"when!"

Howard's free throw hit the rim and was a little off target.

James glared at Xu Yong fiercely and asked, "How dare you tell the truth in front of me!"

However, Xu Yongdang didn't see it and continued to look at Howard and said, "But there's nothing we can do about it. After all, you came later."

Howard was confused.

Xu Yong only said a few short sentences, but they made him question his life.

Yeah, why should he help James?

When he agreed to renew his contract early, Pritchard agreed that he and James would have the same status.

But the situation now is different from what was said. Could it be that what Xu Yong said was true, because he came later?

But he was only a dozen days late!

This is not fair!

Looking at Howard's changeable expression, Xu Yong wanted to laugh.

Howard is still a sunny boy.

Look at James, those who were whipped by him and the Bulls have matured.

On the other hand, Howard was the one who was not even willing to set pick-and-roll for Kobe in this year in history!

What is your status, James? You dare to ask me to block you when you are defeated?

So this piece of trash talk is as lethal as Haslem's formula last season.

And the coolest thing at this point is that James can’t say anything else.

Xu Yong's move is simply the biggest conspiracy in the world.

"when!"

Howard missed both free throws.

His mood was fully reflected in these two free throws.

Butler was on the sidelines at this time. He was concentrating very hard and seemed to have learned something.

“Swish!”

Coming back, Xu Yong scored two points on Richardson with a beautiful turnaround jump shot.

Then, when James had the ball in the frontcourt again, Howard went straight to the inside to get position.

James mentally Fake News about Xu Yong, then called on Jamison on the other side to come over for a pick-and-roll, and then broke through Gibson in a mismatch.

Gibson's mobility is much better than Brown's, especially after so many years in the league, his confrontation skills have gradually improved, and he is not so afraid of James.

However, James accelerated and turned around, then used a drifting shot to put the ball into the basket.

Although the posture was not aesthetically pleasing at all, the ball was still sent in steadily.

And after the Bulls' frontcourt attack failed, it was James who came back and forced a breakthrough past Artest, causing the latter to commit a foul.

He's in a bit of a state tonight.

Thibodeau called a timeout.

When he came down, he rarely questioned Artest's defense.

Then, Thibodeau replaced Artest with Tony Allen and pushed Xu Yong to the third position.

He needed Xu Yong to calm James down.

Before Xu Yong went on the court, he walked up to Artest and patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.

Players will age, and it is inevitable that Artest's condition will decline year by year.

After all, he is 33 years old this year.

For a player who relies on his physical fitness, it is already very good to be able to start for a strong team at this age.

But it would be difficult for him to match up against James, who is in his peak form this season.

After the timeout, James made two free throws to help the Pacers tie the score.

The next few minutes are the time for "Listen, they are playing basketball".

On the Pacers side, Howard continued to act like a big boy and refused to play pick-and-roll even when James called on him.

And it became difficult for James to play against Xu Yong.

In the past two years, Xu Yong has been slowly gaining weight and increasing his confrontation skills, and has actually begun to play like a small forward.

It would be difficult for James to play against this kind of nemesis player even if he does not have strong support from his teammates.

But the same thing happened on the Bulls side. Tony Allen was left open, and with the Pacers defending four against five, Vogel's team defense system was able to operate effectively.

The situation did not improve until the end of the quarter when both sides started to rotate personnel.

Butler grabbed the frontcourt rebound and tipped in his first point of the season, and then forced Gerald Green into a traveling mistake on the defensive end.

The players from the Pacers team who performed well after coming on made Xu Yong, who had already gone off the court to rest, stunned.

Lance Stephenson.

This is not the Stevenson who previously played for the Mavericks and the Heat, but the "junior brother" Stephenson who likes to play the pipa.

Stephenson was a second-round pick selected by the Pacers last year. He didn't get many opportunities in the past two years, but this year the Pacers were short of players in the backcourt, and he finally made the rotation.

He improved significantly this past summer. Not only did he develop his three-point shot, but he also showed off his organizational skills and was in good control of the situation.

Of course, these were not enough to surprise Xu Yong. He knew that Stephenson could play. What surprised him was that this guy was actually on the same team with James!

This is the “No. 1 James fan”!

The kind of blowing in the physical sense, he blew into James' ears, which was a classic NBA scene.

Ayers, Howard, Stephenson, and if we add in Boozer who was traded away earlier, let’s not talk about the strength of this Pacers team, there is so much fun to do.

Four minutes into the second quarter, the score was 28 to 30, with the Bulls leading.

