Gidi 32+10+8! The dark horse in the Eastern Conference has won 5 consecutive games and is ranked first in the Eastern Conference! This game completely revealed 6 realities

On November 1st, the NBA Cup will usher in the game between the Knicks and the Bulls! The Knicks started the season in a "first up and then down" trend. After two consecutive wins at the beginning, they suffered two consecutive losses. They lost to the Bucks in the last game. Although the star Brunson was in hot form and scored 36 points, showing a strong ability to hold the ball and attack tough situations, the core framework of the team was seriously "lagging behind": the inside core Towns felt cold and only made 2 of 12 shots in the game with a shooting percentage of less than 20%. Facing a high-intensity defense, Frequent mistakes in punctual offensive choices; striker Anunoby's efficiency is low and he fails to share the offensive and defensive pressure on the flanks for Brunson; what is even more troublesome is the substitute end. Hart, who has been transferred to the bench this season, is in no condition. He averaged only 3.7 points in the first three battlefields. Compared with last season, the score has shrunk by 9.9 points. The offensive end has almost become "invisible". Coach Brown still needs to find the correct way to use it as soon as possible. Against the Bulls in this campaign, Towns is expected to be the key to the Knicks' victory. He is more resilient in low-post defense and rebounding, and is expected to open up an inside breakthrough against Vucevic. At the same time, the Knicks, who suffered two consecutive losses, urgently need a victory to reverse their decline.

In sharp contrast to the Knicks' unstable state, the Bulls started the season in a hot state, winning four consecutive victories without losing. What's even more rare is that this team played the league's top team basketball under a "superstar-less" lineup structure: Gidi, the team's highest scorer, only averaged 19.5 points per game. However, six Bulls players averaged double figures per game, and they relied on the tactical system of everyone to become a dark horse team in the East. This season, the Bulls averaged 30.5 assists per game, second in the league; defensive efficiency was 106.2, third in the league; and offensive speed was fourth in the league! The most intuitive feeling is that this team plays faster, has more impact, and defends better. In addition, the Bulls still have potential to be tapped. With Coby White's imminent return, the team's offensive and defensive system will be further improved - White's three-pointers and breakthroughs can enrich outside tactics. This "civilian army" is expected to impact a higher Eastern Conference ranking.

Game review:

In the first quarter of the game, Towns hit a 3-pointer, Anunoby scored a layup, and the Knicks started 5-0! After Gidi scored a layup, Brunson hit another 3-pointer. As soon as Vucevic scored 2 points, Anunoby scored 3 points. In the first half of the first quarter, the Knicks' offense was very efficient. In the middle of the first quarter, Okoro scored 3 points, Gidi made a foul and made a free throw, and the Bulls tied the score. After the Knicks' Yabuselai hit a 3-pointer, he attacked again and cut off the power. The Bulls' Daumum and Huerter scored consecutive points. Smith hit a 3-pointer. Pawei scored 2+1. The Bulls reversed the situation. After the first quarter, the Bulls took a 35-27 lead.

In the second quarter, the two teams started a melee. Gidi hit a 3-pointer to start the game. Anunoby just made a layup, and Pawei also hit a 3-pointer to stop the Knicks! After the game came back, Bridges hit a mid-range shot, but the Bulls' Buzelis still had a 3-pointer. As soon as Clarkson hit a 3-pointer to stop the Knicks from bleeding, Gidi used the screen to hit a 3-pointer! After Brunson seized the opportunity and scored 3 points, the Knicks scored 4 points in a row! At the end of the second quarter, Sudom and Vucevic scored consecutive points. Gidi hit another 3-pointer in the last 7 seconds. Fortunately, Bridges hit a magical 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Bulls led the Knicks 72-53 at halftime!

