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Although the Heat have faced the Bulls countless times, they still haven't been able to solve the two issues mentioned earlier, and they remain the same so far. But this time in the playoffs, the Heat and James finally had a different idea.
Since you can't deal with the Bulls' offense no matter what, it's better to simply ignore it and focus on having an offensive battle with the Bulls! As soon as the game began, the Heat's offense immediately kicked in, focusing on James as the offensive arrow, relentlessly attacking the Bulls' defense.
The effect of this move was astonishing.
This year's Heat team is a typical small-ball tactic. They press the entire court to force the opponent into making mistakes, then capitalize on those mistakes for fast breaks.
Although the current Bulls lineup isn't slow, Gasol's pace in the center position is obviously slower compared to Bosh.
The Heat took advantage of this point and played the offensive tempo extremely fast. For a time, Gasol could only run back and forth across the court. He was so exhausted that he couldn't use his weight and strength advantages to intimidate Gasol as he had before. It varied.
To make matters worse, under the fast transition between offense and defense, the Heat also received a mysterious assist from the bench. Less than 5 minutes after the game started, Gasol committed two fouls, and Wang Chong, who was responsible for helping with the defense, also got a foul.
Wang Chong, who knew James well, understood exactly why this was happening, so he didn't even bother to argue with the referee.
After all, even if it were 7 against 5, James might still win and be sweeping through.
After Gasol received two fouls, he wasn't immediately pulled from the game for protection. This was Coach Thibodeau's judgment on the sideline.
The Heat's offense at this point was extremely fierce. It was hard for Wang Chong alone to resist the opponent's indiscriminate bombing. After all, Gasol, as a defensive expert selected for the Defensive Team, still exerted a lot of pressure on James and Wade, even if he wasn't blocking shots directly.
Thibodeau had a good idea, but it backfired.
Defensive pressure? James just wanted Gasol to stay on the court.
Standing at the top of the arc, facing Butler's defense, James didn't use any fancy dribbling moves. He simply drove straight for a layup, knocked over Butler, and went directly toward Gasol.
Gasol, who had already been called for two defensive fouls, looked at James coming and didn't dare to make any moves. He could only watch as James jumped from the ground and dunked with his signature slam.
By the end of the first quarter, the Heat's lead had stretched to more than ten points.
The fans in the Bulls' home arena were a bit overwhelmed at this point. They had prepared for a big victory, but they didn't expect the Heat, who had been easily handled by the Bulls during the regular season, to turn the tables.
The situation was now extremely unfavorable for the Bulls.
Wang Chong sat on the bench, wiping off his sweat, but couldn't help sighing inwardly.
Indeed, the Heat in the 2012-13 season are truly strong. While their weaknesses are obvious, in terms of overall team strength, excluding their chaotic Bulls team, they should only be surpassed by the Lakers during their three consecutive championships. The future combination with Durant joining the Warriors for their two consecutive championships would also be formidable.
Even the Spurs the following year would be slightly inferior to the Heat. The reason why the Spurs could easily defeat the Heat in the 2013-14 season had much to do with the Heat's decline in strength.
In fact, we can't really blame James. The Heat's strength had declined, and the main problem lay with Wade. His condition had deteriorated rapidly. In the 2012-13 Finals, he averaged 19.6 points per game, second only to James on both teams.
But in the 2013-14 Finals, Wade averaged only 15.2 points per game, fewer than Parker, Leonard, and Duncan of the Spurs.
But can we blame Wade? It's not that he didn't want to perform well, but he had already been marked after making significant contributions to the Heat. The accumulation of injuries and aging had significantly reduced his explosive power and speed, which he relied on to survive. Additionally, with James' arrival, Wade had to change his style of play and give the ball to James.
Even if Wade didn't perform well, at least the Heat and James, who took possession of his ball, couldn't complain.
