Chapter 170 8: Release of Military Power



The United Center was boiling.

When the Heat are defending your core players, it becomes crucial whether your role players can stand out.

Battier not only stood up, but also made consecutive three-pointers, each of which went through the opponent's heart.

In a sense, what those James fans said is quite right. The Bulls really have five, six, seven, and eight giants.

Because at the critical moment, they all showed no mercy!

In fact, the deal for Battier also aroused doubts from many fans. After all, Battier was 32 years old, while Korver was only 28 years old, and the Bulls also got Johnson, who was on the edge of the lottery and worked part-time as the team's bodyguard.

But actually from the management's perspective, the deal had to be done.

Because from the moment the Bulls chose Yao Ming, they were fighting for the present rather than the future.

Especially when a team has the strength to compete for the championship, the opportunity to find the championship puzzle should not be missed.

Now facts have proved that the management's choice was correct.

After the timeout, the Heat made a substitution, with Miller replacing James.

Spoelstra is not as soft as he looks. James cannot meet his requirements on both offense and defense, so he is not going to get spoiled.

This wave of substitutions also boosted the morale of the Heat. After the timeout, Wade suddenly passed the ball to Moss, who made a three-pointer to help the Heat quench their thirst.

But back on the defensive end, the Heat faced a dilemma.

Because Spoelstra's defensive system is based on Wade and James' ability to quickly make up for the defense.

Now that James is there, Wade alone won't be able to defend half the court even if he runs himself.

So the result of the Heat continuing to stick to their defensive strategy was that they missed someone again.

This time it was Artest who got the chance.

Artest's three-point shooting has been unstable throughout his career. The only time he shot 41% in a single season was when he was with the Pacers, and then it would often fall below 35%.

But including this season, in the three seasons of cooperation with Yao Ming, his three-point shooting percentage has remained above 38%, especially this season reaching 40.6%, once again breaking the 40 mark.

On the one hand, this is due to the restraining power of the three core players of the Bulls, and on the other hand, it is a matter of mentality.

Just like Rodman back then, players can only get better by doing what they are good at.

“Swish!”

Artest did not disappoint and also played the answerball.

There was constant cheering at the scene.

A hot fact, Artest is also a rookie for the Bulls.

Although he only played for the Bulls for three years, he once did something as big as breaking Jordan's ribs with his elbow.

So it is natural that Chicago fans cannot be unfamiliar with him, although he is not very famous.

This time he has matured a lot after returning to the team, and his tough personality easily reminds people of Rodman back then.

Even at the age of 31, Artest is three years younger than Rodman was back then.

This popularity is second only to the three core players in the Bulls.

Spoelstra put his hand on his forehead, looking helpless.

With the touch of the Bulls' role players tonight, his defensive strategy can no longer be used.

But if it is not used, the Heat will not be able to defend the Bulls' pick-and-roll, and in fact they still cannot defend it.

This situation is not going to work if James is on the field, and it is not going to work if James is not on the field either. It is really a headache.

However, what Spoelstra never expected was that tonight's headaches had just begun.

The Heat actually did have a chance tonight. Although the Bulls were in good shape, Wade and Bosh on the Heat side were also in very hot form.

So although the Heat maintained a 5-10 point lead, they did not let the Bulls pull away completely.

Then came the crux of the problem. James rarely took shots in the last three quarters of the game.

To put it nicely, he is organizing the team and giving the shooting rights to Wade and Bosh who are in good shape.

But in fact, anyone with a discerning eye could sense that James was angry with Spoelstra.

And Spoelstra had no way to deal with him doing this.

Please refer to Carter's detailed experience. After he applied for a trade, the Raptors refused to agree. He still played, but it was obvious that he did not put in any effort.

For ordinary players, the head coach can just put you on the bench, but for the core of this team, you really have no way to deal with it, because you can't win without him.

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many NBA stars requesting trades in the future, and they all get what they want in the end.

