Xu Yong didn't pay much attention to the fans' analogy.
Butler's progress is visible to the naked eye, but to say that Adams is on par with Rodman after just one game is a bit of an exaggeration.
Even Adams at his peak still had a big gap with Rodman.
But football fans always like to make such analogies, as long as they have fun.
Adams, on the other hand, seized the opportunity in the game against the Lakers and was already the starter in the bench group in the full-court confrontation of the training session the next day.
This means he directly replaced Muhammad into the rotation.
Adams also played well in the subsequent games against the Grizzlies and Spurs, grabbing 5 and 7 rebounds respectively, and 3 offensive rebounds in both games.
After 3 games, he averaged 6.7 rebounds per game, 3 of which were offensive rebounds, and the offensive rebound ratio reached a terrifying 45%.
You should know that Rodman's offensive rebound percentage in his peak season was only 20.83%.
Although this cannot fully explain the problem due to the difference in games, one thing is certain: Adams' offensive rebounding talent is definitely at a historical level.
So much so that after the game with the Spurs, Thibodeau directly put Adams into the starting group in the next day's training session.
This means that he has basically locked up the starting spot in the next game against the Pacers.
This is definitely good news for Adams. Being able to start in a team of the level of the Bulls in his rookie season is not a treatment that ordinary rookies can get.
But some are happy and some are sad, and the sad one is Butler.
After a week of highlight games, Butler struggled this past week, with his stats dropping to 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers, and a shooting percentage of only 39%.
This data is not only significantly lower than his previous performance of 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6 assists and 1.5 steals, but also his 48% shooting percentage is even lower than his season level.
Obviously, he hit a wall, but it was not the rookie wall in the general sense, but the core wall.
After all, Butler was a role player before, and what he had to do was relatively simple, just play good defense and make open three-pointers. This season he has one more thing, which is to make some breakthroughs.
These things are relatively simple, and simplicity means that the defensive pressure you encounter on the offensive end is limited.
But when Butler started to hold the ball and put up highlight performances, opponents naturally began to study him, and the defensive intensity he encountered naturally increased, with double-teaming and even defensive pockets, things he had never encountered before, also following one after another.
Yes, he has organizational talent, but having talent and being able to perform in a game are two different things.
If you don’t believe me, ask Wiseman, Ayton and others.
After the training session ended that day, Xu Yong prepared to return to the manor. He hadn't visited the little king for some time.
But before he even left the training hall, Butler approached him.
"Senior, I want to see the king too."
Xu Yong nodded. In fact, Butler also grew up with the little tiger.
When they arrived at the garage, Butler directly served as Xu Yong's driver.
"Senior."
"Um?"
The car drove out of the underground garage and Xu Yong was just about to take a break when he heard Butler calling him.
"I've been thinking about how to get out of this predicament recently. I watched the videos of my seniors and I feel like I'm missing a killer move, but I don't know what's right for me."
When Xu Yong heard this, he knew that Butler was not just going to see the Kings, but wanted to find an opportunity to talk to him.
"Jimmy, no one knows you better than you do."
Xu Yong's answer was very concise. He did not give any advice like he had given to Yi Jianlian or Brown before.
The reason is simple: it depends on the dish.
Yi Jianlian and Brown are players that have never been played in history, and how they could have played well has been discussed by many people, and many "what if" hypotheses have been proposed.
Xu Yong's advice to them was to use their own understanding, choose the most likely one among those "ifs", and then apply it to themselves.
It's like doing an experiment. The experiment under one variable has failed, so he summarized it, adjusted the variables, and conducted a new experiment.
This new experiment has a higher probability of success than the original one, but it also has the risk of failure because, after all, it is an experiment that has not been successfully verified.
But Butler is different. In the history that Xu Yong knows, he is a successful case in himself.
If we compare it to an experiment, it is similar to [green bananas will become soft and ripe after being left for a long time], which is a verified experiment.
It's just that Butler had a rough history, changed teams several times, and did not have a stable training environment, which led to him being a late bloomer in the end.
So what he did before was similar to the process of [wrapping the banana with film], just accelerating the process instead of changing it.
Because change means risk, adding variables to an already successful experimental subject and thus creating risks is not worth the cost.
