Chapter 617: An Ordinary All Star Game
Could the Suns defend their title this season?
That question had become 1 of the hottest topics in the media.
Some outlets and experts were skeptical. Their reasoning was simple. With Stoudemire gone, Phoenix's interior offense had clearly declined. The newly acquired big man, Gallinari, was more of a perimeter oriented forward. He spent more time outside than Chen Yan did, so expecting him to replace Stoudemire's scoring in the paint was unrealistic. If anything, fans joked that it would be a blessing if Gallinari did not force Chen Yan to spend more time posting up inside.
As for Rondo, his weakness was obvious. He lacked shooting. The Suns' front office had traded for him because they valued his playmaking, defensive potential, and long term upside. If Nash continued to deal with injuries, Rondo could become a capable replacement.
White Chocolate Williams had been in good form recently, but he was getting older, and his injury history remained a hidden danger.
Another group of analysts believed Phoenix would have no problem defending its title.
Their reason was even simpler.
Chen Yan.
This season, Chen Yan had been destructive, overwhelming, and unstoppable. Their confidence in the Suns came almost entirely from him.
Chen Yan was under immense pressure this year. In the previous 2 seasons, when the team lost, Stoudemire and Nash could help carry the blame. This season was different. If the Suns failed to perform well, every finger would point at Chen Yan.
He had to bear the responsibility.
Chen Yan was confident about chasing another championship, but he also understood how difficult the task would be. Winning a title was never a 1 man job. He could control his own form, but he could not control the roster, nor could he control how strong the opponents became.
A championship was not his personal business. It belonged to the entire team.
When it came to roster upgrades, all he could do was offer suggestions. It was difficult for him to intervene directly, let alone make decisions.
Over the remaining 8 games in January, the Suns went 4 and 4.
The 2 new players needed time to fit in, and Phoenix's entire tactical system had changed after Stoudemire's departure. Those were the main reasons behind the team's decline in performance.
After entering February, the Suns were temporarily ranked 3rd in the Western Conference, behind the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks.
The West was brutally competitive this season. Considering Phoenix's injuries and roster changes, holding the 3rd seed was already no easy feat.
Many fans compared the Suns' current record to the same point last season, then once again brought up the classic argument that Phoenix's dominance had declined.
Diehard Suns fans argued fiercely with critics online. Their position was clear. Regular season ranking was not everything. The 1994 to 1995 Houston Rockets had won the championship despite finishing 4th in the regular season.
As long as the players had the heart of a champion, seeding was secondary.
Unfortunately for those loyal Suns fans, Phoenix lost its 1st game in February.
In that game, Nash returned from injury but struggled to find his rhythm. On the other side, the Charlotte Bobcats erupted, with 6 players scoring in double figures.
In the end, Charlotte defeated Phoenix 111 to 106.
Fortunately, the Suns soon steadied themselves. Before All Star Weekend, that was the only game they lost.
Phoenix's final game before the All Star break came on February 10 against the Portland Trail Blazers.
At home, the Suns defeated Portland 109 to 104.
The Trail Blazers were currently ranked 6th in the Western Conference. In this year's West, any team capable of reaching the playoffs was not weak.
Because it was the last game before All Star Weekend, Chen Yan played a bit more loosely than usual. He finished with 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Nash recorded 11 points and 8 assists. It was clear that he was still trying to find his rhythm after returning from injury.
Tonight, Phoenix leaned on Grant Hill, Diaw, and Novak.
Hill scored 22 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Diaw contributed 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Novak hit 5 clean 3 pointers and finished with 15 points.
After the win, Chen Yan was in a good mood as he headed to Dallas for All Star Weekend. To him, the feeling was almost like celebrating New Year.
Chen Yan was undoubtedly the All Star vote leader this year, receiving 3.37 million votes.
At 1st glance, that number did not seem outrageous. But once it was compared to 2nd place, Chen Yan's popularity looked explosive.
James ranked 2nd with 2.5 million votes.
The gap between them was practically a whole Durant.
The other 4 Western Conference starters were Nash, Anthony, Nowitzki, and Duncan.
Originally, 2 starters, Kobe and Yao Ming, were unavailable due to injury. Garnett lost the starting power forward spot to Dirk. Considering that Dirk was playing in Dallas and his numbers were better than Garnett's across the board, his selection as a starter was reasonable.
The Eastern Conference starting 5 consisted of Wade, Joe Johnson, James, Bosh, and Howard.
Kobe specifically issued an apology for missing the All Star Game. He said directly that he had failed to live up to the fans' trust.
