basketball never sleeps

Chapter 278 126 Votes
Melon thought he had let it go. After losing so many times, he also gained experience in dealing with those reporters.

Isn’t it just “I don’t know”, “next question”, “no comment” and “he is great”? Just use the formula and you’re done.

Small media, take it easy!
But he still underestimated these senior media professionals. The journalism student also found that the routine questions could no longer arouse the interest of readers, so he had to dip his blood in this steamed bun.

"May I ask how you feel about the fact that you scored 58 points and had a -57 plus-minus in two games?"

"Some people say that the 03 draft was the time when you and Mo Wen were closest in strength. What do you think of this view?"

"After this series, you will soon lose more games to Mo than James. Do you have anything to say?"

"Mello, I want to know how you managed to have the courage to look Mo in the eye after Mo scored 88 points in front of you?"

"..."

If it weren't for his agent repeatedly emphasizing to him the need to establish an image of "reformation" after being suspended for fighting, Anthony really wanted to throw Camby next to him down and smash these bastards to death.

Normally, everyone speaks softly to him and wants to hear his true feelings, but why do they have to open their hearts to him just after losing two games?

"Don't underestimate us, we still have two home games, just wait and see!"

A reporter felt that this statement was familiar, so he flipped through the interview records and guess what, this person was so stubborn!
That night, the TNT studio trio and guest Reggie Miller commented on the game as usual.

"Actually, for the Supersonics, the first round against the Nuggets is still a big test." Barkley suddenly had an idea and said pretentiously while hugging his chest.

"Pfft, the outcome of two consecutive games was decided before the fourth quarter. Where did you see the challenge?" Kenny Smith asked with a smile.

"Well, I support Charles' point of view. This series is indeed a test for the Supersonics." Reggie Miller followed Barkley's train of thought after a little thought.

Barkley pointed at Reggie Miller as if he had met a close friend, then slowly spoke: "The challenge I mentioned is not how much trouble the Nuggets can bring to the Supersonics. On the contrary, it is because they cannot threaten the Supersonics at all that they can cause trouble to the Supersonics."

"Most of the Sonics' players are new this season and are very young. Only Mo and Ray have playoff experience. Under these circumstances, they especially need the right opponents to train with. After all, the playoffs and the regular season are two completely different games."

"I originally thought that the Nuggets were a good training ground. They weren't too strong, but they had the double guns. But if you look at the performance and spirit of the Nuggets players on the court, they couldn't put any pressure on the Supersonics. If they run into the Spurs who have outstanding experience in this area, the Supersonics will definitely suffer a big loss."

Not to mention, Barkley's theory that "the weaker the Nuggets are, the stronger they will be" really made Kenny Smith feel bored.

"I think the problem with the Nuggets still lies with the two guns." Kenny Smith could only change the question. "The Nuggets' idea of ​​forming a combination of Anthony and Iverson, the two scoring champions, is fine. The problem is that the Nuggets have not figured out how to pair role players around the two."

This topic is so old-fashioned that everyone discussed it for a while and then started talking about the MVP and DPOY that would be announced soon.

The deadline for MVP and DPOY voting is 4 p.m. Eastern Time on the second day after the regular season ends. The actual results were counted on April 20, but in order to generate buzz and promote marketing, the league usually announces the results in the second round of the playoffs.

They all tacitly agreed not to discuss Mo Wen, but instead turned their attention to other outstanding players.

In TNT's statistical survey, Nash is still the player that league players most want to partner with, even surpassing Mo Wen, because Nash does not occupy the ball.

Nowitzki has performed well this year. Although the Mavericks have lost two games in a row and are facing the possibility of being humiliated and eliminated, if we only look at the regular season, the Mavericks' record and Nowitzki's statistics are still very good.

As for James, as the only American in the top five of the MVP list, he led the Cavaliers to better results this year than last year, but the recognition he received was very low, not only because of his poor performance in the playoffs after winning the MVP last year, but also because the Cavaliers' lineup this year was more luxurious, but they did not perform as everyone expected.

After the upset in the first game of the playoffs, the media also dug up his "bad debt" in the regular season. James' choice of the buzzer-beater pass was based on experience.

