This number of votes was much more than Li Ao expected.
He is almost catching up with Carter, who is at the peak of his popularity this season!
Obviously, this has a lot to do with the recent media touting his consecutive 20+!
At this stage, even if domestic fans have extremely high enthusiasm for voting, most fans cannot find a channel to vote.
Internet voting still accounts for very little. Even at Yingjiang’s house, 90% of the votes are physical votes. This is related to David Stern’s conservative thinking. Recently, too many Internet industries have gone bankrupt, and many insiders have been exposed. .
The most common thing is data fraud, which is related to voting, sales, clicks, etc.
David Stern wants to ensure the gold content of the All-Star players, so Internet voting has not been launched on a large scale for the time being.
If people want to vote, they still have to go to a physical store partnered by the NBA.
Li Ao felt that he had taken advantage of the general environment this time. It happened that in the middle of this season, several of the most topical superstars had become "invisible". In order to attract the attention of fans, the media caught him and fired him hard, making him a star in this basketball world. During the period when the market environment was not good, the popularity remained quite high.
However, this is mainly due to his personal performance. Even without this wave, he estimates that with his performance and popularity, he might be in the starting lineup, at least able to compete with Garnett.
After entering the NBA, Li Ao learned that rookies averaging 20+ per game are not common.
Since the modern basketball era began in 1976, there have been no rookies averaging 20+ points per game for more than half of the year, and sometimes there is only one. Counting this season, in the past 25 seasons, there have only been two seasons with two averages of 20+ points per game. rookie.
The vast majority of players who averaged 20+ per game in their rookie seasons will become top players in the NBA in the future...The only exception in the past 24 seasons is Glenn Robinson.
Big Dog was controversial in his rookie year, and even received only a fraction of Kidd and Hill in the Rookie of the Year votes.
Players who start to retire in their rookie year, except for a certain No. 21 who has only been in the NBA for a while and has hardly seen any progress in a few years, are just big dogs.
Li Ao is very excited as he is temporarily ranked first in the Western Conference in votes, and may even challenge the Flyers' vote king.
But in his excitement, he smelled a hint of danger.
What a coincidence, the two people who got the second and third votes in the West are our next-door neighbors, and they happen to be playing against their next-door neighbors tomorrow!
…
Herd mentality is very common in the world of sports competition.
Li Ao relied on his own performance and media hype to rank first in the Western Conference in the first stage of All-Star starting voting, and his popularity soared again!
After the NBA released the first-stage voting data, that night, keywords such as 'Leo', 'Li Ao', 'Spider-Man Leo', and 'Western Conference Voting King' took turns to top Yahoo's global keyword search rankings.
In Hill's rookie season, the number of votes in the first stage of the All-Star Weekend was directly twice that of the second place, and he was first in the gap, but he was not as popular as Li Ao now.
At that time, even for the Yingjiang family, civilian computers had just begun to become popular. At present, the North American Internet industry has just passed a rapid development stage... Although it is a bubble, the popularization of the Yingjiang family's civilian computers and the Internet is at this stage. Reach a new level.
In the world of basketball, Li Ao is full of the dividends of the times this time!
The next day, January 13th, the game day between the Clippers and Lakers arrived.
Whether Li Ao can continue to score 20+ in the game against the Lakers, tied with Big Dog, Iverson, and Duncan, has become the hottest topic in the NBA.
A hot topic related to this topic - How will OK Group deal with Spider-Man?
Many people are waiting to see the show. The two members of OK group are more petty than the other.
Ten months ago, the game in which Shark scored a career-high 61 points was once again hyped.
That night, O'Neal didn't even care about defense. He had 0 steals and 0 blocks in the game. It was the only game in his MVP season in which he had zero steals and blocks. All his energy was concentrated on the Clippers basket, and he had dunks. 11 times.
Kobe also had a signature little game last month.
Carter got into trouble with his big mouth, saying that Kobe could only play well by following O'Neal.
As a result, Kobe made 14 of 29 shots that night and scored 40 points and 3 blocks. In one-on-one, he defended Carter from only 10 of 32 shots and scored 31 points.
That night, Kobe committed 5 fouls, 1 technical foul, and 1 physical foul. He used all kinds of tricks, forcing Carter to shoot 12 times from beyond the three-point line.
Now that Li Ao has 'offended' two people at once, what will happen?
…
The disturbances from the outside world did not affect Li Ao.
As usual, he prepared with the team in the morning, practiced for two and a half hours after lunch, then asked Da Q to run errands and buy two burgers. After sleeping for an hour, he got up to warm up and ate burgers to satisfy his hunger... and completed the game in an orderly manner. Preparations before the day's competition.
At 7:40 pm, the Clippers and Lakers entered the stadium at Staples Center.
Tonight, the Lakers are at home, but nearly half of the fans are wearing Clippers jerseys and T-shirts!
Li Ao received a high number of All-Star votes, and Clippers fans were naturally the main vote output. Although it was in the middle of the season and the NFL was in power, Clippers fans still maintained a high level of enthusiasm. Li Ao could play in this game tonight, and they were positive Go out and grab tickets with Lakers fans. This time, it’s a luxury!