After the side change, the Bulls' touch dropped significantly, while Towns continued to hit the inside and scored 15 points in a single quarter. The Knicks took the opportunity to close the point difference to single digits. Since then, the two sides have fallen into a stalemate, with the point difference always seeing saw around 10 points. In the final quarter, the Knicks suddenly fired from the outside and scored consecutive three-pointers, once narrowing the point difference to only 2 points. Seeing that a comeback was imminent, the Bulls were always able to respond in time. In the last three minutes, Gidi and Vucevic succeeded in consecutive attacks, and the point difference once again widened to double digits, completely ending the suspense. In the end, the Bulls defeated the Knicks 135-125 and won their fifth consecutive victory in the season.

In this battle, I have to admit 6 realities:

1. Ayo Dosum has made explosive progress in the Bulls this season, and has completed a qualitative transformation on the offensive end. Although his scoring average per game has not increased significantly, his three-point shooting percentage has soared from 32.8% to 50%. His excellent confrontation ability allows him to maintain high efficiency in attacking the basket. Now he has grown from a functional defender to an efficient scoring point for the team. At the same time, he continued his defensive toughness and low salary advantage, becoming an important contributor to the team's winning streak in the beginning. In this campaign, Sudaum made 8 of 10 shots and scored 22 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists.

2. Josh Guidy has experienced a qualitative improvement since he switched to the Bulls. His core shortcomings have been greatly improved. His three-point shooting percentage has jumped from 37.8% last season to 42.9%. His data has been fully upgraded. He averaged 19.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game. He has become the offensive glue of the Bulls. With outstanding connection ability, he has truly transformed into the team's ball-handling core. In today's game, Gidi made 12 of 21 shots, 4 of 8 3-pointers, and scored 32 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists!

3. The Bulls have transformed from the stick-and-stick era of LaVine's era to team-based basketball. This season, he averaged 30.5 assists per game, ranking second in the league. Although the team has no scoring points, there are 6 players in the lineup averaging double figures. In addition, this team has become more united. Donovan said that the strong team cohesion shown by this Bulls on and off the court is the secret to their winning streak!

4. In the current Bulls lineup, Vucevic's defensive flaws have been covered up, and the offensive end has become more efficient. His mobility and three-point ability have been fully demonstrated. This season, his 3-point shooting percentage is as high as 50%, and his field goal percentage is 58.3%. He averages 18 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists per game. Very versatile statistics! In this game, he alone broke up the Knicks' inside line in the final quarter. In the game, he made 10 of 17 shots, 4 of 8 3-pointers, and scored 26 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists.

5. Josh Hart’s performance on the Knicks’ bench this season has been sluggish and did not meet expectations at all.. Recently, he played 26 minutes off the bench against the Bucks, scoring 1 of 5 shots, 3 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. He had no sense of presence on the court. In the previous game against the Celtics, there was an embarrassing performance of 1-for-8 shooting, 0-for-3 three-pointers, and only 2 points. There were very few contributions on both offense and defense, which slowed down the team's rhythm. As a substitute, he failed to provide stable firepower, but became a shortcoming due to inefficiency. You must know that he started 77 games last season, averaging 13.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game! Brown originally wanted him to enhance the firepower of the team's second team on the bench, but he did not expect that he would become a drag on the bench. In this campaign, Hart made 1 of 0, 0 points and 1 rebound in 15 minutes!

6. In this campaign, the Knicks' starters played well and were in a winning state when starting the game, but the performance of the bench was really bad! Anunoby had 24 points, a plus-minus value of +6; Towns had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, a plus-minus value of +7; Brunson had 27 points, 2 rebounds and 7 assists, a plus-minus value of -6; Bridges had 23 points, a plus-minus value of -1; but McBride on the bench had 8 points, a plus-minus value of -20, and Hart, a plus-minus value of -18! Clarkson scored 6 points, plus or minus -5! On the other hand, the Bulls have been winning points on the bench. Sudomu scored 22 points on the bench, with a plus-minus value of +21, Huerter had 11 points, a plus-minus value of +15, Smith had 10 points, a plus-minus value of +13; Williams had 9 points, a plus-minus value of +13!