On January 31, the Suns lost 101-105 at home to the Knicks.

Knicks owner James Dolan has always been willing to spend money, and after losing last season, he hired Isaiah Thomas into management as the team's new manager, and then backed him in a series of trades to make drastic changes to the roster.

In October 2003, the Nets bought out the remainder of former star center Mutombo's contract, and Mutombo subsequently signed a two-year, $8.7 million contract with the Knicks.

In the summer's four-way trade, the Knicks also brought in white forward Keith Van Horn, who was once known as the "second generation of Bird."

The Knicks also have the "lone wolf" Marbury, who has established a central position; Aaron Houston, the team's No. 2 scorer with an average of 18.5 points per game, Antonio McDyce, who is in good shape after returning from injury, and Kurt Thomas, an excellent blue-collar worker with 11+8.

The Knicks look very strong and currently sit in sixth place in the East.

Marbury was on fire and Guo Xu in this game, shooting 11 of 22, 5 of 9 three-pointers, 8 of 8 free throws, and scored 35 points and 8 assists.

Guo Xu shot 13-of-27, 4-of-10 three-pointers, and 6-of-6 free throws, scoring 36 points and 8 assists.

Xiao Si's absence has reduced the Suns' interior attack power a bit, and Nee does not have the domineering spirit on the offensive end. Therefore, in his previous life, Xiao Si's nickname was "Little Overlord", and he still didn't even have a nickname in the later part of his career.

Marion, the Suns' second leader, sleepwalked all over the court, shooting 3-of-15, 1-of-5 three-pointers, and 6-of-6 free throws, finishing with 13 points, 14 rebounds and 4 steals.

In this game, Guo Xu passed Marbury in the counterattack, smashed the ball to the ground and rebounded without defense, and completed a two-handed dunk with self-throwing and self-dunking, once again proving his bounce power.

On February 1, the All-Star Slam Dunk Contest officially sent an invitation to Guo Xu, hoping that he would replace the injured Xiao Si to participate in this competition, and Guo Xu happily agreed on the phone.

"No problem, thank you for the idea of inviting me, I'm more than willing to participate."

"No, we should thank you......"

Smalls will definitely have to wait for the All-Star Game to come back and will miss the entire All-Star Weekend, and he won't play for the sophomore in the Rookie Game.

Guo Xu's promise to play is tantamount to saving the slam dunk contest, which makes the league officials breathe a sigh of relief, if he also refuses, there will be no big-name stars willing to participate this year, and the gimmick is seriously insufficient. Just for Guo Xu's popularity, even if his strength is not good, NBA officials will bribe the judges to let him enter the finals, at least four times.

After Carter's participation in the 2000 slam dunk contest, the annual slam dunk contest at Star Weekend became tepid, and even Jason Richardson's record three slam dunk titles did not attract many fans.

If you want to attract fans, the beauty of the dunk is only one of the elements, and the more important thing is that the people who participate in the slam dunk contest must be famous.

Whether it is Richardson or Nate Robinson, in their previous lives, their popularity was not high, and the ratings and attention could not go up. Robinson is the worst, in his previous life, he didn't even sign a middle-class contract in his entire career, and he wandered many teams.

The official first person invited was LeBron James, who was the object of this year's favor, and Stern hoped that he could win the slam dunk contest and increase his exposure, so as to quickly attract a large number of fans, but James, who could jump his head over the frame, refused.

As soon as the media reported that Guo Xu was going to participate in the slam dunk contest, fans became excited. He is the regular season MVP and has two championship rings, making him the biggest star to compete in the slam dunk contest since Jordan won the championship in 1988.

Even when Jordan participated in the slam dunk contest, he was not as famous as Guo Xu, and after the regular season in the 1987-88 season, Jordan won the MVP for the first time in his career, without a championship.

Guo Xu has previously participated in the three-point contest and the technical challenge, and has won the championship in both. He only needs to win another slam dunk king, and the individual challenge honor will be complete, which is an unprecedented record.

Immediately, many people called for James to compete with Guo Xu, and also to compete with Ricky Davis, who was sent away by the Cavaliers, which would be more interesting, but James did not respond at all.

Because James was afraid that he would not win, he was cowardly before he fought. He knows his strength very well, and his bounce power is top-notch, but he lacks dunk creativity and physical flexibility, and he definitely can't dunk as beautiful as Vince Carter and Jason Richardson.

Many people may not know that James once won the slam dunk contest.

In 2003, James locked up the No. 1 high school student in the nation, was selected as the best high school student in the United States at McDonald's, and participated in the All-Star Contest for high school students.

It was a contest in which all high school students across the country challenged Jade, including a slam dunk contest. Compared to the NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest, the high school dunk contest is no less exciting, and many future NBA stars with amazing talents, including Kobe Bryant, have participated in the event.

At that time, everyone wanted to pull the leader down. It's not just about being competitive, if you can beat James, you'll get all the media attention in the United States, and overnight, you'll become a household name.

Some of James' competitors have since left their mark in the NBA, such as "Hairless Man" Villanueva, Rockets swingman Vaughn Weaver, and two-way guard Shannon Brown with an amazing jump, to name a few.

In the dunk finals, although Brown scored 90 points on both the second and third dunks, the first dunk was too complicated and failed to score zero points, which allowed James to win the championship with ease.

What is steady? Of the three dunks in the finals, James' highest scoring dunk was only 84 points, and there was no trick at all to go straight. The narrator praised him from the height and strength, deliberately avoiding the grace and difficulty of the movements.

"To be fair, LeBron won the dunk championship only because he jumped high." JR Giddens, who also participated in the competition, commented, "However, for high school students, it is enough to jump high. ”

In the NBA, jumping high to win the slam dunk contest is not enough.

In Guo Xu's previous life, no matter how the fans expected, how the media flickered, and how the competitors excited, James did not move. Wilkins, Jordan, Kobe, Carter...... Among the dazzling contestants in the slam dunk contest, only James is missing.

James doesn't participate, but the funny thing is that in an interview in 2014, he seriously told reporters: "If I participate in the slam dunk contest, I believe I can win the championship."

In the 2015 All-Star Game, James said in a roundtable interview: "When I first entered the league, I did think about participating in the slam dunk contest, that's for sure, but it didn't happen, and I don't know why." There were a few times when I wanted to participate, but in the end I didn't make it. Maybe everything would be cool if you could participate in the slam dunk contest. ”

He added: "I can't jump as high as I used to, and I regret not participating in the slam dunk contest." ”

Do you regret it? How many times have your die-hard fans begged you? The process translates to the following vernacular.

"The slave begs the saint to leave the palace to participate in the slam dunk contest."

"I'm a little tired."

"The slave begs the saint to leave the palace to participate in the slam dunk contest."

"I did think about it, so just wait, I don't want to go this time, although I don't know why."

"Slave ......"

"I can do it, but I'm old, alas, I regret it."

The emperor said that he had the strength of the dunk king, but because there were no Baozhu, Jia Liu, and Chunxi around him; Or there was no Sandezi, Fa Yin, Yifei and others to accompany him, and in the end he did not make the trip.

Well, that's it, believe it or not.