Champion Rules

Chapter 196, Section 192: I can get it if I want to (Seeking monthly votes!)
In the latest All-Star voting, Steve Nash has returned to the spotlight with thunderous momentum, and Lynch finally has a teammate with a chance to start in the All-Star game.

Three years after 2006, Steve Nash once again ranked second in All-Star voting, only behind Kobe Bryant.

Although Nash won two MVP awards, making him the player with the most MVP awards from the 96 draft class, a little-known fact is that he was only an All-Star starter once—even Steve Francis, who is now largely forgotten, was an All-Star starter twice.

One reason is the brutal competition among top-tier guards in the Western Conference. Kobe consistently occupied a starting position, leaving only one spot for Nash and others.

Another reason is that in the NBA, white playmakers who prioritize passing and ball control often struggle against high-flying, powerful guards, so Nash's popularity wasn't as high as one might imagine.

But in New York, as the Knicks pursued their 73rd win, Nash's flowing hair and uncanny passing finally found new life amidst the orange wave.

After the second round of voting, he was already far ahead of everyone else, ahead of Kobe.

Reebok's keen business acumen allowed them to grasp the narrative code, leading them to propose the concept of the "Lynch effect."

Considering that during the Knicks' first era, Lynch also brought back past-his-prime Stephon Marbury and Grant Hill to the All-Star team, this Knicks team has become an All-Star regeneration factory.

Reebok wanted to use this narrative angle to heavily promote Lynch's leadership.

But Lynch rejected the publicity proposal.

“I don’t want my teammates to feel that they made the All-Star team only because of me. I am part of the reason, but they also have to be outstanding on their own. You see, I will never be able to get our second-best shooting guard in the East into the All-Star discussion.”

Lynch certainly pursued success through individual heroism, but he disdained to exploit his teammates to highlight his own greatness.

He needs the stars to accompany him, not to shine by their light.

Nevertheless, Steve Nash still brought up Lynch during an interview.

The veteran, who had twice lifted the MVP trophy, rested his hands behind his head and said with a lazy yet sincere smile:

"Oh, I wouldn't have had this opportunity if I hadn't played alongside Lynch. If it weren't for Lynch, I would probably be a washed-up 35-year-old floor-cleaning guard—you know, I was so frail that I often fell down, so the floor at Madison Square Garden was always the cleanest in the league."

This highly significant praise flowed naturally from a teammate's mouth, fundamentally different from the persona created by the marketing team.

The world still knows that it was Lynch's influence that led to Nash's return to the All-Star starting lineup.

However, the key figures have always maintained an elegant distance from this, so as not to give people the feeling that "Lin Qi is taking credit for himself" and thus ruin his reputation with the general public, nor to attract the dislike of his teammates.

Lynch's positive locker room atmosphere allowed the New York Knicks to maintain their winning streak.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers were also chasing along this crazy highway.

Since acquiring Antawn Jamison, the Cavaliers have never lost a game.

Their record is outstanding, only two games behind the Knicks who have been on a winning streak.

This Cavaliers team has met all the requirements to be a good fit for LBJ. They have a stretch power forward, a defensive anchor, a second ball-handler, a three-point shooter, and a defensive stalwart. They're practically just missing a superstar in his prime for LBJ.

Danny Ferry is probably the most underrated general manager in the entire league; no one else could have done more for LBJ.

Of course, Stephen A. Smith, a self-proclaimed LeBron fan, still joked on his show: "Give LeBron a few extremely ordinary players and he can lead the Cavaliers to close the gap with Lynch. If you give him an MJ, he can do better than Scottie Pippen."

Strangely enough, Stephen A. Smith made both LBJ and Scottie Pippen feel insulted.

Amid the winning streak, Cleveland fans are once again hoping their chosen one will break the losing streak.

With the January season drawing to a close, the All-Star starting lineup has been officially confirmed.

Lynch once again topped the polls, with Dwight Howard in second place and Kobe Bryant in third – this is the first time in many years that Reebok and Adidas endorsers have simultaneously outperformed Nike endorsers in the polls.

Of course, Kobe did his best. He wasn't the player with the highest Nike endorsement fee, nor was he the player Nike promoted the most.

