Entering 2004, the Bulls faced the Knicks in their first game. The Knicks, who had gradually declined in the past two years, had no power to fight back.
The Bulls also won their 32nd consecutive game.
The opponent in Game 33 was the Celtics, and the media was immediately ready to announce that the Bulls had tied their historical winning streak.
Because the Bulls have never lost against the Celtics in the past two seasons.
That's not right, the Bulls have never lost against many teams in the league.
Unexpectedly, the Bulls fell behind at the start and trailed by 9 points at halftime. Hamilton and Richardson became blacksmiths, the role players performed abnormally, and the Celtics played very fiercely under the leadership of Pierce.
The Celtics want to win, and Pierce wants to prove that he can take the team to the playoffs without Anthony Walker.
Walker was poached by the Mavericks, leaving Pierce alone. Many fans are not optimistic about his strength. Don't look at his nickname "Truth". In the NBA, strength is the truth and record is the truth. When you can't lead the team to win,
If you can't prove your own strength, you are not called the truth, you are called really bad.
If you want to prove your strength, defeating the Bulls is the best way.
Ricky Davis also wants to prove that he has the ability to be the boss of the team.
Since he was ruthlessly abandoned by the Cavaliers, he has become the laughing stock of the entire league, especially his line "I thought he was here to help me" which made him feel embarrassed and ridiculed by the fans.
It's a pity that I don't know what went wrong. Davis, who averaged 20 per game with the Cavaliers, became acclimated when he came to the Celtics. Although the Bulls were ahead of the Bulls in the first half due to Pierce's performance, by the end of the game,
In the last quarter, Lu Yu made two consecutive three-pointers, a 31, especially this 31, which dragged the game into overtime.
In overtime, Pierce was completely out of energy, and Ricky Davis was also a loose shooter. At this time, Hamilton made consecutive hits and scored 6 points in overtime.
In the end, the Bulls defeated the Celtics 129-124, tying the historical record with their 33rd consecutive victory.
The Bulls' 34th opponent is the Suns.
The Suns are an underdog, and it is normal that they cannot beat the Bulls. Therefore, fans believe that the Bulls will break the Lakers' winning streak soon.
After the start of the 2003-04 season, the Suns stumbled all the way. By the end of November, their record was a pitiful 7 wins and 8 losses.
By December, the Suns' performance was even more disappointing, with a record of 5 wins and 12 losses. Such poor performance led to the dismissal of head coach Frank Johnson.
After Mike D'Antoni took over as head coach, he decided to reorganize the team. The team traded Marbury and Penny Hardaway to the New York Knicks to reduce the team's salary expenses.
Because of the major reorganization of the team, the Suns struggled at the bottom of the Pacific Division for most of the season.
Without Marbury, there is no Hardaway.
The team can only rely on the little bully Stoudemire to fight. Stoudemire even shouted before the game that he would never let the Bulls win 34 games against them.
This is their last dignity!
Bulls fly to Phoenix.
In everyone's eyes, the Bulls, who have won 33 consecutive victories, are at the bottom of the Suns League. It should be natural to win this game against the Suns.
But no one expected that the game would not go as smoothly as everyone thought. From the beginning, the Suns had been suppressing the Bulls. Lu Yu's shooting rate was ridiculously low, and he missed all the first five shots, while Hamilton and
Richardson was still missing his sights as in the last game, and was even hit by Stoudemire's mismatches. Both of them committed two fouls, which made Cartwright's formation on the outside become awkward.
Being stretched thin.
Cartwright had no choice. Poor outside touch was not something his coach could predict. He still had to rely on the players to make adjustments. The most important thing was that he didn't expect that even Lu Yu's touch would be problematic, but he couldn't replace anyone.
To replace Lu Yu, you can only leave Lu Yu on the court and let him adjust himself.
Lu Yu also discovered this situation. His own touch was indeed not good, and neither was the touch of his teammates. So after he forced a shot, he did not take another shot. Instead, he stabilized his rhythm and tried his best to find the opponent's weak points, as well as himself.
Who else on the team has a slightly better touch.
Soon he found Artest's position in the bottom corner. Artest made a three-pointer and the basketball fell into the basket with a swish.
Lu Yu let out a long sigh of relief.
Then Hamilton gradually found his touch.
It was precisely with the rebounding performance of Hamilton and Artest that the Bulls were able to hold on to the score. At the end of the first half, they were only five points behind, 43:48.
