I'm a hero in Marvel

The only thing that New Yorkers are unhappy about is that the Knicks haven't won a championship for a long time. So long that most New Yorkers can't remember when the last NBA championship parade was.

This has led to a phenomenon that New York fans are the most loyal and at the same time the most unreliable in the entire NBA.

They are loyal because the Knicks' market is the most profitable among all NBA teams. No matter how bad the team performs, there are always people willing to spend money to watch the Knicks games and buy the jerseys of Knicks stars.

However, they are said to be disloyal because as long as the visiting team plays well, New York fans will give warm applause, and even when the Knicks are in poor form, the audience will collectively boo their own players.

This kind of thing has happened before, so New York fans can be said to be one of the most peculiar fan groups.

Even though the team is not playing well, they are still willing to spend money to watch the game. You know, NBA tickets are not cheap, especially the playoff tickets are even more expensive.

New York fans know that it will be uncomfortable to watch the Knicks play, but they are still willing to go to the scene and make themselves unhappy.

Maybe this is a habit? After being abused by the Knicks, you get used to it. In this respect, Knicks fans are similar to fans of the Chinese national football team.

Of course, Madison Square Garden will not be idle during the NBA suspension.

The NBA Development League and preseason games will still go on, but the level of these games is too low and almost no fans are interested.

People who come to watch the game are either extremely passionate about basketball or think that the tickets for the official game are too expensive, so they come specifically to experience the on-site atmosphere of the low-priced tickets.

However, compared to those mediocre development league games, the National High School Summer League every summer is quite eye-catching.

In the United States, where basketball culture is well developed, the competitive level and intensity of the high school league are comparable to many international competitions.

Especially the games after entering the quarterfinals are more enjoyable to watch, because becoming the top high school basketball star in the United States is very tempting for most young people, and everyone will go all out in this game to win the championship.

This fighting spirit is unmatched by the Development League and preseason.

In this year's summer league, New York's local Metropolitan High School made it into the top eight and has a strong chance of winning the championship.

Their power forward Thompson is an all-around player who has already attracted the attention of NBA scouts.

As long as he stays in college for one year, he will be eligible for the NBA draft.

Many scouts believe that Thompson's development model is LeBron James. His breakthrough, passing, mid-range shooting and offensive organization are all excellent and highly evaluated. Thompson's future is limitless, far surpassing his stepfather who only won the best sixth man award.

There are already basketball shoe manufacturers who plan to sign an endorsement contract with Thompson after he wins the championship and gets the MVP. Even if it means waiting a year to enter the NBA, the manufacturer is willing to pay a year's endorsement fee. Signing Thompson now is definitely more cost-effective than signing him after his fame grows, even if it wastes a year's worth of contract value.

Since the local high school made it to the quarterfinals and had a chance to win the championship, many New York fans came to support Metropolitan High School. After all, a Summer League champion is still a champion! It's much better than the Knicks being eliminated early in the playoffs in recent years, or even failing to make the playoffs!

Therefore, the Madison Square Garden, which can accommodate more than 18,000 people, had a very high attendance today. Although it was only the quarterfinals of the high school league, it was at least 80% full, with nearly 15,000 spectators filling the entire stadium.

This once again proves the spending power of New York fans, who are willing to pay to watch even high school sports leagues. Of course, part of the reason is that there are no other major sports events in New York City this weekend. There are no baseball games or football games scheduled.

As a result, many fans and sports enthusiasts choose to spend their weekends watching high school games.

Li Jie was sitting on the sidelines. He looked at Peter and Harry next to him, pointed to the front and said, "Look, the man in the first two rows seems to be an assistant coach of the Knicks. I've seen him on TV, and he also came to watch Thompson's game."

"I heard that the Knicks have already talked to Thompson. They hope that Thompson will go to New York University for a year, and then the Knicks will select him in next year's draft. The Knicks have the third pick in the first round. If Thompson follows the Knicks' advice, he can become the third pick in the NBA next year." Peter looked at the Knicks assistant coach in front of him and said to the two.

It seems that since reconciling with Thompson, Peter's relationship with him has become more harmonious, and Thompson will even tell him things like this.