After Xu Yong finished speaking, he saw Butler remained silent, so he continued:
"Jimmy, I know you came to me with something in mind, I don't know what it is, but my answer to you is 'yes, do it, don't worry', like I told you before, I believe in you, always, I believe Tom (Thibodeau) as much as I do."
When Xu Yong said this, it happened to be a red light. Butler stopped the car, then looked back at Xu Yong with a light in his eyes.
After returning to the manor, Xu Yong and Butler went to see the little king together.
However, when he just arrived, Xu Yong was stunned.
As soon as I came in, I saw the little king beating the big goose.
Is this another time they swapped positions?
But when he looked carefully, he suddenly found something wrong.
Why does this big goose look a little smaller?
Has the little king grown up again?
He found the breeder, and the answer the breeder gave left him speechless for a moment.
This is not the original goose, but the offspring of that goose, which can be regarded as goose 2.0.
As they were talking, the little goose soon found the big goose.
When the little king saw the big goose coming out, he ran straight to Xu Yong, hugged his thigh, and rolled over on his belly to "complain".
Xu Yong went from being speechless to being in a state of not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
The goose can look to his father for support, but the little king's father is not here.
But if you think about it carefully, animals actually have no concept of human ethics, that is to say, their parents are not necessarily their biological parents.
For example, the little king was raised by Xu Yong, so in his eyes, Xu Yong is his father.
It seems reasonable that when a goose is bullied, it goes to its father; and when the little king is bullied, he goes to him.
…
The next day, the Bulls played against the Pacers again at home.
The Pacers continue to perform strongly this season, surpassing the Heat to top the Eastern Conference standings.
According to ESPN, the Pacers are now not only the strongest team in the Eastern Conference, but also the best team in the league.
However, they are 2 wins behind the Western Conference Thunder in record.
This game is still attracting attention from the outside world, and James fans even call it the revenge battle of the season.
Although they have fought again and again after repeated failures, they are confident enough this time.
First, Rose, who played well in the last matchup, is now out for the season;
Second, the Bulls are not in good shape recently. Their record in the past week was 1 win and 2 losses. Although they beat the Lakers, they lost to the Grizzlies and Spurs in succession. Butler was in poor form, and diluting the ball possession turned into a waste of the ball.
After the pre-match opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.
Pacers: Paul, Korver, James, Jamison, Bynum;
Bulls: Hinrich, Butler, Xu Yong, David West, Adams.
Compared with the first encounter, the starting lineups of both teams have changed.
After Dengtai Jones was knocked down and injured by Xu Yong last time, the injury was more serious than expected and required two months of recovery. As a result, he was directly cut by the Pacers.
The living environment for role players in the NBA is very harsh, although most people think that he deserved it and got what he got.
So it’s not that Vogel doesn’t want to protect James this time, it’s that he has no choice.
For the Bulls, the main change is that Brown was replaced by Adams.
Brown is still on the Bulls because Adams' performance has exceeded expectations. Instead of cutting him directly, the Bulls are now more inclined to use him in combination with draft picks to make some trades.
Although the team is full of injuries, the management still regards competing for the championship as the goal of this season, so they are aimed at strengthening many details.
The game started quickly, and Bynum jumped to get the first attack right for the Pacers.
It was at this time that the Bulls showed a detail of their on-court arrangement.
Xu Yong did not face off against James on the defensive end, but Butler was defending James.
The purpose of doing this is because Butler did a good job of consuming James' energy in the last match.
Seeing that it was Butler instead of Xu Yong defending him, James' desire to attack at the beginning of the game instantly increased.
He took the ball from Paul and then singled out Butler.
However, his first attack ended in failure.
Although Butler was not as good as him in confrontation, he always stayed close to him and prevented him from speeding up.
Finally, when he struggled to break into the restricted area, he tried to break through Adams for a layup but failed, and the ball was finally hit by Butler out of the baseline.
James turned his head and looked at Butler at this time, his expression slightly surprised.
How come your defense is so similar to rookie Xu Yong?
Moreover, Butler has been in poor form recently, so his defensive enthusiasm should be poor. How come this is different from what he imagined?
It’s a pity that Xu Yong can’t read minds, otherwise he would definitely be happy to answer James’ questions right now.
