On February 1, 2001, the NBA league announced its Player of the Month for January, and the 76ers' Allen Iverson won the award.

Before the All-Star break, Iverson led the team to a 12-3 record, and the MVP ranking has rushed to second place!

Averaged 44.4 minutes per game, averaging 34.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.7 steals, 0.4 blocks and 3.2 turnovers per game;

He averaged 26.2 shots per game and shot 45.5% from the field and 4.3 attempts from beyond the three-point line with 34.4% three-point shooting.

He averaged 11.2 free throws per game and shot 82.7 percent from the free-throw line.

When this data was handed over in January, Iverson raised his eyebrows, and the team's record is still chasing the Knicks.

O'Neal's injury led to a stop-and-go January that allowed the Kings to complete the comeback, and Kobe Bryant lost his Player of the Month.

In contrast, the Knicks had a 9-2 record in January, and while the results were good, Lee's Excel didn't match Iverson's.

The competition between the three has become the object of discussion among ball critics, but because the Lakers O'Neal is the boss, Kobe Bryant has a bit of embarrassment, and every time he loses, he will be denied.

People are in good spirits on happy occasions, and on the evening of the 1st, Iverson came to New York in a beautiful way.

Instead of taking his followers to a nightclub, he followed the instructions of head coach Larry Brown and continued to train and prepare for the game.

Li You has won small honors such as the best of the week and the best of the month a maximum of 4 times in a season, and these awards are more to motivate other outstanding players and use them for star-making sports.

Li You didn't care about these awards at all, but for Iverson, the best of the month was an affirmation.

Before the start of the game at 8 p.m. that night, Iverson, who won the best award of the month, regained his previous confidence in interviews with the sports media:

"It's great to get an award like this, which means I'm the best player in the league in January."

"The 76ers will make it to the Finals this year, and I will make good on my promise to Philadelphia!"

"I don't care what the world says about my way of playing, as long as I can win, I'll keep shooting, I just want to win!"

Looking at the confident Iverson, the sports media in Philadelphia were very relieved that this was a worthy leader's speech.

And for the New York media, the so-called pursuit of victory is to brush data.

Iverson, who was full of expectations, thought that the 76ers could wrestle with the Knicks, and when the game began, a similar scenario arose.

Continuing to serve as the No. 1 position, Iverson played 4-of-16 from the field against Lee Woo at halftime, and scored 8 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 turnovers in the half, showing a very versatile performance.

At 42:54, looking at the 12-point difference, Madison Square Garden is boiling again!

Although Iverson's empty three-pointer suddenly responded in the third quarter, scoring 13 points in a single quarter, the margin did not narrow.

What made Larry Brown's head coach on the sidelines even more depressed was that Theo Latrive strained his thigh after landing in a defensive round in order to block Li You's layup, and had no choice but to leave the court.

In the end, the match that Iverson had been looking forward to for a month ended in failure.

87:104, the Knicks beat the 76ers by a narrow margin.

Played 47 minutes, 11-of-30, 3-of-4 from beyond the three-point line, 6-of-7 from the free-throw line, 31 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 6 turnovers.

Without having to read the next day's newspaper, Iverson knew he must have become an "inefficient data brush" again.

Interestingly, "Data Brush" is also a custom title given to Li You by the Los Angeles media.

This season's "bloodsucking" style of play has made Excel even more beautiful, and the Los Angeles media that has just happened to lemons has to criticize Lee You's all-around stats every once in a while

For New York fans, everyone likes to see Li You's big performance, and the cheers still can't stop when the game is over.

Played 39 minutes, 11-of-23, 3-of-7 from beyond the three-point line, 8-of-10 from the free-throw line, 33 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and 3 turnovers.

Li You's performance was "mediocre" and even a little inefficient, but under the backdrop of Iverson, this all-American live broadcast game once again showed the style of MVP.

