It's All-Star Weekend, and when the All-Star starting list was announced, the enthusiasm of the fans finally started to get high.

Every year the league will make a little change on the All-Star Weekend, and some of the new projects do make fans complain, such as last year's mixed shooting competition, as long as you go to a top pitcher in the NBA, there is basically no suspense, no matter how accurate the shooting of the top players in the NBA is, it can't be compared with the NBA players, maybe one by one slowly shot, female players are no worse than male players, but the gap in this kind of game is too big.

However, there are a bit of changes every year, and fans are also looking forward to it, for example, this year, the league has done something and made a legendary challenge, that is, a 3v3 bullfighting competition!

There are only two teams, one NBA retired celebrity, one NBA superstar, one active player and one Hollywood star as a substitute, four people per team.

Retired celebrities, since it was an All-Star Weekend in Atlanta, Dominic Wilkins, the best of human films, was invited to play and join the East Army.

On the side of the Western Army, the Eagles also spent a lot of money and invited Magic Johnson to participate.

NBA superstar, Team East is last season's NBA MVP, Houston Comets superstar Shel Swopes, two-time Olympic gold medalist, two-time NBA regular season MVP, and a championship in the first four years of NBA1997.

Originally, the Hawks wanted to invite Cynthia Cooper, the No. 1 superstar in NBA history, the former European women's basketball hegemon, also the superstar of the Houston Comets, and the MVP of the NBA championship for the first four consecutive years, but Cynthia Cooper is 40 years old and can't play anymore, when he participated in the first year of the NBA, he was almost 35 years old, and he was still the world's No. 1, and the title of female Jordan was well deserved.

Cooper couldn't be invited, so he retreated to last year's regular season MVP Swopes.

The NBA star of Team West is last year's championship MVP, Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks, a tall black woman of 1.95 meters.

In terms of movie stars, as always, it is a state of secrecy, like the arrival of Will Smith at last season's All-Star Weekend, which stunned everyone.

Active players are still waiting to be registered or designated to participate.

In addition to the 3v3 bullfight, there is also an all-star skills challenge, inviting the best players in the league in ball handling, shooting, and passing to participate.

Say so, but among the people invited were Jason Kidd, Tony Parker, Shaq O'Neal...... There are also Payton, Liu Mang, Marbury, Iverson, Garnett.

This lineup, if you really want to say, it's really interesting, the fans are happy when they see it, if O'Neal and Kidd and Parker really participate, this game will be interesting, the skills of the three people, it is estimated that O'Neal is not bad at controlling the ball, but the shooting of these three people is ......

The last few games were really suspenseful, and Garnett's skills were no worse than those of the guards, especially the shooting.

However, this is just a gimmick, and after so many league gimmicks, the fans have almost understood it, and in the end, these people may not have participated in it.

Invitations to other events have also been announced, and whether or not to participate is not something that the league can manage.

The Slam Dunk Contest, the most watched game, invited last year's dunk king Jason Richardson, the all-time No. 1 dunk player Vince Carter, Liu Mang, who claimed to challenge the all-time No. 1 dunk player, the Suns' hot violent rookie power forward Amare Stoudemire, the Bucks' Draymond Mason, the Magic's Tracy McGrady, and the Lakers' Kobe Bryant...... Anyway, the alliance invited them all over again.

However, among these people, there are only two people who are looking forward to it, that is, the showdown between Carter and Liu Mang!

The three-point contest, Liu Mang, as the champion of last year's three-point contest, was naturally invited to participate this year, and the slam dunk contest may not participate if you don't want to dunk the second year, the defending champion of the three-point contest is to participate in it according to the convention, this is not tired, and there is no possibility of injury like the dunk contest.

After announcing the All-Star starting lineup and new additions on the afternoon of December 30, the league officially sent official invitation emails to all teams.

When Liu Mang received all the invitations to the original double event and the new skill challenge and 3V3 bullfight, he was speechless, 3V3 bullfighting, Liu Mang decisively refused, this event seems to be just such a year, and it seems to be gone in the future, the league invited Liu Mang to participate because Liu Mang is a player of the Eagles, and this All-Star Weekend was held at the home of the Eagles.

Liu Mang also refused the three-point competition, according to the convention, he had to participate, but Liu Mang was willful, just to break the routine.

Skills Challenge, Liu Mang really wants to see who participates, Liu Mang accepted the slam dunk contest, and the showdown with Carter! It's exciting to think about.

Some players have begun to submit registrations, and a section has been opened on the official NBA website to record the list of registrations for this All-Star Weekend event in real time.

In fact, even the most inconspicuous event of an All-Star Weekend is a good opportunity for one or two hundred countries around the world to broadcast live and become famous, so when ordinary players are invited to participate in the game, they just agree without saying a word.

On December 31, the morning of the game with the Clippers, when Liu Mang got up and habitually turned on the computer in the room to read the news, he unexpectedly saw Jason Terry's name from the "Legend Challenge" registration list on the official website......

