Chicago, United Center.
The players' shouts in the training hall continued one after another.
On the first day of training camp, all the Bulls players were present, and each one was more excited than the other.
The old players of the Bulls last season are all aiming to avenge their previous defeat in the new season, and the new members are also eager to try. After all, they are joining the team where the God of Basketball once played and where the league's top player currently plays.
"Bang! Bang!"
After the confrontation between Xu Yong and Ennis, he turned around and made a clean fadeaway shot, ending the confrontation between the starting group and the substitute group.
In NBA full-court training, each quarter is 12 minutes, and the starters, substitutes and bench will take turns to compete against each other.
In the game that just ended, Xu Yong led the starting team to a 30-10 victory.
It’s not that the substitute team is too weak, but that the strength of the starting team has improved so much.
Especially Butler and Adams, their progress in one summer is too obvious.
Adams was able to suppress Hawes quite well, and Butler had a stable step-back jump shot, combined with his [Superb Common People Breakthrough], he could be considered to be able to stand on his own in the game, not to mention Rose who returned from injury.
Ross.
When Xu Yong went off the court to rest, his eyes were focused on Rose on the court.
Rose had just finished playing with the starting group, and Thibodeau put him on the bench.
"Derrick just came back, why did the coach start again?" Artest also left the court at this time, and couldn't help but turn to ask Xu Yong.
Xu Yong smiled and said nothing, but he could feel that Thibodeau's use of Rose was similar to last season, and he would let him lead the bench lineup more often.
Traveling off-peak will reduce the pressure on both offense and defense, which will actually protect Rose.
And Rose is really different this year. He even looks a little more organized.
In order to make this comeback, he must have put in a lot of effort behind the scenes.
But at this moment, Rose's breakthrough was intercepted by Justin Holiday.
Rose's breakthrough method is changing, which is also the biggest change in his playing style. He no longer seeks absolute speed, but uses his first step to grab position, and then plays with rhythm. This is a bit like Butler's direction. The only difference is that he pays more attention to rhythm rather than confrontation.
However, this change cannot be achieved overnight, and he still needs to adapt to the game.
Xu Yong looked around again and found that the Bulls were indeed strong this season.
At the point guard position, Rose starts, Hinrich is on the bench, and old Miller is there to support the team.
If Rose can stay healthy this season, even if he changes his playing style and is no longer as lethal, this lineup can still rank among the top ten or even top five in the league.
At the shooting guard position, with Butler starting and Foye coming off the bench, there is no problem in making the top ten.
He starts at the small forward position, James Ennis is on the bench, and there is also Artest on the bench. The strength gap between the starter and the substitute at this position is a bit big, but it can be foreseen that Butler will swing to play this position, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is in the top five.
At the power forward position, West starts, Johnson is on the bench, and there is also a rookie Kyle Anderson. This lineup is barely in the top fifteen, but in terms of toughness, it is definitely the best in the league.
At the center position, Adams starts, Hawes is on the bench, and veteran Muhammad has renewed his contract. This is the weakest of the five positions, but it was definitely enough based on last season's performance. It mainly depends on Adams' performance in the new season.
After the training, a group of people returned to the locker room to take a shower and rest.
Not long after, Butler came in carrying a few pink school bags.
This immediately caused a round of whistles from everyone in the locker room.
One of the options for the rookies to play pranks, Anderson and his team are in luck today.
At Butler's request, Anderson and several other new players were asked to carry backpacks for photos and had to leave the stadium with them on their backs.
Anderson was quite relaxed, not only did he carry himself but he also posed, which shows that he has a pretty good personality.
When the training was almost over, the team members left one after another. Xu Yong was about to get up, but he saw a pink schoolbag in his sight.
"Boss, can I train with you?" Anderson asked.
Xu Yong looked puzzled.
"Steven said that you will have a training session every morning before breakfast. I wonder if I can join in." Anderson scratched his head. It was a bit too much for a rookie to ask such a request to the team boss.
Xu Yong looked at Anderson. He had a blunt jaw and a flat face. Although he was only one-eighth Chinese, he looked very Asian.jpg.
“We would have breakfast in the same place, but there was no room there anymore.”
