This Forward is Not Serious

Regarding this, not only Lin Ying thinks so, there are also fans on social media who are aware of this.

Caruso's abilities are definitely limited, but he is the best supplementary puzzle piece for the Nets.

For an NBA team to win the championship, it must have a strong enough core, but a good winning puzzle piece is also essential.

Even because of his humble attitude after the game, many fans gave him many affectionate nicknames, such as King Kaiser, Bald Mamba, White Mamba, and Vulture.

These nicknames are basically understandable at a glance. Even players like White Mamba and Bald Eagle have been called such nicknames before.

But the most unusual thing is the nickname given by domestic fans: programmer.

This is more connotative.

Because programmers generally have less hair, they feel like they are 25 years old or 45 years old.

Caruso is already bald on the back of his head at such a young age, which has the same purpose.

But these are obviously not belittling or ridiculing, but the fans' love for him.

Just like the Rockets back then and the Nets today, fans use these nicknames because they love them enough.

The more they raise, the more they like it.

then……

One month later.

The Nets' record has seen some ups and downs, and they were overtaken by the Hornets and dropped to second place in the Eastern Conference.

It's not that they didn't play well. In fact, after Caruso started to become the team's starter, although he didn't play well in every game, the team had strong outside defense, and the team's starting and bench strength became stronger. Balanced, the team's performance is obviously more stable, and the certainty of winning the game is obviously enhanced.

Instead, the Hornets are starting to get better.

After Durant first arrived in the Hornets, he went through a period of adjustment and a battle for team status.

But in the end, he overpowered Butler and became the team boss with his outstanding performance.

Butler also showed his own personality characteristics. He is the type who wants to lead you if you are weaker than him. If you are stronger than him, he will serve you and help you willingly.

The combination of the two combines offense and defense, making it very difficult for the opponent.

Moreover, the Hornets' head coach James Borrego has also shown his coaching ability. Many times, Horford is asked to play the fifth position in a small lineup, which makes the Hornets' offense very enjoyable to watch.

It was at this time that the NBA All-Star voting results and player voting were finally released.

Eastern starting lineup: Leonard, Antetokounmpo, Durant, Lin Ying, Jokic;

Western Conference starting lineup: Curry, Harden, Paul George, James, Davis;

A very interesting thing happened about this voting, that is, the Raptors and Bucks moved both Leonard and Antetokounmpo into the backcourt!

This sounds quite outrageous, but because the NBA has no clear regulations in this regard, Kobe Bryant was selected as an All-Star starter as a small forward in history.

Now that the center position has been eliminated and only the front and backcourt are divided, there are even fewer such restrictions.

Of course, there are reasons for these two teams to do this, because in the East, the starting positions of Durant, Lin Ying and Jokic this season are unshakable, and it is impossible for them to sign up for the frontcourt.

So in the end, this unprecedented "Five Death" Eastern All-Star team appeared.

Of course, this outrageous operation also caused dissatisfaction among many players, especially those guards who could have been selected as All-Star starters in the backcourt.

The league also responded quickly and will amend the rules in the next session.

Well, next time.

But that's just one of the surprises about this All-Star vote.

Another thing that is equally surprising is that Durant's votes are closely behind Lin Ying, beating James to rank second!

This seems a bit strange, because Durant seems to have become more popular after leaving Lin Ying.

But taking a closer look at Durant's performance this season, he averaged 31.8 points per game, the second-highest score of his career, and his shooting percentage was as high as 53%, and his three-point shooting percentage of 43% was a career high.

In the words of fans, this is the best Durant.

Lin Ying was very emotional when he saw this. If Durant in history was not seriously injured and didn't meet some gods, he would be like this.

The January game ended quickly. In the selection of the best of the month, Durant, Lin Ying and Porzingis became candidates together. In the end, Durant also ended Lin Ying's season streak with his outstanding performance. Got the best of the month.

Such a performance made many fans begin to react. Is this the era of James? Lin Ying's era? Or...is it Durant's season?

