On February 10, 2001, this year's All-Star Weekend entered its second day, and today the All-Star 3-Point Contest and All-Star Slam Dunk Contest will be held at the MCI Center Arena. The first thing to do is the All-Star 3-point competition, after Meng Xu won the championship last year with 24 points that tied the All-Star three-point record, in today's 3-point competition, Meng Xu has become the biggest favorite to win the championship, especially Meng Xu in the final last year, the last point in the bottom corner, with his eyes closed, the video clip of hitting 5 balls in a row, is still the most exciting clip in the All-Star 3-point competition.

In addition to the defending champion Meng Xu, the players who signed up for the All-Star 3-point contest this year include Ray Allen of the Bucks and Peja of the Kings? Stojakovic, the Mavericks' Steve? Nash and Dirk? Nowitzki, Rashad of the SuperSonics? Lewis, Allan of the New York Knicks? Houston, Orlando Magic's Pat? Garriti, plus Meng Xu, a total of 8 players. Ray Allen and Nowitzki are both players who played in the last 3-point tournament, while the rest of the players are also young newcomers.

"Hi Dirk, hi Alain." Meng Xu, who was ranked last in the order of appearance, greeted Nowitzki in front of him and Ala Houston, but as soon as Houston's name came out, Meng Xu couldn't help but want to laugh.

"Hey, Meng, are you ready?" Nowitzki smiled at Meng Xu, if he participated in the All-Star 3-point contest last year, Nowitzki was just playing tickets, then in this year's All-Star 3-point contest, Nowitzki has already had the idea of taking the trophy away. As the "Big Four" in the league this year, Nowitzki ushered in a surge in status and data this season, and his 3-point shooting rate also reached a career-high 39%, which is when the average number of shots per game reached 4.8, and now Nowitzki is also the best 3-point big man in the league, which is not inferior to Larry Bird back then.

"Of course, I can't wait to take the trophy away." Meng Xu smiled, looked at the participating players in front of him, and then said a little playfully: "However, have you considered who will be the second?" ”

Listening to Meng Xu's wild words, although these players were very unhappy, they were unhappy, and among the 7 players in front of Meng Xu, none of them stood up to refute Meng Xu. Although these people are all good at 3 points, when they think of Meng Xu's perverted 3 points, especially in the game with the Lakers, when Meng Xu hit a record-breaking 11 of 12 3-pointers in a single quarter, hitting the most 11 3-pointers in NBA history, these players can only shake their heads.

Meng Xu's 3-point shooting average this season has reached 5.2 per game, and he can hit an average of 2.2 3-pointers per game that is the most in the entire league, and because Meng Xu soars for 3 points at every turn, it also brings an image to all players and fans, that is, Meng Xu's 3 points are the best in the entire NBA. Despite this, with Meng Xu's 43% 3-point shooting rate this season, he can't even rank in the top 5 in the league now. However, Rao is like this, and in the face of Meng Xu's wild words, no one came out to refute it, because in last year's 3-point competition, the defending champion Jeff? Hornacek provoked Meng Xu, and the scene of being slapped in the face by Meng Xu with a shot with his eyes closed is still vivid.

This year's All-Star 3-point contest is much more competitive than last year, after those veterans have withdrawn from this year's game, the current 3-point contest has officially entered the world of Mesozoic players, under the continuous change of the current rules of the league, the current young players are playing more and more outside, and the number of 3-point shots is also increasing, and the big men who can shoot 3 points are also getting more and more. Therefore, compared with previous years, there are more and more players who shoot more than 40% of their 3-point shooting rate in the season, and the current league is no longer the era of sharpshooters with a 3-point shooting rate of more than 35%, and the future All-Star 3-point contest is destined to become more and more intense.

"Larry, do you think Meng Xu can successfully defend his title in today's game?" The commentary for this year's All-Star 3-point contest is still Larry Bird and Craig? Hodges is the legend with the most championships in the history of the two All-Star 3-point contests.

"Of course, I have a lot of confidence in Meng, just like me, Meng is a player who can win the championship as long as he participates in the three-point competition. And Meng is the only player who can win the championship with his eyes closed. Larry Bird on the side replied to Craig in the affirmative? After Hodges, he once again brought out Meng Xu's wild words before last year's 3-point competition. In the finals last season, after the Pacers led by Larry Bird were eliminated by the Spurs, Larry Bird, who felt a little tired, resigned as the head coach of the Pacers. As the Pacers gradually fell from last season's Eastern boss to hovering on the edge of the playoffs, both within the Pacers and Pacers fans, the call for Larry Bird's comeback is getting louder and louder, and Larry Bird, who has been resting for most of the year, is now considering a comeback.

