Tonight, by coaching the star team, Wang Shuo gained a deeper understanding of the world.
In the NBA, if a coach has not read "Emotional Intelligence" well, no matter how strong his tactical theory level is, he is destined to be ruined.
On the court, with the outstanding performance of Iverson and Tracy McGrady in the first half, the Eastern Stars entered the second half with a 13-point lead.
In the first half, Tracy McGrady, whose playing time was second only to Iverson, responded to Wang Shuo's trust in him with actions.
He made 7 of 11 shots in the half and scored 17 points for the Eastern Stars, both in scoring and shooting percentage, both higher than Kobe. (Maddie: Is this the starter for the Western Conference Stars?)
After the halftime break, Adelman, who was always slow to react, replaced Nash and Nowitzki, trying to chase points by speeding up the game.
As a result, this move suited Wang Shuo's plan.
Because in the absence of tacit understanding and running-in between both sides, chaos is obviously more beneficial to the Eastern Stars' group of outside stars.
In the third quarter, Ray Allen, Pierce, and Hamilton teamed up to give the Eastern Stars a nearly 30-point lead.
At the Wachovia Center, watching Allen Iverson score "20+15" after the first three quarters, 76ers fans always felt that tonight's Iverson was different from what they usually see. Only Iverson seems different.
Of course it’s different!
Iverson's offensive ability is truly astonishing, but his height of "183" means that he cannot have the finishing efficiency like Jordan.
In Wang Shuo's view, if you want to maximize Iverson's assault ability, you must equip him with a group of high-quality shooters on the wings.
As a basketball player who played "quarterback", you can question Iverson's organizational ability, but you absolutely cannot doubt his vision.
In Wang Shuo's eyes, Larry Brown's use of Iverson was simply a waste of resources.
Yes, Brown's Iverson can score.
Then what?
Four of his teammates were just stupid enough to stand and watch him play in singles?
Tonight, Iverson is blessed.
Because this Eastern Conference star team lacks everything except outside shooters.
In addition, Ray Allen and Hamilton's "double mad dog moves" on the court also consumed the physical fitness of Kobe and other Western Conference star players to a certain extent.
On the court, Iverson almost made an assist with a pass.
Moreover, if you want to attack, you still have top pick-and-roll masters like Gasol and O'Neal to cover you.
That night, since Brown coached the 76ers, this was the first time Iverson felt that scoring on the basketball court was such an easy and enjoyable thing.
In the final quarter of the game, looking at Iverson with a smile on his face, Wang Shuo decisively left Ray Allen, Hamilton and Tracy McGrady on the court, and used O'Neal Jr. to play center, playing one senior and four juniors.
"If you receive a pass from Allen, I hope you will all take action as soon as possible." Before the start of the final quarter, Wang Shuo said to Ray Allen, Hamilton, McGrady and O'Neal.
Hearing this, the four young people who knew that Iverson was only 6 assists away from breaking Johnson's record tonight nodded immediately.
Tonight, everyone knows who is the owner of this arena.
And at this time, there can’t really be people with such low emotional intelligence that they don’t want the beauty of adulthood, right?
Oh, there really is!
But it's okay.
Because after noticing that Carter didn't really want to cooperate with Iverson to get assists, Wang Shuo planned to wait until Iverson finished getting the assist data before sending Carter to a decisive battle with Kobe.
On the court, in the final quarter, the first offensive round of the Western Stars team, which used Duncan to partner with Webb, was easily won by this inside combination.
Duncan, who was able to forcefully resolve and coordinate, really made Wang Shuo unable to find any blind spots.
In the future, some people will always say that if there is Joe, choose Joe, and if there is no Joe, choose Shaq. But if it were Wang Shuo, he would choose to build the team around Duncan or Olajuwon without Jordan.
Because compared to O'Neal, who also likes teammates, Duncan and Olajuwon's styles and characteristics determine it. As long as you choose these two brothers, you can basically be a coach for 20 years.
Back, the Eastern Stars attacked, and Iverson assisted Ray Allen for a three-pointer.