The other half, hey, not many people were wearing Lakers jerseys or T-shirts.
Fans of the Nobles are proud of themselves. After regaining the top spot in the NBA, this regular season, except for a few games, such as playing against the Celtics or against opponents who have had deep grievances in recent years, Lakers fans are extremely proud. It seems that Lakers fans feel that these opponents are not worthy of their grand treatment.
For example, right now, not only are not many Lakers fans 'taking this game seriously', but Clippers players also don't boo much when they come out. There are even many Lakers fans cheering for Li Ao. The better Li Ao's performance, the more popular the news. Gao, they were not reconciled to not having Stud Li Aoyue last June.
Ever since, the situation was reversed. The scene and the atmosphere looked like the Lakers home court was occupied by Clippers fans!
When O'Neal and Kobe heard the fans cheering for Li Ao, their expressions became even more violent and stern, and their two pairs of eyes stared at Li Ao.
Li Ao had long felt these two fiery glances. He interacted with the fans for a while, and after enjoying a wave of cheers from the fans, he looked to the opposite side.
Spider-Man and OK's eyes met, and the three came to the technical stage in tacit understanding, once again arousing cheers from the fans at the scene.
Kobe and O'Neal had an unparalleled understanding. The two stared fiercely at Spider-Man in front of them, trying to scare the rookie to tears.
But what they responded to were excited and excited expressions, and excited eyes.
O'Neal said: "Both of us are going to play tonight, and you have no chance of winning!"
Kobe nodded three times.
Li Ao responded: "Even if you only get one, it will be very difficult for us to win."
"..."
O'Neal was choked and looked extremely embarrassed.
What kind of trick is this?
Seeing Li Ao displaying his 'nirvana: sincerity', Kobe glanced at O'Neal and suddenly felt much happier.
It feels good to have someone feel the same way.
O'Neal forced the topic to continue, showing a ferocious expression and said: "I will let you know tonight, I should be the vote king, I am the strongest! Kobe and I can beat everything!"
Hearing this, Kobe glanced at O'Neal again and curled his lips unnoticeably, but this time he didn't say anything.
The priority goal tonight is to smash the little broken ship!
Li Ao responded after hearing this: "I have long wanted to play against the best combination in the world, OK, and finally I have the opportunity. It's really exciting. If you can't play together today, I will most likely not have the chance this season. It’s a little difficult for my team to make the playoffs. None of you were injured tonight, so I’m so lucky!”
O'Neal is so angry!
He finally understood why Kobe became angry whenever he mentioned Li Ao.
It turns out that it’s not just Afro who is stingy, Spider-Man is really annoying, even if he doesn’t talk trash!
His outward personality is like that of a big bird, and his sincerity towards others is like that of a stone Buddha. It’s hard to explain!
O'Neill turned around and left angrily.
Kobe was a little gloating - Fatty, you are here too.
But what he cares more about is Li Ao's courage to challenge the strongest, which is something he has always admired.
Not only the big spider, he was also excited to see the Clippers players on the opposite side.
This made him a little unbelievable. In the past four years, this neighbor immediately lost his fighting spirit when he saw their Purple and Gold Army. Losing 20 points in a game was rare.
In just a few months, this team has changed so much!
Because Big Spider is on this team, Kobe pays a lot of attention to the opponent this season.
He has seen the progress of this team this season.
The media also often reports on it.
The media are always hyping the progress of the Clippers players, the beginning of a tactical system, the improvement of team benefits and benefits... and other improvements.
Kobe thinks these are all correct, but in his opinion, the most important improvement for the Clippers is that they are no longer afraid of their opponents!
When he played against the Clippers in the preseason, he could clearly feel that the Clippers players were afraid.
But on January 1st, two months later, Kobe played against the Clippers again. Although his team won, the opponent no longer had fear. Although the pressure was visible, everyone was fearless on the court. He tried his best to defend.
Today, he sees everyone on the other side excited.
He knew the reason, broadcast live across the United States.
But when they met the Lakers, the Clippers players were actually excited because of the live broadcast... Kobe was still a little uncomfortable and unhappy!
Everyone exaggerates Spider's strong leadership ability, but few people praise him in this regard!
…
Li Ao confirmed that OK Group was eyeing him because of the "Western Vocational King".
Some people gloated that this was an unreasonable disaster for him, but he happily accepted such a situation.
It's not that he is confident that he can beat the OK combination, but he feels that since he enjoys the spotlight and gets this attention, it is right for him to be targeted on the court.
He looked at O'Neal's evaluation report... turned it off and waited for a few seconds, then looked at Kobe's.
"Kobe Bryant, 22 years old, 198 cm, 95 kg, comprehensive evaluation 97...speed 93, strength 91, jumping 97...averaged 28.8 points, 6 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game...shooting rate 46.4%, in The shooting percentage was 46.2% and the basket shooting percentage was 65.5%..."
"I'll go! With the big shark and this afro, how can anyone beat him in the playoffs!"
