integrated and has a high degree of tacit understanding.

In Wang Chong's view, the strength of this Celtics team cannot be underestimated, and they are probably fully capable of competing with the Heat in the Eastern Conference.

The Heat, which lost miserably to the Bulls in the playoffs last season, has undergone a transformation in the new season.

Just like the original upset loss to the Mavericks in the Finals, the Heat learned from the pain and reorganized the team structure. The original dual-core strategy of Wade and James became a strategy centered around James as the core, with Wade relegating to the second line and assisting with peace of mind. James.

Making compromises on his own team's own territory is something only a good old guy like Wade can do.

But it is undeniable that this approach is indeed correct.

James, who regained the core tactical position of the main force, was like a tiger coming out of the cage. He immediately led the Heat to play a very sharp offense, averaging 28 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game, leading the Heat to a 10-3 record, second only to the Bulls in the Eastern Conference.

As for the Bulls, they lost to the Celtics at home and their record came to 11 wins and 2 losses.

The outcome of a game didn't matter, but the results of Billups' review after the game cast a shadow over Chicago.

An MRI examination showed that Billups had torn the Achilles tendon in his left foot. The injury was serious and it was basically certain that he would be out for the season in advance.

Not long after the regular season started, the Bulls lost a general.

Although Billups's role has become smaller and smaller in recent years, many times the responsibility of the defender's ball-handling offense will be handed over to Curry. He more often acts as a fixed-point shooter and outside defensive leader, a little bit 3D. The shadow of a player, but after all, he is the hero who won four consecutive championships with the Bulls. Once one of the Bulls' Big Three, Billups' season reimbursement will have a greater impact on the morale of the Bulls than on its strength.

"Billups tore his Achilles tendon and ended the season, casting a shadow over the Bulls' title defense."

"Without a general, how much impact does Billups' season reimbursement have on the Bulls' strength?"

"Unfortunately, the career of the legendary star may come to an end. The 35-year-old veteran has suffered such a major injury, and the possibility of returning to the game as before is slim. According to insiders, Billups has begun to consider retirement."

Although the Bulls immediately used Danny Green as the starting shooting guard after Billups was retired for the season, the latter did a very good job, and his effect on the field was not inferior to Billups this season, especially in perimeter defense. Ability, based on Green's height of 1 meters, his defensive effect is even better than that of Billups, who is 98 meters tall. However, the outside media still can't help but belittle the Bulls' championship prospects.

However, having learned from past mistakes, Wang Chong was mentally prepared this time. Billups was retired for the season ahead of schedule, which did not disrupt his plan. The Bulls, who put Danny Green in the starting position, did not have real combat effectiveness. How much to drop.

On January 1, the Bulls defeated the Toronto Raptors 14:98 at home, and defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 77:1 away on January 16, and then faced the Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Bobcats, Brooklyn Nets and other leagues. The well-known weak teams at the bottom all won the games without exception.

This allowed the Bulls to gain another six-game winning streak, bringing their record to 17 wins and 2 losses. Not only did they continue to lead the league, but they also opened up a big gap in wins with the Miami Heat.

Everything seems to be moving in the right direction, but what is coming will still come.

On January 2012, 1, exactly one month after the start of the NBA regular season, it was also the Bulls' 25th game. The Bulls challenged the Indiana Pacers away. The Bulls suffered their third loss of the season.

It's really crazy to say that the Bulls lost three games in total, and then injured a player in each game.

In this third loss, Curry was injured again, and it was his ankle again.

This time Curry's injury is obviously much more serious than the previous one. According to the post-game examination, Curry will need to rest for at least five to six weeks, which means he will be absent for nearly one and a half months, and this is still In the case of conservative treatment, the symptoms are treated but not the root cause. The possibility of reinjury after recovery from injury does not rule out the possibility.

After some struggle, Curry finally made a choice and decided to have surgery on his ankle injury to completely solve the problem once and for all.

However, surgery also means a longer recovery period. Curry will not be able to return to the game in the 11-12 season, which means he will be reimbursed for the season.

After Billups was reimbursed for the season, the Bulls lost another general. And unlike Billups, whose tactical status in the team has become smaller and smaller, Curry is the Bulls' second scorer. Main core players.

Without Curry, the Bulls' offensive firepower will instantly drop by a notch. How can they compete with teams with the Big Three like the Lakers and Heat?

