basketball never sleeps

Chapter 276: There is nothing special about it, it’s just that practice makes perfect.

The news of the Supersonics' undefeated home record dominated the front pages of major news media.

The NBA championship is awarded every year, but a historic record like this may not appear once in ten years.

Defending the home court sounds simple, but there are too many problems to face in the long regular season, not to mention that the Supersonics also underwent a major change in the summer.

Mo Wen's name once again entered the vision of the American people.

"I remember the last time he scored 88 points in a single game, it was also this Chinese guy, right?"

"Well, in the 04 Olympics and last year's World Championships, it was the Chinese who defeated the American team. Those idiots... Black people keep saying how good they are at playing basketball, but now the best player in the NBA is a Chinese. Hahaha!"

"I heard that this year's NBA MVP is between this Chinese and another white German. In the past, they could say that they were suitable for sports, but now I really don't know what contribution they can make to society."

"Um...consuming expired food?"

"Maybe it can also help the gun company use up its bullet inventory."

As Mo Wen appeared in comprehensive media again and again, his influence began to break through the circle.

Unlike Yao Ming, who is famous in the United States more because of his background as a member of a mysterious oriental country, Mo Wen is like Dan Zi, who used his own strength to break the information cocoon of non-sports audiences and implant his name in the minds of the public.

Although Stern still felt a little regretful that Mo Wen was not a local player, if he had been replaced by a "flagship man", he would have surpassed Jordan without a championship based on this achievement. However, the promotion efforts were not reduced at all.

Patriotism is patriotism, and business is business.

As long as you can lead the NBA to break out of the circle and make everyone rich, you are God.

What do you mean the NBA has been conquered by foreign players? We still have James.

After the Cavaliers strengthened their lineup, James also looks like a potential champion this year.

The Supersonics also became the favorite for the championship after defeating the Mavericks in a row, and Stern couldn't wait to start "Magic Bird War 2.0".

And the fans in Seattle also entered the carnival mode.

When you are successful, you are surrounded by good people. The same applies to the team. At this moment, the Supersonics have countless new 30-year-old fans.

Seattle has a sufficient number of white-collar workers, and according to the league's assessment, Seattle's basketball market should be very large.

It was only because the Supersonics' previous record was so bad, coupled with the diversion of the Seahawks and Mariners, that they were in a situation where they were begging for food while sitting on a mountain of gold.

To put it bluntly, the Supersonics just lack an opportunity for fans to watch basketball.

Even the winning fans who are at the bottom of the fan contempt chain will become die-hard fans as long as they invest more sunk costs.

Bennett used to be a shareholder of the Spurs and was considered a veteran player in the NBA, but he had never seen such a scene.

He wants to move the team back to Oklahoma City. To put it nicely, it is to benefit his hometown folks, but in essence, it is also about "giving benefits to his family."

In this respect, Oklahoma City is not even as good as Cleveland City. The ancestors of Cleveland City were also rich. They not only had NBA, but also baseball, football and even a minor league ice hockey team. Oklahoma City only had college teams.

All in all, there is only one philanthropist in the NBA, and that is Mo Wen's neighbor Paul Allen. According to the Seattle Assessment Agency, Paul Allen has invested 6 small American goals for the Trail Blazers.

Even Dolan of the Knicks doesn't count. Although New York's net profit loss of 3000 million last year ranked first in the league, this includes Larry Brown's buyout contract. If we only talk about team operations, the Knicks, who paid tens of millions in luxury taxes, are still profitable.

Bennett, who had previously discussed the matter with the Energy Arena, is now really considering raising funds to build a new arena. He is well aware that the commercial value of the NBA depends to a large extent on the stars, and he can't think of a way to trick Mo Wen from a livable city like Seattle to O'Neal.

The atmosphere in the Lakers training hall in Los Angeles has been quite depressing these past two days.

