Chapter 91 PK Little Overlord

The Knicks flew to Atlanta overnight and defeated the Hawks in a back-to-back game on the 18th, avoiding a losing streak.

20 wins and 18 losses, 7th in the Eastern Conference.

However, He Zhongqiu's performance was very poor. He encountered a first-class All-Star defensive center in his prime, Leo Ratliff, the block king of the 00/01 season.

He played for 28 minutes, made 10 of 5 shots, had two blocks, four turnovers, and free throws, scoring only 13 points and grabbing only 6 rebounds.

Next, the Knicks return to New York and will have a five-game homestand.

On the 20th and 22nd, the Knicks defeated the Heat and Nuggets respectively, with 22 wins and 18 losses, a winning rate of 55%, surpassing the Green Team in one fell swoop and rushing to sixth place in the Eastern Conference, behind the New Orleans Hornets.

On the 22nd, O'Neal Jr.'s 20-game suspension ended and he announced his comeback.

On the 23rd, the third week of All-Star voting ended.

He Zhongqiu and Yao Ming still dominate the center position in the East and West, with both receiving over one million votes, which is truly eye-catching.

He is better off, after all, there is no All-Star center in his prime in the Eastern Conference.

Alonzo Mourning is out for the season, Dikembe Mutombo is seriously injured, and Marcus Camby, Big Z, Brad Miller and the like are not popular stars.

Yao Ming is in a bit of trouble. The American media is somewhat targeting him. After all, he is suppressing Shaquille O'Neal, the No. 1 player in the league who is still in his prime.

"Oh, Mid-Autumn Festival, the pressure is so great! You and I are from the east and the west, and the American mentality has exploded." Dayao called him to confide his psychological pressure.

"Damn, Yao Ming, please don't take me with you. My situation is different from yours. The New York media say that I am the well-deserved No. 1 center in the Eastern Conference." He said hurriedly.

"You're the one who castrated yourself!" Dayao was shaking with anger.

……

On the 24th, after losing to the Mavericks, the Knicks were overtaken by the Green Team with 22 wins and 19 losses, and fell back to the seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

At 25: p.m. on the th, the Suns arrived in New York.

At the request of the media, the Suns held a press conference at the hotel at five o'clock. All the important rotation players of the Suns attended the press conference.

The first question was from a New York Times reporter. He asked, "Stephen, you were traded to the Suns last season, and then the Suns failed to make the playoffs..."

"Is this my fault?"

When Marbury heard this, his face turned a little dark and he felt really unhappy.

The reporter continued, "The Suns made the playoffs for 13 consecutive seasons. This season, the Suns are now hovering between eighth and ninth in the Western Conference. How do you view your role in the Suns? Is it a positive one or a negative one?"

"Crack, click, click..."

The media reporters below pressed the shutter buttons at this time, freezing the black-faced Marbury on the film.

Marbury thought for a moment with a straight face, then said, "I don't know how high your expectations are of me. This season I scored 22 points and 8 assists. If you think that's not enough, I will continue to work hard."

The reporter smiled, with obvious ridicule and contempt in his expression.

Yes, as a professional basketball reporter, he despised Marbury's answer very much. He thought Marbury didn't understand what a point guard should do on the court.

Look at Kidd, what did he do after he went from the Suns to the Nets?
In just one season, he led the Nets from 12th place in the Eastern Conference to first place in the Eastern Conference, and directly advanced to the finals in the playoffs.

However, Marbury brought the Suns, a strong team in the Western Conference regular season, which ranked sixth in the 00/01 season, had 51 regular season wins, and made the playoffs for 36 consecutive years, to tenth in the Western Conference, with only 15 regular season wins, fewer wins in a season, and did not even make the playoffs.

Marbury saw the mockery in the reporter's eyes and said angrily, "What are you laughing at? Was what I said wrong?"

The reporter just smiled and handed the microphone to the staff without responding to Marbury.

Marbury punched the cotton and snorted angrily.

The next questioner was from an ESPN reporter, who asked, "Amare, Caron Butler and Yao Ming won the Rookie of the Month award in the first two months. This month, it is very likely that Wolverine will win it. His performance this month has been explosive.

You haven't received this honor yet. What do you think about this? Do you think you are inferior to these three people?"

As a high school draft pick, Stoudemire has always been very confident in himself. In addition, 02 was a weak year for the draft. After being selected 9th in the first round, he actually felt a little frustrated because he believed that with his physical fitness, he should be ranked higher.

