There is only one month left in the regular season, and all media are paying attention to the Bulls' games, and the coverage is overwhelming.
It can be said that the outside world is all waiting for the moment when they break the record.
However, at this moment, Xu Yong felt unprecedented pressure from his teammates.
This is completely different from the mentality of everyone who was working hard to break this record before.
Because now they really can't afford to lose a single game.
That situation is no longer a motivation, but a pressure, a huge pressure that makes most people breathless.
Three consecutive wins, five consecutive wins. When facing the Celtics, the Bulls could not limit Thomas and almost lost the game. In the end, they won the game with Xu Yong's buzzer-beater.
After winning the game, the players did not feel excited, but tired.
Every team hopes to be the one that stops them from breaking the record, which will go down in history.
In other words, the opponents they meet every night are like people on drugs, and even if they can't win, they can still make them lose a lot of skin.
After the game ended that day, Xu Yong couldn't help but fall into deep thought as he looked at the exhausted players.
As a reborn player, the current state of the team makes it difficult for him not to think of the 73-win Warriors team again.
He didn't pay much attention to the specific details at the beginning, but he thought it was similar to their current situation.
At the end of the season, other teams start to give their main players a rest to prepare for the playoffs, but they can only keep their nerves tense and fight hard every night.
In his impression, the Warriors' injuries did not break out during the regular season, but appeared in the playoffs due to continued fatigue.
Try your best to break the record, and then everything will be perfect?
Wrong. Even if the first team plays against the eighth team in the playoffs, the intensity is greater than that in the regular season.
This is a bit like the college entrance examination. You think you have worked hard to get into your ideal university and can finally relax, but in fact, university is a more brutal competition.
If the Bulls continue like this, when their taut nerves can no longer be stretched, there is a certain probability that they will experience what the Warriors experienced.
Because he played like that during the period when Butler and Adams were absent, their record was only 8 wins and 2 losses.
Basketball is, after all, a sport for five people.
And don't forget that the current commissioner of the league is no longer Stern, but Silver, who has a special preference for the Warriors.
But now they can't stop.
At this point it is no longer just their own choice, but they are being swept forward by a torrent of external voices.
If the Bulls really lose a game at this time, it will be a huge blow to their morale.
Breaking the record is not necessarily a good thing; not breaking the record is even less of a good thing, there is no solution.
In fact, if Butler and Adams had not been injured at the same time, they might not be trapped in this unsolvable situation now, because with room to lose, their psychological pressure and the mentality of their opponents are completely different.
But again, unfortunately there is no if.
Finally, after thinking for a long time, Xu Yong stood up and left the locker room amid the puzzled gazes of his teammates.
He went to Thibodeau's office.
Thibodeau's hair seems to have become much thinner, and the pressure on his shoulders is no less than that of his teammates.
"Tom, I'm hurt." Xu Yong's first words stunned Thibodeau.
"Where? Is it serious?" Thibodeau reacted and looked at Xu Yong with a slightly nervous expression. He had coached Xu Yong for so many years but this was the first time he heard of Xu Yong being injured.
"My knee is a little sore, but it's not serious. It may be fine after three or four days of rest." Xu Yong said calmly.
"Three or four days?" Thibodeau glanced at Xu Yong and quickly realized what Xu Yong wanted to do.
They will play against the Pacers in two days, and then have two days of off.
He didn't say anything, stood up and walked to Xu Yong, then gave Xu Yong a big and tight hug.
As the head coach, he naturally knew how tense the team was at the moment, but he also knew, as Xu Yong had thought before, that the situation had no solution.
Now Xu Yong has found the only way to break the impasse, but the price is that Xu Yong has to bear the pressure alone.
The next day, the Bulls officially announced that Xu Yong had knee pain, which was not serious but was expected to be absent for about a week.
This news immediately attracted heated discussions among fans, because the Bulls could not miss Xu Yong, and they would play against the Pacers next, and there was a high probability that they would lose, and they would not be able to break the record.
Of course, the interesting thing is that some fans were surprised to find that Xu Yong has the most consecutive appearances among active players, reaching 482 games.