Helping Nike reach third place is already considered exceeding expectations.

Nike's true top star is someone whose name you wouldn't even see in the top five of a poll.

Thus, the starting five for the Eastern Conference are LBJ, Nash, Anthony, Lynch, and Howard. (LBJ has always played point guard for the Cavaliers in this book.)

The starting five for the Western Conference were Paul, Kobe, Garnett, Duncan, and Yao Ming.

Lynch remained calm after once again becoming the All-Star vote leader, as he has never shown much interest in the All-Star Game.

Over the years, he has never scored more than 20 points in an All-Star Weekend and has never been a major contender for the All-Star MVP.

The All-Star Game is still a competition, but its performative aspect far outweighs its competitive aspect.

This kind of uncompetitive competition, like the heavily censored "Two Nights with My Female Boss," is truly boring.

However, this year, the situation is different.

The day after the All-Star starting lineup was announced, Reebok conveyed its clear expectations to Lynch through his friend Sonny Vaccaro: "We hope you can win this year's All-Star MVP."

"Why? That lousy trophy isn't important. I look forward to All-Star Weekend every year to relax, and you're telling me I don't even have a weekend off this year?"

"In terms of the All-Star MVP alone, it's indeed insignificant. But think about it, Lynch. All-Star MVP, MVP, Finals MVP, 73 wins, championship. We need you to have a dominant season, which will greatly help us enhance your brand value."

Besides, as a superstar, there are some honors you may not actively publicize, but you can't leave them vacant.

Lin Qi hesitated for a moment, then nodded and replied, "Oh, no problem," his characteristic confidence resurfacing. "If I want to, I can take it."
-
After the All-Star starters are confirmed, the league will need to select a roster of All-Star reserves.

Unlike fan voting, All-Star reserves are selected by coaches. If a selected player becomes injured, NBA Commissioner David Stern designates a replacement player.

LeBron James voiced his support for Mo Williams, a close friend of his, and his new teammate Antawn Jamison: "I believe they both deserve to be All-Stars, they definitely belong there."

LBJ's supportive remarks for his teammates have reassured Cleveland fans. This not only signifies that he is beginning to demonstrate the qualities of a team leader, but also conveys his deep affection for the team and his fervent expectations for the growth of the players around him.

To many, this seemed to indicate that the likelihood of LeBron James leaving the Cavaliers was decreasing. However, after the Cavaliers vs. Lakers game, LeBron James's support for his teammates began to take a turn for the worse.

In the game against the Lakers, LeBron James struggled in the first half.

Jason Kidd's blockade of him had an unexpected effect, and coupled with the Lakers' collapse strategy, LBJ's driving threat decreased sharply. Kevin Garnett, as one of the best sweeping monsters in NBA history, could switch between helping protect the rim and interfering with Jamison in a timely manner, building an insurmountable barrier.

When Antoine Jamison couldn't create enough space for LeBron James, the number 23's offense started to feel dry, sluggish, and unsmooth again. Cavaliers head coach Brian Scott experienced this damn feeling in his bedroom last night, and now it's happening again tonight.

He started experimenting with his three-point shooting; if his long-range shooting is good, he can still put pressure on the Lakers' defense.

But in the end, he put a lot of pressure on the rim, and all three of his three-point attempts turned into rim-damaging bombs.

The rims at Staples Center are the most tormented in the entire league. They've been subjected to Kobe's abuse for years, and tonight they'll be subjected to a brutal inspection by LBJ.

Just when the Los Angeles Lakers thought they could win easily, Mo Williams stepped up.

This young guard was on fire in the first half, scoring 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the first quarter alone.

In the second quarter, when LeBron James was held to just 1 of 4 field goal attempts, Mo Williams continued his explosive form from the first quarter, making 7 of 8 field goal attempts and 2 of 2 three-point attempts, scoring one difficult shot after another over Kobe Bryant, adding another 16 points to the quarter!
Thanks to Mo Williams' 29-point performance in the first half, the Cavaliers still led the Lakers by 12 points despite LBJ's terrible performance in the first half.

In the second half, the Lakers had to increase their defensive intensity against Mo Williams.

Even Kevin Garnett's help defense started to lean towards him.

