stonecrandall Chapter 413 Michael, I heard you've been very keen on the rookies of the last two years.
Chapter 413 Michael, I heard you've been very keen on the rookies of the last two years.
Of course, Lin Tian was very familiar with this so-called latest project. He had been watching it for 20 years and had personally witnessed how the project had been reformed and reformed again and again, becoming more and more boring and useless.
Lin Tian even felt that in the two years before his rebirth, the Skills Challenge was not as exciting as the Shooting Star competition.
After all, the Shooting Star can watch people shoot three-pointers from mid-court, how interesting!
The four players participating in the first Skills Challenge this year are: Marbury, Kidd, Payton, and Lin Tian.
Anyway, Lin Tian's first reaction after learning about the four participants was: Has Kidd gone mad?
This guy is actually participating in a basketball shooting-related activity?
Doesn't this pre-determine who will come in last place?
Why are you so desperate to embarrass yourself at All-Star Weekend?
However, while Kidd's participation in this project could be attributed to him being drunk and foolishly agreeing, the person who invited him certainly wasn't drunk when they did so.
I don't know who invited them, but they were really wicked!
What kind of villains and cunning guys could invite Kidd to participate in this competition?
What's the difference between this and inviting O'Neal to the Three-Point Contest?
Lin Tian now even suspects that Kidd may have offended Stern or someone else, which is why Stern deliberately chose a time when Kidd was drunk to call him and invite him to participate in the competition!
This perfectly fits the character of this cunning old fox!
That old man is incredibly wicked!
Not only is he bad, but he's also petty, vindictive, lacks vision, shameless, and inconsiderate.
Last season, didn't my Lin Da Guan Ren just chat with the old man for a while before agreeing to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest? That guy holds a grudge, and this year he's trying to work himself to death!
This year, I'll make sure my Mr. Lin participates in every single project!
Do I, Lord Lin, not need to sleep?
However, Lin Tian couldn't do anything about it. He had promised Stern last season that he wouldn't coast through this year's All-Star Game and would participate in all events.
However, since he had already made the promise, Stern kept it. This season, the Pacers did indeed have the fewest back-to-back games and the most difficult away games in the league.
People must be honest!
Then let's participate!
Lin Tian was even quite certain that if he weren't unqualified to participate in the rookie competition, Stern would have insisted on including him no matter what!
Fortunately, Stern hadn't quite figured it out yet and hadn't considered letting Lin Tian participate in the Rookie Challenge as a coach, otherwise the old man would definitely have made Lin Tian go through the Rookie Challenge again!
Absolutely!
Hmm, we need to think of a way to make sure Stern never comes up with this way of participating in the Rising Stars Challenge.
In addition to the announcement of the participants for the three individual events, the rosters for the All-Star Rising Stars Challenge and the All-Star Game were also announced in the first few days of February!
This year's Rising Stars Challenge features three Pacers players: Arenas and Parker representing their second year, and Ginobili representing his first year! With three players participating, the Pacers are definitely a major contributor to the Rising Stars Challenge.
As for Jordan and Lin Tian, they'll definitely have to go and support their younger teammates, cheer them on, and give them a boost.
As for the All-Star roster, there weren't any surprises this year that generated a lot of discussion, like last year.
In the East, Jordan and Lin Tian unsurprisingly dominated the polls, garnering 430 million and 500 million votes respectively, far ahead of everyone else, and becoming the starting backcourt duo in the East.
As for the two forwards in the East, Vince Carter, who has played with both Lin Tian and Yao Ming, received 300 million votes, and Tim Duncan received 200 million votes.
Speaking of Duncan, it's quite strange. His playing style is the least popular among fans and the least likely to appear in the All-Star Game, yet he always gets a lot of All-Star votes!
This guy is truly amazing. Even though fans don't like seeing him in the All-Star Game, they still can't help but vote for him.
As for the center, Yao Ming received the third most votes in the East, with 320 million votes, also leading all other centers in the East by a wide margin!
