Pick Westbrook

Chapter 153 You are a coward
"Welcome to the NBA09-10 season, Dallas All-Star Weekend Tour, West Team vs. East Team!"

As Kenny Smith finished speaking, the fans at the scene burst into applause.

West Team: Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki, Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Chauncey Billups, Kevin Duo Rant, Deron Williams, Pau Gasol, Zach Randolph, Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant.

West coach George Karl.

Eastern Conference: Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Joe Johnson, Kevin Garnett, Derrick Rose, Chris Bosh, Al Horford, Paul Pierce , Iverson, Westbrook, Yi Jianlian.

Eastern team coach Li Lai.

Technical front.

Li Lai and George Karl shook hands.

It coincides with the All-Star Weekend, and the Nuggets currently have the second highest record in the West, so Mr. Joe is in a good mood, and he took the initiative to joke with Li Lai.

"What strategy are you going to play tonight? Elevator door, pass cut, high double, weak-side double screen or high deal?"

"You can't play any tactics, you little cunning, as long as I don't face your strange tactics, I will sleep more comfortably at night."

Li Lai responded with a smile on his face and said: "Okay, old man, I'll tell you, my tactic is to knock you out first, and then the five starters of the western team will be exhausted on the court. I just won."

George Karl nodded repeatedly and said: "I knew you, a slicker, would do this. You are the only one who dares to use such an insidious tactic. You are such a bastard, that you would actually attack an old man."

Li Lai and George Karl smiled at the same time, both of them felt very relaxed in this match.

on the field.

Kobe is moving his hands and feet. Originally, he didn't want to play in this All-Star Game, just to let the three injured fingers take a good rest.

This season, Kobe often played on the court with 7 intact fingers. Zen Master Phil Jackson suggested more than once that Kobe should not participate in the All-Star Weekend and heal his injuries.

But the paranoia and pride in his heart made Kobe choose to play without hesitation.

James walked up to him and said, "Old man, there is a guy on our team who wants to single you."

Kobe was startled, and then looked at James with a strange expression, "Could that guy be you."

Kobe has encountered too many challenges from opponents in these years. Everyone wants to single him, and everyone wants to be singled by him.

Wade also came over and repeated: "Kobe, someone wants to single you."

Then Dwight Howard and Yi Jianlian came over one after another and said the same thing, "Someone wants to blow you up and teach you a lesson, Kobe."

Kobe looked at the Eastern team with a weird face, wondering what they were going crazy with today, until Westbrook also walked towards him, Kobe finally couldn't help it.

"Hey, hey, which bastard dared to challenge Kobe after eating a leopard. Didn't his father remind him that this is a terrible idea?"

Westbrook ignored Kobe's trash talk, and still walked over and said, "Kobe, I'm going to blow you up!"

Kobe was expressionless and exuded a sense of domineering spontaneously. He looked at Westbrook and said, "So it's you again."

Game start.

Western team starting lineup: point guard Nash, shooting guard Kobe Bryant, small forward Anthony, power forward Dirk Nowitzki and center Duncan.

Eastern team starting lineup: point guard Westbrook, shooting guard Wade, small forward James, power forward Garnett and center Howard.

Midline jump ball.

Howard raised his hands and bent his knees and said, "Tim, I have relatives living in Dallas, so can you give me this ball?"

My head was full of question marks, thinking that I still have relatives living in New York, so should the league directly award the championship to me?
Snapped!
Howard grinned and jumped high to grab the ball, and he didn't forget to praise Duncan.

The conversation between the two was naturally also heard by the people around them. After the Western team saw that the ball was indeed taken by the Eastern team, Kobe and Anthony stared blankly with extremely unhappy eyes.

Even Duncan, known as the Stone Buddha, has always been reticent on the court. At this time, he had to explain quickly: "I didn't let it go. It was that bastard Howard who deliberately framed me."

Howard moved forward, rubbing his hands while the trick was successful, "I'm talking about the whole thing, the All-Stars, everyone has to play."

Westbrook advances with the ball.

As soon as he came up, he didn't intend to pass the ball, but forcibly broke through Nash and entered the penalty area with a dunk.

Nash's defense really can't limit Westbrook's impact, and the Western team has no players to make up for it. After all, in an All-Star game, it is a bit too much for two stars to double-team another star. It has dropped in price.

Turn your head.

The West team attacked, the first ball Nash obviously planned to play the ball for the host, Nowitzki, so he signaled the others to pull away, and gave Nowitzki a very comfortable waist singles position.

Nowitzki received the ball and sat down lightly. After feeling that Garnett did not give a lot of defensive strength, he immediately turned his back and the Golden Rooster completed the attack independently.