The "Pressure Ancestor" was stimulated and the pressure field unfolded. Although he didn't say much, his eyes and momentum made his teammates dare not neglect him in the slightest.

The Lakers have two games left. If they win all of them, they will have a chance to overtake the Warriors and move up to sixth in the Western Conference.

According to the analysis of the Lakers coaching team, when Paul returns, the Lakers will have a certain chance of beating the Mavericks. They played against the Mavericks last year and knew that the Mavericks are not as strong as their record showed. If it weren't for Paul's ankle sprain last year, they would have at least made it to the second round.

However, Kobe had no intention of stopping to rest. Although he thought about stopping in the seventh game to avenge the Mavericks, he knew that proper rest would be helpful in preparing for the playoffs. He also knew that if he rushed to the sixth game to play against the Suns, it might be extremely exhausting.

No matter how many reasons he has, just look in the mirror and the person standing opposite him is Kobe Bryant!
If he can defeat the Mavericks and achieve a black seven, he will certainly win a lot of praise and wash away a lot of people's prejudice and ridicule against him, but what's the use?
His goal in playing basketball has always been to become the best player and win more championships, rather than considering reaching the second round or reaching the Western Conference semi-finals as a success.

"Why? Are you afraid of those rednecks, or are you too old to even get revenge?" Xiao Pao slammed the table. He didn't understand Kobe's decision.

The Lakers were eliminated in the first round by the Mavericks last year and have been talking about revenge for a whole year. Why is Kobe pushing it out now that he has the chance?

From a personal perspective, Tristana also wants to play against the Mavericks more. After all, the Lakers didn't beat the Mavericks last year without him. This year he came back and beat the Mavericks. Doesn't that mean that he is the key to leading the Lakers to beat the Mavericks?
"Our goal is to win the championship, and champions are not afraid of any competition. If your arm is healed, then go back to training. If not, then just watch the video. If you can't beat that 30-year-old guy against the Suns, then forget about getting a big contract in Los Angeles."

"If you want to prove yourself, shouldn't you choose the Mavericks? You..." Paul wanted to say something, but Kobe didn't intend to argue with him, so he hung up the phone after he finished speaking.

"Fuck! How can there be such an idiot in this world? He has a better choice, but he chooses the most stupid way?!"

Kobe on the other end of the phone seemed to be able to hear Paul's complaints and looked into the distance. He had reached the top of the mountain with that fat guy, and he knew better that there was no shortcut on the road to becoming a god.

On April 4, the program list for the 17-06 regular season finally became history.

The rankings of each team have also been determined.

The Supersonics with 13 losses and 69 wins successfully topped the league. The experts who had predicted and advocated the "Supersonics collapse theory" all the way finally witnessed the Supersonics standing on the top of the mountain. Even so, they are still not unemployed because the Supersonics still have the playoffs to play.

They are like mosquitoes in autumn. Instead of hibernating, they become more crazy as if they have sensed their death.

The Mavericks, with 65 wins, finished second. After saying goodbye to the nightmare of Mo Wen, the Mavericks' schedule was relatively easy. With the dual supplements of chicken soup and rookies, Nowitzki also regained his confidence and prepared to face the next blow.

The rankings of the two traditional powerhouses, the third-placed Suns and the fourth-placed Spurs, were within people's expectations.

The Jazz's luck was not very good because the Rockets disintegrated early and they no longer had the experience to restrain them. Instead, they had to meet the biggest nemesis of the traditional pick-and-roll lineup in the first round.

If the historical restrained relationship between the Rockets and the Jazz is similar to that between a henpecked man and a Sichuan girl, then the relationship between the Jazz and the Spurs is equivalent to that between Starfury and his master.

The Jazz's pick-and-roll was not the "two-man show" of the Nuggets later, but a weak core team style of play with pick-and-roll as the main starting point. The Spurs, who are known for their discipline, are most vulnerable to playing against them as a team.

