Chapter 184 183. The Fear of All-Stars

On the first day of the All-Star Weekend, the heat reached its boiling point as Zhang Yang scored 82 points!

Although the Rookie Challenge originally attracted a lot of attention, fans felt that the game itself was nothing to watch.

The Eastern and Western Conference Rookie Showdown that year was very intense and the outcome was hard to predict, but now when rookies challenge sophomores, it is normally a one-sided situation. Even a class as talented as the 03 class was beaten by the 04 class by 02 points in the 24 Rookie Challenge. The sophomore bully beat the 03 class without any chance of fighting back.

This year, fans also feel that there is no suspense. There are five players in the 05 class who are too strong for the 5 class - Zhang Yang, Paul, Deron, Felton, and Ellis.

Roy, the best performing rookie of the 06 class, only averages 15 points per game, which is not as good as any of the five players, let alone the others.

Although fans want to know more about the rookies of the 06 class and are looking forward to a few players who will make a comeback in the 06 class, not many people expect the 06 class to win.

As for the individual performances of the players, Stoudemire played so aggressively in 04, but only scored 36 points. Iguodala dunked 11 times last year, but only scored about 30 points. The Rookie Competition has become the Rookie Challenge over the years, and it has long become a dunk contest, where players compete to see who has better breakthrough ability on the outside and who has stronger impact on the inside.

I didn’t expect that such a ruthless person would appear this year!

张杨上半场22投15中、其中三分球7中4、加上4中4的罚球拿到38分后，直播收视率就开始直线飙升。

In the first half, he broke the single-game scoring record of the rookie game held by Stoudemire!

But at that time, the fans, including a certain player No. 24 who came to watch, thought that Zhang Yang might be able to score 50 or 60 points, which would basically be an "iron record".

Who would have thought that Zhang Yang's 22 throws in the first half were not enough, and he threw 24 in the second half! He scored 46 points with 82 shots in the whole game!
After Zhang Yang was substituted in and the score was frozen, the game was not over yet, but ESPN changed the headline of its official website to - "Bad Boy Jack surpasses Kobe Bryant with 82 points in a single game."

Under normal circumstances, this kind of clickbait behavior would definitely be criticized by fans, but this time, fans said ESPN was right!
82 points is definitely more than 81 points, no problem!

Even Lakers fans are shouting to Kobe online: Your 81 points have been surpassed, please be self-aware in the All-Star Game the day after tomorrow.

Bobcats fans are eager to watch the fun: Kobe, do you know anything about your away game against the Raptors at the end of the month?
Although there are not many Raptors fans, the reaction is very intense...

Zhang Yang's post-match interview also caused heated discussion.

When asked about 82 points, Kobe and other related topics, Zhang Yang replied: "Yes, after I scored 38 points in the first half, I wanted to give it a try to see how difficult it is to score 81 points. It's rare to have so many top passers. If you miss the opportunity, there will be no next time. This is my last rookie game. There will be no such opportunity in the regular season."

"Does it feel difficult? Isn't this nonsense! I feel like my arm no longer belongs to me. I couldn't shoot the last ball, but the motivation to score more points than Kobe kept me going."

"I didn't expect to have so many shooting opportunities at first. They pass the ball so well. It's really a pleasure to play with them. As long as I run out of opportunities, the ball will come to me immediately. I feel that if I don't shoot a few more times, it would be a waste of their passing ability."

"Who is the best passer? They all have their own characteristics, it's hard to say.

Raymond is the most stable passer, and he and I have the best chemistry;
Chris’s passing is the most imaginative, his passing reminds me of Rajon, when I play with him I don’t need to think about the position, I just need to find a way to run and create opportunities;

Deron passes the ball the fastest, and it is difficult for opponents to judge his timing of passing the ball, as his movements are faster than he looks;

It's easiest to partner with Monta. When he passes the ball to me, I will definitely be in an open position. When he passes the ball, the opponents will already be around him.

The point guards in our class are all so good. I think our class is the best point guard year in NBA history..."

Zhang Yang was almost exhausted from shooting until he made the 33rd ball. Everyone knew what he wanted to do.

