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While Silas and Liam chatted, on the Bulls' bench, across from the technical table, Thibodeau looked at Rose with a solemn expression and said in a deep voice:
"Derek, how do you feel now? Tired or not?"
"I'm not tired, coach." Rose shook his head, took a sip of the energy drink, and gasped lightly.
Thibodeau said: "I need you to stay on the court later, use the Warriors on the bench to chase the point difference. Can you still hold on to your physical state?"
Rose's hand paused briefly, then he whispered:
"No problem."
Thibodeau looked at him with some concern, also aware of the intensity of this game. With Tony Allen locking down Rose on the outside and Chandler covering the paint, every point Rose scored was hard-earned and physically draining.
But he had no choice but to place his hopes on Rose. Increasing his playing time was the only option to maintain the Bulls' firepower and close the point gap, even though it would wear Rose down even more. But Thibodeau didn't mind that much.
He had followed Jeff Van Gundy for many years, and his approach to using key players was similar. He was eager to let starters play over 40 minutes per game. Rose's average playing time in the first 7 games was only 37.9 minutes per game, a result of Thibodeau's intentional control, and Luol Deng had to play a terrifying 39.3 minutes per game, basically being used like James.
Later, Rose, Deng, and even Noah experienced frequent injuries, and their assist rate was low in the later part of their careers. Many suspected this was due to Thibodeau's overuse, including Butler, who was drafted by the Bulls in his previous life, also got injured later in his career due to being "overused" by Thibodeau.
Today, Thibodeau saw that defeat was near and, for the first time, used the magical weapon of his main force in the dying moments.
The short break ended quickly, and the two teams returned to the court. Mike Breen saw the Bulls' lineup and was surprised:
"Rose stayed on the court after playing the third quarter, and Thibodeau didn't replace Deng and Gibson, who stayed alongside Korver and Asik. Is Thibodeau going for an early confrontation?"
Cole thought for a moment and nodded: "So far, Rose has played 30 minutes, and Deng and Gibson have also played 27 minutes, not saving physical energy to stay on the court. Thibodeau is determined to chase the gap… On the other side, the Warriors lineup: Jeremy Lin, Big Z, Klay, Yi, and Matthews is a regular transition lineup, and Coach Liam has no intention of battling with the Bulls. They might suffer some losses."
On the sideline, the Warriors' coaching staff also saw the Bulls' lineup. Ron Adams and Silas changed their expressions and looked at Liam. They didn't expect Thibodeau to treat a regular-season game like a playoff, facing a Western team and directly shortening the rotation to the limit. The Warriors' coaching staff had made no preparations for this before the game, and now it all depended on Liam's decision.
Liam furrowed his brows slightly, stared silently at the players on the court, and after a while, he said:
"Let's stick to the established tactics and see how it goes."
He paused, stood up suddenly, and called out to Jeremy Lin:
"Jeremy, come here!"
Jeremy Lin, who had just left the bench and was about to retrieve the ball near the baseline, heard Liam's shout and immediately turned toward him, awaiting instructions.
Liam walked over and advised: "Wait for the defense on Rose. The coaching staff has carefully outlined that you should use your speed to follow him and focus on preventing his advance."
With or without the ball, Jeremy Lin was the fastest of the Warriors.
When Jeremy Lin heard this, he was a bit surprised. Before the game, the coaching staff had arranged for Klay and Tony Allen to guard Rose, but he hadn't expected Liam to temporarily assign him this task.
However, instead of making Jeremy Lin feel nervous, he became excited. He nodded heavily and said solemnly:
"Don't worry, Coach, I'll do my best!"
Liam smiled with satisfaction: "Don't overthink it, just do your best."
Liam never expected Jeremy Lin to completely stop Rose, but as long as Jeremy Lin could use his speed to limit Rose a little, the 2-meter height of Klay was at a huge disadvantage against Rose. He couldn't keep up with Rose's speed at all and often got overwhelmed. He couldn't play a moderating role in defense, so Liam wasn't ready to let him defend Rose.
But Liam would soon understand how painful Rose, "The Windy City Rose," could be for the Warriors.
On the court, the Bulls launched their first attack in the final quarter. Rose brought the ball upcourt, and Jeremy Lin stepped backward in front of him, eventually stopping at the three-point line, maintaining a distance of more than a step from Rose, with his hands extended, waiting for the battle.
Rose remembered Liam's advice. He had practiced hard shooting in the summer, and since the start of the season, he had shot 39.7% from three-point range. Although this wasn't connected to his opponent's specific defensive strategy, it made other players wary of Rose's shooting ability, making his advancing space much easier.
Facing the new face of Jeremy Lin, Rose squinted, waved his hand to signal his teammates to move away, first took a cross step toward the left, transferred the ball from his right to his left hand, shortened the distance with Jeremy Lin by one step, and then immediately accelerated, running directly to Jeremy Lin's right side!
