The New Season is Here, the First Battle Against the Heat's Big Three

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Everyone knew that Wang Chong would counterattack, but no one expected him to choose such a direct approach. This is enough to show that, in Wang Chong's eyes, the Heat's Big Three are not much of a threat—at least not much more threatening than the Lakers in the West. As long as the Bulls' lineup remains healthy, they are confident they can challenge the Heat.

This strong response also reassured many Chicago fans who were anxious about the formation of the Heat's Big Three.

If they're not afraid of their own stars, then what else is there to fear?

Whether it's James, Wade, or Bosh, all of them have been defeated by Wang Chong. They've never won against Wang Chong in the playoffs. What will happen if the three of them join forces? The Bulls team is not just Wang Chong— it also has its own serious Big Three configuration. It's just that the two giants, Garnett and Billups, are a bit old, and neither of them made it to the All-Star teams or All-NBA teams. Last season, they could no longer be called giants.

But if you add Curry, Gasol, and others, the overall strength of the Bulls remains the best in the league.

The Heat's Big Three is not without its flaws. First, James and Wade have somewhat contradictory playing styles. Both are players who mainly use the ball to drive to the basket and attack.

The second point is that, as a completely new team, the Heat's tactics, cooperation, and tacit understanding must start from scratch. This is completely different from the Bulls, who have won three consecutive championships together and have developed tacit cooperation.

As long as they can exploit these advantages, the Bulls will definitely be worthy challengers for the Heat in the game.

The league is also watching the excitement, and the Bulls vs. Heat has become one of the most anticipated matchups. The schedule for the new season was directly arranged. The Bulls will challenge Miami on the road in the first and second games. The game between the two teams will take place on Christmas Day, December 25. In this grand battle, the two teams will compete.

In mid-September, the Bulls players returned to the team one after another, including O'Neal and Tracy McGrady, who signed with the Bulls on veteran minimum salaries.

O'Neal chose number 32, the number he wore most throughout his career.

McGrady chose number 3 because his favorite number 1 belonged to Billups. If McGrady had just won two consecutive scoring titles and was in his prime, Billups might have been willing to give up his jersey number for McGrady, but now it was clear McGrady was here to win a championship, and his role was naturally set. He was simply a transparent figure on the Bulls' bench.

However, although his strength was no longer what it once was, both of them had once been some of the league's best stars and remained quite popular.

Therefore, after the team's photo day, many reporters interviewed the two.

When McGrady was interviewed, he behaved very modestly.

"I'm very honored to be able to join the Bulls. Wang Chong is the strongest player in the league today and also a fellow countryman of my good friend Dayao. Before I came, Dayao had spoken to me about Wang Chong, so I'm really looking forward to it. This time, I can team up with Wang Chong, and I fully accept whatever role the team assigns to me, as long as I can help the team win."

McGrady's entire statement was framed around his relationship with Yao, which demonstrated how eager he was to stay with the Bulls and win a championship.

Compared to McGrady, O'Neal's speech was much firmer. After all, unlike McGrady, who needed Yao to introduce him to Wang Chong, O'Neal had been Wang Chong's older brother figure when Wang Chong first entered the league and had once protected him. There was absolutely no doubt about their relationship.

When interviewed, O'Neal's attitude was very clear.

"I had already planned to retire after last season. For me, another championship or not doesn't make much of a difference, but when I saw LeBron and Dwyane, two players I'd once teamed up with, join forces and try to compete for the championship, I suddenly changed my mind. It would be interesting to stay in the league for one more year and watch the matchup between the 2003 generation players with my own eyes."

Whether O'Neal truly no longer cared about winning a championship is unknown, but Wang Chong had analyzed this before. Even if O'Neal were to win a sixth championship as a role player, his historical status wouldn't be elevated much. However, decades from now, it's uncertain what fans who know little about this era will think.

Interviews with O'Neal and Tracy McGrady were very popular, but interviews with the Bulls' true star players were also highly anticipated. For example, the celebrity and popularity of O'Neal and Kevin Garnett could not be compared at all.

"To be honest, I wasn't that happy when I won the championship last season. Even though the team's victory also belongs to me, it's undeniable that I didn't help at all in winning the championship last season. At first, I thought I could win the finals. I tried to change the game on the court, but this guy, Wang Chong, ruined it."

Garnett's words caused a burst of laughter among the reporters present.

In fact, it's rare to feel unhappy after winning, but it's not surprising.

As one of the strongest power forwards in the league, Garnett's goal should be Tim Duncan.

But Duncan has four championships, two MVPs, and three Finals MVPs. If Garnett wants to catch up to Duncan, he obviously still has a long way to go.

Originally, by winning his third championship, Garnett should have been closer to Duncan, but because the Bulls could win the championship without Garnett, this third title had nothing to do with him. In fact, it even reduced the importance of Garnett's role in the first two championships, making people wonder whether the Bulls could have won the championship even without Garnett in the past.

This conclusion, of course, is not entirely valid. The Bulls could have won the championship without Garnett due to the growth of Gasol and the arrival of Curry, along with Wang Chong, who continues to strengthen every season.

But in the last two years, the Bulls could have still stood out in the Eastern Conference without Garnett, but in the finals, they had no chance against the Lakers in the Western Conference.

Garnett knew this very well, which is why he was unhappy. He continued, "From this perspective, I'm very grateful to the Heat. The formation of the Big Three gave me the opportunity to prove myself again. I'll definitely show everyone what I've got this season, whether the Bulls need me or not!"

Compared to Garnett's Top Gun attitude, Wang Chong's interview seemed much shorter and more direct.

Reporter: "Excuse me, what are your goals for the new season?"

Wang Chong: "Defend the title and win the championship."

Reporter: "So, do you think the Bulls can beat the Miami Heat?"

