NBA: This Center Is So Stable

The first time, the second time.

Chapter 150 The disappearance of tension

“Good morning, everyone. This is CCTV Live. I’m Zhang Weiping!”

“I’m Sun Zhengping!”

“Today we will bring you the live broadcast of the All-Star Game, with the starting lineups of both teams on the court.”

“The Eastern Conference sent out: Nash, Iverson, Carter, Jermaine O’Neal, and Wang Song!”

“The Western Conference sent out: Francis, Kobe, Garnett, Duncan, and Yao Ming!”

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After seeing the starting lineups on the court, the fans were enthusiastic.

There were cheers and shouts, and the coaches on both sides stood on both sides.

Compared with the official competition, the All-Star Game in 2004 was a bit more entertaining. The All-Stars on both sides would not only attack and defend to the extreme in the matchup, but also have a lot of fun.

For example, McGrady’s self-throw and self-dunk were a trick played in the All-Star Game.

So the players on both sides were not nervous, even the rookie Wang Song.

The atmosphere of the past two days has allowed the Knicks rookie to fully experience the All-Star atmosphere. As for the East-West center confrontation, it was just a Chinese derby rehearsed in advance in the rookie game.

Wang Song looked calm.

But his teammates in the East did not think so.

This Asian kid stole the show in the All-Star Game, but the unique restraint of Orientals did not cause disgust among other players.

Even made his teammates admire him.

He can be selected as an All-Star starter in his rookie season. In the near future, he is a Spurs cornerstone like Tim Duncan, a historical power forward; in the long run, he is a tough guy like Wilson Chamberlain who can score 100 points in a single game and lead other players in the era.

“Wang, don’t be nervous!”

Nash pinched Wang Song’s shoulder, just like Kobe Bryant, who was selected as an All-Star, made Yao Min relax.

Although Nash was also selected as an All-Star starter for the first time, he still managed to pretend to be calm and stabilize his teammates’ mentality.

“Calm down Steve, look at the sweat on your hands, isn’t he just an All-Star… Look at the court, who is a new face!”

Nash smiled awkwardly, and there were indeed no new faces when he looked around.

But Carter, Iverson, and Jermaine O’Neal, these three should not be considered as players who are good friends with Wang Song, right?

Vince Carter, whose All-Star vote leader title was taken away by Wang Song; Iverson, whose Eastern Conference guard vote leader title was taken away by him; Jermaine O’Neal, whose regular season matchup was educated by Wang Song and who trash-talked him.

Just when Nash expressed his concern, except for Carter, the other two came forward.

“Congratulations, Wang! I saw your dunk contest yesterday, it was so cool. It seems that I was too lenient when I was matched with you.”

Wang Song smiled perfunctorily at Jermaine O’Neal’s imagination.

That’s not the case!

“Wang, wait for me to pass the ball to you later. I believe that if we work together, I can become the assist leader of this All-Star Game!”

Iverson, who looked like a rogue, made such an invitation, and Wang Song smiled and did not respond.

If AI, the “Lone Ranger”, really becomes the assist leader of the All-Star Game one day, it can only mean that the teammate who received his ball is too awesome.

Carter wanted to come over and say hello, after all, he was going to be a teammate in the future, and the four dunks by the Knicks rookie in the dunk contest yesterday changed Carter’s opinion of this guy.

But seeing the other two’s charming postures, he gave up the idea.

But in Nash’s eyes, it was not the case at all.

He found that he had misjudged the Asian big man in terms of popularity.

This is not like an isolated rookie… He is totally a group favorite!

On the contrary, if he and Wang Song were not teammates and established their positions early, he would stand on the side with Carter and leave a lonely back.

The game started.

Jump ball stage.

Dayao and Wang Song stood in the midfield, and the two Chinese giants standing opposite each other reminded the fans of the rookie game two days ago.

Wang Song’s historical record of undefeated jump balls since entering the league was lost to the Rockets.

But now he has regained his place in the All-Star Game, the ball rights in the East.

Iverson came up with a butterfly shot and easily scored two points against Kobe.

Even if Nash disdained the off-court life and personal ethics of this guy in Philadelphia, he never questioned the value of the world’s shortest No. 1 pick in the game.

Looking back.

Kobe was not polite either. He played a low-post singles with Iverson and turned back to score and completed the answer ball.

These two goals stirred the emotions of the fans at the scene. They were looking forward to this kind of game.

D’Antoni applauded on the sidelines and shouted: “Pay attention to defense, pay attention to defense!”

For D’Antoni, who returned to the NBA for the first season, it was undoubtedly a great encouragement to be able to serve as an All-Star coach with the Knicks.

So compared with Lakers coach Phil Jackson, D’Antoni’s attitude towards this game was very serious.

“The matchup between the 96 golden generation was really eye-catching!”

“Looking back, Nash’s phantom step shook Francis, and he easily completed the lob pass by breaking through the middle. The ball hit the backboard and it was a pass.”

“There was a beast following behind Nash, and Yao Ming was so scared that he was stunned. This was a connection between the Knicks duo.”

Bang!

A huge collision sounded, and the Knicks duo’s rebound dunk brought a visual feast that fans loved.

If there is anyone else in the All-Stars who can complete such cooperation, apart from the tacit partner Nash and Wang Song, fans can’t think of a second pair.

OK?

Maybe five years ago!

Fans looked at O’Neal, who was sitting on the bench and looking unhappy.

At this time, O’Neal was cursing: “This softie, if I were standing there, the Chinese kid would have been lying on the ground!”

The Knicks fans behind him couldn’t help but choked: “Shaq, why haven’t you played yet?”

Furious O’Neal looked back, and a Knicks jersey was particularly dazzling.

As the referee blew the whistle.

The first quarter ended. Except for Carter’s occasional miss in the fancy dunk he wanted to try, the overall cooperation in the East was very smooth.

Carter may want to make up for the regret of not participating in the dunk contest yesterday, and he made a grudge with the basket in today’s All-Star Game, but Garnett, who is at his peak, does not intend to give him this face. He repeatedly blocked shots and let the fans enjoy a wave of defensive feast.

As for the other players in the Eastern Conference, Jermaine O’Neal seemed particularly well-behaved in front of Wang Song.

It turns out that the Pacers’ double-double tyrants also had to lie low in front of the Chinese rookie.

Kobe did not give Iverson too many opportunities to receive the ball except for the butterfly after the opening, and Nash, as the Eastern Conference point guard, dominated the ball and delivered various brilliant assists.

In this way, in the first quarter, this improvised Eastern Conference All-Star team looked well-organized because of the presence of the Knicks duo.

(End of this chapter)