Compared to Yao Ming's selection last year, this year's average of 18.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game has not seen a significant increase in Yao Ming's stats. However, his ability and offensive prowess under the basket, as well as his touch and shooting ability, have been recognized by the entire American basketball community.
In addition, apart from Yao Ming, there are really not many centers in the Eastern Conference that can be called great, so it is reasonable for him to become a starter.
Of the five starters, two are from the Nets, two are from the Pacers, and Duncan is from the Magic. The top three teams in the East have all five starters, which is a true reflection of the strength of the teams in the East today!
In addition to the five starters, the seven reserves in the East are Kidd of the Nets, Iverson of the 76ers, Pierce and Walker of the Celtics, Ben Wallace of the Pacers, McGrady of the Magic, and Ray Allen of the Bucks.
The Nets and Pacers each had three players selected for the All-Star Game, making them the biggest winners of this year's All-Star Game!
In the West, the outcome this year is much clearer and simpler: the backcourt is Kobe and Francis, the frontcourt is Garnett and Nowitzki, and the center is O'Neal!
Last year, Da Zhi made his first start and faced considerable criticism. This year, with Jamison joining the team, his stats and playing time have declined. In addition, American fans are still somewhat dissatisfied with his selection and are not voting for him. It is normal that Da Zhi has not been selected for the second consecutive year.
On the bench, the Suns' Marbury and Marion, the Mavericks' Nash, the Kings' Peja and Bibby, the Jazz's O'Neal, and the Clippers' Brand are the seven players selected.
On the Western Conference side, both versatile forwards Marion and "White Devil" Bibby are first-time All-Stars, adding some fresh blood to the Western Conference All-Star team.
The All-Star rosters for this year's East and West conferences were almost uncontroversial. Almost no one felt that someone was unworthy of starting but was selected, or that someone should have been selected but wasn't.
Surprisingly, everyone was unanimously satisfied with the result!
How should I put it?
Stern is unhappy!
What the old man wants is controversy, discussion, buzz, and all sorts of analysis. He wants everyone to discuss this list and make it lively!
He even hopes that fans will go on a crazy rant and argue until they blow each other's brains out!
That's the kind of rhythm an All-Star roster should have!
But the result?
Peaceful! Utterly peaceful!
It generated absolutely no buzz, a fact that is universally acknowledged.
This was probably the most unwilling and unwanted praise Stern had ever received in his life!
He hates it!
How he misses the days when Jordan wasn't a starter, but Daxi was!
How he misses the days when Lin Tian stood up and declared to the entire league that his brother was roughly worthy of the All-Star game! How he misses the days when Lin Tian jumped out and said he would give up his starting spot to Jordan! How he misses the ultimate showdown between Lin Tian and Carter in the Slam Dunk Contest!
Oh, this is about to happen.
That's good, that's good!
This is what I want!
In short, all of the above represents Stern's youth and golden age!
Nostalgia!
After the rosters for all the individual events and the main event of the All-Star Game were finalized, the teams once again entered a pre-All-Star Game "preparation mode," inevitably leading to a sluggish performance and a decline in the quality of the games.
After all, the All-Star Game is very similar to the National Day holiday for students in terms of meaning.
Who's in the mood to do practice problems and study hard for exams before a holiday?
Let's talk about it when we're back from having fun!
And among these lazy teams, the Pacers are of course included.
In the first ten days of February, the Pacers played a total of four games. In those four games, neither Lin Tian nor Jordan scored more than 35 points in any of them, which can be considered as average. The team also continued its Robin Hood-like nature of "robbing the rich to help the poor".
They beat two playoff-caliber teams, the Bucks and the Hornets, and then lost to two tanking teams, the Jazz and the Heat.
All I can say is that the Pacers continue to wreak havoc throughout the league! They continue to make their presence felt in every corner of the league.
38 wins and 10 losses!
The laid-back Pacers easily won the league's mid-season championship. Then, Lin Tian, Jordan, Ben Wallace, Arenas, Parker, and Ginobili, the six All-Star players, along with a large group of people including Carlisle, who was once again the All-Star head coach, flew to Atlanta together!
