NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 618: No more "mortal enemies" (daily chapter)
On Sunday, February 2009, 2, the Phoenix All-Star Weekend arrived, but the news that fans were paying attention to in the morning was no longer the evening's game.

Ever since a reporter broke the news yesterday that Bill Russell brought Kobe to meet with Li You and O'Neal, the related topic cannot be stopped.

This morning, TNT was the first to reveal the content of the meeting, and everyone who read the news was furious:

"Lee vouched for O'Neal, and Russell hoped Kobe and his partner would no longer hate each other."

During the All-Star Weekend in recent years, there have always been reports that Russell acted as a lobbyist, trying to ease the tension between Kobe and O'Neal.

As we all know, Li You has an average relationship with his seniors, and coupled with his unparalleled personal achievements, both sides just respect each other.

Kobe is different. Since entering the league, Mamba has liked to learn and constantly absorb game experience. In addition, he is focused on basketball, which has attracted the attention of Bill Russell.

During the All-Star Weekend in the past two years, Russell even publicly expressed his admiration for Kobe in front of the media. The old man bluntly expressed his love to the outside world:
"I see pure passion in Kobe, and I'm proud of him for this kid."

The scene of the two having an intimate conversation before the game was also dug up by die-hard fans, and then there was a collective climax, creating a "Lord of the Rings affirmation."

In this regard, Li You is indeed not as good as Kobe. No celebrity likes three-pointers. In the past few years, everyone always looked at him critically, giving affirmation while also questioning.

Unfortunately, reality is too cruel. Time has given the answer. Li You did not listen to the opinions of the veterans, nor did he pay attention to the commentators who were trying to get attention.
10 championships are breathtaking. Now the outside public opinion has completely turned around. Li You has become the "real football expert". When he promotes APM, everyone welcomes him with raised hands and no one questions it.

If you pay attention to the changes in sports media, you will find an interesting phenomenon in early 09. Everyone is talking about APM and win contributions. PER is completely outdated and basic data is also abandoned.

A Yahoo Sports reporter who has completely become a "licker" summed up the impact of advanced data well:

"APM allows us to understand the game more objectively. Lee is right. Combined with this data, we can objectively evaluate the performance of players."

"."

ESPN also welcomed the initiative and not only actively promoted APM, but also wanted to further develop a more detailed data model based on it. Reference.com has already started cooperation with it.

According to the current development trend, Li You has basically controlled the way to evaluate players. Under the "new rules", well-known football commentators also have to compromise. After all, everyone is using it, and no one wants to be abandoned by the times.

While the old men were still talking about "purity and spirit", Li You simply used Excel to "cover their faces".

Bill Russell, who was pushed forward by some black fans, could not hold on, and the "gold content" of ancient basketball declined sharply.

Not long ago, they were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. There were also some old men who were acting weird, but Excel revealed their true strength, and the old Dengs were all silent.
In the afternoon, Howard was unhappy again. He was defeated by Nate Robinson of the Suns in the dunk contest last night. He thought the fans would discuss him, but everyone was talking about the outdated Shark.

Howard also had no good feelings towards O'Neal, who always laughed at him and did not recognize his title of "Superman". The relationship between the two had always been bad.

When participating in a fan event, Howard almost rolled his eyes when a reporter asked him if he wanted to see Kobe and O'Neal reconcile. He was eager to see Kobe humiliate the old shark:
"Yeah, man! They both won a championship together, and we all know how hard it is!"

"Many times off-field factors affect the relationship between players, and everyone doesn't want to see them become a joke."

Howard, who was bulging with muscles, showed his white teeth and said something against his will with a smile. Li You texted them and Russell also brought the Celtics to explain the reason for the incident to them.

Warcraft, who wanted to pursue the Star of Stars award, was unhappy with this arrangement, but for the sake of the prestige of his seniors, he had to compromise.

After the All-Star Game, they still have to praise Russell's contribution, which can alleviate Li You's fans' crazy attack on the old man.
Thinking that a good game had turned into a show, Howard's smile disappeared as soon as he turned his head. For the first time, he hoped that Li You could become the real boss, at least in this way he could get a share of the trophy instead of watching the other side win the award.

