NIP Chapter 117 All-Star Game (4000, please subscribe)
Chapter 117 All-Star Game (4000, please subscribe)
Chapter 117 All-Star Game (4000, please subscribe)
"Everyone is here, I won't say too much, I'll just say one more thing, the East has lost for two years, and it can't lose again this year!"
Larry Brown walked into the away locker room, which is the locker room where the Eastern All-Star players were. He didn't say much, just left such a sentence, and then left the locker room very simply.
In the All-Star Game in recent years, the East has been losing. The only game that won was led by the peak Iverson, who won the Western All-Star team by one point.
Before that, it was Jordan.
After the Bull Dynasty and Jordan retired for the second time, the league's pattern of strong west and weak east gradually became prominent.
Over the years, Eastern teams have been competing with Western teams.It is a pity that whether it is the regular season or the playoffs, the East loses more than wins.
The All-Star Game is a stage for stars from both sides to compete. If they can't win in the All-Star Game, it does mean that the West is better than the East.
As for losing, many stars can't accept it, let alone admit that their opponents are stronger than them. The competition in the western environment is more intense than that in the eastern part.
This is not acceptable.
Just such a sentence from Larry Brown directly ignited the fighting spirit of the Eastern All-Star players.
Soon, the All-Stars came to the field through the player channel one by one.
After a period of warm-up, the All-Star Game started step by step.
Huo Song jumped the ball with Yao Ming in the middle circle, Huo Song tried his best, but Yao Ming just jumped lightly, and had no intention of competing with Huo Song.
Come to think of it, Yao Ming was unwilling to be forced to work overtime.
Yao Ming was in this state last year. It was normal for an All-Star starter to play 30 minutes, but last year Yao Ming played less than 20 minutes in the All-Star Game and only had one shot.
Although the ball was thrown in, this performance is obviously not enough.
This year, Yao Ming is still the starting center in the Western Conference.
Because O'Neal is still on the bench, Yao Ming is actually under some pressure to play.
However, the starting point guard in the West is Francis. If it is the Western Conference's offensive round, then I am afraid that Yao Ming will be forced to operate.
Having said that, Huo Song helped the Eastern All-Stars win the first attack. Iverson caught the ball steadily, but then took the ball out and handed it over to McGrady.
McGrady plays point forward most of the time, that is, small forward.
This year, due to the high pressure of competition in the Eastern Conference forwards, he signed up as a guard instead.
It stands to reason that he is now a serious shooting guard, but in fact he has switched positions with Iverson.
McGrady plays point guard with the ball, Iverson plays shooting guard without the ball.
Before the legalization of zone defense, Iverson's offensive method was usually to use a lot of running off the ball to create an opportunity to catch the ball, and then complete mid-range shots or breakthroughs before double-teaming was formed.
And this kind of offense is the standard shooting guard style of play.
Because too much running without the ball consumes energy, Iverson needs someone to help him share the pressure of ball control, at least someone who can help him dribble the ball across the half court.
After the legalization of zone defense, in order to limit Iverson, some teams will double-team restrictions in advance even if Iverson plays without the ball, so that Iverson has no escape.
This is also the reason why Iverson did not reach the finals again after the battle against the OK combination.
One version of one generation of gods, the current version of Iverson is not so difficult to defend.
However, in the All-Star Game, Iverson finally released his full strength.
In the first three quarters of the All-Star Game, no one will take defense very seriously, except for the hatred between each other.
And no one guards against Iverson, it will be quite scary.
The current Iverson has entered the winning mode and the killing mode ahead of schedule.
McGrady quickly advanced with the ball, and Kobe directly defended him.
McGrady was not in a hurry to pass the ball to his teammates, but took the initiative to pull it to the left, trying to hit Kobe with his back.
Kobe reached out to support McGrady's waist, making it harder for McGrady to control the ball and turn around to shoot.
However, McGrady's physical fitness is also very good. His excellent dribbling skills and strong core strength allow McGrady to get rid of Kobe's defense at once, turn around and quickly pull away to make a shot.
But Kobe had been prepared for a long time, and then jumped sideways to block the block.
The ball looked a bit like he was defending seriously, but it's a pity that McGrady shot too fast.
McGrady's back hit is not only elegant, but also fast and powerful.
With the help of powerful legs, McGrady flew into the air in an instant and jumped very high.
Others are turning around and jumping, and McGrady is turning around and pulling out.
Kobe just took a slow shot, and the ball couldn't be defended.
It's no wonder Kobe always said that McGrady is difficult to guard.
Long hands and feet, fast and tall, and a good shot, which can indeed be used defensively.
brush--
McGrady made his first singles shot and shot Kobe directly.
Huo Song was competing with Yao Ming at the basket, watching McGrady's shot intently.