"So, everyone, what are your goals for this All-Star Game?" On the plane, Carlisle looked at everyone because, according to the rules, as the head coach of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, his lead assistant coach would become the head coach of the second-year team in the Rising Stars Challenge.
So, apart from Ginobili representing the rookie team, he could take care of everyone else present.
"Just playing around." Jordan shrugged, indicating that he was very casual.
"Enjoy life with Lin!" Ben Affleck said in a deep voice, showing no ambition whatsoever for the All-Star MVP award.
"Have a great weekend," Parker said. "I want to watch 'Desperate Housewives' at the hotel, it's so good! I love it so much, Manu, will you come with me?"
"Sure." Ginobili nodded, indicating that it was no problem; he didn't like going out to play either.
"I'm going to check out their weapons shop! I heard there's a shop in Atlanta that's selling man-portable rocket launchers, I want to go take a look!" Arenas quickly added, expressing his interest as well.
Then, everyone involuntarily looked at Lin Tian, wanting to see what this master of pranks was about to do.
"I'm only here in Atlanta for three things," Lin Tian said, holding up his finger. "Win the championship, win the championship, and damn it, win... cough, win the MVP!"
"Only two championships?" Ben Affleck counted on his fingers. "But you participated in three events! I understand!"
Ben Affleck slapped his forehead and said, "Are you going to let our good buddy Vince win the dunk contest? Let him fulfill his dream of becoming the dunk champion!"
"You're such a clever little devil."
Lin Tian rolled his eyes. He had never seen Da Ben so good at math before. Usually, when he asked Da Ben, "You got 15 offensive rebounds and 4 defensive rebounds tonight, how many rebounds did you get in total tonight?"
This guy will have to spend ages counting on his fingers to find the answer!
How come you calculated it so quickly today?
Hmm. Could it be because today's math homework was addition and subtraction within 5, which is easier than within 20?
Carlisle looked at Lin Tian and couldn't help but say, "This is Michael's last All-Star game. I thought you would do your best to help him win an MVP."
"Didn't I help him get it last year?" Lin Tian said, looking at Jordan beside him. "He was so angry he almost tore me apart. I'm not going to help him again this year. I have to help myself."
"FUXX!" Listening to Lin Tian's nonsense, Jordan didn't want to pay any attention to him except for the profanity.
What kind of bastard can say such things and be so shameless?
Did you mean well by helping me get MVP last year?
If you're being kind, I'll let you kick my head around like a ball!
However, Carlisle's words also revealed the mystery of how many more years Jordan could play. Or rather, it's not really a mystery. You can tell from the fact that he only signed a one-year contract this year that he will definitely not play next year. Otherwise, why didn't he just sign a longer contract in the first place?
He came here this year to get revenge. After he gets his revenge, he'll definitely go and fulfill his dream!
Own a team!
After being tricked by the Wizards once, Jordan will definitely be more cautious this time. In fact, to avoid being fooled again, he will most likely take out his life savings and completely take over a team!
Hmm... okay, it's not a high probability, Lin Tian knows very well that this guy really will do it.
He desperately wants to own a team!
The kind that belongs only to oneself.
After chatting for a while, everyone dispersed to do what they liked.
Then, only Lin Tian and Jordan were left sitting together.
"Lin, after your contract expires, you're not planning to stay in Indiana anymore, are you?"
"What's wrong?" Lin Tian didn't answer Jordan's question, but wanted to see what he had to say.
"I have some inside information," Jordan said with a sly grin, lowering his voice, "Stern has always thought that having only 29 teams in the league is unacceptable. He wants the number of teams in the East and West to be the same. You know what that means, right?"
"Does that mean Toronto is going to be kicked out of the league? That's great! I've never liked Toronto. It's too cold there, and the procedures for flying there are always so complicated, plus the flights are so long. I hope Toronto fans won't be too sad."
Watching Lin Tian spout nonsense, Jordan really wanted to punch him. This guy was so annoying!
But there was nothing he could do; Jordan needed someone to do him a favor, so he had to put up with it!
"This means the league will add another team! That will make it 15 teams in each conference, and the new team's entry date has already been set for the 04-05 season!" Jordan said, getting more and more excited. "Stern has already contacted me privately and told me about this."
