Zhiba NBA

Chapter 123 (120 [-]) Stern's troubles

Since Wang Yuanfei joined the Rockets, this is the first time the team has to fight for a place in the playoffs.Recalling that the goals of the 01 and 02 seasons were still poor, the 03 seasons easily kept the top four, and in 04 they even achieved the best results in the league.And now, the Rockets are really on the verge of danger.

球员倒也算知耻而后勇，姚明率先爆发。12月4日主场迎战76人的比赛中，麦迪不复上一场的神勇23投仅7中仅得17分，姚明贡献20+13带领球队76：87战胜76人。76人队新秀伊戈达拉仅仅得到1+5+4，还有5次失误，被火箭好好上了一课。

Then the Rockets won the underdog Hornets and the powerful Spurs at home in a row, and then lost to the Mavericks again. The record came to 11 wins and 10 losses, exceeding 50% winning percentage.It also surpassed the constantly losing Jazz and rose to 11th in the Western Conference.

It is very rare to have more than 5% winning percentage but only rank 11th in the division.The main reason is that this year's Eastern Conference is extremely weak, resulting in a particularly high winning rate for the Western Conference teams, and the competition is under great pressure.

Speaking of the exceptional weakness of the East, we must first talk about the degeneration of the traditional top three.It was the Nets that were expected by experts. After the Nets sold Kittles and Martin, their lineup was weakened and Kidd was hurt again.In this case, it is reasonable to only achieve 6 wins and 14 losses.The Pistons and Pacers only achieved 10 wins and 10 losses each. Their sinking came from internal friction. This is also the most notorious gang fight in NBA history-the Palace of Auburn Hills incident.

On November 11, when the Pistons played against the Pacers at home, time was running out, and the home team Pistons trailed by 19 points and there was no hope of a comeback.At this time, Ron Artest and Ben Wallace had a physical conflict, and Ben pushed Artest, causing a collective conflict between the players on both sides.At this time, Rasheed Wallace, who has always been grumpy, stepped forward. As the big brother, he separated the conflicting players from both sides and prevented the situation from deteriorating.Artest was also persuaded to lie down and rest, when suddenly a player threw a drink cup on Artest.This behavior completely angered Artest. He jumped into the stands and beat an innocent fan (who was mistaken by Artest for throwing a cup).After the guards arrived to separate the crowd, the two sides still clashed several times.The entire incident resulted in nine fans being injured, two of whom were hospitalized.

This incident affected a large number of people, and it was originally a vicious incident.But what is more deadly is that due to the strong dialogue, this game was broadcast live on many media around the world, including China Central Television.After tens of millions of fans around the world watched the live broadcast of the fight, the fight at the Palace of Auburn Hills immediately became the number one hot topic in the sports world, triggering a flood of negative comments.President David Stern issued an unprecedented overweight fine, and Artest, the protagonist of the fight, was suspended for the entire season, and he lost nearly $500 million in salary for the entire season.The other two players who were more prominent in the brawl, Jermaine O'Neal, were suspended for 15 games. Stephen Jackson, who joined the Pacers in exchange with Harrington before the season, was suspended for 30 games (Jackson was nicknamed "Wu Sheng" by Chinese fans because of his outstanding performance in the fight).Veteran Reggie Miller and the Pistons' Bodi Loga, Coleman and Campbell were each suspended for one game.These 6 players have been suspended for more than 5 games in total, which constitutes the largest suspension ticket in NBA history.Big Ben also missed the previous game with the Rockets because of this.

In addition to the players being severely punished, some fans involved in the fight were also punished. Five fans were banned from watching the game again. Among them, the fan John Green who threw a cup at Artest was also sentenced to 5 days in prison by the court.In addition, due to poor security measures, more than a dozen guards at the Palace of Auburn Hills were fired.

Of course, severe punishment does not mean that the loss can be recovered, and Stern is very busy with this.Kobe's sexual assault incident last season has caused the league's image to plummet.You must know that Kobe is a supernova supported by the league, one of the founders of the Lakers dynasty, and Jordan's successor second only to Tracy McGrady.Although the prosecution finally withdrew the case due to insufficient evidence, the rumor that the plaintiff was bribed by Kobe with money was enough to make Kobe lose face.The following summer, the Dream Six team failed in the Olympics, raising questions about the standard of the NBA.And now, the fight between the Eastern Conference champions and runners-up has made the league enter a more difficult public relations crisis.

As the saying goes, "Fortune never comes, misfortunes never come singly." At this moment, the image of the alliance was hit again.This trouble is still related to Kobe, but it is not his fault, but his old teammate Malone.Only 4 days after the incident at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Kobe scored 11 points to help the team win in the Lakers' home game against the Bucks on November 23.Kobe's beloved wife Vanessa also came to the scene to cheer for her husband.Kobe's old teammate Karl Malone is recuperating from his injuries. He has not yet signed with any team and he also came to the stadium to watch the game.The two knew each other so they greeted each other in a friendly manner.Seeing Malone wearing a cowboy outfit, Vanessa joked: "Cowboy, what prey are you eyeing?" Malone also made a joke along the way: "I'm eyeing a Mexican girl."

This unintentional question and answer annoyed Vanessa, who turned out to be of Mexican descent.After the game, she told Kobe about it, and Kobe has a more vengeful personality.A few days later, when Malone had long forgotten about the matter, Kobe described the matter to the media before the game against the Magic on December 12, which immediately caused an uproar.

For Malone, he wanted to sign with the Lakers again after his injury improved.But Kobe is the only core of the Lakers now.When Kobe said these words, he completely sealed the door for him to sign.Kobe also understands that the team's lineup this season is impossible to win the championship, and signing Malone will not help. It is better to let this old guy who is an eyesore leave the Lakers forever.

The two of them got into trouble, and Stern's hair became a few more gray.Malone has been a figure that the league has praised for many years. He is a superstar second only to Jordan and Dameng in the 84-90 generation.He privately molested the wife of his former teammate, which was devastating to the image of a generation of superstars.

Kobe Bryant's sexual assault, dream of six broken halberds, and the palace of Auburn Hills have already put Stern like a heavy burden. Malone's incident seems to be the last straw that broke the camel's camel.Stern finally made up his mind and decided to reform the league in his own way.

(End of this chapter)