NBA Backer King - Chapter 653

Chapter 653 The All-Star Vote Almost Breaking Ten Million

Stayed in Los Angeles for two days, at 9 am on the 8th, the league announced the first week of All-Star voting.

Pharaoh Wang ranked first, and the number of votes in the first week reached a terrifying 2.45 million votes, a new record high.

He got 1.02 million votes in the first week of last year, and 1.21 million votes in the first week of 2003. This time he directly broke the record in 2003 and doubled it directly.

This is because the alliance has not opened the voting channel for China, otherwise it will be even more terrifying.

In particular, among the 2.45 million votes, 1.3 million votes came from overseas, which shows that his influence has truly spread to the whole world.

This result should be brought about by 101 points in a single game.

That night, the Suns defeated the Clippers and rushed back to Phoenix overnight. On the 9th, they scored back-to-back and lost to the Pacers.

24 wins and 10 losses, one win behind the Blazers, and the Blazers also lost two games after entering 2005.

On the 10th, the Suns flew away from Phoenix to the East.

This time is another round of 5 away games. This season, the Suns have a lot of back-to-back games. The 5 away games include two back-to-back games. The Pistons, and finally the Nets.

In these 5 games, the Eastern Conference game has nothing to do with the overall situation. The Suns first lost the game with the Heat, but won the Jazz back-to-back, then won the Pacers, and lost the Pistons.

Finally, he challenged the Nets. Pharaoh didn’t dare to lose. If he lost to anyone, he couldn’t lose to Dayao.

In the end, 5 away games, 3 wins and 2 losses, a total of 27 wins and 12 losses, or the second place in the Western Conference, two wins behind the Blazers.

On the 18th, the Suns returned to Phoenix.

On this day, the Knicks also arrived in Phoenix.

Outside the hotel where the Knicks stayed, a large number of Suns fans gathered. When D’Antoni, Nash and others got off the bus, they began to abuse.

Although the media asked for a press conference, the Knicks refused. The management said that the players were tired after a long flight and would do their best to prepare for tomorrow night’s game.

Noon on the 19th, Lao Wang rushed to the headquarters after lunch.

The Suns certainly don’t want to lose to the Knicks at home. Xiao Fan held a tactical meeting, because the Knicks are now stronger than last time, so he is very cautious.

“Josh, you, Zhu, and Jason need to strengthen the perimeter defense, especially you and Zhu…”

Xiao Fan said to Josh Howard and Zhu Fangyu: “Their offense is too fast. They are desperate and fast, constantly breaking through, cutting and pick-and-roll. The two of you have to connect our internal and external defenses and become one.”

“Yes, coach.” The two nodded repeatedly.

Xiao Fan said to Lao Wang: “Old K, the defense of the two of them is quite good now, you’d better sit in the penalty area and put the main defensive energy on protecting the basket, and leave the other areas, especially the outside line, to them. two.”

“OK.”

Old Wang nodded.

Zhu Fangyu’s training direction is 3D type, able to defend the outside line, and also good at inside defense, he can connect inside and outside on the defensive end.

Josh Howard’s defense in his rookie season was mediocre, not good, but Xiao Fan, who paid attention to defense this year, took over the team and strengthened Howard’s defensive training. This season, his defensive ability has improved a lot. A swingman with height and speed, he can now also defend both inside and outside on the defensive end, and he can connect inside and outside just like Zhu Fangyu.

Both of them can connect inside and outside on the defensive end. Now the Suns’ defense is much better than last season and the beginning of the season.

In the zone defense formation, for teams that mainly play outside jump shots and breakthroughs, the defensive effect is good. For teams that mainly play inside, they can also help defend the low post in time to achieve a good defensive effect.

However, both of them are in the second grade, and their defensive skills and experience are insufficient, and they need to be improved.

On the evening of the 19th, the game day.

At eight o’clock, the starting lineup is announced.