During the intermission, the focus of everyone's comments unsurprisingly fell on Lu Yu.
"It's really an incredible thing. Lu Yu actually performed abnormally." Commentator Smith said in surprise: "You must know that Lu Yu's true shooting percentage has always been ranked first in the league. Since the beginning of the season, he has not performed abnormally.
Although he didn’t score much in the last game, it was not because of his shooting percentage, it was just that he took fewer shots.”
The guest next to him, Cole, didn't speak. He was a player from the Bulls. Of course he was very concerned about what went wrong with the Bulls. He looked at the technical statistics in his hand. After Lu Yu's name were his first half statistics - eight shots.
Second, 7 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists.
If this statistic were compared to other players in the league, it would actually be pretty good. However, you must know that Lu Yu was the regular season MVP last season. It would be unreasonable for an MVP to have this statistic.
He is Lu Yu!
Last season, no one thought it was strange that Lu Yu scored 50 points. During the time when he and Kobe Bryant were soaring, everyone saw Lu Yu take a shot without even watching the ball fall into the basket. They knew that the scorer would definitely change again.
Already.
Lu Yu was a scoring machine last season!
Although Lu Yu's scoring has dropped this season, everyone knows that as long as Lu Yu wants to score, he will be able to score.
A scoring machine, he only scored 7 points in half the game, which is incredible.
Is this still Lu Yu?
"Steve, do shooters like you ever feel so bad?" Smith asked.
"Of course there will be." Cole nodded: "Any player will have a bad feeling, but every player's choice is different. Some players will choose to continue taking shots because they are more confident than anyone else and they need to take shots.
To prove themselves, some players will choose another way to help the team, such as choosing to help their teammates, but I don’t know which one Lu Yu will be?"
Smith smiled and said: "I know the first one you mentioned is Michael. Do you think Lu Yu will be Michael?"
Cole shook his head: "I don't know, because both choices are the right choices."
"But I believe that a great player will make his own choice."
At this time, Lu Yu was sitting in the locker room, with a towel covering his face, sweat dripping down his cheeks and falling on his shoulders. His hands were tightly clasped together. He knew that he needed to stand up for a lot of the game, but
There is always a feeling in his heart that tells him that in today's state, he can't make a shot.
Suddenly, Lu Yu found someone sitting next to him. He took off the towel and took a look.
It's Cartwright.
Cartwright sat next to Lu Yu and handed over a clean towel again.
"Lu, how are you feeling?"
"Fortunately, my hands are just a little damp today." Lu Yu looked at his hands and shrugged helplessly.
Maybe it was because he was nervous about breaking the record, or maybe it was just a bad touch. Anyway, not only him, but all his teammates performed poorly in this game.
This situation has already emerged since the last game against the Celtics.
Cartwright laughed and said, "It seems like it's been a long time since I've seen you with such poor touch. I really miss the time when you first joined the Bulls. At that time, I worried about how to use you every day."
"I never expected that you would grow up so fast. If I hadn't seen you play such a poor performance, I almost forgot that you were only a third-year player."
Lu Yu rolled his eyes at him: "So, Bill, when you see my performance like this, do you think this is normal? I seriously doubt that you are not my favorite coach anymore."
The relationship between Cartwright and Lu Yu was both teacher and friend. Lu Yu’s words also made Cartwright smile even more happily, “Of course I am your favorite coach. If I hadn’t discovered you with my discerning eyes,
How can I get such a high salary? Just thinking about it makes you applaud my wisdom."
Last summer, Cartwright signed a big contract with the Bulls, which at least in NBA coaching circles can be considered a big contract.
Lu Yu rarely cares about what kind of contracts other players on the team get. This is actually similar to that in the workplace. Don't ask about other people's salaries. However, the NBA is slightly different from the workplace, and players have to pay attention to the salaries of their teammates.
, because it involves whether the team has the salary space to give itself a large contract, and it can even predict how much salary space the team can leave in the next few years.
This is a contradictory question.
However, as the core of the team, he theoretically does not need to worry about the contract, and there is no point in worrying about it. Anyway, he cannot get rid of this year's child labor contract.
Lu Yu also understands that these two years are the best period for the Bulls to win the championship.