Moreover, even if Wade played poorly, he was still the second-highest scorer on the Heat. If he could be considered a terrible player, then what about Bosh, who averaged 14+5 per game during the Finals? What about the other players who didn't even score double figures?
There's another issue: during the regular season, Bosh averaged 12.8 points and 6 rebounds per game, while in the playoffs, he averaged 14 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. In the Finals, he averaged 17.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, with an astonishing 57.9% three-point shooting rate. Who defended Leonard?
Later, it was said that Leonard's FMVP in the 2013-14 season was a confusion and that his performance at the time didn't deserve to win the FMVP.
If we only look at the stats, Leonard's 17.8 points and 6.4 rebounds are the lowest ever for a Finals MVP since the NBA introduced the FMVP award, and it seems a little unsatisfactory. At least a year earlier, Iguodala won the FMVP with 16 points, which was considered the best-performing FMVP.
But the problem is, this type of thing requires comparison.
When the Spurs won the championship in the 2013-14 season, the team's leading scorer during the Finals was Tony Parker with 18 points and 4.6 assists. His scoring was only 0.2 points higher than Leonard's, but in terms of field goal percentage, only Parker's shooting percentage reached 47.9%. Leonard's three-point shooting percentage of 57.9%, combined with his contribution to containing James on the court, deserved the FMVP.
This is really different from Iguodala. Although the latter also played very well during the Finals and can be considered a masterpiece of his career, the problem is that Curry, the team's leading scorer, averaged 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists during the Finals. Is this kind of performance really considered bad?
He scored almost 10 points more than Iguodala, and his total assists and rebounds were slightly higher.
The reason given by the journalists who voted was that Iguodala's performance "saved" the Warriors. This reason is even more ridiculous. Does that mean Curry's performance didn't matter? Without his 26 points per game, could the Warriors have won with just Iguodala?
The topic has gone a bit far, so let's get back to the point.
Faced with the Heat's attack, Thibodeau was momentarily lost and didn't know how to respond.
But Wang Chong remained calm, because when the Heat played like this, he had already thought about how to play, but stayed quiet in the first quarter to see how things unfolded.
Now, they likely understood the situation well enough, and it was time to act.
"Coach… we need to adjust the lineup next," said Wang Chong.
——After a brief break, the second quarter of the game began.
But as soon as the players from both sides took the stage, the Heat were somewhat stunned because the Bulls made adjustments to their lineup, replacing Gasol, but with someone no one expected: Draymond Green.
It's said that Green was basically a nonfactor for the Bulls this season and had no real presence. While if you look closely, his playing time wasn't very low, with over 20 minutes per game in the regular season, which isn't bad for a low-profile player.
But he truly had no presence on the court, and there wasn't much they could do about it. The Bulls didn't have the tactical style of the future Warriors, allowing sexy Green to dish from the top of the arc. He basically had no offensive capability to score and positioned himself on the court as a blue-collar player.
But the problem is that Green, standing at only 2.01 meters and weighing just over 100 kilograms, had relatively poor confrontation ability when he first entered the league, and his skills weren't as dirty as they would become in the future. In fact, it was difficult for him to survive in the league.
His mediocre performance during the regular season caused Coach Thibodeau to lose expectations for Green. He just thought Wang Chong was wrong this time. After all, you can't always count on Wang Chong to choose potential from low-tier rookies. Green wasn't a bad player, right?
But Wang Chong insisted on giving Green playing time. Even if he couldn't touch the ball on the court and could only run back and forth, it didn't matter. Green was on the bench most of the time, and it wouldn't affect the overall situation.
Thibodeau no longer had expectations for Green, but Wang Chong knew Green's advantages and had been paying attention.
After being selected by the Bulls in June of the previous year, Green began receiving NBA-level training. The long 82-game regular season and fixed playing time allowed him to absorb experience and grow rapidly.
By the playoffs, after the first two rounds of games, Green was no longer technically a rookie when he entered the league, and his body was visibly strengthening.
