199: 112.
The Overshadowed All-Star MVP_3 199: 112.
The Overshadowed All-Star MVP_3 Ultimately, thanks to O’Neal’s dominance in the paint and the fast breaks led by Jas and Wade, the Eastern team narrowly defeated the Western team 125 to 119.
The comntators were all marveling at O’Neal’s impact.
From the revival of the All-Star Ga in 2000 to 2004, during five All-Star gas, the West won four tis.
The only ti the East won was in the 2001 All-Star ga when Duncan’s last-second mid-range shot missed, and the East won by one point.
Back then, the disparity in strength between the Eastern and Western All-Star lineups was huge.
The West could afford to take it easy at the start and still catch up or even surpass the score in half a quarter or a quarter.
The West lost in 2001 purely because they played around too much.
Webber, Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, and Antonio McDyess, these four top power forwards took turns challenging Mutombo’s defense in the low post.
They shockingly kept the defensive specialist center Mutombo on the court for 28 minutes.
Usually, Mutombo’s role in the All-Star Ga, like Yao Ming and Zhang Yang’s tonight, was as a mascot, barely playing more than ten minutes.
Under Mutombo’s defense, Antonio McDyess shot 1 for 7, Webber 6 for 14, Rasheed Wallace 4 for 9, and Garnett, not showing any sportsmanship, did slightly better shooting 7 for 12 with turnaround jumpers.
Their challenges inadvertently helped the Western team lose the ga.
Of course, watching those players take turns going one-on-one against Mutombo in the low post was thrilling for the fans.
It’s not sothing you get to see often, making it a classic mont of the All-Star Ga.
By 2005, when O’Neal had joined the Eastern team, the dynamic of the All-Star Gas imdiately changed, and the East beca the dominant force, winning two years in a row!
Jas, with his 30 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals, edged out McGrady who had 36 points, 0 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block, and as he had hoped, took ho the MVP of this All-Star Ga.
ESPN led the highlighting of the youngest ever All-Star MVP, as the All-Star Ga helped showcase the kingly deanor of the fan-favorite Jas, and his Eastern team teammates all supported KING Jas’ quest for MVP…
Relying on the allure of the All-Star weekend, it had a certain impact, but it was far less than what he had envisioned previously.
The opening minutes of the ga featuring the showdown between Zhang Yang and Kobe had a greater impact!
Although it was only a short six-round face-off, it left a deep impression on fans watching the ga.
After the ga ended, the video clips of those rounds spread rapidly online, garnering a very high number of views.
And it was precisely because it was just those six rounds that left the fans itching for more!
Of those six rounds, the first one had the highest views, where Zhang Yang first successfully sneaked up on Kobe and then blocked Kobe’s counter-steal attempt, quite ‘spectacular’.
Especially the mont when Zhang Yang looked for Yao Ming, the opposing center, for a pick-and-roll, and Kobe actually turned back to see if soone was coming, only to abruptly realize Yao Ming was his teammate…
fans burst into laughter each ti they watched it.
…
The day after the All-Star Ga, Zhang Yang bid farewell to family and friends and returned to Charlotte.
Initially, it was just a spontaneous one-on-one play with Kobe, but it unexpectedly drew so much attention.
So, he decided to head back and continue rigorous training.
By the next All-Star Ga, he vowed to properly compete with Kobe, aiming not to run out of steam after just six rounds.
Thankfully, the three-point sneak attack at the start went in, otherwise, they would have lost this ti.
The lingering influence of the All-Star weekend continued, such as the Bobcats, who had two starting All-Stars, experiencing a short-term ticket sell-out.
But Zhang Yang, on his end, had already put the All-Star weekend behind him and returned to the regular season mode.
This affected Gerald Wallace positively.
Initially, Gerald Wallace was still exhilarated from returning to Charlotte after the All-Star Ga.
He played 19 minutes in the ga, scoring 8 points, grabbing 8 rebounds, giving 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block, performing well.
He felt he had beco part of the league’s elite, but seeing Zhang Yang’s even more rigorous training attitude, he cald down.
Would he have been able to compete with Bosh and Pierce for a reserve spot if it wasn’t for Zhang Yang leading him into the All-Star starting lineup?
He believed the answer was no.
Gerald Wallace took it to heart and continued to improve himself.
Felton, seeing how his younger brother and rival returned from the All-Star weekend and imdiately began training, also beca more motivated and hardworking.
He hadn’t noticed before just how many skills his younger brother had!
On February 22, the Bobcats’ first ga day following the All-Star weekend had arrived.
Just before the All-Star break, they had gone through a long stretch of away gas.
Now, a delightful stretch of six consecutive ho gas began, saving them from flying for half a month.
The first opponent during this ho stretch—the Toronto Raptors!
Bosh played aggressively that night, shooting 10 for 18, scoring 24 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, giving 2 assists, and making 2 blocks.
The peak-season Mike Jas also played well, shooting 7 for 15, including 2 for 5 from three-point range, along with making all two of his free throws, scoring 18 points and dishing out 6 assists.
But apart from the two of them, everyone else played terribly.
The Raptors scored only 88 points, and their defense was as bad as ever, allowing the Bobcats to score 103 points!
Gerald Wallace scored 18 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, gave 3 assists, made 2 steals, and 1 block, Zhang Yang had 14 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assists, and 2 steals, Felton scored 16 points and had 7 assists, Brezec scored 14 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, Matt Carroll scored 16 points, and the undrafted rookie Alan Anderson exploded with a team-high 19 points…
103 to 88, the Bobcats took their first victory after the All-Star weekend, improving their record to 24 wins and 29 losses!
The first ga of the second half of the season started well, and the next day, the Bobcats had more good news.
With the team doctor’s approval, Okafor was allowed to participate in a team scrimmage!
Whether he was given permission to play was to be decided by the team doctor and coaching staff after observation and assessnt!
Reviews
All reviews (0)