Chapter 1131: Chapter 626 It’s Time_2

Yao Ming ignited China’s NBA frenzy, and later, Space Easy entered the NBA. In his first two years, he was voted as a Western Conference Power Forward reserve rider twice with a high number of votes, but mysteriously “taken down” in the final days.

This is a little-known NBA scandal–someone manipulated the fans’ sincere votes, merely to eliminate a player who did not deserve to be in the All-Star game.

This year, Hu Jinqiu from China has performed reasonably well in the Warriors Team. To placate the restless Chinese fans, Adam Silver changed the voting calculation rules.

Starting this season, fan votes only account for 50% of valid votes, with the remaining 50% split evenly between players and the media. At the same time, player positions also changed from the traditional point guard to center positions to “frontcourt” and “backcourt.”

This division clearly declared the death of traditional interior positions.

It’s a significant event in the League.

Young players aspire to stand out, while older generation stars need to defend their status.

The Clippers have been very proactive.

Antetokounmpo is fighting for his career’s first All-Star start, Jokic is striving for his first All-Star appearance–this being his second season, though theoretically he still has two more seasons, it’s beneficial to be selected as an All-Star earlier to trigger the “Yu Fei clause” at the time of renewal. Thompson is trying hard to defend his All-Star qualification.

Only Yao has accepted that he is no longer an All-Star.

He was injured at the beginning of the season and has been inconsistent since returning, although still a stabilizing presence on the Clippers bench, it is evident that the nearly 37-year-old giant is indeed in decline.

The honor of being an All-Star is no longer important to him.

Without injuries, he could have been an All-Star for fourteen consecutive years.

Now, with four championships, numerous All-NBA selections, the All-Star honors are less significant when others introduce him.

The Clippers also provided him with a generous retirement contract.

These factors have nearly sanctified his status in the NBA, with nothing to lose or to long for. His only desire now is to wait for the 2019 World Cup on home soil. Everything else is just in service of that.

Yu Fei envies Yao’s mindset.

Who wouldn’t be envious?

To still have a passion, a pursuit, a strong desire to shine once more at a certain point in time and then retire, even after a fulfilling career.

Yu Fei doesn’t have that point in time.

Maybe this season, maybe the next.

And then time passes, and 2016 becomes part of the history of the world.

2017 has arrived.

By Chinese age counting, Yu Fei is already 36 years old.

But Americans, especially athletes, often prefer to count down to the exact day.

Thus, according to the American way, Yu Fei is now 34 years and 1 day old.

After the New Year, Yu Fei’s performance momentum has weakened.

Because the younger ones in the team seem unable to suppress the primal force within them, fighting fiercely for All-Star qualifications.

For someone like Yu Fei, who is not worried about securing a spot, naturally won’t upstage them.

Thus, he lets them take the lead in ball control and tactics, while he stands aside on the perimeter, scoring twenty-something points per game.

Yu Fei’s choice allowed Antetokounmpo to start delivering explosive performances.

Jokic gradually showcased his potential as a triple-double king, achieving triple-doubles in five consecutive games at the beginning of January.

Thompson also slowly regained his peak form, displaying his status as one of the League’s top 3D players.

Everyone is exploding, and everyone’s stats are commendable.

This harmonious dance benefits from a completely liberated offense.

Starting with the Bucks’ Carnival Basketball, the Space Basketball revolution has been ongoing for over a decade and has finally bloomed this year, with every team treating the three-pointer as vital to the game.

The Clippers traveled to Boston, scoring 144 points in regulation time with 50% of their shots being three-pointers, while the Celtics scored “only” 128 points.

Such high scores displeased many basketball purists.

Celtics’ coach Brad Stevens, in an ESPN interview, said: “An abundance of three-pointers has stretched the court so wide, you have to defend players 24 to 25 feet away from the basket, opening up all the channels for breakthroughs.”

Older fans dislike contemporary basketball because they think the defense is too soft, with layups seeming as common as on a street. This is because everyone is defending against the three-pointer, naturally broadening the space.

The more three-pointers, the more spacious it gets, making layups feel like crossing the street.

As a beneficiary, Doc Rivers pretended to be helpless.

“What can we do to reduce three-point shots?” Rivers said while leading the team to Golden State for a game, “Do we really need to give up protecting the paint area? Do we really say ‘go ahead, lay it up as you please’? No, I want to change this and I am working on a plan.”

What’s the reality? The more Rivers studies, the harder the Clippers shoot threes.

Since 2017, the Clippers have become one of the wildest teams in a series of frenzied plays.

50% of their shots per game are three-pointers, and incredibly they still maintain a 38% success rate from the three.

Oracle Arena

When Yu Fei steps onto the court, the city, predominantly of Chinese descent, did not show friendliness.

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