Champion, please stay!

Chapter 145, Page 143: All-Star Starting Lineups Announced! (5K)

After four consecutive games, on the 30th, the Knicks took another flight that almost crossed the entire United States, flying for nearly 6 hours to Oakland. After resting for a night, the Knicks' 47th regular season game began on the 31st.

At 8:40 p.m., the Knicks, playing away, entered Oracle Arena first.

The boos that greeted them weren't very loud, but Yi Shui, who entered last, received even louder cheers. Of course, there were still boos, but the cheers seemed even louder.

After leading his team to a 130+ point game against the Warriors in the last game of the first month, Yi Shui was looking forward to the second matchup against the Warriors.

It wasn't just that he scored 50 points in that game; that kind of high-scoring game was really enjoyable to play.

But now, watching the Warriors' starting lineup enter the court next, Yi Shui felt very disappointed.

The Warriors have had a really bad season. Talent... no, it's more like man-made disaster.

The Warriors started the season with a 16-10 record, ranking seventh in the Western Conference. Their run-and-gun offense was very effective. However, suddenly, after Christmas, their star player Monta Ellis did not play again.

The earliest news that came out was that Ellis accidentally fell down the stairs while going downstairs, twisted her ankle, and was seriously injured.

But a few days later, the Warriors announced that, in accordance with regulations, Ellis would be suspended for 30 games within the team, that he would miss the rest of the season, and that he would publicly apologize at a press conference. Only then did people realize what had really happened.

On Christmas Eve, Ellis was speeding on his motorcycle late at night, and unsurprisingly, he crashed.

Although Ellis was very 'cautious' and wore full protective gear, and didn't even get abrasions, her foot was trapped under the motorcycle when the car overturned. She was dragged on the ground and slid for several meters, resulting in a fractured ankle and torn groin muscles.

At first, Ellis tried to conceal his injury, bribing the doctor to fabricate a 'medical malpractice' and deceive the Warriors into believing that the hospital's doctors had mistreated him, causing his injury to worsen.

The doctor received the money and did the job.

However, the Warriors' team doctor followed the rules and conducted a follow-up examination, which easily uncovered the truth.

When Yi Shui saw this news, he felt that Ellis had a bit more intelligence than most black players, but not much.

The Warriors were quite humane this time. According to NBA rules, for such an injury, Ellis should have been suspended for the same length of time he was sidelined, because insurance doesn't cover this type of injury. Within the deductible agreed upon by the insurance company and the NBA, Ellis had just signed a five-year contract with a fixed annual salary of $11 million last summer. With this season over, he should have been fined more than $7.5 million for the remaining games. In the end, he was only suspended for 30 games, and the fine amount was $3 million.

Ellis's season-ending injury has a huge impact on the Warriors. He performed exceptionally well before Christmas, becoming the third player this season after Yi Jianlian and Wade to score 40+ points in a single game. He also scored his second 40+ point game in the last game of the first month. He is the Warriors' running-and-gun engine and the team's leading scorer. With his injury, the Warriors are definitely out of playoff contention.

So Don Nelson made the decision to jump directly from a playoff contender to a tanking team.

It has to be said that the old coach was very good at tanking. Nelson put Stephen Jackson in charge of handling the ball and organizing the offense, and he really built tactics around his half-court passing and fast break passing.

过去20场比赛，武圣场均助攻达到了6.7次！数据从场均16+7+3，硬生生拔高到了场均18+6+4.8，按照这个趋势发展下去，勇士队能出一个场均20+5+5的‘全能锋线’。

However, Stephen Jackson's turnovers have also skyrocketed, averaging 4.5 turnovers per game in the last 20 games, 6.7 to 4.5.

This assist-to-turnover ratio is relatively low compared to both the newly crowned king of turnovers, Turtle, and the veteran turnover king, King.

In these 20 games, the Warriors have a record of 3 wins and 17 losses. Currently, the Warriors are ranked 11th in the Western Conference with a record of 19 wins and 27 losses, and have strongly squeezed into the tanking circle.

However, Stephen Jackson's return to the small forward position gave Italian rookie Danilo Gallinari a chance to shine. The 208cm Gallinari was placed at power forward by Don Nelson and has averaged 10.8 points per game over the past period, double the number before Christmas.

...

At 9 p.m., the Knicks' away game against the Warriors tipped off.

