Chapter 472: All Stars Revealed, UAE Dies
In the final game of January, the Suns cruised past the Milwaukee Bucks, 122 to 104.
Afterward, the Associated Press ran the headline, "Suns Win 20th Straight Home Game Against Bucks," noting that Phoenix had long been a nightmare road stop for Milwaukee.
ESPN went even sharper with its angle. "Bucks Lose 22 Consecutive Years at Suns Home Court."
The piece pointed out that Milwaukee had not won in Phoenix since February 21, 1987. It even twisted the knife by saying most young Bucks fans had never seen their team win in that building in their entire lives.
The story of the night was Steve Nash detonating after halftime.
He finished with a season high 36 points, and 25 of them came in the second half. After posting 17 assists the previous game, Nash followed it up by flipping the script and turning into a pure scorer.
His explanation was simple.
"As soon as the second half started, I hit 2 straight shots," Nash said. "I wanted to score first, make the defense react, then create assists. But after that, my teammates kept feeding me the ball."
He pointed directly at Chen Yan and laughed.
"Especially this guy. He treated me like I was the shooter, yelling at me to shoot every time he passed it."
The entire room cracked up. Even the reporters admitted they had never seen someone publicly complain that his teammate was forcing him to score.
Chen Yan shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Steve's touch was ridiculous today," he said. "If we give him the ball, we can win easily."
It was not exaggeration. In the second half, Nash shot 11 for 12 from the field, including 4 for 5 from 3.
It was not just him. Phoenix shot 59% as a team, and even Milwaukee shot 56%. The league's postgame notes basically called it an "undefended" type of night, both teams scoring freely, with the Suns simply finishing better.
And for 2 quarters, Milwaukee really did look like it might break the curse.
The Bucks led by as many as 7 in the first half, then went into halftime up 65 to 60.
The turning point came immediately after the break.
Nash caught fire in the 3rd, and the Bucks had no answer. Phoenix won that quarter 37 to 17, and after that, the game was essentially decided. Milwaukee walked out of Phoenix with another loss, and another reminder that some road buildings feel like they are cursed.
…
On February 1, the All Star rosters were officially announced.
The starters had already been revealed earlier. This time, it was the reserves, and the full picture came into focus.
Chen Yan's first half of the season had been so dominant that he became the league's new vote king with a record breaking 3,498,618 votes. Second in the West was Kobe Bryant at 2,670,316.
In the East, Dwight Howard led all players with 3,150,181 votes.
No All Star had ever cracked 3 million votes before. This year, 2 players did it, a loud sign of how fast the league's fan base was growing.
The Western Conference starting 5 were:
Chen Yan, Kobe Bryant, Amar'e Stoudemire, Tim Duncan, Yao Ming.
The lineup looked strange on paper because it had no traditional point guard or small forward. But that was how the voting worked, guards and forwards were grouped together, and the top vote getters became starters. In the West, no point guard had enough popularity to pass Chen Yan or Kobe. Among forwards, Duncan was firmly first, and his vote total ranked 3rd in the entire West, even higher than Yao Ming.
Stoudemire's selection also came with context. He was averaging 21.9 points and 8.3 rebounds, strong numbers but not the flashiest among Western frontcourt stars. His starter spot was tied to Phoenix's elite record, and the bonus of playing next to Chen Yan.
The Western Conference reserves were:
Center: Mehmet Okur (Jazz)
Forwards: Dirk Nowitzki (Mavericks), Kevin Garnett (Los Angeles Lakers), David West (Charlotte Hornets)
Guards: Chris Paul (Charlotte Hornets), Brandon Roy (Portland Trail Blazers), Steve Nash (Suns)
Coach: Phil Jackson
The only truly controversial name was Okur.
The Turkish big man did not feel like an All Star on reputation alone, and even on talent he did not have the same weight as the stars around him. But there was also the reality of the era. True centers were thinning out across the league. Compared to the available options, Okur's 17.7 points and 7.4 rebounds looked almost luxurious for the position.
This year's West roster also felt unfamiliar in another way.
Several usual names were missing, including Tracy McGrady, Ray Allen, and Carmelo Anthony.
Anthony's omission shocked people the most. His numbers had dipped, but he was still putting up 22.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists, and his team sat 4th in the brutal Western standings. Yet he did not get enough support from the coaches. Instead, David West of the Charlotte Hornets got the nod.
There was also speculation that Anthony's right hand injury played a role. He had already missed 10 games for Denver.
McGrady's absence was easier to understand. His scoring had fallen from 21.9 last season to 18.7, and he missed games constantly. That was not the kind of resume that won coaches over.
Ray Allen's absence was pure competition. The West guard line was a knife fight. He could not push out Kobe, Chen Yan, Chris Paul, or Nash.
This All Star Game was in Phoenix, and the Suns put 3 players into the event.
The only minor regret for Phoenix fans was that Mike D'Antoni was not the coach.
It was not about merit. The Suns owned the best record in the league, and he was fully qualified. But the league had a long standing custom: the All Star head coach did not usually get selected in back to back seasons.
It was not written, but everyone treated it like it was.
Decades ago, Red Auerbach coached the Eastern Conference All Stars 11 straight times from 1957 to 1967, and the league got tired of the same face. Since then, the idea of avoiding repeat selections stuck.
The Eastern Conference roster was:
Starters: Allen Iverson, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Yi Jianlian, Dwight Howard
Reserves:
Center: Shaquille O'Neal (Cavaliers)
Forwards: Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors), Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers), Rashard Lewis (Orlando Magic)
Guards: Joe Johnson (Hawks), Vince Carter (Nets), Jameer Nelson (Orlando Magic)
Coach: Mike Brown
When fans saw the Eastern starters, many of them thought their eyes were broken.
Yi Jianlian made the All Star team?
And he was starting?
Yi was averaging 9.3 points and 5.6 rebounds, yet he received over 1.8 million votes. His selection was powered almost entirely by national support.
The East had other frontcourt players with better production and stronger two way impact, but none of them could match Yi's popularity.
In Chen Yan's previous life, Yi never had a path. With Kevin Garnett in the East back then, the 2 forward starting spots were almost always locked up by LeBron and Garnett, and the reserves were chosen by coaches. There was no opening.
Now, with his stats, Yi felt more embarrassed than excited.
Westbrook tried to lift him up.
"Come on, brother," he said. "This is the game everybody dreams about. Relax. Go have fun."
Later, Yi called Chen Yan, not to celebrate, but to complain. Making the All Star Game did not make him feel proud, it made him feel awkward.
Chen Yan gave him the same message.
"The fans voted you in," he said. "Don't overthink it. Play hard, put on a show, and give them something back."
Shaq's return also drew attention. The all time leader in All Star selections was Kareem Abdul Jabbar with 19, and now the league's most famous super sized center was adding another appearance to his own legacy.
Shaq had missed the New Orleans All Star Game the previous season, ending his run of 14 straight selections. A year later, he was back.
He joked about it the only way he knew how.
"I feel great," O'Neal said. "For someone who can't shoot, making the All Star Game feels really great."
Shaq's career free throw percentage sat at 52.7%, one of the worst marks ever for a superstar. Yet this season in Cleveland, he had somehow raised it to 62%. He was also averaging 18.2 points and 9.1 rebounds.
In yesterday's game, he scored 6 points in the first half and passed Hakeem Olajuwon to become 7th on the NBA's all time scoring list with 26,947 points. The coaches around the league saw the resume, and they put him back in.
Orlando became the big winner of the Eastern reserves.
Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis both made the team, joining their teammate Dwight Howard, the East's vote king, on the All Star stage in Phoenix.
.....
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