no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 157 The irresistible All-Star votes
In fact, like Xu Yong did before, due to long-term training and competition, he has no time to fall in love. This is very common in the NBA.

You have to know that this is the world's highest level basketball stage after all, and the intensity of competition is far beyond what other leagues can match.

But humans are not machines after all. In order to relieve the pressure caused by this high-pressure life, many people choose to keep some pets.

The more common ones include cats and dogs, Klay Thompson’s dog, and Stoudemire’s wish to raise some fish.

Of course, more people still like to raise some unpopular ones, such as Danny Green’s python, Arenas’ shark, Gortat’s piglet, etc.

But most of them are still manually controllable, but these two big guys, or big cats, look domineering and are a perfect match for O'Neal.

Xu Yong only recognized one of these two big cats, a white Bengal tiger, and there was another one that he could not recognize.

"It's called Charles." O'Neill obviously had a soft spot for the other one and introduced it to Xu Yong.

"Prince Charles?" Xu Yong asked tentatively.

"No, no, Charles Barkley, that's its name," O'Neal explained with a smile.

Perhaps hearing his own name, the tiger opened its mouth and barked.

"What kind of tiger is it?" Xu Yong was immediately happy when he heard this and couldn't help asking curiously.

"There are only two ligers in the world, one is here with me, and the other is with the prince of Dubai."

Xu Yong looked confused, what is a liger?This sounds like the name in Yu-Gi-Oh!
"A male tiger mates with a female lion, and the offspring produced are called tigons, and the offspring produced by the mating of a female tiger and a male lion are called ligers." O'Neill said that he had already started feeding it with meat.

Xu Yong was stunned for a while.

He knew that mules could be obtained by crossing horses and donkeys, but he really didn't know about tigers and lions.

But this tiger is a hybrid, also called Barkley. Why does he feel that O'Neal is a bit disadvantaged.

After both tigers were fed, a professional caregiver went over to put a chain and protective gear on Buckley, and then let him out for a walk.

Barkley is still very close to O'Neal, and rubbed his head against O'Neal when he came out. It seems that O'Neal should have raised him since he was a child.

And after wandering around the yard, it ran to Xu Yong and sniffed with interest.

Xu Yong felt a little scared. Although these two big cats were probably not yet adults, they were really out of control and Wu Song couldn't be summoned from this place.

O'Neill was very hospitable and even left Xu Yong to have a barbecue in the yard.

This wave actually brought the two of them closer together.

"I now have a chef cooking Chinese food for me. You can come and try it tomorrow morning." Chinese people pay attention to courtesy. After eating, Xu Yong also extended an invitation to O'Neal.

O'Neill nodded without hesitation.

Early the next morning, as soon as Xu Yong finished training before breakfast, O'Neal rang the doorbell.

Because there is daily training this morning, O'Neal will definitely get up early, but this is just a matter of time. O'Neal is obviously a foodie now.

NBA players generally control their diet, but everyone eats differently. Basically, they just need to avoid pork, high-fat and high-sugar foods.

Like ordinary NBA players, the staple food is usually fried rice, beef, salad, etc. In terms of vegetables, there are tomatoes, beans, broccoli, carrots, etc., and then there are also high-protein foods such as chicken breast, salmon, squid, and eggs.

You must know that NBA players consume a huge amount of energy every day. O'Neal has to eat five meals a day.

As for Xu Yong, because he is gaining weight, he actually eats a lot every day, but many of the recipes Grover set for him are Chinese food.

For example, what we have for breakfast right now.

In addition to eggs, there are also special foods that Xu Yong invited O'Neill to taste.

Looking at the white cheese-like food with moisture in front of him, O'Neill's eyes were full of curiosity.

"Is this tofu?" Fortunately, O'Neal has seen the world.

"Tofu's brain." Xu Yong said jokingly.

O'Neill was a little confused now.

"Just kidding, it's called tofu brain. It's a semi-finished product before it's made into tofu. Do you want it sweet or salty?" Xu Yong then asked.

