2013-14 Season Champion! Wang Chong's Seven Championships Achieved!

Guys there is already content on patreon, if anyone wants to become a jonnin, hogake or God Shinobi.

patreon.com/Chuga320 (Have than 50 additional chapters)

—————————————————————————————————————————————

With a 12-point lead in the first half, the Bulls' goal in the second half was clear: just hold on to the advantage.

The Spurs are different from the Heat, and their bench lineup is also very strong. Although Ginóbili had to start, the Spurs still had players like Belinelli and Patrick Mills on the bench. Players like Boris Diaw and others of great quality also added depth.

However, even so, the Spurs' bench was barely able to compete with the Bulls', because the Bulls' bench lineup was equally strong. Isaiah Thomas, who had just won the Sixth Man of the Year award, and Drummond, who hadn't had flashy performances but always managed to get consistent playing time thanks to Wang Chong, were key contributors.

In terms of bench depth and intensity, the Bulls were in no way inferior, and in fact, slightly better.

In the past, teams with stronger benches couldn't gain an advantage, but in this game, things were turning increasingly unfavorable for the Spurs. The most important factor was that the Spurs no longer had a superstar who could step up at a critical moment and rely on personal ability to reverse the situation. Duncan was old, Leonard had yet to grow, making it too difficult for them to recover when the team fell into the passive situation of trailing.

At 110:98, the Bulls won the first game of the Finals by 12 points at home, taking a 1-0 lead.

In this game, the Bulls fully showcased their team characteristics, attacking around Wang Chong, a super scorer, so the Spurs' systematic defense couldn't function smoothly at all.

Two days later, in Game 2 of the Finals, the situation was similar to the first game. The Bulls implemented a tactical design focused on Wang Chong's offense, without deliberately targeting a single Spurs player. They resolutely used individual one-on-one defense throughout, because the Spurs themselves were a team capable of scoring with multiple players, and no position could be relaxed.

Although the Bulls used the same strategy in the last game, the Spurs still didn't manage to give a good response. However, they learned from the defeat of the last game that it was absolutely impossible to win against the Bulls normally, and if they wanted to beat them, they needed to limit Wang Chong's scoring.

Therefore, in the second game, the Spurs changed their strategy to defend Wang Chong, no longer letting Duncan defend Wang Chong in vain. Instead, they assigned Leonard to guard Wang Chong, with Duncan helping at any moment on the side.

At this point, when teams couldn't stop Wang Chong, they liked to double-team him. Even though they couldn't fully stop him and would give other Bulls players the opportunity to score, at least the double-team could greatly reduce Wang Chong's physical strength, making it easier for the following games.

But with Wang Chong's physical capabilities improving, fewer teams in the league were willing to double-team him, because the price of wrapping him up was very high. If they couldn't even wear him down physically, what was the point?

However, the Spurs' double-team was a bit different from other teams. When Leonard and Duncan double-teamed Wang Chong, the remaining three Spurs players could guard the four Bulls players at the same time through joint defense. Through scientific positioning and judgment of Wang Chong's passing trajectory, no matter who received the ball, they could follow the defense in sync.

It was clear that the Spurs had worked hard to handle the Bulls. This type of defense wasn't something that could be solved in a day or two. After losing to the Bulls in the Finals last year, the Spurs were probably studying and practicing this defensive strategy, finally showing their cards in the Finals.

This move was immediately used, and the Bulls' offensive rhythm slowed down. The Spurs seized an opportunity and launched a 10-2 run to open the gap, and the situation began to turn unfavorable for the Bulls.

Spurs fans were excited to see this, as if they saw the dawn of victory. But their hopes lasted only a short time, as the Bulls quickly changed their tactics.

Wang Chong started shifting from ball-handling offense to off-ball play, and the Bulls' offense shifted to focus on Curry.

On offense, Parker easily broke through Curry, but the reverse was the same. Curry's defense may not be very strong, but in terms of offensive scoring, there probably hasn't been a point guard in NBA history who can compare to him.

