The Bulls' next game is on December 1 against the Thunder.

Because it was on the road, the day before the game, the Bulls flew to Oklahoma City.

After arriving, Harden specially found a famous local Chinese restaurant to invite Xu Yong to dinner.

Thanks to Xu Yong's original advice and his own efforts, his performance this season has made a breakthrough compared to last season.

He is now averaging 25 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists per game, and has advanced to the first echelon of scoring guards in the league.

And with the improvement of his performance, the Thunder have dominated the Lakers and Mavericks at the beginning of the season, firmly occupying the top spot in the West.

And their two main competitors have been in some trouble one after another.

On the Mavericks' side, Nash and Nowitzki missed one after another due to injury.

While optimistically this gave Leonard more opportunities to work, the Mavericks' record has clearly seen its ups and downs.

And the Lakers are their own.

Before the start of the season, because they couldn't trade Okafor anyway, the Lakers finally chose to pardon Okafor.

The "amnesty clause", which is different from the buyout and cut, provides that each team has one opportunity to use the clause on one player in the team, after which the team still has to pay the player's contract salary, but the player's salary will not be counted towards the team's salary.

It actually existed in the previous version of the collective bargaining agreement, also known as the "Alan Houston Clause".

However, this clause has not been used very often before, because amnesty requires full salary payment and does not bring any benefits, so whenever a player is available, the team will not choose this treatment.

However, the new version of the collective bargaining agreement has revised this clause, stipulating that before the end of the 2015~2016 season, even if the team does not use it, the clause will automatically become invalid.

In addition, from the 2013~2014 season, that is, next season, there is a super luxury tax, so the frequency of amnesty in these two seasons has increased significantly.

The Lakers also chose to use it to end Okafor's contract early.

It was nothing, and it didn't have to be used in vain, but as a result, Okafor was gone, Bynum had no reliable substitute, and he was injured after a month of playing the season.

Although he did not go to the digital human as Xu Yong knew, he did not let go of himself under Kobe's constraints, but he has always had glass attributes.

Last season was the highest in his game since starting, and he was in full attendance in the playoffs, which definitely has something to do with Okafor's presence.

And this time he was in a more serious condition, having to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his knee, which cost him the entire regular season and is not expected to return until mid-April.

With the loss of Okafor and Bynum in succession, the Lakers' interior strength has dropped by more than a notch, and the decline in performance is completely expected.

So Harden is much more comfortable than Xu Yong this season.

"You're with Black Widow?" After eating and drinking, Harden suddenly asked Xu Yong.

Xu Yong was stunned for a moment and looked at Harden suspiciously.

He didn't mention it in front of the media, and Scarlett shouldn't have taken the initiative to show off on social media like Madonna did back then.

"TMZ is out on the news." Harden said and took out his phone and handed the news in the browser to Xu Yong.

Xu Yong took it and looked at it, and then looked stunned.

Good guy, from the time Scarlett entered his house to the time he sent Scarlett to the airport, it was all secretly filmed!

Sure enough, the paparazzi are everywhere.

"You still follow TMZ?" Xu Yong handed the phone back to Harden.

"I like to watch them cover shows like 'Walking with the Kardashians,' and it's really fun." Harden is not hiding anything from Xu Yong now.

Xu Yong couldn't help laughing.

On NCAA Championship Night, Harden showed his love for big cheeks, and it was reasonable to pay attention to Kardashian's show.

So, this is the beginning of his fate with Kardashian?

"Wait, we're not talking about this, we're talking about you and Scarlett Johansson." Harden suddenly noticed that Xu Yong was changing the subject, and immediately returned to the topic.

"We're friends." Xu Yong replied calmly.

"Friends who spent the night?"

"Can't you stay overnight at a friend's house?" Xu Yong said seriously.

"I believe it." Harden looked incredulous.

Xu Yong shrugged his shoulders, he and Scarlett were not in a relationship in the first place, so they must not be considered lovers, if they are not full of lovers, they are friends.

