The Basketball Court Swordsman

"But I know, I can't be satisfied with this. My team has won 25 consecutive victories, we scored 49 wins and 4 losses, and my teammates and I were selected to the All-Star team! This is just a prelude, but I hope that at the end of this season, I can lift the O'Brien Cup above my head like I am now!"

The end of the All-Star Game, when Chris Paul made this statement while holding the All-Star MVP trophy. Carmelo Anthony, the "king of New York" standing behind him, was a little unhappy.

In fact, the friendship between Paul and Anthony began as early as their teenage years, and their acquaintance is related to an event, that is AAu.

AAu is the abbreviation of the American Amateur Sports Federation. There are competitions for different age groups, and the American high school league is also affiliated with this. On the other hand, AAu has age-specific national competitions. Players from different regions can form a team to compete. This helps young players broaden their horizons and compete with national experts.

Chris Paul became famous in the AAu league. That year, he led the Kappa Magic to win the AAu Under-17 National Championship and was elected the tournament MVP. During the AAu game, Paul not only won the crown but also gained valuable friendship.

In the 2003 AAu League, in addition to the teams of LeBron James and Paul, there was another team that gained national attention. That was the Baltimore Elite team led by Carmelo Anthony. Two years ago, the "melon" He led the team to the semi-finals of the National Championship with an average of 25 points per game. When Paul confronted Anthony, the basketball genius point guard said frankly: "This player from Baltimore is very strong, really strong, the strongest player I have ever seen."

The highest level of confrontation between American high school players gave birth to a sincere friendship. Basketball boys Paul and Anthony were enemies on the court, but they became friends off the court. In competitive sports, peers tend to have naked hatred, but Paul and Anthony, who are still in high school, obviously do not have such a city government. Their friendship is simple and pure.

They all love the sport of basketball, and basketball connects them. Some friendships come and go quickly, so when you get a real friendship, you should know how to cherish it, and Paul and Anthony have always done this.

The mutual integration of private circles is undoubtedly evidence of the deep friendship between Paul and Anthony. Jordan and Pippen are known as the strongest duo in NBA history, but the two who have a nearly perfect chemical reaction on the court are not close friends off the court, especially private. The circles are not open to each other. When the Bulls won the championship in 1997, a reporter asked Pippen if he would celebrate with Jordan after the game. Pippen bluntly replied: "I am with my friends, and Jordan also has his own partners."

Although Paul and Anthony have not been teammates in an NBA team, their personal friendship is hard to compare with most basketball partners who have worked together for many years.

It stands to reason that two friends with such a close relationship should be happy with each other's achievements. But this is the particularity of competitive sports. As long as you are not playing in a team, no matter how good the relationship is, you are all enemies!

Therefore, the better the relationship between friends, the more true they will be on the basketball court. What's more, the Knicks are still a direct competitor of the Pacers, and the Knicks' record of third in the East this season also allows them to see the hope of hitting the Eastern Championships and even the championship!

So Chris Paul's remarks made Anthony feel ignored.

Yes, in the East this season, the New York Knicks are the best team apart from the two "super battleships" of the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers! Although the team experienced troubles of this kind, they managed to survive.

However, even so, the Knicks still have no sense of existence. To be precise, before Paul won the All-Star MVP, the Pacers had no sense of presence in the All-Star Game.

But Paul can vent by winning the All-Star MVP, but Anthony has no such opportunity. The only thing he can do is to defeat his best friend in the official game and remind him, "Hey, your good brother is third in the East this year!"

Anthony and Paul can become friends, and the two naturally have some similarities. That is, on the basketball court, they are the kind of tough guys who can't be soft! When on the basketball court, both of them will forget the identity of "friends".

So the day after the end of the All-Star Weekend, Chris Paul received a text message from Carmelo Anthony, a good friend he had met since he was a boy.

"Be careful, Chris. The next game in Indianapolis, I won't let the water go. Let's have a real fight like we did in Auu! Your friend and rival, Melo ."

