Champion, please stay!

Chapter 237, Section 235: A Trip to Texas
Yi Shui guessed it; besides him, their team would definitely have another player selected for the All-Star game, after all, they were the best team in the league.

In his opinion, David Lee has a higher probability of being selected than Curry.

It's not that I think David Lee's average of 15.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game is better than Curry's average of 17.6 points and 5.3 assists per game.

Rather, it's because they're in the Eastern Conference, where the competition for inside players is less intense than for outside players.

Just like in the 07-08 season, Carter averaged 21 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists but was not selected, while Rasheed Wallace averaged 12 points and 6 assists but was selected. Although the Pistons had a much better record than the Nets that season, Rasheed Wallace's stats were still a bit excessive, because there really weren't many true All-Star players to be found in the Eastern Conference that year.

This season, the situation in the Eastern Conference's frontcourt is not much different from previous years. Apart from Howard, Bosh, and Randolph, no other frontcourt player has delivered a performance that is widely recognized as an All-Star.

However, the coaches of each team would not allow only three centers from the East to participate in the All-Star Game; they would have to select at least one more.

大前锋位置，大卫-李的竞争对手，只有目前场均12分7板2助攻1抢断1盖帽的加内特、场均14分10板的霍福德。

Josh Smith has always been unlucky. His scoring methods and defensive characteristics are more like those of a power forward, but because he can drive and dish to organize the offense, he is always regarded as a small forward. He has never benefited from the weakness of the Eastern Conference's frontcourt in the All-Star game.

Shaquille O'Neal was also unlucky. In the first two and a half months of the season, he averaged 15+7+2+2 in 25 minutes per game. If he had continued like that, there would have been no chance for players like David Lee, Garnett, and Horford. But the Cavaliers traded back Jamison, who was completely unsuitable for him at the moment. In the last dozen or so games, Jamison scored in double figures in less than half of them. His stats and actual performance on the court have both collapsed.

Curry faces a multitude of competitors: Rondo, Joe Johnson, Harris, Nelson, Ray Allen, Carter, Mo Williams...

Surprisingly, Curry was the one selected by the coaches of each team in the end!
At noon, after Yi Shui arrived at the airport and joined the team, he opened the NBA website on his phone and saw that the league had announced the detailed roster for the All-Star Weekend.

Regarding the All-Star Game.

Eastern Conference reserves: Rondo, Curry, Granger, Pierce, Garnett, Bosh, Randolph.

He joined Iverson, Wade, James, Yi Shui, and Howard to form the Eastern Conference All-Star team.

Western Conference reserves: Paul, Nash, Roy, Durant, Gasol, Nowitzki, Stoudemire.

He joined Rose, Kobe, Duncan, Anthony, and Yao Ming to form the Western Conference All-Star team.

Seeing that Garnett was selected while David Lee and Horford were not, Yi Shui thought that the coaches of each team were still trying to give the veterans some face.

As for not selecting O'Neal, whose stats were also poor, it was probably because Garnett's performance was improving and he would most likely return to All-Star level by the end of the season, while O'Neal had experienced a precipitous decline and there was no possibility of him returning to his early-season form.

As Barkley said, the best way for the Cavaliers to get out of their current predicament is to bench O'Neal and make good use of the frontcourt combination of James, Jamison, and Varejao.

This also means that, in the eyes of other team coaches, Curry's performance is better than David Lee's, even though neither of them are quite deserving of All-Star status.

but……

Allen Iverson withdrew from the game due to his daughter's serious illness, while Kevin Garnett withdrew because he was going to Europe for treatment of a knee injury.

David Lee and Al Horford were nominated.

Kobe Bryant withdrew from the game due to a broken finger and fluid buildup in his knee; Chris Paul withdrew from the game after being injured at the beginning of the month and expected to be out for a month until early March; Tim Duncan withdrew from the game after having an appointment with a neurologist in Cleveland to examine his foot during All-Star Weekend.

Deron Williams, Kevin Love, and LaMarcus Aldridge are the alternates.

Of the players who entered the NBA in the 90s, only Nash, Nowitzki, and Pierce remain in this year's All-Star Game!
...

Yi Shui arrived in San Antonio with the team and rested in the hotel for one night. The next morning, Yi Shui received a call from Yao Ming, who said that Yao Ming had already picked up his parents, grandparents, and maternal grandparents.