Today, the team that will face Metropolitan High School is Oak High School, a high school basketball powerhouse with a long history. Metropolitan High School is a rising star team that has never won a championship, while Oak High School has won championships many times and has cultivated many outstanding NBA players.

The game was very intense from the beginning. Metropolitan Middle School adopted the popular fast break tactics, which had a fast tempo and high scores, making the game very entertaining.

The game at Oak High School was like a textbook example of positional warfare. After all, high school players have not yet reached the level of the NBA, and the running and gunning tactics are too demanding for them. Although the score is high and the scene is beautiful, the speed is too fast and it is easy to make mistakes.

Oak High School pursues real victory, not whether it is exciting or not. They would rather spend 30 seconds in each quarter, even if it makes the game ugly, than speed up the pace.

This style of play disrupted Metropolitan High School's rhythm. After winning the opening jump ball, Metropolitan High School took advantage of the situation to score quickly, but was then disrupted by Oak High School's full-court press. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 23 to 18, and Metropolitan High School was 5 points behind. This slow offensive rhythm turned off the audience and booed.

The opposing coach doesn't care. As long as they can win, what's the harm in playing ugly?

"Come on, Thompson! Beat them up! Show the same spirit that you had when you beat me!" Peter, who was sitting in the fifth row, cheered loudly for Thompson so that all the players from Metropolitan High School could hear him.

In addition to the fans, many students from Metropolitan High School also came to watch the game and cheer for their school. Peter's shouting inspired other students, and the deafening cheers may have helped the confused Metropolitan High School find its way back.

Thompson was not in good shape in the first quarter, but he started to work hard at the beginning of the second quarter. His sharp breakthrough attracted the opponent's double-team, and the defense had loopholes. He cleverly made a fake move, fooled two defenders, and then passed the ball to his teammate in the bottom corner. The basketball went into the net, a wonderful three-pointer.

From this assist, Thompson was unstoppable. In just one and a half minutes, he drew a foul with a three-step layup and completed a two-plus-one. After that, Thompson was like a god, with mid-range shots, breakthroughs, slam dunks, and post-ups. He was in hot form and had a good shot. Seeing Thompson's condition, the coach decided to attack around him.

As long as someone double-teams Thompson, he will be exposed. As a power forward, Thompson has excellent passing ability and a wide field of vision. If he is double-teamed, he will assist; if he is not double-teamed, no defensive player at Oak High School can defend him one-on-one. In the second quarter alone, Thompson scored 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, igniting the enthusiasm of the entire audience.

The Knicks' assistant coach nodded repeatedly, saying that such players could become the core of reconstruction within a year or two with a little training.

In the middle of the third quarter, the score became 65-55, and Metropolitan High School led by 10 points. The coach asked Thompson, who had played for 25 minutes, to rest and replace him with a substitute. At this time, Thompson had contributed 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists, just one step away from a triple-double.

The game entered a dull period. Li Jie looked at Peter, who was cheering for the school team until his voice was almost hoarse, and asked, "Do you two want something to drink? I'll go buy some."

Harry: "Sprite, thank you!"

Peter said with a hoarse voice: "Gatorade, thank you. I think cheering on the sidelines is more tiring than playing the game."

Li Jie reluctantly walked out of the auditorium and headed towards the empty corridor where the vending machine was. When Li Jie stood up and left, the girl who had been observing him from a distance also walked out. She was the person secretly protected by the captain of the Night Watch, Roland.

Today, she was dragged by her friends to cheer for Metropolitan High School. Although they were far apart, Roland still recognized Li Jie, or more accurately, recognized the complicated timeline above Li Jie's head.

When Li Jie was about to put in coins to buy a drink, Roland suddenly approached and said, "Jason Lee, you are one of the people sent to protect me secretly, right? At the same time, you are a masked hero."

Roland's tone was gentle, but the content surprised Li Jie: "What are you talking about?"

"Don't be surprised. Captain Rogers asked you to protect me. I believe you are reliable. Aren't you curious why they sent you to protect me?" Roland said to himself, ignoring whether Li Jie was listening or not: "If I say that a serious and terrible accident will happen in this game, will you believe me?"

Roland looked at Li Jie sincerely, and the two looked at each other in the empty corridor. Li Jie thought he might be crazy or there was something wrong with his ears.