"I haven't seen him smile for a day since Kevin saw the news, and I probably don't know that he's a very smiling person in private." Harden continued.

Xu Yong coughed dryly.

As we all know, if you want to vote a social media GOAT among NBA players, then James can only be a secondary GOAT in front of Durant.

Last year, Scarlett went to the red carpet of the Golden Globe Awards, and the photo was posted on social media, and her posture was very much in line with Durant's appetite, and Durant directly left the famous sentence "I want to drink your bath water" below.

So if you want to say that Durant doesn't have any thoughts about Scarlett, that's impossible.

But in fact, in Durant's identity, if it is not for this kind of killer greeting, with Scarlett's character, not to mention the bath water, the milk has been drunk.

But now, Scarlett definitely doesn't look down on him.

"I'm just worried that he's going to trash talk to you during the game." Harden continued.

"You think with his level of trash talk, I need to worry about this?" Xu Yong laughed when he heard this, as a victim of the Green formula in history, Durant's trash talk level belongs to the crane tail level in the NBA.

"No, I'm worried that he's suffocated by you." Harden corrected.

Not to mention how much he knows about Xu Yong, not long ago, the media exposed Xu Yong's trash talk about Howard, but it directly made the two cores of the Pacers troublesome until now, he knows that Durant's personality is more sensitive, and if Xu Yong really blows back, autism is a high probability.

"I ......" Xu Yong was speechless for a while.

"Don't worry, as long as he's not too hot, I'll let him order it on trash talk." Xu Yong nodded.

Who's talking about Harden?

Of course, there is another point, Harden told him about Durant using many trumpets to speak for himself on social media.

Think of it as a little reward.

"I knew it." Harden looked happy, this season can be said to be the Thunder's best chance, he doesn't want the team and the Lakers Mavericks to be like a moth.

……

The next day, the Ford Center Arena was fully occupied.

With the strong rise of the Thunder in the past two seasons, the ball market in Russia is extremely hot.

In fact, not only in the field, but also on TV and online media, the attention that this game received was unprecedented.

The most important thing is the encounter between Xu Yong and Durant.

After Stern gave up on James, the focus of that publicity naturally needed to shift.

Where to turn? Naturally, it is Xu Yong and Durant.

From the World Championships two years ago, to last season's scoring title race, to the Olympic finals that just ended in the summer, every intersection between the two is a spark.

Even their nicknames are-for-tat.

Chicago's "Satan" and Oklahoma's "Grim Reaper", there can only be one person in hell who can speak.

When it comes to creating topicality, no one knows it better than Stern.

In fact, it's not just the league, in TNT's program yesterday, Barkley, the traffic king, directly moved out the TMZ report.

Even Scarlett herself is making an appearance.

Although it is true that Scarlett will not take the initiative to show off like Madonna, but which Hollywood actress have you ever seen who will not give the heat for nothing?

"He's amazing."

Although it is only a short sentence, and it is not even named, everyone knows what this sentence means.

This is off the field, and the topic explodes.

During the pre-game warm-up, the camera frequently gave Xu Yong and Durant cut-and-go shots.

Xu Yong looked serious, while Durant looked serious.

It looks like a fierce matchup, and the appetite of the fans is even more satisfied.

After the opening ceremony, the starting line-ups of both sides were released.

Bulls: Hinrich, Jimmy Butler, Seo Yong, Battier, Kwame Brown;

Thunder: Harden, Soflosa, Durant, Ibaka, Gasol.

The Bulls lineup was laid out, and Brooks was stunned for a moment and immediately reacted.

There was three minutes of adjustment time between the end of the opening ceremony and the start of the official game, and he redrew his defensive tactics, and even pulled Sovlosa to explain a few more words before going on the court.

"Toot!"

Brown flicked the ball back into the Bulls' half, and the curtain officially opened on the battle of the stars.

Hinrich pushed the ball forward and waited for the tactical gesture before handing the ball to Xu Yong, who was high on the strong side.

