Before the official start of every NBA game, there will be nearly a month of preseason games.
For most teams, preseason is more of an opportunity for the team to run in and examine rotations.
Of course, it must also reflect the state of the team.
For example, the Lakers' senior F4 team in 2012 lost all 8 games in the preseason and was eliminated in the first round;
Another example is that in 2021, the Lakers formed 4 of the "75 Greatest Players in History" and lost 6 games in a row in the preseason. As a result, they did not make the playoffs.
Therefore, although the preseason games are not included in the season statistics, they are still important.
And the Bulls' preseason this year is special.
Preseason games are generally held in the United States, but a small number are held overseas.
For example, the China game that Chinese fans are familiar with is actually a pre-season game.
Of course, with the implementation of Stern's global plan, this location has begun to spread around the world.
This year's Bulls game will be in London, England. This is also the first time the NBA has held an overseas game here.
The reason why it is the Bulls is the same as the reason why they approached the Rockets for the first China game.
Deng Yingqiao, as the name suggests, Deng is now an Englishman.
What's more worth mentioning is that Deng was born in Sudan and later became a British citizen due to the war. However, he actually lived in the United States when he was 14 years old, so he returned to the United Kingdom again after ten years.
Just ask Stern if he is professional in this aspect of operations!
The Bulls' opponent is the Utah Jazz.
In terms of familiarity, Chinese fans should not be too familiar with this Jazz team.
Of course, that kind of familiarity has a bit of "hate" in it.
From 2006 to 2008, for two consecutive seasons, the Rockets fell at the feet of the Jazz, and once they led 2-0 and were overturned 3-4.
During this period, because of Yao Ming, the Rockets were the home team for the Chinese people. This experience is unforgettable.
So many people on this team, such as Deron, Boozer, Okur, Kirilenko, Ronnie Brewer, Korver, and even players like Fischenko, are familiar to fans. The memory is still fresh.
However, the Jazz are not having a good time now, because they have had this lineup for many years, and their best result is to reach the Western Conference Finals once.
If Xu Yong remembers correctly, they will break up the team in the next two years.
However, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. The Jazz were a Western Conference playoff team before they were dismantled, so they are definitely stronger than the Bulls.
And Rose won't play in this game.
Rose is recovering well from his ankle injury, but the Bulls will keep him out for the entire preseason due to safety concerns.
Moreover, winning or losing in normal preseason games is not important, but when it comes to overseas games, because you have to face each other, you will still fight to win or lose.
So this game is a big challenge for the Bulls.
After arriving in London, head coach De Nagro was very considerate and gave the players a half-day off so that they could enjoy the British style.
Deng took Ross and Xu Yong to a very mysterious place.
Construction site for the London Olympic Basketball Stadium.
The London Olympics will be four years away, but construction of the arena has begun as early as the end of this year.
Looking at the site where only excavators were working, Deng showed excitement that Xu Yong had never seen before and introduced them to them enthusiastically.
Although Xu Yong can completely understand that emotion.
At such a moment, he brought his teammates to a place like this to eat dust. He didn't feel that Deng was crazy, but he understood why Deng wanted to form the South Sudan men's basketball team after retiring.
Having lived in three different countries in just over twenty years, Deng was too eager to have a sense of belonging to his country.
But at this moment, Xu Yong suddenly thought of a very serious question.
If he remembered correctly, the theme of the London Olympics is environmental protection. Europeans who engage in environmental protection are anti-human. This basketball stadium does not seem to be equipped with toilets?
…
That night, the Bulls and Jazz game was held at the North Greenwich Arena in London.
Just after entering this arena, some of Xu Yong's long-lasting memories were awakened.
There are two venues for the London Olympics basketball competition. One is the London Olympic Basketball Stadium, which is used for group stage competitions and does not have toilets.
But as soon as they reach the knockout round, the game will be transferred to the North Greenwich Stadium.
This is a large pavilion that can accommodate more than 18,000 people, and has a complete set of restaurants and shops. It is a multi-functional pavilion.
Of course, there are hundreds of bathrooms.
So I still don’t understand the British brain circuit. Don’t people who have not made it to the knockout round deserve to go to the toilet?
The strange reason for reaching the knockout round of the Olympic Games suddenly became another one.
By the time there was half an hour left before the game started, the stadium was already packed.
This is the first time an NBA-level game is being played here, and the fans' enthusiasm is still very high.
Xu Yong also saw many people holding Deng’s big head KT board.
Everyone talks about Brexit, but British basketball is actually not on the same level as European basketball.
If you see England in the quarter-finals of the European Championship, you must have rewarded yourself too much and you are dazzled.