For players who participated in Michael Jordan's last All-Star Game, this trophy-making behavior is not unfamiliar to them.

Kobe Bryant wanted to fight back, but Li You "sent" Michael Dunk to win the award. It turns out that this is what the league expects, after all, the trophies are specially made.
Now it is O'Neal's last All-Star game, and reconciling with his old partner in front of the fans is undoubtedly a beautiful script. Celtics leader Garnett is very supportive of this.

Although Harden hates his opponent Li You, he respects Russell very much. After completely integrating into the Celtics team culture, he naturally will not go against his old predecessor.

Later, a large number of sports reporters interviewed the energetic Garnett in the player tunnel. The latter was dressed in a black suit and smiled brightly when he heard the question:

"I think it's a good thing that we are rivals on the court, but off the court, everyone respects each other."

"No one wants to see these two become a joke. They are champions and should be respected more."

After hearing Garnett's nice words, the young TNT reporter suddenly brought up the past and asked the same question again:
"Kevin, will you be friends with Lee? As far as I know, Paul Pierce hasn't been in touch with Lee for many years, but they had a good relationship before."

Fortunately, Garnett's face was dark enough that not much emotion could be seen at the moment, otherwise the reporters would have noticed the tough guy's face gradually turning red.

In fact, the two don't have that much grudge against each other, but "fighting and retreating" in Madison Square Garden was really terrible. New York fans and old opponents liked to laugh at him.

"I don't know, maybe when I retire, I will become good friends with Lee, but now, I won't think about it, I am an old-school player, I just want to beat him!"

"You know what? In the Celtics, we don't take the initiative to sit with our opponents. They are the enemy. We won't sit at the table until we beat them."

"I'm not ready to retire yet. I'm in great shape. After the All-Star Weekend, the team will continue to work hard for the home-court advantage."

Garnett spoke very quickly and eloquently, and at the end he punched himself in the chest twice, showing his tough guy character!

Since the Eastern Conference All-Star teams are almost all dominated by the Knicks and Celtics, and the players selected by the Celtics are older, sports reporters will give priority to interviewing veterans.

Pierce received the long-awaited attention and was faced with the camera in the player tunnel. He smiled happily. He didn't care much about winning or losing. He just wanted the All-Star status, which was an affirmation for him.

"Reconciliation? I don't care about that!"

"I will never reconcile with my opponents. Ask the Celtics fans, will they forgive Lee for the harm he did to them?"

"Maybe everyone will cheer for the defending champions now, but I guarantee that within 10 years, the Knicks will experience a decline like the Celtics, and then everyone will just laugh at them!"

"Just like the Red Sox and Yankees relationship, the Celtics and Knicks will never reconcile."

Pierce, who also showed his tough guy character in a green plaid suit, patted his chest loudly after saying this.

He really didn't forgive Li You for hurting him. In the early stage of his career, he was constantly beaten, and their seemingly brotherly relationship was completely broken. Pierce was numb from losing and now just wanted to win.

Danny Granger, who was selected to the All-Star Game for the first time, could not get a word in on the topic. He is still a "newbie" and will not get much playing time. He can only smile in the locker room.
The same goes for Joe Johnson. The Hawks performed well in the playoffs last year, dragging the Celtics to a seventh game, which earned him some respect, but the old players still have the final say in the locker room.

Ray Allen, who has completed physical therapy, is in a good mood. The Celtics have played more games, and this is a rare rest time.

However, Ray Allen was not very interested in the current hot news. Facing the sports reporters, he just shrugged his shoulders and looked indifferent:

"I never understood what everyone was arguing about. I never fooled myself. Lee has surpassed all the players long ago."

"It's not difficult to admit that your opponent is better than you. I even think it's hard to win four consecutive championships in the future. This is the fact. It's harder to win a championship than everyone thinks."

"So I'll respect Kobe and Shaq, they did it, and as for the rest, I don't care."

The Knicks have a total of four players selected for the All-Star Game. Although Rondo is a rookie, he became a little inflated after winning the championship. He has been dissatisfied with this show since yesterday!

