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In terms of counterattacks, the Bulls post-trade are not worse than the Heat; in fact, they are even better. After all, the five Bulls players currently on the court are all highly mobile and have the same speed as external players.
They are accurate shooters from the outside: Wang Chong, Curry, and Danny Green. Jimmy Butler's long-range shooting is a bit worse, but his athletic ability is among the best in the forward position, and his finishing ability while cutting through the paint is powerful. His off-ball movement is very strong.
The only one who is weaker is Draymond Green. He lacks long-range shooting ability and isn't strong enough to finish inside, but no matter how limited his skills are, he's still an NBA-level player.
Additionally, in fast breaks, Wang Chong had no intention of passing the ball to Draymond Green.
At that moment, the only player who had time to stand in front of Wang Chong was James. He could fully rely on his individual ability to attack and score.
Wang Chong did exactly this, holding the ball and galloping toward the three-point line. Wang Chong's movements briefly paused for a moment.
Immediately, James couldn't resist stepping forward, raising his hands to defend.
After all, he had suffered too much from Wang Chong's moves in the past. He directly stopped a jump shot from beyond the three-point line during a fast break. This difficult shot had become common. This time, Wang Chong successfully scored at a critical moment with that move, dealing a fatal blow to the Heat.
Therefore, in James's judgment, even if Wang Chong pretends to worship Buddha, he must step forward to defend the concept that three points are greater than two, which has deeply rooted in his mind.
But Wang Chong's movement was truly a feint, just to allow James to take the initiative to meet him.
Seeing the opponent move, Wang Chong immediately dropped the ball to the floor, lowered his center of gravity, and exploded with power, instantly blowing past James on the side.
After passing James, the basket ahead of him was wide open. Wang Chong jumped and performed a violent dunk.
"Boom--!"
The atmosphere in the Bulls' home court was completely ignited by this dunk. The Heat had suppressed the Bulls throughout the first quarter, and the local fans had been deeply disappointed to see it. Now, the Bulls finally began to counterattack with such enthusiasm.
The Bulls' five-death lineup caught the Heat off guard. While the Heat could still score under the Bulls' defense, their offensive efficiency was significantly lower. Once again, there was a gap between two-point and three-point shots. The fast break was mixed with a large number of long-range three-point shots, which were difficult for the Heat to touch. Although James's three-pointers had been surprisingly accurate this season, reaching 40.6% during the regular season, which was a personal record, he, Sean Battier, and Mario were the only ones on the Heat team who could shoot threes effectively. Meanwhile, Chalmers' three-point shooting was good, but very different from the Bulls' Wang Chong and Curry.
The scoring advantage the Heat had worked so hard to build in the first quarter was completely erased in a very short time during the second quarter. During this period, the Heat called two timeouts in an attempt to regain their momentum but failed. However, the whole quarter still allowed them to find some gaps.
After all, the Bulls' small-ball five-death lineup was still not perfect. Both Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green still lacked personal skills. When the Heat noticed Green's offensive shortcomings, they started to intentionally tighten up on him, increasing the defensive focus on him. Defending the two main offensive players, Wang Chong and Curry, this move was extremely effective, and Green missed two wide-open three-pointers from the outside, never daring to take more shots later. Thanks to this, the Heat managed to stabilize the situation by the end of the second quarter, and both teams entered the break with the score tied.
"Indeed, it's still almost interesting."
Wang Chong shook his head helplessly. Of course, this had something to do with the Heat also using a small-ball lineup, which wasn't as mobile as the Bulls. However, it was undeniable that Draymond Green's lack of scoring ability was the only flaw in this lineup. If he could be replaced with a power forward with spot-up shooting ability and good mobility, the Bulls would be directly unbeatable.
The best candidate is undoubtedly Kevin Durant of the Celtics, and considering Durant's character, joining the Bulls isn't really impossible. After all, he just lost to them in the Western Conference Finals last year. The Warriors of that team can do it, why can't they?
But that would be too boring.
While Wang Chong likes winning, he doesn't like victories without suspense or competitiveness.
