Chapter 79 All-Star Game

As usual, the first day of the All-Star Game was a match between first-year rookies and second-year rookies, but to be honest, there was not much to watch in this game.

Although this year's No. 1 pick Howard performed well in his first year as a rookie, no one thought they could win this game.

After all, the success rate of the 03 players is really too high. Zheng Yang alone is not comparable to the first-year rookies.

When there is no suspense about the outcome of a game, the game loses half its appeal.

On the second day of the All-Star Game, there are dunk contest, three-point contest and skills contest.

The roster for this year's dunk contest includes Josh Smith, JR Smith, Birdman Anderson, and Stoudemire.

Originally, this year's dunk contest was attracting a lot of attention, and everyone thought that James would participate.

They are all looking forward to his head-on confrontation with Eagle King Smith. Two young players with excellent physical talents, who will win this game?

In response to the league's strong invitation, James said the following in the interview.

“I can’t give a definite yes or no answer right now.

You know, I'm usually one of those people who makes decisions at the last minute."

But before the game started, James came down with the flu and an ankle injury, so he declined the league's invitation.

He explained: "I'm not completely healthy now, and my ankle is still a little tight. So, I still hope to participate in the dunk contest at 100%."

After that, James never participated in the All-Star Slam Dunk Contest.

In the end, the game was won by Eagle King Josh Smith, who wore the jersey of his predecessor Wilkens in the final stage.

His first move was a pull-up shot in the air to catch a windmill, and his second move was to dribble the ball at a 45-degree angle on the right, turn 360 degrees in the air, pause slightly, and then dunk with one hand.

These two creative and difficult moves earned him a full score, and he ultimately beat Stoudemire and won the All-Star Slam Dunk Contest.

Let’s take a look at the three-point contest. This year’s list of contestants is as follows: Ray Allen, Single Joe, Korver, Richardson and others.

Before the game started, everyone thought that the championship would only be between Korver and Ray Allen.

After all, the former is the NBA's top catch-and-shoot shooter and the player with the highest outside threat rate, while the other is an accurate three-pointer and will become the three-point king who ranks first in the NBA's all-time three-point list with 2973 three-pointers in the future.

Although his record will be broken by Curry later, it still does not prevent him from being one of the strongest three-point shooters in history.

But in the end, the champion of this three-point contest was won by Quentin Richardson. This 00 rookie scored 19 points in the final stage and narrowly defeated Korver by one point to win the championship.

In this three-point contest, Joe's performance in singles was also very "eye-catching".

In 05, Joe Johnson had a 47.8% three-point shooting percentage for the Suns, ranking first in the league. However, he suffered a miserable defeat in this three-point contest.

Two of the five shooting points ended in zero points, and Johnson still had one ball to shoot after the 60 seconds were up. In the end, he only scored 8 points and missed the finals!
But he is not the lowest-scoring contestant in this session, there are others who are worse off than him.

Radmanovic from the Supersonics scored only two points in the first three shooting points, and the final total score was only 6 points, ranking last. He and Joe Johnson became the dragon and phoenix of this three-point contest!

The two of them also left a happy memory for the fans.

However, when talking about scoring in the three-point contest, people naturally think of the basketball god Jordan.

You can find Jordan in various scoring records in the NBA, and he still ranks first in the scoring record of the All-Star Three-Point Contest.

But this time it's last.

Jordan shot 90% from three-point range in 37.6. Encouraged by his teammate Hodges, Jordan signed up for the All-Star Three-Point Contest that year. He was full of fighting spirit before coming, but in the end he only scored a total of 5 points from his five shooting points.

This is the lowest score in the All-Star Three-Point Contest in NBA history. So far, no one has been able to break his record.

Since then, Jordan never talked about the three-point contest again.

The last event is the All-Star Skills Challenge. This year's contestants are the following four: Nash, Arenas, Boykins, and Ridnour.

There is no need to introduce Nash in detail. His playing style is as elegant as his long hair. He is an MVP guard who is good at organizing offense and is also the player with the greatest hope of winning the championship this year.