And Curry's tactics mainly relied on blocking and dismantling with interior players, and Gasol Jr. was slightly better when running to help Curry with the pick-and-roll. Every time Wang Chong took the initiative to set a pick-and-roll for Curry, the hearts of Spurs fans couldn't help but tighten.

The cooperation of consecutive pick-and-rolls between the two players, and the guy who had a shooting percentage of over 40% from beyond the three-point line—who wouldn't watch that?

This is also the reason why the league gradually gave up on double-teaming Wang Chong later. Even if it could stop other Bulls players from scoring through a joint defense like the Spurs, in the current situation, it was still in vain. Facing Wang Chong with the ball and off the ball, along with Curry working with him in the pick-and-roll, even the Spurs were helpless.

The hard-earned score advantage quickly eroded and was surpassed.

At this point, there was no way to recover. 99-96, the Spurs lost another game, and the score was 2-0.

The Bulls had won two games at home without any problems, establishing an absolute advantage. The next two games at home against the Spurs would be less psychologically demanding.

The Spurs' tactical adjustments were really strong. After returning to their home court, the Spurs made a direct lineup adjustment, moving Ginóbili to the starting position and replacing starting guard Patrick Mills.

Clearly, the Spurs had acknowledged that their main starters wouldn't be able to beat the Bulls no matter what, so they started working on their bench lineup.

In the first two games, the Spurs' bench hadn't gained an advantage. On one hand, the Bulls' bench depth was truly strong, and on the other hand, their true main substitute, Ginóbili, had been elevated to the starting lineup. In this game, the Spurs changed their lineup, and Ginóbili returned to the bench with immediate effect.

For Ginóbili, many people understand him through his nickname "The Demon Knife". Ginóbili, due to his physical strength, had offensive firepower comparable to top guards like Kobe. The reason he had been a substitute for the Spurs all these years was due to the Spurs' team-first tactical concept and, on the other hand, his physical limitations.

Ginóbili was skillful and talented, but his physical condition was a huge issue. As a European player, Ginóbili couldn't run the court like Kobe or LeBron. Even when starting for the Spurs, he had difficulty making a difference due to his physical limitations.

This is also where the other nickname for Ginóbili, "20-Minute Jordan", came from.

From this perspective, in fact, many people overlook his defensive ability. Ginóbili's serious defense was also very strong, but due to his physical distribution throughout the week, it didn't show too much.

In Game 3 of the Finals against the Bulls, Ginóbili, back on the bench, fully unleashed his skills.

Ginóbili played 31 minutes in the game, much more time than Mills, who started the game. He shot 9 of 17, 3 of 5 from three, 6 of 7 free throws, scoring 27 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals.

Not only that, Ginóbili proactively asked for help and took responsibility for defending Thomas Jr. Thomas, who was clearly faster and more agile than Ginóbili, was guarded by the experienced defender and only scored 5 points on 2 of 10 shooting.

The Bulls didn't expect this, and they lost by 17 points on the bench during the game. Even though Wang Chong scored 45 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the starting lineup, they still lost.

At 112-104, the Spurs stubbornly cut the deficit and rewrote the score to 2-1.

Two days later, still on the Spurs' court, they continued to play the final game, eating up the trenches and growing wise. Thomas Jr. learned to avoid his disadvantage this time, knowing that he couldn't beat Ginóbili. He kept avoiding the other side of the court, preventing the Bulls' bench from losing too much to the Spurs.

But the Bulls still lost the game, and the reason for the loss was an unexpected gap in the matchup.

In the game, Leonard exploded, scoring 31 points and grabbing 8 rebounds, while Butler scored only 6 points and grabbed 4 rebounds.

The four Finals games had been tight, with the two teams always in position. Except for the second game when the Spurs chose to double-team Wang Chong, with Leonard defending Wang Chong, the two opponents faced each other equally, with no one able to help the other.