Against this background, the first meeting of the season between the Nets and the Hornets in early February became a major focus of attention from the outside world.

Although this game is not a Christmas war, it is even more popular than the Christmas war.

In the end, Lin Ying and Durant did not disappoint the fans. Under the spotlight, they both scored 50+.

Especially Durant, who scored 56 points, setting a career high.

And his crazy scoring performance at the last minute allowed the Hornets to defeat the Nets and win the game.

One point that is easily overlooked is Butler's role on Durant. He can help Durant share a lot of defensive pressure, allowing the latter to devote himself to the offense.

This is Charlotte's Jordan and Pippen combo.

After this game, Durant's evaluation also reached the highest point of his career.

In addition, Leonard, who has been reborn after arriving in Toronto, once again demonstrated his offensive and defensive dominance; Antetokounmpo, who welcomed new coach Budenholzer, the team's record has improved, and his reputation has reached a higher level; this season's chaos is getting more and more chaotic. The more interesting it becomes.

You can even say with emotion that this is the NBA's most exciting and fan-attracting season in the past ten or even fifteen years.

Then, in a season like this, something happened shortly after the start of February, which gave this season another flavor.

It was a game between the Bucks and the Knicks.

The Knicks are now a standard loser, but the team's new core Porzingis is gradually growing up and getting better.

Last month, the Knicks had an unexpectedly good record due to his outstanding performance, and he himself was selected as a candidate for the best of the month.

His form has not diminished since February, and he was even more impressive in the game against the Bucks.

Because the Eastern Conference's four teams, the Hornets, Nets, Raptors, and Bucks, have very close records, it can be said that they have entered the position battle early.

At this time, the outcome of every game is crucial, especially the game against a weak team that must be won.

However, Porzingis was in such good shape that the Bucks were unable to establish an advantage and even tended to be pulled apart.

It was against this background that Porzingis made a beautiful change of direction for a breakthrough dunk. When he landed, he stepped on Antetokounmpo's foot and was injured.

This kick not only caused the Knicks to lose the game, but the injury report came out after the game. He suffered a torn cruciate ligament in his left knee and was reimbursed for the season.

This brought the Knicks' season to an early end and cast a huge shadow over the team's future.

Because injuries like knee ligament tears are really serious for NBA players, especially insiders, there is basically no way they can recover.

This also put Antetokounmpo deeply in the center of public opinion.

Because fans watched the replay after the game and discovered that it was not entirely an accident that Porzingis' foot stepped on Antetokounmpo's foot. Antetokounmpo's script should not have appeared there.

This also made many people question whether Antetokounmpo was deliberately stepping in.

But in the end, this incident did not attract wider attention.

Because Porzingis can only be regarded as a rising star at best, and he is not very popular in the Knicks, whose popularity is declining in New York.

In contrast, Antetokounmpo is a rising superstar, and this matter was slowly diluted by time.

And soon, fans' attention was attracted by the upcoming trade deadline.

This year’s trade deadline is much more exciting than in past years.

The deadline has not yet arrived, and rumors are already flying.

And on the deadline day, transactions also occurred frequently.

Among them, the Raptors took the lead and completed a key reinforcement.

With Valanciunas as the main body, they traded Marc Gasol from the Grizzlies!

Gasol was still the league's top insider two seasons ago, but his condition has declined due to age and injuries. He also started to have conflicts with the Grizzlies despite being saddled with a large contract, and he was immediately put on the shelf.

The Gasol brothers have made great achievements in the Grizzlies, but the same thing is that they cannot play here until the end.

But this deal makes the competition in the Eastern Conference more intense.

Originally, the Raptors would reach a higher level this season with Leonard, but now they get Gasol at a very small cost, which is simply even more powerful.

This undoubtedly put a lot of pressure on several other teams, and under this pressure, they also took action.

The Hornets acquired Biyombo from the Magic in exchange for Tyson Chandler.

Chandler is on an expiring contract and has value in itself, while Biyombo has not performed in line with his worth after signing a long-term contract with the Magic.