Especially after the start of his rookie season, he discovered that the No. 1 pick Yao Ming's performance was not better than his, and his physical fitness was far inferior to his, which made him even more unbalanced.

In fact, he really wanted to say, if a guy like Yao Ming could be the No. 1 pick, why not me? Are the management blind?

And now, there is a guy with better physical fitness than him who has entered the NBA. In just one month, he has made a huge name for himself with various gimmicks. He ranked first in the Eastern Conference center position in the All-Star voting, and his popularity is a hundred times that of him. However, he is unknown in Phoenix, which makes him feel even more depressed.

Hearing this question, the frustration in his heart instantly surged up, and he said indignantly: "I don't want to say anything, but I believe I will have a chance, and my strength is no worse than theirs."

The reporter thought this answer was not explosive, and immediately asked: "From various sources, you are not satisfied with your draft pick, is that right?"

Stoudemire was too young, and under the influence of emotion, he said unconvincedly: "Yes, I think so. I think my talent is no worse than anyone else in the 02 draft."

"Oh ho!"

The reporter cheered in his heart and immediately asked, "Do you think you should be selected first?"

"I know I can do it. Yes, I will be the best rookie in 02." Stoudemire said confidently and firmly.

"Does it also include Wolverine?" the reporter asked again.

Stoudemire was so confident in his talent that he nodded without hesitation: "I know he has great talent, but I also know he is just an amateur player. Apart from dunking under the basket with his talent, he has no skills. I am not worried about him."

"You think you are better than Wolverine, right? But he has put up better numbers than you this month," the reporter reminded.

“I firmly believe that I am the best one.”

Stoudemire answered the first question first, and then said: "Everyone may explode at some time. I don't think he can play like this throughout his rookie season. That's absolutely impossible."

Tomorrow night's game is the Knicks' national live broadcast, broadcast by ESPN. This ESPN reporter brought a camera with him, so he was treated with special treatment. He continued to ask, "So in tomorrow night's game, do you want to play against Wolverine?"

Stoudemire was a little hesitant, but he was not a fool. The absolute strength of Wolverine was comparable to that of Ben Wallace. Including the Mailman Karl Malone, he was also among the top three in the league. He was not someone he could handle. If he faced him directly, he might suffer a loss.

"You don't dare?" the reporter provoked.

Stoudemire is young after all, and he immediately said, "Why wouldn't I be afraid? I'm going to dunk on him tomorrow night."

The reporter smiled, asked no more questions, and handed the microphone to the staff.

……

At this time, He Zhongqiu was not training, but looking at houses.

Xia Song chose a villa for him, located in Dobrys City, 15 kilometers south of Tullytown, also in Westchester County, close to the Bronx and Long Island, and even closer to Manhattan.

The villa is located in a wealthy area, covering an area of ​​4 acres, or mu, with a construction area of ​​ square meters.

There are two floors, with a total of six bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and several functional rooms, such as a living room, dining room, movie room, billiard room, etc.

In addition, there are two outbuildings on the left and right sides of the house, a garage that can park three cars and a 60-square-meter utility room.

The villa was built six years ago and renovated four years ago. The decoration level is quite good and it is still about 80% to % new. You can move in directly without decoration. The price tag is US$.

Accompanied by the real estate agent, he, Philip and Xia Song enthusiastically visited the villa and looked at it inside and out.

"The price is acceptable. If it were in Long Island, although it is also far away from the city, a villa like this should be around 130 million US dollars," said Philip.

Xia Song said: "We can shovel away part of the garden at the back and build a basketball room and a fitness room, which will be convenient for training.

Also, you can divide the utility room into two parts, and convert one part into your practice room."

Philip said: "The security and other services in this community are good. There is a supermarket and a private hospital nearby. It is also close to the training base, only a dozen minutes' drive away."

"OK, then don't waste time, just here."

He Zhongqiu didn't have too many requirements for the house now and nodded with satisfaction.

Xia Song said happily: "We will build a basketball room and a fitness room as soon as we get it. Don't move in yet, but live there for a while."

"OK."

The contract was signed quickly, and after the transfer of ownership, He Zhongqiu owned his first property in his life, which was also his first home besides Hongluo Temple.

Standing in front of the villa, he looked around the house. It was empty and felt like something was missing. Suddenly he thought of his father's lonely grave on Hongluo Mountain.

