Chapter 275 Protest, Wolverine discriminates against us Koreans
On the morning of the 5th, the league announced that it would hold an NBA Mahjong tournament during the All-Star Game, with the specific date being the evening of the 18th.

All active and retired NBA players, All-Star performers, and guests invited to watch the All-Star Game can sign up. The champion will receive a prize of $10, the runner-up will receive $3, the third place will receive $2, and there will also be a championship trophy.

"Haha, I like it."

Jordan signed up immediately after hearing this.

He Zhongqiu naturally signed up as well, and he also helped Wu Jing, Zhang Jin and others sign up.

The same goes for all Knicks players, even the madman who left the team and the retired Alan Houston have signed up.

A group of Hollywood big-name stars who were invited also signed up, with Julia Roberts being the most active among them.

On the evening of the 5th, at the American Airlines Arena in Miami.

At eight o'clock, both sides announced their starting lineups.

Knicks: He Zhongqiu, Anderson Varejao, Shane Battier, Josh Howard, Nash
Heat: O'Neal, Haslem, Eddie Jones, Wade, Damon Jones

At TNT's headquarters in Los Angeles, in the NBA live studio, when the live broadcast time came, Barkley and Kenny Smith said a few opening remarks and then got down to business.

巴克利说道：“尼克斯25胜6负，净胜19场，东部第一。西部马刺是25胜8负，净胜17场。

The two teams played a game, and the Knicks beat the Spurs. Because of this loss, the Spurs, although now ranked first in the Western Conference, are behind the Knicks.

If the Spurs had won that game, they would now be 26-7, the Knicks would be 25-7, and the Spurs would be first in the league."

Kenny Smith continued: "The Heat are now 25-8. If they win tonight, they will be 26-8. The Knicks will be 25-7, with the same net win of 18 games. The Heat will be first in the East and the league.

So for both teams, this regular season game is very important, it is related to the rankings and even more to the home and away advantages in the playoffs.”

Barkley said: "The Sonics have two stars shining in the West, Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis are playing very well.

The current record is 23 wins and 6 losses, with a net win of 17 games, the same as the Spurs, ranking second in the Western Conference after the Spurs. "

Kenny Smith said: "O'Neal couldn't beat Wolverine when he was in the Lakers. Now Wade has replaced Kobe with him. Whether he can beat Wolverine is one of the highlights tonight."

Barkley nodded and said, "The second point to watch is that if the Heat can't get past the Knicks, it proves that the lineup of O'Neal and Wade can't impact the finals. Pat Riley is likely to break up this combination."

Kenny Smith said: "Third, although the Knicks are currently ranked first in the league, their record is not much different from the Spurs, Supersonics and Heat, and their strength does not have an absolute advantage. If they lose this game, it means that the Knicks' road to defending the title will be difficult."

At this time, in the player tunnel, He Zhongqiu saw O'Neal and immediately greeted him with a smile: "Sardine, long time no see."

When O'Neill heard about sardines, he groaned in anger.

He Zhongqiu asked curiously, "Shark, I heard that Pat Riley asked you to lose weight, but I see you haven't lost any weight, right? At least 180 kilograms."

"140 kilograms, I weigh 140 kilograms now." O'Neal said angrily.

"140?"

He Zhongqiu laughed and asked, "Where are you going to hide all this fat?"

Wade then skipped to the front and shouted in a militant tone, "Wolverine, in two hours, we will be number one in the East and number one in the league."

He Zhongqiu nodded with a smile and said, "Then give it a try and see if you can get past us. If you can't, you won't be able to see the finals."

"Aren't you afraid of losing?" Wade asked.

"Victory and defeat are common in the military. You have little education and cannot understand such profound philosophical thoughts." He Zhongqiu's acting skills burst out as he said in a mysterious manner.

"What's your educational background?" Wade asked unconvinced.

"Superficial and ignorant people value academic qualifications, but we believe that traveling thousands of miles is better than reading thousands of books." He Zhongqiu continued in a profound tone.

Wade was confused and could not understand He Zhongqiu's words at all. He just felt that these words were very high-end. He really felt that he had not read enough and was somewhat shallow and ignorant.

At 8:30, He Zhongqiu won the jump ball against O'Neal and the Knicks went on the attack.

He ran straight to one step inside the 45-degree three-point line on the left wing. O'Neal saw him and ignored him, running directly to the basket.

Power forward Haslem immediately ran towards He Zhongqiu.

"Will the Heat switch defense and play man-to-man?" asked Kenny Smith.

He Zhongqiu received the ball, pretended to break through and actually shot, and threw a long two-point shot, but his touch was a little bad and he missed.

O'Neal grabbed the backcourt rebound and the Heat attacked.

Barkley said: "Haslem can't keep up with Wolverine's speed, and the power gap is even greater. If Wolverine breaks through with the ball or cuts in without the ball, the Heat should be in trouble."

Kenny Smith said: "It depends on the feel. If the feel is good, just shoot from outside. With a 50% mid-range shooting rate, the Wolverines can also kill the Heat.