Everyone loves to torture opponents, but if the opponent doesn't have the ability to defend or even resist, then it's no different from a machine torturing people, and it really loses its meaning.
On second thought, the Bulls' five-death lineup is only a trial version. Originally, the Bulls' main tactical system wasn't like this. They also have an All-Star level center, Gasol.
The main reason Draymond Green was in the starting lineup in this game was that Gasol received special attention and was in serious foul trouble; otherwise, there would be no need for this.
In fact, Gasol can't keep up with the Heat's fast break speed, but the Heat can't resist Gasol's interior attack.
After surviving the first half, Gasol returned to play in the third quarter. At that point, the Heat had just adapted to the Bulls' five smalls lineup. As soon as Gasol stepped onto the court, he immediately disrupted the Heat's pace of play.
Gasol was furious after receiving a foul and was very displeased. As soon as he approached, he looked inside at the Heat and attacked fiercely, forcing Bosh to roll and scramble in the paint. He even scored 2 points with a dunk. +1.
As a result, the Bulls completely took control of the game in the third quarter and easily opened the point gap to more than ten points.
There was still the final quarter to go, and the Heat lacked the Bulls' ability to turn the game around. Even if they did, when they started to launch a fast break, Wang Chong would immediately rise and use his scoring to crush the opponent's hopes of catching up.
114:109.
The Bulls led by winning the first game at home and took a 1:0 advantage.
The referees worked very hard in this game. Gasol picked up two fouls in the first quarter and three fouls in the middle of the final quarter, committing six fouls and being ejected.
But in his limited 26 minutes of play, Gasol still outperformed Bosh, scoring 19 points and grabbing 7 rebounds, even better than Bosh, who played 36 minutes and only scored 14 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.
Of course, what really determined the result of this game was the duel between the Wang-Ku combination and the Janeway combination.
James scored 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists in this game, almost achieving a triple-double, but his performance was a bit more ordinary than before. This was because during the game, Jimmy Butler's defense was unexpectedly difficult, and indeed caused problems. However, with the help of the referee, James also had many opportunities for free throws against Butler. However, his free throw touch was average today, hitting only 7 of 12 free throws, meaning his score could have easily exceeded 30.
Wade's performance in this game was average. Danny Green may have been completely outplayed by Butler in terms of defensive ability, but the problem was that Danny Green had a helper, and that was Wang Chong, who was very familiar with Wade's playing style. He often used his mobility to help defend during games, and the primary target was Wade.
In this case, Wade made 6 of 14 shots, 5 of 6 free throws, and scored 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. His performance could only be considered mediocre.
In contrast to the James and Wade combination, there was the Wang-Ku combination on the Bulls' side.
Needless to say, Wang Chong, in the playoffs, when the team needed him to step up and score, never showed mercy, and this game was no different. Wang Chong, who made 10 of 15 shots and 9 of 10 free throws, scored 33 points, the highest of both teams. At the same time, he also grabbed 12 rebounds and made 7 assists. When the five smalls lineup appeared, Wang Chong held the ball for significantly longer than in the regular lineup period. With the ultra-fast transition pace, the possibility of making direct assists also increased considerably.
Curry shot a lot from beyond the three-point line in this game. He hit 5 of 8 triples and scored 27 points and 5 assists.
As a result, the Wang-Ku combination scored 60 points, while the James and Wade combination from the Heat only scored 48 points, and the gap was clearly visible.
Although it was only the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals series, Heat fans were already a bit desperate after watching the game.
Anyone with a sharp eye could see how biased the referees were in this game, but the Heat could not win this way. One couldn't expect the referees to help the Heat win every game, right?
But how can they make up for the obvious gap in strength? As the Big Three, Wang Chong + Curry + Gasol of the Bulls are stronger than James + Wade + Bosh of the Heat.
"If they lose to the Bulls again this year, the Heat will probably make major moves this summer. By then, except for James, all the Heat players could be on the shelf, including Dwyane Wade, the former core of the Heat."
"In fact, there are many important free agents in the market this summer, including Dwight Howard and Chris Paul from the Lakers and Stephen Curry from the Bulls. I wonder if the Heat will have the chance to compete for these renowned players."
