The longest river

Chapter 129 It’s time to show real skills
After the opening ceremony, both teams warmed up for the final time.

After a quick warm-up, Yang Shuai chatted with Bird on the sidelines.

Because Phil Jackson was the head coach of last year's All-Star Game, the head coach of this year's All-Star Game is the head coach of the team with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.

The Pacers performed well in the All-Star Game, finishing second by one win over the Heat. Bird also became the All-Star Game head coach in his rookie season.

So putting aside the issue of shot attempts, Yang Shuai's playing time in this All-Star game is still guaranteed.

After the warm-up, the starting All-Stars from the East and West took to the court one after another.

Western Conference: Payton, Stockton, Kemp, Malone, Olajuwon

Eastern Conference Team: Yang Shuai, Jordan, Grant Hill, Pippen, Mutombo

The West has two point guards, two power forwards, and one center, while the East has two shooting guards, two small forwards, and one center.

The starting lineups on both sides are the same in terms of numbers, but everything else is different.

However, with Hill as their playmaker, the Eastern team's game wasn't actually chaotic.

Jordan scored the first two baskets for the Eastern Conference team, but after that, he started passing the ball around.

It's quite obvious that his offensive desire isn't strong this year.

This is actually understandable.

Last year's All-Star Game MVP award made Jordan face a lot of criticism, and he will try to avoid the limelight this year no matter what.

More importantly, for Jordan, the All-Star MVP award was completely irrelevant.

If it weren't for his fan-pleasing personality, he probably would have tanked in the All-Star Game like Jimmy Butler did.

However, Pippen's offensive desire was exceptionally strong this time.

Before Jordan retired, including last year, Jordan could only sideline him if he wanted him.

Now that he's finally in a cohort where Jordan has no ideas, he has to put in his best effort.

Jordan also became a doting brother, feeding Pippen the ball whenever he had the chance.

Don't underestimate Jordan's passing ability. He was also the kind of player who could put up 30+8+8 averages per game if he really wanted to be a ball-handling carry.

Pippen is eating and drinking well right now, and he really seems to be aiming for the All-Star MVP award.

However, all of this changed after the rotation began.

It's true that Jordan doted on Pippen, but the rest of the Eastern Conference team wouldn't tolerate it.

In fact, their mentality is exactly the same as Pippen's.

When Jordan was around, they couldn't compete with him or get the prize easily. Now that Jordan is gone, they're naturally swarming in.

In situations like this, Pippen's inability to hold the ball becomes a significant disadvantage.

At halftime, the East team was surprisingly trailing the West team 58-66.

This scene is very similar to the AAU Championship finals that Yang Shuai played in back then. Although the East team was obviously more talented, when everyone was thinking about their own points, they were not as good as the weaker team.

Furthermore, the Western Conference team had a surprise player in the first half: Latrell Sprewell from the Warriors, who scored 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

Sprewell is averaging 24.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game this season, both career highs.

The Cleveland fans in the stadium found the first half of the game rather dull.

This year's East team not only lacked entertainment value, but their most anticipated player, Yang Shuai, barely had any chance to shoot in the first half.

Fortunately, there was a ceremony during halftime this year to announce the league's 50 greatest players.

Legendary superstars who were once famous in the NBA, such as Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, all came to the scene.

Yang Shuai was quite excited during this segment, especially when he saw Chamberlain.

Even in his previous life, he had never seen any footage of General Zhang, so seeing him in person now was a very strange feeling.

Having confirmed his physique, he is indeed capable of killing 20,000 people.

After the ceremony, the All-Stars and superstars began chatting, and reporters seized the opportunity to take photos and pose for pictures.

Yang Shuai took the opportunity to take a photo with Chamberlain during this segment.

However, he actually talked the most with Isaiah Thomas.

This time he could tell Thomas and Dumas apart; the two guys looked very different.

Thomas was very enthusiastic towards him, which was obvious, after all, Yang Shuai had dealt a heavy blow to his enemy Malone.

Moreover, after the conversation, he gave Yang Shuai a suggestion: play more in the second half.

He could sense that the fans in the stadium wanted to see him play more.

Yang Shuai thought his suggestion made sense, so he ran up to Jordan.

"Michael, pass me the ball more often in the second half."

Jordan was chatting with Bill Russell when he heard this and was completely stunned.

"It's not that I want to play, it's that the fans want to see me play."

Yang Shuai is quite direct.

Russell, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Yang Shuai witnessed a scene he had never seen before in his life. In his memory, Russell was only a solemn "old man," but now he looked a bit funny.

Jordan thought for a moment and nodded. He was best at pleasing the audience, so he naturally knew what the fans wanted to see.

The game resumed in the second half.

Malone immediately smashed a shot into the hole.

Perhaps due to the boos from the fans, Malone had a cold shooting night, making only 2 out of 8 shots, including the one just now.

The ball was a long backboard, and it bounced into Jordan's hands.

Just then, a huge cheer erupted from the crowd.

Yang Shuai has crossed the center line!

Knowing he was isolated, Yang Shuai not only had few opportunities to receive the ball in the first half, but also showed little desire to attack.