On the sidelines, Adelman looked helpless when he saw this scene.
Because it is the All-Star Game, no matter how much Adelman emphasizes to these stars, the defensive level of this game cannot be too high.
Originally, as usual, everyone would have a real fight in the fourth quarter of the All-Star Game.
But no matter what, after the first three quarters tonight, the Eastern Stars already have a big lead.
In the final quarter, the only highlights of this All-Star Game are whether Iverson can break the All-Star Game single-game assist record set by "Magic" that year and the feud between Kobe and McGrady.
At the Wachovia Center, amid the cheers of Iverson's hometown crowd in Philadelphia, he assisted Tracy McGrady for a dunk with 6 minutes and 45 seconds left in the final quarter. After officially completing his surpassing "Magic" Johnson, Wang Shuo decisively used Carter replaced the Philadelphia hero, leaving the stage to the two cousins of Camai and Kobe.
In front of the TV, the fans who thought the hot chicken time would be boring suddenly became interested in continuing to watch the game.
In the end, 127 to 154, the Eastern Stars at home successfully won this year's Star Weekend with a 27-point advantage.
After the game, Iverson, who scored 21 points and added 23 assists for the Eastern Stars, was awarded the MVP of this year's All-Star Weekend.
It was during the interview that Iverson, who always had something to say, bluntly expressed his gratitude to head coach Wang Shuo.
Well, now Wang Shuo can roughly guess how Brown will evaluate Iverson when he leaves Philadelphia in the future.
For example, "cannot be trained", "never trains", "selfish", "cancer of the team"...
Anyway, based on Wang Shuo's understanding of Brown, Iverson will definitely not get any positive comments from Brown in the future.
In addition to Iverson, Wang Shuo also accepted an interview after the game.
A reporter asked him what he thought of O'Neal's performance of only 4 points and 4 rebounds in this game. In response, Wang Shuo laughed and said: "It's just an All-Star game. No one will take it seriously, not to mention Shaq tonight." Only played for 10 minutes?"
Wang Shuo will not take advantage of tonight to insult O'Neal, because in the NBA, using the All-Star game to insult the opponent's players is an extremely disrespectful thing.
But O'Neal, who has always been cautious, will not be grateful to Wang Shuo for this.
In an interview with reporters in Los Angeles after the game, O'Neal, who was in an extremely bad mood, said: "The day after tomorrow, I will let people know who is the real supercar!"
Everyone was happy during the Philadelphia Star Weekend, but O'Neal was the only one who was unhappy!
Wait!
The day after tomorrow, I will use my dominance on the court to tell the world what price it costs to offend Shaq!
…
Although I don't want to admit it.
But on the 12th, when Wang Shuo led his team into the Staples Center...
Looking at the thirteen championship flags fluttering in the wind on the dome and the retired jerseys, Wang Shuo still had to admit:
Compared with the Los Angeles Lakers, all other teams in the NBA can really only be regarded as "country teams."
Since acquiring the Lakers in 1979, Jerry Buss's business achievements have long become a model for the industry.
In the future, the "New York Times" evaluation of Jerry Buss will be enough to summarize the life of the most powerful owner in NBA history:
It wasn't Los Angeles that made the Lakers, but Jerry Buss made the Lakers.
no doubt.
Under Jerry Buss, the Lakers have become the only giant in the NBA.
Even if there are still more championship banners at the North Shore Garden Arena than this Lakers at this moment.
But no matter in terms of topicality or commercial value, the Celtics cannot compete with this Lakers.
And tonight, what the Washington Wizards have to face is this, the strongest Lakers since the "Show.Time" era.
Note that it is the strongest in every sense.
At this time in 2002, no one would doubt that O'Neal would become the strongest center in NBA history when the final decision was made.
At this time in 2002, no one would doubt that Phil Jackson was the best head coach in the NBA today.
Similarly, no one will doubt that the Lakers will dominate the world this season and complete the great cause of the Zijin Dynasty.
Only, the Washington Wizards are here tonight.
But even so, at this moment, except for Jordan and Wang Shuo, can the other Wizards coaches and players really believe that they can overturn the Lakers' dominance of the NBA on this night?
