The era of point forwards in the NBA

Chapter 277 All-Star Weekend

On February 2, the Thunder beat the Portland Openers 9-89 on the road.

In this game, the rhythm of the two teams was relatively slow, resulting in not many points in the end.

杜兰特再次砍下全场最高分，33分11篮板2助攻1抢断2盖帽的全面数据，为即将到来的全明星赛预热。

Due to the absence of Roy due to injury, the game did not suffer much difficulty, and the Thunder easily won the victory.

Waiting for them is a long holiday, their next game is February 2 with the Dallas Mavericks, which means they have as much as a week of rest.

Except for the players who will participate in the All-Star Weekend, the rest of the Thunder team members can get full rest time.

For this reason, Lin Yue expressed his envy to the members who could not go, causing public outrage.

Too capable.

The Rookie Challenge will be held at 2 pm on February 13th. Since the game will be held at the Cowboys Stadium, the home of the Mavericks in Texas, USA, after the game, the Thunder will stay where they are and wait for the next day's game.

Therefore, even if they can't participate in the All-Star, the rest of the Thunder team members have to participate in the celebration of the All-Star Weekend. Sooner or later, it is better to experience the atmosphere of the scene.

In addition, Curry also participated in the All-Star three-point contest, and took Durant and Lin Yue to go with him, but was rejected.

It's not that they don't want to go, it's the Rookie Challenge and the All-Star Game.

Lin Yue didn't want to burden himself with the rare vacation. He competed with Stephen for the three-point championship and participated in the three-point contest.

Since Lin Yue won't go, Durant doesn't want to run with him either.

Therefore, among the three, Curry, who was the only one who couldn't participate in the main game, was full of resentment, "Obviously my data is not bad, why can't I make it to the main game."

24.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.5 assists, proper All-Star backcourt data, but Curry's vote rate in the voting stage was not high.

Then he was ignored and was not selected as a substitute, which Curry expressed unacceptable.

But he still has to prepare for the three-point contest, which includes Paul Pierce, Chauncey Billups, Channing Frye, and Gallinari.

Frye's three-point production is average this season, but his shooting percentage is good.

Gallinari is a big pitcher who has emerged recently, and he has the same nature as Frye.

Billups's three-pointers are considered stable, but this is not his regular scoring method. He can shoot but is not good.

According to a preliminary analysis, the one who can compete with Curry this time is Paul Pierce, who is equally accurate from beyond the three-point line.

The days passed like this day by day. After no game, everyone in the Thunder team was very leisurely. Curry practiced three-pointers in his backyard, and Durant and Curry would help pick up the ball.

At the same time, they will also take time to go to the arena to simulate the three-point contest, and Curry can also shoot a high score of 22 points.

Apart from being happy, I also have to worry about the state of the race, after all, there is only one chance.

In the early morning of the 12th, the Thunder's three young men went to the home court of the Dallas Mavericks.

There, Lin Yue saw many active NBA stars, such as James, O'Neal, Duncan and others. The Thunder have played against them this season.

However, Kobe, Iverson and Roy all missed this All-Star due to their own reasons.

In addition, the rookie crowd also gathered here except Griffin, who was absent due to injury, and everyone else arrived at the scene.

Westbrook, Love, DeRozan, and Harden are all players in the Rookie Challenge, and they will have a head-to-head confrontation tomorrow.

The reunion here is also an agreement before the start of the season for everyone.

It's a pity that this year's rookie is only Lin Yue who entered the All-Star Game and became the top voter.

"Lin, start warming up, I can't wait to start tomorrow's contest." Curry said excitedly.

He happened to miss the All-Star Weekend last year due to injuries, but this time he returned to the Rookie Challenge as a sophomore, which was unavoidable.

As for Durant, who was drafted in 07, he could only sit in the audience and watch the game.

In the evening, everyone went back to the hotel arranged by the competition party to live, spammed all the trash talk, and waited for the official competition to compete.

Others who participated in the Rookie Challenge didn't know that this symbolic exhibition game had secretly changed its flavor.

At 10 o'clock the next night, Dallas' home court was full of spectators, including the All-Star players who will participate in the main game tomorrow.

Durant, James and others are sitting on the bench watching the game. They are also bored and just come to enjoy the exhibition games of the juniors. They will be in charge of the NBA in the future.