General Arenas, a player with strong scoring ability, is also a very inspirational second-round pick.

Ridnour, a member of the 2003 Platinum Generation, became the starting point guard in his second season with the Sonics and played in all 82 games.

Boykins is only 1 meters tall, the second shortest player in the NBA, but he still has excellent passing and offensive abilities, and has left many stories unique to him in the NBA.

After a fierce battle, Nash successfully won the championship of this year's All-Star Skills Challenge.

And on the third day of the All-Star Game, which is also the final day, the highlight is here!
The 04-05 All-Star Game will officially start on this day. Here I would like to introduce the starting players of both teams.

The starting five on the Eastern Conference side are Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Vince Carter, and Grant Hill.

Their coach is Stan Van Gundy of the Heat.

On the Western side are Zheng Yang, Kobe Bryant, Yao Ming, Kevin Garnett, and Tracy McGregor.

Their coach is Gregg Popovich of the Spurs.

In the original history, Tim Duncan was also in the starting lineup, but now with Zheng Yang added, he can only play as a substitute.

Before the game started, an interesting scene took place in the Eastern Conference locker room. James, who was selected as an All-Star for the first time, took his sneakers and asked every player in the locker room for autographs.

Even Wade's autograph is required.

Wade was a little confused and asked, "Do you want my autograph too?"

……

On the evening of February 2, the Denver Plateau was filled with fans, all wearing jerseys of different players, which were the jerseys of their idols.

Before the jump ball, the starting lineups of both teams were greeting each other, and O'Neal was the first to come up and greet Zheng Yang.

“Hey Zheng, nice to see you again.

This jersey suits you quite well, and it looks quite handsome on you. Try your best tonight, and maybe you can get your first All-Star Game MVP. "

"I hope so haha."

Iverson was the second player to greet Zheng Yang. After a brief hug, the other patted Zheng Yang on the shoulder and said with a smile.

“It’s my first time starting in the All-Star Game, don’t be nervous haha!

Have a great night. ” Then came Vince Carter.

"Hey it's a nice feeling to see new faces in the All-Star starting lineup haha!
I remember you had a good jump, you should participate in the dunk contest, I believe you will do well. "

The second to last one was Grant Hill, the "successor to Jordan" who won the All-Star vote in his rookie season and was smiling at Zheng Yang at this moment.

"Hey Zheng, long time no see! How are you feeling tonight? This is your first All-Star start, so it's normal to be a little nervous."

While speaking, he also pinched Zheng Yang's shoulders considerately to help him relax.

Grant Hill is a kind and gentle player. He is completely different from other arrogant and bad-tempered NBA players. The media once called him an "angel."

The title of "Jordan's successor" was not given to him by Jordan or the fans, but by the league, that is, David Stern.

One important reason for choosing him is that Hill's temperament, conversation, and gentle, respectful and humble image deeply attracted David Stern.

He hopes that the emergence of Grant Hill can change people's impression of the NBA.

In the previous competition, although Zheng Yang and he were not very close, they had a mutual liking for each other.

The last person to greet Zheng Yang was the chosen one, LeBron James. Of course, his nickname hasn't been mentioned for a long time.

I have always been suppressed by my peers, so how can I talk about being the chosen one!
"long time no see!"

"long time no see!"

The two of them greeted each other briefly and didn't say anything else.

We don't get along, so there's no need to pretend!

After everyone else said hello, tonight's game officially began.

During the jump ball phase, the Big Shark passed the ball, and James dribbled across half court and passed the ball to Iverson, who immediately defended him.

Iverson then rushed into the inside, but there were no good opportunities, so he jumped high again and passed the ball to Vince Carter who was lurking in the left corner.

The latter made a three-pointer facing McGrady's defense.

Vince Carter, who scored the first goal of the game, smiled and high-fived others when he returned to defense.

Coming back, Garnett made a mistake in passing the ball, O'Neal successfully stole the ball, and then passed it to James, who hit the ball on the three-point line.