The Bulls' tactics were thorough, with the strong side completely empty, ambushing a shooter at the bottom corner, 45° and top of the circle on the weak side, and Brown on the weak side, leaving plenty of space for Xu Yong to play alone.

Xu Yong chose to play singles with a basket, and after the fall start, he directly broke through Sovlosa.

Theoretically speaking, this style of play is best to shoot four stars, but Murphy's current defense is too poor to achieve the effect of Yi Jianlian, so he can only retreat to the second one star and three shots, plus the cake eater under the basket, the effect is similar.

Of course, no matter which style of play, this means that Xu Yong's offense will be dominated by breakthrough offense, because if the players are scattered, if you are projection-oriented, not only will there be no rebounds, but other people will not be involved at all.

Soflosa's goal was not passed by Xu Yong like last season, after he gradually gained a foothold and became the Thunder's starter, his defensive ability is also improving, and Brooks just pulled him to tell him alone, his defensive willingness is also very high.

However, when Xu Yong suddenly reached the three-second zone, the situation changed.

Because Xu Yong directly gave him a strong confrontation, and then jumped up from the ground without warning.

The terrifying instantaneous explosiveness made Soflosa have no time to react.

"Bang!"

In the stunned expressions of the fans at the scene, Xu Yong kicked off the game with a brutal one-handed slam.

Brooks froze.

He predicted the Bulls' tactics, but he didn't expect Xu Yong's offense to be so resolute tonight.

Then, he had already decided that he was going to adjust his defense in the next round.

If he were a different player, he would definitely not make up his mind easily because of one round, but Xu Yong's past of defeating the Thunder by 53 points in a single game last season is still vivid, and he can't afford to take that risk.

The Thunder's offense, Harden is organized from the outside.

The Bulls' opening style of play was completely different from before, but the Thunder still followed the step-by-step plan, which is what Xu Yong said to Harden before, and he controlled the game in the first three quarters.

And he did, and after blocking Gasol, he scored the first points for the Thunder with a trademark step-back mid-range jumper.

Both sides looked to be in pretty good form at the start of the game.

The Bulls continued to play positional battles, and Xu Yong also continued to hold the ball.

However, he noticed Brooks' gestures at this time, and also saw the Thunder's defensive position change on the court, and was obviously ready to pinch him.

Brooks was simply that.

However, Xu Yong is more straightforward.

He made a break feint that shifted to the right, then quickly pulled back to the left and dribbled directly past Soflosa.

The left and right hands are balanced, and it's like resetting the pivot foot, making it difficult for opponents to judge which side you'll attack from.

Then, Xu Yong jumped high before the Thunder team's defense was in place, and another two-handed vigorous abuse of the basket.

There was a stirring at the scene.

As soon as the game started, the Thunder team's penalty area had already been violently inserted twice by Xu Yong.

This forbidden area is too loose!

Brooks' face was solemn.

Xu Yong has obviously evolved again compared to last season, this guy is too terrifying.

And the Thunder's return to the offensive end of the scoring did not continue, not because they played badly, but because Butler had a wonderful performance on the defensive end.

The Thunder were still blocked by Harden and Gasol, but this time Butler managed to get around and interfere at the moment when Harden made a move.

Sharp-eyed fans have already discovered that he uses the same footwork as Xu Yong.

This is also a reasonable thing, as Xu Yong's junior, and often train together, it is impossible for him not to learn the dog's footwork.

The rebound was protected by Brown, and after the Bulls advanced to the frontcourt, the ball was in Xu Yong's hands again.

Consecutive singles are very physically demanding, but without having to invest on the defensive end, three shots are by no means his limit.

Xu Yong held the ball in one hand and stared at Soflosa.

Soflosa was engrossed, but the sweat oozing from his forehead betrayed him.

The match had only been fought for two rounds, and it was obviously not a physical exertion, but a nervous mind.

Although this is actually normal and trusted by the head coach, but the opening two rounds were blown up in a row, who can be calm?

Xu Yong changed his posture and changed from a face basket to a back basket.