"So after this year's games, I have a whole year to build my team, find the right city, provide all the necessary equipment and all sorts of other things, and then Stern said that as long as I can get all that sorted out within the next year, he'll prioritize getting my new team into the league!"
"If you borrow money, you'll have to pay back 13% of the time, on a monthly basis. If you're late, don't blame me for sending people to throw paint on your doorstep! And I know where Marcus and Jeffrey go to school, so don't think you can get away with it! If you don't pay back, I'll sell them both to Southeast Asia to work in the coal mines!"
"Fuck you! I'm not borrowing money from you! I have money! Fuck you! Why am I telling you all this? And what the hell is 'Nine Out, Thirteen Back'? I only know 'Nine Shallows, One Bah!' This isn't the time to talk about this!"
Jordan is really easily provoked by Lin Tian, and he's also very easily angered.
However, this time, Lin Tian interrupted him again.
"I'm not going." Lin Tian shook his head even more resolutely this time: "I'm even willing to lend you money and only charge a little interest, but I would rather die than go to your team."
"Why? Do you think I can't afford it? I can offer a starting salary of 3000 million a year!" Jordan said this through gritted teeth. He had originally intended to offer Lin Tian a friendly price.
Looking back now, it was completely unnecessary!
This guy has absolutely no concept of friendship.
"Why?" Lin Tian sighed. This guy was determined to make him humiliate him!
Come on.
"Since you're going to build a team, you must have researched the rookies for the next few years, right?"
"Of course," Jordan said smugly. "Did you really think I went to your bullshit talent program these past few years for the money? I went there to get up close and personal with those talented players! Your talent program provides practical experience and lets you see their personalities."
"And my Jordan Camp lets me see their physical talent, skills, fundamentals, and other things!"
"I know the rookies from the next few years inside and out!"
"Very good!" Lin Tian nodded and said, "Then let me ask you, this year is being called the biggest year in the NBA in recent years, who do you think has the most potential among next year's rookies?"
"Carmelo Anthony! Without a doubt, this guy is a genius. He led Syracuse University to unparalleled success, and I even predict he'll win the NCAA championship this year! His shooting, skills, and athleticism are all perfect! He'll be the best player in this class!"
"What about LeBron James?"
"He's just an immature high school student, and the media calls him the son of America, which is ridiculous! His skills are too rough, and his shooting is too bad. Judging from his shooting form, he may never be able to improve his shooting in his lifetime. At the same time, it's hard to say whether his physical style of play can surpass Kemp."
"He's definitely not as good as Carmelo!"
"Who is the better guard, Wade or Hinrich?"
"Of course it's Hinrich! Perfect court vision, calm ball handling, decent shooting ability, top-notch leadership, and defensive skills rarely seen at the point guard position. I think he'll become the next Jason Kidd or Gary Payton!"
"As for Wade, he's not bad. He's fast and strong, but that's about it. He doesn't have a shot and relies on his physical attributes. He plays shooting guard but is only 193 cm tall. If he plays point guard, his court vision and technical details are not good enough."
"A standard double-inability player! I've never been optimistic about this kind of short shooting guard! Starks is the best I can hope for."
"I even think Wade doesn't deserve to be compared to Hinrich. He's more suited to be compared to TJ Ford. Their styles are quite similar; they're both incredibly fast offensive players, perfect sixth men!"
"One last question, Chris Bosh and Chris Kaman."
"Of course it's Kaman! What's most important for an inside player? Weight! Physicality! Strong attacks under the basket! Kaman has all of these, while Bosh? He has none of them. He's just a skinny kite-like guy. I suspect he might even get his ribs broken in a game!"
"He's better suited to volleyball than basketball! Whoever drafts Bosh will have picked the biggest bust in this year's top 10!"
After saying that, Jordan blinked and said mysteriously, "I'll give you another piece of information for free. Do you know there's a young guy in Serbia named Mičević? He's a real genius! I think he'll be the best player in this class!"
What's so strange about this thing?