Both sides gradually replaced their main players, and the coaches adjusted the lineups according to the status of the players on the field.

Chicago Bulls: Hinrich, Jimmy Butler, Xu Yong, Battier, Brown;

Pacers: Hill, Stephenson, James, Jamison, Howard.

The Pacers have the ball.

Howard set a screen for James again.

Xu Yong was a little surprised, but he was mentally prepared.

It seems that Vogel did a good job of dunking the ball during the intermission... Howard just went down without anyone blocking him!

James was already ready to speed up, but he stepped on the brake button abruptly, and the ball was exposed in front of Xu Yong.

“Bang!”

Xu Yong didn't hesitate, he stretched out his hand and cut off the ball, leaving a trail of air for James, and then went straight for a fast break.

When he was almost at the front three-point line, he looked back.

James did not chase after him, but instead stood there with his hands spread out and looked at Howard.

Obviously, this kind of pick-and-roll that doesn't involve anyone is better off not being done.

Howard had a dissatisfied expression, as if to say, "Is this my fault?"

The effect of Xu Yong's trash talk lasted for the whole night, no, maybe even a whole season!

He looked away, feeling happy and also wanting to perform.

He slowed down at the three-point line, threw the ball high forward, and then accelerated to sprint inside.

"Bang!"

The basketball bounced after hitting the ground, and he just managed to get there. Then he jumped up, grabbed the rebounded basketball, and swung it like a windmill...

“Bang!”

Slam the ball into the basket.

"Oh! God, what is he doing!"

On the commentary side, O'Neal held his head in his hands and exclaimed.

Xu Yong treated the main competition as a slam dunk contest, and his dunks were so difficult that if he failed, he would be considered a mistake.

But he did it, resulting in a shot that would definitely be ranked first among the top five plays of the night, and also brought the reactions of James and Howard behind him to the TV show.

The United Center has gone completely crazy.

Xu Yong VS James, steals the ball and performs famous scenes every time they meet, late but it’s here!

On the commentary side, O'Neal put down his hands and looked at James and Howard on the court, and suddenly an idea came to his mind.

These two guys created such a famous scene in their first game together, so there will definitely be a lot of fun in the future.

If he could bring all these scenes together, could he make a special show?

This guy Barkley has now built a firm image of "No. 1 Xu Chui" for himself by bravely eating cow dung (although he failed in the end), and it will be difficult for him to compete again.

But it is better to make a cake than to grab it, and this combination of the Pacers is the perfect raw material for making a cake.

In that case, let’s name the show… “Shaq’s Top Five Embarrassing Moments”!

On the court, James and Howard were now completely fighting each other.

However, it turns out that their effectiveness in fighting alone is obviously not as good as that of pick-and-roll cooperation.

After Howard's inside attack on Brown failed again, the stalemate situation finally began to develop in a direction favorable to the Bulls.

Xu Yong continued to hold the ball in the high post in the frontcourt, and then after the Pacers double-teamed him, he threw the ball to Butler at a 45-degree angle on the weak side.

The Pacers' help defense did not keep up immediately, and they did not seem to take Butler's three-pointer very seriously.

Butler received the ball and adjusted his shot before taking a three-pointer.

“Swish!”

His crazy summer training successfully turned into a crisp sound of the ball going into the net, and the United Center was instantly filled with the cheers of fans.

Thibodeau couldn't help but clench his fist while sitting on the bench.

The reason why he used Butler instead of Allen in this period was to open up the space on the court.

This three-pointer is priceless.

It might even be the key ball of tonight's game.

James and Howard were at odds with each other because of Xu Yong's extremely destructive trash talk, and the Pacers' offense was unable to open up;

Butler was able to ensure defense and create space on the court, and the Pacers' defensive pressure increased sharply.

In other words, after the main players returned in the second quarter, the Pacers were in trouble on both offense and defense.

The score was quickly widened.

At this moment, Vogel seemed to be possessed by Spoelstra, with a confused look on his face.

He thought he was good enough at dealing with superstars, but Howard was not a star at all, he was clearly just a child.

Of course, the most depressed person at this time is James.

After the failure in the London Olympics and being kicked out by Riley, it took him a whole month to adjust his mindset with the help of Mike.

It was even a blessing in disguise. His mentality became mature and he evolved from a young James into a thirty-year-old man.

Unexpectedly, he met Howard.

It's not like he hadn't competed with Howard before, and their dance battle at the All-Star Game was even a famous scene.

