am i proud?

Chapter 166 I can't move anymore (today's first update)
On the evening of February 2002, 2, the current NBA All-Star Game finally kicked off.

The 24 All-Stars participating in this competition are actively warming up before the game. Everyone in the West seems to be very relaxed, especially Kobe and everyone are laughing and playing, and there is no sense of tension before the big battle.

It's no wonder that since Jordan retired, the league has entered a pattern where the west is strong and the east is weak... The last fig leaf of the "God of Basketball" was torn off, and the eastern powers seemed to be beaten back to their original form overnight.

Think about it, the 1998-1999 season was shortened by the Spurs. They swept the Eastern Conference champion Knicks 4:1 in the finals.

According to the original history, the Western Conference will still win the championship in the next two years, namely the Lakers and Spurs... Well, this is the pattern at the beginning of the 21st century. The Eastern Conference basically came to the finals to play soy sauce.

To zoom in a little bit, from 2000 to 2010, the western team won the championship 7 times, while the eastern team only won 3 times.

And these three times, except for the Pistons' championship in 3, which was full of gold, the Heat's championship in 2004 is probably a trick that fans know about, and the Celtics in 2006... are all the "Big Three". How much gold does this championship have?

It can even be said more absolutely. After 2010, the only real championships with the most gold content are the Mavericks in 2011 and the Spurs in 2014. The others... Ha ha!
Therefore, Wang Dalin thinks that this era is better, at least the atmosphere of the entire league is relatively positive, there really is no team to form a "big three", "big four" or the like in order to win the championship... I have to say, winning the championship together is too tasteless!
The Western All-Stars were laughing and joking, and the Eastern Team was very serious in warming up. Wang Dalin and Ray Allen even had another round of three-point competition.

Pierce naturally also noticed the situation on the other side of the field, and then deliberately leaned over to Wang Dalin's side and said, "Darling, we must not tear each other down tonight, or we will lose to them and neither of us will win the AMVP!"

Wang Dalin said seriously: "Don't worry, the AMVP will definitely be between the two of us tonight, and we must not lose to them!"

Pierce nodded and said, "Okay, I believe you!"

Wang Dalin's words are half-truth and half-false. "We must not lose to them" is of course true, but "the AMVP will definitely be between the two of us tonight" is not necessarily true... With Carlisle's support, his playing time will definitely occupy an advantage. Even if Pierce has someone to help him, he has a lot of helpers on his side!
Therefore, as long as the Eastern All-Stars win tonight, Wang Dalin has at least an [-]% chance of winning the AMVP.

Of course, the most important thing right now is to beat the Western Conference All-Stars. Seeing the famous legendary superstars on the opposite side, especially those insiders, Wang Dalin felt that his head was getting bigger... This is so hard to fight!
After warming up, Wang Dalin and Pierce called their teammates together, and everyone formed a big circle.

Pierce spoke first: "Guys, their internal strength is obviously stronger than ours, so I suggest that we play this game a little faster and use speed to beat their height. What do you think?"

Kidd immediately stood up for Pierce and said, "I agree!"

Wang Dalin also said: "I also agree, we will definitely lose if we grind against them slowly, only by fighting fast can we have a chance to defeat them!"

Others also agreed that the gap in internal strength between the two sides is obvious, and several inside players including Mutombo, Big Ben and O'Neal also felt that they could not compete with each other.

Jordan smiled and said, "I have no objection if you want to play faster, but I, an old man, can't keep up with your speed. You should wait for me to play for a few minutes before speeding up?"

Wang Dalin smiled and said: "It's okay, this is the All-Star game, no one can do it right away? Michael, you can play in the first half, and let's go all out in the second half!"

Jordan nodded and said, "Okay, let's play with me for a while first!"

Pierce smiled and said: "No problem, you are the biggest tonight, we will definitely have fun with you!"

……

The game officially started, the starting players from both sides came to the field, Mutombo and O'Neal stood in the middle circle to execute the jump ball.

Neither of them made much effort to take off, so the ball was won by Mutombo... After all, the height and wingspan of "African Mountain" still has an advantage over O'Neill.

Wang Dalin got the ball and passed it to Iverson. Iverson dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and exchanged a pass with Kidd, and then handed the ball to Jordan, who wanted the ball with his back on the wing.

On a stage like the All-Star Game, the players' sense of position itself is very vague, so it is not Garnett who is the small forward who defends Jordan in the West, but Kobe, the "black mamba".

Since he was first selected to the All-Star team, Kobe would take the initiative to apply to play against Jordan every time he met Jordan in a game. He cherished every opportunity to play against Jordan...Of course, Jordan has retired since that time in 1998, so tonight is just the second match between Kobe and Jordan in the All-Star Game.

Kobe, who was only 19 years old last time, played an impressive performance against Jordan, but Jordan's performance at his peak is undoubtedly even better. Now that time has passed, the positions of the two seem to have been reversed.

