Chapter 48 All-Star Weekend

Tang Tian and Davis were both selected for the second consecutive year, which was good news for the Pelicans.

But this year, more than just the two of them from the Pelicans were participating in the All-Star Game.

Jokic and Dinwiddie were both participating in the Rookie Challenge, and Bojan would also compete in the Three-Point Contest.

A group of five, they could be considered as having sent out almost half their team to this All-Star Weekend.

But just like their record showed, this was their season, and such a level of participation was what they deserved.

With more than ten days to go before the All-Star Weekend, they were happy that so many of them had been selected, but their focus was still on the games at hand.

In the week or so that followed, the Pelicans showed the excellent competitive form they had before, advancing triumphantly all the way.

Counting the game against the Cavaliers, they ushered in a new 8-game winning streak, reaching a terrifying 47 wins and 4 losses before the All-Star Game.

Having only lost 4 games after playing 51 games, the Pelicans were really aiming to break the regular season record this season!

With all the games before the All-Star Game over, the head coaches for the East and West All-Star teams were also determined.

Stevens became the head coach of the Western Conference team in his first year in the West, while the Eastern Conference team was coached by Cavaliers head coach David Blatt.

But compared to Stevens, although Blatt became the head coach, his recent situation was not so good.

After being defeated by the Pelicans, the Cavaliers only had a record of 4 wins and 3 losses in their past 7 games, which, including the game against the Pelicans, was only a 50% win rate.

Blatt was facing the biggest crisis of confidence in his coaching career with the Cavaliers, and many fans were already calling for him to be fired.

This seemed to be an inevitable event for any team James was on.

Moreover, unlike his time with the Heat, James did not stand up for Blatt in front of the outside world.

The Cavaliers felt like a storm was brewing.

But whether it was the Pelicans or the Cavaliers, the next thing was the All-Star Game, and they could all put these things aside and enjoy this rare weekend.

The day before the All-Star Game, Tang Tian chartered a plane to Toronto because Olsen and his two sons were also going.

Of course, Jokic and the others also went along.

With Bojan there, the atmosphere on the plane was also very good, and his two sons were kept laughing non-stop.

The climate in Toronto was cold, and after arriving, Olsen and the servants stayed at the hotel, while Tang Tian took Jokic and the others to his brothers' gathering.

This year, Butler didn't make the All-Star Game and didn't participate in the individual contests, so he didn't come. The remaining Irving, Thompson, and Walker all came.

A bar, a private room, several cases of beer, and a group of people.

The scale and routine of their gathering was already completely comparable to the original Fab Four.

The happiest person at this gathering was Walker. In addition to being selected for the All-Star Game for the first time in his career, he also revealed that his girlfriend was pregnant.

It was Gilly, the waitress he had accidentally met at last year's gathering.

Walker hadn't dated in over 20 years, but once he started dating, his efficiency was much faster than someone else.

"Such good news, a bottle of whiskey isn't enough to celebrate."

Bojan really knew how to talk and wasn't shy, and his words made Irving, Thompson, and the others laugh.

A person who is eloquent and good at speaking is welcome everywhere.

Originally, Tang Tian brought Davis and Jokic to introduce them to his brothers, but now it seemed that Bojan had seized the opportunity first.

Jokic and Dinwiddie didn't drink much because they had a game tomorrow, and the others ended up getting drunk.

After getting drunk, Irving pulled Tang Tian into the hallway to complain about his life in Cleveland.

From being the team's leader to becoming the second-in-command, he needed to be prepared to be criticized by fans at any time.

Especially during this period before the All-Star Game, with Blatt in turmoil, his pressure was greater than ever before.

When he was a rookie, he failed to prove himself while leading the team, and now he really wanted to find a place to prove himself again.

Tang Tian had already heard Irving complain last year, but this year it was just to a greater extent.

Tang Tian still advised Irving to adjust his mentality. Irving and the Cavaliers still had a full three years left on their contract, and playing well within the contract was a player's professional performance.

After a night of heavy drinking, the All-Star Game kicked off the next day.

Last year, Tang Tian had planned to participate in the Shooting Stars Competition this year, but because he didn't use the Super Far Three-Pointer card, he didn't participate this year either.

Moreover, this year Xiao Hua reformed the All-Star Game again, and the Shooting Stars Competition was also canceled, making Bosh's three consecutive championships in this event a swan song.

On the first day of All-Star Weekend, the Rookie Game was the main event, but this year's Celebrity Game was also a bit interesting for Tang Tian.

This year's Celebrity Game featured a Chinese player for the first time, with WYF appearing on the court as the first Chinese person.

Tang Tian's knowledge of WYF was limited to "skr," who was a rap legend who could compete with Metta Sandiford-Artest.

But compared to future NBA image ambassador CXK and his signature "Ji Ni Tai Mei", he didn't have as much aversion to WYF.

Moreover, WYF's basketball skills were considered relatively good among artists, and participating in the Celebrity Game was also a glory for the Chinese.

WYF was indeed very sensible, and took the initiative to come over to take a photo with Tang Tian when he saw him.

Tang Tian's influence now was not something that artists of his level could compare to.

WYF started in his Celebrity Game debut and ultimately scored 6 points and 7 rebounds, a decent performance.

The Celebrity Game was just a warm-up, and the main event of the day was still the Rookie Game.

This year, like last year, it was still divided into the International Team and the United States Team.

Jokic was Serbian, and Bojan was Bosnian. The two were also teammates in the Rookie Game, and both started.

Bojan's shooting touch on the perimeter for the Pelicans this season was red-hot. His current three-point shooting percentage of 47.5% was a career high and ranked second in the league, behind only Korver of the Atlanta Hawks.

This year's Rookie Game wasn't very physical, so it became his personal showcase, and he was almost flawless from the outside.

Throughout the entire game, he made 9 three-pointers and scored 27 points.

But the most eye-catching performance of the night wasn't his, but Jokic's.

Jokic had grown rapidly with the Pelicans, and his strength was completely above everyone else.

He dominated Towns, scoring both inside and outside. He not only scored the most points for his team, but also had a triple-double of 30 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists.

After helping the International Team defeat the United States Team, he was undoubtedly selected as this year's Rookie Game MVP.

"This stage can no longer hold him."

Breen said with a smile in the commentary booth.

The implication of this sentence was that Jokic could enter the All-Star Game next year.

Jokic was just a rookie selected at the end of the first round by the Pelicans, and now he was playing like this, which could only be said that the Pelicans' vision was truly sharp.

After the first day of the competition ended, Tang Tian, in addition to watching the games, took his wife and children to tour Toronto.

After playing for a day and returning to the hotel, he received a call from Demps.

"What do you think of Lance Stephenson?"