After the game, NBC reporter Jim Gray didn't mention the game again, but continued to warm up for the All-Star weekend with a smile:

"Lee, why did you turn down an invitation to the three-point contest during this year's All-Star Weekend? I think the fans definitely didn't like the news. ”

Hearing the other party's exaggerated statement, Li You, who had already changed into his training clothes, also smiled, and then pretended to be an X very naturally:

"If I win another championship, the fans will be tired of watching my performances."

'The most important thing is that I want to give the other players some chances, three trophies are already good and I will cheer for my team-mates this year!'

Hearing Li You's loan champion, Jim Gray didn't feel a sense of disobedience, but continued to slap his ass, and the two stood on the sidelines and blew each other.

Iverson, who attended the press conference after the game, was not in a high mood, and the joy of winning the Player of the Month award had completely disappeared.

No matter how he performs, no matter how good the 76ers' record is, Iverson only feels that Li You always overtakes him.

The New York Post reporter never knew what politeness was, and when everyone had almost finished asking, he suddenly got up and asked:

"Allen, why do you want to take 30 shots, and have you ever considered sharing the ball more with your teammates?"

Iverson, who was wearing a wide black casual suit and a gold chain on the stage, had long been impatient, and after hearing the question, he emphasized again:

"I don't care about the stats at all, I just play to win, whatever you think, my teammates trust me, and I'll keep shooting!"

The Philadelphia media reporters applauded, and everyone was very satisfied with the current results, but soon the whispers of the New York media made Iverson's face darken:

"Did he win against Lee? I'm not impressed at all. ”

Lee Woo has a very poor relationship with his rookie classmates, and the New York media really contributes a lot.

At the end of January, the NBA announced its bench lineup for the 2001 All-Star Weekend in Washington:

The seven substitutes in the Eastern Conference are:

Alan Houston, Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson, Jerry Starkhouse, Tracy McGrady, Anthony Mason Jr., Theo Latliff.

The seven substitutes in the Western Conference are:

Gary Payton, Michael Finley, Kevin Garnett, Antonio McDyes, Rasheed Wallace, David Robinson, Karl Malone.

As the February game progressed, players suffered injuries and soon the All-Star roster changed.

The Nets' Stephen Marbury, the Hawks' DiCambe Mutombo, and the Raptors' Antonio Davis replaced the injured Grant Hill, Alonzo Mourning, and Theo Ratrife.

O'Neal officially confirmed his absence from the All-Star break, and the Kings' Verratti Divac was also added to the All-Star break.

In the Eastern Conference All-Star starting lineup, Anthony Mason Jr. and Antonio Davis entered the starting lineup;

A Western Conference All-Star, Kevin Garnett followed suit and made the starting lineup.

After Mutombo got the All-Star position, he publicly shouted to the media:

"I'm willing to give up the All-Star spot to Ewing, he deserves to be selected for the All-Star Game!"

The Gorillas also received 600,000 votes for this year's All-Star, ranking fourth among centers in the Eastern Conference.

Eastern Conference All-Star head coach Jeff Van Gundy and Western Conference All-Star head coach Rick Aardman also want to make this happen, and everyone is waiting for the league to agree.

In the last year of his career, Ewing naturally wanted to enter the All-Star to play, but unfortunately in the "showdown" with Olajuwon, the gorilla exerted too much force and suffered a strain.

On the night of Feb. 5, the Knicks faced the Rockets back-to-back.

The match basically turned into a solo show for Ewing and Olajuwon, and everyone was very face-saving, and the fans cheered for the former "big four".

Lewis and Artest didn't give face to Big Brother, and Bangbang played iron throughout the game.

At 90:102, the Knicks suffered their first defeat in February.

Ewing was 6-of-12 from the field and finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 3 turnovers;

Olajuwon was 7-of-9 from the field and finished with 18 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and 2 turnovers.

After the game, Ewing and Olajuwon hugged and exchanged jerseys, and faced the sports media on the scene with smiles on their faces.

