Chapter 854 853. The Ambition of the Counterfeit Champion
In the morning, Liu Mang came to the gym and prepared to practice shooting more. Little Loli and Alexia started their dreamy 20-day holiday. They started classes again on January 8, and then they had a holiday in February and classes in March. Liu Mang thought back to his elementary school days. Every year at this time, Liu Mang envied and hated: elementary school students should take more classes and read more, and play computer games to pit their teammates!
There was no need to prepare breakfast in the morning. Liu Mang called Emmanuel to prepare a nutritious meal and come to practice early.
As the saying goes, sharpening a spear before a battle is not fast, but it is bright. Besides, Liu Mang also has training at ordinary times. It is always good to practice more, and he is not worried about physical problems.
However, when he came to the gym at seven o'clock, there were already quite a few people. Some were eating breakfast they bought, and some were eating nutritious meals. They were talking about something. When they saw Liu Mang coming, they greeted him and continued to talk enthusiastically.
Liu Mang went to get breakfast with Emmanuel, who seemed to have lost a few pounds in the three months since the training camp started. When he sat with his teammates, he learned that the voting for the Denver All-Star Weekend would start on December 19, which was nine o'clock this morning!
At six o'clock yesterday afternoon, the list of All-Star candidates for each team had been announced.
On the Hawks side, Liu Mang, McGrady, Jason Terry, Rasheed Wallace, Kwame Brown, and Muhammad were selected into the list of 164 All-Star starting candidates.
Seeing this list, Liu Mang expressed his condolences to Prince. This guy is always ignored...
There is really no way. Prince is too calm, his playing style is too simple, and his defense is not the kind of defense that yells and flies around. He doesn't even say a word of trash talk when defending. He just defends silently. This makes him basically non-popular except for being the leader of the square dance. Due to his poor data, averaging 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists per game, the media have forgotten him.
His performance is mainly on the defensive end, so the coaches can't select him to the All-Stars because his statistics are too bad, and he is not the MVP of the finals last season.
However, in order to give McGrady a greater chance of being selected as an All-Star starter, the league put McGrady in the small forward position.
Liu Mang holds the record for the highest votes in the history of the All-Stars. Iverson's popularity is still not inferior to McGrady. When two tigers fight, one must be injured, and Iverson's chance of winning is even higher, so the league put McGrady in the small forward position. The most popular team in the league now does not have two All-Star starters, and the league probably can't stand it.
Mainly the other candidates of the Hawks, Kwame Brown has no chance, O'Neal came to the East, but he is not as good as Yao Ming, and he can still win in popularity with Kwame Brown, who is loved by everyone. Just like Francis, even with Yao Ming's relationship, he can only be the second most popular guard in the West, and he still can't compare with Kobe.
Muhammad, Rasheed Wallace, and Jason Terry, in the eyes of the experts who selected players, only met the "qualification" of the All-Star starter. Muhammad only relied on averaging a double-double in the 01-02 season, which made the media maintain the impression that he was "qualified" to be the All-Star starter.
However, several candidates did not care so much whether they could be the All-Star starter, because except Liu Mang and McGrady, everyone else knew that they had nothing to do with the All-Star starter.
Liu Mang was definitely stable, and McGrady moved to the small forward position, which was also stable. His popularity has surpassed his cousin.
The teammates came to the stadium so early just because the All-Star weekend voting was about to start and there was fun. Of course, the most important thing was that they were discussing who in the team had the opportunity to be on the bench.
Kwame Brown, Jason Terry, and Rasheed Wallace also said that if they were selected as All-Stars, they would treat guests in this way and that way.
When Liu Mang heard about the treat, he quickly stuffed the unpalatable nutritious meal into his mouth, and then ran to the lounge to read the Knicks' scout report. Fortunately, he escaped.
After resting for half an hour, at 8:30, Liu Mang first ran two kilometers on the treadmill in the gym to warm up, and then went to the physical therapy room to stretch, preparing to continue practicing mid-range shots and turnaround jump shots. Training cannot be slack for a day.
When Liu Mang finished stretching, he saw that some teammates had been pulled to practice strength, mainly rookies and sophomores, some were practicing shooting, mainly role players, and some had already started targeted training with exclusive trainers, mainly stars.
Seeing that his teammates were no longer gathered together, Liu Mang breathed a sigh of relief, took a ball, and called Emmanuel to prepare for training.
As soon as he walked to the training ground, the system prompt came.
