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The Wizards and Bulls have had a fun rivalry over the past two seasons. Unlike other battles in the NBA, there appears to be some legitimately bad blood here. Yes, their battle in last year's playoffs was their most memorable battle, but there's been plenty of flareups in the regular season, and even the preseason to keep things interesting.
Nene's the best personification of the change in intensity between when the Wizards play the Bulls and most other games. Usually Nene plays like an intense, but gentle giant. Against the Bulls, he turns into the Hulk, but with less retraint. Both of his suspensions as a Wizard have come as a result of getting in tussles with the Bulls. First, he headbutted Jimmy Butler, then he got suspended for leaving the bench during an altercation in the preseason.
Tuesday night, the teams square off again, and Nene made it clear to reporters things haven't changed:
Nene: "I don't want to talk about Chicago. You know I hate them. You can put that."
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgeccastillo) March 2, 2015
It's good to hear Nene is still mad, because when Nene is angry, he's amazing. Here's a quick reminder of what a fully engaged and fully enraged Nene can do against the Defensive Player of the Year:
We're not the only ones to notice this, of course. Randy Wittman would also like to see more of Angry Nene.
Wittman likes when Nene plays pissed off: "Obviously, I'm not getting him pissed off enough. I've got to get him more pissed."
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgeccastillo) March 2, 2015
With that in mind, we've compiled a list of reasons that we hope will help Nene get as angry for the other 28 teams in the NBA as he gets against the Bulls:
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Atlanta Hawks: Eww, Joakim Noah won a National Championship in Atlanta.
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Boston Celtics: Evan Turner.
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Charlotte Hornets: Hornets flap their arms incessantly and annoy people, just like Joakim Noah!
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Cleveland Cavaliers: They're the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Dallas Mavericks: Mark Cuban is damaging the NBA by appearing in Sharknado 3.
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Denver Nuggets: Traded Nene, because they thought they'd be better off with JaVale McGee.
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Detroit Pistons: Andre Drummond has weird mouth shapes
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Golden State Warriors: The Warriors forced Nene to play smallball center (a position he's not fond of) because they can use Draymond Green at the five.
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Houston Rockets: Jimmy Butler is from Texas.
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Los Angeles Clippers: Blake Griffin.
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Los Angeles Lakers: Nick Young.
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Memphis Grizzlies: Zach Randolph.
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Miami Heat: They're based in Florida, the same state where Joakim Noah lived in college.
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Milwaukee Bucks: Milwaukee is to Chicago what Baltimore is to Washington, so that should be annoying enough to make Nene angry.
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Minnesota Timberwolves: This game, which we can never speak of again.
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New Orleans Pelicans: Pelicans are the most despicable bird in existence.
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New York Knicks: Traded him on draft night.
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Oklahoma City Thunder: Has to deal with Russell Westbrook trying to push him over.
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Orlando Magic: They're based in Florida, the same state where Joakim Noah lived in college.
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Philadelphia 76ers: This game, which we can never speak of again.
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Phoenix Suns: They're embracing the small ball revolution, which puts hardworking big men like Nene out of jobs.
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Portland Trail Blazers: That time Damian Lillard dunked on Nene.
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San Antonio Spurs: They're the team that inspired Nene to say "Our young guys must take their heads out their butts and play the right way because I'm getting tired of this"
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Utah Jazz: Took Trevor Booker.