The Incomparable Bull and the Three-Legged Wes

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The first full month of the 2010-11 season has concluded, and the situation in the league is clear.

The Bulls remain undefeated, far ahead of all other teams in terms of record. Although they sit at the top of the league, they continue to be firmly on the list of powerhouses and are the favorites to win the championship this season.

The Big Three of the Heat are surprisingly in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, due to a lack of cooperation and immature tactics, which is quite unexpected.

Overall, the other teams have performed relatively normally, but the one team worth mentioning is the San Antonio Spurs.

Since the 2006-07 season, when the Spurs defeated the Bulls led by Wang Chong in the Finals to win the fourth championship in the team's history, their performance had been somewhat disappointing for the following three seasons, despite winning 50 games each year. They were still a strong playoff team, but whether facing the Los Angeles Lakers or in fierce battles with their old rivals, the Dallas Mavericks, the Spurs were just slightly inferior and lost to their opponents.

Many Spurs fans can't help but lament that the era of the Big Three (Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili) seemed to be coming to an end.

This is not surprising. Unknowingly, Tim Duncan, nicknamed "Stone Buddha," is now 34 years old. Even last season, he averaged a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds per game, but in terms of overall performance, the gap between him and the league's top power forwards has clearly widened.

At the start of the new season, Duncan and Kevin Garnett seemed to follow nearly the same trajectory. In November, Duncan averaged just 13 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. His personal stats were so far from his peak that it was clear his days as a top player were numbered.

Normally, the first core player of a team would have such underwhelming numbers, and it would be nearly impossible for the team to win games.

But these are the Spurs, and under Popovich's command, the Spurs have never relied solely on the individual skills of their stars to win.

While Duncan averaged only 13+9 per game, and the other two players in the Big Three averaged only 17+ points each, the Spurs had a remarkable 14-2 record, leading the Western Conference. The Lakers had an even better record with 13-4.

This exceeded everyone's expectations, but Wang Chong was not surprised.

The 2010-11 season was already shaping up to be full of drama, with many unexpected events happening. For example, the Heat's Big Three were unexpectedly defeated by the one-man Dallas Mavericks in the Finals. Another example was the back-to-back defending champions, the Lakers, who were ruthlessly swept by the Mavericks 4-0 in the second round of the playoffs. Yet another example was the Spurs, who had the best record in the Western Conference, being eliminated by the Grizzlies 4-2 in the first round. All of these came from the 2010-11 season.

Although it was embarrassing to lose in the playoffs and become one of the few teams in the league to be eliminated by an eighth seed, the Spurs' regular-season dominance was not bad.

Their overall ability surpassed that of both the Lakers and the Mavericks, with a regular season record of 61-21. The Spurs had taken team basketball to the extreme. Although no player on the team averaged more than 20 points per game, the Spurs had five players averaging double figures in points, including Gary Neal (9.8 points per game) and DeJuan Blair (8.3 points per game). Additionally, three other players on the team averaged more than 5 points per game.

This ultimate team allowed the Spurs to average 103.7 points per game, ranking sixth in the league in a season where offensive pace was generally slower. At the same time, their defensive average of 98 points allowed per game was in the mid-to-high range of the league. The team's defensive ability had not been significantly impacted by the increase in offensive firepower.

Except for Wang Chong, no one would dare to believe that in the coming years, the Spurs would always be favorites for the championship, reaching the Finals in both the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, and crushing opponents. In the 2013-14 season, they defeated the Heat to win the team's fifth championship.

Some might say that the Spurs won the 2013-14 championship because of the rise of Kawhi Leonard.

But it must be clear that Leonard was not the primary player for the Spurs in the 2013-14 season. The Spurs' main tactics still revolved around the three players of GDP (Ginobili, Duncan, and Parker). Leonard only had a standout performance in the Finals, especially with his defense against LeBron James.

The topic has strayed a little.

Overall, in the East, the Bulls, with a 14-1 record, are far ahead.

In the West, there are three teams — the Spurs, Lakers, and Mavericks — fiercely competing. After them, there are teams like the Nuggets, Hornets, Trail Blazers, Thunder, Rockets, and Suns.

