Chapter 77 Jordan: I'm going to inspect the territory
He Zhongqiu went to the training base for training at around eight o'clock in the morning. The team did not arrange any training, so there was no trainer to assist him.

He practiced shooting off the backboard, luckily Philip helped him pick up the ball. By eleven o'clock, his accumulated proficiency had reached 3000 and his level had risen to 66.

Shooting training can also improve rebounding skills. When a shot misses, you can gain prediction proficiency by predicting correctly. After three hours, he has gained more than 200 proficiency levels.

At half past eleven, he stopped training and took a look at today's gains while taking a shower in the lounge.

"what?"

He was delighted to find that his physical fitness had risen to level 86.

Philip, who was also taking a shower, complained: "I'm so tired. This full-time translation job is really not a job for humans. In addition to translation, I also have to work part-time as a trainer, driver, masseur, and assistant coach..."

He Zhongqiu casually handed over the towel and said, "Wellington, please help me and rub my back."

"... and the bath attendants."

Reluctantly taking the towel, Phillip said, “Mid-Autumn, I’m not very good at this, am I?”

"Rub hard. If you can rub off a piece of skin from me, I will reward you with one thousand dollars." He Zhongqiu said with a smile.

"Tsk! Iron Shirt, do you think I don't know?"

Philip dejectedly began to rub He Zhongqiu's back. He rubbed for half an hour, which was more tiring than picking up balls for three hours.

After rubbing his back and taking a shower, He Zhongqiu came outside and sat down comfortably, and asked casually, "Wellington, can you do a pedicure?"

"No, I really won't do that." Philip, who was exhausted, said quickly.

"Then you should learn quickly. As the old saying goes, one more skill means one more way to go," said He Zhongqiu.

"..."

Philip was speechless.

……

The time came to New Year's Day in 2003.

The Knicks have three more home games, against the Wizards on the first, the Pacers on the third, the Trail Blazers on the fifth, and then three away games, including a back-to-back against the Magic on the sixth.

The team currently has a record of 11 wins and 16 losses, still ranked 11th in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks behind them have the same record and may drop to 12th at any time.

At noon, the league officially announced some honors for December.

Jason Kidd won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month, Chris Webber won the Western Conference Player of the Month, and Yao Ming won the Rookie of the Month.

The official also announced the latest MVP rankings. The first is Tim Duncan of the Spurs, the second is Jason Kidd of the Nets, the third is O'Neal of the Lakers, the fourth is McGrady of the Magic, and the fifth is Kobe, the second-in-command of the Lakers.

In addition, All-Star voting has officially begun and will end at the end of the month.

For this All-Star voting, the NBA officially opened an overseas online voting channel, which is very important for overseas players like Yao Min and He Zhongqiu.

"Congratulations, Yao Ming!"

"Hey Hey Hey……"

After He Zhongqiu learned the news, he called Dayao. He could hear Dayao's happiness through the phone. The bad boy was indeed very happy.

"Yao, I have no hope of making the All-Star Game. I think you should be selected this time. You are the No. 1 pick and you have a lot of fans in China." He said with some envy.

"hey-hey……"

Yao Ming laughed foolishly again, and then said modestly: "No, no, how is it possible? How can I be an All-Star with my level?"

"Modesty is hypocrisy. If you can't be a starter, you can be a substitute, right?" He Zhongqiu said.

"You are illiterate. Being overly modest is hypocritical."

Yao Ming said this unhappily, and then explained: "The All-Stars vote for the starting lineup, and the substitutes are not chosen by the fans, but by the coach."

"Oh I see!"

After hanging up the phone, Xia Song, who was sitting next to him, said, "Zhongqiu, if you can be selected as an All-Star this time, your popularity will definitely increase significantly. Maybe those sneaker brands will immediately increase your contract, and you will have more advantages in negotiations."

"I've only been playing for half a month, how can I be selected as an All-Star?" he asked.

"It seems that there is no limit on this. Fans can vote, and the officials can't restrict them from voting for you!"

Xia Song thought for a moment and said, "I'll talk to Zhou Biao and Lin Cheng about it and ask them to create some momentum for you in China. What if it works?"

……

When He Zhongqiu arrived at the training base in the afternoon, he received good news.

Chairman Scott Layden came to the training ground with two team reporters, called him aside, and said with a smile:

"Wolverine, the All-Star voting has begun. We don't have many popular centers in the East. Ben Wallace and Mutombo are probably the most popular.

Now is your chance. The team plans to promote you vigorously and win votes from fans in the New York area."

"Really? I can do it..."

He Zhongqiu swallowed the word "ma" and patted his chest and said, "Sir, don't worry, I will definitely try my best to play well in the next game and make the data look better." "OK."