This is normal. After all, if you know you can't receive the ball even if you run, why waste your energy?

Upon seeing this, Jordan immediately delivered a long swing. Jordan isn't the type to agree and then go back on his word.

Payton will be matched up against Jordan, so Yang Shuai will be matched up against Stockton, an old acquaintance, on the court.

Seeing Yang Shuai launch a fast break, Stockton immediately gave up. He didn't want to have to eat Yang Shuai's braised pork knuckle again at the All-Star game.

Amid cheers from the fans, Yang Shuai made a solo run down the court and leaped high for his signature gliding tomahawk dunk.

That moment ignited the Gund Arena.

What they had been waiting for finally arrived in the second half of the game!
James was also incredibly excited at that moment, so he stood up from his seat and started shouting through a megaphone.

Yang Shuai caught a glimpse of James out of the corner of his eye at that moment.

He hadn't seen James in a long time, and it was only at this moment that he remembered him.

Yang Shuai's dunk ignited the passion of the fans in the arena and also stirred up the emotions of the East team.

The AMVP award is something to be fought for, but if you can't win the game, then no one can get it.

Moreover, it's actually quite simple to defend against this Western Army.

With three big men and two point guards, only Stockton is reliable from three-point range, so the best approach is to simply collapse the defense.

Payton was left wide open, and his subsequent missed shot proved that the Eastern Conference's defensive strategy was correct.

However, this time Payton retreated quickly, preventing Yang Shuai from launching another fast break.

Moreover, when the offensive and defensive positions were switched, the western troops, seeing the eastern troops' serious defense, also began to fight seriously.

The fans at the scene instantly became excited.

The All-Star Game is an entertainment event; you can't expect them to really fight the whole game, but the parts where they do fight are the most exciting part of the game.

Once the Western troops got serious, their disadvantages on the offensive end instantly turned into advantages.

With three big men, all tall and long-armed, plus two defensive stalwarts on the perimeter, it won't be easy for you to score by driving to the basket.

Jordan had no choice but to take a three-pointer himself, but having not shot for a long time, his touch was off and he failed to make the shot.

Turning back, Malone made a mistake when he tried to drive to the basket and was helped by Jordan.

Although neither side scored in a row, the competition on the court was very entertaining.

Just then, Yang Shuai waved to Hill for the ball as soon as he crossed halfway.

Hill is a black-skinned but white-hearted man; he disdains to isolate Yang Shuai along with others.

Of course, he only interacted with Yang Shuai on the court as an opponent, and he didn't have any good feelings towards Yang Shuai.

However, since Jordan had already passed the ball, he followed suit.

After receiving the ball, Yang Shuai crossed half-court and shot it from a meter away from the three-point line.

Stockton on the other side didn't even have time to react.

Or rather, even if he realized it, it was too late; the size difference between the two meant he didn't have many options for dealing with that kind of ball.

Moreover, this is the All-Star Game, so he can't possibly use his best defensive style.

Is Yang Shuai in good form right now?
Actually, he didn't know either, since he didn't warm up like he does in a regular game before the match, and he barely took any shots in the first half.

But that's not important.

The important thing is that the fans want to see him make a shot.

Moreover, it's impossible to drive in at this point, so shooting a three-pointer is the obvious choice.

Therefore, Yang Shuai had no psychological burden at all when he made this move.

"Shh!"

With a crisp sound, Yang Shuai's three-pointer came down.

A shot taken without pressure is the one most likely to go in!

The fans in the stadium erupted in cheers.

Yang Shuai scored 5 points in a row at the start of the second half!
After seeing the ball go in, Yang Shuai also made his signature "yang gun" three-point celebration move.

Now he can be sure that his touch is on point.

Payton continued his three-point shooting spree, and this time he was lucky; the ball banked in.

The score difference remains at 6 points.

Pippen then forced Hill to give him the ball and drove to the basket, but his shot was immediately blocked by Hakeem Olajuwon.

Jordan got the ball.

Then he saw Yang Shuai waving from the outside and immediately passed the ball to him.

Yang Shuai received the ball at the top of the arc, and he was standing even further out than before, right on the logo.

Stockton took a step back after seeing this, as he was guarding against Yang Shuai's potential pull-up three-pointer after a drive, knowing that Yang Shuai was capable of that.

However, to his surprise, or rather to all the players and spectators present, Yang Shuai did not intend to drive to the basket; he simply shot.

He just threw it directly at the logo!
Who the hell would shoot a three-pointer from that position?!

But Yang Shuai did just that.

That was the small goal he mentioned to reporters before the match.

Since the All-Star Game is an exhibition event, it's natural that some performance-related activities should be included.

Amidst the gasps of the fans, the basketball, like an anti-aircraft gun, traced a long parabola through the air.

"Uh-huh!"

It went straight through the net.

The fans at the scene were in disbelief for a moment.

At that moment, Yang Shuai raised his hands and made a two-handed version of the "yang gun" celebration gesture.

comfortable!
The fans at the stadium went completely wild.

(End of this chapter)