I’m Really Playing Basketball

January 1, 2008, is a day destined to be remembered by Charlotte Bobcats fans.

Chris Paul, the Bobcats' All-Star point guard and the team's second-in-command, was traded by the Charlotte Bobcats to the Los Angeles Clippers in the West.

After Paul's trade became fully public, Bobcats fans forgot about the frustration of the team's loss to the Magic last night that ended their 10-game winning streak.

Paul's problems with the Bobcats have long been public.

No one thinks that Cannon will stay with the Bobcats this season. It is a matter of time before Cannon is traded. This is not a conflict between the two parties, but a different pursuit of the future.

Therefore, both parties broke up peacefully.

Therefore, the Bobcats fans did not have much sadness. In the farewell speech of Xiaopao, the Bobcats fans gave the North Carolina local child the greatest applause and nostalgia.

Although in the Bobcats, Chen Xiao is the sun and others are stars, it is obvious that no matter what, the biggest star of the Bobcats is still the cannon.

Therefore, in Xiaopao's farewell speech, Xiaopao received the most cheers in his career, and this cheer made Xiaopao feel very complicated.

Because he only got such coveted applause and cheers when he left, but he didn't get them when he was still there.

But Xiao Pao quickly adjusted his mood, because in Charlotte, under normal circumstances, it was impossible for anyone other than Chen Xiao to receive such applause and cheers.

However, compared to the cheers and applause of these Charlotte fans, what Xiaopao loves now is the applause of Chen Xiao next to him.

Seeing the good brother next to him who was sincerely applauding him, Xiao Pao was filled with reluctance.

This departure may mean goodbye forever.

"List……"

"Chris!"

Before Xiaopao could speak, Chen Xiao interrupted him, then hugged Xiaopao and released him.

"My brother, you will be a legend to all!"

Legend, I will be a legend for everyone!

After hearing Chen Xiao's sincere words, Xiao Pao, who originally had a lot of sad things to say to Chen Xiao, now only has the courage and ambition to move forward.

In the New Year of 2008, Xiaopao left with his longing for the future and reluctance to leave Bobcat Chen Xiao.

Chen Xiao felt that Xiaopao definitely didn't have many complaints in his heart when he left.

Chen Xiao didn't want to complete the task given to him by the system, whether it was Randolph or Xiaopao, he hoped to give enough respect to his former teammates and former comrades-in-arms.

Regardless of whether their reasons for leaving were selfish or not, they gave their all for him when they fought alongside him.

They are a great group of teammates.

Without them, Chen Xiao doesn't think he could achieve such great achievements in the Bobcats.

Because they knew that Xiaopao was leaving before, fans of Chen Xiao and the Bobcats actually quickly accepted the reality of Xiaopao's departure.

But for NBA public opinion, they still have some arguments and some quarrels. It's not that they can't accept Xiaopao's departure.

But as the defending championship, the Bobcats have already lost two of their star players before reaching the All-Star Game this season.

Although these two star players exchanged four high draft picks for the Bobcats in the future, the draft picks will never be a fighting force.

So what the Bobcats got in exchange for them was Battier, Lowry and Livingston.

Except for Battier, who is a very strong fighter, Lowry and Livingston have limited combat abilities.

Lowry's performance in the Grizzlies is very good, and it is very impressive to play Kidd as a substitute, but in the Bobcats, Lowry, whose offensive power is stronger than organizational ability, has not had any outstanding performance so far.

Let's put it this way, the Grizzlies need Lowry's personal offense, the Bobcats don't.

For a guard who only hits 43% from the field and 25% from three-pointers, it is a crime to let him attack. You know, Jack, another backup point guard for the Bobcats, hits 48% from the field and 41% from three-pointers.

Therefore, whether he is a starter or a substitute, Lowry is very marginal.

Of course, Lowry does not necessarily have all advantages. He is very active in defense, better than Jack in ability, and better in organization. After all, the apprentice of Boss Kei still has two brushes.

But generally speaking, the existence of Lowry has limited improvement in the Bobcats' strength. It should be said that there is no. If the Bobcats' strength is 90, Lowry will not let the Bobcats' strength reach 91.

And another new point guard, Livingston.

This once super talented point guard in the United States, the little magician, is basically recognized as a useless person after a serious injury to his left knee.