Kobe is now gradually entering his peak period, while Jordan is old and frail. Although his performance this season is still vigorous, a discerning person can tell that Jordan is much worse than he was back then, and he no longer has the "dominance" of the year.

Many people don't understand the word "dominance", because there are too few stars in NBA history who can reach this height.

The "Magician" and "Big Bird" in the early years certainly had the "dominance" of the court. Jordan in the 90s counted as one, and Olajuwon in 1994 and 1995 counted as one.

At present, only Duncan and O'Neal can reach it in the league, and even Iverson is not so close.In later generations, only Kobe and James are qualified, and Durant and Curry are almost meaningless.

Some people say that Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single game, averaged more than 50 points per game in the season, and averaged more than 20 rebounds per game for a long time.

And Russell, he has won 11 championship rings... Can't these two be regarded as "dominant"?

In fact, the level of players at that time was generally very low. When Russell led the Celtics to win consecutive championships, there were only 8 teams in the NBA. Even if they won 11 championships, how high would the gold content be?

It can only be said that they were indeed superstars in that era, but it is really more about technology than strength. The group of stars that emerged after the 80s can completely crush them.

This is also why Wang Dalin's comprehensive ability value is only 88, but he can perform above 95 in today's league... His style of play that transcends the times is purely "bad" in this era, how could he not perform well?

If you really want to throw O'Neal into the NBA in the 60s, is it impossible for him to score 100 points in a single game?As far as his strength and skills are concerned, it would be strange not to torture all the inside players of all NBA teams at that time to death!
The reason why retired basketball legends always brag about how powerful they were in those days and how soft the current players are is not all for the sake of their presence!

In the early years, the salaries of NBA players were very low, and basketball celebrities didn't make much money. Seeing that the current players are millionaires, multi-millionaires and even billionaires, celebrities are jealous!
Since you haven't made any money, can you stop people from bragging about their existence?

So there is really no need to "praise from ancient times". Fans who know a little bit only need to look at the fragmented game clips of the 60s and 70s on the Internet, and they should know how low the level of those people is. Now the overall level of Chinese CBA players is definitely better than them. What is there to brag about?

It's far away... let's talk about the game!

Kobe was very serious about Jordan's defense, and he went straight to the confrontation. Jordan was old and frail, and he couldn't bear it. He was pushed by him on the spot.

"Damn it! Good Kobe, you played so seriously when you first came up, don't you know that I'm already 39 years old?" Jordan cursed inwardly, "How can you be like this? Today is the All-Star game, can't I let my old man play for a few minutes first?"

Jordan cursed inwardly while pretending to enjoy it and began to dribble with his back. He decided to teach Kobe, a kid who didn't know what to do, a lesson.

This season, whether it's in team training or on the field, Jordan's back and back is still very powerful, that is to say, his accuracy is slightly lower than before.As long as Jordan is serious, there are really few outside players in the entire league who can prevent him from scoring...well, Kobe is one of them!
As early as the 1998-1999 season, Kobe was selected to the third team of the best defensive team. In the last two seasons, he was selected to the second team of the best defensive team.

After nearly six years in the league, Kobe is now far more than just a scorer with super offensive firepower. He has become the league's first-class perimeter defender.

Jordan used his back to carefully feel Kobe's defensive movements, dribbled the ball twice with his back and immediately turned around and made a fallback jumper. Kobe took off at the best time and jumped up.

Jordan's leaning back a lot, but his shooting shape is very good...Got it!
After scoring the goal, Wang Dalin, Kidd, Iverson and others gave Jordan a high-five to celebrate. Jordan was smiling on the surface, but in fact he had already uttered a lot of foul language in his heart.

"Kobe, you bastard, don't you think I'm an old man? If you play like this every time tonight, my old waist will definitely tire you out!" Jordan ran back while slandering, "You're so old, it seems like you can play a few games and take the initiative to rest. The All-Star Game is not worth such a hard work!"

Looking back, Francis, the master of the West, dribbled the ball for halftime, and the players all opened up to wait for him to challenge Kidd, but Francis passed the ball to Kobe.

It's not that Francis thinks he can't single out Kidd. The main reason is that he wants Kobe to return Jordan. The game has just begun, and everyone is just playing now!
The audience immediately boiled over, which showed who had the greater status... If Francis singled out Kidd, how could the audience be like this? Aren't the Philadelphia fans unsophisticated country bumpkins?

One of Kobe and Jordan is the aging "God of Basketball", and the other is the "Successor of Jordan" who is currently being praised by the league.
Jordan put his left arm against Kobe's waist to prevent him from exerting force, and kept protruding his right hand to find opportunities to steal. His wingspan still has a certain advantage over Kobe, and his defensive experience is very experienced, so Kobe's back dribble is not easy.

