NBA: This Center Is So Stable

The first time, the second time.

Chapter 138: Trying hard to get selected as an All-Star

The big win over the Hawks was just the beginning of the Knicks’ response to the outside world. The Knicks were not as weak as the outside world rumored after the upset.

Two days later, they welcomed their old rivals at Madison Square Garden.

Cleveland Cavaliers!

Speaking of exposing their true colors, the Cavaliers are more like the Eastern Conference team that showed signs of fatigue.

If the Cavaliers at the beginning of the season were still a strong Eastern Conference team that could compete head-on with the Knicks.

Then at this point in time when the season is about to enter the middle, the shortcomings of the Cavaliers, who are on the edge of the playoffs, have been exposed.

Seventh in the Eastern Conference is the record of the current Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers, who were stuck in the quagmire, were only one win away from falling out of the top eight. The expectations of the son of Akron by Cleveland fans were not fully realized.

Although the Cavaliers have climbed from the tail of the Eastern Conference to the edge of the playoffs this season, it is still a little far from the fans’ expectations of them.

Most importantly, the son of Akron, who they gambled everything on, was selected as a high school student and was selected as the No. 1 pick. What an impressive resume, but his performance in the rookie season was not the most dazzling among the rookies in this year.

This is a heavy blow to the high hopes of Cleveland fans for their hometown players.

So the second game between the Knicks and the Cavaliers, to some extent, is also a battle for James to wash away his grievances.

This can be seen from the fact that James played 44 minutes in the whole game. The son of Akron does not want to lose this battle of honor.

Last time at the Quicken Loans Arena, he had experienced the feeling of losing in tears. The Asian big man became his lingering nightmare.

This confrontation between the two once again allowed Knicks fans to witness how powerless the No. 1 pick who gave his all was in the face of real talent.

The Cavaliers lost the game 89:101!

James scored 22 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists on 9 of 24 shots in the game, a seemingly comprehensive statistic, but with 5 turnovers.

This makes him look a bit disadvantaged compared to the No. 3 pick.

Knicks.

Wang Song scored 30 points, 17 rebounds and 7 blocks with ease, and Big Z was robbed of rebounds in the front. To be precise, it was Big Z and Boozer.

The two Cavaliers twin towers averaged 20 rebounds per game this season, but they only contributed 12 rebounds together in this game.

It is worth mentioning that Wang Song took 7 offensive rebounds from them alone.

“If Wang Song hadn’t been guarding the Knicks’ restricted area, James would have definitely maximized his rushing effect today. This little guy is growing fast, but he needs to continue to develop his mid-range and long-range abilities. If his shooting was threatening enough, that Asian kid wouldn’t have had such an easy time.”

In a post-match interview.

Paul Silas commented on James’ performance today.

He seemed to be still dissatisfied with the trade of Ricky Davis a few days ago.

The Cavaliers coach only mentioned the team’s strategic issues in terms of skills and tactics today. It seemed that he was giving James some advice, but in fact it sounded like he was blaming James.

On the other side.

D’Antoni also pointed out the problems of the Knicks in this game when facing the camera:

“The Knicks won the game today, which was a bit of luck. We can see that the opponent did a good job in attacking the basket. The wing defense can be said to be a weak point for the Knicks. Fortunately, we have Wang Song in the penalty area.”

The mixed praise and criticism of the two coaches for the star player caused a lot of public opinion, which made Eastern fans wonder: How could the relationship between the No. 1 pick and the No. 3 pick and the coach be so different?

This incident made Cleveland fans worry whether Paul Silas’s training of rookies is limited to giving enough playing time.

Because the fact they saw is that LeBron James, the much-anticipated No. 1 pick, has not grown in technology at all except that his body looks stronger after one-third of the schedule.

Cleveland fans need a theory, a person to bear the problem of James’ slow growth.

The public opinion of the fans is a manifestation of Cleveland fans’ love for James, but the Cavaliers’ defeat still affected many neutral and even other James fans.

They want to see LeBron James dominate the rookies, but two consecutive losses to the Knicks have ruined their favor.

All-Star voting reflects

With this in mind, James’ vote growth rate began to decline, which even made him fall out of the top three.

It can be said that he basically missed the All-Star starting position!

Let another rookie enter the All-Star starting lineup, and the No. 1 pick was not selected for the All-Star.

This is a fatal blow to James’ reputation as the strongest high school student built up in four years of high school.

James’s agent team, led by Lyon, began to escort James. The last thing they could do was to keep James’ seat as an All-Star substitute.

They tried to use their huge network of relationships to get votes for the All-Star coach, but they underestimated the difficulty of this matter.

The selection rules for the All-Star head coach are very simple. As of the All-Star Game Day, the head coach of the team with the best record in the East and West can be qualified.

That is to say, in the East, even if the Knicks start to lose and win later, there will be no team that can surpass them in the middle of the season.

The gap-type lead brought by the previous 21 consecutive wins played a huge role in this All-Star. It can be said that not only Wang Song, but also D’Antoni are beneficiaries.

Although D’Antoni has not expressed his attitude to the outside world, it is difficult for James’s agency team to imagine the reason why D’Antoni accepted them.

······

When James’ team was trying hard to get an All-Star spot, the All-Star voting had entered the third stage.

The agency teams of various stars began to exert their strength, those with connections used their connections, and those with popularity began to canvass votes.

At the end of the third stage, the basic voting base of the East and West has been released.

In the ranks of Eastern centers, Wallace has completely lost his competitiveness with Wang Song and is temporarily ranked second.

Carter and Wang Song have entered a stalemate, and the votes of the two have basically started to take turns to lead after daily statistics.

The competition between the two is no longer limited to the All-Star starting position, but the All-Star vote king.

There is a level between the two at the top of the Eastern Conference before it is the turn of the Western Conference vote king.

Currently, Garnett leads the West with a slight advantage!

As a result of Wang Song’s rise, Yao Min’s influence as a Chinese center has expanded again. He is right behind Garnett, and his performance is exactly the same as last year, surpassing O’Neal in the center ranks.

Just as the management teams of various stars were trying their best to operate, a help from the entertainment industry attracted the attention of the league.

(End of this chapter)