NBA: LeBron James wants to team up with me

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The first loss for the Bulls in the new season came in Game 13 when they faced the Boston Celtics on the road.

The Bulls, who had been in good form, had no choice but to lose to the Celtics because Durant was having a great time in this game, and he and Wang Chong kept up with each other throughout the match. Wang Chong scored 39 points, and Durant scored 39 points and 42 points. At the same time, Celtics' point guard Rajon Rondo recorded a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. His performance slightly overshadowed Curry's 18 points and 6 assists.

Curry had maintained high efficiency in previous games, but he was still a bit tired. After all, even at this stage, he was not yet the invincible Curry from two years later, and his stability was still somewhat lacking.

The Bulls suffered their first loss of the new season, but their record stood at 12 wins and 1 loss. Their upcoming opponents were the Milwaukee Bucks, Dallas Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons, and New York Knicks.

Among them, the New York Knicks were considered the toughest.

However, the Knicks' Big Three, who had been very popular in the past two years, now only had two strong weapons in the defensive zone. Stoudemire was injured at the beginning of the season and would not be able to return until February of the following year. Given last season's performance, even the local Knicks fans didn't have much hope for a resurgence once he recovered from his injuries.

Of course, a thin camel is still bigger than a horse. Even with a double-core boost, the Knicks were still considered a strong team in the Eastern Conference. Their current record placed them fifth in the East, just behind the Bulls, Heat, Celtics, and Pacers.

Just as they faced the Bulls, the Knicks, who were not good at defense, had no chance to shoot straight from the outside.

What is worth mentioning in this game is Rose. At this point, Rose, who should have been retired for a season due to a torn ligament, was still alive and well, and his advances on the court were quite sharp.

This was a bit unexpected for Wang Chong. After all, many expert basketball players in the future, including Wang Chong, believed that Rose's style of play was too aggressive and risky, and that it was only a matter of time before injuries occurred.

Unexpectedly, Rose avoided this disaster.

Of course, this also had something to do with the fact that he was selected by the New York Knicks and didn't play under Tom Thibodeau, who was obsessed with the main team.

D'Antoni's coaching style was later referred to as the "magic ball" tactic. Although many people called it a blind tactic from JB, as a head coach who had trained Nash, he really needed to be smarter in utilizing point guards.

The biggest difference between Rose's version with the Knicks and his version with the Bulls is his teammates.

In the first two seasons, Anthony and Stoudemire had to take away a lot of ball control from Rose. Anthony's average number of shots per game was even higher than Rose's, which also eased Rose's fatigue considerably.

Although Anthony, as a 2003 draft class rookie, was overshadowed by Wang Chong, Wade, and James in the same period, he was still one of the league's main stars and one of its strongest players.

In this way, Wang Chong was also somewhat unsure of how long Rose could stay at the top of his career. Maybe he could have a relatively healthy career.

If that is the case, it wouldn't be too bad for Wang Chong to take the MVP from him, and not having the youngest MVP trick in history might be a blessing in disguise.

The Bulls, having defeated the Knicks, won five more consecutive games, reaching a record of 17 wins and 1 loss, placing them first in the league, far ahead of other teams.

The only team that could barely keep up with the Bulls in terms of record was the Miami Heat.

Although they had lost to the Bulls in the opening game, it was undeniable that the 2012-2013 season was indeed the strongest for the Heat. During the regular season, the Heat achieved a record of 66 wins and 16 losses, finishing first in the league. They also had an exciting 27-game winning streak from February to March, demonstrating their strength.

When the Bulls had a record of 17 wins and 1 loss, the Heat's record was 15 wins and 3 losses, only behind the Bulls in the Eastern Conference and even the entire league.

What was even more surprising was that in the Western Conference, the defending champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, did not start the new season ideally. They lost several games they should have won, even falling out of the top three positions in the West and occupying only fourth place.

As Wang Chong had expected, the conflicts between Kobe, Paul, and Howard gradually intensified after they won the championship.