Then, looking more closely, it turned out that this was the first time Xu Yong missed a game in his six seasons in the NBA!
After discovering this, the fans felt it was outrageous and outrageous.
Probably only AC Green, who has played in 1,192 consecutive games and attended 82 games in nine consecutive seasons, can compete with him.
But even someone as outrageous as Green missed three games in his second year as a rookie.
Players are also human beings, and there are always reasons for this or that in life. Xu Yong is not as abstinent as Green. He has been rumored to have had many scandals with Hollywood actresses. But upon closer inspection, it turns out that he is even more fierce than Green.
So while they were surprised, the fans actually thought this was normal. If Xu Yong really never missed a game, they all thought that they should take Xu Yong for a biopsy to see if he had any special genes.
There were no accidents in the game against the Pacers. The Pacers' record in the Eastern Conference this season is second only to the Bulls and Cavaliers and they are very strong. The Bulls had a gap in strength without Xu Yong and eventually lost the game.
Because it was known before the game that Xu Yong could not play, the outside world did not react much to the Bulls' loss.
Moreover, after the game, the Bulls players returned to the locker room and were talking and laughing, which was completely different from before.
It felt like the tense nerves finally relaxed.
Seeing this, Xu Yong knew that his choice was right.
Two days after the game against the Pacers, the Bulls announced that Xu Yong's injury had recovered better than expected and he would return in the game against the Spurs.
Xu Yong's early return greatly boosted the morale of the Bulls, and they eventually defeated the Spurs 114-96.
And it is obvious that as the Bulls lost the opportunity to break the historical record, the opponents' desire to compete also dropped sharply.
So in the end, it was a two-birds-with-one-stone effect.
…
It is mid-April and the curtain falls on the 2014-2015 regular season.
The Warriors in the Western Conference won 67 games and ranked first.
The team's core Curry averaged 23.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 2 steals per game this season, with a shooting percentage of 48.7% and a three-point shooting percentage of 44.3%.
Klay Thompson averaged 21.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game, with a shooting percentage of 46.3% and a three-point shooting percentage of 43.9%.
Draymond Green averaged 11.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, shooting 44.3% and 33.7% from three-point range.
The Thunder ranked second with 62 wins.
Durant averaged 30.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 53% and a three-point shooting percentage of 41.3%.
Unlike the history Xu Yong knew, because the Thunder's ball rights were basically concentrated on Harden this season, Durant only had more control over the shooting rights, which greatly reduced his physical consumption. He did not suffer serious injuries as in history. Instead, he played the most efficient season of his career.
Harden averaged 25.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game, with a shooting percentage of 45.6% and a three-point shooting percentage of 38.5%.
With more ball possession, his scoring average broke 25 points for the first time, and his assists also set a career high.
The Mavericks are third with 58 wins.
Leonard averaged 23.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2 steals per game, with a shooting percentage of 50.6% and a three-point shooting percentage of 44.3%.
Instead of continuing to monopolize the ball like everyone else, Nowitzki has already started the power transition within the team, and Leonard has become the Mavericks' leading scorer.
Of course, all this is also closely related to Rondo's presence. His organization allows Leonard's efficiency to increase instead of decrease when he has more ball possession.
The Trail Blazers are fourth with 51 wins.
It is worth mentioning that the league officials have previously announced that starting from the 2015-2016 season, there will no longer be a rule of "protecting the top four teams in the division", but this rule is still in effect in that season.
The Grizzlies are fifth with 55 wins.
The Clippers ranked sixth with 55 wins.
The Spurs are seventh with 50 wins.
The Pelicans are ranked eighth with 45 wins.
Westbrook played a very personal season. He averaged 23.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 10.1 assists per game, becoming the second player in the league after "Oscar" Robertson to average a triple-double in the regular season.
As a result, after he achieved this result, Robertson's historical status plummeted.
As for the Lakers, Kobe was ruled out for the season again after playing only 35 games, and Howard still failed to lead the team into the playoffs.
According to the latest news, Howard has communicated with the management to break up peacefully, and the team is expected to put him on the shelf during the offseason.