Paul wanted to laugh, because Anthony's text messages made him feel very interesting. But I can't laugh, because Anthony and the Knicks are indeed strong enough this season.

On February 20, the league's first Indiana Pacers played at home against the New York Knicks, third in the East. Whether it is laughing or crying, Paul's "ultimatum" is not a deterrent, it all depends on that game.

New York Knicks, this season, they do have the capital to challenge the defending champion.

This team was almost a desperate team before they welcomed Carmelo Anthony and Steadmeier. Its chaotic team management and the bloodbath records set by major stars in Madison Square Garden have humiliated this veteran New York team that has received much attention.

But the arrival of Anthony and Stoudemire gave the whole team a new look. And this season is undoubtedly the most successful season for the Knicks since they ushered in Carmelo Anthony's offensive kaleidoscope.

Before the start of the 12-13 season, the Knicks ushered in the Mavericks championship point guard, Jason Kidd, who is also one of the league's best point guards, and signed Rashid, who has not played on the field for two years. Wallace and the 35-year-old "older rookie", Argentine point guard Pablo Prigioni, and former New York player Raymond Felton also returned to the team.

After the start of the regular season, the Knicks, who lacked Stoudemire, unexpectedly harvested a wave of 6 consecutive victories, creating the team's best start in the past 20 years! Although the 6-game winning streak start is nothing compared to the Pacers’ 12-game winning streak, it is of great significance to New York fans.

Although in the long course of the regular season, the team also encountered a lot of turbulence. For example, Anthony was once troubled by a shoulder injury, which led to ups and downs. The "Little Bully" suffered another injury after coming back in January and had to truce again. Tyson Chandler was injured and the team signed Kenyon Martin. Sid Wallace was injured and announced his retirement again...

Fortunately, in the regular season of this season, Anthony and former Nuggets teammate J.R. Smith are both good enough. So far, Anthony has temporarily ranked first in the league in scoring with an average of 28.7 points per game and third in the MVP list. And J.R. Smith averaged 18.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, ranking first in the sixth man of the year prediction list!

When a team has both the scoring leader and the best sixth man, no one can ignore them. Last season, the young Oklahoma City Thunder made it to the Finals, who was also the scoring leader + best sixth man!

Therefore, this season's Knicks can jump to the third in the Eastern Conference, not surprising Henson. He also knows very well that it is no longer easy to take the victory from the New Yorker's head this season. Of course, it won't be too difficult.

"Did you see? Chris Paul is in big trouble." Before the training of the day, Vogel, who was sitting in Henson's office drinking coffee and reading the newspaper, shook his head with a smile.

"What's wrong?" Henson asked casually, but instead of looking up, he buried his head and stared at the phone. Kobe actually sent a text message to invite him to a charity dinner in Los Angeles. Henson thanked Kobe for his invitation, but did not plan to go. This guy has never been interested in things like dinner parties.

"After winning the All-Star Game MVP yesterday, his remarks made many people jealous. What did the reporter of the Miami Post say? He said that he wanted to win the championship after winning the All-Star Game MVP. This is simply ridiculous. !"

"It's rare," Henson raised his head and looked at Vogel with interest. "This time, the person being scolded is not me."

Vogel glanced at Henson, as if holding back his efforts to keep himself from laughing. "You know, Henson, your reputation in New York is not good."

Since the last time Mark Berman sparked a scolding war between reporters in New York and Indianapolis, and the Pacers won at the Barclays Center and satirized a lot of New York media, Henson has almost become a public enemy of New York fans. . So Vogel was right, Henson had a bad reputation in New York.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you said that early. In New York, there may be a lack of good players and good coaches, but there is never a shortage of people who are willing to attack you."

"Well, I should have guessed it," Henson shook his head. "Who is it this time? Which boring reporter? Or Carmelo Anthony."

"Not at all. This time, it is a film director who scolded you."

"Oh? Is it him?" Henson scratched his head. "It seems that he has another loyal fan."