readytorunbook Chapter 294 The Covenant
Chapter 294 The Covenant
Chapter 294 The Covenant
The All-Star Game is scheduled to be held on the evening of the 17th, and you need to stay in New Orleans for a total of three days. The local area has a humid subtropical monsoon climate. It is now a rainy season in February, and the temperature is slightly low. Li Yue deliberately put two A sweater specially customized by Nike, one is to keep warm, and the other is to take advantage of hot spots for publicity.
New Orleans is also the birthplace of jazz. Taylor called and suggested to Li Yue to prepare a pair of colored jeans, and then go to a famous jazz bar to take selfies and set up a persona to attract more fans. You don’t need to speak any professional words, just express your love.
Li Yue resolutely refused. Traditional jazz is really difficult to resonate. You can listen to it, but don't pretend to like it.
The All-Star trip is a personal activity for the players. The team does not provide travel assistance, so there is no exclusive plane to take. On the early morning of the 14th, Li Yue arrived at Los Angeles International Airport with his luggage and walked with Gobert and Covington.
Both rookies have been selected for this year's rookie match. Gobert is assigned to Chris Webber's team, and Covington is assigned to Grant Hill's team. After the game starts, there will be a teammate PK, and they will bicker and joke with each other as soon as they meet.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, the three of them landed at New Orleans International Airport just in time for the pouring rain.
As the boss, Li Yue rented a car in advance, Covington was in charge of driving, and the three went straight to the official hotel designated by the NBA.
This is the second time in seven years that New Orleans is responsible for hosting the All-Star Weekend. The frequency seems to be a bit high, which belongs to the special compensation given by David Stern or the league. After all, since the league's top point guard Chris Paul left, The attendance rate of the Pelicans is quite bleak. If it weren't for the NFL Saints owner Benson to take over, the Pelicans may still be in the league's managed state.
Under the guidance of the staff, Li Yue moved into his room, and the first thing he did after packing his luggage was to ask the league office for the contact information of the western players participating in the slam dunk contest, in preparation for a meeting to discuss in advance.
It stands to reason that the All-Star Weekend should be relaxed, but Li Yue feels that as the captain of the Western Conference, he should help the team win. Skills competitions, shooting stars and three-point contests cannot implement any strategies, only the slam dunk contest can be held.
The league office quickly replied, probably to ensure privacy, all the numbers belonged to the agents of participating players, so Li Yue had to ask Taylor to contact him again, and called Octagon to arrange someone to come over and take charge of the assistant work within three days. As a famous player, On non-team-related occasions, there is no team staff to provide help at any time, and many things are difficult to deal with.
About 10 minutes later, Taylor sent the contact numbers of players participating in the dunk contest in the West.
Except for Li Yue himself, the other two are Lillard of the Trail Blazers and Ben McColemo of the Kings.
Seeing Lillard's name, Li Yue felt melancholy again, because Lillard is too popular, he is also a rookie player, and he is willing to try. This All-Star Weekend, except for the shooting star, he will participate in all other sports.
Considering that there are fan carnivals and various interviews in the middle, Lillard's physical exertion must be very serious. It is difficult to predict whether the dunk contest can achieve the training effect, and it is easy to affect the team's performance, eventually causing a vicious circle.
This slam dunk contest is held in the form of confrontation between the east and the west. In the first round, the players from the east and the west each perform a free dunk for 90 seconds. Except for the requirement of at least one success, there are no restrictions on the number of dunks and the order of appearance.
Such a rule is quite stupid, and the participating players can neither paddle nor fully demonstrate, which is quite uncomfortable.
After the first round, the judges will select the winner, and the winner will have the right to decide the order of the finals. The loser must respond passively, and it is very likely that there will be targeted situations, especially like Lillard, whose style is similar to that of the Eastern Conference players , The defending champion Terrence Ross is relatively close, but in terms of explosive power and aesthetics, it is far behind. If there is a matchup, it is basically free.
Li Yue made the call in a nervous mood. Fortunately, Lillard and McClemore did not play big names, and agreed to immediately gather for a meeting to participate in the discussion, formulate the best strategy for the battle, and strive to keep the championship in the West.
The two thought the same as Li Yue, mainly because the slam dunk contest accounted for [-] points in the confrontation between the East and the West, as much as the skill challenge, shooting star competition, and three-point shooting contest combined, and could basically determine the final outcome.
