The 4 points scored by Xu Yonglian dealt a heavy blow to Digital Man's defensive confidence, but compared to defense, their more difficult task is offense.
As a defensive coach, Thibodeau reacted quickly. When the digital man attacked the frontcourt, the Bulls had already set up a 2-3 zone defense.
This simply tests the digital man's three-point ability at two 45° angles.
However, when you use this to test cadres, the cadres really stand the test.
Holiday made a three-pointer from the left side and hit the first three-pointer of the night for Digital Man.
Although the investment is not accurate, 36.5% is still acceptable.
This three-pointer was very crucial, as Digital Man had been scoring poorly for a long time.
7 to 10.
The digital men narrowed the gap to 3 points and their defensive confidence was rebuilt. As soon as Xu Yonggang of the Bulls received the ball, Brand's double-teaming came up in advance.
Collins' thinking is very clear. Now the only one who can break the net on the court is Xu Yong. So he should limit Xu Yong's shots, or at least force Xu Yong to pass the ball. The digital man still has a chance to defend by assisting defense and rotating.
What is tested at this time is Xu Yong's passing speed and the Bulls' level of tacit understanding.
It turns out that the Bulls' ability to reach No. 1 in the Eastern Conference was not just due to one person.
Xu Yong quickly passed the ball to O'Neal on the weak side during the double-team. Before O'Neal shot, he saw Hawes coming to assist and directly passed the ball to the basket.
After receiving the ball under the basket, Yao Ming jumped lightly and easily dunked the ball into the basket with one hand.
What stands out about this ball is the tacit understanding and fluency.
Miami, James felt inexplicably better after seeing this scene.
Previously, the Heat chose to double-team the ball handler, but ended up being beaten in the interior.
It turns out that wasn't their problem, but that this defensive style just didn't work for the Bulls.
I don’t know if that idiot Spoelstra is watching the live broadcast of this game now.
Looking back, the Bulls are still defending the 2-3 zone.
Thibodeau did not change his strategy because Digital Man made a three-pointer in the first round.
For some fans who like to look at Excel, the simple data can actually lead to big misunderstandings.
For example, Ray Allen's three-point shooting percentage last season was 36.3%, 0.2 percentage points lower than Holiday this season, but would opponents allow him to shoot like the Bulls did?
The answer is obvious.
Reality is not just a numbers contest; the defensive pressures faced by players are different, and the defensive restraints they can bring are also different.
So what Thibodeau means now is, if you have the guts, Holiday, shoot me to death.
“Swish!”
Holiday actually made the shot! [Note 13]
Theory is theory, reality is reality, Holiday was very tough tonight.
Thibodeau touched his bald head.
Everything was as expected from the start to the end, but Holiday's outside touch was unexpected.
But this is a game. If everything goes as expected, there is no need to play the game. The winner will be decided before the game.
"pretty!"
Sitting on the soft chair in Miami, James couldn't help but shout out in excitement.
He is now a 20-year-old fan of Digital Man.
10 to 12.
Holiday's two three-pointers changed the situation on the court, and the momentum of the digital man reached a peak.
Xu Yong continued to double-team and pass the ball, but this time the digital man relied on excellent rotation to defend Yao Ming's attack in the interior.
Moreover, after grabbing the defensive rebound, Hoyes controlled the ball and advanced. Digital Man launched a defensive counterattack. Iguodala followed up with a layup in the fast break, and Digital Man tied the score!
Unlike the big men in China who are trained to play inside from the beginning of training, many big men abroad played outside when they were young. Hawes was one of them. Before he grew to seven feet in height, he played as a point guard with excellent dribbling and passing skills.
The United Center was in a state of restlessness. They didn't expect that Digital Man could bring so much pressure to the Bulls.
The live camera was given to Thibodeau. Thibodeau did not call a timeout to adjust, but stood up and shouted a few words to Xu Yong.
After the information is integrated, there is only one message: fight more resolutely.
The key for the Bulls now is to win the positional battle. Before changing to a lineup of one big and four small players, positional battle is where they have an advantage.
Xu Yong understood, and when he got to the frontcourt, he directly blocked Iguodala's position. After Brand double-teamed him, he did not choose to pass the ball, but turned and leaned back in the opposite direction of Brand's double-team to shoot.
The ball did not get rid of Iguodala, who stretched out his long arms and rushed straight towards the ball in Xu Yong's hands.
Although he cannot be blackballed by the Whale, Iguodala is tall and has long arms, and is a typical defensive stalwart.