The records of these teams are very close, and the situation is quite stagnant.

Interestingly, Yao Ming has not suffered any major injuries that could affect his career. Although he has experienced many small injuries over the past two seasons, playing only between 50 and 60 games each season, his scoring has begun to decrease. Last season, he averaged just 17 points and 8 rebounds per game. In the new season, at only 30 years old, Yao has reduced his stats to 15 points and 8 rebounds, and his playing time has been limited to just over 30 minutes.

Obviously, the Rockets are also concerned about Yao Ming's health. They certainly hope that his career lasts as long as possible. Even if his ability cannot help the Rockets achieve good results in the playoffs, they can still make a lot of money in China with Yao as their revenue source.

Therefore, the Rockets are especially cautious with Yao Ming's usage. Generally, they won't let him play in close games. Even if it means giving up a win, they are unwilling to risk Yao Ming getting injured.

This has led the Rockets to lose many games that were close until the final moments. Their current record puts them in ninth place in the Western Conference, still behind Amar'e Stoudemire and the Phoenix Suns, who are led by the 36-year-old Stoudemire.

Yao Ming himself is not grateful for the overprotection by the Rockets. On the contrary, he is a bit dissatisfied. After all, Yao Ming is also a player with pride and great perseverance to win. In another time and place, in a game against the Lakers, he chose to play injured in the final moments.

However, no matter how dissatisfied Yao Ming is, that doesn't change the fact that the Rockets' strength is no longer what it used to be.

The once-famous Yao-McGrady combination is now a thing of the past, with age and injuries taking their toll. Yao Ming's dominance in the paint is not as strong as it once was, and McGrady has been completely reduced to a bench player, playing a minimal role with the Bulls.

The Bulls' bench players are well-known in the league, especially players like O'Neal, Marcus Thornton, and Danny Green, who had little playing time at the beginning but still managed to get some exposure due to their past popularity. However, as the season progresses, people have gradually lost interest in McGrady, and fewer media outlets are covering him.

The Yao-McGrady combination has become completely a thing of the past. The current main players for the Rockets are Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, and Aaron Brooks. With Yao Ming as the backbone, they still have a chance to compete for a playoff spot, but if they want to go further and achieve anything meaningful in the playoffs, that will be much more difficult.

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As the calendar turns to December, the Bulls continue their overwhelming dominance.

On December 1st, the Bulls faced the Orlando Magic at home and defeated them 107-88.

Last season, the Bulls and Magic were tied in their regular season matchups. In the absence of Kevin Garnett to guard him, Dwight Howard almost got everything he wanted in the paint, overpowering Pau Gasol and bullying him.

Just half a year later, the two teams met again, and Howard discovered that he could no longer intimidate Gasol as he once did.

Gasol, who had signed a big contract, was much more energized and obviously had more confidence on the court. Even if his athleticism wasn't as good as Howard's, he used every means to tangle with his opponent. He did everything he could to block Howard's position and prevent him from easily grabbing offensive

rebounds.

And I have to admit, whether with or without Garnett, the Bulls' interior defense is at a completely different level. Although Wang Chong took over Garnett's responsibilities in the interior during key games and did a good job, he still couldn't compare to Garnett in terms of experience.

At least in this game, with Gasol and Garnett on the floor, Howard never had a chance to shine. He only scored 13 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and blocked 2 shots. His performance was far from his status as the league's top center.

Everyone knows that Howard is not the core of the Magic's tactics. If the team wants to win, it depends mainly on the performance of their outside shooters. However, the reason the Magic's shooters can shoot freely from outside is precisely because of Howard's ability to dominate inside.

Once Howard can't gain an absolute advantage in the paint, the Magic's shooters have little space to operate.

After defeating the Magic, the Bulls immediately beat the Boston Celtics 119-106 on the road two days later.

In the second matchup of the season, the Celtics, led by Durant, lost again, and this time, Durant was unable to score as much against Wang Chong. Wang Chong scored 42 points, while Durant managed just 24 points.

On December 4th, the Bulls faced off against the Houston Rockets in a back-to-back away game, a "China Derby" between Wang Chong and Yao Ming.

