First in scoring

Chapter 471 470. What kind of magical defensive rotation is this?
On the morning of February 2th, the Bobcats arrived at the United Center to prepare for the game.

Qiao Tu, a bystander, watched the training for a while and said, "It's really different after a week's rest. They are more motivated."

They were playing against his old club, and the team had a good chance of winning, so naturally he had to go with the team to watch the game.

Old Bickerstaff, who wanted to watch the Little Giants' game and travel with the team, responded: "It's not just the effect of rest. We have 43 wins and 9 losses so far. Everyone wants to fight hard in the remaining games. This year may be the time for us to achieve the best record in team history. There may never be such a good opportunity again in the future."

Jordan nodded and said, "Yes, even for me, Magic, and Bird, we can only achieve this kind of half-time record once or twice in our careers. O'Neal and Kobe can only achieve this once... What do you think? Should I give them a little more motivation? Set a higher goal?"

Carlisle interrupted in response, "Michael, you want to raise your goal? Come on!"

"Want more?"

Bald Joe's heart skipped a beat and he thought to himself that something was wrong. He took his secretary to the coaching office arranged for them by the Bulls and asked the secretary to turn on the computer and open the official website of a mainstream sports media.

Sure enough, the headline was an interview with Zhang San!
"70 wins? It's not that we can't get it, but it's a bit difficult. I don't want us to bear unnecessary pressure. Let's set a small goal first and get 65 wins..."

Bald Qiao: Damn Zhang San, you stole my clothes!

...

At 7:40 p.m., Zhang Yang and his teammates entered the court amid boos from fans at the United Center.

Although the Bulls are currently ranked only fifth in the Eastern Conference, media experts still regard them as one of the two most likely championship teams in the Eastern Conference, ahead of the Cavaliers and Magic, when doing their half-time summary.

The other team, of course, is the Bobcats.

This undoubtedly deepened the hostile atmosphere between the fans of the two teams, which is exactly the purpose of the media's hype.

When the home team entered the field, Zhang Yang's eyes were on the new player from the opposing team - Tim Thomas.

Felton also looked at Tim Thomas and said, "I thought he would come to us, but he went to the Bulls. I don't understand."

Tim Thomas previously played for the Knicks, where he played run-and-gun under D'Antoni with decent offensive efficiency. He played 36 games in the first half of the season, averaging 14 minutes per game, scoring 7.5 points and 2.3 rebounds. His three-point performance was the most eye-catching, with 3.5 hits in 1.5 shots per game, an average of 4 three-pointer every 1 minutes, a very high shooting frequency, and an extremely high hit rate of 42.1%.

During the All-Star Weekend, Tim Thomas applied for a buyout from the Knicks, wanting to join a championship-contending team. Knicks owner Dolan accepted the application, allowing the 97 veteran, who was at the end of his career, to pursue his dream of a championship while he still had a fighting chance.

After the buyout was completed, Tim Thomas triggered competition from many teams, the Bobcats were naturally among them, and public opinion generally believed that they had the best chance of winning him, thereby improving the long-range shooting ability of their front line.

But what is surprising is that Tim Thomas did not choose the Lakers, Spurs, Grizzlies, Nuggets, Bobcats, Cavaliers, or Magic, but chose the Bulls, which has the worst record among the championship contenders.

Hill said: "I actually understand his thinking. We are already the first in the league. Even if he comes and helps us, when we win the championship, people will not give him the credit. They will only regard him as a veteran who clings to others. But it will be different if he goes to the Bulls, who are short-handed and in urgent need of reinforcements. If he helps the Bulls improve their record and win the championship, he will be regarded as an 'important mid-season reinforcement'."

Felton was still puzzled: "He is so confident in himself?"

Hill: "After all, he was almost a replacement for Duncan. Maybe in his mind he was a player on the same level as Duncan, so he was a little arrogant."

When Zhang Yang heard this, he recalled the information about Tim Thomas that he had found during the All-Star Weekend.

Tim Thomas once received the second maximum salary in 2000, with an annual salary only 100 million less than Duncan. This has to do with the magical team of the Magic.

After signing McGrady and Hill but missing out on Duncan in the summer of 2000, the Magic still had a maximum salary space and thought they had to spend the money, so they offered Tim Thomas, who was also a 97 center, a six-year, $6 million offer, causing the Bucks management to match the contract while cursing.

Tim Thomas, who was only 23 years old at the time, seemed to be full of talent. In the first round matchup with the Pacers, he averaged 49.2 points per game with a shooting percentage of 15.4%, helping the Bucks and the runner-up Pacers to fight for the fifth game, and lost the fifth game by only 1 point... 15.4 points was not low in that series. It was the highest among all the inside players of the two teams. The second highest scoring inside player, Dale Davis, only averaged 9 points per game.

His playing style was very 'new' at the time, and combined with his performance in the playoffs, he was a hot commodity in the free market that summer... Of course, his annual salary was not as high as tens of millions.

The creation of this contract also led to the fortune teller making a wrong judgment when digging out the Trail Blazers' backup power forward Brian Grant, giving him an outrageous contract of 7 million for 8600 years.

Looking at it from another angle, Rivers' refusal to allow Duncan to take his family on the team's chartered plane led to the salary bubble in the summer of 2000... Zhang San: Sure enough, everything can be blamed on Kobe... No, blame Duncan.

Hearing this, Felton raised his chin, looked disdainful, and said in a disdainful tone: "Then let him retire with this arrogance and without a championship. He can't even get the ring of hugging thighs!" Zhang Yang's eyes lit up and he gave a thumbs up: "Boss, domineering!"