Leiden nodded encouragingly and said, "Do an interview now, and the news will come out soon."

Since He Zhongqiu's performance has been getting better and better, his status in the Knicks has also begun to improve. The boss who used to have a lot of opinions about him is now okay with him and sometimes even says a few words of encouragement.

So he now hopes that He Zhongqiu can develop further, and his strength and fame can be further enhanced, so that he can sit more firmly in his current position.

At 7:30 p.m., half an hour before the game, the Wizards and Knicks announced their starting lineups.

Wizards: Brendan Haywood, Christian Laettner, Jerry Stackhouse, Michael Jordan, Larry Hughes
Knicks: He Zhongqiu, Kurt Thomas, Sprewell, Alan Houston, Howard Ellis
The game is broadcast live across the United States by TNT, with Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith as the commentators.

Barkley said: "In 01, Michael Jordan used the No. 11 pick to select Kwame Brown, and last year he used the No. 211 pick in the first round to select the -centimeter forward Jared Jeffries. Tonight, both of them have the opportunity to play against the Wolverines..."

"Pfft!"

Kenny Smith couldn't stop laughing.

In the visiting team's locker room, Michael Jordan's face suddenly darkened as he stared at the TV on the wall.

Kwame Brown and Jared Jeffries in the corner lowered their heads and said nothing, trying to reduce their presence in the locker room.

"You two, come here."

But they still couldn't avoid Michael Jordan. Jordan hooked his finger at them, and they had to go over obediently.

Oakley sat next to Jordan, and Ewing sat in front of him, helping the former tie the bandage on his foot.

After leaving the Knicks, these two old buddies joined the same team again, but one was an assistant coach and the other was a player.

"What does Michael want to do?" Ewing whispered.

"What else can we do? Let the two rookies use some strength and don't embarrass themselves in front of Wolverine," Oakley said.

Jordan glanced at the two of them with dissatisfaction and asked, "Can you speak a little more quietly?"

"That rookie..."

Ewing hesitated for a moment and said, "He has great talent, but his skills are terrible. He can't do anything except attack under the basket. If he can't make the playoffs, the Knicks fans and management may not have the patience to wait for him to grow up."

"What does this have to do with us?"

Oakley said indifferently. At this point he was startled and suddenly asked, "Could it be, Patrick, that rookie flattered you at the press conference, and you want to come back?"

Ewing shook his head and did not continue the topic.

Jordan said with a straight face: "Kwame, Jared, show some spirit tonight, play well, and let Wolverine see your talent, OK?"

"OK." The two whispered.

Jordan added, "He's not that great. Your talents are no worse than his. His skills are worse than yours. At most, he's just a little better at fighting. Do you understand? You have the strength you have now to beat him. Do you understand?"

"Understood." The two of them said in a grunt.

Jordan felt annoyed and waved at the two of them.

The two of them breathed a sigh of relief and quickly followed the other substitute players to warm up.

Only the starting five, Oakley and Ewing were left in the locker room.

Oakley was too lazy to warm up, and no one dared to bother him. He nudged Jordan with his elbow and whispered, "Michael, do you know Wolverine from the last draft?"

"I know shit!"

Jordan cursed and said, "I bet no one in the management of any team in the league knows him, and no one in the NBA scouts in the United States knows him.

He has nothing but a name, he is not a draft pick, he is a joke.”

Oakley laughed so hard that he was shaking. After he finished laughing, he said with a worried look on his face, "If Kwame and Brown, the two rookies, are beaten too badly by Wolverine tonight, Michael, the media might... hehe!"

The veins on Michael Jordan's forehead jumped, and he glared at Oakley and said, "Charles, you better be tough tonight. Don't lose your prestige as one of the four evil men. Give him two elbows and give him dozens of stitches on his head. Let him know how powerful you are."

Oakley's eyes twitched. Are you talking like a human being? I just laughed at you, and you want to kill me?

He snorted coldly, "Michael, are you serious? That guy destroyed the entire Pacers team. How many people haven't been slapped by him? Do you want him to pull out your back teeth?"

Jordan's face twitched, he felt a little pain in his teeth, and he kept silent.

At this time, Ewing stood up and said hesitantly: "Well, it's like this. It's almost time to go out. I plan to go to the locker room over there to take a look."

"Then I'll go too."

Oakley put on his sneakers and stood up.

"OK, let's go take a look together."

Jordan took out a training suit from the closet and put it on. He then took out a cut cigar, lit it with a lighter, and led a few people to the home team's locker room with a cigar in his mouth.

Along the way, he was like strolling in his own territory, as if he was the king of Madison Square Garden, patrolling his territory.

(End of this chapter)