5: 0!

This time, after the West brought the basketball across half court, Yao Ming set a screen for Zheng Yang. Zheng Yang, who received the pass from Kobe, also hit a three-pointer to return the favor!

He successfully scored his first point in the All-Star Game, and the fans applauded at the right time, cheering for Zheng, this year's All-Star vote leader.

The following games dazzled the fans, especially after Nash came on the court, various alley-oop slam dunks emerged one after another in the Western Conference, which was a visual feast.

As for the All-Star Game, although the players may play seriously for a while later, at least in the first two quarters, everyone is mainly having fun, and the defense is basically useless.

While the game was going on, reporters on the sidelines were also interviewing retired stars. Many former NBA superstars were invited to watch today's All-Star Game. Reporters wanted to know who they thought would win this year's All-Star Game MVP.

The first person to be interviewed was Admiral David Robinson, who had just retired. He sat on the sidelines in a suit and said with a smile.

"It's a tough one, I mean it's a good group of players, but if you really want me to pick one, it would be Kobe Bryant.

As for the reason... well, there is no special reason, I feel it will be him."

An admiral with a little emotional intelligence would certainly not say what he really thinks.

The reason why he thinks Kobe will win the MVP is because he knows Kobe is a very competitive player. Although he doesn't defend much now, it won't be long before he starts playing seriously.

Just like Jordan's last All-Star trip two years ago, the competition between the two sides in this All-Star Game was extremely fierce, and the winner was still undecided until the last moment.

When the game came to the last 8 seconds, the two sides were still in a tie, but Jordan broke through Marion's defense and faded away to complete a near-game winning shot.

The game had been perfect up to that point. In Jordan's last All-Star appearance, he made a near-game-winning shot and completed a perfect farewell.

This is the result everyone wants to see!
Who would have thought that Kobe took a three-pointer after the timeout, was fouled by O'Neal Jr. and made two of three free throws, dragging the game into overtime.

In the end the West won.

After the game, many people said that Kobe ruined Jordan's last All-Star trip, and Kobe's explanation was that Jordan told him before the game to play his best in this game and not to stop.

He just wants to respect the other person!

Although what Kobe said seems to make some sense, anyone with a little emotional intelligence can understand that if someone doesn't allow you to play seriously, does that mean they want you to play a fake game?
If Jordan was really happy, he wouldn't have sat on the bench during overtime and been unwilling to play!
So given Kobe's personality, his chances of winning the MVP are naturally the highest.

However, Pippen, who was the second person to be interviewed, believed that Zheng Yang was most likely to win the MVP.

“I think Zheng has a good chance of getting his first All-Star MVP. He’s made two of two shots, so he’s obviously in good form.

If the West wins this year, the MVP will most likely go to Zheng. "

After being slapped in the face in the playoffs last season, Pippen slowly began to become a "Zheng fan". When you remove the prejudice, you will really find that Zheng Yang is a very good player.

After all, he has always given fans a very positive image, both on and off the court.

Bowen: What about my balls?

As for Jordan, he is optimistic about Iverson.

……

The game was still going on and on. Zheng Yang really had a great time today. He didn't get along with the team's head coach Popovich and was worried that the other side would not give him too much playing time.

Who would have thought that he had played for six minutes and was not substituted out.

With the help of Nash, Zheng Yang performed countless dunks for the fans in the first quarter today.

The cheers from the fans off the field could not stop for a moment.

Many people are thinking that if Zheng Yang is willing to participate in the dunk contest, he will definitely give the fans many surprises.

In fact, Zheng Yang is not opposed to participating in the dunk contest, but this year he has to play in the rookie competition and the All-Star Game. If there is also a dunk contest, he will be exhausted.

Others come to the All-Star Game to relax and have fun, but he comes here to work!
So he is thinking of participating again next year or the year after!
　It should be gone in the early morning. I have homework to do tonight. I will make up for it on the weekend.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)