On May 24, in the second game of the Eastern Conference Finals, still at the Bulls' home court, the Heat lost another game 93:107. The point difference was even greater, and they could only return to Miami with a 0:2 record to prepare for G3.
The Heat, now back on their home court, finally secured a win.
On May 26, in G3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat, playing at home, erupted with strong efficiency in battle. Five members of the team scored in double digits and finally defeated the Bulls 112:106, ending their losing streak against the Bulls.
However, this game was extremely controversial because the number of free throws between the two teams was 9:33. The Heat took 24 more free throws than the Bulls. Many in the Bulls were deeply concerned about the fouls, including Wang Chong.
Sitting at home and playing 7 against 5, the Heat finally won once.
However, this game caused a huge stir. Wang Chong and the Bulls have a large fan base. This kind of blatant officiating was really too much.
Feeling the pressure, the league could only hold back in the next game of G4. However, once again, the situation of the game made the Bulls use their internal advantage to intimidate the Heat, who had no strong interior line.
At 99:92, the Heat lost a crucial game at home, falling 1:3, and the Bulls dealt them a three-point knockout.
In NBA history, there have been cases of comebacks after being down 1:3, but they are extremely rare. And for the Bulls, who always play with the same regularity as a veteran dog thanks to Wang Chong's support, it really is difficult when there is a clear gap in strength.
On May 30, 2013, in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the miracle did not happen.
In the Bulls' home court, the Heat's offense had serious problems. Although James made 13 of 26 shots and scored 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, the other two of the Big Three had collective issues. Wade only made 3 of 8 shots. He only scored 10 points and had 6 assists. Bosh scored 7 points and grabbed 5 rebounds on 3 of 7 shooting. The Heat could only rely on Mario Chalmers with 16 points and Haslem with 14 points. How could they overcome the 3:1 deficit against the Chicago Bulls with such momentum?
88:106, the Bulls successfully defeated the Heat with a big 4:1 score. They beat the Heat's Big Three in the playoffs for the third consecutive year and advanced successfully to the finals.
When the buzzer sounded at the end of the game, James was in a daze.
He really didn't understand how he couldn't even win against players like Wade and Bosh teaming up together. How the hell could he defeat Wang Chong?
Looking at his apathetic teammates around him, looking at Wade and Bosh, who only had 10 points and 7 points, though he didn't say much, at this moment, James had silently made a decision in his heart!
"Congratulations, it looks like Chicago will win the championship again this year."
After the game, Wade stepped forward with an ironic smile and hugged Wang Chong to congratulate him.
In this series, Wade had lost with all his heart. In fact, there was a clear gap in strength between the two sides, and Wade was deeply aware that it was really beyond his capabilities.
In 5 games, Wade averaged only 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, and his field goal percentage was 43%.
At that moment, Wade realized that his second championship might never come.
Two players who came from the same university could have such disparity in their careers.
Wang Chong had easily won five championships and was about to receive his sixth championship trophy, while Wade only had one championship.
There was no other way, because Wade wasn't strong enough, he could only feel relieved and then sincerely congratulate Wang Chong.
Wang Chong smiled. "Not yet. Winning the championship this year isn't easy, and dealing with the Spurs in the West is no walk in the park."
In fact, in Wang Chong's view, the San Antonio Spurs are much more threatening than the Heat. Although the Heat defeated the Spurs 4:3 in the 2012-2013 season, games like that still depend on the execution effect of the matchups.
Compared to the Heat, who have obvious weaknesses in the paint and can easily be dealt with by the Bulls, the Spurs, who are well-balanced in all aspects, are indeed harder to handle. At least in the paint, Gasol will have no advantage against Duncan and may even suffer some losses.
Fortunately, Wang Chong took the first step in stealing the important 3D player from the Spurs, Danny Green, which can be considered to weaken the Spurs' exterior strength. You should know that the Spurs' three-pointers in the 2012-2013 season ranked among the top ten in the league.
It can be predicted that the final battle with the Spurs will definitely be more intense than the Eastern Conference Finals with the Heat.
End of this chapter
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