However, only Durant knew that Lin Yue and others did not regard this as a friendly match.

The first-year rookie lineup is James Harden, Lin Yue, Evans, Flynn and Gibson.

The second-year starting lineup is Westbrook, Curry, Beasley, Gallinari and Kevin Love.

With the whistle of the referee, the game officially began.

This is the first time that Lin Yue and Harden are teammates. Love also returned to teammates with Westbrook after a long absence. The last time they played against each other was in the NCAA. Now they can meet in the NBA All-Star Game.

Moreover, Curry and Lin Yue are not teammates this time, so this grouping is very interesting for them.

Gibson successfully dialed the basketball to his side, and Harden dribbled the ball forward.

At the beginning of the game, the rhythm of the two sides was not very fast, and the defensive intensity was not strong.

After all, this is an All-Star exhibition game. If it is played as a main game from the beginning, the enjoyment will inevitably decrease. Out of various considerations, the two sides still choose to improve the enjoyment of the game.

Harden's three-pointer with a step back opened the scoring for the game.

3 to 0, the first-year rookie scored the first goal.

Afterwards, Westbrook pushed forward with the ball. He never thought that one day he would have the opportunity to be teammates with Stephen Curry. The All-Star is such a magical place, giving stars the opportunity to cooperate.

Westbrook passed the ball straight to Curry, wanting to see the former Davidson twins go head-to-head.

At the same time, Westbrook signaled his teammates to pull away, giving them one-on-one space this time, and there is no need to cover or something.

Just like the solo team in the past, Curry faced Lin Yue's defense directly, but this time the venue was watched by tens of thousands of people.

Durant propped his head up and looked at the opposing two with interest. This scene is really interesting.

Curry continuously dribbled the ball under his crotch, then changed direction and turned around in front of his body, successfully passed Lin Yue, dribbled into the basket, and the interference symbolized by Gibson was avoided by Curry.

The latter scored a layup.

3 to 2, the two sides entered a confrontation battle.

The defensive strength is like this. Whether you can make the ball depends on your own ability. After being forced by Curry just now, Lin Yue, who was not reconciled, took the initiative to ask for the ball.

Harden passed the ball, and the first-year rookie took the initiative to open the space and give the position to the two.

On the All-Star stage, the two sides insisted on one-on-one, but the audience at the scene agreed.

Two teammates on the same team facing each other is very interesting in itself, and then the two continue to compete one-on-one, which is even more interesting.

Lin Yue didn't have all the bells and whistles. This is a competition open to the whole world, so he can't be ashamed.

Hitting Curry back is his most commonly used method, and the scoring efficiency of this trick is not low.

In addition to desperately resisting the opponent's back hit, Curry also had to stick to interfere. He had no advantage in height, so he could only choose some strange ways to fight back.

In the end, after shaking his shoulders continuously, Lin Yue turned around and leaned back to throw the ball, scoring a difficult goal against Curry's defense.

5 to 2, the audience immediately cheered, the goal was beautiful.

Curry didn't feel comfortable being beaten forcibly, but he still passed the ball to his teammates.

This is not his solo game alone. The All-Star exhibition game is a benefit for the fans, and it is also a kind of entertainment for the players themselves. There is no need to play so restrained in the main game, and various ways of living are emerging in an endless stream.

With the help of his teammates, Westbrook went to the basket and dunked successfully.

5 to 4, neither of the two sides can defend the other, they just fight with bayonets to see who has the stronger attack.

Under such circumstances, Curry hit three-pointers consecutively, shot directly with the help of a cover, and Lin Yue's defensive efficiency began to decline for a while.

Curry is very suitable for the All-Stars. His three tricks are not good, but at least happiness is real.

After more than half a quarter, the first grade was 18 to 24, temporarily behind the second grade by 6 points.

The defense on both sides is not very good, but the second grade scores a lot more.

In addition to Curry, Gallinari's three-pointer cannot be ignored. The two guys who participated in the three-pointer competition are really accurate in shooting three-pointers, and it is normal to fall behind.

Beasley also showed a lot of offensive skills during this period. Evans was obviously too young, and it was really difficult for him to defend Beasley. Lin Yue was almost as good as defending himself.

At this time, Lin Yue was also replaced by his teammates, and Jennings, Casspi and others got the chance to play.