If his touch is not good, he will definitely dribble the ball and break through, or shake off Haslem and cut into the restricted area without the ball, forming a two-on-one situation in the restricted area. "

"The initiative is in Wolverine's hands," Barkley said.

The Knicks played a 3-2 zone defense, Nash was on the right wing, and Wade came over with the ball, looking as if he was staring at him.

Josh Howard moved from the high post to the right wing, and Anderson Varejao in the low post on the right wing also took a step forward to prepare for defense.

Rick Carlisle's defensive strategy against Wade was to prevent him from getting into the paint and force him to shoot from outside.

Wade's mid-range and long-range shooting is not very good, and he relies entirely on breakthroughs to score. 44% of his attacks are at the basket, 15% of his attacks are close to two points, and 6% of his attacks are in the restricted area.

He set up four lines of defense for Wade. Nash tried to block Wade in the first line, then Josh Howard's second line of defense, then Varejao's third line of defense, and finally He Zhongqiu's fourth line of defense under the basket.

Wade started to break through, but his first step was so fast that Nash felt the wind passing by his ears and he was completely defeated.

"It's not that I don't defend him, it's that I really can't defend him." Nash said secretly.

Josh Howard tried his best to defend, and Wade changed direction with the ball downward and broke through another player.

Valanciunas made up for it, and Wade changed directions continuously, broke into the penalty area along the baseline, and broke through the first man again.

"The Flash is so fast!" Barkley shouted excitedly.

Facing Wolverine who was eyeing him covetously under the basket, Wade, who was almost as fast as him, suddenly picked up the ball and took a step to the left.

That is, he took a big step upward and changed direction, dodged He Zhongqiu, and then threw the basketball into the basket while leaning back in the air.

"brush!"

A splash appeared and two points were made.

"You are really not afraid of being disabled!"

He Zhongqiu took a look at Wade's knees and ankles, and admired how hard this guy played and how he was not afraid of getting injured at all.

In fact, in terms of muscle strength, he is definitely far superior to Wade, but he can't do such drastic changes of direction, while Wade uses this movement as his main means of offense.

He is sure that for someone like Wade who has a missing meniscus and continues to play like this, his peak period will not last long, just like Yao Ming who has gained weight.

0:2, Knicks attack.

He Zhongqiu was still playing outside, this time positioning himself in the middle two-point area, two meters away from the left waist, one step closer than last time.

The Heat still let Haslem defend him. After faking a breakthrough and actually shooting to shake off his opponent, he easily made a two-point shot.

Van Gundy glanced at his teacher Pat Riley, who was sitting on the sidelines, and felt a little worried.

If Wolverine is allowed to shoot like this from outside, with little physical exertion, he might be able to score 50+ points in a game. Sooner or later, the Heat will be blown up by the shooting.

He and Riley repeatedly discussed how to defend against Wolverine, but there was no good way, so they could only try out tactics one by one.

But looking at Haslem's two defenses, they didn't have any effect. The Wolverines missed the first shot, not because Haslem defended it, but because the Wolverines' touch was not very good.

The defense of other Heat players is not very good. O'Neal failed to lose weight and did not play hard on defense. Eddie Jones' defense is average, and Damon Jones' defense is even worse. Only Wade and Haslem can still defend.

The Heat are currently ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference in points lost, with five teams ahead of them losing fewer points than the Heat. There are even eight teams in the entire league that lose fewer points than the Heat, which shows that the Heat's defense is not very good and they have no one to use on the defensive end.

2:2, Heat attack.

This time, Wade still broke through with the ball and attacked, breaking through two people in a row, but was blocked outside the penalty area by rookie Varejao.

But this time, he cooperated with O'Neal and passed the ball to O'Neal near the basket.

He Zhongqiu's defensive attention was attracted by Wade's breakthrough, and he relaxed his control over the Big Shark, allowing him to take the opportunity to squeeze into the basket.

He jumped up hard to block the shot, but in the aerial confrontation, he could not withstand the super tonnage of the Big Shark and was knocked away.

"boom!"

The Big Shark slammed the Knicks' basket with a two-handed dunk.

"Hoohoo!"

O'Neal was very excited after his success and screamed at He Zhongqiu.

"Quick attack!"

He Zhongqiu roared and ran to the front court.

"Shet!"

O'Neal cursed and chased after him, but how could he catch up?
Varejao passed the ball to Nash. After dribbling a few steps, Nash saw He Zhongqiu almost reaching the top of the arc, so he immediately shouted and passed the ball to him.

"Long pass from the backcourt," Barkley shouted.

He Zhongqiu received the ball when he rushed across the top of the arc. At this time, the closest defender to him was Wade, and Haslem was two steps behind him.

He held the ball high with one hand, rushed to the free throw line in one step, and took off after another step.

Wade, who was following behind, could only slow down and watch He Zhongqiu take off.

"boom!"

A one-handed windmill dunk blew up the Heat's basket.