Butler studies his videos every day, it's hard not to be like him.
As for defensive aggressiveness, James can't understand it.
After all, when James was in poor condition, he was thinking about how to travel during off-peak hours to ensure his own data.
Butler is of the same type as him and Kobe. The worse his offense is, the more he invests on the defensive end to ensure that he can contribute on the court.
The Pacers' attack ultimately failed as Adams blocked Bynum and the rebound was secured by West.
Looking back, Hinrich saw that it was Korver who was defending Xu Yong and was preparing to use Xu Yong's one-on-one tactics.
After seeing this, Xu Yong waved his hand, indicating that he should give the ball to Butler.
The word "believe" is not just something you say. If you say you believe in your teammates like others do, but take the ball back as soon as your teammates are in bad shape, it will only make your teammates more and more like the CBA.
Butler held the ball facing James, and reached out to West to play pick-and-roll, exploiting Jamison's defensive loophole on the court.
James chose to go around to give Butler some shooting space.
Butler has been in poor form recently and lacks stability in mid-range shots, which was also a targeted deployment made by Vogel before the game.
Butler obviously knew this, so he didn't shoot quickly. Instead, he used the space to speed himself up, and then took the crucial first step when facing James.
Then, he used his specialty of breaking through, trapping James on his side and breaking through forward.
There was a detail under the basket at this time. Adams played an effect similar to the "Gortat pick-and-roll", using his positioning to block a breakthrough channel for Butler.
When Butler broke through to the basket and prepared to shoot, James jumped up to block the shot.
Butler did not rush to shoot at this time, but confronted James first, and then completed the shot after his body was knocked off balance.
This unconventional rhythm, like James's walking, makes it difficult for defensive players to judge.
In the end, Butler was knocked out of the baseline and the ball didn't go in, but the referee blew the whistle and called a foul on James.
Xu Yong walked over and pulled Butler up from the ground. Butler fell hard this time.
But just as he went over to pull Butler up, Butler grinned at him.
When he saw this, he immediately realized that this must be the killer move Butler mentioned.
Will the breakthrough cause a foul?
It is difficult to develop new offensive methods during the season. The smarter choice is to make detailed improvements based on the existing [arsenal].
Butler's weapons this season include three-pointers, mid-range shots, and breakthroughs, but none of them are at the elite level yet.
In contrast, breakthrough is indeed the weapon he can best utilize and can bring about the greatest change.
Because his breakthrough method does not require physical talent and his speed is not fast, it is convenient for him to handle the ball when being double-teamed, and he will not make mistakes even if he is forced to stop the ball.
Although he does not have physical talent, he has physical qualities, is durable, or durable, so combining this with drawing fouls is indeed the most suitable.
Facts have proved that Xu Yong’s previous choice was correct, and Butler was able to make a choice that suits him.
Well, let’s call this breakthrough method [Ultimate Common People’s Breakthrough]!
Butler made both free throws to give the Bulls the lead.
Looking back, James used all his strength to push Butler away.
Butler is smaller than Xu Yong, so even if they use the same defensive style, defensive enthusiasm cannot make up for the gap.
However, James failed to score this time because when he accelerated towards the basket, he ran directly into Adams' arms, and then... he bounced back after the collision!
This scene left everyone stunned.
In the last ball, James failed to knock Adams away because he didn't have enough speed, but in this ball, James did have enough speed.
Adams' physique once again formed a sharp contrast with his handsome face.
At this time, Xu Yong made a bigger discovery.
Because he found that Butler and Adams have very good complementarity on the defensive end.
Not just this round, but two rounds in a row.
Butler's size makes him at a disadvantage, and he can only do what he did in the last match, focusing on consumption, and he can't stop James from attacking the basket.
On the other hand, Adams now can't stop James' full-strength sprint breakthrough.
But Butler can prevent James from accelerating significantly by fighting, and then Adams can block James who has not fully accelerated.
This is exactly the same as what happened between Artest and Yao Ming, and between him and Kwame Brown.
Even beyond that, Adams can use his positioning ability to clear a breakthrough lane for Butler on the offensive end, which is unique to him.
Of course, it was not just Xu Yong who saw this at this time. Thibodeau on the sidelines couldn't help but smile.
