After the warm-up, the scene entered the opening ceremony.

"Now! 6-time NBA All-Star vote leader, 3-time scoring champion, 2-time AMVP, 3-time MVP, 3-time Finals MVP, 3-time championship winner, 6-foot-9 from Arizona State University, number 6, Satan~Xu~Yong!"

When Xu Yong made his final appearance, explosive cheers rang out again.

This long list of honors with great value is enough to make one's blood boil.

After the opening, the starting lineups of the two teams were: Lakers: Raiden Jackson, Kobe, Ariza, Gasol, and Okafor.

(Ariza was traded away in 2012, but as the Lakers traded back Gasol, they re-signed Ariza with a 4-year, $32 million contract)

Bulls: Rose, Butler, Xu Yong, West, Adams.

Amid the fans' expectant cheers, Okafor passed the ball back to the Lakers' half, officially kicking off the game.

The Lakers' offense was very interesting at the beginning. After everyone moved out, Okafor took position in the low post and then Kobe fed the ball in.

I don’t know if Howard is watching the live broadcast of this game at this time. If he is, a big question mark will definitely pop up in his head: Am I not worthy?

After Okafor received the ball, the Lakers also cleared the strong side, creating enough space for Okafor's low-post singles.

Xu Yong was also quite surprised at this time. He had some understanding of Emeka Okafor of the Lakers. After all, he was the second pick in the same year as Howard. But he really didn't pay much attention to this Okafor.

But speaking of it, Okafor was also the second pick. Could it be that he was given a chance to perform at the beginning?

Then, Okafor's next move gave him a surprise.

He leaned his back against Adams, pushed him forward, and after sensing Adams' strength, he made a fake move to turn toward the baseline, then turned around and made a jumping hook to put the ball into the basket.

Xu Yong, who has been strengthening his low-post skills over the past summer, gave the following evaluation after seeing this: quite good.

It seems that it's not that Howard is unworthy, it's simply that Okafor's low-post singles ability is better than Howard's.

This also made Xu Yong itchy, and he went straight to the low post when he got to the frontcourt.

Butler understood what he meant and passed the ball in after signaling to clear the strong side.

Xu Yong received the ball, and after Butler brought Kobe from the strong side to the weak side, he turned around to make sure no one attacked him from behind, and then launched an attack.

He gave Ariza a strong confrontation, then turned directly to the three-point line and did a fade away.

Ariza took off all of a sudden.

Xu Yong took the ball, bent over and stepped forward, then went straight to the basket.

Okafor rushed over with all his strength and easily passed the ball to Adams under the basket. Adams violently shot the ball into the basket with both hands, and the emotions of the fans at the United Center were instantly ignited.

Xu Yong high-fived Adams while retreating, and was in a very good mood.

Ariza was shot down not because of his poor defense, but because his hit rate increased the closer he was to the basket. This low-post turnaround jump shot was too difficult for him to determine. If Ariza hadn't jumped, he would have directly shot and scored.

No wonder Jordan practiced low post play, it made the offense much easier.

The Lakers' offense continued, and Kobe continued to pass the ball to Okafor under the basket.

Adams was more focused this time and gave Okafor a strong confrontation after he received the ball.

Okafor's choice was once again amazing. He followed Adams' confrontation and turned directly to the baseline, wanting to attack from the other side of the basket.

Adams is certainly not a pushover. One of the abilities he improved last season is his defense against this type of technical center. He directly blocked the direction in which Okafor turned.

Then, Okafor turned around and chose to hook the ball outside the penalty area.

The basketball hit the backboard and shot diagonally into the net.

This little technique is like the second generation of Duncan. Okafor is more than just a talent and has the potential to become the initiator of low-post offense.

At this time, some memories deep in Xu Yong's mind were also awakened.

Okafor had been very popular with the Lakers in history. The Lakers were short of inside players at the time, and fans were looking forward to his joining. However, the Lakers later changed their minds and snatched Russell, who was favored by the digital man at the time. As a result, Okafor was forced to go to the digital man.

Because of this result, Okafor deliberately took off the digital man's jersey at the draft. You have to know that the digital man already had Embiid in the process at that time, and he would inevitably conflict with Embiid after he went there.

As for what happened later, although he didn't remember what happened, he probably failed to compete with Embiid and was eliminated.

Xu Yong continued to play in the low post in the frontcourt. This time Kobe chose to double-team Xu Yong. Xu Yong pretended to attack and waited for Kobe to come up for assistance before throwing the ball back to Butler.

Butler received the ball outside the three-point line and shot it directly.

The focus of Butler's training this past summer should be shooting, and his overall shooting rhythm is obviously better than last season.

