In the 1998 All-Star Weekend, Li You finally became the biggest winner!
The young players are like lemons, but an old guy is unhappy, and on the surface he has to praise him generously and show off his superstar style:
"It's great to see young players making their mark on the All-Star stage. Congratulations to Lee, he played the performance that fans expect."
Michael Jordan smiled in an interview after the game, showing that he didn't value the trophy.
It's just that some New York media captured some photos, but the content is not what McQueen said.
When David Stern presented the award to Li You, the old guy couldn't hide the look in his eyes!
With 10 of 16 shots, McQueen took the most shots in the Eastern All-Star team, scoring 23 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 turnovers. This performance is also leading to MVP!
Kobe, who was frequently looked after by McDuck on the court, also had the illusion that I was the protagonist.
It wasn’t until the awards ceremony was held after the game that Kobe Bryant realized he was overthinking
Li You did a lot of things that offended people, but at the press conference after the game, he was still happy:
"Michael Jordan is not the Sun. Who stipulates that everyone must circle around him?"
"It's none of my business if Maiqun is unhappy!"
Li You stopped pretending, pretending to be the boss of my home court, and accepted the interview in a carefree manner:
"At 20 years and 39 days old, Lee, congratulations on becoming the youngest MVP in the history of the NBA All-Star Game!"
"Can you talk about the Knicks' record after the All-Star break? Will we still be No. 1?"
The reporters of the New York Post are also in a state of winning awards and smiling, no need to worry about tomorrow's news!
"The record is not important. After the All-Star Game, of course we will still maintain the number one position."
"We need to have home court advantage throughout the playoffs. I mean, we also need to have home court advantage in the finals!"
"To achieve this goal, the whole team will go all out!"
Li You's serious answer made the New York media in the audience laugh:
"We're going to the finals!"
The more I blew it, the better it became. Soon someone asked cheerfully:
"Lee, you have a chance to win the MVP this season. What are your expectations for this award?"
Although he is currently ranked first in the MVP rankings, Li You is not optimistic about himself. He has scored too few points:
"I'm not a scorer! As a point guard on the court, I hope to drive my teammates!"
"Of course, if there is an opportunity to exchange the crystal trophy for a bronze trophy, I will gladly accept it."
Li You answered with a smile. The New York media in the audience laughed again, and some reporters were speechless.
Not a scorer, Li You became the youngest player in NBA history to score 1,000 points and the youngest player in history to score 2,000 points.
Although this small achievement is not important, everyone has reported it. Seeing the two groups of people exchanging business bragging on the stage and off, some Chicago media said sourly in a low voice:
"The Bulls will defend their title successfully"
There is still one day off after the All-Star Weekend, and many teams have made some moves.
On the Knicks side, several members of the atmosphere team signed contracts until the end of the season, barely gaining a foothold in the team.
The Pistons changed their head coach and Alvin Gentry officially took over.
After the 76ers sent away Jerry Stackhouse, who failed to compete for the boss, in December, they used their 1998 second-round pick after the All-Star break to acquire Eric Snow from the SuperSonics.
On the morning of February 9, Li You looked at these familiar names, and some memories in his mind were activated again.
Driving to the training facility in the afternoon, Li You just arrived at the locker room and found Larry Johnson with a constipated expression on his face.
"Are you having a back injury? Are you still training during the holidays?"
"Auntie" heard Li You's words and complained helplessly:
"I just moved my body a little bit. Who knew this would happen in the end."
Alan Houston took advantage of these few days of vacation to fly to Miami with his family for vacation.
Life is bigger than basketball. During this rare vacation, it is natural to enjoy life first.
"Fortunately, the schedule is not tight, and it's no problem to take a few breaks!"
After the number of shots increased, Alan Houston also found confidence. He has the confidence to support the team's offense.
As everyone came to the training hall, the noise became more and more loud, and everyone congratulated Li You for winning the award.
