When the Wizards only scored 5 points in the first four minutes, while the opposing Bulls scored 11 points, fans and commentators on the Internet began to sentence the Wizards to death in this game, or in other words, to the Wizards this season. The team sentenced him to death.
"Let's see, it's true. The previous winning streak is just because other teams have not adapted to the intensity of the new season. Only people without brains will release all their energy at the beginning of the season. Maybe it will be very fierce at the beginning. , but it cannot last for long. At present, the Wizards have not improved much compared to last season. The previous 6 consecutive victories were just good luck..."
"It makes sense. The entire regular season can be played from October to the end of April next year. There are 82 regular season games. How to allocate physical strength obviously requires wisdom, but these guys on the Wizards don't seem to have such wisdom. They can't win first. To be considered a winner, the winner is the one who can stand till the end.”
"Before this, you really thought that the Wizards could rise this season? You just picked the No. 1 pick and wanted to rise. Are you overthinking... Do you think you picked Jordan or Duncan? Even if it's better than Jordan, in the first few seasons of his career, could only barely make it to the playoffs, and then get out of the first round. Although Duncan was also very strong, the Spurs deliberately messed up at that time. The team's own strength was stronger than the record showed. Much more. Look at the current Wizards team. Apart from a No. 1 pick who is good at offense but rubbish at defense, it doesn't matter what they want. Arenas, the only one who can play, is in conflict with Li Kaiming. Tell me, what do the Wizards do to win? Could it be that it relies on thoughts?”
"The main reason is that the winning momentum shown by the Wizards before was so fierce. I didn't expect to be able to beat both the Magic and the Hawks. What I didn't expect even more was that after Arenas came back, the ball The team’s strength has actually declined…”
On the court at the United Center, the timeout time had passed, and Li Kaiming walked onto the court again with Sanders' expectations.
Thibodeau made a small rotation of the team's lineup during this timeout, replacing starting shooting guard Bogues and replacing him with substitute Ronnie Brewer, who averaged 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 rebounds per game last season. Compared with Bogues, who averaged 4 points and 2 rebounds per game, his offensive firepower has increased by a level. It seems that Thibodeau was not satisfied with the team's offense during this period.
After coming up, the Wizards served. Li Kaiming waited in the frontcourt for Hinrich to dribble over. After the pick-and-roll, Hinrich still didn't find a chance. Hinrich gave the ball to Li Kaiming. Before, Li Kaiming always wanted to rely on breakthroughs to drive his teammates, but the Bulls' defense It was so powerful that his teammates had no way of throwing the ball in when faced with that fleeting open opportunity.
Then he would be the only one to come, transform into Arenas, and use his offense to drive his teammates.
After Hinrich passed the ball to him, he ran away with Rose. The other teammates also lined up on both sides, standing outside the three-point line. Li Kaiming held the ball with both hands, facing Taj Gibson's low-center defense. He put the ball behind his head and observed the situation. Seeing that no one else on the Bulls team had any intention of double-teaming, he suddenly dropped the ball and broke through, heading towards the penalty area with Gibson on his back!
Gibson is not tall, and there was not much space in the first half, so he was only broken to his side by Li Kaiming and did not lose his defensive position. Facing Li Kaiming's breakthrough, he also had a serious face and waved his feet extremely fast. The body and trunk resisted the former, denying Li Kaiming a chance to make a sudden jump shot.
It only took Li Kaiming less than 1 second to break through from outside the three-point line to the free throw line. His breakthrough with the ball did not completely resolve Gibson's defense. This guy's lateral speed surprised Li Kaiming!
Seeing Li Kaiming's breakthrough, the rest of the Bulls subconsciously took a step inward, but no one came up to double-team, which shows the team nature of the Bulls' defense.
Joakim Noah at the basket is considered a relatively powerful rim protector among centers in the entire league, so if Li Kaiming carries Gibson to the basket, the ball will most likely be defended by Noah, and this pair of insiders The combination did not leave any space for Li Kaiming to pass the ball. Even if Li Kaiming could pass the ball, Noah or Gibson could quickly make up the defense and disrupt Blatche's offense.
In the first four minutes, Li Kaiming passed two balls to Blatche, but the latter failed to score either. The former one was blocked by Gibson, and the latter one was beaten under Noah's defense.
Therefore, this ball must be made from the mid-range. The Bulls' defense at the basket is too strong. If it is one against one of Gibson or Noah, Li Kaiming is confident that he will beat them, but it will not work with two people. The main reason is that Li Kaiming doesn't like to make his game more difficult. Relatively speaking, he prefers to solve his opponents from a tactical level.
Li Kaiming dribbled the ball near the free throw line and suddenly stopped. Gibson thought he was going to make a jump shot. Unexpectedly, Li Kaiming directly changed from facing the frame to breaking through with his back, and began to dribble sideways and push inward.
This is also the first time since the start of the regular season that Li Kaiming has used center skills that he has not used for a long time.