Before the end of the Cavaliers' regular season or overtime this year, when James wanted to rely on his long-range shots to tie the score or defeat the opponent, the Cavaliers had 0 wins and 7 losses. From this perspective, there is nothing wrong with James.

(The actual original data shows that James defeated the Cavaliers 0-9. He really dared to take responsibility back then.)
Kobe was also included in the discussion, and everyone was saying that Kobe has matured again - from "seeing teammates as teammates and trash as trash", to "seeing teammates as trash and trash as teammates", and now finally back to "seeing teammates as teammates and trash as trash".

Team spirit has regressed 8 years - in 99, Kobe was praised as a more promising rising star than Danny because of his outstanding team spirit.

"So who do you think has the potential to compete with that man in the MVP election?" After a discussion, Ernie Johnson clasped his hands and looked at everyone else.

There was silence in the studio for two seconds. Barkley turned his head to check the time. "If you want to ask this question, my answer is just one sentence."

Several people became excited and were very interested in the answer from this big mouth. Even the director outside the camera became curious.

"It's over. The topic is over. Today's program ends here. Thank you for watching."

On the 23rd, the Supersonics flew to Denver.

The fans on the plateau did not react much, although some die-hard and fanatical fans still set up a parade outside the stadium, cheering for the team with loud gongs and drums, and found the street where the Supersonics were staying to organize an evening party.

But most fans have recognized the current situation and accepted reality.

Mo Wen's score of 88 points is really hated, but Americans who admire the strong are not Koreans who cannot afford to lose. They really acknowledge the gap.

Kobe's father suffered this loss when he went to play in La Liga. He originally thought that fans all over the world were the same as Americans, and even fans of rival teams would cheer for his wonderful performance. Later, he discovered that only fans from big countries had a sense of tolerance.

Back at home, the Nuggets players have more or less regained their fighting spirit, and the sense of responsibility to win a game for their fathers has stimulated them and ignited their blood.

George Karl finally convinced his players to give his "total offense basketball" one more try.

With the cheers of the home fans and the blessing of the home whistle, the crazy Nuggets actually took a 5-point lead at the end of the first quarter.

The excited Nuggets maintained their lead until halfway through the second quarter.

At 7 minutes and 22 seconds in the second quarter, Mo Wen, who had rested for 4 minutes, put on a stern face and led the main players back into the game. The jubilant cheers in the Pepsi Center immediately became much quieter.

The Nuggets players, who originally only had their eyes on the basket, unconsciously turned their gazes to Mo Wen.

George Karl noticed the problem and tried to divert attention by shouting loudly on the sidelines to make Mo Wen's presence less prominent.

However, the director on the sidelines still focused the camera on the "protagonist".

After half-time, Mo Wen used his back dribbling and crotch hand-changing that were as fast as breathing, and pressured Posey's defense step by step. As soon as he reached the three-point line, the situation suddenly changed. With Ray Allen's running and Milicic's lifting, the rest of the players on the court were forced to move.

The experienced Nuggets players did not panic, but defended and moved in an orderly manner.

He took half a step back to create space, and before Posey could move up, Mo Wen turned his head and pushed the ball in and out, dribbling it. When they looked at each other again, they were already in the same line.

Melon wanted to make up for the defense, but Mo Wen blocked Posey, slid, turned around and dived with the two of them right behind him.

Camby consciously returned to defense, but was fooled by Mo Wen's fake pass while grabbing the ball with one hand.

It was only half a second, enough time for Mo Wen to take a step and dribble the ball into the air. With a flick of his fingertips, the basketball in the air seemed to be in slow motion, spinning in the camera and flying into the net.

In the next round, Iverson was forced to make an emergency stop and shoot high under double-teaming, but the rebound was grabbed by Mo Wen in advance. Milicic, Mo Wen and Ray Allen passed the ball to the Nuggets' half without it falling to the ground.

Exhausted, Camby finally chose Milicic to kill and ignored the remaining two, so the basket behind him had to suffer again and endured Mo Wen's Huashan Chop.

When they came back, Mo Wen tied the score with a three-pointer from one step outside the three-point line, and the Nuggets players found that the familiar feeling of suffocation had returned.

