Spectrum Center Arena.
Zhao Feiyang, who was fouled by James Harden, went to the free throw line. Amid the cheers of the fans in the audience, he made both free throws steadily.
Uh-huh.
Uh-huh.
The ball went in.
It was the Western Conference All-Stars' turn to serve.
Russell Westbrook held the ball across half court. This time Harden wanted to catch the ball, but Zhao Feiyang was not going to give him any chance. As soon as Harden swooped up from the wing, Zhao Feiyang immediately clung to him like brown candy.
This kind of defense made Harden feel uncomfortable.
He wanted to cooperate with other players to get rid of Zhao Feiyang, but unfortunately this was the All-Star Game and no one was willing to come up and screen for him.
Russell passed the ball elsewhere, and Harden watched the ball slip away but could do nothing.
The Western All-Stars failed to score in this attack, and the rebound fell out and was picked off by the Eastern All-Stars. At this time, there were Porzingis who came on the bench, as well as Adrian and Zach LaVine. Except for the fourth position, everyone on the court was a Knicks lineup.
LaVine advanced with the ball.
After halftime, Zhao Feiyang just stretched out his hand, and he took the initiative to give the ball to Zhao Feiyang. Zhao Feiyang, who got the ball, also beat Harden one-on-one. When LaVine was about to come over for a pick-and-roll screen, Zhao Feiyang waved his hand to signal that he would not use it.
This scene also made Harden very jealous.
He wants no one to pick and roll. Zhao Feiyang can pick and roll but doesn't want to.
"Damn! Why are his teammates all-stars? And my teammates are just ordinary players?"
The next second, Zhao Feiyang shook the ball.
Facing Harden's defense, Zhao Feiyang didn't expend much energy at all. The two faced each other, and Zhao Feiyang accelerated and changed direction and directly threw away the former. When he dribbled the ball all the way to the basket, the defensive players at the basket were not as strict as they were at all, almost making space for Zhao Feiyang to enter.
boom.
Zhao Feiyang scored with a one-handed chop.
There was applause from the outside.
It's the Western Conference All-Stars' turn to serve again.
This time Harden asked for the ball directly, and when he got the ball, he accelerated across the half court. Unexpectedly, as soon as he reached the top of the arc, LaVine rushed up to double-team Zhao Feiyang. The sudden interference surprised Harden. In desperation, he shouted to Zhao Feiyang while protecting the ball, "Zhao, you are like this." Do you just want people to help you? If you have the ability, defeat me one on one!"
Zhao Feiyang is not the kind of person Harden imagined. Regarding the helplessness shown on Harden's face, Zhao Feiyang only responded with one sentence, "James, I am not a gentleman... Now I have to lead My brother bullies you, do you have any problem?"
Snapped.
Taking advantage of Harden's inattention, Zhao Feiyang slapped the ball away. Harden, who was intercepted, was helpless and immediately chased the two of them.
LaVine and Zhao Feiyang, who were playing fast break, reacted quickly. Zhao Feiyang threw a quick pass to LaVine, and LaVine took the ball and sprinted towards the basket of the Western Conference All-Stars.
Harden was running and observing, and after discovering that LaVine was holding the ball without any intention of passing the ball, Harden gritted his teeth and chased after LaVine.
However, just when the two sides reached the basket, LaVine, who was about to lay up, threw the ball directly behind him and above his head.
Harden, who was following, saw this scene and his expression immediately changed!
"Oops!"
The next second, Zhao Feiyang, who was leaping high in the air, caught the ball and dunked.
boom.
The whole place exploded.
The cooperation between Zhao Feiyang and LaVine simply made countless fans excited. Harden, who was standing under the basket, became the backdrop for the two of them this time. He could only watch silently as Zhao Feiyang flew up and hit a shot above his head. Smash the ball in.
At this moment, Harden's face had completely darkened.
He was already anxious and even panicked because of Zhao Feiyang's successive performances.
The game goes on.
With 2 minutes and 44 seconds left in the third quarter, Harden was replaced by Western Conference All-Star head coach Steve Kerr.
When Harden came off the court, many fans who liked him also applauded him.
Although the applause was not that enthusiastic.
Zhao Feiyang shook his head helplessly as he watched Harden finish. LaVine on the side sighed even more, "Zhao, I didn't expect James to target you because of a woman! I'm surprised..."
"I didn't expect it either. I understand James' things outside the game. They are his private affairs, and there is no reason for others to interfere. But he doesn't seem to take his career that seriously, at least, when it comes to career and picking up girls. He wasn’t that determined…”
It's not that Zhao Feiyang has any opinions on Harden. On the contrary, he has always preferred players like Harden. As an opponent, he plays cleanly, has a good style of play, and his ball control rhythm is top-notch in the league. It can be said that his talent is obvious.
But Harden also has his problem, that is, he is not focused enough.
He will make all kinds of tidbits outside the game. Even if he knows that women like Khloe Kardashian are "athletes' loss machines", he still wants to try new things, and even affect his own game status.
Looking at it this way, it's not surprising that he failed to lead the Rockets to win the championship! In addition to the various super teams in the West, the team lineup and his own performance are also points that cannot be ignored.
After all, there has never been a shortage of talented stars in the league. People such as Kobe and LeBron have very high self-discipline while possessing talent. It can be said that they regard the game as everything and put the game first in their lives.
Perhaps taking Kobe and LeBron as examples is not so down-to-earth. A more recent example such as Jimmy Butler is obviously a good example.
Butler's starting point is much lower than Harden, and his talent cannot be compared with Harden. But even so, Butler is always working hard to chase victory, and his concentration is one of the best in the league.
With this kind of focus, he grew from a backup rookie to the team's main player, and then grew into a league star.
Perhaps at this time, Butler still cannot compare with Harden, whether it is skills, scoring data or worth, but from the perspective of self-discipline and concentration, Butler must be beating Harden at this time.
If Harden had Butler's level of concentration, I'm afraid he would have become the league's superstar by now. Although he is also the league's top star at this time, there is still a slight gap between the top and the super giants.
call out.
The referee's whistle sounded and the third quarter was quickly over.
The score between the two sides was 99 to 94, with the Eastern All-Stars leading the Western All-Stars by 5 points. In this quarter, with Zhao Feiyang leading the team to chase points, the Eastern Conference successfully reversed the situation in the second half of the quarter.
Zhao Feiyang also scored 18 points in this quarter.