"First of all, his name is Milicic, not Mičević." Lin Tian rolled his eyes, his heart churning with turbulent emotions!
He knew Jordan had poor judgment and that Jordan was bad at drafting, but he never expected him to be this bad!
He initially genuinely believed that Jordan chose Brown over Yao Ming because he was being stubborn with him.
Now it seems this guy wasn't affected by me at all!
He genuinely believed that Kwame Brown was a super genius.
It's hopeless, absolutely hopeless!
Only a psychopath or a masochist would be on the same team as Jordan and then put him in general manager, president, boss, and all other important positions.
In any case, Lin Tian didn't want to torture himself or make things more difficult for himself.
In fact, Lin Tian would rather play for Isaiah Thomas's team than play with Jordan!
At the very least, Isaiah Thomas was quite willing to spend money!
He never treats the boss's money as money!
He basically treats the boss's money like paper, throwing it around like it's nothing.
For a player, this one advantage is enough to overshadow all of Thomas's weaknesses.
Lin Tian even felt that many players would be willing to vote for Thomas in the poll for "best general manager of all time".
Following Thomas, you'll really get to eat meat!
And regardless of whether you're capable or not, you'll always get to eat meat!
How many people followed Thomas and earned far more money than their market value? And how many people on Thomas's team received contracts that seemed to involve at least a 50% kickback from Thomas?
Absolutely family to the players!
He may not be a good manager, but he is definitely a good person!
Following Jordan?
Eat your fart!
They have no vision and no money.
He can't even be considered a good person.
No, they're not even human!
"Michael, I don't want to talk about this anymore." Lin Tian shook his head decisively and said, "I won't go to your team. As for why, you'll understand later."
"Okay." Jordan sighed deeply, somewhat disappointed.
He believed that if Lin Tian could join his new team and seamlessly integrate into it, his team would rise to prominence in no time!
Back then, didn't Bird go from a rookie general manager and head coach to a top general manager and head coach in the league by signing Lin Tian outright?
Jordan was extremely envious of this opportunity to soar to new heights!
He felt that even if his grandmother signed Lin Tian, she could still win the Best Manager award!
With Lin Tian's strength and ability to integrate the team, coupled with his own vision, Jordan was very confident that he could make his new team a championship contender within 3 years!
Unfortunately, Lin Tian refused, and refused so thoroughly.
What could Jordan do besides sigh?
It seems like it will take at least 3 or 4 years to win the Best General Manager award and turn the team into a championship contender!
What a pity!
What's even more regrettable for Lin Tian is that Jordan's true feelings were never expressed.
If he said it aloud, Lin Tian would tell him: You're dreaming!
Even when you sell the team 20 years from now, you still won't have been able to lead it to win a single series!
You, a championship contender?
First, let's become a consistent playoff contender!
For the rest of the journey, everyone became somewhat silent because Lin Tian had rejected Jordan's invitation, leaving Jordan with no way to express his lofty ambitions. He could only stare blankly at the scenery outside the window.
As the plane approached Atlanta, Ben suddenly said, "It's a pity the Gold Club doesn't exist anymore, and I've never been there. Otherwise, I would definitely go and experience the meaning of life!"
Upon hearing this, Jordan, who had been silent for a while, finally became excited again!
"Who says there's nowhere to go? Even though the Golden Club is gone, with me here, I'm making sure you have nowhere to have fun!"
"Tonight, it's on me! I'll show you why Atlanta is called the third city after New York and Los Angeles!"
There are so many fun places to visit here!
"Michael! This year, I fully support you for MVP!" Ben Wallace cheered, raising his hand. "All the rebounds I grabbed are yours!"
The Pacers arrived in Atlanta on Thursday afternoon. After a brief interview with reporters at the airport and some interaction with fans, they quickly left for the hotel. Jordan's plan was to gather everyone at the hotel and then have some fun together!
After all, this really is his last All-Star appearance!
Moreover, no one from Atlanta was selected for the All-Star team this year, which means the city is without a home. So I, Michael, have to take responsibility!
I must lead everyone to a perfect and happy weekend!