The rest of the time went back to normal routine - the two guns tried their best and the bench had a gap.

At the end, the red light whistle blew and the Supersonics led the Nuggets 116:106.

After being "reminded" by reporters, Melo finally realized that he had to do something in garbage time, not only for the fans, but also for his own plus-minus value.

"Don't give up hope, we still have one last chance!"

After listening to Anthony's final words of resistance, the reporters closed their interview notes with satisfaction.

On April 4, the weather in Denver will be sunny to cloudy with light rain in some areas.

"Don't lose. Do you hear me? Just try it if you lose the next game!" Melon congratulated with gritted teeth.

"Okay, go find a bottle of mineral water. The little pearls in your eyes can't be hidden anymore." Mo Wen patted Tiangua's shoulder and added the final blow.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

With a 4:0 lead in the series, the SuperSonics became the first team to advance to the second round.

"They are a championship-level team. Without Mo, they are still a strong team, but with Mo, they are a championship-level team." "Mo's performance this year is historic. I can't think of anyone who can compare with him this year. I am optimistic that he can continue to win the championship this year, and I hope so."

"I have applied for resignation from the management. I am sorry that I couldn't find a way to beat them. The Nuggets players are very talented. I didn't do well enough to bring out their best."

At the post-game press conference, George Karl slid down and knelt to apologize.

The angry Nuggets fans were also a little confused. The biggest scapegoat had run away, so who should they blame?
Payton was very sad when he saw this scene.

George Karl can be considered his mentor. He joined the SuperSonics a year later than him. In his coaching career for more than ten years, his winning rate has been above 50% every year. He was thinking of going to him to learn a few skills after retirement, but he was forced to resign by the SuperSonics.

Payton turned his head and looked at Mo Wen again. If it was just a playoff loss, it would be fine, but the fatal blow to the old coach was Mo Wen's 88 points in a single game.

Think about it, Mo Wen is still so young, and who knows how many "old coaches" he will cause trouble in the future.

……

On May 5th, a trailer for the MVP selection results was played on TV.

The so-called MVP ballot is just an A4 paper with the NBA letterhead and a light watermark of the Jerry West logo.

The title at the top is "Official NBA Most Valuable Voting", and there are five columns below, where you can fill in five names, which are usually referred to as the first to fifth votes.

The first vote is worth 10 points, the second is 7 points, the third is 5 points, the fourth is 3 points, and the fifth is only 1 point. Only the highest score is counted for repeated names. When there is no candidate with a particularly close score, people will regard the first vote as the real candidate of this ballot. The MVP vote rate refers to the proportion of the total votes to the first vote.

At the bottom of the paper, there are a few lines of small words introducing the origin of MVP.

The league sent out a total of 126 ballots this year.

Among them, 90 were distributed to local media television and newspaper reporters of each team, and 35 were distributed to sports media channels across the United States, such as well-known experts and commentators from FOX, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, SLAM, etc.

One difference this year is that there is one extra ballot, which was sent to Director Zhang of the Central Bank.

This is the first time that the NBA has given the voting rights for the grand prize to non-English media. Historically, the domestic media only got a vote after the Penguin paid US$1 million in annual broadcasting fees.

Because of Mo Wen's existence, the league had to show more respect to the Chinese media, although they also knew that issuing the voting rights was meaningless and suspenseful, just like this year's MVP voting.

莫闻本赛季常规赛场均32.1分、12.2次助攻、7.7篮板、1.7盖帽、2.2抢断。

Looking at the past 30 years (MVP list), only Danny Rose has a higher average score than him, and only Magic Johnson has more average assists than him.

This is the first time in history that one person has won the scoring title, assist title and steal title at the same time.

What is even more unforgettable is the unprecedented 88 points in a single game.

The remaining 50+60+ and assist records cannot even appear on this transcript.

In terms of team performance, the Supersonics won 69 games this season, setting a team record. The single-season winning rate is second only to the Bulls and the Heat. It also won 34 more games than the Supersonics last season, nearly doubling.

Of course, we cannot forget the first home winning streak since the founding of the NBA.