But he just admitted it without any concealment, and this answer felt fresh to the fans.

This youngest genius in history has a very special personality...

The fans agreed with Zhang Yang's words, "It would be a waste not to shoot in a game like this."

Felton, Paul, and Deron, these three took turns to feed the ball to a player. Fans felt it was a pity to miss such treatment.

...

The next day, February 2, was the comprehensive competition day.

Zhang Yang finished his physical therapy last night and fell asleep as soon as he returned to the hotel. When he woke up today, he felt fine and slept well, feeling refreshed.

Even when he went to the restaurant for breakfast, his hands were shaking as he carried the tray. It was DeRozan and Harden who came to him early in the morning and helped him get what he wanted to eat and brought it to the table.

Harden looked at Zhang Yang's sore expression when he moved his arms and said, "Jack actually shot 46 times. My God, I couldn't shoot more than 40 times in high school games. My arms hurt just thinking about it."

Zhang Yang: "It was actually OK during the game last night. I was so tired that shooting became an instinctive action. I thought I could shoot a few more times, but when I went to the physical therapy after the game, I felt like I was going to be useless. When the physical therapist pressed hard on my congested muscles, I almost hit him in pain, but I couldn't lift my arm at that time. Shooting 46 times in the game was much more tiring than shooting 460 times in training."

Harden: "Yes, I feel tired after shooting 300 times in training, but I feel exhausted after shooting 30 times in a game. Training and games are completely different... I am so lucky to see you score 82 points in person. I happened to go back to school on the day Kobe scored 81 points, so I didn't even see the live broadcast. Now I have no regrets."

DeRozan said sourly: "It's just the Rookie Challenge. Kobe's 81 points were in the regular season. There's no comparison."

Zhang Yang rolled his eyes at DeRozan and said, "Yes, yes, your Kobe is the best in the world."

Boss De looks aloof and cold, but in Zhang Yang's eyes, he is no different from an ordinary high school student. For example, when it comes to defending his favorite basketball star, it is exactly the same as when he was in high school in his previous life. At that time, he thought that 35 points in 13 seconds was the best in the world.

DeRozan also realized that what he said just now was too naive, and immediately changed the subject and asked: "Jack, you don't seem to care much about getting 82 points?"

Harden: "82 points and you don't care? Jack, how many points do you want to get?"

Zhang Yang: "Didn't DeMar say it was just a rookie challenge? It was fun at the time... Now I think about it, it was fun. Although it was tiring, I'm willing to be tired again if I have to do it again. But a game like that is over once it's over. Don't take it seriously, otherwise it might affect your mentality during the game."

DeRozan agreed: "Yes, just like you said, Felton, Paul, and Williams passed the ball specifically for you. Such shooting conditions are impossible to have again."

Harden nodded and said, "Yes, and the 06 class is also very weak. Most of the players on the rookie team are just substitutes for their respective teams. Farmar can only be a substitute for Parker. He averages 4 points and 2 assists per game, but he is already a starter for the rookie team. You will never meet such an opponent again in the future."

Zhang Yang: "Yes, don't be fooled by the media's hype and the fans' heated discussions. They are just following the trend. All-Star Weekend is just an entertainment event. Don't take it seriously...Are you done eating? After eating, go out with me. I haven't been out for a walk in Las Vegas for so many days. I need to clear my mind and forget about last night's game."

Harden's eyes lit up and he asked, "Where to?"

Zhang Yang: "Caesars Palace."

Harden: "I remember that was a casino? We couldn't get in."

Zhang Yang: "In addition to the casino, there are also restaurants, swimming pools and other leisure places. We can't enter the casino, but we can still go to the swimming pool."

Harden: "Oh...but why go there?"

Zhang Yang: "My favorite movie star once filmed a movie, and the filming location was there... You don't know him, the movie star from our country..."

When talking about these topics, DeRozan enters the aloof and cool mode again, just follow him...

...

The three of them wandered around the city for a day, taking photos wherever they wanted to go, but as they expected, they couldn't get into any legal place. In fact, it's hard to tell the ages of Harden and DeRozan. After a few years, they are no longer the youthful appearance of fourteen or fifteen years old. They are tall, and standing next to adult black people, it's hard to tell who is older.