"Doesn't it need to be cooked?" O'Neill was not sure.

Xu Yong shook his head. It sounded like O'Neill had eaten tofu in other places before.

"Sweet." O'Neal finally made his choice.

Xu Yong was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then couldn't help laughing.

"What's wrong?" O'Neill looked confused.

"It's okay." Xu Yong smiled and added sugar to the tofu.

Generally speaking, those who eat sweet tofu brains are heretics.

O'Neill took the sweet tofu nao and ate it, his eyes lit up with the first bite.

Tofu brain is tender and smooth, but not cloudy like cheese. It is very refreshing.

If it is sweet, no seasoning is added, which best reflects its characteristics.

In the blink of an eye, O'Neill finished that small bowl of tofu.

For a person who drinks mineral water just like drinking oral liquid, it is really too little.

O'Neill then turned his attention to the bowl in front of Xu Yong, and Xu Yong had already begun to add ingredients to it.

Sesame oil, soy sauce, shrimp, balsamic vinegar, peanuts, chili, chives...

Salted tofu brain, that’s what normal people would eat.

Just when Xu Yong finished putting the seasonings and was about to eat, he noticed O'Neal's eager eyes.

He put down his spoon, then smiled and asked, "Would you like something salty?"

O'Neill smiled and nodded.

For those who are trying it for the first time, the difference between "sweet party" and "salty party" may not exist yet.

Xu Yong pushed the one in front of him. He ate it often and didn't care about this bowl.

O'Neal took it with a happy face and quickly tried it.

His expression was very strange when he took the first bite into his mouth, as if he had eaten something familiar but different.

However, he quickly took the second bite, and then he couldn't stop chewing Xuanmai, and he finished the bowl in a short time.

Moreover, he still picked up the bowl and drank all the soup left in the bowl. In the end, he even gave Xu Yong a thumbs up.

"The first bite of this is amazing, but after eating it, I don't feel much after eating. This may be the case with sweets, but this one, the first bite has a special taste, but after eating too much, I can't stop. I like this." O'Neill said, pointing to the salty tofu puffs he just finished eating.Seeing this, Xu Yong stretched out his hand and bumped fists with him with a smile: "We are the same kind of people."

"Can I come and eat this every morning?" O'Neill asked with some hesitation when he saw that there was nothing left on the table.

"It's a reward, a reward after training in the morning." Xu Yong explained.

"You train before breakfast every day?" O'Neal looked a little surprised.

"My trainer is Tim Grover." Xu Yong used an explanation most acceptable to O'Neal.

O'Neill suddenly understood, then smiled and nodded.

In fact, whether as an opponent or a teammate, Xu Yong gave him an incredible feeling.

Kobe, who is still on the bench in his second year, is definitely not comparable to Xu Yong. To say that he feels most similar to his teammate in the Magic, "Penny" Anfernee Hardaway.

Of course, before the injury.

Now it seems that Xu Yong really answered that sentence: You are not afraid that others are more talented than you, but you are afraid that talented people will work harder than you.

It's really not surprising that Xu Yong was able to perform like this in the first two years of his career.

"So if I train with you in the morning, can I also get such a reward?" O'Neal asked with a smile.

Xu Yong didn't expect O'Neill to ask this, but O'Neill's question made him touch his chin with interest.

O'Neal's injury problem is actually a major hidden danger for the Bulls.

Although the Heat won the Christmas game, his absence had a great impact on the game.

Because if O'Neal plays, he and Yao Ming will take turns attacking the Heat's inside line, and Spoelstra will probably be forced to give up his defensive tactics before halftime.

But now O'Neal has begun to take the exemption card. If he is unable to play high-intensity games due to injury like the Celtics did in history, the Bulls will suffer great losses.

So train with him, control your weight a little bit, maintain a competitive state in the regular season, and be able to fight in the playoffs?
This sounds really good.

Just like only the national team can make Yao Ming change his mind, for O'Neal now, only the food he is interested in can give him some motivation.

