Chapter 68: Show off during the All-Star Weekend (II)
"Boom!" The windmill dunk was successful!
After landing, Ray Allen gave Lee a thumbs up. It was just the right height and the pass was in perfect harmony.
Although they were beaten 6:0 at the start, Knicks legend Holtzman, who was sitting on the sidelines, still kept smiling and applauded Lee, indicating that he played well.
The first to score for the Western Conference Rookie Team was Abdur-Rahim, the low-key forward who easily scored against Antoine Walker in the paint.
Although it was just an exhibition game, Antoine Walker still raised his hand to indicate that he was lax in defense.
This time it was Iverson's turn to hold the ball. He advanced quickly and crossed half court, signaling Lee to run sideways.
Iverson, who often played against the Knicks, also knew this tactic. Lee moved quickly from right to left and cut horizontally on the free throw line.
Marcus Camby in the elbow area on the left side of the free throw line delayed Kobe who was chasing him.
When Lee received the cross pass from Iverson and faked a shot, Kobe, who was chasing him, subconsciously wanted to jump up to block the shot, but his center of gravity shifted forward, and Lee let go of the ball with his right hand, broke through, and passed the defense in one step.
Near the left baseline, Roy Rogers immediately wanted to step forward to assist in defense. He saw Lee suddenly pull the ball back with his right hand while moving, and subconsciously thought that he was going to pass the ball to Ray Allen in the left corner.
Roy Rogers was swayed by Lee and slid to the left corner. When he came to his senses, he found that Lee had already rushed forward in three steps, easily broke through to the basket, and made a layup with his right hand!
"Oh!!"
The exclamations of the fans at the scene rang out again, and many viewers were also fooled by Clay Lee's fake moves.
"Excellent attack! Lee once again demonstrated his superb skills. Not only did he fool me, he almost fooled the entire defense line!"
In the TNT commentary booth, Hubie Brown started to blow the whistle, while on the court, Kobe pursed his lips and raised his hand to signal to his teammates that it was his problem.
8:2, everyone on the Eastern Conference rookie team scored except Antoine Walker.
Most of the new players are fans of Jordan. Walker spoke ill of Michael Jordan in the locker room, and no one passed the ball to him except Lee.
As time passed, Antoine Walker also felt it, but the fans at the scene didn't care.
Lee and Iverson both showed different fancy styles of play, and no one cared about the Celtics' new players anymore.
In the last round, Kobe made a difficult breakthrough to the inside and scored two points. He quickly served the ball from the baseline, but was chased by Lee across half court.
In a semi-transition offense, while the opponent was still retreating, Lee, holding the ball in his right hand, continued to accelerate and came to the paint area and dribbled quickly behind his back.
The moment he switched to his left hand, he immediately jumped in the opposite direction and quickly changed hands behind his back.
Lee completely shook off Kobe in front of him, grabbed the ball with his right hand, and easily made a layup at the bottom right side of the basket!
"oh!!"
In the Gund Arena, as Lee made a layup with a behind-the-back jump step, the scene went crazy. Many audiences in the front rows cheered in unison. It was a great show!
Lee easily performed Crawford's signature move Shake and bake. Feeling the cheers from the audience, Lee, who was returning to defense, raised his right hand with a smile and put it to his ear, making a listening gesture.
Hubie Brown, perhaps due to his age, seemed unable to follow Lee's movements in the commentary booth. He waited for a while before raising his voice:
"My God, how did Lee get past him? What a creative goal!"
Kobe, the rookie who was shown off again, was very angry. He always felt that Lee's moves were flashy, but he could just dribble past people.
There were only 20 minutes in the first half of the game, and during the time Lee was on the court, he kept showing off his fancy moves.
Breaking through the arc, Lee passes the ball behind his back without even looking at the person!
In the transition offense, he dribbles the ball under his crotch with his right hand and then turns like a gyroscope, and Lee completes the layup!
After cutting in laterally, Lee received the ball on the right wing outside the three-point line and made a drifting three-pointer.
It was not until one attack that his jump shot in the right elbow area of the free throw line was interfered by Kobe and hit the rim and bounced out that Lee temporarily ended his performance.