Xu Yong got two assists with just a slight raise of his hand. He even regretted not doing so earlier.

Okafor continued to position himself in the low post, but Thibodeau was already on the sidelines, signaling for help on the court.

Butler came over to assist in defense, and Xu Yong adjusted his position, ready to defend Kobe at any time.

But he soon discovered that he had overestimated Okafor.

Okafor was obviously not as calm as he was in the previous two rounds when facing the double-team, especially since Butler's double-team was very aggressive. He could only hold the ball up to protect it, and then was forced into a dead ball.

At this time, Xu Yong had already appeared between him and Kobe. He didn't have a good passing route, so he chose to turn around and shoot against Adams' defense. As a result, the ball hit the rim and the rebound was firmly protected by Adams.

Because both sides have been using low-post tactics in the past few rounds, the gap was immediately apparent.

At this time, Xu Yong also understood why Okafor could not compete with Embiid. Embiid's passing ability was already average, but Okafor's passing ability could be classified as poor. He neither observed the opponent's defensive changes after receiving the ball, nor paid attention to the positioning of his teammates, which resulted in his failure to pass the ball in the end.

Being the starting point of low-post tactics but not having the ability to pass the ball is like having the ball but not being able to shoot, which is extremely fatal.

Even O'Neal had to pass the ball when being double-teamed in the low post.

Although Okafor has good static talent, judging from the confrontation with Adams just now, the first two goals he scored relied on low-post skills. His explosiveness is obviously insufficient at the NBA level, and he cannot score quickly under the basket like O'Neal.

Then, turning around, Xu Yong made a low-post turn and a fade away and made the shot.

Theoretically, Xu Yong plays in a low position: hand-to-hand combat and confrontation.

In fact, Xu Yong plays in the low post: deftly and smoothly.

And with the comparison with Okafor, fans can feel Xu Yong's low-post singles ability more clearly.

"When everyone thinks Xu is strong enough, he can always show his progress in every new season. This is why he has achieved brilliant achievements in the past six years." In the commentary booth, Barkley has begun to tell the facts.

Looking back, the Lakers did not continue to let Okafor play one-on-one in the low post. Instead, Reggie Jackson held the ball, played pick-and-roll with Gasol, and then broke through the basket.

The lightning strike was very fast, forcing the Bulls' defense to shrink, and he quickly passed the ball to Ariza in the corner.

Ariza's three-point shot.

"when!"

It’s still that familiar taste.

West grabbed the defensive rebound, and the Lakers retreated quickly, and the two sides continued to engage in a positional battle.

But at this moment, the Lakers made a defensive adjustment and Kobe directly switched to Xu Yong.

Kobe hasn't taken a shot since the start of the game. He is preparing to start from the defensive end.

Xu Yong received the ball and continued to observe the defense. After making sure that there was no double-teaming in the first place, he started to play one-on-one against Kobe.

Unlike the match against Ariza, Xu Yong used more physical confrontation when playing against Kobe.

When playing against Kobe in the summer, Xu Yong found that Kobe's physical condition was better than in the past two seasons, but there was one thing: his explosiveness was obviously not as good.

This will not only affect Kobe's offense, but also magnify his defensive disadvantages.

Xu Yong had no intention of giving in. He knew Kobe. For Kobe, the greatest respect on the court was to give his all.

After giving Kobe two consecutive strong confrontations, Xu Yong turned around, ran over Kobe and made a flying layup.

After losing his defensive position, Kobe wanted to knock the ball out of Xu Yong's hand to disrupt the attack, but he failed in the end and hit Xu Yong's arm instead.

The referee blew the whistle and Kobe was called for a foul, but Xu Yong still put the ball into the basket, which was a 2+1.

Kobe shook his head in annoyance, but he quickly turned around and gave Xu Yong a thumbs up, indicating that it was a good shot.

Xu Yong smiled and nodded, walked to the free throw line and made the extra free throw, and the score on the field became 4 to 9.

"I think what I said just now was a bit too conservative. Xu showed his dominance in the low post tonight." Barkley continued to state the facts.

Xu Yong had 5 points and 2 assists, and every point of the Bulls was related to him.

Kobe finally took a shot on the offensive end, using Gasol's screen to run an off-ball mid-range tactic.

However, due to his explosive power, his shooting speed is much slower than in his peak period. Basically, after he receives the ball, Butler has already come to defend him.

He was forced to switch to singles.

Back-to-the-basket, shoulder-dropping, fake shakes, turning and leaning back, Kobe's technical moves remain the same as before. The only change is that due to lack of explosive power, he was strongly interfered by Butler when he shot, and the basketball went out of the basket.

