The Bulls won 112-108 and the Hawks won six straight, and the team returned to the first place in the East!
In the first game when the All-Star returned, the Bulls gave the Hawks a head start, and in the opening three minutes, the Bulls played a wave of 10-0, with 6 points from DeRozan, 3 of 4 shooting.
The Hawks used Hunter against Lavin and Hult against DeRozan, already the best defender they could come up with up front, but Azan still gave what he wanted.
It's not a problem for the Hawks, it's something that all teams facing the Bulls have to think about: How to defend DeRozan?
Before the All-Star, Azan had 35+ in 7 consecutive games and the shooting rate was above 50%, breaking Zhang Dashuai's record in one go. That era decided that any record related to Chamberlain was not easy to break, and Azan did.
DeRozan's three-pointer is still not good from the data, in the conventional understanding, there is no three-point in modern basketball like a self-severed arm, why does Azan seem to be more and more invincible?
The first is confidence, is an NBA player really not going to have a certain technique? In fact, no, he may have practiced well in training, but when it comes to facing defense on the field, if there is no self-confidence as a support, it will be difficult to do well, and it will be easy to fall into a vicious circle in the long run.
But as long as the player finds confidence, he will do better and better. The root of self-confidence is a comfortable team environment and good team records, and Azan has shown confidence at the Bulls this year that has not been shown for a long time.
Every time you shoot you feel like you can get in and when you play the drum every time you shoot, it must be two very different states.
Second, Azan is not now completely out of the box. He's crossed the three-point hurdle in his psyche, especially after back-to-back three-pointers against the Pacers and Wizards at the beginning of the year.
Let's make an analogy: Azan is now averaging 1.8 three-pointers per game, shooting 34.3%; Paul is averaging 3.1 three-pointers per game this season, shooting 33% from the field.
Not really, but no defender would say I don't defend Paul's three-pointer, which is also a truth for Azan now.
Pulling another person out to compare, Rondo, who started today because of Garland's injury, Long coached the season to average 3.3 three-pointers per game, shooting 37%, which is the most accurate of the three. But there will be no defender who will say, I must stare at Rondo's three points, should let him go or will let him go.
And if you have to choose one of Rondo and Azan to let him shoot three points, must Azan be let go?
Third, although Azan shoots few three-pointers, his mid-range ability is there, and as soon as he enters the three-point line alarm level, he has to pull full, and you can't prevent his shot.
As soon as you post him, he surprises you, you let him throw him at you, and when he reaches the low position, his steps are very solid, so it is still too much for Azan to do.
Eagles don't believe in evil, do you have the ability to kill me alone?
Azan: This is the first time I've heard of such a request.
The Bulls scored 24 points in the first quarter, and DeRozan scored 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, fully praising the horror.
In the second quarter, the Hawks began to pinch DeRozan, and above the free throw line there were always two people facing him, and the Bulls' question arose: Who else but DeRozan can contribute a steady score?
In the first quarter, DeRozan scored 16 points alone, and the whole team only scored 24 points, and the situation of others can be imagined.
Of course, this is also related to the Eagles' defensive strategy: in addition to the beginning, the Eagles are trying to control their mistakes in the last three quarters and prevent the Bulls from counterattacking.
Secondly, the bottom corners on both sides can also protect the rebounds while recovering the basket, giving role players such as Dosem and Green the opportunity to shoot three-point shots in the bottom corner.
The Bulls were 2-of-14 from three in the first half, with Azan occupying half of the country, and the Bulls' misalignment of the outside line gave Azan a lack of fire support and also gave the Hawks breathing room.
The Hawks' offense came from three fronts: blowing Young and Capela's blocking launch, Bogdan's weak side three-pointer and breakthrough finish, and Gallinari's misplaced punishment in the low post.
Blowing Yang 3 of 17 in the game, 5 of 3 three points, even lost 3 free throws, it is said that the shooting feel can not be worse, but he and Capela still cut 28 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists together.
The Eagles' first athletic goal of the game was the blocking connection between Young and Capela after the opening 10-0, which is also the source of the Eagles' attack, especially against Vucevic, Capela's pie king style is undoubted.
The Hawks can stalemate with the Bulls to the end, and Bogdan and Gallinari are the best, but whether it is Bogdan's breakthrough or Gallinari's continuous misalignment in the low position to punish the Bulls in the fourth position, in the end, it is the Bulls' interior line that is attacked.
In the fourth quarter, at 2:55, Gallinari hit DeRozan on his back and hit a shot — the fourth place punished the second position, and the Hawks overtook 105-104, while the Bulls had not scored for more than 3 minutes.
In the next two minutes, Blowing Yang broke through to attract the Bulls to the basket and did not score, Capela easily got the front court board to dunk; it was Vucevic who grabbed the rebound and fouled Gallinari, two free throws and one shot, and the Eagles led by three points 108-105.
The Bulls' interior line, especially Vucevic, can be said to have been blown up by the Eagles. In desperate moments, it was deRozan who came out to save the world.
In the final 47 seconds of the game, Azan received the ball on the left side of the free throw line, and Hult was completely in the middle of the defensive position. Azan broke through to open Bogdan, did not dribble the ball directly dry hit, the Bulls 107-108 difference 1 point;
In the next round, Azan directly held the ball and seemed to go to the middle, but when Borgdan and Hurth clamped down, they turned around and directly pulled out, against the 2+1 between Borgdan and Hurth!
Azan's mid-range of this killing game, from temperament to result, has the taste of Jordan in the Bulls.
It was this 2+1 that gave him the 37th point of the game, and also allowed him to surpass Chamberlain as the first person in history to 8 games.
There is no doubt that DeRozan is the Jordan of the bulls today, and this year's MVP competition may not be a one-size-fits-all.
The game ended with the Bulls 39 wins and 21 losses, first in the East; the Hawks 28 wins and 31 losses, tenth in the East.
Thanks for reading it all!