"If that were the case, that would be too damn ’romantic fantasy girl’!"
After the warm-up ended, the starting all-stars from both The East and The West took to the court one after another.
The West:
Nash, Anthony, Nowitzki, Stadeyer, Duncan
The East:
Wade, Hansen, Jas, Garnett, Howard
With Kobe absent due to injury, theoretically, a guard should have replaced him, but since the ga was in Dallas’s ho court, the last substitute was Nowitzki.
This made The West’s lineup visibly "big"; Hansen even had to match up with Anthony.
Like Jas, Anthony was a heavy small forward, taller than him and weighing nearly 110 kilograms; Hansen found him difficult to guard.
However, Hansen had a smile on his face, because compared to his side, the matchup between Jas and Nowitzki was clearly more interesting.
As a transmigrator, he knew all too well the various stories that would happen between these two players in the future.
Duncan and Howard were at center court ready for the jump ball.
Hansen squared up against Anthony.
"You shouldn’t be here," Anthony said, shaking his head as he approached, sothing Hansen didn’t expect.
Hansen had anticipated that his selection for the All-Star ga wouldn’t be well-received, but he didn’t expect Anthony to be so direct.
"It’s the fans who chose; none of your business!" Of course, he had no reason to be polite. Jas was a teammate, so he couldn’t completely fall out with him, but Anthony, I’m not indulging you!
Anthony stared at Hansen for a while but did not speak. However, Hansen felt the murderous intent in his eyes.
It was said that Anthony was tough; his reaction was indeed reminiscent of "nacing, yet reticent."
Hansen glared right back at him, thinking he didn’t realize who he was dealing with.
The referee blew the whistle; Duncan skillfully tipped the ball twice before sending it back to The West’s half.
With the deafening cheers of a hundred thousand spectators, this extraordinary All-Star ga officially began.
As the ga started, rhythmic drumming filled the venue, its sound scattered due to the vast space. Although it was a basketball ga, it had the feel of a soccer match.
The West initiated the play; Duncan and Stadeyer set up a double screen for Nowitzki on the low right side, and Nash’s pass was tid perfectly.
Nowitzki received the ball and executed a mid-range jump shot, scoring the first points for The West.
The arena erupted into a roar.
Brown in the Cavaliers was like a fixture, but the real fixture was the All-Star ga’s coach.
This year’s coach for The West was George Carl of the Nuggets, but clearly Carl wouldn’t arrange such tactics; because the ga was in Dallas, The West’s players played host to Nowitzki.
The East’s offense saw Jas take on the role of point guard advancing the ball.
He didn’t pass but dribbled at the top of the arc before moving left, backing down Nowitzki, pivoting and fading away for a shot.
Nowitzki lunged to disrupt Jas, and the basketball clanged off the rim.
When Jas backed down, there wasn’t much defensive pressure, allowing even a defender of Nowitzki’s calibre to significantly disturb him.
Turning back, using the sa tactics on the other side, Nowitzki shot a long-range two-pointer from the left high post, scoring again.
Hansen had marveled at Durant’s shooting ability as a tall player, but if one were to rank them, Nowitzki should top everyone’s list.
At 213 centiters, with an exceptionally soft touch, combined with a fadeaway and the Golden Chicken Stance, it was difficult even to disrupt, let alone block.
Turning back, Wade advanced with the ball; Jas moved to the right to receive it and went directly for a slight fadeaway jumper, which once again bounced off the rim.
Duncan secured the rebound and passed to Nash, who led The West on a fast break, culminating in Nash assisting Stadeyer for a mid-air layup.
The West opened the ga with a quick 6-0 against The East.
With Kobe absent, The West’s lineup was unorthodox, but theoretically, The East should have had the advantage. However, the start of the ga was surprisingly against expectations.
Yet, from this start, Hansen sensed a very different vibe.
Typically, an All-Star ga has no defense for the first three quarters and true competition in the last quarter, providing both spectacle and competition, entertaining for the fans.
But today, from the start, there had been no dunks, yet there were tactics and competition.
Clearly, the unprecedented crowd of a hundred thousand spectators inadvertently made the players fully engaged.
In other words, the ga was truly on from the start, which undoubtedly favored Hansen, who thrived on defense.
For The West’s offense this ti, they abandoned continued plays for Nowitzki, switching to Nash and Stadeyer engaging in pick-and-roll play for The Suns.
While The East’s defense was drawn away, Nash executed a no-look bounce pass to a cutting Anthony.
Duncan set a solid screen on the weak side for Anthony.
Anthony caught the ball and soared toward the basket.
However, as he took off, a figure chased from behind, reaching to swipe at his shot directly.
"Bang!"
The basketball smashed against the backboard, sending Anthony tumbling out of bounds along with it.
Duncan’s screen was firm, but without having played for the Cavaliers, the "Stone Buddha" hadn’t mastered the finesse of illegal screens, ultimately failing to stop Hansen.
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