The Christmas Day game was in Miami, and the Bulls flew there the day before the game.
"What do you think of what he said?" Yao Ming and Xu Yong were sitting together chatting.
"What do you think?" Xu Yong asked with a smile knowing that he was talking about James.
"The more a person lacks something, the more he will emphasize it." Yao Ming replied seriously.
Xu Yong was immediately happy after hearing this.
In fact, James' words will feel more familiar to him, because during the playoffs last year, James once said to him during the game, "This is the last time you disrespect me." Indeed, as Yao Ming said, he always put respect on the line. On the lips, it shows that he really lacks the respect of others.
Because it's hard for you to imagine Jordan or Kobe saying similar things.
And he now understood Grover's original theory of passive, competitor, and ruler better.
“Passive people rely on others to evaluate their success.”
James should be classified as passive in that category.
Therefore, this classification should not only refer to strength, but also mentality.
That kind of mentality will not necessarily determine a player's career, but it will determine the final evaluation he receives from fans.
When all is said and done, it's basically true.
So if we distinguish as before, the Heat's Big Three, one passive and two competitors, this is indeed a point that can be exploited in the game.
"Xu, I'm going to live in the city center." When they got off the plane in Miami, O'Neal suddenly came to Xu Yong and said.
"Traffic jams are really torturous." O'Neill went on to explain.
Xu Yong laughed after hearing this. Unexpectedly, it was O'Neal who couldn't stand it first.
But that's right, Yao Ming's character is still very tolerant, but at this stage of O'Neal's career, he just wants to be comfortable, so it is really difficult for him to be stuck in traffic every day.
…
Miami is a port city with a long coastline and its palm-sand beaches, making it a world-famous resort.
Especially during holidays like Christmas, Miami beaches are very lively.
Of course, for the Bulls players, because of the Christmas game, they spent this Christmas Eve on the plane, so they did not have time to appreciate the beautiful scenery of Miami for the time being.
On this night, the American Airlines Arena, located on the seaside and surrounded by water on both sides, was bustling with activity, and the fans' festive enthusiasm was completely brimming on their faces.
Although there are many doubts about the Heat from the outside world, Miami fans must be in a beautiful mood recently. The 11-game winning streak marks that the team is officially on the right track after being fully integrated. They have reason to believe that the Big Three can defeat any team. Team.
There were also many celebrities in the front row of the auditorium.
In addition to being a vacation destination, Miami is also a popular city for wealthy people from around the world to move to.
Do you think there is a reason why Beckham wants to invest in the Miami team and why Boss May wants to join the Miami team?
When Xu Yong came out of the tunnel, he saw Swift again in the front row of the audience.
And when she saw him, Swift was still there reaching out to him to say hello.
This gave him the illusion that Swift came to Miami just to watch him play.
Xu Yong just responded with a smile, and then focused on the field.
As the saying goes, you should despise your opponents strategically, but you should pay attention to them tactically.
Although there are reasons for the welfare of the Eastern Conference, the Heat's 11-game winning streak shows that they are no longer the same team as at the beginning of the season.
If you underestimate your opponents because of their experience in the opening game, then tonight they will become the last stepping stone for the Heat to reach the top.
And James's seemingly funny remarks will also become a big source of bragging rights for the James fans.
In competitive sports, the winner always takes all.
So before the game was over, he didn't have the mind to think about much else.
The warm-up on the field ended quickly, and the scene entered the opening ceremony. The starting lineups of both sides were also announced one after another.
Bulls: Rose, Xu Yong, Artest, O'Neal Jr., Yao Ming.
Heat: Arroyo, Wade, James, Bosh, Joel Anthony.
For the Bulls, O'Neal wore a suit tonight and hung up his exemption card.
The game was about to start. James walked to the technical stage and continued to throw magnesium powder at the camera. He also deliberately added an action of beating his chest and roaring, which made his presence felt before the game.
As the courtside whistle sounded, Anthony moved the ball back to the Heat's half, officially kicking off the Christmas Day game.
After the Heat advanced to the frontcourt, James held the ball at the top of the key, but the team's tactics revolved around Wade.
Obviously, as Xu Yong analyzed before, the key to the Heat's victory is to clarify Wade's offensive core position.