In the copy space, what Mo Wen hates most is encountering the copy of the Jazz playing against the Spurs.

The Jazz's inside players will be silenced when they meet Deng. If he wants to transform into a Mamba, he will be suppressed by Coach Sloan after a few shots. Jerry Sloan is not only more qualified, but also as stubborn as Larry Brown. Moreover, Jerry Sloan is not like Larry Brown who roams around everywhere. His reputation in the Jazz is absolutely unquestionable.

Under Kobe's leadership, the Lakers finally reached the sixth place. Although it was a decline compared to last year, Los Angeles fans were still barely satisfied. After all, the Clippers next door went on holiday and they had no choice.

The Warriors got what they wanted and faced the Mavericks. Unlike Kobe who had ambitious goals, the Warriors were more pragmatic and their goal this year was to reach the second round.

Yao Ming has the same mentality. He likes playing World of Warcraft and enjoys the thrill of leveling up, but he does not have the ambition to reach the top overnight.

The Nuggets surpassed the Clippers and caught the last train, but not many people were happy, and Iverson was in a particularly bad mood.

His transfer seemed to be in vain. He recalled the scene when he was with the 76ers last year, squeezing into the eighth place in the Eastern Conference, and then catching up with the 8-win Heat. It was like he rushed into the Holy Valley with a passion, but was dragged away to film a movie.

The Supersonics are certainly not as terrifying as the Heat last season, but the 0:4 regular season record between the Nuggets and the Supersonics, and Mo Wen's 88 points, don't seem to be much different.

In the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers' ranking soared after reinforcements, and they won 56 games, ranking first in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons played steadily and won 54 games. Originally, because they were in the same division as the Cavaliers, the Pistons should have been ranked fourth, but an exception was made in 04. After discussion by the league this time, the Pistons were still ranked second.

The Wizards are ranked third in the Eastern Conference, but no one thinks they can make it past the first round of the playoffs.

It was not because their opponent was the Heat, but because they encountered a wave of injuries after entering April. On April 4, Arenas tore his knee and was out for the season. On April 6, Larry Hughes was also out for the season due to a broken hand. Within two days, two of the Wizards' three musketeers were disabled, leaving one living a life worse than death.

If both of them were not injured in front of the camera, some people would suspect that a gambler had done the trick.

Because the Nets had the best record in the Atlantic Division and became fourth in the Eastern Conference, although they only achieved 40 wins, they were in the same division as the Knicks, Celtics, 76ers and Raptors.

The bottom four are the Bulls, Heat, Magic, and Pacers.

After Wade dislocated his shoulder, everyone thought the Heat would at best make the playoffs, but O'Neal stepped up in the face of danger. The 320-pound giant played at a fraction of his own level, averaging 20 points per game and leading the team to a -game winning streak. If it weren't for the many injuries and the big hole they dug, the Heat might have replaced the Wizards and become the third in the Eastern Conference. But now it seems that becoming the sixth and playing against the Wizards in the first round is a good thing.

Stern's (tired) smile.jpg
At the same time, on the newly released fishing list, the Celtics learned from the lesson of 97 and ranked behind the Trail Blazers with the disadvantage of one more win, and are charging towards Oden.

The cardinal is dead now, shouldn't you show some respect, Stern?
Stern: The old thief is gone? I ate three bowls of it!
Paul Allen, who didn't want to play since 06, confirmed that he has put the Garden and the Trail Blazers together for sale. The Trail Blazers' current valuation has fallen to 2.3 million US dollars, only higher than the Hornets. According to institutional assessments, if Paul Allen continues to hold the Trail Blazers, he will lose another 1 million in the next three years...

As Mo Wen's neighbor, Paul Allen now wants to seize the opportunity of building a stadium in the summer and become a shareholder of the Supersonics. After struggling for a long time, he finally realized that he can't just play operations, and he has to follow the way he did when Microsoft acquired finished products.

