Chapter 144 The Lakers’ defeat shocked the league, and the Cavaliers became the biggest winners of the All-Star Game!
Chapter 144

Barkley shook his bald head and said meaningfully: "If Wang Yan can stay healthy, then the next few years will be his world, and the other players of the Cavaliers are also getting stronger. Are we going to see the strongest dynasty team in history?"

Magic Johnson is an optimist and is always laughing.

But his expression was serious today, after all, he has entered the Lakers management.

"James and Kobe have not achieved the effect of 1+1 greater than 2. They still need to run in. Alas, but Kobe is already in his thirties. There is not much time left for them to run in. The Cavaliers are progressing too fast!"

The magician's words were recognized by everyone.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar added: "Now other teams are starting to stockpile defensive players, just like they did against Shaq a few years ago. It's really a cycle!"

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's words just now were a bit direct, which made O'Neal very embarrassed, so Kareem Abdul-Jabbar praised O'Neal a few more times.

O'Neal's personality is a bit like a child. After listening to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's words, he said proudly: "Yes, the inside line has become thinner and thinner in recent years. When I was in the Lakers, other teams had to store at least two tall and strong meat shields just to deal with me, haha!"

West shook his head slightly: "But the meat shield is not very effective against Wang Yan. Wang Yan has too many offensive methods and his shooting is also very strong. This is different from Shaq."

Logo Man is really rational. He explained Wang Yan's advantages very clearly, and O'Neal had nothing to say.

. . . .

The show was broadcast live and many fans watched the show.

Some veteran fans also offered suggestions and took part in the discussion by leaving comments.

Smith had been watching the screen. He suddenly pointed to a comment and read: "What this fan said makes sense. He said it's difficult to limit Wang Yan, but we can try to limit his teammates."

Jabbar disagreed and shook his head slightly, saying, "Wang Yan is not a lone wolf type of player. He has been helping his teammates improve their combat effectiveness. Didn't you notice? In the first quarter, he let his teammates play and he was only responsible for defense. It was only in the second half of the second quarter that he started to exert his strength!"

Other legends think what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said is very correct. They have watched almost every game of Wang Yan, and this is basically the case this season.

While experts and veterans were giving advice to the Lakers and the entire league, the Lakers were also holding an internal meeting.

The home loss to the Cavaliers cast a shadow over the entire team.

If the situation in the past few years continues, the combination of James and Kobe will surely win the championship.

Just think about it, in another parallel world, James and Wade can both book seven championships together.

Then if they join forces with Kobe, eight or nine shouldn't be a problem!
But now it’s different. The appearance of Wang Yan has made the news of the cooperation between Zhan and Ke not cause much splash.

Head coach D'Antoni first said: "It doesn't matter if we lose, it's just a regular season game, we have to learn lessons from this game!"

James bowed his head and said nothing. Kobe said, "Yes, the season is less than halfway through. We have a lot of time to adjust. We must make changes!"

Nash's role on the court is not as big as before. On the one hand, he is old, and on the other hand, his position is very awkward.

A superstar who mainly uses pick-and-roll tactics doesn't even have the ball in his hands!
Now Nash is equivalent to an open shooter, just like Chalmers' role in the Heat.

Nash said tactfully: "I think the team's style of play is too simple now, and the opponent's defense can easily limit us."

What this sentence means is that the Cavaliers have already seen through the starting point of James.

D'Antoni glanced at James and said slowly: "Steve makes sense, LeBron, what do you think?"

There's nothing James can do. His performance is disappointing. His organization, scoring, and defense are all unconvincing.

"Oh... I have some responsibility for the loss of this game, but Wang Yan's strength is there, I don't think anyone can do better than me!"

As expected of James, his ability to pass the buck is first-rate.

D'Antoni knows James very well. Now the Lakers cannot completely deprive James of the ball because he cannot play without the ball.

If he is asked to play without the ball, he will be passive.

It will be even more disadvantageous to the team then.

So D'Antoni began to smooth things over: "Let's put it this way, LeBron, you control the ball in the starting lineup, and Nash controls the ball in the substitute lineup, but the time difference between the two of you won't be too big."

Nash was once D'Antoni's favorite player. The master and apprentice teamed up with Stoudemire and played very well in the Suns, forming a fast-paced whirlwind.

