Noah suddenly stopped talking.
Xu Yong originally said that he would find an opportunity to "intimidate" this guy.
It now appears that Deng's status and voice in the Bulls are greater than he expected.
And by this calculation, his previous operation in the British competition was more useful than expected.
He didn't feel any regret, because when he thought about the process of Jordan taming Rodman, it seemed that the same thing couldn't be applied to Noah.
Rodman was born into a poor family and his father ran away from home at an early age, which led to his weird personality. He was even more of a thorn in the side when he was in the Spurs. After the season ended, no team was willing to offer him a contract. It was Jordan who gave him the opportunity, so he has always been loyal to Jordan.
On the other hand, Noah, although not a son of an aristocrat, was born into a famous family. The backgrounds of these two people are different.
Not to mention that Noah has now been identified by the Bulls as the core of their inside development.
But speaking of it, another reason why Rodman is so devoted to Jordan is because of Jordan's strength.
Even Pippen was equally obedient when facing Jordan when he was a player.
Isn't it more effective to conquer your teammates with your strength and lead them to fly than to punch them?
…
Nearly a month has passed in a blink of an eye, and the Bulls have concluded their preseason journey with a record of 5 wins and 3 losses in 8 games.
Rose's absence has a very obvious impact on the team.
However, Xu Yong's performance was amazing. Although there were some ups and downs, he averaged 18.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.7 blocks and 2.9 turnovers in 8 games. His shooting percentage reached 45.8% and his three-point shooting percentage was 38%.
Don't compare the data of this era with that of the small ball era. Not only the defensive intensity and number of rounds caused by the rules, but also the team configuration are completely different.
To give a simple example, when a team has only one or two star players who can tear apart the defense, zone defense is a very effective weapon because it can double-team the star players.
But once this number rises to 3, the zone defense basically loses its effect.
When there is no need to face a double-team, the probability of a player being double-teamed drops sharply, mismatched singles appear more and more frequently, and the difficulty of scoring decreases accordingly.
This is also one of the reasons why most of the so-called American stars before Xu Yong's rebirth were no longer successful in international competitions.
Because you are used to the simple mode, if the intensity is suddenly increased, how can you stand up?
Back to the data, except for the many mistakes, Xu Yong's other performances can be described as outstanding.
And because Griffin suffered a stress fracture of his left kneecap in the last preseason game and was ruled out for the season, Xu Yong is also considered a favorite for this year's Rookie of the Year.
Xu Yong was also quite satisfied with his performance, but he didn't care that much about the statistics.
It must be said that De Nagro really values him. In the preseason, he basically used him as the first ball handler. This made his statistics look good, but it was inevitable that he made more mistakes.
On the one hand, it’s because it’s the first time you play an NBA-level game. On the other hand, you are the core player, so your opponents will naturally study you and target you.
Moreover, after Rose returns, he will not have as much control over the ball, so a decline in his statistics is inevitable. Therefore, the statistics are not important, as long as his performance meets expectations.
After the preseason, each team completed its layoffs and entered the regular season with a roster of up to 15 people.
The Bulls have waived Jerome James and Chatkins, and the regular season roster is as follows:
Point guard: Rose, Hinrich, Genillo Pargo
Shooting guards: Xu Yong, Damien Wilkins, Lindsay Hunter
Small forward: Deng, Johnson, Tim Thomas
Power forward: Songaila, Gibson, Richard
Center: Noah, Brad Miller, Aaron Gray
It was also at this time that ESPN analyzed and ranked the strength of each team in the league based on their preseason performance, as per past practice.
In this list, the Cavaliers topped the list, ahead of the defending champion Lakers.
1. Cavaliers
The Cavaliers achieved a record of 66 wins last season, and while basically retaining their lineup, they only traded the aging "Big Ben" Wallace, who only contributed 2.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks last season, for "The Big Shark" O'Neal.
Although O'Neal is also old, in contrast, he had a third spring in the Suns last season, playing 75 games with the highest attendance rate in recent years, averaging 17.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.
And there is another signing that cannot be ignored. They also signed Anthony Parker, the 24-year-old starting shooting guard of the Raptors for the past three seasons, with an extremely cheap contract.