The team can use its own child labor contract to strengthen, especially the team's inside line. In fact, no matter from any perspective, the Bulls' inside line is not strong now. Even after he switched to power forward, he is definitely not as good as before.
He was dominant when he won the MVP in the first season.
If you get a big contract, other players from this team will definitely leave by then.
It could be Richardson, or it could be Artest.
However, Lu Yu hopes that Artest will go out and look for a bigger contract. After all, the purpose of playing here is to make money, and with Artest's body and skills, he can secure his position in the rotation no matter which team he goes to.
, if you go to a weak team, you may even have a chance to become the core player.
"Now that I think about it, our first meeting was really an unforgettable memory."
Cartwright's words interrupted Lu Yu's thoughts.
Lu Yu didn't say anything. For him, if Cartwright hadn't reused him in the summer league, he might not have become the Bulls' main force so quickly.
Cartwright said sternly: "Actually, I know that the reason why the Bulls have shown such huge changes in the past two years is because I chose you. Without you, I would not have received a big contract, and neither would the team."
Rapid growth, and my coaching level... you know, the most important thing I do every day is to enjoy your game off the court."
Lu Yu shook his head: "Bill, you are wrong, not because of me, but because of everyone."
"The reason why this team has grown into the Bulls it is today is because of Ron's sacrifice, Richard's hard work, Quentin's hard work, and the growth of every player and of course every member of the coaching staff. We were able to
Get where you are today.”
"Without you, I might have become an outstanding player, but I would never have reached the heights I am today. It is you who have made me a success, not me who has made you a success."
"Your coaching level is not reflected on the court, but because of you, you bring everyone together. Everyone in the locker room becomes a member of this family because of you."
"You are our leader."
In the end, not only Lu Yu, but everyone in the locker room felt something.
Everyone was also moved by Lu Yu's words.
They all heard what Cartwright said before, and they all understood that Cartwright was trying to adjust Lu Yu's mood. After hearing Lu Yu's words, although everyone did not say anything, inexplicable emotions emerged in their hearts.
Such a team and such a leader are worthy of everyone's efforts in every game.
Richardson came over at this time and said, "Lu, although I admit that I am touched by what you said, I still want to tell you that you will be a great player, so you don't have to be modest. What you have to do is
Lead us to get that O'Brien again."
"Yes, I'm playing for you now." Artest has always been loyal.
"Lu, you know I'm just a role player, but by your side, I find the feeling of being the protagonist."
Hamilton smiled and said: "Because of your existence, we are all getting better and better. I hope you will lead us to win one victory after another. Look at today's commentator, Steve Kerr, he is very good."
Is it great? I think my shooting is much more accurate than his. The reason why he has achieved what he has today is because he has a guy named Michael Jordan next to him. And you, by your side, I will become another Steve
Cole.”
"You are our basketball god."
Lu Yu was silent. To be honest, he felt very bad today and he felt a little depressed.
Of course, as a professional player, he can adjust quickly.
But he never expected that his teammates would use such a method to help him get out of his slump, and the voices made by everyone were sincere and touching.
What can he do?
"Lead the team to victory!"
This was the only voice in Lu Yu's heart at this time.
The second half of the game started. When people were still making fun of Lu Yu's poor performance in the first half, Lu Yu had already walked onto the court.
His touch still hadn't recovered, but he started another way of performing.
Although he was already doing this performance at the end of the first half, he was obviously doing it more proactively and more threateningly now.
With a quick change of direction and a scalpel-like cut, the Suns had to shrink their defense because Lu Yu was too fast.
Breakthrough faster than ever before!
Just when everyone thought Lu Yu was going to make up for his lack of touch through breakthroughs, Lu Yu flicked his backhand, and the basketball appeared in the hands of Richardson at the top of the arc.
Richardson made an easy three-pointer and put the ball into the basket.
Then……
Artest hit a three-pointer.
Hamilton's high jump shot went into the frame.
Brad Miller raises his hand from beyond the three-point line.
D'Antoni, the head coach of the Suns, sadly discovered that after the halftime break, everyone in the Bulls seemed to have been shot.
Give me the ball, I want to go home!
D'Antoni originally wanted to be the person who prevented the Bulls from breaking the record. Like Stoudemire, he didn't want to be a stepping stone to the Bulls' record.
But he suddenly discovered that the gap between the two sides was not only a gap in strength, but also a gap in spirit.
Perhaps it is inevitable for the Bulls to break the record.