At this time in the locker room, Rondo was actively greeting everyone, while speaking sarcastically in front of reporters:

"The NBA has gone soft! People are starting to pay attention to these boring news and not the content of the game."

"Maybe some people think they can win respect by bowing their heads. I will help Lee beat up those wimps." Kobe and O'Neal have stolen too much of the limelight, and the newbies are unhappy. For Rondo, the Lakers are constantly making trouble and forcing a "confrontation" with the defending champions.

Still immersed in the joy of being selected as an All-Star, Chandler, with a big beard, doesn't care about the gossip at all. The same goes for Prince, who is also having a good time in Phoenix these days.

New York reporters were not interested in discussing the "OK combination". The Knicks fans were more concerned about the trade information, so they naturally asked relevant questions when they had the chance:
"We all know David's attitude, but has Meta communicated this to everyone?"

David Lee has been sitting on the bench for more than two years and can only play garbage time. There is a high probability that he will not be able to start in the next few years. At the beginning of the season, he wanted to leave the team to seek a stable starting position.

Artest is completely different. Although he is no longer focused on basketball, he wants to stay. Unfortunately, there is too much work to do during the election, and his frequent speaking out has affected the atmosphere in the locker room.

"We don't know yet, but I think Mehta must want to stay. He has been working hard and everyone believes that his condition will get better and better."

As a competitor within the team, Prince has answered related questions several times. The Excel within the Knicks is more "cruel" and is basically an alternative KPI.

Almost three and a half months later, the season is halfway over, and Artest, who failed to complete his task, has been "optimized". Everyone knows it, but no one says it out loud.

Chandler did not have as much pressure as Prince. As the schedule progressed, in order to allow him to get better rebounding data, Li You even reduced the pick-and-rolls and started to "force attacks" more often one-on-one.

Although Chandler felt sorry for his teammates being "optimized", he was filled with joy at this moment. When answering this question, he just shook his head slightly:
"This is the team's decision, we just need to do our job!"

"You know, eight consecutive championships, Li has paid a lot for this, and everyone wants to help Li achieve this achievement."

Li You and D'Antoni arrived a little late, which meant that other players received more attention. As soon as they appeared in the passage, they were surrounded by sports reporters.

The mustache smiled brightly. He was still idle during the All-Star Game and was too lazy to direct the exhibition game. When asked about the outcome, he smiled and joked:

"I also want to have a taste of 'revenge'. Sometimes I have to find some extra motivation for myself. You know, we have won too much in these years!"

Kobe won the Star of Stars trophy once a few years ago, but the award was "predetermined" afterwards. What D'Antoni said was true. Li You, who was wearing a gray casual suit, also took over the conversation with a smile:

"This will be a memorable All-Star Game. We certainly want to continue winning, but I also hope to see more young players express themselves on this stage!"

"."

With still an hour to go before the game started, the American Airlines Arena was already bustling with many celebrities coming. Bill Russell even changed his low-key image of previous years and took the initiative to accept interviews on the sidelines.

“I am so happy to see Lee receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, it is such a recognition for the League!”

"It's not just basketball. Like President O'Hei said, we have always been closely integrated with the community. Basketball has made many people's lives better."

"Some reports are not objective enough. In fact, Li has surpassed my achievements. The competition is more intense now. Under such circumstances, winning the championship for 6 consecutive times is undoubtedly a miracle!"

"."

This was the first time that the sports reporters surrounding him heard a positive answer from Russell, which also meant that the celebrities had completely bowed their heads.

Li You helped, and everyone helped each other.

As the person involved, Kobe is undoubtedly the focus of sports media attention. His partner agreed to settle, but Mamba was not happy. He could see that the old shark still looked down on him.

What made him feel even more uncomfortable was that Russell tacitly acknowledged that his team would lose. Whenever Kobe thought of this, he felt uncomfortable. It seemed that his "mortal enemy" also looked down on him.

As the starting center, it is difficult for Yao Ming to get involved in such gossip. Considering that O'Neal is the "protagonist" tonight, he communicated with the KFC old man early before the game.

The atmosphere in the Western Conference All-Star locker room was a bit strange. Duncan did not sit with Kobe, but kept communicating with his former teammate Tony Parker.

