Starting from the last bus in the NBA

Chapter 230 The Shooting Machine
"Oh, All-Star MVP, it's so tempting, of course no one can say no to it, and neither do I.

But, Paul, king, it's not easy, and to be honest, I don't have much confidence. "

No matter how calm Gary Payton is, he can't refuse the temptation of an All-Star MVP.

The championship, for all players in the NBA, is naturally the least likely to refuse.

However, this does not mean that only the championship has the temptation.

When was Gary Payton's best moment?
One of them was to participate in the finals. Although I lost, it was the stage of the finals after all.

The other time, it was the best defensive player.

If he can win the All-Star MVP, his career will be perfect. How can he refuse such a good thing?
However, Gary Payton is still sober, and he also knows that this matter is not so easy.

The state of the game, the state of the opponent, and the thoughts of teammates all affect the trend of the game.

If you play indiscriminately, it is impossible to win, let alone MVP.

"Gary, we'll help you."

Wang Hao made it very clear that he will help in the game, including but not limited to passing.

Of course, Paul Westphal, the head coach of the so-called Western Stars, didn't say it so bluntly.

He doesn't help, but he can't go too far.

He can help out with playing time, playing time, but nothing else.

As for forcibly arranging other people to play around him, that's even more impossible. This is a group of all-stars, not some small role.

Gary Payton smiled and said, "Thank you, Wang, I'll give it a try, but it's not necessary!"

In the All-Star game, competing for the MVP with a group of stars is not an easy task.

Especially in the All-Star game, the emphasis is on offense and defense, and it can even be said that defense has been given up.

In other words, Gary Payton was forced to give up what he was best at, and he was really a bit hypocritical when it came to scoring.

Throughout his career, his highest score in a single game is only 44 points, which is not as good as Wang Hao.

It's pretty good for Gary Payton to be so straightforward.

Before the All-Star break, the Sonics struggled to win against the Trail Blazers, and the group headed to Washington.

As the capital of the United States, although it is not as prosperous as New York and Los Angeles, it is still very good.

Moreover, this is the political center, which has a different meaning.

Otherwise, as the boss of Washington, he would not break up with Jordan for a little share.

These are all digressions. Although the Washington Wizards have a huge advantage, their strength is just that.

For the All-Star Game held in Washington this time, Washington fans are still very happy.

Well, in fact, these fans are looking for stars to see which stars can catch their eyes.

Then let the team introduce and improve the team's record.

It's a pity that the fans' thoughts don't represent the management's thoughts, or even the boss's thoughts.

On February 2, a group of people had already arrived in Washington, and then participated in various activities.

Quentin Richardson and Michael Reid will join the first-year team for a few practice sessions.

There is no way, mainly as rookies, and they don't have much fame, and the NBA officials didn't arrange many activities for them.

It is their goal to play well in the All-Star Rookie Challenge.

For the All-Star Rookie Challenge, both of them still have some ideas, and they can even be said to be very thoughtful.

Because Wang Hao gave up joining the second-year team, in this way, the first-year team saw hope.

Otherwise, a Wang Hao, an Elton Brand, plus Francis and Odom, would be too hopeless.

In addition, Quentin Richardson and Michael Reid have another advantage, that is, they are very familiar with the coaching staff.

The coach of the All-Star Game will also be in charge of the rookie challenge, that is to say, Paul Westphal is also the head coach of the rookie game and the head coach of the first-year team.

Of course, he will not personally participate in the tactical arrangement of the first-year team. This task is directly assigned to Field.

Wang Hao and Gary Payton non-stop participated in various activities arranged by NBA officials.

Not only that, but also brand endorsement activities.

Especially Wang Hao, who has just signed so many endorsements this year, it takes a lot of time for each brand to travel.

Originally, the Sonics also participated in some fancy games, but Wang Hao simply rejected them.

He has already participated in the All-Star Game and the three-point contest, so there is really no need to participate in more.

There is no need for this, the All-Star is a time to rest, and if you make yourself too tired, you will only ask for trouble.

