against the front

Chapter 92 MVP Controversy
"Michael, Eric, and Greg can't play today. You two will work harder today. After the timeout is over, you two will continue to play with Kevin, Russell, and Rudy."

"As for Yan, Derek, and OJ, you three should hurry up and get some rest."

Although it is the NBA's All-Star Rookie Challenge, the rules of the Rookie Challenge are different from the NBA. Instead, it is implemented in accordance with the rules of the NCAA. The whole game is divided into two halves, each with 20 minutes, but In order to take care of the interests of those sponsors, the Rookie Challenge also introduced the NBA's official timeout system. At the 7th and 14th minutes of each half, there is a 100-second mandatory timeout, which is used to insert commercials. .

During the 7-minute timeout, neither the first-year team nor the second-year team made much change in terms of personnel. The second-year team except Rodney Stuckey replaced Aaron Brooks. Apart from strengthening the defense against Derrick Rose, there were no adjustments, and the first-year team simply did not make any adjustments because Greg Oden was temporarily unwell and could not play. The main game is different. The team participating in the Rookie Challenge has only 9 players, and for the first-year team, Greg Oden cannot play now, so they can only increase the playing time of the remaining 8 players.

However, during the second timeout, both the first-year team and the second-year team made adjustments tacitly, preparing to let the starting lineup rest, but as the first-year team coach Dwyane Wade However, in this adjustment, they obviously played a small game.

According to the current rules of the All-Stars, the coaches of the rookie first-year team and the second-year team are the assistant coaches of the Eastern and Western All-Star head coaches respectively. The two teams have each added an assistant coach. The assistant coach of the first-year team is Heat star Dwyane Wade, and the assistant coach of the second-year team is Magic star Dwight Howard. The NBA has added this player-coach position. I just wanted to add a bit of star power to the rookie challenge, but no one expected that after the start of the game, Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard all took over the role, not only taking over the on-the-spot command tasks, but even the personnel adjustment during the timeout period. And the tactical layout work was also taken over by the way.

As the boss of Michael Beasley, Dwyane Wade is naturally aware of his younger brother's thoughts, and Dwyane Wade also supports Beasley's idea of ​​competing for MVP, so in During this timeout, Dwyane Wade made the decision to keep Beasley on the court. When Rose, Mayo, Yan Hua, and others were all on the court, it was difficult for Wade to arrange The lineup with Beasley as the core, because the strength of those rookies is not inferior to Beasley, even stronger than Beasley, if Wade really let them play around Beasley, it will definitely be difficult to convince the crowd , so Wade decided to take advantage of this timeout to replace Yan Hua, Rose, and Mayo, and let several substitutes from the first-year team play around Beasley for the next few minutes. Let his younger brother collect a wave of statistics on the court, so as to gain an advantage in the MVP competition.

"My physical strength is very strong, there is no problem." After Wade finished the arrangement, Beasley, who was already extremely excited, pretended to be calm and nodded at Wade, then the corners of his mouth slightly turned up, and he glanced at him. Derrick Rose, who was sitting on the bench, let you connect off the court, and I don't care at all, because there are people above me.

Although the first-year team is not as good as the second-year team in terms of overall strength and experience, they have an advantage in positions 1 and 5. In the first 14 minutes of the game, Derrick Rose almost put Aaron- Brooks and Rodney Stuckey were sieved, and Yan Hua in the fifth position grabbed a game-high 9 rebounds. Therefore, in the first 14 minutes of the first half, all Not only did the senior team not fall behind, but it also led the sophomore team by 11 points in score. It was precisely because of this reason that those who were interested in the MVP began to be active.

After the game restarted, Yan Hua, who was sitting on the bench, had an awkward chat with Greg Oden while watching the game. As for Derrick Rose, who was sitting on the other side of Yan Hua, and OJ-Mayo, his complexion is not very good now.

Especially Derrick Rose, who performed the best in the first half, was so embarrassing. Since the rookie game did not have any tactical system, and the head coach did not arrange any routines before the start of the game, the players from both sides were present. Basically, it is non-stop singles. Since Eric Gordon has fallen to Rose on the first-year team, plus the two point guards of the second-year team, when facing Rose, they are all in the same position. Inferior, so in the previous games, Rose got the most offensive opportunities in the first-year team.

10 of 6 shots, 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, this is the data of Derrick Rose in the first 14 minutes, although it is slightly worse than Kevin Durant of the second-year team, but Rose's scoring data is also the highest in the first-year team, and the first-year team now maintains an advantage over the second-year, so Derek Rose still has great hopes of winning the MVP of the Rookie Challenge. Even Rose's competitor OJ-Mayo thinks so now, but what Rose didn't expect was that Dwyane Wade, as the head coach of the first-year team, was so blatantly supporting Beasley.

"Derek, don't be depressed, there are opportunities in the second half."

Looking at Derek Rose who was already looking frustrated, Yan Hua stuffed the sports drink that Greg Oden just handed to him into his hand, and then persuaded him with a smile on his face, how should I put it, Rose He and Beasley both have the ability to compete for MVP, but neither of these two guys wants to compete fairly with each other. Rose wants to rely on the support of other teammates to overwhelm Beasley on the court, while Beasley is more simple and rude Yes, I directly asked the head coach to be the backer. The performance and actions of these two people are completely like two children who are fighting.

