The era of point forwards in the NBA

Chapter 288 The second half of the regular season
With Anthony's three-pointer missed at the buzzer, the Eastern All-Stars took the victory away with a key layup by Wade.

141 to 139, the Eastern All-Stars won this year's All-Star Game.

All that was left was to announce the All-Star MVP, with Stern getting ready to take the stage while the rest of the players huddled together.

Although the MVP player has not yet been found, everyone basically knows it.

韦德全场比赛16中12，罚球6中4，拿到28分11个助攻6个篮板以及5个抢断，无疑是东部全明星表现最亮眼的球员。

詹姆斯的数据也没有差多少，22中10，三分球6中1，罚球4中4，拿到25分5篮板6助攻4抢断，多方面的数据都很出色。

But compared to Wade, James' statistics are obviously not enough.

In addition, Bosh also scored 23 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals on the Eastern All-Star side, which is also excellent.

Lin Yue and Durant are standing in the corner of the team. They are still too young to become the C position.

Lin Yue and Durant's statistics are not bad. Although neither scored 20 points, they also completed their tasks well. It's just that the head coach of the Nuggets believes in their players more.

Anthony's performance did not disappoint, with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists. If it weren't for his excellent scoring ability, the Western All-Stars would be really difficult to deal with.

But not everyone can score the ball against James' defense.

After a while, Stern finally handed over the MVP trophy to Wade, which is also a recognition of Wade's strength.

Wade held up the trophy and smiled, while Lin Yue behind him stared at him for a long time without making a sound.

At this moment, he only hopes that one day he will be the one standing there holding the trophy.

Human greed is endless. At first, Lin Yue only hoped that he would be perfect enough to enter the NBA, but now he is thinking about how to get the most valuable player in the All-Star Game.

This span is too large.

……

After the All-Star Game, the three of the Thunder returned to the hotel to rest. They were different from others. They will stay here tomorrow to compete with the Mavericks in the regular season.

The All-Star game is over, which means that the second half of the regular season has just begun.

At the beginning of the season, the Thunder's goal was to successfully enter the playoffs. The current ranking is indeed in the top eight in the West, and there is a certain gap with No.9. As long as they play steadily, they are likely to enter the playoffs.

Thunder's third juniors failed to enjoy the All-Star Game to the fullest. On the contrary, after the game, Durant and Lin Yue lay on the bed and screamed. Tonight's game was really exciting.

It would have been nice if the two of them were spectators, to see such an intense game.

But they are one of the two teams in the game, every ball is very important, and their moods are also changing accordingly. Although the All-Star Game is just an entertainment event, the two who played in the All-Star Game for the first time still hope to usher in a victory.

They also cherish the time they play, especially Durant. He didn't miss any chance to score, but his shooting percentage was slightly lower.

"Can you stop complaining, it's the dream of many NBA players to be an All-Star, but you're still not happy about it." Curry couldn't stand it anymore. He couldn't understand the behavior of the two without participating.

"You really don't understand. We don't have much playing time. The coach directly chooses to give up at the critical moment. This feeling is not to mention how uncomfortable it is. I thought I could perform well in front of the whole world." Lin Yue covered his face with a pillow and said. Now he hopes that the coach will pay more attention next time.

"That's right, I was replaced as soon as I felt hot. Maybe I can win the game by replacing me in the last quarter?" Durant was really bitter in his heart, and he lost the game in the end.

"The All-Stars are here to perform, and there is no reward for winning. Instead of spending time on the All-Stars just now, it is better to wake up early and prepare for the regular season tomorrow night." Curry persuaded earnestly.

People who have never participated in his participation have to come to comfort his teammates, which is not to mention how uncomfortable it is.

"You have the trophy of the three-point contest, Lin has the MVP of the Rookie Challenge, and I am the only one who returned empty-handed." Durant was really uncomfortable.

A third-year team leader has played at such a level. Durant does not allow himself to fail, but he can only prepare for tomorrow's game.

Early the next morning, the rest of the Thunder team felt the Cowboys Stadium and adapted to the venue in advance. Only the three who participated in the game yesterday could skip this link.