Knicks: Nazr Mohammed, Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Quentin Richardson, Nash

Suns: Wang Tiejun, Kenyon Martin, Zhu Fangyu, Josh Howard, Jason Williams

The average ticket price for this game was nearly three times more expensive than the previous home game, as high as $95, even catching up with the Knicks ticket price, but it was still sold out.

“Hush!”

When the substitute lineup came on the field, seeing D’Antoni, the American West Arena ushered in almost the most intense boos and abuse in history.

D’Antoni looked calm, but there was some dense sweat on his forehead, which fully revealed his mood.

In the TNT commentary seat, Barkley said with a smile: “This should be the head coach who has received the most boos in the history of the NBA.”

Kenny Smith laughed: “Indeed, there has never been a head coach who has received such a welcome when returning to the team he coached before.”

“Hush!”

Ten minutes later, when the visiting team started their first game, the Meixi Arena ushered in fierce boos and abuse again.

Old Wang stood in the aisle, looked at the nervous Nash trio, and smiled.

If you want to succeed, you must pay a price. It is normal for the three of them to return to Phoenix and be booed a few times.

At half past eight, the game begins.

Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin jump the ball, and the Knicks attack.

The Suns play three-two defense, three-up and two-down, and mainly defend the outside line.

Zhu Fangyu guards the upper line on the left wing, Josh Howard guards the middle of the upper line, Jason Williams guards the upper line on the right wing, Lao Wang guards the left waist of the off line, and Kenyon Martin guards the right waist of the off line.

Marion quickly got rid of Zhu Fangyu by using a faster half-chip speed, and cut to the basket from the left wing.

After Zhu Fangyu was attacked, he did not pursue him anymore, but continued to guard his left wing. Marion who entered would be entertained by the low-ranking old king.

Old Wang moves to the basket, following the cutting Marion, making his cutting useless.

Marion immediately pulled up and ran to the top of the arc to make a pick-and-roll for Nash. Nash used the wall to get rid of White Chocolate and rushed down with the ball.

Josh Howard, who was in the middle of the upper line, immediately moved down, forming a three-in-one situation with Lao Wang and Kenyon Martin below.

At this time, Zhu Fangyu on the left quickly moved to the top of the arc. Because Nash was double-teamed and he was not a strong attacker, he would definitely pass the ball.

Sure enough, as soon as Nash encountered a double-team, and it was three-in-one, he immediately turned around and passed back. The ball flew to Marion, who was moving from the top of the arc to the left wing.

A position two meters away from the top of the arc, when Marion received the ball, White Chocolate came to his side, and Zhu Fangyu from the left wing also jumped in front of him. The double team was about to get up, so he had to rush to shoot.

“boom!”

The basketball hit the basket and rose.

Pharaoh gets the backcourt rebound and the Suns attack.

“The zone defense played well. After two months of training, the Suns’ defensive level has improved.” Kenny Smith said.

Barkley said: “The two Van Gundy brothers were Pat Riley’s assistant coaches. Xiao Fan was in charge of defense in the Suns before, and now he is the head coach and personally grasps the defense. In addition, the old K has his own defensive system. The defense improved, no surprise.”

“boom!”

The left wing is low, Lao Wang is facing Mohammed, playing big and small. After receiving the ball, he easily arches into the paint area, and then turns around to complete a strong dunk.

Stoudemire did not make a strong weak-side defense. Although he entered the paint area, Lao Wang was watching from the side when he dunked Muhammad.

After the ball was scored, Muhammad picked it up immediately, and Stoudemire didn’t make a fast break, but stood beside Lao Wang and responded to his teammate’s serve.

Muhammad made a fast serve, and the ball flew to Nash, Nash only advanced three steps forward, and just past the center line, he saw Quentin Richardson making a quick cut to the basket from the right wing, Josh Howard’s defense should have a step The distance, that is, there is now a gap opportunity of one step.

“Whoosh!”