Felton couldn't hold it in any longer, scratched his head and smiled foolishly: "Was that cool? I practiced for a long time. Do you think I should have that expression next time I face the camera?"

Zhang Yang: “…”

Hill: "..."

...

At 8 o'clock in the evening, the Bobcats' away game against the Bulls began.

The Bobcats' starting lineup remains the same, with Felton, Zhang Yang, Pietrus, Millsap and Okafor, the most mobile combination.

The Bulls' starting lineup has changed compared to before the All-Star Weekend. Hinrich, Sefolosha, Luol Deng and Yao Ming remain unchanged, while Tyus Thomas replaces Ben Wallace as the starting power forward.

Skiles announced the decision to change the starting lineup after signing Tim Thomas, which is very consistent with his style of doing things and he will not give face to veterans.

Okafor beat Yao Ming to win the jump ball, and the Bobcats attacked first!
Zhang Yang received the ball in the high position on the right side and played against Luol Deng. Facing the close defense, he changed direction to the left and broke through to the middle, attracted the double-team of Tyus Thomas, and then passed the ball back to the high position.

Millsap receives the ball, Hinrich moves ahead and sticks to Millsap, Millsap passes again...Felton cuts in and receives the ball to attack the basket! A very beautiful triangle offense, but...

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Yao Ming flew over to block the shot and slapped the ball thrown by Felton, which was about to reach the highest point!

The ball hit the ground with a bang and the fans on the sidelines were so scared that they dodged.

Luol Deng closely guards and limits shots, Tyus Thomas uses his superb athleticism to double-team and force passes, the wing defends high-post shots and limits the passing angle to the bottom corner... combined with Yao Ming's rim protection.

Zhang Yang instantly reviewed the defensive coordination of the Bulls team just now in his mind. The opponent's first defense at the beginning of the game was at full intensity!

The Bobcats had the ball in the frontcourt and continued to attack with only 9 seconds left. Zhang Yang ran to receive the serve from Millsap and passed it to Felton who took the initiative to ask for a singles game.

It wasn't because he wanted to get back at someone after being blocked, but compared to Zhang Yang's singles against Luol Deng in the high post, Felton felt that he had a slightly better chance.

After receiving the ball, Felton crushed Hinrich to close range, stopped suddenly, stepped back and shot a close-range jump shot... missed!
Yao Ming protects the defensive rebound!

Felton immediately turned around and retreated, clenched his fists and said "eh". He actually had a good chance, but Tyus Thomas's flying pounce and double-teaming affected his shooting rhythm.

These two defensive performances demonstrated the Bulls' strong defensive capabilities.

Sefrosa, a third-year player, has already reached the best defensive level; Luol Deng has also made great progress in one-on-one defense, and with his already outstanding assist defense ability, he is seen as the next Gerald Wallace; plus Hinrich, who has long been selected for the second defense and is in his prime; and the little giant with the best rim protection ability in the league... If Ben Wallace can continue his form for another year, the Bulls' defense this season can be said to be invincible.

But nothing is perfect. When the Bulls signed Ben Wallace to a four-year maximum salary contract in 06, he was already 4 years old. He was a short and athletic center, so it was rare for him to have two years at the end of his peak.

However, Tyus Thomas, who replaced Ben Wallace as the starter, did a good job. Although his skills, judgment and experience are a little lacking, and are definitely far behind Ben Wallace last season, he is very motivated on defense and has exaggerated athleticism. Before the All-Star Weekend, he averaged 25 steals and 1.2 blocks in 1.9 minutes per game as a substitute. When he played with four top defensive players, his defensive deterrence was still very good.

Moreover, before the All-Star Weekend, Bulls head coach Skiles has been adjusting the defensive coordination method, enhancing the use of the one-on-one defense and double-teaming capabilities of the three major defensive masters on the outside, and weakening the role of the power forward's tandem defense in the defensive system, so the 22-year-old and still quite immature Tyrus Thomas is barely enough.

In the offense-defense transition, Hinrich received a pass from Yao Ming and advanced to the frontcourt, where he was closely defended by Zhang Yang.

The opponent is taller, stronger, faster than you, has excellent defensive awareness, and good defensive basic skills... Hinrich had no intention of competing with Zhang Yang and directly called for a pick-and-roll.

Tyus Thomas pulled out to block Zhang Yang. Hinrich wanted to make a three-pointer with the help of the screen. Zhang Yang went directly outside the three-point line and chased Hinrich to defend. Hinrich rushed to the inside. Millsap saw that Zhang Yang went around the high position but did not stick to him, so he followed Hinrich's footsteps in the first time, and together with Zhang Yang who caught up, they sandwiched Hinrich one step inside the three-point line!
Hinrich's vision was completely blocked. He couldn't break through or pass the ball. If it weren't for his solid basic skills, he would have been caught traveling!

He decisively turned around and ran towards the three-point line. Millsap immediately moved sideways to make up for Tyus Thomas. Zhang Yang also returned to the three-point line and guarded in front of Hinrich.

Hinrich watched the two men move, and a thousand alpacas ran through his mind - what kind of magical defensive rotation was this?
He originally wanted to try a 'fortune seeker' tactic, risking mistakes to 'break through in the opposite direction', pull the two players to the outside, and look for a passing opportunity. As a result, Zhang Yang and Millsap simply gave up the double-team and returned to their respective defenders.

The opposing defense seemed to have worked in vain, but in fact it was just wasting a lot of offensive time!
(End of this chapter)