Especially Paul, who had a strong desire for control, could not stand Kobe's tendency to take ill-advised shots against multiple defenders in critical moments. You can have a Mamba mentality and become braver with every setback, but come on. Could you show some respect to your teammates as well?

Paul, who couldn't recover the ball at critical moments multiple times, caused the team to lose games they should have won. Of course, he was in a bad mood. He couldn't help but complain in the post-game press conference.

As a result, these complaints reached Kobe's ears, who proudly spoke out in public.

"I don't need anyone's guidance on how to play. If you want to teach me how to play, first you'll have to win five championships."

Paul, who had always been cautious, almost lost his temper when he heard what Kobe said.

The dispute between Paul and Kobe finally came to an end.

On the other hand, Howard and Kobe did not clash as much. Their conflict wasn't as sharp as Paul's. After all, Howard was a center, and his distribution of ball control wasn't as intense as the two guards, Kobe and Paul.

But Howard himself was an optimistic guy who loved to play and joke around, even when the team was falling behind and about to lose. Howard would still play tricks for the camera like a normal person.

Kobe, who had a paranoid personality, naturally felt very upset when he saw this.

Are you happy about about to lose the game?

Kobe Bryant told Howard several times in the locker room. At first, Howard didn't take it seriously and responded with some superficial words.

But as time passed, Howard became a bit impatient.

In particular, Kobe kept using O'Neal as an analogy, saying if it were O'Neal, he wouldn't do this, how to win, etc. Howard's ears nearly became calloused, and he became increasingly impatient with Kobe. The situation worsened over time and finally exploded in the locker room after the team suffered a disastrous loss at home to the Spurs.

According to an anonymous person familiar with the situation, Kobe and Howard had a disagreement in the locker room, and it became a heated discussion that almost turned into a fistfight.

However, it seemed that they were only arguing for a while, and Paul "enthusiastically" came to stop the fight, but somehow they started fighting even more fiercely.

Since then, the Lakers began to become two forces. On one side was the power of veteran Kobe Bryant, and on the other side, the power of two young superstar players, Paul and Howard.

The two teams were making a scene while playing regular season games. It would be strange if they played well.

Wang Chong was stunned as he watched the drama unfold while snacking.

This is so surprising. As expected of Paul, he took Howard onto the same court simply by using tricks.

Now the Lakers' management was going to have a headache.

What if the conflict between both sides becomes more intense and irreconcilable? Should they continue choosing Kobe, who was 34 years old and had only a few years left at his peak, or is it more worthwhile to choose Paul and Howard, two young, top-tier stars?

It's hard to choose, really hard to choose. If it were just one of Paul or Howard, everyone would pick Kobe without a second thought. After all, Kobe had become the Lakers' flagship player and a major source of income over the years, but now there were two of them. How should they choose?

What the Lakers' management could do was to try everything to calm and adjust the relationship between the two sides, just like when they formed the OK team, using championships and honors to make both sides take a step back and continue playing together.

Whatever happens, at least in Wang Chong's opinion, the Lakers had little hope this season. Even in the playoffs, they couldn't be a contender for the Spurs, who were quietly making a fortune.

It's just that it's really hard to predict how this drama in the palace will end.

——Before you knew it,

the end of December had arrived.

On December 25, in the Christmas game, the Bulls defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 120-97 in an away game, offering a breath of fresh air compared to last season's finals.

By the end of the 2012 calendar, the Bulls' record had reached 26 wins and 4 losses, with an ultra-high win rate of 86.6%, far ahead of all other teams in the league. Even the Heat fell behind at the top level.

This wasn't surprising. The Heat eventually achieved a record of 66 wins and 16 losses during the regular season that year. Their 27-game winning streak from early February to late March played a crucial role. Their record was at the top of the league, and they were even slightly inferior to the Thunder and Spurs.

The 2013 All-Stars also went through two rounds of voting in December.

This year's All-Stars had been restructured, eliminating the center position, including centers among forwards, and selecting the top three forwards based on votes to become starters in the All-Star Game.