In recent years, a very important condition for being a starting center for the Bulls is whether one can withstand the impact of James.
From Yao Ming, O'Neal, to Kwame Brown, they can basically do this.
Adams' performance at the beginning obviously satisfied him.
James was dissatisfied at this time. He rushed to the referee and spread his hands, thinking that Adams had blocked the ball just now.
The referee could only try his best to calm him down. With pressure from Nike, James' whistle returned this season.
But it was difficult for them to brag just now, after all, Adams really didn't move.
If Adams had moved, they would have called the call even if there was no [vertical jump rule] at that time.
Looking back, Butler successfully mismatched with Jamison this time, attracted Bynum's help defense, and calmly passed the ball to Adams.
As soon as Adams got the ball, he jumped up quickly and violently slammed the ball into the basket with both hands. Bynum didn't have time to return to defend and block the shot.
His strength was on full display in this round, as he dunked the rim and made it buzz.
And it's not just strength, he also showed excellent explosiveness and speed for a person of his size.
You have to know that he is the same height and weight as Wang Zhelin, but you can't see any sign of slowness in him.
This means that even if his offensive means are limited, he still has the opportunity to score in double digits in a game.
After all, to put it simply, ten points just mean three or four dunks and three or four free throws.
Xu Yong was even happier at this time because he found that Butler and Adams were not only complementary, but their chemistry also seemed quite good.
This is also very important.
Take Butler and Towns for example. Towns can do pick-and-roll, attack the rim and even three-pointers. Both his ability and adaptability are far superior to Adams. However, history has proven that there is no chemistry between him and Butler. Instead, Adebayo, who is weaker in ability, is more suitable.
Moreover, in hindsight, Adams, who was able to start as a center in his rookie season, needs more training than Antetokounmpo and will have issues with ball possession in the future. He is obviously more suitable for the current Bulls team.
Butler was also excited after the consecutive successful organization. Back on the defensive end, he used high-pressure defense when defending James to force the latter to make a mistake when breaking through.
But at this moment, the referee blew the whistle, indicating that Butler had committed a defensive foul.
Butler jumped to the referee and protested loudly, saying that it was obviously a blank whistle.
Xu Yong also stepped forward to support his junior.
The referees humbly accepted Butler's spit but did not change the penalty.
After all, James has spread his hands, so they have to try their best to make up for the whistle.
James went to the free throw line and made one of two free throws amid the boos of the fans, finally breaking the Pacers' 0-point drought.
When I turned around, Xu Yong asked for the ball in the high position.
After receiving the ball, he did not use a drag step, but directly started the back-to-the-basket mode.
“Bang! Bang!”
These two attacks were really full of strength, and James was pushed back repeatedly.
After the second push, he quickly turned and leaned back toward the three-point line.
James rushed forward with all his might, but Xu Yong turned around and then shot from the baseline.
James couldn't keep up with the rhythm of this ball and could only watch Xu Yong shoot.
“Swish!”
There was no suspense and the basketball landed safely in the pocket.
After landing, Xu Yong gave the referee a cold look.
He couldn't change the referee's decision, but he could express his dissatisfaction in his own way.
The referee turned his head away, obviously feeling guilty. This guy was someone they couldn't afford to offend.
James continued to dribble the ball and break through to Butler. Butler had just been called for a foul, so the defensive intensity would definitely decrease. This was a good opportunity for him to score points.
However, as soon as he got the ball, he found that he had made another misjudgment, just like before.
Instead of reducing the intensity of his defense, Butler pressed even harder.
His dribbling was not very good to begin with, and suddenly it became a bit messy, and in the end his dribbling hit his own feet and bounced out of bounds.
This time the referee blew the whistle to signal out of bounds.
First, Xu Yong also put pressure on them, and second, Butler didn't even take action this time, and the basic law must be followed even if the whistle is biased.
After seeing the referee's gesture, Butler became excited on the spot, and was too excited.
"You can't get past me!"
He was following the good example of his senior and directly trash-talked James.
James' face turned black on the spot.
He recalled the scene when Xu Yong trash-talked him when he was a rookie. Are all you Bulls players so disrespectful?
Xu Yong was also amused by their reactions.
Technology and trash talk are improving rapidly.
