"We all know what Nikolai is capable of, he's a magician in Chicago." At the post-game press conference, when reporters asked about Jokic's performance, Xu Yong smiled and gave an evaluation.

He has never hesitated to praise his teammates, not to mention that Jokic's strength has improved so significantly this season.

However, the Bulls' debut today is destined to be grabbed by Lei Yong's battle, and social media can be said to be fried after the game.

"That's just a walk! I've never heard of a retreat that can be retreated two steps! ”

"The referee ruined the game, which should have been a victory for the Warriors!"

"Who called Durant the number one brand of Nike now! And we're just Adi and Under Armour. ”

"If you don't understand, you can study the rules of the league, and don't treat referees as air." From the review of "KBforever".

"You're so funny, why didn't LeBron see you so energetic when he walked eight steps?" From the comment of "KBfnas".

"I agree, I used to be Jammy, and I was embarrassed by the King's walk at that time, look at how much he struggled in the first half of last season!"

"But he's changed now!"

"Haha, finally admit it! I killed someone, and I'm a good person when I change it? "Comment from" KBfnas ".

"The ball didn't move, it's a rule, and I have reason to believe that Harden was there at four in the morning studying the rules, and he's a high-IQ player."

"Tsk, let's form a cosmic team just to fight the Thunder until the last moment? The Thunder even only have two All-Stars, and you have four. ”

"Green is really bad, he doesn't deserve an All-Star at all, watching Capela turn the tide on the inside, it's better to use him for a blue-collar center."

"You know a chicken feather!" From the comment of "Draymond Green".

"It's started, I'll come first, Green CBA!"

……

After getting off to a good start with the Heat, the Bulls went into a very comfortable pace, with a 13-1 record in the first month of the season, with their only loss coming to the Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers played very well in that game, and the big three cut 20+.

After James' departure, the Cavaliers' biggest concern was the team's organization, as they only had one key move in the summer, which was to use Shampert as a bargaining chip to trade James Johnson from the Raptors.

The Raptors used this to bolster their perimeter defensive intensity, while the Cavaliers complemented James' playmaking skills since his departure.

Johnson also used last season's outstanding performance to earn himself a start.

Of course, although Johnson can organize, he is definitely not as good as James because of his limited offensive ability with the ball.

But he is not the only one who can organize the Cavaliers, Irving can organize it, and even Love can do it.

When James was out last season, Love's organization helped the team well.

As the so-called three stinkers top Zhuge Liang, the Cavaliers not only did not weaken their organizational ability, but more importantly, they divided the ball.

Irving has the ball in his hand, Love has the ball in his hand, and even Davis has it in his hand, which is more benign to the whole environment of the team than to concentrate the ball in the hands of one person.

And as evidence, the Cavaliers' first-month record is 12-1, second only to the Bulls, and even more than the Raptors.

Speaking of the Bulls, they can achieve such a record, in addition to the basic game of the Iron Triangle, there is also the play of Jokic and Johnson.

Johnson is averaging 10 points per game this season on 43.6% shooting from the field and 3.3 three-point attempts on 43.4% shooting!

The Bulls expected him to be able to digest the ball off the bench, but instead he played more like an outside shooter.

First of all, Johnson has this ability, when he played for the Suns, he was a 3-and-D player next to Nash.

In his final season before leaving the Suns, he averaged 4.5 three-pointers per game and shot a perverted 47.5 percent from the field.

And the reason why there is such a change now is not that he can't play alone and can't digest the ball, but that someone in the Bulls team can digest the ball better.

That's right, it's Jokic, a Serbian tea master, Chicago magician, and recently affectionately called "Joker" by fans.

Jokic played 19 minutes per game off the bench, averaging 11.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, shooting 57.8 percent from two-point range and 32.4 percent from three-point range.

Generally speaking, the sixth man of a team is the outside, because the outside line is easy to eat the ball, but now, Jokic has become the sixth man of the Bulls as a center with his excellent play.

The only thing that can restrict him from playing is playing time.

The Bulls only lost one game in their first month, but they weren't the only team to do that, and the other team in the West did it.

Not the Thunder, but the Warriors.

After losing Game 1 to the Thunder, the Warriors then embarked on a winning streak that took them on a 13-game winning streak.

As Xu Yong has seen before, on paper, this Warriors team should be a championship team, and James' technical characteristics are very suitable for the Warriors, and they have produced a near-perfect chemistry, although ...... Green's performance is still struggling.

But in fact, in addition to the top man on the inside, James can do what Green can do, and he can do it better.

The Thunder also played very well, with Durant averaging 33 points per game in his first month, being the leading scorer in the West and the Player of the Month in the West's first month.

In terms of record, the Thunder only lost one more game than the Warriors.

In addition to Durant, Harden also played quite well, he also averaged 25 points per game, and against the Pacers, he hit six three-pointers in the final quarter and led the team to victory with 21 points in a single quarter.

So although the Mavericks in the West have withdrawn from the championship competition this year due to Leonard's injury, the battle between the Thunder and the Warriors will be very exciting.