In the East, the Bulls' record finally settled at 72 wins and 10 losses.
After relaxing their mentality and seeing a change in their opponents' mentality, the Bulls won the remaining games with a relatively easy attitude, allowing them to tie the team and historical records.
Although it is a pity that they failed to break the record, what is more important is that the Bulls players broke away from the tight state before the start of the playoffs, which is beneficial to their performance in the playoffs.
In terms of statistics, Xu Yong averaged 31.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocks per game, with a shooting percentage of 52.6% and a three-point shooting percentage of 40.2%.
The absence of Butler and Adams helped his personal statistics improve, and this was his third scoring title in his career after winning it consecutively from 2011 to 2013.
Butler averaged 20.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.9 steals per game, with a shooting percentage of 46.2% and a three-point shooting percentage of 37.8%.
In the last season of his rookie career, he scored 20+5+5 for the first time, and his efficiency was the highest in recent years.
Rose averaged 16.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game, shooting 45.5% and 37% from three-point range.
David West averaged 11.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, shooting 47.8%.
Adams averaged 7.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, including 3.1 offensive rebounds, and shot 54.4%.
The Cavaliers ranked second with 60 wins.
James averaged 25.3 points, 6 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 48.8% and a three-point shooting percentage of 35.4%.
Statistically speaking, this is James' worst season since his rookie season, especially the number of turnovers that he cares about most, reaching 3.9 per game, the highest in his career.
The Cavaliers only got 60 wins despite having the Big Four, and the problem of running-in was that plagued them for the entire season.
Especially James' plan was well thought out, but it ultimately didn't work.
Irving averaged 21.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 46.8% and a three-point shooting percentage of 41.5%.
Love averaged 16.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 43.5% and a three-point shooting percentage of 36.7%.
Davis averaged 13.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game, shooting 51.6%.
The Pacers are third with 58 wins.
Anthony averaged 26.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 47.6% and a three-point shooting percentage of 40.2%.
Paul averaged 19.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 10.6 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 48.5% and a three-point shooting percentage of 39.8%.
The Raptors are fourth in the Eastern Conference with 52 wins.
DeRozan averaged 20.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game, with a shooting percentage of 41.3%.
Lowry averaged 17.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game, shooting 41.2%.
From the data, we can perhaps understand why they were called the "Garbage Brothers" in the history that Xu Yong experienced, because they did have a gap in efficiency with the first-line superstars.
But the good news is that Casey began to promote Antetokounmpo from the bench to the starting power forward. He played 81 games this season and started 71 games, averaging 12.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1 steal and 1 block per game. He brought considerable energy to the team's defensive end.
The Hawks, Wizards, Celtics, and Heat ranked 5th to 8th.
Bosh's season was over, Wade's condition declined, Hibbert turned into Gao Yuanyuan, and Riley's calculations finally fell apart. The Heat finally barely got 40 wins and made it to the playoffs.
…
"The Heat are finally eighth?" After the last game, Xu Yong was a little surprised when he saw Butler coming to tell him the result excitedly, because before that, the Heat was leading the Celtics by 1 win.
"Yes, they lost to the Grizzlies in the last game. Their record is the same as Boston, but they dropped to eighth because of the win-loss record." From this analysis, Butler should have been paying close attention to the situation over there before the game.
"It's fate." After listening to what Butler said, Xu Yong couldn't help but sigh. On the trade deadline, he felt that he had no chance to "revenge" the Heat, but he didn't expect the situation to change so quickly and they actually met in the first round.
It must be a special fate.
Butler, who was originally very interested, suddenly showed a ghostly smile and handed over the phone.
Xu Yong picked it up and looked at it in confusion, and then quickly discovered the origin of Butler's smile.
It turned out to be a post-game report about the Heat.
"We beat them the past two years and we can do it this year too"
This news title is very tempting, and it was said by Wade.
Xu Yong couldn't help but touch his chin, then read the report carefully.
After reading it, he understood.
"Considering the results of the teams' meetings over the past two seasons, do you think the Heat have a chance this year?"