Swish!
There are too!

The fans at the scene immediately burst into countless warm applause.

"After all, it's the host. Once Nowitzki scored, the atmosphere at the scene was different."

"Big mouth, do you think Nowitzki has a chance to win the MVP of this game?"

Kenny Smith said with a smile on his face.

Barkley shook his head. Although he looks stupid and fat, he is actually very careful. He discovered the situation of the needle point on the court very early.

Westbrook and Kobe.

"Although the All-Star Game is an entertaining game, there will always be one or two players playing extremely seriously in previous games."

"Last year it was Kobe, this year it's obviously Westbrook, but unfortunately Westbrook went looking for Kobe on purpose, and with that black mamba's character, I'm afraid he will also attack in this All-Star game. "

After the West team scored, Westbrook immediately accelerated the push and conversion, and scored a dunk with a one-stop layup.

Nash, who was defending him, didn't even react, thinking what the hell is this guy trying to do?

Anthony said: "It's a bit reckless, but the physical talent is really amazing."

Kobe was a little upset, and took the initiative to ask for a pick-and-roll with Nash in the next round. He wanted to single out Westbrook himself.

The other players of the Western team all pulled away.

Kobe received the ball with his back in the waist position, and before he could play singles, he immediately encountered an extremely intense threat of a ball from Westbrook.

Kobe holds the ball firmly, shakes his shoulders and takes a left tentative step, then raises his hand and shoots.

Westbrook didn't hesitate to take off and block the shot directly.

"This defensive strength is no joke!"

But Kobe raised his hand and retracted it at the same time. This is a shot fake.

The jumping Westbrook could only stop, but it was too late, and his body was thrown out because of the excessive defensive intensity.

At this time, Kobe made a steady shot and threw the ball against Westbrook's defense.

Swish!
Go in!

The referee blows the whistle.

This is a 2+1.

"Boy, it's still the same sentence, challenge me to a one-on-one, you still owe some time." Kobe said with great confidence after scoring.

Instead of spamming back, Westbrook motioned for a serve from the backcourt, and after receiving the ball, he immediately attacked the opponent's penalty area again.

"What a boor."

Kenny Smith spread his hands, unable to tell what kind of emotion he had on his face.

Without the restrictions of the Bucks' offensive system, Westbrook finally opened the shackles tied to his body and began to play on the court with instinct.

Not to mention, the visual sense of rushing like this is really amazing, but no matter how you look at it, this style of playing with explosives on the back lacks some wisdom on the court.

No, Kobe had expected to return to the defense, and took the initiative to switch defenses with Nash, but Westbrook didn't rush for the ball.

The All-Star Game turned into a heads-up performance between Bryant and Westbrook.

Li Lai had expected such an ending a long time ago. After all, Westbrook dared to clamor to single out Kobe during his rookie season last season, let alone now.

Li Lai really hopes that Westbrook can release his passion to play on the court in such a game. After all, he has always played too restrainedly in the Bucks, and he is not even a bit like Megatron in his previous life.

on the field.

Westbrook held the ball against Kobe. He did not choose the back-up attack method that he is not good at, but lowered his center of gravity head-on to look for opportunities to break through.

Kobe opened his hands and took out a very serious defensive attitude.

"With such a defensive level, Westbrook is not very easy to rush."

Barkley said very firmly.

Because he knows the current Westbrook very well. Although the second-year show has grown into the second place in the regular season MVP candidate, like the first James, both of them have very obvious shortcomings.

James' mid-range and long-range shooting is still not stable enough, while Westbrook's breakthrough ability depends entirely on speed and physical talent, without some changes in skills and rhythm.

It would be fine to break through most point guard players in the league. After all, there are not many players who can physically match Westbrook in this position, but now it is breaking through Kobe.

Although Kobe is 32 years old and still has some minor injuries and illnesses, his strength, flexibility, and defensive skills are no worse than Westbrook, or even better.

"So it's definitely not a good breakout option," Kenny Smith said equally affirmatively.

Westbrook on the court frowned.

Kobe's current defensive position gave him a familiar defensive pressure, which was the terrifying defensive deterrence that Artest could bring to him during the Bucks' training game.

Westbrook is very clear that he can't break through this kind of defense now, unless he is allowed to rush forward one step ahead, but obviously there is no such opportunity now, so Westbrook chose an uncommon dribble and raised his hand in one step. Pull up the shot.

Kobe was a little surprised. This offensive technique has never been used by Westbrook, but his defensive position is very good, so at the moment Westbrook shot, Kobe had already blocked the block and interfered in place.