Combined with the legendary gambling contract behind it... if this script were put in Hollywood, it would at least be classified as a science fiction movie.

With all these outstanding achievements, it is no wonder that Barkley announced the end of the day's show last night.

Many media outlets hate this kind of situation, but since there is no possibility of any surprises, they can only bite the bullet and praise a Chinese person.

Of course, there is still some suspense.

"Damn Hickman, damn CNN, damn Iverson!"

In a massage parlor in Miami, a 300-pound fat man was mumbling to himself, rubbing his back teeth together, as if he was ruminating on some unpleasant memories from the past.

那是2000年，那年他打出了场均29.7分13.6篮板3.8助攻3盖帽的疯狂数据，带领湖人拿到了67胜。

No one can compete with him in terms of statistics, performance on the field or team performance.

But in the final vote, CNN reporter Fraser "Dumbo" Hickman cast his first vote for Iverson, whom he personally preferred, causing him to miss the opportunity to create a unanimous MVP election.

Although so far, O'Neal is still the MVP winner with the highest vote rate.

But this cannot satisfy O'Neal. 00 was clearly his most dominant year. Nothing can better demonstrate a player's dominance than a unanimous MVP. Just because of this reporter, his greatness has been blemished.

O'Neal had such a deep grudge against this reporter that he would bring it up from time to time over the next decade or so.

Now he doesn't know what kind of mood he is in towards this MVP voting.

As a friend, he didn't mind seeing Mo Wen, who had no competition with him, take the record, but damn, damn Hickman, you'd better not forget your original intention!
Before the final MVP was announced, the league released the DPOY selection results first.

Deng defeated Bowen from the same team with a slight advantage and won his first DPOY trophy in his career, successfully filling all the honors a player can get.

When the results were announced, the league's top brass breathed a sigh of relief. After Camby was kicked out of the DPOY discussion because of Mo Wen's 88-point sequelae, Bowen once rushed to the top of the DPOY support list.

Speaking of which, Bowen's popularity is quite high these days. TNT said that it counted 300 players, and the most players listed Bowen as this year's DPOY candidate... Mo Wen thinks TNT should exclude the victims from the statistical list.

Fortunately, we still have Old Deng as our insurance. After some behind-the-scenes manipulation, the value of the DPOY was not lost.

This is a very clever arrangement. After all, even Popovich can't question it.

Finally, the league finally released the MVP selection results.

Mo Wen, 126 first-place votes, total score 1260 points.

The first unanimous MVP in history is born!

(O'Neill: I fuck your whole family, Hickman!)

……

After breakfast, Mo Wen, who had nothing to do, started reading the newspaper, while little Catherine started choosing clothes.

She will be accompanying Mo Wen to attend two press conferences in the afternoon, so they must be more formal.

"Brother-in-law, I want to go too." Little Tina said, pulling Mo Wen.

"Be good and stop making trouble. You have the SAT exam next month. Study hard and don't just think about joining in the fun." Mo Wen, who had his pants pulled up, spoke in a very firm tone, as if he was not the one who had tormented the two sisters last night.

"Exams don't matter. Just pass them. University is there anyway." Tina said nonchalantly, but her little hands secretly pulled the knot on Mo Wen's pants.

Mo Wen was stunned. He had forgotten that this was not his country.

He could just find a local councillor he knew to write a letter of recommendation, or ask his father-in-law to send an email, and universities wouldn't be a problem.

You can always count on capitalism to be convenient in this regard.

"You still have to study hard. Otherwise, if your grades are not good, your sister and I won't be able to explain to the governor and his wife." Mo Wen still shook his head.

"They are yours now, what else do you want to explain to them?" Tina pouted, pulled open the gap between the man's abdominal muscles and clothes, and reached her hand in.

"You... forget it, I'll take a day off for you today." Mo Wen, who was caught with a handle, had no choice but to pick up the phone next to him, find Tina's teacher's phone number and start editing a text message.

The sister-in-law kissed him on the side of the cheek happily, but Mo Wen was not satisfied with just this response.

"Tina, you are not a child anymore. You have to solve the problems you caused yourself."

After saying that, he pressed Tina's head down.

"Bad brother-in-law, huh."

(End of this chapter)