But for the Hornets, exchanging a veteran with little combat effectiveness for a young, strong, black, and tough insider will undoubtedly increase their strength.

The only downside is that they will pay more luxury tax in the future.

But this is obviously not what Jordan is thinking about now. He now wants the Hornets to reach the top.

As for the rest, you can do it after that.

The Nets also took action. They sent away Stephenson and James Johnson and traded for Joe Harris.

Before Caruso played, the Nets still needed Stephenson to hold the ball on the bench, but now with Rose, Stephenson's role is not big.

So instead of keeping him, it's better to trade for a shooter.

Harris' contract was just renewed this season and is worth 16 million over two years. This investment risk is not high for the Nets.

Moreover, his and Crabbe's contracts expire at the end of next season, which will give the Nets a lot of salary space.

However, the Bucks have not made any moves. It is still difficult for their current lineup to make useful changes.

In addition to the powerful reinforcements, the impact of the remaining major transactions is not small.

The Knicks directly traded Porzingis to the Mavericks!

This wave of sound explains what the NBA is like as a business.

Porzingis's future is full of uncertainty due to injuries, and his contract is about to expire. The risk of renewing the maximum salary is extremely high. The Knicks directly announced that they will continue to be in bad shape.

As for the Mavericks, Doncic's performance in his rookie season was so amazing that it made people think that he could become another league card after Lin Ying.

So they started to reinforce Doncic in his first season, which is definitely a rare thing in the NBA.

Irving was sent to the Clippers by the Cavaliers in a deal that resulted in this year's No. 7 pick Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, several draft picks and additional talent.

After James left the Cavaliers, Irving led the team to compete for lottery picks year after year. His patience with the management had reached the limit and he took the initiative to apply for a trade.

As for the Clippers, after Deron retired, the Clippers had a poor record. Griffin was injured again last season and immediately started to fail. Finally, Alexander was selected.

Alexander also lived up to expectations and showed great potential. The Clippers are expected to make the playoffs this season.

If the Clippers have options, they naturally hope to get reinforcements to hit the playoffs. After all, Griffin is at his peak.

At this time, Irving, who has also reached his peak but is stuck in the quagmire, is their best choice.

Thinking about it from another perspective, they exchanged one season for All-Star point guard Irving, which is definitely worth it.

A very interesting point is that Irving also followed James' footsteps to Los Angeles. This feels a lot like...a little closer?

…

The curtain on the trade deadline has just come down, and fans’ attention is quickly drawn to the upcoming All-Star Game.

Like last season, this year's All-Star Draft will still adopt the captain selection model.

However, the selection of this year's captain is somewhat different from last season. Last season, Lin Ying and Curry served as captains of the East and West teams, which ultimately left James.

This year's league may be because of the excellent record of the Lakers, or it may not want James to be left behind for two consecutive years, so this year the captain of the Eastern Conference is still Lin Ying, but the captain of the Western Conference has directly become James.

Team Lin Ying and Team James just don’t know if the one left this time will be Curry.

What is slightly different from last season is that this year's NBA All-Star Game introduced the "24-point system."

The specific content of this rule is that the first three quarters of the game are played in quarters. The winner is determined by one quarter. The loser needs to donate a certain amount of money to a charity organization.

In the last quarter, the competition will be based on the leading team's score + 24 points as the final goal. The one who reaches the goal will win the final victory.

For example, if the Linying team leads 120 to 115 after three quarters, then the target score is 144 points.

Then Lin Ying's team only needs to score 24 more points to win the game, while James' team needs to score 29 points.

The reason for this was not announced by the league, but it was said to increase the enjoyment of the game.

So fans also started making various speculations.

It is said that 24 seconds is a special number. It represents 24 hours in a day and also represents that an NBA offense lasts 24 seconds. This is a special number for basketball.

Some people quickly thought of Kobe, because No. 24 is Kobe’s number, and Kobe just announced his retirement again.

They even brought out evidence:

This time for the All-Star Game MVP award, the league invited Kobe Bryant as the award guest.