Jim Bass Ambition

Chapter 199
With only one last away game against the Houston Rockets, the Lakers can end their expedition and return to Los Angeles to enjoy the All-Star weekend.

Despite Malone's strong request to play, the team decided to postpone his comeback until after the All-Star Weekend, so that he would have a week or so to rest. Currently, the team has sufficient personnel and the pressure on the record is not great. , Leading the Spurs and Timberwolves by about 2 wins, there is no need for Malone to force Carry.

After Yao Ming joined the Rockets, they got a lot of attention from across the ocean, and Steve Francis also gained honor in the All-Star voting, beating Ray Allen, Steve Nash and Gilbert Arena He was selected as the starting backcourt combination of the Western All-Star team together with Kobe Bryant.

Of course, Yao Ming is undoubtedly the starting center. Of course, his average of 18 points and 9 rebounds per game is still good among Western centers, and may be second only to O'Neal in the league. After all, Duncan, Garnett, Novus The registered positions of Key, Webber, Jermaine O'Neal, Gasol and others are all power forwards.

Haslem, who performed well in the last game, got a lot of playing time in the game against the Rockets. With Malone absent and Nene sluggish, he injected vitality and passion into the interior.

However, the entire Lakers team was troubled by the devil's schedule, and their state continued to decline. If they had ability values, probably all players' current abilities were [-]% off their full state. After shooting, he fell into a passive state.In the second quarter, Morris Taylor's series of mid-range shots completely reduced the morale of the Lakers to a negative number.Although Haslem worked hard, no matter Yao Ming or Cato, he has a huge advantage in size.

Yao Ming scored 29 points and 11 rebounds, proving to American fans that he has the strength of an All-Star starter. The Lakers lost 87 to 102 to the Rockets.

In the other two focus battles, the Spurs challenged the Kings away, and the Twin Towers teamed up to score 45 points and 31 rebounds, helping the Spurs avenge the Kings 102-94; while the Timberwolves were a guest in Salt Lake City, slowing down the rhythm in a targeted manner under Jerry Sloan Under the tactics of the Utah Jazz, they played an ugly game at the pinnacle of basketball. The two sides played a 71 to 65 score with a very slow pace and a very low shooting percentage, relying on Arenas and Sprewell at the last moment The Timberwolves beat the Jazz.

Before the All-Star break, the Lakers led the Timberwolves by one game and the Spurs by one and a half games, temporarily ranking first in the Western Conference.

"In the 60s, we held the All-Star Game, we also held it in the 70s, and we also held it in 83, but since then, until today, it has been more than 20 years. The All-Star Game has not settled in Los Angeles. Of course, that At that time, the main color of the league was red, but now, purple and gold will become the most crazy colors for fans. In the new century, we have won four championships, and after that, we will get more !” Speaking of the upcoming All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, Jim released bold words.

As a warm-up event, the rookie game often does not attract much attention, but this year is different. Whether it is Yao Ming, the first international player with the No. And they will each lead the rookies of the current year and start a duel.

As soon as they played, the first-year rookie team took the lead. James, Anthony and Wade took turns to bomb the basket, performing all kinds of fancy dunks.

The second-year team played steadily, with Yao Ming and Amare Stoudemire taking turns attacking the inside line. The two have honed in the league for a year. Their solid offensive skills are what Chris Bosh and Chris Kaman cannot. In addition, the real metronome of the second-year team is Manu Ginobili, who is full of brash operations. Although the scene is not as exciting as the James, the score is always stalemate.

However, the audience obviously prefer to watch dunks, rather than watching Yao Ming and Kaman's footsteps under the basket. Tadmeier partnered inside, and the back line sent the SuperSonics' bench knife Ronald Murray.

Milicic was replaced in the first grade, and Bosh partnered inside.

After Boozer and Stoudemire came on the court, Ginobili played more easily. He cooperated with the pick-and-roll with both of them very well, and frequently sent wonderful passes to help the two take turns to wreak havoc on the inside.

"I bet $10 that the second-year team will win this game." Jim and Kupchak watched the game from the sidelines. Nei, West and others cheered.

"I think about my college days. Although the players who have just entered the school are full of talent in high school, they have not been trained in college basketball. The freshman team who plays with talent is often defeated by the more experienced senior team. So I bet the sophomores would win, too." Kupchak didn't do what Jim wanted.

"I think you're targeting the two of us who didn't go to college!" Garnett exclaimed strangely. "I support Dwyane!"

"Oh? That ten dollars is not enough, how about we bet big?" Jim and Kupchak looked at each other, and tonight's supper should be settled.

Sure enough, after the first half, the second-year team led 72-59.

To the disappointment of the majority of Chinese audiences, Yao Ming did not have much playing time. His position and style of play determined that he was not suitable for this kind of game.

In the second half, with Ronald Murray's sudden explosion and consecutive three-pointers, the first-year team became more and more chaotic, and the game lost its suspense. James first came with a crotch change, and here Tayshaun Prince also responded with one, followed by Carmelo Anthony...

At the end of the game, Garnett was willing to gamble and admit defeat, and took on the expenses of the team's supper.

"Everyone is looking forward to our slam dunk performance. Although we did not participate in the slam dunk contest, I believe fans who watched today's Rookie Challenge will not be disappointed. We have moved the slam dunk contest to tonight, and there are more participants. You need to score points, and you don’t need to judge who is the winner.” After the game, LeBron James, who contributed many wonderful dunks, said in an interview with reporters.

The most depressing thing right now may be the four contestants in the slam dunk contest. They originally hoped to increase their fame through the slam dunk contest, but they were subjected to such a strong wave of pressure. It's not as good as the slam dunks that come at hand in the rookie game, so the slam dunk contest is really not very meaningful.

(End of this chapter)