The more he looked at Butler, the more it seemed like he was looking at himself back then.
In anger, James confronted Xu Yong early on the defensive end.
After sensing James' anger, Xu Yong did not ask for the ball directly, but signaled Butler to continue organizing.
Then just when James thought he was going to give up the attack, he suddenly turned around quickly and pointed his finger to the sky.
Butler on the other side cooperated well and threw the ball directly into the air above the basket.
The angle of the ball was still not very good, and it was passed a little to the side.
But Xu Yong showed his top-notch physical fitness, pulling the ball back with one hand in the air, and then gliding with both hands to violently slam the ball into the basket.
“Bang!”
A huge bang came through the loudspeaker.
The entire United Center was boiling.
This alley-oop is so explosive!
Vogel called a timeout directly.
The score at this time was 1 to 8. The Bulls were missing Rose and Brown tonight, but they got off to a perfect start.
Butler then rushed to Xu Yong who had landed and bumped his chest with him.
Tonight, one of them was attacking and the other was defending, making James a little unable to take care of himself!
After the chest collision, Xu Yong reached out and touched Butler's head.
Compared with his dunk, Butler's recovery through self-adjustment is the most important thing for the Bulls.
And you have to know that they are playing the Pacers tonight. If they can recover against a strong team, it means they have found the right direction.
After the timeout, the Pacers adjusted their offensive approach. The ball was no longer given directly to James, but Paul organized the offense.
Vogel acknowledging that James cannot play against Butler, or that Butler used a tough approach to force the Pacers to make adjustments.
However, James' mentality was unexpectedly good. He used Jamison's screen to successfully cut into the basket, and was about to dunk after receiving the pass from Paul.
But Adams was really brave, he went straight towards the charging James.
James' physical fitness and weight are quite terrifying when he rushes, and this kind of ball requires a lot of courage.
“Bang!”
The two people not only collided with their bodies, but also with their limbs.
After being blocked, James elbowed Adams in the face in the air.
It cannot be said that the ball is not clean, it can only be said that it is extremely dirty.
After being hit, Adams bent over with his face covered, obviously he was seriously injured.
The Bulls were immediately furious, and Butler went crazy and was about to go up to James, but was quickly stopped by the baseline referee.
However, the referee stopped Butler but not Xu Yong, who had a murderous look on his face.
James immediately dodged and stepped back.
However, what was funny was that the other players on the Pacers team also began to move away.
They still remember vividly the last time Xu Yong gave James an eyebrow, which caused Green to knee him. They can't afford to mess with such a ruthless guy!
But at this moment, someone stopped Xu Yong.
And to everyone's surprise, this person was Adams who had just been elbowed in the face.
Adams' face was a little swollen. James had really hit him hard just now. However, he shook his head at Xu Yong, asking him not to go up.
Xu Yong looked at Adams, exhaled, and shook off Adams' hand.
By this time, James had already retreated to his own bench, and it was too late for him to go back up.
He couldn't help but frown.
He had seen Adams' gentle personality at the last press conference, but now was obviously not the time to be gentle.
The game entered a technical timeout, and the referee finally called a first-degree flagrant foul on James.
There are different situations for biased whistles. If it is not called with malicious intent, large-scale conflicts can easily break out during the game.
The camera turned to James, who was holding his braces and shaking his head, obviously dissatisfied with the penalty.
After the timeout, Adams took two free throws for a flagrant foul.
His first free throw went wide, and he hasn't fully recovered from the hit.
He made one of two free throws and the Bulls continued to have the ball.
At this time, Xu Yong continued to hold the ball and play singles in the high post, and continued to play singles with his back to the basket.
The muscle confrontation continued, even more intense than the previous round.
James also calmed down and put in all his effort.
Then at this moment, Xu Yong suddenly turned around, used his explosive power to squeeze past James, and then rushed to the inside.
James chased after Xu Yong hard and when Xu Yong jumped, he also jumped up and was about to perform his signature block.
“Bang!”
“Bang!”
But Xu Yong did not give him that opportunity, and directly slammed the ball into the basket with both hands.
James couldn't stop his hand and hit Xu Yong's hand.
The referee blew the whistle and called a foul on James. It was a 2+1!
The United Center exploded again.
After the conflict, Xu Yong's response was quite direct.