"Thank you, Yan." After receiving the drink Yan Hua handed over, Ross nodded towards Yan Hua. In Rose's opinion, this big man is really a "good guy", compared to that guy Beasley It is much stronger. After taking two sips of drinks, Rose turned his eyes back to the court. Looking at Beasley who scored consecutively on the court, Rose vowed in his heart that he must bring the MVP trophy of the Challenger League today. Go, for myself, for Yan Hua and Gordon, and for all those who support me.

"This group of substitutes is a little tricky." Greg Oden, who was sitting on the sidelines and unable to play, was a little anxious seeing the lead of the first-year team being continuously eroded. During the timeout just now, the first-year team was ahead. 11 points, but only 3 minutes have passed, and the point difference between the two sides is only 5 points. In the past 3 minutes, the first-year team except Beasley scored 7 points, and the rest The four players did not score a single point, while the second-year team had more points. If this trend continues, at the end of the first half, the second-year team may even tie the score.

"Greg, is your knee okay?" On the day Yan Hua arrived in Phoenix, Greg Oden was fine, but during the training session this afternoon, Greg Oden felt some discomfort in his knee Well, after being checked by the team doctor of the Phoenix Suns, they issued a truce order to Oden. Yan Hua, who had always wanted to ask Oden what was going on, asked while both of them were sitting on the bench. Auden said.

"Actually, it's nothing serious. It's just that there was some fluid in the place where I had the surgery last time. They have already helped me deal with it. As long as I rest for a few days, I should be fine." This minor injury was obviously not taken to heart. If the Suns' team doctor hadn't insisted on not allowing him to play, it is estimated that in today's game, Oden would have played no matter what.

"It's fine, Greg. I think you should take this opportunity to check up. I heard that Phoenix's medical team is the best in the entire NBA." Since the injury was mentioned, Yan Hua also wanted to take the opportunity to remind O. Come on, the Blazers' medical team is really unreliable. If you count on them, sooner or later a small injury will turn into a major injury, and a major injury will become terminally ill. And the Sun medical team, known as a miracle doctor, is just about to prepare for the All-Star Weekend. Therefore, Yan Hua wanted Auden to find them. Maybe these genius doctors could help Aoden solve his big problem.

"Such a small injury is not enough. Besides, there are only a few of them, and so many All-Stars are too busy. How can I bother them anymore." Greg Oden But he didn't take it seriously. No matter how good the Sun's medical team is, Oden can't go to them, because this has already involved the level of the club. If Oden really goes to them, what should he do if he finds some problems? solve?In-situ treatment in Phoenix?Let's not talk about whether Oden can trust them, even if he can, what do you want the Blazers' management and medical team to think?
After seeing Oden's decisive expression, Yan Hua could only shake his head helplessly, and then turned his attention to the court. The situation of the first-year team was still deteriorating, and the rotation centered on Beasley The lineup was no second-year opponent at all.

Dwyane Wade, who originally expected Beasley to show his face on the court, couldn't stand it anymore under the circumstances. Wade, who was basically sitting on the sidelines in the previous games, also began to walk to the sidelines. Shouted into the arena.

58 to 61, at the end of the first half, the starting lineup accumulated a lead of more than ten points, and only 3 points were left. , the rest of the players also looked frustrated. With an 11-point lead, only 6 points were left in 3 minutes. Could they not be frustrated?

Although this team was only organized temporarily, and the players had no feelings for each other, Yan Hua, as a member of this team, got up and came to the sidelines when the players on the field were off the court. The frustrated teammates clapped their hands one by one, to some extent to comfort them, but Beasley, who was the last to end, deliberately bypassed Yan Hua, probably to avoid embarrassment.

"According to the playing style of these two teams in the first half of the game, and the state of the game they showed, I think the second half of the two sides will definitely be a more exciting matchup." After the player channel, Kenny Smith in the commentary also began to summarize the performance of the two sides in the first half of the game. Generally speaking, whether it is the first-year team or the second-year team, they played well in the first half. The performances in the team were good, especially the second-year team's counterattack in the last few minutes of the first half, which was even more exciting, so Kenny Smith is also looking forward to the second half of the game.

"Kenny is very good. In today's game, the players on both sides performed very well. It can be seen that whether it is the second-year veterans or the first-year rookies, on this stage, there is no No matter how tight they were, they played their respective strengths perfectly.” After Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley also praised the players of both sides. Compared with last season’s Rookie Challenge, this year’s Rookie Challenge It should be more exciting and more suspenseful.

"However, I think both of them have a common problem, that is, they fight too much alone. When both sides have a group of excellent players, they can play wonderful coordination and tactics, but they have not done so. Instead, he is obsessed with outside players' ball-holding singles." Obviously, although Kenny Smith is very satisfied with the performance of the players on both sides, Kenny Smith also has opinions on the game that basically has no tactical coordination between the two sides. , although the Rookie Challenge is not a high-level competition, you should at least cooperate with each other and play exquisite connections and alley-oops, so as to mobilize the atmosphere of the fans and increase the ratings by the way. .

"Kenny, although what you said is very reasonable, your opinion is very unrealistic. Whether it is the first-year team or the second-year team, their members are from different teams. Before this game, they There is only one afternoon to get in touch with each other, and it is absolutely impossible to expect them to play any tactics, but I think there should be a change in the second half."

(End of this chapter)