Wang Hao is still thinking about whether Gary Payton will be the same as O'Neal, and he will first pull the relationship before the game.

Even if they refuse to help, at least it is a notification that I am going to compete for the All-Star MVP, and others will not disrupt it.

It's a pity that Gary Payton didn't do this.

In fact, after thinking about it carefully, Wang Hao also understood that Gary Payton was not that confident in himself.

Well, he wasn't very confident either.

Last year, O'Neal was able to do this because he had the qualifications, and Gary Payton was almost there.

If it were Jordan, there would be no need to speak, and everyone would do so consciously.

In 2003, that's not what everyone did.

Well, not everyone. For example, a certain snake is quite careless.

On Friday night, Wang Hao and Gary Payton appeared at the MCI Center Arena to cheer on their teammates.

Well, it's not just the two of them, there is a circle of NBA stars sitting on the sidelines of the arena.

Even the injured O'Neill also appeared in the arena, carrying a DV to work as a reporter.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, the game situation did not appear to be one-sided.

Whether it's strength, talent, or experience, in all aspects, the first grade is lagging behind.

Perhaps it was the reason why the underdogs were bound to lose. As soon as the game started, the first graders were the more energetic side.

Until the end of the halftime game, the first-year team still led the second-year team by four points at 48:44.

At this time, everyone looked at Field, the assistant coach of Paul Westphal, in unison.

Although Paul Westphal is the head coach of the first-year team, everyone understands who does these jobs.

However, in the second half, with the performance of Elton Brand and Francis, the score was evened out in an instant, and then opened.

The second-year team didn't even need to play too many tactics, just tactical crushing, and everything was resolved.

98:84
In the end, the second-year team won the game without any surprises, and Elton Brand also successfully won the Rookie Challenge MVP.

It's quite interesting to say that Elton Brand has always won the most important award of his career.

Originally, he should have won the award last year, but he was snatched away by Wang Hao who performed better, and he was actually allowed to get it back this year.

After all, the Rookie Challenge is a rookie competition. Apart from feeling the all-star atmosphere, it didn't attract much attention.

Everyone's attention was focused on the slam dunk contest the next day, even without Carter's participation.

It is not an exaggeration to say that Carter saved the slam dunk contest, but it is real.

It is said that this year, NBA officials wanted to invite Carter to participate in the dunk contest, and even sent high-level invitations.

However, the result was unsatisfactory. Carter had his own ideas, and he refused.

Among the four shooting guards in the original time and space, Carter is somewhat similar to Ewing among the four centers.

As you can imagine, Carter, one of the four major shooting guards, was only selected to the best team twice.

And there is no All-Defensive First Team, one All-Defensive Second Team, and one All-Defensive Third Team.

Moreover, until now, Carter has not won the best player of the month.

It is really difficult to compare him with the other three in terms of personal honor, not from his performance on the court.

Even McGrady, who is plagued by injuries, has two scoring champions and was selected to the first team of the All-NBA Team three times.

The reason is that Carter's scoring ability and personal ability may have one factor.

On the other hand, it still hasn't been officially promoted and valued by the NBA. Awards and other things are not what the officials decide.

After all, if Iguodala can steal Curry's FMVP and let Carter win a few more honors, what's the problem?
From this perspective, NBA officials can decide many things.

You are not strong enough, and you don't want to be an official member of the NBA, so people naturally won't take care of you.

Even in the NBA, it has to be worldly.

Of course, if your strength is strong enough and you don't need to care about these at all, then it's a different matter.

Didn't you see Wang Hao honestly coming to participate in the three-point contest?
Well, in fact, he doesn't need to care about NBA officials, he is just so confident and capable.

He participated in the three-point contest purely to earn skill points, and if he won the championship, he would get 5 skill points. This was a huge fortune!

After this season, Wang Hao won the best of the week and best of the month successively, and has gained 5 skill points.

This time, he didn't continue to add some speed and explosive power, but increased the evaluation of shooting after dribbling to 80.

However, it was still a little bit worse.