However, it is a bit difficult for Paul Allen to sell the team, because most of the buyers who want to buy the team are planning to move the team like Bennett, and Portland is the headquarters of Nike. Nike is unwilling to take over the team, but also refuses to move the team. Although this request is very rogue, Nike is a major sponsor of the NBA, and Stern has no choice but to agree.

(The ownership of the team belongs to the shareholders, but the sale to people outside the circle requires the approval of two-thirds of the collective vote)
After another year in the Raptors, they are ranked third on the fishing list. Bosh, who came to Mo Wen to show off his extra-long vacation, is very excited because the team feels that he is not a leader who can lead the team to rise, and they are thinking of trading him to train No. 1 pick Bargnani and this year's high draft pick.

Bosh's statistics are not bad. He squeezed into the All-Stars completely based on his statistics without any record. So he thought about whether he could make a connection with the Sonics management and swap with Milicic.

He really missed the time when he played basketball with Mo Wen in college!
In addition to the team rankings, various regular season statistics were also released.

场均32.1分、12.2次助攻、7.7篮板、1.7盖帽、2.2抢断的莫闻以鲸吞之势抢走了……留下了两块蛋糕。

Scoring leader, assist leader, steal leader.

There are not many players who have achieved double titles in a single season, but there are some, for example, Danny Stockton, who repeatedly won the scoring title/assists title and the steals title at the same time. Olajuwon, David Robinson and Ben McCollum have also won the rebounding title and the blocked shot title in a single season.

But it is impossible to find a second set of three kings in a single season unless you look through antique statistical tables from the Chamberlain era.

"Fans of this era are both lucky and unlucky. We are lucky that we can see such a dominant star emerge, allowing us to appreciate the top basketball skills that may be even better than Michael Jordan. Unfortunately, there is only one Mo in this era, and no one can compete with him. We have no way of knowing whether his current performance is his limit."

This comment by ESPN commentator Hubie Brown was widely reprinted by various media.

The shock brought by the data does not end there.

52.1% shooting percentage, 43.6% three-point shooting percentage, and 95.3% free throw shooting percentage.

The efficiency behind this explosive data is so great that it makes men speechless and women cry.

Mo Wen's videos have gradually replaced Jordan's videos and become the criterion for coaches in major universities.

A new storm has emerged, how can we stand still?

However, these praises are not all positive.

Catherine and Ruth were also dug out. Some sports experts believed that it was they who developed a new training method that enabled Mo Wen to transform from a mediocre Asian man into a rare macho man in the NBA.

Although Catherine and Ruth are very confident in their abilities and they just eat, practice and sleep with the boss on a daily basis, this does not prevent them from taking the opportunity to ask the capitalist for a pay raise.

As the Mo Wen storm spread, fans in the market spontaneously divided into two factions, Mo fans and Qiao fans.

四年级的乔丹场均能拿下35分5.9助攻5.5篮板1.6盖帽3.2抢断，投篮命中率还高达53.5%，似乎成了仅有的可以“压制”莫闻的存在。

The debate between the two sides was so intense that in any forum where discussions could be posted, one could see people posting or borrowing posts to argue.

"The internet is full of verbal battles between you and Michael. There are also many boys in our school who are debating. Some are even planning to organize a debate competition. Don't you and Michael want to come out and cool down the heat?"

At the dining table, little Catherine asked curiously.

Mo Wen shook his head and explained in a nonchalant manner:
"Winner's latest MVP series has been stocked. This should be the last version before my brand is spun off, and Michael Jordan's AJ22 is also being preheated and released in advance, so... do you understand?"

"You and Michael are both under Nike, so shouldn't you promote together?" Christina asked. "This way your fans might buy both pairs instead of just picking one of you to support."

"Not likely. Our shoes are expensive and most fans don't have that much money. And there's nothing wrong with quarreling. The donkey and the elephant quarrel every day, and the result is that you can't hear any other voices except these two."

