After the first quarter, the score on the field was 26 to 20, and the Bulls led by 6 points to end the first quarter.
After Kobe was restricted by Xu Yong, the Lakers were at a disadvantage in the starting period. However, after entering the rotation, Odom was in great shape for the Lakers, and his consecutive scores helped the Lakers bite the point difference.
In history, Odom won the only Sixth Man of the Year honor this year in his career.
As for the Bulls, Thibodeau only used eight players in the first quarter, and only Hinrich, Korver and Artest got playing time on the bench.
Moreover, at the beginning of the second quarter, Xu Yong, who had only rested for a minute, was replaced again.
After checking his eyes, this Thibodeau is genuine.
But the good news is that O'Neal came on as the ninth man at this time.
O'Neal's appearance also caused a burst of whistles and cheers from the audience.
In fact, there is a hidden incident in O'Neal's appearance today, that is, this is his first appearance as a substitute for the away team.
Los Angeles fans will naturally not miss such an opportunity.
But O'Neal still looked the same as he did against the Heat before, smiling and polite.
At this time, the lineups of both sides are: Bulls: Hinrich, Korver, Xu Yong, Artest, O'Neal.
Thibodeau obviously has not given up on the one-on-one and four-on-one style. If he wants to make it a secret weapon, he has to figure out the best time for it to appear.
Lakers field lineup: Steve Blake, Shannon Brown, Matt Barnes, Odom, Gasol.
The Bulls' offense started first, and O'Neal directly landed in the low post with Gasol behind him to ask for the ball.
O'Neal was obviously the same as when he was playing against the Heat, with a smile on his face and a lot of energy in his heart.
At this time, the ball is in Xu Yong's hands. Of course, he will not fail to see O'Neal's body language.
Moreover, the lineup on the court is the same as the inside-out tactics used by the Chinese team in the World Championships.
After Xu Yong signaled the weak side to pull away, he then directly lobbed the ball to O'Neal.
Feeding O'Neal the ball is not much different from feeding Yao Ming.
O'Neal directly attacked Gasol after receiving the ball.
Although Gasol's center of gravity is very low, his weight disadvantage makes it difficult for him to carry O'Neal.
Moreover, the Bulls have a lineup with one large and four small players. Among the four small players, three outsiders are very accurate, and the remaining Artest is also above the standard, so the Lakers do not dare to shrink at will at this time.
The result is that although my sister-in-law works hard, she can’t withstand the impact of this meat bomb!
After O'Neal knocked Gasol away, he made a short hook and firmly sent the ball into the basket.
Looking back, at Thibodeau's signal, the Bulls deployed a 3-2 zone defense.
Obviously, Thibodeau is protecting O'Neal from getting out of the basket.
The Lakers broke the zone defense, Gasol connected in series at the free throw line, and finally threw the ball to Blake outside the three-point line in the right corner.
There was no problem in breaking this zone defense, but the defensive rotation of the Bulls' lineup with four small and big players was faster than expected. The moment Blake took action, he was interfered by Hinrich's flying block.
"Dang!"
Although Hinrich did not block the ball, Blake's shot was obviously deflected and the basketball hit the frame.
Under the basket, O'Neal accurately judged the landing point of the basketball, grabbed it with his long arm and flicked it to Xu Yong from the outside.
The Bulls launched a defensive counterattack, and Xu Yong directly knocked away Brown during the fast break and sent the ball into the basket.
30 to 20.
The Bulls hit a climax as soon as the second quarter started, and the point difference on the field reached double digits for the first time.
Thibodeau unconsciously reached out and clenched his fist on the sidelines.
In fact, as early as in previous games, the Bulls proved that the tactic of one large and four small is very suitable for them. The only problem is that the defense at the fourth position is weak.
Now it seems that Xu Yong's proposal has grasped the key to the problem. As long as it is not used first and the right time is found, it is still very powerful.
Moreover, the Bulls have two big men, Yao Ming and O'Neal, which also makes Thibodeau's usage options more diverse.
The camera was shown to Phil Jackson, and "Zen Master" still did nothing as before, choosing to leave the game to the players.
At the critical moment, it was Gasol. He faked a sudden pass from the free throw line, forced his way to the basket and caused a head-on collision with O'Neal, causing damage.
Gasol played this ball as tough as last season's finals, but O'Neal is not Garnett, and Gasol paid the price by being knocked upside down.