At that time, he just thought Howard was an optimistic, sunny and cheerful boy, but he never expected him to be so childish.

At the end of the first half, the score was fixed at 46 to 33, and the Bulls had widened the gap to double digits.

Looking at James who got up and left the court before the end of the first half, Xu Yong didn't think he was unlucky at all.

As the saying goes, fortunes change, and what you have done to others will come back to haunt you one day.

When James gave up 80% of his military power, did you ever think about how Wade felt?

Even when he scored like crazy in key games last season, did he ever consider Wade's feelings?

Now it's just a change of position, making him experience it again.

And James will gradually understand that what he thought was maturity was actually just Ah Q-style self-deception.

Of course, the game has not yet been decided, and Vogel still has the opportunity to ease the relationship between the Demon King, and the second half of the game is still worth looking forward to.

Xu Yong thought so, and the fans thought so too.

But when we really came back in the second half, the game suddenly became... abstract.

James started playing the easy ball he was familiar with, while Howard started playing the offensive ball crazily.

One is scoring points, the other is hitting the iron.

Then after three quarters, the game completely lost its suspense.

The Vogels were dumbfounded.

Although the Pacers last season lacked talent, they were at least a disciplined team that adhered to the iron-blooded culture of Indiana. They were the kind of team that believed in "I can lose to you, but I will lose while standing."

But what is this called?

That's all a mob is!

Of course, Vogel is still young.

But after James started the fourth quarter with a 20-plus point deficit, he felt his perspective on basketball was refreshed again.

In the end, the Bulls defeated the Pacers 102-91.

Xu Yong easily scored a near triple-double of 28 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists in three quarters, Hinrich scored 15 points and 4 assists, Butler made 2 of 4 three-pointers and scored 11 points and 3 rebounds, Brown scored 8 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks, and Artest scored 7 points and 2 rebounds.

For the Pacers, James scored a game-high 33 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, Howard had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks, but only made 6 of 17 shots, and Hill had 14 points and 5 assists.

Xu Yong attended the post-match press conference with his junior Butler.

In addition to Xu Yong's leadership qualities, Butler, who continued his preseason form into the regular season, can be said to be the biggest surprise of the Bulls this season.

Then, at his first press conference, Butler made a shocking statement.

"I don't think this game has much reference significance. The strength shown by our opponents is too weak."

This made the reporters in the audience very restless, and Thibodeau couldn't help coughing twice.

He didn't even notice that Butler had such a flamboyant personality!

Xu Yong just smiled.

Butler is not actually flamboyant, he just speaks more directly.

If the Pacers play like they did in the first quarter, tonight's game will definitely go to the decisive moment.

This is like the Arab world, which appears to be strong on paper, but cannot deal with Israel due to internal conflicts. Doesn't that mean their strength is too weak?

Of course, Xu Yong was relatively more tactful.

When asked by his "old friend" Windhorst how it felt to play against James tonight, he gave a very high evaluation.

"He has matured a lot and he is in great shape this season. I think he is undoubtedly the leader of the Pacers and will be a hot candidate for MVP this season."

Xu Yong's answer made Windhorst very happy. After so many years, he finally heard the answer he wanted!

But some smart reporters couldn't help laughing.

The internal conflicts displayed by the Pacers tonight were unprecedented. James and Howard started to fall out after only half a quarter of good play. Xu Yong's uncharacteristic praise of James at this time was simply adding fuel to the fire.

In fact, James fans on social media had already started after the press conference.

"Why is LeBron so unlucky? He just left Wade and Bosh, two guys who didn't live up to their reputations, and now he has to meet a piece of trash like Howard?"

"He scored 17 points with 6 of 17 shots, while James scored 33 points with 12 of 22 shots. How dare Howard not set a pick-and-roll for James?"

"Howard still thinks he is the best center in the league. If he can't recognize himself, his future can only be in the CBA!"

"That's right. Look, Xu has recognized me, but Howard is still living in the past."

"I think it would be better for him to just go to the Bulls after two seasons. I think Yao Ming is going to retire soon anyway."

…

After returning to the locker room, the Bulls players seemed quite excited.

The players' confidence was greatly boosted by defeating the Pacers so easily.

At this time, Hinrich also suggested going out to celebrate together.

Xu Yong nodded in agreement and announced that he would pay for all the expenses tonight.

This moment caused cheers from everyone in the locker room.

Then a group of people rushed to the local nightclub.