The next moment, he passed the ball immediately, and the ball flew to the front of Richardson’s cutting direction.

“boom!”

After receiving the ball, Quentin Richardson took off from the right waist, and under the dunk with one hand, he slammed the Suns’ basket.

“Kuangdang!”

Josh Howard, who returned from the center to defend, flew to block the block, and just a little bit, his hand hit the basket.

“Nash’s pass is really accurate! How dare he pass it!” Kenny Smith praised.

“Now the Knicks are better at running and bombing. Josh Howard’s return speed is not enough. He must be faster. He defends the middle of the line and is the person with the shortest return distance. He must work harder.” Barkley said .

Kenny Smith said: “This time the Knicks have experience, leaving Stoudemire and Nash in the backcourt to receive the serve, and Marion and Richardson will quickly serve. The Suns can’t stop their fast serve, then it will be very fast passive.”

“Josh, be smart. After their outside shots are shot, no matter whether they hit or miss, they will immediately go down. You have to catch up as soon as possible.”

Old Wang wrapped his arms around Josh Howard’s neck and whispered in his ear.

“I see, boss.” Howard nodded again and again.

“You too.”

Old Wang said to Zhu Fangyu again: “If Josh returns from the center quickly enough, then you have to be careful of their emergency stop jumpers.”

The Suns attacked, Lao Wang took the ball and gave it to Zhu Fangyu, who was under the basket in an air cut, and received an assist.

The Knicks served fast again, still serving alone, two responding in the backcourt, and two quickly down.

But this time, Josh Howard kept pace.

He returns from the center. Although the speed is not as good as that of Marion and Quentin Richardson, the distance is shorter. These two are coming from the left and right wings.

The Knicks made a quick serve again. Less than a second after Nash received the ball, he saw a chance for Marion in the left-wing frontcourt and immediately passed it quickly.

Marion was one step ahead of Zhu Fangyu, and was cutting from the left wing to the basket. When he received the ball, he saw that Josh Howard had returned to the free throw line, and immediately made an emergency stop.

At this time, Zhu Fangyu, who was mentally prepared, also immediately stopped suddenly, just in front of Marion.

Marion lost the open space, and he didn’t have the ability to attack with the ball. He had to turn around and pass the ball back to Nash.

In positional warfare, facing the Suns’ zone defense, the Knicks have few options.

Josh broke through with the ball on the left wing, Quentin Richardson cut in without the ball on the right wing, and received a pass from Nash at the right waist position, but was immediately dumped by Josh Howard and Kenyon Martin.

“The ball was lost, Josh Howard succeeded in stealing the ball, fast break!” The on-site commentator shouted loudly.

White Chocolate and Zhu Fangyu quickly went down from the center and right wing, Josh Howard passed to White Chocolate, and finally Zhu Fangyu scored a layup.

Someone from the Knicks quickly returned to the defense. Marion caught up with White Chocolate, but White Chocolate didn’t make a move, and settled the battle with a split.

After the Suns scored, Marion immediately picked up the ball from the bottom line and quickly sent it to Nash at the center line.

Nash made a move with his eyes, and Stoudemire was cutting towards the basket from the right wing. He pushed with one hand, and the ball flew over.

Stoudemire received the ball, flew up, held the ball high with one hand, and wanted to chop with an axe.

At this moment, Lao Wang’s position was a little far away, but Josh Howard rushed down from the free throw line, flew up fearlessly, and rushed towards Stoudemire.

“boom!”

Stoudemire was frightened, and hastily changed the dunk to a drop shot. He missed, and the basketball hit the basket. It happened that Lao Wang returned to the basket and grabbed the rebound.

“Good job!” He praised Josh Howard.

“Yes, boss.”

Josh Howard became excited, and rushed forward again.

“Josh is working so hard, I have to work hard, or I will be overtaken by him.” Zhu Fangyu secretly said.

After the first quarter, the Suns led by 6 points at 24:30.

