Chapter 757: All Stars!
As the season reached its midpoint, Chen Yan stood at the top of the MVP rankings.
That result was practically inevitable.
Considering both team performance and individual statistics, no player deserved the top position more than Chen Yan.
As long as he did not suffer a season ending injury during the 2nd half, the regular season MVP award was already waiting for him.
Early in the season, Durant had repeatedly talked about winning consecutive MVP awards.
Now, he no longer mentioned it.
There was no point in publicly humiliating himself.
Chen Yan had been completely committed this season.
He turned down numerous acting cameos and music collaborations so he could devote all his attention to basketball.
Since joining the Knicks, Chen Yan had not yet brought any major honor to New York.
He wanted to accomplish something great in this city and build a legacy of his own.
That desire motivated him every morning.
On February 10, the Knicks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers by 20 points at home.
Like New York, Los Angeles had also been hit by a wave of injuries.
Kevin Garnett and Marcus Camby both missed the game.
With 2 important big men unavailable, the Lakers paint looked like open territory to Chen Yan.
He could enter whenever he wanted and score however he pleased.
Kobe Bryant scored 37 points and practically exhausted himself trying to keep the Lakers competitive.
When the game entered garbage time and Kobe returned to the bench, he angrily slammed his hand against the seat cushion.
He was not furious simply because the Lakers had lost.
What angered him was the complete absence of fighting spirit.
The short handed Lakers seemed to have accepted defeat before the game even began. They played timidly and showed no competitive fire.
During the post game interview, Kobe spoke bluntly.
"This team does not need players without fighting spirit. Either change your attitude or leave. Our goal has not changed since the beginning of the season. We are trying to win a championship."
Chen Yan played only 29 minutes and recorded another triple double with 25 points, 14 assists, and 11 rebounds.
Jeremy Lin led the team with 28 points and shined throughout the game.
Chen Yan repeatedly created excellent scoring opportunities for him, and Jeremy Lin delivered.
He dominated Derek Fisher and Steve Blake in isolation.
1 was too old.
The other was too slow.
Neither could withstand Jeremy Lin's speed and pressure.
During the 2nd half, Kobe even personally defended Jeremy Lin for a stretch.
That was another reason Kobe became so angry.
Failing to stop Chen Yan was understandable.
But how could the Lakers fail to contain this relatively unknown Asian guard as well?
After defeating the Lakers, the Knicks entered a favorable portion of their schedule.
Their next 4 opponents were the Minnesota Timberwolves, Toronto Raptors, Sacramento Kings, and Charlotte Bobcats.
All 4 teams shared the same objective.
They wanted to enter the draft lottery.
It was difficult for New York to lose against them because those teams did not seem particularly interested in winning.
Chen Yan sat out the entire 4th quarter in all 4 games.
During that stretch, he averaged 28.8 points, 11.8 assists, and 10.3 rebounds.
On February 20, the Dallas Mavericks caused the Knicks some trouble.
But not enough.
After an overtime battle, Chen Yan led New York to a 125 to 119 victory.
He recorded another enormous triple double, finishing with 51 points, 18 assists, and 15 rebounds.
Fans were now convinced that Chen Yan would become the 1st player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple double for an entire season.
Chen Yan possessed an extraordinary ability to attract attention.
He constantly overwhelmed fans with explosive statistics and unforgettable performances.
The All Star voting results offered the clearest evidence of his popularity.
Chen Yan received 2.45 million votes, comfortably finishing ahead of Howard in 2nd place.
Compared with previous seasons, however, fan enthusiasm for the 2012 All Star vote was clearly lower.
Despite finishing 1st, Chen Yan received only 2.45 million votes, fewer than he had collected during the previous 2 years.
Howard received slightly more than 1.6 million votes, only about half of his total from the 2009 All Star voting.
Since online voting began, vote totals had generally increased every year.
In recent seasons, a player had needed nearly 2 million votes merely to secure a place in the starting lineup.
By comparison, the 2012 totals appeared relatively modest.
The lockout had damaged fan interest, while the shortened season had also compressed the All Star voting period.
Under those circumstances, the decline was understandable.
Chen Yan did not care much about the total.
He had finished as the leading vote recipient for 4 consecutive years and had long since become accustomed to it.
The starting lineups and reserves for both conferences were also announced that day.
Alongside Chen Yan and Howard, the other 3 Eastern Conference starters were Durant, James, and Wade.
Competition in the Eastern Conference was extremely fierce.
Even Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony, and Yao Ming were forced to begin the game on the bench.
Since the league restricted All Star voting from China, Yao had effectively fallen out of contention for the overall lead.
However, that restriction also made Chen Yan's popularity even more impressive.
Even without votes from China, he still finished 1st.
The 7 Eastern Conference reserves were Derrick Rose, Deron Williams, Carmelo Anthony, Yao Ming, David West, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Luol Deng.
Nelson was selected as the Eastern Conference head coach.
The old man would have preferred to take a vacation.
For a coach of his stature, an All Star coaching appearance was no longer a meaningful honor.