……

On the evening of January 03, 1, at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks bus traveled an hour from Westchester to the home stadium.

He Zhongqiu's seat was no longer at the back, but was moved to the middle, with the translator Philip next to him.

On the bus he was still reading the tactical manual. Although he no longer gained proficiency as quickly as before, he still gained something every time he read it.

After getting off the bus, there were some reporters waiting outside, as well as a camera from ESPN.

The ESPN reporter did not go to the CPG King and the Madman, but came to He Zhongqiu with a camera and asked, "Wolverine, Amar'e Stoudemire said he is the best rookie of this year. Do you agree with him?"

"Who is he?"

Philip translated it, but He Zhongqiu had no idea who it was.

The reporter introduced him: "He was the No. 02 pick in the first round of 9. He should be a few months older than you. He is 20 years old this year. He can play the same position as you, center or power forward.

He is 208 cm tall, has a wingspan of 217 cm, a vertical jump of 81 cm and a running jump of 90 cm.

He also has a very strong physical quality, excellent athletic ability, great strength, explosive power, and fast speed. He is an absolute dunker, and his statistics are also very good. He is a strong contender for the best rookie. "

He Zhongqiu chuckled and said, "He said he was the best in 02? Haha, then let him win before you say that."

The reporter said excitedly: "Wolverine, he said he would dunk on you in tonight's game."

He Zhongqiu scratched his bald head with his fingernails, making a crackling sound, and then said modestly: "Let him come, let's see whether he dunks on me or I dunk on him. One of us will fall under the basket."

"Oh ho!"

Not only did several reporters laugh strangely, but the madman and Charlie Ward and others also screamed excitedly.

When they arrived at the locker room, several staff members and security personnel were guarding outside, as well as several trainers, including He Zhongqiu's personal trainer Felton, who drove over from the Knicks' training base.

It was only 6:40 at this time and the game would start at 8:30, so there was still plenty of time for everyone to do their own things.

He Zhongqiu didn't look at the tactical manual. Today's training content was not completed yet. There was still an hour of dribbling. He picked up a ball and went to the weight room with Felton and Philip.

"Boom bang bang..."

Felton was in charge of defense, and he did dribbling drills with a defender on him.

There are dribbling in place, dribbling on the move, dribbling with your back to the basket, and dribbling facing the basket. All of them are training methods that simulate the environment in a game.

Fifty minutes later, dribbling improved from level 52 to level 53.

"Wolverine, it's half past seven. Take a shower and prepare for the game." Felton, who was sweating all over, signaled to stop training.

"OK."

He Zhongqiu dropped the ball.

A few minutes later, he received a call from Dayao.

"Dayao, no game today?" he asked.

"No, I'm going to watch your game and see how you show your power over the little bully." Yao Ming's words revealed a sense of expectation.

"Oh, you have a grudge against him? Tell me, I will help you get revenge for your mistakes." He asked curiously.

"No." Dayao said decisively.

"If there is, then there is. Why are you so hypocritical? I bet you have been fooled by him before." He said disdainfully.

"What do you mean by being fooled by him? Can you, an illiterate man, speak?" Dayao said unhappily.

"Stop talking nonsense and just tell me whether you have suffered any loss?" He retorted directly.

"Well, he just doesn't accept my rank."

Yao Ming explained awkwardly, and then said: "He is indeed talented, but we have played two games and we won both times."

"Tell me about your personal performance and satisfy my curiosity." He chuckled.

"You are a man who castrated himself. I didn't lose to you. You don't need to avenge me. I can do it myself."

Yao Ming said this bitterly, and then added: "I performed better in the first game, and he played better in the second game, so it was a draw."

"Okay, I get it. You lost more in the second game, right?" he said cheerfully.

"You, you are right, aren't you?"

Yao Ming angrily said: "In the game on the 15th of this month, I had 11 points and 7 rebounds, and he had 24 points and 13 rebounds. My statistics were indeed not as good as his, but I didn't suffer any loss. I gave him two big blocks."

"You haven't suffered any loss from this data? It's really sad to hear it and makes people cry. It's so miserable!" He Zhongqiu teased.

"Then let's see how you perform tonight. Just don't be worse than me." Yao Ming said angrily.

"Wait, then."

He Zhongqiu hung up the phone after saying a few words.

