NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 257 The Battle Against Constipation

With Noah sidelined due to injury, Gibson immediately stepped into the starting lineup.

The eldest sister and Horford are preparing for the jump ball near the center circle; the game is about to begin.

The Bulls' midwife is already 34 years old, but she is still in excellent form. Many people thought that she would decline and become a role player after leaving the Lakers, but judging from the current situation, she is averaging a double-double, with excellent defense and outstanding awareness, and is clearly the pillar of this Bulls' interior.

With her long arms, the eldest sister-in-law touched the ball first, giving the Bulls possession of the ball in the first possession of the game.

Rose dribbles the ball across half-court.

As the youngest regular season MVP in NBA history, Derrick Rose's career has been truly tragic. His rose hadn't even fully bloomed before facing repeated setbacks. While he hasn't withered yet, it's clear he can't return to the explosive form of his MVP season. No one knows how strong he truly was at his peak; perhaps many won't live to see that day.

Frequent major injuries have had the biggest impact on Rose, causing him to lose his former speed and explosiveness. Back then, he could change direction without slowing down and it was common for him to rush in and dunk over centers. Now, he no longer has that kind of offensive power.

But Rose is still very strong, and he is still fast. Even Teague has a hard time keeping up with him.

The eldest sister-in-law provided support from the high post and passed the ball to Gibson in the low post.

Gibson is tough and durable, and is one of the representatives of the league's powerful power forwards. His weakness is that he has few offensive skills and is almost zero threat outside the paint.

Gibson's drive to the basket was disrupted by two Hawks players, and he missed the shot!

Jia Feifei grabbed the rebound and pushed the ball up himself. Facing Jimmy, who was guarding him, he changed direction and drove inside. After being helped by the card, he passed the ball to the weak side by the god of rice!

Miguel drove to the basket again, but his layup attempt was disrupted by the long arms of the big sister – he missed!

Gibson grabs the rebound, Rose brings the ball over, and passes it to Gasol for a low-post power shot or Horford.

The eldest sister-in-law made a high-arcing shot, but was double-teamed and then passed the ball to Jimmy, who faced Jia Fei with half-open space and missed his jump shot!

Horford closed the gap.

Hawks are on offense, but Korver misses a three-pointer.

Jia Fei gets an offensive rebound, is double-teamed, and passes the ball to Horford, who drives to the basket but is double-teamed and commits a turnover!

Rose steals the ball and launches a fast break, driving the length of the court, but Dunleavy from the branch school misses a three-pointer from the corner!

Gibson committed a foul while rebounding!

Both teams missed shots right from the start. The Bulls' style has always been excellent defense, with their offense revolving around Rose.

With Rose declining and Jimmy Butler yet to mature, the team's offense relies heavily on the 34-year-old veteran, Jessica Alba.

With Thibodeau's team, you don't have to worry about defense, but offense is always a problem.

The 2008 champion Celtics had the best defense in the league, with Thibodeau as the unsung hero behind the scenes and Kevin Garnett, nicknamed "the tough guy who fights and retreats," as the on-court hero.

The Hawks' offense also had problems. One issue was the opponent's strong defense, but their poor outside shooting in this game caused their offense to stagnate.

Their team also relies heavily on shooting; the only two starters who can truly penetrate are Teague and Jia Fei.

Mills doesn't have an easy time against Gibson, who is taller and stronger than him, and his offensive efficiency is low. Gibson is very good at one-on-one defense as a power forward; he has both strength and speed, and defensively he is much better than Boozer last season.

The first quarter lasted for more than four minutes, with the score at 6:5. Neither side had high offensive efficiency, and many shots were missed, giving the fans in the arena a sense of déjà vu of a game from the 1990s.

Teague dribbled over, used Horford's screen to break through, and passed to Jia Fei in the corner!

Jia Fei received the ball and made a second breakthrough, using a jump step to shake off Gibson who was helping to defend, and scored a difficult bank shot despite the combined block from Rose and his wife!

6-7, the Hawks finally scored their second field goal!

The Bulls were on offense. Rose drove hard and passed to Dunleavy on the outside, but Dunleavy didn't have a good opportunity and passed the ball back to Rose!

Rose faced Teague's retreating defense and pulled back to shoot a three-pointer—which missed!

Jia Fei grabbed the rebound, brought the ball over himself, and after being double-teamed, passed it to Korver at the top of the arc!

Korver took a three-pointer—but missed!

However, Jia Fei leaped to grab the offensive rebound and his putback drew a foul from Jimmy!

Mike Breen exclaimed, "With this level of defensive intensity, both sides' shooters have completely lost their accuracy!"

Mark Jackson laughed and said, "That's why we need to be more aggressive around the basket and have mid-range shots. There are more and more three-pointers being taken in the league now, and many data analyses suggest that mid-range shots are not cost-effective. However, against teams with strong defense, mid-range shots are a great way to open up the offense!"

Jia Fei stepped up to the free-throw line.

Jia Fei made both free throws, making it 6-9, the Hawks now lead by 3 points!

But then Rose drove hard to the basket, drawing Mills' second foul!

Rose will also be going to the free-throw line.

Milwaukee had already committed two fouls and was replaced by Scott.

Rose made one of two free throws!

The eldest sister-in-law grabbed the offensive rebound and drew a foul from Scott with a strong attack!

The Hawks were at a height disadvantage, resulting in a significant loss of rebounds in this game. Although Jia Fei managed to grab offensive rebounds, the paint ultimately belonged to giants, as Horford and Scott were simply not tall enough.

The eldest sister-in-law made both free throws, tying the game at 9-9!

Teague dribbles past defenders and passes to Jia Fei on the right wing.

Jia Fei was caught in a pincer attack again and managed to break through Scott's defense once more!

Scott missed a wide-open three-pointer, and his wife grabbed the rebound!

But then Rose was left wide open, and his three-point attempt missed!

The eldest sister-in-law grabbed the offensive rebound and was just about to pass the ball to Rose on the outside when Jia Fei suddenly appeared from the side and made a steal!

Jia Fei launched a counterattack with the ball, but was fouled by Little Deng Levy in advance to limit his movement.

Both sides were accumulating fouls, making it difficult to score easily from the field. Neither team wanted to lose; the Bulls were swept by the Gentlemen's Basketball Team in last season's playoffs, leaving them with a lingering sense of frustration. Upon his return, Rose publicly stated that he wouldn't let a repeat of last season's playoff performance and that he would work with the team to achieve a resurgence.

The Bulls' defense against Jia Fei incorporated their experience from last season's elimination. They had Jimmy Liao guard him one-on-one, combined with help defense and strong-side double-teams, forcing him to pass the ball. They used rotations to help out, giving him some three-point opportunities, but not giving shooters like Korver open three-pointers.

Both teams made personnel adjustments one after another. The Hawks continued to use a 10-man rotation, while the Bulls only used an 8-man rotation in this game. In addition to the starting 5, the other 3 were Hinrich, Brooks and Mirotic.

Playing under Thibodeau, many role players don't get many opportunities, but once you do get a chance, he'll keep you on the court until you're sick of it...

When it comes to relentlessly playing against players, Thibodeau fears no one...

The Hawks' second unit continued to struggle offensively after they came on, but fortunately, the opposing team was also struggling, so the score remained relatively stable.

At the end of the first quarter, the Hawks led by one point, 20-21!

贾飞首节得分不多，得到6分5个篮板1次助攻1个抢断1个盖帽，算是填满数据栏。