His efficiency did decrease, but his hot streak was still unstoppable. In the second half, he still managed to score 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

Furthermore, by shifting the Lakers' defensive resources in his favor, Mo Williams completely freed LBJ from his constraints.

He also scored 13 points in the second half, and his performance was no longer as bad as in the first half.

Mo Williams ultimately scored 42 points at Staples Center, extending Jamison's undefeated streak since joining the Cavaliers.

Mo Williams also yelled at the camera at the end of the game: "All-Star baby, give me the All-Star!"

This was an incredibly romantic game, where an unknown point guard scored wildly on a giant stage like Staples Center, over a superstar like Kobe Bryant, perfectly embodying the most thrilling "underdog" drama in basketball.

In such a great game, LeBron James certainly wouldn't let himself become the background character.

The "reverse Lynch" gene within him began to awaken.

Lynch didn't want to attribute his teammates' excellence to himself.

LBJ, on the other hand, did the opposite.

He smiled broadly at the post-match press conference.

"Oh, Mo played a great game. Tonight I played a supporting role, gave him a lot of opportunities to shoot. I just wanted him to prove that he deserves an All-Star spot. We were all looking forward to his breakout performance, and he did a fantastic job. Tonight was absolutely wonderful!"

Lynch's staunch supporter in the media circle, Marc Stein, directly criticized him on social media: "This is not playing a supporting role, this is the protagonist messing everything up and being saved by the supporting role. LeBron is saying it as if he mercifully gave Mo Williams the opportunity to score 42 points."

Kevin Garnett, who is a close friend of Lynch and has never been a fan of LeBron James, stared wide-eyed in disbelief after the game: "What? Kobe, did you hear what that kid said?"

As a Nike-sponsored athlete, Kobe Bryant declined to comment, only giving a vague response: "Mo Williams definitely played well tonight."

"Wait, this isn't about playing well, he practically saved the game! And LeBron is saying it's because he gave all his shot attempts to Mo. Man, that's ridiculous."

LeBron James successfully embroiled himself in controversy on his night of glory, much like the previous controversy surrounding the retirement of his number 23 jersey.

At this highly controversial juncture, the epic battle that captivated the entire Cleveland fanbase finally arrived.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, who have acquired Antawn Jamison, will host the New York Knicks in three days.

When Lynch set foot on Cleveland soil, he was greeted by the city's undisguised hostility.

The abuse of LeBron James dolls by New York fans is mostly just a form of mockery. They can laugh while stomping on the doll's face.

But the hatred that Cleveland fans have for Lynch is deep-seated and unforgettable.

Their expressions were ferocious, and the spittle they spat out as they roared was like javelins of anger. The thick black smoke rising from the burning of Lynch's No. 20 jersey filled the air, and the smoke-like flames shrouded the entire city in the pre-battle gloom.

It all looked like Los Angeles residents were fighting the National Guard.

Lynch has beaten LeBron James 21 times, so he didn't feel much about this game.

Before the game started, Lynch met Antawn Jamison, who had joined the Cavaliers a month earlier, in the player tunnel.

He had no past conflict with Lynch, so he greeted Lynch: "How are you feeling, Caesar?"

"That's great. What about LeBron? Will he give you a chance to score 40 points tonight?"

"Uh, LeBron is in great form too. He won't let you get away easily tonight. None of us will let you get away easily."

Ben Gordon, who was standing next to Lynch, couldn't help but chuckle.

"Oh, by the way, I have a question for you. Tonight, will the Cavaliers assign you to guard me, or will they assign LeBron James to guard me?"

"Me, but I'm not alone against you, you know our defensive system."

"Enough Antoine, I'm going to score at least 50 points tonight."

"What!? Lynch, do you know we're on a 14-game winning streak? Don't be ridiculous."

Lynch stared at Jamison's confident smile and calmly uttered the same words he had used to answer Sonny Vaccaro:
"I can take it if I want to."

(Thanks to Lin Yu and other big shots for their donations)
(I'm taking a half-day off today, with a rotating rest this afternoon. I'll continue writing 1 words a day tomorrow. Don't worry, this month won't be like last month. I'll take a maximum of two days off, and I'll try my best to keep that number to one.)
(End of this chapter)