The Rockets were also very aware of the attention surrounding the Yao Ming vs. Wang Chong matchup, so even though Yao Ming had suffered some minor injuries and didn't feel great in previous games, they still arranged for Yao Ming to start in this one.

I have to admit, no matter the time, a center as tall as Yao Ming will always be a force on the court.

A few days ago, Gasol, who struggled to keep up with Howard, was thoroughly outclassed by Yao Ming in many ways in this game, whether it was with his dreamlike footwork inside to connect a hook shot or a jump shot from mid-range, Yao Ming always had different ways to score against Gasol.

Of course, Yao Ming's ability to defeat Gasol does not mean the Rockets can compete with the Bulls. In fact, after the first quarter of the game, the Bulls already held a double-digit lead. It was huge.

Not to mention, Yao Ming is limited by physical issues and lacks the ability to sustain production. Even if he scores over 30 points, at most, he can only match Wang Chong one-on-one. The positional problems cannot be solved.

Fortunately, the local fans in the Rockets' arena had little hope of winning the game from the start. Instead, this game allowed many loyal Rockets fans to fulfill their dreams. For example, after the Bulls' backup forward, Tracy McGrady, entered the game, he high-fived Yao Ming on the court. The image vaguely reminded Bulls fans of the time when the Yao-McGrady combination was at its peak.

After O'Neal came off the bench, his interior confrontation with Yao Ming easily reminded the fans of one of the highlights of the league that year: the confrontation between Yao Ming and Shaquille O'Neal.

After this season, O'Neal and McGrady will officially retire as expected. In the future, they will likely have few opportunities to appear on the court at the same time as Yao Ming.

116-112, the Bulls defeated the Rockets by 4 points in an away game and continued their winning streak.

On December 6th, the Bulls defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 102-99 at home.

The Thunder have been performing quite well this season. Although it is impossible for the three young stars of the Thunder to make a return, with Russell Westbrook and Blake Griffin, the Thunder have a guaranteed basic lower limit. In the summer, they successfully acquired Ray Allen and showed good effectiveness in the new season.

Westbrook averaged 21 points and 8 assists per game, and Griffin averaged a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds per game. Adding Ray Allen's 18 points, the Thunder's record was very stable, hovering around fourth or fifth in the Western Conference, fiercely competing with teams like the Nuggets led by Anthony.

The game against the Thunder unexpectedly posed some problems for the Bulls.

When Westbrook was younger, he had an immense impact. An intuitive reflection of this is that in the 2010-11 season, although Derrick Rose won the MVP award and became the youngest MVP in history, in terms of both regular season data and high-level efficiency, Westbrook was actually not worse than Rose, and even a bit better in terms of efficiency.

This is not nonsense. Both Rose and Westbrook are point guards who mainly focus on controlling the ball and driving to the basket. However, Rose is limited by his height and weight. His impact is actually not as strong as Westbrook's. Westbrook's physique is much more durable and resistant.

When driving to the basket with the ball, Rose often uses disguised moves to overcome defenders during the drive, which puts a great burden on his knees. On the other hand, Westbrook's drives are more direct and pure, and though he may seem reckless, the chance of injury is actually lower than Rose's.

One thing to note is that if Wang Chong had to choose between the two to build the core of the team, he would definitely lean more toward Westbrook. Whether it is technical characteristics, growth potential, or injury resistance, he is the better choice. He is significantly better than Rose.

Even though Westbrook wasn't favored by everyone later on, he was probably the only one who could accomplish the miracle of averaging a triple-double for three consecutive seasons.

Don't worry about whether Westbrook averages a triple-double per game. Even if he does, not everyone can achieve it. Just from this perspective, Westbrook ranks among the best point guards in NBA history.

The current weakness of the Bulls is their poor defense against perimeter drives. Not to mention the defensive black hole of Curry, Chauncey Billups is also struggling to defend against these extremely fast point guards.

There's no way around it, even a perimeter defense expert who once made the All-Defensive Team cannot resist the invasion of time. Billups, who is 34 years old this season, has greatly reduced his athletic ability and speed. His explosive power is not as good as before. He simply can't keep up with the fast defenders anymore.

End of this chapter

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