"Ding... Challenger series mission triggered: The peak counterattack of the counterfeit No. 1 pick."
Seeing the content of the mission, Liu Mang was so scared that he dropped the ball on the ground. This damn high school student! Where on earth did you get the courage to give you such great ambitions! Malaysian?
…
"Kwame Brown followed the host and achieved the glory he never dared to hope for. Kwame Brown now has a wish, hoping to be selected as an All-Star starter and win a jump ball for the host at the All-Star weekend. Challenger series mission: The peak counterattack of the counterfeit champion is triggered."
"The peak counterattack of the fake No. 1 draft pick: Help the famous fake No. 1 draft pick Kwame Brown to be selected as the starting player of the 2004 Denver All-Star Weekend. Mission reward: Extreme admiration of Kwame Brown. Failure penalty: Share the joys and sorrows. If Kwame Brown is not selected as the All-Star starting lineup and is selected as the All-Star substitute lineup, the host must take the initiative to give the All-Star starting position to other All-Star substitutes. If the penalty is not executed, 1 point of shooting ability evaluation in a certain aspect will be randomly deducted."
This mission makes Liu Mang feel a headache!
Extreme admiration of Kwame Brown?
There is no use in admiring this guy!
All-Star substitute, Liu Mang thinks Kwame Brown has a chance, higher than Jason Terry. Jason Terry will not be so favored by other team coaches because he scored too many points against the opponent's substitutes.
The chances of a sixth man, even the best sixth man, being selected as an All-Star reserve are very small. The only chance is to be selected as an All-Star starter. Liu Mang is very clear about this. Ginobili did not make the All-Star team when he won the best sixth man award in the future, but he was selected as an All-Star reserve in the only two seasons he started.
Liu Mang was selected as an All-Star in the season when he won the best sixth man award, one time he was selected by David Stern, and the other time he was an All-Star starter.
In Liu Mang's memory, the only player who won the best sixth man award and was selected as an All-Star reserve in the season after the 21st century was the King of JDZ, whom he highly respected.
The king is different. Liu Mang silently gave a thumbs up to the little fat man who is still fighting asthma.
Like Jason Terry last season, he played very well, but he was not selected as an All-Star reserve.
But Kwame Brown is a rare strong inside player in the East. He averages 13.8 points, 12.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, which is quite outstanding. His performance among the centers in the East is second only to O'Neal and Ben Wallace, and he has a great chance of being selected as an All-Star substitute.
But even if Jason Terry is the second-highest scorer in the Hawks this season, with an outstanding performance of 19.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, his chance of being selected as an All-Star substitute is not high.
And with Liu Mang and Iverson as the starters, Jason Terry has no chance.
However, even if Kwame Brown has the opportunity to be an All-Star substitute, it is too difficult for him to become an All-Star starter!
Unlike Ratliff who got into the All-Star starter, O'Neal is now in the East!
This bastard counterfeit No. 1 pick, do I need you to help me jump the ball!
But this failure penalty made Liu Mang feel so painful. The All-Star starter is, how could Liu Mang be willing to give it to someone else?
This unlucky counterfeit No. 1 pick!
...
What else can I do?
Liu Mang thought about it carefully. If Kwame Brown was selected as the All-Star starter, it would be a good thing for their Hawks. For example, in the game, Kwame Brown has the title of All-Star starter, which will inevitably attract the envy and jealousy of opponents, and they will defend Kwame Brown more strictly. Those who felt that they could beat Kwame Brown before will be psychologically unbalanced and want to defend Kwame Brown to death. Then the other players of the Hawks may have a better chance to score.
Liu Mang thinks it is feasible to set up a live target to make it easier for him to score...
But it's difficult!
Liu Mang thought for a long time and thought it was better to do something!
To be selected as the All-Star starter, you have to be popular.
Kwame Brown's popularity this season is also good. First, he got rid of the title of a fake No. 1 pick. Second, he is by Liu Mang's side, and his attention is higher than this season's No. 1 pick Dwight Howard.
But compared with O'Neal, it's far behind.
Whether in terms of strength or popularity, O'Neal is the strongest center in the league. Yao Ming was able to defeat him and be selected as the All-Star starter because of the unconditional support of domestic fans.
Although Kwame Brown has benefited from Liu Mang's popularity, Rasheed has not been selected as the All-Star starter in the past two seasons after McGrady's popularity soared, but was selected as the All-Star substitute. It can be expected that it will be difficult for Kwame Brown to be selected as the All-Star starter. It would be fine if O'Neal did not come to the East, but when O'Neal, who is still at the end of his peak, came to the East, Kwame Brown basically had no chance of becoming the All-Star starter.