From the perspective of the Bulls, they are definitely not willing to have Curry undergo surgery. After all, this is related to the team's fifth consecutive championship defense.

However, Wang Chong is on Curry's side, which means that even pressure from the team is useless. Wang Chong's transcendent status in the Bulls determines that as long as he speaks, others have to listen, regardless of the team. Both the head coach and the general manager can only accept the situation that the team's second-leading player has to undergo surgery and no one is available on the team's back line.

In fact, Wang Chong doesn't want to, but there is nothing he can do about it. If Curry wants to undergo transformation, this surgery is inevitable. No one can guarantee whether Curry will suffer more serious injuries if he chooses conservative treatment. Regarding the future development prospects of the team, Wang Chong can only choose this way.

As mentioned before, Wang Chong also suggested that Curry undergo surgery in advance to solve the ankle problem, but at that time Curry's injury was not that serious, and it was completely understandable that he could not make up his mind. Moreover, no matter whether Curry had surgery in any season, Curry would not be able to make up his mind. If they all miss the current season, the Bulls may not win their fourth consecutive championship.

In just 20 games, the Bulls lost Billups and Curry in succession. The impact was so huge that people can't help but lament that it is really too difficult to win consecutive championships. It is the injury factor that can shut out most of the league's strong teams.

Even the five-star Warriors, who will almost be considered the strongest lineup in league history, cannot avoid this. In the 18-19 season, Warriors players suffered injuries one after another, especially the injuries to the main players Durant and Thompson, which directly led to The Warriors lost to the Raptors in the Finals and lost the opportunity to create a dynasty for three consecutive championships.

However, the Bulls did not have a chance to continue to defend their title, which made almost all teams in the league breathe a sigh of relief.

There is nothing that can be done about it. The Bulls have won four consecutive championships. If they continue to defend the championship, it will be five consecutive championships. Since the NBA merger, there has never been a team that has won consecutive championships for such a long time.

In recent years, in order to fight against the Bulls, the league has given birth to many super teams. The Big Three of the Heat, the Big Three of the Knicks, and this season's Big Three of the Lakers are all in order to defeat the Bulls and end the Bulls' monopoly.

Unexpectedly, the Bulls unexpectedly failed this season. They lost two generals right from the start and have basically withdrawn from the championship ranks.

It is undeniable that Wang Chong is very strong, and his personal strength is definitely the undisputed number one in the league, but it is difficult for him to defeat four fists with two fists. After all, his main opponents are all equipped with the Big Three.

The only players in the Bulls' current lineup who can still compete, besides Wang Chong, are the inside twin towers, Kevin Garnett and Marc Gasol.

Of these two inside players, Garnett is already 35 years old and is as old as Billups. He may follow in the footsteps of Billups and Curry in the subsequent intensive schedule. Even if he is lucky enough not to be injured, he may shrink. With the exhaustion of the schedule, it may be difficult to achieve anything in the playoffs.

As for Gasol, as an inside support pivot and defensive champion, he is pretty good, but it is still a bit difficult for him to shoulder the main core offensive task, and no one thinks that Gasol can do it. Yes, after all, even in Gasol's best season last season, he only averaged about 14+9 per game.

It is generally judged by the outside world that without Curry and Billups, because of the support of Wang Chong, Garnett and Gasol, the Bulls will not be in ruins, but in the playoffs they will be ranked second at most. There is absolutely no way to get past the Heat in the first round or the Eastern Conference Finals.

As a result, the most likely matchup in the finals will be the Big Three of the Miami Heat vs. the Big Three of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The showdown between super teams also has an eye-catching feeling. After all, watching the Bulls compete for the championship every year in the past few years, to be honest, ordinary neutral viewers are a little tired of it.

"Unfortunately, the Chicago Bulls have fallen out of the championship. There is a high probability that the championship in the new season will be decided between the Heat and the Lakers. Which of these two super Big Three teams that have appeared in the past two years can be better? ?”

The league has begun to build momentum for the showdown between the Big Three, with all kinds of publicity overwhelming, and it seems like there is nothing going on with the Bulls.

However, although he knew that the chance was quite slim, Wang Chong had no intention of giving up.

I just injured two main players. Do you really think that I will be defeated? (End of chapter)