"Wolverine's fast break is a style of play that gives all opponents a headache, especially O'Neal now, he simply can't keep up with the opponent's fast break rhythm." Barkley laughed.

Kenny Smith said: "The Knicks still have a lot of tricks to deal with the Heat, fast breaks, Wolverine's mid-range shots, the Heat are difficult to defend."

"When others play against the Heat, they need to double-team Shaq, but the Knicks don't. Now the Knicks' problem is how to defend Wade without double-teaming Shaq," Barkley said.

"After two consecutive defensive failures, I think we have to double-team them in advance and not let Wade stare at Nash," said Kenny Smith.

"But no matter how they play, this Heat team is probably no match for the Knicks. They are not as good as the Knicks in both offense and defense," Barkley said.

"It's hard to say about the game. The Knicks played poorly, and the Heat had a chance to win if they played well," said Kenny Smith.

"Bang!"

This time, Wade broke through Nash first, but lost the chance to break into the restricted area due to the double-teaming of Battier and Varejao. He forced a jump shot but missed, and He Zhongqiu grabbed the backcourt rebound.

The Knicks played a fast-paced offense, dragging Shaquille O'Neal forward, and eventually entered a positional battle.

He Zhongqiu entered the penalty area. O'Neal was not as mobile as him. After attracting the Heat's defense, Nash broke through Wade, entered the penalty area, and made a layup and hit the backboard.

6:4, Heat attack.

The Knicks double-teamed Wade, and He Zhongqiu pushed O'Neal outside the penalty area. Wade had no chance to connect with the Shaq and could only pass the ball to Damon Jones. Damon Jones made a mid-range shot in a small open space, but missed.

He Zhongqiu grabbed the rebound, passed it quickly to Nash, and then immediately made a fast break, and the Knicks attacked again.

When he entered the basket, O'Neal tried his best but could only run to the top of the arc, which was a few steps away.

"boom!"

What happened next was pretty simple, Nash passed the ball straight to the basket, then he hung on the rim and finished the attack with a slam dunk.

"The Heat don't have a big man who can keep up with the Wolverines' fast break, nor do they have a strong small forward," Barkley said.

Eddie Jones is only 198 cm tall. Although he returned to defense in time, he could not show any defensive energy next to Wolverine. "

"The strongest small forward right now is LeBron James," Kenny Smith said.

"If it's him, he should be able to limit Wolverine's fast break to a certain extent," Barkley said.

"No, his defense hasn't been practiced yet, and I'm afraid he can't defend against Wolverine." Kenny Smith disagreed.

Under the heavy siege of the Knicks, Wade's breakthroughs were not always successful. After several failures, the Heat fell behind in the score and the offense began to shift to Damon Jones and Eddie Jones.

Like Wade, these two players specifically looked for Nash through pick-and-roll and position switching, and then focused on him.

But the Knicks still used the old method, using three-two zone defense to heavily double-team the ball handler and cut off his passing angles, making it impossible for him to make tactical coordination, and the Heat's breakthrough effect was not good.

The most important thing is that under He Zhongqiu's full defense, O'Neal could not get close to the basket easily and could not cooperate with the ball handler on the outside.

In the end, the Knicks defeated the Heat on the road, achieved a record of 26 wins and 6 losses, and maintained their first place in the league.

On the 8th, the team defeated the Cavaliers again on the road, and then returned home on the 9th to face the Trail Blazers back-to-back.

"Why won't you let us in?"

"Tonight is our little giant River Rising's first match against the Wolverines. We must go in. Let us go in."

"Protest, you discriminate against us Koreans."

"Wolverine must be discriminating against us. He's going too far."

"Let Wolverine wait, Choi Man-hong will beat him in the ring."

In the evening, at the entrance of Madison Square Garden, a group of Korean journalists were protesting.

"Wolverine, please let us in. You are a hero to us Koreans. You can't do this."

"Wolverine, Yanjing belonged to our Goguryeo in ancient times. You are a descendant of us Koreans, and you should not discriminate against us."

At this time, the Knicks bus came over, and these little Sibas immediately surrounded it, banging on the body of the bus and shouting.

"Does anyone understand what they are saying?" He Zhongqiu asked.

Everyone shook their heads. Which team would prepare Korean translators?

At this time, He Zhongqiu saw several familiar Chinese reporters outside, and hurriedly took out his mobile phone and called them.

"Hello, Mid-Autumn?"

"Do you understand what those little Sibas are saying?"

"Uh, Mid-Autumn Festival, they said that Yanjing belonged to Goguryeo in ancient times, and it belonged to them, Korea, and they also said that you are a descendant of them, Koreans. Damn, how shameless!"

"I see."

He Zhongqiu hung up the phone.

At 8:15, the starting lineup came out.

After He Zhongqiu came out, he took a special look at the Trail Blazers' bench and saw the Korean center Ha Seung-jin.

The last time he played in the Asian Championships, he gave this guy a hard time. If he has the chance tonight, he will certainly not let it go.

(End of this chapter)