The three of them did what they said, and went directly to the meeting room to discuss behind closed doors, leaving their assistants staring at each other.
As soon as he sat down, Lillard said excitedly: "I'm going to hit the ground, catch the ball, change hands and dunk with a big windmill, and I will definitely get a full score. That's my trump card. What S-level moves are you planning?"
Hearing this, McClemo raised his eyebrows subconsciously, and at the same time turned to look at Li Yue with a surprised expression.
Li Yue was also a little shocked. With Lillard's height of just over 180 centimeters, it's not that difficult to complete a slam dunk with a ground catch and a windmill, but if it succeeds, the impact is quite large.
Can't hurt the morale of his teammates, Li Yue nodded with a smile, and raised his head to signal McClemo to speak first.
"Hey, listen, I'm telling you now, but don't tell anyone outside." McClemore said mysteriously, "I'm going to fly over Shaquille O'Neal for a dunk..."
"Wow!" Lillard exclaimed, "Isn't that awesome?"
Li Yue was completely shocked. O'Neal's official height is 216 centimeters, 5 centimeters taller than Howard's. Could it be that McLemore's bounce is more terrifying than Robinson's? Moreover, O'Neal is big and wide, so he must use a special posture to fly over, regardless of the difficulty. It is bigger than the one Lillard just proposed, no wonder it is so mysterious.
"No, no..." McClemore waved his hands again and again, "O'Neill will sit on a chair then..."
"Oh..." Lillard lost interest in an instant, and McClemore said anxiously: "The chair is not an ordinary chair, it is a special throne. After the dunk is over, I will kneel on one knee and accept the crown he bestowed on me, as well as the coronation speech." ..."
"Ah?" Lillard was confused, with a look of astonishment on his face, as if to say, 'Are you here to talk to me? '
Li Yue lowered his head and suppressed a smile, thinking who gave this idea, it's too much of a middle school?
McLemore looked skeptical: "What? Do you think it lacks creativity and highlights?"
"Very good!" Li Yue and Lillard said in unison, and McClemo showed confidence: "It seems that my idea is really great!"
Li Yue couldn't interfere with what his teammates were doing, so Li Yue quickly changed the subject: "Is there anything in the east that needs attention?"
In this slam dunk contest, in addition to the defending champion Terrence Ross, there are also Paul George and John Wall. Since the Lakers have played the most against the Pacers in the past two seasons, Li Yue is familiar with Paul George's dunk style. Wide open and beautiful, a bit like a weakened version of Vince Carter, it seems that he needs to fight on his own.
"I've looked at their dunk videos, and they're all very traditional," McClemore said. "But honestly, all three of them have strength and beauty, so I'm going to try to win with creativity."
"I haven't done any research." Lillard shrugged back, "There is only one request, leave John Wall to me."
"It's absolutely fine." Li Yue nodded, and just as he was about to bring up the topic again, McClemo hurriedly said, "What's your S-level move?"
"Yeah, what's yours?" Lillard asked.
"I'm going to fly over the head of the Lakers mascot and do a backhand dunk with my back to the rim."
"What?" Lillard stared and opened his mouth in shock, and McCollum patted his forehead: "You let me think about what that action is..."
"It's really difficult." Li Yue spread his hands, "To deal with Paul George's potential 360-degree crotch change."
"You are so ruthless, I wish you success!" Lillard laughed, "Then let's discuss how to arrange the 90 seconds, let me talk about my thoughts first, each of us will deduct one separately, and try to make the scene hot , and then cooperate in twos, and finally three people cooperate together, do not leave any gaps in the whole process, and always keep the judges and the judges concerned."
McCollum nodded: "I think it's OK."
Li Yue waved his hand: "I don't think so."
Lillard raised his head to explain in detail, and Li Yue went on to say: "There is a lack of tacit understanding between us. Whether it is two-two cooperation or three-person cooperation, it is extremely easy to make mistakes. We don't have time to practice now. What I watched was a slam dunk performance, not some Eastern and Western leagues, each of us showed our own A-level moves and completed them safely."
McCollum nodded: "I think it makes sense."
Lillard pondered for a long time, nodded slowly and said, "Okay, just do as you said, I believe you."
After reaching a consensus on the main issues, the three of them discussed some specific details, and then left the meeting room. When going out, McCollum once again told him not to reveal his wonderful ideas to the outside world, and to treat them as if they were treasures.
...
Li Yue returned to the room and browsed the news for about 10 minutes before Durant called.