Drinking, dancing, listening to dancing girls, smoking cigars together, playing dice... they celebrated in the nightclub for more than two hours before leaving.

The teammates all had a great time, except Butler, who sat alone in the corner without saying a word and did not drink any alcohol the entire time.

Xu Yong drank a lot of wine, and when the party was over, Butler drove him home.

In the car, Xu Yong was resting and Butler was driving, and the atmosphere seemed a bit depressing.

"Senior, what I said at the press conference was the truth." When the car stopped at the intersection waiting for the traffic light, Butler finally couldn't help but speak.

"I know." Xu Yong replied calmly.

"I mean, I think we got a little carried away tonight," Butler continued.

"Pass me the water in front." Xu Yong said.

Butler was stunned for a moment, then turned on the water on the central armrest and handed it to Xu Yong.

Xu Yong took a few sips.

Just as Butler turned around to listen, Xu Yong glanced ahead and reminded him, "The light is green."

Butler looked back helplessly and continued driving.

"Jimmy, what you said makes sense, but do you think I should refuse my teammates' request to celebrate after an important victory and urge them to go to training?" Xu Yong spoke at this time.

"I..." Butler hesitated to speak. Although he felt it was inappropriate to celebrate, what Xu Yong said made sense.

"You have to know that not everyone is like us. For example, Kirk has already started a family and has a career. In addition to basketball, he also has a family. For example, Ty also needs to spend time with his girlfriend. You can't use your own requirements to demand others.

Also, our season is very different. I never thought we had no chance to defend our title. After all, we won the finals last season without Derek, right? "

After Xu Yong finished speaking, Butler nodded.

"Don't be anxious, the season has just begun, all we have to do is maintain our fighting spirit." Xu Yong said as he put the water back on the central armrest.

"I see."

…

After defeating the Pacers, the Bulls continued their efforts, defeating Digital Man and the Raptors in succession, achieving a three-game winning streak at the start of the season.

This boosted the Bulls' morale.

Then until Thanksgiving, they had a record of 9 wins and 2 losses.

Everything seems to be the same as last season, and the Bulls are still the favorite to win the championship.

However, after Thanksgiving, the Bulls lost to the Mavericks, Spurs and Heat in succession, suffering a three-game losing streak.

Moreover, throughout November, their final record was only 9 wins and 6 losses, and their overall record was 11 wins and 6 losses, ranking fourth in the Eastern Conference after the Heat, Nets and Pacers.

Xu Yong's performance remains very stable. His average of 28.5 points per game this season is even better than last season.

His assists also broke 6 for the first time in his career, reaching 6.2 times, which shows that he played more as a team than last season.

But it's clear that the Bulls' overall strength is getting weaker.

Not only are Rose and Yao Ming absent, but Artest, Battier and Hinrich have all seen varying degrees of decline in ability due to their age.

Among them, Artest's performance was the most obvious.

As the team's second-leading scorer, his 14.5 points per game looks okay.

But in fact, this data is as inflated as Jamison's.

His shooting percentage this season has dropped to around 40%, and his three-point shooting percentage is only 34%. Such performance is obviously not enough to help the Bulls win stably.

Although Butler has been a surprise, he has not yet grown to the point where he can step up.

It would be most appropriate to describe the Bulls at this stage as "in transition period".

Then, doubts about Xu Yong from the outside world began to come overwhelmingly.

Just like when Xu Yong won the MVP and FMVP, the outside world would not over-emphasize the strength of the Bulls, because Xu Yong's performance deserved those honors.

Similarly, when the Bulls were struggling, no one would analyze the difficulties the Bulls encountered. They would only question Xu Yong as the boss.

After these voices appeared, the Bulls' morale and players' enthusiasm also declined significantly.

Even around this time, Taylor Swift released the single "I.Knew.You.Were.Trouble", which was widely believed to be based on his ex-boyfriend.

Although Xu Yong was mentally prepared as he had shown when communicating with Butler, he still felt a lot of pressure when all these things came at once.

He needed to blow off some steam, and he made an appointment with Scarlett to meet up again.

In his manor, the two men fought a fierce and long battle.

The bed in the rooftop room was the battlefield of their first battle, followed by the sofa by the floor-to-ceiling window in another room, then the rose bathtub in the downstairs room, then the kitchen on the first floor, then to the cinema, and finally they even had it in the open-air swimming pool, leaving a pool of fresh bath water.

To be honest, Xu Yong didn't have any feelings for Scarlett, and the communication between them was purely physical.