"Of course, and if there is a chance later, I can let you try other things, but if you miss training, the reward will be gone." Xu Yong said with a smile.

O'Neal smiled and reached out to bump fists with Xu Yong. The two of them had reached an agreement.

……

The Christmas offseason is not over yet, and the first round of voting for the New Year's All-Star Game has already begun.

This year's All-Star Game was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and American fans' willingness to vote is still relatively high.

However, it is clear that the main force of voting this year is not on the US side, but on the other side of the ocean.

The Bulls are now the team with the best record in the league, squeezing the Big Three of the Heat in the Eastern Conference, and the league is squeezing the defending champion Lakers. With such a card, you can predict with your toes how many votes the Bulls will get this year.

To paraphrase some domestic fans: This year the Bulls will definitely have three All-Star starters, and I’m telling you, even if the King of Heaven is here.

This was really not a boast. When the results of the first round of voting came out a few days later, at the end of December, American fans were shocked.

The person who became the top vote-getter in the first round was, yes, Xu Yong.

Xu Yong received 112 million votes and was the only player among all players to receive more than one million votes in the first round.

Yes, even though the NBA has many restrictions on votes in China, Xu Yong still easily exceeded one million.

For comparison, Kobe, who ranked third, only received 73 votes.

James, who was voted second among the Eastern Conference forwards, only received 54 votes, less than half of Xu Yong's votes.

This is Xu Yong's popularity now.

This has the same momentum as when Grant Hill was elected the league's vote king over Jordan.

Even with this posture, Xu Yong may break the All-Star vote record.

This is real popularity and value, not the commercial value that others only have in theory.

In this wave, it can only be said that both the Bulls and AJ are making money.

In addition to Xu Yong, Rose also ranked first among Eastern Conference defenders with 60 votes.

Yao Ming received 85 votes, ranking first among centers in the Eastern Conference and the player with the second most votes after Xu Yong.

……

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, another month has passed.

In the past month, like last year, American fans have been protesting against the voting of Chinese fans and canvassing for American players.

But in the end, this approach was the same as last year and failed to change any results.

Because Stern's attitude is firm. Although he is angry with Yao Ming's decision, he will not have trouble with money;
Secondly, the performance of the Bulls this year, especially after entering January, is still improving steadily. Shouldn't they get so many votes?
So when the four rounds of voting ended and the results came out, Bulls fans only felt in two words: comfortable.

Xu Yong received 402 million votes!

Not only did he break Howard's record of 315 million votes two years ago, but he also raised this record to a higher level.

His data this year before the voting results were 24 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.6 blocks per game, 50.8% field goal percentage, 40.5% three-point field goal percentage, plus his style of play and his experience in China. popularity.

It simply can't hold back the number of votes!

Rose eventually received 190 million votes and was selected as the starting guard in the Eastern Conference with Wade.

Yao Ming received 290 million votes, second only to Xu Yong, and was successfully elected as the starting center in the Eastern Conference.

Howard also received about 190 million votes, but with Yao Ming here, he not only lost the vote lead, but also had to experience the same feeling as O'Neal back then of never being a starter in the division All-Stars.

The final All-Star starting results, Western Conference: Paul, Kobe, Durant, Anthony, Noah;
East: Rose, Wade, Xu Yong, James, Yao Ming.

Shortly after the voting results came out, the coach also selected the substitute lineup.

West: Westbrook, Deron Williams, Ginobili, Nowitzki, Duncan, Griffin, Gasol
East: Rondo, Pierce, Joe Johnson, Garnett, Bosh, Stoudemire, Howard
But just after this list came out, Xu Yong had something worthy of attention.

The endorsement contract he signed with AJ had a bonus of 400 million.

In his rookie season, because he won the Rookie of the Year award, that year's bonus had already been triggered.

But this year, the conditions for him to get rewards are more complicated, but there is one that is the fastest and most convenient.

That's right, All-Star Game MVP.

　It’s the last day of the month. Brothers who have monthly votes, don’t forget to vote. Thank you.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)