Jeff Van Gundy's feet were shaking, and it seemed that he had not yet recovered from the great joy. The bald young coach got angry at this year's All-Star Game. Seeing that McDuck was not happy, he became happy:
"Get into the state as soon as possible. We have to be nervous and strive to maintain the number one position in the league!"
The bald young coach started nagging and giving out chicken soup again. Although the team did not strengthen the inside as he hoped, there was no point in complaining at this time. He could only firmly believe that persistence was victory.
In the first week after the All-Star break, the Knicks have a total of 3 games to play.
Jeff Van Gundy and the coaching staff were originally worried that the players would not be able to enter the state as early as possible, but as the game progressed, all worries disappeared.
After easily defeating the Hornets and Magic, on the night of the 15th, New York fans witnessed the sudden explosion of Alan Houston at Madison Square Garden!
91:104, in the game against the Cavaliers, Alan Houston played 36 minutes, made 12 of 18, 4 of 6 from beyond the three-point line, 8 of 10 free throws, and scored 36 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers. .
It was almost a three-quarter game, coupled with Alan Houston's efficient performance, the New York fans at the scene were in high spirits!
After the game, the two people in the MSG commentary box also took the opportunity to interview some Alan Houston.
Knicks legend Walter Frazier asked the question with a smile:
"With a shooting percentage of over 60% and 30+ goals, I think the fans are very curious about how you maintain your hot streak?"
Alan Houston, who has played efficiently in several consecutive games, answered confidently:
"I just play according to the tactical requirements. As long as I run to the designated position in time, I can get the pass. The rest of the job is to send the ball into the basket."
"Lee is an excellent commander and can always find an offensive rhythm that suits us. I only need to think about scoring. This is the secret to my efficient game!"
"."
In this game, Li You scored a huge double-double with 20 points, 3 rebounds, 16 assists, 1 steal and 2 turnovers. His offensive coordination became more and more skillful, and his statistics began to rise a bit.
During the subsequent road trip to the Western Conference, the Knicks' record fluctuated. They first lost back-to-back games to the Jazz, and then after returning home on Sunday, they lost to the Rockets, a combination of the aging Big Three.
Just as Jeff Van Gundy worried, Chris Dudley's pie-eating skills are average, and he doesn't have a good way to defend against star inside players.
In the previous away game, he fouled out in 21 minutes, but tonight he was beaten by Olajuwon and Barkley, who returned from injury.
Although they lost two games, New York fans didn't care because their opponents also lost.
The Pacers first lost to the Mavericks, and then lost to the Bulls and Magic.
After the All-Star Game, the Knicks relied on their stable ability to beat the odds and win another game.
On the night of the 22nd, after the game, commentator Mike Breen suddenly sighed and said:
"Pippen is officially back, the Bulls haven't lost a game yet, and the defending champions are still very strong!"
After the All-Star Game, most teams began to sprint for the record. Not only the Bulls, but also the Jazz became more and more courageous as they fought. Karl Malone won the Player of the Week again.
Walter Frazier is not worried about the Knicks' situation. It is normal for a team that focuses on the outside to have fluctuations in touch. What he values more is Li You's performance:
"After the All-Star Game, Lee's condition is getting better and better, with assists in double figures in 4 consecutive games."
"The new tactical system created by coach Van Gundy is working."
"Spread the offensive space, reduce the low post, move the ball faster, and have more transition attacks."
"Although there are still some rebounding issues that need to be solved, I believe we can maintain our current ranking!"
Oakley was not in a good mood after losing to the Rockets, but facing Olajuwon and Barkley, who were in declining condition, the Knicks' inside line still couldn't withstand it:
"The winning gap is being narrowed. The Bulls are about to surpass the Pacers. I know McDuck will not give up."
Oakley's words caused the atmosphere team to start talking again. They thought that the opponent was dead, but they didn't expect that at the end of the season, the Bulls started to exert their strength.
"We still have a chance. As long as we can get the first place in the Eastern Conference, the schedule will become very easy."
