Chapter 794 - 248: The Trending Topic Is Actually the Hairstyle_3

In the early morning replay of today’s game, he carefully analyzed his own play based on the quarter he played using the techniques of Nash.

He discovered one thing—no matter if he acquired the skills of the Big Bird or the Child of the Wind, he couldn’t play exactly like them.

Not just not identical—it’s entirely different.

You definitely need to practice skills, but the direction of growth... you have to explore it on your own.

For now, the main focus should be on enhancing finishing ability, adding offensive finishing methods, and then developing skills around those offensive finishing methods...

Zhang Hao here feels frustrated because people only pay attention to his hairstyle, but some people see his hairstyle and inexplicably feel that the style suits him!

In Rose City Portland, the talented point guard Steve Nash, who has been gaining popularity among fans in the city since December, dyed his previously blonde hair black and styled it into a middle part after watching the Lakers’ game against the Bulls.

...

After defeating the Bulls, the Lakers’ record improved to 24 wins and 5 losses, closely trailing the Utah Jazz.

On the afternoon of the 26th, this season’s regular season entered a new phase, signaled by the kickoff of All-Star voting!

The consensus this year is that the All-Star voting will be very lively.

Last year, Zhang Hao set a record with 2.18 million votes, and it is very likely to be broken again this year!

Currently, the Bulls are ranked first in the East with a 25-5 record. After getting beaten by the Lakers, the Jazz have tied their record.

But this does not affect Jordan’s tremendous popularity.

Just like the past when Zhang Hao made three clutch plays against him, people will definitely bring it up in the future, but it passes nonetheless. Jordan’s outstanding performance, along with the Bulls’ record, his own popularity, and the identity as the reigning champion, makes him the favorite among the media to be the top vote-getter.

The Pistons are the most regrettable team this year—not because they played badly. After 30 games, the Pistons have achieved a 19-11 record, with a chance at 50 wins.

But the Pistons lost Alan Houston, a player almost at All-Star level. Otherwise, with the chemistry they showed last season and the progress of Grant Hill and Alan Houston, their strength could still go further.

However, even after losing Alan Houston, Grant Hill still led the team to such a performance. Already popular, he has been described by the American media as "waiting for Jordan to retire, ready to become the NBA’s new face."

The battle for the top vote-getter continued with three players since last season, and this season’s NBA media discussion, game viewership, sales of NBA merchandise, and more are all higher than last season, which indicates greater fan attention and possibly higher voting enthusiasm, suggesting that final vote counts might be higher!

...

The All-Star Weekend voting has started... Zhang Hao is also eager to see if he can secure the All-Star top vote-getter once more.

He certainly wants to be the top vote-getter; he is liking the spotlight more and more.

But if he doesn’t get it, he is not too concerned.

After all, chasing Jordan’s record of being the top vote-getter seven times in a row is nearly impossible.

Keep a balanced mindset...

After resting for a night, on the 27th, the Lakers faced their first opponent after the Christmas showdown, the Boston Celtics.

At 7 PM, the game between the Lakers and the Celtics began.

At the start of the game, both teams’ coaches were in a panic, overwhelmed with activities.

On the Lakers’ side, the old fox couldn’t believe how poorly his players were performing tonight!

As the saying goes, what goes up must come down. This phrase reflected well in the Lakers players’ fighting spirit and enthusiasm.

When they played the Bulls during the Christmas showdown, the Lakers players’ fighting spirit, enthusiasm, and aggressive spirit were at their peak.

Then, they plummeted straight to the bottom...

Additionally, the impact of fatigue has become apparent as we enter the mid-season period.

Tonight, the Lakers played the first quarter with a score of 14 to 27. They couldn’t score offensively and couldn’t defend defensively... it was mainly because they were playing too casually! Also, being behind by more than ten points didn’t cause any urgency.

At this crucial moment of competing for the top of the West, such a situation has occurred, making Del Harris extremely flustered!