But Zhang Yang was too conspicuous. Not only did he look young, but he was also very famous. Wherever he went, people would ask him for photos or autographs.

It's an illegal place. Zhang Yang looks down on it. It's hard to say what DeRozan thinks. Harden wants to go but has no money.

Originally, Zhang Yang wanted to take Felton and Rondo out to play, but the two of them and other teammates went to a legal place to play and ignored the three brothers who were not yet 21 years old.

Rondo is actually not yet 21 years old, but he is only 21 days away from turning 10. His driver's license was checked by the police a few days ago, but the police didn't care about him, which made Zhang Yang and Harden envious.

After playing for a whole day, Zhang Yang's somewhat restless heart finally calmed down, and he completely put yesterday's rookie game aside. Although he sounded so calm in the morning, he was actually somewhat affected.

His body's ability to recover is indeed very good. After a day of playing, his physical discomfort has subsided a lot. It will be difficult for him to play back-to-back games tonight, but after another night of rest, he thinks he can throw the ball another 20 or 30 times tomorrow night, provided that some mean-spirited player does not target him.

In the evening, he, his parents, brother, DeRozan, Harden, and high school coaches once again came to Thomas & Mack Arena to watch the triathlon.

The Bobcats have only one player participating in the triathlon this year, Felton, the runner-up in last year’s Skills Challenge.

There are a total of 6 players participating in this year's Skills Challenge, including the top three point guards from the 05 class, Felton, Deron, and Paul.

The other three are defending champion Wade, last year's runner-up James, and first-time participant Kobe.

It is said that the original invitation list included the three superstars of the 03 class and the three talented point guards of the 05 class, but when the list was handed to Stern, Stern crossed out Anthony's name and instead invited Nash, who had won a championship. Nash also accepted the invitation, but with only one week left to the All-Star Weekend, Nash was injured, so he invited Kobe instead.

This is the first time the NBA has invited Kobe to participate in an event since the Eagle County incident in 2003.

Before that incident, Kobe, who had won the Slam Dunk Contest and often made three-pointers, was a darling of the league. At that time, the league would invite Kobe to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest and the Three-Point Contest at every All-Star Carnival.

After that incident, Stern thought Kobe was finished and the league no longer supported Kobe.

Unexpectedly, Kobe regained his popularity after a few years, and his popularity is even higher than when he was elected the All-Star voting leader in 03!
Kobe's participation in the Skills Challenge as a substitute was seen by the media as a signal from the league to once again regard him as one of the NBA's most prominent stars.

Felton performed better in the preliminaries this year than last year, scoring 28.6 seconds and ranking first.

Kobe also performed very well in his first competition. Given his personality, once he decided to participate, he would definitely prepare well and enter the finals with an excellent time of 29.8 seconds.

Defending champion Wade advanced into the finals with a time of 32 seconds, beating Deron with a time of 33.3 seconds.

James and Paul ran together again. The former finished the game in 58 seconds, while the latter was too anxious to shoot after seeing the performance of Felton and Deron, and missed the shot in succession, and finally had no score...

In the finals, Kobe made the same mistake as Paul. He played anxiously, missed shots one after another, and his final score was 45 seconds, missing out on the prize.

Felton maintained his performance in the preliminary round, defeating Wade with a time of 29.1 seconds to 30.3 seconds, and won the skills challenge championship!

No one from the Bobcats participated in the three-point contest this year. The best shooter on their team is Matt Carroll. For a role player like this, it is difficult to participate in consecutive contests unless they win the championship in their first participation like Washan Leonard and Big Q. And once they fail to defend their title, it will be difficult for them to participate again.

However, this year's three-point contest is very interesting. Arenas, Terry, and defending champion Nowitzki will continue to participate. Three players who are participating for the first time - Jason Kapono, Damon Jones, and Mike Miller - are all three-point masters who have become more famous in the past two years.