Wang Shuo knew that compared to defeating the Lakers tonight, what the Wizards need to do is probably to get over the hurdle in their own hearts first.
As future Real Madrid star Modric said in an interview.
Before the start of each game, he always felt that the opponent was stronger than his own, but when he looked back and saw the team logo on his chest clearly, he would realize that no matter how terrifying the opponent was, it was nothing more than this, because The team he plays for is called Real Madrid.
That's the thing about team heritage.
When you are weak, it will only become a reason for others to laugh at your current situation.
But when you are strong enough, it will become the belief that can affect the balance of victory.
The current Lakers will never be as easy to beat as when Wang Shuo was fooling Jordan.
Because of the double bonus of the team's heritage and team strength, they will inevitably have an absolute upper hand in mentality.
"Have you thought about how to motivate everyone later?" Before the game started, Jordan put his arms around Wang Shuo and asked while stepping on the court.
"I haven't thought about it." Wang Shuo replied with a straight face.
"Then leave it to me. I know what they want to hear most now. Don't forget, I also played all the way from a young player." Jordan smiled at Wang Shuo.
This season, Wang Shuo has long been accustomed to him being in charge of the court and Jordan handling the cooperation model off the court.
After a brief walk on the field, in the visiting team's locker room, Jordan, who had changed his equipment, suddenly called everyone together.
"Hey guys, do you want to hear the story about the Chicago Bulls told by Michael Jordan himself?" Jordan said to the crowd while clapping his big hands.
Hearing this, Hamilton and other fans immediately raised their hands.
“However, the story I’m going to tell you today may be different from what you usually hear.
That was the 1997/1998 season, yes, you all know, the season when Phil gave each of us a playbook that said 'The.Last.Dance' on it.
To be honest, to this day, I still think it is incredible that we won the championship that season.
At that time, Scottie would miss most of the regular season due to injury.
I think about how I would describe the team's locker room at that time...
Wow, that's really bad, you know, basically every day, Phil is fucked up by us.
Sometimes Dennis and I were quarreling, and sometimes it was me and other people quarreling. In short, we always quarreled all day long.
I still remember what Dennis said to me at that time, 'Hey, Michael, why don't the team trade me, we'll have no chance anyway! '. "In the locker room, following Jordan's narration, the Wizards players discovered that the Bulls secrets dictated by Jordan were completely different from what they usually saw in newspapers and magazines.
Get rid of the marketing packaging.
There is no such thing as unity, and there is no such thing as unity.
There are only constant quarrels between the core players and their teammates on and off the court, even to the point of insulting and attacking each other.
At this moment, even Wang Shuo, who had watched the beautified "The Last Dance" in the future, was surprised by Jordan's honesty.
Because if this story told by Jordan spreads in the future...
This is not telling a story, it is simply issuing Jordan's "Edict of Sin".
"But, how can such a team win the championship?" Looking at Jordan, Hamilton asked with confusion.
Hearing this, Jordan pointed to his chest, "Because no matter how many times we insult each other, we all have the same belief."
After a pause, Jordan stood up and glanced at the crowd and said: "I know, some of you must think that Michael Jordan said this deliberately to coax you.
But this is that Bulls, a team that you don't even feel nostalgic about after you get out the door.
And the Michael Jordan you all know so well is the player on that team who usually complains about his teammates the most.
To be honest, with Michael Jordan like this, do you still think he is worthy of your admiration? "
In the visiting team's locker room, at this moment, everyone stared at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Jordan breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Listen, you have really changed me a lot in the past six months.
At the same time, it was you who made me believe that the 38-year-old Michael Jordan can still play in the NBA.
Today, I tell you the truest side of Michael Jordan.
I just hope you can know that Michael Jordan has never been a 'god of basketball'.
He was able to win six championships that year only because his teammates were strong enough.
Basketball is a team sport, it was, is, and will be in the future!
I am very grateful to God for allowing me to meet you before I end my basketball career.
