NBA: This Center Is So Stable

The first time, the second time.

Chapter 133 The mountain that James cannot cross

The plane landed, back to New York!

The Knicks, who finished the Christmas game, finally returned to their familiar home court. This road trip was not as smooth as the previous 20 games.

They suffered their first defeat of the season and two defeats in a row.

However, except for the Knicks management who felt a little sorry about this winning streak, most of the team, including the coaching staff, did not take it too seriously.

Winning and losing is a very common thing in the NBA. For a team that has already created miracles, you can’t ask it to do more on the basis of injuries.

This description is the current Knicks!

Even with Tim Thomas injured, the Knicks still lead the league with the best record in the Eastern Conference. From the coaching staff to the players, no one is not fighting to the last bullet.

Then again, even if Tim Thomas stays healthy and on the court, he may not be able to save the lost game.

In a strong dialogue, a single role player cannot change the final direction of the game.

No matter how stalemate the game is, the superstar will take over the game at the last moment.

The Knicks, who returned to their home court, ushered in their first opponent after their return the next day, the challenge from the Toronto Raptors.

This Maple Leaf Country team that came from afar did not pose much threat to the Knicks!

Although they had just traded the top striker Jaylen Rose from the Bulls, and partnered with Vince Carter to form the Raptors double gun, the combination of the two violent dunkers made Toronto feel very satisfied.

But under the cheers of the fans at Madison Square Garden and the efficiency of the Knicks’ rim protection, they lost themselves.

I have to mention that New York fans did not turn a deaf ear to the Knicks’ return just because the team lost away from home.

They were still cheering loudly throughout the game. For the Knicks players who had been away for four consecutive games, they had not enjoyed the cheers of fans for a long time.

It was undoubtedly the sound of nature to return to the home court. With the blessing of the sound of nature and the loss, the Raptors became the Knicks’ cannon.

At the end of the game, the Knicks’ three-point shots set a new team record this season, with a total of 25 times, and an extremely abnormal 45% hit rate.

In Madison Square Garden, the Raptors, who had always bombarded the opponent’s basket in the air, became the one who was shot through.

This defeat was a little difficult for the Raptors, who had just completed the reinforcement of new players, to accept!

Especially at this critical point in the All-Star voting, Carter had infinite expectations for this game, but he didn’t expect it to end with a big defeat for the Raptors.

You should know that he has received support from Toronto and even the entire Maple Leaf Country in the All-Star voting. For UFO, who has just completed the death dunk, his popularity, including overseas, is unprecedentedly high.

This game with the Knicks is still very important for Carter. As the temporary All-Star vote leader in the Eastern Conference, Carter is only followed by the second-place Wang Song, and other players are not a threat.

Except for this rookie from the Knicks who still maintains a certain competitiveness, everyone else has been pulled far behind by Carter. His current fan votes are rushing to 2 million, and no one can match him in the forward ranks on both sides of the East and West.

Even according to the current voting trend, he is expected to impact the All-Star vote leader of the 03-04 session.

But he didn’t expect that the Knicks were so brave at home today, and the gap in strength between the two teams was even greater than he imagined.

The loss of this game made the All-Star vote leader, which was not stable, even more precarious!

Thinking of this, Vince Carter, who was strongly supported by the league, did not accept an interview at Madison Square Garden, but found his agent as soon as possible to discuss strategies.

···

Detroit.

Today is the Pistons’ training day!

Ben Wallace was not in the mood to train, and was replaced after being robbed of several rebounds by the team’s substitute center.

The Pistons coach did not put pressure on him.

Recently, this DPOY player is indeed at the forefront of the All-Star voting, and it is inevitable that he is in a bad mood.

After becoming the starting center of the Eastern Conference All-Star last year, Big Ben has an almost paranoid obsession with this award.

This poor boy from Alabama has been fighting in the NBA for so many years just to fight for this breath, drive a big Benz and live in a big house, and nothing else.

And this season happens to be his contract year, he needs an award other than defense-related to prove himself to the Pistons.

Originally, the All-Star center spot was reserved for him at the beginning of the season. Neither the elderly Alonzo Mourning nor Jamal Magloire, these Eastern Conference centers could pose a threat to his starting spot.

Especially after winning the DPOY award in a row and capturing the hearts of a large number of fans.

But unexpectedly, there were still variables.

The Knicks rookie from China has become the vote king of the Eastern and Western Conference centers!

He directly took the starting position from him, and the current agent team behind Ben could do nothing about it.

Because Carter and Wang Song’s votes are already leading in the Eastern Conference, Ben can only focus on the All-Star bench and sigh helplessly.

The same thing happened in Cleveland.

The competition for the Eastern Conference backcourt has basically come to an end. It is difficult to stir up trouble in the last little time left. There are only a few votes left in the hands of the fans, and it is highly likely that the result cannot be reversed.

James was in the agent’s office, his face was uncertain.

A few days ago, James himself and his agency team had given up the battle for the starting position in the Eastern Conference backcourt, because even with CAA’s operational capabilities, it was difficult to call on fans to vote for James when the team’s record was not outstanding.

Now their plan is to keep the bench seat… But even as a bench player, the battle in the East is extremely fierce.

Allen Iverson of Philadelphia, Tracy McGrady of Orlando Magic, and Jason Kidd of New Jersey Nets are all mountains that James cannot overcome at this stage.

“We must get the head coach. No matter what the price, LeBron must be on the All-Star list!”

Rich Paul’s speech made James feel warm.

Unfortunately, Rich Paul is now just an apprentice at CAA, without connections and real power. Everything depends on Leon, the real head of James’s agency team.

For James, Leon is still quite honest. He shook his head and said it was a bit difficult.

Because James is participating in this All-Star election as a backcourt player, the three mountains in front of him are difficult to overcome. If he cannot gain an advantage in votes and is directly selected as a starter, it is likely that James, who has rough skills, will find it difficult to stand out in front of the All-Star coach.

Hearing the rational analysis of his agent, James was somewhat sad.

He looked at the current Eastern Conference All-Star voting rankings on the website, and felt bad when he saw the name at the top of the center column.

(End of this chapter)