At the end of the All-Star Game, Lin Yue's reputation in China was very good. Chinese fans were attracted by Lin Yue's elegant style of play. In the past, this style of play was only adopted by NBA players.

As a result, Lin Yue also has such a good scoring ability. You must know that Lin Yue was still a little brother in the national team a year ago, so he can show his strong strength, and he has grown even more this year.

The players of the Mavericks were also training on the field, and their people were at full attendance. Last night's All-Star player, Dirk Nowitzki, did not miss the training in the morning.

Nowitzki felt that his performance was not good enough. With his scoring ability, he would definitely hit more goals. However, at the critical moment, when Anthony missed a three-pointer, Nowitzki felt relieved.

Perhaps this is Nowitzki's character flaw. He is obviously the more capable person, but he is worried that his performance will not meet the audience's expectations and begins to try to escape.

Nowitzki was training at the venue last night, thinking about it. He also had regrets in his heart. Would he feel better if he missed the three-pointer in the end?

……

At 7:[-] in the evening, the game between the Mavericks and the Thunder officially began.

Influenced by All-Star Weekend. , The attendance rate of the Cowboys Stadium tonight is very high. In addition, some players who will not play tomorrow will stay to watch other teams' games.

For a while, the Cowboys Stadium was full of voices, but as the game officially started, the audience began to pay attention to the game.

At the beginning of the first quarter, the Thunder's third young master played very tough.

In the past, the purpose of the three of them was to win, and they would choose to rely on cooperation to avoid the pursuit of defensive players when attacking.

Tonight, the Thunder began to try to change their offensive style. Curry will not hide from the chasing players when shooting from beyond the three-point line, but use his best scoring method.

Attacking with the ball, relying on changes in rhythm and direction to successfully pass the opponent, and then find an opportunity to throw the ball.

Lin Yue also increased the frequency of his singles. Even though Durant and Curry were on the court at the same time, Lin Yue still tried his own attack at the Mavericks' home court.

Durant reduced the frequency of singles and tried to cooperate more with his teammates in the offense to create more scoring opportunities.

He also tries to pass the ball if the teammate has a higher probability of attacking.

The style of play has changed, and the Thunder's offensive efficiency has naturally declined.

At the end of the half, the Thunder trailed the opponent by 47 points 56 to 9. Nowitzki was as stable as ever. They were also thinking about performing well in the second half of the season and getting a good ranking by then.

In the second half, the Thunder team tried their best to recover the score, but in the end they were short of breath and did not directly win the victory. The Thunder team also lost hope of winning.

The whistle sounded at the end of the game, and the Thunder lost the game by five points behind the opponent 106 to 111.

After the game, everyone in the Thunder returned to Oklahoma City in a daze. The players who did not participate in the All-Star Game were too indulgent during this period, and their attention on the field was not enough.

The three of them who participated in the All-Star Game were a little tired, and Lin Yue couldn't stand the successive games.

Fortunately, after this game, the Thunder have three days to rest, and they can focus on the adjustment of their state.

The next game is on February 2th, at home against the New York Knicks, and Westbrook will play against Lin Yue again.

Just taking advantage of a few days of rest, Lin Yue accepted the invitation of the domestic sports channel to shoot documentaries and commercials, which had the effect of promoting basketball.

In China, Lin Yue is the most popular player in the NBA, and his jersey sales rank first in the league, higher than those of popular stars like Kobe and James. This is the domestic market.

It's a pity that Tu Yun has now become Lin Yue's manager, helping him with business activities, accepting endorsements from advertisers, and so on.

The sports channel has re-sent a host.

In this way, Lin Yue was not idle when he was not training these days.

Curry just watched Lin Yue work from [-] to [-], busy for a long time, and had to shoot even on vacation, which was miserable.

However, if Lin Yue wants to start his own company, what he lacks most is money. It wasn't until he got in touch with the bigwigs in the industry that Lin Yue realized that what he earned from playing basketball was just other people's pocket money.