Because in my opinion, you are the best teammates I have ever had! "
On the side, looking at Jordan with sincerity written all over his face at this moment, Wang Shuo suddenly regretted letting him take charge of the game tonight.
Because such a bowl of chicken soup for the soul can fill you up with energy...
Why did you feed him out during the regular season?
At this moment, no more words are needed.
The more determined expressions on the faces of the Wizards players already told Wang Shuo the answer.
They passed the psychological barrier.
Now, the Los Angeles Lakers will face the challenge from the Washington Wizards tonight!
After the team members walked out of the locker room one after another, Wang Shuo looked at Jordan who deliberately stayed to wait for him. Wang Shuo said curiously: "Can you tell me what made you undergo such a big change?"
Jordan pointed at Wang Shuo and said with a smile: "Isn't that what you said? Imperfection is life."
As the saying goes, it is easy to change a country but hard to change its nature.
Of course Jordan is still the same Jordan.
However, for the sake of the championship, he is willing to lend more money to God.
In addition, Wang Shuo's marketing techniques over the past six months have made him understand in a trance the truth that he had never understood in his previous life...
That is:
Sometimes, perfect publicity may not necessarily bring the best results.
No one is perfect.
And since he is a human being, why should he live in such pain for the sake of that illusory and perfect persona?
He, Michael Jordan, has a showdown today!
He is the "old gangster" who will do anything to win the championship!
For the championship.
Even if it is himself, he can still be sacrificed!
At the Staples Center, after the on-site warm-up, the starting lineups of the two teams tonight were announced on the big screen. Barkley immediately used his magnetic voice to report to the United States: "Ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to watch the 2001/02 NBA season's blockbuster showdown!
The Los Angeles Lakers face the Washington Wizards! "
The Wizards' starting five: Haywood, Jordan, Artest, Hamilton, Arenas.
The Lakers' starting five: O'Neal, Robert Horry, Rick Fox, Kobe Bryant, and Fisher.
In the center of the field, before the jump ball, O'Neal deliberately asked Haywood: "Where is that All-Star Curly on your team?"
Hearing this, after smiling at O'Neal, Haywood said: "It's enough for me to deal with you."
O'Neal: "???"
On the Wizards bench, looking at Haywood's tall back, Gasol, who was put on the bench tonight, had nothing but awe at the moment.
Paradise to the left, Heywood to the right.
Maybe, this is a North Carolina player!
After the jump ball, the Lakers have the ball.
Although Kobe wanted to take the Lakers' first shot tonight, as the Lakers' overall formation spread out in the classic 122 position and O'Neal sank into the low post, Kobe still forcibly suppressed his heart that was so hot because of Jordan. .
On the wing, after receiving a pass from Fisher, Horry quickly hoisted the ball into the penalty area.
At this moment, O'Neal finally arrived, the opportunity he had been looking forward to for so many days and nights!
Use all your strength to mobilize every muscle in your body...
O'Neal, who turned himself into a giant hammer, vowed to blow away Wang Shuo's foul mouth with this attack!
However, it was too late, but at the moment when O'Neal was about to turn around, Haywood, who was struggling to hug O'Neal, used all his strength to dribble the ball and himself, and hit him fiercely. Fell to the floor!
Without the determination to "die together" with this ball, Haywood would never have been able to throw a behemoth like O'Neal to the floor of the Staples Center!
Moreover, after getting up, resisting the pain in his body, Haywood did not forget to yell at O'Neal: "Do you know which team's three-second zone this is?"
Although O'Neal was not damaged in this fall because Heywood was used as a meat pad, but seeing Heywood complaining first...
O'Neal always felt that it wasn't him who had a problem, but that the entire Wizards team was insane!
Are you crazy?
Is this a ball game or a wrestling match?
"Be prepared. After Brandon commits two fouls, it's your turn to play." Wang Shuo said, patting Gerald Wallace on the shoulder on the Wizards' bench.
On the court, O'Neal, who made one of two free throws, still spread his hands and complained to the referee when he retreated. Haywood should have been whistled for a flagrant foul on the ball just now.
But no matter what...
The standard in the NBA right now is this.