After expressing his gratitude, he chatted with his parents for a few minutes, then thanked Yao Ming again and again, and invited him to dinner during the All-Star Weekend.

He doesn't need to worry about his parents' schedule; his agent will arrange it, and the Little Giant will also help take care of them.

Moreover, judging from their experience of spending Chinese New Year together in New York last year, he felt that his father was somewhat disgusted with him. His father said that every time they went out together, they were surrounded by onlookers, like rare animals being watched in a zoo.

So he decisively asked Yao Ming to take his father to some famous places in Houston so that his father could truly experience what it means to be a 'rare animal' being watched by a crowd.

That evening, the Knicks kicked off their Texas road trip with an away game against the Spurs.

The pace of the game was also slowed down by the Spurs.

The Knicks players felt that even playing against the slowest-paced Celtics team wasn't as difficult as playing against the Spurs!
The Celtics could still get a bit ahead of the pace and play a slightly faster game when Perkins is substituted out for a rest.

But tonight, despite Yi Shui, Hughes, Du Hong, Curry and others trying their best to speed things up, they couldn't get the rhythm going!

Moreover, the Spurs and Suns are both in the Western Conference and have faced each other for many years, so the Spurs are very good at dealing with opponents' "forced fast-paced and disruptive playstyle".

The Knicks not only failed to set the pace, but their own offensive and defensive performances were also affected.

The score at the end of the first quarter was 21-26, and the score at the end of the second quarter was 27-29...

半场打完，在帕克16分7助攻的带领下，马刺队以55比48领先尼克斯队7分！
During halftime, D'Antoni resigned himself to his fate and racked his brains to devise a fast-paced offensive strategy for slow-paced positional play.

In the third quarter, thanks to Yi Shui's impressive long two-point performance, they scored 24-20 in the quarter, finally gaining the upper hand and narrowing the gap to 72-75, reducing the difference to 3 points.

But in the final quarter, the Demon Blade stepped up, this time with its blade pointed at the opponent!
Duncan was responsible for necessary strong attacks, Parker was responsible for regular scoring, and Ginobili was responsible for the star-studded duels during close quarters... The Spurs scored 27 points in a single quarter, steadily suppressing the Knicks' 25 points!

As Yi Shui's three-point attempt missed under pressure from Richard Jefferson and Duncan... the final buzzer sounded at 10:22 PM.

邓肯拿到23分12板3助攻3盖帽、帕克25分6助攻、吉诺比利18分5助攻；力压33分9板3助攻的易水、16分6助攻的库里、10分10板的吉布森、13分的杜洪。

The Spurs defeated the Knicks 102-97 at home!

It wasn't the first time Yi Shui had experienced Duncan's 'steadiness,' but he still felt very uncomfortable tonight.

He had two highlight-reel plays over Duncan in the final quarter: a putback dunk over Duncan and a layup that blocked Duncan's shot.

Normally, this would either deter the opponent's inside game or provoke them into playing irrationally.

But Duncan didn't. Like a machine, he continued to do what he was supposed to do: actively boxing out and protecting the board on defense, and actively cutting into the paint on offense to ensure the continuity of the tactics.

On the contrary, those who were filled with expectations were affected.

Actually, the situation was similar in the last matchup. Duncan was incredibly consistent, carrying Parker and providing a safety net for the Spurs, creating opportunities for Ginobili to kill the game.

However, Ginobili had stabbed his own team in the back that time, but this time he didn't waste the opportunity, scoring 11 points in the final quarter and giving the Knicks a hard blow.

Losing is always frustrating, but this is a Texas trip... After the final whistle blew, Yi Shui's negative emotions were much better than when they lost three consecutive away games on the South Coast.

No matter which team is scheduled for a three-game road trip in Texas, they'll suffer a lot; this has been a consensus among everyone over the years.

Even the Lakers, who had not suffered a three-game losing streak for two and a half years, fell on their Texas trip at the beginning of the month, failing to continue their winning streak.

Yi Shui looked at Duncan across the court. They had each defended their home court, so this season could be considered a tie. He remembered that this season was the last time the Spurs would play a traditional half-court game. Duncan's third peak was about to end, and the Spurs were about to enter the era of Duncan's fourth peak.

Thinking about this, he really understood why Garnett hated Duncan so much.

Garnett's career was marked by setbacks, with only a handful of truly dominant seasons with his teams.