If you want to improve the quality of life, you have to work hard.

As long as the training is not delayed, Coach Brooks will not say much.

Such days continued until February 2, when the New York Knicks played away against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Westbrook wanted to get revenge on the away game, but he didn't realize until the day before the game that he had never beaten Lin Yue.

When he was in the NCAA, every time he met Lin Yue, he would lose. After he entered the NBA, although the school team defeated the Davidson Wildcats led by Lin Yue, he was not there.

He lost in the regular season, and he lost in the rookie challenge. After all, Lin Yue was his nemesis.

Thinking about it this way, Westbrook's love for Lin Yue has begun to decline. If such a player is okay as a teammate, it is really not a good thing if he becomes an opponent.

Facts have proved that Westbrook's worries are not overthinking. At the beginning of the game, Lin Yue led the Thunder to a 10-2 offensive climax.

Every offense during this period has something to do with him, connecting teams and individual offenses, and the Thunder also played a long-lost cooperation.

Since Curry's return, the Thunder have not been able to catch up with themselves at the beginning of last season. As other teams gradually got used to the Thunder's defensive counterattack, their offensive efficiency began to decline.

Tonight, Lin Yue directly stood up and used practical actions to prove the recovery of the Thunder team.

Smooth air cuts and extremely fast defensive counterattacks.

At the end of the first quarter, the Thunder led the New York Knicks by 33 points with 24 points to 9 points.

Lin Yue still only played in the first half of the first quarter as usual, but in 6 minutes of playing time, he scored 4 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 steal. Such a terrible oppressive force has changed his personality.

Not only did the shooting these days not become a burden for him, but it made Lin Yue vent all his pressure in the competition.

Westbrook was dumbfounded to see Lin Yue's fast break and dunk, good guy, this is spreading all the grievances of life on himself.

Westbrook played the entire first quarter, 6 of 2, 4 of 4 free throws, 8 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. It has to be said that he played more and more easily under D'Antoni.

Although D'Antoni is still thinking about how to carry forward his magic ball theory, but this thing does not work on Westbrook at all. If it is a fast break, Westbrook will definitely choose a breakthrough dunk instead of an emergency stop to chase a three-pointer.

There is no such easy solution to the solidification of thinking.

However, in more than a year, he has also discovered Westbrook's other strengths, such as excellent athletic ability, this kind of player is very destructive in fast breaks.

In addition, his organizational skills are good, he can also find his teammates during fast break layups, pass incredible breakthrough points, and help the inside players under the basket to successfully attract defense.

The most unexpected thing is the hard work in grabbing rebounds. A guard going to grab rebounds with an inside player who is a head taller than him would have been scolded for an ordinary player.

This is not what he should do, but Westbrook can do a good job of protecting rebounds.

Arguably one of the most rebounding point guards in the league today.

He also hits the plate with a decent percentage and could become a decent player over time.

After discovering the advantages of Westbrook, D'Antoni gave him the option to start the offense.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Lin Yue led the team in a fiery state. Under Lin Yue's leadership, the Thunder once opened the point difference to 12 points.

Except for David Lee, who entered the All-Star team this year, New York's players can't help at all. No wonder the Knicks' record hasn't improved this season.

Such a lineup is not suitable for D'Antoni, and the players themselves are not motivated.

The Knicks have the best exposure and market in the NBA. As a team in a big city, they can become one of the few profitable teams in the NBA every year.

Even if their record is poor, it still doesn't affect making money, so the boss naturally doesn't focus on the record.

Go with the flow.

最终雷霆队以120比108战胜纽约尼克斯队，威斯布鲁克砍下26分8篮板8助攻的准三双数据，累瘫在地上也没能取得胜利。

The Thunder team was much more relaxed. Curry and Durant played well. Lin Yue took the opportunity to score 13 assists, stabilizing his position in the top three in the assist list. If it weren't for Paul's fewer appearances, Lin Yue would have a chance to overtake him.

The more games there are, the more demanding the performance of each game will be. It seems that the gap of a few tenths is not a minority in dozens of games.

(End of this chapter)