The reporter was obviously trying to mislead Wade, and Wade jumped into the trap. The report also had some clickbait headlines.
However, Wade has been in the league for many years, and with his interview experience he should be able to spot this kind of pitfall.
This sounds more like something Pierce or Draymond Green would say.
But it is not impossible to explain. Put yourself in their shoes. If you were a player of the Heat and had just lost a crucial positioning battle and had to face an opponent with 72 wins, how confident would you be in beating them?
As the leader of the team, it is understandable that Wade would boost the morale of his teammates by answering in this way at this time.
"I will defend D. Wade." Seeing that Xu Yong had finished reading the report, Butler put away his smile and said with a firm look.
Hearing this, Xu Yong turned and looked at Butler.
Maybe others have forgotten, but he still clearly remembers what Butler said after losing to the Heat last year.
Butler wants to play the Heat more than anyone.
He patted Butler on the shoulder, nodded, and said, "Let's bury them."
If Bosh's blood clot is unavoidable and the Heat are doomed to fall, then they will bury the opponent with their own hands.
Just like they did to Boston.
Before the playoffs officially started, the league announced the first batch of awards for the season.
The day before the game against the Heat, the Bulls players held a celebration ceremony for Thibodeau in the locker room.
After four years, Thibodeau once again won the honor of best coach.
20 years ago, Phil Jackson waited for Jordan's return and led the Bulls from 47 wins in the previous season to 72 wins.
20 years later, the Bulls welcomed the return of Rose, and Thibodeau led the Bulls from 52 wins last season to 72 wins.
Although the stories here are different, history is always surprisingly similar.
The next day, the Bulls faced the Heat at home.
The United Center was packed to the brim, and the unexpected encounter with the Heat in the first round not only made the Bulls eager to try, but also made the Bulls fans impatient.
Photographers on the scene were also looking for Wade during the warm-up session.
Wade's expression in the camera looked very relaxed, which made the fans wonder, did the Heat prepare any big moves tonight?
After the warm-up, the best coach award ceremony was held on site. Thibodeau received the second best coach trophy in his coaching career amid the cheers of the fans.
After six years of coaching and winning the award twice, Thibodeau has become one of the top coaches.
Entering the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.
Heat: Dragic, Wade, Deng, Haslem, Hibbert
Bulls: Rose, Butler, Xu Yong, West, Adams
In fact, it is not surprising that fans would have doubts. Although Bosh cannot play, it can be seen from the starting lineup that a lean camel is bigger than a horse.
"Put enough pressure on them from the start and don't let them feel they have any chance." When making the final arrangements before going on the court, Thibodeau did not waste time on specific tactics, but only emphasized one point.
Before going on the court, Xu Yong led his players in shouting a slogan. He agreed with Thibodeau's point of view that if the Heat players were really allowed to feel that they had a chance, they would immediately become the toughest nuts to crack in the lower half.
At the same time, Wade did the same thing next door.
With the referee's whistle, Hibbert pushed the ball back to the Heat's half, officially opening the game.
Wade received the ball as soon as he got to the frontcourt, and after a pick-and-roll with Hibbert, he went straight to the inside.
Butler defended this ball very attentively, bypassing the pick-and-roll in advance and blocking Wade's breakthrough route.
But Wade was very tough and jumped up for a layup against Butler's defense.
Butler also raised his hands in the air and maintained a defensive posture without showing any weakness.
Wade leaned on Butler in the air and made a low layup. Butler couldn't turn around at this time, and he finally made the shot off the bank.
Butler looked back and saw the ball and shook his hands. He said in front of Xu Yong that he wanted to defend Wade, but it ended up being a failure.
Xu Yong went over and touched his head, motioning him to go to the backcourt to serve.
Butler's defense was actually very good. If it weren't for the existence of the [vertical jump rule], this ball could have been defended.
Xu Yong pindowned and received the ball in the frontcourt, and the Heat team directly double-teamed him.
As an old rival, Spoelstra has obviously made adequate preparations.
But his preparation didn't seem to have any effect.
Xu Yong made a fake pass to Butler, forcing Wade, who was helping to defend, to retreat. He grabbed the ball with one hand and pulled it back. Without dribbling, he quickly turned around and made a fade away jump shot.
