am i proud?

Chapter 168 The Dust Settled (Today's first update)
Hearing Big Ben's question, Carlisle said lightly from the side: "Don't worry, as long as they show any signs of cutting you off, I'll replace you immediately!"

There is nothing wrong with what you said... I have already replaced people, how else can you cut them?
At the beginning of the second half, players from both sides returned to the court from the locker room. This is the time to test the level of the coaches of the two teams.

In the first half, the 24 All-Stars from both sides have all appeared on the field. In the second half, it is time to compete for victory. The head coach has to consider who will play more and who will play less.

On the one hand, it is necessary to allow star players with relatively high rankings to play for a longer period of time as much as possible, and on the other hand, the adaptability of the players must also be considered.

For example, the player Francis, although his fans selected the All-Star starter, but considering that his style of play is not compatible with Kobe at all, the Western team will definitely let Nash play more.

The same is true for the eastern side, just like Wang Dalin and "Fat Toutuo" have very similar styles of play, and the effect of playing at the same time is not good, so Carlisle should try to stagger them as much as possible.

Seeing the players from both sides fighting on the field, Carlisle couldn't help sighing: It would be great if Hamilton and Billups could also be selected for the All-Star team. Their style of play is so compatible with Wang Dalin!

The western side launched an offense first. Kobe broke into the three-second zone under the double cover of Garnett and Duncan. Facing Wang Dalin's help defense, he didn't force it. Instead, he hit the ground and passed it to O'Neal at the basket.

O'Neill was so happy that he turned around and wanted to dunk, but "Uncle Mu" hugged him down.

"Fack!" O'Neill couldn't help swearing after being fouled, "Dikembe, why are you so shameless? You also played this with me in the All-Star Game?"

"Uncle Mu" smiled and said, "I'm sorry Shaq, we just want to win, so we have to focus on your weakness!"

"Fuck! Am I the weak point?" O'Neill said angrily, "I'll show you my real free throw skills!"

Unfortunately, after two "dangdang" sounds, the rebound was picked off by "Uncle Mu".

O'Neill blushed and had no choice but to run to his own half.

The Eastern side was attacking. Kidd came to the frontcourt and began to direct his teammates to run, and called Wang Dalin to set him a pick-and-roll cover. Kidd successfully broke through to the three-point line, but the opponent Garnett had already assisted in the defense.

Kidd made a false pass, and the basketball instantly flew into the hands of Wang Dalin on the other side.

I have to say that Garnett's help defense is really good. With Kidd's ability, he rarely encounters such a strong help defense in the East. Usually after a pick-and-roll, he has opened up the gap.

This season, as all the teams have begun to fumble and play zone defense, the era when one pick-and-roll can play all over the world is gone forever.

Especially in the past, the Jazz relied on Malone and Stockton's one-shot pick-and-roll for more than ten years. The reason is simple. Man-to-man cannot break the pick-and-roll, and no matter how you switch positions, you will suffer.

But the zone defense is different. As long as there are three defenses and two defenses, no matter how you split the front, there will always be two players. This is also the reason why the Jazz's record has plummeted this season.

The team that benefited the most is the Timberwolves. Their head coach Saunders is an expert in zone defense and has published books.The Timberwolves, with accurate outside and high inside, took advantage of the first month of this season.And those old coaches who have been in the NBA for decades seem to be completely confused, and they have to learn from scratch.

The Pistons are naturally one of the teams that have benefited from league rules. If they hadn't played the so-called "mixed zone defense", how could they have 5 wins and 2 losses without a big capital?
Of course, the zone defense is not invincible, as long as it is played properly, it can still be broken. Basically, if you want to break the zone defense, you have to do the following two things:

First, the flow of the ball.

Take the Nets this season as an example. Kidd, a passing master with strong breakthrough ability, initiates the offense. There are shooters Kittles and Van Horn on the outside, Martin and center Mark Loyle on the inside, and Jefferson, who can shoot suddenly.

