The 2009 All-Star Game was equally significant.

In the context of the current economic crisis in the United States, the NBA All-Star Game is no longer as simple as an annual festival, it has become a lifeline for Phoenix to save the economy in a larger sense, and the league is more concerned about how to make money. Just a few days ago, the Phoenix political axe said that it would fight to earn $100 million.

In order to reach the $100 million "economic goal," publicity and promotion are the most important business strategies for the Phoenix All-Star Game to get more fans to pay attention to the 2009 All-Star Weekend. China has the largest fan base in the world, so the All-Star Game is also aimed at Asian fans. In addition to Yao Ming's attendance at the All-Star Game, the Phoenix organizers also invited many film and television stars to watch the game, including Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Zhang Ziyi, Liu Yifei and other movie stars to attract the attention of fans.

In addition to playing the Chinese star card, Yao Ming, who played the game, was an important figure in publicity, and after the game with the King, Yao Ming immediately went to Phoenix City to shoot the NBA All-Star Game promotional video.

When Hayes arrived in Phoenix, he left his luggage at the hotel and the first thing he did was to shoot an advertisement.

The stars were all involved in the filming of the promo, the most special being the Dwight Howard promo, in which he called in a deep voice and ordered a bunch of food, saying that it was to be eaten before the game, and finally said, "Please bring the food to room 1105, thank you, I'm Duncan." ”

The first day of the event was still a fan meeting and a training session for the players.

Durant wore the big sunglasses of the deputy Thunderman and followed Hayes, looking like a bodyguard. When Hayes showed up, the fans immediately screamed, and Durant was next to Hayes, fantasizing that the host could introduce something like "the two Bobcats played together".

Durant was disappointed, and the host skipped him directly and introduced: "Please watch the league's 'Triple Double King', 'Elvis', 'Black Whirlwind', 'Haiye', 'Shrek', 'Kung Fu Panda' - Chuck Hayes!" ”

The host said a lot of nicknames in one breath. Hayes then realized that he had so many nicknames, and he waved to the fans in the audience, killing countless films. Only then did Durant realize that it was wrong to play next to Hayes, and he completely became a foil.

Dwight Howard is the second most popular among the stars, and he conquered the crowd with a Superman dunk last season, and fans will be hoping that he will continue to carry forward his spirit this season. This time he was also invited to participate in the slam dunk contest and had new ideas ready.

The Eastern Conference All-Stars have three rookies this time, Danny Granger of the Pacers, Devin Harris of the Nets, and Durant, who are especially excited to be selected as All-Stars for the first time. Being selected for the All-Star Game is an affirmation of the player, representing strength and worth. The trio are also in contention for the Most Improved Player award this season.

Some are in high spirits, others are in low spirits, and Allen Iverson, who is back in the East, was silent when he appeared. The Pistons are still working hard to get into the playoffs, and Iverson is not in a high mood, and he is more concerned about how to work hard after the All-Star break.

Every time he was selected for the All-Star Game, Hayes felt different. There are a lot of friends to meet, and there are a lot of new things happening. For example, this time O'Neal and Kobe Bryant got together on the same team again, and the two talked and laughed. These two people are like Ouyang Feng and Hong Qigong, they have been fighting for many years, and when they get old, they see everything and reconcile.

When O'Neill saw Hayes, he immediately came over to say hello, and said with a smile: "If you kid dare to defend me this time, I will definitely knock you over!" ”

"Not anymore. This time the coach is D'Antoni, he won't let me risk injury to defend you, it's good to leave such a great task to Yao. Hayes pointed to Yao Ming beside him and smiled.

"I'm going to make soy sauce." Yao Ming directly expressed his attitude. O'Neill laughed, and Hayes was a little helpless.

Yao Ming was once again selected as an All-Star starter. Yao Ming's selection, of course, relied on the majority of fans. In fact, Yao Ming is not suitable for the All-Star Game. He is the leader of the soy sauce team every time he competes, and for Yao Ming, who has a sullen surname, the All-Star Game is obviously not the place for him to play his solid fundamentals.

And Yao Ming is the absolute core of the Eagles, and the Eagles' coaching staff has developed a strategy based on him, and others are not involved in the inside battle. But in the Eastern All-Stars, no one is the core, everyone is a big name, there is no tactics, and the cooperation is based on usual experience, so the coach rarely pauses. The pace of the All-Star Game is also very fast, and in this situation, the role that Yao Ming can play can be imagined. After the fast attack started, he could only run with the whole field.

Bryant and Hayes met and discussed the league pattern, and Bryant thought that the Bobcats and Lakers would definitely meet in the finals, and declared war in their own way. "Chuck, I'm waiting for you in the finals. I'll beat you this season and win the championship! ”

Hayes smiled: "Even if the Lakers and Bobcats compete for the championship, I will wait for you in the Finals." I'm afraid it's a bit difficult for the Lakers to get to the finals, right? There are so many strong teams in the west...... My only opponent in the East is the Hawks. ”

Yao Ming smiled awkwardly, in terms of strength, the Bobcats have surpassed the Hawks this season, the two teams have one win and one loss this season, and the Hawks won the game Hayes didn't play, and it was very difficult. The one that lost was a miserable 24-point defeat. Yao Ming didn't have the confidence to stop the Bobcats from reaching the finals.