……

……

At one o'clock in the afternoon of Los Angeles time, the Hawks took the bus prepared by the Clippers to the Staples Center, and the game started at six o'clock in the afternoon, Los Angeles is almost the westernmost part of the United States, and the time is a few hours later than the east, so the games in the west seem to be "very early", but in fact, the games of the eastern teams are over, and the games on the west coast may not have started yet.

Getting off the bus, many of the Eagles players were discussing where to go tonight, and Los Angeles was the place to be......

Liu Mang's side, and Jason Terry finally got off the bus, their bags were all carried by the rookie, and Prince was in charge of the two's bags, and the two were discussing the All-Star Weekend.

"Jason, what bullfight are you going to compete in? What's there to play in that kind of game! Liu Mang asked curiously.

"Ace, didn't you participate in all the games last year, and you will participate in the slam dunk contest this year." Jason Terry saw Liu Mang's exaggerated tone and complained.

"I didn't know I was going to be selected for the All-Star Game, otherwise I wouldn't be so tired." Liu Mang thinks about it and feels that he was really not tired last year, in order to make himself popular, he was really crazy, who knew that he was directly selected for the All-Star Game, and he was stupid to think about it now.

"I can't get into the All-Star 100% this year, there are too many star guards in the East, if I go to the West, it's still possible, Sheriff's life is really good, I can definitely get into the All-Star." Jason Terry sighed, and then said in a complaining tone: "This is our own team to host an All-Star, how can I watch you participate with Sherif and Theo, leaving me alone......"

The biggest difference between the West and the East is that the West is the king of the interior, and the strong teams basically have super inside, even the eighth and ninth Rockets and Suns, both Yao Ming and Stoudemire, so there are many excellent interior lines in the West every year that they are not selected as All-Stars, and the outside of the West are often defensive, like Doug Christie of the Kings and Bowen of the Spurs, it is extremely difficult to have a chance to be selected as an All-Star.

The East is completely opposite, in addition to the fixed center position of the All-Star starters, the two forwards are all outside, and no one even thinks it's wrong to play guards, and the outside stars are crowded.

"It's okay with me, I'm an All-Star starter." Liu Mang's strength pulls hatred.

"Get out!" Jason Terry is so sad and angry.

The two walked out of the parking lot and saw Coach Kruger who was calling again.

"Jason, you came just in time, the boss has confirmed, and he will tell the league to give you a place in the Eastern Team of the Legend Challenge." Coach Krueger said after seeing Jason Terry.

"Whew...... I was finally able to participate in a competition. Jason Terry breathed a sigh of relief.

Now that I met the coach, let's go to the training ground together, the Staples Center is different from the home arena of many teams, this arena does not belong to the Lakers or the Clippers, both teams are rented, so there are no regular facilities in it, the Staples Center is expensive, and there is no empty space for the team to arrange a training ground.

The Clippers' training ground for the Hawks is a public basketball arena at the Los Angeles Convention Center just across the street from Staples, yes, public, built and maintained at the expense of the Los Angeles City government, and after the Clippers owners went to actively fight for it, 41 afternoons a year are free for the Clippers' home game opponents, and their own training ground is the Playa-Vista Training Gym, a training gym sponsored by Playa-Vista.

As soon as the three of them walked out of the parking lot, a skinny black child, about ten years old, walked over with a box on his chest.

The child came up to the three of them and asked in a low voice, "Sir, do you need to shine your shoes?" ”

What is this for?

American-style begging?

Liu Mang and Coach Kruger glanced at each other and said, "We don't need to." ”

Liu Mang just wanted to leave directly, but Jason Terry responded: "Well, it just happens that the shoes are a little dirty, boy, help me wipe them, you have to wipe them clean!" ”

"Sir, make sure to wipe it clean!" The child excitedly went to the place where the wall would not block people, opened the box, took out a small folding stool for Jason Terry to sit down, and then took out a small wooden stake, and asked Jason Terry to guard his feet, and covered his ankles with leather paper, and then began to wipe.

In fact, Jason Terry's leather shoes are not dirty, and Boozer is a reliable shoe-shiner, but when the child went to set up the stool and box, Jason Terry deliberately stepped on each other with his feet, and he was stunned that the shoes were dirty.

After the kid finished wiping, Jason Terry gave him 10 US dollars, and the kid was just about to look for money, Jason Terry said it was a tip, he was an NBA superstar, and he couldn't help tipping......

After the child left, Jason Trie said with a smile: "Seeing such a young child come out to earn money, I couldn't help but want to give him money, but I didn't want him to feel charity, so I delayed for a while." ”

Seeing the child out of sight, Liu Mang muttered, "It's so strange." ”

"Eh, Ace, does it seem so strange to you that I do something good?" Jason Terry said dissatisfied.

"Huh?" Liu Mang was stunned when he heard Jason Terry's words, looking at Jason Terry's dissatisfied face, and Coach Kruger, who also had a thoughtful expression, Liu Mang said: "No, I mean this thing is too strange!" Coach, you think so too! ”

"That's right," Coach Kruger nodded, "This is the staff parking lot of the Staples Center, theoretically no one is allowed to do this kind of business, and the security guards don't care, it's a bit strange." ”

"Why don't we go ask the security guards?" Liu Mang proposed.