Tonight's Knicks defensive strategy: cut the ball, initiate a fast break!

D'Antoni and Cheeks worked together seamlessly. Although D'Antoni didn't play the classic run-and-gun offense, he understood it. After watching two recent Warriors games, he figured out Stephen Jackson's passing lanes. Based on D'Antoni's analysis, Cheeks devised a double-teaming and interception strategy, which was incredibly effective.

Stephen Jackson committed four turnovers in the first quarter, all of which were direct steals. The Knicks' fast-paced offense took off, scoring 41-23 in the quarter.

Nelson didn't make any specific adjustments; this was the effect he wanted.

The Knicks continued their scoring spree, racking up 33 points in the second quarter and 30 points in the third, surpassing 100 points in three quarters!

In such a competitive environment, the one who benefits the most is naturally Yi Shui, who serves as the spearhead of the attack!
16 of 23 shots were made in three quarters, and he made 8 of 10 shots in fast breaks and strong offensive transitions!
Of his 16 field goals, 3 were three-pointers, plus 6 of 6 free throws, scoring a whopping 41 points!
Despite the score difference already exceeding 30 points, D'Antoni still allowed Yi Shui to continue playing.

Yi Shui didn't hold back. He immediately stole the ball from Stephen Jackson and rushed to the frontcourt, pushing past the retreating Brandon Rush for a powerful dunk... Then he almost got a dirty trick when Stephen Jackson, who had caught up, pushed him on the back. Luckily, he reacted quickly and swung around on the rim.

Yi Di is no pushover. Upon landing, he swung his elbow at Wu Sheng's chest, and the two shoved each other, almost causing a brawl. Fortunately, the referee and security personnel arrived quickly and separated the two sides.

The Martial Saint was truly enraged by the underhanded tactics. In their last encounter, Yi Shui scored 50 points, which he accepted without complaint. This time, he secured 50 points with a decisive victory and was completely convinced of the score.

But this time, the first quarter was garbage time. Scoring 40+ wasn't enough, they wanted to score another 50+?

After the conflict subsided, the referee made his call, and three players from both teams were given one technical foul each, which canceled out the previous fouls.

Stephen Jackson was ejected for a flagrant foul after pushing an opponent, giving the Knicks one free throw and possession.

Stephen Jackson caused trouble again when he walked into the player tunnel, arguing with fans above the tunnel... He's really got a temper.

In this conflict, the fans criticized the Warriors players, who were playing at home, more than the away team, Yi Shui.

After Yi Shui completed the free throw for a flagrant foul, bringing his score to 44 points, the Knicks were still on offense, so D'Antoni called a timeout and substituted Yi Shui.

Getting 50+ is great, but you can't gamble with safety. It's not like I haven't gotten 50+ before.

However, Wu Sheng's flagrant foul enraged the Knicks players. The Knicks' scoring had been gradually declining in each quarter, and based on the trend in the third quarter, they weren't sure they could score much in the final quarter. But now…

轮换上场的内特-罗宾逊、库里、大Q、哈灵顿、安德森玩儿命冲！11分半钟时间狂轰34分，加上易水的那个2+1，尼克斯队末节打出了37比26的比分。

At 11:30 p.m., the final buzzer sounded, and the score was 141 to 98, with the Knicks crushing the Warriors by 43 points!
易水24投17中，其中三分球5中3，加上7中7的罚球，拿到44分7板……外加生涯最低的单场1助攻，和最高的单场4抢断，还有1个盖帽。

Aside from Yi Shui, the Knicks' best performers tonight were Curry and Swift.

Swift scored the second-highest points on the team with 20, dominating the basket.

After Christmas, Curry's performance remained sluggish, occasionally breaking out with 15 or 20 points, but mostly underperforming Chalmers. However, starting with the game against the Suns, his shooting and passing have improved. In the last game against the Grizzlies, he scored 15 points and had 5 assists. Tonight, his performance continued to improve, scoring only 14 points but recording 10 assists! He achieved his second double-double of his rookie season!
Coincidentally, Curry's first double-double was against the Warriors, where he scored a career-high 28 points, along with a career-high 6 three-pointers and a career-high 10 assists.

After the game, Curry told Yi Shui, "I love the Warriors so much, I wish I could play against them every day."

Emperor Yi remained silent, thinking to himself: Wouldn't that drive the mad scientist to the brink of illness?
...