Perhaps because of blood relationship, Xu Yong had some natural liking for Anderson. Coupled with Anderson's open-minded personality, he did not interfere with Anderson joining the breakfast club. However, what he said was true. There were only two rooms, and Adams and Butler were living there now.
"Is there a sofa? I can sleep on it." Anderson said immediately.
Xu Yong was slightly surprised. Although Anderson was only a late first-round pick, he was still capable of renting a nice house and was willing to sleep on the sofa.
This reminded him of Jeremy Lin, who slept on Landry Fields' sofa for a long time when he first arrived in New York as a temporary worker.
But this does show that Anderson really wants to make progress.
He nodded, but sleeping on the sofa is not an easy thing. When he and Harden returned to Tempe, they felt sore in the waist and back even when sleeping on a soft bed, let alone on the sofa. So wanting to sleep and being able to persist are two different things.
Half a month later.
Before breakfast that day, Xu Yong and his team performed strength training on the first floor as usual.
Anderson still looks energetic, and sleeping on the sofa for half a month doesn't seem to have drained his motivation at all.
After the training that day, several people had breakfast together.
"Kyle, please move to my first floor tomorrow." Xu Yong said.
Anderson was stunned for a moment, not quite reacting.
"But no one has lived there for a long time, so you have to clean the room yourself," Xu Yong continued.
Anderson was now sure that what he heard was true, and he nodded vigorously immediately.
It's not just that you don't have to sleep on the sofa anymore, but that you can live in the same room with the team leader when you first arrive, which is a rare opportunity.
After Anderson moved to the first floor of Xu Yong's room, he also became Xu Yong's driver.
Xu Yongde admitted that Anderson's driving skills are better now than his basketball skills.
At this time, the season training camp is coming to an end and the preseason games will begin.
The Bulls' game strategy has not changed much compared to previous seasons, with the main players playing in the first half and the substitutes playing in the second half.
However, the biggest change after the game is that the Bulls established a huge advantage in the first half of several games, which allowed the substitutes to perform well in the second half.
Then after all that, the Bulls still won all seven preseason games.
Although the preseason results are not included in the statistics, the team's strength is already evident.
Not only did the main players and rotation players perform well, the Bulls also found a 15th man who met the team's expectations, Justin Holiday, in the preseason.
Justin is the eldest of the three Holiday brothers, but he is only fourteen months older than his younger brother, Jrue Holiday.
Although he is 1.98 meters tall and has an elite wingspan of 2.15 meters, his overall talent is much worse than Holiday's. He did not participate in the draft until 2011 after graduating from college and was ultimately unsuccessful.
The main reason for not being selected is that he can't score as a shooting guard.
He averaged 5.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in his four years in college. The only thing worth mentioning was that he was selected to the Pacific 12 Conference's best defensive team in the 2009-10 season.
After that, he moved around in overseas leagues, NBDL and NBA, a typical wanderer.
However, he played impressive defense in the preseason, and on Thibodeau's team, as long as he has defense, he has a chance to gain a foothold.
After the preseason, the regular season is about to begin. As a popular team, the Bulls are also highly watched by the outside world.
As soon as the open training ended that day, reporters rushed in and Xu Yong was surrounded.
"Do you have any box office expectations for the release of Space Jam 2?" The first reporter asked about the movie. Warner had previously released a trailer for the movie, which caused a huge response. The movie is expected to be released in July next year.
"What day is today?" Xu Yong asked the reporter.
"October 28th."
"What year?"
“2014.”
"So aren't you asking a little too early?"
His answer also caused laughter from other reporters.
"I think I can answer you this question before the release next year, but now, I am only focused on the upcoming opening game." Xu Yong replied with a smile. The current situation of the team made him feel good.
"ESPN previously made a season strength prediction, and the Bulls were ranked first, ahead of the Pacers and Thunder. What do you think of this?" another reporter asked.
"Is this how they arrange it this year?" Xu Yong asked back. He didn't have time to pay attention to this.
"This shows that they understand football." After seeing the reporter nod with certainty, he nodded calmly.
This immediately caused a stir among the reporters.
"The last time the Bulls ranked first was in the 2011-2012 season." At this time, a local Chicago reporter spoke up.
"Were we champions that season?" Xu Yong asked after hearing this.
The other party nodded, and Xu Yong also laughed.