In December, the temperature in Chicago finally began to drop significantly, and the maximum temperature was still above 20 degrees Celsius at the end of November, but suddenly one day, it dropped to only three or four degrees, and the lowest temperature was even below 0 degrees.

The rivers began to freeze, the cold winds became biting, Chicago was hit by a rare cold snap, and pedestrians on the streets began to put on hats and large cotton jackets.

The winter cold also brought a new problem for the Bulls, Jokic's positioning.

Theoretically, Jokic's performance now needs more playing time, but Adams, as one of the iron triangles, is irreplaceable on the defensive end, and he is in his prime, so he also needs playing time.

In fact, except for Xu Yong, no one would have guessed that Jokic's talent would be so good, so the current situation looks contradictory.

There were also people from the outside world who began to propose that Jokic play the No. 4 position, including Xu Yong, who also felt that it might be the only solution, but Thibodeau never tried.

Xu Yong and Thibodeau have communicated, and Thibodeau has always questioned Jokic's defensive ability, which will not change even if he is no longer coaching with the Bulls.

So there's no way he's going to let Adams play off the bench and Jokic play as a starter.

Regarding this, Xu Yong has no objection, not to mention the fetters of the Iron Triangle, the Bulls' starters need a blue-collar basket protector.

Especially now that the team's No. 4 position is relatively weak, although Anderson's mobility is good, he can't prevent low-post back-to-back play like Aldridge and Randolph, and Adams's assistance defense is inevitable, which Jokic can't do.

Of course, they also talked about the idea of having Jokic play at the No. 4 spot.

"I don't think it was a wise decision to play Yao and Shaq together, it would be against this era." Thibodeau made an analogy and made his point clear.

The tactic of twin towers is too ancient, especially now under the rules of the alliance, playing twin towers is completely self-tiring.

Thibodeau is rigid and his views on defense are persistent, but that doesn't mean his basketball thinking is old-fashioned.

On the contrary, as a coach who has been playing defensive and counter-attacking since 2010, he has a clear vision of the trend of contemporary basketball.

The Bulls suffered two consecutive defeats in early December, and the team's grip seemed to be frozen by the freezing weather.

It was also at the post-game press conference of the home loss to the Wizards that a reporter asked Jokic about his start.

'Joker had a great hand today, so why couldn't he stay on the pitch at the last minute?'

You have to admit that Jokic, as a big man who can pass the ball, and a big man who can pass the ball well, just like Sabonis and Divac back then, is very popular, especially since he is still very cute.

Thibodeau directly refused to answer the question, not because he avoided it, but because a similar question he had already answered after the last game.

As passed to Xu Yong, he didn't think it was a wise decision to use the Twin Towers at the last moment.

It was also because of his approach this time that he attracted many doubts on social media after the game.

"Thibodeau has been with the Bulls for seven years and he's done a lot of great things for this team, but his thinking is clearly behind the times, and I think it's time to change a head coach for the Bulls, just like Steve Kerr did when he replaced Mark Jackson."

"I don't think it's time to change the coach yet, but Thibodeau has to be flexible and not so rigid, isn't it a matter of course to keep him on the pitch if he's in good shape?"

"Everybody thinks they can play Jokic at the starting No. 4 position, but Thibodeau is stubbornly persistent, just like he stubbornly Rose back then, and then caused Rose to be abolished."

……

The cold snap in Chicago continues, the Bulls' icy touch continues, and this period of the schedule is relatively difficult, and the Bulls' record is behind in November, which also makes the outside world's doubts about Thibodeau reach a peak.

"It's time for Mike Malone to be the new head coach of the Bulls." This is a highlighted comment on social media and is also discussed on ESPN's program.

Finally, when it came to the Christmas game, Thibodeau played Jokic at the starting No. 4 spot against the Raptors.

Did Thibodeau compromise? Obviously not, Xu Yong knew that he was not that kind of character.

So is he angry? Sort of.

Because the Raptors' starting power forward is Antetokounmpo, his technical characteristics will make Jokic very passive on the defensive end.

If you really want Jokic to play well at the No. 4 position, you should pick a team like the Grizzlies or Lakers that has a slower pace of play and a lot of interior low-post tactics.

But from another point of view, Thibodeau's approach makes perfect sense, because the Bulls only have one goal to compete for a championship this season, and if they can't win against an opponent of the same level as the Raptors, what's the point of beating the Grizzlies or the Lakers and letting Jokic play good numbers?

This game is both a challenge and an opportunity for Jokic.

Jokic played very aggressively on the court, and even flew to grab the ball, but the overall effect was not good.

He is best at the offensive end, because the Bulls already have Butler and Xu Yong on the court, and he can actually hold the ball not much, which makes him unable to play his passing characteristics.

The bigger problem comes on the defensive end.

Compared to the matchup between him and Antetokounmpo, the biggest problem on the field is the passivity at the tactical level.

As long as the Bulls' positional battle is not scored, the retreat basically cannot be retreated, or retreated, which is also a situation of 2 defense 3, or 3 defense 4.

Thibodeau's theory proved to be right, the twin towers were not feasible in the small-ball era, and even though Jokic lost weight this season, he was still much slower than the average No. 4.