Although the breakthrough just now succeeded in passing Soflosa, it is still necessary to affirm the defensive ability of the Swiss Army Knife.

Taking advantage of the confrontation in the opposite position can improve the success rate of the attack.

"Bang!"

The first time the two of them confronted each other, Sofrosa was pushed back by half a step, and there was a dull pain in his chest.

Grover began working as Xu Yong's personal trainer in 2010, and the three-year plan he set at the beginning is now in his second year.

Xu Yong's current body is the third artwork he has created since Jordan.

You must know that Hill, Maddy, and Wade, who he trained before, could not achieve the effect he wanted because of injury problems, and only Jordan and Kobe Bryant succeeded.

Moreover, Xu Yong's body is one size bigger than Kobe, so his confrontation ability is also stronger.

After pushing Sofloza away, Xu Yong made a turn to the free throw line, and Soflosa could only pounce hard.

Because if he doesn't go up, Xu Yong can easily get rid of his defense, whether he breaks through with the left hand he used before, or turns and leans back.

This is also why fans sometimes wonder why Kobe Bryant is sometimes obviously blocked, but the opponent will still eat his fake moves and be shaken away, because if you don't jump, the fake action will become a real shot.

Xu Yong directly turned around and wiped Soflosa clean.

And after he turned around, in order to break through the speed, the center of gravity was pressed very low, and the speed was very fast.

Fans looked at the familiar red bull jersey and suddenly felt that the two figures overlapped.

Turning around with a low center of gravity and breaking through, that was one of Jordan's killer features.

Xu Yong killed the basket, but one person was in place at this time.

Before he was closed, Ibaka was able to jump, move fast, and play well as a number four, and his presence on the defensive end was very high.

Xu Yong jumped up, he looked like he wanted to test Ibaka's condition.

Ibaka immediately jumped up, as a Congolese giant root, he is extremely tough.

However, Xu Yong collected the ball in the air, and then glided past him, moving from one side of the basket to the other.

Obviously, Xu Yong has never been a reckless man, and he knows enough about Ibaka, and men who love to jump are the easiest to shake.

Of course, the most important thing is that his bounce and stay in the air are his biggest strengths.

After completing the air glide, Xu Yong pulled the ball from his arms.

"Bang!"

A one-handed backdunk smashed the ball into the basket.

After completing the dunk, Xu Yong even hung on the basket with one hand before landing.

The Bulls' bench blew up directly, and Anderson threw their towels flying.

Xu Yong's wave of three buckles in the thunder penalty area, the effect exploded.

The scene was also restless.

It's not a one-time or two-time thing, it's simply a matter of taking and taking!

And three shells came in a row, and their brains were buzzing.

That's when the Thunder's only weakness, or rather, their biggest weakness, was exposed.

In this era, there is no hard C center to protect the frame, and it is really difficult to meet Xu Yong's violent flow of play.

6 to 2.

Xu Yong scored 6 points in a row in the opening game and single-handedly took the initiative for the Bulls.

When he turned around, Durant couldn't sit still.

He asked for the ball with his back to Battier in the high post.

Then after Harden fed the ball in, he turned around and faced the basket, and then pulled it directly at Battier.

Battier's trademark blindfolded defense successfully sealed Durant's view.

Although there is a difference in height, he can always seize the right moment with this eye-sealing trick.

"Huh!"

However, that didn't work.

Durant put the ball in the basket steadily.

And after Hinrich's three-point deviation, Durant continued to be in the position, and after a shooting feint deceived Battier's defensive center of gravity, he strode directly into the interior and raised his long arms high......

"Bang!"

Brown, who was helping to defend, smashed the ball directly into the basket.

It's a hot fact that Durant's athleticism is among the best among players of his height, and combined with his height and reach, he was a serious dunk master during his time with the Thunder, or more accurately before suffering a right foot injury.

The scene instantly burst into cheers from fans.

The camera was given to Durant, and Durant didn't care about Brown, but turned his head and stared at Xu Yong.

His eyes seemed to be drawn, and the death scythe loomed behind him.