Back in the locker room, Ewing had a pained expression, and Jeff Van Gundy was startled by the gorilla.

After being examined by the team doctor's team, Ewing could only sigh with regret:

"Looks like I won't have a chance to play in the All-Star Game."

When the coaching staff heard that the team doctor confirmed that they would have to rest for at least half a month, they could only look at each other.

Jeff Van Gundy thought of the follow-up schedule, frowned slightly, and still sent his blessing:

"Pat, don't worry about the team, get some rest!"

Longley, who has recently returned from injury, is still a small transparent player on the team, moving too slowly, and Jeff Van Gundy doesn't like to use the big man too much.

Li You comforted the gorilla and silently calculated the rest of the schedule in February.

There were no back-to-back games, but at the end of the month the team had to continue to travel west, Lewis partnered Ben Wallace, the effect was mediocre, and most teams have thoroughly figured out the technical characteristics of "Little Ben".

Artest didn't care about these things at all, and was still discussing with the atmosphere group whether he could meet his idol Mai Buckle in Washington.

Alan Houston was also calculating the schedule for the rest of the game, and leaned over to Li You's side and whispered:

"Pat is injured and when Grant comes back from injury, it's acceptable to lose some games."

"We still have a chance to get 60 wins, and maybe we can still get the best record in the league!"

Before the All-Star break, the Knicks had a leading record, just to prepare for the later loss, thinking that most of the opponents were still Eastern teams, Li You finally smiled and joked:

"Maybe that's the advantage of playing in the Eastern Conference!"

On February 7, the Knicks, who returned to their home court, successfully defeated the Mavericks.

80:103, three quarters of punch in, see the New York fans enthusiastic!

This kind of game where the two sides throw three-pointers at each other, and then frequently launch switching offenses and often dunk is indeed more beautiful.

Perhaps because Chinese players are about to land in the NBA, Su Qun, a reporter from Sports Weekly, also took the staff to watch the Mavericks game in New York.

Nowitzki was 2-of-14 from the field and scored only 6 points in the game, not because the Knicks were defensively good, but because they simply couldn't shoot

After watching a few games, the staff of Sports Weekly have great expectations for Wang Zhizhi, who is about to land in the NBA, and many people even have some confident ideas:

"Dirk Nowitzki is no different!"

Although Su Qun has not had many opportunities to cover the NBA, he understands better how difficult it is to gain a foothold in the league.

After the game, everyone whispered in the press conference hall:

"It's really unbelievable that a yellow person can play such a basketball, no matter how many times I watch it, I am shocked."

"Nowitzki looks average, Dazhi may have a chance to replace the other party as the core of the Mavericks, and Nelson Sr. admires him!"

"It's a great opportunity, and it would have been nice to have landed in the NBA sooner."

When this topic was mentioned, several people were suddenly speechless, and it was not easy to come out

Su Qun looked at the optimistic colleagues, and suddenly found that everyone was using Li You as a reference, and the same skin color seemed to give everyone infinite confidence.

It's just that the longer he stays in New York and the more information he is exposed to, the more Su Qun feels that Li You and the Chinese players are people of two worlds.

Looking at his colleagues who were still imagining the future, Su Qun could only say helplessly:

"It's never easy for a second-round pick player to gain a foothold in the NBA.

"The Knicks' Lashad Lewis can be used as a reference, and this is the third year of his career before he officially entered the rotation."

“.”

The Knicks finished their pre-All-Star break with a 37-10 record and continued to lead the league.

After losing to the Rockets, the 76ers moved to 35-15 and are in second place in the East.

In the Western Conference, the Lakers have a 31-16 record after a wave of consecutive wins, and the Spurs have a record of 31-15 compared to the Kings.

The Knicks are far ahead, which also makes Lee Woo firmly ranked first on the MVP candidate list.