Meanwhile, Duncan, who is the same age and also wears the number 21 jersey, has been competing for championships since entering the NBA and has never stopped.

This season, the Spurs have unusually fallen to the edge of the 50-win mark in the Western Conference. Many media outlets are speculating that Duncan is getting old and will retire, but will make a comeback next year and achieve the best record in the league... It would be strange if Garnett didn't dislike Duncan.

However, the news of Duncan's impending retirement came too suddenly. When Yi Shui came across this news around Christmas, he felt completely bewildered.

It's true that Duncan, who is about to turn 34, has performed a bit worse than in the previous two seasons, but only a bit worse than his previous two seasons. His average of 18 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists per game still makes him a top power forward. He may not make the All-NBA First Team twice, but he is a shoo-in for both.

Moreover, Duncan no longer jumps when he plays, similar to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and now plays purely using his static physical attributes. Maintaining this form for another two or three years shouldn't be a problem.

It wasn't until Duncan took a pay cut and shortened his contract, signing a two-year, $40 million extension with the Spurs, that Yi Shui finally understood why such inexplicable public opinion had emerged.

Trying to lower the price without taking the risk of signing veteran players to long-term contracts is just like not wanting to give Leonard a max contract in the future...

...

The next morning, Yi Shui boarded a modified van sent by the rental company and left San Antonio for Houston ahead of the team.

Before coming to Texas, he had already discussed it with the team and would leave this morning to go to Yao Ming's house to meet with his family.

Walsh had planned for the whole team to leave early this morning, but Yi Shui refused.

It's a rare treat to come to San Antonio, a city brimming with Latin American charm. After the game, I'll definitely want to go out and have some fun. Most of my teammates will probably be sleeping in late tonight, so I can't let his personal reasons affect their rest.

The distance from San Antonio to Houston is not far, about 300 kilometers on the highway. The modified van had decent sound insulation. Yi Shui took a nap and arrived at Yao Ming's house just in time for lunch.

After not seeing each other for half a year, her mother, grandmother, and maternal grandmother talked to Yi Shui for a long time, repeatedly saying that she had lost weight.

Despite the nagging from her elders, Yi Shui actually felt quite good about it.

Before seeing his parents in person, he didn't mind not seeing them for a year, and was even a little afraid of meeting them.

But after seeing each other, I would miss them soon after we parted.

Yi Donglai couldn't stand it anymore and complained, "He's not thin at all! He weighs 110 kilograms! Pigs that heavy should be ready for slaughter!"

Chen Fanghua said irritably, "How can you talk about your own son like that?"

Yi Shui dared not speak out in anger, but seeing Yao Ming's technical foul smile, he immediately said, "There's another one weighing over 130 kilograms!"

Yao Ming: "..."

He was just watching the fun, and he actually got personally attacked!
I really want to kick this guy out of his house!

However, seeing the atmosphere of Yi Shui's family, Yao Ming, although almost 30 years old and his child will be born in a few months, still felt a little envious.

His parents were also present, but they were much more serious than the elders of the Yishui family.

In his memory, ever since he showed basketball talent that surpassed his parents' when he was a child, he hadn't really felt the warmth of family...

After a while of commotion, the chef at Yao Ming's restaurant informed them that the food was ready.

When the Yi family came to visit, Yao Ming naturally had to treat them well. He called over the restaurant's head chef, and of course, the dishes he prepared were not "American specials," but standard Zhejiang and Huaiyang cuisine.

In the afternoon, Yi Shui spent the whole afternoon playing mahjong with her mother, grandmother, and maternal grandmother.

Yao Ming accompanied Yi Shui's father, grandfather, and maternal grandfather to go fishing nearby.

This time, the group didn't have any air force personnel, but Yi Donglai was completely taken aback. The Little Giant was even more eye-catching than his Emperor Yi! Not only were they surrounded by onlookers wherever they went, but people were also taking pictures of them with their phones and cameras!
...

That evening, Yi Shui stayed overnight at Yao Ming's house with his family. The two families cooked New Year's Eve dinner together, which was considered an early celebration of the New Year.

The next day, February 13th, was the actual Lunar New Year's Eve. Yi Shui and Yao Ming both threw themselves into their work, preparing for the game with their respective teams.