It was worth noting that this All Star Game would be held in a massive football stadium.
"To miss such a grand event is truly shameful," Kobe said.
That was Kobe. As long as he could play, he would not miss games. He rarely disappointed the fans.
The Dallas All Star Game was expected to draw 100,000 spectators.
If Dallas had not promoted the goal of setting a record for the largest live audience in history, the NBA might not have awarded them the 2010 All Star Game. According to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, the city government hoped the event would attract more than 100,000 fans, an unprecedented achievement.
Although the NBA was not quite as bold, the league still believed there was a strong chance of breaking the previous All Star Game attendance record of 62,046.
The 2010 All Star Game was also expected to set the attendance record for a single basketball game. The previous record belonged to an NCAA matchup between Michigan State and Kentucky in December 2003, which drew 78,129 fans.
According to the stadium standards set for next year's February 14 All Star Game, the major renovation work on Cowboys Stadium had already been largely completed. There was no need to worry about fans sitting too far away to see the action clearly.
At the center of the stadium, 4 massive video screens were suspended 160 feet above the floor, with the ability to rise another 24 feet if needed. They were promoted as the largest display screens in the world.
Unlike the previous 2 years, Chen Yan did not perform any song or dance routine. He also declined both the 3 Point Contest and the Slam Dunk Contest.
He only participated in the Skills Challenge, and even that was because the league strongly pushed him to take part.
For Chen Yan, All Star Weekend no longer carried the same excitement it had during the previous 2 years. As for the famous stadium in Dallas, he only felt that it meant more spectators. Nothing more.
The 1st day of All Star Weekend featured the Rookie Challenge.
Without Chen Yan's participation, the game's popularity was clearly lower than it had been during the previous 2 years.
In the end, the rookie team defeated the sophomore team 140 to 128.
Evans and Blair shared the MVP trophy. Evans scored 26 points, while Blair delivered a massive double double with 22 points and 23 rebounds.
On the 2nd day, Chen Yan participated in the Skills Challenge.
He was far too relaxed. Right at the start, he air balled an open layup. After that, he practically strolled through the remaining obstacles.
In the end, he was eliminated in the 1st round with a time of 55 seconds.
The Skills Challenge title was won by Deron Williams.
On February 15, Chen Yan represented the Western Conference All Stars in the main event.
After carrying a heavy load throughout the 1st half of the season, Chen Yan treated this All Star Game as a chance to relax. Nash had the same idea. He had just returned from injury and had no intention of pushing himself in an exhibition game.
If his injury flared up again, it would create far more trouble than any All Star highlight was worth.
So Chen Yan and Nash formed the Western Conference's "coasting duo."
Of course, they were not truly loafing around. They still had professional ethics. Fans had bought tickets to watch the game.
They simply reduced body contact and slowed down their pace. Before the game, they had already agreed to showcase their passing skills, and Dirk Nowitzki became the main beneficiary of those assists.
Nash had a good relationship with Dirk, and Chen Yan also found the big man easy to get along with. On top of that, this year's All Star Game was being held in Dallas.
Both of them were happy to do Dirk a favor and help him chase the MVP.
In the end, Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points and led the Western Conference All Stars to a 143 to 141 victory over the Eastern Conference All Stars.
As he had hoped, Dirk lifted the All Star Game MVP trophy.
The Western Conference head coach for this game was Carlisle.
Carlisle had been quietly hoping that Nash and Chen Yan would play more minutes. The Suns and Mavericks were direct competitors, so as a head coach, Carlisle naturally wanted to find a chance to drain some energy from his opponents.
Unfortunately for him, the 2 Suns did not take the bait.
Not only did they avoid forcing the action on offense, they repeatedly passed the ball to Dallas's own franchise star, Dirk Nowitzki.
Later in the game, Carlisle saw that Dirk had a real chance to win MVP. In order not to dampen his own player's enthusiasm, he could only increase Dirk's playing time and let him chase the honor.
It was the kind of situation where a man tried to outsmart someone else, only to outsmart himself instead.
Chen Yan shot 5 for 7 from the field and 4 for 6 from 3 point range. He took only 1 shot inside the arc, finishing with 14 points and 9 assists.
Nash recorded 9 points and 11 assists.
According to the stats, more than 50 percent of their combined assists went to Dirk Nowitzki.
This All Star Game did not have many memorable highlights, but the Dallas fans were still in high spirits.
After all, they had watched their franchise star lift the All Star MVP trophy on his home floor.
.....
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