The other reporters were completely speechless. What else could they say? Just ask if ESPN knows basketball!
"The Bulls' opening opponent is Miami. You lost to them in the past two seasons. Will it be different this year?" another reporter asked.
"I said, no one will want to face us in the new season."
"You mean the Bulls are going to win the opener?"
"Of course." Xu Yong nodded affirmatively.
On the NBA opening day, this year's scheduled number of games is the highest in the past five years, reaching 12 games, and only six teams have no games.
Among these 12 games, there are many focus battles that fans pay attention to.
For example, Heat vs. Bulls, Pacers vs. Cavaliers, Mavericks vs. Thunder, Warriors vs. Spurs, etc.
The game between the Heat and the Bulls was the first one to be played. The two teams have become rivals since 2010, and from a season perspective, the two teams have played against each other four times in the past four seasons, with each team winning twice. This year has a bit of the flavor of a decisive battle.
The game was played at the Bulls' home court and attracted a large number of stars to watch.
Among them, Kendall Jenner attracted a lot of attention. Jenner, who was only 19 years old at that time, officially reached the peak of her appearance. Her biggest feature was that her appearance was in line with the common aesthetics of the East and the West. Moreover, as a member of the Kardashian family, her buttocks had developed to a certain scale at a young age.
The only drawback is that the front of the car is too flat, and without headlights, it is a little lacking in driving convenience for experienced drivers.
The person sitting next to her is just the opposite. She is only 28 years old, but her pair of headlights are very eye-catching. She also has a delicate face. She can be said to be the representative of "angel face and devil figure". She is Alexandra Daddario, who has three-quarters Italian and one-quarter Irish ancestry.
She is the heroine of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and has also appeared on the cover of GQ (American men's fashion magazine) with her proud figure.jpg.
When the players from both teams entered the field, Xu Yong's appearance attracted their attention at the same time.
Just like when reporters interviewed Xu Yong before, they would first mention "Space Jam 2", the filming of this movie attracted a lot of attention from people in the entertainment industry for Xu Yong, especially considering his previous scandals and even relationships with many women, it was hard not to attract attention.
During the pre-match warm-up, Deng came over to say hello to Xu Yong.
This past summer, there were rumors between the two former Bulls players, Deng and Noah, and the Bulls, especially Noah. In fact, Foreman had considered making another deal similar to the one he made with Yao Ming.
However, due to salary pressure, they were ultimately unable to return to the Bulls.
Xu Yong also hugged Deng. Tonight they were not only reminiscing about the past as former teammates, but they would also face off against each other on the court.
After the warm-up, the scene entered the opening ceremony and the starting players of both sides appeared one after another.
"Now! Five-time NBA All-Star vote leader, two-time scoring champion, two-time MVP, two-time Finals MVP, two-time championship winner, 6 feet 9 inches from Arizona State University, number 6, Satan~Xu Yong!"
When "Sirius" came to the guitar solo and Edwards' classic entrance introduction sounded, the United Center was in a frenzy.
The deafening decibels reflect Chicago fans' expectations for the new season.
This is also the first time that Edwards included Xu Yong's nickname Satan in the official introduction.
Xu Yongye came on stage waving amid cheers, and made a fist gesture at the end, which made the United Center completely crazy.
Feeling the madness at the scene, Wade looked up unconsciously. It felt to him like a new era was coming.
After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.
Miami Heat: Chalmers, Wade, Luol Deng, Bosh, Hibbert;
Bulls: Rose, Butler, Xu Yong, West, Adams.
Hibbert jumped to win the ball for the Heat, and Wade took the ball in the frontcourt for the first attack.
The Bulls' strategy was to shrink, and Deng got a chance to shoot from the outside, but he failed to make the shot.
Although Deng's strength is not necessarily weaker than Granger, and Granger is even injured now, Deng is much better, but basketball games require adaptability. In terms of adaptability, Granger, as a 3D star, is much better than Deng.
Adams blocked Hibbert, Xu Yong turned around, grabbed the defensive rebound and passed the ball directly to Rose.
However, the Heat retreated very quickly. Except for Hibbert, no one else made any move to grab the frontcourt rebounds. It can be seen that Rose's return made them much more wary of the Bulls' fast break.
Both sides moved into the frontcourt and the ball was in Butler's hands.