Duncan is still paying attention to the Spurs, and Parker also took the opportunity to complain to his big brother. Because he had to distract himself by taking care of Brent Barry's family, the French sports car was in poor condition.

In addition, Ginobili is still looking for form after returning from injury, and the Spurs are likely to miss the playoffs. Parker showed frustration on his face and complained in a low voice:
"That rookie didn't care about winning or losing, he just wanted to get a big contract, man, everyone misses you."

The rookie coach was completely unable to control the team, and the Spurs quickly fell. Duncan sighed in his heart. He had a good time in the Lakers and didn't want to leave for the championship. At this time, he could only whisper to change the subject:
"How is the coach's health? I saw on the news that he was recently hospitalized?"

Popovich's physical condition has been getting worse since he was "humiliated" in New York. Parker can only sigh about this. Like the Argentine, he began to miss the atmosphere in the locker room back then:
"The coach has given up his job as general manager and may leave basketball completely in the future. You know, that loss was a big blow to him."

"."

Both of them were suddenly silent. Duncan stood up, patted his former teammate's head, and said nothing more. As long as he won a championship, he would return to San Antonio to fulfill his promise.

Steve Nash and Stoudemire, who were involved in trade rumors, were in a bad mood. After head coach Gentry left, the Suns were in chaos.

The team-building ideas advocated by Steve Kerr don't seem to work. Many players have been put on the shelf. As the host, Nash, who was selected as an All-Star, feels a little guilty. He feels that he has let down the fans' support.

However, neither of them was the protagonist. As O'Neal appeared in the locker room, Phil Jackson smiled and clapped his hands, showing the temperament of a championship coach:

"Enjoy the game! I hope everyone can perform positively in front of the fans!"

Chris Paul, the starting point guard, was the first to respond. Chauncey Billups and Brandon Roy raised their arms quietly. Nowitzki, without much of a smile on his face, just responded.

O'Neal glanced at Kobe, who was silent, and without paying attention to his emotions, he took the initiative to speak in a deep voice:
"I just want to say thank you, guys! Thank you for your dedication to this game!"

Before the game began, Grant Hill's singer wife sang Canadian songs, and American Idol champion Jordin Sparks sang the Star-Spangled Banner.

O'Neal, who returned to the All-Star Game, was the last to appear as a backup center. The dance performance of the old Shark and the Jabbawockeez, the best dance troupe in the United States, ignited the atmosphere of the stadium.

During the final warm-up before the game, Reggie Miller on the TNT commentary stand was not very happy. He did not expect Bill Russell to actually "bow his head".

As a supporter at the forefront, Reggie Miller never concealed his hostility towards Li You. Now that the person involved has made the final decision, he feels bad:
"For tonight's match, I'm looking forward to the 'OK Combination' defeating Lee again!"

Marv Albert and Doug Collins smiled at each other. Since Miller found that his "hostile" identity could gain more attention, he has completely established his foothold in TNT in recent years.

Unlike the neutral commentator, Reggie Miller's butt is crooked, but Doug Collins doesn't care about this kind of entertainment game, but seizes the opportunity to continue "popularizing science":
"Lee showed something different in the few games before the All-Stars weekend!"

"Combining APM and win shares per game, there is no doubt that Lee is still improving, which is terrible, and his understanding of the game cannot be fully reflected in the data."

"."

During the warm-up, LeBron James, unlike his good friend Wade, kept circling around Li You, occasionally covering his mouth and asking in a low voice, looking like a "dog bootlicker".

On the other side of the court, Wade muttered a few words unhappily as he watched his friend constantly feeding the ball to Li You. He still didn't understand why James liked "data basketball" so much.

Unlike what Wade imagined, James did not ask the recently popular advanced data questions because his Excel was very beautiful. The Chosen One was more concerned about when Li You would retire:
"Lee, will you do a farewell performance like Shaq in the future?"

The exaggerated long three-pointers made the fans at the scene exclaim constantly. Li You seemed to see the problem that James was concerned about, and did not hide it, but responded casually:
"No man, I'm not interested in that because I'm just going to let myself win all the time!"

"You know, the perfect closing performance is a championship."

(End of this chapter)