The other eight people on the field all stood apart and watched them single-handedly. It would be ridiculous to double-team in this kind of game... So Jordan knew very well that he could only defend Kobe's attack by himself. Of course, Kobe didn't intend to pass the ball to others.

I saw Kobe dribbled the ball twice and advanced a little to the inside, followed by a turnaround jumper with a shake of his shoulders. Jordan reacted quickly and rushed up, but Kobe obviously jumped higher and his back was not small, so the interference he gave was not great.

"Shua", this goal is also scored!
"Michael, admit it, you're old!" Kobe smiled and shrugged at Jordan after scoring the goal.

"Well, you brat, are you looking for a beating?" Jordan scolded with a smile, "You wait, I will let you know if your uncle is still your uncle at the next ball!"

Playing with Kobe is really hard, but how could Jordan be old in public?
Don't look at how he told the Eastern Star team that he was an old man after warming up just now, in fact he is more competitive than anyone else.

Without this extraordinary competitive spirit, it would have been impossible for Jordan to lead the Bulls to three consecutive championships twice.

Why is Kobe Bryant not James the most valued by Jordan?

Isn't it because Kobe's competitive spirit is unmatched, and is he most like him in this regard?
Jordan also publicly criticized James' group behavior. His original words were as follows-"LeBron has achieved a lot of honors, and he has also won many championships, but you must know that the behavior of grouping is shameful in my opinion. He insulted the sport of basketball. He will never be able to gain my respect..."

Jordan is really right. When the Heat’s "Big Three" met in Miami in the summer of 2010, James was over 25 years old, Wade was 28 years old, and Bosh was 26 years old...Three All-Star players who were at their peak gathered together. Isn’t this a grouping?
Some people will say that Kobe didn't hold a group?
Aren't Gasol, Bynum and Odom beside him when he led the team to win the championship twice strong teammates?

That's right, but you must know that Bynum was trained by the Lakers themselves. In order to retain this young center with great potential, the Lakers even rejected the deal with Kidd.

Odom was indeed traded from the Heat, but the Lakers paid for O'Neal, who was still at the end of his peak period, so it can't be said that Kobe came to him to form a group, right?
In fact, only Gasol was acquired by the Lakers through a trade, but at that time the outside world basically didn't think too highly of him, because he had only been selected to the All-Star bench once before joining the Lakers, and he was at the bottom of the West for a long time when the Grizzlies led the team.

It's getting farther... let's talk about the game!
After Jordan came to the front court, he took the initiative to ask for the ball. Now he can't beat Kobe face-up at all, so he can only rely on his powerful back-up attacking skills.

Kobe's defense is still meticulous. At this moment, he only has Jordan in his eyes. Regardless of whether this is the All-Star Game or not, he just wants to have a hearty one-on-one match with Jordan.

Jordan made another fadeaway jumper. This time Kobe's judgment was very accurate. His timing of the jump was just right. Jordan's vision was blocked and he could only rely on his feeling to shoot the ball. Sure enough, the ball was a hit!

O'Neal took the rebound and threw it directly to Francis... This is the All-Star game, and he really didn't want to pass the ball to Kobe.

But he also knew that it didn't make much sense for him to do so, because he already knew about Kobe's "collusion" with others.

Francis passed the ball to Kobe again. Kobe decided to hit the basket face-up. His footsteps must be faster than Jordan, so Jordan lost his center of gravity due to his dribbles.

When it was the East's turn to attack, Kidd dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and still hung the ball to Jordan.

Jordan is still the same, this time he finally scored with his backside... I have to say that even though Jordan is 39 years old, his mid-range backside is still very powerful. Kobe has already defended the ball with all his strength, but Jordan can score!

Looking back, Francis passed the ball to Duncan. Kobe has played three times in a row, so he can't always be singled out with Jordan, can he?
Everyone is an All-Star, even if you have promised to help you compete for the AMVP, at least let others play first, right?

It's still early in the game!
Duncan made a shot from the right, and Wang Dalin didn't guard him, but he didn't make the shot.

"Uncle Mu" received the rebound and made a long pass. Jordan was already facing an empty basket after receiving the ball, and no one in the West was chasing back.

After Jordan slowed down, he made a signature one-handed dunk, and the ball bounced high inside the basket.

This scene caused everyone on the field to burst into laughter, and all the audience also laughed.

Jordan himself couldn't help laughing. He had done dunks like this many times before. He didn't expect to dunk the ball directly tonight. It seemed that even God was playing a joke on him this night.

Francis picked up the rebound and threw a long pass to Kobe. Kobe missed a three-pointer without defense. Wang Dalin took off the rebound. He didn't pass the ball, and slowly dribbled the ball to the frontcourt.

Seeing that Wang Dalin wanted to pass the ball to him, Jordan smiled and shook his head and said, "I really can't beat it, you guys should play it!"

Wang Dalin nodded, and directly shot a three-pointer at the top of the arc, and the ball fell into the basket steadily...

(End of this chapter)