"That's true, Meng should be the best 3-point player in the league now, but it all depends on today's on-the-spot performance, after all, there are too many sharpshooters who play abnormally here." Craig? After Hodges finished speaking, the broadcast camera on the scene was aimed at Reggie Miller in the audience on the sidelines, as perhaps the best 3-point shooter in the history of the league, Reggie Miller has also participated in more than one All-Star 3-point contest, but he has played unsatisfactory every time. Hear Craig? Hodges's words, and then looked at his face appeared on the big screen in the center of the court, and now Reggie Miller is also very embarrassed, he was really lying down and was shot, he knew that he wouldn't come here to join in the fun, how good it would be to go out for a vacation, but when he thought of his old opponent's lowest 5 points in history, Reggie Miller's mood suddenly improved a lot.

"Craig, I don't think Meng will play abnormally, you must know that Meng Ke is a natural player with a big heart." Hearing his partner's statement and looking at Reggie Miller in the live broadcast camera, Larry Bird first smiled and then continued: "I think the only suspense today is who will finish second. ”

Hear Larry Bird's wild words, Craig? Hodges was also speechless, this guy is too good at pretending, but he can't refute him rashly, there are too many people who have been slapped in the face by Larry Bird. See Peja though? After Stojakovic was the first to play with a basketball, Craig? Hodges also immediately changed the subject: "Alright, Larry, the game has begun." ”

Peja was the first to appear? Stojakovic, this is also a big man with very good 3-point ability, but maybe the first to participate in the 3-point competition, plus the first to play, Peja? Stojakovic was obviously a little nervous, after 5 points and 25 basketball shots, Stojakovic only hit 13 balls and scored 15 points, which scored in this year's 3-point competition, if there is no accident in qualifying, it will basically not enter the final round. Perhaps knowing this, after Stojakovic waved to the fans after leaving the game, he directly put on his training uniform, and at the same time, Chris Webber, who was sitting behind Stojakovic, also patted Stojakovic's shoulder to comfort his little brother.

The second player to play is Rashad Lewis, another big man, for Lewis, who has played well this season, Meng Xu's only image is soft, perhaps because Duncan is too vicious, as long as the Spurs are against the supersonic, this supersonic big man is very afraid of physical contact with Duncan, but constantly floats on the outside to shoot 3 points, even if it is Meng Xu, this guy can dodge. Rashad Lewis played slightly better than Stojakovic, after 5 points shot, scored 17 points, but this score is not enough to make Rashad Lewis enter the next round, you must know that the three guys who were included in the final last year also have at least 21 points, and Meng Xu and Ray Allen, who entered the final last year, have not played yet.

The third appearance is Magic's Pat? Garriti, as a role player who eats entirely on 3-pointers and defense, is now Pat? Garriti showed his housekeeping skills on the spot again, and after 25 shots, Pat ? Garriti scored 21 points and is the first player to score more than 20 points in the current appearance.

In Pat? After Garriti, the fourth player was Steve Nash, who looked even more nervous than Stojakovic who was the first to play, contributing a 3-point shot and only 14 points after 25 shots, which may be the lowest score in today's 3-point competition.

Then the fifth appearance is Alan Houston, known as the "mid-range shooting textbook", as a player known for shooting, Alan Houston's 3-point shooting rate has always been good, it can be said that Alan Houston has always been an uncrowned king, and after becoming the boss of the Knicks this season, Houston, who is eager to prove himself, also signed up for this year's All-Star 3-point competition. After Houston's shooting, today's All-Star 3-point contest also ushered in a small climax, after all 5-point shooting, Alan Houston scored a current high 24 points, which is enough to win the trophy in any year.

After the next Lei Allen came on the court, it brought the atmosphere of the scene to a new height, last year's All-Star 3-point competition, Lei Allen was the favorite to win the championship, but in the final finals, affected by Meng Xu's closed-eye shooting, Lei Allen shot a record low of 11 points, that is, since the end of last year's 3-point competition, Lei Allen's mentality has changed very much, and at the same time, he has also gained a lot of improvement in ability. It's the same with a 10 shot in front of you. In the end, when Ray Allen scored a game-high 26 points after 25 shots, the entire MCI Center Arena was also full of atmosphere.

After Ray Allen, perhaps because the previous players scored too high, Nowitzki was relaxed, but when Nowitzki hit 9 goals in the last two consecutive balls and went off the court with a final score of 25 points, the broadcast camera on the scene was also directly aimed at Meng Xu. After the first 7 players played in turn, 4 of them scored more than 20 points, as the last Meng Xu to play, if he wants to enter the next round, then he must score at least 25 points to ensure the elimination of Alan Houston, and Ray Allen, Nowitzki to enter the final together.