Thibodeau only used the Twin Towers for one quarter in the end, and he didn't use it again in the second quarter.

He was a little angry, but he didn't lose his mind.

Jokic sat on the bench with a towel wrapped around his head after the game, looking very depressed.

Xu Yong was a little uncomfortable when he saw this.

He can understand why Jokic is frustrated, and the feeling of not being able to exert himself on the court is the most uncomfortable.

Speaking of the original advice to Foreman, he was more concerned that as a reborn person, he could not miss such an option.

But if he doesn't bring Jokic to Chicago, then Jokic should be groomed in Denver.

If he's not mistaken, the sophomore Jokic has squeezed Nurkic to the bench and become the core of the Nuggets.

But right now, Chicago can't give Jokic a platform to show his talent.

People are selfish, and his original choice was selfish, but now it doesn't seem like a good thing for Jokic.

In the rotation phase of the second quarter, Xu Yong was ready to play.

As he passed Jokic, he reached out and patted Jokic on the shoulder before getting on the court.

Xu Yong scored 50 points in the second three quarters and scored 61 points in the game, helping the Bulls finally beat the Raptors to end the losing streak.

The eyes of the outside world suddenly shifted to Xu Yong, and they realized that it had been more than a month since the start of the competition, and Xu Yong had only scored 60+ for the first time.

Compared with Xu Yong, who scored crazy points in the playoffs last season, they all felt a little rusty.

'When I went out this morning I saw that the icicles at the door had started to melt and I believe it was good news for the team. At the press conference, Xu Yong used a very vivid metaphor to describe the team's prospects.

The cold snap can't last all winter, and the Bulls' grip won't always recover.

When he returned to the locker room at the technical press conference, Xu Yong saw that Jokic had not yet taken a shower, but was sitting there with a serious expression on his phone, and Jokic didn't notice when he walked over.

Xu Yong looked down and found that Jokic was watching some funny videos, which formed a strong contrast with his serious expression.

Xu Yong reached out and patted him on the shoulder, and when Jokic looked up, he opened his mouth to persuade: "Don't put so much pressure on yourself." ”

At this moment, Malone entered the locker room, and he also came to enlighten Jokic.

When Jokic first arrived in Chicago, the team arranged for Malone to train him alone, which allowed the two to establish a good mentor-apprentice relationship.

Malone went to Jokic's side and chatted with him, and Jokic suddenly said to Malone: "Mike, let me play as a substitute." ”

Not only did these words make Ma Long stop talking, Xu Yong was also surprised, and everyone else in the locker room also turned their heads.

Generally speaking, it is common for players to ask the coaching staff to play as a starter, but this kind of initiative to play as a substitute is really long-lived.

"Nikolai, this is just the first game." Malone spoke.

"That's enough." Jokic said frankly.

Hearing this, Xu Yong put away his surprise.

Yes, Jokic's ball quotient, one game is enough for him to know that playing the No. 4 position is not going to work, and Thibodeau can't let him play the starting No. 5 position, so his best home with the Bulls is still on the bench.

And his choice to be on such an occasion, rather than in private, is actually a statement that he doesn't want to cause conflicts within the Bulls because of himself.

Is this normal?

It's normal, after all, he's only in the second grade, and he's in a team that hits the dynasty, what qualifications does he have to ask for so much?

Seeing this, Malone knew that Jokic was serious, and although he felt a little sorry for his disciple, he finally nodded.

That's probably the best outcome, for now.

When he returned to the villa, Xu Yong found that Jokic rarely did not make tea to drink.

Some time ago, in order to cope with the cold snap in Chicago, this guy was boiling tea and drinking it every day, which even made Xu Yong can't help but ask him curiously about the progress of his Jindan cultivation.

"Still a little unhappy?" Xu Yong asked after sitting down.

"Well, it's definitely not happy to play poorly." Jokic nodded.

"I thought you couldn't start." Xu Yong is more direct.

"Boss, I don't really care about that, the team can win." Jokic looked at Xu Yong and said seriously.

Xu Yong looked at Jokic's eyes, nodded and said, "I believe it." ”

What else could he say but to believe?

He can't persuade Butler to leave last season and then persuade Jokic to leave too, right?

And there is no point in regretting the original choice, because there is everything in this world, but there is no regret medicine.

There is only one way to deal with the current situation: there must be a road before the car reaches the mountain, and the boat will naturally go straight to the bridge.

"I heard that I recently served a new tea, would you like someone to bring you some?" Xu Yong then asked.

"Really?" Hearing this, Jokic instantly came to his senses.

"Can I lie to you?" Xu Yong smiled and nodded.

……

With Jokic asking to return to the bench, the skepticism about Thibodeau over the past month has also dissipated.

And when the time came to January, the temperature in Chicago finally started to rise.

ps:It's a little bit of a card.,Today's first of these.,More tomorrow.,In addition, I looked at everyone and had no opinion.,Then it's going to be updated at 12 o'clock in the evening from tomorrow.,So you don't have to stay up late.,You can watch it when you get up the next day (although 12 o'clock is actually not too late),And then I've been adjusting the narrative of my writing recently.,It should be a little smoother to read.。

(End of chapter)