In fact, before he was injured, Livingston's performance was far inferior to Paul, who was one pick higher than him.

You know, when the draft was drafted, Paul was far below his evaluation.

And Livingston's career has also become a foil to Jordan's vision.

At the beginning, many people thought that Jordan should choose Livingston with the fourth overall pick.

Livingston is a native of Illinois, and he is considered half of Jordan's fellow countryman. The first high school point guard in NBA history was really popular at the time.

But in the end, Jordan chose the small cannon and gave up Livingston, the strongest point guard of that session.

Jordan's choice was ridiculed at the time, but now, everyone feels how great Jordan was when he selected Paul with the fourth overall pick in 2004.

Four years later, the Bobcats' No. 4 pick was replaced by three first-round picks plus Livingston and a championship.

It's so worth it too.

Livingston is the Bobcats and Clippers trade used to match salary.

Even those media experts who are now hyping the Bobcats deal for Paul don't think Livingston can perform well in the Bobcats.

Not even mentioning Livingston at all.

After Livingston came to the Bobcats, he was also very low-key, basically practicing shooting there alone.

When Livingston first entered the league, he shot 41% from the field. Before he was injured last season, his shooting percentage was already over 46%, especially in mid-range shooting, which was as high as 46%. Even his mid-range shooting percentage in the previous season up to 47%.

It can be seen that he has a shooting talent.

However, now his injury has not healed, and this season is basically reimbursed.

So he usually wears protective boots or sits in a wheelchair to practice shooting in the team.

In this case, Lowry is useless and Livingston is useless, which means that the Bobcats traded two star players for one Battier.

It's no wonder those media experts who like to make trouble don't complain about such a deal.

In fact, Boss Qiao has been sprayed miserably recently.

However, compared with those media experts who said that the Bobcats seemed to be disbanded, the current Bobcats are actually quite united.

Everyone's atmosphere is also very good.

The departure of Xiaopao can basically declare that the Bobcats will bid farewell to the championship this season.

This made the pressure on the Bobcats players to defend the champion instantly change from maximum to minimum.

Has this season been a success for the Bobcats?

Of course not, as the defending champion, this has long lost the possibility of competing for the championship, this is a failure.

But you have to say that after the Bobcats won the championship, those problems that appeared disappeared with the failure of the season.

Now the Bobcats have basically lost all their burdens, and they are ready to go into battle again.

This is not a good thing for Bobcats. After all, they have Chen Xiao, their boss, who can definitely lead them to the top again!

Because their boss is the one who does this kind of thing.

And they believe that when they stand at the top again, they will never be kicked off so easily or walk down by themselves. Next time, they will reach the top by virtue of real strength, not luck.

Therefore, it is completely different from outsiders who think that the Bobcats have collapsed. The current Bobcats actually have a lot of fighting spirit.

In fact, at this time, the Bobcats players still cared about Chen Xiao's mood.

To be honest, the hopelessness of competing for the championship has little effect on these role players who already have championships. The key is Chen Xiao.

As the head player of the team, the top ten players in NBA history, will the team's failure this season make Chen Xiao uncomfortable, will it make Chen Xiao unhappy?

If Chen Xiao is unhappy, can they be happy?

Do not make jokes.

In the NBA, if the boss of any team is unhappy, no one else will be happy.

But what surprised the Bobcats players was that, as the boss of the team, Chen Xiao was in a normal mood now, and they didn't see any frustration and pain from this season's failure on Chen Xiao's face.

even……

When facing the team's most useless player, Livingston, Chen Xiao always had a smile on his face.

"Sean, your knee is injured now. It is not suitable to gain weight and increase confrontation for the time being. It will cause extra pressure on your knee. Just practice shooting. Your hand feels very soft and very good."

Looking at Chen Ling who smiled and patted his shoulder for fear of leaving, Livingston was stunned.

Chen Xiao, how could he laugh and talk to such a useless person so calmly.

Shouldn't he take the resentment that Paul left on himself?

When Livingston came to the Bobcats, he was actually ready to be bullied for half a season.

That's why he kept a low profile after he came to the team.

Because he felt that Bobcats players would not like him.

But……

The final situation was completely different from what he had imagined.

At the very least, Chen Xiao's attitude towards him was really, really incredible.