……

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

Suns: Stoudemire, Scott Williams, Marion, Joe Johnson, Marbury

Knicks: He Zhongqiu, Kurt Thomas, Sprewell, Alan Houston, Howard Ellis
The ESPN commentators are Michael Breen and Jeff Van Gundy, and the special guest is Knicks legend, Patrick Ewing.

Ewing was invited by Breen, but Van Gundy Jr. disagreed because he was worried that Ewing would remain silent during the live broadcast, but Breen insisted and he had no choice.

Before the live broadcast began, Van said to Ewing: “Patrick, you can talk more about Wolverine later.

Because recently the media said that you might return to the Knicks as an assistant coach, specifically to coach the Wolverines, so that it would fit in with the current topic. "

Ewing grunted, "But this is a fabrication by the media. I..."

"It just fits the current topic and makes what you say more topical, OK?" Xiao Fan said.

"OK."

Van Gundy Jr. was born in the Knicks and served as the head coach of the Knicks for seven years. He was an assistant coach before that. He and Ewing had a teacher-student relationship for many years, and Ewing still listened to him.

At this time, the starting lineups of the two teams were reported. Michael Breen took a look and said, "Penny Hardaway can't play in this game. The starting shooting guard will be sophomore Joe Johnson."

Xiao Fan said: "In the interior, the Suns do not have a clear center and power forward position, Stoudemire is a fixed main player, and the other position is rotated.

One of the highlights tonight is the contest between the Wolverines and Stoudemire Jr., who claims he is the best rookie of 02.

He has been in the league for almost three months, and he started to gain weight after the draft. His current weight is 240 pounds, 108 kilograms, which is 7 pounds heavier than when he was drafted. "

At this point, he turned the topic to Ewing and asked with a smile: "Patrick, who do you think will be the winner in the competition between the two of them?"

"Um……"

Ewing hesitated for a long time before he said, "Jeff, do you mean tonight's game or this season?" after Van and Brin even exchanged glances at him.

"You can talk about anything," Brin encouraged.

"Um……"

Ewing grunted for more than ten seconds, and when Breen began to regret inviting him, he said, "I think the winner tonight, yes, should be Wolverine.

And if we talk about the whole season, I don’t know who will be the final winner, knowing that Yao Ming in Houston is also good, and Caron Butler.”

Xiao Fan pressed, "So why do you think Wolverine will be the winner tonight?"

Ewing flipped through a few data sheets on the table and said, "Here are their stats. Stoudemire's current average number of shots per game is 10, while the Wolverines are currently averaging 10.8 shots per game. In the last ten games, it was 12.2 shots per game."

Xiao Fan nodded encouragingly, motioning for Ewing to continue speaking and say more if he could.

Ewing continued slowly: "It's very obvious that Wolverine gets more support and more shots, and as long as he has enough physical strength to get to the basket, he will have more opportunities to perform.

In addition, when comparing the two's physical qualities, Wolverine is taller, has a longer wingspan, is better at jumping, and has a greater strength advantage, more explosive power, and stronger low-post confrontation ability."

"Yes, although Stoudemire's physical fitness is very strong, Wolverine has more advantages in many aspects." Xiao Fan said.

Breen nodded and said, "Stoudemire has advantages as well. He has better skills, such as close-to-the-basket jump shots, and his offensive zone is larger than Wolverine's."

Xiao Fan looked at the data sheet and said: "Stoudemire's two-point shooting percentage is 32%, and the hit rate is only 37.6%. He needs to keep working hard."

Breen said approvingly: "He attacks the basket a lot, accounting for 55.8%, and the hit rate is 57.7%, which is terrible.

Because you have to know that this season, O'Neal's offensive percentage at the basket is only 53.7%, but his hit rate is much higher than Stoudemire, reaching 74.5%. "

Xiao Fan smiled and said: "When it comes to attacking the basket, we have to mention Wolverine."

Breen nodded and said, "Wolverine is good at attacking the basket. He is currently the player with the most attacking shots in the league, accounting for 85.5% and a hit rate of 67.5%."

Ewing said at this time: "This is the role of Wolverine. The quality of his offensive attack under the basket is second only to O'Neal among the main centers in the entire league."

Xiaofan nodded and said, "O'Neal averaged 9.7 attacks per game at the basket this season, and the Wolverines averaged 10.4 attacks per game in the last ten games.

It is precisely because of this high-quality offensive attack that the Knicks were able to move from 03th in the Eastern Conference to the current seventh in the Eastern Conference after entering 12.

(End of this chapter)