"Damn it!" Seeing the pleasing scene when McGrady made a move, Huo Song couldn't help but swear.
Seeing that Kobe was defending McGrady, Huo Song subconsciously thought: "Kobe should be handsome when he turns his back and singles McGrady, but maybe he will hit the iron?"
There is no time for Huo Song to think about it, the game is still in progress.
Huo Song immediately ran back to the backcourt to stand ready.
It seems that Francis took care of Yao Ming, so the West did not play fast breaks, but played positional warfare, and then started to play after everyone was in position.
Kobe was shot in the face by McGrady, with a slightly serious smile on his face, and then reached out to Francis for the ball.
Francis was going to pass the ball to Yao Ming, but Kobe didn't hesitate to ask for the ball and passed it directly. He ran to the top arc to open up space for Kobe.
Kobe slowly dribbled the ball to the wing, McGrady raised his eyelids slightly, and seemed to be serious.
However, in a blink of an eye, Kobe moved like a rabbit, turned around and shot a jumper quickly.
Kobe was already flying in the air, and McGrady was still on the ground. After Kobe made a shot, McGrady took off symbolically and reached out to block the shot.
Such passive defense will naturally not have any effect.
And Kobe did not let everyone down, the fadeaway jumper was picturesque, but he put the ball firmly into the basket.
It stands to reason that if he successfully responded to McGrady, Kobe would be high-spirited and happy, but this was not the case. Kobe shook his head in disappointment, didn't say anything, and soon returned to the backcourt to prepare for battle.
Obviously, Kobe wants to get serious about McGrady for a few rounds.
But this season, McGrady has obviously fallen, and he only cares about scoring bad points for the scoring champion.
Only through such a fight, Kobe has already realized that this good friend in front of him is no longer McGrady whom he knows and who is enough to compete with him.
Seeing that no one was serving, Carter stepped out of the baseline and passed the ball to his cousin.
Tracy McGrady continued to dribble across half court, and then handed the ball to Iverson.
When Francis saw this, he immediately put up his defense, and Iverson made a butterfly step, and pulled back in advance twice, almost shaking Francis.
It's not the first time Francis has encountered Iverson, but whenever Iverson uses this kind of move, he will suffer a little bit if he uses it lightly.
Iverson saw that Francis was shaken away by him, and he didn't rush to shoot. Instead, he passed him and continued to hit the basket.
It's a pity that Garnett quickly defended. With the combination of the Timberwolves' three-headed monster, Garnett's ambitions are not limited to the playoffs.
Although Garnett already won the All-Star MVP last year, the second consecutive All-Star MVP is not without precedent.
It is true that the All-Star MVP in the Stern era is a bit like sitting in a row. It is better than Magician, Jordan, O'Neal and other top ten stars who ruled the league in history. None of them won the All-Star MVP consecutively.
However, if Garnett wants to play an excellent performance in the All-Star Game and have excellent statistics, that is no problem.
Garnett defended, and Iverson was surrounded by Garnett.
Iverson can challenge Garnett with a small fight, but in fact Iverson's shooting is not as good as most guard stars.
Today, Iverson has played in the NBA for eight years, and there are only 80 seasons in which his free throw percentage is above 2%.
Looking at Kobe again, only in his second year as a rookie did his free throw production soar, so he barely reached 80%, but it was still very close.
Kobe, who is known for his blacksmithing, made 8% of his free throws, but Iverson did not, which is evident.
Therefore, Iverson was stopped by Garnett this time, and Francis chased him behind him.
Iverson, who didn't want to shoot indiscriminately, had to choose to pass the ball.
Iverson suddenly turned around and dribbled the ball, relying on the moment of turning around, he saw Carter's position clearly, and then pretended to continue to break through to the basket, but actually passed the ball to Carter at a 45-degree angle.
Carter didn't dribble after receiving the ball, but chose to take a step back before making the shot. At this moment, the slam dunk king suddenly turned into a three-pointer king.
It's a pity that Carter's shooting has not been perfected yet.
As a flyer, he is a dunker who plays small forward all the year round, and his free throw percentage is below 8% all the year round. It is understandable that he can't hit an open three-pointer.
Now that Carter, who is in transition, failed to make a shot, it will finally be Huo Song's turn.
However, before Huo Song could hold the ball firmly after the jump, Duncan suddenly shot from behind Huo Song and slapped the ball out.
Huo Song kept focusing on Yao Ming, but he didn't expect Duncan to suddenly appear behind him.
Fortunately, Duncan let go of Da Ben, and Da Ben's mantis catches cicadas and orioles behind him.
Big Ben picked up the offensive rebound, and then handed the ball to Huo Song.
