Healthy basketball, starting from eating the old Lakers F4

Time flies, and it's the annual Christmas war again.

After all, the Bulls are one of the teams with the most traffic in the league.

Although they missed the regular season opener and are no longer valued and supported by the league's top management, the Bulls still deserve to be in the Christmas game, which is an NBA regular program that particularly values ​​ratings and is also one that fans pay more attention to.

February 12, Madison Square Garden, New York.

The visiting Bulls showed the strength of the third team in the Eastern Conference from the beginning of the game.

In the first quarter, the Knicks were defeated 31 to 18 on both offense and defense.

In the second quarter, because the score was leading by nearly 20 points, the Bulls played a little excitedly. They did not hold the ball and force their way into the inside. Instead, everyone shot three-pointers from outside the three-point line.

Most of the time, the Bulls would take errant shots and miss many of their shots, which would then allow their opponents to counterattack. Also, because of their slackness on defense and their failure to return to defense in time, their opponents would quickly narrow the score.

But tonight, the Bulls players had an exceptionally good touch, shooting a terrifying 15-of-10 in the second quarter alone.

Curry alone made 4 three-pointers, Duane and Jokic made 2 each, and the other 2 were made by Reeves and Cameron Thomas respectively.

This is even when Wiggins, who can shoot three-pointers, didn't perform well...

Anyone who comes across this kind of three-point rain effect in a single quarter would be terrified and frightened.

74 to 43, after the first half, the Bulls were already leading by 31 points, making the second half of the game seem without suspense and meaningless.

However, considering that it was a Christmas game, the Bulls showed some mercy to the Knicks, so in the third quarter they mainly let the team's third-year rookies take the court to show their talents.

Perhaps it was the environment and atmosphere that inspired Cameron Thomas, Reeves, Aaron Wiggins, Shen Jing, Kessler and others, or it was the training in the previous two years that made their skills mature and about to enter their peak.

In short, the Bulls' pure bench lineup actually fought back and forth with the Knicks' starting lineup.

This also proves the saying that the Knicks players have never disappointed anyone when it comes to disappointing others.

The Big Apple city of red lights, wine, women and decadence will only wear down the players' fighting spirit and muscles, making them no longer strong and no longer have the courage to fight passionately.

After the third quarter, the Bulls were still leading the Knicks by 30 points. Originally, the Bulls could have regarded the fourth quarter as garbage time and not sent their main players into the game.

Still, the Christmas War is different.

For this reason, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Bulls still sent out a pure starting lineup.

In response to this situation, the New York fans at the scene did not boo, but instead shouted in unison: "MVP! MVP! MVP!"

I don’t know if this is a welcome for Jokic, Curry, or Durant…

"Good night--"

As Curry made another three-pointer and scored his 30th point of the game, there were more than 8 minutes left in the game, but Curry performed his own celebration in advance.

"MVP! MVP! MVP!"

"Good night--"

Many fans at the scene also stood up from their seats, either shouting at Curry or imitating Curry's movements to pay tribute to him.

While retreating, Curry smiled and shook his shoulders at the audience on the sidelines.

Perhaps he had scored enough points, so Curry did not take any shots in the next few rounds. Instead, he faked shots and passed the ball to create better scoring opportunities for his teammates.

Among them, Duane was fortunate enough to receive the lob pass from Curry to the basket, and in this historic Madison Square Garden, he once again performed an astonishing aerial relay.

"MVP! MVP! MVP!"

The hospitable New York fans treat all superstars equally, and anyone who performs well in Madison Square Garden can enjoy their enthusiasm and respect.

But it doesn't happen often. With almost 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Bulls called a timeout and sent all five starting players off the court.

There is no suspense in the game anymore, so the remaining garbage time should be rewarded to the rookies who train hard every day and are still growing!

If the Bulls want to achieve good results in the playoffs, they will have to rely on them!

Therefore, it is necessary to give the rookies some sweetness during the regular season.

After winning the Christmas game, the Bulls continued their push for second place in the Eastern Conference.

At the same time, this season's All-Star voting has also begun.

The Bulls have already reached third place in the Eastern Conference this year. If they can get to second place, or even first place, before the All-Star voting ends, then having three or four All-Stars would be reasonable.

This year, the Bulls took the initiative to announce to the outside world that they have returned to the championship race and are back in the spotlight of media attention.

In this background and atmosphere, even a basketball player like Wiggins wants to actively participate and fully demonstrate his talents.

However, the good times did not last long. Just as the Bulls were closing in on the second-place Bucks in the Eastern Conference, news came that Wiggins' father was critically ill.

As a filial son, Wiggins can only put down his work temporarily and leave the team, which is something the Bulls management and players can understand and accept.

Especially for the rookies in the team, if there is one less starting player in their prime, wouldn't that provide them with a better opportunity to level up and show their strength?
After two games of adjustments, Wiggins' departure has little impact on the Bulls.