Bryant cares a lot about the Bobcats, or Hayes to be exact. When Hayes is present, the Bobcats feel impeccable. But now the Lakers are getting stronger. Caron Butler has adapted to the triangle attack than Artest, and they traded Radmanovic on the fringe for Bleche as a strong bench on the inside. If it weren't for this deal, Kobe Bryant wouldn't have had the confidence to beat the Bobcats.

After a few days of symbolic practice, the stars returned to the lounge for the afternoon's activities, and in the mixed interview area, the stars were surrounded by reporters to talk about All-Star Weekend, the team's prospects, how to show off at the All-Star Game, and more...... NetEase reporter Liu Zhaochen, who used to interview Hayes in Houston and often interviewed Hayes, is also among them, and his main mission is to interview Yao Ming, so he is now in Atlanta for a long time. Beside him, there was also a migrant worker-looking person, wearing an all-star jersey and holding a microphone, Hayes thought that this was also a reporter from NetEase, but he was happy when he looked closely. Isn't this the Wang Baoqiang who played "Xu Sanduo"?

Wang Baoqiang also played a "reporter" in the locker room, and the subject of his interview was Yao Ming, and the questions he asked were quite different, he asked Yao Ming: "How can I practice to participate in next year's All-Star Game?" ”

Just such a bad question, Wang Baoqiang was very excited, and his voice trembled.

Yao Ming was asked, and this question was more boring than the "arcane art" of elementary school students. What Yao Ming wanted to say was 'you go find a mushroom to eat, Mario is such a tall ......', but it wasn't good to say that, so he could only smile awkwardly.

The people next to him laughed.

Liu Zhaochen asked, "Do you know Wang Baoqiang?" ”

"Of course. I've seen all his works and like them very much. Yao Ming smiled. Especially Nezha, who he played in "The Legend of Yin Shang", is really the king of the universe. His seductive eyes, killing everything in seconds, the world is still...... these are the evaluations in Yao Ming's heart, and he didn't say it.

"I like you better. I'm here to support you. Wang Bao said excitedly.

"Let's stop arguing, lest it remind people of February 14 again." Yao Ming said with a smile.

During the group photo, Wang Baoqiang held the basketball, and his hands were trembling all the time.

On the other hand, Hayes did not encounter a reporter asking sensitive questions, and ended the interview indifferently.

In the afternoon, it was still voluntary labor. NBA Care is one of the most important community events for these players. After the All-Star Roundtable, the 24 All-Stars were divided into three groups to carry out NBA care activities. At Cesarchavez Community School, NBA Superintendent David Stern joined the stars for labor. Stern wasn't in a group with Hayes, and the two didn't communicate much. Stern did this to "avoid suspicion", if he and Hayes showed affection, there would definitely be good people who would stand up and make remarks like "godson", although this will not have an impact on the NBA economy, but Stern has heard enough.

In the school, these "big-name volunteers" from the NBA worked hard to do rough work, digging sand pits, filling soil, planting trees, and the big names gathered and were in full swing.

After a tiring afternoon, Hayes and Howard couldn't rest, and in the evening they had to play as coaches for the Rookie Challenge!

Before the game, Howard smiled: "I'm going to show you my coaching strength today, how to beat the strong with the weak!" ”

"You haven't started playing yet, and you all admit that sophomore is weaker than the rookie team?" Hayes laughed and said, "Think about how to use Kevin (Durant), the sophomore team is obviously the strongest of him." ”

The two sides returned to their respective areas, and Howard asked, "Kevin, how long do you want to play this game?" ”

Durant said: "In order to win, it's okay to play the whole court, and you can't end the sophomore winning streak with me." Why do you ask this? ”

"Aren't you going to play in the three-point contest, the All-Star Game? Normally, like you, you have to fight for a while, and I would like to ask you how you arrange your physical strength. Howard said.

"Chuck played in the rookie game in 2007 for so long, and he didn't feel tired, he still won the All-Star MVP, my physical strength is not worse than his, if I can, I want to play a little longer." Durant said seriously.

Howard nodded, having a plan in mind.

The rookie team is in high spirits. Quite like Hayes thought, the rookies all said they wanted to win the game and end the sophomore star winning streak, and they were confident.

At this point, LeBron James and Pau Gasol sat in the TNT* commentary booth together to narrate the game.

Gasol smiled: "Hayes is playing very well, I don't know what it will be like to be a coach today, this rookie team is very strong, and many players have become starters in their respective teams." Only Durant, who is more famous in the sophomore team, was also selected for the All-Star Game. In addition, Yi Jianlian and Horford also played better in the regular season, and Brooks was also very strong. LeBron, who do you think will win today? ”

"I think it's a first-year team. Because the inside line of the first grade looks stronger. And the staffing is reasonable. James said.

Sophomore Star Team starters: point guard Aaron Brooks, shooting guard Rodney Starkey, small forward Kevin Durant, power forward Yi Jianlian, center Al Horford.

The rookie starting five: point guard Derrick Rose, shooting guard Oj Mayo, small forward Mike Beasley, power forward Kevin Love, center Greg Oden.

The match is about to begin!

(To be continued)