Moreover, this is the third time in a row that Xu Yong has scored on James!
But at this moment, the referee's whistle sounded again.
James shoved Butler on the sidelines.
This almost caused a large-scale conflict between players from both sides.
Vogel reacted quickly and called a timeout.
There was already a chorus of boos at the scene.
Obviously, the first-degree flagrant foul just now was too light, and James should have been expelled directly for the second-degree flagrant foul.
Xu Yong was a little confused at this time, because he was about to take the free throw after the dunk and did not notice what happened between Butler and James.
He and James have been rivals for so many years, and he knows James' character. As a smart businessman, he will not get carried away easily.
Then the only possibility is that Butler said something that provoked James.
he asked Butler as he left the court.
"I didn't do anything, I just scolded him." Butler's words confirmed his guess.
"What did you say?"
"I just said you're his dad."
"What?" Xu Yong stopped.
"I said 'xu.is.your.daddy', and he didn't hear clearly at first, so I repeated it again, 'Xu is lecturing you like crazy, but you don't even dare to respond. Only a son would do that in front of his father,'" Butler explained calmly.
Xu Yong was stunned for a moment, and finally understood why James was furious.
This is even harsher than what Garnett said about Anthony before: "Your wife tastes like donuts"!
Because James doesn't know who his father is, Butler's words are very stimulating.
Of course, this is not James' fault, because even Butler himself doesn't know who his father is.
Therefore, Butler should not bring up the topic of his father. It is more likely that he was inspired by the little king who came to him to act coquettishly when he followed him back to the manor yesterday.
But James didn't know this and just felt that Butler was insulting him.
"You sprayed very well. Don't spray again next time." Xu Yong said.
First, this rubbish could easily be misunderstood, and second, he wasn't even married yet, so he didn't really want to be anyone's father.
After the timeout, James was called for a technical foul.
It should be noted here that flagrant fouls, technical fouls and ordinary fouls are counted separately in the NBA. Flagrant fouls and technical fouls are not included in personal foul statistics, and flagrant fouls and technical fouls do not affect each other.
In summary, there are three triggering conditions for a player to be ejected/left the court: one second-degree malicious offense or two first-degree malicious offenses, two technical fouls, and six ordinary fouls.
But even if they didn't overlap, James was called for a flagrant foul and a technical foul tonight, which was a bit too miserable.
Of course, the Pacers were miserable, too.
By the time Butler hit the technical foul free throw, the score on the field was even 1 to 13!
If viewers had just turned on the TV, they would have thought the score was one less.
Fortunately, Paul played a stabilizing role at the critical moment, using a signature mid-range shot after a pick-and-roll, finally allowing the Pacers to end the 1-point embarrassment.
Looking back, Butler failed to create a pick-and-roll with West, so he called on Adams directly.
Although Adams cannot retreat, his pick-and-roll is strong enough.
Facts proved that his judgment was correct, and James was directly blocked by Adams.
Butler broke through Bynum and threw the ball into the air when he saw James coming to help.
This time, because the distance was close, the angle of his dunk was obviously much better than before.
Adams also took off instantly.
As soon as James turned around, he saw a huge monster flying in front of him and he didn't have time to dodge.
“Bang!”
After a loud thump, James was knocked out of the baseline by Adams, and the basketball was slammed into the basket.
The scene was instantly filled with excitement.
Although Adams is far behind Yao Ming in terms of strength, and even now is not as good as Brown, the visual effects on both offense and defense are explosive!
James lay on the ground for a while before he was helped up.
In the past, he always ran into others like a car, but just now, he felt like he was hit by a car.
His fall basically determined the outcome of the game.
In the end, the Bulls defeated the Pacers 106-83.
According to post-match statistics, James still scored the most points for the Pacers, with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists.
After being knocked unconscious by Adams, he seemed to come to his senses quickly, and played much more restrainedly in the following games.
The calm James is a good scorer.
On the Bulls side, Xu Yong scored 24 points in three quarters, and it was a night without much sweat.
The best performer was Butler, who rebounded strongly after a week of slump, scoring a career-high 25 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and only 2 turnovers, playing a career night.
Adams also contributed a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds in his first start.
