Zhiba NBA

Chapter 26 (25) All-Star Game

After defeating the Lakers, the Rockets encountered a wave of treacherous schedules, with consecutive battles.As a result, the Rockets lost to the top three teams of the Spurs, Mavericks, and Pistons, and suffered a three-game losing streak for the first time in the season.Although they immediately cheered up and won the two underdogs, the Bulls and the Grizzlies, they lost to the Mavericks again.In the next two games, the Timberwolves won one and lost one, and defeated the King and Cavaliers.The final record before the All-Star Game was locked at 35 wins and 13 losses.Second only to the Mavericks at 38-10, the Spurs at 32-16 and the Kings at 33-17 have the highest record in the West, but they are ranked third due to divisional rules.

For the Rockets this season, in addition to their excellent record, their popularity has also increased.After Olajuwon has aged in recent years, the Rockets only have McGrady as an All-Star player, but the arrival of Yao Ming has changed this situation.What is particularly surprising is the enthusiasm of the Chinese fans.Since the All-Star Game is a voting system, Yao Ming finally got 1286324 votes, still surpassing the number one center in the league, Shaq O'Neal.He was also able to become the starting center of the Western Conference All-Star.This is the first rookie player to be elected as an All-Star starter since Grant Hill in 95.

But Dayao is Chinese after all, and he talks about etiquette and humility in his bones, which is completely different from the flamboyant personality of American players.Deep down in Yao Ming's mind, O'Neal should be the starting center and he should be the backup.

In this way, Yao Ming embarked on a journey to Atlanta with another All-Star teammate McGrady with conflicting feelings.McGrady's re-election is beyond doubt.The Rockets have an excellent record, McGrady is the leader of the team, the statistics are very beautiful, and the game is elegant and popular, which is very popular among fans.And the Chinese fans far away in the east also like this Yao Ming's teammate very much, and voted for Yao Ming by the way.

The Western All-Star head coach is the Kings coach Rick Adelman.Seeing this old gentleman in front of the TV, Yuan Fei was filled with emotion.Historically, it was he who led Yao Ming to the final four in the Western Conference playoffs. Unfortunately, Yao Ming suffered a broken foot and the Rockets lost 3-4 to the Lakers. That was the closest Yao Ming came to the championship.

The starters in the West are Yao Ming, Duncan, Garnett, Kobe and Tracy McGrady.The starters in the East are Ben Wallace, O'Neal, Carter, Jordan and Iverson.Speaking of the 2003 All-Star Game, apart from Yao Ming replacing O'Neal as the starter, there is another major event, that is, Mr. Joe will retire for the third and last time.The league specially made a special MVP trophy for Jordan, the superstar among the superstars, and the light volume is several times larger than the All-Star MVP trophy over the years.

Yao Ming didn't understand this yet, he was looking at Ben Wallace who was facing him worryingly.This big offense is scum, but the defense is quite capable.In the Rockets' loss to the Pistons last game, Daben defended Yao Ming with only 4 points and 6 rebounds.But Daben himself scored 9 points, 18 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks. Although he didn't score much, his statistics are still quite beautiful.Anyway, I can't beat this short, thick and fat man, so I just play around casually.The open-minded Dayao thought so.

After the game started, Yao Ming had no desire to score at all. He didn't want to be in the paint and passed most of the balls. He only scored 2 points with a dunk by McGrady.Soon Adelman understood that this oriental guy didn't want to express himself.The old coach understood and replaced O'Neill, let the big fat man go up and play.

Yao Ming sat on the bench, but he was very satisfied.He knows that this All-Star is based on the preference of Chinese fans, not on strength, it's just a matter of simply playing around.He also secretly made up his mind that he must prove that he can become an All-Star starter by relying on his strength.

***
During the intermission, the league specially arranged for Jordan to give a speech, and one of the words touched Yao Ming deeply.Jordan said: "Johnson and Bird passed the torch to me, and now I want to pass the torch to you. The future world is yours. You will promote the continuous development of basketball."

McGrady also listened quietly, with love for basketball and longing for the future surging in his heart.

Kobe, Iverson, Carter, etc., the younger generation of stars are quietly listening to the greatest basketball god in their minds talk about his voice.

***
The game went to overtime. Five seconds before the end of overtime, Jordan hit a fadeaway jumper to give the East a 5:138 lead over the West.The audience cheered for Jordan's quasi-lore.But Kobe made a three-pointer in the last 136 seconds, and O'Neal stupidly fouled Kobe and gave Kobe three free throws.Bryant made two of three free throws to send the game into the second overtime.In the end, the West turned defeat into victory.By convention, the All-Star MVP must be awarded to the star with the best statistics in the winning team.So Garnett awkwardly picked up this "special" trophy.

Yao Ming played only 17 minutes and scored 2 points, the lowest among all players.He doesn't mind these things, but is full of longing for the legendary superstar.

"I also want to become such a great player." He vowed secretly in his heart.

***
A day later, Alexander's office.Yuan Fei tried his best to encourage the boss.

"Jason, I have always trusted you, but I am really not satisfied with this player." Alexander rarely refused a long flight.