But I don't know if it was simply because Leonard was about to explode, or because Leonard's maximum ceiling was higher than Butler's, due to absolute talent advantage, Leonard completely broke through Butler in this game, catching the Bulls off guard.

As soon as this game was lost, Bulls fans couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, because as a result, the score was tied 2-2, and they returned to the same starting line. Now, the two teams had to return to Chicago, the Bulls' home court, for the next "King Mountain" battle.

It would be fine if the Bulls won the Tianwang Mountain, but if they accidentally fell into the ditch and were defeated by the Spurs, it would be dangerous!

Fortunately, in such a critical moment, they had someone they could rely on: Wang Chong.

No one doubted that when the team was in crisis, Wang Chong would definitely step up and help the team win with his solid performance.

And that's exactly what happened.

On June 15, Game 5 of the Finals began—the "Tianwang Mountain" battle, which put a lot of pressure on the Bulls' fans.

In this game, the Spurs had two consecutive victories at home and launched a fierce attack against the Bulls in the first quarter, leading by 3 points at 30-27. They expanded the lead to 7 points at 32-28 in the second quarter.

Just when the Bulls' local fans were sweating, Wang Chong stepped up.

There were no bells and whistles. It was just simple, consecutive mid-range jumpers, but Wang Chong was like a pendant, hitting them continuously. Leonard wasn't good at defense, Duncan was the same, and even when the two were double-teaming again, Wang Chong could still force the ball through their defense.

In the third quarter, Wang Chong scored 29 points in a single quarter, leading the Bulls to a 39-25 advantage, not only overcoming the 7-point deficit from the first half but even surpassing it.

Relying on Wang Chong's 29 points in a single quarter and 52 points in total, the Bulls defeated the Spurs 117-112 at home to win the critical "Tianwang Mountain" battle, with the score now 3-2, taking the lead and getting a match point.

"It's still a bit far."

The victory in the "Tianwang Mountain" battle that Wang Chong snatched almost brutally made Spurs coach Popovich smile bitterly in his heart.

In this game, the Spurs played perfectly. Every player on the team posted a double-double, and their performance was flawless. Whether it was tactical movement or the precision and speed of ball passing, it was teamwork to the extreme.

They couldn't win the game like this, and he truly couldn't think of any way to defeat the Bulls in front of him.

"It seems no one can stop Wang Chong and his Bulls from defending their title… No, it's even difficult to stop the Bulls from creating a second triple crown dynasty!"

If Wang Chong wins two consecutive dynastic championships, with 4 + 3 and eight championships with the Bulls, not only could he successfully replace Jordan as the greatest in NBA history, but he could also surpass Jordan in Bulls history to become the team's greatest player of all time!

Although the two teams still had games to play in the future, Popovich was already thinking ahead.

After losing "Tianwang Mountain", the Spurs didn't give up, and their fans didn't either. The next game was back at the San Antonio court. As long as the team could win as they had in the previous two home games, they could tie the series and force a tiebreaker against the Bulls. They still hadn't lost! There was still a chance to win!

Ideals are chubby, but reality is skinny.

In Game 6 of the Finals, the Bulls didn't give the Spurs another chance.

Wang Chong scored 39 points, Curry scored 31 points, and the two combined for 70 points, completely crushing the Spurs' defense with their attack. This also shattered the dreams of Spurs fans of tying the series.

At 114-97, the Bulls ended the Finals in six games, defeating their old rival, the San Antonio Spurs, and winning the NBA 2013-14 championship.

This was the Bulls' second consecutive championship, and it also marked Wang Chong's sixth championship since joining the Bulls, allowing him to surpass Michael Jordan with seven championships. Jordan, who also won six championships with the Bulls, was now tied with Wang Chong.

End of this chapter

Note: Hi if you really like NBA novels, you can support me either in this pg with stones, reviews etc, or in patreon since the niche of sports and specially NBA is very small is Webnovel since people prefer to read Naruto, Pokemon, comics etc.