With 11 minutes and 31 seconds left in the first half, Iverson made two free throws and the Eastern Conference rookie team was leading by 10 points at 22:12.
Taking advantage of the free throws, rookie John Wallace also replaced Clay Lee.
The audience saw Lee return to the bench, sighed with regret, and then cheered.
Tonight's game was much better than the previous three Rookie Challenges!
Eric Dampier, the future No. 1 center in the Western Conference, who was sitting on the bench, took the opportunity to get close to Lee and whispered with a silver smile:
"I dare to guarantee that as long as you wave your hand and give them some opportunities, these girls will automatically climb into your bed tonight!"
Lee returned to his seat and looked in the direction he was looking. He found that it was the cheerleaders from the warm-up performance waving at him:
"I'll leave this opportunity to you. If you make a few nice dunks on the court, these girls will definitely fall in love with you!"
The thighs of the cheerleaders are so thick that each of them is like a little tank.
Although Lee is used to the players talking about sex culture, he is really not interested in driving a tank.
As the game continued, the Eastern Conference rookie team also replaced Iverson with Corey Kidders;
Steve Nash and Derek Fisher also appeared on the bench of the Western Conference Rookies Team, and Lee saw more and more familiar faces.
Perhaps it was because after the opening, the performances of Lee and Iverson raised the expectations of the fans on the scene.
During the rotation time, the newbies played a bit boringly and the atmosphere cooled down again.
The rookie Kobe scored points continuously at this time and stood at the free throw line for several rounds, but the score difference was gradually widened. The Eastern Conference rookies played more organized.
With 4 minutes and 1 second left in the first half, Lee and Iverson came on the court again. The fans cheered loudly, and the two lived up to expectations and scored points in turns.
After Iverson cut in laterally several times, he either made a direct jump shot or broke through and headed for the basket.
With the same tactics, Lee focused more on attracting the defense and finding Dampier who was running down the court or John Wallace who was staying at the baseline, striving to make everyone score.
At the end of the first half, the score was 56:36 and the difference had reached 20 points.
The strength gap between the two sides is very obvious. Only Rasim of the Western Rookie Team scored the most stably. Kobe and his teammates on the court were not on the same channel, and everyone played their own way.
In the second half of the game, the Eastern Conference rookie team was having a great time. Everyone was very active in defense.
Whenever the opponent missed a shot, they would run like crazy after getting the rebound.
Steve Nash, who was the first to appear in the second half, played a pick-and-roll with Rahim at the top of the arc.
Iverson squeezed through the screen desperately, causing Nash, who was holding the ball in his left hand, to stagger.
Lee spotted an opportunity on the left wing, rushed forward suddenly, and stole the ball face to face.
Seeing Iverson already running, he immediately swung the ball forward, while also exerting force with his feet, quickly rushing across the center line.
Seeing the movement behind him, Iverson began to slow down through the three-point line and then threw the ball towards the backboard.
The basketball bounced and flew into the air. Lee rushed to the paint area, jumped up and grabbed the ball with both hands, quickly swung the ball in front of him, and slammed the ball into the basket with both hands!
"Boom!" The slam dunk was successful!
The fans cheered loudly. Iverson just pointed at the basket to show Lee that he owed him an assist.
The dunk was not graceful and smooth, but the audience didn't mind and still cheered for the beautiful cooperation.
Alan Houston, who was sitting in the front row cheering for Lee, noticed that Ewing next to him was in a bad mood, and said casually:
"Pat, take this opportunity to have a good rest and don't worry about the team's record. Although Lee is only 19 years old, he plays very cautiously."
"Honestly, I don't want to drop to fourth place and face the Bulls in the semifinals. That would be the worst case scenario."
Ewing, who was dressed in a formal suit, said nothing, just nodded and subconsciously supported his knee with his right hand.
He had planned to return immediately after the All-Star Game, but the coaching staff and teammates advised him to have a good rest.
Holtzman, who coached the Western Conference rookie team, did not even look at the score. He sat on the bench and smiled as a spectator. The same went for Red Auerbach. The two of them came to watch the game tonight.