Moreover, their opponent is the Celtics!

On the Celtics’ side, coach M-L-Kael was even more panicked!

The Grizzlies had already caught up to their number of losses! With a record of 5-25, and the Grizzlies 6-25, any win from them would mean the Grizzlies could catch up!

Compared to other coaches in Celtics’ history, M-L-Kael was not afraid of criticism. Although he won the championship as a Celtics player in ’81 and ’84, to him, losing face against the Lakers was completely unimportant—what mattered was Duncan!

In the summer, their pick Anthony Walker showed great potential with the ability to become an All-Star-level player.

However, in the illustrious history of the Celtics, All-Star-level talent seemed too ordinary, and they must strive for the center who was recognized as a superstar even before entering the NBA.

But the Celtics players didn’t think that. Taking advantage of the Lakers’ casual play, they played with great effort!

Even though they were considered a tanking team, the players didn’t want to tank. They had no reason to sacrifice their statistics or the opportunity to fight for a big contract for the team’s future.

So, for a tanking team, having the right coach is crucial.

However, despite M-L-Kael’s strong ability to control the court, he couldn’t fend off the opportunity given by the Lakers. The Celtics’ perimeter players played like Jordan, and their interior like David Robinson...

By the end of the third quarter, the Celtics led the Lakers by 16 points, 78 to 61, as they entered the final quarter.

Celtics coach M-L-Kael was feeling hopeless. Watching the Lakers’ lifeless performance in the first three quarters, M-L-Kael felt his world was in darkness... and then he saw the light!

In the final quarter, the Lakers sent out a lineup of Kenny Anderson, Brian Shaw, George Lynch, Ben Wallace, and Zhang Hao.

George Lynch and Ben Wallace—there’s one word to describe this duo—reckless!

Primarily led by Ben Wallace, using aggressive fouls, they disrupted the opponent’s offensive rhythm.

At this point, Ben Wallace still lacked awareness in basic basketball actions, apart from the consciousness to interfere with shots and fight offensively for rebounds.

But! Ben Wallace was active and fearless!

His fierce look, combined with a wild playing style, resulted in 4 fouls in just over 5 minutes, directly breaking the Celtics’ excellent offensive rhythm from the first three quarters!

George Lynch was also motivated, and recklessly executed his role.

In crude confrontations, Ben Wallace seemed to have a natural leadership ability. Players with a naturally rugged playing style played even more aggressively when defending with Ben Wallace...

After nearly half a quarter, by 5 minutes and 26 seconds into the fourth quarter, the Lakers arduously shortened the score to 73-84, and finally, their opportunity arrived!

The Celtics, around the official timeout, failed to score field goals for 4 consecutive minutes, only relying on free throws to gather 3 points.

In a situation where O’Neal wasn’t on in the final quarter, Zhang Hao successfully protected the basket. After George Lynch and Ben Wallace were replaced by the Magician and Jason Williams, their active contraction greatly assisted Zhang Hao in protecting the rim.

Finally, by restricting the Celtics to 4 minutes without a field goal, relying only on free throws for 3 points, the Lakers achieved a 15-4 run, tying the score at 88!

In the last two and a half minutes, even though the Celtics players regained their touch, Rick Fox hit a three from the top arc and passed Anthony Walker a cut-in floater from the baseline that went in.

However, Zhang Hao attracted double teams and assisted Kenny Anderson on two three-pointers, and Boss Kenny seized the opportunity!

At 11 minutes and 41 seconds into the play, Zhang Hao caught the ball, turned, drove to the basket, drawing a foul from Anthony Walker, executing a 2+1 play when the extra free throw was made, finally securing the victory!

The Celtics’ last attack missed, and the final score was locked at a 4-point difference!

With Zhang Hao’s 33 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, and 1 steal in 42 minutes, and Kenny Anderson’s 27 points, the Lakers achieved a comeback victory over the Celtics with a score of 97 to 93, securing two consecutive wins!