In any case, both teams have only 5 players. As long as there are double teams, there will be gaps. The key is how to find and use the gaps.

Kidd in the middle ensures the smooth running of the ball, and everyone who gets the ball has the ability to end the offense, so the zone defense can be broken.

This season, the Kings have made this approach to the extreme. Five of their players on the court are very good at passing the ball, and more than one can be used as a pivot. Coupled with Adelman's Princeton system, it is actually a matter of course for them to set off a bloody storm this season.

Second, a quick defensive counterattack.

No matter how powerful the zone defense is, it still needs to move and deploy. If the opponent's attack is over and you haven't run back, what else do you have?Later, the Warriors and Suns emerged from this method, leading the league to form a "running and bombing" trend.

Of course, the Pistons have also played "running and bombing", also because of the lack of the big inside pillar.

On the west side's offense, O'Neal received the ball inside and was "slashed" again. This time, Kidd fouled him.

O'Neal made two free throws and took advantage of the timeout to apply for a rest.

I guess this guy has already scolded in his heart: "The grandchildren in the east are too worthless. What the hell is an All-Star Game playing this game with me, so it's clear that you don't want me to play? Since you don't want me to play, I won't play with you... I'll just sit on the sidelines and rest, exhausting you grandchildren!"

I have to say that O'Neill's idea is very Ah Q-like, but it is actually useless.

The Western Stars have replaced Peja and Nowitzki to strengthen the offense. Kobe and Nash are still partners in the backcourt, and Duncan is temporarily working part-time as the center.

Although everyone knows that the West's internal strength is far better than that of the East, but in fact they only have O'Neal as an orthodox center, and the others are power forwards, while the East has two orthodox centers Mutombo and Daben... It can only be said that neither of them is as good as O'Neal.

After O'Neal was replaced, the Eastern star team could no longer implement the "shark-cutting tactics", and the offense on the western side became more flexible and changeable.

With O'Neal on the court, he is certainly a strong point that is difficult for the opponent to defend anyway, but it does not necessarily bring positive effects to the team's overall offense and defense.

These people are not the role players of the Lakers. They are all All-Stars. Everyone is a big shot in the league who can frighten one side by stomping their feet. How could they be willing to be O'Neal's tools?

Therefore, they were able to cooperate with O'Neal when he was on the court, and they were already trying their best to make concessions.

Now that O'Neal is off the court to rest, they have given full play to their abilities, and the powerful offensive firepower of these All-Stars in the West has naturally been completely released.

The East was caught off guard, and in just over 2 minutes, the Western Stars played a 10:0 spurt. Seeing that the point difference was only 6 points.

Carlisle called a timeout at the right time. He didn't arrange any tactics. He mainly wanted everyone to calm down. At the same time, he also hoped that the players of the Western Conference Star Team would feel a little cooler.

Both Wang Dalin and Pierce were a bit downcast. It wasn't that they didn't attack with all their strength, but as long as they got into the three-point line, there would always be at least two people around them staring at them. Naturally, the hit rate of forced shots would not be high.

Especially Garnett, this tall, long-armed and fast-moving guy always appears in any position in time, and he displayed his defensive assistance ability almost perfectly, which caused both Wang Dalin and Pierce a deep headache.

On the western side, Duncan is guarding the basket. His interior defensive level is not a bit lower than O'Neal's. Kidd's breakthroughs have also been greatly restricted.

The main reason is that Kobe and Garnett played frequently and cooperated. The two of them felt hot during this period, and they scored all of their attacks.

After all, the East Star team's zone defense is a beginner's practice. Everyone has never cooperated together before, so there are often situations where people are missed.

Carlisle thought about it for a while, and decided to replace Mutombo with Daben. In comparison, Daben's ability to assist in defense is stronger, and the opponent obviously will not focus on Duncan, so the pressure on the inside defense is not too great.