Although Jeremy Lin did his best to keep up with Rose's moves, Rose's speed was too fast. A single step of distance was already relatively safe, but Jeremy Lin was still left in the dust by Rose's lightning speed.
After Rose ran into the paint, Yi Jianlian immediately came to help defend, but Rose completely ignored his defense. He held the ball with his right hand, brought it to his left shoulder, and ran into the paint with only a slight deceleration. He jumped into the air, took a small hook, and scored a layup.
83:75.
"What a beautiful goal!" Rose broke through the Warriors' defense like it was a no-man's land, passed Jeremy Lin with a single step, and even scored effortlessly after landing! Mike Breen exclaimed loudly, his voice filled with admiration.
"Rose! Rose!"
There was also a roar of cheers in the United Center, with the fans chanting Rose's name after his best goal in the second half, as he hadn't had many good chances in the third quarter under Tony Allen's strict defense.
After Rose scored, Jeremy Lin's expression was one of shock mixed with frustration. Only when he faced Rose could he feel his speed, and Jeremy Lin also knew he couldn't stop Rose, but he hadn't expected to be beaten by one step when he was prepared.
On the sideline, Liam couldn't help but furrow his brows when he saw Rose score so easily, but he still clapped for Jeremy Lin and gestured for him not to take this defense too seriously.
Looking back, Jeremy Lin, who was encouraged by Liam, held the ball and set a screen, wanting to return the favor to Rose, but Asik came to Jeremy Lin and delayed him. Rose also fought through the coverage, following him closely and forcing him several times, almost causing turnovers. This startled Jeremy Lin, leaving him in a cold sweat. He quickly passed the ball to Klay, who had slipped through the coverage.
At this point, there wasn't much time left on the shot clock. Klay received the ball and shot, but Korver's defense was weak and didn't interfere with the shot. However, the ball still didn't go in, and the rebound was collected by Asik.
Liam, who had been paying close attention to the situation on the court, sighed lightly. Although this shot wasn't a wide-open one, Yi Jianlian's coverage on Klay was solid, giving Klay enough space to shoot. Unfortunately, Klay was still too young and was a little too eager to shoot, wasting a good opportunity. It would take a lot of time for Klay to become that ice-cold shooter.
After Asik grabbed the rebound, he immediately passed it to Rose, who wanted to push the ball quickly, but the Warriors quickly retreated, preventing the Bulls from launching a fast break. Rose had to slow down and play a half-court offense.
This time, Rose still chose to connect with Jeremy Lin, using a drag to take a step forward and enter the three-point line. Jeremy Lin, having learned his lesson, stepped backward step by step, always maintaining a distance of one and a half steps to leave enough reaction space and prevent Rose's advance.
Rose, wanting to speed past Jeremy Lin, immediately changed his mind, hesitated, took a drag step, dribbled under his legs, took a small step back, and raised his hand to shoot a long two-pointer.
Swish!
Jeremy Lin couldn't reach the whip and did his best to jump forward, but still couldn't interfere with Rose's shot, so he could only watch as the basketball went through the hoop.
83:77, the Bulls closed the gap to six points.
"Tic-"
As soon as the ball landed, the referee's whistle blew, and the players looked to the sideline. But it was Liam who called for a timeout.
Mike Breen said:
"Rose scored consecutive points and stopped the Warriors, and Coach Liam had to call a timeout!"
"No doubt about it, a smooth shot, a beautiful play, a remarkable effort!"
Cole laughed:
"Jeremy Lin just can't stop Rose at all, and it seems Coach Liam has realized this issue and wants to correct it. But the Bulls are on the rise, and this game is still very exciting."
As a Bulls celebrity, Kerr, of course, would be slightly biased towards the Bulls while keeping a generally objective stance.
After Jeremy Lin left the court, he didn't have much emotion at the moment and said to Liam with some embarrassment: "Sorry, Coach..."
"It's okay, Jeremy, it's not your fault." Liam interrupted him, "I took it for granted. It's not just speed that can defend against Rose; you still lack experience. Just focus on attacking... Tony, replace Klay on the court, give me Rose!"
He paused for a moment and continued organizing offensive tactics:
"Wait for it to work, the Bulls' defense focus is on the ball handler, Jeremy Lin, and the Emirates will block and dismantle. Then, the false cover of the Emirates will quickly fall..."
After a brief timeout, both teams returned to the court, and the Warriors inbounded the ball.
Jeremy Lin followed Liam's instructions, instigating the pick, Yi Jianlian quickly fell after a false cover, and Gibson's attention was truly drawn to Jeremy Lin. When he reacted, Yi Jianlian had already used his speed advantage to grab half the position, one step ahead of Gibson to the basket, receiving Jeremy Lin's pass and dunking it.
