Chapter 854: Unprecedented Lack of Chemistry (8k)_4

Chapter 854: Chapter 265: Unprecedented Lack of Chemistry (8k)_4

Zhang Hao looked at Jordan’s irritable demeanor, and somehow felt quite pleased. The pain of tonight’s numerous misses, worthy of the Lakers’ number 8 jersey, disappeared.

However, Zhang Hao felt a bit disappointed that Rodman didn’t play?

“No, no, it’s most important to securely win the game. Pushing the limits… no way! Absolutely can’t be influenced by the evil Lakers’ number 8 jersey!”

…

…

With 38 wins and 10 losses, after the last game before the All-Star weekend, the Lakers secured the second spot in the West!

The Lakers and Bulls game was the last match before the All-Star weekend.

With the season at its halfway point, the Bulls boast a league-best record of 42 wins and 8 losses.

The Heat are 37 wins and 12 losses, ranking second in the East. The Knicks are 35 wins and 15 losses at third, Pistons are 34 wins and 15 losses at fourth, Hawks are 33 wins and 17 losses at fifth, and the Hornets are 32 wins and 17 losses at sixth.

These six teams have good prospects for reaching 50+ wins, though they are clearly divided into three tiers: Bulls stand alone, Heat stand alone, and Knicks, Pistons, Hawks, Hornets are battling for third and fourth, gradually falling behind the Heat.

In the West, the Utah Jazz lost to the SuperSonics, changing their record to 40 wins and 10 losses. The Lakers have played two fewer games, ranking second, but their loss count matches Utah Jazz.

SuperSonics are 33 wins and 16 losses, placing third in the West.

Beyond that, it doesn’t seem like any West teams can reach 50 wins.

Clearly, the overall performance from the East this year is better than in the West.

Experts suggest that the main contributors are the Warriors and Brooklyn Nets; these teams have been weak for years, gathering talent and singlehandedly elevating the borderline Knicks and directionless Heat into 60-win teams.

Look at the players recruited by these two teams; mostly poached from the Warriors and Brooklyn Nets.

Currently, there isn’t intense competition in the West since there are more underperforming teams. From the sixth place down in the West, the win rate might fall below half.

In the first tier in the West, there’s only competition between the Lakers and Utah Jazz. The third SuperSonics fall behind the top two by a noticeable gap.

However, the East is fiercely competitive. The Cavaliers, currently ninth, have a record of 26 wins and 24 losses, vying with the Bullets and Magic for playoff spots.

The Heat seem unwilling to give up chasing the Bulls, and the competition from third to sixth is extremely intense.

At this point, last year’s discussions arise again—can the Bulls reach 70 wins?

This season’s Bulls performance before mid-season is unanimously considered stronger than last season by the media, experts, fans, and even other teams. This is because many of their games against strong teams were concentrated in the first half of the season, whereas the 32 games after the All-Star weekend include only 8 against the current top ten teams, and only 12 against teams with over 50% win rates, making the post-All-Star schedule lighter than last year.

Under these circumstances, the Bulls still pulled off a terrifying 42 wins and 8 losses after their first 50 games… Why else would Jordan be the All-Star vote leader? He’s fierce!

…

As media and fans were discussing the frenetic performance of the Bulls as the half-season ended, deliberating over the stellar and disappointing performers of this year, speculating who might participate in the slam dunk contest… and other topics, the day after the half-season ended, the NBA made a stunning announcement!

On the morning of February 6th at 10:00 AM, the NBA officially announced that Shaq O’Neal, Zhang Hao, the Magician, and Barkley from the Lakers, along with Patrick Ewing from the New York Knicks and Moning from the Heat, a total of six players, had applied to withdraw from the 1997 Cleveland All-Star game due to injuries.

Latrell Sprewell of the Warriors, Van Exel of the Dallas Mavericks, Divac from the Rockets, Kenny Anderson from the Lakers were among those selected as replacements, along with Joe Dumars from the Pistons and Alan Houston from the Knicks.

This news drove the media and fans into a frenzy!

They had already been promoting the “Los Angeles All-Star Team,” highlighting the Lakers’ four superstars battling the East’s stars at the All-Star game. Who would have thought, all four of the Lakers’ selected All-Star players withdrew!

…

What bad luck!

No chemistry with these lousy teammates!

Looking at his teammates in the training field, Zhang Hao felt like he didn’t recognize these people.

Since they decided to give up their All-Star spots to make room for the team’s leader, can’t they just discuss it?

Alright, Mr. Zhang didn’t discuss either, fearing Boss Kenny would find out, fearing rejection, he considered it for a day and then after yesterday’s morning pre-game training, secretly had his agent contact the league to apply for withdrawal.

He specifically arranged for Kenny Anderson to come to the gym at 10:00 AM today, wanting to give him a real surprise.

Then he saw the Magician, Barkley, and O’Neal also came.

Zhang Hao was okay, but Kenny Anderson was completely stunned now. Either way, the Lakers management was very confused. Early today, they received notification from the league approving the withdrawal requests of their four All-Star game players.