It is obvious that the rhythm this time was led by Nike, and it was not even a spur of the moment move, but was planned before the end of the regular season.

Nike has greeted both Mo Wen and Dan Zi, and even signaled that both sides can come down to add fuel to the fire.

In the end, the gentry's money would be returned in full, and the people's money would be divided 70% to 30%.

Nike originally had the same idea as Stern, to create a competition between Mo Wen and James, but unfortunately from the Excel level, the current James cannot be at the same table as Mo Wen and Dan Zi.

After signing Bibby, it is impossible for James to use Bibby as Snow. Even if Bibby is not a "ball-eating core", he still needs the ball. This also led to James' personal data declining as the record improved, just like Kobe.

The rebounding title was won by Harden, and his Timberwolves No. 21 jersey has been selling very well recently because everyone knows it will be out of print soon.

The block leader was once again taken by Camby with an average of 3.3 blocks per game, but he had no chance in the selection of the best defensive player.

Or it’s because of Mo Wen’s 88 points.

Both the data-oriented and impression-oriented people cannot get around this hurdle. If the best defensive player is awarded for defending the highest score in modern basketball, it would become an annual ironic joke.

……

The regular season ended and the fans didn't have to wait long before the exciting playoffs began.

The KeyArena was once again overwhelmed by fans. The 105% attendance rate was only the limit of safety and order, not the limit of this arena.

The various cheering signs are like cartoons, paving the way for the legend that is about to happen here.

All the players of the Supersonics were very relaxed. Even some rookie players like Gay did not get nervous when they thought that their opponent was the Nuggets.

Without him, only familiar with Seoul.

In the visiting team's locker room, George Karl tried hard to spread chicken soup, but with little effect.

George Karl knew the reason. The cramped and small locker room of the Supersonics was very memorable. If it was linked to some not-so-good memories, it would be even more uncomfortable.

George Karl, knowing that he would leave in the summer, still wanted to make one last struggle, hoping to rely on the firepower of his two guns to fight for his only chance of survival.

As long as they can beat the Supersonics once, break the curse in their hearts, and regain their former confidence, the Nuggets may win the second time, the third time...

Compared to chronic suicide, George Karl would rather try all-out basketball again with a bang.

But the Nuggets players calmed down tacitly.

Even Anthony took the initiative to defend Mo Wen as he did before, his maturity was disgusting.

They have already done a lot of mental preparation for failure, but no one can estimate the nightmare that Mo Wen may bring to them.

The game went just as George Karl had expected. The Nuggets followed the compromising strategy of taking five cities today and ten cities tomorrow, and lost all their chips in one game after another.

Mo Wen had no intention of being polite to them, and he immediately maxed out his status.

In the first quarter, he scored 10 points and 7 assists through a combination of sudden passes. Moreover, compared to the offensive end, Mo Wen also stopped slacking off on the defensive end, and in just one quarter he widened the score gap to double digits.

The Golden Twins got into the game in the second quarter and started scoring points continuously. Their output was maintained. Their efficiency was not high, but it also prevented the arrival of garbage time.

In the second half, the Supersonics began to experiment with rotations frequently. Although it was a bit disrespectful to the opponent, the coaching staff really needed to observe the status of each team in the playoffs. The garbage time of a garbage team did not have much reference value or experimental value.

Seeing that Anthony's face was getting more and more gloomy, Bosh on the sidelines really looked depressed.

When he saw that Melon had just raised his elbow but was spotted by Mo Wen and was knocked paralyzed by a counter-elbow, his mouth almost stretched to his ears as he felt the same way.

The friendship between brothers is so sincere.

Iverson was knocked to the ground in a playoff-level confrontation, and watched him withdraw his hands in the air to avoid Camby's block, and then hit the backboard and spun the ball into the basket.

Pictures flashed through his mind, and those figures appeared in front of him again, overlapping.

Is this fate?
(End of this chapter)