Anyway, this afternoon's practice was no big deal, and the evening game was quite easy, not that the Hawks looked down on the Clippers...... Well, they just look down on the Clippers, their boss is too picky!

This year, the Clippers renewed their contract for the first time in their 98-year rookie rookie, so the salary exceeded 30 million dollars for the first time in team history, compared with only 29 million last season, far below the league average, reaching 31.3 million dollars this year.

Such a salary is basically equivalent to Garnett's four base salaries......

To say that the Clippers' lineup is actually not bad, although the salary is so low, mainly because the Clippers have seven players who are still rookie contracts, several fourth-year contracts, and they don't plan to renew their contracts, such as Andre Miller and Odom, who can't renew their contracts for less than eight or nine million, the Clippers are all planning to give up directly, they are so capricious, and they don't care how angry the management of those teams who worked hard to make a bad draft but got parallel imports is.

The Clippers now have a salary of more than 5 million, only one player, the champion who executed the qualification offer in '98, 6 million US dollars, and the Sugar Man will become a free agent next season.

The Clippers are so headstrong, they can do whatever they want with players.

And because the Clippers have a wave of rookies in recent years, they are basically in the third or fourth grade, all fighting for the ball, playing opportunities, and performance opportunities, who can still control the record, and the Clippers have "surpassed" the Grizzlies and ranked second to last in the West, second only to the Western Nuggets.

However, this is also a competitive mechanism, so many stars fight, and in the end, they can win the contract extension by the Clippers, which is also the best of the best, which laid the foundation for them to enter the playoffs for a while.

But now they're still "picking the best out of the best", and it's really hard for the Eagles to treat them as opponents.

So, now that the Hawks are really idle, they can go shopping, practice shooting, and go to the Staples Center to warm up at five o'clock and play.

Liu Mang's proposal made the two very interested, and they went to the security guard together to understand the situation......

……

This is a story of a back injury, and probably a similar experience shared by many black players in the NBA.

The child's name is Jimmy Butler, born in a place called Tombal in the suburbs of Houston, Texas, when he was a small baby, his biological father ran away from home, leaving him and his mother, but this is not the end of Butler's tragic childhood, his mother is a drug-addicted teenage girl, and when he grows up, her mother relies on all kinds of unspeakable things in exchange for money to enjoy pleasure.

Last year, when he was 13 years old, his mother needed money and took him to Los Angeles to look for his father, but he couldn't find him, and in a fit of rage, she abandoned him directly.

Then he lived in the vicinity, relying on helping people clean cars and shoes, and he came and went for half a year.

In the past six months, someone wanted to give him money, but he didn't ask for it, he didn't have a father since he was a child, and his mother didn't care about him, and sometimes he didn't even have to eat, so he was used to being self-reliant, working to find food since he was a child, and he was used to being self-reliant.

This quality makes people who know him respect him, even if he is a skinny, malnourished child who looks like he is only in his teens when he is 14 years old.

However, he was often driven away by the security guards of various shopping malls and office buildings because of this illegal business of shining shoes and cars on the side of the road, and only when he went to the Stamps Center, because the security guard was also a black man who grew up in the slums, he felt the same way, and saw that a child was self-reliant who did not steal, rob or accept handouts, so he did not drive him away, and even let Jimmy Butler sleep in the security booth at night......

……

Jimmy Butler!

Liu Mang was shocked when he heard this name, thinking it was the same name, but when he heard that he was from Houston, he was not calm, it would not happen to be born in the same place with the same name but not the same person, the probability is too small!

Liu Mang remembers that Jimmy Butler seemed to be quite pitiful when he was a child, and later at the age of 14 he was adopted by a Los Angeles junior high school coach and brought into the American basketball world.

In the United States, children who have not read much in their teens can go directly to junior high school and high school, and of course, there are probably only junior high school students in the United States who can't even write their native language......

Liu Mang was more surprised than moved, and Coach Kruger was thoughtful.

Unexpectedly, Jason Terry, who usually has thick lines and a big grin and yells that I want to make a lot of money, actually burst into tears! Crying so much!

"Jason, what's wrong with you? It's not like you! Liu Mang took out a tissue from his pocket and gave it to Jason Terry.

"Ace, this child is too similar to me when I was a child, but I still have parents, this child is so pitiful!"

It turned out to be a tragic memory of being poked at as a child, it is said that 60% of black people are addicts, and the odds of NBA players having addict parents are too great.

Happy families are the same, but unfortunate lives are varied, and just meeting someone with a similar experience, Jason Terry can't help but cry.

Iron men also have a tender side, and a height like Jason Terry has played in the NBA for 20 years, which is also a kind of iron man.

Coach Kruger didn't speak, and after listening to the story, when Jason Terry and Liu Mang told about their similar experiences, Coach Kruger asked the security guard a few words, and then left......