Zhang Jiawei: The Thunder let Gidi sign Caruso and it’s a win-win situation. Embiid has to hand over the ball honestly & end point

NBA regular season, the Bulls reversed the 76ers 113-111.

In this game, Gidi played 37 minutes, making 10 of 19 (2 of 4 three-pointers), 7 of 8 free throws, scoring 29 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists in a triple-double, plus 1 steal, 5 turnovers, and a plus-minus of +8.

After the game, freelance writer Zhang Jiawei commented on the game. The original text is as follows:

The Bulls reversed a 24-point victory over Philadelphia and won the battle for the top spot in the Eastern Conference - is this also a battle for Embiid to accept reality?

Maxi scored 22 points in one and a half quarters, and Philadelphia led 65 to 41.

After Embiid missed the first free throw, he went to the sidelines to talk to Coach Nurse and made the second free throw: At this time, Maxey came off the court, Embiid made a handsome long shot, the 16th point of the half, Philadelphia 70 to 48.

However...

Embiid missed the long shot by rubbing the ball. In the next round, he continued to reach for the ball and passed a folding layup to VJ, but was knocked down.

VJ made a miraculous offensive rebound. Embiid missed a mid-range shot and was chased by the Bulls for a three-pointer, 70-53.

VJ fed Embiid the ball, Embiid missed a three-pointer, Gidi fed the weak side Vucevic to break through, 70 to 55.

At this point, Maxi comes off the court and Embiid gets the ball: the Bulls hit a wave of 7-0. Thanks to VJ's explosion: Vucevic scored on the board and saved the game.

The Bulls' small counterattack in the first half was already showing signs:

Embiid was a beat slower than all of Philadelphia; when he integrated into the team to catch the ball and finish, Philadelphia scored like a wave. When he started to reach for the ball constantly to dominate the offense, handing over the ball instead of passing it, trying to single out, Philadelphia stopped.

It seems that Embiid is still trying to adapt to the fact that "Philadelphia is Maxi's team now"?

Embid made 6 of 11 shots in the first half and 1 of 10 in the second half.

So the Bulls made a big comeback.

The Bulls' extreme acceleration this season, five-out offense, three players on the line, and the transfer of strength and weakness were all vividly demonstrated in the second half today. Buzelis was majestic in the first half, but at the end of the third quarter, Huerter gritted his teeth: after blocking Watford, he seemed to have cursed something; he worked hard to attack, and the Bulls reached a 19-6 climax. Thanks to VJ picking up another offensive rebound, Maxi throwing a ball, and Grimes rugby cornerback cutting the long pass, the third quarter ended with a double-digit lead.

Originally, when Philadelphia did not have Embiid, the rotation was very fast, which made Gidi's 360-degree vision stay at the top of the arc for a while: he was blocked by Oubre when he broke through. But Guidi had quick eyes and quick hands and immediately picked up the ball and found Okolo's three-pointer.

But Embiid is back...

At the end of the fourth quarter, Embiid hit Vucevic with his back and was knocked off the ball; his face-to-the-basket shot was short; he was too late to return while protecting the basket, and Vucevic hit the offensive rebound. Philadelphia only led by 5 points.

Maxi scored, but Embiid fouled Vucevic and missed a fadeaway shot.

VJ followed Gidi like a shadow to block his shot, but Embiid completely lost confidence: he screened Maxi, was left open, and after receiving the ball in the open position, he hesitated: the fake move was in vain, trying to back up Vucevic, and dropped the ball to the ground - VJ chased back frantically again, covering Gidi's layup, but interfered with the ball: Philadelphia only led by 3 points.

Then Embiid went crazy and withdrew from the top of the arc and missed a three-pointer; he blocked Buzelis' pursuit layup, and Maxey flew to block Buzelis' breakthrough, but Gidi made a throw: Philadelphia only led by 1 point.

At the last moment... Embiid attempted two handoffs and missed a mid-range shot; then Maxi missed a long shot, and Gidi fed Vucevic a buzzer beater from the bottom corner.

The Bulls reversed course.

Embid made 1 of 10 shots in the second half. The opponent Vucevic scored 7 points in the last 4 minutes, including the winning three-pointer.

After recording his 20th career triple-double today and delivering the winning assist, Gidi averaged 23 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists per game this season, leading the Bulls to first place in the Eastern Conference - without Coby White.

The weirdest thing is: the hit rate is 50%+40%+70%.

The weirdest thing is that at the end of the day, the Bulls used him to face Maxi - and it succeeded: in the 2024 playoffs, he was still chased by his opponents.

The Thunder let Gidi go and signed Caruso, which is a rare win-win situation in recent years.

Before today, Maxey averaged the league's most 43 minutes per game, scored 34 points, 9 assists and only 2.3 turnovers on 23 shots, 10 free throws, and only 2.3 turnovers. Apart from Giannis, he was the best performer in the Eastern Conference.

The player with the most balanced speed + shooting. Strong bursts, sudden stops, and throws. Irving and Murray's touch. Quick and agile, not relying on screens, he is the best player in the league at attacking and defending close outs.

In 13 minutes today, he scored 20 points, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. He worked hard on both offense and defense. The only slack in the first half was when he forced a cut ball to counterattack and was intercepted by Phillips. He looked up and sighed.

But he is still accommodating Embiid: every 100 rounds this season, Maxey scored 38 points on 26 shots, and Embiid scored 37 points on 27 shots. As long as Embiid is around, Maxey still tries to play with him. And Embiid is slowly adapting to "this may be Maxi's team."

Only today, Maxey was not there in the second quarter and Embiid would not play; then in the second half, Embiid made 1 of 10 shots.

Maxi finally ran out of energy, but still scored 39 points and 3 blocks on 26 shots and 5 free throws.

The No. 3 pick VJ Xiao Ai's offense was average, but he had the team's highest 11 rebounds, several chase-backs and magical offensive rebounds.

——And Embiid, who made 7 of 21 shots in 25 minutes, 1 of 10 in the second half, and suffered a loss against Vucevic at the last minute.

Embiid may be able to return to his peak, but before that, this is Maxi's team, and Embiid has to learn to adapt, and honestly do handoffs and finishing points - if there is any lesson for Embiid in this game, it should be this, right?