Watching this scene, Xu Yong couldn't help but recall watching Iverson's last season of games before his rebirth.

After losing his speed, it was very difficult for Iverson to get uninterrupted space to shoot, let alone dribble away opponents.

It is often like this when a hero grows old.

And it was at this time that he probably solved the doubt he had at the beginning.

Kobe's fighting spirit is still high, otherwise no one would take the initiative to switch defense on him, but his ability is indeed no longer there, so it is likely that Kobe realized this after playing for a while and announced that this was his last season.

The Bulls advanced to the frontcourt, Xu Yong fell into the low post again, and this time Kobe chose to defend directly around the front.

Seeing this, Xu Yong quickly counterattacked and the two men had a physical confrontation. This scene vaguely reminded people of the fight between Anthony and Kobe in the playoffs. At that time, Kobe had the upper hand, but this time Xu Yong finally suppressed Kobe and received the ball.

And Xu Yong's next choice was very similar to what Kobe did just now. He faked a move with his shoulders down while back to the basket, then turned around and faked Kobe to the baseline, then turned around and made another shot with a light fade away.

After Kobe landed, he looked back and saw the goal. He was stunned for a long time before turning back and running forward.

There is some randomness in one round, but two consecutive rounds show that he can no longer defend against Xu Yong.

The Lakers attacked, the ball reached Gasol at the free throw line, and Jackson cut in without the ball, he tied down the Bulls' defense.

At this moment, Kobe suddenly moved near Gasol, Gasol passed the ball to him, and then set up a pick-and-roll wall. Kobe finally got a comfortable chance to shoot.

“Swish!”

The basketball went into the net and Kobe scored his first goal of the new season.

This ball shows Kobe's hard work over the past two years. Although he was plagued by injuries, he continued to train even in a wheelchair, which kept his touch.

This goal also won applause from the fans on the scene.

When Xu Yong went to the frontcourt and fell into the low post, the person defending him changed again, this time it was Okafor.

If you can't defend from the outside, switch to the inside, because you are in a low post, this idea is not surprising.

After receiving the ball, Xu Yong switched to facing the basket.

Because he assisted the opponent to score consecutively at the beginning of the game, the Lakers became cautious about the option of double-teaming, and at this time no one came to help defend in the first time.

Seeing this, Xu Yong got ready. After a three-threat sweep, he suddenly exerted force from the right side and prepared to break through the baseline.

Okafor struggled to move to the baseline.

But Xu Yong did not continue to go deeper after dribbling the ball, or maybe his dribble was just a fake. He used Okafor as the axis and did a big somersault, completely shaking off Okafor like a roller and reaching the basket.

There was a burst of exclamations at the scene, because this was Anthony's signature [washing machine drum].

“Bang!”

Accompanied by a muffled sound, Xu Yong came to the basket, jumped lightly and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand, giving the Lakers' weak-side players no chance to defend.

The Chicago fans began to cheer.

"So, are there any low-post skills that he hasn't mastered?!" Barkley slammed the table excitedly.

Up to now, tonight's game has completely become a display of Xu Yong's low-post skills.

On the sidelines, Jordan couldn't help but smile and applaud Xu Yong.

He knows better than anyone the advantages of low-post techniques, especially now that everyone is talking about the small ball era, which will only magnify the lethality of this technique.

Looking back, Kobe cut in and received a pass from Gasol and made a layup, causing West to commit a defensive foul. He got two free throws and made them both.

When the Lakers needed points the most, Kobe stepped up and scored 4 points in a row, all of which came from cooperation with Gasol.

Trading for Gasol is probably the best decision the Lakers made this summer.

However, it was very easy for Xu Yong to turn around and continue to play against Okafor. He directly fixed Okafor with a sideways dragging step, and then turned around and made a layup.

Moreover, these two consecutive rounds were even easier for him than the previous game against Kobe.

This is somewhat unbelievable, as Okafor is a big man with a height of 2.11 meters and a wingspan of 2.26 meters, but it seems to explain why he cannot compete with Embiid.

Compared to his passing ability, his defense is more deadly.

Scott called a timeout.

Okafor looked a little frustrated when he left the court. In the past period, he could neither attack nor defend on the court, and had a completely negative effect on the court.

But at this moment, Kobe walked quickly to his side, pulled him to lower his head, and cheered him on.

Seeing this scene, Xu Yong felt that Okafor was much luckier than he knew in his previous life.

Although Kobe is relatively strict with his teammates, he is definitely a big brother who can help newcomers become better.

As for Okafor's problems, whether it is his passing or defensive habits, there are opportunities for improvement in the future.