"The second place is the Bulls, and they will probably meet the Pacers in the semifinals. I like to see such a matchup!"
Li You returned to his seat and drew a cake for everyone.
The 19-game winning streak at the beginning of the new season has worked. The first place in the Eastern Conference is too important. Li You doesn't want to meet the Pacers.
Without defending for three seconds, the opponent's two big men are matched with an outside shooter who can run. The internal and external balance is very difficult to deal with.
If you want to accumulate advantages in the playoffs, you have to start from the regular season. Everyone in the Knicks also knows that this is the critical moment:
“It’s time to fight to keep first place!”
In the last two games of February, the Knicks, who returned home, did not waste any more opportunities and defeated the Warriors and Bucks by big scores.
On the night of the 26th, the Bucks lost by a big score, but Ray Allen played a full 48 minutes.
The Bucks' record has fluctuated since All-Star point guard Terrell Brandon was injured.
After losing tonight, they have 28 wins and 28 losses, and have fallen to the 10th place in the Eastern Conference.
Ray Allen also assumed certain organizational tasks tonight.
It was just that the tactical intentions in some rounds were too obvious and the quality of the ball was not high. In the end, 7 turnovers were made.
On the morning of the 27th, Li You was able to entertain his friends at home.
The Bucks have had a very relaxed schedule recently, with three games a week, and the coaching staff also took the opportunity to let the players move freely in New York.
Ray Allen looked enviously when he saw the trophy in Li You's study. After entering the league, he had not won an award yet.
"Mark suggests that you switch to a big ball market. Milwaukee's exposure is worse than imagined!"
"Honestly, it's the better choice."
Agent Mark Bartelstein proposed letting Ray Allen leave Milwaukee not long ago, and Li You also felt that this was a credible move.
Seemingly impressed by his status as a core player this season, Ray Allen spoke in a relaxed tone and refused:
"I still want to stay with the Bucks. I have more playing time and my numbers have gone up a lot this season. I don't want to leave Milwaukee."
With such a straightforward refusal, Li You felt that the brothers would never be able to play basketball:
"If you want to enter the playoffs, you have to stabilize your record first. If you lose again, you will be out."
Ray Allen also knew that the Bucks' record was beginning to decline, but looking at these trophies, he felt motivated again:
"Any team has its downturns. This is also an experience. Trust the process."
In the last week of February, the Spurs went 3-1 and Tim Duncan was named Player of the Week.
He averaged 24.0 points, 13.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 4.3 blocks and 4.3 turnovers per game, shooting 47.9% from the field and 74.3% from the free throw line.
Duncan has won the Rookie of the Month award since entering the league, and the rookie wall does not exist at all.
San Antonio fans are very happy about this. With talent that is visible to the naked eye, Duncan is their future!
ESPN's program also took advantage of this popularity and announced Li You's February data, preparing for a comparison with Duncan.
The Knicks achieved a record of 9 wins and 3 losses in February. Li You played 34.5 minutes per game, averaging 21.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 10.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.3 turnovers per game;
He averaged 15.7 shots per game and shot 47.4% from the field. He took 6.4 shots per game from beyond the three-point line and shot 39.7% from three-point range. He averaged 4.2 free throws per game and made 89.7% of his free throws.
After winning the three-point shooting competition, it still had some influence on Li You. Everyone wanted to increase the intensity of the championship.
In February, Li You averaged 20+10 per game, but was surpassed by Michael Jordan in the MVP rankings.
"Lee is very good, and the Knicks also have a great record, but the Bulls have a winning streak and have now narrowed the winning gap."
43 wins and 16 losses. At the end of February, the Bulls are pursuing strongly, while the Knicks currently have a record of 43 wins and 12 losses.
On the TV, ESPN's sports commentator was crazy about the Bulls. While watching the show, Li You silently calculated:
"The schedule is relatively tight, but 60+ wins is not a big problem!"
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(End of chapter)