Seeing that there was no hope of catching up and time was running out, both sides began to make large-scale substitutions, and the selected new players all got the chance to play.
In the end, 97:86, the Eastern Conference Rookie Team successfully won the 4th Rookie Challenge.
The game was quite exciting, at least the audience who bought tickets felt that it was not a loss, and after the game ended, the noise in the stadium did not diminish at all.
However, the MVP selection after the game was difficult, as the scores of the Eastern Conference rookie team were relatively evenly distributed.
Lee played for 24 minutes, made 7 of 10 shots, 1 of 2 from beyond the three-point line, 2 of 2 free throws, 17 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 steal.
Iverson made 7 of 11 shots, 2 of 2 free throws, 16 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers, while Marcus Camby scored 18 points and 12 rebounds.
"The commander of the Eastern Rookie Team has perfect control over the rhythm of the game. The MVP of the 4th Rookie Challenge is Clay-Lee!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we have witnessed a new record together!"
The host moved the microphone away and handed the silver trophy to Lee.
In the presence of nearly 20,000 spectators, the trophy was held high by Lee, and huge cheers rang out again in the Gund Arena.
Obviously, the fans also liked such gimmicks.
Seeing Lee smiling and raising his glass, Iverson on the side showed an indifferent expression. Ray Allen and Knight were clapping loudly. At this time, no one cared about Kobe who was standing at the back of the crowd with red eyes.
The rookie Kobe scored a game-high 31 points. When everyone gave up the game, he still insisted on playing and tried hard to catch up, but in the end he got nothing:
"I will win back!"
On the morning of February 9th, in just one night, the wonderful goal in the All-Star Rookie Challenge became popular all over the United States, and Lee, who successfully showed off, was on TV again.
The rookie Kobe, who held his breath, defeated Chris Carr and Michael Finley in the subsequent dunk contest and was successfully elected as the dunk king!
In the three-point contest, Steve Kerr was no longer a runner-up. He scored 22 points in the final and finally won the three-point contest championship after years of running-for-one.
It's just that these individual competitions are a little less interesting than the fancy dribbling and beautiful alley-oop dunks, and there is also much less discussion among fans.
But as the All-Star Game is about to begin, the focus is once again on Michael Jordan!
After refusing the press conference, Michael Jordan did not accept any interviews and continued to play golf with his friends, which made many media outlets very angry:
Come out and squeak!
After the final photos were taken in the afternoon, Michael Jordan still didn't say a word.
It was not until the start of the All-Star Game that night that Michael Jordan seemed to have received the news and smiled in the locker room.
Facts have proved that the NBA will also turn into a bootlicker when encountering a superstar like Michael Jordan, and the league finally took the lead in compromise.
Lee can act cool in the Rookie Challenge, but in the All-Star Game, he is treated the same as the rookie Kevin Garnett:
"Just call me Lee."
When taking the final photos in the afternoon, only Grant Hill and Mutombo took the initiative to say hello, while everyone else ignored the youngest Lee.
Lee was well prepared for such a situation. He was not interested in getting close to everyone. He completed the alliance's filming task and left immediately.
The sophomore Garnett was treated better than Lee, but the old guy who was the starting player of the Western Conference All-Star team ignored him.
These old guys have a strong sense of hierarchy, and the boss talks to the boss.
Even though Pippen won 4 championships, some people still looked down on him:
"He's just a clinger!"
Before the All-Star Game started in the evening, as Jordan's mood improved, the atmosphere in the Eastern Conference All-Star locker room also improved, and everyone began to chat and joke.
"Dunk? Michael never dunked over me!"
"What I said is true, Pippen may be able to testify for me!"
Mutombo, who was tying his feet, teased Michael Jordan, who had already changed into his uniform. Michael Jordan showed a surprised expression, laughed and shook his head and said:
"Dude, stop talking like that, you know the consequences of angering me!"
"I definitely dunked over you. I dunked over every center in the league, Pat, am I right?"