This ball was clean and neat, and its main point was "It's your business if you double-team, but whether it's effective or not is my business."
Wade continued to attack with Hibbert in pick-and-roll, and then faced Butler's close defense, he used the phantom step, jumped up, twisted his body in the air and shot.
Butler predicted Wade's choice and interfered in the air, causing Wade's shot to miss the basket.
However, after Wade landed, he quickly jumped again and headed straight for the backboard. His reaction speed caused a burst of exclamations from the audience.
After suffering injuries for three consecutive seasons, especially this season, Wade's overall competitive state has declined significantly after his comeback, otherwise the Heat would not have fallen all the way to this position.
However, from the language of the opening shots to the body movements on the court, all confirmed Xu Yong's previous analysis. He was setting an example in this way and looking for possibilities for the Heat to win.
However, just as Wade jumped up, Butler also jumped up almost at the same time. After gaining the advantage in the aerial confrontation, he grabbed the ball into his arms first.
He had already started off badly, how could he possibly let Wade score twice!
After grabbing the rebound, Butler turned around and drove the ball down the court.
Dragic immediately stuck to Rose, the fast break propeller, but Butler did not slow down, and Xu Yong followed up quickly from the wing.
When following up to the frontcourt three-point line, Butler passed the ball to Xu Yong, who received the ball and faced Dragic who came to switch defense. He jumped into the air, turned 360 degrees, and lightly put the ball into the basket.
The cheers at the scene have exploded.
For two consecutive rounds, Xu Yong's offensive movements were as smooth as flowing water.
Although he did not continue to enrich his arsenal, his various skills have improved, especially after a season of polishing, and he seems to be more at ease.
After returning to the defensive end, the Bulls also strictly implemented Thibodeau's game strategy and continued to increase the intensity of defense.
Wade's breakthrough was directly stopped by Butler.
His injury could not have had no effect on him. At the beginning, he was trying hard to lead the whole team, but his momentum faded and he was no longer the omnipotent Flash.
And just when he turned around to look for his teammates, Xu Yong seized the opportunity and rushed out from the side to steal the ball.
After controlling the ball, he passed the ball to Rose on the outside.
Rose pushed the fast break, changing the rhythm to squeeze out Dragic's layup.
However, the shooting angle was a bit off, and the ball went directly over the basket.
But at this moment, a cry of surprise suddenly rang out at the scene.
Xu Yong is here to kill us.
He followed up and leaped into the air, grabbing the basketball that was crossing the bridge and hovering in the air...
“Bang!”
The dunk was completed directly!
Rose's bridge crossing turned into an alley-oop!
2 to 6.
Xu Yong scored 6 points at the start.
After landing, Xu Yong seemed a little excited and bumped chests with Butler who was late for the fast break.
Although he did not express it as much as Butler, as the team's star player, how could he not have a strong desire to win when facing an opponent he had lost to consecutively in the past two years?
Wade was still in the backcourt at this time, looking at the familiar figures in front of him, suddenly feeling a little dazed.
The Bulls are still the same Bulls. Rose's comeback is just the icing on the cake. What has really changed is the Bulls' iron triangle, especially Xu Yong and Butler.
Butler's progress was something he could have anticipated. After all, the height he had originally reached was not too high. However, Xu Yong's progress has gone one step further and has surpassed the areas he had touched at his peak.
After four quarters, the score was 108 to 95. The Bulls easily won G1 with the advantage they established at the beginning.
Do the Heat have a chance? Of course they do, as the score shows they were not outplayed by the Bulls.
But it seems that this was not the case, because after being pulled apart in the first quarter, they could only narrow the score to 9 points at most.
A king in Cleveland Village must have had a lot of experience with this scenario, because when they faced the Spurs in the 2007 Finals, they lost by less than ten points in every game, and even by less than five points in the later games, but fans who watched the game didn't think the Cavaliers had any chance.
More than ten days later, the series between the Bulls and the Heat ended first. The Bulls swept the Heat 4-0 and easily advanced to the second round.