Coming back, the Wizards also played a triangle offense in the 122 position.
Seeing this, "Zen Master" on the Lakers bench couldn't help but take another look at Wang Shuo.
In the low post, as soon as he got the ball, Jordan felt the "heat wave" that kept coming from behind him.
Kobe, who took the initiative to switch defense in front of Jordan, seemed to be burning all over his body at this moment.
But before Kobe could react, with a shake of his shoulders and a feint, Jordan was already challenging the false limits set by Newton's stinky curly hair for mankind.
This is Michael Jordan's fade away.
Swish——!
On the court, looking at Jordan, who gave the Wizards the lead under his own defense, Kobe's eyes were obviously more excited.
Because, this is what he wants, or in other words, this is what he wants!
But looking back, Fisher had no intention of passing the ball to Kobe.
The Lakers are looking for O'Neal at position 122.
This time, O'Neal clearly put aside his contempt for Haywood.
But, just at the moment he was about to launch an attack...
Snapped!
Of course, the Wizards' hugs and throws are based on martial ethics and are not intended to hurt people.
But at this moment, O'Neal, who was sitting on the floor, still wanted to ask:
Are you still letting people play ball?
On the Lakers' bench, looking at Haywood who had committed two fouls on the court, "Zen Master" always felt that something was not right.
And soon, "Zen Master" reacted.
Because when O'Neal was about to walk to the free throw line again, the Wizards made a substitution.
Exit Heywood.
Enter Wallace.
On TNT TV, Barkley said with a surprised look on his face: "Are the Wizards planning to let Michael play center?"
"Etang, be ready. After Gerrard committed two fouls, it's your turn to play." Wang Shuo said, patting Etang Thomas on the shoulder on the Wizards' bench.
On the court, O'Neal still made one of two free throws and the Wizards had the ball.
Facing the Wizards' five-small lineup, O'Neal, who didn't know who to guard, even got a defensive three-second shot for this.
After Boss Joe made the free throw, looking at Wallace standing at the center position, O'Neal followed him with a puzzled look on his face.
Yes, this guy is pretty good at the slam dunk contest.
Can......
Looking at the petite Wallace standing in front of him, O'Neal really couldn't figure out how he would defend himself later.
At this moment, Boss Joe had completed a picturesque two-hit combo in front of Kobe.
Seeing this, I thought that in the end, I still had to rely on my own O'Neal's front foot to cross the half court.
On the back foot, Wallace hugged him directly without the ball.
O'Neal: "???"
On the sidelines, "Zen Master" felt sweat dripping down his forehead. After touching his chin, he quickly regained his previous composure.
On TNT, Barkley explained to the fans: "Looking at this situation, the Wizards are going to 'cut the shark' tonight."
Long before that, Nelson had already used the "shark-killing" tactic against O'Neal in NBA games.
But tonight...
Wang Shuo, who started the game with a chop, was a bit unexpected.
On the court, because the Wizards had not committed a foul, the Lakers served the sideline ball.
Then......
As soon as the Lakers sent a sideline ball, Wallace hugged O'Neal, who was too lazy to move.
Okay, chop the shark, right?
If you have the ability, keep cutting!
I want to see how many fouls you are willing to pay on me tonight!
"Wang, I'm very surprised. Didn't you tell us before that in this game with the Lakers, consuming Shaq's physical energy is the key?" On the Wizards' bench, although the strategic policy of this game has already been set. , but Mike Brown couldn't help but ask Wang Shuo when the ball was dead in the game.
After hearing this, Wang Shuo smiled and replied: "It is true that the 'shark-killing' tactic will give Shaq more opportunities to rest, but what about the other way around?"
Looking at Jordan, Mike Brown immediately understood what Wang Shuo meant.
Who told O'Neal that the Wizards would keep paying fouls on him tonight?
Tonight, the reason why the Wizards started the game was to kill Shark.
Just to allow Jordan to finish the first quarter at the minimum cost.
Wang Shuo may have deceived Jordan many times, but one thing is that he has never deceived Jordan.
That is, this Wizards is a team built entirely around him!
…