The Los Angeles fans at the scene immediately booed O'Neal.
I only see the smiles of the new ones, but don’t hear the cries of the old ones.
But O'Neal didn't care, because it was obvious that the Bulls had the upper hand now.
After Gasol adjusted, he hit both free throws, helping the Lakers narrow the point difference to single digits again.
The Bulls advanced to the frontcourt and continued to play position, and the ball was fed to O'Neal under the basket again.
O'Neal continued to play singles with the ball, and the Lakers chose to double attack this time.
O'Neal quickly separated the ball, and the Lakers chose to rotate defense. When the ball was passed to Xu Yong, Xu Yong faked a shot and then broke through to the basket.
Seeing this, Gasol was forced to make up for it, but at this moment, Xu Yong threw the ball directly to the right side of the basket.
Over there, O'Neal was still near the baseline after passing the ball. Now he was led into the air by the ball and grabbed the ball in the air with his right hand.
"Bang!"
With Barnes rushing over to try to stop him, he completed the alley catch with a powerful one-handed smash.
The fans at the scene were stunned for a moment. Is this the 38-year-old O'Neal? !
O'Neal also looked very excited after completing the alley-oop. He turned around immediately, opened his legs and waved his hands, and performed his domineering step celebration.gif.
At this moment, he showed his strength and stopped pretending. He came here to win!
Staples Center is buzzing with excitement.
Not only because of O'Neal's unexpected dunk, but also because of the current situation on the court.
I originally thought that the Lakers could recover the score in one go during the bench period, but now the result is: the Lakers haven't played in the starting lineup and can't beat the bench!
Thibodeau's rotation setup of the main force has allowed the Bulls to maintain a high lineup intensity on the court.
And neither Gasol nor Kobe could find a good angle to play under the Bulls' defense.
And neither Gasol nor Kobe could find a good angle to play under the Bulls' defense.
This basically became the decisive factor in the outcome of this game.
After a fierce battle in the final four quarters, the Bulls defeated the Lakers 116-101, ending their opponent's five-game winning streak and ending their own two-game losing streak, drawing a successful conclusion to this road trip to the Western Conference. .
Statistics after the game showed that for the Bulls, Xu Yong had 27 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, Rose had 24 points, 4 rebounds and 11 assists, Yao Ming had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists, O'Neal had 14 points and 5 rebounds, and Artest had 13 points and 3 rebounds.
For the Lakers, Pau Gasol contributed a team-high 23 points and 9 rebounds. Kobe Bryant performed abnormally under Xu Yong's close attention. He made only 7 of 26 shots and only scored 21 points on free throws.
It is worth mentioning that this is the first time Xu Yong has surpassed Kobe in terms of statistics since he joined the league.
After the handshake ceremony, O'Neal was caught by media reporters on the sidelines for an interview.
After winning the game and performing well, O'Neal was in a good mood when facing reporters.
Even when reporters asked about the substitute issue that fans are most concerned about, O'Neal seemed not to care at all.
"I won't come off the bench for anyone but Yao."
O'Neal's sympathy for Yao Ming, in the history that Xu Yong has experienced, he did not shy away from saying that he was blocked by Yao Ming three times in a row, and he took the initiative to put on Yao Ming's coat at the Hall of Fame.
Now that we are in the same team, this is not called bragging, this is called seeking truth from facts.
You know, if you ask him to serve as a substitute for Howard, he would rather retire where he is.
Winning this game is important for the Bulls.
That was not just a victory, it was as simple as allowing them to respond to outside doubts. What was more important than that was that Thibodeau opened the "one big and four small" in the correct way.
Even incidentally, Thibodeau also figured out the most suitable rotation method for the Bulls now: starting Rose and Xu Yong in the backcourt, Artest and O'Neal partnering in the front line, plus Yao Ming in the interior, and Hinrich as a substitute. Lock in the rotation position with O'Neal, and Allen/Korver choose who to play in the backcourt depending on the opponent's situation. This is the basic 8-man rotation.
Although it took some time, the season has only started for more than half a month, which is not too late for the Bulls.
And there is good news for the Bulls, that is, after the difficult schedule at the beginning of the season, they will have a relatively sweet journey.
Their next opponents are: Cavaliers, Raptors, Hawks, Pistons, Nets, Clippers, and Trail Blazers.