"Impose him!"
There was no one around, so James shouted out loud, wishing he was the one who pounced on the person.
Xu Yong's difficult shot was just asking for humiliation. If the ball was blocked, the Bulls' morale would have collapsed.
On the court, Iguodala played good defense, and Xu Yong was purely competing with him in air stay ability.
The result is that Xu Yong won!
As someone who can perform a windmill at the free throw line in a dunk contest, his air stay is much better than Iguodala.
Thus, a familiar and classic scene for Chicago fans appeared.
Xu Yong and Iguodala jumped almost at the same time, but Xu Yong threw the ball only after Iguodala landed.
Finally someone has learned what Jordan taught!
The basketball flew over Iguodala's head and headed towards the basket.
This was a huge fade away, but Xu Yong's outstanding core strength made the trajectory of the ball still look perfect.
“Swish!”
With the sound of the ball entering the net, the United Center instantly became boiling.
James' judgment was correct. If Xu Yong had been blocked on this ball, the Bulls' morale would have collapsed. But after he made the shot, the Bulls' morale soared!
There is no doubt that this is a standard [key ball]!
Xu Yong saw the ball go in while falling, and after landing he made his signature hand-spreading celebration gesture towards Iguodala.
It’s hard to tell whether Iguodala’s mentality has collapsed, but thousands of miles away in Miami, James’ mentality has collapsed.
When he suddenly saw Jordan, he subconsciously felt admiration for him for a moment.
How can this be possible! Absolutely not!
Just as he was thinking about it, the Bulls made a substitution and Battier came on to replace O'Neal.
Thibodeau used one big and four small players at this time in an effort to widen the score gap in one go.
Hawes faced Battier's fire from the high post, and now he had an absolute height advantage on the court.
However, Battier's long arms blocked the shot and Hawes' shot went wide of the basket.
Battier is 2.03 meters barefoot, 2.06 meters with shoes, and has a wingspan of 2.18 meters. These conditions are the basis for him to gain weight and play power forward.
The Bulls launched a defensive counterattack. Rose, who had been holding back for most of the quarter, finally found the angle to score. He scored 2+1 directly against Holiday in a fast break.
The United Center was in a frenzy as the Bulls finally took control of the court.
“Crack!”
Feeling heartbroken, James simply turned off the live broadcast, then got up and left the living room.
This game is just like watching the men's basketball game before Xu Yong was reborn. You can't watch it too much. Watching it too much will shorten your life.
After walking out of the living room and taking a breath of fresh air outside, James already had an uncontrollable thought.
A thought he had had before at the All-Star Game, but one he was more certain of at this point.
Although Rose is the core of the Bulls' lineup, the Heat's double-team and zone defense can restrain him, so the threat is not that great.
In contrast, Yao Ming in the interior and Xu Yong on the outside are the players who can destroy their defense.
Therefore, if we can prevent one of these two people from playing in the game... that would be more effective than any tactical targeting!
As for Yao Ming, he has an old injury and could have been a better target, but Yao Ming's current playing style is very floor-based, so it's not that easy to deal with him.
On the contrary, after Xu Yong mastered the technique of turning and leaning back, he became an easier target.
After all, no matter how high you jump or how well you stay in the air, there will always be a moment when you fall to the ground.
When he thought of this, the corners of his mouth twitched involuntarily, and the big toe of his right foot felt a little painful.
He was forced to use this trick when he was eliminated in the upset last season, but he obviously underestimated Xu Yong at that time.
So this time he had to do it more thoroughly.
He let out a long breath and felt instantly comfortable.
Don’t think he is so bad. If we really talk about bad people, Bowen is the real bad one. He is just following the tough tradition of the NBA.
He returned to the living room and turned on the live broadcast.
At this time, the Bulls had already widened the gap to double digits.
Xu Yong attacked with great determination, and even seemed to be possessed by Kobe, as he faced a situation where three people were attacking him.
Although it may sound strange, his style of play allowed the Bulls to continue to expand their advantage.
Because when he shoots against a triple team, it means the Bulls are 4 vs. 2 in other positions.
Even if he missed the shot, the Bulls could easily have a second chance if they could grab the frontcourt rebound.
Moreover, Battier always plays in the bottom corner, which means it's a 3-for-1 situation on the weak side. With the configuration of Yao Ming, Artest and Rose, the probability of grabbing the offensive rebound is very high.