Ewing, who had also changed his jersey, had already put on his coat. When he heard Michael Jordan's joke, he immediately said unhappily,
"I believe in Dikembe, he never lies!"
The big guys were chatting and gossiping on the sidelines, but Lee could only act as a nobody in the locker room. He was so glorious last night, but today he was just a lackey.
Michael Jordan seemed to have just remembered that Lee had broken the record in this year's All-Star Game. He turned around and shouted,
"Lee, how many points do you plan to score tonight? Don't worry, I won't target rookie players like that bastard Thomas did. However, I suggest you pass the ball more!"
"Believe me, this is definitely good advice!"
Noticing that everyone was looking at him, Lee shrugged and said nonchalantly:
"Give me enough playing time and I'll get an AMVP. If it's less than 10 minutes, I'll consider your suggestion!"
Everyone in the locker room burst into laughter. A rookie wants to win the trophy?
"Okay, don't make things difficult for my little brother, Mike. Remember to give him more opportunities. We can't end the All-Star Game with zero points."
Seeing Ewing speak up for Lee, Michael Jordan restrained his smile and said seriously:
"Lee can score, but I don't want to see the rookie on the other side score easily. Listen, show him some color, and be serious!"
A group of bootlickers patted their chests and made assurances, saying that tonight, the rookie Garnett would not be able to score easily.
The Gund Arena was packed that night. As the highlight of this year's All-Star Weekend, fans were eager to see the 50 superstars.
There were many fans supporting Lee at the scene, and there were cheers when he came on the court, but when Michael Jordan came on the court, he immediately stole everyone's limelight.
The All-Star Game began and Lee sat obediently on the bench.
Perhaps because he played too much golf, Michael Jordan's touch was average after the opening and he focused more on organizing the offense.
The game was quite exciting, but Lee was daydreaming. It was quite boring to watch Michael Jordan showing off.
With 4 minutes left in the first quarter, head coach Doug Collins began to call on Lee:
"Lee, go on the court first to adapt to the atmosphere, don't be stressed!"
Lee nodded, took off his coat and stretched his body briefly, then walked onto the court to replace Anfernee Hardaway.
Jordan's successor ignored Lee and walked straight to the bench with an expression as if he was a big star.
In the Western Conference All-Star team, Gary Payton's second free throw still missed. The moment the basketball hit the rim, Mutombo grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to Lee on the right wing outside the three-point line.
After catching the ball, Lee didn't even look at the old guy behind him. He rushed forward with the ball in his right hand.
The fans at the scene also cheered and rushed across half court to the right wing outside the three-point line. There was still no one guarding Clay Lee.
The old guys on the opposite side seemed to think that Lee would slow down and stop the ball, waiting for his teammates to get into position for a positional attack.
No one came forward to match up, and Lee didn't stop the ball. He held the ball in his right hand and quickly cut in from the right wing.
Olajuwon, who had just returned to the basket, saw Lee about to rush to the paint area and subconsciously moved to assist in defense.
Amid the cheers of the fans, Lee started moving the moment he approached the paint area. While moving, he pretended to pass the ball with his left hand, grabbed the ball with his right hand, and threw the ball into the air from under his left arm!
The ball was thrown in and Olajuwon, who was helping in defense, was slightly stunned.
By the time he reacted, Lee had already jumped up, turned sideways in the air, and scooped up the ball with his right hand.
Realizing that he was being shown off, Olajuwon quickly turned around to block the shot, while Lee curled up his body and glided to the lower left side of the basket against the opponent.
Lee leaned forward in the air, twisted his right wrist, and the basketball spun toward the backboard, hitting the backboard high and going into the net!
"Oh! Oh!!"
The Gund Arena exploded instantly, and all the audience members screamed wildly subconsciously. It was an amazing show!
After landing, Lee smiled again, took small steps, and retreated quickly.
Noticing the surprised look on the old man's face, Lee suddenly felt very happy:
"Just run away after pretending to be awesome! I feel totally comfortable!"
"."
...
https://discord.gg/mjcCSyu7Yr
By the way, don't forget to throw power stones and leave a review to motivate me :)