This big score, just as Xu Yong said before the start of the series, extinguished the last bit of fantasy of Heat fans and buried the team with their own hands.
Xu Yong didn't perform well in this series. Except for his strong performance in G1, he played conservatively in the remaining three games.
The best performance was by Butler, who averaged 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals in 4 games, with a shooting percentage of 51%.
Although he did not "fulfill" the promise he made after the end of last season that "if encountered the same situation, he would not make the same mistake again", after all, the Heat did not play the game to that level in the entire series, but his performance is undoubtedly more convincing than that.
As Barkley said in the commentary booth: "I think the biggest headache for the Bulls now is not the next series, but how to keep Jimmy Butler in the summer."
But in fact, it's not just Butler. The performances of other Bulls players are also remarkable, and the benefits brought by the choices in the last month of the regular season have also snowballed.
During the handshake ceremony in the last game of the series, Xu Yong hugged Wade tightly.
Can the Heat still make the playoffs next season?
Xu Yong was not sure about this, because even if he was reborn, it was impossible for him to know all the changes in every team every season.
But what is certain is that because of Bosh's blood clots, the Heat's experience in the next few seasons will be exactly the same as the Bulls' previous experience.
Even the Bulls can't stand the situation of having a top-salary roster, let alone the Heat, who have basically withdrawn from the championship race.
Or in other words, Wade's championship window has closed.
Winning two championships and two Finals MVPs in a career is not particularly successful, but it is much better than making wedding dresses for others in history.
Wade finally felt relieved and exchanged jerseys with Xu Yong after the hug.
Losing to Xu Yong is nothing to be ashamed of, just like losing to Jordan in the 1990s.
After finishing the press conference and returning to the locker room, Xu Yong used his mobile phone to check the results of another group of matches, which were also their potential opponents.
The Raptors were swept 0-4 by the Hawks.
After seeing the results, he immediately sent a text message to DeRozan to encourage him.
In addition to DeRozan and Lowry, the Raptors also have Valanciunas and Antetokounmpo. Even Louis Williams is playing as the sixth man for the Raptors this season. The lineup is not bad.
But it turns out that it's just the wrong names, not the mixed nicknames. The "Garbage Brothers" are all good candidates for being the second in command, and it's too difficult to let them be the boss.
DeRozan's performance in these four games was almost the same as in the regular season, but Lowry averaged 12 points per game with a shooting percentage of 30+20, which was hard to watch.
This reminded him of a hotly debated topic before his rebirth: Who did James dominate?
The first to be affected, or the most recognized ones, are the trash brothers.
But in fact, even without James, it would be difficult for the Raptors to break out of the Eastern Conference. They really made it after getting Leonard.
Fortunately, unlike in history, the Raptors now have Antetokounmpo. When he grows up, the Raptors' combat power will be considerable.
So his text message encouragement is meaningful.
The Raptors were eliminated, and the Bulls faced the Hawks in the second round.
The biggest change for the Hawks this season is the arrival of head coach Mike Budenholzer.
Budenholzer is the coach of the Spurs team, and his playing style is exactly the same as the Spurs last season, team basketball.
Moreover, Teague, Morrow, Carroll, Millsap, Horford, and Schroeder, this group of people are also quite talented.
Xu Yong also had some impression of this Hawks team. The only difference was that Korver was not here and was still with the Pacers.
But whether it's Korver or Morrow, the Hawks' team play will be greatly reduced in the playoffs, and the Bulls will have no big problem playing against them.
The advantage of a three-way competition in a division is that when you get first place in the division, you can sit back and watch the fight, and then face the real challenge in the division finals.
"Senior, who do you think will win between the Cavaliers and the Pacers?" Butler, who had just finished taking a shower, sat down next to Xu Yong wrapped in a bath towel while watching the news.
"knight."
Butler was a little surprised. His senior actually thought highly of James?
"Do you think we could have defeated the Heat so easily without the [vertical jump rule]?" Xu Yong asked with a smile.
Of course he hopes the Pacers can win, after all, he really hates James now.
But since it is a prediction, we must be objective.