The next morning, the Knicks got up early and boarded the team plane at 9 a.m., as they had a back-to-back game that night.

However, with back-to-back games starting early, the players weren't too anxious. Their opponent that evening was the Clippers, only an hour's flight from Oakland, leaving plenty of time to rest at the hotel in the afternoon. After this back-to-back, they'd have two days of rest. If they won both games, they might be able to stay an extra day in Los Angeles, allowing their leader to make up for the treat he owed them during their last road trip to the West Coast.

Around noon, the Knicks checked into their hotel in Los Angeles. Instead of rushing to eat or catch up on sleep, most of the teammates flocked into Yi Shui's room and gathered around the television with him.

At 12 o'clock sharp, the NBA special program on American cable sports began.

First, the winners of the month were announced. Usually, they are announced at 9 a.m., but today was a little different.

易水连续3个月拿下东部月最佳新秀，16场比赛全勤，率队取得10胜6负，场均28.7分8.8板5.5助攻1.8抢断1.9盖帽，外加3.2失误和2.3犯规，场均投进2.2个三分球。

Derrick Rose has finally won the Western Conference Rookie of the Month award. In 15 games, he went 8-7, averaging 15.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.

Rose's performance was comparable to Roy and Durant's rookie years, but just like the Western Conference Rookie of the Month awards in the previous two months, the host who announced the award only mentioned Rose briefly, and the focus of the analysis was entirely on Yi Shui.

In January, even Wade, who topped the scoring charts, saw his scoring decline, but Yi Shui bucked the trend, increasing his monthly score by 1.2 points compared to the previous two months, raising his average score per game from 27.5 to 27.9! His assists also increased from 4.8 per game to 5.1 per game!
As for the fact that in just one month, the average number of turnovers per game soared from 2.3 to 2.6, and the monthly average of 3.2 turnovers per game... the host selectively ignored this.

Yi Shui realized the benefits of having a TV station as his boss. If he and Rose were on different teams, Yi Shui would definitely be criticized for his mistakes.

The host not only didn't mention the mistake, but also specifically mentioned that he scored 40+ twice in his last four games.

He also mentioned his conflict with Stephen Jackson last night.

Stephen Jackson was called for a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected from the game. Yi Shui delivered a solid elbow to Jackson's chest, which calmed him down, though he still harbored resentment. Had Yi Shui not reacted quickly, Jackson would have fallen flat on his backside. But for now, he put the matter aside and decided not to dwell on it. He would just elbow Jackson hard next time they faced off.

At the time, he thought it was Stephen Jackson's scoring that angered him. Now, he has discovered another reason for Stephen Jackson's anger: 4 turnovers in the first quarter, 3 turnovers in the second quarter, 4 turnovers in the third quarter... The time he stole the ball from Stephen Jackson in the final quarter was the opponent's 12th turnover in a single game, 'a record'!
The previous record for most turnovers by a Warriors player in a single game was 11, set by Tim Hardaway in December 1990 against the Spurs.

The mad scientist is really treating the Martial Saint like dirt in order to tank. If this momentum continues, the Martial Saint is definitely going to be the season's turnover king.

Coach of the Month: Eastern Conference, Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat; Western Conference, Lionel Hollins of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Most teams saw their winning percentages decline in January, but these two teams bucked the trend, with winning percentages exceeding 1% for the month. The trade that swapped Conley and Marion seems to be a win-win situation right now... Only the Wizards have planted a huge landmine.

当然也还有其他球队在1月战绩好于前俩月，但奇才队这种首月赢3场、12月赢3场、1月赢5场这种，肯定算不上提升。

月最佳球员，东部，韦德，16场比赛9胜7负，场均29.5分6.5板5助攻2抢断1.1盖帽，单月命中率达到了惊人的54.3%，其中中远距离表现最为亮眼，以43.1%命中率场均投进3个长两分、以44%命中率投进1个中距离……就是70%的罚球命中率看着贼辣眼睛。

Wade and Duncan are both puzzling players. They both had years where their mid-range shots were exceptionally good, but their free throw performances were quite low for their respective positions.

On the guard line, only one player can rival Wade's performance in mid-range shooting this month—Kobe, who averaged 2.1 long two-pointers per game with a 42% field goal percentage and 2.7 mid-range shots per game with a 45% field goal percentage.