Their relationship is a bit like Megan Fox's, but the difference is that Scarlett enjoys the process more than Fox.

Xu Yong even felt that Scarlett was addicted.

He confirmed this when he finally felt tired and Scarlett said "Give me more".

Then he remembered two things.

I heard a piece of news in my previous life, which said Scarlett was playing ball with a man in the elevator and was photographed.

Another thing is the breakup between Rodman and Madonna. Even a strong man like "The Worm" was defeated by Madonna.

There are only oxen that die from exhaustion, but no fields that are damaged by plowing.

So early the next morning, Xu Yong sent Scarlett, who was reluctant to leave, on the plane, and then went back to have a good sleep.

Then when he woke up, Xu Yong felt refreshed and had new ideas.

He invited Thibodeau to his home for dinner.

Thibodeau's hair looks a little thinner again.

The competition among NBA players is the most intense, and the pressure on NBA head coaches is the greatest.

But even so, when he was having dinner and chatting with Xu Yong, he was also counseling Xu Yong.

"You have done well enough. The current situation is not your problem."

Hearing what he said, Xu Yong was still very moved.

It is easy for players and coaches to be at odds with each other, especially between superstars and famous coaches, because this involves all aspects of the team's power and interests.

But Thibodeau is indeed a different person. The fact that he is still single in his forties because of his dedication to basketball is unique.

Not to mention that I'm still thinking about enlightening him at this time.

"Tom, let Jimmy and Sean start." Xu Yong followed up with his thoughts.

Thibodeau seemed a little surprised to hear this.

They had discussed the adjustment of the starting lineup before, when he had just become the head coach and was studying the "one big and four small" lineup.

But at that time it was he who took the initiative to seek advice from Xu Yong, but this time it was Xu Yong who took the initiative to ask.

There is a huge difference between active and passive. To put it more seriously, it is the players who have exceeded their authority.

However, Xu Yong's next words made him realize that Xu Yong's proposal was not out of selfish motives.

"I'll take care of the offense, and the others will take care of the defense."

Artest has not performed well this season. Can the Bulls find someone else to take his place?

The answer is no.

Butler is not good enough, and the others are even worse, because they are functional players after all and do not have the ability to attack with the ball.

You can't let Gibson suddenly turn into Boozer and then play one-on-one with the ball in the low post, right?

Or will Battier become an organizing forward and dilute the ball possession?

These are obviously impossible, and also normal.

You have two top-paid players on your team, and the third-paid player is not good enough. If there is anyone who can top them, that would be too shameless.

So the Bulls have only two options: trade, or the option Xu Yong mentioned.

Trading is not the business of the coaching staff and the players, and Xu Yong is not the kind of person who wants to replace his teammates as soon as possible just because they are not good enough.

What's more important is that the Bulls' current lineup is aging, and there are almost no bargaining chips. The draft picks are not valuable, and they cannot exchange for truly valuable players.

So it seems like there are choices, but in fact there are no choices.

The only solution at present is to use a space lineup, concentrate the ball in Xu Yong's hands, use Xu Yong like a beast of burden, and hold on until Yao Ming returns.

After thinking it through, Thibodeau looked at Xu Yong and couldn't help feeling a little distressed.

Even if you raise a cow, you will not be willing to let it go when you see it plowing the fields day and night, let alone it is your beloved one.

"Tom, don't feel sorry for me, I like scoring." Seeing Thibodeau's expression, Xu Yong said with a smile.

Hearing this, Thibodeau smiled bitterly. With Xu Yong's scoring ability, it would be easy for him to score high points without having to take defense into consideration.

After seeing Thibodeau off, Xu Yong stood at the door for a long time.

As a fan of Jordan, after Jordan retired, I naturally turned my attention to Kobe.

The most notable season for Kobe was the one in which he scored 81 points in a single game, 62 points in three quarters, and averaged 35+ points per game.

It was a crazy performance, considering that it was at the beginning of the century, before the second attack was changed to 14 seconds and the number of rounds was limited.

But in addition to high scores, there are also crazy numbers of missed shots. Kobe missed 1,195 shots in a single season, directly breaking the NBA record.

Therefore, he was questioned by many people, including Xu Yong, who felt that Kobe was too independent as he often shot against three or four people.

But now, he understands Kobe because he has no choice, just like what he is going through now.

Because the team can't win, even if you play as a team, the morale and enthusiasm will still be gone.

So now, he can only choose to become Kobe.