Regarding this point, there is also an interesting statistic, that is, the inside players who worked with Kobe all had high offensive rebounding data, especially Pau Gasol. After moving from the Grizzlies to the Lakers, his average offensive rebounds per game jumped from just over 2 to more than 3, and even approached 4.
"Shoot, shoot hard, while you still can."
James' heart was already a little twisted at this time, and when he saw this scene, an evil smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
…
In the end, after a fierce battle, the Bulls defeated the Digital Man team 97-83 and got off to a good start in the series.
Xu Yong was the biggest contributor to the Bulls' victory. He contributed a game-high 36 points on 13 of 28 shots and also had 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
Facing a team with the characteristic of digital man, he is obviously the one who is more likely to perform.
This also became the deciding factor in the entire series.
Although Collins showed good coaching ability in the series and made many adjustments in subsequent games, such as limiting Xu Yong's receiving the ball as much as possible and forcing him to take difficult shots.
But those didn't have the effect he wanted.
Here I have to talk about a cliché and mention why height is the first talent in basketball.
That is not just an advantage when grabbing rebounds in the paint. After all, even if you are tall but not fast enough and don't know how to block the rebound, you still won't be able to grab the rebound.
What's more important about height is that it gives you a higher shooting point and a wider field of vision.
Why is it that even though McGrady was injured so badly that he could hardly jump, he was still able to stay in the Pistons and play as the main point guard this season?
In addition to passing ability, the most important thing is height.
This is also one of the important reasons why Jokic can easily get a triple-double. It's like playing with a God's perspective.
Therefore, when Xu Yong faces those attacks, he has vision and all he needs to do is pass the ball in time.
Of course, the premise is that the Bulls teammates are strong enough, and if there are more chances to play with fewer players, they can basically seize the opportunity.
4 to 0.
The scores of the remaining three games were 94-71, 87-83, and 87-75.
Although the Digital Man played above-average offense in his first game back in Philadelphia and saw hope of winning at one point, the lack of a star player to complete the tough solution at the critical moment still caused them to lose the game.
And more importantly, their offensive level is really too poor compared to top teams.
In four games, the average score was only 78 points, not even 80 points.
You only score 20 points in a single quarter. With this scoring ability, you can’t win a game even in international competitions, let alone in the NBA!
The players performed well and Xu Yong was the best player in the entire series.
He averaged 43 minutes per game, scoring 27.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2 steals, and 1.5 blocks, with a 48% shooting percentage and a 38% three-point shooting percentage. This is a super-giant level performance.
The facts also prove one thing. Iguodala failed to defend Xu Yong in last year's World Championships, and he still failed to defend him after returning to the NBA.
After narrowly defeating the Digital Man, the Bulls became the first team to advance to the second round.
Their opponent is still uncertain because the battle between the Magic and the Pacers is already intense.
I have to say that Boozer was still very strong at his peak. He basically blew up Brandon Bass of the Magic, and the shit he didn't get out of him was considered as having been cleanly pooped the night before.
Moreover, Hibbert also has a significant restrictive effect on Howard in the interior.
In addition, the Pacers replaced their head coach Frank Vogel in the middle of the season with a very high level of ability. Under his coaching, the Pacers fully demonstrated their strength.
Of course, the Pacers are still too young as a team, and the Magic are still one step ahead of them in overall strength.
So now with the score at 2-2, it’s hard to say who the Bulls will play against in the second round.
But anyway, they can take a good rest for a while and then wait for the second round to come.
A few days later, the first round of Eastern and Western Conference games ended one after another.
In the West, the Thunder, Lakers, and Mavericks all advanced one after another, but the Spurs, as in history, were defeated by the Grizzlies 4-2 to complete the black eighth.
Although the Grizzlies' lineup is without two defensive stalwarts, Allen and Battier, the Spurs will play better on the outside, but the key to the problem lies in the confrontation in the interior.
At the end of the season, when Duncan played against the Warriors, he sprained his ankle after stepping on Warriors' center player Udoh's foot. Although he returned to the team, his condition was not as good as before. Coincidentally, he encountered the Black and White duo who were very strong in the interior, especially Black Bear Randolph. It was a rare series in which Duncan was suppressed.
It is worth mentioning that this is the first time that the league has seen the "black eight miracle" for two consecutive years.
In the East, the Heat and Celtics eliminated the Knicks and Hawks 4-1 respectively.
The Magic finally won two games in a row, eliminating the Pacers 4-2 and meeting the Bulls in the Eastern Conference semifinals.