The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 287 The First All-Star
Together with his family, Zhang Xiaotian came to New York early.

As the largest city in the United States, don't hesitate in the prosperity of New York. There are still a few days of rest around the All-Stars this time. Zhang Xiaotian has made a plan to take his wife and father for a stroll here.

Usually he doesn't like to go out very much, but it still feels different when the family is together.

During the period, James called him to a gathering of the league's stars.

It's just that he snatched the starting position of the host Anthony this time, and this friend of James didn't like him.

But his outstanding performance during this period also made some stars want to be friends with him.

Professional players are usually very busy, and when the best players in the league gather together, some people will naturally have more than one mind.

For the honor of the championship, maybe some of them will become teammates at some point.

Whether it is a professional athlete or another profession, there will always be some face-saving matters. Every summer, many stars with a wide range of friends will help the team to recruit.

James is also a well-rounded guy in the league, which is completely different from his rough appearance. Except for a few people who are really wrong, he has friendship with most stars.

Of course, in Zhang Xiaotian's third year in the league, he was no longer a small character whom no one knew.

There are teammates, ex-teammates, former ex-teammates, rookie teammate, and Jimmy Butler who come to the All-Stars. Zhang Xiaotian also has a lot of people to communicate with.

His task requires the All-Stars to win, and when communicating with his teammates in the main game, he also consciously or unconsciously instilled the concept that he must win.

As for James, he had already made a call.

The victory of the game is also what James pursues. He just asked James to give him a few more balls in the final quarter for the reason of playing the All-Star for the first time.

The first day of the All-Star Weekend is the Masters and Rookies. The Masters is a lot of fun. Although the Rookies are mostly performances, they are a group of young talents full of talent, and they receive more attention.

This year's rookie game has changed the grouping method again, with the international column playing against the US team.

Kenny Atkinson, the assistant coach of the Eagles with the best record in the East, served as the head coach of the international team, and Gentry, the Warriors assistant coach, guided the US team.

It sounds sure that the US team is stronger, but it is not.

Some players in the International Column are older and have trained in professional leagues before coming to the league, but they are more experienced than the rookies on the US team.

Moreover, there are many talented players in the international team. In the competition, the international team with a more reasonable lineup and a more team style of play had to play better. In the end, they won. Wiggins, the core of the international team, won the Rookie Challenge MVP.

In addition, Gobert and Antetokounmpo of the international column have shown good strength, both offensive and defensive. Zhang Xiaotian feels that they will definitely succeed.

Eddie always told him about young players, Zhang Xiaotian also likes to analyze it now.

In the rookie game, less than half of the players can really grow up, which is evident in the fierce competition in the league. Because of his own competitive characteristics, he is more optimistic about players with lower overall abilities.

Without his teammates participating, Zhang Xiaotian was just a spectator.

The next day's shooting star, former teammate Bosh defended the title again, and Zhang Xiaotian also sent blessings.

It is also a pity that current teammate Irving is not lower than Curry in the three-point contest.

In the skills contest, Beverly of the Rockets won the championship, and the winner of the slam dunk contest was LaVine of the Timberwolves.

Watching the game is relaxing, and Zhang Xiaotian did not forget to train.

He was looking forward to the All-Star Game on the third day.

Before the start of the race, Zhang Xiaotian also accepted a long interview and wished the fans across the ocean a New Year.

When it comes to the topic of the Cavaliers, he is full of confidence, "As you can see, the team has been getting better and better. We have only one goal, which is to compete for the highest honor of the season. I believe the team has enough strength to achieve the goal .”

"The All-Star Weekend is a place to relax. I have been in a good mood these days, but the game is still a game. I hope I can help the East win. As for who is the MVP, this is not something I care about."

Afterwards, we practiced together with the All-Star teammates, and the atmosphere was also very good.

Anthony was a little upset with him at the beginning, but fortunately, this buddy is not a vengeful character, and he doesn't care much today. As the host, he keeps joking with people.

Due to injuries and other issues, four players have changed during the All-Star starting and voting, but the current lineups of both sides are still suitable.

In the east, Wall, Lowry, Zhang Xiaotian, James, and Gasol have a very good configuration of one major and four minors. The characteristics of the inside line all match James very well.

Curry, Harden, Klay Thompson, Aldridge, and Gasol in the west are relatively normal lineups.

The head coaches on both sides, Mike Budenholzer of the Hawks and Steve Kerr of the Warriors, are both advocates of team basketball, but they should not have much room to play in the All-Star game.

Although New York's Madison Square Garden is known as a basketball mecca, it has rarely hosted an All-Star Game in recent years. The last time was in 1998, during Michael Jordan's second three-peat championship. That time, Kobe Bryant also The first time for Te and Tim Duncan et al.

It happened in the last century, but this time, Kobe Bryant still became the All-Star starter, although he was absent due to injury.But Tim Duncan can still play and is known as the "eternal rookie".

After the opening, the Gasol brothers jumped the ball.This is the first time in NBA history that both brothers have made the All-Star team.James got the ball, but he passed the ball, but Wall passed back, James followed up in the middle, dunked alley-oop, and scored the first point.

The play styles of the two sides are completely different. In the east, Zhang Xiaotian and James kept attacking the basket. Anyway, everyone didn't put too much energy into defense at the beginning, while in the west, Curry and Harden continued to shoot from outside.

The two sides of the main lineup are about the same. Regardless of real defense or fake defense, in the All-Star game, without the team's defensive system, many players can't restrain them at all.

When it comes to the rotation period, it is the West that has a certain advantage.

Westbrook is really too positive, and his style of play is also suitable for the All-Star stage, which caused the audience to cheer and helped the West take the lead.

The styles of the two coaches are still somewhat different. The All-Stars can't see too many tactics, and can only feel the coach's methods from the playing time.

Cole didn't pay too much attention to the difference between the main force and the substitute. Except for old-age players like Duncan and Nowitzki, everyone else just looked at their status and gave them not too much playing time.

But Budenholzer gave the main players more opportunities, and only the host Anthony enjoyed different treatment on the bench.

(End of this chapter)