The result was that although the Heat kept the score gap close, they were never able to overcome it.

93 to 101, the Bulls finally defeated the Heat by 8 points and won the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals.

According to post-match statistics, the highest scorer for the Bulls was Yao Ming, who scored 24 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks.

After Spoelstra had to give up the defensive support in the last three quarters, Yao Ming attacked the Heat's inside line just like he did in the regular season.

Rose had 17 points and 6 assists, Battier had 13 points, Artest had 11 points, and Hinrich had 10 points.

The Bulls made 12 of 22 three-pointers tonight, with a hit rate of over 50%.

Thanks to his teammates' excellent touch, Xu Yong won the first triple-double in his Bulls career, with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.

Although it is a bit economical, it is practical.

For the Heat, Wade made 13 of 20 shots for 32 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Bosh made 11 of 19 shots for 26 points and 6 rebounds. Miller had 11 points and 3 rebounds.

James only took 11 shots in the game, making 3 of 11 shots, scoring 8 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 4 turnovers.

After the game, the Bulls players returned to the locker room happily.

Xu Yongze went to the post-match press conference with Yao Ming.

Today he got his first triple-double in his career, and it came in the playoffs. This will definitely become the focus of reporters' questions after the game.

The press conference started quickly and the audience was crowded with reporters. The game was exciting and had many highlights, so the reporters were eager to try it out.

Xu Yong was asked a number of questions one after another, most of which were expected, such as how he felt about beating the Heat, how he felt about getting a triple-double, etc.

But when a reporter asked about Barkley's bet, the picture started to take a turn.

"Do you think the Bulls will let Barkley drink from that bowl of horse piss?"

It is not easy for Xu Yong to answer this question, because it is actually asking about the Bulls' confidence in the rest of the series.

Moreover, Barkley's relationship with media celebrities cannot be too strained. After all, he is not James, who has so much say that the media can put pressure on them or even fire them.

"We'll hurry up."

Xu Yong's answer made the reporters laugh instantly.

Xu Yong's answer got perfect marks. He didn't mention the horse urine, but he showed absolute confidence.

"What do you think about LeBron only getting 8 points tonight?"

The reporter then asked.

However, this question stumped Xu Yong.

Because he doesn't know the specific statistics of the Heat players now. After all, it has been less than half an hour since the end of the game.

As for playing during the game, it is even more impossible. Who has the time to look at the statistics during the game?

"Are you talking about LeBron?" Xu Yong confirmed.

After receiving positive response from the reporter, Xu Yong's expression was quite interesting.

Although he didn't see the data, he could still feel that James' data tonight was a bit low.

I just didn’t expect, I never expected it to be 8 points.

Originally, the course of history had changed because of him, and he thought this would never happen again.

But I didn't expect that it would not only happen, but also advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Although his thoughts at this time have changed a lot from before.

Because at that time, he felt that James' 8 points were largely due to technical problems.

But now it seems that it is not just a simple technical issue, there are some other ideas involved.

"I haven't paid attention to this, but it shows that our defense was very successful. If I remember correctly, he started to try to single out Derek but it didn't work. I didn't have much impression of him in the subsequent games." Xu Yong tried hard to recall.

This answer also made many reporters below laugh.

Is there anything wrong with this answer? Of course there is nothing wrong with it.

Because this is a standard statement of fact. You can't say that repeating what happened is a black play, right?

But this is really hurtful.

Compared to scolding people, this kind of words can really irritate people.

But it's only James. Xu Yong has not had any on-court conflicts with anyone since he entered the NBA, but James did trip over his foot last season.

Although he is a generous person, he is still very fussy about some things.

After the game, fans were extremely excited on social media.

"I heard that LeBron is the future No. 1 player in the league, but I've never heard of the No. 1 player scoring 8 points in the conference finals?" Comment from "KBfnas".