At 8 o'clock in the evening, the long-awaited Li Ao finally ushered in his first match against OK.
O'Neal narrowly beat O'Neal Jr. to win the jump ball, and the Lakers attacked first!
In the first attack, Kobe opened the weak side and took away Li Ao. Ron Harper passed the ball to Rick Fox at the top arc and then took McGinnis to the left corner. Nesby guarded the top arc. Inside, Horace Grant took Sean Lukes to the right baseline.
The Lakers set up their triangle offensive position, and O'Neal hit O'Neal in a low post on the left side of the three-second zone.
O'Neal Jr. violently resisted O'Neal's attack, but when O'Neal encountered resistance, he became even more excited. He used force to push O'Neal back one step. Rick Fox passed the ball in time. O'Neal pushed back O'Neal and then stepped forward. Half a step, he caught the ball comfortably, followed the movement of retracting his hand when catching the ball, took another step towards O'Neal, turned around and carried O'Neal aside.
O'Neal took off, and Sean Lukes, who moved forward and flanked him at the first moment, smashed the ball into the basket!
One against two brutal dunks!
Sean Lukes jumped up and hung on O'Neal, but he couldn't stop the opponent from dunking.
Everyone was not surprised by this. Even the referee did not blow the whistle and regarded Sean Lukes as a dunk pendant.
Even O'Neal himself, who had an extra pendant, didn't regard this as a foul. He was used to it.
During the transition between offense and defense, Li Ao took a deep breath as he ran forward.
The scene just now still feels amazing no matter how many times I watch it.
First, knock the opponent away with one step to catch the ball. When catching the ball, follow the movement of collecting the ball and use the space brought by the previous impact to bump into the opponent again before he can get close to him. He will directly hit the opponent and lose his position, and then dunk to make up for the defense. players.
O'Neal's style of play seems rough, but if you look closely, you will see that it is full of details!
O'Neal Jr. defended very hard, and veteran Sean Lukes also moved in a timely manner.
However, O'Neal's movement speed is a little faster than when they played against each other less than half a month ago, and it has changed even more than more than two months ago!
Because of weight!
Li Ao watched it as soon as he entered the venue. The weight of the big shark dropped to 159 kilograms!
Other stars' performance declined and physical problems occurred in the middle of the season. Even superstars like Double 21 were somewhat affected at this time.
This big shark lost weight in the early part of the season, and by the middle of the season, he began to show the effect of losing weight...
Coming to the frontcourt, Li Ao devoted himself to the offense and began to coordinate with McGinnis' breakthrough and move without the ball.
After running for a few seconds, Li Ao noticed something was wrong and bit his afro so tightly!
and,
The Lakers did not make unlimited defense changes this time, and Kobe was the only one staring at him!
Li Ao finally got a chance, but the ball was not passed.
McGinnis didn't see the opportunity to play the ball, and he couldn't take the shot. After he broke through Ron Harper, he encountered Horace Grant's defense and stopped the ball!
Li Ao quickly ran to the right side of the free throw line, and McGinnis threw the ball out as if grasping a life-saving straw.
After Li Ao received the ball, he was immediately pressed against Kobe who was biting him!
When the ball came into Li Ao's hands, Li Ao had no chance to shoot or play the ball immediately. The rest of the Lakers team immediately defended their defensive targets and cut off the contact between others and Li Ao.
Li Ao leaned against Kobe, grabbed the ball with one hand and reached to the far end to protect the ball.
The Lakers actually made targeted defensive preparations for them. He felt... honored!
His thoughts wandered for a second, and Li Ao immediately concentrated his attention and leaned towards Kobe.
If the pass can't be passed, if you don't have the conditions to shoot directly, then hit from behind!
Li Ao didn't bump this time. He didn't stop. It was just a test. He gathered strength and bumped into the back again, but the movement only looked big and didn't really exert any force. When he was about to contact Kobe, In an instant, he turned left... Kobe judged that Li Ao's impact was a fake move, moved sideways in time, and took a step to the left.
Li Ao was blocked. At this time, the benefit of paying attention to the most basic details was reflected. He immediately grabbed the ball and took a step away according to the force of the rebound. Although the movement looked a bit stiff and not smooth, he did it and got There is room to lift the ball!
Kobe immediately pressed forward and followed Li Ao when he took off to shoot. He was disadvantaged by his height and wingspan, but Kobe's speed and bounce made up for the gap in static physical conditions. His small hands covered the path of Li Ao's ball.
However, when Li Ao took off, he leaned back directly and tilted his body back 45 degrees, successfully avoiding Kobe's block shot...
'Perfect Warm-up Level 2' is triggered, and the first pitcher feels hot in the opening game!
The ball drew a high arc and hit the basket!
Kobe turned his head to watch the ball fall into the frame, then turned his head back to see Li Ao lying on the floor with a proud smile...
What's going on? This guy's back attack has been developed?
It's grandma's birthday today. Xiaofeng spent a little time helping the kitchen in the morning and will try to go as early as possible in the afternoon. Thank you for your understanding.
(End of chapter)