This was mainly because the talent in the center position had waned in recent years, to the point where there was almost no one to choose. Players like Tyson Chandler and Joakim Noah couldn't be selected as All-Star starters?

However, Gasol had a bit of bad luck.

In this season, Gasol had the best statistical performance of his career, averaging 18+9+4 per game. He was unique in the Eastern Conference and had the most votes for the All-Star Game among Eastern Conference centers.

Had the previous rules applied, he would have been the starting center in the Eastern All-Star Game.

But after the center position was merged with the forward position, Gasol's votes became quite noteworthy.

You must know that the forward position in the Eastern Conference is the most competitive.

Wang Chong, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh.

Gasol's votes placed him sixth among forwards, and he had no chance of becoming a starter.

However, considering his performance on the court and his traditional center position, Gasol was practically guaranteed to be selected as a reserve for the All-Star Game.

In fact, not only the forward position, but the competition for the guard position in the Eastern Conference was also fierce.

Unlike the three starting positions for forwards, there were only two starting guard spots, and the competition was even fiercer. There were four main contenders for the two starting spots: Wade from the Heat, Rondo from the Celtics, Rose from the Knicks, and Curry from the Bulls.

From a statistical point of view, there was no obvious difference between the four players in terms of numbers. Curry averaged 25.2 points, 4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game, which was the highest score among the four.

Rondo averaged 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 11 assists, becoming the only traditional point guard with double-digit assists.

Although Wade's 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists were relatively the lowest among the four, as a veteran star, Wade's popularity was much higher than that of the other three. The All-Star vote was based on fan votes, not just on game statistics, and Wade had the advantage in this respect.

Rose had averaged 22.8 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists per game so far this season. He couldn't beat Curry in scoring and couldn't match Rondo in assists, but his popularity helped him greatly.

Rose's ultra-fast playing style was very attractive to fans, and his popularity was quite high.

During the first two rounds of voting, all four players were neck and neck, trying not to give an inch.

However, with the end of the second round of voting, Rondo, the least popular of the four, had gradually fallen behind the others.

Wade and Rose were fairly popular, but Curry had not yet gained momentum, and most of his popularity came from Wang Chong's fanbase.

As the strongest basketball player in the world, Wang Chong had a huge fanbase, and a large portion of them were Chinese fans.

When these fans voted for Wang Chong, they also supported Wang Chong's teammates. This was the so-called love for the home team and the underdog.

But whether Curry could stand out in the competition with Wade and Rose and be selected as a starter for the Eastern Conference All-Star Game depended on the results of the third round of voting in January.

However, just like Gasol, even if he was not selected as a starter for the All-Star Game, Curry would definitely be selected as a reserve for the All-Star Game.

As a result, three of the Bulls' main players were selected as All-Stars, and their Big Three could be firmly established.

But compared to the Lakers' Big Three next door, the cards were still a little less interesting.

Not to mention the attack and defense zones, in the All-Star voting rankings of the Western Conference, Kobe was first, Paul second, and Howard third, overwhelming all the players from the other fourteen teams, including the starting players of the All-Star Game.

Which cards will start among the three All-Stars? Only the Lakers have this ability.

Originally, in the 2012-13 season, the Heat's Big Three achieved the feat of all starting in the All-Star Game, but that was because the original starter Rondo couldn't play due to injury, and Bosh was asked to step in as a reserve, making the three of them appear as All-Star starters.

But for the Lakers, this was simply common practice. Last season, three of them were selected as All-Star starters, and at the end of the season, all three were selected to the All-NBA Team, two of them to the first team and one to the second team.

——The first week of January 2013 arrived, and the results of the third round of voting were released.

For the guard position in the Eastern Conference, the total votes, from highest to lowest, were Wade, Curry, Rose, and Rondo.

Wang Chong's fanbase was still strong. Although he wasn't as popular as Rose, Curry surpassed the others and was selected as a starter for the All-Star Game for the first time in his career.

End of this chapter

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