Chapter 405: 403. Goal: All-Star Start
"Nazir, are you sure you were not born in Africa and planted a tree since childhood..."
"I'm from Chicago! I was born in 1977! I just turned 25!" Muhammad shouted angrily.
Muhammad is so depressed today. Originally, he was the oldest captain of the Eagles. Let’s not talk about white people looking young. He has the oldest face among black people. Even the 29-year-old Ratliff looks like are younger than him.
Now Muhammad is more depressed, here comes a 40-year-old old man, but he looks older than a 40-year-old old man...
Looking at the 40-year-old Kevin Wesley, who is still active in cutting and rebounding, the Eagles players are full of admiration. This body is well maintained. At the age of 40, he looks like thirty-five. Six years old, although the game is garbage time, and the Hornets fielded a lineup of water fountain managers, Kevin Wesley's enthusiasm is really contagious, mainly because he is a 40-year-old veteran , people have a kind of admiration from the heart.
Since Baron Davis of the Hornets will not be able to return until January, they started off so-so, supported by Mashburn and David Wesley, and are now ranked ninth in the Eastern Conference.
The Hornets, now called the New Orleans Hornets, are a magical team. They are placed in the Southwest Division of the West, but they play the Eastern schedule and rank in the Eastern Conference.
According to the league, the Eastern Conference is preparing to build a new team. It will join the Southeast Division where the Eagles are located as early as 2003 and no later than 2005. Therefore, in order not to have too much impact on the competition system, although New Orleans is divided into the Southwest Division, it will temporarily It is still the identity of the Eastern Conference team. The early restructuring of the playoffs is just to allow the teams with better records to have a better playoff ranking, and to reduce the inability of strong teams to play against strong teams in the playoffs due to accidents.
Playing the Hornets back-to-back today, if Baron Davis is there, the combination of him and Mashburn is still very competitive, but now only Mashburn is left. Still no match for the ferocious firepower of the Eagles team, the Eagles continued the ferocious momentum of the previous game. Jason Terry led his teammates to play a wave of 14 to 9 in the opening game, and the advantage was established at the beginning.
After the substitute lineup came on the field, Liu Mang came up with a group of newly formed bench gangsters and quickly opened the point difference to 15 points. After halftime, the Hawks led the Hornets 55 to 40.
The Eagles are playing desperately in every game now. Hornets coach Paul Silas thinks it is better not to fight with the Eagles. A core has been injured, and Mashburn is a glass product, so forget it.
As a result, the second half of the third quarter became garbage time. Jason Terry led Barnes, Prince, Boozer, and Kevin Wesley on the court to play against the opponent's second team.
Kevin Wesley returned to the Eagles after a lapse of 8 years. When the Eagles wore a red and white jersey at home again, the old fans ushered in tears of excitement.
Speaking of which, Kevin Wesley's dressing style is very cool, every jersey is very distinctive, with a blue ribbon tied on the shoulder, full of coquettish, standard people are old-hearted.
The Hornets have no need to fight the Eagles. The gap between fourth and ninth in the Eastern Conference is not big. The fourth-ranked Magic is only 13 wins and 12 losses. The fifth-placed 76ers are 14 wins and 11 losses. The Hornets also have a record of 12 wins and 12 losses. , stabilize the 50% winning rate, and wait for Baron Davis to catch up after his comeback. Since the Southwest Division and the Southeast Division are next to each other, the Hornets are still playing the Eastern Conference schedule, facing the position of the future Bobcats. Can go to compete for the fourth.
In the end, the Eagles defeated the Hornets 109 to 101 and won two consecutive victories!
After the game on the 23rd, most teams in the league have two to three days off. Christmas Eve is the day when the entire league will not arrange games. There are five Christmas games this year, and the first game is the Eagles at home. Against the Houston Rockets.
The second game was Iverson leading the 76ers away to the Orlando Magic, McGrady and Iverson duel.
The third game is the rematch between the Nets and the Celtics. Originally, the Hawks and the Nets played against the Nets and had the continuity of last season's Eastern Conference finals, but the Hawks will play the "Chinese Derby".
In Game 4, the Dallas Mavericks host the Timberwolves, a matchup between the best offensive power forward in the league and the top all-around defensive power forward.
The finale will be the Lakers playing the Kings at home, the matchup between the two strongest teams last season.
...