Pharaoh Wang played for 11 minutes and took a break in the last minute. He scored 15 points with shots and penalties alone, accounting for one-third of the team’s shots in the first quarter and half of the team’s points.

The whole team on the defensive end worked hard, destroying part of the Knicks’ offense and preventing the Knicks from bursting out with the most powerful scoring ability.

In the second quarter, Xiao Fan didn’t want to lose to D’Antoni, so he didn’t play all the substitutes, but half main players and half substitutes, basically two main players and three substitutes.

But De’Anton doesn’t want to lose even more. The five main players always keep four on the court, and only one takes a rotation.

In this quarter, the Knicks had the upper hand. After running and bombing, they scored 36 points in a single quarter. The Suns only scored 28 points. Lao Wang personally scored 13 points in a single quarter. After halftime, 60:58, the Suns Instead, it fell behind by two points.

In the third quarter, the Suns played their best. Lao Wang scored 18 points in a single quarter and the team scored 30 points.

The Knicks also responded with all the main players, but the defense of the Suns main lineup limited the running and bombing tactics, and only scored 22 points in this quarter.

In the end, the Suns pulled back the score, 82:88, and the Suns led by 6 points again.

At the end of the quarter, the Knicks’ main lineup had almost exhausted their physical energy, and they fully entered the rhythm of the Suns. Lao Wang exerted his strength and scored 14 points in a single quarter. He played 41 minutes and scored 60 points, winning 104:113. The score led the team to beat the Knicks for the second time.

On January 28, 2005, the All-Star voting channel was closed and voting ended.

Pharaoh frantically won 9.88 million votes, almost breaking 10 million, 4.35 million votes in the United States, and 5.53 million overseas votes, even surpassing the number of votes in the United States. Any of these data broke the history of All-Star voting record, and it was broken by a large margin.

At noon that day, Barkley said in an interview with the media in Los Angeles: “All-star voting is the embodiment of popularity and influence. Old K has more than 4 million overseas votes, which is the embodiment of his influence and popularity outside the United States.” It means that this also excludes China. So forget about the four major shooting guards, old K is the only signature face of the NBA.”

New York, headquarters, Stern was very happy to see old K’s All-Star voting data.

Turn to the second page. This is the sales data of old K’s Suns home jersey No. 33 in the world, ranking first in the league.

However, Old K’s jersey sales have occupied the number one position in the league for many years, so it is not surprising that it will be the number one this time.

However, the data this time is a bit scary. Old K’s jersey sales alone exceeded the sum of the second to ninth place, and 70% of the sales came from overseas, of which China* accounted for 50% of all sales.

The jersey income is handed over to the league in proportion. Old K alone has brought a lot of benefits to the league, which is also something he is very happy and excited about.

As far as he knows, China’s economy has been accelerating since 2,000 years ago. GDP has been rising at a rate of more than 10% every year. Domestic consumption power has risen sharply, and the alliance has also begun to benefit from it. This is all thanks to old K. .

He is a little regretful now. In the past two years, he made a mistake in adjusting the old K’s policy. Fortunately, it didn’t cause too much negative impact.

In 2003, Old K beat O’Neal violently in the Western Conference Finals. Old K was absent from the finals, which caused a sharp drop in ratings. The league was forced by several major TV broadcasters. While making the decision to maintain the suspension, he agreed to a compensation request from Mrs. John, the owner of the Suns who suffered the most.

This compensation is a No. 1 lottery.

At that time, he also made restrictions, and the compensation could only be honored after the peak period of old K.

In the past two years, he thought that the peak of old K would pass quickly, but now, he hopes that the peak of old K can be maintained until he is forty years old, and he is as durable as Jordan.

At this time, he thought of what Jordan had said to him.

Jordan originally speculated that the old K would be like him, and his peak period would be very long. Now he only hopes that Jordan’s speculation is true.

(end of this chapter)