Capono became famous in this three-point contest, ranking first in the preliminaries. In the final, he even tied the best performance of 93 points in the final held by Mark Price, the three-point champion in 94 and 24, and won the championship in a crushing manner.

At 10: in the evening, the slam dunk contest that Zhang Yang had been looking forward to finally arrived.

This year, the league revised the rules again. A player can only have one failed dunk attempt, and as long as the player takes the ball from the referee and starts to make a move, it is counted as one attempt, regardless of whether he dunks in the end.

Nate Robinson encountered a "version weakening", Gerald Green scored 91 points in the final and dunked the only 50-point dunk in this dunk contest, winning the championship and was dubbed the "Nine-Finger Dunk King" by domestic fans.

Actually, this year's dunk contest wasn't that exciting, but Zhang Yang watched Nate Robinson's long and boring performance last year and thought this year's dunk contest was pretty good...

...

On February 2th, the All-Star Weekend game day arrived.

After watching the game last night, Zhang Yang, his parents, DeRozan, Harden, and coaches came to the rented big house and stayed for one night.

After resting for a day and two nights, Zhang Yang woke up at around 6 o'clock this morning, feeling fully recovered!

He got up and went to the gym, started working out on the elliptical machine and lifting weights at 6:7. After finishing his workout at o'clock, he returned to the bedroom and took a shower. When he came to the living room again, his mother had already prepared breakfast for him. He felt very warm.

When he was in Charlotte, he did the same thing, occasionally going to his parents' house to enjoy the warm moments. His parents were happy and he was happy too.

But this warmth was broken after a while...

Zhang Yang: "I will take Xiao Wukong back to Charlotte by myself tomorrow? What about you guys?"

Yang Jing: "Your father and I have something to do tomorrow, so we won't be back until the day after tomorrow. Anyway, you won't have anything to do tomorrow. I've asked, and your team won't start training until the day after tomorrow afternoon."

Zhang Yang pressed on, "What's wrong with you that you don't even want your son?"

Yang Jing: "Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and I'm going on a date with your dad! Really, I felt sorry for you as a bachelor, so I didn't want to say it so clearly, but you insisted on asking."

Zhang Yang: “…”

Yes, it’s his fault, he shouldn’t have asked so many questions!
After breakfast, Zhang Yang fled quickly. He would never come to this shabby place again.

Arriving at the Thomas & Mack Center, a busy day began.

Yesterday, when Zhang Yang was watching the triathlon, he sat in the fifth or sixth row with his parents, relatively far back, and did not join the stars on the sidelines. Today, after he reunited with the All-Star players, he was severely teased by them.

In front of Kobe, O'Neal patted Zhang Yang on the shoulder and said, "Jack, you are indeed the most talented shooting guard in NBA history. You easily broke the single-game scoring record for active players. In my mind, you are the best shooting guard in the league!"

Kobe looked at O'Neal with disdain, turned and left.

Zhang Yang felt like he was about to be beaten to pieces by O'Neal, so he quickly dodged, he wanted revenge!
He shouted to Wade: "Dwyane, Shaq said I'm the best shooting guard in the league. He thinks you're not good enough. Or maybe he's jealous that you won the Finals MVP!"

Wade was a little uncomfortable with what O'Neal said, but when he heard Zhang Yang trying to sow discord in person, he puffed up his cheeks speechlessly and said, "I also think you are the most talented shooting guard. I wish you can surpass Michael Jordan."

Zhang Yang was quite surprised. This No. 3 player was not stupid, so why did he end up in such a miserable state at the end of his career?
He looked at James standing beside him...this guy has quite a bit of talent in this area.

While Zhang Yang was paying attention to James and Wade, other All-Stars were also paying attention to him.

Joking aside, joking aside, Zhang Yang scored 82 points the night before yesterday, which did give the All-Star players a little bad-boy shock.

If it was just his outburst in the rookie game, that would be fine, but the key is that Zhang Yang also had the experience of throwing more than 30 shots and scoring more than 50 points in the regular season.

The All-Stars were even more wary of Zhang Yang - they had to be careful next time they played against him, and not let this guy get excited! They didn't want to be a background player like Bosh!
(End of this chapter)