In the Bulls' daily training, Wang Chong often asked Green to defend him, just like he did with Butler, to understand Green's current level.
Of course, Green was not yet comparable to the Draymond Green who would later win DPOY as the best defensive player in the future, but his static talent was pretty good, and his defensive tenacity was not inferior to Butler's. He was gradually becoming ruthless. Combining various defensive methods, Green's defensive level was essentially on par with Butler's, placing him in the top tier of defenders in the league.
It was a bit difficult to be selected for the best defensive team at this level, but on the defensive side, Green was definitely not someone who could be easily used for a breakthrough.
Wang Chong let Draymond Green play at this moment, of course, not to expect him to change the game's course, but just because Green could take over the work in the power forward position, allowing him to move to the center. This was the Bulls' version of the five small "death lineup," which was as mobile as the Heat's current team.
In fact, this small five-death lineup had appeared during the regular season, but Green's level at the time couldn't compare with the current one, so the effect could only be considered average, which was why Wang Chong only tried it out.
But now it was different. As long as Green didn't hold back on the court and played close to Jimmy Butler, it would be enough for the Bulls and Wang Chong.
The second quarter begins.
The Heat immediately realized that after Wang Chong switched to the center, the Bulls' mobility had increased to a higher level. Bosh, who originally had the mobility advantage in the paint, became a slower team that couldn't keep up with the pace.
What's even more depressing is that Wang Chong's confrontation in the paint was actually a bit better than Bosh's. Although Bosh wouldn't suffer as much as he did against Gasol, he couldn't exploit any advantage.
Wang Chong also started frequently cooperating with Curry on pick-and-rolls, utilizing their speed to unleash their full offensive power.
Anyone who has seen the Warriors' strongest seasons, especially the 73-win regular season in 2015-16, should have an idea of the terrifying offensive capabilities of the "Death Five."
That Warriors team, mainly consisting of the Splash Brothers Curry and Thompson, swept the entire league with their three-point shooting.
As for the current Bulls, Curry has gradually improved with the success of his surgery, and Wang Chong is a super version of peak Durant. The combination of the two is the best even in NBA history, let alone in the current league. The duo could definitely rival or even surpass the combination of Jordan and Pippen and OK.
The instant increase in offensive power from the Bulls caught the Heat off guard, and the point lead they had worked so hard to establish in the first quarter disappeared in just a few minutes.
Under the pressure, the Heat naturally wanted to take measures against Draymond Green, who seemed to be the most disruptive player in the Bulls' current lineup.
Bosh and Battier used a pick-and-roll to avoid Wang Chong and faced off against Draymond Green.
Looking at Green with a solemn expression, Bosh snorted in his heart.
"If you couldn't beat Wang Chong, how could Gasol beat you?"
Out of contempt for this rookie, Bosh didn't even use any excellent skills and directly chose to shoot a jump shot after facing the basket in the mid-range.
But as soon as he jumped and raised his hand to shoot, his pupils slightly contracted. Green's reaction speed exceeded his expectations. He pounced on him almost as soon as he made the move, and it was so fierce that it seemed as though he was not doing it for basketball, but for himself!
Despite the nearly 10 cm height difference, it was hard for Green to block Bosh's shot, so his defensive judgment was to go directly at Bosh. The purpose was to put psychological pressure on Bosh and distort his shooting movements.
Green's momentum really made Bosh panic. Unconsciously, he sped up his shot and deliberately avoided it after shooting to prevent Green from swatting it.
But as expected, Bosh's shot missed the basket, and the rebound was intercepted by Wang Chong.
As soon as he got the rebound, Wang Chong ran toward the Heat's attack zone. In his conscious space, the fast-break finisher badge had already been activated, giving Wang Chong a speed bonus.
At the same time, all the members of the Bulls sped up to keep up with the pace, and the mobility of the small-ball lineup was fully demonstrated at this moment. Even the Heat, who were familiar with this, had to counterattack to defend in this situation.
End of this chapter
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