During the ga, Zhang San listened to Cannon’s recounting and felt it was intense and fast-paced.
Nash scored 14 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, and made 9 assists; Stoudemire had 25 points and 8 rebounds; O’Neal contributed 21 points and 10 rebounds; Jason Richardson added 18 points... Paul managed to secure a hard-fought victory with 25 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists, and 4 steals.
But thinking about the records of these two teams... the Phoenix Suns with 16 wins and 14 losses, the Hornets with 15 wins and 15 losses, it feels quite bittersweet.
Not so long ago, just a year ago, Son of the Wind was at the top of the MVP rankings, and Cannon was second, keeping Zhang San and the old Ironsmith firmly suppressed. In just a short year, this pair struggles even to make the playoffs.
Zhang Yang swore to himself again that when it cos to the team bringing in stars, he absolutely has to be involved. Knowing it’s unsuitable, no matter how famous they are or how low the cost is, a firm rejection is necessary.
On this night in New Orleans, the entire Bobcats team did not go out.
Last year during the All-Star Weekend, Felton, skeptical of the warnings, went to a nightclub the first night and got scamd and robbed of his watch. The second day, he insisted on going again and ended up getting his necklace stolen.
Originally thinking a year had passed and the public security would be better, it turned out the Louisiana State Legislature passed a resolution that within the jurisdiction of the entire New Orleans County, most minor cris would no longer be prosecuted and not counted in criminal statistics... which ant that the prior operations of stealing and smashing that weren’t counted in criminal statistics were not sufficient to bring the cri rate down to a bearable level.
This city has also undergone another transformation. According to third-party independent dia statistics, the main source of inco shifted from tourism and port business to gambling, nightclubs, bars, and adult film and television industries, with tourism revenue falling to the third or fourth place, even earning the "Southern Hollywood" nickna.
Realizing the pattern, Felton decided not to stubbornly insist anymore and stayed in the hotel obediently watching the live broadcast of the ga.
After resting for a night, on December 31st Arican ti, and January 1st in Beijing ti, the Bobcats arrived at the New Orleans Arena to engage the Hornets in a New Year and end-of-year showdown.
Tonight, Paul played 44 minutes, scoring 18 points, grabbing 4 rebounds, obtaining 12 assists, and making 2 steals, playing very hard, but his shooting percentage... 6 of 15, including 0 of 3 from three-point range.
Felton put up 21 points and 5 assists, Zhang Yang contributed 28 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, Okafor had 14 points, 10 rebounds, Brad Miller added 7 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, Ibaka had 8 points, 8 rebounds... the Bobcats crushed the Hornets 105-89, wrapping up 2008 with a 10-ga winning streak!
Tonight, Paul really had no response; their side was filled with old, injured, and ineffective players... so dia even speculated that if Cannon left, the team could vie for Griffin.
On the other side, the Bobcats were in excellent form. Felton contributed 21 points in 29 minutes, Zhang Yang added 28 points playing just 32 minutes, even Okafor, achieving a double-double, played only 31 minutes, leaving Paul bewildered during the ga.
However, after the bewildernt, waking up after a sleep, Paul had to prepare fully for the back-to-back gas at the year-end and was going all out as the dia said, asserting that if he didn’t give his all every ga, his team definitely wouldn’t make the playoffs.
...
The trio, with their high morale from a 10-ga winning streak, departed from New Orleans to Dallas.
They weren’t playing back-to-back and had a night to rest before facing the Mavericks as visitors tomorrow.
In the evening, a trade caught Zhang Yang’s attention, which didn’t impact the league structure at all.
Yet the attention and topics it stirred were enormously high!
The Rockets, Kings, and Knicks completed a three-team trade.
The primary players received by each team were—
The Kings acquired Carl Landry and Ben Gordon from the Rockets, as well as Stephen Jackson from the Knicks.
The Rockets obtained Kevin Martin from the Kings.
The Knicks received McGrady from the Rockets and Bobby Jackson from the Kings.
Including players to balance salaries, the trade involved a total of 10 players, but the buzz was entirely about one person—McGrady.
Looking at the comnts section of the trade news posts, countless McGrady fans were angrily criticizing the Rockets, claiming McGrady would surely return to glory in New York... Zhang San, in his past life, also posted McGrady’s photo on QQ space, with the caption that the king would eventually return... but the result was the beginning of youth’s end.
First, after moving to New York, McGrady didn’t bounce back but slumped; then Iverson retired, followed by Yao Ming, who, after a year off due to injury, ca back to play five gas and got injured again, leading to his retirent, and then Mamba’s passing, the retirents of the two 21s...
However, Zhang Yang rembered that McGrady seed to have been traded only around 2010, here it’s nearly a year earlier, and McGrady is still averaging a performance of 15 5 5... but it doesn’t matter much.
The trade intentions of all three teams involved in the three-way trade were very clear.
The Rockets wanted to offload McGrady and Ben Gordon’s high salaries and sent off Landry probably to give Yi Jianlian more stable playing ti. Zhang Yang had seen Landry complain multiple tis about not getting to start, but regardless of economic or fit reasons, the Yi Jianlian Lopez twin towers were stronger than Landry Lopez.
The Knicks’ intentions were also transparent. They traded for McGrady, Bobby Jackson, and others, all contracts expiring in 2009 and 2010, preparing for the star contract expiration rush of 2010.
Getting rid of Stephen Jackson and bringing in McGrady probably aid at giving Harden more playing ti? Looking for a superstar veteran to lead the ga?
The first goal might be achievable, but the second is unlikely. Teaching capability aside, McGrady had no intention of ntoring others.
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