"Wow, uncle, this uncle is much taller than uncle..." Dinah looked at the giant in front of her, and couldn't help but exclaim!
At noon on Christmas Eve, Liu Mang and Dinah were once again decorating the corridors for Christmas. Unfortunately, Alexia went back to Apirin County, which is two hours away from Atlanta, for the holidays. It has been several years Alexia, who didn't go home for Christmas Eve, was called back by her parents this time.
It was quite troublesome for Liu Mang and Dinah to get those pendants. The key is to hang the ceiling. The ceiling of their apartment is relatively high, with a height of 2.8 to 2.9 meters. Liu Mang had to step on a stool to fiddle with it. Then I saw a little giant walking back and forth in the small courtyard downstairs in confusion as if looking for something, so I hurried to pick him up.
Yao Ming had asked for the address from Liu Mang a long time ago, but after taking a taxi to this apartment complex, he was so confused, why there are all apartments here, he searched for a long time for a villa and nothing.
When he saw Liu Mang coming out of the gate of an apartment, Yao Ming felt a little unbelievable. This is a star who has the highest endorsement fee in the league, second only to Jordan, and he still lives in an apartment?
Now that they are here, they are still busy decorating for Christmas, so Yao Ming also came to help.
Then Dinah looked at Yao Ming who was able to put stickers on the ceiling without straightening his hands, and couldn't help being amazed.
The point is that Yao Ming is now thinner and looks taller. Liu Mang is already tall, at 1.93 meters, but Yao Ming is the kind of height that can touch the ceiling without straightening his hands.
"Okay, okay, Dayao, let's go in and sit down." Liu Mang was quite embarrassed, he was a guest, and he had to help hang the decorations, so he hurriedly took Yao Ming to the living room of the beautiful landlord on the sixth floor, his own living room was so small , it's really inconvenient to have guests.
"It's okay, I'm fine when I get here, so I'll visit you." Yao Ming said with a smile.
Seeing Yao Ming's huge body sitting on a normal-sized sofa, Liu Mang always felt weird.
It’s okay to be only 1.9 meters. Those who are more than 2 meters, more than 2 meters, and even Yao Ming who are more than 2.2 meters are really inconvenient for too many things.
Liu Mang was very curious. When smartphones come out in the future, how will Yao Ming's huge hands play?
"Hello, hell, my name is Levia, this is the cake I just went to buy with Ace this morning, please have a taste." Every time Liu Mang's friend came, Levia seemed very enthusiastic. I took out the coffee and snacks, which are already a regular item now, and now Liu Mang has more and more friends, and they are all stars.
This time Levia actually used Chinese, although the intonation was a bit strange, but she still looked decent, beyond Liu Mang's expectation, it seemed that she was really serious about her study.
Liu Mang remembered, it seemed that Alexia usually brought Dinah back to his apartment after class, and probably talked with him every day.
Yao Ming was surprised to hear a beautiful Caucasian woman speak Chinese. Is this his sister-in-law? nice! I also learned Chinese!
"Thank you, Levia, I'm Yao Ming, just call me Dayao." Yao Ming quickly thanked.
"I didn't expect Ace and your family to live in the apartment, but it feels very good here. I'm afraid no reporter would think that you still live here. I can see reporters' cars on the road every day when I leave home in Houston. " Yao Ming said with a wry smile a few times.
"I lived here when I first came to the United States to go to college. This apartment belongs to Levia, so I have always lived here." Liu Mang explained.
Liu Mang didn't care much about where he lived, but Levia felt a little embarrassed by Liu Mang, and said, "We're living here for the time being, and when the weather gets warmer in a few months, we'll sell it to Danbury Manor Or buy a new house in Mount Avery, it’s not convenient to have guests here.”
"This place is going to be sold? Levia, you didn't tell me!" The apartment is going to be sold? Liu Mang has never heard of it! Just paid the rent! The new landlord will not increase the price!
"Don't worry, there is a room in the new house that belongs to you!" Levia gave Liu Mang a blank look. Does she still not know what Liu Mang is thinking? Think about Levia's little depression of a little woman.
Hearing this, Liu Mang is relieved, that's all! Live in a villa! Liu Mang thought about it, it seemed that he had never lived in a villa except for the one-month training in Los Angeles. The feeling of being a single family is really good. We must discuss it when the time comes and buy one with a basketball court. and gym.