According to the schedule given by the league, NO.14 is relatively free. Durant asked him to hang out, have dinner with Harden by the way, and then go to a jazz performance as a reward for half of the season.
Li Yue readily agreed, put on his Nike sweater and went downstairs to wait. He soon saw Durant walking out of the elevator with his schoolbag on his back, but he didn't see Harden. Woke up when the nightclub opened.
The rain had stopped, and the two went straight to the New Orleans Backstreet Cultural Museum in a special car.
This is the place that Li Yue specially chose, because the cultural museum has very few people in this season, and the two of them don't need to worry about safety issues, and they won't cause trouble to the museum. Of course, the most important thing is to be able to learn about some interesting things in the local area.
The curator personally received the two of them, and told one by one the collections in detail about the New Orleans Mardi Gras tradition, as well as the most special jazz funeral. Durant exclaimed amazingly, saying that he must witness it with his own eyes if he had the opportunity.
Leaving the Cultural Museum, the two went to the National World War II Museum, entered the 4D theater, sat on a specially customized chair, and experienced the scene of the war in an almost immersive way, which scared Durant to say it was terrible.
The two then left by car. It was already dinner time, and they went directly to the French Quarter.
New Orleans used to be a French colony. The French rulers left a deep impression on the French Quarter with their own preferences. There are a large number of wrought iron external balconies, red tile roofs and small square yards, as well as various pink hotels.
Durant picked a jazz-themed restaurant, and Li Yue wanted to order the most famous New Orleans grilled wings, but was told by the waiter that New Orleans grilled wings were mediocre, and the crayfish was really famous.
The two listened to music and ate, talked about the players who participated in the All-Stars, and unconsciously talked about the summer free market. The topic naturally involved the biggest name LeBron James, gossip guessing that LeBron might make that kind of decision.
Both of them only mentioned this matter and didn't discuss it in detail, but the diners at the next table forcibly interjected: "The Heat's performance this season is average, Wade's aging has deteriorated seriously, and the hope of winning the championship is very low. LeBron has a high probability of choosing to leave. , and the Golden State Warriors is his best place to go, where there are Thompson and Curry, both of them can play off the ball as shooters, very suitable."
Li Yue wanted to sneer at first, but after listening to it, he felt that it made sense. Neither Curry nor Thompson has the kind of strong personality that must be the boss. If LeBron chooses to join, it will really be 1+1+1> 3. The effect is absolutely explosive.
Thinking about it, Li Yue didn't comment, and Durant just smiled and didn't chew.
After the two left the restaurant, Durant seemed to have just reacted: "If LeBron joins the Warriors, it's really invincible."
Li Yue nodded in approval, suddenly had an idea, and said with a smile: "If it's true, you and I can break it together."
Durant laughed loudly when he heard the words, then fell silent, and finally shrugged and spread his hands, "How is that possible!"
Li Yue didn't continue the discussion. The two drove back to the hotel and saw Harden sitting in a business car full of energy.
...
NO.15 At nine o'clock in the morning, Li Yue changed into his Lakers jersey and went to the hotel lobby to accept media interviews.
This is a collective activity arranged by the league. Everyone participating in the NBA main game must attend. Li Yue felt that as a rookie selected for the first time, he should arrive early to create opportunities for the big-name finale for the veterans behind.
But all interviews were conducted separately, and he was quickly surrounded by a large number of reporters, and he did not see when the others appeared.
Since it was not the team's behavior, there was no Lakers PR to follow. Looking at many faces, Li Yue chose to let the reporter from the Los Angeles Times and an old acquaintance Resta ask the question first, and emphasized not to mention tricky questions.
Resta chuckled: "Kobe was unable to play due to injury, and his starting position was replaced by power forward Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans, not the closest backcourt player Chris Paul, and Paul is the Pelicans The former core of the Orcs, do you think this arrangement is deliberate by the league?"
After the words fell, many reporters burst out laughing.
Li Yue rolled his eyes straight, looked at the smile on the corner of Resta's mouth, knew that the other party was deliberately joking, and immediately waved his hands pretending to be angry and shouted loudly: "Next question!"
Many reporters laughed again, and Risk shrugged slightly: "Can you reveal your specific idea for the dunk contest?"
Hearing this, Li Yue knew that the other party was going to play a joke to the end, and said with a decisive smile: "I want to turn around the free throw line 360 degrees and dunk."
(End of this chapter)