Only James Harden stayed on the court, focused on offense, and he didn't have to worry about defense, because the All-Stars didn't need to seriously defend at all, which made Harden's offensive talent begin to explode.

With a step-back jumper, the continuum changed forward and backward to the basket to cause damage. Harden also maintained the score.

At the end of the first quarter, Lin Yue did not play again, and the first-year rookie was temporarily behind by 30 points 34-4.

If the defensive strength does not increase, Lin Yue's organizational ability cannot be reflected. In terms of offensive ability alone, he is not considered strong.

After the start of the second quarter, DeRozan, Harden, and Lin Yue finally had the opportunity to play at the same time.

DeRozan and Lin Yue made an air cut. After the pick-and-roll went down, DeRozan successfully seized the opportunity from the defense of the two and scored the ball with a layup.

Marc Gasol at the basket just watched the ball go in. This is the beginning of the second quarter. If it comes in, just give a little interference, and there is no way to go in.

32 to 34, the scores of the two sides continued to be close.

Curry was not on the court, and Rose also gave up the rookie challenge because of participating in the main game. The second-year substitute position was handed over to Eric Gordon of the Clippers.

Although Gordon is only a sophomore, the Clippers are only the bottom team in the Western Conference. Only one No. [-] pick was injured, and the entire team was out of shape.

Gordon has been valued by the team in the Clippers, averaging 18 points per game. The Clippers have also made a lot of efforts to train him.

Now the Clippers, which are so weak that they are competing for the top pick, have given Gordon a lot of ball rights, and in the end Gordon can also play beautiful statistics.

Gordon and Curry have similar styles of play, they are both three-pointers and breakthrough players, but Gordon's style is different, he can't hold his breath.

It was because he couldn't hold his breath back then that this shit happened.

Westbrook served the ball to Gordon, and the latter immediately accelerated and launched a fierce attack towards the first-year side of the court. The latter successfully reached the inside by relying on speed and the same front-to-back posture, and scored two more points.

32 to 36, the first grade is still six points behind.

As the game progressed, the enthusiasm of Lin Yue and others was successfully mobilized.

Seeing that the time was almost up, the two sides began to compete.

DeRozan first made a mid-range shot against the defense.

As a result, Westbrook wanted to respond with a personal fast break. As a result, the opponent directly accelerated the speed of retreating. Putting it in front of him, he would definitely give him a way to dunk at this time.

However, Lin Yue took precautions seriously, and the time was almost up.

I almost forgot the purpose of coming here because I was so busy with entertainment, hoping to play a wonderful game.

Beasley's step-back jump shot hit the ball steadily. This guy's style of play is a bit like Durant's. He is tall and can grab a lot of rebounds. However, their dribbling is also smooth. It is not easy for the first-year side to guard him.

At least this is an exhibition match, no one can guard against it and don't care.

40 to 44, the second grade still maintains the 4-point lead.

The second grade stabilized the score until the main players returned to the field.

Love and Westbrook made a familiar alley-oop, which ignited the atmosphere at home.

Lin Yue caused Curry's foul during a layup and successfully scored 2 plus 1.

Scoring efficiency has not declined, but James has noticed something is wrong.

Now everyone's defensive movements are getting bigger and bigger, and they can also help defend and block positions. It looks like they are playing a main game, and the more they play, the more serious they are.

"What's the matter with them? They seem to be playing very seriously, especially the two of your team. They seem to be competing in secret." James asked Durant beside him. This was the first time James spoke to Durant off the court.

"They will play hard to see who is more likely to lead the team." Durant explained.

The score was leading alternately. This kind of hand-to-hand play made the referee hesitate whether to blow the whistle. Calling a foul in this exhibition game will affect the rhythm of watching, but the actions of both sides are not small, and they would have been punished for crimes in normal times.

Lin Yue and Curry were not the only ones performing on the stage, and the people around them were not inferior to them at all.

As the third pick, Evans began to exert his strength, and he suddenly scored to Lin Yue on the outside.

After receiving the ball, Lin Yue broke through to the inside again, and repeated the same trick to Evans, who was wandering outside the three-point line.

The latter continued to move the ball, and finally Jennings hit a three-pointer.

At halftime, the first grade only led the second grade by one point 64 to 63.

The second half of the game is the real start of the contest.

(End of this chapter)