Among these seven opponents, only the Hawks and Trail Blazers can theoretically pose a threat to them.
Here we should mention some basic rules of the league schedule.
The league is divided into the East and West regions, which are also known as the East and West. Under the divisions, there are divisions, such as the Central Division and the Southwest Division, a total of 6 divisions.
Based on these foundations, the rules are: different divisions play against each other twice in a season (once at home and away), different divisions in the same division play against each other three times in a season, and the same division and the same division play against each other four times in a season (twice at home and away).
Therefore, a simple comparison of wins cannot fully reflect the strength of the team, because there is a strength gap between the East and the West, and there is also a strength gap between teams in different divisions.
Yes, Eastern Welfare does exist.
In the upcoming schedule, you can completely understand that the Bulls will start to enjoy this kind of benefits after fighting a difficult battle.
…
Time flies, and the time comes to the beginning of December, the Bulls have ended their entire November game.
Their final record was 11 wins and 2 losses!
That's right, the Bulls didn't let this wave of benefits go away. Counting the victory over the Lakers, they won an eight-game winning streak!
Although if you take a closer look, this is a serious welfare, but just like James never said how much welfare the Heat's 27-game winning streak had in history, Bulls fans naturally will not mention it.
You only need to know that the Bulls have the longest winning streak in the league, and that after the first month, they are at the top of the Eastern Conference and even the top of the league!
As a result of this record, Thibodeau was undoubtedly elected as the best coach of the month, and Rose was also successfully elected as the best player of the month for the first time in his career with his performance of averaging 26.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game.
Yes, Rose's numbers are far from flashy, but that's because the Bulls can play more than just him.
In the November game, Xu Yong averaged 23.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. His field goal percentage and three-point shooting percentage were 51% and 40.3% respectively, which was amazingly efficient.
Yao Ming also averaged 17.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.8 blocks per game in November, and his shooting percentage was a career-high 56.2%.
The Bulls don't have a Big Three lineup, but the third-year Rose and the second-year Xu Yong, together with Yao Ming, have the effect of the Big Three.
Even O'Neal was able to deliver excellent data of 9.6 points and 5.2 rebounds with a 67% shooting rate.
It's clear that the Bulls have found their way to win.
The Heat are not ranked second in the Eastern Conference. Their record in November is amazing... 7 wins and 7 losses, ranking seventh in the Eastern Conference!
They did achieve a four-game winning streak when October and November intersected, but in the seven games they lost in November, their opponents were: Celtics, Hornets, Jazz, Knicks, Hawks, Pacers and Mavericks.
The result of such a polar reversal finally allowed fans on social media to launch a desperate counterattack against James' previous remarks.
"The Heat are seventh in the Eastern Conference? Am I out of my mind or is the league counting their wins as losses against the Heat?" A comment from "KBfnas".
"Some people eat welfare and become welfare itself." A comment from "KBforever".
"To quote a certain fan, you have to believe that at the end of the season, the Heat will still be number one in the league."
"It must be that the Heat's opponents are too strong. The Space Bee and Five-Star Lord. The alliance is not just bullying the Heat's three giants and they haven't gotten used to it yet!"
"You are really just being black for the sake of being black. Aren't the Celtics and Mavericks strong teams?"
"So you also know that the Mavericks are a strong team! So the question is, are the Bulls considered a strong team?"
"Wade and Bosh are still too bad, dragging down LeBron. LeBron should have been so cruel and directly joined the Bulls. How could there be so many things happening now!"
…
When fans were quarreling on social media, Xu Yong found Grover at this time.
"I want to start working on my turnaround technique."
Generally speaking, those who are in charge of the authorities are clear-eyed, but this sentence is exactly the opposite for Xu Yong.
He is very clear about the reasons for the Bulls' record, so his attention is not on the team's record at this time. On the contrary, he has been focusing on improving his own strength.
So just like Kobe, who won the championship, would go to Olajuwon to train his steps. Xu Yong took action immediately after he found that he had learned the puppy steps and had time to train other skills.
Originally, he was planning to wait until the offseason to find Kobe for this skill, but thinking about the look in Kobe's eyes when he hit the Lakers before, he felt that even Kobe would probably have reservations about him for the time being.
But fortunately, he now has Grover, a trainer goat who has also been the personal trainer of Jordan and Kobe Bryant, and he must know this technology well.
(End of chapter)