In fact, if you want to say that more than a year has passed, it is difficult to say how much interest Durant still has in Scarlett.

Because the female bodhisattva he followed on Twitter has gone.

But this involves the question of men's desire to win.

What Durant couldn't get, Xu Yong got it, and said that Xu Yong was amazing, it really hurt, it hurt.

He can't change Scarlett's mind, but he must win it back on the court!

Facing Durant's eyes, Xu Yong just smiled slightly, and then, on the offensive end, he continued to hold the ball with his back, and a stop-and-go throw after turning around and breaking through returned the color.

Brooks couldn't sit still and called Reggie Jackson up from the bench.

Of the five rounds of the Bulls, Xu Yong attacked four rounds and scored 8 points on 4-of-4 shooting.

And in the four rounds, Xu Yong used four different offensive techniques.

Sovlosa's defense can't be said to be bad, but it's not effective at all.

This means that unless Durant is allowed to defend, no one on the Thunder team can limit Xu Yong in a one-on-one situation.

But Durant's physical fitness doesn't support Brooks to make that choice.

Of course, Brooks wasn't the only one making adjustments, as the Bulls were in the same situation.

After two rounds, Battier also proved that he can't guard Durant at all.

It's not that his defensive ability has declined, it's that his defensive style is nothing for Durant.

At this time, the person who changed the guard became Butler.

Although Butler was only a sophomore at this time, he could be said to be a master of skill after learning from a number of defensive masters such as Xu Yong, Tony Allen, Battier and Artest.

The first thing he did was to limit Durant's catch.

Because he has puppy footwork, this makes Durant's receiving environment obviously bad.

In the end, Durant was forced to move to the three-point line to get the ball.

Butler saw Durant receive the ball, and then put pressure on the ball closely, preventing Durant from starting easily.

Durant obviously felt uncomfortable, just like the discomfort he felt when he was defended by Xu Yong before.

But soon, Butler paid for his youth.

Durant made his defensive foul .gif with a big loop.

This is a new move that Durant developed last season in addition to holding the ball.

Because his center of gravity is too high, it is not easy to get off the ball when facing a tight defense, and this kind of foul making is a good way to create offensive space for himself.

In fact, it was true, after Durant continued to hold the ball on the sideline, Butler didn't dare to press it any further.

As a starter, two fouls basically had to be taken off.

Then Durant fell to the ball and pulled out his hand directly at Butler.

Butler pounced hard, but in fact the defense failed, and when Durant pulled up, the only thing that could affect him was his own hand.

"Huh!"

Durant wielded the Grim Reaper's scythe to complete the harvest again, and he had scored six consecutive points in the opening game.

Durant looked at Xu Yong with brushed eyes again, but he found that Xu Yong had already pulled Butler to chat, and he was so angry that he stomped his feet for a while.

"Pay attention to his shoulders, he will tuck in before he closes the ball, and if he thinks he is going to pull dry, he will cut the ball." Xu Yong is sharing his experience with Butler.

Due to his physical condition, it is difficult for Butler to become a first-defense player, but with his skill and fighting spirit, it is not difficult to become a second-defense regular, as in history.

Even because of the large number of learning objects, he can join them earlier, as long as he accumulates experience faster.

"Defend! Defend! ”

Durant's consecutive scores ignited the emotions of the fans in the Russian City, and the scene resounded with neat defensive cheers.

After Xu Yong got the ball, he found that his defender had become Reggie Jackson.

Just when Durant made a foul, Jackson came on the court to replace Soflosa.

And Jackson also pressed close to prevent him from getting off the ball easily.

He vaguely sensed something, and did not rush to attack, but held the ball sideways, protected the ball while observing the interior defense.

Sure enough, it was a defensive trap.

Jackson is a super arm span monster, with a height of 1.88 meters and an arm span of 2.13 meters, and a height and arm span difference of an astonishing 25cm, which is more exaggerated than Rondo.

This static talent, combined with his own physical prowess, gives him the ability to swing a man from a misplaced striker.