Therefore, Deng's symbolic significance to British basketball is very close to that of Yao Ming's to Chinese basketball.
Thinking back to Deng's experience of taking them to see the basketball stadium, Xu Yong already made a decision in his heart.
There was no opening ceremony in the preseason. After the warm-up, the starting lineups of the two teams were announced one after another.
Bulls: Hinrich, Xu Yong, Deng, Songela, Noah;
Jazz: Deron, CJ Miles, Ronnie Brewer, Boozer, Okur.
On the Bulls side, Rose will not play today, and on the Jazz side, Kirilenko also has a no-match card.
Amid the cheers of the fans, Okur moved the ball back to half court, and the NBA UK game officially started.
The Jazz came up to attack Boozer, and the person guarding him was Noah.
Boozer turned around and scored a jumper after a back-up shot.
In his prime, Boozer's low-post offensive ability was quite ferocious.
It's just that Xu Yong's eyes were a bit special when he saw this scene, because according to history, Boozer should switch to the Bulls next year.
So this is a way for future teammates to show off their muscles?
Looking back, Hinrich held the ball on the outside, and Xu Yong passed around Sangela's screen along the baseline to catch the ball.
DeNagro is not a famous coach, and even his coaching level is on the lower side. He has only coached the Bulls and Clippers in his career. As a result, both teams took off after he was fired. This somewhat explains the problem.
But one good thing about him is that he is willing to reuse young players.
Last year, Rose ranked second in the number of shots per game, one less than the original team leader Ben Gordon.
Then you saw that without Rose, the rookie Xu Yong came up to be the main offensive point.
After receiving the ball, Xu Yong quickly chose to break through the basket when he saw no chance of taking a shot. However, the Jazz's reaction was much faster than those of the teams in the summer league. He encountered help defense halfway through the breakthrough.
After seeing that the person helping to defend was Brewer, he threw the ball directly to the weak side at a 45-degree angle without thinking.
There was an open space when Deng received the ball, and the cheers from the scene started in advance.
"Uh-huh!"
Deng lived up to expectations and got off to a good start on his "home court".
The cheers were loud. They loved this way of opening the show.
Deng retreated but pointed at Xu Yong.
In fact, judging from the offense and defense between him and Xu Yong in the training camp, Xu Yong's ability can completely attack the ball just now.
Because although Brewer helped defend, he arrived in a hurry, and Xu Yong could pass him and attack the frame with another change of direction or jump step.
But he finally chose to pass the ball to himself. It's hard to say that there was no element of success in it.
Boozer hit Noah again in the low post, but Arnold used all his strength to defend him this time.
Noah was only in the third grade at this time, and he still looked thin.
The rebound was also picked off by Noah, and he dribbled the ball directly towards the ball. This is his playing style.
In the three-on-two frontcourt, Noah passed the ball to Deng. Deng met the defense and then passed it to Xu Yong. Xu Yong made a layup in the air and attracted the defense before stuffing the ball back to Deng.
Deng easily put the basket up and scored two points.
If the ball just now wasn't obvious, then this ball is the mole on the butt, clearly.
Xu Yong was deliberately playing ball for Deng.
Looking back, Boozer started to play a pick-and-roll with Deron. After receiving Deron's back pass from the free throw line, he made a precise mid-range parabola.
Boozer scored the Jazz's first 4 points.
Without any ability, how could he give Yao Ming a headache.
But looking back, Deng's three-point shot from the top of the arc also went in!
To be honest, Deng is not a player who is very good at shooting, but it is obvious that just like Yao Ming was able to score three-pointers last year, with the home buff added, the basket is like the ocean!
"Snapped!"
And in the next round, Xu Yong directly completed Deron's pass to Miles.
I don’t know whether it was because he underestimated the enemy or was tired of traveling, or because after arriving in the UK, he experienced the red light district like the Banana Boat brothers did in Australia. Deron’s opening state was very average.
Xu Yong quickly advanced to the frontcourt after stealing the ball. After seeing Deng follow up, he threw the ball directly over the basket.
Deng followed up and jumped up, holding the ball with one hand...
"Bang!"
Direct alley-oop dunk!
The entire North Greenwich Stadium was on fire at this moment.
Not just because of this dunk, but after Deng completed this dunk, he scored 9 points in a row at the beginning!
Is there a more perfect home show than this?
Jazz head coach Sloan reached out and called a timeout.
This time, Deng even took the initiative to find Xu Yong and give him a high-five after landing.
Xu Yong just smiled slightly and had already won the trust of the big guys in the team.