Besides, Wang Dalin's height and wingspan on the eastern side are good. If Duncan really plays inside, he has to consider Wang Dalin's possible defense at any time.

The two sides reappeared after some deployment of troops and generals. The players from both sides gathered together before entering the field, and roared in unison—"Kill the west (east) troops!"

Both Pierce and Wang Dalin knew that this period of time was probably the most critical moment of the game. If they could not withstand the crazy counterattack of the Western Stars, they might even be taken away by a wave, and they would have no chance to win the game and win the AMVP.

So after resuming the game, both of them put a lot of attention on the defensive end, especially Wang Dalin. His quick help defense inside the three-point line surprised all the All-Stars of the Western team... Isn't this just Garnett?
Even Garnett himself was very surprised, because his defense is based on his strong physical talent. If he doesn't have a height of 211cm, a wingspan of 226cm, and a lateral movement speed that is almost comparable to that of a small guard, how can he achieve this level?

But Wang Dalin did it, and the effect of this kind of defense was almost comparable to that of Garnett himself, so the Western Stars' offense was immediately blocked, and they failed to score three consecutive offenses.

On the other hand, Wang Dalin scored all three consecutive offenses in the east, including a three-pointer, which was terrible!
The point difference widened to 13 points again, and Kobe on the Western Conference team stepped forward again. He first hit a difficult long-range three-pointer from the outside line, and then broke into the basket in the next attack and caused Da Ben's thug foul.

Kobe made two free throws at the free throw line and narrowed the point difference to single digits again.

不得不说科比本场比赛的表现确实堪称炸裂，截止到第三节中段他总共19次出手命中12球，其中三分球6投2中，罚球4投4中，已经砍下了30分7篮板3助攻1抢断。

If the Western Stars finally win, Kobe will undoubtedly get the first AMVP trophy of his career.

But will the All-Stars in the East agree?
At this point in the game, the players on both sides are no longer chatting and laughing like they were before the start of the game. It seems that the atmosphere is very harmonious... Now they are all fighters, and they will do their best to fight each other every minute and every second on the court!

Pierce wiped the sweat off his head with his wristband, leaned closer to Wang Dalin and said, "You have scored a lot ahead of me now, it seems that I have no chance to compete with you for the AMVP, but you have to promise me that you must win the AMVP, no matter what we can't lose this game!"

Wang Dalin nodded and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely do my best!"

Pierce smiled and said: "Okay, now I officially announce my withdrawal from the AMVP competition. My friends and I will do our best to help you. Today we all have only one goal, and that is to kill the West team!"

Wang Dalin said seriously: "No problem, let's work hard together!"

At this stage in the second half of the third quarter, Carlisle finally used his head coach's prerogative to keep Wang Dalin on the field.

Kobe Bryant also continued to stay on the court for the Western Stars. Obviously, he has also done the work of the old thief of the head coach Bobo.

Of course, the old thief Bobo is definitely happy to see things like being able to consume Kobe, anyway, as long as he is not allowed to fuck Duncan in the All-Star Game... This is just "Zhou Yu beats Huang Gai", one is willing to fight and the other is willing to suffer!
At this stage, both sides have made lineup adjustments. Francis, Kobe, Szczerbiak, Malone, and Webber appear on the field in the west, and Davis, McGrady, Ray Allen, Wang Dalin and O'Neal in the east.

Both sides did not arrange a big center to play, and the pace of the game naturally accelerated further, but the Eastern side was obviously more "young and young". In comparison, Malone was indeed too old, and he obviously couldn't keep up with this fast offensive and defensive rhythm.

Last season, the teams played at a slow pace, and the pick-and-rolls of Malone and Stockton were still powerful.

This season, the teams have started to play zone defense, and the game rhythm of many teams has improved, so an "old man" like Malone who is about to turn 39 can't keep up.

In addition, Stockton, the "League's No. [-] point guard" of the previous generation, has also clearly become a main point of the opponent on the defensive end.

