The Knicks and the Heat have become the sworn enemies of the Bulls, thanks to a certain extent, thanks to the "God Operator". Back then, after Riley tapped the Knicks' potential to the fullest and still couldn't stop the Bulls, he resolutely went south to Miami to start anew, but still lost three times, and finally could only talk about Jordan's retirement jersey in 2003. However, since then, Riley has made two big purchases, buying O'Neal and James, and the Heat helped Riley realize his long-cherished dream of beating the Bulls in the playoffs in 2006 and 2011. The only embarrassment, though, was that in 2007, the defending champion Heat was swept out of the Bulls' Young Janissaries in the first round.

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After Jordan retired, the Christmas game rightfully turned into a backyard party for the Lakers. As the first dynasty team to win three consecutive championships in the new century, O'Neal and Kobe Bryant are also indispensable guests every Christmas Eve, and their opponents, from the Trail Blazers to the 76ers to the Kings, are all carefully selected by the NBA league from the deep hatred between the two sides in the playoffs last season. The only thing special is the Rockets, Yao Ming didn't even meet O'Neal in the playoffs, and swaggered into the auditorium of the Christmas game. It can be seen that Yao Ming's charm is extraordinary, and for the so-called center battle between him and O'Neal, the NBA did not hesitate to issue a wild card to the Rockets.

However, the opinions of the players on the Christmas game are diametrically opposed, and even opponents who already have a deep hatred may not be interested in the NBA's setting up for the Christmas game. O'Neill has long been openly dissatisfied with the fact that he still has to work at Christmas, and in fact he has always tried to escape this obligation under various excuses.

Robert? Horry has a similar sentiment: "I hated the Christmas War, and from the moment my daughter was born, I thought Christmas should be spent with my family. ”

Head coach Adelman also said: "The Christmas game has disrupted the reunion of players and families, and it is not necessary to hold the game on this holiday day. Even the relatively small "thin wrists" are mostly reluctant to report to the stadium on Christmas night.

Head coach Byron? "I'm a family man, and it's better to cancel the game on Christmas Day, like the hockey league," Scott said. ”

However, David? Stern ignored the words, and the instinct of a businessman drove him to make the "Christmas War" cake bigger and better. For now, at least, Stern's "Christmas branding" strategy has paid off, benefiting the league, fans, broadcasters, advertisers, and all the basketball-related surrounding industries, in addition to the stars sacrificing a little bit of family fun with their families.

However, for Sun Xiaotian, being able to participate in the Christmas War is undoubtedly a novelty. He would never have imagined that he would be where he is today. In addition, the opponent is a player that I respect very much, so I am so excited to think about it.

Bulls vs. Heat, this is definitely the highlight of the Christmas war, the grievances of the rivals are quite deep, take this season as an example, the two teams met for the first time, with Sun Xiaotian's perfect play of 30 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks, the Bulls narrowly beat the Heat at home.

In this encounter, the Heat are bound to go all out to win at home.

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Compared with the personnel of the two teams in the first meeting, there was a certain loss in the lineups of both sides in this Christmas encounter.

The Bulls' Boozer and Ruhr Deng are out with injuries, and the Heat's Chalmers and Wade are also out due to injuries. Comparing the lineups of the two sides, the Bulls' disadvantage is obvious, because the bench strength of the two sides cannot be compared, and there is no comparison. However, the only thing that is certain is that without the team's current top scorer and important strength on the inside, Sun Xiaotian will take on more pressure.

And what kind of show will the popular fried chicken play against the best player in the league!

Barkley said vividly before the game, "The 28-year-old James is absolutely beautiful against the 20-year-old himself!" ”

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The Heat are currently 27-4 and in first place in the East, while the Bulls are 22-10 and are in third place in the East.

James is currently averaging 26 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game, which is a perfect stat, and he is 5-1 in the six previous Christmas games James has played, averaging 27.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game.

Sun is currently averaging 16.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, ranking second in rookie shooting 47.4 percent from the field and a bit low on three-point shooting at 31.4 percent. Literally, Sun Xiaotian is far from being able to compare with James, but with the confidence of the two playing for the first time, Sun Xiaotian told his teammates and coach that he will prove it to everyone again, and hopes to lead the Bulls to another victory over the Heat.

Since the first encounter with Sun Xiaotian, James has also praised this oriental guy. He said that Sun Xiaotian is very unique, he is stable and mature at a young age, and he will have a bright future in the future.

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Heat lineup: Kerr, Miller, James, Bosh, Haslem, the lineup model has not changed much, but Miller is used to replace Wade, who is absent due to injury, but it is a step forward by coach Spoelstra. But it didn't mean that Miller's martial arts were wasted, and in the fifth game of last season's finals against the Thunder, he shot 7-of-8 from three-point range to help the Miami Heat win the second championship trophy in team history with a total score of 4-1.

Miller's task is simple, come up and shoot three-pointers, open up space, and create opportunities for James to break through. As soon as Miller's playing time is up, he will replace Ray Allen and continue to shoot, and at the same time, through fast running, the defender's physical strength will be consumed.

Bulls lineup: Hinrich, Sun Xiaotian, Butler, Gibson, Noah, the Bulls are more excited and have more defensive intensity, but the players' ability to score actively is relatively weak, except for Sun Xiaotian, of course.

Before the game, Thibodeau called Sun Xiaotian aside and told him that this is the big scene, and it will be a good growth to be tested by James, and he hopes that Sun Xiaotian can lead the Bulls to victory.

To be able to challenge James is not only exciting but also awe for Sun Xiaotian. As the best small forward of all time (Zhan Hei do not spray), James's ability naturally goes without saying, but his personal grasp of the trend of the game is enough to make Sun Xiaotian look at him. But what Sun Xiaotian has to do is to give full play to his strengths, and one way to respect idols is to try his best to beat him, which is also what his predecessors want to see.

If you want to be great, you must first defeat greatness.