Of course, the outside world is still very curious about Wiggins' sudden departure from the team and wants to dig deeper and understand it.

The Bulls remained silent on the matter and instead focused on games, training, and their own lives.

Until Jokic, Curry and Durant were once again selected to the All-Star team and the Bulls' record had risen to second in the Eastern Conference, the outside world had become accustomed to Wiggins' departure and no longer paid attention to it.

Slightly different from last year, this year Curry and Jokic were selected to the Eastern Conference All-Star starting lineup.

As for Duane, he is still a substitute for the Eastern Conference All-Stars.

Duane's statistics this year are slightly better than last year, but he only averages 17+10+5 per game, which is not outstanding in this era of skyrocketing statistics.

Fortunately, the coaches in the league know how powerful Duane is and that he was the longest-serving ruler in NBA history.

As the saying goes, even when a tiger is in its twilight years, its might remains.

Wizards' Jordan was able to gain recognition from coaches of various NBA teams at the time, so naturally Durant is not far behind today.

Time flies and it is mid-February. As the All-Star Weekend approaches, the Bulls proactively slowed down the pace of the game and began to rest their main players in a planned manner.

Injuries have always been a part of being an NBA player.

Not all players are the Utah duo!
In fact, the vast majority of NBA players will experience one or more injuries that may affect their entire careers within the four years of their rookie contracts.

This situation is rare in the Bulls because the main players are superstars and super giants selected from thousands of people, and their durability is far beyond that of ordinary players.

Despite this, the Bulls still pay more attention to injury management and try their best to reduce the risk of injuries to players through various ways and means.

Anyway, the Bulls have recently secured the second place in the Eastern Conference, opening up a gap of 2 wins over the Bucks, and are only 1.5 wins away from the Celtics, who are first in the Eastern Conference.

If the Bulls go all out this year, they still have a chance to win 60 games.

The Bulls' goal is to win the championship, so they don't care too much about the regular season record. They just want to secure the top six playoff spots in the Eastern Conference and avoid falling to the play-in rounds.

Therefore, the Bulls took the initiative to gradually release the pressure before the All-Star Weekend, which also gave the rookies a better opportunity to demonstrate their strength.

Overall, everything went well.

Last year's poor performance was not in vain. After playing for half a season, the rookies in their third year basically have the strength to be starters or main rotation players of an NBA team.

The Bulls did not show any signs of a significant decline in performance due to the rest of Jokic, Curry, Durant and others. This also means that the rookies are finally reliable and well-trained.

At the same time, it also means that the Bulls' rotation lineup will not lag behind in this year's playoffs.

As long as the main players do not encounter injuries or other unexpected situations, there is real hope of winning the championship again.

With such expectations, after the All-Star Game, the Bulls continued to use the game as training and gave the rookies more playing time.

At the same time, the lineup between the main players and the substitutes also began to be adjusted in a planned manner.

Other strong teams in the East and West noticed that the Bulls' record was gradually declining, and at first they thought something had happened.

Once I discovered that the Bulls were deliberately practicing their lineup and seemed to be controlling the score at the same time, I suddenly realized what was going on.

The Bulls are the most experienced team in this year's championship race. The deep meaning of the Bulls' move is nothing more than sharpening their weapons before the start of the playoffs, strengthening the individual abilities of rookies, and enhancing the coordination between substitutes and starters.

The Bulls sacrificed some regular season games just to go for the championship.

In today's Eastern Conference, the only teams that are capable of being opponents of the Bulls and can be studied by the Bulls are the defending champion Bucks and the Celtics, who are highly favored by the league.

The best option for the Bulls to advance to the finals is undoubtedly to let the Bucks and Celtics meet in advance, and then they will be well rested in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The problem is that the Celtics have already taken the first place in the Eastern Conference, and it will be difficult for the Bulls to surpass the Celtics and top the Eastern Conference.

For this reason, the Bulls can only settle for the second best and adjust their own lineup first, enhance their overall strength, and conduct targeted rehearsals in advance to restrain the lineup of the Bucks and Celtics.

Then wait until the playoffs to compete with the Bucks and Celtics.

As for the Bulls' current plan, they will temporarily drop to fourth in the Eastern Conference and make further plans.

As the saying goes, stand up where you fell.

The Bulls must avenge their loss to the Celtics in last year's Eastern Conference semifinals.

Anyway, it is inevitable to play against the Bucks and Celtics in this year's playoffs, and the Bulls don't want to play in the play-offs, so fourth in the Eastern Conference is the best choice.

As it stands, the Celtics will remain first in the Eastern Conference until the end of the regular season, and the eighth playoff team in the Eastern Conference that makes it through the play-in tournament will certainly not be a match for the Celtics.