Gibson is a small and fast power forward, but he is relatively weak in terms of strength. Li Kaiming pushed hard twice with his feet and found that it was relatively easy. After entering the penalty area, Gibson was a little overwhelmed and was about to call Noah over. Double-teamed, but Li Kaiming suddenly turned around and then turned over and shot a jumper two meters away from the basket.
With a height of 2.1 meters and a wingspan of 2.2 meters, Li Kaiming's jumper Gibson can only barely reach the former's elbow.
With a swish sound, the basketball hit the net, and Li Kaiming scored his second goal since the start.
11 to 7!
Commentator Adams praised, "Li Kaiming played the center position in college. Although he mainly played power forward after entering the league and rarely took such shots from the mid-range, it can still be seen that his center skill package is very good. Rich."
Gus Jason next to him nodded in agreement, "His offensive skills have been very polished. I basically can't see any shortcomings in him on the offensive end."
The Bulls served, and Rose tried to launch a fast break after receiving the ball, but the Wizards players were already in place. Seeing this, Rose started a pick-and-roll with Noah, broke through to the free throw line, and suddenly transferred the ball to Noah who was downhill.
Brac had already returned to defense, and the Bulls' tactics were adaptable. Noah did not pass the ball out to reorganize, but dribbled directly inside, breaking through to the basket and causing Brac's thug to foul. Noah walked again. Got to the free throw line and made two free throws.
13 to 7!
Less than one quarter into the game, Noah not only blocked Blatche, who had previously averaged a double-double per game, on the defensive end, but also caused a foul on the Wizards' two starting inside men.
Sanders looked a little ugly on the sidelines. Branch could tell from this half that he was directly beaten by Noah. The most important thing is that the Wizards can't get into foul trouble inside.
If, like the last game, Li Kaiming committed a foul before the fourth quarter was even halfway through, then the Wizards would be fooling around!
In addition to Li Kaiming, Blatche is also very important. The substitute McGee cannot be on the court for a long time. If Blatche is defeated by the Bulls, then only Li Kaiming will be left to protect the frame on the defensive end. By then, both offense and defense will be left. The heavy burden of Duan falls on the latter. No one knows whether Li Kaiming's condition can be guaranteed.
Sanders didn't dare to take a gamble, so he directly signaled to Blatche on the sidelines to pay attention to his defensive actions and not to commit too many fouls.
The Wizards served, and after Li Kaiming stepped forward to pick and roll, Hinrich followed the screen and took a step inside. Gibson and Rose were both very fast movers, and Hinrich's route to the penalty area was blocked in the blink of an eye.
Li Kaiming waved for the ball from the top of the arc and relieved Hinrich. Gibson still refused to let Li Kaiming shoot from the outside. After receiving the ball, Li Kaiming directly shot the ball down to the inside. Gibson's expression changed and he took advantage of the two people's bodies. Blocking the referee's view, he elbowed Li Kaiming!
During the breakthrough, Li Kaiming immediately felt a push from his waist. He held his breath and exerted force with his core. At the same time, he quietly raised the elbow of the ball protector. Unexpectedly, he just raised the elbow and took a step forward. , a whistle suddenly came from the sideline!
beep!
Li Kaiming stopped and turned to look at the referee on the sideline. Unsurprisingly, he saw that disgusting face and the offensive foul gesture made by the Tony brothers!
Grass! What is supposed to come has finally come!
Although Li Kaiming felt very sick, he felt a sense of relief in his heart for no reason.
It's like you know something bad is going to happen to you, but you don't know when it will happen. The most stressful time for you during this period is not the moment it happens, but the moment you wait for it to happen. of suffering.
Sooner or later Brother Tony will disgust him, but Li Kaiming has no idea when and in what form this guy will disgust him, so when Brother Tony called him an offensive foul, he felt a lot more relaxed!
Although he had committed two fouls at this time, he was not worried at all.
On the other hand, Sanders, who was next to the Wizards bench, was so anxious that he almost jumped when he saw that Li Kaiming had received two fouls before the first quarter!
Commentator Adams prayed for the Wizards in his heart, "There are still 5 minutes left before the end of the first quarter, and Li Kaiming has already committed two fouls. Will he leave the game with full fouls like in the last game?"
Gus Jason shook his head and sighed, "The Wizards are in a difficult situation. Li Kaiming is in foul trouble and will be protected by Sanders for a period of time. During this period, with the Wizards' lineup, I want to start against the Bulls. I’m afraid it will be difficult to even maintain the point difference!”
Adams asked curiously, "Don't the Wizards have Arenas on their bench now? A 17 million sixth man, which team has such a card?"
Gus Jason laughed loudly, "Brother, the way you are serious and joking is so funny. Arenas must be strong enough, but what I mean is that he alone cannot beat the Bulls as a team!"
Adams turned his attention back to the court, "What a headache. Let's leave this problem to Coach Flip Saunders. Let's see how he will arrange the lineup after Li Kaiming comes off the field... Huh?"
Adams' words stopped abruptly, Gus Jason quickly looked towards the court, and then there was a look of disbelief on his face.
"Li Kaiming actually didn't end the game? Is Sanders crazy?"