85:77.
"Yes! Yi's scoring helped the Warriors stabilize the situation," Mike Breen said.
Kerr exclaimed: "Coach Liam's adaptability is so good. I don't know if everyone noticed, but the Warriors' offense after each timeout came back almost entirely."
Round change, the Bulls attacked, and in front of Tony Allen, Rose didn't choose to play solo. Instead, he played the pick-and-roll, using Asik's screen to break inside. Although Big Z adopted a crouching strategy, Rose took a shot just inside the free throw line, scoring out of Big Z's reach and not challenging the big pivot's frame.
85:79.
On the return, a layup by Jeremy Lin was interfered with by Asik, and the Bulls took the opportunity for a fast break. Rose Wolf ran toward the free-throw line, drawing a foul from Tony Allen.
On the sideline, Silas frowned and said: "Liam, should we send the main force?"
"Yes, Tony alone can't stop Rose. We need Tyson's body," Ron Adams nodded.
Liam looked at the big screen. Only 9 minutes had passed in the last quarter. He turned his head and looked at Curry, Green, Chandler, and the starters, all with obvious fatigue on their faces. Even though the Warriors "rested in the third quarter" yesterday, the consecutive games had still drained their physical strength.
Liam hesitated, slowly shook his head, and said: "Wait a bit more, it's still a bit early. Wait until 7 minutes to start. The Bulls are not our opponents; it's not worth exerting too much effort."
Hearing this, both Silas and Ron Adams nodded in understanding and said nothing further.
They understood what Liam meant. Liam wasn't saying the Bulls weren't strong or that the Warriors could win casually, but that the Bulls were in the East, and there wasn't much competition with the Warriors. It wasn't worth following Thibodeau's crazy rotation and trying to match it.
When the Warriors played against the Lakers earlier, Liam had also shortened the rotation like Thibodeau, letting Curry play 40 minutes, but that was because the Lakers were one of the Warriors' major competitors, and the relationship between the two was likely tied to the final playoff standings. They might even meet in the playoffs.
But the Bulls and Warriors only played two games a season. Liam was very willing to play a good game
but wasn't keen on exhausting all the regular-season lineup.
After a few exchanges, the point difference remained at 85:79.
Upon their return, a layup from Jeremy Lin was interfered with by Asik, and the Bulls took advantage of the opportunity to counterattack, with Ross Wolf rushing to the free-throw line, drawing a foul on Tony Allen.
On the sidelines, Silas furrowed his brow and said:
"Mike, should we send in the main force?"
"Yes, Tony alone can't stop Rose, and we need Tyson's body to match him." Ron Adams nodded.
Liam looked up at the big screen, noting that Curry, Green, Chandler, and the other starters had obvious fatigue on their faces after only playing 9 minutes in the final quarter. Despite the Warriors having rested in the third quarter of yesterday's game, the back-to-back games had clearly taken a physical toll.
Liam hesitated, slowly shook his head, and said:
"Let's wait a little longer, it's still a bit early. Wait until the 7-minute mark to start, the Bulls aren't our real opponents, there's no need to waste too much effort."
Upon hearing this, both Silas and Ron Adams nodded in understanding and said nothing more.
They understood what Liam meant—he wasn't implying that the Bulls were weak and the Warriors could casually defeat them, but rather that the Bulls were from the East, and there wasn't much competition with the Warriors. There was no need for the Warriors to follow the crazy rotation style of Thibodeau, going all-in.
When the Warriors played against the Lakers before, Liam had also shortened the rotation like Thibodeau, letting Curry play 40 minutes. However, that was because the Lakers were one of the main competitors for the Warriors, and the outcome of their games could affect playoff seeding, with both teams likely meeting in the playoffs. Every encounter between them was crucial, so the Warriors had to give it their all. For that reason, Liam didn't hesitate to push the starters to the limit.
But the Bulls and Warriors only played twice a season. Liam was more than willing to play a good game against the Bulls, but he wouldn't go all out for the win. He had to consider the physical toll on the players from consecutive games and away games, aiming to minimize the risk of injuries.
Those who do not seek eternity are not worth pursuing a moment.
Liam wasn't like Thibodeau, focusing only on the victory right in front of him. He had to consider the long-term gains and losses for the entire season and even the next three to five years. It wouldn't hurt to let Jeremy Lin and a superstar point guard like Rose face off.
While the three of them were discussing, Rose made both free throws to bring the score to 85-81, leaving the Bulls just four points behind.
In the next 2 minutes and 17 seconds, the Bulls went on an 8-2 run, with a small climax led by Rose, and they overtook the Warriors 89-87.
End of this chapter
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