While Duncan and Garnett were teaming up to surround Big Ben, Huo Song took off on the spot holding the ball with both hands, and suddenly dunked.
"Comfortable!" Huo Song straightened up from the basket and dunked three times quickly. Yao Ming, Duncan, and Garnett were deflated one after another. This is simply a super famous scene.
"A team's ball is different, this cooperation is too tacit!"
"Ben Wallace passed the ball to Huo Song just right!
Tim Duncan missed Ben Wallace in order to cover Huosong. By the time Tim Duncan returned to the defense, Ben Wallace had already passed the ball.
Huo Song's reaction was also quite quick. If Kevin Garnett got to the basket, Huo Song might not be able to dunk so easily! "
"Huo Song's dunk is so explosive, I'm really worried that he will drag the rim down!"
There is only so much space under the basket. Huo Song is really capable of dunking the ball into the basket in a pile of four.
The on-site commentator and the fans were also very excited to see Huo Song's explosive dunk.
But the game is still going on, and the one who gets the ball is the core of the Staples Center home team Lakers-Kobe Bryant.
The fans at the scene quickly turned their attention to the game.
At this time, Kobe didn't mean to share the ball too much, and seemed to want to continue to strive for the All-Star MVP.
This time Kobe received a pass from Francis and wanted to trouble Iverson.
In the All-Star Game last year, Kobe asked Iverson for trouble.
Unexpectedly, Iverson was still superior and compared him.
If it weren't for Garnett and Francis' high shooting percentage, I'm afraid the Western All-Star team really couldn't beat the Eastern All-Star team led by Iverson.
Kobe feels better this season. Kobe has ambitions to become the boss of the Lakers and become the man who dominates the league.
So, let's rule the guards now and rule Iverson.
Iverson's defense is not so good, and he is a bit shorter than Kobe.
Kobe's move is suspected of bullying the small with the big and not talking about martial arts.
But who called the Philadelphia All-Star Game two years ago, and the Philadelphia fans made him cry?
In this All-Star game in Los Angeles, Kobe is going to save face and make Iverson look good.
Soon, Kobe succeeded Iverson in singles and scored another 2 points.
Looking back, McGrady hit Kobe with the ball again, and made a three-pointer in front of Kobe.
McGrady missed the shot, and Garnett took the rebound and passed it to Kobe on the outside.
After making 2 of 2 shots in the opening game, Kobe didn't have such a strong desire to attack.
Kobe has a need for the All-Star MVP, but he also needs to give others some opportunities to shoot.
Anyway, the first three quarters are not very important, as long as the data can be accumulated steadily.
As Kobe, who was in a brave state, gave up his shot, someone from the Western All-Star team finally hit the iron.
Bryant passed the ball to Duncan inside, and Duncan was forced to maneuver and try a shot at the basket.
Originally, it was no problem to hold high and hold Daben high, but although Daben was defending, he didn't use small moves, which gave Duncan a comfortable shot space.
However, without the defensive strength, Duncan was a little uncomfortable.It seems that the hand feel is not good, and Duncan's best layup actually bounces out of the frame.
Huo Song grabbed the rebound and immediately passed the ball to Iverson.
Iverson didn't waste this opportunity. It took less than 2 seconds to ride Juechen to the frontcourt, then burst from the right to the basket, turned 360 degrees in the air and dunked, performing a wave.
In fact, this wave of 360 degrees is only about 270 degrees, but Iverson is short and jumps high, which is very visually impactful.
Iverson's height and speed, combined with the 360-degree dunk action, are even more explosive.
This makes ordinary people watching the game very immersive.
Of course, if you dunk like Golden State LaVine, the sense of substitution will be even greater.
It is said that the Eastern All-Star team leads the score again, but the Western All-Star team does not mean to be serious.
The first three quarters were purely for fun, and the starting point is always to score first.
This time Francis finally got the ball into Yao Ming's hands. Yao Ming hit Huo Song twice with his back.
In the next round, McGrady also dropped the ball into the basket, and Huo Song returned the ball to Yao Ming in the same way.
They were all on their own, and Yao Ming didn't play tricks with Huo Song. As soon as Huo Song came in, Yao Ming gave way so that Huo Song could easily penetrate.
Huo Song turned his back and slipped the baseline to the basket. Duncan tried to stop Huo Song to avoid being seen by the fans as a passive sabotage.
Then Huo Song was not polite, and dodged and folded in the air for a dunk, making Duncan once again incarnate as his background board.
"You're doing better and better!" Duncan is an honest man, and Huo Song was not angry at all for dunking him. Instead, he praised Huo Song as if he was admiring the younger generation.
Perhaps, Huo Song's style of play made Duncan like it very much.
After all, Duncan used to play like this.
(End of this chapter)