The Western Conference starters were Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin, Dirk Nowitzki, and Marc Gasol.
Marc Gasol's selection as a starter was the greatest surprise.
To many fans, his name appeared somewhat out of place among the other stars.
He was averaging 14.6 points and 8.9 rebounds, numbers that did not seem especially remarkable.
However, his selection also reflected the shortage of available big men in the Western Conference.
If Marc Gasol had not started, the position might have gone to someone such as Nenê or Marcin Gortat, which would have looked even less convincing.
The 7 Western Conference reserves were Nash, Tony Parker, Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Garnett, Rudy Gay, and James Harden.
Competition for All Star roster spots was so fierce that Westbrook failed to make the team despite averaging 23.5 points, 8.8 assists, and 7.0 rebounds.
Chris Bosh also missed out despite averaging more than 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Popovich was selected as the Western Conference head coach.
The San Antonio Spurs currently held the best record in the West, but Tony Parker was the only player from the team selected.
Ginóbili had spent a long time coming off the bench, while Duncan's age was beginning to show through declining statistics.
Tony Parker had become the unquestioned centerpiece of the current Spurs team.
Popovich was actually pleased that only 1 of his players had been selected.
It meant the veterans would receive several additional days of rest.
The Rookie Challenge rosters were also announced.
This year's format was different.
Instead of a game between 1st year and 2nd year players, Barkley and O'Neal would draft their own teams.
Their TNT colleagues Mike Fratello and Steve Kerr would join the coaching staffs.
Fratello would assist Barkley, while Kerr would assist O'Neal.
During the draft on February 16, Magic Johnson would serve as host, while Kenny Smith would act as honorary chairman.
Based on his recent performances, Jeremy Lin successfully earned a place in the Rookie Challenge.
He was also very curious about the new format.
Before All Star Weekend, the Knicks defeated the Atlanta Hawks and the Nets in their final 2 regular season games.
On February 25, All Star Weekend finally arrived.
Chen Yan, David West, and Jeremy Lin flew to Orlando together.
David West spent most of the journey reading.
He was deeply interested in history and even possessed some knowledge of Chinese history.
Chen Yan admired this quality.
NBA players were usually associated with extravagant lifestyles and constant parties. Few had the patience to sit quietly and study like David West.
More importantly, David West genuinely enjoyed learning.
He was not like James, who always seemed to read only the 1st 3 pages of a book whenever a camera appeared.
David West remained completely calm throughout the journey.
This was not his 1st All Star appearance.
Jeremy Lin, however, was excited for the entire flight.
His original career goal had simply been to remain in the NBA.
He had never imagined participating in All Star Weekend, even if it was only through the Rookie Challenge.
Chen Yan understood his feelings.
He had reacted the same way during his 1st All Star appearance.
After attending several times, however, the excitement gradually became familiar.
On the 1st day of All Star Weekend, Chen Yan joined the main group for community service activities.
This was an All Star tradition.
Chen Yan traveled with the group to 8 communities, where they helped struggling residents repair homes and build basketball courts for children.
When Chen Yan returned to the hotel, he was completely exhausted.
He fell asleep almost immediately.
The work felt more tiring than playing 2 consecutive overtime games.
Halfway through his sleep, Chen Yan suddenly woke up.
He remembered that the Rookie Challenge was being played that night, and he had promised Jeremy Lin that he would attend and support him.
By the time Chen Yan reached the arena, the game was already halfway over.
He looked up at Jeremy Lin's statistics.
2 points and 1 assist.
Chen Yan immediately understood that none of the night's honors would belong to him.
Although Jeremy Lin did not produce much on the court, he was clearly enjoying himself.
He spent the game talking and laughing with his teammates.
In the end, Team Barkley defeated Team O'Neal 146 to 133.
Barkley was delighted.
He had never liked O'Neal, and few things made him happier than defeating that large man.
Chen Yan had little interest in the Slam Dunk Contest, the 3 Point Contest, or the Skills Challenge on the 2nd day.
Time quickly moved toward the All Star Game.
Before the game began, Chen Yan secretly entered the Western Conference locker room.
He wore a wig and a fake beard, planning to prank the Western Conference players and bring some amusement to the event.
Unfortunately, Nash recognized him immediately.
The 2 had spent 4 seasons together.
Nash looked at him and said, "Kid, I would recognize you even if you turned into ash."
Nash and Chen Yan talked for a long time inside the locker room.
Chen Yan asked whether Nash had considered joining another team.
Nash answered negatively.
He no longer had any regrets about his career.
He had won an MVP award and a championship.
Now, he only wanted to complete his current contract and retire peacefully.
Nash also said that he was very interested in coaching.
After retirement, he might consider becoming a coach.
He even joked that he might someday have the opportunity to coach Chen Yan.
Chen Yan immediately told him to abandon that idea.
Not every great point guard became a great coach.
As a transmigrator, Chen Yan knew exactly how terrible Nash would eventually be in that position.
He advised Nash to spend more time with his family and enjoy life after retirement.
However, Nash did not appear to take his advice seriously.
.....
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