For Thibodeau, the first thing he had to consider after Rose's return was the ball possession issue, and this opening round was his answer.
The Bulls started the game with a relatively simple pindown tactic.
Adams' solid screen directly blocked Deng, and Butler's pass was steadily delivered to Xu Yong.
The Heat showed excellent defensive rotation ability, and Wade came up to assist in defense.
Xu Yong didn't pause, and went straight to Wade who was assisting in defense, and completed a high-altitude shot over Wade's head.
The basketball barely touched the net and went into the pocket.
The fans at the scene were stunned. This was a shot against the defense, but it looked like a shooting practice.
Wade's eyes widened as well.
Xu Yong's reaction speed from catching the ball to shooting is obviously faster and more decisive than last season.
This is a manifestation of absolute confidence in one's shooting.
While retreating, Xu Yong pointed at Butler, indicating that he had passed the ball well.
This past summer, apart from training his new technique of step-back jump shot, Butler spent the rest of his time practicing passing.
Compared to last season, his passing accuracy has improved significantly.
The Bulls took the lead, but Bosh immediately responded by receiving the pass from Wade and making a mid-range shot after a pick-and-roll.
The Heat's overall strength has not declined much compared to the previous two seasons.
Moreover, after the Bulls used the same tactics in the frontcourt, Xu Yong received the ball and was defended by Wade in advance, and he did not have a chance to shoot directly.
But before Wade could react, Xu Yong quickly turned his back, and after a series of hard shots, he turned around and shot backward.
“Swish!”
This time when the basketball entered the net, it hit the net and made a crisp sound.
The sound was transmitted to the ears of the fans at the scene through the loudspeaker, and the scene was instantly filled with overwhelming cheers.
Xu Yong's offensive state at the beginning was really good.
On the sidelines, Spoelstra held his chin with his hands and frowned.
What he felt was naturally different from what the fans felt. It was not a problem of condition, but a kind of pressure.
Xu Yong scored so easily, as if Wade's defense was air.
But it is obvious that Wade's defense is not bad, it's just that Xu Yong's scoring stability has greatly improved.
Moreover, the Heat's offense failed to continue.
After Deng missed his first three-pointer, Xu Yong consciously left him open and moved towards the basket. His assist defense successfully interfered with Wade's shot.
Hibbert was stuck by Adams and couldn't jump up. West protected the defensive rebound and then passed it to Xu Yong.
The Bulls made another fast break, and the Heat still retreated quickly, but Xu Yong was even faster.
When the fast break reached the three-second zone in the front court, Xu Yong jumped up directly against Wade's defense, and after a confrontation, he made a one-handed pull-up in the air to avoid Wade's block and put the ball steadily into the basket.
(Wade: Why is it always me?)
The venue was once again filled with the audience's cheers.
The Bulls started the game with a 6-2 lead over the Heat, and all these 6 points came from Xu Yong!
"Honestly, I don't think the Heat's defense is that bad. They are still one of the best defensive teams in the league." Barkley was a little stunned when he saw this in the commentary booth.
"But Xu's scoring makes them look like they can't defend," he added.
"Man, although it sounds strange to say this, I think Xu has officially entered his peak this season." O'Neal sighed.
This time he really wasn't bragging, but it was too easy for Xu Yong to score, it was obvious that he was not playing at the same level.
He only had this feeling when he faced the returning Jordan.
Although this does sound a bit strange as he said, after all, Xu Yong has already won a lot of honors, which would make many people think that he has already reached the peak.
"I think the era of Xu is coming." At this moment, Kenny Smith on the side used a more accurate description.
While they were talking, Xu Yong suddenly pressured Deng who received the ball and made a quick shot to cut the ball to Deng.
After stealing the ball, he immediately passed the ball to Rose and then followed up from the wing.
The reaction speed was too fast. On the Heat team, only Chalmers, who was on the outermost side, had time to retreat. He was caught in a dilemma in the situation of defending one against two.
Rose finally passed the ball to Xu Yong. This time Xu Yong jumped into the air after receiving the ball. Qian Moss mustered up the courage to jump up and try to interfere.
“Bang!”
Qian Moss and Xu Yong had a physical confrontation in the air, and then flew out of the baseline like a falling leaf, while Xu Yong remained motionless in the air and easily slammed the ball into the basket with one hand.