Swish!
"The ball went in!!!"

Kobe looked at Westbrook unhappily. The position where the opponent shot just now happened to be the middle distance of the free throw line he is most familiar with. That is to say, Westbrook used Kobe's best offensive method to hit in front of him.

This made this extremely vengeful black mamba look extremely ugly.

But Westbrook doesn't care so much about you, he still remembers Kobe's trash talk just now, so he is holding his breath and playing this ball.

Westbrook shook his head and cursed passionately: "That's it? That's it? Kobe, is that it?"

James and Wade were almost laughing on the court. It has been rare to talk trash like Kobe with Kobe in these years.

The first quarter almost turned into a one-on-one show between Westbrook and Kobe. After several consecutive rounds, other players from the Eastern and Western teams began to attack one after another.

Anthony made consecutive hits from outside the three-point line, James and Wade staged a loving connection, and the two even made a winking move after cooperating.

Bosh looked very embarrassed off the field, "It turns out that the dog is me."

Before the first quarter of the game was over, Li Lai went up and down and replaced other star players. He also allocated playing time according to his pre-match promise based on the votes of the fans.

Mr. George Karl was very knowledgeable. He cooperated with Li Lai's substitution strategy, and the Eastern and Western teams made substitutions at the same time.

Western Conference: Point guard Chauncey Billups, shooting guard Kidd, small forward Kevin Durant, power forward Pau Gasol and center Yao Ming.

Eastern Conference: Point guard Derrick Rose, shooting guard Iverson, small forward Paul Pierce, power forward Chris Bosh and center Yi Jianlian.

At this time, the CCTV commentary station on the other side of the ocean has become lively.

Su Qun was very happy and said: "Look, Dayao and Xiaoyi came up at the same time, and they are facing each other head-on. If you say that this is not specially arranged by the head coaches of the East and West, I definitely don't believe it."

Yu Jia agreed and said: "Although I don't know what kind of mentality the audience friends in front of the TV are watching this All-Star Game, but as far as I am concerned, I can see the two most promising and talented players in China. I'm really excited to see a strong big man appearing in the All-Star game at the same time."

Su Qun said: "This year there will be the Men's Basketball World Cup. It was enough for Xiao Yi to lead the team alone in the Asian Championships last year, but the World Cup is very likely to meet strong teams from Europe and America, so this year I am afraid that two people will be at the same time. Just come back."

Thinking of the picture of Yao and Yi's upcoming fusion, Yu Jia said excitedly again: "I really want to see what kind of dominance the two will form on the court together."

"In the past, Yao Ming always encountered more than 3 double-teams in the international arena. Now that Yi Jianlian has developed the ability of ultra-long three-pointers and high-post support, this is a big killer in the international arena. Therefore, The court dominance of the two will definitely reach an unprecedented peak."

on the field.

Yao Ming also shook hands and hugged Yi Jianlian.

After the Rockets lost McGrady this season, Dayao has been struggling to support the team. Originally, the Rockets also entered the playoffs at the beginning of the season, but as the subsequent schedule became more difficult, the team's record fluctuated. Extremely unstable, so the Rockets, who have been hovering between eighth and ninth in the West, made up their minds and prepared to completely mess up this season.

The reason why the Rockets management did this is that they are preparing to take good care of Yao Ming’s vulnerable body this season. After all, he is the player who can be the number one center in the East and West alongside Warcraft Howard. As long as Yao Ming can achieve a complete victory, the Rockets The team must be an undisputed strong team.

In addition, Yao Ming is only 30 years old now. As long as a technical center does not suffer major injuries, he will still have at least 3 years of peak life, so the second reason why the Rockets management decided to do poorly this season It is the sword pointing to the draft next season.

Dog Mo also took a fancy to Wesley Johnson from Syracuse University and Aipai Udo from Baylor University.

It's just that based on the current ranking and potential of the two in college, it is conservatively estimated that the draft pick will be in the top ten picks, so the Rockets' poor performance is bound to win.

Dog Mo thinks this way, a No. [-] center in the West + a potential rookie + a bunch of players who are strong enough and have a very low salary, then it is not a big problem to make it to the Western Conference playoffs, and it may even hit the playoffs In the second round of the game, not only did the boss earn more money, but the team's salary space was also extremely flexible.

"But you'll have to quit this season." Yi Jianlian couldn't help but look at his big brother and said.

Yao Ming shrugged and expressed helplessness, "My body has been overloaded for many years and I haven't had a good rest, and there have indeed been various injuries. This time, the coaching staff will not let me play every game. After more than 30 minutes, I can finally take a good rest."