He himself is short, and now his speed has dropped sharply. It is really not difficult for speedy guards like Iverson and Francis to beat him.

This is also the reason why Stockton was not selected for the All-Star lineup this year... It is indeed that his strength has declined, and he is no longer up to the All-Star level!
The game has reached a fever pitch. The two sides have even used some methods that will only be used in the playoffs in defense. For a while, no one can easily break through. Most of the offense can only be shot in the middle and long distances.

At this time, the advantage of the Eastern star team is revealed. The shooting ability of Wang Dalin and Ray Allen is undoubtedly the best in the audience, and McGrady also has a good shooting ability.

The Western Stars only had Szczerbiak as a shooter on the field at this time, and Kobe and his long-range shots were not stable.

So until the end of the third quarter, the Western Conference star team failed to reverse the situation on the field, and the point difference between the two sides was even greater.

In the early part of the fourth quarter, the western side also started to make big money. Carlisle immediately replaced him and replaced him with Jason Kidd.

In this way, the five players on the Eastern side became Kidd, Davis, McGrady, Wang Dalin and O'Neal.

The lineup of two point guards in the Eastern Conference obviously made the old thief Popo a little unexpected. After thinking about it again and again, he still didn't replace Duncan, but replaced Malone with Nowitzki.

Kobe is definitely not willing to rest. He has already applied to the old thief Bobo to play the fourth quarter.

Naturally, Wang Dalin had already applied to Carlisle, didn't he just play the fourth quarter? His current physical fitness is not a problem at all... After all, he has been paddling in the first quarter and the first half of the second quarter, so he didn't consume much at all.

The point difference between the two sides was a full 18 points. The Western Conference star team entered the fourth quarter with such a burden. To be honest... Now except for Kobe and Garnett who are still full of fighting spirit, everyone else has no hope of winning.

Wang Dalin scored 29 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists in the first three quarters. He is very likely to record his second triple-double since Michael Jordan in the history of the All-Star Game.

And judging from his current score, he can at least win a large triple-double with a score of 30+, and is even very likely to win a super triple-double with a score of 40+!
In addition, he still hopes to break Chamberlain's scoring record of 1962 points in a single game set in the 42 All-Star Game... Of course, Kobe on the opposite side is also very hopeful!

As the competition became more and more intense, the last quarter of the All-Star Game had completely become a battle between Kobe and Wang Dalin.

However, due to the high defensive intensity of both sides, the offensive efficiency of both of them is a bit low, and there is constant sound of hammering on the field for a while.

The audience at the "First United Center" arena didn't seem impatient because of the frequent iron fights between the two sides. They have long been accustomed to this kind of game, and it is really more than iron...Is there anyone else who can compare with Iverson this season?
Don't look at Iverson's current average of 31 points per game and ranks first in the scoring list, but his shooting percentage is not even 40%. Such a high score is entirely based on the number of shots.

This is also normal. The offense of the 76ers basically depends on him alone, and the other four can only play a role on the defensive end.

This is the offensive and defensive system specially designed by Larry Brown for Iverson. They successfully reached the finals last year, but they encountered trouble this season...it was because of the zone defense!
More than 8 minutes into the fourth quarter, the Eastern Stars still led by 135 points 116:19. The old thief Popo called a timeout and replaced Kobe, apparently surrendering.

In the end, the East defeated the West with a score of 143:122, and this year's All-Star Game finally came to an end.

科比全场砍下38分11篮板5助攻2抢断1盖帽，他的表现绝对配得上AMVP，可惜他们输了。

最终王大林拿到了AMVP奖杯，他全场砍下36分12篮板11助攻1抢断1盖帽，奉献出了全明星历史上的第二个三双……

　I'm sorry, my friend's birthday is tonight, and Lao Wang has to go out for a social event, so I have to say sorry to all readers, Lao Wang will definitely make it up!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)