Therefore, the only way is to find a way to improve Kwame Brown's popularity!
After thinking about it, Liu Mang has a way!
…
Liu Mang came to the gym. After a set of light lower limb strength training, Kwame Brown was leaning on a chair to receive a relaxing massage from a physiotherapist.
Today, everyone's morning training is only one to two sets, and there are games in the evening, which is just regular training.
"Kwame, are you afraid of O'Neal?" Liu Mang asked, leaning on the chair where Kwame Brown was sitting.
"O'Neal?" Kwame Brown thought of the feeling of being crushed when he was fighting against O'Neal, and answered without hesitation: "Afraid!"
"..." Liu Mang's hand softened and he almost slipped to the ground.
This damn fake high school student, can't he be a little ambitious!
Liu Mang didn't expect Kwame Brown to say that he was afraid so decisively, and asked angrily: "Then every time you play against O'Neal, you fight as hard as if you saw the murderer of your father?"
What Liu Mang wanted to ask most was: You are so cowardly, where do you get the courage to be selected as an All-Star starter?
"Of course! If you can't beat him, you have to fight! Isn't this what you taught me, boss?" Kwame Brown asked strangely.
"Uh..." Liu Mang didn't know what to say. Should he say that this guy has no ambition or has ambition?
Liu Mang felt that Kwame Brown had a very good mentality. He would fight hard when he just won, and fight hard when he just lost. That’s why he has an average of more than 13+12 per game, and he also did a good job on the defensive end.
However, he was a little too "stable". His mentality had been adjusted, and he had clearly defined his position as a super blue-collar worker. Liu Mang was very satisfied with this, but now... Liu Mang was a little dissatisfied.
If Kwame Brown knew what Liu Mang was thinking, he would definitely want to cry: Can we younger brothers be more stable? The boss is so extravagant, we can only be stable!
Liu Mang organized a long time of deception... No, it was the wording to inspire Kwame Brown's fighting spirit, but Kwame Brown's current very good mentality made him completely speechless.
This won't work!
Liu Mang's brain turned sharply and he had another idea.
After the physical therapist left, Liu Mang stopped Kwame Brown who was about to take a shower and asked, "Kwame, who do you think is the best center in the East?"
Kwame Brown felt a little puzzled by this question. It should be said that he felt that Liu Mang had been a little weird today, but he still answered, "O'Neal?"
"No, no, no, no..." Liu Mang turned on the head mode, looked up and down at Kwame Brown, and said, "I think the best center in the East is here."
"Here?"
Kwame Brown didn't understand what he meant at all. He looked around and found that there were only him and Liu Mang in the gym. Liu Mang was a point guard, so he had nothing to do with the center. After a while, Kwame Brown reacted and pointed at himself in surprise and said, "Boss, are you talking about me?"
"Why, aren't you?" Liu Mang asked back.
"Boss, don't joke..." Kwame Brown thought Liu Mang was teasing him.
To be honest, Liu Mang was really teasing him, but he was not fooling him... No, he didn't convince him that he was the best center, so the plan couldn't be implemented!
Liu Mang hinted that he believed the fake top pick in front of him was the strongest center, first deceiving himself, and then said seriously: "Kwame, in my opinion, you are the best center in the world. You have the highest hit rate in the NBA. You are the main center of the team with the best record in the East. We are the strongest team. There is no center more suitable for us than you. O'Neal and Yao Ming can't beat you in the game. You are the strongest one. You have to believe in yourself. You are already the best center in the East. We need you to be more confident and fearless in the face of all opponents..."
"Ding...Hitler's bewitching effect is triggered: the host's speech, suggestions, criticisms and other language expressions have a significant direct psychological impact on Kwame Brown..."
Combining some real data with nonsense, yes, it is the skill of fanning the flames that Liu Mang and the reporter learned, together with Hitler's bewitching, which has a very good effect.
Kwame Brown listened to Liu Mang's "encouragement" and felt his heart surge, as if he felt that Liu Mang had spread a pair of wings behind him.
After Liu Mang's big trick, he said to Kwame Brown, who was already confused, "Kwame, you should compete with O'Neal for the All-Star starting position! I believe you can succeed, just do as I say."
"Okay, boss, I will listen to you... ah? Boss, what did you say? Compete with O'Neal for the All-Star starting position?"
"Yes, I believe you can do it."