Although they did not win the championship due to various reasons, they have proved the power of the run-and-gun style of play.

Now that the Lakers can't copy that style of play, D'Antoni can only make concessions.

This decision actually reduced James' ball possession time and increased Nash's role.

Although James was unhappy, there was nothing he could do.

Kobe and Nash have demonstrated their value in this game, only James is not satisfactory.

The so-called player's status, commercial value, and team position are all earned through fighting.

Even if the league wants to promote you, it will depend on your performance.

If you can't lift it after trying for a long time, you can only give up.

. . . .

After the Christmas game, the game between the Lakers and the Cavaliers also attracted attention, and the Lakers even attracted more attention.

Because fans want to know what changes the Lakers will make after losing.

Because the Los Angeles media has revealed that the team held an internal meeting and will make major adjustments to the team's playing style.

Wang Yan was also watching the Lakers game.

There is an old saying in China: Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle.

Although the knights were advancing at a high speed, Wang Yan remained calm.

The Lakers' next game will be an away game against the San Antonio Spurs.

This is the second time the two teams have met this season. The last time was at the Lakers' home court and the Spurs lost.

Although we beat the Spurs that time, the game was very difficult. It was only at the last minute that Kobe had a small outburst and won the victory.

In the first quarter, James only played for more than 6 minutes before being substituted out for rest and Nash came on the court.

The Spurs led by 4 points before James left the game.

After Nash came on the court, he played pick-and-roll with Artest and Jordan Hill.

Although these two players are not as violent as Stoudemire, Nash still makes full use of the pick-and-roll tactics.

In the second half of the first quarter, the Lakers not only caught up with the score, but also overtook by 3 points.

James sat below with a grim look on his face.

Actually, this can't be blamed on him. The Spurs do have a way to deal with James.

Let's shoot but not break through.

Unfortunately, James' shooting was very unstable, and his hit rate was very low when facing Leonard's one-on-one defense.

Nash played until more than three minutes into the second quarter before being substituted out.

Although he is said to be a substitute, Nash actually spends a lot of time with the starting lineup.

This is equivalent to depriving James of some of his ball rights.

The effect is not bad.

More than three minutes into the second quarter, when Nash left the court, the Lakers led by 3 points.

This time, D'Antoni felt more confident. Even if James was dissatisfied, he had no choice because of the situation.

The Spurs launched a counterattack in the second half of the second quarter, and Ginobili made a wave of plays to tie the score again.

But Kobe also showed his strength and helped the Lakers take the lead again.

In the end, the Lakers defeated the Spurs on the road with a score of 107:91.
The score difference is not small, which shows that the Lakers' lineup change is very effective.

James played only 28 minutes in the game and scored 16 points, while Nash played 29 minutes, scored 15 points, but had 11 assists.

This time, James' status in the team has been further lowered, even lower than that of old Nash.

After the game, the media analyzed and reported on the game, believing that the main reason for the Lakers' victory was that James gave up part of the ball.

This made James very embarrassed.

When facing media interviews, James' face turned pale and silence was golden.

The Cavaliers have it much easier as their opponent is the Hawks in the Eastern Conference.

This season, the Hawks are currently ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference and have a chance to make the playoffs.

The Cavaliers still followed the old rules. Wang Yan played conservatively in the first quarter and let his teammates play to their full potential.

Irving and Jamison performed well today. They made consecutive hits at the beginning of the game and forced the Hawks to call a timeout.

This made Wang Yan's life easier, and he didn't even exert any effort in the second quarter.

At the start of the third quarter, Wang Yan scored 30 or points and widened the score difference to +.

Punch out after three sessions and get off work!
. . . .

All-Star voting has begun.

Several players on the Cavaliers have the hope of making the All-Star team, and their votes are not low.

This is in stark contrast to James' team back then.

When James was in the Cavaliers and the Heat, the other players played worse and worse. Except for Wade, the others couldn't even make it to the All-Stars.

Needless to say, Wang Yan still has the most votes, far ahead!
Irving also received a lot of votes. Compared with the other parallel world, his playing style not only maintains a high level of viewing appeal, but also increases practicality. This is all the result of Wang Yan's influence.

Butler, Thomas Jr., and even Middleton actually received quite a few votes.

The Cavaliers are destined to be the biggest winners in this year's All-Star Game.