Xu Yong was trying to keep up with Wade, but he soon discovered one thing. Although he could bypass the pick-and-roll, it was difficult to keep up with Wade's speed.
Wade was at his peak at this time, and the "Flash" was really as fast as lightning.
When Wade used the screen to move to the right side of the free throw line, James passed the ball immediately. Wade caught the ball and made a quick throw.
At this time, Xu Yong passed through the screen and rushed forward, causing interference.
But Wade still completed the shot before that.
"Uh-huh!"
The basketball falls into the pocket accurately.
After Wade scored, he glanced at Xu Yong. From his eyes, Xu Yong felt the fighting spirit.
Yes, when James has attracted most of the outside world's attention with his words and actions, few people will notice Wade's revenge tonight.
"We will be stronger next time we meet."
This is what Wade said after the opener. As a competitor, he has certainly done it now.
The Bulls were in position, Rose and Yao Ming were playing a pick-and-roll, and the Heat directly chose to flank Rose to interfere with his ball.
This strategy was very successful. Rose's passing ability is not very strong, and Anthony moves faster than Ilgauskas, giving Rose a lot of pressure on the ball.
Just when Rose thought he found a passing angle and hit the ground to pass the ball to Yao Ming, Wade suddenly came out from the side and directly intercepted his pass.
After Wade stole the ball, he flew away from the Bulls' defense and dunked for another 2 points.
The scene instantly burst into cheers from Miami fans.
0 to 4.
The Heat swept away the gloom of the opening game and gave the Bulls a disastrous start.
And from the previous round, we can see the Heat's defensive changes. They took advantage of the rotation of the Big Three to exert defensive pressure on the ball holder.
Judging from the results, Spoelstra's ability to create a suitable tactical system based on the characteristics of the Big Three is quite impressive.
As a result, the pressure on the Bulls' ball holders will become very high.
But next to Thibodeau, Malone saw through the weakness of the Heat's tactics at a glance. After whispering to Thibodeau, Thibodeau immediately made a tactical gesture towards Rose.
After the Bulls advanced to the frontcourt, they immediately showed changes in tactics.
The ball was in Xu Yong's hands, but Xu Yong did not engage in pick-and-roll tactics with Yao Ming. Instead, he waited for Yao Ming to seize the position in the low post and then directly fed the ball in.
Yes, Malone keenly discovered the weak points inside the Heat after starting with Anthony.
Compared to Ilgauskas, Anthony, who is short, dark and tough, is at the level of a cash machine for Yao Ming.
Facts also quickly proved that although Malone is only an assistant coach, his tactical ability is very good.
After Yao Ming received the ball, he directly hit a high-altitude hook shot.
Anthony couldn't stop him from taking action.
Moreover, Yao Ming plays in the low post all year round and his shots are very fast, giving the Heat no chance to attack from a flank.
Spoelstra's expression was a little serious at this time. He didn't expect the Bulls coaching staff to react so quickly.
However, he did not adjust the lineup, because the Heat have been able to turn around the situation in the past month by relying on this style of play. If he gives up and returns to the style of play in the opening game, the Heat still have no chance of winning.
Wade quickly proved the correctness of his choice. After another ball-free movement to catch the ball, he went inside and successfully caused a foul on O'Neal, winning two free throws.
During the 11-game winning streak, Wade averaged close to 30 points per game and was in hot form.
Thibodeau turned his head and glanced at Allen at this time, but there was still no substitution.
Although Allen can keep up with Wade's speed and the defensive effect will be better, the Heat have now adjusted their playing style. If Allen plays, Yao Ming will inevitably be flanked in advance, and the gain will not be worth the loss.
So at this stage, it depends on who, Yao Ming or Wade, breaks through the opponent's defense first.
Wade adjusted his breathing and hit two free throws. He scored all 6 of the Heat's opening points.
The fans cheered loudly.
Wade is the man who helped the Heat win the first championship in team history and is the true king of Miami.
In the Bulls' offense, Xu Yong continued to feed the ball in.
Anthony lowered his focus this time to push Yao Ming out, but Yao Ming took advantage of the situation and turned around to get to the basket. He scored the ball with an easy little throw, which also caused Anthony's pulling foul.
What does it mean to be relaxed and happy?
Yao Ming was able to beat Howard with ease. This bankrupt version of Anthony really shouldn't take it easy.
