The rumors are affecting the Bulls’ atmosphere and cohesion, and Pippen’s absence is further impacting the team’s performance.
In the November opening, the Bulls’ record was 5 wins and 6 losses, with a win rate of less than 50%, ranking low in the Eastern Conference.
The season opener was lost to the Boston Celtics, and Duncan’s outstanding performance made people sense a changing of the guard.
The entire Bulls organization is filled with the pessimism of disintegration, and the players know very well that this could very well be the last season for this championship-winning team.
In such a tough situation, the nearly 35-year-old Michael Jordan stepped up.
After a 5-win, 6-loss start, facing a challenging 7-game road trip, Jordan scored 49 points against the Clippers, leading the team to a hard-fought victory in double overtime.
After surviving the tough November, the situation gradually improved for the team in December; before the Christmas showdown, the Bulls achieved a five-game winning streak.
Despite the tumultuous relationship with the Bulls management, and being on the verge of becoming enemies with Jerry Krause, Jordan still diligently played every game as a player.
Because he knows deeply that he is not playing for the Bulls owner and Jerry Krause but fighting on the court for the Chicago fans who support him.
In the games, he serves as an extreme scorer, undertaking a massive number of shots to relieve the team’s scoring pressure.
His shooting accuracy and offensive efficiency reached the lowest levels of his career, yet his fervent fighting spirit on the court remains unchanged from when he first entered the league.
This is also why people believe that the Chicago Bulls have a chance to end the Trail Blazers’ winning streak, precisely because of Michael Jordan’s presence.
Chicago fans are certain that Jordan will not let the Trail Blazers easily extend their winning streak against the Bulls.
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The game is scheduled to start at 3:30 PM on December 25, held at the United Center in Chicago.
Snow is falling outside, and the United Center can accommodate over 21,800 fans; tonight, facing the rival Trail Blazers, the venue is packed with tickets hard to come by.
The entire Trail Blazers team arrived at the United Center at 1:30 PM for arena adaptation training, followed by preparation in the locker room before kickoff.
This season, the improvements for the Trail Blazers are not just in the roster; their logistics, medical, and equipment management have undergone upgrades.
To allow veterans to have better game condition, the Trail Blazers recruited a batch of new logistics personnel, expanding their logistics team to provide players with the best service.
Larry Bird also leveraged his connections, recruiting several excellent sports medical practitioners from Boston to offer medical consultations and bodily recovery for the Trail Blazers’ players.
Though the coaching staff still only consists of Rick Carlisle and Dick Hart, Little Spo’s data analysis team has recruited multiple young data analysis experts to provide comprehensive data support for the team.
Old Tang has also updated a batch of electronic equipment, allowing the Trail Blazers to use the best and most advanced analytical instruments to guide all aspects of the team.
Thus, the Trail Blazers’ explosive start to the new season was not without cause, nor was it simply due to adding a few veteran talents.
In fact, the Trail Blazers are already ahead of the league by a version in terms of gameplay, a fact Larry Bird has profoundly realized.
Many teams are at a loss for how to tackle the Trail Blazers’ current gameplay, as Rick Carlisle’s "flowing offense" has quietly slipped into this era by leveraging the veteran players’ tacit understanding and chemistry.
Logically, this offensive model would have to wait another decade before it could blossom and become prevalent in the league.
It’s just that the presence of this batch of Trail Blazers and Gan Guoyang has brought it prematurely, and no one else besides the Trail Blazers can replicate or imitate it.
Regardless, where else can you find an inside duo like Sabonis + Gan Guoyang?
The Celtics have a low-budget version, but Bobby Berman doesn’t want to follow the Trail Blazers’ path.
The Celtics won’t use fluid offense nor play Princeton; they need to design tactics around Duncan and follow a traditional route.
Because Beelman knows, there won’t be a second Ah Gan, there’ll be a second Michael Jordan, but there won’t be a second Ah Gan, not even Duncan.
Only Ah Gan, with his lifting capacity on both offense and defense, can give his teammates vast space to perform.
Riddle has welcomed his career-best performance, and Chris Mullin has unexpectedly welcomed a second spring in his career.
Last season, his average score had dropped to 14.5 points, and it seemed like coming to the Trail Blazers would cause him to further decline, becoming an ordinary role player.
However, his average score skyrocketed to 19.5 points, the highest since his 1993-1994 season.
His shooting accuracy, three-point shooting accuracy, and offensive efficiency have reached their highest in recent years, as if reborn.
The reason lies in the Trail Blazers’ enormous space, strong inside defensive attraction, and ball distribution ability, providing abundant opportunities for Mullin, who is adept at shooting.
If Gan Guoyang insists on being the absolute core and continues playing ball control-heavy tactics, inside-outside, using Mullin, Riddle, and Kobe as role players to create space for himself, using Sabonis as a deputy to patch up for himself, naturally the Trail Blazers are also championship contenders and are the top odds team.