After two consecutive losses, the Bulls can be said to have won their most beautiful victory of the season.
After the game, Thibodeau took Xu Yong, Butler and Adams directly to the press conference tonight.
This slightly crowded table immediately attracted the reporters below to rush to take pictures.
Jordan, Pippen, Rodman;
Xu Yong, Butler, Adams.
If it was just a fan fantasy before, then this scene is somewhat consistent.
However, the reporters were obviously more concerned about what happened during the game.
"Jimmy, what happened between you and LeBron in the middle of the game?"
Because it happened on the court, if the outside world wants to know the specific details, the best way is to ask the parties involved.
"It's nothing, we just had some verbal confrontations, but trash talk is trash talk, just leave it in the game." Butler still listens to his senior Xu Yong.
"Can you tell it again?" Of course the reporters would not let it go so easily and immediately asked again.
"I won't." Butler shook his head.
The reporters couldn't get what they wanted, so they could only give up for the time being.
Then there is the topic of Adams.
Adams embarrassed Howard in the previous match against the Lakers, and now he made James so embarrassed again. It is obvious that this newcomer of the Bulls has restrained the former twin stars of the Pacers.
"I just did what I could, fight for rebounds and protect the rim." Adams' attitude was still as gentle as before.
Xu Yong frowned slightly.
Because of his personality, he felt that Adams' gentle character was not a good thing.
"Did you know you were going to knock LeBron down?" the reporter continued to ask.
Adams smiled and spread his hands to indicate that you know.
But at this moment, Butler picked up the answer and made a supplementary answer for Adams: "Steven is the strongest person I have ever met. He is really strong.
When he was setting a screen for Randy (Foye) during team training, I ran into him directly. At that moment of collision, I thought my life was going to end, really.
He must be from Krypton or something like that, it's really scary!"
Butler laughed and shook his head as he spoke.
Xu Yong relaxed his brows and started laughing too.
This is a true story. It happened the day after the game with the Lakers.
Adams' physique is indeed somewhat different from that of ordinary people, and can even be said to be a little abnormal.
Simply in terms of strength, he cannot beat many people, but not only is he strong, his lower body is also exceptionally stable, which makes him difficult to resist.
After the press conference, the three of them returned to the locker room.
After resting for a while, Xu Yong went to the training hall to practice more.
But just at this moment, someone came to the training hall.
Not Butler, but Adams.
Xu Yong was a little surprised to see Adams.
He stopped training.
"Thank you, Xu." Adams walked over to Xu Yong and thanked him for trying to stand up for himself in the game.
It's not common for a team boss to stand up for a rookie.
Hearing this, Xu Yong knew that he came to express his gratitude, but he did not feel happy.
"Steven, I think you are too gentle sometimes. Next time you encounter this situation, you should fight back strongly, otherwise your opponent will think you are weak and treat you the same way next time they meet you." Xu Yong didn't want to beat around the bush and reminded him directly.
After all, Adams is different from Johnson. Johnson is famous, but in most people's eyes, Adams is just a guy from New Zealand.
Especially, he looks too handsome now, and he looks like the type that is easy to bully.
Adams smiled helplessly and said, "When I played in New Zealand, I was also very tough and my moves were bigger."
Xu Yong was thoughtful when he heard this.
The basketball style of that generation of Australians was like that. To put it nicely, it was rough; to put it bluntly, it was dirty. So his discomfort with Adams' gentleness was also inconsistent with this impression.
"Until I lost the youth league championship because of my impulsiveness. After that game, my coach told me that no matter what situation I encountered, I should respond to my opponents in a basketball way, because he said that impulsiveness would only hurt the team and be irresponsible to the team and teammates. I have always believed in this."
Xu Yong was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Adams to have such an experience.
In a sense, Adams is right, because if he impulsively fights with James tonight, he will most likely be ejected in the end, and the Bulls may not win the game tonight.
Of course, this also has something to do with people's personality. After all, this is just a regular season game. Compared to winning or losing, as he said, it is more important to make the opponent dare not do anything next time.
But after coming to his senses, he smiled and patted Adams on the shoulder, and the previous idea that Adams was too gentle disappeared.
A team needs tough people as well as rational people.
From this perspective, he, Butler and Adams have complementary personalities, which may be a good thing.