"LeBron is not worthy of being compared with Kobe. I can't even see his desire to win in the game. He made me feel like a pufferfish that was rubbed until it was inflated."

"What you said is wrong. How can you have the desire to win if you can't even score? 3 out of 11 and only 2 free throws, what do you call this? This is called being defended to death!"

"At this point we have to mention that man. In Game 6 of the 1998 Finals, Pippen scored exactly 8 points, but guess what, the Bulls won that game. Yes, it was the game in which Jordan scored 45 points and hit the 'last.shot'." A comment from "Lakers Nation".

"It's all Wade's fault. He only scored 32 points. If he had scored 45 points, wouldn't the Heat have won?"

"Trade him, I've had enough. How can LeBron play like an MVP? Even if Granger plays in this game, I think the Heat have a chance!"

"Why do you keep mentioning Granger? Do you think there's a real chance if Granger really takes over? Come on, the Bulls were just accurate in three-point shooting in this game!" Comment from "Bronny Future Superstar".

"As expected of Brownie."

"You may not believe this, but I think the Heat haven't yet forced the strongest Bulls team out..."

"Yes, the Bulls even gave up a little O'Neal. I think the strength of this Bulls team is underestimated."

“The Heat won’t get swept, right?”

"This is ridiculous. Although I think Barkley will definitely drink the horse's piss, the Heat will win one or two games anyway."

Chicago.

After the game, James did not return to the hotel, but drove to a local nightclub.

He is really like an inflated puffer fish now, and it feels like he will explode at any time.

Losing is of course unhappy, but what makes him more unhappy than losing is Spoelstra.

How dare that stinky Filipino!

When he was in Cleveland, those coaches didn't dare to say a word even when he snatched the tactical board, let alone argue with him during the game. They just obeyed his orders and were completely submissive.

And it wasn't just a quarrel. Spoelstra even wanted to reduce his ball possession. That was his life!

As Nike's favorite, he knows better than anyone the importance of data in the NBA, a commercial league.

The easiest and most effective way to get media hype about you is to display the data in Excel.

Because most people see text messages, and in the United States, not everyone can afford the data charges for watching videos.

So he would definitely not do anything if his life was threatened. This is much more important than winning or losing a game.

You can lose a game, but you must never lose a power struggle.

And he knows that the current Heat can't do without him, and he will get what he wants in the next game.

In the hotel where the Heat are staying, Spoelstra is editing videos in his room.

In fact, people like them who are video editors will still edit their own videos even if they become head coaches. It's basically a habit.

Because this is a better way to grasp the details of the game than watching video.

He was cutting when he heard someone ring the doorbell.

He stopped what he was doing to open the door, and then he saw that the person standing outside was Wade.

"Are you still awake so late?" Spoelstra asked with a smile.

In the Heat, the person he has the best relationship with is Riley, who can be regarded as the person who supports him the most.

The next one is Wade.

When Wade came to Miami, he, who was then an assistant coach, was responsible for Wade's personal training, and the two had a very close relationship.

"I can't sleep and I have to say something," Wade said.

Spoelstra put away his smile, nodded, and let Wade into the house.

Wade came in, glanced at Spoelstra's computer, and then sat on a stool.

"Just say whatever you want to say." Spoelstra closed the door, turned around and said with a wry smile.

He could probably guess Wade's intention. What James did tonight would make anyone angry.

"Eric, let LeBron control the ball and design plays for him to make him feel as comfortable as possible."

But as soon as Wade opened his mouth, Spoelstra was shocked.

Although he knows that the Heat will definitely not win without James, to be honest, Wade is now the leader of the team in terms of performance and status, and this statement is even a bit humble.

However, Wade's next words made him stand in awe.

"If we want to achieve our goal, I can make any sacrifice for the team, just to help LeBron take that hesitation away. Our goal is the championship, not personal ego and profit."

According to historical records: The Heat lost in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and James released his power with 8 points.


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