But if you let a person with 1.88 meters defend against a person with 2.06 meters, that person is still Xu Yong, no matter how you look at it, it's a bit unrealistic.

After all, the arm span in the alignment only alleviates the lack of height when the misalignment, but the weight and confrontation are irreparable.

Therefore, the only possibility is to flank him back and forth when he breaks through, and form a front and back attack posture against him at the first time.

That way, Jackson's speed and reach make the most difference.

Brooks does have the ability because it's basically a new way of defending.

After quickly analyzing the situation, Xu Yong immediately chose to play with his back to his back.

This time, he gave a hard confrontation and forced Jackson to sink his focus, and with the confrontation gap so obvious, Jackson had no choice.

After doing this, Xu Yong quickly turned to the three-point line to widen the distance between him and Jackson, and then threw a backward jumper.

Even if Jackson has a long arm span at this time, it can only become an ornament.

"Huh!"

Xu Yong easily hit this jumper without interference.

And after the hit, he didn't look at Jackson or even Brooks, but instead showed a meaningful smile in Durant's direction.

The shouts at the scene instantly turned into agitation.

Tonight, Xu Yong is not only scoring, but also showing.

The basket is strong, the left hand breaks through, the reflexive dunk, the throw, and the turn and leans back......

This is a forced attack on the exhibits in the museum one by one.

Brooks looked helpless at this point.

In addition to technology, he also saw Xu Yong's ability to deal with it on the field.

You know, this is the first round after the defense has been adjusted!

It's unreasonable for a 23-year-old player to play more mature than any other 32-year-old.

And back on the defensive end, Durant was in a hurry to attack after being stimulated, and Butler seized the opportunity to complete the steal.

The Bulls hit a fast break, Xu Yong accelerated his violence past Harden on the fast break, and a gliding tomahawk smashed the ball into the basket.

Brooks called a timeout.

Although the score on the court was only 12-8, the Thunder are now in trouble on both ends of the floor.

"It's incredible, Xu has scored the first 12 points of the Bulls!" And during this pause, Mike Brin in the commentary seat couldn't help but exclaim.

Not only because of Xu Yong's scoring stability, but also because of Xu Yong's physical fitness.

can cut points so violently, and then he can still look physically fit after cutting points, and he only has Jordan and Kobe Bryant at his peak, as well as James in some specific time periods.

"Kevin, Xu is deliberately stimulating you." After getting off the court, Harden pulled Durant for the first time and said.

He knows Xu Yong too well, if Xu Yong's scoring in the opening game is just a tactical need, then the smile just now is clearly to stimulate Durant and him to score points.

To know the Thunder's improvement in strength this season, Durant's ability to save his fitness until the fourth quarter is a key factor.

The Bulls are weaker now, and if they want to win, they can only break this winning pattern of the Thunder.

Durant is gasping for air.

His fitness is definitely still there, but it's the same as playing 2K sprints, and the continuous singles with the ball make him lose his fitness very quickly.

What? Xu Yong is also holding the ball in a row and playing singles?

The length of the stamina bar of the two is not the same.

Brooks also realized this and made tactical adjustments.

After the timeout, the Thunder's tactical focus shifted, Harden and Gasol played a pick-and-roll, and after the split, a beautiful shot was plugged to Gasol, and Gasol's attack on the frame successfully caused Brown to foul and go to the free throw line to hit both free throws.

And looking back, the Thunder team conducted a more thorough three-man encirclement of Xu Yong after his breakthrough.

Xu Yongjian hit the ball to Butler at a 45° angle on the weak side.

Unfortunately, Butler didn't take the opportunity this time.

In fact, counting the three-pointer Hinrich missed before, the Bulls didn't feel good from the outside tonight.

After Gasol protected the defensive rebound, the Thunder played a fast break, and Reggie Jackson played his own characteristics and scored on the fast break at the first time.

After returning from the timeout, the Thunder played an effective offense and defense, quickly tying the score.

