68. Chapter 68: Pretend to be X during the All-Star Weekend (10,000-word chapter)(3/4)
In the transition attack, his right hand circled the ball with one hand and turned around with a top, and Li Yousao completed the basket!
After a horizontal cut, Li You received the ball from the right wing outside the three-point line, and Li You made a three-pointer with a drift.
It wasn't until during an offense that a jump shot from the elbow area on the right side of the free throw line was interfered by Kobe and knocked out of the frame, Li You finally ended his performance temporarily.
With 11 minutes and 31 seconds left in the first half, with Iverson's two free throws, the Eastern Conference rookie team already led by 10 points at 22:12.
Taking advantage of the free throw, rookie John Wallace also replaced Li You.
The excited audience saw Li You return to the bench. They first sighed with regret, and then cheered. Tonight's game was much better than the previous three Rookie Challenges!
The future No. 1 center in the Western Conference, Eric Dampier, who was sitting on the bench, took the opportunity to get close to Li You and smiled softly:
"I can guarantee that as long as you wave and give them some opportunities, these chicks will automatically crawl into your bed tonight!"
Li You, who returned to his seat, followed his gaze and found that it was the cheerleader girl who was performing the warm-up performance and waved to this side:
"I'll leave this opportunity to you. After playing a few beautiful dunks, these girls will definitely fall in love with you!"
The girls on the cheerleading team have too thick thighs, and they are all considered little tanks. Although Li You is used to the culture of players talking about sex, he really has no interest in driving a tank.
The game continued, and the Eastern Conference rookie team also replaced Iverson and replaced Corey Kidders;
On the bench of the Western Conference rookie team, Steve Nash and Derek Fisher also appeared, and Li You became familiar with more and more faces.
Perhaps it was the performance of Li You and Iverson after the opening that raised the expectations of the fans at the scene. During the rotation time, the newcomers who came on the stage played a bit boring, and the atmosphere cooled down again.
The rookie Kobe Bryant scored consecutive points at this time and stood on the free throw line in several rounds. However, the point difference gradually widened, and the rookies in the Eastern Conference played more methodically.
With 4 minutes and 01 seconds left in the first half, Li You and Iverson came on the court again, and the fans cheered loudly. The two lived up to expectations and took turns scoring points.
After Iverson made several lateral cuts, he either shot a jumper directly or broke through and headed towards the basket.
Using the same tactics, Li You is more focused on attracting the defense, finding Dampier who is passing down or John Wallace who is staying on the baseline, and strives to make everyone score.
At halftime, 56:36, the score difference had reached 20 points.
The strength gap between the two sides is very obvious. In the Western Conference rookie team, only Rasim scores the most consistently. Kobe and his teammates on the court are not on the same channel. Everyone is doing their own thing.
In the second half of the game, the rookie team from the Eastern Conference was in a state of high spirits. Everyone's defensive enthusiasm remained undiminished. As long as the opponent hit the iron, they would run wild after collecting rebounds.
Steve Nash, who took the lead in the second half, played a pick-and-roll with Rasim at the top of the key. Iverson squeezed through the screen and staggered Nash, who was holding the ball in his left hand.
Li You saw the opportunity on the left side, suddenly rushed forward, and completed the steal face to face. Seeing that Iverson had already rushed, he immediately threw the ball forward, and at the same time, he also exerted force with his feet and quickly rushed through the center line.
Seeing the movement behind him, Iverson began to slow down through the three-point line, and then threw the ball toward the backboard.
The basketball rebounded and flew into the air. Li You rushed to the paint area, jumped up, grabbed the ball with both hands, quickly rolled the ball in front of him, and slammed the basket with both hands!
"Boom!" Alley-oop dunk succeeded!
The fans at the scene cheered loudly, but Iverson just pointed at the basket pretending to be X, indicating to Li You that he owed him an assist.
The dunk action was not graceful and stretchy enough, but the audience didn't mind and still cheered for the beautiful coordination.
Alan Houston, who was sitting in the front row cheering for Li You, noticed that Ewing beside him was not in a high mood and said casually:
"Pat, take this opportunity to have a good rest and don't worry about the team's record. Although Li is only 19 years old, he plays very cautiously."
"To be honest, I don't want to fall to fourth place at all. If we meet the Bulls in the semifinals, that would be the worst situation."
Ewing, who was dressed in formal attire, said nothing, just nodded, and subconsciously supported his knee with his right hand.
He originally planned to come back immediately after the All-Star Game, but the coaching staff and teammates advised him to take a good rest.
Holtzman, who coached the Western Conference Rookie Team, didn't watch the score. He sat on the bench and acted like a spectator, laughing. The same was true for Cardinal Auerbach on the other side. The two of them came to watch the game tonight.
Seeing that there was no hope of chasing points, the game time passed, and both sides began to make large-scale substitutions. All the new players selected were given the opportunity to play.
In the end, 97:86, the Eastern Rookie Team successfully won the fourth Rookie Challenge.
The game was quite exciting, at least the spectators who bought tickets felt that they were not at a loss. After the game, the noise in the arena did not diminish at all.
However, the MVP selection process after the game was difficult. The Eastern Conference rookie team scored relatively evenly.
Li You played 24 minutes, shooting 7 of 10, 1 of 2 from beyond the three-point line, 2 of 2 free throws, 17 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 steal.