In the three seasons that Parker started for the Raptors, he averaged 12 points per game and made 42.3% of his three-pointers. More importantly, he is 1.98 meters tall, a good-sized forward-guard swingman, and has excellent defense, which makes up for the most missing link of the Cavaliers last season.
With a strong lineup and James' MVP-level performance after entering the peak of his career, we have every reason to believe that in his seventh season, James will win his first championship trophy like Jordan.
2. Lakers
The Lakers have basically retained the lineup from last season. Their two most critical signings were a four-year, $33 million contract with Odom and a five-year, $35 million contract with Ariza, keeping the 3D small forward who shot 47.6% from three-point range in last season's playoffs.
3. Celtics
4. Nuggets
5. Magic
6. Rockets
The Rockets retained Ron Artest, who performed well last season, with a four-year, $32 million contract. Artest once said that he would stay with the Rockets if Yao Ming stayed healthy. Now he has fulfilled his promise. The only question is, how much success does McGrady have left?
7. Spurs
8. Mavericks
…
20. Chicago Bulls
Their performance in the British game was eye-catching. In the absence of Rose, they defeated the Jazz, and the second pick Xu Yong's performance was also very eye-catching.
After Rose's return, their performance is worth looking forward to.
Although, compared with the long introduction to the Cavaliers, ESPN's evaluation of the Bulls can be described as "sparing with words", but at least compared to the offseason, the Bulls are considered a team with a chance to enter the playoffs.
However, just after this list was released, a huge wave of controversy arose on social media.
The source of this controversy was originally just between James fans and Comey fans, and between the Lakers and the Cavaliers.
After all, the Lakers are the defending champions. The Cavaliers didn't even make it to the finals last season. Why are they ranked ahead of the Lakers?
Is it just because Nike supports you and ESPN praises you?
James Mi: Facts speak louder than words, first is first.
However, after Kobe fans threw out a series of statements such as "James was swept in the finals", "66 wins and Eastern Conference runner-up", "Champions 4-0", etc., James fans were instantly at a disadvantage.
At this time, someone said "Rose is better than James", and James fans immediately turned their guns and started attacking Rose.
To be honest, this statement is a bit exaggerated. After all, James has played in the finals and won the MVP after six years of accumulation, while Rose is just a rookie.
If you want to compare, this is not the way to do it.
But Rose may have few fans, but the Bulls have many fans!
After Jordan brought two dynasties to Chicago, the Bulls had more fans around the world than Kermit.
As a result, the two sides soon began a heated debate on the topic of "who had a better rookie season".
In terms of honors, James and Rose were both named the best rookie of the season, but there was controversy over who should be the best rookie between James and Anthony.
Of course, that's also because James was in the 03 Platinum Generation, so the honors in the rookie season were basically even.
Then they started comparing the statistics. James' 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 3.5 turnovers in his rookie season were undoubtedly better than Rose's 16.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.5 turnovers.
However, James' 41.5% shooting percentage was far lower than Rose's 47.5%, and he also had one more turnover than anyone else.
And in terms of record, the Bulls were seventh in the Eastern Conference last season and made the playoffs, but James was ninth in the Eastern Conference and missed the playoffs.
What's more, Rose scored an amazing 36 points and 11 assists in his rookie season playoff debut, and in the series he averaged 19.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game with an extremely high shooting percentage of 49.2%, leading the team to a seven-game battle with the defending champion Celtics.
At this point, James fans were a little overwhelmed and could only say, "Your teammate is an All-Star and my teammate is a CBA." The dispute between the two sides ultimately ended in no result.
In the end, James fans finally started to make harsh remarks: arguments on social media are about who types faster and who has more fans; what is more meaningful is the real-life competition.
That's right, the Cavaliers and the Bulls are about to face off in the season, and it's the regular season opener.
So something that had nothing to do with the Bulls suddenly became very popular for the opening game because of this "fire in the city gate affected the fish in the pond" incident.
In this context, no one outside cares about the gap in strength between the Cavaliers and the Bulls. All they care about is the outcome of this game.
Or to be more precise, it was the James fans who stirred up this hype and wanted to see the Cavaliers beat the Bulls badly.
After all, whether you will be stronger in the future is another matter, but now, I am stronger than you.