"Dayao, you're still used to playing in the NBA!" Liu Mang asked.
"Great, the Rockets are very good. As you said, Francis is a good person." Yao Ming felt that he was quite lucky. If he went to the dire environment of the Knicks, he would probably be squeezed out to death.
"By the way," Liu Wei suddenly thought, "Dayao, why didn't your Ye Li come?"
Dayao was still young, and when he heard Liu Mang say this, his face turned red, and he quickly said, "Ye Li and I are just ordinary friends, and he is still playing WCBA, so why would he come to see me play?"
WCBA is a women's basketball league established in the summer of 2001. In the summer of 2002, it was renamed WCBA with reference to the WNBA in the United States. The competition system is similar to that of the WNBA. Contest.
"Yeli?" Levia asked curiously, having never heard of this name.
"It's Yao's girlfriend, surnamed Ye, named Li, Ye Zi's." Liu Mang explained to Levia who had learned some Chinese.
"Ye Li and I are just ordinary friends." Dayao explained weakly with his huge body blushing, and there seemed to be an inexplicable contrast.
"Oh? Is it Dayao? Although I don't know Ye Li, she is also a basketball player. She should be able to watch NBA news. When I was interviewed, I said that you brought an American girlfriend to my house..." Liu Mang said with a wicked smile.
"Don't, don't, don't...we haven't even caught a glimpse yet. If you say that, she probably won't answer my call right away!" Yao Ming hurriedly begged for mercy.
Liu Mang and Yao Ming spoke a little faster, and Levia couldn't understand, but there were guests, and Levia looked quite ladylike, so she just sat beside her and didn't speak.
It's just that Dinah couldn't bear it anymore, she came to Liu Mang's side, got out from under Liu Mang's arm, and stretched out her hand towards Yao Ming: "Hello, Uncle Yao, I'm Dinah, Gong Xi Fa Cai, here's the red envelope!"
Seeing that Dinah speaks a bit slower, but has a more standard Chinese pronunciation, the key is that she speaks more standardly when asking for red envelopes, Liu Mang covered her forehead in pain, this little loli is embarrassing again!
Yao Ming was stunned. The Chinese-speaking American lolita didn't surprise him. The key point was that she would ask for red envelopes! This is not Chinese New Year... Wait, Yao Ming remembered, it seems that today is indeed American Chinese New Year...
Yao Ming took out his wallet. Luckily, there were more than 5,000 U.S. dollars in it, which is not a small amount, and it is not shameful. He took it out and handed it to Dinah: "Hi Dinah, thank you for your blessing."
At this time, there are very few real red envelopes in China. They just give money directly. After the reform and opening up, many traditional cultures have been slowly lost. On the contrary, they are not as important as many foreign Chinatowns.
Looking at the money Yao Ming handed over, Dinah felt very strange, and emphasized: "Uncle Yao, Dinah wants a red envelope!"
Seeing Yao Ming stretching out his hand in astonishment, Liu Mang hurriedly said, "Yao, go back and find a piece of red paper to wrap $10."
Yao Ming was so ashamed, it turned out that he really wanted a "red envelope"!
...
...
Yao Ming ate lunch at Liu Mang's house. Of course, he still asked the restaurant to bring it over. Alexia was not there, and this group of people had no ability to survive. He could also ask Liu Mang to cook, but he thought it was troublesome.
After eating and chatting for a while, Yao Ming went back to the hotel.
The Eagles are also on holiday today, after all Christmas Eve, the training is too inhumane, Liu Mang cleaned up the dining table, and then brought Dinah to watch TV together.
Watching sports news.
Today is the result of the first round of All-Star voting.
On December 10th, the All-Star voting had already begun, but Liu Mang would not have the time to take care of that at that time.
But now it's different, the team is on the regular track, and personal honor is still very important!
Seeing that he only averaged 12+2+3 per game, Liu Mang felt that David Stern would not dare to make such a big deal if he was selected as an All-Star substitute.
Even if I maintain an average of 20+3+5 per game in the next month, and average the data of the previous two months, at most I can average about 15 points per game, which is still far from the All-Star performance.
So Liu Mang's expectation is all on the All-Star voting.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the results of the first phase of the All-Star voting were announced!
In the West, Yao Ming ranked first among centers with 470,000 votes, the highest among centers in the league. O'Neal, with 330,000 votes, probably scolded Yao Ming many times in his heart.