After the timeout, Jackson held the ball and made a shot from mid-range, but his quick stop missed. However, Gasol grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it to Kobe on the outside. Kobe made a fake three-pointer to shake off Butler and made another shot from mid-range.

He had a really good touch tonight.

Then, turning around, Xu Yong shook off Ariza with beautiful footwork in the low post, and then scored against Gasol who was assisting in defense.

Ten minutes into the first quarter, the score was 24 to 30. Both sides began to rotate, and Xu Yong and Kobe were both substituted off the court for rest.

Xu Yong scored 17 points and 4 assists, and Kobe also had 11 points and 2 assists. The two staged the most anticipated and long-awaited scoring battle among fans.

Just like the Lakers' starting lineup at this moment, it's back to the old days.

Xu Yong was in a good mood after leaving the court and was chatting and laughing with Adams.

Tonight I tested the results of my entire summer's training in actual combat, and the results were remarkable. I also competed with Kobe in points, so this championship ring night was a complete success.

During the transition period between the first and second quarters, Xu Yong felt at ease sitting on the sidelines, because the score, which had not been widened during the starting period, was widened at the beginning of the second quarter.

The Bulls' lineup at this stage was Rose, Foye, Butler, Kyle Anderson, and Hawes.

The best performer here is Ross.

The scene of Roseli's sudden outside shot makes people feel like they are back to their peak.

It can be clearly felt that a series of events that happened in the summer made him want to play the game to the fullest.

By the end of the first half, the Bulls had widened the gap to 25 points, and the half-time game was already in chaos.

Kobe was unable to continue his magic in the second quarter. This performance made Xu Yong think of Iverson again, and it was also related to Kobe on the opposite side.

The best game Iverson played in the year he retired was against the Lakers.

He was particularly impressed by that game because when the Lakers were in a scoring drought in the third quarter, Iverson stepped up and scored 11 points in a row, truly returning to his peak form. In the end, it was Kobe's fighting spirit that was aroused to stabilize the situation and ultimately help the Lakers win the game.

Otherwise, why do we say that history is a circle?

In the second half, Gasol was in great form, leading the Lakers to narrow the gap to within 15 points. However, after the Bulls stabilized their position, Xu Yong scored 7-0 and the gap returned to 20 points.

The last quarter basically became garbage time.

Xu Yong scored 32 points in three quarters, punched out, and served as a VIP spectator on the sidelines during the last quarter.

With six minutes left in the game, the score difference had reached 30 points, and both teams began to replace players from deep on the bench.

On the Bulls side, everyone except Artest and Jokic has played.

The reason why those two guys didn't play wasn't because Thibodeau didn't want them to, but because there were only 13 players on the active list and they were not on it.

The final score on the field was 116 to 90, and the Bulls opened the season with a big win.

During the handshake after the game, Xu Yong felt that Kobe was not in a good mood.

11 of 18 shots, 24 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. For Kobe today, this performance is already very good, but thinking of his high morale before the game and the big loss, these data become meaningless in Kobe's eyes.

"The season has just begun." Xu Yong seemed to encourage Kobe while hugging him.

Kobe didn't say anything, just patted Xu Yong on the back.

"Kyle, show me your ring."

"No, unless you dance for me."

"Nicholas, just jump once, it won't hurt you."

"How about belly dancing? I'm sure you'll look great doing it."

"I won't be fooled. By this time next year, I'll have it too."

"Hahaha."

"Ignore them. I'll show you."

After the game, the players returned to the locker room, which was noisy but also lively.

Xu Yong couldn't help laughing when he saw Jokic playing there.

What international players fear most when they arrive in the NBA is that they won't be able to fit in. Yi Jianlian is a typical case in point. Although Jokic is a little childish, he does have a good personality and is very open-minded.

He was also worried that Jokic would feel disappointed because he didn't play today, but now it seems that his worries were unnecessary.

It seems that it was right for him to give Jokic a heads-up in advance.

…

Time flies, and it is already early December. The first month of the NBA regular season has come to an end.

It can be said that a lot of major events happened this month.

The first and biggest thing is that on November 30th, Kobe announced at a press conference that this season will be his last season in the NBA.

Just as Xu Yong had judged before, after the first month, Kobe already felt that he was overwhelmed and there was not much point in persisting.

This result has attracted great repercussions. The most direct one is that when the Lakers challenged the Spurs away in early December, many Spurs fans wore Kobe's jerseys. The Spurs also took the initiative to play a clip paying tribute to Kobe before the opening ceremony, and also added a long prefix when introducing Kobe.