As the No. 1 team in the West so far this season, and only one win less than the Heat in terms of record, the hard power of the Thunder is here.

Thibodeau scratched his head.

The strategy he formulated after discussing with Xu Yong was space play, and for this he didn't even let Allen play, but the current problem is that the outside feels bad, and this has been discovered by the Thunder.

Then what happens next, the Thunder team will only be more resolute in Xu Yong's bag.

Then, he turned around and called Artest and West up, all he could do was rotate and try out the other guys' touches.

Xu Yong held the ball in the front court and still did not rush to attack.

Thibodeau was aware of the problem, and he knew it.

Instead of continuing to play with his back to the singles, he opted for a basket attack and broke through to the elbow area for a quick stop.

In this case, he can only do multiple-choice questions.

Shooting away from the basket will have a decline in scoring stability, and there will also be rebounding and retreat problems mentioned at the beginning, but you can avoid being pinched, after all, it takes time to get caught in the middle.

At this time, the test is whether his hands are hard enough.

Jackson's pace, as well as his long arms, played a role at times like these, and he gave Xu Yong enough interference without the defensive being out of position.

The fans at the scene looked forward to it, Xu Yong's offensive choice at this time was forced, and the current situation, as long as Xu Yong's score is broken, the Bulls' offense will be broken, which means that the Thunder team can open the score.

"Huh!"

But their expectations were ultimately disappointed, and Xu Yong hit this dry shot against Jackson's defense!

Although this ball is difficult, it is obvious that the previous consecutive scores have allowed Xu Yong to successfully develop a sense of touch.

"Defend! Do your defense! When the Bulls retreated to the defensive end, Thibodeau got up and shouted from the sidelines.

When there was no way to break the game, Xu Yong used pure personal ability to do what he said before "get the offense", and now he needs others to handle the defense.

Under Thibodeau's shouting, the Bulls' defensive enthusiasm is improving.

Harden broke past Brown after blocking and pick-and-roll, but Battier narrowed his position under the basket early, which successfully caused Harden's offensive foul.

With this offense and defense, the Bulls stabilized the situation on the court again.

The scene was restless, obviously the strength of the Thunder team was stronger, but it just couldn't hold down the Bulls.

When Xu Yong got the ball again in the front court, Brooks shouted on the sidelines, and he was also a little anxious.

Without waiting for Xu Yong to make a move, the Thunder team had already directly started to attack him in pairs.

Although Brooks was in a hurry, his thinking was fine, since the Bulls only had Xu Yong scoring alone, it would be good to force the ball out of his hands.

And the Bulls don't have a touch of outside three-pointers at this time, so it's not a big risk to do so.

It's just that Xu Yong's choice surprised Brooks again.

Looking at Harden, who came over in advance, Xu Yong did not choose to pass the ball, but took the initiative to move in the direction of Harden, and then changed direction to the sideline without slowing down, passing Harden's defense!

At this time, what flashed through his mind was the decision he had made before to become Kobe.

As a result, it was supposed to be a two-man sandwich scene, but in the end, it turned into Jackson and Harden chasing Xu Yong behind him!

Gasol under the basket and Durant on the weak side are on the way to help defend at this time.

Xu Yong did not panic, nor did he rush out of the ball, but stopped suddenly, and then made a steady shooting action.

Because he scored too many points, Jackson and Harden instinctively flew up.

Xu Yong was waiting for this time, he quickly collected the ball, and then turned around and shook everyone away and leaned back to shoot.

From changing direction and forcibly breaking through the bag, to stopping and shaking, and then to the final backwards, the whole action is done in one go.

The fans at the scene were stunned, Xu Yong was still so calm under the siege!

"Huh!"

The sound of the basketball falling into the net came again, and the scene was in an uproar.

Brooks also reached out to hold his head in disbelief.

"God! Xu Lian scored 16 points! The Bulls were the only ones to score, but the Thunder had no way to take him! Brin was not just surprised, but shocked.

The previous goals can also be explained by the Thunder team's lack of attention to Xu Yong's defense, but in the past two rounds, especially this round just now, the Thunder team almost pounced, but still didn't prevent it!