The Bulls are not under much pressure to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Well, just in time for this year’s Eastern Conference semifinals, we can settle old and new grudges together.

If they can get revenge on the Celtics, they will play the Bucks again in the Eastern Conference Finals.

As long as we win both series, winning the championship this year will be a foregone conclusion.

However, plans are good but reality is cruel.

The Bulls had made all their plans and arrangements for the playoffs step by step, but with one month left before the playoffs, Wiggins returned with a haggard look on his face.

Wiggins is the Bulls' starting player and the leader of the perimeter defense. He has also helped the Bulls win a championship before.

The Bulls have great trust in Wiggins.

That's why the Bulls are willing to let Wiggins return to the starting position and take the time to help him regain his form and feeling for the game.

In this regard, Herbert Jones, who replaced Wiggins as the starter some time ago, was certainly unhappy, but he did not shout loudly in front of everyone to destroy the harmonious, united and friendly atmosphere of the team.

Even after playing five consecutive regular season games, Wiggins' condition was still very bad, and he didn't even play a game with a shooting percentage of more than 5%.

This has inevitably caused complaints from the rookies who have been sitting on the bench and are very much coveting the starting position.

Humans are social animals, and the Bulls players are teammates who have played together for several years.

There have been subtle changes in the way teammates communicate and their attitudes towards each other, and everyone was able to react and experience it in a short period of time.

At this time, as the leader of the locker room, Duane naturally couldn't just cover up the matter and said to the rookies: "Don't say anything that is not conducive to unity."

Most NBA players have aggressive personalities, and when they have conflicts, a one-on-one fight can actually solve the problem faster.

You punched me, and my teammates came over to stop the fight and didn't let me punch back, which would have made things worse.

Now that there are problems within the Bulls, we need to face them and solve them.

It's a pity that Wiggins is not of this character.

After Duane approached him, although Wiggins was a little depressed, he still forced a smile and expressed his willingness to come off the bench.

Wiggins had always been a starter before and his life had been smooth sailing. Now that he has suddenly become a substitute, he must be feeling bad.

However, his previous departure from the team was due to his personal reasons, and now that he has returned to the team in poor condition and has even affected the atmosphere within the team, this is also due to his personal reasons.

In order to avoid trouble for others and bring bad influence to the team, Wiggins chose to take a step back and see the bigger picture.

Of course, the playoffs are about to begin, and Wiggins also wants to find opportunities to help the team instead of becoming a burden.

However, after not playing basketball and not training properly for more than two months, my physical fitness has declined a lot.

There is less than half a month left until the playoffs. How easy is it for Wiggins to get back into form as soon as possible?

The other Bulls players are already prepared for the playoffs, so naturally not many of them will suddenly change their rhythm to help Wiggins get back into the game faster.

Duane has also tried to slow down, but the team needs him to do what he should do at this stage step by step.

Duane knows very well that after the next season, even if he does not retire, it will be difficult for him to get a maximum salary contract and continue to play energetically in the NBA with young people in their twenties and thirties.

In order to leave more precious memories for the rest of my life and also for the fans.

Duane must stage a good show of the old soldier who never dies and creates greater glory in these two seasons when he still has the strength to play.

By the way, the Bulls tacitly agreed to put Wiggins on the bench. After he practiced alone, the overall atmosphere improved all of a sudden, as if they had returned to half a month ago.

At this point, there are only six games left before the end of the regular season.

In order to face the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Bulls chose to strategically give up three games.

In the end, they did succeed in controlling the points, and were satisfied with their record of 51 wins and 31, ranking fourth in the Eastern Conference, and advanced to the next playoffs.

It is worth mentioning that this season the Celtics lead the league with a record of 64 wins and 18 losses.

Looking only at the regular season results, the Bulls and Celtics have a gap of 13 wins.

It can be said that the strength gap between the two teams is very large.

However, before the first round of the playoffs started, the Celtics mobilized a large number of people to study the Bulls' game videos in advance, especially the games in the last two months of the regular season.

This shows how great the psychological shadow the Bulls have brought to the Celtics over the years.

Even though the Celtics beat the Bulls once last year, they knew clearly that the Bulls wanted revenge on them, so everyone in the Celtics treated the Bulls as a formidable enemy and took them very seriously.

Next, just as the Bulls expected and the Celtics worried, the Bulls successfully defeated the fifth-ranked Pacers in the Eastern Conference with a record of 4 to 1 and advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals first.

On the contrary, the Celtics, who were ranked first in the Eastern Conference, took a little longer to beat the Hawks, who advanced to the play-offs from the ninth place in the Eastern Conference. It took them a full six games.

Unable to crush opponents and advance, and failing to show the dominance it should have, how could such a team win the championship?
On May 5, the revenge battle between the Bulls and the Celtics officially began.

Perhaps through this battle, the Celtics will understand how to win the championship. (End of this chapter)