"In the next Men's Basketball World Cup, I can also fight for my country with a state of complete victory."

Yi Jian thought of this year's Men's Basketball World Championships, which is indeed very important to the Chinese team, but there are more important tasks for him now.

"Dayao, the goal of the Bucks this season is not just as simple as the first record in the regular season, we want to go!"

"Of course, the coach has told us more than once that winning the championship is never an easy task, so we will do our best to meet the next challenge."

"I will catch up with the World Cup, but the training time of the national team may not be able to catch up."

Yao Ming was very surprised by the Bucks' goal this season. After all, playing well in the regular season never means playing well in the playoffs. Yao Ming, who has played in the Western Conference for many years, can say such things.

Especially the terrifying intensity of the playoffs, even more so as the series goes further.

Of course, what surprised Yao Ming the most was the coach named Li Lai, "He is not confident about the Bucks' current No. [-] record in the league. It is a good thing to know that winning the championship is not easy."

The second game.

The East and West substitutes played an exhibition game, especially the matchup between Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian, which made the fans on CCTV exclaimed again and again.

Second half of the game.

With a score of 70:70 on the field, the Eastern and Western teams surprisingly tied.

Li Lai called all the Eastern Conference players over and said, "We had a lot of fun in the first half of the game. The All-Star Game should be like this."

"But now, this style of play has to be temporarily suspended, and eye defense and completely one-on-one solo games cannot continue to appear on the court."

"I'm here to win. I don't want to lose and leave the American Airlines Center arena. I also hope that the first cooperation with you can end perfectly with a win."

"So from now on we're going to be tactical, we're going to be defensive."

Li Lai rearranged the lineup on the field.

Point guard Westbrook, shooting guard Wade, small forward James, power forward Al Horford and center Yi Jianlian.

Li said: "From now on, James will control the ball. We will play high pick-and-roll and cut tactics on the court. Westbrook and Wade are mainly responsible for the empty cut tasks on the court."

James was very surprised, because Li Lai did not arrange for Westbrook to be the main point guard, and at this time there were still Al Horford and center Yi Jianlian, two high-post support and good at shooting points, which were obvious. It is very suitable for playing Westbrook's outside pick-and-roll tactics in the Bucks.

Li Lai understood the emotion on James' face but did not explain it.

He would like to say that in his eyes, James is definitely a better passer than Westbrook, and at this time Westbrook is more suitable for hitting the basket.

Li Lai patted James on the shoulder and said: "This season, you should have found that you will be more powerful on the court with a shooting insider beside you. The current star team is a very suitable lineup for you, so go and see you What kind of power can it have under such a lineup?"

This passage shocked James.

If Li Lai is the head coach of the Cavaliers, then there is nothing wrong with saying this, but the two belong to two different camps, and they are also the biggest competitors in the Eastern Division this season.

Why did Li Lai help him understand the most suitable tactics for him?
James was impressed by Li Lai's charisma for the first time, and at this moment he expressed the conclusion he would get after many years.

"He will be a fantastic manager."

The game continues on the field.

Westbrook took the initiative to pass the ball to James after halftime.

At this time, the Western players on the field are Nash, Kobe, Anthony, Nowitzki and Duncan.

However, the Eastern team took two projective inside lines, and they still stood at 45° angles on the left and right sides, and the Western team's restricted area was divided extremely large.

James held the ball from the outside, Westbrook and Wade cut in at the same time, but one ran back to the baseline, and the other rushed in directly from the middle.

Kobe, who is experienced in basketball, naturally knows that cutting to the bottom line is the most dangerous, so he immediately called on Anthony on the other side to shrink the inside line to help defend.

James grabbed the ball with one hand, made a pass feint, and passed it to Westbrook, who scored in the middle.

The tortoise catches and buckles in the air!

"It's still tactical!"

Kobe and Anthony on the field were the first to recover. From this ball, they can also judge that the Eastern team wants to win tonight's game.

Anthony said: "This year is the home of the Western Conference's All-Star team. No matter what, we can't give up the MVP trophy."

Kobe said to Nowitzki: "German tank, you have to increase your firepower."

Switch offense.

Kobe took the initiative to check the high position and then passed the ball to Nowitzki inside.

At present, Kobe and Anthony have the highest score in the western team.

The former has a large number of shots because of the frequent one-on-one with Westbrook in the first quarter, while the latter scored a very high score with very few shots because the three-pointer is too accurate.

Nowitzki played back singles, and the Eastern team did not double-team, but this time Nowitzki encountered a great physical confrontation from Horford.

Duang!

The Novus Fund chicken strikes iron independently.

Westbrook received the rebound and quickly made a fast break.