Xu Yong's moment is really like Satan coming to the world, making the Thunder team feel desperate.

And after the switch between offense and defense, the Bulls continued the defensive intensity of the previous round, and Jackson's offensive frame that broke through with the ball was directly flown out of the baseline by Brown.

The game went into a dead ball, with substitutions on both sides, with West and Artest coming on for Hinrich and Battier.

Xu Yong took a few breaths at this time, and then looked up at the scoreboard.

16 to 12.

Because his teammates didn't shoot from the outside, the game deviated greatly from his plan.

Originally, if the Bulls were accurate from the outside, he was basically one-on-one heads-up, at most one-on-two when he broke through the three-second zone.

If he plays like that, he is sure that he will last until the end of the game while only attacking.

But right now, the Thunder's entire defense is basically pressing on him.

In order to break through this defense, he needs to expend a completely different amount of energy.

In the round just now, if you still use the 2K analogy, he kept pressing the accelerator button until the physical energy gauge of a single round was empty to achieve that effect.

Not only is this very physically draining, but it is also impossible to recover for a while.

If he continues to play with multiple people in this way, it will be difficult for him to continue to maintain offensive efficiency, and he will not be able to support the whole court at all.

And he didn't really want to be Kobe, Kobe's 35.4-point season was questioned, in addition to the number of iron, there is also the seventh record in the West.

has been playing against multiple people, and the efficiency of playing has declined, but he will still return to what he thought before, and his teammates will follow the switchback and run, and finally become unable to play.

After calming down a bit, he called Butler to his side and said a few words.

The Thunder couldn't score on the final wave of offense, and Brown protected the defensive rebound.

On the Bulls' offense, Xu Yong continued to be pinched with the ball, but there was a small detail on the court that basically no one noticed, Butler and West switched defensive positions.

Originally, Butler was at a 45° angle on the weak side, but at this time he was standing at the top of the arc.

It was this inconspicuous change that made Xu Yong make a different choice from the previous round.

He passed the ball to Butler at the top of the arc as soon as he was caught in the middle.

This time, not only Durant, who came to attack, but even Jackson, who was originally defending Xu Yong, was stunned.

Why did Xu Yong suddenly not play according to the routine?

Then, they felt a "whoosh" and something flew over their faces.

When I looked closely, Xu Yongren was gone!

Butler is an organizer, and Butler in history is an excellent organizational striker.

Of course, because he didn't get any opportunities to exercise, his ability was not developed at this time, and it was still in the theoretical stage.

But, compared to Battier, he at least.

So after receiving the ball, Butler did two things, broke through to the free throw line with the ball to make an offensive posture, and then distributed the ball to Xu Yong, who passed through the pinch without the ball.

This is what Xu Yong communicated with him in the very short time before.

Of course, the main reason why Xu Yong chose Butler over West was to surprise him.

How does the Thunder know that a rookie at the end of the first round, Butler, who has improved this season but is limited to 3D, will still have this ability.

And he did succeed.

Even if Butler didn't feed the ball so comfortably, he made some angle adjustments after receiving the ball, but when he went straight into the restricted area, the rest of the Thunder team didn't react at all.

With a light flying layup, Xu Yong scored his 18th point after the opening game, and scored 18 points in a row in the opening game!

And after scoring, he looked back at Durant who was chasing the defender, shrugged his shoulders, and made his trademark hand-to-hand celebration.

Harden was certainly right, scoring while also looking for opportunities to stimulate Durant.

Otherwise, when he runs out of energy in the last quarter and Durant is still in full blood, the Bulls will not be able to win, and no matter how many points he scores, he will only be happy to mention the title of the leader of the empty slashing group.

Durant, breathing accelerated.

He knew that what Harden said was right, but it didn't matter at this point.

The Thunder attacked the frontcourt, and Durant resumed his back-to-back ball, and he had a tough attitude.

The man's damn desire to win has made him desperate.

(End of chapter)