So, as time went by, as the sun set, and as more and more players arrived, Jordan waved his hand and said: "Guys, let's go have some fun!"
As for where the players went that night, what they did, whether they had the fun they imagined, and why Atlanta is called the third entertainment city and the gem of Georgia, that's not important!
Nobody wants to watch unimportant nonsense and boring plots.
Importantly, the All-Star Game officially started on the second day, Friday!
Everything was exactly the same as in previous years: in the morning, everyone would gather together and then go in batches along different routes to places like orphanages, prisons, drug rehabilitation centers, juvenile detention centers, nursing homes, and slums in Atlanta to deliver warmth and convey the NBA's deep love.
Everyone was given the afternoon off. After a short rest, we headed to the Phillips Arena in Atlanta to watch the rookies battle!
Of course, just like in previous years, this year's Rising Stars Challenge saw the audience not only admiring the young, handsome players sweating it out on the court and slamming their dunks, but also paying more attention to the star players off the court who were yelling and cheering for their younger teammates!
The most exhausted team tonight was undoubtedly Jordan, Lin Tian, and Ben Wallace!
The three of them sat side by side in the front row of the court, surrounded by a large group of players from this year's All-Star Game, while three Pacers players were playing on the court.
Originally, everyone thought this game was a showdown between Yao Ming, the best player from the 01 draft class, and Jay Williams, the number one pick from the 02 draft class and a talented point guard.
Even if these two aren't the best players, it's time for the talents who were drafted earlier, like Richardson, Butler, Stoudemire, Gasol, and Jefferson, to shine.
But as the game progressed, everyone realized that it had turned into a showdown between two second-round picks!
Both of these second-round picks came from the Pacers!
This is why Lin Tian, Jordan, and the others are so busy right now.
Who made Arenas and Ginobili consistently deliver outstanding performances, being the most passionate and dedicated players on both teams?
The two of them kept attacking and scoring in various ways, while Lin Tian and the others had to make sure that everyone got a share of the credit, constantly clapping and cheering to encourage their younger brothers!
The score remained close throughout the game, with both sides battling it out until the final two minutes, with the difference still only two points!
Then the game completely turned into Arenas vs. Ginobili!
Arenas hit a long-range three-pointer, while Ginobili made a serpentine drive into the paint for a 2+1 play.
Then Arenas drove hard into the paint, drawing the defense before passing to his teammate Parker for an easy floater. Next, Ginobili delivered a curved one-handed pass from the top of the arc, driving straight into the paint and assisting Stoudemire for a thunderous dunk!
In the final minute, the two teammates went head-to-head, and Arenas made the first move, dribbling in a series of crossovers and then stepping back to force a three-pointer and scoring, extending the lead to four points once again!
Ginobili responded in kind, hitting a step-back three-pointer!
These two guys really put on a performance reminiscent of Lin Tian versus Jordan!
The entire Philips Center was in an uproar!
The fans excitedly chanted the names of the two players they didn't know much about before!
That was amazing! So good!
Even Stern was getting a little excited!
You can play it like this!
If only we hadn't divided it into East and West conferences, if only we had let Lin Tian and Jordan each lead a team to play, and let those two beat each other until their brains were splattered, would that have been a super, super, super double rookie game?
That's how it's done!
Stern was already planning the reforms after the All-Star Game!
He was prepared to ignore the East and West divisions and positions, and directly let the two players with the most votes select players to form a team on the spot!
That NBA Live has this fantasy draft, right? Let's do that too, let's do a fantasy draft.
Hehe, Jordan and Lin Tian each lead a team, how exciting!
In his excitement, Stern even forgot that this was Jordan's last All-Star game. Next time, no one would be able to go up against Lin Tian, and he had missed his last and best opportunity.
In the end, it was the second-year team that won.
After Ginobili's three-pointer, there were 30 seconds left in the game. Arenas of the second-year team missed a three-pointer, failing to seal the victory. On the other hand, Ginobili's serpentine drive also bounced off the rim.
131: 130!
The second-year team narrowly won by one point, securing victory in this All-Star pre-game. (End of Chapter)