Xu Yong, who did not forget to pass the ball after Yao Ming scored, pointed at him.
Xu Yong also smiled happily from the outside. He also experienced the joy of getting assists.
And speaking of it, in the history he knew, Hibbert averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds per game with the Heat in the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals.
The Heat's style of play at that time was not much different from that of today. It was Spoelstra's approach that weakened the inside role and increased the rotation speed to flank the ball holder.
If Stern hadn't later discovered that no one could support him but James, and introduced some vertical jump rules, the Heat might not even be able to get out of the Eastern Conference.
But this season, the Heat have no whistle, and what the Bulls have is not "Black Yao Ming", but Yao Ming himself.
Judging from the smile on Yao Ming's face when he got to the free throw line, he probably didn't expect that he would suddenly play so easily in the second game.
Yao Ming also hit the extra penalty steadily, and the score came to 5-6.
During the transition between offense and defense, Xu Yong adjusted his defensive strategy. He no longer followed Wade, but focused on James' passing route to restrict Wade from catching the ball.
Because James' passing is different from point guards like Nash and Rondo. Although he occasionally makes eye-catching passes, they are more tactical passes, so they are easier to intercept.
This strategy worked very well. Wade ran to James twice in a row, but James did not dare to pass the ball twice because there was a great risk of being intercepted and turned into a mistake.
There was not much offensive time left. James held the ball and attacked on his own. Facing Artest's defense, he chose to make a layup.
In terms of confrontation, James is much stronger than Artest after gaining weight, but Artest has rich defensive experience. He knows that James cannot make sudden stops with his back and is unstable, so he works hard not to give James a chance. accelerate.
So although James broke through to the three-second zone, he did not have a good shooting angle.
And if he goes forward, he will most likely be blocked by Yao Ming. In a blink of an eye, he throws the ball to Bosh on the baseline.
After Bosh received the ball, the attack time was only 2 seconds, and there was no time to make any offensive actions. After receiving the ball, he could only make a slight adjustment to O'Neal and force the shot.
O'Neal Jr.'s long arms interfered enough, and Bosh could only raise the arc as much as possible, and the shot was like a super high throw.
"Uh-huh!"
But Bosh just threw the ball in!
James waved his arms excitedly, but Bosh, who scored the goal, was expressionless.
There is really no pleasure in scoring this kind of goal.
But this is also a good thing for the Heat, after all, they don't have to face the Bulls' defensive counterattack.
The Bulls were forced to continue grinding their ground.
But in this situation tonight, the positional battle is actually easier for the Bulls.
This time, the Heat flanked Yao Ming in advance under Spoelstra's signal. However, Yao Ming was flanked every day during his Rockets days and reacted quickly to return the ball to Xu Yong from the outside.
The Heat rotated defensively, James defended Xu Yong, and Xu Yong seized the opportunity to distribute the ball to Artest at the top of the key.
Artest made a decisive three-pointer.
The ball was thrown correctly, but unfortunately the force was a little too strong, and the ball hit the back edge of the basket and popped out.
Just when the Miami fans were thankful that the team was finally able to defend one possession, Yao Ming judged the placement of the basketball and grabbed the offensive rebound.
Because Anthony had already committed a foul, he did not dare to make big defensive moves, so he could only attack Yao Ming for a second time.
And at the same time, James quickly retreated to the basket and was ready to block Yao Ming's shot at the right moment.
Yao Ming was originally planning to finish with a hook, but changed his mind after seeing James. He first gave Anthony a hard confrontation and knocked the opponent away, and then used his strength...
"Bang!"
James hit the ball directly into the basket before he could take off!
After completing the dunk, Yao Ming waved his arms and enthusiastically gave James a tomato.
You have to respect it, right? Come on, this is the most direct respect!
Live footage showed Spoelstra immediately.
The Heat coach looked constipated at this time.
He thought about the threat that Yao Ming might bring to the Heat's inside line, but he didn't expect that it would come so quickly and violently.
The Miami fans at the scene were also restless.
In the opening game, Yao Ming's performance was quite satisfactory. They almost forgot that the 2.26-meter big man in front of them was one of the top two centers in the league and was nicknamed the Little Giant.
If the Heat fight like this, there really won't be enough insiders to fill Yao Ming's teeth!
(End of chapter)