This time, Spoelstra called a timeout.
At this time, the Bulls fans at the scene were so excited that their hair stood on end.
Originally, their expectations for the Bulls were more on the comeback of Rose and the progress of young players like Butler and Adams.
Unexpectedly, the one who shocked them first at the beginning was Xu Yong.
And after so many rounds, even they could truly feel Xu Yong's... dominance.
Yes, this word describes Xu Yong’s opening performance very aptly.
You have to know that the Bulls are facing the Heat who have blocked them from the finals for two consecutive seasons, and the Heat's strength has not changed much.
"No team wants to face us next season."
The words spoken at the end of last season are still fresh in our minds. As the person who said this, Xu Yong makes people feel the oppression of this sentence.
However, Xu Yong remained calm on the court. He did not celebrate after the dunk, but took the initiative to walk to Rose.
"Nice. Pass." Then he immediately affirmed Rose's pass.
It felt like he no longer cared too much about his own performance, but was more concerned about the performance of his teammates.
This stunned Spoelstra, who was holding the tactical board on the sidelines, and he looked at Xu Yong's back as he walked towards the half court with a strange look.
At this time, Jenner and Daddario also looked at Xu Yong's back.
Although they don't know that much about basketball, it's like someone who doesn't usually watch football knows that someone is very strong when he sees him score consecutive goals. For any player who plays at a dominant level on the court, that feeling is very strong.
Not to mention, Xu Yong is already so famous now.
After returning from the timeout, the Heat significantly tightened their defense on Xu Yong, but this time it felt like it was exactly what they wanted.
Because just as they did that, Butler began to attack using the pick-and-roll with Adams.
The vertical jump rule greatly weakened the rim protection ability of a stationary center like Hibbert, forcing him to shrink to the basket, while Butler showed his improved jump shot ability during the offseason.
After hitting two consecutive mid-range shots, the Heat had to invest their remaining defensive resources on him, which was exactly what Butler wanted.
You have to know that Thibodeau's positioning and requirement for him is to dilute the ball possession and organize the offense.
He made consecutive assists to West and Rose, and the Bulls' offense was somewhat unstoppable.
Spoelstra couldn't help but start pulling his hair.
On paper, the Bulls only have one more player, Rose. The core players are still the same as last season, and even Butler and Adams are still young, but the offensive pressure they provide is completely different.
Now the Heat's defense has been patched up on one side and leaked on the other side, and it can't be stopped.
In the end, he had no choice but to replace Hibbert with Brewer and play with a small lineup to increase the rotation speed.
Doing this will indeed help the team do better in assisting defense, but the downside is that they will lose rebounds, and lose a lot of them.
Adams is good at grabbing offensive rebounds, and you let Bosh match up against him, so he shouldn't be too comfortable.
And knowing that the Heat had no center on the court, the two forwards Xu Yong and West were also aggressive in grabbing offensive rebounds.
On the field, after Xu Yong made a personal wave at the beginning of the game, the Bulls allowed Spoelstra to change the formation and continued to suppress the Heat.
About 9 minutes into the first quarter, the score was 32 to 18, and the Bulls were leading by as many as 14 points.
At this time, both sides entered the rotation, and Thibodeau replaced three main players, Xu Yong, West and Adams, at once. This scene is also very rare.
At this time, the Bulls' backcourt players were Rose, who was substituted off early and then replaced again, and Hinrich. The forwards were Butler, who did not need to leave the court, and Johnson, who came on as a substitute. The center was Hawes.
Then, just when the Heat thought they could take a break, Rose used a beautiful layup after a pick-and-roll with Hawes to score a 2+1 on Joel Anthony.
From this round, we can see the changes in the Bulls' offense.
Although Butler is still on the court, he plays more of a 3D wing role, and the control of the ball is transferred to Rose.
This change in ball possession is very clever, because simply choosing between Butler or Rose is likely to cause conflicts within the team. After all, depriving anyone of the ball will cause dissatisfaction among the players.
But now Thibodeau has cleverly chosen to take them all, but has diverged in terms of time management.
This can actually be seen from the configuration on the court, because except for Johnson whose three-point ability is relatively weak, the other three points, including center Hawes, all have stable three-point ability.