Of course Xiaopao left, Chen Ling was very sad, but the fact that Xiaopao's departure made Shan Mao completely lose the possibility of reaching the top this season did not make Chen Xiao feel sad.

All of this was seen by many Chinese journalists and American media around.

In the end, Kenny Smith, TNT's on-site reporter, couldn't help sighing: "If you were already a three-time NBA champion and three-time FMVP when you were 25 years old, you wouldn't deny yourself and your team just because you failed in one season." Team, when Jordan was still working hard to break through the first round of the playoffs when he was 25 years old, Wonder Boy had already become the top ten in NBA history when he was 25 years old!

Wonder Boy no longer needs to prove himself with success or failure in one season. Wonder Boy has enough patience to face everything.

Anyone who talks about Boy Wonder being out of balance because of this season's failure is a bunch of twittering crows! "

After Kenny Smith's words appeared, those experts who speculated that Chen Xiao would be dissatisfied with the Bobcats and Jordan because of the departure of Randolph and Paul, and would leave as well became a little more honest.

On January 2nd, the first day of Xiaopao's departure, on this day, the Bobcats will face the Bulls led by Xiaopao's natural enemy, Deron.

In the two games between the Bobcats and the Bulls in December, the Bobcats were beaten by the Bulls at home and away, which was a miserable game.

Now that Xiaopao is gone, what will be the results of both sides?

The Bobcats are now 20 wins and 10 losses, ranking seventh in the Eastern Conference, while the Chicago Bulls are 18 wins and 11 losses, ranking eighth in the Eastern Conference.

Although the two teams are safe from the playoffs, their rankings are still different.

And to be fair, the competition for the bottom four spots in the Eastern Conference is still fierce so far.

Except for the Raptors, Heat, Magic, and Nets, the four teams have a higher record.

The bottom four of the top eight in the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers, Bucks, Bobcats and Bulls, all have close records.

According to the ranking rules, because the Bobcats, Heat and Magic are in the same division, it is impossible for the Bobcats to enter the top four this season and can only be in the bottom half.

In addition, the Nets and Raptors are also in the same half area, so it is impossible for the Bobcats to be fifth. The fifth place must be the Raptors, the Nets and the Heat Magic. After all, the best score is only one. .

Therefore, no matter how the Bobcats adjust this season, the best record can only be sixth in the Eastern Conference.

Unless some miracle happens.

For example, the previous four teams suffered major injuries.

But the other three teams with lower records are different. The Cavaliers, Bucks and Bulls are in the same division.

There is not much difference in the records of the three teams. As long as they can finish first in the division, they can counterattack to fourth in the Eastern Conference.

This is quite tempting for all three teams.

So although the Bulls and Bobcats seem to be very safe in making the playoffs this season, in this match between the two sides, the Bulls are definitely going to beat the Bobcats to death.

By the way, before the game between the Bobcats and Bulls, the league announced the Player of the Month for the East and West.

In the West, Kobe Bryant, who led the team's counterattack to No. 1 in the West, successfully won the best of the month. Howard, who was the best of the month for the Spurs last month, performed very well this month, averaging 21 points and 16 rebounds per game. 3 blocks, really super.

No one thought that this young center who was cut by Yao Ming in the finals would transform so well this season.

On the Eastern side, the player of the month award is somewhat unexpected.

The Eastern Conference Player of the Month for December was awarded by the league to former Bobcats point guard Chris Paul.

Throughout December, Paul led the team to a record of 10 wins and 5 losses. His personal data averaged 20.1 points, 14.5 assists and 3 steals per game. In the month when he was the protagonist, his performance was very surprising.

Of course, being able to beat Nash to win the Best of the Month award is obviously not just due to personal performance.

Seeing Xiao Pao win the first Monthly Award of his career, many people immediately sighed.

"Boy Wonder and Jordan have face. This is the NBA's official award for Paul's contribution to the Bobcats. I thank him for his contribution to Boy Wonder, Jordan and the entire NBA in North Carolina!"

Well, these people are right, that’s really what David Stern thinks.

"I will never forget anyone who made a significant contribution to the NBA."

The current prosperity of the NBA is inseparable from great men like Chen Xiao and Jordan, and it is also inseparable from green leaves like Paul.

As Chen said, in the NBA, anyone can become a legend!

An NBA where everyone is like a dragon is the most beautiful and great NBA!