On Thursday 8 February, with four games to go on the day, the trio began to discuss the halfway point of the schedule on TNT's show in the morning.

Perhaps it was the text messages of Kobe Bryant and Iverson that stimulated Charles Barkley, the big mouth who has been spending the two every day lately:

"Iverson doesn't like me, I've received a text message from him, but I want to say that champions don't lie."

"He's no longer a rookie player, and if you measure his performance by MVP standards, I insist Iverson is not qualified."

"I'm not going to put Kobe Bryant and Lee together, because to be MVP, you have to be the best player on the team first."

"In the Lakers, Shaq is the core, halfway through the schedule, Kobe Bryant performed very well, but there is still a big gap from MVP."

Kenny Smith has been shocked by his partner's cheekiness, the previous shows were not like this, but for the sake of ratings, he also had to follow the output:

"Lee's performance was really surprising, without Grant Hill, Artest in the second year, Lewis in the third year, they were really good players."

"But at the end of the day, Lee activated his teammates, and maybe we should revisit his play, the Knicks rarely even play low-post offense, and Coach Van Gundy seems to have unearthed a new system."

Ernnie Johnson is not thick-skinned enough, and he repeatedly consumes three people, and at this time he can only follow with good words:

"After the All-Star break, that's the real test for them, and this season the lads have been really good, and in my opinion, they're all MVPs!"

“.”

Kobe, who had already flown to Washington, looked at the show in the hotel and his face darkened, and he couldn't even squeeze into the top 5 on the MVP rankings.

Not because of the stats, it's just because he's not the boss of the Lakers because he plays next to O'Neal.

Vanessa looked at the sulking Kobe Bryant and didn't care, picked up the dress, and said beautifully:

"Stop watching those boring TV shows, how about I wear this black dress at night?"

The two have been married for more than a year, and Kobe Bryant, who came back to his senses, just responded mechanically:

"It's perfect, you must be the prettiest girl in the audience tonight!"

“.”

Before All-Star Weekend, Michael Jordan hosted a charity dinner and used his influence to invite friends and well-known players.

That night, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, Michael Jordan was smiling brightly and seemed to have forgotten about the Wizards

After receiving the invitation, Li You, who flew to Washington in the morning, changed into a decent black suit, said hello to McButton, and came to the side of Matt Parker, vice president of hooks.

"Except for Charles, why didn't I see anyone from the Wizards, I looked around, and there was no one!"

The banquet hall was full of people, and Li You took champagne and asked Matt Parker in a low voice.

"You should know McDunk, he hates to lose, so he doesn't have any liking for the Wizards."

Matt Parker, who was also dressed in a black suit, whispered a joke about the hapless Wizards player

Noticing the staff of Kobe Bryant and Adidas on the other side, Matt Parker smiled and reassured Li You again:

"Lee, as long as you can maintain the No. 1 record in the league, the MVP is yours, we put a lot of advertising, don't worry about the media making trouble."

Li You smiled and nodded, clinking glasses with the other party by the way, everything was in plain sight.

When all the visitors arrived, Michael Jordan, dressed in a wide black suit, knocked on the wine glass in his hand and said with a smile:

"I'm glad that you're here for this dinner, with my old friends, my friends from Washington, and the All-Star Game, and thank you for your support."

"It's a shame that no one on my team made it to this All-Star, but I invited Lee, he's a real winner, and I'm sure you're all going to love him!"

Li You smiled and raised his glass to everyone, and the sponsors and city hall staff smiled back.

Mai Buckle continued his speech, and by the way, he made fun of the Wizards who had a good record of pulling their hips.

The atmosphere soon became cheerful, on the other hand, Kobe Bryant felt out of place, thinking that Big Brother invited him to be the protagonist once, but the limelight was stolen by Li You

Noticing that Vanessa beside her was also looking in the direction of Li You in front of her, Kobe Bryant was jealous for a while:

"Why are you again!"

Thank you for your subscription support

(End of chapter)