Coincidentally, the Western Conference Player of the Month was none other than Kobe Bryant, who had a record of 10 wins and 4 losses in 14 games, averaging 25.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.

Yi Shui noticed that both players' scores and assists declined compared to the first month, but this was not due to a decline in their form, but rather to a reduction in playing time.

In the first two months, Wade averaged over 41 minutes, close to 42 minutes, but in January he only averaged 37 minutes. His ball-handling percentage also plummeted from 41%, which was slightly higher than James', to a 'safe' level of 29%, and his efficiency improved significantly. Conley's addition allowed him to return to his comfort zone.

Kobe averaged 38 minutes per game in the first two months and only 34 minutes per game in January. His shooting percentage and defensive efficiency were slightly higher than in his MVP year last season.

After the awards for Player of the Month were announced, the show that Yi Shui and his teammates really wanted to see finally arrived—Vice President Stu Jackson appeared on television to announce the All-Star starter voting results!
The All-Star starting lineup voting closed at noon on the 30th... Last night's three 40+ point games were all for nothing.

The first thing to be announced is the vote count for the defense lines in the East and West.

Among Eastern Conference guards, Wade ranked first with over 259 million votes, and Iverson ranked second with over 182 million votes.

When Stu Jackson read out Iverson's vote count, Yi Shui heard a teammate gasp softly...

Yi Jianlian patted the elementary school student on the head and said, "You're third, you lost to Iverson. Next time you face him, beat him up."

Curry ranked third among Eastern Conference guards with over 131 million votes, more than Carter with over 125 million votes and Ray Allen with over 103 million votes.

The elementary school student tilted his head and looked up at Yi Jianlian, a puzzled smile on his face: "Losing to Iverson, isn't that normal? If he hadn't switched teams midway through the season and hadn't had the ball in his hands with the Pistons, Wade's votes wouldn't have been higher than his!"

Yi: "That's not what I meant. Haven't you ever thought that if Iverson hadn't returned to the East, you could have been selected as an All-Star starter in your rookie year?"

The elementary school student's eyes widened for a moment, but then he showed a relieved expression and said, "It doesn't matter. The answer is old. He will retire one day. I am still young. I have plenty of opportunities in the future."

Yi Di: "...Okay, you're right."

Despite not winning the championship, the answer remains a memory of a generation of fans' youth, and even a generation of players' youth.

In the Western Conference, Kobe Bryant ranked first with over 311 million votes, followed by Chris Paul with over 209 million votes.

Kobe received a high number of votes, but the results were announced in the first batch, meaning he was out of contention for the top vote-getter.

After showing highlights of the four All-Star starters, Stu Jackson announced the forward vote count.

In the East, James received over 239 million votes, defeating Garnett by over 15 votes to be selected as a starter. Fourth place went to Yi Jianlian.

In the Western Conference, Duncan came in first with over 255 million votes, and Stoudemire came in second with over 139 million votes.

The competition for Western Conference forwards is fierce. Apart from Duncan being far ahead in first place, the difference between second and sixth place is less than 10 votes. Artest, Nowitzki, Gasol, and Anthony were all unfortunately left out of the starting lineup.

When Yi Shui saw that his vote count was marked with stars but not immediately announced, he knew that he had entered the 'final round'.

After the highlights of the three forwards were shown, three images appeared on the TV screen—Yi Shui, Yao Ming, and Dwight Howard.

Stu Jackson first announced Howard's vote count: 331 million votes!

Yao Ming's vote record, set a few years ago, was broken after Wade's vote count was announced. Kobe then broke it, and now Howard continues to break it.

The second to be announced was Yao Ming, with 323 million votes... eliminated.

Yi Shui thought the votes would go from low to high and he was all ready to show off, but the second vote count wasn't as high as the first one, and his clenched hands were sweating!

The teammates stopped talking and stared quietly at the TV screen; they could even hear each other breathing.

Finally, Stu Jackson announced Yi Shui's name: "Brook, 3617293 votes. Congratulations to the King of New York, Brook, for being voted the All-Star vote leader in his rookie year!"

The TV screen displayed the vote count for the third phase of Yishui. In the first two weeks, there were 97 votes, which was already quite impressive. In the second phase, there were 106 million votes in 10 days, a rapid increase. In the last 12 days, the vote count exploded, reaching 158 million votes!

(End of this chapter)