And this distribution is also very reasonable. After all, even if Butler is durable, holding the ball for so long will consume a lot of physical energy.
Rose's performance in this period was also wonderful. His sudden change in offensive style made the Heat team very uncomfortable. His and Hawes's first step after the pick-and-roll was also somewhat unsolvable for a while.
By the end of the first quarter, the score was 40 to 23, and the difference between the two teams was almost 20 points!
The fans at the scene were in disbelief.
This is the Heat!
Even though it was the season opener and they were not prepared for the changes in the Bulls' playing style and strength, Spoelstra's subsequent adjustments did not work, which is hard to explain.
This year's Bulls team has improved a level compared to last season, and it's a big level.
Perhaps what Xu Yong said couldn't be more appropriate at this time. The Bulls will be an opponent that other teams don't want to face this season.
At the end of the game, the score was fixed at 116 to 98. The Bulls opened the game with a big win, suppressing their opponents in the past two seasons.
According to statistics, Xu Yong scored a game-high 30 points in just three quarters, plus 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
Although he scored a lot of points, he gave people the feeling that he had not yet exerted much effort.
Butler had 17 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. If he had not played only three quarters, he would have definitely had 20+5+5 tonight.
Rose also scored 15 points and 4 assists. Although he started, he actually played the role of the team's sixth man.
In addition, West had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Adams had 8 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Adams' 8 rebounds are worth mentioning because 5 of them were offensive rebounds. When the Heat used a one-big and four-small lineup, his offensive rebounds were crazy.
At this time, some people will definitely wonder why he only got 3 rebounds when he grabbed 5 offensive rebounds?
This can be seen from the rebounds of other Bulls players. Adams was often busy blocking others and not collecting rebounds, so all the rebounds went to his teammates.
After the handshake, the Bulls players went back to the locker room yelling.
It was such a satisfying victory, especially against the victim.
Especially Anderson, although he didn't play tonight, the feeling of winning without any effort is also very good.
However, compared to others, Xu Yong's expression at this time was very calm.
"Boss, why do you look unhappy?" Anderson shouted, then turned around and saw Xu Yong sitting there, and couldn't help but come over and ask.
“This is just the beginning.”
Xu Yong's answer was very calm, but it made Anderson even more excited.
If this is just the beginning, what kind of record will the Bulls achieve this season?
I dare not even think about it!
At this time, the team's equipment manager entered the locker room and handed Xu Yong a note while changing his shoes. [Note 21]
After Xu Yong opened it, he saw a contact number on it.
He looked at the equipment manager in confusion.
"Ms. Jenna asked me to deliver this." The equipment manager explained in a low voice.
Xu Yong handed the note back to the equipment manager and said calmly, "If you send a note like this again next time, you will lose your job."
The equipment manager broke out in a cold sweat when he heard this. Although theoretically his job was not under Xu Yong's jurisdiction, given Xu Yong's status in the Bulls, it was just a matter of asking for this.
"I'm sorry, I understand." The other party stood up and left with the note.
After the equipment manager left, Xu Yong also got up and went to take a shower.
He had no interest in Jenna at all, because she was said to be a socialite, but in fact she was just a high-class artillery mount.
He doesn't want to be printed on a T-shirt with Future and other players, and then have people wear it to the game and say hello to him on the court. That would be too low.
If it was Daddario, he might consider it.
Of course, if the method is to pass a note, he would refuse.
After all, it was a precedent. From now on, if the other party sent him notes every day, he would not get tired of it.
He is no longer the college student who was on the Devils team.
After finishing the press conference, Xu Yong returned to the locker room to take a rest.
I didn’t sweat much today, so I won’t take a rest. I will practice more later.
But at this moment, his cell phone vibrated. He picked it up and saw the caller ID and was a little surprised because it was Charlize Theron calling.
It wasn't a text message, but a direct call, which surprised him a little.
They hadn't been in touch since their last encounter in Paris.
That's normal, because essentially, what they had was just one-night-love.
And Theron handled it in a very adult and appropriate way.
When the phone was picked up, there was silence on the other end.
He thought something had happened to Theron.
After a while, he was about to hang up the phone and go back, when he heard Theron's troubled voice:
"I am pregnant."