Iverson made 7 of 11 shots, 2 of 2 free throws, 16 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers. Marcus Camby had 18 points and 12 rebounds.
"The commander of the Eastern Rookie Team, he controls the rhythm of the game excellently. The MVP of the fourth Rookie Challenge is Clay-Lee!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we have witnessed a new record together!"
The host will remove the microphone and hand the silver trophy to Li You.
Witnessed by nearly 20,000 spectators at the scene, the trophy was lifted high by Li You, and the Gund Stadium once again burst into loud cheers. Obviously, the fans also liked this stunt.
Seeing Li You smiling and raising his glass, Iverson on the side showed an indifferent expression. Ray Allen and Knight were applauding vigorously. At this time, no one cared about Kobe, who was standing at the back of the crowd with red eyes.
The rookie Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 31 points. When everyone gave up on the game, he still insisted on playing and tried hard to chase points, but in the end he got nothing:
"I'll win it back!"
On the morning of February 9th, in just one night, the wonderful goal in the All-Star Rookie Challenge became popular across the United States. Li You, who had successfully pretended to be X, was on TV again.
The young Kobe Bryant, who held his breath, defeated Chris Carr and Michael Finley in the subsequent dunk contest and was successfully elected as the dunk king!
In the three-point shooting contest, Steve Kerr no longer accompanied him. He scored 22 points in the finals and finally won the three-point shooting contest after accompanying him for many years.
It's just that compared to these individual events and fancy dribblings and beautiful alley-oop dunks, they are a little less interesting, and the discussion among fans has also been reduced by half.
But as the All-Star Game is about to begin, the focus is once again on Michael Jordan!
After refusing the press conference, Michael Jordan did not accept an interview and was still playing golf with his friends, which made many media very angry:
Come out and make a sound!
After the afternoon makeup photo shoot was completed, Michael Jordan still didn't say a word.
It wasn't until the start of the All-Star game that night that McQueen seemed to have gotten the news and showed a smile in the locker room.
Facts have proven that when the NBA encounters superstars like Michael Jordan, it will turn into a bitch, and the league eventually takes the lead in compromising.
Li You can pretend to be X at will in the Rookie Challenge, but in the All-Star Game, he will be treated the same as the rookie Garnett:
"Just call me Xiao Li."
When the makeup photos were taken in the afternoon, only Grant Hill and Mutombo took the initiative to say hello, while everyone else ignored the youngest Li You.
Li You was already prepared for such a situation. He was not interested in trying to get close to anyone. He would complete the alliance's filming mission and leave immediately.
The second-year Garnett was treated better than Li You, but the old guy who started in the Western Conference All-Stars didn't pay any attention to him.
These old guys have a strong sense of hierarchy. The boss talks to the boss. Even if Pippen wins 4 championships, some people still look down on him:
"It's just a hugger!"
Before the All-Star game started in the evening, as McQueen's mood improved, the atmosphere in the Eastern All-Star locker room also improved, and everyone started chatting and spanking.
"Dunk? Michael never dunked on me!"
"What I said is true. Maybe Pippen can vouch for me!"
Mutombo, who was having his feet tied, teased Michael Jordan, who had already changed into his team uniform. The latter looked surprised, laughed and shook his head and said:
"Man, stop talking, you know the consequences of irritating me!"
"I've definitely dunked on you. I've dunked on every center in the league. Pat, am I right?"
Youying, who had also changed his jersey, had already put on his jacket. When he heard Michael Jordan's joke, he immediately said angrily:
"I believe Dikambe, he never lies!"
The big guys were chatting aside, but Li You could only act as a transparent person in the locker room. He was so famous last night, but today he is just standing there like a minion.
Michael Jordan seemed to have just remembered that this year's All-Star Li You had broken a record, and turned around and shouted:
"Lee, how many points do you plan to score tonight? Don't worry, I won't target rookie players like that bastard Thomas, but I suggest you pass the ball more!"
"Trust me, this is definitely good advice!"
Noticing that everyone was looking at him, Li You shrugged his shoulders and said nonchalantly:
"Give me enough playing time, and I will get an AMVP by the way. If the playing time is less than 10 minutes, I will consider your suggestion!"
Everyone in the locker room laughed. The rookie still wants to win the trophy?
"Okay, don't embarrass my little brother, Mike. Remember to give him more opportunities. You can't end the All-Star Game with zero points."
Seeing Ewing speaking for Li You, Michael Jordan restrained his smile and said seriously:
"Lee can score, but I don't want to see the rookie on the opposite side score easily. Listen, give him some color, and get serious!"
All the sycophants patted their chests and promised that tonight, the cute Garnett, don't even think about scoring easily.
The Gund Arena was packed that night. As the highlight of this year's All-Star Weekend, fans could not wait to see the top 50 superstars.
There were many fans supporting Li You at the scene, and there were cheers when he came out, but when Michael Jordan came on the stage, he immediately stole everyone's limelight.
The All-Star Game started, and Li You sat obediently on the bench.
Perhaps because he played too much golf, Michael Jordan felt average after the start and focused more on organizing offense.
The game was quite exciting, but Li You was distracted, watching Mai button up and wearing X, which was quite boring.
To be continued...