Butler smacked his lips helplessly. Xu Yong's question seemed to be a rhetorical question, but it was actually an affirmation.
This rule turned Hibbert into Gao Yuanyuan, and was a key factor in the Bulls' ease in playing.
The rules that restrict Hibbert will naturally apply to Bynum as well, especially in the playoffs, he will be targeted.
There is no need to consider the performance from the outside. The difference in inside strength between the two teams is enough to determine the outcome of the game.
The Cavaliers are really cheap.
And to be honest, if it weren't for this rule, he would have been able to limit Wade this year, and the Bulls would have won more easily.
This rule is really against basketball conventions.
"Senior, do you think it is possible to cancel this rule?" Butler couldn't help but ask.
Xu Yong looked at Butler. He had never thought about this question.
He had the impression that the NBA had never cancelled any of the new rules, including the three-second defense, zone defense, no-handcheck, and traveling rules, including the vertical jump.
Because cancellation is basically equivalent to admitting that the official key decision was wrong, which is a slap in the face.
But if things continue to develop in this way, the NBA market will go backwards just as it did in history.
So here’s an interesting hypothesis: if one day in the future he asks the league to cancel this rule, will the league agree?
"Maybe." After thinking for a while, Xu Yong gave the answer.
Throughout NBA history, it has always been the league that has introduced rules to restrict players, but there has never been a case of players making demands on the league in return.
But that is not completely impossible, provided that the player has enough influence.
The most realistic example is Jordan. After Jordan retired for the first time, "Magic" knelt down and begged Jordan to come back, which is actually the attitude of the league.
At that time, if Jordan asked the league to change some rules before he would return, I believe Stern would agree.
So if one day he really reaches the same influence as Jordan, the answer to that hypothesis might really be [yes].
Butler's question gave him another reason to surpass Jordan.
The next day, the Cavaliers' game also ended.
There was no suspense, the Cavaliers swept the Celtics and advanced to the second round, which was also expected.
However, looking at Butler who was happily reporting the battle situation to him, Xu Yong realized that the problem did not seem that simple.
"Kevin Love is out for the season." Butler's next words confirmed this.
"Olynyk maliciously dragged Love's arm with both hands when grabbing the rebound." He then followed up with the details.gif.
After listening to him, Xu Yong's dusty memories were awakened a little. He remembered that there was such a thing, because in history, this Cavaliers team became the "Jedi Seven Samurai" in the finals.
"I am now optimistic about the Pacers." Xu Yong changed his tone.
With Love injured, the balance between the Cavaliers and the Pacers was broken again. Even with the vertical jump rule, Davis can't get much advantage over Bynum now. It depends on the performance of the combination of Irving + James VS Paul + Anthony.
Anthony will not analyze the strengths and weaknesses of James, but Anthony's fighting spirit is definitely at its maximum, and at worst he can be on par with James.
But Paul's attack on Irving was a dimensionality reduction attack.
Since Olynyk is so dirty, why not change to a dirtier target.
Although James set an example by stepping on Granger last year, you also have to distinguish the difference in strength between the enemy and us.
Three days later, Game 1 of the Bulls and Hawks ended, with the Bulls defeating the Hawks 114-104 to win Game 1.
This process is exactly the same as the opening game against the Heat in the first round.
The Bulls are now clearly consciously holding back and saving their energy for the divisional finals and the finals.
At this time, the first round of the last group in the Eastern Conference also ended. The Pacers eliminated the Wizards 4-1 and successfully advanced to the semifinals with the Cavaliers.
Compared to the Bulls, the matchup over there is destined to be more exciting.
Then, the league also announced the regular season MVP on this day.
Xu Yong was successfully elected as the regular season MVP for the third time in his career with 40%, the highest vote share in nearly 35 years.
This result can be said to be no surprise, 72 wins, 31.5 points per game, and the impression points of true strength in those ten games.
In addition to Xu Yong, Curry received 22% of the votes, Durant received 16%, Westbrook received 10%, Anthony received 6%, and James received 3%.
(Leonard, Paul and others also received votes, but the proportion was less than 1%)