Nowadays, Wang Hao is being targeted more and more seriously in the game, especially when he is often double-teamed.

At this time, his ability to handle the ball is still somewhat insufficient, so he can only stop the ball more and then pass the ball.

The aggressiveness is not enough, if at this time, he can directly complete the finish, the threat will be even greater.

There is no skill challenge yet. The first to start are all kinds of fancy competitions, and then the three-point contest.

"Wang, do you have the confidence to defend your title in the three-point contest?"

"Of course there is confidence, but it is not easy. This is a group of very powerful opponents."

"Then who do you think is the biggest threat to you?"

"Ray, Peja, Dirk, and Rashad, they're all great shooters."

……

The usual pre-match interview, and as the defending champion, is naturally the focus of the interview.

In fact, it's not just the reason for the defending champion, Wang Hao is also a top star in the NBA.

The opponents in this three-point contest are really not simple. There are several players at the Hall of Fame level.

Ray Allen, Nowitzki, Nash, these three are proper Hall of Fame players.

Then there are Alan Houston, Peja Stojakovic, and Lewis, these are all big-name pitchers.

In addition, there is Pat Garrity, a well-known outside shooter in the NBA.

The last one is Wang Hao.

I don't know what the NBA officials think, but they have come up with an 8-man lineup, which is a bit too much.

The three-point contest started, and as the defending champion, Wang Hao was naturally the last to appear.

Before that, it will be the performance moment of the challengers from all walks of life.

Alan Houston played first, but unfortunately, the CIC champion does not mean he is the three-point leader, he only scored 15 points.

A score of more than half is not considered a high score, but there is still a chance.

Next, Nowitzki, Nash, and Ray Allen played one after another, and they all performed very well.

Nowitzki scored 18 points, Nash scored 16 points, and Ray Allen scored 21 points in one fell swoop.

It can be seen that, as the most famous pitcher in the NBA, but without a three-point contest champion, Ray Allen is a little unconvinced.

In this three-point contest, he has done his best.

Three people in a row got high scores and directly sent CIC king Alan Houston away, because there were only three places in the final.

Next, Lewis, Peja Stojakovic, and Pat Garrity played one after another.

It's just that the performance of the three was a bit worse, basically scoring fifteen to six points, and Pat Garrity only scored 12 points.

Obviously, this big occasion puts a lot of pressure on them.

Especially the performance of Peja Stojakovic is really a little disappointing.

Especially compared to his performance in this year's game, it is undoubtedly a bit unqualified.

This season, Peja has really adapted to the NBA game and has begun to explode with tremendous energy.

An average performance of 20+ per game, in the past, is enough for him to get a Most Improved Player.

It's a pity that Peja was obviously a little unlucky this season, and met McGrady, who broke out even more exaggeratedly.

It has to be said that there is a feeling of both Shengyu and He Shengliang.

With the cheers on the scene, Wang Hao stood up unhurriedly, and first said hello to the fans.

The three-point contest is about to start, and it's still so plain, is it true or not, it feels like a bit of pretending?

Well, this is not the first time Wang Hao has seen such comments, and he is already somewhat immune.

He really thinks that this kind of thing is not a big deal and there is no need to get too excited, but others don't think so.

Wang Hao didn't even expect that there would be black fans so early.

"Di!"

With the whistle of the game, the game officially started, and Wang Hao chose to shoot from the right corner.

"Shh!"

It feels very good, the first ball came in, once the feeling came, Wang Hao's performance became more stable.

After all, his shot was a trick, and it couldn't be more standard.

After scoring three goals in a row, he missed a goal. Wang Hao stabilized for a second, and scored again.

At the first pitch point, Wang Hao has scored 5 points.

45 degrees on the right side, this is his shooting hotspot. In the game, he has a hit rate of more than 45%.

He scored again, and this time, Wang Hao scored 11 points with two shots without missing a single goal.

The fans at the scene couldn't help cheering, and the host at the scene even shouted directly.

"Is this guy human? He's just a shooting machine, the kind that never misses."

(End of this chapter)