At 8 p.m. Los Angeles time, which is 11 a.m. on the first day of the Lunar New Year in China, the "Battle of the Titans" that had been promoted for more than half a month began!
The Rockets traded McGrady for Kevin Martin and also received draft picks, which was undoubtedly a huge win. However, the addition of Kevin Martin did not make the Rockets stronger; in fact, it made them weaker. After the schedule tightened in January, they dropped out of the Western Conference playoff race!
A player who takes a lot of shots but has a low shooting percentage isn't actually a big problem. Allen Iverson in the early 2000s also had a low shooting percentage, but no one dared to underestimate the 76ers. Even top teams could be defeated by Iverson's shooting.

But Kevin Martin was different; he wasn't a high-shot player early in his career!

At that time, the Kings had two players averaging 20+ points per game, Artest and Kevin Martin, and were quite competitive in the Western Conference, winning around 40 games each season. In the 05-06 season, the year they acquired Artest, they even made the playoffs.

Kevin Martin was forced to take on most of the shot attempts vacated by Artest's departure after the Sacramento Kings practically gave him away to the Houston Rockets in the summer of 2008. He was forced to change his playing style. His field goal percentage was above 45% from his second to fourth year, but it dropped to 42% in the 2008-09 season, and it has fallen to less than 40% this season. In an interview at the beginning of the season, he even said that he "didn't want to shoot".

At the beginning of the season, although the Rockets' frontcourt strength was affected on both ends of the court due to Artest being replaced by Ariza, and their strength was not as good as last season, Adelman's tactics still ran smoothly. Ariza previously played the triangle offense and was very receptive to the similar Princeton offense.

Kevin Martin's arrival changed everything. The ball stopped in his hands, and despite his own unwillingness, his on-court habits had been heavily influenced by this "passive, unlimited shooting" mentality, leading to a host of bad habits...

The entire Rockets team was affected, and their much-praised 'resilience' began to gradually disappear.

Tonight, the Rockets played without much strategy. Yao Ming took his shot, then Kevin Martin took his, then Ariza missed, and Brooks, unable to stand it anymore, started taking shots himself…

When Yao Ming was at his most energetic in the first quarter, the Rockets were scoring well, leading the Knicks 27-26 by one point.

But in the second quarter, the Knicks completely took control, scoring 29-23 to end the first half with a 55-50 lead.

In the third quarter, Yi Shui faced a relentless defense from Ariza and Battier, repeatedly dominating the defense and scoring with a total of 15 points in the quarter. Meanwhile, Kevin Martin and Ariza, who were forced to shoulder the burden in the third quarter, only managed to score a combined 13 points.

With a 27-21 quarter, the Knicks extended their lead to double digits after three quarters, leading the Rockets 82-71 by 11 points!
In previous years, even if they were down by 11 points after three quarters, the Rockets would fight hard in the final quarter and often pull off a comeback. But this time, the Rockets failed to mount an effective comeback in the final quarter and seemed to have resigned themselves to their fate...

With a 25-18 quarter score, the Knicks ultimately defeated the Rockets 107-89!
Yao Ming played 35 minutes tonight, shooting 8-for-14 from the field and 9-for-10 from the free-throw line, scoring 25 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. His playing time was the highest since the start of 2010. His field goal percentage and free-throw percentage were the highest in the game. Facing a Knicks team with a weak interior, he demonstrated his strongest one-on-one ability at the center position.

易水这边，首节9分、第二节11分、第三节15分、末节8分，全场打了40分钟，35投16中，其中三分球7中3，加上10中8的罚球，狂轰43分！
This marks his 14th 40+ point game this season, surpassing Wade and placing him third among active players in the number of 40+ point games in a single season, behind only Kobe and Iverson!

The next morning, the Yi family bid farewell to Yao Ming and his wife, left Houston, and headed to Dallas ahead of the Knicks.

After defeating the Rockets, he felt much more relaxed, no longer worried about losing his Texas tour like some player number 24.

Bartelstein has arranged accommodation and a travel itinerary for Yi Shui's family, not in downtown Dallas, but in Arlington, a "sports city" about 30 kilometers north of downtown Dallas.

The Dallas Cowboys, the world's most expensive sports club, are based in this city. This year's NBA All-Star Weekend will not be held at the American Airlines Arena, the Mavericks' home arena, but at the Cowboys Stadium, which can hold more than 10 people!

(End of this chapter)