As for the forwards in the West, Duncan with 310,000 votes and Garnett with 290,000 votes continue to occupy the two starting positions. Nowitzki is not bad this time, with 250,000 votes, ranking third. More and more media and fans are beginning to recognize it. Nowitzki's style of play is indeed efficient and powerful.
The competition for the forward position in the Western Conference has always been fierce, and behind him are Webber, Peja, Gasol, Rasheed Wallace, Brand...
West guard, Kobe led the entire league with 550,000 votes. The popularity of the little blacksmith began to explode this season, mainly because O'Neal was injured in the first month. Kobe supported the team alone, averaging 30.5 points per game, second in the league, only Second to McGrady's 32 points per game, this year is the year when Kobe really began to overwhelm O'Neal.
Except for Kobe who dominates the guard position in the Western Conference, the other votes are relatively scattered. It is different from the forward position because there are too many stars. Except for Kobe, there are really no top stars in the western guard position. Francis 210,000 votes, Nash 200,000 votes, Mike - Bibby 180,000, Payton 160,000 votes, Doug - Christie 120,000 votes, even Parker has 100,000 votes.
The votes in the west are the same as in Liu Wei's memory. Liu Wei mainly wants to see the east! This is what really matters to him.
After the western votes were sung, the host on TV began to count the results of the first phase of the eastern part.
For the center position, Ratliff was surprisingly ranked first in the center field! 440,000 votes ahead of Ben Wallace's 390,000 votes.
In terms of forwards, Cousins dominates. Tracy McGrady is temporarily the Eastern Conference leader with 480,000 votes, Carter ranks second with 410,000 votes, and Raheem ranks third with 290,000 votes.
In terms of defenders, Liu Mang ranked first in the Eastern Conference with 450,000 votes, Iverson ranked second in the Eastern Conference with 400,000 votes, and Jordan ranked third in the Eastern Conference with 340,000 votes.
"Wow! Uncle is going to be the All-Star starter this year!" Dana cheered excitedly.
"Uh...thanks to my Chinese fans..."
Liu Mang was really surprised. Yao Ming crushed O'Neal to death. This is a matter of course. The main star in China, the league is also promoting Yao Ming. In order to open up the Chinese market, but here Liu Mang, the league has seen the Eagles in mid-November. After it was so bad, I didn't dare to praise it anymore. The domestic media and fans who had been bragging about Liu Mang and the Eagles for a summer also died down. It was the world of black fans.
Unexpectedly, I still ranked first in the Eastern Conference guard! I really underestimated my identity as a Chinese player!
Liu Mang is really grateful that he is a Chinese player. This time he was able to secure so many votes at the beginning, all because he is Chinese!
With the support of the Chinese people and such a good start, Liu Mang made up his mind, and then he will rely on his performance to complete the votes in the next two stages! I can't let the Chinese people support me when I play so badly!
However...Liu Mang paid a silent tribute to Mr. Joe. The original history was that McGrady won the first vote in the back line, Iverson continued to maintain his popularity, Jordan was squeezed to third place, and could only be selected as an All-Star from the bench. This time, the league moved McGrady. As for the striker, Liu Mang squeezed Jordan to third again...
...
...
The results of the first round of voting came out, and the whole United States was shocked.
Chinese fans are terrible!
A rookie with an average of 12+8 per game actually overwhelmed O'Neal!
Ratliff and Liu Mang, with such a bad record and such a poor performance, can still occupy the highest number of votes in their respective positions in their respective divisions!
Mr. Joe didn't say anything. It's the last year. He announced his permanent retirement this year at the beginning of the season. He didn't care much about starting the All-Star game. No, it wasn't his turn to play in the Christmas game.
Moreover, Mr. Qiao also announced in a very high-profile manner that he was canvassing for his "apprentice".
Ben Wallace and O'Neal are upset! They all said that this vote does not count!
Especially O'Neill, publicly declared that he will torture Yao Ming to death next time. The last time Yao Ming scored 20 points while he was away and asked Barkley to kiss the donkey's ass will never happen again.
Seeing the two news stories about Mr. Qiao's thick skin and O'Neill's fury, Liu Mang is still very grateful to Mr. Qiao, and he can be regarded as an apprentice.
But O'Neill, Liu Mang really wanted to say to him, "You will be a substitute next year..."