After the first round of voting, Wang Yan ranked first, Kobe ranked second, Paul third, Durant fourth, and James dropped to fifth.

Judging from this result, James' coming to the Lakers was a complete failure.

After the second round of voting, Wang Yan was still first, Kobe was second, and James surpassed Durant and came in fourth.

This shows that Nike has started to make efforts and James has a lot of fans.

After the third round of voting, Wang Yan and Kobe were still in the top two, and James surpassed Paul and came in third place.

As a local American superstar, the league has been promoting James for so many years. Although there has been no significant results and he has been beaten around, he still needs to be promoted, after all, so much money has been spent on him.

Finally, the All-Star lineup was announced:

The starting lineup for the West: center Howard (in this parallel world, Howard left the Magic and did not come to the Lakers. Instead, he went to the Rockets and partnered with Harden in advance), power forward Griffin, small forward James, shooting guard Kobe, and point guard Paul.

The substitute lineup is Duncan, Durant, Aldridge, David Lee, Harden, Parker, Westbrook, and Randolph.

The starting lineup for the Eastern Conference is: center Bosh, power forward Wang Yan, small forward Anthony, shooting guard Wade, and point guard Irving.

The substitute lineup is Garnett, Paul George, Rondo, Tyson Chandler, Butler, Holiday, and Noah.

Judging from the overall lineup, except for Wang Yan, the Western Conference is still stronger.

But with Wang Yan, it became very obvious.

Not only will Wang Yan be included in the All-Star starting lineup, he will also represent the sophomore rookie team and play against the freshman rookie team.

Logically speaking, Wang Yan had already exceeded the level of this rookie competition, but Wang Yan did not refuse.

This is an attitude of respect for rookies.

He also started out as a rookie and knows the difficulties rookies face. They hope to be recognized by superstars.

Wang Yan used practical actions to tell the newcomers as a person with experience that everyone is the same!

Before the All-Stars, the Cavaliers created another feat, breaking the winning streak that had just been broken last season.

That is the Lakers' amazing 36-game winning streak!

It can be predicted that the Cavaliers led by Wang Yan will become a historical super team.

Who could have thought that such a young team could achieve such amazing results!

On the first day of the All-Star Game, first-year rookies faced second-year rookies.

First-year rookie lineup: Davis, Lillard, Beal, Luke, Vucevic, Faried, etc.

The second-year rookie lineup includes Wang Yan, Irving, Leonard, Butler, Thomas Jr., Parsons, etc.

There was no suspense in the game and Wang Yan did not give in.

Because if you respect your opponent, you should give it your all.

Wang Yan scored 42 points and won the MVP of the Rookie Game.

Irving participated in the skills competition the next day.

Other participants in the skills contest are all strong, including Jeremy Lin of the Rockets, Holiday of the 76ers, Knight of the Pistons, Teague and Lillard of the Hawks and Parker of the Spurs.

Irving eliminated Holiday in the first round, Teague in the second round, and finally, defeated Parker to win the skills competition.

This was Irving's first individual championship and he was very excited.

When he gave his acceptance speech, the first person he thanked was Wang Yan!

Wang Yan was also cheering for his teammates on the sidelines and came up to hug Irving tightly!
This scene moved many fans.

Wang Yan is so great, not only does he make continuous progress himself, but he also makes his teammates better!
Next up is the three-point contest.

Because Wang Yan mastered Curry's three-point shooting technique in advance, he led the three-point shooting trend.

Therefore, this year's All-Star Three-Point Contest was very popular and the ratings were higher than in previous years.

The players participating in the three-point contest are all excellent shooters, including Novak, Paul George, Irving, Bonner and Curry.

Wang Yan didn't want to participate at first because he felt that his participation would be a bit of a dimensionality reduction attack.

But the media and fans all hope that Wang Yan can participate, the call is too high.

So Wang Yan had no choice but to agree.

In the first round, Novak scored 17 points, Paul George performed poorly and only scored 10 points, Irving had a big heart and scored 18 points, Wang Yan easily scored 22 points, Curry scored 19 points, and Bonner scored 17 points.

In this case, Wang Yan, Irving and Curry enter the second round.

The Cavaliers actually had two shooters selected for the second round, which shows how terrifying the Cavaliers' offensive ability is.

(End of this chapter)