Wang Chong: "Of course."

Reporter: "..."

It's not that Wang Chong's words are like gold, it's just that he really didn't want to repeat what he had already said in an interview over a month ago.

The journalists were eager to hear his views and thoughts on the Heat, but he had already addressed them before. So why waste breath on it?

Besides, the first game of the new season is Bulls vs. Heat. If there's an issue, they can wait until after the game to discuss it.

——October arrives, and the NBA preseason begins.

As in previous years, the Bulls strictly controlled the playing time of their starting lineup during the preseason. For the Bulls' generals who have been playing together for many years, there's no need for preseason games to build tacit understanding. It's better to give the opportunity to the substitutes. The bench players were free to play.

There were still several good players on the Bulls' bench, like forward Danny Green, who was a starter many times last season. Another example was Thronton, who, after being drafted by Wang Chong, had little chance to perform on the bench.

To put it bluntly, Thornton was unlucky to be valued by Wang Chong.

Originally, Thornton's most glorious period of his career was during his rookie contract.

When he first entered the league, Thornton shone with the New Orleans Hornets, averaging 14.5 points per game. As a second-round pick, this number was even out of reach for many first-round players.

Then, Thornton was traded to the Kings in his second season. In the last 27 games with the Kings, he averaged 21.3 points per game. In his third season, he played as the Kings' main scorer, averaging 21.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists.

The first three years of his career can be considered as the best years of Thornton's career, because after that, his form began to decline, and his performance wasn't as good year after year, eventually fading from everyone's radar.

In Wang Chong's view, Thornton is an excellent immediate player. Although his level isn't very high, when he's healthy, he's extremely athletic and can cause damage even if he rushes recklessly. But once he's injured, his explosive power diminishes, and he's done.

Thornton's original selection also came from the fact that it would be a waste to not pick him in the

draft. However, after drafting him, Wang Chong didn't expect him to provide much substantial help to the team.

Thornton averaged 9 points per game last season and was definitely qualified as a bench player. However, in the playoffs, with increased defensive intensity and limited time for the opposing team's main player, his role as a substitute was essentially non-existent in the playoffs.

This season, it's most likely that Thornton will not have any opportunities with the Bulls.

With Danny Green and Tracy McGrady on the bench, Thornton really doesn't get the ball much and will probably not be able to perform at his original level.

Strictly speaking, it was Wang Chong who chose Thornton, resulting in him not having an appropriate stage to show his abilities.

But Wang Chong didn't think there was anything wrong with that. The most he could do was trade Thornton after this season and give him a chance to show himself.

Since coming to this world, Wang Chong has changed the career paths of many NBA players, including one or two.

However, in the relatively insignificant preseason, it would be fine to give players like Thornton more chances to perform.

During this period, Thornton's performance wasn't bad. In the 10 preseason games, Thornton averaged 30 minutes per game and contributed 22 points and 3 rebounds. His strong body allowed him to hold the ball, and he was very impactful when attacking the basket. At the same time, he also had the attribute of a sharp shooter from the outside. His accurate three-pointers were also very impressive.

Thornton's standout performance in the preseason surprised many teams. Could this bench player who had been unknown on the Bulls' bench last season be this good?

Although Marcus Thornton performed very well in the preseason, the Bulls' preseason record was quite satisfactory, with 6 wins and 4 losses. Although Thornton has some strength on the offensive side, his shortcomings were also obvious. First, his defensive ability is insufficient. His height of 1.93 meters is a bit short for a shooting guard. He doesn't have Wade's exaggerated athleticism, and his defensive enthusiasm is not high, so it's very easy to get beaten on the court.

Furthermore, Thornton's continuous offensive ability is not strong either, so naturally, he can't help the team win as a main scorer. With him as the core of the offense, the team's offense would basically be suppressed by the opponent.

Of course, since it was a preseason game and Thornton was just a bench player for the Bulls, these shortcomings were ignored, and his advantages were praised.

"The Bulls are really full of talent, and each bench player is at that level. Tom Thibodeau should seriously consider increasing Thornton's playing time in the new season to fully utilize his strength."

"After a long offseason, the Bulls are definitely ready to face the challenge of their strongest opponent in the new season, the Miami Heat. At the end of the preseason, the two teams are about to start a battle like Mars hitting the Earth! The ultimate showdown!"

The preseason has ended, and the new regular season is about to begin.

ESPN also published the latest NBA power rankings in due time.

The Bulls, who won three consecutive championships, undoubtedly ranked first, and the Lakers, who had six fierce battles with the Bulls in the finals, remained in second place.

Unexpectedly, third place was not the Miami Heat, who formed the Super Big Three, but the Orlando Magic led by Howard.

Clearly, although the formation of the Heat's Big Three shocked the entire league, not many people were truly optimistic about them. On one hand, people believe the Heat's Big Three needs enough time to develop a tacit understanding. The Big Three played very little together during the preseason and had no reference point.

But after all, they are the Big Three, and even without any reference point, they are still only surpassed by the Bulls, Lakers, and Magic, ranking fourth in the league's power rankings, ahead of teams like the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz, and other league leaders.

Despite all the heated discussions, the regular season began as scheduled on October 27, 2010.

The American Airlines Arena, home of the Miami Heat, was filled with Heat fans who packed the stadium to witness the home debut of the Heat's Big Three!

On the court, the players of both teams began warming up.

James was highly motivated, dunking several times in a row, looking very dominant. It was obvious that he had been waiting for this game for a long time.

Remembering how Wang Chong had defeated him in several ways in the past, we can somewhat understand his current mindset. It seemed like he couldn't wait to lead the Heat to beat the Bulls and avenge his humiliation.

When the referee blew the whistle, the players of both teams competed for the ball, and the game was about to begin!

End of this chapter

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