"Boss, the team's internal bench is a bit weak now. Although he is average, he is willing to play as a substitute, can sit on the bench with peace of mind, and has a unique three-pointer. His role is similar to that of Okur, and he is much better than Bryant and Long." Yuan Fei continued to state his reasons.

"Jason, you don't just want to sell your Chinese players to me, do you?" Alexander said: "If he is not Chinese, if it is not for the huge market behind him, how could the Clippers sign this player? Now that we have won the market battle with the Clippers, why do we have to jump in and remix ourselves?"

That's right, the inside substitute that Yuanfei recommended to Alexander is another basketball genius from China——Wang Zhizhi.

(Note: Wang Zhizhi and Yao Ming Battelle are also known as the legendary stars of China's three major centers. However, in the summer of 2002, Wang Zhizhi did not return to China to participate in the national team competition, which caused conflicts with the Basketball Association. In October of the same year, the national team officially announced the expulsion of Wang Zhizhi. Since then, Dazhi has been banned in China until he returned to China in 10.)
"Boss, if Bird (the legendary Celtics superstar Bird in the 80s) and Johnson (the legendary Lakers superstar Magician in the 80s) both went to China to play. Do you think the fans of the Celtics (another name for the Celtics, derived from the traditional green team uniform) will watch Johnson play exclusively? Will Zijin (another name for the Lakers, derived from the traditional Zijin team uniform) fans specifically watch Bird play?"

"This...it shouldn't be."

"Wang and Yao, in China, they are magic and bird. They are the greatest stars in China, and each has a large group of fans. Just recently, the 2002 champion of China's CBA league was Yao's team, and the championships in the previous six years were all Wang's team. Wang has won so many championships in the Chinese Basketball League. His achievements are even greater than Yao's, and his fans even have more fans than Yao." , but he can become our substitute insider for the next 6 years, and he only needs a fraction of Tracy McGrady's salary, and he can win a large group of fans for our Rockets!"

"You're right, Jason. I know more or less about this." Alexander was still a little shaken by Yuan Fei's words, "But I heard that he had conflicts with your Chinese Basketball Association, and was even expelled from the national team, so the Clippers games will not be broadcast in China. I'm afraid that after buying the King, our Rockets' games will also be banned, which will be a big loss."

"Boss, when it comes to your understanding of Chinese sports, you are not as good as me." Yuan Fei smiled and said, "Wang will be banned by the Chinese Basketball Association in any team, but our Rockets will not. Because we have Yao. If the Basketball Association wants to ban our Rockets game, will Yao's fans agree? Can all Chinese fans agree? In fact, there are many senior officials in the Chinese Basketball Association who like Wang. They are looking for a reason to recruit Wang back to the national team. We can help them build this bridge."

"So that's the case, what you said makes sense." Alexander began to nod.

"For the Clippers, Wang is useless at all. If he can't play well, he can't bring the market. For Wang, he only needs to have a chance to play again and repair the relationship with the Chinese Basketball Association. Our Rockets are the best intermediary for them to repair the relationship. For us, Wang can bring the other half of Chinese fans here, which is the most powerful weapon for us to accelerate the development of the Chinese market." Seeing the boss nod, Yuanfei became more confident.He continued to state: "Through this matter, we can also strengthen communication and cooperation with the Chinese Basketball Association. The Chinese Basketball Association is part of a government agency. Contacting their authorities and establishing a good relationship is of great significance to our future market development."

"Very good, let's do as you said!" Alexander also cheered up and said, "After the completion, I will go to China in person and have a good talk with the officials of their basketball association. I will try to resolve the conflict and let the Rockets become a training camp for Chinese players in the NBA. If this is done, our wallets will have a bright future, haha."

"Boss, if you come forward in person, you must succeed immediately!" Yuan Fei took the opportunity to flatter him.

***
On Valentine's Day, February 2, the Rockets officially announced a deal with the Clippers.Art Long (14) was exchanged for Wang Zhizhi (19 million), so the Clippers got a special case of trading.

(Explanation of the rules: 171. Since the Rockets’ total salary before and after the trade is below the salary cap, they can get players sent by the Clippers that are much higher than what they paid for the players. The Clippers have obtained a special deal with a difference of 171 million. The exchange completes the entire transaction. So this type of transaction is called an asynchronous transaction; [-]. Art Long was sent away shortly after being acquired by the Rockets. This kind of transaction is in line with the league's regulations.)
(Also: Here is also an explanation of Wang Zhizhi’s strength. In his last season with the Mavericks, that is, the 01-02 season, his efficiency and win contributions in the regular season and playoffs exceeded the league average, showing sufficient value. The data per 36 minutes was 18+6, and he is a qualified substitute player. What is especially commendable is that he has a good three-point shooting ability, so he also maintains an above-average scoring efficiency. The disadvantage is that the defense is relatively poor. Substitute ability. But after he arrived in the Clippers, his decline was more obvious. There is an indiscernible folk saying that he didn’t insist on training in the summer of 02, so he got fat. The Clippers initially had high expectations for Wang Zhizhi, thinking that he could become an important rotation for the team. But in November 03, he was laid off by the Clippers, and he had become a marginal player in the NBA.)
　Book friends didn't expect it, did they?Yao Wang successfully joined forces.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)