The defense of the western team also rose, and the defense was returned in a timely manner.

Westbrook was stopped from beyond the three-point line and could only pass back to James according to the tactics arranged by Li Lai.

James held the outside pick-and-roll with the ball, and then made a substitution to play Nowitzki.

James singled Nowitzki, and the dislocation gap increased immediately. The key is that no one on the Western team dared to double-team.

"In the end, it was the loss of the two anti-aircraft forts on the outer line of the Eastern Army."

"Horford has also started to shoot three-pointers this season. Although the number of shots is not many, he has an average shooting rate of 35% per game."

"Not to mention Yi Jianlian, with a 40% shooting rate, he can average 2 shots per game, and he can also shoot super long."

James played decisively into the inside, and just passed Nowitzki in the first step. At this moment, he finally understood the reason why Li Lai let him hold the ball under this player configuration.

"It's so comfortable to play! This is the team I should have!"

James went to the basket and Duncan helped defend.

The basketball is thrown high, and Duncan's take-off block also arrives.

It's just that Duncan who jumped up was very strange, because the height of the basketball's rise was too exaggerated, and it was not aimed at hitting the basket at all.

"Is it"

boom!
Westbrook's magic soldier descended to earth, and another tomahawk smashed in!
Wade, who also rushed up from behind, could only bump into Duncan lonely, and then fell.

He looked at James with a sad face, "Old man, what do you mean? You went out to flirt again? Give it to me! Janeway is connected! You are thinking about shit!"

Coach George Karl, who saw this scene, finally realized that the little bastard on the opposite side was getting serious, so he immediately called a timeout and also arranged tactics.

But George Karl's tactics were not designed for Nowitzki.

Although the Western players on the field, including George Karl, hope that Nowitzki can win the All-Star MVP, but tonight he obviously feels bad, and the Western team is about to lose!

So George Karl arranged offensive tactics for Kobe and Anthony, who feel better.

The two came to the low post one after another to execute post-up tactics, and they both covered around the bottom corner of the opposite side, and then dislocated for post-up singles.

"As expected of Mr. Qiao, the title of attacking master is not for nothing."

Li Lai watched Kobe and Anthony score one after another, and knew that it would be difficult to use the overall defense to limit the performance of the Eastern team's star players who had only played together for less than a day, so he let it go and still adopted a one-on-one defensive strategy. .

But when he turned his head, Li Lai let the players on the field hold back their firepower and continue to attack.

James is at home in this lineup, sending out 8 assists in just a single quarter, and he has also come to his favorite mode of play.

First pass the ball to drive teammates, and then reap the game.

It's just that someone wants to harvest the game more than him tonight.

In the last minute of the game, the Eastern team led by 1:138.

Westbrook held the ball and ignored James' requested action, and directly called Kobe to play singles after halftime.

This reckless man has not forgotten this matter until now.

Kobe shook his head helplessly, "You really look like me, stubborn!"

Westbrook lowered his center of gravity and wanted to break through again, but Kobe's defense was really good, and he was already familiar with Westbrook's offensive methods.

Without the support of a tactical system, Westbrook wants a player with excellent one-on-one defense, which is really not a good choice.

"Kobe sticks to the defense very well."

"Westbrook didn't break through the space, do you want to pass?"

"No, he took off and used a backward shot!"

Bryant jumped hard and completely blocked the ball.

But Westbrook actually folded the ball twice in the air, and then avoided Kobe's block to shoot again.

Kenny Smith and Barkley were shocked. Isn't this unreasonable shot that Kobe often plays?
Swish!
The ball is still in!

Kobe looked at Westbrook speechlessly.

There have been a lot of players who have singled him out over the years, but this is the first one to tie with him like Westbrook.

Barkley said in shock: "Westbrook singled out Kobe!"

Kobe: .
With Westbrook scoring this goal, the Eastern team won the game without any surprise, 144:138.

Awards ceremony after the race.

现场分别列出了两位球员的数据，一位是威斯特布鲁克的38分8篮板3助攻，一位是詹姆斯的12分6篮板16助攻。

The statistics of the two are very good, but in the end the All-Star MVP award was awarded to Westbrook who scored higher according to the custom.

Although James does play more reasonably, but Westbrook's playing is more exciting, and the All-Stars are just here to watch the best.

Westbrook received the MVP trophy excitedly.

James yelled through the crowd, "Hey Russell, you gotta hold the trophy up like I did, that's what the MVP should look like."

Wade glanced at James in the crowd, "You bastard."

Bosh was about to cry in the crowd, "All cats and dogs are on show, but I am the only SB."

(End of this chapter)