We all know that he is the ace player of the home team. For example, the Bulls will only use him when introducing Xu Yong, but now they give such treatment to an away player, and he is a rival in the West.

This is actually what some fans call a show-like "retirement tour." Kobe never asked for it, but other teams took the initiative to do these things after knowing that this was his last season.

Secondly, the Warriors have become the team with the strongest momentum in the new season. They have not lost a single game since the start of the season and have won 17 consecutive games, tying the Bulls' start record last season, and they are expected to maintain this momentum.

This winning streak has a lot to do with the schedule, because so far this season they have not played against their main Western rivals, the Thunder and the Mavericks, nor have they faced the Bulls and the Cavaliers in the East. However, there are also some impressive games, such as their 50-point victory over their old rival, the Grizzlies.

And they averaged 118 points per game, a very scary number.

The main reason for this madness is Curry.

Curry scored 40 points in the opening game, and in the third game he scored a career-high 53 points against the Pelicans. Then he scored 46 points against the Timberwolves a week later.

After 17 games, his statistics are 34.7 points per game, 51% three-point shooting percentage, and 6 three-pointers per game.

This kind of scoring has happened in history, but you have never seen a player score in this way, considering that he averages more than 12 three-point shots per game.

"Curry is changing the way basketball is played."

This is how ESPN described Curry's crazy performance.

When the Warriors won 67 games last season and fans were saying that Curry was just a star created by the Warriors system, he proved with his performance this season that he is the system itself.

Although this still needs to be tested in subsequent games, after all, they have not yet played against real championship rivals.

Third, the Mavericks have not lost a single home game this season, and the American Airlines Center in Dallas has suddenly become a devil's home court.

It is worth mentioning that after Aldridge joined the team, Nowitzki directly gave up the starting position, which made the Mavericks team more cohesive.

And it seems that Nowitzki will not retire until he is completely unable to play as Xu Yong knows.

Considering Nowitzki's history of limping after retirement, this may not be a bad thing.

Finally, let's talk about the Bulls. The Bulls' record so far this season is 15 wins and 2 losses. Although it is not as exaggerated as the start last year, the strong momentum remains unabated. They are ranked first in the Eastern Conference, surpassing the Cavaliers (15 wins and 3 losses), Heat (13 wins and 4 losses) and Pacers (12 wins and 5 losses).

The team is making great progress, but Jokic is not happy.

Because up to this point in the season, he has not played at all and has not even been on the active list.

Even though Xu Yong had given him a heads-up, he still felt a little depressed.

Xu Yong also noticed Jokic's mood and knew that it was pointless to persuade him at this time.

After the extra practice that night, Xu Yong went to Thibodeau's office.

He previously thought that Thibodeau would not reuse Jokic, after all, Jokic's defense is indeed easy to target, but the current situation leaves him no chance at all.

When he arrived at Thibodeau's office, he first talked to Thibodeau about the upcoming game, because they were about to play against the Cavaliers, and they also had a Christmas game against the Warriors on Christmas Day.

"Tom, what do you think of Nikola?" Xu Yong asked casually after finishing talking about business.

"I heard from Mike that you were training with him?" Thibodeau did not answer directly, but asked Xu Yong in return.

Xu Yong nodded.

"I had hoped that the team would keep Kendrick (Perkins), but it was Gall who insisted on bringing him to the team this season." Thibodeau did not hide his thoughts in front of Xu Yong.

This is not surprising. Thibodeau is a defensive coach, and the players he uses are basically all defensive players, so it is easy to tell who he will choose between Perkins and Jokic.

"But now, we have Nikola. He works hard and deserves a chance." Xu Yong said. This is not only because he is responsible for Jokic, but also because people who work hard deserve a chance. In other words, you can only know whether it is a mule or a horse after you pull it out and take a look.

"Xu, why do you think highly of him? He gives me the impression of a Spencer (Hawes) who can't defend. Spencer can do everything he can do, and he can do it better."

There is nothing wrong with what Thibodeau said. Hoyes can control the ball, pass the ball, shoot three-pointers, and he is experienced.

"But he helped the bench team beat the reserve team, more than once, didn't he?" Xu Yong asked back.

"That's just team training." Thibodeau shook his head.

"But he is only 20 years old." Xu Yong felt that Thibodeau had a prejudice against Jokic because the team did not keep Perkins.

"Well, since you came to me, I will give him a chance anyway, but whether he can seize the opportunity to enter the rotation depends on himself." Thibodeau is not Lauersdorf, and what he said was just expressing his true thoughts.

"Thank you, Tom." Xu Yong said with a smile.

"I believe he won't let you down, that kid, he has trained with me for so long." He added after standing up.